#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

#250: Ho-Oh

Ho-Oh as seen in the very first episode of the anime series.

You know, I don't mean to offend anyone who loves Ho-Oh, but this Pokémon is nowhere near as sick as Lugia. Ho-Oh is the first Gen. II Pokémon to be shown in the anime, and in the very first episode at that, but it didn't get the attention Lugia got: it doesn't have its own movie or anime arc and the appearances it has made so far are merely cameos. And even though Lugia doesn't have the power to resurrect Pokémon like Ho-Oh does - the latter revived Entei, Raikou and Suicune during a war that caused the Tin Tower and Brass Tower to burn down - Ho-Oh got nothing on Lugia. Game Freak even took Ho-Oh's signature move Sacred Fire and gave it to Entei, who makes far better use of it, while Lugia is still showing off what I call Aeroblast awesomeness. Poor Ho-Oh; it's as if Game Freak knows Lugia is more loved and popular than Ho-Oh and that they're deliberately putting it in the spotlights on a continuing basis because that's what the audience want. Of course, Ho-Oh is the mascot of Pokémon Gold and Pokémon HeartGold, but Lugia even got its own GameCube game in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. I absolutely LOVE Lugia and I fully understand why it is getting more attention, but that doesn't mean I don't feel sorry for Ho-Oh.

Flaming homo Fearow. :')

Like, it's not as if it's a bad Pokémon or something. It has the same base stat total as Lugia, sitting at 680, so it should obviously do something right. Right? Right, so its base 154 special defense is by far its best stat, which means you could easily run a specially defensive Ho-Oh, right? Wrong. It's not even necessary to invest in some HP EV training, because its base 130 attack and base 110 special attack make it more of a mixed attacker. At least, that's what Ho-Oh could be used for, as it learns some nifty special-based moves aside from its excellent physical-based coverage, although it is more common to run an Adamant-natured Ho-Oh holding a Choice Band or Life Orb. Naturally, its moveset should consist of STAB Brave Bird, STAB Sacred Fire (which is a physical move, strangely), Earthquake and a fourth and final move that fits your needs. You see, Ho-Oh resides in Smogon's Uber tier, like Lugia. When you know for a certainty that the opponent is bringing a Darkrai to the battlefield, you can also be sure that it's going to put you to sleep with Dark Void. So in order to counter that, you can give Ho-Oh Sleep Talk, which is a move that selects any of its other moves to attack with and makes sure you hit the Darkrai or any Pokémon your opponent switches out into. However, if you feel safer with an extra coverage move, Zen Headbutt and Iron Head are both viable options.

Ho-Oh does have its flaws, though: it has a quadruple weakness to rock and thus it's heavily damaged by Stealth Rock - and any physical-based rock-type move for that matter, due to its relatively low base 90 defense stat. Even its hidden ability Regenerator, which heals Ho-Oh when it switches out and is an amazing ability otherwise, won't do much for it then. And, to top it off, this bird's base 90 speed makes it slower than a flying beluga whale. Go figure.

Ho-Oh in front of the Bell Tower, a.k.a. the Tin Tower. This
tower was rebuilt after the war that meant the destruction of the
Brass and Tin Towers, but the former was never renovated or
rebuilt.

Yeah, while Lugia's design is just plain fabulous, Ho-Oh's design, typing and origin actually make a lot more sense. While it looks like it's based on phoenixes in general - hōō is Japanese for 'phoenix' - its Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese names of Fuhngwòhng (鳳凰) and Fèngwáng (鳳王), respectively, refer to one specific phoenix called the fenghuang, a mythological bird from Chinese folklore that reigns over all the other birds. As it often replaces the rooster in the Chinese zodiac, it is often referred to as the 'August Rooster'. While in the West it is commonly called the Chinese phoenix, mythological similarities with the Western phoenix are superficial, although the fenghuang was often depicted attacking snakes with its talons and wings spread. Anyone who has seen or read Fawkes attack the basilisk in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets knows what the fuck I'm talking about. Ho-Oh may also be based on the Huma, a mythical bird from Iranian legends and fables that is said to never alight on the ground and instead to live its entire life flying invisibly high above the Earth. In several variations of the Huma tale, the bird is said to consume itself in fire every few hundred years and rise anew from its ashes. Apparently, it can do the same thing with others, which is an obvious wink to Ho-Oh's power of resurrection: it was seen to be reborn from its own ashes and had a hand in resurrecting the legendary beasts. Also, anyone who catches a glimpse of the Huma, or even its shadow, will be sure to be a happy motherfucker for the rest of their life. Same for Ho-Oh, because the rare pure-hearted few who bear witness to it are promised eternal happiness.

Additionally, the fact that Ho-Oh leaves a trail of rainbows and myths in its wake when it flies the skies continuously on its magnificent seven-colored wings (that's another Huma reference right there) in search for Trainers with a pure heart may mean it's based on Achiyalabopa, a bird god of the Native American Pueblo peoples. It is described as being extraordinary in size and having rainbow-colored feathers that are as sharp as knives.

Okay, this wallpaper is kind of lit.

Oh, Ho-Oh... There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, it's just that Lugia gets more love. And I'm guilty of paying all of my attention to your counterpart as well, because I absolutely ADORE Lugia and I don't think you're as interesting as my second favorite Pokémon. Lugia is unique, one of a kind; this whole phoenix thing, however, was done with Moltres before you came, and has been done all over with Fletchinder and Talonflame recently. Ho-Oh, you have been deprived of being put in the spotlights by Game Freak and Nintendo over and over again, while all the love went to Lugia. You know what? I'll give you a 4.5-star rating, maybe that'll cheer you up.

