#482: Azelf

I don't know about you, but I think Azelf is pretty cute.

Azelf looks like the default design the other Lake Guardians were drawn from, but at the same time its cyan face and its minimalistic design - along with its cuteness and competitive prowess - make it the most memorable of the three. It was also the first and only Lake Guardian I captured and used on my team along with Dialga (yeah, I have no problem with using legendaries on my in-game teams), and I was honestly impressed by its strength. This is no surprise, as this azure elf is actually known as 'the Being of Willpower' and is said to have given humans the determination to do things, keeping the world in balance from the bottom of Lake Valor. Some say that whoever harms or injures it will become unable to perform any kind of action after seven days, losing all will inside of them and staying completely immobile for all eternity. Unsurprisingly, Azelf is based on the last of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, which is a sword that represents the primary virtue of valor. Its Japanese name Agnome (アグノム) seems to contradict that, as it is probably derived from 'agnosticism', which is from the Greek word for 'knowledge', gnôsis (γνῶσις); and as we've all found out, that is Uxie's thing. Azelf's Japanese name also suggests it's a gnome, but that isn't surprising in the least, as Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf's English names are plays on 'pixie', 'sprite' and 'elf', respectively. There are a lot of tiny folkloric creatures to base a Pokémon on, such as fairies, gnomes and leprechauns and the like, so at least Game Freak wouldn't have run out of ideas in that regard.

Look at Azelf adorably holding onto its Life Orb!

As I mentioned before, Azelf is best known for its glass-cannon function in competitive play. It boasts some amazing base 125 attack and special attack as well as an excellent base 115 speed stat, making it faster and stronger than both Uxie and Mesprit by a significant margin. It is quite frail, though, and as a result it is barely able to take a hit. Fortunately, you can turn Azelf's speed and power to your advantage by giving it a Choice Scarf, so that it gets an immediate speed boost once it's switched in. Give it a Modest nature (rather than a Timid one, mind you), which allows you to max out its special attack and teach it a full moveset of crazy powerful special moves. With moves like Psychic, Psyshock, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Dazzling Gleam, Energy Ball and Signal Beam you are spoiled for choice. Alternatively, a moveset accompanied by a Timid nature and the Choice Specs isn't a terrible option, either. One move Azelf has access to and the other Lake Guardians don't learn - at least not to my knowledge - is Nasty Plot, a move that raises Azelf's special attack by a whopping two stages every time it's used. Teach it this move and you can run a Timid nature and a Life Orb. Azelf's speed even makes it a decent suicide lead, which mostly means it's running a support moveset consisting of Stealth Rock, Taunt, Knock Off and Explosion - the last of which is mainly used when you don't need Azelf anymore and sacrifice it by letting it blow up in your opponent's face. When using a support set on Azelf like that, people run a Jolly nature on it most of the time so that its attack stat isn't hindered, while a Focus Sash prevents Azelf from getting OHKOed by a strong offensive move - if Azelf is still at full HP, that is.

3D art of Azelf.

Even though letting Azelf serve as a suicide lead is a waste of its potential in my opinion, it does show how versatile this adorable little shit can be. It is by far my favorite of the Lake Guardians, that's for sure, only because the simplicity of its design makes it the cutest and most aesthetically pleasing of the three. To me, it is the most memorable and the most competitively viable, which is why I am giving it a near-perfect rating of 4.5 stars.

Rating: 4.5/5

#481: Mesprit

Mesprit making a big splash.

Mesprit may be the second Lake Guardian in the National Pokédex, but it is the most unique in that it doesn't just stay in place when you interact with it in order to catch it; it leaves its cavern in Lake Verity and becomes a roaming legendary, much like Raikou, Entei and Suicune in Gold, Silver and Crystal and Latias/Latios in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. It's quite fitting for a legendary Pokémon that is called 'the Being of Emotion', said to have endowed the human heart with sorrow, pain, joy and all kinds of other emotions. It is no surprise, then, that Mesprit seems to be based on one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan (also known as the Three Sacred Treasures) called the Yasakani no Magatama, a jewel that represents the primary virtue of benevolence. I would think such an emotional being like Mesprit is restive; and true enough, its spirit is said to leave its body and flitter on the water surface of Lake Verity, while rumor has it that a person who touches it will have their emotions completely drained away after three days, much like Uxie will wipe out the memory of whoever sees its eyes. Mesprit's name makes sense as well, being derived from the French esprit ('spirit'), although it could have an ambiguous meaning: 'sprite' is derived from the Latin spiritus via the French esprit, but it is generally a term used to describe a fairy- or elf-like entity, exactly like Uxie's name is derived from 'pixie' and Azelf's from 'elf'.

