#179 - #181: Mareep, Flaaffy & Ampharos

Apparently, Mary had three little lambs.

Okay, so these are some very peculiar Pokémon.

Electric sheep. Why, this is an interesting take on a common animal, although we've also encountered electric mice, grass dinosaurs, ice birds and fire foxes, dogs and horses so far. But this time, instead of the usual increase in aesthetic traits by evolutions, the Mareep line gradually loses something: its wool. It's a miracle Game Freak managed to make Mareep's evolutions actually look like they're evolutions. Their electric typing and their ability Static actually make sense, too, if you think about it: these traits are clear references to the science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, which is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco and tells the story of bounty hunter Rick Deckard, who seeks to buy a live animal to replace his electric sheep and signs on to a new police mission in order to be able to do that. The 1982 movie Blade Runner, with Harrison Ford, is an adaptation of this novel and has since become a cult film.

Heh. Y'all know I'm a sucker for this kind of cute fan art. 

Also, wool builds up static charges and that is a very important aspect of Mareep's flavor: its wool grows continuously and stores electricity. When Mareep build static energy within its body the volume of its wool increases, and touching it will result in getting a static shock. Mareep are held in farms for their wool, of which quality clothing is made, but the fleece is only shed in the summer and it will grow back in less than a week. I like how the origin of Mareep's name is Mary, the 'main character' in the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". This is also demonstrated in the 23rd episode of the anime's third season, "Mild 'n Wooly", in which a flock of Mareep is shepherded by a young girl named Mary. Coincidence? I think not, but it's a nice touch. Flaaffy, whose name might have been derived from 'baa' - the sound sheep make - or an AA battery, has lost most of its wool as a result of having stored too much electricity in it. Flaaffy has found a way of generating more electricty with less wool and effectively protect its rubbery hide from said electricity. It can even fire its hair at foes at will.

I laughed way harder at this than I should have. 

Ampharos's flavor, on the other hand, is entirely different from Mareep and Flaaffy's. The origin of its design remains roughly the same, but it is also clearly based on a lighthouse instead. Some traits, such as the stripes on its neck and tail and the gem on top of its head, refer to this, but it is also apparent in the Gold, Silver and Crystal games, as well as their remakes: at a certain point in the storyline, you'll have to visit the lighthouse in Olivine City, where you'll encounter Gym Leader Jasmine and her Ampharos named Amphy. Because the orb on an Ampharos's tail can shine so brightly that it can even seen from space, Amphy serves as the beacon of this lighthouse. However, it is apparently unable to continue doing so due to illness. The player is asked to retrieve the SecretPotion from a pharmacy in Cianwood City and bring it back to Jasmine, so that Amphy's disease can be cured. Must be a boring job, letting your tail shine every night without much to do. Well, at least saving lives by preventing ships from sailing against the cliffs is better than letting people use your tail's light by sending signals back and forth, as the people in the old days used to do. Oh, and before I forget to mention it: pharos, or Φάρος, is Greek for 'lighthouse'. Go figure.

Two Ampharos encircling their 'babies' Mareep and Flaaffy.

But the weirdest thing is still Ampharos's Mega evolution. Not only does Mega Ampharos gain a fabulous mane and a fluffy tail, it also changes into a dragon type. Why it obtains the dragon type upon Mega-evolving is beyond me, but at least it makes for an interesting typing only the legendary Pokémon Zekrom shares with it. Come to think of it, maybe its Japanese name Denryu (デンリュウ) has something to do with it, as it derives from denryū and den ryū, meaning 'electric current' and 'electric dragon', respectively. Anyway, with its amazing defensive stats overall - 90 HP, 105 defense and 110 special defense are absolutely nothing to sneeze at - and an increase in its special attack by 50 base points (from 115 as a regular Ampharos to 165 as Mega Ampharos), you'll have an absolute monster should you decide to put it on your team. Of course, its bulky and offensive capabilities come at the expense of its speed, which is nothing to write home about at all. On the bright side, this allows you to run a Modest nature to make full use of its off-the-charts special attack. And Ampharos's impressive coverage leaves you spoiled for choice: it has access to Signal Beam, Power Gem and Dragon Pulse, which it learns by level-up, as well as moves of its own type and TM moves such as Focus Blast. A defensive Ampharos with a support set isn't uncommon either, as Heal Bell gives it a niche over other electric types, while Rest and the held item Leftovers provide for some reliable recovery. And if you feel bold, you can even run an Agility set on a Timid-natured Ampharos, so that it will be able to outspeed some things out there at the cost of some special attack.

I don't know what Ampharos is doing here, but it sure looks suggestive. Don't forget
we're looking at a kids' show here, though, so it's probably nothing to worry about.

I absolutely adore Ampharos. It is so cute for a stage 2 Pokémon, it has a fabulous Mega evolution, its shiny is enormously pretty and it is an absolute beast in battle. What more can you wish for? I have used this Pokémon several times in playthroughs and it never left me disappointed in the slightest. On the contrary, even, it always turned out to be the favorite on my team. Then again, electric is always a good typing, as it only has one weakness - to ground, that is - and as moves from that type often tend to induce paralysis, which slows opponents down. At any rate, Ampharos is 100% worthy of a perfect rating!

Rating: 5/5

#150: Mewtwo

Giovanni facing 'his' Mewtwo, disguised in its robotic suit, at
Team Rocket's HQ.

You know, out of all the evil teams in the Pokémon franchise, Team Rocket was probably the most wicked. And with Team Rocket I don't mean those pathetic fuck-ups who go by the names of Jessie and James; I am talking about the organized-crime syndicate led by Giovanni. You see, Giovanni is a first-class mob boss, aiming to become - and remain - the most powerful and wealthy criminal in the Pokémon world. He heard of the legend of the mythical Pokémon Mew and decided he wanted to create a Pokémon more powerful and terrific than that, and through cloning he managed to create Mewtwo (well, his scientists did). Giovanni even used Mewtwo, disguised in a robotic suit, in a Gym battle against Gary Oak in the 63rd episode of the anime's first season, "The Battle of the Badge". This resulted in Gary losing the battle. Not that Gary needed the Earth Badge to begin with, as he had ten badges already, but still... Anyway, two episodes later, in "Showdown at the Po-ké Corral", Mewtwo causes an explosion at Team Rocket's HQ and escapes to New Island.