Ah, who the fuck am I kidding? Ho-Oh will spend its life hiding itself until it gets faith in humanity again, and I don't see that happen anytime soon.

Rating: 4.5/5

#249: Lugia

Film poster for the second Pokémon movie.

I am going to have so much fun writing this. This is even going to be the article I'm having the most fun writing since Togetic's entry, because Lugia is my second favorite Pokémon in existence. Of course, I fell in love with this thing when I saw the second Pokémon movie, Pokémon the Movie 2000: The Power of One. This movie also made me grow more affective towards Articuno, who is one of my favorite Pokémon ever and by far my favorite Kanto legendary. The plot is fairly simple: Lawrence III, a wealthy collector of the world's most valuable antiques, is out to capture the legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres, but only in order to capture the more powerful Lugia. After Lawrence provokes Moltres by shooting ice cannons at its habitat and succeeds in capturing it on Fire Island, the world's climate begins to change. It seems that a prophecy, guarded by a talking Slowking, is about to come true and a disaster is on its way:

"Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, and thus the Earth shall turn to ash. O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three. Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea."

Lugia being awesome in the second Pokémon movie. It is using
Aeroblast in order to repel the iron triangles Lawrence III used
for capturing Moltres and Zapdos.

Meanwhile, Ash Ketchum and his friends Misty and Tracey - the latter of whom temporarily replaced Brock in the Orange Islands saga - end up in the middle of a storm, after which they get washed ashore on the beach of Shamouti Island. There, they meet the islanders, who are celebrating their annual festival following the prophecy's tale. When Ash is introduced as a Pokémon Trainer, the islanders become excited because they think he is the Chosen One spoken of in the prophecy (the "And thus the Earth shall turn to ash" part). Ash sets out on a mission and tries to retrieve the three glass orbs also spoken of in the prophecy, bringing them back to Shamouti's shrine where a girl called Melody will play the same tune she played at the festival - a tune similar to Lugia's cry. Of course, nothing goes as planned and Lawrence III even manages to capture Zapdos on Lightning Island, after which Ash teams up with Team Rocket in order to free Zapdos and the already captured Moltres. Once freed, the birds start to fight each other and venture out let Articuno, whom Lawrence is trying to capture at that moment, join the fight, destroying Lawrence's ship in the process. Lugia, noticing the commotion from the very bottom of the ocean, ascends and attempts to interrupt the fight. The rest of the movie shows Lugia getting injured, the legendary birds fighting each other, Lawrence III frustrating Ash's plans and Ash succeeding in bringing the orbs to the shrine. Peace returns and Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres return to their respective caves and Lugia returns to the bottom of the ocean.

Ritchie and Sparky (left) and Ash and his own Pikachu (right)
with the baby Lugia dubbed Silver, an obvious reference to the
game.  

I was absolutely awestruck by the appearance of Lugia when I first watched the movie, and when I caught it in the first game I ever played (Pokémon Silver) I trained it all the way up to level 100. It was the first Pokémon of mine reaching level 100 and I was mighty proud of it, goddammit. From then on, my love for Lugia became kind of an obsession, and I was absolutely ecstatic when Lugia appeared in an anime three-parter, consisting of the episodes "The Mystery Is History", "A Parent Trapped!" and "A Promise Is a Promise". In these, Ash and his friends bump into Ritchie, a boy whom Ash befriended earlier on in the Johto saga. Ritchie says he was told about a mysterious Pokémon and that he had spent extensive time researching the area. His story soon proves to be true when they meet a young boy called Oliver, who is acquainted with a baby Lugia he dubbed Silver. However, the young Lugia is accidentally discovered by Team Rocket (a scientist called Dr. Namba and a Rocket grunt, not Jessie and James), who capture it by luring it with a decoy. They hope to capture the parent Lugia soon, and they succeed when the furious parent whips up a storm upon hearing the news from Ash and Ritchie and falls right into their trap when it tries to rescue its child. Ash and Ritchie try to warn it, but are interrupted by Butch and Cassidy and ultimately end up in a cage in Team Rocket's underwater base themselves, along with Misty and Brock.

Lugia cuteness overload.

The last episode is probably the most action-packed one of the bunch, or at least the most suspenseful one. Dr. Namba enters the room where Ash and his friends are held and explains his evil plan: the head items Butch's Houndour and Cassidy's Hitmontop were wearing earlier in their fight with Ash and Ritchie are actually devices that enhance a Pokémon's energy, and Namba wants to use one of these amplifiers on the parent Lugia. Meanwhile, Oliver is still out and about and decides to go rescue the bunch. Upon entering Team Rocket's base he is helped by Jessie and James, who tell him where Ash and the rest are. Just as Dr. Namba is about to test his amplifiers on Pikachu and Sparky (Ritchie's Pikachu), Oliver quietly breaks into the room and punches in the lock code of the cage, enabling Ash to break out and slam himself into Namba.

