Posts tonen met het label 2.5 stars. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label 2.5 stars. Alle posts tonen

donderdag 31 mei 2018

#493: Arceus

Arceus.
In quite a few ways, Arceus is a highly controversial Pokémon. I can only assume that it isn't commonplace to include a creature based on a creator deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, galaxy and universe - present in many world cultures and religions - in a prominent video game franchise predominantly aimed at children. In many monotheistic religions the single God is also the creator, but I am an atheist and I wholeheartedly believe in the Big Bang, a popular term for a cosmological theory based on the general theory of relativity stating that the universe (or cosmos, if you will) came into existence 13.8 billion years ago and expanded from a very high-temperature and high-density state called a singularity. Our Earth is significantly younger - although much older than many Christians would like you to believe - and was formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago, when our solar system was but a mere cloud of gas, dust and rubble originating from exploded stars. The massive cloud, often called a nebula, began to spin and clump up; and while the absolute lightest materials ended up in the middle and formed the sun, the solar wind swept away lighter elements that were the basis for gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - such as hydrogen and helium - from the closer regions and left only rocky meterials to create smaller terrestrial worlds like Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. And then, all of a sudden, Game Freak gave us a Pokémon that is the literal embodiment of a nonexistent supernatural being that is the source of all kinds of bias and misinformation in millions of humans around the world.

Just for the record: I'm not generalizing religious people. I am certain there are many progressive Christians and Muslims (or adherents of other religions, for that matter), but for every open-minded and forward-thinking Christian there seem to be a hundred of them who want to go back to the Middle Ages. Also, I should mention that I've personally had my fair share of negative experiences with Christians, so excuse me for not being a huge fan of religion in general.

Very atmospherical fan art of Arceus waiting for you on an extended platform
hovering above Spear Pillar. It was intended to be summoned in-game by use of
the Azure Flute, distrubuted by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, but the
event was ultimately cancelled.

Anyway, Arceus is believed to have hatched from an egg in a place where there was nothing and then shaped the world with its 1,000 arms, which ties in with a mythological motif found in the creation myths of many cultures and civilizations called the world egg, or cosmic egg. Its Pokédex entry is also a reference to the bodhisattva (a Sanskrit term for anyone who has generated bodhicitta, an enlightened mind) Avalokiteśvara, who in Buddhism is either pictured with eleven heads and one thousand arms or in a white, four-armed manifestation. Arceus's aesthetics derive from equines such as horses and llamas, although Bulbapedia suggests its stance and general form are similar to Egyptian bull and calf idols, particularly Apis. Uhm... okay? I don't see it, but what-fucking-ever.

Arceus... at the beginning of time? I don't know man, I just think
the background looks cool. 
Other controversial topics surrounding Arceus are its feature film and the pronunciation of its name. While 'ce' is usually pronounced with a soft c, the voice director of the anime dub at the time chose to pronounce Arceus with a hard c instead due to concerns over the soft c pronunciation's potential implications in British English-speaking territories, because of course British children would immediately think of an 'arse' (which is 'ass' in American English). As a result, there have been heated debates on the Internet about how to really pronounce Arceus's name, with roughly a 50/50 margin between the Ar-see-us and Ar-key-us camps and me joining the former. What everyone generally seems to agree on, however, is how shit the movie Arceus and the Jewel of Life actually is, not in the least because of the voice actor who was tasked with dubbing Arceus. The pitchy and whiny voice didn't fit such a mysterious and regal creature at all, and many found it highly disconcerting and irritating and didn't understand at all why Arceus wasn't given a much deeper voice. The movie's plot, which revolves around Arceus getting mad at the people of Michina Town for being betrayed in ancient times by a person called Damos and Ash traveling back to the past with his friends in order to directly influence the event for the better, isn't the worst I have ever seen and actually seems legitimately fun, but it contains some serious plot holes concerning time traveling and tampering with the timeline of events that I was really annoyed by.

