#335: Zangoose

The next Pokémon, Zangoose, is known for its ongoing feud against a Pokémon that follows directly after it in the Pokédex, a snake called Seviper. You'd think that, as their flavors are so intertwined together, I should rate them together rather than separately, but you'd be wrong. Despite their antagonistic relationship, Zangoose doesn't evolve from or into Seviper and so they each get separate entries.

Zangoose.

Zangoose is classified as the 'Cat Ferret Pokémon', and surely it has some feline traits in its design, but basically this Pokémon is just a mongoose, a carnivoral animal that is well-known for its ability to hunt and kill venomous snakes. Real-life mongooses also have receptors that are shaped so that it's impossible for snake neurotoxins and α-neurotoxins (apparently not other kinds of venoms such as hemotoxins and cardiotoxins, although this is still being researched) to attach to them, effectively making them one of four mammals to be immune to some kind of snake venom, the others being pigs, honey badgers and hedgehogs. This trait manifests itself in Zangoose's primary ability Immunity, which obviously gives it an immunity to the poison status condition. While its Pokédex entries state that Zangoose usually walks on all fours, it is most commonly depicted as being bipedal, which is due to its hostile relationship with Seviper. Its sharp claws are its biggest weapons and are best used when it's standing on its hind legs, although anger could lead Zangoose to start going bipedal and strike a battle pose, especially when it only even smells or catches sight of a nearby Seviper. Then again, the century-long feud between the two Pokémon has left it with the red scars found all over its body (zankon is Japanese for 'scar', although the first syllable of Zangoose's name could come from the Portuguese word for 'angry', zangado).

Seviper has been Zangoose's arch nemesis for centuries.
Even in Horde Battles Zangoose and Seviper attack each
other rather than the Pokémon you have out. 

While the Pokédex states that Zangoose is capable of dodging attacks with its incredible agility, its base stats tell a whole different story. Sure, Zangoose is relatively fast and its base 90 speed is workable to some extent, but it's by no means incredible. Zangoose can dish out a ton of damage with its base 115 attack stat, though, especially when you give it a Toxic Orb to hold. This item poisons Zangoose, which sounds pretty contradictory given the fact that I just mentioned its immunity to the poison status condition due to its ability Immunity, but its hidden ability Toxic Boost ups the power of its physical moves by 50% while it's poisoned. This does allow you to run a Jolly nature if you want some extra speed to work with, although Adamant wouldn't be bad, either. The Toxic Orb wears Zangoose down quickly, and its only decent speed stat makes it very easy to get revenge-killed by faster Pokémon, although access to Quick Attack somewhat alleviates that. This priority move is necessary for Zangoose to finish off weakened foes, although there are three more moveslots to fill with amazing moves like Facade (a 70-power normal-type move that does double the damage if the user has a status condition; works well with Toxic Orb/Toxic Boost and Zangoose gets STAB from it), Close Combat, Knock Off, X-Scissor, Return, Shadow Claw, Rock Slide, Poison Jab, Iron Tail, Night Slash and the elemental punches. You're spoiled for choice. The only downside to using Zangoose over other normal types is the lack of speed and bulk; Zangoose is relatively fast, but there are faster and more defensive normal-type options out there for you to make use of.

Zangoose in the anime.

The only thing about Zangoose that makes it stand out to other normal types is its feud against Seviper. The same thing could be said about Seviper as well, but at least I like its design a lot more than Zangoose's, which I will discuss when I get to Seviper's entry. It's undeniable that Zangoose is a good Pokémon and I'm honestly still torn between giving it either 4 or 4.5 stars. I'll give it a solid 4-star rating for now, but keep in mind this is still subject to change.

P.S.: Anyone noticed Zangoose's claws are purple in its Gen. III sprites?

Rating: 4/5

#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

#322 - #323: Numel & Camerupt

Y'know, I feel like Hoenn introduced too big a batch of Pokémon and that Gen. III is just a drag at the moment, even though I know full well I am not posting reviews at regular intervals and even took a month-long hiatus near the end of November 2016 so I could play Pokémon Sun and Moon and enjoy them to the fullest. Not that it has anything to do with today's Pokémon, but this sluggish pace is getting the better of me a bit and I want to review my favorite Pokémon already. This is not a complaint, really; I thoroughly enjoy writing articles like these, but I hope Gen. III comes to an end soon.

This Numel doesn't quite have the dumb look on its face, but I
didn't just want to post an image of its official art; that'd be boring.

Speaking of sluggish, today I'm going to discuss some Pokémon that aren't very fast-paced, either. Numel is a small quadruped most likely based on a dromedary camel, but with a stupid expession on its face that is often associated with cows. Located on its back is a volcano-like hump containing boiling magma of almost 2,200°F (how did anyone measure that, anyway?) that hardens and becomes heavier when it is cooled in water and makes Numel slow down (no shit, it has a quadruple weakness to this element because of its fire/ground typing). Numel is a surprisingly strong Pokémon who has served humans for years with its ability to carry heavy loads up to 220 pounds, but it is so dim-witted that it doesn't even notice when it is stuck - or struck, for that matter. But whereas Numel is dull-witted, Camerupt is prone to losing its temper quickly; when it is enraged, the two volcano-like bone structures on its back (yeah, those humps consist of transformed bone, not rock - Camerupt isn't a rock type, after all) erupt, spewing molten lava of almost 18,000°F, even though its Emerald, HGSS, B2W2 and X Pokédex entries mention that the volcanoes erupt violently every 10 years and that research is still carried out to find the cause of this occurrence.

Ahhh, what would Pokémon be without a little bit of inconsistency?

Maxie (left) and Courtney (right) chillin' on the back of his
Camerupt, while a little Numel is tugging at Tabitha's garment. 