After that they try to flee, but Namba sets off an alarm and the bunch is forced to fight Butch and Cassidy again. Luckily, Ash and Ritchie now know what the head items are for and order their Pikchu to destroy them and finish off Houndour and Hitmontop. As Butch and Cassidy flee the scene to ensure the parent Lugia doesn't go anywhere, they run into Jessie and James trying to set the Lugia free. A battle ensues and a dodged Flamethrower from the Houndour destroys one of the supports for the energy barrier that is keeping Lugia in. While Ash and Ritchie are stopped by Namba and his amplified Electabuzz when they try to rescue the baby Lugia, the parent Lugia severely damages the base, causing it to float to the water surface. Meanwhile, Ash's Pikachu distracts the Electabuzz so that Sparky has a chance to electrify Namba and his little controller for the energy amplifier.

Of course, the gang manage to free the baby Lugia and escape the base, but not before persuading the parent Lugia to stop going rampant and gaining its trust. This is demonstrated by a piece of debris falling on the gang, which is stopped by the parent Lugia when it sees they saved its child. In the evening, Lugia and its child head for the ocean, probably never to return.

Shadow Lugia from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.

You guys don't understand how much I ADORE Lugia. The three-episode Lugia arc is my favorite part of the anime, the second movie is my all-time favorite Pokémon movie, and the Crystal Lugia I have - although I have to say that I don't collect the TCG cards anymore - is the best card I possess. For the longest time Lugia was my favorite Pokémon ever, until Luxray came along in 2007 and Lugia was pushed back to a solid second place. Although... it might lose that spot to the recently revealed Torracat, because I am absolutely IN LOVE with that Pokémon already. Anyway, can you blame me for loving Lugia? Lugia manages to maintain a certain air of beauty and majesticness while still looking savage. It also seems to get more love from Game Freak, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company than its counterpart Ho-Oh, and rightfully so: it gets a movie and an anime three-parter, and it is the mascot of three games, making it the record holder of most number of times used as a game mascot. Silver and SoulSilver are obviously two of them, but a Shadow Lugia is proudly occupying the cover of Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, the GameCube follow-up to Pokémon Colosseum. In Gale of Darkness, the criminal organization Cipher have rekindled their desire for world domination and created a Shadow Lugia codenamed XD001, claimed to be immune to purification. Naturally, it is your objective to thwart Team Cipher's plans and rescue this Lugia.

Awesome realistic art of Lugia, who resembles a plesioaur in
this picture. No wonder, as it is probably based on one. 

But Lugia's origin plays a big role in my love for this Pokémon, too. As demonstrated by the image on the left, Lugia is probably based on the extinct plesiosaur, although the name could be a reference to the beluga whale. It could also come from 'lutetium', a silverish element, and the Latin lugeo, which means 'to lie dormant', alluding to the way Lugia lies at the bottom of the sea. Speaking about that, Lugia may be based on the Japanese Shintō god of the sea, the dragon Ryūjin, as the two have similarities in mythology and Lugia's shiny colors even match those of the coral Ryūjin's palace was made of. And the ocean floor seems to be a big part of the mysterious 'Guardian of the Seas': it isolates itself in a deep-sea trench and tends to sleep in solitude, because the storms it could hypothetically spawn by flapping its wings can last as long as 40 days and could potentially inflict devastating damage. It is said that even a light flutter of its wings is capable of causing winds powerful enough to tear down cliffs and blow apart regular houses. Because of these traits, many people believe Lugia should have been a water/flying type instead of a psychic/flying type, and I am inclined to agree with them. It doesn't take anything away from my love for it, but psychic is kind of a weird type for Lugia and I think it should have been a water type. Even some TCG cards erroneously depict it as a water type. Go figure.

This artist used Lugia's official art for their work,
but it looks absolutely amazing!

In the games, Lugia is not as powerful. Its base attack and special attack are 'only' 90, which are decent for common Pokémon but seem to be disappointing on a legendary Pokémon with a base stat total of 680. Luckily, base 90 special attack is very decent to work with, although its base 106 HP, 130 defense and 154 special defense make it more of a wall than an offensive threat. With base 110 speed it is even quite speedy, and you don't see a lot of tanks that can move fast in the competitive metagame. Lugia has access to Multiscale, which is an ability that lets Lugia take half the damage from an incoming move when it is at full HP, making it even more defensive. A Bold nature makes it physically defensive, while a Calm nature makes it specially defensive; both make sure its special attack isn't hindered. It is used to set up screens like Light Screen and Reflect, making your whole team take one hit after another. It can use Toxic or Thunder Wave to inflict a status condition on the foe, Whirlwind to remove opponents that are setting up from the battlefield, and Recover for some reliable healing - alongside a little Leftovers recovery every turn. The Smogon set mentions Roost, but I'd recommend Recover; it is easily learned by Lugia at level 71, heals the same amount of HP as Roost does, has more PP and doesn't make Lugia vulnerable to ground-type moves the following turn. And if you do want an offensive Lugia, I'd recommend a Timid nature and the held item Choice Specs, because its special movepool is better than its physical movepool - although on both sides of the spectrum it learns conspicuously many water-type moves. Hmm...

Lugia (left) battling Shadow Lugia (right). And there is even more amazing fan art to
be found on the Internet; I'd recommend you go check it out.

Man, man, man. This Pokémon will probably never lose its spot as my second favorite Pokémon (the Torracat comment was a joke, although I'm absolutely fanboying over that adorable Pokémon already); I thought it was harsh to let Luxray dethrone Lugia as my favorite Pokémon, but I cannot control my feelings for certain Pokémon. This is also one of the longest articles I've written - Pikachu and Eevee's are longer, I think - but Lugia is worth every second I've spent writing about it. Although it has been pushed back to a second place, that second place is still nothing to sneeze at; and in any case, it is still my favorite legendary Pokémon ever. Just sayin'.