This looks like TCG box art, but I could be wrong on that matter.

Competitively, Mesprit is kind of an oddball. It has very good base 105 attack, defense, special attack and special defense stats and a more-than-decent base 80 HP stat to back up those excellent defenses. Here's the catch, though: it is by far not as bulky as Uxie, it is nowhere near as strong as Azelf and it is honestly the slowest of the bunch, which means it isn't as fast as you'd like it to be. An offensive Calm Mind set is one of the better sets Mesprit can run, as it buffs up its special attack and special defense by one stage each, making it more specially oriented. It's a versatile Pokémon move-wise, as it has access to a strong STAB Psychic as well as some nifty coverage moves like Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam, Signal Beam and Energy Ball, all special moves that become much stronger after a Calm Mind or two. A Timid or Modest nature and a Colbur Berry, a Life Orb or some kind of Z-Crystal work best on such a set, although the Leftovers work well in combination with both Substitute and Calm Mind. Mesprit could even run four offensive moves and a Choice item. I would pass on a defensive set, as Mesprit isn't overly bulky in the first place and you can just use Uxie to set up Stealth Rock, Sunny Day or Rain Dance or what have you. Mesprit can take some hits for sure, and it'll have some longevity on the field due to Leftovers, but Uxie is just much better-suited for the role of bulky support Pokémon. However, Mesprit has one trick up its sleeve that Uxie doesn't have as far as I'm concerned: Healing Wish. This move makes Mesprit faint, but it can be used when it's worn out in order to completely heal up another Pokémon on your team.

3D art of Mesprit.

I have to say that Mesprit is my least favorite of the Lake Guardians. Aesthetically it looks the goofiest, with the weird dreads hanging from its head, and competitively it is outclassed defensively by Uxie and offensively by Azelf. Also, Mesprit is a roaming legendary and is therefore much harder to find than its fellow Lake Guardians - and to make matters worse, it has a tendency to run away almost immediately should you so happen to run into this thing, which means you'll have to immobilize it by putting it to sleep or paralyze it in order for you to catch it. Unless you're actually actively hunting this thing, you'll never be entirely prepared for that shit. Also, I'm not the biggest fan of pink Pokémon; the only ones that got 5 stars from me so far are Mew and Granbull, while Pokémon like Ditto, Gorebyss, Lickilicky, Luvdisc and Mr. Mime are among the 20 lowest ratings on this blog. The rest are just okay, and Mesprit is no different.

Rating: 3.5/5

#480: Uxie

So now we've come to the first legendary Pokémon in the Sinnoh Pokédex, being Uxie, one of the Lake Guardians. Mesprit and Azelf are aesthetically similar to Uxie, but these three Pokémon are not as similar as, say, Latios and Latias are and they each boast different Pokédex entries as well as competitive strategies.

3D art of Uxie.

To start off, Uxie and its fellow Lake Guardians are the first legendary trio to play a significant part in the storyline of Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, as Team Galactic's boss Cyrus uses the crystals extracted from their tails and heads to create the Red Chain and contain either Dialga or Palkia - or both, as seen in Platinum, only for his plans to be thwarted by Giratina - so as not to reduce their power by capturing them in a Poké Ball. Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf even guide you through the Strength puzzle in the Distortion World in Platinum, and along with them being the source of the Red Chain this makes them probably the most important legendary trio in any storyline in the Pokémon franchise so far - and that's excluding the individual escapades of Suicune in Crystal and (to a lesser extent) Tapu Koko in Sun and Moon.

This artist has certainly made the Lake Guardians more kawaii.

Uxie looks to be the most serene one of the Sinnoh legendary trio. Known as 'the Being of Knowledge' and the guardian of Lake Acuity, it is said that its emergence gave humans the intelligence necessary to solve various problems and the wisdom to improve the quality of their lives, while those who see Uxie's eyes will have their memory wiped out by it. These characteristics, as well as its name, imply that it has the power to foresee the future: Uxie and Yuxie (ユクシー) both derive from yukusaki ('future'), chishiki ('knowledge') and 'pixie', indicating that it has the knowledge to see the future... or something like that. At least Uxie is a psychic-type Pokémon, so I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if that was actually true. The most interesting part about this Pokémon, however, is that it and the rest of the trio seem to have originated from another Japanese legend called the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Also called the Three Sacred Treasures, these regalia represent the three primary virtues of valor, wisdom and benevolence. I'll talk about the other two in Mesprit and Azelf's entries, but the artifact that Uxie seems to be based on is a mirror called the Yata no Kagami, representing wisdom and honesty. It seems to blend in perfectly with Uxie's design and Pokédex entries, and even its competitive utility to some degree.