Other than that, though, can Camerupt hold its own in the competitive scene? It has the same base stat total as Sharpedo, is Team Magma's Maxie's ace as opposed to Sharpedo being Team Aqua's Archie's ace, and like Sharpedo it was blessed with a Mega in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. In itself, Camerupt is very strong - it has base 100 attack and 105 special attack - and moderately bulky, although its defensive stats aren't really anything to write home about, either. The only real downside is its speed, so it doesn't even matter that it becomes even slower when it Mega-evolves, all in exchange for more power and bulk. It'll never hit first anyway, and you might need that attack stat (Mega Camerupt has 120 attack and 145 special attack all of a sudden), so you'd do best to run a Quiet nature - or a Brave nature if you want more physical power than special power. It is an excellent mixed attacker, as it's perfectly capable of running moves like Earthquake, Iron Head and Rock Slide alongside Fire Blast, Earth Power, Flamethrower, Lava Plume, Flash Cannon, Ancient Power and even Solar Beam (on a sun team); and on top of that, moves with additional effects are boosted by its ability Sheer Force. Want more of a tank? Invest in HP EVs and give it the moves Will-O-Wisp and Stealth Rock, so that it can burn foes and hurt opposing Pokémon a little - or a lot, depending on whether or not a foe has a rock-type weakness - every time they enter the battlefield, respectively. And regular Camerupt? This Pokémon resides in PU, the lowest of Smogon's competitive tiers for fully evolved Pokémon, but the strategy stays largely the same: use Camerupt as either a special attacker with a Life Orb or the Choice Specs as a held item - to boost its moves with - or a tank holding the Leftovers for a little bit of recovery every turn.

This is actually a nice piece of fan art of a Numel snuggling up
to Mega Camerupt. Keep in mind that this Mega Camerupt looks
different and more timid than the one in its official art by Ken
Sugimori.

As for my own opinion of Camerupt... I don't think it looks like a Bactrian camel exactly. Sure, the two humps on its back indicate that it is based on these animals, but camels have elongated necks and usually stand much higher on their feet than Camerupt does. If anything, this Pokémon looks much more bovine, with features specifically related to musk oxen, an animal with the same build and shaggy fur as Camerupt. The only difference is that the musk ox is an Arctic mammal, which Camerupt is obviously not, but maybe that was entirely intentional on Game Freak's part - even though I think I'm giving them way too much credit here. My main problem is Camerupt's Mega form, though. Whereas I mostly think the Mega of a certain Pokémon is a major improvement compared to its regular form, that is unfortunately not the case with Camerupt. Its Mega looks so... off. Its shaggy fur gives its body a much too corpulent look, the legs are too short in proportion to its body, and I actually kinda dislike that stupid grin on its face. Game Freak made its design look more goofy, awkward and, most of all, evil. It looks like it's up to no good, and that's not what Mega Camerupt is about; it has an explosive personality and a chronically short temper, which is why the full-fledged volcano on its back (which is actually the only cool part of its design) constantly erupts, but that's about it. I'll gladly give Camerupt four stars, but that's excluding the Mega. Mega evolution is optional, so it is not required to let Camerupt Mea-evolve, and should you decide to use one after all, it reverts back to what it was after the battle, anyway.

P.S.: Can somebody explain to me what purpose those blue rings on the side of Camerupt's body serve? They don't fit its design at all...

Rating: 4/5

#406, #315, #407: Budew, Roselia & Roserade

Budew in a meadow among the flowers, where it probably feels
perfectly at home.

Readers who have been around for a while probably already know that I'm not that big on baby Pokémon, as I think they are useless and redundant. Pichu was pretty much the only useful one, basically because you could breed Volt Tackle onto it, but even that method can be dumped into the darkest abyss now: there is an NPC in Pokémon Sun and Moon that teaches Volt Tackle to any Pikachu when you show her one. That way, you can breed a Pichu without worrying about attaching a Light Ball to one of the parents and just teach Pikachu Volt Tackle by meeting up with this NPC afterwards. It's a way to make baby Pokémon more redundant, that's for sure. On that note, Budew is probably one of the most insignificant baby Pokémon to have ever been introduced, along with Wynaut. It's a Pokémon based on a rose bud, keeping its buds closed during winter while it endures the cold and opening them during spring to scatter toxic pollen that induces harsh sneezing and runny noses. Thanks, buddy, so you're the one contributing to my mild case of hay fever and actually making it worse to some extent. That's great. It's literally all I can say about Budew, because there's not an interesting thing that can redeem the blandness of its design and flavor.

Roselia.

One generation earlier, though, we had plenty of time to make ourselves familiar with Roselia, Budew's evolution as of Gen. IV and formerly a stand-alone Pokémon. It has the generic grass/poison typing, which seems like a leftover from Game Freak tendency to slap the poison type onto any grass-type Pokémon that looked even remotely venomous. To this day, Bulbasaur remains the only unevolved starter Pokémon being a dual type - other than Rowlet, that is - but it's a mystery to me why it is part poison, because nothing in its and its evolutions' Pokédex entries indicates that they are poisonous; and Oddish is just a clump of weeds that has no business being a poison type in the first place. All these Pokémon do is plant seeds and give off sweet fragrances, just like Roselia does when it's at its healthiest: the healthier it is, the more pleasant its flowers' aromas are. Roselia, however, is most certainly poisonous, as it uses different poisons emitted from the thorns between the flowers on each arm when it attacks and even the thorns on its head contain a vicious toxin. People often try to pick the flowers on its arms, but Roselia makes short shrift of them by shooting sharp and toxic thorns as projectiles. Not that its movepool shows any evidence that Roselia can actually do that, as it doesn't learn anything like Spike Cannon or Pin Missile.

Shiny Roselia is one of my favorite shinies. 

And while it is said that Roselia that drink nutritionally rich springwater may have unusually colored flowers when they bloom, this is not exactly seen in the game mechanics, because all Roselia have a red rose on their right arms and a blue rose on their left arms, all in the same shade. And if the Dex is talking about shiny Roselia: that is not a trait exclusive to this Pokémon, as other Pokémon can be shiny as well without having to drink nutritious mineral water. However, it has to be said that Roselia has a very pretty shiny. The purple and black roses get me every time; the purple one because purple is my favorite color and the black one because it looks so ominous, almost dead, while both colors emphasize Roselia's venomous features very well in my opinion.

As Roserade is a poison type, it should be more
than capable to stand in sludge unharmed.