Dr. Fuji's clones from left to right: Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo,
Ambertwo, Bulbasaurtwo and a young Mewtwo.

That's when the very first Pokémon movie comes into play: Mewtwo is the center of attention in this movie and we see its actual backstory in a ten-minute anime short added to TV airings of the film in Japan. That short actually also focuses on Dr. Fuji, a scientist who lost his daughter, Amber, and seeks to bring her back to life by cloning her. When Giovanni's explorers find fossilized remains of Mew in Guyana (which is a real country, by the way), Giovanni takes interest in Dr. Fuji's ambitions and asks him to extract DNA from the remains and make a succesful clone of Mew. Dr. Fuji accepts the offer and succeeds in cloning Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Amber and Mew, whom he calls Bulbasaurtwo, Charmandertwo, Squirtletwo, Ambertwo and, of course, Mewtwo. The clones fail to show consciousness, but they are able to communicate with each other by using telepathy. However, the clones of the Kanto starters die and Ambertwo follows soon after, which leaves only a highly emotional Mewtwo. To calm it down, the scientists inject a memory-wiping serum that allows it to slowly mature while it sleeps.

This serum is very important, because it is assumed that this caused Mewtwo to have lost its ability to be compassionate. Also, it is said that the reason that Mewtwo is the only clone to have survived is because the creature it originates from, Mew, possesses an immortal life force. Makes sense.

The official poster for the first Pokémon movie.

The rest of Mewtwo's story we see in Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back, in which Mewtwo breaks out of the tank it was cloned in. Upon finding out that the scientists saw it as nothing more than than result of their project, it blows up the whole goddamn place, presumably killing everyone inside. That's when Giovanni's helicopter arrives. Giovanni persuades Mewtwo to join him so that it can become stronger, but Mewtwo starts to develop a hatred towards mankind and soon becomes tired of being used by Giovanni. It then escapes, which we also see in "Showdown at the Po-ké Corral", and vows to begin its reign on Earth. Using a Fearow to spy on Trainers and a Dragonite to deliver invitations, Mewtwo lures the best Trainers to New Island, where it rebuilt the laboratory it was born in, in order to clone the Trainers' Pokémon and prove that the originals are no match for its clones. To succeed, Mewtwo created a variation on the regular Poké Ball, which is very much like a Master Ball in the sense that it captures any Pokémon without failure, but the only difference is that the Mewtwo Ball can also capture a Pokémon from inside its regular Poké Ball! A fight breaks out between the original Pokémon and their clones (including Mew and Mewtwo), until Ash steps up and demands the fighting to stop, only to get hit by two blasts of energy from Mew and Mewtwo. This caused Ash to turn into stone, much to the sadness of Pikachu, who fruitlessly attempts to wake Ash up by electrifying him over and over again. After Pikachu starts to cry, the other Pokémon follow Pikachu's example, and the many tears magically resurrect Ash. This is the point where Mewtwo realizes that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant: it is one does with the gift of life that determines one's destiny. It reasons that it would be better if no one remembered the events that had transpired, and erases the memories of all people and Pokémon on the island and transports them back to the mainland.

This creepy piece of Mewtwo fan art is
awesome!

Its Pokédex entries are a little different from the Mewtwo we see in the movie. Yes, it was engineered to be the ultimate battle machine, but that is not the reason why it can only think of defeating its foes. Although Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald state that the scientists who created Mewtwo failed to endow it with a compassionate heart, this is not entirely true. Mewtwo did show compassion after the loss of Ambertwo, but because the scientists at the lab on New Island gave it a serum to calm it down and let it forget what happened, it developed a hatred towards the human race. Then again, these Pokédex entries stem from the video games, in which Mewtwo's origin is an entirely different story. According to scientific logs found in the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island, Mewtwo was born of a pregnant Mew found deep in the jungles of Guyana, whose embryo had been tampered with in order to alter its DNA. It was held in the mansion, where a scientist performed horrific gene-splicing experiments that made it vicous and very powerful. It eventually broke free from the mansion, destroying it in the process, and sought shelter in Cerulean Cave, which the player can only enter after proving their skill at the Indigo League. Of course, the story provided in the video games wasn't really sufficient for the anime, so the anime creators needed a whole other Mewtwo story for the movie. Such a backstory is fine for Red, Blue and Yellow, but Mewtwo just sits in Cerulean Cave waiting for you to catch it in your Master Ball, which is hardly proper material for a full-fledged movie. Also, I can only imagine the horror-like shenanigans described in the games aren't suited to be used in a children's cartoon.

Mewtwo's Mega evolutions. On the left you can see Mega Mewtwo X, on the right
Mega Mewtwo Y. Both are drawn by Ken Sugimori and serve as their respective
official artworks. 

As for the competitive scene, I dont really have to explain that you can just go out there and commit cold-blooded murder. With a base stat total of 680, Mewtwo is one of the strongest Pokémon ever. It is bested only by Arceus, Black and White Kyurem, and several Mega evolutions - including its own - and equaled by a few other legendaries, usually game mascots depicted on the box art (with the exception of Hoopa Unbound). Its lowest stats are its defenses, which sit at base 90 and are very reasonable at worst. Mewtwo is also really versatile, because it can learn physical- and special based moves of so many different types and it can make good use of all of them, too. Especially as one of its Megas (like Charizard, Mewtwo has two), its attacking stats are off the charts, with Mega Mewtwo X being the strongest physical attacker in the game and Mega Mewtwo Y being the strongest special attacker. And I mean the strongest of all time. Damn.

Cloned Mewtwo floating in its tank while Mew is looking on. 

So, Mewtwo probably has the most extensive and versatile backstory I've seen so far. Well, while discussing the Pokémon on this blog, anyway. Design-wise it doesn't resemble Mew in the slightest; it looks more like an alien and doesn't have any feline traits that Mew does have, at least in my opinion. But that's not why I'm not giving it a perfect rating, something others tend to do because it is one of the original legendaries. Mewtwo is great, but because I like Mew a whole lot more, I'm giving Mewtwo half a star fewer.

By the way, what the fuck is UP with Mega Mewtwo Y? Mega Mewtwo X is pretty cool, and the Shadow version of it in the recently released Pokkén Tournament looks pretty goddamn awesome, but the Y Mega looks utterly ridiculous, with its skinny appearance and its tail on its head. Ugh, it shouldn't have existed in the first place. Well, here you have yet another reason why Mewtwo is not getting 5 stars from me.