This dreamy piece of Uxie fan art looks amazing!

Uxie is a serene and patient creature that likes to depend on its knowledge and wisdom, and I imagine it being some kind of pacifist. Therefore, this Pokémon seems to focus more on defense rather than offense, as is reflected by its base stats: its defense and special defense are both 130, backed up by a decent 75 HP stat, while its attack and special attack are both a mediocre 75 (yes, there's a difference between the base HP stat and the other base stats, but I don't know how this is calculated). With base 95 speed, Uxie is even quite fast, which is a rarity among tanky support Pokémon. It's incredibly passive, though, and it's really only viable when sporting Trick Room (reverses priority brackets, which means slower Pokémon move first unless a priority move is used on them) or a move that can set up sunny or rainy weather. Before doing that, however, you have the option to let Uxie set up Stealth Rock and/or kill itself with Memento, lowering the opposing Pokémon's attack and special attack by two stages while it's at it. Suspect a Stealth Rock coming your way? Uxie can learn Magic Coat, which bounces certain status moves back to the user. Yawn and Thunder Wave are options in order to inflict a status condition on the foe, while Skill Swap is a gimmicky and risky option that lets Uxie swap its ability Levitate with the target's ability. Unnecessary and unpredictable, if you ask me. You should at least teach Uxie one offensive move of its own type, preferably Psychic or Psyshock, so that it's not completely passive - and to prevent it from being Taunt bait, you could give it the Mental Herb, even though the Leftovers are generally better for longevity on the field alongside its defensive nature (Bold and Calm are the best ones, although Relaxed and Sassy work best when it's running Trick Room). U-Turn is an option, but it's quite weak on Uxie and perhaps you're just better off hard-switching out into another Pokémon.

I like this sassy fan art of Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf. 

It stands to reason that Uxie is not an easy Pokémon to use on a competitive team - and also not the most obvious tank - so maybe beginners should stay away from it until they have some experience in competitive battling. The fact that it is in one of the lower Smogon tiers doesn't help either, because that pretty much means that there are far better bulky support Pokémon than Uxie out there. Fortunately, it's still there forming an interesting trio with Mesprit and Azelf, who will have their turn being reviewed by me in the coming week. I love Japanese myths and stories, and these three being based on the Three Sacred Treasures really helps amp up their ratings, as they're honestly a little bland design-wise. Objectively seen, Uxie is the most interesting one aesthetically and flavor-wise, with its eyes that are constantly closed, but for other reasons Azelf is my favorite. That is exactly why I can't give Uxie a rating higher than 4 stars, although that isn't bad by any means.

Rating: 4/5

#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

#459 - #460: Snover & Abomasnow

Somehow I managed to take it upon myself to listen to every goddamn Eurovision song in existence during the past two and a half months. The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual song competition watched by more than 200 million people in Europe every year and has been around uninterrupted since 1956, with now over 1500 different entries, so it took a long time before I was done checking them all out. It totally explains my long absence from this blog, so I would like to apologize for that while I'm at it. But now I'm back, bitches! It's been a while since I posted a review - New Year's Eve, to be precise - so I wonder if I've still got it in me. Let's start where we left off, shall we?

Snover as depicted in TCG.

Today's topic is Snover, a cute little snow-covered tree Pokémon that is basically nothing more than a walking fir tree topped with a layer of snow. While its brown lower body resembles a pinecone of some sort, Snover is more likely to be the illegitimate love child of the Yeti and an evergreen tree. Sure enough, Snover live mainly on snowy mountains with little human contact, but they move to the lower reaches when the weather turns cold (Jesus fucking Christ, Snover, are you an ice-type Pokémon or what?) and returning to the summit in the spring, when it grows edible white berries with the texture of frozen treats along its midsection for some indiscernible reason. They are boldly inquisitive when it comes to humans, approaching them without fear and gathering around footsteps they find in the mountains. It's all very cute - even its 'hat' resembling three mountain peaks, which is a nice little touch - but Snover isn't nearly as fascinating as its evolution, as is the case with many basic-form Pokémon.

Abomasnow whipping up a blizzard. 

