#479: Rotom

No, you didn't miss anything; between Abomasnow and Rotom there's a large batch of Gen. IV evolutions of Pokémon introduced in previous generations, and I've already reviewed them accordingly. All the better, because the huge gap in the National Pokédex makes me feel I have made some progress at least, ha ha ha.

Regular Rotom surrounded by its five alternate forms. Clockwise
starting from the top left: Frost Rotom, Fan Rotom, Wash Rotom,
Mow Rotom and Heat Rotom.

Anyway, as I've mentioned before, today's Pokémon is a curious little critter called Rotom. It is unique in the fact that it is the only electric/ghost dual-type Pokémon and the only Pokémon to have its type changed into a type that wasn't newly introduced. Introduced in Diamond and Pearl as a Pokémon with the ability of possessing several household appliances, Rotom can change its appearance in order to correspond with the design of the appliance it possesses from Platinum onwards, and for in-game purposes this means it has no fewer than six different forms. The default form is its regular electric/ghost-type form that resembles a lightning rod; the others are a microwave oven, a washing machine, a lawnmower, a refrigerator and an electric fan. These alternate forms didn't have a different type than regular Rotom when they were first introduced to us in Platinum, but this all changed in Gen. V: Heat Rotom became electric/fire, Wash Rotom electric/water, Mow Rotom electric/grass, Frost Rotom electric/ice (even though it's a refrigerator and not a freezer, it must have a built-in freezer unit), and Fan Rotom electric/flying. This opened the path for brand new competitive strategies, as a few of these type combinations are extraordinarily useful in the competitive metagame, especially when you consider all forms come with the ability Levitate and thus aren't weak to ground-type moves due to their being part electric - although this ability is quite redundant on Fan Rotom due to its flying type making it immune to ground in the first place. But I'll talk some more about Rotom's competitive utility later on in this review.

An amazing drawing of all Rotom forms gathered together. Even
the electrical auras of the different forms look different; Wash
Rotom's looks like a clothespin, Heat Rotom's is reminiscent of
oven mitts, Mow Rotom's resembles splintered wood, Frost
Rotom's bears resemblances to lightning bolts, and Fan Rotom's
look like wind currents. 

First off, how is Rotom able to enter and control these electronic devices in the first place? Well, it has a body of plasma with a whitish aura of electricity around it that forms lightning bolt-shaped appendages, and it appears to be based on uproarious and disrupting ghoul-like creatures called poltergeists. While poltergeists are generally believed to be responsible for physical disturbances such making loud noises, moving objects around (by levitation, if necessary) and sometimes even possessing certain objects, folkloric creatures called gremlins are more notorious for causing malfunctions in aircraft and other machinery. I want to believe poltergeists are the actual inspiration for Rotom here, as indicated by its specific ability to possess home appliances and the fact that ball lightning, an unexplained atmospheric electrical phenomenon involving luminous spherical objects bouncing about, might often cause the spooky movement of objects blamed on poltergeists. Also, poltergeists tend to wander about in urban/suburban areas and cause disturbances in the homes of middle-class families when depicted in popular media - or maybe I have that idea because I watched the 1982 supernatural horror film Poltergeist a couple of times, although the same could be said about the 1984 movie Gremlins. In any case, you first encounter Rotom in a creepy old mansion called the Old Chateau, inside of a defective TV, of all things. Go figure.

Official artwork of the Rotom Pokédex. The right image demonstrates how the
device actually works.

However, while Rotom is a mischievous creature and takes over electronic devices in order to play practical jokes on people, causing all sorts of problems, scientists continue to conduct research on this Pokémon because they think it could be the power source of a unique motor (Rotom is 'motor' spelled backwards, probably a reference to the fact that motors make many appliances function while Rotom makes them fail). While this specific Pokédex entry appeared in HeartGold and SoulSilver first, Game Freak surprised us three generations later by introducing the first ever Pokédex inhabited by a Pokémon: Rotom! Positioned on the lower screen of your 3DS, the Rotom Pokédex gives you unwanted advice, asks you stupid questions, rambles on about nothing in particular and sometimes makes lame-ass jokes, but also helps you out in sticky situations by granting you another chance to perform a Z-Move, gathers and stores data of all Pokémon found in Alola and shows you the way by almost continuously displaying a map of the region on its screen. It is kind of a double-edged sword, as the Rotom Pokédex can get pretty annoying at times, but I like its cheeky personality and the features it provides.

Holy shit, think about it: your Pokédex is a living, sentient being that talks to you and helps you out on your journey to becoming a Pokémon Master. Pokémon is getting more awesome every day, I swear.

Rotom having fun with a microwave oven. 

We now know what Rotom is based on and what this Pokémon encompasses, but I said I would talk about its competitive prowess; and to tell you the truth, its regular form isn't anything worth mentioning. Although the encounter music that is played when encountering Rotom in Gen. IV is the same music used with legendary encounters, its stats are all but legendary. I urge you to find the place wher you can change Rotom into one of its other five forms and do just that, because its 'measly' 440 base stat total will rise notably, exchanging a little bit of speed for significantly more bulk and slightly more offensive presence. Heat and Wash Rotom are the most popular forms to use in the competitive metagame, which isn't surprising, as fire is one of the best offensive types in the game and Heat Rotom's otherwise terrible quadruple weakness is nullified by Levitate, while Wash Rotom has literally only one weakness (also due to Levitate) and is therefore a great defensive asset to any team. Frost and Mow Rotom don't really have that defensive presence, and Fan Rotom doesn't have a STAB move that is strong enough - Heat, Wash, Mow and Frost Rotom get Overheat, Hydro Pump, Leaf Storm and Blizzard, respectively, while Fan Rotom will have to do with the much weaker Air Slash.

Looks like Rotom is having some fun in what looks like a
control room.

As for complete sets for some of these Rotom forms, I am not going into detail for all of them, especially not Fan Rotom. For Wash Rotom, however, I would definitely recommend a defensive set consisting of Hydro Pump, Volt Switch, Will-O-Wisp and Defog, to cripple physical threats and remove entry hazards. Pain Split is often used for some recovery, although it is not always a very reliable way to restore HP; an Iapapa Berry or Sitrus Berry will do the trick more effectively. More options are Substitute, Rest and Sleep Talk, as well as the Letovers as a very solid hold item and a Bold or Calm nature to boost one of its defenses. It's your call whether you want to make it physically or specially bulky. You could actually go the same way with Heat Rotom and be just fine, although an offensive moveset might do more in this case because of Heat Rotom's amazing offensive typing: a Timid or Modest nature lets it be slightly faster or specially offensive, respectively, while a Firium Z (the fire-type Z-Crystal) can change its Overheat attack to an insanely strong Inferno Overdrive. Choice Specs aren't bad either, and might even be more reliable in the long run, as a moveset consisting of Overheat, Volt Switch, Thunderbolt and either Shadow Ball or some type of Hidden Power doesn't seem all that strong in the first place and a Choice Specs might just be the item Heat Rotom needs to give its moves a little bit more oomph.