Rating: 4.5/5

#142: Aerodactyl

Yo, what is it with these prehistoric Pokémon being so fucking VICIOUS?

Amazingly dark fan art of Aerodactyl. 

Now, if we take a look at its Pokédex entries, it becomes clear that Aerodactyl was a carnivore living in the dinosaur era. Due to its ferocious attitude and sharp serrated fangs it was able to tear enemies apart, often charging at their throats. Even back then it was fearsome, gliding high in the skies while shrieking high-pitched cries. Even the Pokémon who lived during that era were terrified of Aerodactyl, which is clearly shown in the anime: in the 46th episode of the first season, "Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon", Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket become stuck in a cave after joining the Fossil Rush (which is basically a fossil excavation competition) and soon find themselves chased by Omanyte, Omastar, Kabuto and Kabutops, who were awoken by the explosion caused by Team Rocket. However, the fossil Pokémon run even deeper into the cave, and it soon becomes evident why: they are scared of Aerodactyl, who swoops in and knocks down Ash's disobedient Charmeleon. Aerodactyl then firmly grabs Ash with its claws, flying out of the cave with Pikachu and Charmeleon being able to jump onto its back just in time. Once out it drops Pikachu and Charmeleon, and the latter, who was annoyed by Aerodactyl earlier, wants to battle it, only to get angry because it gets taunted by the prehistoric Pokémon. This event is important, because it triggers evolution in Charmeleon, who changes into Charizard in order for it to fight Aerodactyl in the sky. Ultimately, that annoying-ass Jigglypuff saves the day, making everyone - including Aerodactyl - fall asleep. Except for Charizard, of course, who puts its fingers in its ears and saves a falling Ash from a painful death.

Some more dark fan art of Aerodactyl. I think eerie area's, like
this volcanic area, are perfect to help show Aerodactyl's
personality. 

The fact that even Omstar and Kabutops - who aren't really the definition of adorable, to say the least - are scared of Aerodactyl means that it was a ferocious hunter that even other carnivores were afraid of. It even looked ferocious, as its newly-discovered Mega evolution (well, it's been around for approximately two and a half years, but you get my point) shows it how it looked like 65+ million years, before it became fossilized. But rather than being able to get revived from a regular fossil, it can be resurrected from an Old Amber. That sounds weird, as the Old Amber looks nothing like Aerodactyl at all, but reviving it happens by extracting DNA from amber first. That is something different than getting resurrected from an entire fossil, and maybe that's why regular Aerodactyl doesn't resemble its original prehistoric counterpart. Some parts of a genetic code can often get broken or lost during all those years, even though Aerodactyl's DNA is preserved in the best possible ways. Even in Jurassic Park, which I consider nothing more than science fiction, the genetic codes of dinosaurs had to be filled up by reptilian or amphibian DNA to make up for the DNA that got lost.

Official art of Mega Aerodactyl, drawn by Ken
Sugimori. 

But this is not a biology lesson. The big question is, 'How does Aerodactyl fare in the competitive scene?' Well, not bad at all. With base 135 attack, base 150 speed and the ability Tough Claws (which boosts the power of contact moves by 33%) as Mega Aerodactyl, it is a force to be reckoned with. This Pokémon has access to a variety of physical-based moves such as Iron Head, the elemental fangs, Crunch, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Aqua Tail and Iron Tail, although it lacks some good physical STAB flying-type moves. Both Sky Attack and Fly require a turn to charge, even though the former works great if you give Aerodactyl a Power Herb to hold instead of the Aerodactylite, and moves like Wing Attack and Aerial Ace are only okay after a Tough Claws boost. At least they're potent enough, but it's a bit of a shame. Anyway, Aerodactyl's huge movepool gets even better, with Hone Claws to increase its attack and accuracy by one stage each (nice in conjunction with Stone Edge) and Roost to heal half of its HP. There are so many possible move combinations you can make that there isn't even room in this paragraph to mention them all. Just do whatever works best for you, as you can't go wrong with Mega Aerodactyl anyway, but make sure you're slapping a Jolly nature on it in order for it to make full use of its outstanding speed stat. Also, I'd recommend to stay shy of running a so-called 'bulky' Mega Aerodactyl, because that is just a waste of its potential. Well, in my opinion, at least... Besides, regular Aerodactyl are pretty fragile and are most often used as a 'suicide lead', setting up Stealth Rock and using Taunt to prevent opponents from removing said rocks with Defog, providing it survives the foe's hit first (a Focus Sash would come in handy here).

I can't get enough of this kind of art. It looks so pretty... 

I absolutely love Aerodactyl, especially its Mega. When I was a little kid, I was completely into dinosaurs and my mother let me watch Jurassic Park over and over and over again, although it was a couple of years after the movie came out. I was more in awe with all those dinosaurs running around than I was scared of what they were actually doing. My fascination with dinosaurs lives ever on, and the fact that Aerodactyl is based on a pterodactyl (a genus of pterosaurs) makes me love this thing even more. In 2014, paleontologists even named a species of pterosaur after this Pokémon, aerodactylus scolopaciceps, which makes Aerodactyl the only Pokémon to have a species/genus named after it. Reasons enough to give it a perfect rating, right?

Rating: 5/5

#129 - #130: Magikarp & Gyarados

I think Magikarp has the right to say this. 

So how does the most pathetic Pokémon evolve into a monstrous Pokémon exactly?

And with pathetic I actually mean pathetic. Magikarp's level-up movepool has been the same since Gen. II, consisting of only Splash, Tackle and Flail, and its stats are terrible across the board. Well, its speed is decent, but it's useless when you have no offensive or defensive stats whatsoever. But do you see the memes below and on the right? That's right, Magikarp will fuck you up when it evolves into the fearsome Gyarados, but how does that excalate so quickly? Well, Magikarp is based on an Asian carp (although it does look a bit like a koi carp), a kind of fish that is easily startled and can jump 8 to 10 feet in the air, hence Magikarp's 'ability' to splash. Magikarp's evolution into Gyarados refers to a Chinese legend about how carp that leapt over the Dragon Gate, which many believe is located behind several waterfalls and cataracs in China, would become dragons, but it's mainly an allegory of the drive and efforts needed to overcome obstacles. This is also demonstrated in the side game Pokémon Snap, in which a Magikarp splashes its way into a waterfall and evolves after taking certain steps.

