#273 - #275: Seedot, Nuzleaf & Shiftry

A papercraft Seedot on top of a pile of real-ass
acorns. Ingenious.

Remember those Pokémon that like to randomly drop from the sky, like Sunkern? Well, Seedot is the same, except in this case it makes more sense: the short stem on top of the cap-like thing on its head gives it the appearance of an acorn and is used to hang on trees, where Seedot absorbs their moisture and nutrients and falls to the ground with a thump when it becomes too heavy. It doesn't only look like an acorn, it is also classified as the 'Acorn Pokémon' and is even mistaken for a nut when it remains still, startling other Pokémon by moving when it is being 'preyed' upon. It even finds delight in scaring other Pokémon, that naughty little shit. And it doesn't get any better when it evolves into Nuzleaf, because Nuzleaf uses the leaf on its head as a flute to make music that creates senses of unease, uncertainty and even dread in people, even though it is perfectly able to play pleasant melodies. It will come out of its natural habitat - the forest - to purposely frighten people, which is not even mischievous behavior anymore but just plain bullying. Nuzleaf, you have issues. Then again, Nuzleaf is now also a dark type instead of a pure grass type like Seedot, and in Japanese the type translates to 'evil type'. What's curious is that both Seedot and Nuzleaf seem to be vain creatures: Seedot has a body that becomes glossier the more water it drinks and polishes it with leaves once a day to look pretty, whereas Nuzleaf hates having its long nose pinched, although I wouldn't like that either if I had a nose like that.

Nuzleaf on a Topps Pokémon card. 

That nose is kind of a big thing when it comes to Pinocchio - pardon me, Nuzleaf. The English name for it already contains the word 'nose', but its Japanese name is Konohana (コノハナ), which literally means 'big nose'. And that's not all, because its German name Blanas is derived from Blad, Blatt and Nase - 'brat', 'leaf' and 'nose' respectively - and its Korean name Ipseko (잎새코) contains saeko, which means 'pointy nose'. That nose is kind of an important in the designs of Nuzleaf and its evolution Shitry, because they seem to be based on the tengu, a cruel and tricky Japanese goblin often associated with a humongous nose. The earliest tengu were depicted with beaks, as they were originally believed to be avian creatures, but the long nose is widely considered the one defining characteristic of a tengu today. Shiftry's feet even resemble the type of geta (a kind of Chinese-Japanese footwear that resemble both clogs and flip-flops) that tengu are usually pictured with, called tengu-geta, while the hand fans Shiftry has for hands resemble the feathered fan called a ha-uchiwa most tengu are depicted holding. The dark type really does Shiftry justice, as it is a wicked and mysterious Pokémon that is said to live in the tops of 1,000-year-old trees and is feared by people as the guardian of the forest. It is said to arrive with chilly, wintry winds and the hand fans - or fan hands - can even generate gusts of wind in excess of 100 feet per second, being able to blow anything away. Shiftry is even able to read an opponent's mind, then take pre-emptive action.

Team Rocket surrounded by a bunch of Shiftry. Yes, Meowth and
James are both dressed up as Jessie; no, I don't know why. 

Unfortunately, Shiftry isn't all that menacing in competitive play. Its good HP doesn't really back up its worse-than-medicore defenses and its speed isn't anything out of the ordinary, either. Its best stats are its base 100 attack and base 90 special attack, which are workable but make Shiftry more of a glass cannon. Luckily, there are two sets you can use: a Swords Dance set and a Nasty Plot set. Swords Dance can be used to buff up Shiftry's attack stat, while the rest of the slots in its moveset consist of strong attacking moves. Its average make it more reliable on Sucker Punch than it would like to, but it is merely an option and can be replaced with Knock Off instead, while Seed Bomb, Leaf Blade, X-Scissor and Rock Slide are viable options to fill in the rest of its moveset. A physical set does require an Adamant or Jolly nature, and if you let another Pokémon set up the sun for Shiftry, it can make use of the speed boost its ability Chlorophyll provides it in harsh sunlight. This also works when Shiftry is running Nasty Plot and thus makes use of a special moveset rather than a physical one. Honestly, its special movepool is much better than its physical movepool: it learns Giga Drain, Dark Pulse, Focus Blast, Energy Ball, Leaf Storm, Shadow Ball (redundant, as ghost-type moves cover the same types dark-type moves do), Hurricane (a reference to its ability to whip up strong gusts of wind) and even Extrasensory, which is oddly Nuzleaf's former signature move, even though it's a grass/dark type and not a psychic type. It goes without saying that Shiftry needs a Modest or Timid nature when running Nasty Plot rather than Swords Dance, but one thing's for sure: both sets can be extremely deadly when Shiftry is holding a Life Orb.

And should you want to get rid of screens and/or entry hazards, Shiftry can learn Defog through breeding. I'd recommend giving another Pokémon a move that can remove entry hazards and the like, but at least the option to give it to Shiftry is right there. You can even make Shiftry a mixed attacker and give it Growth instead of Nasty Plot or Swords Dance so that it can boost both its physical and special attack by one stage each (two when the sun is in effect).

Who doesn't want a GIF of three Seedot jumping up and down? Adorable.

Shiftry is... interesting, I guess? Its design is not as appealing as Ludicolo's and it's not as viable in the competitive scene as Ludicolo is, but at least its flavor in general is kind of interesting. Both Shiftry and Ludicolo are based on certain Japanese yōkai, with the Shiftry family based on the tengu and the Ludicolo family based on the kappa. This makes them parallels to each other - or counterparts, if you will - especially when you consider both evolutionary lines are version-exclusive: Seedot can be caught on Route 102 in Ruby, while Lotad can be found in the same area in Sapphire. Shiftry's design is a little too blocky to my taste and I am of the opinion that it doesn't look as natural as Ludicolo does, but that doesn't necessarily mean I hate it. I just don't think it is worthy of any rating higher than 3.5 stars.

P.S.: What the FUCK is up with that mullet, though?

Rating: 3.5/5