Roselia wasn't - and still isn't - any good in battles though, except in a regular playthrough. Its base 100 special attack could knock out Pokémon just fine, but its base 65 speed renders it quite slow and its defenses aren't all that, either, especially when you consider that its HP is quite terrible. Fortunately, Roselia hasn't only gotten a pre-evolution in Gen. IV, but also a full-fledged evolution called Roserade. While the evolution method to change Budew into Roselia is needlessly complicated - you have to evolve it in bright daylight at max happiness - exposure to a Shiny Stone is enough to let Roselia evolve into Roserade. While the roses on its arms look a bit strange now, I like its appearance as a whole better than Roselia's: the masquerade attire - mask, cape and bangle - and interesting hairdo give it an elegant look. But don't be deceived, because this Pokémon is actually more dangerous than Roselia. You remember that Roselia's aromas are sweeter the healthier it is? Well, Roserade's fragrances are sweeter the more toxic its poison is, which means that the before-mentioned fragrances will probably not be very healthy for you. Also, Roserade pretty much likes to be a cheater, as it uses hidden whips lined with poisonous thorns to attack with. Each of Roserade's hands contains different toxins, but both hands can jab with near-fatal power - due to said toxins, obviously, not because it has so much physical force.

Roserade as seen in the anime.

On the contrary, its base 125 special attack is where it's at, and at a solid 105 its special defense ain't bad, either. Specially defensive Roserade with a Calm nature and support moves aren't uncommon, and most of the time they're sporting support moves like Synthesis and Toxic Spikes and two attacking moves - usually Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb. Roserade can be an all-out attacker holding the Choice Specs or a Life Orb (with a Timid or Modest nature) and sporting moves like Energy Ball (alternatives are Giga Drain, Leaf Storm and Petal Dance), Dazzling Gleam, Sludge Bomb, Extrasensory and Shadow Ball, but it can also be a bulky attacker. How? Well, let it hold an Assault Vest, which won't enable Roserade to use support/status moves but does increase its special defense by 50% instantly. And when it comes to abilities, Roserade has access to an amazing ability called Technician, which increases the power of moves with a base power of 60 or less by 50%. Unfortunately, Roserade doesn't learn any moves that comply with the description above and thus Technician is pretty much unusable on it, unless you happen to want to use some type of Hidden Power or the other. No, you should go with Natural Cure instead, which heals any status conditions Roserade might have caught during the battle upon switching out. Poison Point has a 20% chance to poison the foe when it makes contact with Roserade - usually this happens with physical moves - but it's situational and doesn't go well with Toxic Spikes or Toxic, to name a few moves.

Another anime still of Roserade.

There are a couple of ways to make Roserade work in the competitive metagame, and unless you go physical with it, you can't go wrong. It is strong and not overly slow, can take a few hits and has an interesting design and flavor to boot. I mean, you can't say its concept is bland. I don't love it, but I like it to such an extent that I'm rewarding it with no less (and no more) than 4 stars.

Rating: 4/5

#302: Sableye

Creepy fan art of Sableye. It uses its sharp claws to dig through
the earth and excavate gems, which it then devours.

Now, this Pokémon is a real gem, literally and figuratively. The dark/ghost Sableye is inarguably, indisputably, irrefutably an obscure and creepy but unique Pokémon. A goblin-like creature with sharp teeth and claws and eyes like diamonds that sparkle in the dark and allow it to see in low light, it is feared by many people because it's said that looking directly into its eyes will cause it steal one's soul away. Those eyes are not the only gemstones to be found on its body, though: it has a red gem on its chest, and on its back are a blue and green gemstone as well as another red one, which is probably a reference to the trio of games of the generation it debuted in. The diamond eyes and gem-like adornments on Sableye's body are the result of its diet, which consists of rock and raw gemstones. It even preys on Carbink, but it is apparently too slow to catch them, as they're usually taken by Gabite before Sableye can even do so much as to lay a hand on them. The whole gemstone thing extends through its Mega evolution as well: all the energy from Mega-evolving is concentrated into the red jewel on its chest, which detaches from Sableye's body and significantly increases in size, leaving a small hole in Mega Sableye's chest. Mega Sableye now shelters itself behind the large and heavy jewel, which is said to boast such incredible hardness that nothing even leaves so much as a scratch on it. Hiding behind the jewel comes with some benefits and disadvantages: Mega Sableye can take advantage of opening its targets leave exposed, but supporting the massive jewel makes it too slow to turn around, which makes it vulnerable from behind.

I especially like the lore behind Sableye's design, though. Brace yourselves.

Amazing fan art of Sableye picking its teeth after a delicious
meal consisting of rubies, sapphires and emeralds.

Sableye is based on the Hopkinsville Goblin, which is claimed to be an extraterrestrial being encountered in the towns of Kelly and Hopkinsville in the state of Kentucky (where the chicken comes from). On an August day in 1955, five immensely dumb adults and seven extremely gullible children arrived at the Hopkinsville police station claiming that small alien creatures in a spaceship repeatedly popped up at the doorway or peered through the windows of their farmhouse, attacking them. They had been holding the creatures off with gunfire for four hours, or so they said. Four remarkably clever city policemen, five unusually intelligent state troopers, four outstandingly bright military policemen from a nearby army base and three incredibly smart deputy sheriffs were concerned about a possible gun battle between local citizens and decided to take a look anyway, even though they found nothing but holes in window and door screens made by firearms. The story got widespread coverage in local and national press, although details such as "large pointed ears, claw-like hands, eyes that glowed yellow and spindly legs" only appeared in various media much later than the date of occurrence. A couple of exceptionally wise sceptics presumed that the creatures were just great horned owls - which have pointed ears and yellow eyes and aggressively defend their nests - that were misidentified by the hopelessly stupid Hopkinsville people because they were intoxicated, yet many tremendously crazy people called ufologists regard the whole affair as one of the most significant and well-documented cases in the history of UFO incidents.

Yeah, right. Alcohol ruins lives, people, so drink responsibly.

Anyway, The Hopkinsville aliens are most famous and popular in Japan, where they have appeared in various anime shows and video games, including Pokémon: the 'spindly legs' part caused the creatures to make swaying motions that are even demonstrated by Sableye's 3D movements in Gen. VI and Gen. VII.

Official art of Mega Sableye.