Awesome fan art of a Gyarados scaring the crap out of a Rattata.

And, honestly, the change from Magikarp (stats, appearance, Pokédex entries) into Gyarados is like broad daylight abruptly turning into the dead of night. Even its Pokédex entries portray Magikarp as weak and pathetic. The following examples are a selection of Magikarp's Pokédex entries in the video games; there are a couple more, but I don't want to make this article too long.

Pokédex entry Red/Blue:
"In the distant past, it was somewhat stronger than the horribly weak descendants that exist today."

Pokédex entry Silver:
"For no reason, it jumps and splashes about, making it easy for predators like Pidgeotto to catch it mid-jump."

Pokédex entry Ruby:
"Magikarp is a pathetic excuse for a Pokémon that is only capable of flopping and splashing. This behavior prompted scientists to undertake research into it."

Pokédex entry Emerald:
"Its swimming muscles are weak, so it is easily washed away by even slow-moving currents. In places where water pools, you can see many Magikarp deposited there by the flow."

Pokédex entry FireRed:
"It is virtually worthless in terms of both power and speed. It is the most weak and pathetic Pokémon in the world."

Pokédex entry Diamond:
"It is said to be the world's weakest Pokémon. No one knows why it has managed to survive."

Goddamn, Magikarp really wants to murder some people. By the
way, this Gyarados is shiny, for those who didn't know that yet.
Regular Gyarados are blue.

Horribly weak, a pathetic excuse for a Pokémon, virtually worthless, the most weak and pathetic Pokémon in the world... Those are some powerful superlatives you use there, Game Freak. Like, calm the fuck down. I know Magikarp isn't strong, but adding so many inglorious Pokédex entries is really pushing it. Actually, there are two that are somewhat positive, but they are both overshadowed by the negativity added to them: Sapphire's entry says that Magikarp can survive in the most polluted waters but actually starts off with some of above-mentioned superlatives, while Diamond's (as well as Black, White, Black 2 and White 2's entries) mentions that a Magikarp that lives for many years can leap a mountain using Splash but that the move remains useless no matter what. And even though you're not exactly wrong by chastizing Magikarp for being worthless, that's a very effective way to make some positivity about it undone, Game Freak. Excellent job.

James's Gyarados in "Pokémon Shipwreck";
season 1, episode 16. It is enraged because it
is kicked away as a Magikarp after being
called worthless. It takes revenge by
summoning other Gyarados and create a huge
waterspout that blows the kids away.

How different Gyarados's Pokédex entries are from Magikarp's, though. This humangous sea serpent has fangs that can crush stones and its scales are harder than steel. Gyarados is classified as the 'Atrocious Pokémon', and that description is spot on: it looks hideous and has a terrible personality also. You see, Gyarados is infamously known for its fierce temper and wanton destructive tendencies and it is capable of annihilate entire cities in a rage, which it has done in ancient times. There are even records of this Pokémon's rampages lasting a whole goddamn month. It is attracted to wars and conflicts, which is why it is hard to tame one even after it is captured by its Trainer, and an exceptional amount of work in taming Gyarados is required in order for it to obey its Trainer without any problems. This is demonstrated in "Pokémon Shipwreck", one of the earlier episodes of the anime. In the episode before that, "Battle Aboard the St. Anne", James gets conned on the St. Anne, a gigantic cruise ship, and ends up with a worthless Magikarp. However, the St. Anne capsizes and Ash, his friends and Team Rocket have to work together to make their way out of the sinking ship by use of Misty's water Pokémon. James tries to use Magikarp, but nearly ends up drowning, and after all of them are gathered together on a raft, James calls Magikarp a worthless piece of shit (not literally, but it's pretty damn near close) and kicks it into the ocean. This triggers evolution in Magikarp, changing into the fearsome Gyarados. Enraged, it summons other Gyarados who start swimming in circles, creating a enormous waterspout that blows everyone away, resulting in the majority of the bunch to be washed ashore on an island with giantic robotic Pokémon ("Island of the Giant Pokémon").

But why on Earth is Gyarados so incredibly violent compared to Magikarp? Well, the brain cells undergo a structural transformation, which is believed to be blamed for Gyarados's sudden violent behavior. I don't want to give away too much, but Gyarados seems to be the counterpart of Milotic: both are serpentine evolution of weak fish, both have an increase of 340 points in their base stat total upon evolution, and both appear in times of conflict (Gyarados to destroy, Milotic to becalm). If you take a look at Milotic, you'll understand why.

Official art of Mega Gyarados.

But upon gaining all of this power, Gyarados should become an awesome Pokémon to use competitively, right? Oh, hell yeah. Game Freak blessed Gyarados with an amazing Mega evolution that hits like a truck. With base 155 attack, 109 defense, 130 special defense and a decent base 95 HP stat, Mega Gyarados is an offensive tank. Unfortunately, it doesn't gain any speed upon Mega-evolving, but that can be fixed by teaching it Dragon Dance. That is definitely a move you'll want to keep, along with Crunch and Waterfall (or Aqua Tail; more power in exchange for some accuracy), from which it gets STAB. The other spot in its moveset should be reserved for Earthquake, but it also learns Stone Edge, Ice Fang, Outrage, Iron Head, Iron Tail and Dragon Tail (makes Gyarados to go last, but forces the opponent to switch out to one of their Pokémon at random, which is perfect to prevent sweepers from setting up). However, regular Gyarados has the flying type as its secondary typing, so it doesn't get STAB from Crunch. Moreover, the lack of good physical flying-type moves makes it a lot less viable for competitive play. It only gets Bounce, which is a two-turn move and therefore unusable, as it'll let the opponent get the chance to switch out to a Pokémon that is resistant to flying. Unless you give it a Power Herb, that is, which is a one-time-use item that allows the holder to attack immediately with a move that charges on the first turn. It's barely worth the hassle, though.

I... I can't even. This fan art is INCREDIBLE!!!