This artist has managed to make Arceus look at least a little less
awkward. 
What I am also annoyed by - even though I shouldn't - is the stupid golden cross-like wheel around its abdomen, based on the bhavacakra ('wheel of life') from Buddhism. A symbolic representation of saṃsāra (or cyclic existence), it is found on the outside walls of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in the Indo-Tibetan region and helps ordinary people understand Buddhist teachings. This wheel thing on Arceus, which is probably more like an arc, changes color along with its eyes and hooves based on the type of plate or Z-Crystal that it is currently holding, which can basically be seen as helping ordinary people understand typings. I'm sure this arc thing plays an important role in changing the usually normal-type Arceus's typing, but there is no proof of that in the Pokédex or any other source aside from the aesthetic change. With base 120 base stats across the board - resulting in a base stat total of 720 - as well as the existence of some slightly overpowered mono-types in the competitive metagame (steel, fairy, dragon) and access to an insanely wide variety of moves, Arceus can be such a broken Pokémon in so many ways. It wasn't banned to Smogon's Uber tier for no reason, and I don't think you can actually use it in official tournaments, either. It's mainly just... there.

Even the manga didn't hold back displaying all types of Arceus.

And then its name... holy fucking shit. There are so many affixes and words that could be the inspiration for its name, and they all make sense. This is actually a warning, as it could get a bit repetitive, so if you don't feel like going through all of them, I'd recommend just skipping the following paragraph altogether.

So, the prefix arch- means 'most extreme' or 'highest', while árchon - or ἄρχων - is Greek for 'ruler' (not the mathematical kind) or 'lord' and deus is Latin for 'god' or 'deity'. It may also be the case that Arceus's name is derived from 'archaic' or from the Greek ἀρχή and ἀρχαῖος (arkhē and arkhaîos, respectively, with the former meaning 'beginning' or 'origin' and the latter meaning 'ancient') and Latin archetypus ('original'). There's 'arc' and aureus as well - with the latter being Latin for 'golden', in reference to its hooves and gold-colored wheel - but the last reference is even phonetically the same depending on which Arceus pronunciation camp you're in: Archeus - derived from the earlier-mentioned arkhaîos - which is the vital principle or force believed by the Paracelsians to be responsible for alchemical reactions within living bodies, and hence for the growth and continuation of all living beings. Essentially it was seen as the gray area wherein matter, speaking parallel and not laterally, begins to transmute into spiritual energies, and in effect it is the glue which binds the heavens to the material. It's such a vague concept that I don't fully understand it, but as Arceus is responsible for creating Sinnoh and Ransei (the region in Pokémon Conquest, my favorite Pokémon spin-off game) and possibly all life on Earth in the Pokémon world, I don't think this reference is all too farfetched.

The Last Supper re-enacted by all of the relevant legendaries, with Arceus
obviously acting like Jesus Christ.

I don't like Arceus, goddammit. There are too many religious references in its design and flavor, and I think it's all a bit too much. Arceus itself looks weird, especially with all of its body parts out of proportion (its awkwardly round abdomen, its long knobbly legs, the wheel being stuck around its body, its weird 'haircut', etc.), and I don't really see the need for such a Pokémon. Event Pokémon tend to be a little bit unnecessary in the first place, but at least most of those are competitively viable without being banned and aren't just mere collectibles. Arceus is by far my least favorite legendary/mythical Pokémon in existence and it's actually the only one not getting a passing grade - in fact, all of the other legendaries have gotten or will get at least 3.5 stars. Sucks to be you, Arceus.

Rating: 2.5/5

woensdag 4 januari 2017

#296 - #297: Makuhita & Hariyama

Makuhita's official artwork, drawn by - who else? - Ken
Sugimori.
We start the new year with two sumo wrestler Pokémon. That is already really apparent in their designs and typing, but becomes especially apparent when you look at the fact that Makuhita and Makunoshita (マクノシタ) are a corruption of makushita, which is the third highest devision in sumo wrestling. Hariyama's name is a little more complicated than that; it may be based on hariyama, which is literally a pincushion but also the name of a sumo ranking, although its Japanese name of Hariteyama (ハリテヤマ) suggests that it is also most likely a combination of harite - an open-hand slap move in sumo - and yama ('mountain'). The latter doesn't surprise me, because when you look at Hariyama's in-game battle sprite in Gen. VI onwards, you'll find that it's actually a big boy - a very big boy indeed. It's not so big that its head isn't even seen on the upper screen of my 3DS (I am looking at you, Alolan Exeggutor), but I assume it has one of the biggest sprites in X, Y, Sun, Moon and ORAS. Trust me, I know, because I used one in my Omega Ruby playthrough and I remember being quite underwhelmed by it. That has nothing to do with its size and little with its excellent HP and attack stats, but more with the fact that Hariyama doesn't really feel like a legitimate Pokémon. More on that later.