Frost and Mow Rotom aren't used as frequently as Heat and Wash Rotom, but ice and grass are pretty good offensive types, which mean you could slap the Choice Specs or an Icium Z on it (Grassium Z in Mow Rotom's case), but I reckon you should just use the Rotom of your preference. I mean, my favorite form is Mow Rotom and that's not a popular one at all - I even think it's the second least favorite form behind Fan Rotom among Pokémon fans. I don't know if it's its typing or its maniacal grin that is putting people off, but that's exactly what I like about it in the first place.

All of the Rotom forms doing what they can do best.

One more curious thing about Rotom's origins is that Bulbapedia suggests that this Pokémon is based on the main character from the 1994 Sega game Pulseman, on which Ken Sugimori (responsible for all of the Pokémon's official artwork), Satoshi Tajiri (the creator of Pokémon) and Junichi Masuda (director, producer and composer for many Pokémon games) all worked on. Aside from the spike on Pulseman's head and the fact that it was designed by Ken Sugimori, I really don't see the resemblance with Rotom. However, Pulseman is half human, half AI and I guess his subsequent power to channel electricity through his body and use it as both a weapon and a means of quick transport might be reminiscent of Rotom's ability to permeate household appliances as well as it being made up of plasma and electricity. There's a whole list of references to Pulseman in the Pokémon games, but I personally think it's a little bit of a stretch to compare the two franchises, even though the same people worked on both of them (honestly, Pulseman isn't even a franchise, just a stand-alone game).

Rotom is without a doubt one of the most unique, creative and popular Pokémon Game Freak have ever created. It's a fan favorite for a reason: there are a lot of Pokémon that are based on contemporary animals, extinct creatures, mythical entities and/or inanimate objects, but a poltergeist able to take control of electronic devices must be one Game Freak's most genius inventions. Aside from that, Rotom is pretty viable in the competitive scene, so I'm sure that contributes to its popularity as well. I have to say that Rotom is not one of my personal top favorites, but I still think it's damn worthy of a 5-star rating from me!

Rating: 5/5

#451 - #452: Skorupi & Drapion

TCG art of Skorupi.

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

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

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

Sinnoh Elite 4 member Aaron and his signature Pokémon
Drapion. 

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

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

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

Rating: 5/5

#447 - #448: Riolu & Lucario

So now we've come to probably one of the most - if not the most - popular Pokémon among the most avid Pokémon fans, and I have to say the love for Lucario is completely justified. Some might say this thing is furry bait - according to Bogleech, there's a theory going around that holds that the easier it is to conceive a fursona out of a Pokémon, the more embraced it is by the fandom - but there aren't a ton of furries to be found in the Pokémon fandom in the first place, I don't think, and my own love for this thing has nothing to do with that whatsoever. Goddammit, I'm not effing Verlisify. Case in point: Verlisify's own mascot is Zoroark, who, in comparison with Lucario, is significantly less popular but far more furry-baity.

Mystery Dungeon art of Riolu. Obviously, the scarf isn't
part of its original design. 

But to stay on-topic: as far as anthropomorphic dogs go, Game Freak did an excellent job creating Lucario and its pre-evolution. Aesthetically, this Pokémon has close similarities to jackals, which, at the same time, gives it an Anubis-like appearance. For those few who don't know, Anubis is the Greek name of a god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion and is often depicted as canine or a man with a jackal's head. His role in Egyptian mythology was to judge the hearts of the deceased souls based on their actions during life, resembling Riolu and Lucario's ability to see a life form's special kind of energy called 'aura'. Sure enough, there's a mysterious air of ancientness surrounding both Riolu and Lucario. Riolu is remarkably sensitive to aura, and it can emanate intensified waves of this spiritual energy as a way of signaling its allies when sad or scared. However, it doesn't have the ability to fully use these powers; it can sense people's aura well enough and can use its own aura to communicate with others of its species just fine, albeit only in ripples. Like all fighting types, Riolu has superhuman strength and tremendous stamina (I apologize for that one), and it is capable of making long journeys on foot in a short amount of time, cresting three mountains and crossing two canyons in one night. It goes without saying, however, that Lucario has its aura-reading abilities completely under control by using the four black appendages it has developed on the back of its head. Lucario studies this energy to predict the movements of its opponents in battle and track its quarry, and it has the power to manipulate aura in an offensive manner - Aura Sphere, anyone?

The Riolu in the Pokémon Ranger anime special is happy to see Ash. 

Both Riolu and Lucario are being treated favorably by their creators, starring in their own Pokémon Ranger anime special and feature film, respectively, and appearing in virtually every set of games after the generation in which they were originally introduced (Riolu was available early on in Black 2 and White 2 as well as X and Y, while found post-game on Poni Island in Sun and Moon). Whereas the two parts of "Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu" are merely regarded as the 71st and 72nd episodes of the Diamond and Pearl saga of the anime series as a whole, the movie Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew became a favorite of many Pokémon fans. In fact, said movie is probably the reason why Lucario has become the favorite Pokémon of approximately 99% of the fandom and is still enjoying an excessive amount of popularity. In X and Y, it was even given away mid-game by Gym Leader Korrina, holding a Lucarionite that could be used instantly.

Lucario in Super Smash Bros., invoking its
aura-manipulating powers in an offensive manner.