As for items, it is better to give Gyarados the Leftovers to hold, so that it can heal a little of its HP every turn. A Choice Band or a Choice Scarf is not an option if you're gonna use a Dragon Dance Gyarados, so the Life Orb may be an alternative. Regular Gyarados are better if they have some bulk to them, though, so you'll want Intimidate for an ability, which lowers the opponent's attack stat by one stage when switching into Gyarados. Its hidden ability is Moxie, which increases its attack by one stage every time it knocks out a Pokémon, but that would be much better on Mega Gyarados (who, sadly, always has Mold Breaker). Lastly, a Jolly or Adamant nature is preferred. You can go for an all-defensive Gyarados with status moves like Thunder Wave, Rest, Sleep Talk and Roar, with a Careful nature to boot, but that would be a waste of its power. Just use the Substitute/Dragon Dance combo with Waterfall and Earthquake and you'll be set.

Gyarados is a monster, and it has one of the most interesting flavors I have come across. The Chinese legend of carp becoming dragons when leaping over the Dragon Gate has brought forth one of the most obvious and well-executed transformations thus far. The only thing that still confuses me is Gyarados's flying type. It may be a reference to koinobori, a carp-shaped windsock traditionally flown to celebrate Children's Day in Japan, on which children's personalities and happiness are celebrated. It would have been better had Game Freak decided to make it water/dragon, but in Gen. I that would have been way too overpowered, as dragon was only weak to ice and itself. But there was only Dragon Rage in Gen. I, dealing a fixed damage of 40 HP, and Gyarados's water typing neutralizes ice-type moves. The result? Gyarados would've had no weaknesses whatsoever. Talk about overpowered...

Rating: 4.5/5

#127: Pinsir

'Yo Masuda-san, I got a great idea.'

'I'm listening.'

'Let's make a bug-type Pokémon based on a stag beetle, the Prosopocoilus inclinatus, a popular beetle used in insect fighting.'

'Yeah?'

'Let's give it a variety of fighting-type moves also, but let's not make it a fighting type whatsoever. It's called Pinsir, a corruption of "pincer".'

'Sounds good, man.'

Pinsir and its nutty Trainer, who obviously wants to be a Pinsir
look-alike, with a pair of scissors to boot. 

This is approximately how the proposal interview for Pinsir's design at Game Freak must have gone. Okay, I might have exaggerated a bit, but my assumptions shouldn't be too far off the mark: in the first generation, Pinsir didn't learn anything but normal- and fighting type moves, and in the following two generations it was only capable of learning the weak Fury Cutter. Even today, its only viable move is X-Scissor; it can't even learn Megahorn, even though it has two big-ass horns on its head. Its monotonous learnset has only 'worsened' over time, as Pinsir started out with Seismic Toss and Submission and now has access to a complete arsenal of fighting-type moves such as Revenge, Vital Throw, Storm Throw, Brick Break, Superpower, Close Combat, Focus Punch and, for good measure, the special-based Focus Blast (which should unquestionably be avoided due to its subpar special attack). Game Freak even had the oppotunity to make Pinsir a bug/fighting type when they gave it a Mega evolution in X and Y, but instead went with the third most common dual typing in the whole goddamn game, bested only by normal/flying (23) and tying with grass/poison (14): bug/flying. Mega Pinsir isn't bad, but this 'new' typing made it gain two extra weaknesses, while intensifying its weakness to rock. However, its ability Aerilate makes up for its complete lack of flying-type moves, as it turns all normal-type moves into flying-type moves, effectively making moves like Return and Quick Attack actually super effective on a lot of Pokémon. Not too shabby.

Mega Pinsir.

At least this makes Mega Pinsir extremely useful in the competitive scene. It has amazing attack and defense, great speed, and even some moderate HP and special defense. These stats give it some durability during a battle, barring any switch-ins to Stealth Rock. Mega Pinsir's utility in the OU tier is pretty straightforward: a Jolly or Adamant nature with Close Combat, Return, Quick Attack and Swords Dance is the most common set, even though X-Scissor might not be a bad idea either. It even learns some neat coverage moves like Earthquake, Rock Slide, Stone Edge and Knock Off, if you want to slap any of these moves on it. And regular Pinsir, residing in the NU tier, isn't half bad. It comes equipped with three great abilities: Mold Breaker negates the effect of other abilities (e.g. Pinsir can hit Levitate Pokémon with ground-type moves, whereas they would otherwise be immune to them), Hyper Cutter prevents its attack from being lowered (handy!), and Moxie increases Pinsir's attack by one stage every time it blows an opponent out of the water. All three abilities have their uses and are completely fine for Pinsir, but it depends on the situation which one you'll need. The same goes for items: Life Orb increases Pinsir's moves but causes recoil damage, Choice Band raises its attack by 50% but locks it into using just one move until being switched out, Choice Scarf does the same for speed rather than attack, and Lum Berry lets it heal any status condition. And, not unimportant, avoid Return and Quick Attack on regular Pinsir; it doesn't benefit from these moves like Mega Pinsir does.

But... but... what's this now? It's very unusual I'm starting my entry with a Pokémon's competitive use. Normally I start by discussing a Pokémon's flavor, but I guess I'll have to do it right now. Oh, well...

This artist sure knows how to make Pinsir even more scary
than it already is. 

Pinsir has always been a bit of a strange Pokémon. For one thing, it is based on a popular stag beetle used in insect fighting, which embraces a wide range of competitive Asia-based spectator sports commonly associated with gambling, in which insects are pitted against each other. That is probably the reason for Pinsir's savagery: it uses the pincers on its head to crush, swing, toss, tear and bludgeon opponents, even if they are twice its weight. If it fails to crush its victim between its pincers, which hardly happens because the thorns on its horns are driven deeply into the foe's body until it is torn, it will swing it around and toss it hard. Its horns are even used to dig burrows for it to sleep in, shatter thick logs, and bludgeon foes. All of these characteristics make it even more evident that Pinsir should have gotten fighting as its secondary type in the first place. Game Freak compensated its lack of a secondary typing by adding Heracross in Gen. II, a bug/fighting type that can actually use quite some moves of its own typings, more than Pinsir can. It is superior to Pinsir in every way, but at least Pinsir is one of the original big bug things. Plus, it has to be said that Pinsir has greatly improved over the course of the last fifteen years, with a Mega evolution to boot (although this argument might be considered invalid, as even Heracross was so lucky to have gotten a Mega).

All in all, Pinsir is a great Pokémon, and I especially love its Mega, despite its unlucky typing and the fact that it disappointed me a little bit at first sight. I can't say I can give it a perfect rating, because Pinsir (and even its Mega) isn't perfect by any means, but a 4.5-star rating is absolutely nothing to sneeze at.

Rating: 4.5/5

#123, #212: Scyther & Scizor

Scyther in all its glory.