You are not going to tell me Makuhita is only 3'03" tall. Max is, like, eight years old
and should at least be a couple of inches taller than Makuhita. 

Makuhita, then. This tenacious, tireless and feisty little thing never stops getting up and attacking its foe no matter how many times it's knocked down. Never giving up hope, Makuhita eats a lot of food, gets plenty of sleep and devotes itself to rigorous and strenuous training first thing in the morning by slamming its body into thick trees, turning them to splinters. Makuhita stores more and more energy in its body every time it gets back up and hereby prepares itself for evolution. In addition to all characteristics above, Makuhita got a Pokédex entry in Sun that thoroughly confuses me: "It was originally brought in from another region, but now Makuhita from Alola are more famous." Huh? What do wild Makuhita in Alola do - besides charging at you when you enter the tall grass - to become so famous? This Pokémon didn't get an Alola Forme; that feature is reserved for a handful of Kanto Pokémon only, and Makuhita is from Hoenn. Or are they more notorious than they are famous? Unfortunately, the Pokédex doesn't bother explaining and we're left in the dark as to why the hell Makuhita from Alola get more attention than those in Hoenn.

Did an NPC in Sun and Moon mention something about it? Did I miss it?

Big bad Hariyama.

Ugh, I'm probably pondering too much over that one particular Pokédex entry. It's time to get a move on and proceed with Hariyama, Makuhita's evolution. It may look like a fat-ass, but its body consists mostly of muscles - which become hard as stone when its body tenses - as opposed to fat. Hariyama likes to match power with other big-bodied Pokémon and can stomp the ground to build power, while its powerful open-handed and straight-arm punches cause 10-ton trucks to be sent flying and telephone poles to be smashed to smithereens. Its powerful arms can even stop running trains. Like Makuhita, Hariyama dedicates a lot of time and effort into its own training, but as it grows older it focuses more on training Makuhita.

A more 'realistic' depiction of Hariyama, showing a sumo
wrestling stance (well, kind of) and a more muscular body. 
While Makuhita and Hariyama's Pokédex entries talk about sturdy bodies and hard-as-stone muscles, these Pokémon are surprisingly frail. Well, Hariyama has a beefy base HP stat of 144 that enables it to live a couple of hits, but its base defense and special defense are both a mediocre 60, meaning a strong hit will leave a respectable dent in its health bar. That can be solved by giving Hariyama an Assault Vest to hold in order to boost its special defense by 50% and make it a specially bulky physical attacker with resistances to fire and ice due to its ability Thick Fat. Hariyama is slow, so an attack-boosting nature like Adamant is the better option for you, allowing it to hit hard with a wide variety of physical moves. Its fighting type makes Close Combat a move to watch out for, but remember that this move lowers both of Hariyama's defensive stats every time it is used. On the flip side, Hariyama has access to many more moves for you to use: Earthquake, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Poison Jab, Iron Head and the elemental punches provide some excellent coverage (Poison Jab is especially handy against fairy types, to which Hariyama is weak), while Knock Off allows it to knock off the opposing Pokémon's item and Bullet Punch and Fake Out could be considered for some decent priority.

That's not all, though: Guts is an ability that increases Hariyama's attack by 50% when it suffers from a status condition, so you could give it a Flame Orb or Toxic Orb instead. However, this tactic wears it down relatively easy - the same goes for a Life Orb - so only use it when you know what you're doing. A safer alternative might be a Choice Band, but this item locks Hariyama into one single move until it is switched out. At least it leaves room for you to choose either of Hariyama's regular abilities. And while its hidden ability Sheer Force, which removes the added effects of moves in exchange for a little more power, might sound good, you'll find that it's not as useful on Hariyama as on any other Pokémon with the same ability; there are only a few moves that benefit from it and none of them are STAB moves.

A wallpaper focusing on Hariyama's features rather than its entire design. 