And why shouldn't Lucario enjoy such popularity? I'm kind of a Lucario fanboy myself and this Pokémon - more specifically, its Mega - was probably at the basis of my recent love for steel types after I used it in my very first Pokémon X playthrough. Admittedly, Luxray pulls off the black-and-blue color scheme much better than Lucario, and the more vivid yellow color in Luxray's design looks much better than the pale beige-yellow color in Lucario's, but it is indisputably a very cool Pokémon. Mega Lucario is even cooler, especially because the tan-colored fur blends in perfectly with the rest of design and thus feels less out of place than on regular Lucario, and the red color and black veins give it a more menacing look. Perhaps the best thing about it are its origins, giving it a legendary feel despite not even being a pseudo-legendary. Its name even gets the Pikachu treatment, as it's the same all over the world, indicating that Game Freak sort of want to make Lucario the unofficial second mascot of the franchise. Lucario's name may be derived from the reverse of the Japanese transliteration of 'orichalcum', which is a mythical metal mentioned in several ancient writings. Also called aurichalcum, this element is believed to have been a noble metal like platinum, second only to gold in value, and is probably the reason why Lucario is part steel type. In numismatics, orichalcum is the golden-colored bronze alloy used by the Roman Empire for their sestertius and dupondius coins, which is probably where Riolu and Lucario's shinies come from. It's a nice little touch, although orichalcum is not the only thing to be the inspiration for Lucario's name; words like 'oracle', 'Cairo', 'pharaoh', luchar (Spanish for 'fight') and lucarius (Latin for 'one of light' or 'luminary', probably referring to Lucario's supernatural abilities involving aura) may have been apparent derivations and fit its design, origins and flavor perfectly.

Amazing fan art of Lucario Mega-evolving.

Another reason for Lucario's popularity, even if its design is disliked by people, is its versatility in the competitive scene. It's not a very defensive Pokémon, but it is powerful on the physical as well as the special side of the offensive spectrum, and it is pretty fast to boot. There are definitely quite some faster Pokémon than Lucario, so it's not going to outspeed things left and right, but it's very easy to work with stats like Lucario's. Damn, it learns Nasty Plot and Swords Dance, and it has a crazy diverse movepool on both sides of the spectrum, so you are spoiled for choice. It even has two STAB priority moves in Vacuum Wave (fighting type, special-based) and Bullet Punch (steel type, physical-based), so you'll be sure to move first a lot of the time, unless a faster Pokémon also uses a priority move. Just keep in mind a Jolly or Adamant nature is best for it on a physical set, a Timid or Modest nature is more beneficial to it on a special set, and a Hasty or Naive (or perhaps Rash, Mild, Lonely or Naughty) nature is preferable if you insist on running a mixed set. You can give Lucario a Focus Sash to live a hit from full HP if the move would have knocked it out otherwise, a Life Orb to give its attacks some extra oomph on top of its Nasty Plot or Swords Dance boost, a Choice item to instantly make it faster or stronger at the cost of letting it use only one move until it is switched out, or even the Lucarionite to let it Mega-evolve.

Just keep in mind that Smogon banned Mega Lucario to the Uber tier because of the boosts in its attack, special attack and speed upon Mega-evolving as well as its unpredictability. On top of that, Mega Lucario has the Adaptability ability, which lets STAB moves now do double damage rather than 1.5 times. It's a step up from regular Lucario's abilities Steadfast, Inner Focus and Justified (the latter of which is the best one due to the attack boost Lucario gets when hit by a dark-type move) and just too powerful to be used in one of Smogon's regular tiers.

Originally a wallpaper of Lucario being a total badass. 

Oh Lucario, you'll never cease to be thrusted into the limelight by Nintendo and Game Freak, and I honestly don't give a flying fuck about that. Lucario is a cool Pokémon and it's not hard to understand why it's so loved by at least half the fanbase. After all the praise for this Pokémon, you people will probably know by now what rating I'm going to give it, right?

Right.

Rating: 5/5

#436 - #437: Bronzor & Bronzong

This fan art of Bronzor is very... radiating.

Due to my recent love for steel types - recent being three years or so - I have come to appreciate Bronzor and Bronzong much more than I initially did. In fact, I didn't like these Pokémon at all when Diamond and Pearl were released. They looked weird, served no purpose and were just some cheap Metagross rip-offs in my eyes, just because of their steel/psychic typing (please note that I didn't particularly like Metagross in the beginning, either). You could just catch Bronzor in the wild with no explanation given; except for its Pokédex entries there's no lore behind it whatsoever, and there were no researchers in the overworld trying to explain Bronzor and Bronzong's existence - not that I know of, anyway. It wasn't until years later that I realized there was still a whole lot of mystery surrounding these Pokémon, even though the mystery wasn't necessarily to be found in the overworld. Implements shaped like Bronzor were found in ancient tombs, and it is unknown whether Bronzor are man-made objects come to life or said objects were just inspired by Bronzor's appearance at the time. It is likely the former, as Bronzor is based on a dōkyō, a bronze mirror; and sure enough, Pokémon researchers believe this Pokémon reflected like a mirror in the past, even though x-ray photos that were taken to check its body structure didn't yield any results.

But if so little is known about Bronzor, how do contemporary scientists know that ancient people believed that the herb-shaped crest on its back was imbued with a mysterious power? Do they have a special arrangement with Celebi or something?

Bronzong in TCG.

Anyway, Bronzor's evolution Bronzong isn't just a disc-shaped entity. It is based on a dōtaku instead, a Japanese bell smelted from relatively thin bronze. These bells were often richly decorated with patterns representing nature and were buried in isolated locations by ancient people - occasionally with bronze mirrors and weapons - in the hope they got blessed with plentiful harvests. Sure enough, Bronzong's natural power to summon rain clouds is incorporated into its movepool, as it has the ability to learn Rain Dance by level-up - although it is the only Pokémon who can learn this move naturally but doesn't personally benefit from it. Bronzong doesn't just sommon rain clouds by doing some silly dance, however: it brought rains by opening portals to another world. That's some dangerous shit right there. If Sun and Moon have taught me anything, it's that alternate dimensions are not to be messed with. Additionally, Bronzong apparently also used to be buried by people in ancient times, as one specimen caused a news sensation when it was dug up at a construction site after a 2,000-year sleep.

I'm pretty sure the artist is mocking Game Freak for granting
Bronzong access to the move Earthquake, of all things.