Abomasnow, whose name is an obvious play on the Abominable Snowman (a.k.a. the Yeti of Nepalese folklore), is where things start to get really interesting. This monstrosity is basically still a big walking tree, but the mustache-like appendages that cover its mouth remind me of Cthulhu, which is a classic creature within the pantheon of Lovecraftian cosmic entities for being a gigantic octopus worshipped by cultists. It gives Abomasnow kind of a creepy appearance, that's for sure. Like its pre-evolution Snover, Abomasnow prefers snowy mountains to live in and appears only when snow flowers bloom. Once the flowers wither, it retreats to isolated areas, where it creates blizzards to hide itself from humans, even creating the legend of the Abominable Snowman within the Pokémon universe this way. The most interesting part about this is that Abomasnow is based on a certain phenomenon called juhyou, in which harsh winters in the northern prefectures in Japan cause landscapes to become white and ghostly and the trees to get completely covered in ice. It's an eldritch but stunning sight, and as the phenomenon only occurs in Japan, I have no doubt juhyou (literally 'frost-covered trees') were the main inspiration for Abomasnow's design.

Abomasnow is also the only name that is a play on the common term for a folkloric creature, as all of its foreign names suggest it has royal blood in some way. Its Japanese name Yukinooh (ユキノオー) literally means 'snow king' (yuki no ō); in its French and German names of Blizzaroi and Rexblisar, respectively, roi and rex both mean 'king', with roi being French and rex being Latin; and its Korean and Mandarin Chinese names of Nunseolwang (눈설왕) and Bàoxuěwáng (暴雪王) both contain the word wang, which of course means 'king' as well.

You'll see the actual Mega Abomasnow in a minute, but I wanted
to include this amazing piece of realistic fan art here for the sole
reason that it is outright terrifying. 

However, Abomasnow is all but a king in competitive play. Even when the sprouts on its back grow into huge-ass icicles as Mega Abomasnow, this Pokémon is nothing short of underwhelming. This is partly due to Abomasnow's terrible typing, as its grass/ice typing gives it weaknesses to no fewer than seven different types, one of them being a quadruple one to fire. Even its solid bulk (base 90 HP as well as base 105 defense and special defense) won't make it live a Fire Blast or a Flare Blitz, and there are a lot of people that have at least one fire-type coverage move on one of their competitive Pokémon, because fire is such a great offensive typing and resists all of Abomasnow's STAB moves. Mega Abomasnow is also excruciatingly slow as its back now has to support enormous shafts of ice, and I can only assume it has taken a hunched posture in order for its back to carry the weight of these icicles. It's not a terrible Pokémon to use, however, and a Brave or Quiet nature allows it to attack on both sides of the spectrum. With both physical and special STAB moves like Blizzard (100% accurate due to its ability Snow Warning summoning a hailstorm in battle), Wood Hammer, Giga Drain, Ice Shard (always hits first unless countered with another priority move or cancelled due to certain moves or abilities), Ice Beam, Energy Ball, Ice Punch, Seed Bomb and Avalanche (does double damage when acting last, but that's a plus with Mega Abomasnow's abominable speed star), you can expect this Pokémon to hit very hard. All moves vary in power and effect and could be tremendously useful, so pick whatever suits your needs. You could even opt to throw a few coverage moves like Focus Blast, Iron Tail, Earthquake, Outrage, Rock Slide, Shadow Ball and Brick Break into the mix or give its Swords Dance to give a boost to its attack. This here variety is why Abomasnow's Mega form is often used as a mixed attacker.

As for regular Abomasnow, I would not recommend using it whatsoever. It is significantly less bulky and offensive while it is only slightly faster, and it'll go down quicker than you can say "Motherfucker!" Yes, it has Soundproof, which nullifies all sound-based moves used on it, but it really doesn't matter if you're going to use Mega Abomasnow anyway.

The 'real' Mega Abomasnow.

Abomasnow is certainly an interesting Pokémon, and I have to admit that I quite disliked it when it was first introduced to us: it looked weird and creepy and it made me slightly uncomfortable. I have come to like this thing, however, even though it left me quite underwhelmed during the one time that I used it and its Mega in an X or Y playthrough. Its origins are interesting, however, and its Mega is a significant improvement compared to its original design, as it now looks like a terrifying, shaggy fur monster you don't want to encounter in the wild. It won't get a perfect rating by any means, probably not even in the future, but 4.5 stars ain't bad.

And we're off to a good start, aren't we? Just you wait until I'll be reviewing the next Pokémon on the list.

Rating: 4.5/5

#456 - #457: Finneon & Lumineon

You'd think I have nothing better to do on the 31st of December, posting a review about fictive fluorescent fishies and all, but trust me when I say I'll be done reviewing these Pokémon in no time at all.

Better watch out, Finneon, before some nasty-ass Wingull grabs
you out of the sky mid-flight. 

