#258 - #260: Mudkip, Marshtomp & Swampert

A part of the July 2014 issue of the Japanese manga magazine
CoroCoro Comic was made into a variation of an old Mudkip
meme. 

Goddamn, Mega Swampert is on steroids, I'm tellin' ya. Look at the motherfucker in the image on the right and tell me it's not swallowing anabolic substances. Mega Swampert looks like a bodybuilder whose muscles and veins are fit to burst, so it might be best for it to quit that synthetic crap. All jokes aside, though, the image on the right is an excerpt from the July 2014 issue of the Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro Comic, in which Mega Sceptile, Mega Diancie and Mega Swampert were revealed for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. It was made into a variation of an old Mudkip meme called "So I herd u liek Mudkipz" (in correct English: "I heard you like Mudkip"), as Mudkip is Swampert's basic stage. The new phrase said, "I herd u liek MURDER", which was due to Mega Swampert's ridiculously bulky appearance. It didn't quite catch on, as the Mudkip meme had died off about two or three years previous, but at least it made me snigger a little. That's mainly because I knew the "So I herd u liek Mudkipz" meme existed, although I never quite understood it. Apparently it originated in 2005 with the DeviantArt group MudKipClub, an account founded as a place for users to share their love for Mudkip and its evolutions by submitting fan art of them. The owner of the community started posting the phrase "So I herd u like Mudkips" ('heard' probably unintentionally misspelled) on other users' comment walls as an invitation to join the MudKipClub community. The phrase catched on and other users started to post variations of it in comment sections on forums of sites like Fark and Reddit. The spelling of 'like' and 'Mudkips' - although it's more common for Pokémon names to stay the same in plural - slowly changed into 'liek' and 'Mudkipz', and by 2009 the latter two dominated as opposed to their 'original' spellings.

An adorable little Mudkip playing in the mud. 

It's curious that, of all Pokémon, Mudkip became a meme. I mean... it's cute and all, but if this "So I herd u liek Mudkipz" thing hadn't become a famous Internet meme, it would easily have been one of the most forgettable starter Pokémon. That's my opinion, anyway, and it's mostly based on the fact that Mudkip is supposed to be an axolotl, an animal that was already the inspiration for the design of Wooper. Mudkip does have some features that could resemble those of axolotls, but its classification as the 'Mud Fish Pokémon' might refer to gilled African lungfish. Additionally, its Japanese name Mizugorou (ミズゴロウ) contains the word mutsugorō and indicates - along with the English name of Mudkip - that this Pokémon is based on a mudskipper, while its German name Hydropi refers to the mudpuppy. It's unsurprising Mudkip keeps being compared to an axolotl though, as all above-mentioned critters have some of the features axolotls have as well. At least they're all a little slippery, I imagine. As far as Pokédex entries go, Mudkip can use the sensitive radar receptors on its headfin to determine changes in air and water currents and that's pretty much all there is to say about it.

Up: someone made a collage of Marshtomp's
disquieting Gen. VI sprite. Just what we needed,
right? Down: HELP, AN INVASION OF
MARSHTOMP! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

Mudkip evolves into what is probably the most awkward middle stage of a starter Pokémon I have ever seen. Marshtomp looks both goofy and creepy, and for the most part I can attribute that to its unsettling eyes in combination with its wide mouth. Have you seen its frickin' Gen. VI sprite??? Swampert has the same eyes, but at least it looks a little more intimidating than Marshtomp, whereas the latter is supposed to be somewhat cute. Except it doesn't look cute to me, and I also don't like its design as a whole. As for its Pokédex entries, none actually stood out. Its has a thin, sticky film enveloping its body that enables it to live on land, but it likes to play in and moves faster through mud than actual water. It looks up mud pools when it becomes weak and dehydrated due to its skin drying out and wants to replenish its fluids. Eh. I'm sure mudskippers are called that way for a goddamn reason. Marshtomp's headfin does resemble a murmillo helmet, a helmet worn by a type of gladiator during the Roman Imperial age, and it might be evidence of Swampert's oncoming destructive abilities (note that Mudkip is already stronger than it looks, as it can smash rocks that are bigger than itself, and Mudkip is a mere 1'04"). Swampert, who can apparently be both bipedal and quadrupedal according to its game sprites, is where all the excitement is. Most of its Pokédex entries elaborate on what Mudkip's entries have told us, like Swampert's ability to sense the most subtle of changes and differences in the sounds of waves and tidal winds and its tremendous strength: it can move boulders weighing more than a ton, is capable of towing a gigantic ship while swimming, and propels through water faster than a jet ski. Swampert's vision is excellent, as it can see perfectly in even the murkiest bodies of water.

This piece of fan art perfectly demonstrates how badass
Swampert is.

Most of Swampert's flavor doesn't follow through in the games, though; it is quite slow, and Muddy Water still has terrible accuracy compared to Surf. Game Freak didn't lie about its power, though, as its base 110 attack stat is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. With base 100 HP and 90 defenses, it even has some considerable bulk behind it. which makes it more than viable as a Relaxed- or Impish-natured support Pokémon with moves like Stealth Rock, Roar and an attacking move or two rather than a powerhouse. Let it hold the Leftovers and it will endure the battle for quite some time. When you run a Careful or Sassy nature (both boost its special defense) you can run a Curse set, which allows Swampert to pump up its attack and defense and annihilate incoming foes. It becomes super fast as Mega Swampert, however, due to its excellent Swift Swim ability. If you set up the rain, this ability will activate and double Mega Swampert's speed stat, allowing it to sweep pretty much everything but grass types with its base 150 attack stat. All it needs is Rain Dance, Waterfall, Earthquake and Ice Punch, although it learns Hammer Arm, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Aqua Tail, Iron Tail and Power-Up Punch if you need any these moves. This Rain Dance strategy doesn't explicitly require a Jolly nature, so you can max out its attack stat by slapping an Adamant nature on it. Take note of this, though: an Impish nature on a regular Swampert doesn't work if you want to use the special-based Scald as support, and due to its speed, an Adamant nature on a regular Swampert is more effective if you want to go the offensive way.

Instead of getting carried away about how awesome Swampert is, I'm giving you a
heap of adorable Mudkipsies, because "I herd u liek Mudkipz". 

Swampert is amazing. I never used it in the days of Ruby and Sapphire, but I have gotten a newfound love for this slimy badass - or, more specifically, its Mega - since I used it a couple of times in Omega Ruby and realized this thing is just as good as the other Hoenn starters. Hoenn is by far not my favorite region and the Hoenn Pokémon aren't really my favorite, but I have to say the starters of this region are the absolute best, no exceptions. This is the first - and only - generation in which I'm giving all of the starters perfect ratings, and I don't regret it.

Rating: 5/5