In any case, Bronzor and its evolution Bronzong look absolutely nothing alike, but that doesn't mean their evolutionary pattern is completely illogical. You see, there's an old Japanese legend best known by the title Of a Mirror and a Bell, present in the 1904 book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn, an Irish-Greek author who became a Japanese citizen and produced numerous accounts of Japanese culture and mythology. The story tells of a bunch of priests in Mugenyama who wanted a new bell for their temple and asked for the local women to donate their old bronze mirrors, which could be melted and cast into a bell. One of those mirrors belonged to a farmer's wife, but after a while the woman started to regret giving away the mirror that had been in her family for years. An old proverb said that a mirror was the soul of a woman, and she started to worry that she had given away her soul by donating her mirror to the priests. She couldn't afford to buy her precious belonging back, and when the mirrors were sent to the foundry to be forged into a bell, one of the mirrors would not melt. The mirror remained attached to the woman, kept cold in the furnace by her selfish desire, and she couldn't cope with the shame when it was discovered to whom the mirror belonged. She drowned herself, but not before leaving a letter in which she stated that she would come back as a ghost and reward the person to strike the bell hard enough to shatter it. The last wish of anyone dying in resentment was thought to possess a mystical power, so every day the locals tried to break the bell until the priests got tired of the constant noise. They rolled the bell down a hill into a deep swamp, never for it to be seen ever again... and giving the woman exactly what she wanted.

Of course, stories like these are often heavily exaggerated, as I can't imagine a fucking bell causing a woman so much misery that she decides to commit suicide, but myths like these make for pretty interesting Pokémon. The more I come to know about Bronzor and Bronzong's origins, the more I come to respect them - and Game Freak, for that matter, for adding little flavor-enhancing things like the Heatproof ability.

Props to the artist for making this Bronzong appear a bit worn
with age, giving this piece of fan art a more realistic feeling.

Now that I'm talking about that, Bronzong is a very valuable asset to any competitive team. With amazing base 116 defenses and decent base 67 HP, this bell is as tough to crack as the one in Of a Mirror and a Bell. There are a few options to consider when using Bronzong, and one of them is an all-out offensive one: Bronzong's base 89 attack stat allows it to do some pretty serious damage, and with a Macho Brace (halves its already abysmal speed) and a Brave nature (lowers its speed even further, but raises its attack), the move Gyro Ball will absolutely wreck anything that doesn't resist it. Bronzong also learns Trick Room, Earthquake, Zen Headbutt and Rock Slide, as well as Explosion - when it has lost its effectiveness during the match, you can just catch the opponent off guard and let it blow up. However, Bronzong is more commonly used as a defensive Pokémon, setting up Stealth Rock and annoying the fuck out of its foes by giving them a bad poisoning with Toxic and subsequently stalling them with Protect. Alternatively, Trick Room can still be used on a defensive set to evoke the rage of opponents who are trying to set up in order to sweep. To ensure Bronzong's longevity, you should let it hold the Leftovers so it can heal a bit of its HP every turn. With a defensive set comes a defensive nature, but preferably a speed-reducing one such as Sassy or Relaxed, just to squeeze the most damage out of Gyro Ball.

As for its abilities, the damage reduction from fire-type moves due to Heatproof seems great and is a nice little touch Game Freak added in regard to its origins, but I can assure you that the immunity to ground-type moves from Levitate is far more useful. Don't even bother with its hidden ability Heavy Metal, because it will only have effect on the damage output of Heavy Slam, which you won't be using in the first place. Additionally, Bronzong will be taking much more damage from moves like Low Kick and Grass Knot, which obviously isn't very favorable.

Can we just take a second to appreciate Bronzor's design? 

I absolutely love Bronzor and Bronzong, not only because of my love for steel types but also because there's such a mysterious vibe surrounding these Pokémon. Bronzor and Bronzong are based on very different ancient artifacts, yet their evolutionary pattern makes so much sense if you take their origins into consideration. Working your way up to my list of favorite Pokémon from rock bottom is no mean feat, but both Bronzor and Bronzong managed to do just that. Their rating probably won't come as a surprise to y'all...

P.S.: The Chinese aren't very nice people. Their name for Bronzor is Tóngjìngguài (銅鏡怪), which literally means 'bronze mirror freak'. My precious little Bronzor is not a freak, goddammit!

P.P.S.: I like how bianzhong, an ancient Chinese musical instrument consisting of bells, is phonetically similar to 'Bronzong'.

Rating: 5/5

#412 - #414: Burmy, Wormadam & Mothim

Burmy feeling uncomfortable losing its cloak.

As if the Gen. II Pokémon Pineco and Forretress weren't enough already, Diamond and Pearl gave us more bagworm Pokémon in the form of Burmy and Wormadam. Unlike Pineco, however, Burmy doesn't blow up in your face as early as level 6, nor does it have any useful moves in its level-up moveset. In fact, Burmy just uses Protect to avoid any damage on its persona, annoying players all around the world. This Pokémon learns a grand total of six moves, two of which can only be learned through a Move Tutor in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, so basically the only thing it can do is stall the player out and do nothing in particular. That sounds contradictory, but it's not. As Burmy is vulnerable in its bare form, it composes a cloak made of twigs and leaves that is thinner in hot weather and thicker in the winter in order to shelter itself from cold and wintry winds. It doesn't always stay in the same form, however: if its cloak gets broken, Burmy quickly remakes it with materials nearby. This manifests itself in the games quite well, as Burmy takes on a specific kind of cloak based on the location where it last 'battled' - Plant Cloak (green) in grassy areas, Sandy Cloak (beige) in caves or on beaches, or Trash Cloak (pink) in buildings.

Female Burmy evolve into Wormadam (bottom left), while male
Burmy evolve into Mothim (bottom right). 

Changing its cloak doesn't change the fact that it is a bug type, nor does it gain him an additional type on top of its bug typing. However, its cloak does have an effect on wich typing its evolution Wormadam ends up with when it evolves at level 20: Plant Cloak Wormadam is bug/grass, Sandy Cloak Wormadam is bug/ground, and Trash Cloak Wormadam is bug/steel. The cloak is now part of Wormadam's body and is never shed, and therefore this Pokémon cannot change its typing at will; it will always stay in the same form. Apart from their distinctive typings, the different forms of Wormadam also have their own unique base stat distributions: Plant Cloak is more specially oriented, Sandy Cloak is more physically oriented, and Trash Cloak takes a more defensive approach. Not that it matters much, because in this case, physically or specially oriented means a mediocre attack or special attack stat as well as a good defense or special defense stat backed up by a mediocre HP stat. A physically oriented Wormadam is terrible anyway, so Sandy Cloak is out. Trash Cloak is moderately defensive with its base 95 defense and special defense, but its HP is still lackluster and it can't attack for shit with those bad offensive stats, so that one is also out of the running. That means Plant Cloak is the only remaining Wormadam form, and with base 79 special attack and 105 special defense - along with access to Quiver Dance and a decent special movepool - it is the only one who is somewhat viable for an in-game team.