People often forget Finneon and Lumineon exist, and I have to say I was one of those people until Finneon surprisingly showed up in pretty much every body of water in Pokémon Sun and Moon, which was... more annoying than encountering Magikarp all the time. Even as Lumineon this Pokémon is bad, and there are only a couple of redeeming factors to be found in competitive: its average bulk - base 69 HP, 76 defense and 86 special defense - may allow it to take a few hits, while its access to Defog makes it one of the choices for a hazard remover, but in the end it is hopelessly outclassed by even Pelipper (oh God, I cannot believe I just said that; I hate that thing with a fucking passion). The latter somehow got Drizzle as one of its abilities, which makes it competently viable in one of the highest Smogon tiers, while Lumineon has to resort to Toxic, Scald and U-Turn alongside Defog to be somewhat useful and still doesn't hold its own in the lowest tier. I mean, you can't use a Pokémon from a high tier in a low tier, while the reverse is most definitely possible, but why would you use Lumineon if there are a ton of water types to choose from that are better than Lumineon? Sure, it is immune to water-type moves due to its ability Storm Drain, but so are - just to name a few good ones - Lanturn, Gastrodon, Politoed, Poliwrath, Jellicent, Seismitoad, Lapras and Vaporeon.

Lumineon in TCG.

So, does Finneon and Lumineon's flavor make them more interesting to some degree? Well, um... sorta? Because of Finneon's butterfly-like tail fins, it is believed to be derived from the freshwater butterflyfish, but the purple stripe running across Finneon's horizontal length as well as its ability to let its stripe and the patterns on its tail fins shine vividly in the darkness like neon after long exposure to sunlight suggest it is actually based on the neon tetra and the cardinal tetra. These two freshwater fish have a bright blue stripe running across its length, just like Finneon, and their bright colorations make them visible to conspecifics in the dark blackwater streams of the Orinoco. Because Finneon was included in the Alola Pokédex, it also received some unique Pokédex entries: its Moon entry proclaims that its double fin tails propel its energetic jumps and that Wingull swoop down to grab it on the fly when it breaks the surface of the water (even Lumineon's pre-evolution gets owned by Pelipper's pre-evolution; I kinda sense a pattern here), while its Ultra Sun entry mentions that holiday resorts like to feed them to keep them close because they're popular with divers.

Finneon's evolution Lumineon is just better in using its bioluminescence, luring prey by flashing the patterns on its fins and usually getting into fierce disputes with Lanturn for said prey. As everyone will remember, Lanturn is an electric-type Pokémon, so that's another Pokémon that easily owns Lumineon. Unfortunately for Lumineon, the bad luck doesn't stop there: its iridescent appearance and the luminous flashes it emits also attract ferocious fish Pokémon, its natural predators, and crawling along the seafloor like a tripod fish using the fins on your chest in order to avoid your predators surely won't work if they sense you from miles away. Well, at least scavenging the seabed for your favorite food (Starmie, for whomever wants to know) makes it all worth it, right?

Finneon (right) and Lumineon (left) showing off their bioluminescent abilities.

Well, Game Freak undeniably tried to make Lumineon a pretty fish, and in that regard I can safely say, "Mission accomplished!" If only they had made Lumineon somewhat more competitively viable, it would have been a very decent Pokémon. Now, it isn't even a good Pokémon to use in-game, as it is relatively frail compared to other bulky Pokémon and doesn't really pack a punch, either. I mean, base 69 offensive stats are nothing to write home about and will only leave you wishing for something better. Its design isn't bad at all, but I think it could have been a bit more colorful; its primarily dark blue color makes it a little bland for a tropical fish and I wish Game Freak had retained some of Finneon's purple patterns. I'm kind of on the fence about this guy's rating, but I ultimately like it less than certain other fish Pokémon and I can't see myself coming back to it all that often, if at all. It gets a safe 3-star rating, but I won't go any higher in the near future.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Rating: 3/5

#455: Carnivine

Carnivine in Little Shop of Horrors style. 

We've already had a carnivorous plant to review on this blog, but Victreebel and its pre-evos are based on pitcher plants rather than the more well-known Venus flytrap. Unfortunately, Carnivine is as useful and interesting as Victreebel, which means it won't be getting a 5-star rating anytime soon. Like Victreebel, Carnivine has good attack and special attack (the former is its best stat, period), mediocre defenses and terrible speed, which is unnecessary and makes you wish for a Victreebel instead. It does have a slightly better level-up moveset than Victreebel, with Crunch and Power Whip being its main offensive moves, but that's only because stone evolutions aren't allowed to have good level-up movesets in the first place; theirs are usually a little shallow. However, Carnivine also somewhat suffers from a shallow-moveset syndrome, as it doesn't learn anything worthwhile other than the moves I just mentioned; it learns Sludge Bomb, but so does Victreebel, who even gets STAB from it due to being a poison type and has a higher base special attack stat to boot. Carnivine even has a worse ability than Victreebel, as Levitate only gives it a ground-type immunity. Don't get me wrong: Levitate is a great ability, especially on Pokémon such as Eelektross, Weezing, Rotom and Bronzong, but not on a Pokémon that resists ground in the first place. It's like giving an electric-type Pokémon the ability Limber - and yes, Stunfisk, I am looking at you.