Rating: 5/5

#246 - #248: Larvitar, Pupitar & Tyranitar

Okay, let me confess something here: I don't care for pseudo-legends all that much. Other people would easily give all of them five-star ratings if they would be doing this whole rating thing, but I won't. With the notable exceptions of Metagross and Hydreigon, I don't like pseudos as much as I actually should, and I think the fact that I like Dragonair more than Dragonite is a really good example of that. Don't get me wrong here: I still like Dragonite to some extent, and I'm definitely not going to bash Tyranitar or any of the other pseudos, but you shouldn't expect me to go fanboying over them, either.

Cute little Larvitar holding on to its Substitute plush. 

However, you can't deny that Tyranitar are terrible parents. Its basic form Larvitar is born deep underground, far from its parents, and takes a long time coming to the surface: it will have to eat the surrounding soil before it can see its parents' faces. It will only enter its pupal form - i.e. evolve into Pupitar - upon eating an entire mountain's worth of earth, although in the games it just evolves at level 30. As a Pupitar it becomes trapped in a shell that is so hard that it can even withstand a collision with solid steel, and it has to create a gas inside its body that it compresses and forcefully ejects to propel itself like jet. So it has to fart to move around? That's gross. However, it can move freely inside the shell while its arms and legs are developing, and its thrashing has such destructive power that it can topple a mountain. And Tyranitar? Tyranitar can crush a mountain with one hand. One hand. So... yeah. It has a vicious and insolent nature (see, I told you these things are bad parents!), and it will always be looking for a chance to fight because it knows its thick and rocky hide gives it a good resistance to all forms of attack. It is rarely scared and will never flinch at anything - except at a Serene Grace Air Slash from a Togekiss or a Serene Grace Iron Head from a Jirachi. If it's enraged, Tyranitar will set off outstanding non-STAB Earthquakes (the entire evolutionary line are rock types, but the secondary ground type changes into the dark type when Pupitar evolves into Tyranitar) that can completely change the entire landscape, often forcing cartographers to draw up new maps. So all things summarized, Tyranitar is nothing short of savage.

Pupitar in TCG. 

Now, you'd think that the entire evolutionary line are based on the notorious species of tyrannosaurus rex, but that is not necessarily the case. All of their Japanese names end with the suffix -giras, which may be derived from kirai ('hate') or Gojira and Angiras. Those are the Japanese names of the lizard-like creatures Godzilla and Anguirus, respectively, and are the monsters most often used in old Japanese tokusatsu movies, live-action fantasy or horror films with considerable use of special effects. As Anguirus is based on the ankylosaurus, it is more likely that Godzilla was the inspiration for Larvitar, Pupitar and Tyranitar - or Yogiras (ヨーギラス), Sangiras (サナギラス) and Bangiras (バンギラス) in Japanese. Godzilla itself was designed by combining the tyrannosaur, iguanodon and stegosaur, along with adding some crocodilian features, so we're coming full circle here. And if someone may be wondering what the prefixes of these Pokémon's Japanese names mean: Yogiras is derived from yōji ('baby') and/or yōsei ('larva'), Sangiras contains sanagi ('pupa'), and Bangiras and its foul temper were inspired from yaban ('savage') and/or ban ('barbarian'). That is awfully accurate, I'd say. Additionally, Tyranitar's English name is most likely derived from 'tyrant', referring to its vicious nature, rather than tyrannosaurus rex.

Pretty savage fan art of Mega Tyranitar.

Tyranitar is also a beast in competitive play. Aside from its speed, its base stats are decent to excellent, and it only gets better as Mega Tyranitar. It's not true that there isn't any attack that will leave a scratch on T-tar, but at least Game Freak have shown some consistency by giving it good defenses. Its base 110 defense is already sky-high, but because it's a rock type, its base 100 special defense will even increase by 50% during a sandstorm. And this only applies to regular T-tar. Its Mega has a base stat total of 700, with 164 attack, 150 defense and 120 special defense (before its ability Sand Stream whips up a sandstorm). Holy cow. You'd think it would be impossible to beat Mega T-tar at all, but it is kind of slow and has a whopping seven weaknesses, among which a quadruple one to fighting-type moves, so it has its flaws. There are some useful sets for regular Tyranitar, among which a Jolly Choice Scarf set and an Adamant Choice Band set, both with the Sand Stream ability and staple moves like Crunch, Stone Edge, Pursuit (a 40-power move that does double damage when the foe switches out on the turn it is used) and either Superpower or Earthquake. It can even be used for support, like setting up Stealth Rock and paralyze foes with Thunder Wave, but when using Mega Tyranitar I'd recommend going with a Dragon Dance set. Dragon Dance raises Mega
T-tar's attack and speed by one stage, and when it manages to pull one off, you're in big trouble, because it can finish off your Pokémon with a plethora of STAB and coverage moves.

Regular Tyranitar.