Oh man, these Pokémon.

Remember when Scyther was awesome back in the day? Yeah, it was one of the better-designed and most popular Pokémon, but it has lost its appeal a little over the last fifteen years or so. Even in the time of Red, Blue and Yellow Scyther wasn't all that, just because it didn't learn any STAB bug- or flying-type moves other than the weak Wing Attack, which was still a whopping 35 power back then... and that was only in Pokémon Yellow. Sure, critical hits were based on speed and Scyther was one of the fastest Pokémon the game, so you could just spam Slash. Crits galore! Fortunately, Game Freak have only improved Scyther since then, giving it the awesome Technician ability (which increases the strength of moves with 60 power or less by 50%) and some moves that can benefit from it, such as Bug Bite and Aerial Ace. In the second generation, Scyther even got an amazing evolution named Scizor. The problem is that Scizor is superior to Scyther in every aspect except speed: Scizor becomes much slower in exchange for a little more bulk, a better attack stat and the ever-so-useful steel type. It even retains Technician, and from X and Y onward it even has been able to Mega-evolve.

Fan art of Scyther and Scizor. This image suggests that they are
equals, as they have roughly the same height and take the same
stance. 

Both Scyther and Scizor have a base stat total of 500, which is highly unusual in an evolution line; Pokémon typically get stronger when evolution triggers, but apparently this doesn't seem to apply to Scyther and Scizor. In fact, Scyther is the only pre-evolutionary form that has the same base stat total as its evolution. It does evolve by having it hold a Metal Coat and trade it away, but this is hardly the reason why Scyther and Scizor's base stat total is exactly the same; even Steelix's is much higher than Onix's (just like Scizor, though, it has lost some of its speed). My theory is that Scyther had good stats for a basic Pokémon already and that it didn't particularly need to become stronger; Scizor would have been way too overpowered - close to legendary status - if it had kept Scyther's excellent speed stat upon evolution. Great attack, great speed and decent bulk? Nigh impossible to take down, I'd say. Instead, you should see Scizor as an alternative to Scyther: the former has the all-important steel typing (this makes Scizor 4x weak to fire, but it's its only weakness) and is stronger and bulkier, while the latter has a STAB Technician-boosted Aerial Ace or Wing Attack and can make use of the Eviolite. By the way, I am not even counting the fact that I think Scizor is much more awesome than Scyther. When I was a kid, Scyther was one of my favorite Pokémon, but this shifted to Lugia and Scizor instead, and that hasn't changed much over the years.

Fan art of Scizor showing off its badassery.

Why, let's take a look at their Pokédex entries, shall we? Scyther is obviously based on the praying mantis and the mantidfly, and while the blades of mantises aren't that sharp, Scyther's are: they are able to slice through logs and become even sharper when used to cut through hard materials. With ninja-like agility and speed, it can create the illusion that there is more than one of them or become too fast for the human eye to track. And how about Scizor? Well, despite its name and its Gen. II classification as the 'Scissors Pokémon', which Game Freak corrected in Gen. III, its claws are more like pincers instead of scissors. Scizor can't rely on its dismal speed, so it uses its eye-patterned pincers instead to swing them and create the illusion that it has three heads. The pincers can crush any hard object to bits (even concrete when Scizor gets a chance to Mega-evolve). And while Scyther barely uses its wings to fly, Scizor is completely incapable of flight. It uses its wings to adjust its body temperature instead, because apparently its steel body can't handle its own hotness, ha ha ha.

Anyway.

Watch out, because Scizor is coming at you!

Competitively, Scizor is a pretty straightforward Pokémon: it is supposed to hit anything with tremendous strength, especially since it has a Mega. And as Scizor isn't very fast to begin with, you might want to max out its massive attack stat by running one with an Adamant nature, while an Impish nature focuses more on Scizor's defensive side. An ideal moveset might consist of Swords Dance, Bullet Punch (STAB and boosted by Technician), Bug Bite (ditto) and Roost for healing purposes. U-Turn can be used to gain momentum, as switching out after doing some damage is better than hard-switching, while Defog removes entry hazards and Knock Off can knock off the foe's item. This move isn't uncommon in competitive play lately, as it has been upgraded from 20 to 65 power since the days of X and Y. It is also capable of learning some fine coverage moves like Night Slash, X-Scissor, Iron Head, Brick Break, Superpower and Acrobatics (has a base power of 55, but this doubles when the user isn't holding an item). Want some Technician-boosted moves instead? Well, how about Aerial Ace? 60 power, never misses. Or Fury Cutter, a rather unreliable move with a base power of 40 that doubles every time it is used, which renders Technician useless most of the time. Metal Claw (50 power), Pursuit (which has 40 power and doubles when the opponent switches out on the turn you use it, in which case Technician doesn't trigger), Double Hit (hits twice for 35 power a pop, and with Technician it hits harder than Return) and Thief (60 power) are moves to consider as well. Don't like Mega Scizor? You can give regular Scizor a Life Orb or a Choice Band and still be good.

I don't know whether this is an action figurine or 3D art of Mega Scizor (the official
art is embedded in the original image for comparison), but it looks awesome! :D

I'd still recommend the first moveset I first mentioned, though, even for Scyther (except Bullet Punch; Scyther doesn't learn it and it should be replaced by Aerial Ace instead). However, a Jolly nature is very common on Scyther, especially combined with a Choice Scarf. It greatly benefits from the Eviolite as well, buffing up its defenses a little while still hitting like a truck. But Scizor's awesomeness can't be denied and that is exactly why I recommend it over Scyther. No, honestly, I fell in love with this thing when Gold and Silver came out and my love for it has only intensified when I saw its Mega form, and that's why it easily gets a perfect rating from me. Go, Scizor!

Rating: 5/5

#115: Kangaskhan

Mother hen and her cute little baby.

Remember the Zimbabwean lion Cecil, who was killed last year by a guy named Walter Palmer, an American dentist who kills big game just for sport?

Yeah, apparently mankind is as cruel in the Pokémon world as in real life.