Yo, these moth Pokémon are drawn so well. Great style!
Clockwise starting from the top left: Dustox, Mothim,
Venomoth and Volcarona, with Masquerain in the middle. 

But as Burmy is based on a bagworm pupa that will metamorphose into a moth if male or remain a pupa-like creature if female, it also has another evolution. Only female Burmy evolve into Wormadam; male Burmy evolve into Mothim, who is - indeed - a moth Pokémon. It is one of the better ones in my opinion, especially compared to Venomoth and Dustox, but I guess I'm a little biased because I used one in a Pokémon X playthrough and I enjoyed it tremendously. Not only do I like its design and color scheme better than any one of the Wormadam, its stat distribution is far more workable, too: it has base 94 attack and special attack as well as slightly more HP and a significantly higher speed stat than Wormadam. Its base 66 speed stat still isn't anything to write home about, mind you, but it's pretty decent after a Quiver Dance boost and allows it to actually outspeed some things. And shit, does this thing have an awesome moveset for a goddamn moth; Bug Buzz, Air Slash and Psychic are level-up moves and will suffice to complete its moveset, although it also learns Energy Ball and Shadow Ball by means of TMs and Electroweb and Giga Drain when you take it to the Move Tutor in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Too bad Mothim is so frail, but I guess it's a far more efficient Quiver Dance user than Wormadam. I wouldn't recommend using it competitively, but it makes for a more-than-decent addition to any in-game team.

Mothim in the anime series.

The only thing that really bugs me about Wormadam is that it learns Confusion, Psybeam and Psychic by level-up as well as Dream Eater by TM, which applies to all Wormadam forms and implies they all should have been part psychic, but absolutely nothing in their designs and/or flavor implicates that they have any psychic abilities. Mothim learns them also, but it's not uncommon for Game Freak to give moth and butterfly Pokémon psyhic-type moves like Confusion and Psybeam, to name a few. Wormadam, on the other hand, has no business knowing those moves and cannot make use of them effectively. It's fucking dumb, really.

A more realistic interpretation of Mothim. Although its body is now reduced to a
fluffy ball, I still think it's cute.

I don't hate Wormadam. If anything, I'm impartial towards it - I can't say that I'm the biggest fan of this Pokémon, but it's here now and I'm bothered by neither its design nor its flavor. Burmy and Wormadam are a sensible take on the traditional bagworm, only with a twist; even the pink Trash Cloak Wormadam with its bug/steel typing makes a certain amount of sense, as its cloak is based on the pink-colored building insulation material made of fiberglass. Mothim makes the exact same amount of sense as Wormadam, and even though it's nothing else but the zillionth bug/flying type, there are so many more things that I love about it, including its shiny coloration.

Oh man, can I just say that its shiny is downright gorgeous? It's definitely one of my favorites so far.

Rating Wormadam: 3/5

Rating Mothim: 5/5

#408 - #409: Cranidos & Rampardos

You'd think everything could only go downhill from here after all that praise for Luxray, but we're not even close to the end. Gen. V has the best roster of Pokémon out of all generations, and we'll have to wade through the majority of Gen. IV Pokémon before we get to the greatest Pokémon generation of all time.

The juvenile forms of all fossil Pokémon, with Cranidos at the far left, apparently
starting a skirmish with Tyrunt.

Fortunately for me, the 'struggle' is made easier by Pokémon like Rampardos, whom I have a soft spot for. I never realized the Gen. IV fossil Pokémon come so early in the Pokédex, especially since the player character can't start digging up fossils in the Sinnoh Underground until they arrive in Eterna City, which is pretty early on but still a couple of cities away from the last Pokémon we reviewed: you'd have to run some errands in Jubilife City, Oreburgh City and Floaroma Town before you get to Eterna City, and on the routes and landmarks between Jubilife and Eterna are a bunch of new Pokémon to be caught, including those found exclusively in Honey trees scattered all over the goddamn region. Why Cranidos and Shieldon appear so early in the National Pokédex is beyond me, but I guess the game developers had a reason for it. I'm not complaining; I just thought I'd point it out.

TCG art of Cranidos getting ready for... something.

In any case, Cranidos is a curious little critter, being based on the extinct species of pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis - or a pachycephalosaur for short. The species is known for their thick, ossified skulls surrounded by nodes and/or spikes, very much like Cranidos. The latter's main attacking prowess involves charging headfirst into its opponents, which is largely in line with the headbutting tendencies of the pachycephalosaur. 100 years in the past, Cranidos even used its skills to combat Aerodactyl, apparently engaging in a feud that ended until it went extinct. Practicing with others of its kind is a common leisure activity among the species, as their craniums are as hard as steel and they like to toughen them up by headbutting one another. When Cranidos evolves into Rampardos at level 30, the earliest of any fossil Pokémon along with Shieldon, the design is just being extended upon. While Bulbapedia suggests Rampardos is based on either stygimoloch spinifer or dracorex hogwartsia (yes, this dinosaur species is indeed named after Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter series) due to its height and the larger horns, it is commonly suggested that both species are in fact juvenile specimens of the pachycephalosaur. There is no scientific evidence to back up that claim just yet, but let's go with it.

Tyrantrum vs. Rampardos. Whose Head Smash would hit harder? Rampardos
inarguably has the better attack stat, but Tyrantrum benefits from much better bulk
altogether. 

Essentially, Rampardos is just an upgraded version of Cranidos. This is not entirely a given in the Pokémon franchise, as quite a number of evolved Pokémon have flavor texts that differ from those of their pre-evolutions, but I guess in this case it's fitting. A charging Rampardos can knock down virtually anything with one hit, pulverizing even the most durable of objects upon impact. Its Pokédex entry from Pokémon Moon even states that records exist of a revived fossil that evolved into Rampardos, escaped and proceeded to destroy a skyscraper. On the other hand, if two of them were to smash their heads together, their foot-thick craniums would keep them from fainting. In short, Rampardos is a brute capable of destroying everything around it if it feels like it, demonstrated in-game by its massive base 165 attack stat. That's the highest of any fully evolved Pokémon, barring Megas and legendaries (Ultra Beasts included), and it doesn't even have an ability that hinders it.

Whew, this Rampardos is scary, goddamn.