Carnivine showing James some affection.

Not that it makes any sense that Carnivine is levitating, anyway: its Pokédex entries don't mention its ability to hover in the air, let alone how or why it's doing that to begin with. They do tell us it hangs from tree branches with its tentacles until it can ambush its prey after attracting it with its sweet-smelling saliva, awaiting it with its mouth about 180 degrees wide open. And, um... well, that's it. And there's really nothing special about that, because we all know that this is how actual Venus flytraps catch their prey as well. Of course, it wasn't catchable in Sun and Moon or Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and so it doesn't have Pokédex entries for them (which is new in Gen. VII), plus it hasn't been around as long as Victreebel and didn't really have the chance to develop a distinctive personality. The funny thing is that Team Rocket's James had a Carnivine in the anime, who had exactly the same disruptive trait of trying to devour James as a way of outing its affection as his Victreebel did, which makes me think Carnivine was just meant to be a copy of the OG carnivorous plant Pokémon. Really, the only differences between Carnivine and Victreebel are their names and designs; otherwise, the two share a whole lot of similarities and personality traits, even in the goddamn anime series. Sure, Carnivine is a bit goofier, but I guess that doesn't really matter here.

Still of James's Carnivine in the anime.

I do not hate Carnivine, however. I actually like its design, and I feel that it's one of these Pokémon that most people skip over without batting an eye. I'm no different, if I have to be honest, but now that I've reviewed Carnivine, I've come to realize this Pokémon ain't that bad. Well, it is competitively (seriously, just use something else; if you have to resort to using a Carnivine with Natural Gift holding a Watmel Berry, you know you should just give up on it), but I guess it would be a decent Pokémon to use in-game. I'm not terribly interested in looking back at it again, but I'll give it the same rating as Victreebel just for the reason I don't feel like it deserves to get a bad rating from me.

P.S.: I had to laugh at Carnivine's Japanese name Muskippa (マスキッパ), which is phonetically similar to 'must skip' (ha!) or 'mudskipper'. It doesn't have to do anything with either of these, of course; this name is derived from the scientific name of the Venus flytrap, dionaea muscipula, as well as the Japanese words sukippara ('hunger') and/or kippan ('eating').

Rating: 3.5/5

#453 - #454: Croagunk & Toxicroak

Looks like Croagunk is contemplating its life. 

Okay, so who remembers Brock's Croagunk pulling him away from attractive women? Instead of Misty or Max grabbing him by the ear, Brock gets Poison Jabbed by his own fucking Pokémon for harassing all the girls. (If the #MeToo movement were a thing in the Pokémon world, Brock would be in big trouble.) Getting owned by his own goddamn Pokémon is embarrassing, to be honest, not to mention Poison Jab should have killed Brock a thousand times over. You see, Croagunk is based on the poison dart frog, an amphibian that uses its bright coloration to warn other species of its toxicity, which is called aposematism. The fact that its fingers and and cheek pouches contain a poisonous fluid makes it as lethally noxious as the poison dart frog, yet it has just the right amount of goofiness to act as a comic relief in the anime series. Interestingly enough, the poison from Croagunk's fingers is a crucial ingredient in a medicine for lower back pain, which is... odd. And oddly specific, too; how on earth did they find out Croagunk's poison was essential to creating a remedy for lower back pain? I'm no doctor, and I'm sure not every ache is the same, but it's still a little odd why Croagunk's poison cannot be processed as a cure for other kinds of aches as well.

Croagunk as a playable character in Pokkén Tournament DX.

Anyway, Croagunk is one of only two unevolved Pokémon that can be used as a playable character in Pokkén Tournament DX, the other one being Braixen. I don't know why they didn't just include its evolution Toxicroak, but maybe it has something to do with Croagunk's unfair fighting style? It usually distracts opponents by inflating its poison sacs and making an eerie blubbering sound with those, after which it tries to stab its opponents with its poisonous fingers. However, the Pokédex mentions that Croagunk does this only to survive and that it is normally a mild Pokémon, even though it is literally also a fighting type. It indicates that Croagunk isn't a strong Pokémon to begin with, and doesn't seem to me like Croagunk can compete against the likes of Blaziken, Scizor, Decidueye, Chandelure, Suicune, Gengar, Gardevoir and Sceptile (and a whole lot more). I've never played Pokkén, however, and so I can't say for sure.