Now, I have another confession to make: I am NOT a fan of Mega Tyranitar. The spikes protruding everywhere from its body and the scales, which are now red instead of blue and enable it to emanate more power because they're seething with energy, only make it overdesigned. The scales do make Mega Tyranitar look more vicious, but they only enhance the notion that there are too many unnecessary additions to its design. So my rating today is for regular Tyranitar, who already looks savage on its own and didn't really need a Mega in the first place. And even though Tyranitar is naturally savage, its blue scales actually give it a somewhat softer look and don't make it look like it's overdesigned. I like Tyranitar more than Dragonite, but it's not one of my favorite Pokémon, so I'll guess it'll have to do with a 4.5-star rating. Which, by the way, isn't bad by any means.

P.S.: There's actually a Smogon Mega T-tar set called 'Indominus Rex', named after the new made-up dinosaur hybrid from Jurassic World. That's just fucking hilarious.

Rating: 4.5/5

#245: Suicune

This might well be the shortest article I'll write about the legendary beasts; not only have I said quite some things about Suicune when I talked about Raikou and Entei in my previous two posts, but Suicune is also the easiest to write about somehow.

This environment seems about right for Suicune, It might not be
an ice-type Pokémon, but I think it is perfectly able to withstand
cold.

Like Entei and Raikou, Suicune is one of the legendary beasts resurrected by Ho-Oh after the burning of the Brass Tower (referred to as the Burned Tower in the games). While Raikou represents the lightning that struck the tower and Entei the flames that consumed it, Suicune represents the rain that quenched the flames. It also looks the most regal of the three beasts, a trait that can be found in its name: Suicune's name is derived from the Japanese words of sui ('water') and kun ('monarch'), and as this Pokémon is also the mascot of Pokémon Crystal, it is not unlikely that the word suishō ('crystal') was also the inspiration for its name. And - again - while Suicune looks canine rather than feline, the spots on its body indicate it is based off of leopards and possibly even snow leopards. The Japanese deity of Fūjin, the god of the wind in the Japanese Shintō religion, carries a large bag of winds on his shoulders and is often depicted wearing a leopard skin, and the fact that Suicune represents wind and rain - it is a pure water type, but it also learns some flying-type moves like Tailwind, Gust and Air Slash - might mean that it is not only based on this very wind deity but also on wind deities from other cultures. The leopard characteristics, the fact that its mane is based on the northern light (aurora borealis; the light seen on the southern hemisphere is called aurora australis), the Pokédex entry that says that northern winds always blow stronger in its presence and its event-only move Sheer Cold - a move that normally only ice types get, aside from Kyogre - even give it some similarities to ice and cold.

The girl character in Pokémon Crystal (or HeartGold and SoulSilver) discovers the
legendary beasts hiding in the Burned Tower with a character called Eusine, who is
after Suicune. While they flee the moment you approach them in the tower, you can
encounter them later on; Raikou and Entei start wandering around the Johto region,
but you get to follow Suicune all the way to somewhere in the vicinity of Cerulean
City, where you can try to capture it without worrying whether it will flee or not.

But the most distinctive trait Suicune has is that it can purify any filthy, polluted body of water it walks on. That's right, it can walk on water.

Suicune is literally the reincarnation of Jesus fucking Christ.

For real though, it is more likely that Suicune takes homage from the Chinese myth of the qílín. This creature is believed to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler and is said to be able to walk on water, like Suicune. It is a powerful and peaceful being that represents prosperity and serenity - one could say Suicune is also the most heroic, serious, calm and serene of the legendary beasts - and possesses a pair of antlers similar to Suicune's crest, with two prongs on either side of the base.

Suicune walking on water.

I can be very brief about Suicune's competitive capacities: it is a bulky staller. Its excellent HP and even more excellent defenses makes it one of the sturdiest walls in the UU and OU tiers. Because it has access to Calm Mind, a move that raises its decent special attack and outstanding special defense by one stage each, you can easily go for a Bold nature, which boosts its defense instead. Suicune can then hit relatively hard with Scald and Ice Beam, while Rest is used to fully heal its HP. It does put Suicune to sleep, though, so you might want to let it hold a Chesto Berry or Lum Berry, both of which wake Suicune up immediately. Leftovers, however, is a nice held item for a little recovery every turn and only enhances Suicune's longevity. And there are other options, too: you can ditch Ice Beam in favor of Roar, which removes the opposing Pokémon from the battlefield and brings another one in. It's a perfect move against Pokémon who want to set up on you. Sleep Talk can be used when Suicune's asleep due to Rest and selects any of its remaining three moves to use while it sleeps - including Rest, which is just fucking dumb. Tailwind increases the speed of your entire team by 50%, while Substitute could come in handy if you want to set up with Calm Mind and PP stall low-PP moves that hurt Suicune, like Leaf Storm and Power Whip. You can even go all-out offensive, but I wouldn't really recommend that; Suicune is just too good a staller for it to be used completely offensively. It's not impossible, as it still learns good coverage moves like Extrasensory, Shadow Ball, Ice Beam, Air Slash and Signal Beam, but still...

One last piece of fan art of the legendary beasts. Look at Suicune being all cool,
calm and collected, as opposed to the savagery Raikou and Entei are radiating. 

While Entei takes up the spot as my favorite Johto legendary beast, I still love Suicune to bits. What especially attracts me is its design; Suicune is so beautiful and so graceful, and its calm and serene water typing is very much in contrast with the restless electric and fire typings of Raikou and Entei, respectively. Maybe that's why I like Articuno more than Zapdos and Moltres as well. All I know now is that, after all these years, Suicune is still deserving of a perfect rating and a spot in my list of favorite Pokémon.

