#328 - #330: Trapinch, Vibrava & Flygon

After the catastrophe that is called a Spinda, it is a relief to review a Pokémon I actually like to some extent. Flygon has been a fan favorite for a long time now, and everyone anticipated a glorious Mega to go with it in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. They were let down when it became clear upon release that there was no Mega Flygon to be found in the entire game because Ken Sugimori suffered from... artist's block. Yeah, Game Freak weren't able to come up with a decent design for Mega Flygon and so they had decided to let the idea go, even though they could've just taken a look at some fan-made art for inspiration.

Am I right or am I right?

Don't be deceived by Trapinch's adorable appearance: this thing
is a real predator.

Jests aside, Flygon has two pre-evolutions we need to look into. Trapinch is its basic stage and doesn't look like its evolutions Vibrava and Flygon at all, and that's because it's based on the larval stage of an antlion, winged insects whose larvae are known for their aggressive and fierce predatory habits. They create conical sandy pits to trap passing ants or other prey and are adorably called doodlebugs in North America sometimes, due to the strange marks they leave in the sand. The fact that the larvae are more aggressive than their winged adult forms may be the reason why Trapinch's attack is so high: it has base 100 physical attack - the highest of all Pokémon that can evolve twice - and absolutely terrible everything else. Vibrava even loses some base attack points before Flygon increases that amount to exactly 100 again. Trapinch's flavor is very much like the natural habits of an antlion larva, in that it builds its nest in a bowl-shaped pit dug in sand and waits there for its prey to stumble inside. Once inside, it is impossible for the trapped prey to escape the pit. Trapinch is a Pokémon that has shown a lot of strength and endurance, as it can go a whole week without having access to any water or food and its giant jaws are strong enough to crush even large boulders. The Japanese and the French even have funny names for this Pokémon to emphasize that characteristic: Nuckrar (ナックラー) is a contraction of 'nutcracker', while Kraknoix is from the French word thereof, craque-noix. Additionally, Nuckrar may also be a play on 'knucker', a type of folkloric dragon that lives in a hole; something that'll make sense once we take a look at Trapinch's evolutions.

Vibrava would have been perfect as Trapinch's final evolution,
so it's kind of a shame it evolves even further. 

Speaking of, Vibrava is probably the least interesting of this bunch flavor-wise, but it's my favorite design-wise. I don't know what it is that makes me like it so much, but I guess it's just a pleasant bug-like design for a Pokémon that isn't even a bug type. Trapinch and its evolutions are all primary ground types, but Vibrava and Flygon have the secondary dragon typing to boot. I wouldn't even have been surprised had they been bug/flying types, or even bug/dragon types, but even though there are four types that could easily be applied to this evolutionary line, a Pokémon can only have two types. So we're stuck with ground/dragon instead, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you consider dragonflies and antlions - the latter are often mistaken for the former - are actually just species of insect, but I'll let it slide (into the sand pit) for now; some species of dragonfly are actually called 'sand dragons' and this could account for Vibrava and Flygon's ground/dragon typing. Vibrava behaves much like a bug, at least, having underdeveloped wings with which it generates vibrations and ultrasonic waves that induce headaches in human beings. It makes its wings grow by dissolving large quantities of prey in its digestive juices and guzzle them down, which it does every day. If you think that is scary, you haven't seen Flygon's Pokédex entries: its wings make a 'singing' sound when they are flapped, earning Flygon the name of 'The Desert Spirit'. Any desert dwellers will think there are ghosts there, while it is actually a Flygon creating sandstorms with it wings in order to conceal itself. It fares well in sandstorms, actually, as the red, insectoid, goggle-like covers over its eyes prevent sand from getting into them.

Flygon in TCG art. 

While I don't think Flygon is as aesthetically pleasing as Vibrava (it has two weirdly drawn antenna-like appendages protruding from its head, as well as two ridiculously small claws and awkward feet), it is definitely better in the competitive scene. Earlier in this review I said that Vibrava loses some base attack points upon evolving from Trapinch and that Flyon gains these back. Well, Flygon is a physical attacker, although its base 80 special attack is good enough to be used for an occasional special move here and there. Because of its ground typing and Levitate ability, entry hazards won't hurt or disadvantage it (Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Sticky Web) or will do only negligible damage (Stealth Rock), whereas its stats allow it to take a couple of hits, although not too many. It's fast and strong, which enables it to run Choice sets, rocking a Choice Band or Choice Scarf in combination with moves like Earthquake, Outrage, Dragon Claw, U-Turn, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Crunch, Superpower, Thunderpunch, Fire Punch and Iron Tail (and its movepool is evidence it should have been a bug type: it has access to Struggle Bug, Signal Beam, U-Turn, Bug Bite, Bug Buzz and Fury Cutter, whether or not through breeding or its pre-evolution Vibrava). Both kinds of sets allow you to run either an Adamant or a Jolly nature; an Adamant-natured Flygon works well with a Choice Band, although it is significantly slower than a Jolly-natured one with a Choice Scarf. You'll have to see what kind of EV distribution works best for you.

And, if you're really experienced in competitive battling, you might want to consider using Flygon as a support Pokémon: its entry hazard resilience makes it a perfect choice for a moveset that removes said entry hazards. Defog and Roost are must-haves, while it still needs something to attack with, preferably Earthquake and U-Turn - the latter to gain momentum if it needs to. Roost already heals half of its HP, but the Leftovers are used for a little recovery ever turn; it's not that much, but Flygon can last a couple of turns longer with this held item.

One of the better fan-made concepts for Mega Flygon, made by CoolShallow.

I don't think I like Flygon as much as should, it being a fan favorite and all, but I'm just not all that impressed by this Pokémon. I like Vibrava a little better, but not significantly enough to give it a separate rating. Therefore, the entire line will have to do with a 3.5-star rating, but a solid one at that: there is little chance this rating will be lowered or increased.

I like the other not-so-dragon-like Pokémon in Hoenn better than this one.

Rating: 3.5/5