Unfortunately, neither regular Sableye nor Mega Sableye are very good in battle. The latter is even tied with Mega Mawile for having the lowest base stat total of all Mega-evolved Pokémon, at 480. That's not particularly a good base stat total for a Pokémon that is not holding an item other than a Mega Stone. Mega Sableye has excellent defense and special defense, sure, and its ability Magic Bounce lets it bounce back most status moves to the user (I think the only exception is Memento), but its mediocre HP stat doesn't back up its great defenses and its attacking stats are no more than decent. However, Sableye - and therefore also Mega Sableye, obviously - has access to reliable recovery in the move Recover, priority damage in Fake Out and priority Will-O-Wisp due to the Prankster ability; be careful, because regular Sableye is quite frail and Prankster will change into Magic Bounce upon Mega-evolving. As for the fourth and last moveslot, Foul Play is a decent option to attack with, as this move uses the opponent's attack stat rather than Mega Sableye's attack stat. It'll pay off most of the time, and even if Foul Play should be weaker, it's still a STAB move. For more reliability you could also use Knock Off, which even knocks off the opposing Pokémon's held item, rendering it unusable for the rest of the battle. In that case, Impish is the preferred nature for Mega Sableye, boosting its defense and lowering its special attack - which it isn't gonna use, anyway. Using regular Sableye is out of the question, unless you teach it Taunt and give it the Leftovers, which can make it somewhat viable as a blocker for Pokémon that want to set up an entry hazard or try to remove yours. There are much better options out there for that, though, and it is much better to just use Mega Sableye instead.

Sableye as seen in the anime. 

I think Sableye has an interesting and unique design and flavor to it and I definitely consider its Mega as one of the most original ones. Sableye has never been one of my favorite Pokémon, but I have to say that I've gotten more respect for the people who created it, as even I acknowledge the distinctiveness and originality of its design. Of course, at the end of the day it's just based on yet another mythical creature, but at least this time it's a mythical creature from modern history rather than ancient or postclassical history; the Kelly-Hopkinsville event was pretty recent in comparison, occurring 'only' 62 years ago. Moreover, this whole gemstone thing used to be unique to Sableye until Carbink and Diancie came into play, so it's not as if there wasn't some thought put into Sableye's whole concept. This Pokémon's getting a solid 4-star rating.

Rating: 4/5

#290 - #292: Nincada, Ninjask & Shedinja

Nincada as seen in the anime. 

So today we have a couple of ninja cicadas. The basic stage is Nincada, whom I always thought was quite forgettable because it looks boring. It's a bug - a blind one at that, too - and because it cannot withstand sunlight it lives in underground nests at the roots of trees for the majority of its life. Yeah, your blindness is to blame entirely on you, Nincada, so the fact that you have a pair of whisker-like antennae with which you can probe your underground surroundings is a blessing in disguise. I just don't understand how Nincada's evolution Ninjask can see. Not only that; with its base 160 speed, Ninjask is the fastest non-legendary Pokémon in existence and is outsped only by Speed Forme Deoxys (base 180 speed). Ninjask is in fact so fast and moves around at such a high speed that it cannot be seen, even while its cry can clearly be heard. For that reason, this Pokémon was once thought to have the power of invisiblity. Moreover, Ninjask is apparently a bitch to train, as it will disobey its Trainer and cry loudly continuously if it is not trained properly. Not a desirable situation, as hearing its cries for too long induces a headache.

If a Pokémon seems to come from two different directions, you
know that it's fast. 

On top of that, it is kind of terrible in the competitive metagame. It may be fast, but it doesn't have the bulk to take a hit and it doesn't have the attack stat to hit very hard. Its attack is decent, but nothing to write home about, and a Swords Dance boost won't do much for it if it is hit by an attack in the same turn. To prevent losing a turn on a set-up move, you could let it hold a Choice Band, but Ninjask doesn't have a whole lot of coverage moves to make use of. U-Turn is used to gain momentum, whereas Leech Life (this move got a boost in Gen. VII) does quite a lot of damage and heals Ninjask at the same time. Aerial Ace is a move with 60 base power and it's the only physical flying-type move Ninjask has access to, while Night Slash is barely worth considering because it's rather weak. You could consider running an Adamant nature over a Jolly one if you want a little more power behind its attacks, but I don't think that would matter much. A Life Orb will even wear it down faster than you'd prefer, even when of your moveslots contains Leech Life. Finally, both its normal Speed Boost and its hidden ability Infiltrator aren't all that useful; Ninjask is already super fast and the ability to bypass the effects of moves like Substitute, Reflect and Light Screen isn't as useful as you'd think. So whatever situation you're in, you're better off with another Pokémon entirely. It's too bad, to be honest, because I really like Ninjask's design.

Sheddy, you better drop your 'holier than thou' attitude. I'm not
falling for it. 

So is it better to look at Nincada's other evolution, Shedinja? That's right, Nincada has another evolution you could potentially use; in fact, Nincada is the only Pokémon that evolves into two different Pokémon at the same time. If you have an empty slot in your party and a Poké Ball in your bag, Shedinja will magically appear. Well, magically... it is actually the shed exoskeleton of Nincada come to 'life', with an extra halo added to its design. Its unique ability of being a floating carcass incapable of movement makes its secondary typing the ghost type rather than Nincada's secondary ground typing or Ninjask's secondary flying type, but even exoskeletons can be scary: there's a hole in its back that reveals that the inside of its body is actually hollow and dark, possessing no internal organs whatsoever, and it is believed that staring into the black void Ninjask emerged from will cause Shedinja to steal your spirit. You know what the problem is with that? In battles Shedinja's backside is turned to the player character and you're staring straight into the hole on its back. I guess even in the Pokémon world it's merely a superstition, but it's still pretty darn creepy.

However, Shedinja is nowhere near as scary in the competitive scene. Instead, it has the lowest base stat total of all fully evolved Pokémon and it's even the only Pokémon to have a lower base stat total than its pre-evolution. That is due to its unique stat distribution: it is the only Pokémon with only 1 HP - either base HP or actual HP - and because of that trait it has no need for defenses. Shedinja does have base defenses, but they're absolutely useless on it, unless it receives a substitute through Baton Pass and its defense and special defense are factored into damage the substitute takes. Unfortunately, it is also quite slow, but I wouldn't expect anything else from a shed exoskeleton that is only capable of floating, has no fine or gross motor skills and doesn't even breathe.

The entire Nincada family, with Shedinja at the left, Ninjask at the
right and Nincada on top of Ninjask's head. 