But unlike Slaking, who has Truant to hinder its battle prowess, Rampardos's stats are either subpar or just downright bad. Its base 97 HP is great, but it doesn't have the defenses to back it up, and most of the time it is too slow to move first. There is a way to get around that, by breeding a Jolly nature onto it and giving it a Choice Scarf in order to effectively maximize its speed. Its base 165 attack lets it hit like a truck anyway, so you might as well max out its speed while you're at it. After that, though, the Choice Scarf lets Rampardos use only one move to attack with until it is switched out, so that in itself limits it as well. In that regard, ditching an attacking move for Rock Polish might be an option if you think you can pull it off. A Life Orb set with the hidden ability Sheer Force (removes added effects of moves in exchange for a 30% boost in power) and an Adamant or Jolly nature might also give you what you're looking for: Rock Slide is a STAB move that hits hard when boosted by Sheer Force - as well as Zen Headbutt, Crunch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch and Iron Head, by the way - and Hammer Arm, Superpower, Earthquake and Outrage generally hit very hard when used by Rampardos. Another role it could fulfill is that of suicide lead, used for setting up Stealth Rock after living a hit at full HP with a Focus Sash. With its ability Mold Breaker, it can even negate the effects of abilities that could potentially affect the damage or effects of a move that it executes. There are other Pokémon who are much better suited for that role, though, and using Rampardos as a suicide lead is actually a waste of potential.

Also, Smogon mentions mixed sets on Rampardos, but I wouldn't recommend that in the slightest. Even with Sheer Force, its base 65 special attack doesn't allow it to hit hard with moves such as Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Fire Blast in the first place, so I think you're better off with Fire Punch and Thunder Punch, just to new a few attacks.

Some nifty 3D art of Rampardos.

Cranidos and Rampardos are the only mono-type fossil Pokémon, but they are my favorites by a large margin. I agree with many people that Rampardos's design is a bit awkward and messy, but that is exactly why I like it so much. Also, the black-and-blue color scheme is one of the reasons why I love Luxray so much, and the same applies to Rampardos, albeit to a lesser degree. I used one in my very first Diamond playthough, also just like Luxray, and it demolished everything in its path. And that is exactly what I'm looking for in a Pokémon when casually playing through a game.

Rating: 5/5

#403 - #405: Shinx, Luxio & Luxray

What's not to love about Luxray's shiny form? Its beautiful
black-and-gold color scheme mixed with orange is so... perfect!

When I started this blog a little over two years ago, I did it with the intention to review every single Pokémon in existence. Ever since, I couldn't wait until I would arrive at my favorite Pokémon of all time, and today is finally the day that I can gush about it all I want. Those of you who have been keeping up with this blog long enough will already know that Luxray is my favorite Pokémon, as I said it a couple of times in other entries, not to mention that some of you may have been bold enough to read my previous blog (which, by the way, is muy cringy) despite my warnings. Those of you who have not been around for that long at all should've seen this coming as well: in the introduction text at the top of my blog I clearly present myself as The Shiny Luxray, which is the name of this Blogger account and the most obvious indication of which Pokémon actually is my all-time favorite. I fell in love with Luxray the very moment I first laid eyes on it in my very first Pokémon Diamond playthrough in 2007. Like many first-time players of this game, I was using Shinx, who was available on one of the first routes after receiving your mandatory set of Poké Balls from the Professor. I knew Luxray would forever be my favorite Pokémon from the moment it had evolved from Luxio, even knocking the majestic Lugia from the throne. And while my fairly recent love for steel types caused Steelix to have been elevated to a solid second place, not even a giant metal snake will be able to dethrone this awesome electric-type lynx.

I'm so happy Luxray got a recurring role in the anime as Clemont's most important
team member. At least it didn't make a one-time appearance like most Pokémon
do. Also, look at how big it is; Clemont could hop on its back and make a ride on it.

So now I have to sum up everything I love about Luxray, right? Here goes nothing.

1. The animal it's based on
Cats - or felines in general - are my favorite animals, and I have to say Game Freak have done a decent job creating some interesting Pokémon based on them so far. Luxray is the biggest and baddest of them all, though, with one of the most interesting designs as well. While it looks a bit like a lion, it is actually based on a lynx; in European mythology, the lynx was said to have the power to see through solid objects. It'll make sense in a bit, I promise.

2. Its typing
Persian, Delcatty, Purugly and even Pyroar... All of these cat Pokémon got the generic normal type, and Luxray is one of the few felines deviating from that. Shockingly, it's an electric type, with also just one weakness but far more elemental benefits due to the abundance of water- and flying-type Pokémon in the franchise.

3. Its design and color scheme
These two go hand in hand, and I must say Luxray should be one of Game Freak's proudest achievements. It has a very streamlined design with a brilliant black-and-blue color scheme that is not used often enough on electric types. There are hints of yellow in its design, of course, and because I'm not a big fan of yellow in the first place, I'm glad this color was toned down in Luxray's design.

One big happy family. 

4. Its facial features
Dammit, how can you NOT love those eyes? Elaborating on the design argument, Luxray's gold eyes with red sclera are quite unique even for Pokémon standards and make it look like a lunatic. It's not really that maniacal, of course, but its eyes definitely give it a much more menacing look. Also, it can do a special little something with its eyes that I'll talk about later. And then the cute oval-shaped ears and that red button nose... I CAN'T EVEN!

5. Its mane
There is only one way to describe its mane: majestic. And it looks so good on it, goddamn.

6. Its shiny form
While I'm not a shiny hunter per se, I literally did everything I could to obtain a shiny Luxray via the GTS when Pokémon X and Y came out. I wanted one so badly, and eventually I even managed to obtain a competitive one with its hidden ability Guts. That black-and-gold color palette with some orange touches is just... perfection! And yes, I consider shiny Luxray's skin color gold rather than yellow.

7. Its name
There's no other word for it, its name just sounds so incredibly cool. And while I think most Japanese Pokémon names sound silly, I have to admit that even Rentorar (レントラー) - which is derived from the inventor of x-rays, Wilhelm Röntgen, and the Japanese word for 'tiger', tora - has an intimidating sound to it; it almost sounds like 'roar'.

Luxray letting everybody know it's the only true heir
to the throne. "Hear me roar!"

8. Its posture
Can you say Luxray is beautiful? I definitely think so, and as I'm gushing about it I might as well say it looks incredibly royal and elegant somehow. In fact, I'm starting to think sphinxes might have been the inspiration for Luxray as well, giving it a somewhat Egyptian appearance.