Like I said earlier in my review, I was left quite underwhelmed by Hariyama's battle prowess. It's not like it had a low attack IV or something, and its HP stat didn't leave it all that vulnerable either, but I guess I wasn't looking forward to using this thing. I had a Sceptile with an Adamant nature, a Cosplay Pikachu (Pikachu Belle with Icicle Crash), a big-ass whale and a shiny Swellow on the same squad, so Hariyama ultimately ended up being the one Pokémon I didn't use all that often. And while I don't have a problem with humanoid Pokémon as a whole, Hariyama is just a little bit too humanoid to my taste. Makuhita and its top-notch topknot don't face that problem and I'd even dare say it's kind of cute. It's such a shame, because the concept of sumo wrestler Pokémon ain't a bad one by any means and Hariyama isn't a bad Pokémon to use, either. I'm just... not as charmed by it as I probably should be, I guess? I'm sorry, even with the best will in the world I can't give it a good rating.

Rating: 2.5/5

donderdag 21 juli 2016

#211: Qwilfish

TCG art of Qwilfish.
You know, fugu has been the most celebrated and notorious delicacy in Japanese cuisine for centuries now, and in the 17 years Qwilfish has been around, nobody thought, "Hey, let's chop this thing to pieces and eat it." Of course, fugu is lethally poisonous, and it was even banned in Japan a couple of times. Only chefs who have qualified after three or more years of rigorous training are allowed to prepare the fish, and preparation of it is strictly controlled and supervised by law in Japan and several other countries. The Emperor of Japan is even forbidden to eat the dish, for his own safety. And as Qwilfish seems to be a mix of the pufferfish and the porcupinefish - both of which are poisonous (pufferfish more so than some species of porcupinefish) and can inflate their bodies by swallowing air or water - it is not a surprise why it's part poison. The concept of the pufferfish could have been very interesting, but there are just a couple of problems with Qwilfish.

Qwilfish fires its spines at its foe after swallowing 2.6
gallons water all at once first.
First off, I feel like its design could have been so much better than it is right now. Many puffer- and porcupinefish look more colorful and interesting than Qwilfish, so I guess Game Freak could have made something better when it came to this Pokémon. Right? I mean, simple designs can be effective, but nothing about this thing makes you go, "OH MY GOD, I HAVE TO HAVE THIS!!!" No. Second, Qwilfish's flavor is everything a real-life pufferfish can do: like real-life pufferfish, it can inflate its body. It then uses the water pressure to fire poisonous quills at its enemy, which real pufferfish can't do, admittedly, but at least they can extend their spines and emit poison from them. It's not that much of a difference; plus, there are other, more interesting Pokémon that can do the exact same thing. Also, it's a poor swimmer due to its round shape, especially when it is inflated. Fascinating, or nah? Nah, not exactly. Lastly, Qwilfish seems to have mediocre base stats all around. At 95, its attack is its highest stat, while all of its other stats seem to be too low to make anything out of them. I'm gonna try nonetheless.

Now, buckle your seatbelts, kids. It's gonna be a rough ride. (!)

Yes, Qwilfish, you're a doofus. I know.
Oh yeah, I forgot this thing has access to the Intimidate ability, which lowers the opponent's attack stat by one stage. This could turn out to be interesting. At least it makes Qwilfish a decent Spikes or Toxic Spikes setter, especially when you breed one with an Impish nature and invest in HP and defense. And while Taunt (makes the opposing Pokémon unable to use support moves) and Thunder Wave (indefinitely paralyzes the foe) are very common moves for Qwilfish to use as well, an attacking move is absolutely necessary. Waterfall inflicts some decent damage due to Qwilfish's high attack stat, while Scald deals low damage due to its terrible special attack but has a 30% chance to burn the foe. You can also use Qwilfish as a suicide lead, meaning you have to slap Explosion on it and let it blow up first turn - when your opponent has a hyper-offensive team, that is. But Qwilfish has other abilities as well, namely Poison Point and Swift Swim. The first has a chance to poison the opposing Pokémon when it hits Qwilfish with a attack that makes contact, but it shouldn't be used; instead, go with Swift Swim, which doubles Qwilfish's speed in the rain and lets it outspeed many Pokémon, even with an Adamant nature instead of a Jolly one. Give it a Life Orb or Choice Band, put moves like Waterfall, Aqua Jet and Poison Jab on it (last-minute moves like Destiny Bond and Explosion are also viable options in this set), and you'll make the most out of an offensive Qwilfish. Such a shame it doesn't learn any support moves that raise its attack. There are plenty of tactics you can use, but I still think Qwilfish is an average Pokémon and that you should avoid using it.