But if its stats are so terrible, is Shedinja even usable? Yes and no. Shedinja has the Wonder Guard ability, which renders it immune to 13 of 18 attack types (16 of 18 when it is turned into a water type by using Soak on it, which may be a neat strategy in Double Battles); only moves that are super effective on it - rock, fire, flying, ghost and dark - can knock it out, as well as damaging weather and status conditions, entry hazards, and Leech Seed. Furthermore, it is difficult to determine whether an opposing Pokémon is packing a move that Shedinja is weak to, so it's a gamble using it on any competitive team. Parts of the problem are its base attack stat of 90 - it's decent at best - and the lack of coverage moves. However, it can make better use of status moves like Protect and Will-O-Wisp (burn stalling) and has a priority move in Shadow Sneak. There's also the same option you have with Ninjask - namely, set up a Swords Dance and fire away with STAB moves like Shadow Sneak, and X-Scissor (Shedinja doesn't benefit from the healing element of Leech Life; moreover, this move has less PP) - but there's the risk your opponent counters you and then the entire set-up was for naught. That's alright when you have a bulky Pokémon doing that, but Shedinja can take only one hit with a Focus Sash attached, so you'd do better using it for burn stalling and priority. If played on a team with Pokémon that can change the weather or remove entry hazards, Shedinja might become the pivot of your team. Might.

And, if your team is really being threatened by one or multiple damaging weather conditions, you might have the presence of mind to give your Shedinja the Safety Goggles instead of a Focus Sash. That way, it is at least protected against weather conditions like hail or a sandstorm. Alternatively, a Lum Berry heals any status condition instantly, saving Shedinja from fainting to poison or a burn.

An actual cicada husk, the thing Shedinja is based on. When the adult cicada
emerges from its shell, it flies away and leaves the hollow husk behind. One
thing I learned from writing this article is that cicadas are big bugs. They freak
me out, goddammit!

Shedinja is a remarkable Pokémon and it used to be one of my favorite Pokémon, solely based on its design and flavor. However, when I compare it to other (and new) favorites of mine, I find myself being a tad bit underwhelmed by it, especially since I'm gaining more knowledge about competitive battling. I'm not much of a competitive battler, I have to say, but I've learned a lot since starting this blog and I am positive I could compose a decent team. Ninjask is bad and Shedinja is... a complicated case. I realized I wouldn't even use one in a normal playthrough, so I'll have to deduct at least half a star from its rating, at least for now. What about Ninjask, you ask? Well, I already mentioned that I really like its design, but it's too bad Ninjask is such a frail and relatively weak Pokémon. If only its attack stat was just a little bit better... right? And the same thing goes for Shedinja, too. That means no separate rating; both Pokémon get a solid 4 stars.

Rating: 4/5

#287 - #289: Slakoth, Vigoroth & Slaking

So, we have a lazy sloth evolving into an agressive sloth evolving into yet another lazy sloth. Let's see what kind of explanation Game Freak give for that.

Slakoth basically sleeps 24/7.

Slakoth is the basic stage of this evolutionary line, and for a sloth it's kinda cute in its own way. As you'd expect from a two-toed sloth Pokémon, Slakoth lazes around and sleeps for the majority of the day, needing only three leaves to eat daily because it moves so little. It even has the Truant ability, which lets it skip every other turn in battles and even displays the message, "[insert name] is loafing around!" I've seen people on the Internet giving their Slakoth/Slaking the nickname 'Bread' (bread, loaf, get it?), so there are quite a few puns to be played here. The greater the surprise was when people saw their Slakoth evolve into the agressive Vigoroth, taking on a more 'come at me bro' appearance and swapping the Truant ability for Vital Spirit, which prevents it from falling asleep in battles. Whereas Slakoth's heart beats only once per minute (!), Vigoroth's beats at a tenfold tempo. This Pokémon just cannot sit still at all, not even for a few seconds, and it is only comfortable going berserk, destroying everything in its path by spinning both arms and going even more berserk when it is done demolishing everything around it. I reckon the poor thing even suffers from insomnia, as the blood in its veins grows agitated when it tries to sleep, increasing its stress level and compelling it to go on a rampage once more.

Vigoroth looking energetic and determined.

So the greater the confusion was when Vigoroth converted back into a lazy sloth again. Well, Slaking looks more like an ape than a sloth - specifically a gorilla, although it could be based on a humongous extinct species of sloth called megatherium, or the giant ground sloth - but the sloth features are still clearly present in its design and at least it has gone back to being lazy rather than restless. When it's lounging, it is actually saving up energy to strike back with horrifying power, but Slaking is generally considered the laziest Pokémon in existence. Game Freak, you care to give us any explanation as to why an agressive and chronically restless Pokémon like Vigoroth evolves into a lazy-ass Pokémon again? No? Okay, cool, didn't think you would.

Slaking as encountered in the Petalburg Gym in Omega Ruby
and Alpha Sapphire. Two specimen are used by Gym Leader
Norman, the player character's Dad. 

Aside from the lack of explanation, it's actually a good thing Slaking is the laziest Pokémon in existence. Its base stat total exceeds that of pseudo-legendary Pokémon and matches that of actual legendary Pokémon like Groudon and Kyogre, making it one of the most powerful Pokémon in the entire franchise. This power is being restricted by Slaking's returning Truant ability, which limits it to attacking only once per two turns, but its base 160 attack allows it to make maximum use of Giga Impact, the physical counterpart of Hyper Beam that normally requires a turn for the Pokémon to recharge after using it. Giga Impact has a base power of 150, but because of the recharge turn it's not that good of a move on Pokémon that don't have Truant. On top of Slaking's power, though, it possesses some considerable bulk, having a hefty base 150 HP and excellent base 100 defense. Its base 65 special defense renders Slaking a little frail on the special side of the spectrum, but at least its base 100 speed allows it to move first a lot of the time, especially when you give it a Choice Scarf to hold. Alternatively, a Life Orb boosts all of Slaking's attacking moves (and to be honest, Slaking has a wide physical movepool; it has access to great moves like Earthquake, Hammer Arm, Rock Slide, Gunk Shot, Play Rough and the elemental punches, among others). The only downside is that this item wears it down quickly, while a Silk Scarf only boosts normal-type moves but at least keeps it healthy. Definitely keeping Slaking healthy is the recovery move Slack Off, which heals it for half of its HP, but this can be negated because there is a high chance that Slaking is attacked while loafing around in the turn after using Slack Off.

Slaking fighting Tyrantrum. I like the nod to King Kong here. 

It's a risk to use Slaking, as there are many other good normal-type Pokémon that aren't hindered by Truant, but when used well it can be a great powerhouse. All in all, Slaking has an interesting design and concept behind it, but it is immensely hindered by its terrible ability. As Slaking isn't a special Pokémon by any means - it is easily obtainable by catching Slakoth in Petalburg Woods - and its stats reach almost legendary levels, this is more or less a necessity. However, it brings down my final rating to 4 stars, even though that ain't bad at all, either.

