#451 - #452: Skorupi & Drapion

TCG art of Skorupi.

Skorupi and Drapion are an odd bunch, to say the least. There's a pair of pincers on Skorupi's tail where a stinger should originally be, while stingers act as its claws instead of two pairs of pincers. Strangely enough, after burying itself in the sand and lying in wait for a while, Skorupi grips its unsuspecting prey and injects a savage poison into it with the pincers on its tail rather than its stingers. It seems to be a patient little scorpion in the first place, as it waits some more as it tenaciously holds onto its prey until the poison takes effect. While the suggestion that this Pokémon, due to some similarities in characteristics, is also based on a scorpion-like arachnid called the vinegaroon - called that because it emits a volatile acid with a vinegary odor when attacked - isn't entirely out of left field, it is more likely that Skorupi's 'Water 3' egg group designation is a reference to the ancient group of arthropods of the order eurypterida (also known as sea scorpions) that used to inhabit the oceans and may have been the ancestors of modern-day scorpions. Of course, being based on an arachnid justifies Skorupi's bug typing, but it drops this typing in favor of the dark type upon evolving into Drapion at the distant level of 40, making Drapion the second poison/dark-type Pokémon introduced this generation.

Props to the artist for making an already menacing Drapion even
more manacing. 

One complaint about Drapion I've heard way too many times is that it would look better without its accordion-like limbs attached to its head, but - and I agree with Bogleech here - not only would that be anatomically incorrect, it would also look incredibly basic and generic. Drapion looks so cool to begin with because its arms are stuck to its head like that, which also makes it such a weird and unique Pokémon. It could do without the mandible-like protrusions from its mouth, however, because they look strange on it and I don't think they serve any purpose, but I guess that's just a petty thing to mention. Drapion is an aggressive Pokémon who takes pride in its strength, anyway, defeating opponents without the need for the deadly toxins its claws give off and turning trucks and automobiles into scrap iron in a matter of only seconds. It doesn't have a good rapport with humans and other Pokémon, attacking them when they cross its territory, which has only furthered its bum rap. The weirdest thing about Drapion, however, is that it can rotate its head 180 degrees like an owl (including its arms, I assume?) in order to eliminate blind spots, and I imagine that would be a crazy scary thing to behold. As Drapion is a giant scorpion standing 4'03" tall and has a tendency of getting belligerent, it is crazy scary in the first place, so that says a lot.

Sinnoh Elite 4 member Aaron and his signature Pokémon
Drapion. 

The thing is... Drapion's stats don't add up to its flavor text. Its best stat is its base 110 defense, followed by its base 95 speed and 90 attack, which aren't bad but are sadly a bit subpar in a competitive setting. Fortunately, Drapion has access to two helpful abilities: the first is Battle Armor and prevents critical hits from landing on Drapion, which could definitely come in handy when it is trying to set up, while Sniper increases the chance of Drapion landing critical hits on opponents. Especially the latter is run on this Pokémon, often in combination with a Jolly nature, STAB moves like Night Slash and Cross Poison - which have an increased critical hit ratio - and an item like the Scope Lens. It also learns Swords Dance and a wide variety of physical moves, among which the almighty Earthquake (although you could opt to go for moves like Brick Break, Iron Tail, Rock Slide, X-Scissor, Aqua Tail and the elemental fangs, as long as you keep its primary STAB moves on it). However, an Adamant Drapion with a Choice Scarf and other STAB moves like Poison Jab and either Knock Off or Crunch could be potent enough to your taste, or maybe you could run one with the same nature but with the move Agility rather than Swords Dance and the held item Black Sludge instead. Perhaps you could let it hold a berry that covers its only weakness (ground; it's called a Shuca Berry) or run Taunt and/or Toxic Spikes if you want to go the supportive way. You could even Pursuit-trap certain Pokémon if that's your style.

There are some crazy talented artists on the Internet, wouldn't you say?

Maybe Drapion will leave you somewhat underwhelmed with its battle prowess when it comes to its competitive use, but it is not a bad Pokémon to use by any means and I reckon it would be a great asset to your team in a regular playthrough. At least Drapion is undoubtedly a very cool Pokémon and it's honestly a shame I've never used it before, so I wouldn't be opposed to using one should the opportunity arise. The fact that it's two different shades of purple that alternate between each other doesn't hurt, either; and while there are a ton of Pokémon with my favorite color, Drapion is just one of the most well-executed examples of a purple Pokémon. I absolutely love this beast.

Rating: 5/5