Lately, there have been quite some Pokémon on this blog I happen to dislike: Sunflora, Wobbuffet, Dunsparce... and now Qwilfish. And except in Dunsparce's case, I didn't even realize I disliked them in the first place; they were just there and I didn't really care about them. I still don't, in fact. Qwilfish is not as bad as the previously mentioned Pokémon, especially because Game Freak tried to make something out of it, but I guess it's an unexciting Pokémon altogether and it falls just too short to receive a passing grade.

Rating: 2.5/5

zaterdag 6 februari 2016

#240, #126, #467: Magby, Magmar & Magmortar

Old art of Maby (left) versus Magby's current art (right). As you
can see, Magby does not have visible nostrils. 
Magby may look like an cute little critter, but you should be cautious around this thing, as its body temperature is an incredibly high 1,100°F because of a magma-like substance flowing through its body, and it can spit flames of around the same temperature. Even when it inhales and exhales, hot embers drip from its mouth and nostrils (which nostrils, though?). However, when it is fatigued, the temperature of the flames decreases and black smoke is mixed in with the flames. It is said to herald a volcanic eruption when large numbers of this Pokémon gather. Yes, I know Magby is a baby Pokémon, but it is one of four babies I'm actually not bothered with for a change, the other ones being Pichu, Tyrogue and Elekid (and I explained why in Electabuzz and Electivire's entry). Magby is just an adorable little fuck, and sometimes I'm just a sucker for cute Pokémon. In the entry that I previously mentioned, I also said that Electabuzz always appealed to me more than Magmar, Magby's evolution, but that is not the case anymore. I do think Magmar got a shitty evolution in Gen. IV, though, but I'll get to that later on.

Mamar's original official art on a TCG card. 
If anything, Magmar is hotter than Electabuzz. And I mean that quite literally: Magmar's body temperature is nearly 2,200°F, which is double Magby's temperature. Ash's Pokédex in the anime compares its body with a furnace, describing it as a living inferno. In fact, its Pokédex entry in Pokémon Silver states that the surface of its body gives off a wavering and rippling glare that is similar to the sun, and its breath can create heat waves that ignite surrounding grass and trees. But it is impossible to get close to the sun, so how are you supposed to get in the vicinity of a Magmar? I know that Pokémon are shown to control whatever special abilities they have, but this characteristic is being presented as if it's something Magmar cannot control. Anyway, you want more proof of Magmar's superiority? Well, Magmar is shown to block electric-type attacks with a wall of hot air in the anime, whereas Electabuzz cannot do such a thing with fire-type attacks. And, as if it wasn't already really obvious, Magmar lives in active volcanoes and whenever it gets injured, it can just dip its body in lava and heal its wounds that way. Like, instantly. It does dislike cold environments, though, as it gets dopey and sluggish (similar to a cold-blooded animal), which it solves by spewing flames to make the environment more suitable to its needs.

Fan art of Magmar getting ready to Fire Punch someone in the face.
Unfortunately, Magmar got an evolution in Diamond and Pearl. To keep up with the trend, Magmortar (it is a cool name, though) can reach even higher body temperatures and it even launches fireballs of over 3,600°F from its cannon-like arms. Its breath always sears and sizzles, and when blasting those goddamn fireballs away, its body takes on a whitish glow from the intense heat. All that sounds really awesome, but Magmortar's design is just too weird for me to actually like it. Its pink mouth, legs and back spikes look so out of sync with the red-and-yellow body it has, as well as Magby and Magmar's colors. Besides, its big main body is so disproportionate to the small size of its head and legs that it's just not funny. AND WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH ITS MOUTH? With that grin from ear to ear (literally, even though Magmortar does not have visible ears), it looks like the Joker from Batman, but not in a good way. I am constantly trying to like this thing, but every time I see it I'm like, 'Meh, this such a stupid evolution.'

Fan art of shiny Magby and Magmar.
And as I'm searching for info about its origin, I'm shaking my head over and over again. It just doesn't make sense to me. Magby and Magmar seem to be a combination between a duck and an iguana, especially given the fact that they have some features that can be traced back to iguanas, but they are most likely based on the Japanese Hindu-Buddhist myth of the karura, a divine creature with a human torso and a bird-like head that can breathe fire. Sounds familiar, right? Well, it's similar to how Electabuzz is most likely based on the oni, which is often depicted as an ugly horned ogre but is believed to be a divine creature that has control over thunder and lightning. With those cannons and large body size, Magmortar looks nothing like a karura anymore; it still has some iguana-like features for sure, but the bird-like traits have completely gone and I just think of it as a fire-blasting lizard. There is one thing I actually like about it, and that is its shiny form, even though Magmar has the exact same shiny coloration as Magmortar does. Instead of red and yellow, they are a dark and light pink color, which is actually kind of awesome (Magby's shiny coloration, on the other hand, is an unimpressive sickly orange).