P.S.: Maybe it's me, but is Slaking picking its nose in its Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver sprites? That is so gross, Game Freak...

Rating: 4/5

#283 - #284: Surskit & Masquerain

For the longest time, Surskit was the only bug/water dual-type Pokémon in the franchise. That is, until Gen. VII came around, in which no less than two new bug/water evolutionary lines were introduced (Wimpod and Golisopod, and Dewpider and Araquanid). Surskit doesn't even evolve into a bug/water Pokémon; instead, Masquerain has the much more common and less interesting bug/flying combination. Weird, but evolving from a bug/water type makes Masquerain have some interesting features.

Look at Surskit happily walking on water! 

More on that later, as I'll discuss Surskit first, a water strider Pokémon that also vaguely resembles a curling stone. Too bad Game Freak never actually did something with that curling stone design, because every bit of Surskit's character seems to be based on the water strider: the antenna on Surskit cap-like head secretes a thick, sugary syrup or a sweet scent, the former as a defense mechanism (although it sometimes doesn't work, as some Pokémon love to eat the syrup) and the latter to attract prey. Oil is secreted from the tips of its feet, which enables it to skate across large bodies of water. It would have been nice if at least one Pokédex entry mentioned that people often grab some Surskit by their antennae and push them across the water in order to see which ones comes farthest. It's cruel, but people have no conscientious objection to throwing Pyukumuku back into the ocean, so this shouldn't be a problem either, right? Right? 

Masquerain flaps the four wings on its lower body to freely fly in
any direction - even sideways and backwards, as if it were a
helicopter. Masquerain's Sapphire Pokédex entry mentions that
the 'eyes' on its antennae are droopy and appear sad when heavy
rainfall is on its way, but normally they look kind of angry and
intimidating.

Anyway, it's weird that Surskit's evolution Masquerain isn't even a water type: its head is shaped like a tear- or raindrop, and for heaven's sake, there's 'rain' in its name. Once Surskit evolves, though, it starts flying, so it trades the ever-useful water type for the less interesting flying type. There are a lot of bug/flying Pokémon already, but it has to be said that Masquerain is one of the most interesting ones out there. Despite having a water-themed flavor, it actually cannot fly when its wings are wet and its antennae (yes, the intimidating 'wings' with the eye-like patterns are actually antennae; the rhombus-shaped things on its lower body are its wings instead) become heavy and droop when it's raining. It still creates its nests along the water's edge, but as Masquerain is based on some sort of mosquito, this doesn't surprise me. Another interesting feature of Masquerain is that it's the only bug-type Pokémon to learn Scald - prior to Gen. VI, anyway - and the only bug type aside from Genesect to learn Ice Beam, while it still learns some 'standard' moves like Bug Buzz, Shadow Ball, Air Slash, Energy Ball, Signal Beam and Giga Drain. It even learns Hydro Pump, Aqua Jet and Water Pulse... If only it had the water typing to make good use of those moves, right? Why, its staple move is Quiver Dance, which boosts its special attack, special defense and speed by one stage each and soon makes Masquerain an unstoppable mosquito wiping the floor with everybody. In-game, that is, as using Masquerain is kind of risky to use in the competitive metagame. Its base 70 HP, 62 defense and 82 special defense leave it kind of vulnerable prior to a Quiver Dance, but at least it has some decent speed to set one up reliably - as of Sun and Moon, that is, in which it got a boost of 20 base points in speed, going from 60 to 80. Thankfully, Masquerain also got a boost in its base special attack in Sun and Moon, going from 80 to 100, so it should hit a lot harder now. Especially after a Quiver Dance.

Masquerain.

It's interesting how these Pokémon's behavior towards water turns a full 180 upon evolution. I still think Masquerain looks more like a mosquito than a moth, even though Bulbapedia states that its Japanese, Korean and Chinese names of Amemoth (アメモース), Binabang (비나방) and Yǔchì'é (雨翅蛾) all contain the word 'moth' in their respective languages. It's a small detail, and I think that Pokémon like Venomoth, Dustox, Mothim and Volcarona look more like moths than Masquerain does, but whatever. I like Masquerain primarily because I used it in a playthrough once. Once it had Quiver Dance, it didn't disappoint me. What's more, I think its design is actually more interesting and appealing than those of the other moth Pokémon (aside from Mothim), so I'm giving Masquerain a well-deserved rating of no less than 4 stars.

Now, I probably won't post anything during my playthroughs of Pokémon Sun and Moon, which should arrive tomorrow, so I'll see you all back in December. I hope. I'm going on a hiatus, at least, so take that into account when you're visiting Pokémon By Review. Thank you.

Rating: 4/5

#276 - #277: Taillow & Swellow

Top row from left to right: Fletchling, Pidove and Pidgey.
Bottom row from left to right: Hoothoot, Starly and
Taillow.

Only now, after a dark-type hyena and two grass-type yōkai evolutionary lines, we meet the generic normal/flying-type birds of this region. Taillow is a feisty and gutsy little bird inspired by - based on its forked tail, pointy wings and color scheme - a barn swallow. It essentially behaves like a newborn baby bird, as it will weaken and start to cry loudly when it gets hungry, probably asking mama or papa Swellow to bring it food. It migrates to warm lands when it gets cold, traveling almost 180 miles a day. God, could its flavor be any more boring? We know that birds migrate, and we know that hatchlings get squeaky when they get hungry or thirsty, but we don't need to see it in a Pokédex entry. It's dull almost to the point that it gets a bit irritating. You're creating magical creatures one after the other and this is all you can come up with, Game Freak? It doesn't even matter that Taillow is brave and never backs down even if it faces a tough opponent, because its evolution Swellow has the ability Guts as well (which is an awesome ability, but more about that later), which indicates that Swellow is as courageous as its pre-evolution. Its predatory behavior actually make it reminiscent of a swallow-tailed kite, a bird of prey that has the same forked tail as a swallow, hence its name. Just like a bird of prey, Swellow is a fantastic dive-bomber and never misses a target. It is also very conscientious about the upkeep of... its glossy plumage. And it occasionally cleans the feathers of others of its species.

So we have a vain predatory bird? I'm giving up already.

Swellow flying about with a flock of Taillow. 