Toxicroak in TCG.

What I can say for sure, though, is that I like Croagunk just a little bit better than Toxicroak design-wise. It's not that I think Toxicroak is a bad Pokémon per se, I just think that the bulbous poison sac beneath its chin is incredibly distracting. It would have been better if Ken Sugimori, the artist who provides official art for all Pokémon, had just drawn a red patch on Toxicroak's throat and that its in-game sprites show this patch inflating whenever it croaks. This shouldn't have been hard at all, especially since all Gen. IV sprites move when a Pokémon is sent out in battle and constantly moving sprites were introduced only one generation later. But the sac does serve a purpose, as Toxicroak churns the poison stored in its sac for more potency, channeling it to its knuckle claws through tubes in its arms. Even a scratch from these claws could prove fatal. So Toxicroak can actually be cruel and fearsome as opposed to Croagunk's mild nature, lunging out to opponents with its poisonous claws by swaying and dodging their attacks and weaving its flexible body in close. Its claws and level of ferocity may have been inspired by the hairy frog, which defends itself by breaking its own toes and projecting sharpened bones from its skin, while the spike on Toxicorak's head is reminiscent to some horned frogs and toads in general. Bulbapedia says this spike is part of its skull, and I am inclined to believe them.

Seismitoad (left) and Toxicroak (right) would undoubtedly make
for perfect BFFs.

You'd think Toxicroak's violent attitude displays itself in the competitive metagame, but I honestly have to say this Pokémon's stats are a little disappointing. It has a fair amount of HP, but it doesn't have the defenses to back it up, and its special attack and speed are average at best. Its speed can be fixed with a Choice Scarf, after which its base 106 attack can do the rest, but this means it cannot use Swords Dance or Nasty Plot as it is locked into a single move until it is switched out. With a Swords Dance set, a Jolly or Adamant nature is required (Jolly is generally better due to the slight boost in speed) and physical moves like Drain Punch, Gunk Shot, Sucker Punch, Pursuit, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Throat Chop, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, X-Scissor, Knock Off, Poison Jab or Cross Chop are used to fill up the rest of its moveset. Keep in mind that Toxicroak is a poison/fighting type and that it should at least have STAB moves of those two types, as well as a type coverage move - usually something like Knock Off or Sucker Punch. When using Nasty Plot, you're much better off with a Modest or Timid nature and a special moveset consisting of either Sludge Wave or Sludge Bomb, Focus Blast and a type coverage move like Dark Pulse or... well, that's it, basically. It has access to Shadow Ball via TM, but as it already learns Dark Pulse and both dark and ghost cover the same types, that move is pretty redundant. And let's not talk about Mud Bomb, shall we? Maybe you should give it Vacuum Wave, a weak fighting-type move that does give Toxicroak some reliable priority that it doesn't have when running a physical moveset. It would hit pretty hard after a Nasty Plot boost, too.

Either way, a Life Orb is always a great item that gives Toxicroak's attacks some much-needed oomph behind them, whereas its ability Dry Skin gives it an immunity to water-type moves (but a weakness to fire-type moves, unfortunately). The Anticipation ability causes Toxicroak to 'shudder' if an opponent has a super-effective or OHKO move on it, as well as Self-Destruct and/or Explosion, and Poison Touch has a chance to poison the opponent if Toxicroak uses a direct move against it - so it is the exact opposite of Poison Point, where the opponent may be poisoned when it uses a direct move against your Pokémon. Neither ability is all that great, and the water immunity is preferred over Anticipation or Poison Touch.

Toxicroak in the anime, fucking Electivire all the way up.

I've got to give props to Game Freak for creating an interesting Pokémon like Toxicroak, but I have to be honest and say that this Pokémon isn't one of my favorites. There are a few aspects present in its design that I think are distracting (the enormous sac) or that I deem somewhat redundant, and its red upper lip falls into the latter category. This lip gives Toxicroak the appearance of having a mustache, and I think it would have looked better on it if it had been black, really. Also, I have no idea why both of its middle toes are red as well. It's not irritating or something, and they're probably red to have them tie in with the rest of its design, but I don't think it was entirely necessary. Otherwise, this is a great attempt at creating a unique Pokémon with a unique typing, although Game Freak could have done a bit better, especially regarding Toxicroak's stat distribution.