You see, Kangaskhan were nearly hunted to extinction, until somebody was so smart to pass a bill that stated that they should be protected. And they are being protected now, but they are a very rare species only found in the Safari Zone. Well, that was the case in Red, Blue and Yellow at least; in later games you could still find them in one area or another, even though their encounter rate was still somewhat low (never higher than 10%). And considering Kangaskhan will always protect the baby in its pouch at all costs, even sleeping standing up so as to not crush its young, it is plausible to think that it was rather difficult to hunt, equal to the Big Five (a term coined by big-game hunters to refer to the African lion, Cape buffalo, African leopard, African elephant and black and white rhinoceros, for their difficulty to hunt on foot). It's interesting how some Pokémon's characteristics are serious fodder for discussion, as they sometimes represent issues that are problematic in the real world as well. In the case of hunting, they show how cruel, rotten and corrupt humans can sometimes be; in other cases, such as pollution, they show how neglectful, ignorant and selfish humans mostly are. It definitely leaves some food for thought...

Official art of Mega Kangaskhan by Ken Sugimori. Only the
child's appearance has changed; it looks more like its mother now,
including its eyes, armor-like patches on its knees and spiky tail.

Anyway, Kangaskhan. Its name is a contraction of kangaroo and Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, despite the species being exclusively female. On the other hand, Kangaskhan's design shows some elements of Mongolian laminar armor, so combine that with how violently protective Kangaskhan is of its child and the name makes much more sense. No matter how badly injured Kangaskhan becomes, the mother will not cease fighting until its young is safe, except in its Mega form. That's right, Kangaskhan has had a Mega evolution ever since X and Y came out, and it's probably the quaintest one, as Kangaskhan itself didn't get a change in its appearance like the rest of the Mega evolutions did; instead, the child in its pouch grows and gets to battle with its mother. That kinda contradicts Kangaskhan's flavor, as it is so protective of its child and the latter barely even leave its mother's pouch until it is three years old (I doubt even Pokémon grow as fast as demonstrated by Kangaskhan's Mega evolution's young, aside from regular evolution), but let's not be finicky about that. I mean, a Mega is nothing more than a battle mechanic to make a Pokémon stronger and, hopefully, more useful. Moreover, one characteristic of Mega Kangaskhan does make sense: the child is feisty, hates to lose and will boldly challenge its opponents to protect its mother. All of the mother's nurturing is finally paying off: baby loves its mama!

Mother Kangaskhan pulling her baby out of her pouch, getting
ready for battle (Mega Kangaskhan).

Besides, Mega Kangaskhan has a nifty new signature ability that perfectly matches its flavor: Parental Bond. This ability makes moves that Kangaskhan uses two-strike moves, with the second strike being half as strong as the first; one could see that as the child attacking after its parent. What's more: any secondary effects, such as the attack raise from Power-Up Punch, occur twice, and priority moves like Fake Out and Sucker Punch can easily be abused. There are even other effects, such as each strike having a separate chance to get a critical hit, that are so overpowered that Mega Kangaskhan resides in the Uber tier (where most OP legendary Pokémon like Lugia, Kyogre and Zekrom can be found). It is just too strong for normal tiers like OU, UU, RU and NU, especially since its base attack stat is already a powerful 125 (before applying abilities), while its base speed stat of 100 is nothing to sneeze at, either.

This is a very nice drawing of Kangaskhan!

For battles in a normal tier, I'd recommend using a regular Kangaskhan holding a regular item, preferably a Life Orb, Choice Band or Assault Vest, or maybe even a Silk Scarf if you want to run Double-Edge and don't want to take additional damage from a Life Orb. Jolly or Adamant is the preferred nature, while Scrappy (makes Kangaskhan hit ghost-type Pokémon with normal- and fighting-type moves, which ghost types are usually resistant to) is the most useful ability. Early Bird causes Kangaskhan to wake up earlier than usual, but that ability is merely situational and might not be of use. Inner Focus, however, prevents flinching, which might not be a bad idea if you suspect a Fake Out abuser or a Pokémon with the Serene Grace ability; still, Scrappy is the best ability to go with. As for Kangaskhan's moveset, this Pokémon learns a shitload of useful moves, most notably Double-Edge, Return and Fake Out, normal-type moves that it obtains STAB from. Crunch, Rock Slide, Outrage, Earthquake, Sucker Punch, Brick Break, Shadow Claw, Aqua Tail and Iron Tail are options as well. And it's a shame Kangaskhan doesn't get the Iron Fist ability, because it is able to lean Comet Punch (which is terrible, actually), Mega Punch (you're better off with Return), Dizzy Punch (mediocre, but has a chance to confuse the opponent), Hammer Arm, Focus Punch (only works reliably in conjunction with Substitute), the elemental punches, and Drain Punch. Especially the latter is nice, because it is a reliable source of healing for Kangaskhan. All of these moves are great options depending on what Pokémon you're gonna face and what kind of Kangaskhan you want to use.

TCG wallpaper of Mega Kangaskhan.

Kangaskhan is probably one of the few stand-alone Gen. I Pokémon that didn't get an evolution or a pre-evolution (Mega-evolving doesn't count, because it is temporary), the other ones being Farfetch'd, Pinsir, Tauros and Lapras. And quite honestly, Farfetch'd is the only one who actually needed an evolution but didn't get it. It's too bad Game Freak made Mega Kangaskhan way too overpowered by giving it the most broken ability ever. Kangaskhan needed a little love, but there is such a thing as giving it too much love, I guess. Nevertheless, Kangaskhan is an amazing, versatile Pokémon to use competitively. However, because of balancing problems (its Mega is too OP and its regular form falls a little short stat-wise, which is why it resides in the NU tier) I am unwilling to give it a perfect rating, even though I still love this Pokémon. 4.5 stars should do, right?

Rating: 4.5/5

#95, #208: Onix & Steelix

The Crystal Onix from "The Crystal Onix", the 87th
episode of the Pokémon anime. 

No, I am NOT going to talk about Onix. I refuse.

Shit, I said I'd talk about all Pokémon, didn't I?

Well, to start with, Onix's stats are pretty terrible: except for its defense stat, its stats are all booty, booty, booty, booty, rockin' everywhere. And although you can't say I hate or despise it, it is such an uninteresting Pokémon with an even more uninteresting flavor to it. A giant ground snake that digs tunnels? Yeah, I'm not impressed. Okay, it has a magnet in its brain that prevents it from losing its sense of direction while tunneling, but that is pretty much it. The only thing about Onix that might be interesting enough is the Crystal Onix episode from the Orange Archipelago era. In this episode, Ash, Misty and Tracey end up on Sunburst Island, which is famous for its artists and glassblowers. They meet Mateo, a shopkeeper whose products are of lower quality than the sculptures of other glass makers on the island. In order to find inspiration, Mateo seeks to capture the legendary Crystal Onix, but after they find it and battle it, he realizes that just seeing the special Onix has inspired him. The most curious thing is - despite the fact that Onix are rock/ground-type Pokémon and are thus four times weak to water - that the Crystal Onix can withstand water because of its glass skin. It is weak to fire instead, which regular Onix resist.