By the way, I guess this isn't the shortest article about the legendary beasts after all; that dubious honor goes to Raikou.

Rating: 5/5

#244: Entei

Entei in a volcanic landscape, apparently its natural habitat.

Entei is the second of the Johto legendary beasts, but I'm still not sure whether it's tied with Suicune as my favorite one, whether it is actually my favorite one or whether the honor of being my favorite legendary beast goes to Suicune. I guess the following two entries should decide which one of the above options is applicable to me. And yes, I know that it was Suicune who had a spot in my top 50 of favorite Pokémon, but as I said before, that blog is badly written and even makes myself cringe from time to time. Moreover, the majority of the Pokémon in that list were on there because of their designs. On this blog I'm taking a number of factors into account for my final rating - think about design, cuteness, competitive and in-game viability, fondness of the Pokémon, my own experiences, etc. - so there's a world of difference between the two blogs. I am of the opinion that this very blog is the better one by a landslide, although that should be kind of obvious: I am significantly better at English than I was three years ago, especially when you consider that I actually studied Enlish in order to become a literary translator in the meantime. But this blog is also a much bigger project than my previous blog. It will take up years and I think it's a very effective way to practice, and subsequently improve, my writing skills. I hope.

This art should at least clarify why I like Entei more than
Raikou.

You know, I usually make shit up as I go, so excuse me for wandering off too much. This article is actually about Entei, who represents the flames that burned the Brass Tower. And no, it didn't cause the fire; Entei was resurrected by Ho-Oh after the Brass Tower burned down, along with Raikou and Suicune - the former represents the lightning bolt that struck the tower and the latter represents the rain that quenched the flames consuming it. Entei's Pokédex entries actually contradict the whole resurrection thing, because they say that it is said that an Entei is born every time a volcano appears and that one erupts somewhere around the globe whenever Entei roars. Following that logic, there should be hundreds of Entei in the world, although it has to be said that the topography of the Pokémon world probably differs quite a bit from that of the real world. Entei is probably best known for its appearance in the third Pokémon movie, Pokémon 3: The Movie - Spell of the Unown: Entei, in which a scientist gets sucked into an alternate dimension by a bunch of Unown, after which they make his daughter Molly's every wish come true and create an Entei as a substitute Daddy. This Entei wasn't real, but it was still pretty goddamn powerful for something that was nothing more than an illusion created by a bunch of letters.

A wild Entei appeared!
(Also, I picked this picture because there's a Togetic in it, duh.)

Not only is Entei a powerful Pokémon, it also looks very regal. The mane of grey smoke definitely contributes to that, but its origin is the most important part. First off, Entei's name is composed of the Japanese words en ('flame') and kōtei ('emperor'), forming entei ('flame emperor'). It is probably also derived from enten, meaning 'blazing heat', which sounds about right when you consider that Entei can spout flames hotter than a volcano's magma. Even its Chinese name Yándì (炎帝) is derived from yán dì, meaning 'flame emperor', and is actually a corruption of entei. Aesthetically, Entei may be based on Chinese guardian lions, which correlates with it serving as a guardian for Molly and her allies in the third movie. Entei may also be based on the Balinese lion spirit Barong, due to its lion-like appearance, mask-like crest - which also vaguely resembles a kabuto, a type of helmet that became an important part of the traditional Japanese armor worn by the samurai class, but were first used by ancient Japanese warriors - and masses of fur. This Barong creature is often seen in Indonesian parades and festivals with the aesthetic features of Entei I just mentioned and all kinds of bling attached to it. But despite Entei's feline origin, it actually looks more canine, which oddly also applies to Raikou and Suicune.

Oh man, there's an abundance of Entei fan art to be found on the
Internet. I had a hard time picking the most awesome pieces of
art.

Entei, however, is by far the best to use competitively. Whereas Suicune is used for stalling and both Raikou and Suicune can set up with Calm Mind, Entei has a few tricks up its sleeve that make it stand out to its two companions. First off, it is one of only two Pokémon that can learn Sacred Fire (the other is Ho-Oh, its resurrector), which is a base 100 physical-based fire-type move with a 50% chance of burning the foe and no recoil damage whatsoever (I'm looking at you, Flare Blitz). Second, its access to Extreme Speed makes Entei a fantastic late-game cleaner. Flare Blitz and Extreme Speed are exclusive to an event-only shiny Entei from 2010 and 2011, rocking an Adamant nature, so you're required to use this one if you want Extreme Speed. This particular Entei also knows Howl, which raises its attack by one stage, but that's not a very good move and doesn't do well on a Choice Band set at all. I'd recommend you go with a moveset consisting of Sacred Fire, Extreme Speed, Stone Edge and either Iron Tail or Iron Head. Sadly, that's as far as Entei's physical movepool goes, so you're basically stuck with these moves. Why, at least it's a good moveset; you can't really go wrong with it.

Even art that seems to be made with crayons makes Entei look
beautiful. 