Rating: 4/5

#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

#449 - #450: Hippopotas & Hippowdon

It’ll take some getting used to writing full-on reviews like these again, but I should be able to put a couple out this month.

A female Hippopotas on the left, a male one on the right. The
only difference between them is their reversed color scheme.

Let’s just say Game Freak have a knack for turning aquatic animals into land-dwellers, because shortly after a trio of land sharks we encounter an interesting pair of ground-type hippos in the National Pokédex. However, introducing Hippopotas and Hippowdon alongside the Gible line apparently wasn't enough for Game Freak, because we would be able to get on familiar terms with the likes of Krookodile and Stunfisk exactly one generation later. It's not like Hippopotas and Hippowdon are overly remarkable Pokémon; their main in-game shtick is the color differences they have depending on their gender. Whereas a male Hippopotas has a tan skin color with dark brown spots, a female is dark brown with tan patches on its skin; male and female Hippowdon are simply light brown and black, respectively. At least there's no shortage of evidence that Hippopotas doesn't like water, as it spends its time bathing in sand and avoids water at all costs, while it also enshrouds itself in sand as a protective measure against germs and even sweats sand. That's right, it expels grainy sand from its body instead of perspiration. Also, it prefers traveling in groups of ten, which I find oddly specific.

A big-ass Hippowdon ready to kick some butt. 

At least Hippowdon is much more interesting, design- and flavor-wise as well as competitively. This Pokémon is far more intimidating, being short-tempered and holding its mouth agape as a display of strength, and its massive jaws are capable of crushing cars. Hippowdon skillfully uses the sand stored internally to create dust devils when attacking. While Bulbapedia states that Hippopotas and Hippowdon are probably derived from the Arabian myth of Bahamūt, I believe this is actually an error. The origins of this creature can actually be found in Jewish folklore, as Behemoth is often described and depicted in tales as a hippopotamus-like creature that rules over the Earth's landmasses - which I previously addressed in Groudon's entry - but this already large creature is further magnified in Arabian folklore, turning Behemoth into a vast cosmic fish or whale that serves as one of the foundations on which the Earth stands (Bahamūt). I don't think neither myth is where you can find Hippopotas and Hippowdon's origins, but it's a good guess.

At least these Pokémon are undoubtedly based on hippos. Simple as that.

Sand spouting from the holes on Hippowdon's back.

Competitively, Hippowdon isn't quite the behemoth. Rather, this Pokémon more commonly serves as a Stealth Rock setter than an offensive threat, relying on Whirlwind to become set-up fodder. Fortunately, a moveset consisting of the moves Stealth Rock, Whirlwind, Slack Off and Earthquake - along with the Leftovers as its held item and an Impish nature - proves to be effective as ever, and it is exactly what Hippowdon is good at due to those massive base 108 HP and 118 defense stats. One drawback is that it is a pure ground type and thus not a rock type, which means that it doesn't get a special defense boost in the sandstorm it whips up with its Sand Stream ability when it enters the battlefield. Sand Force boosts all of Hippowdon's ground-, rock- and steel-type moves in a sandstorm, but if it has that ability it would have to rely on another teammate to set up the sandstorm in the first place, which honestly defeats the purpose of having Hippowdon on your team: as it's a support Pokémon, it is generally better to run Sand Stream so that it can support its teammates instead. Hippowdon is basically a one-trick pony, although its base 112 attack stat allows it to hit fairly hard with moves like Earthquake, Stone Edge, Crunch, Superpower and Iron Head if that's your thing. I wouldn't recommend it, especially since this thing is painfully slow and will almost always get hit first; plus, there are plenty more ground types to choose from if you want to go the offensive way.

In that regard. Donphan is a good offensive alternative to Hippowdon, both aesthetically and competitively, because it has a higher attack stat and has access to a priority move in Ice Shard.

Hippowdon lazing about while their young are playing around. Amazing drawing!

I have to admit that turning aquatic animals into land-dwellers is a creative way for the people at Game Freak to introduce us to innovative new Pokémon designs, although they should not let this happen too often if they don't want to turn into one-trick ponies themselves. Hippowdon isn't one of my all-time favorite Pokémon, and I don't think I'll ever use it in a competitive setting, but I am definitely open to using it in a playthrough if the opportunity arises. I'm a little bit confused as to why the huge aesthetic differences between male and female Hippopotas and Hippowdon were applied to this specific evolutionary line, but I rest my case.

P.S.: Hippowdon's French name of Hippodocus is partly derived from an extinct genus of sauropods called diplodocus. Who the fuck at Game Freak came up with that?

Rating: 4/5

#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