#343 - #344: Baltoy & Claydol

Baltoy happily spinning about. 

Baltoy and its evolution Claydol are a strange set of Pokémon. Found in the desert area of the Hoenn region, Baltoy seems to be a living clay figurine of some sort, which is obviously why it's a ground type. As for the reason why its secondary typing is psychic... I have absolutely no clue. Being a living clay doll doesn't justify its psychic typing, nor do its characteristics: it moves around by spinning on its one foot like a top toy and cleverly balances itself on said foot while it sleeps, and as soon as it spots others of its kind, it conregates with them and then begins crying noisily in unison. Baltoy's psychic typing seems to be predominant, as most of its level-up moves are of its secondary typing, as are the TM and Move Tutor moves it can learn. It doesn't have a shortage of ground-type moves at all, but I figured I'd mention it nonetheless. What's interesting is that Baltoy is an ancient Pokémon, and primitive murals in the ruins of an ancient city it was found in depict it living among the people of old times. Unsurprising, because this Pokémon and its evolution are based on the shakōki-dogū, a 'spaceman' clay figurine from the Jōmon period of Japanese prehistory (c. 14,000 - 300 BC), and Baltoy even shares some traits with a spinning top. The fact that culbuto and ottuki - found in its French and Korean names of Balbuto and Ohttukgun (오뚝군), respectively - both mean 'roly-poly toy' (or 'round-bottomed doll') doesn't seem to matter to Game Freak. Its Japanese and English names seem to take a more general or neutral approach: Yajilon (ヤジロン) is most probably an abbreviation of yajirobe'e, meaning 'balancing toy', while Baltoy may be a contraction thereof.

Claydol as seen in TCG, shooting Hyper Beams from the
protrusions on its arms.

And Claydol? Well... surely I don't have to explain where its name comes from, right? All I can say is that I think this Pokémon is weird, with its multiple eyes and beaks giving it the appearance of a couple of merged owls. It is more obviously a psychic type, though, as there's an aura of mystery surrounding Claydol and its flavor sure points to it being a psychic type as well. The spherical arms it has are not attached to its body, but are usually kept floating close by due to Claydol's psychic powers. It uses the same telekinetic abilities to move through the air and hovers in midair when it's asleep. Claydol is said to have come to life when an ancient doll made from clay, crafted by an ancient but primitive civilization dating back 20,000 years, was exposed to a mysterious ray of light. The psychic typing is also more eminent in Claydol's foreign names than Baltoy's, especially its Japanese and Chinese ones. For starters, its Japanese name Nendoll (ネンドール) contains the word nen, which is pretty much subject to interpretation: it is found in various compounds having to do with ESP-related phenomena such as nensha ('thoughtography'; the claimed ability to project images from one's mind onto surfaces such as photographic film by psychic means) and nendō ('telekinesis'), although nendo also means 'clay'. Lepumentas is Claydol's German name and originates from the Latin word for 'mind', being mentis, whereas its Chinese name Niànlìtǔ'ǒu (念力土偶) is partly derived from niànlì, which means 'psychokinesis' and also serves as the Chinese name for the move Confusion.

So, how 'bout that Mega Claydol? We don't need for it to become
bulkier, but God knows he needs a special attack boost. This
Mega reminds me of Shakkoumon from Digimon Adventure 02,
and that has everything to do with the fact that it is based on the
shakōki-dogū as well. 

One thing's for sure: Claydol won't be using Confusion anytime soon. This thing is a bulky bitch and is meant to tank hits and serve as a valuable support Pokémon. It learns Stealth Rock, with which you can set up rocks that hurt opposing Pokémon every time they're sent to the battlefield, while Rapid Spin removes entry hazards on your side of the field. Magic Coat reflects all entry hazard moves or moves that inflict a status condition (Leech Seed, Toxic, Stealth Rock and Teeter Dance, for example, but also moves like Taunt and Torment) back to the move's user. The Toxic/Protect combo is a classic tactic, although a nicer tactic is to let Claydol hold the Light Clay to extend the duration of moves like Reflect and Light Screen, which raise the entire team's defense and special defense by 50%. However, Claydol also needs a move to attack with, something like Psychic or Earth Power - as long as it's a strong STAB move it should do a considerable amount of damage. The best nature for such a Claydol is Bold or Calm, although a Modest nature can be used if you wanna go offensive. Its special movepool is crazy: Ancient Power, Earth Power, Psychic, Psyshock, Extrasensory, Ice Beam, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Grass Knot, Dazzling Gleam and even Charge Beam, a weak electric-type move that has a big chance of raising its special attack by one stage every time it is used. And when it comes to abilities, you don't even have to rack your brains for hours trying to decide which one you're gonna use: Claydol gets Levitate by default. This ability makes it immune to ground-type moves and entry hazards like Spikes and Toxic Spikes, and resistant to rock-type moves and Stealth Rock. How's that for an entry hazard remover?

Baltoy and Claydol's official art, hand-drawn by... someone. It's actually a still of a
video tutorial teaching people how to draw Pokémon.

Personally, though, I am not the biggest fan of Claydol. Yes, it's weird. And yes, I know I said that's what gives Gen. III a little bit of redemption. I don't think Claydol is a good kind of weird, though, rather an awkward kind of weird. The multiple pairs of eyes are unsettling and its head and body are unnecessarily rotund, which gives it too much of an artificial appearance, although its flavor suggests that it is an artificial Pokémon in all aspects. I don't hate Claydol, though. It still has an interesting and original design and flavor, with a unique albeit terrible defensive typing to boot (it is weak to ghost, dark, grass, water, bug and ice). I think a rating of 3 stars is a little bit low, so I'll just give it half a star extra.

Rating: 3.5/5