9. Its characteristics
What makes Luxray so incredibly awesome is its extraordinary eyesight. It can see through most object and walls, like x-ray vision, so there's practically nothing that can go unseen by it. Being a predatory Pokémon, it even spots prey hiding in the shadows, but when tamed and trained correctly it can become very domestic and loyal, protecting its Trainer from danger. It does need a lot of compassion and praise to maintain its satisfaction, as Luxray tend to be proud and stubborn creatures, and abusing it can make it very antagonistic and vengeful towards its Trainer. I would love to have a Luxray by my side, but even then I don't understand why you want to abuse one in the first place. Like most sane people I am against animal cruelty, which is obviously a given, but I guess in this case I think you have to be deserving of Luxray's attention and loyalty as well. When you give some love, you get some in return. Also, Luxray can administer extreme amounts of power through their electricity, but as it's an electric type that's kind of a cop-out.

10. It tries to break the mold
Luxray is unique in the fact that it's one of only few physical-based electric types, introduced right when the physical/special split occurred. While a great in-game asset, it wasn't much of a competitive Pokémon until it got better moves and an awesome hidden ability in Guts one generation later.

11. Its role in the anime
While originally getting just a couple of cameos in the Gen. IV adaptation of the anime series, it got a recurring role as Clemont's main Pokémon in the X and Y saga, saving it from obscurity. I'm glad it got a little bit of attention, at least. And let's not forget about Volkner's Luxray, who definitely gave Ash a run for his money.

This Luxray in Pokémon Conquest sure looks menacing and intimidating. In the
Netherlands, we have a proverb that sums it up very well: Het is geen katje om
zonder handschoenen aan te pakken is basically the equivalent of 'to treat
someone or something with kid gloves', but literally translates to, 'It's not a cat
to handle without gloves.'

12. Its appearance in Pokémon Conquest
This one might be stretching it a little bit, but just look at Luxray's stance in its official artwork for Pokémon Conquest. It's just ready to kick some fucking ass, goddammit! Conveniently, you can actually recruit the warrior owning a Shinx after defeating her and taking her kingdom by meeting a few requirements, but once you've done that she's ready to help you invade other kingdoms in Ransei with what will eventually be a kick-ass Luxray!

13. The fan art
Have you taken a look on Google Images already? Only by inserting 'Luxray' you'll find the most awesome and badass fan art of this Pokémon. The design of a quadrupedal electric-type cat lends itself well to fan art like that, too. There's definitely no shortage of Luxray fan art on the Internet and I am having a hard time choosing from amazing drawings for my article as I'm writing this.

LOL. Whoever drew this reference to The Lion King is a genius!

And now we've reached the end of 13 Reasons Why. All jokes aside, though, Luxray is not without its flaws. Competitively, it is not used by an awful lot of people, and the reason for that is because it's tricky to use. Base 80 HP and base 79 defenses aren't extremely useful on a relatively slow Pokémon, but with a little luck your Luxray will survive at least a couple of hits before it goes down. The problem is that you definitely want one with the Guts ability, which increases the user's attack stat by 50% when suffering from a status condition, and the only way to reliably activate it is by giving Luxray a Flame Orb to hold. The Toxic Orb is possible too, but burn has been nerfed in Gen. VII and now takes equal to 1/16 of a Pokémon's health every turn, which is half the amount of damage poison would cause. Another problem is that Luxray should definitely rock out with Wild Charge, a physical-based electric-type move that also causes recoil damage. Along with the Flame Orb and its low speed stat, that's going to wear Luxray down significantly. You'll be lucky to dish out a couple of hits, but at least Luxray's base 120 attack stat allows it to do just that. With an Adamant nature, it can hit even harder, but you could also opt for a Jolly nature to make it as fast as possible. At least it doesn't lack the movepool to complete a Flame Orb set, having access to nifty moves like Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Superpower, Crunch, Iron Tail, Facade, Protect and Night Slash.

Two Luxray beating each other black-and-blue.

Also, you could make Luxray somewhat physically bulky in exchange for some power by using one with the Intimidate ability, which lowers the opponent's attack when Luxray enters the battlefield. This still leaves it susceptible to special sweepers, but I guess you can't have everything. The other regular ability it has access to is Rivalry, which lets it deal more damage against Pokémon of the same gender but less damage to Pokémon of the oppositie gender, which is naturally not the preferred ability for Luxray and I would even try to avoid it in a regular playthrough.

To summarize, Luxray is - unfortunately - not the best Pokémon in the competitive metagame, which is why I didn't mention its battle prowess as one of the reasons why I love it. That is not to say that stops me from loving Luxray altogether, I just wish Game Freak had made it a little bit better competitively so that it would have been a more popular Pokémon. Then again, my love for Luxray feels so special that I'm wondering whether I really want it to become as popular as Pokémon like Charizard, Mewtwo and Lucario. It's still a great asset to any in-game team, though, so definitely don't hesitate to use it!

This is Clemont's Luxray when it was still an adorable little
Shinxie.

But enough about Luxray for a minute; didn't I say I would be talking about all Pokémon? Luxray has pre-evolutions as well, and I'm not sure if I've mentioned them yet. Of course, it all starts with cute little Shinx. To be honest, I don't think I would've used it if it hadn't been so adorable to me the instant I laid my eyes on it, and my love for Luxray would have come much later (or maybe wouldn't even have been this strong in the first place) if that had been the case. I actually developed a bond with the very first Luxray I had, and that definitely fueled my love for this Pokémon to a great extent. I was actually sad once the adventure was over. Anyway, Shinx bears resemblance to a lynx kitten or a lion cub, but considering Luxray's flavor it is probably the former. If Shinx senses danger, its fur gleams brightly to blind predators so it can flee, and this electricity is produced by the extension and contraction of the muscles in its forelegs. The only one I'm not big on is Luxio, who honestly kinda looks awkward to me, but at least it evolves from Shinx at level 15 and evolves into Luxray at level 30, so I never have to put up with it for long. There isn't much to say about it, either, apart from the fact that it communicates with others of its kind by electroreception via its claws, generating the necessary electricity by gathering their tails together.

Luxray BREAK, one of the TCG cards in my possession. This art is just flat-out
AMAZING! I'm sure you don't want to deal with this little kitty. 

Luxray is - and will always be - my all-time favorite Pokémon. My love for this Pokémon runs so deep, in fact, that I kept on collecting TCG cards of Shinx, Luxio and Luxray and put them in a special binder, even though I quit TCG approximately nine years ago. Yep, that's how much I love Luxray. This Pokémon will forever hold a special place in my heart, and I doubt any new Pokémon will ever take over. At the end of the day I'm just biased, of course, but isn't every Pokémon fan when they're talking about their favorite Pocket Monster?