But wait a minute, that shiny Entei isn't the only event Pokémon from the winter of 2011; players could also acquire shiny Raikou and shiny Suicune with event-only moves. Don't they have some tricks up their sleeves? The short answer to that question is, 'No.' The shiny Suicune has a Relaxed nature, which is a terrible nature that slows Suicune down; and at base 85 speed, it's already the slowest of the legendary beasts to begin with. One of the moves it has is Sheer Cold, which is a horribly inaccurate OHKO move, and even Aqua Ring, Air Slash and Extreme Speed don't really help its cause. Okay, Air Slash is a decent flying-type coverage move, but Suicune's base 75 attack stat renders Extreme Speed pretty much useless. And Raikou? Raikou has a Rash nature, which is not the best nature for it but also not the worst. The moves it gets are Zap Cannon, Weather Ball, Aura Sphere and Extreme Speed. Zap Cannon, like Sheer Cold, is horribly inaccurate, but at least it will inflict guaranteed paralysis on the foe if it hits. Thunder Wave is still better for guaranteed paralysis, though, and you can always use Thunderbolt to damage opponents. Weather Ball only works in combination with a weather condition; it will do base 50 normal-type damage when there's no weather, but it will turn into a base 100 water-, ice- or fire-type move in rain, hail or sun, respectively. It's merely situational and not very useful. Even Extreme Speed doesn't do all that much due to Raikou's base 85 attack stat, although I have to say Aura Sphere provides for some very neat fighting-type coverage.

Shiny Raikou (left), Entei (middle) and Suicune (right). Their shiny forms were
even present in the thirteenth Pokémon movie, Pokémon - Zoroark: Master of
Illusions.

At the end of the day, though, it is clear that Entei is supposed to be a physical attacker and that Adamant nature only boosts its attack. And as Sacred Fire and Extreme Speed are both physical-based moves, Entei can make perfect use of them. I think I've made up my mind now: Entei - and not Suicune - is my favorite Johto legendary beast, and I don't think writing Suicune's entry will change that. What's more, I feel a little ashamed that I didn't include Entei in my top 50 favorite Pokémon, because it's no less than iconic. Plus, I am of the opinion that fan art of Entei is just this little bit more awesome than fan art of either Raikou or Suicune, and I'm not saying that because I like Entei much more than Suicune and, especially, Raikou. You probably already noticed that while scrolling through this article. And if you didn't, you're just fucking blind.

Rating: 5/5

#243: Raikou

Raikou is the first Johto legendary, but it's not my favorite. Let's just get the least interesting of the legendary beasts out of the way, shall we?

Raikou (right) with its fire and water counterparts Entei
(middle) and Suicune (right).

Entei, Suicune and Raikou form the trio of legendary beasts resurrected by Ho-Oh after the burning of the Brass Tower (or Burned Tower) in Ecruteak City, Johto. While Raikou is said to represent the lightning strike that ignited the fire that consumed the Brass Tower, Entei is said to represent the flames that burned it and Suicune is said to represent the rain that quenched the flames. Apparently, the purple mane on Raikou's back resembles a cumulonimbus cloud, the type of cloud most often associated with thunderstorms, and allows it to shoot bolts of lightning. It likes racing across the land while barking a cry that sounds like crashing thunder, sends shock waves shuddering through the air and shakes the ground as if lightning bolts have come crashing down. That sounds God-almighty; and rightfully so, because legendary Pokémon should have more outlandish characteristics than other Pokémon (although you don't have to make flavors too bland; RIGHT, Game Freak?). At least 'God-almighty' is the right word to describe Raikou, because it seems to be based on a few thunder and lightning deities from different folklores.

Damn, some pieces of fan art are just plain AMAZING! 

First and foremost, there's the raijū - literally 'thunder animal' or 'thunder beast' - which is a thunder demon from Japanese lore and is said to be the companion of the Japanese god of thunder, Raijin. A raijū is said to be able to take the form of a tiger, like Raikou is obviously based on, but its white-and-blue wolf form wrapped in lightning is the most common depiction of it (in fact, the Pokémon Manectric seems to be based on this form). There's also the Taoist deity of Lei Gong - literally 'Lord of Thunder' - from Chinese mythology, which is even Raikou's Mandarin Chinese name: Léigōng (雷公). This translates to Japanese as raikō, which literally means 'thunder duke' but is also taken from the words rai ('thunder') and kō (emperor). And aside from some Eastern deities, Raikou is also based on a couple of normal animals, most notably Bengal tigers and the extinct species similodon fatalis, most often referred to as the saber-toothed tiger. Bulbapedia even suggests that the white ruff around Raikou's face is akin to the Siberian tiger's thick fur around its neck, but I think that's a little farfetched. Sure, Siberian tigers live in a part of Russia close to Japan, and some even reside in China and North Korea, but I just think the designers thought the white ruff was a cool addition. Personally, I think the 'puffy cheeks' make Raikou look a little baby-faced.

Talk about being baby-faced: check out Raikou's sprites from Gold and Silver. Damn, it just looks weird.

Also, despite all its feline traits, Raikou and its companions are still considered dogs rather than cats. It has to be said that Entei and Suicune sure look canine, but Raikou really doesn't... Oh, well.

Raikou just being regal on its rock. 

The name 'legendary beast' sure does Raikou justice, though, because it is an absolute beast in battle. It is often hard to find a check for Raikou in competitive play, because its only weakness is ground and its defenses are very good. Well, its defense is quite mediocre, but its decent HP makes up for that and its base 100 special defense is good enough for it to take a few special hits. However, its special attack and speed, both a stunning base 115, are off the fucking charts. People often run a Calm Mind set on Raikou, to raise its special attack and special defense by one stage each and then annihilate the opponent with strong moves like Thunderbolt, Extrasensory, Shadow Ball and Signal Beam. Volt Switch can be thrown into mix for gaining momentum any time you need it, while Hidden Power provides some coverage of any type when you need it. The to-go nature for all Raikou sets is Timid, while a Calm Mind set can be accompanied by a held item such as a Life Orb or the Leftovers. Choice Specs or an Assault Vest are viable options as well, but both require Raikou to omit Calm Mind from its moveset. A 50% boost in special attack (Specs) or special defense (Vest) sounds nice, but it won't be able to get both with Calm Mind this way, although setting up requires the use of a valuable turn, so I understand the desire for instant power or bulk with the Specs or Vest.