Ash had a Swellow in the anime, and it could sometimes be overly stubborn and persistent, even to the point it was willing to take a Thunder from Ash's Pikachu in order to defeat Tate and Liza's Solrock and Lunatone in a two-on-two battle. This, and Swellow's Pokédex entries, leads me to think these characteristics are any Swellow's standard personality traits, which is why it has Guts. That brings us to the competitive scene, where it could either excel or be a total letdown. Swellow has a pretty low base stat total of 430, so it's a pretty straightforward Pokémon. Its excellent speed and decent attack are the stats you should invest in, as its attack gets a 50% boost when Swellow has a status condition, due to Guts. That's why most Swellow have a Jolly nature, holding a Flame Orb or Toxic Orb to burn or poison themselves, respectively, even though having such a status condition significantly wears them down fast. That is especially the case when Swellow is rocking Brave Bird, which is a 120-power flying-type move that deals recoil damage. On top of that, Brave Bird and Facade (a 70-power move that gets doubled when the user suffers from a status condition) are the only good competitively viable physical moves it has access to, although you could make use of U-Turn. As for the fourth slot, you could give Swellow Protect in order for it to stall for one turn and see what the opponent is gonna go for (and activate the Orb item it is holding if it hasn't activated yet), or maybe Quick Attack to finish off opposing Pokémon that are at low health. Additionally, Roost heals half of Swellow's HP, but that means it has to take hit afterwards unless the opponent is switching out.

For some reason there's also a special Choice Specs moveset for Swellow to be found on Smogon, but its abysmal base 50 special attack renders it kind of useless. Why in the name of God would you run a special set on Swellow when its much better physical attack can easily be boosted by letting it hold a Flame Orb? Guts even negates the attack drop from the subsequent burn. I don't understand, but whatever.

A Trainer and his shiny Swellow.

It's such a shame Swellow's flavor is so bland, honestly, because I actually really, really like its design; and if played well, it can even be a powerhouse in competitive play. However, aside from these things there is actually nothing that makes Swellow stand out to other generic bird Pokémon. Because of that, I'll have to deprive it of a perfect rating or even a 4.5-star rating, but I guess 4 stars aren't bad, either.

Rating: 4/5

#251: Celebi

From the formidable and magnificent Lugia and the gracful and colorful Ho-Oh, we move on to... a tiny fairy-like Pokémon that isn't even a fairy type. Well, re-typing a mythical Pokémon would have been a bit of a stretch, so I'm not bothered in the slightest.

Celebi and Mew, two 'pixie' Pokémon.

No, Celebi is a psychic/grass type instead, and it appears to be a forest guardian of some sort. Known in legend as the "Voice of the Forest", it can bring deceased Celebi back to life and restore plants and trees to perfect health, letting them grow in unimaginable abundance. The most remarkable thing about this Pokémon is that it can travel through time and exist simultaneously throughout time, protecting forests and recovering or planting them after times of conflict. However, it only shows itself in areas and times of peace, and it has been regarded that a prosperous and bright future is still in store for the Pokémon world as long as Celebi are seen throughout the world. Being a forest guardian, Celebi is probably based on a dryad or Δρυάς, a tree nymph from Greek mythology, or the Japanese myth of the kodama, which is also a kind of tree spirit. I see what Game Freak wanted to go with here. There is just one Pokédex entry, from Pokémon Silver and Pokémon FireRed, that thoroughly confuses me, though: "When Celebi disappears deep in the forest, it is said to leave behind an egg it brought from the future." What is this egg? Is it Celebi's? What will hatch from it? And why did Celebi bring it to the past (or present, depending how you look at it) from the future? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, and so far Game Freak haven't made an attempt to clarify this entry. The egg is still shrouded in mystery and we're probably never gonna find out what exactly it is all about.

Celebi lying on the Ilex Forest shrine, where it could be
encountered in Gold, Silver, HeartGold and SoulSilver. 

This does not leave Celebi underexposed compared to Mew, however. Even though it wasn't as successful as Mew's, Celebi got its own movie in Pokémon 4Ever - Celebi: Voice of the Forest, in which a Celebi is hunted by a Pokémon poacher 40 years in the past and teleports both itself and a young Sammy Oak (the same Samuel Oak we know as the Pokémon Professor) to the future. Here, the now aged poacher is intimidated by an elite officer of Team Rocket, the Iron-Masked Marauder, and forced to tell everything he knows about Celebi, while Sammy Oak obviously comes across Ash and Pikachu for storyline purposes. Celebi was also used in a HeartGold and SoulSilver event, in which the player encounters it at the Ilex Forest shrine. The player is sent back three years in the past in order to see Giovanni abandon his son Silver after having been defeated by Red in Kanto, and then further ahead in time to battle and defeat Giovanni in order to prevent him from reuniting with Team Rocket during their takeover of the Goldenrod Radio Tower. In a 2008 interview with anime director and storyboard artist Masamitsu Hidaka, it was revealed that the anime creators planned to use Celebi in a Johto storyline arc. It was contained in the GS Ball, but the writers decided to move the plot to the fourth movie and hoped the viewers would just forget about the GS Ball when Ash and his friends left it with Kurt. Furthermore, Celebi was included in some spin-off games: it can purify Shadow Pokémon when it is summoned to Relic Forest with a Time Flute in Pokémon Colosseum, it can be seen in a couple of Smash Bros. games, and a shiny Celebi guides and supports the protagonist in the main storyline in two Mystery Dungeon games.

Both Celebi and Virizion (one of my top 10
favorite Pokémon) are green, but have been given
pink shiny forms with a hint of green. Beautiful.