Anyway, guess what my rating's gonna be...?

Rating: 5/5

#393 - #395: Piplup, Prinplup & Empoleon

With Piplup and Prinplup's better-than-thou attitude, I doubt
real love between the species is actually possible.

Of the Sinnoh starters, Piplup is hands down the cutest-looking. With the dark blue feathers on its head extending down its neck and around its head, our little superhero appears to be wearing some kind of cape. Don't let that fool you, though, because this feisty little thing has a strong sense of self-pride and has a hard time accepting food from humans and bonding with its caretakers. It will even puff up its chest without a care after it falls down, which it often does because of its poor walking abilities. This trait becomes even worse when Piplup evolves into Prinplup, whose sense of self-pride is so high that it can't even form groups of its own kind. It lives a solitary life instead, away from others, as every one of this Pokémon species believes it is the most important. Game Freak even goes as far as to incorporate variations of 'prince' in its domestic and foreign names, with its Japanese name Pottaishi (ポッタイシ) and Korean name Pengtaiza (팽태자) coming from kōtaishi and hwangtaeja, respectively, both meaning 'crown prince'. But eventually they're gonna be king or emporor of... well, what exactly? Prinplup live alone and their snobby attitude is the one solid reason not a one of this Pokémon will give in to others of its kind, so I'm actually curious how's that going to work out once they evolve into Empoleon. Let's find out, shall we?

Empoleon surfing on the water. 

Piplup and Prinplup's high special defense stats, influences of emperor penguins and their ability to survive in cold climates and icy waters due to their thick downs would make you think Empoleon is actually a water/ice type, but nothing could be further from the truth: Game Freak decided to go the unconventional route for once and made Empoleon the first and only water/steel-type Pokémon.

STEEL TYPE REPRESENT!!!

Ahem, I am fine...

Of course, most of the time it's pretty obviously visible whether a Pokémon is a steel type or not, and the fact that this is not the case with Empoleon probably makes me love it even more. Naturally, this Pokémon has the highest sense of self-pride in the entire evolutionary line and anything or anyone who were to damage it will be slashed viciously with its wings - which can easily cleave through an ice floe, in case you were wondering. Apparently, this Pokémon is able to live in groups just fine, but the Empoleon with the biggest horns is the leader. Sure, the one with the biggest something is always the goddamn leader, isn't it? Well, I doubt emperor penguins consciously think they're better than other people or things, so I think it's the 'emperor' part that makes Piplup, Prinplup and Empoleon think so highly of themselves. And there's one certain human being that has been the inspiration for that.

Okay, somebody made this and I think it's fantastic!

We've got to take a look at Empoleon's namesake Napoleon Bonaparte to understand why it and its pre-evolution are so prideful. Obviously, the majority of you don't need to be introduced to Napoleon, as you probably know exactly who he is, but I'm going to give you a brief summary of his personality nonetheless. As you're probably all aware of, Napoleon was a highly competent military strategist who achieved victory after victory at the start of the 19th century and declared himself the Emperor of the French and King of Italy in 1804 and 1805, respectively. He hated losing, however; he cheated at card games, refused to take inspiration from other great conquerors and was accused of winning battles because of sheer luck, the kind of rumors and criticism he quickly attempted to scotch. Winning so often heightened his sense of self-grandiosity, leaving himself even more certain of his destiny and invincibility. Until, of course, he was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 - something ABBA wouldn't let France forget about - and exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena by the British shortly thereafter.

In short, he was pretty much someone who would easily have said, "Hurt my pride and pay the consequences, or keep quiet." Empoleon, my guy... I get you. It's not your fault Game Freak and Nintendo characterized you this way. Don't worry, I've got your back.

Empoleon just being plain badass. 

Of all the Sinnoh starters, Empoleon is by far the best Pokémon to use competitively. Its base 84 HP stat and 101 special defense stat provide it some awesome special bulk, making it an excellent special tank utilized for support. I'm basically saying that a moveset consisting of Stealth Rock, Defog, Scald and Roar is enough for Empoleon to work, as long as it is holding the Leftovers (or a kind of berry that weakens a common super-effective ground- or fighting-type move, such as the Shuca or Chople Berry) and has a Calm or Bold nature to increase one of its defenses. You'd think this should always be its special defense, but that stat is high enough as is and you could therefore breed for a Bold Empoleon to try equaling its defenses in battle and let it serve as an all-around tank. However, its best base stat is its special attack, at 111, and it could therefore wreck house as well. A Choice Specs set with a Modest nature and the moves Hydro Pump, Flash Cannon, Ice Beam and either Grass Knot or Signal Beam will more than suffice, although you could also swap the Choice Specs for a more reliable item such as a Life Orb or one of those berries I mentioned earlier. Don't bother giving Empoleon a Choice Scarf or anything, because it's got some lousy speed, anyway; for that matter, you might be better off giving it Agility, which is a set-up move that doubles its speed but doesn't lock Empoleon into a certain move. As for its ability... Well, Torrent is basically your only option, because its hidden ability Defiant raises its attack - which you're not gonna use if you're smart - every time one of its stats is reduced.

GIF of Empoleon from - I think - Pokkén Tournament.

I've always loved Empoleon, and I have to say this Pokémon may well have laid the basis for my current love of steel types. What makes it a steel type exactly is still a mystery to me, but I'm not complaining: I love steel types for their defensive qualities as much as their aethetics, and like many others of its type Empoleon has 10 resistances and an immunity. This Pokémon is powerful and possibly even a little too overpowered for a normal playthrough, but I've found myself choosing Piplup more often than Turtwig (and definitely Chimchar), just because I think its design is so amazing. Its Napoleonic aesthetics based on the emperor penguin are genius in itself, but the crest extending from its beak resembles the trident of Poseidon - the ancient Greek god of the sea - and is a nice little touch on a bird-like water type like Empoleon. I'm giving it no fewer than a perfect 5 stars, but by this time you really shouldn't be surprised anymore.

P.S.: I find it hilarious how the German name Impoleon contains the word 'imp' somehow. It's actually from Imperator - which means 'emperor' in German - but there's this urban myth going around about Napoleon that he was ridiculously small. At 5'02" he was a bit short for an officer at the time, sure, but about average height for French peasants.

Rating: 5/5