There is a lot of awesome fan art of Raikou to be found on the Internet. I'd
recommend you go check it out. 

This is the same situation as with Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres: Articuno is my favorite legendary bird and wins from Zapdos and Moltres by a landslide (Team Mystic!), but I don't hate Zapdos and Moltres by any means, considering the fact I gave them both 4.5-star ratings. Raikou is nowhere near as interesting as Entei or even Suicune, but it'll get a 4.5-star rating from me nonetheless. And if I'm being honest, I might as well tell you guys that there aren't any legendary or mythical Pokémon that I hate and that most of them will get a 4-star rating or higher (although there could be one or two exceptions).

P.S.: I still have a little figurine of this thing, mind you. Not that I value it all that much, but I thought I should mention it just for the hell of it.

Rating: 4.5/5

#241: Miltank

No, you didn't miss any articles here. Nos. 236 to 240 are Tyrogue, Hitmontop, Smoochum, Elekid and Magby, which I discussed in previous entries already. Next up we have everyone's favorite Pokémon owned by a Gym Leader: Miltank.

Ash's Cyndaquil sucking on one of the teats on Miltank's udder.
Nothing sugestive about that. (!)

Yup, while Whitney's Clefairy is 'fairily' easy to defeat - excuse the dumb pun - her Miltank is infamous for being the one Pokémon in Pokémon Gold and Silver that keeps bodying your entire team only three Gyms in. You're lucky Whitney had the presence of mind to take it easy on us by replacing Defense Curl with Attract, because Defense Curl would have allowed her Miltank to Rollout you straight into oblivion (which it already did without Defense Curl). That's a good enough strategy for in-game purposes, but in the competitive scene Miltank is supposed to be a bulky bitch. Its HP and defense are excellent, and even its mediocre special defense is compensated by its HP stat. Heck, you could even give it a Careful nature and max out its special defense until you'll be sure it can take special hits as well. It's a great support Pokémon with a great support movepool, including Toxic and Thunder Wave to inflict a status condition on the opponent, Heal Bell to get rid of all status conditions inflicted on your Pokémon, Milk Drink for its own recovery only, and Stealth Rock to set up an entry hazard.

This Miltank is not amused by Ash brushing its back. 

Another option is to let it set up with Curse, which raises its attack and defense by one stage each but lowers its speed, so that it can run a physical moveset consisting of Curse, Body Slam and two other physical moves of your choice (or one other physical move, if you want to keep Milk Drink for recovery). And you're spoiled for choice, because Miltank's physical movepool is wide: it can learn things like Earthquake, Zen Headbutt, the elemental punches, Iron Head, Rock Slide, Hammer Arm and more. It even learns Gyro Ball, a move that does more damage the slower the user is compared to the opponent, but its base 100 speed makes Miltank pretty speedy for a fat bipedal cow. It does work perfectly in combination with Curse, so it's definitely an option, but for more reliable steel-type damage you should go with Iron Head or Iron Tail. And if you give it the ability Sap Sipper, you'll have a grass-type resistance and a one-stage attack boost every time Miltank is hit by a grass-type move. Again, this works very well with Curse. That is not to say, however, that its other abilities are worthless: Scrappy allows Miltank to hit ghost types with its normal-type moves where otherwise they'd be unharmed by them, and Thick Fat gives it resistances to fire and ice.

A glass of milk a day keeps the doctor away. Yeah, fuck that, I
hate milk.

In contrast to the milk it produces, which is sweet and nutritious and can be used to heal Pokémon - a feature included in the games, outside of battles - and ill or weary humans, Miltank's flavor is really bland. Miltank is based on Jersey cattle (a breed originally bred in the Channel Island of Jersey, UK, and known for the high butterfat content of its milk) and Holstein Friesian cattle (a breed originating from the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland and the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, known as the world's highest-production dairy animals), but whereas normal cows can produce an average of eight gallons of milk a day, Miltank can produce 'only' five gallons. While the milk can be enjoyed by children, adolescents and grown-ups alike, it is said that kids who drink Miltank milk while growing up become hearty, healthy adults. Yeah, that is often said about real-life milk too. However, I hate milk and I adamantly refused to drink it, and I'd dare say I'm pretty healthy otherwise. That's not all, though: Miltank's milk can be turned into yogurt instead for people who can't drink the milk. No shit, I'll bet you can easily make butter and cheese from Miltank milk as well; I assume that shouldn't be too hard.

Come on, Game Freak, I don't mind some real-life references, but this is Pokémon we're talking about and I expect their characteristics to be a little bit more outlandish. Sometimes I think the somewhat bland flavors of certain Pokémon are laziness on Game Freak's part, and every now and then I feel they've rushed through the Pokémon to go on to create another one. I like Miltank's design, though, and I like its versatility in competitive play, so I guess Game Freak jump the gun. Again.

Rating: 3.5/5

#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