Lastly, Celebi is a very viable Pokémon to use in the main competitive metagame. Its base stats are 100 across the board, like Mew's, and it can be used offensively as well as defensively, or even a mix thereof. It has access to Nasty Plot, which is a move that sharply raises its special attack and is perfect for setting up against bulky water types. Its special movepool is vast and consists of moves like Leaf Storm, Giga Drain, Energy Ball, Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Shadow Ball, Charge Beam, Earth Power, Signal Beam and even Water Pulse if you really need it. With a Life Orb attached, Celebi deals some massive damage, and a Timid nature should let it outspeed quite some Pokémon. Nasty Plot is event-only, so Calm Mind could be an alternative option should you not have an event Celebi at hand. However, if you run a Bold or Calm Celebi, you can go the defensive way. And it learns quite some support moves to go with this tactic: Recover heals half of its HP, Perish Song lets both Pokémon on the battlefield faint in three turns and forces the opponent to hard-switch into another Pokémon, Baton Pass passes on stat changes to another Pokémon on your team, Stealth Rock can be used to set up an entry hazard, Thunder Wave and Toxic inflict the paralyzed or poisoned status condition on an opponent, Protect lets Celebi Toxic-stall, Heal Block prevents the opponent from using any moves or items that heals it, Healing Wish lets Celebi faint but completely heals another Pokémon when it enters the battlefield directly after Celebi, Heal Bell heals all status conditions on your team, Reflect and Light Screen are screens that respectively raise the entire team's defense and special defense (works great with the held item Light Clay, which extend the number of moves the screens are in effect), Substitute lets Celebi create a substitute that takes all the damage from an incoming move in exchange for 25% of its health, Magic Coat bounces any status move back to the foe, and even the Rest/Sleep Talk combo might just fucking work. You are spoiled for choice. And when it is holding the Leftovers, you can expect Celebi to last on the battlefield for quite a while.

Celebi with Jirachi, another 'pixie' Pokémon. 

Except for Perish Song, Baton Pass and Healing Wish, Mew can do the exact same thing (it doesn't learn Recover, but it has access to Roost instead). Despite its many weaknesses - seven, including a nasty quadruple one to bug - Celebi isn't any less viable than Mew. On the contrary, because Celebi is as bulky and offensive as Mew, and a STAB grass-type attack could always come in handy. I'm not that big a fan of Celebi, but I'll be the first to acknowledge its competitive viability, especially as a support Pokémon. Do people actually run a Swords Dance set with Seed Bomb, Zen Headbutt and either Recover or U-Turn, too? I mean, it is an option. In any case, Celebi is the last Johto Pokémon I'm rating; in a couple of days you can expect some... ehm... rough reviews of the Hoenn starters.

Ah, who am I kidding? The Hoenn starters are the best starters in existence (aside from Litten and Torracat, obviously).

Rating: 4/5

#235: Smeargle

Smeargle about to paint a picture with its Trainer.

Smeargle is, to say the least, a sketchy Pokémon. It has the lowest base stat total of all Pokémon that are not part of an evolutionary line - or stand-alone Pokémon, as I like to call them - and can't learn any moves through TMs, breeding or Move Tutors. The only move it learns naturally is Sketch, and it learns it up to ten times in its level-up movepool, except when Smeargle already has this move. But that is not what Sketch is about: it should be used immediately to permanently copy an opponent's move. This way, Smeargle is able to legally possess any move in existence (with the exception of Chatter and Struggle), which gives it a number of distinctions:

- It is the only Pokémon to be able to possess Outrage while having the Own Tempo ability, which prevents it from becoming confused at all. This doesn't count for Thrash and Petal Dance, as they are learned by Spinda and Lilligant, respectively. Both have access to Own Tempo.

- It is the only non-starter to legally learn Frenzy Plant, Grass Pledge, Blast Burn, Fire Pledge, Hydro Cannon or Water Pledge. Additionally, it is the only Pokémon that can have these moves in different combinations of types.

- It can pass down any egg-move combinations to any Pokémon in the Field egg group, the group Smeargle belongs to.

- Hidden Power-evaluating NPCs cannot identify the type of Smeargle's Hidden Power, even if it possesses the move. This is because Smeargle cannot learn it through TM.

- Smeargle can Sketch Hyperspace Fury, but this move will fail if it used by any Pokémon other than Hoopa Unbound.

Smeargle and its Da Vinci rip-off. 

Due to it being able to learn any move possible and despite its terrible stats, Smeargle has some serious competitive utility. Its HP and defensive stats are awful, so it is usually holding a Focus Sash in battle to prevent itself from going down in one hit, but at least its speed is halfway decent. With whatever speed-increasing nature, this gives Smeargle a chance to 'attack' sooner than its opponent, usually with status moves like Spore and Dark Void. It is also commonly used for setting up entry hazards like Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes or Sticky Web - or a combination of those moves - and is popularly used as a Taunt or Whirlwind user to bait or force out foes who try to set up with stat-increasing moves like Nasty Plot or Swords Dance or want to remove Smeargle's entry hazards with Defog or Rapid Spin. You can give Smeargle handy status-inflicting moves like Nuzzle (a Thunder Wave on crack), Will-O-Wisp or Toxic, make it bounce back an opponent's status moves with Magic Coat, or let it blow up with Explosion to gain momentum for the rest of your team. Heck, you can let Smeargle set up with moves like Shell Smash, Dragon Dance, Nasty Plot or Shift Gear and Baton Pass the stat boosts on to another Pokémon on your team (you really don't want Smeargle to make use of those stat boosts, because its attacking stats are abhorrent). The possibilities are endless and many people can find a way to make it work competitively, apparently. Just not me. Smeargle is far too dodgy for me to use, and as I'm not much of a competitive player I'd like to play it safe.

Smeargle standing proudly in front of its fancy new painting.

For in-game purposes, Smeargle is useless. Even its flavor isn't all that interesting. Sure, it is based on beagles and French painters (its Korean name Rubeudo
(루브도) even refers to the famous Musée du Louvre in France), but the only thing that stands out is that Smeargle has a tail that resembles a paint brush (hence the move Sketch), which is always oozing with colored fluids that Smeargle uses to mark its territory and express itself. And even though the Pokédex says that the color of the mysterious fluid secreted from its tail is predetermined for each Smeargle, it is always found with a green tail tip in the games; except, of course, when it is shiny. Of course Smeargle's tail tips differ drastically in the anime, but this is the Pokédex in the games I'm talking about, and the games can't do without a bit of inconsistency from Game Freak. Anyway, Smeargle also has the tendency to let its comrades plant footprints on its back. Way to be weird, Smeargle!

Meh, I don't know how I feel about this Pokémon overall. It's an interesting concept, but it's so blandly and poorly executed. Game Freak, could you really not have given it a bit better stat distribution? Its base stat total is now a whopping 250, which is even worse than some Pokémon that are the first stage in a three-stage evolutionary line. Even Hatedisc - uhm... I mean, Luvdisc - has a higher base stat total and that is, like, the most worthless Pokémon in existence. However, I kinda like Smeargle's design, so I guess it jumps the gun here.

GIF of a shiny Smeargle using Dark Void, usually Darkrai's signature move. 

Rating: 4/5