Fan art of Magmortar about to wreck house. 
But both Magmar and Magmortar are viable competitively, at least that cannot be denied. Magmar benefits from the Eviolite, as it buffs up its defenses, so this item is recommended for sure. As regards its stats, Magmar possesses some really good attack and special attack, very decent speed, and some medicore defenses (hence I recommend the Eviolite). Its special attack is a little bit higher than its attack, but only by a small margin, so both are perfectly usable. If you want to focus on the special-based side of the attacking spectrum, I'd use a Timid Magmar with Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Psychic and Focus Blast, but it can even learn some nifty status moves like Confuse Ray, Will-O-Wisp, Substitute and Clear Smog (eliminates the opposing Pokémon's stat changes). As for physical attacks, it can learn moves like Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Brick Break, Power-Up Punch, Cross Chop, Flare Blitz, Iron Tail, Focus Punch (works best in conjunction with Substitute), Mach Punch and Dual Chop. It gets an egg move that comes in handy when running a physical, Jolly-natured Magmar: Belly Drum, which halves its HP but maximizes its attack. It's risky, but if you can pull it off, you'll have a Magmar that hits like a truck. And if you want to mix things up move-wise, you can always slap a Hasty nature on Magmar; it'll let it have some more diversity at that as well.

Magmortar (right) and its electric-type counterpart Electivire (left).

Magmortar works completely differently, though: it loses some speed but gains a whole ton of special attack. Sadly, at base 95 its base physical attack remains the same as Magmar's, which renders it less useful than you'd think (although you can still use the Belly Drum trick to surprise opponents, but now with Earthquake and Rock Slide). In order to immediately let Magmortar hit the foe as hard as possible, it is recommended to max out its special attack with a beneficial nature, preferably Modest or Rash, and give it a Life Orb. It also has access to Thunderbolt, a powerful special-based electric-type move that Magmar doesn't get, so definitely use that. Want to create some bulk? Magmortar has some decent special defense and HP, so you could let it wear an Assault Vest while still doing massive damage due to its already-high special attack. Lastly, Magmar and Magmortar share the same ability with the Elekid line: Vital Spirit, which prevents them from falling asleep. Handy. Flame Body, which has a chance to burn the foe when they make direct contact with Magmortar, should usually be left alone, as it's inferior to Vital Spirit.

In the end, Magmar is a great Pokémon, design-wise and competitively, while its evolution Magmortar is not. Well, at least not design-wise. In fact, I like Magmar more than Electabuzz, but the latter got an awesome evolution in Gen. IV, whereas Magmar definitely did not. So, much like I did with Magneton and Magnezone, I am going to rate Magmar and Magmortar separately. I apologize to Magmortar fans, but I think Game Freak should have left Magmar alone, or at least given its evolution a better design.

Rating Magmar: 4.5/5



Rating Magmortar: 2.5/5

maandag 12 oktober 2015

#81 - #82, #462: Magnemite, Magneton & Magnezone

Cute and intriguing fan art of Magnemite.
So here we have another evolution composed of three species of its pre-evolution.

Except I actually like Magneton, as opposed to Dugtrio.

Now, Magnemite and Magneton are some interesting Pokémon, to say the least. If you don't count Geodude and Graveler, these magnet Pokémon are the first Pokémon to be composed of inanimate objects. They're definitely the first Pokémon in the Pokédex to be based on man-made inanimate objects, contrary to Geodude and Graveler, who are based on objects (rocks) found in nature. Magnemite and Magneton do have emotions, know a way of reproducing and have the need to eat; its main form of nutrients is electrical currents. The magnets on the side of Magnemite's body create electromagnetic waves that allow it to levitate and when there is a strong magnetic force, three Magnemite could be drawn to each other to form Magneton. Magneton generate strange radio waves that are so strong that they cause a wide area to warm up by almost 4 degrees and can cause earaches when you come to close to them. They are drawn outside when sunspots flare up, presumably because of the changes in the sun's magnetic field. Because a group of Magneton can cause a magnetic storm and the waves they generate cause electrical and mechanic devices to break, large cities sound sirens to warn citizens of large-scale outbreaks of these Pokémon and urge Trainers to keep them inside their Poké Balls.

