#324: Torkoal

Official art of Torkoal by none other than Ken Sugimori. 

Up next we have one of those unpopular low-tier Pokémon I personally don't have any problems with. Torkoal is a fire-type tortoise with mediocre stats and isn't used much in competitive play at all, but its flavor makes for a hilarious Pokémon all around. This Pokémon basically acts like a furnace or a kitchen stove, looking for coal in the mountains it lives in and then using this coal to fill up the red-colored, hollow spaces in its shell to burn it for energy. Torkoal burns more coal when it is preparing for battle, but when it is suddenly attacked, it belches thick black soot and flees the scene - which, by the way, makes me think Torkoal is a serious contributor to environmental pollution. The funniest part is the noise it makes when it blows out smoke from its nostrils and the top of its shell: it sounds like a locomotive horn. Huh. I hope the boogers stay in its nose, though. Anyway, Torkoal grows weaker when the fire burning within its shell dies down, but Pokémon Moon made the entire situation much more lurid by stating it will die instead and that Trainers who wish to raise it must always keep something flammable at hand. Then again, Sun and Moon made pretty much everything way more lurid, so I am under the impression that the sick motherfuckers at Nintendo and Game Freak just wanted to go all out by rewriting the Pokédex entries for old Pokémon and making them more sinister. Because (sarcasm alert!) the little kids won't end up with a trauma at all, y'know; they'll be totally fine!

A more realistic take on Torkoal. The only difference is that the
smoke emanating from its back and nostrils looks kind of noxious. 

Seriously, though, I am totally fine with these new personality traits; they're just fresh takes on the Pokémon we've come to be on very familar terms with. On top of that, Game Freak have given Torkoal a significant boost in Pokémon Sun and Moon: it now has access to the Drought ability, which conjures up the sun and subsequently boosts all of Torkoal's fire-type moves - and the opponent's as well, for that matter. However, I doubt many Pokémon can take a sun-boosted Eruption to the face, especially when it is used after Trick Room, which makes slower Pokémon go first and faster Pokémon go last. Torkoal can't learn it, so you'll need another Pokémon to set it up instead, but after this move is in effect, Torkoal can wreck house; with its base 20 speed, it should be slow enough to move first (I never thought I'd ever use these words in this precise order). With the correct IVs, EV distribution and nature - Quiet, of course! - and a Charcoal for it to hold, I'm sure Torkoal will prove to be useful to you, even though its special attack stat is 'only' a base 85. At least it has the coverage to assault many Pokémon that come its way: Eruption is now a staple in any Torkoal's moveset, whereas Heat Wave, Lava Plume and Flamethrower provide for great or decent enough STAB moves. It also learns Solar Beam, which normally requires a turn to charge up but is immediately carried out when the sun is up, while Sludge Bomb can be used against fairy-type Pokémon and Hidden Power Ice is quad effective against the likes of Salamence, Garchomp and Alolan Exeggutor, to name a few.

Don't beat your brains out about how to use a Torkoal with one of the other two abilities it might have, though. White Smoke prevents any stat reduction on Torkoal, but you can just switch out to another Pokémon when one of its stats becomes too low. Its hidden ability is Shell Armor, which prevents the opposing Pokémon to land a critical hit on the owner of that ability, but Torkoal can live a hit due to its excellent base 140 defense, anyway. It really needs the power from Drought, so I'd recommend going with that.

This image from the TCG gives a better view of the furnace-like shell on Torkoal's
back.

People who watch the anime may remember Ash's Torkoal, who decided to join Ash after he saved it from a couple of steel-type Pokémon (dammit, Torkoal, are you a fire type or what?). I stopped religiously watching the anime after the Johto saga, but I've seen quite a few Hoenn episodes and I don't remember this Torkoal at all. Maybe this Pokémon is somewhat forgettable, so it's a good thing it got some attention in the new games. Torkoal isn't special by any means, but in my opinion it isn't quite uninteresting, either. Four stars should do it, I reckon.

Rating: 4/5