Poor things. It's just in their nature; they don't deserve to be treated like pariahs...

Pretty realistic fan art of Magneton.

The most interesting thing about Magnemite and Magneton is that they were the first Pokémon to have their typing changed. Prior to Gen. II, these Pokémon were pure electric types; the steel type was introduced one generation later, along with the dark type. Game Freak thought that would be a good reason to add this new typing to Magnemite and Magneton, because magnets and screws are steel objects, after all. Honestly, I can't blame them. They are right; and besides, steel is an awesome defensive typing, which is only one of the reasons why it's my favorite type. Pokémon with this typing are blessed with nine normal resistances, two quadruple resistances and one immunity. That certainly makes Magneton a much better fighter, but even though both Magnemite and Magneton have the ability to levitate, the actual game ability Levitate isn't available to them, which means they have a quadruple weakness to ground-type moves. There is a way to get around that pesky weakness, but I'll get to that later.

Official art of Magnezone by Ken Sugimori.
Anyway, you'd think that would be the end of it, but Magneton evolves even further. For some reason, Gen. IV introduced quite some evolutions of Pokémon from previous generations (including the horrendous Lickilicky and Probopass), and Magneton is one of the lucky bastards to get such an evolution. Although I don't think I should use the term 'lucky', because Magnezone actually looks really weird. It has better stats than Magneton in everything but speed, which is actually reduced upon evolving, but whereas Magneton literally consists of three Magnemite (unoriginal, but somehow more effective and interesting than Dugtrio), Magnezone is a flying saucer. Well, it definitely looks like one, anyway. It is actually based on magneforming, a high-speed forming process for electrically conductive metals, and I think it is to represent an electromagnetic field that can induce this (as indicated by its name - 'magnetic zone' - and its classification as the 'Magnet Area Pokémon' in the Pokédex). Don't ask me though, I've looked into this subject and I understand very little of it.

One thing I do know for sure: I don't like Magnezone one bit. You might think there is something that makes it stand out to Magneton, but Magnezone is only capable of inducing a greater magnetic force than its pre-evolution. Also, exposure to a special magnetic field changes Magneton's molecular structure, turning it into Magnezone. As a result, scientists made attempts to force evolution, in which they miserably failed. Besides, this whole change-of-molecular-structure thing... isn't that what all Pokémon that can evolve go through? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Let's face it: Magneton looks way better than Magnezone.
Right? RIGHT???
Both Magneton and Magnezone have some serious batttling capabilities though, so let's see what they've got up their sleeves. Let's start with Magneton, who resides in the RU tier and excels in special attack and defense, so invest EVs in these stats and slap an Eviolite on it. Considering the fact that the Eviolite also raises Magneton's physical bulk by 50%, you could also pump up its mediocre special defense to create some special bulk as well. Its hidden ability Analytic gives its moves a 30% boost if the opponent makes a move first or switches out, so a Quiet nature (boosts special attack and reduces speed) is the nature to go with, especially if you consider that its speed is not all that, anyway. Magnezone, on the other hand, is an OU-tier Pokémon and is commonly used to trap other steel types in the tier with its ability Magnet Pull (which, for the record, its pre-evolutions can also have, along with Sturdy). This niche is often combined with a Modest nature and Choice Specs, which boosts Magnezone's special attack by 50% but locks is into one specific move. What those moves are, you ask? Volt Switch, Thunderbolt, Flash Cannon and Hidden Power are what both Magneton and Magnezone can get, because they don't have a lot of diversity. You might even want to consider Magnet Rise, which gets around Magnezone's pesky quadruple weakness to ground. It might be a good idea to give Magnezone an Air Balloon (which has the same effect as Levitate. but pops when Magnezone is hit by any move other than a ground-type move) to hold instead of Choice Specs, especially since it is slower than Magnezone and can't pull it off very quickly.

This is the first time I'm giving a second-stage evolution a completely different rating than its pre-evolution, simply because I like Magneton a whole lot more than its evolution Magnezone. I don't hate Magnezone, and it is undoubtedly a good competitive Pokémon, but it is just too weird for me to like, not to mention that this Pokémon was (and still is) actually quite unnecessary.

Rating Magneton: 5/5



Rating Magnezone: 2.5/5

maandag 6 juli 2015

#1 - #3: Bulbasaur, Ivysaur & Venusaur

Old official art of Bulbasaur, drawn by Ken Sugimori.
Awww, Venusaur. Poor thing. You did nothing to deserve my dislike towards you, except... well, exist.

Alright, I'll grant you, Bulbasaur is likeable enough and Ivysaur isn't all that bad either, at least design-wise. But I don't like Venusaur. Like, at all. Never have, in fact, and up to this day I have never chosen Bulbasaur as my starter once, let alone that I have ever used Venusaur in a playthrough or in the competitive scene, period. Like many other players, Charizard and Blastoise were more to my liking and so I always ended up choosing either Charmander or Squirtle instead of Bulbasaur. Compared to a fire-breathing lizard/dragon and a giant-ass turtle with friggin' cannons on its back, a weird flower dinosaur/reptile thing appears to be a lot less awesome. Now, don't get me wrong; Charizard and Blastoise have never belonged to my list of favorite Pokémon, but I like them well enough. And as they both got amazing Mega evolutions in the Nintendo 3DS games X and Y (Charizard even got two, one of which gains the dragon typing upon Mega-evolving instead of its regular flying type), Gen. VI was not kind to Venusaur in the slightest. If anything, its Mega has become even weirder than its normal form, getting an entire jungle on its back, as well as two unluckily placed flowers on its head and... yeah, its ass.

Butt flowers. Are you fucking kidding me, Game Freak?

Well, at least its farts should smell good, ha ha ha.

Anyway.

Fan art of Ivysaur.
So, as I grew up I came to realize that Venusaur wasn't all that great of a Pokémon to use. When I was little, I didn't know that attack, defense, special attack and special defense were based on typings and not on moves. With its decent special attack stat, grass moves hit hard, but all of the other moves it could learn (Hyper Beam, and later on Earthquake and Sludge Bomb in Game Boy Advance games Ruby and Sapphire) were all physical moves that could better be taught to Pokémon that are able to make better use of them because of their superior attack stats. Solar Beam was literally its best move and the only move worth mentioning, but Sunny Day wasn't around in Gen. I yet, so Venusaur was stuck with charging its move every other turn. Even after the physical/special split in Gen. IV (with which I was incredibly happy, I'll tell you that much), Venusaur hasn't been incredible either. If you want a physical Venusaur so badly (Mega Venusaur has a base attack stat of 100, so it wouldn't be that terrible), you might want to go with Earthquake, Outrage and Petal Blizzard, even though Venusaur doesn't learn any physical-based poison-type moves. It's better to make use of its superior special attack and its grass/poison typing and go with a special-based Venusaur instead. You can teach it either Petal Dance or Giga Drain (or both if you want the strength of Petal Dance and the reliability of Giga Drain), Sludge Bomb, and a move or two to annoy the opponent, such as Synthesis and Leech Seed. Venusaur is defensive enough to pull off the tank tactic, and it's the most common way it's used in competitive, anyway. Hyper Beam, which was broken as fuck in Game Boy games Red and Blue, is best to be avoided these days, as Venusaur doesn't benefit from that move at all.

Official Ken Sugimori art of regular Venusaur (left) and Mega Venusaur (right). 

While this Pokémon lacks diversity in its movepool, it definitely has its uses if you know what you're doing, and there are certainly people who do like Venusaur - people who can find ways to make excellent use of it. But at the end of the day, my dislike for Venusaur has only grown over the years, and X and Y made that even worse by giving it a close-to-horrid Mega evolution design-wise. To make things worse, its Pokédex entries throughout the games (or its flavor or characteristics, as I like to call them) aren't anything special; they're what most real-life plants do as well. This Pokémon is, and will always be, one of those Pokémon I won't ever use in any way possible, just because it doesn't appeal to me personally. I don't hate Venusaur, let that be clear, but I don't like it. Especially now that there are so many other starter Pokémon to choose from (and we're still counting, mind you), the chances that I'll grow affective towards Venusaur are practically zero. Plus, I don't see myself starting to develop 'feelings' for it in general; I've disliked Venusaur way too much for way too long for that.

Rating: 2.5/5