Some pretty good papercraft of Steelix.

But that is just one anime episode and doesn't prevent Onix from still being an awful Pokémon stat-wise. However, when you give Onix a Metal Coat to hold and trade it to another game, it evolves into a much better and more fascinating Pokémon: Steelix! Steelix's diamond-hard and magnetic steel body can resist heat (despite it still being weak to fire in the video games) and makes it able to dig towards the Earth's core. The most interesting thing is the change in its primary typing: all of the iron in the soil and rocks Steelix has swallowed as an Onix have accumulated and have caused its body to compress underground, which is why its body is harder than diamond or any other metal. Steelix is, as its name suggests, a primary steel type, as opposed to Onix being a primary rock type. This comes with a more-than-excellent defense stat, a large set of resistances (eight, to be exact) and two immunities (Steelix is still part ground, which makes it immune to electric-type moves). Game Freak even blessed Steelix with the most awesome Mega evolution I have seen thus far.

Mega Steelix's official art.

And that undoubtedly makes Steelix the best powerhouse and defensive wall in the RU tier, and maybe the best overall, barring any legendary Pokémon. Upon Mega-evolving, its already outstanding defense stat becomes even more outstanding, and it even gets a little special bulk behind it. Its very decent base 95 special defense stat gives you the option to run a Steelix with a Careful nature or invest in special defense EVs (or both), as Mega Steelix's physical defense is high enough as is. Being perfectly able to take a hit, Mega Steelix is arguably the best Stealth Rock user, and being the fifth heaviest Pokémon in the game, Heavy Slam - one of its staple moves - does massive damage to most Pokémon. Its other staple move is its STAB Earthquake, which hits Pokémon that are resistant to steel for neutral damage (water) or super-effective damage (fire, electric, steel). This is where you choose to have Toxic to whittle down physically bulkier foes, Roar to force opponents to switch so that they can't set up with stat-increasing moves, or Stone Edge, Crunch, Aqua Tail or even Iron Head/Iron Tail for coverage or more reliable damage. You can even go for Sandstorm, because steel-, ground- and rock-type moves get a 30% boost from Mega Steelix's ability Sand Force when a sandstorm is raging on the battlefield.

And while we're at it, a regular Steelix (before you Mega-evolve it) should have Sturdy, which prevents it from getting OHKO'd while at full health. Rock Head prevents recoil damage, but the only move Steelix gets that benefits from that is Double-Edge. Lastly, its hidden ability Sheer Force ignores additional effects of move (like flinching or stat reduction) of moves for a little extra power, but you want Steelix to Mega-evolve as soon as possible anyway, so you'll barely have the chance to make use of it.

Wow, this piece of fan art of Jasmine and her Mega Steelix is GORGEOUS!

I absolutely love, love, LOVE Mega Steelix and it is by far my favorite Mega evolution. It always looked like some kind of mineral-like spikes were about to protrude from Steelix's body, which they technically already did, but finally Mega-evolving has caused its cells to crystallize and made the prism-like crystalline spikes to burst from it. What's more, Mega Steelix now has its own gravitational orbit, causing metallic-looking scraps to constantly rotate around its neck. These scraps act to its movements and change position when it attacks. I mean, how cool is that? To top all that, Steelix's polished steel body makes its shiny form look more like actual gold, which makes it one of the most effective shinies to date. After all this praise, it probably comes at no surprise that I will give Steelix a perfect rating, just for being a perfect Pokémon.

Rating: 5/5

#92 - #94: Gastly, Haunter & Gengar

Now this is a nice family picture. I just think the photographer
needs to be wary of the Shadow Ball that Haunter (middle) is
about to throw at them.

The first two generations didn't really have many good ghost-type Pokémon. In fact, they didn't have many ghost types at all, the only ones being the Gastly line (Gen. I) and Misdreavus (Gen. II). Also, ghost always did physical damage prior to the physical/special split in Diamond and Pearl (this also applies to poison, which is Gastly, Haunter and Gengar's secondary type), so you had to teach your ghost-type Pokémon other moves that aren't of their respective types, as the Gastly line and Misdreavus are mostly special-based Pokémon and can't really do anything useful with their mediocre attack stats. Fortunately, Gastly and its evolutions could pull that off non-STAB special moves well prior to Gen. IV, thanks to their excellent special attack stats. I'll get back to that later, but I just wanted to let you know how much better Gengar has become since Diamond and Pearl (while some Pokémon, on the other hand, have lost their oomph), especially since it is capable of using strong special-based STAB moves like Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb. And to be honest, if a Pokémon isn't able to properly use moves of the only typing it has, or at least one of its typings if it's a dual-type, it is not a good Pokémon in my opinion. Gengar and its pre-evolutions are good, though, and being the only ghost-type Pokémon in the first generation, they must have interesting characteristics. Let's get into this.

Gastly.

As its name suggests, Gastly's body is predominantly made of gas; 95%, to be exact. This feature makes Gastly transparent so that it can float through solid walls, as befits a ghost, and sometimes even invisible. Moreover, its gas is toxic and it can induce fainting and suffocation, and is capable of enveloping elephants and similar big-ass mammals. It has even shown willingness to preserve or pass on memories of deceased humans. But where Gastly is more of a playful Pokémon, its evolution Haunter actually takes lives, plotting to kill anyone that comes near the dark place where it is hiding. You'd think Haunter is visible because it looks more solid than Gastly, but Haunter is still as gaseous as its pre-evolution and silently stalks its victim to steal its life force with a lick from its gaseous tongue. This inflicts convulsions that persist until the victim dies. That's why Haunter is possibly based on the dila, a spirit that, according to Filipino mythology, passes through walls then licks certain humans to death. That is lurid and creepy, although the anime has had to tone that down a little bit by letting Haunter's victims be paralyzed rather than convulsive and let them be victims of a prank rather than Haunter's prey. Maybe you should only go outside at night when it's windy, because both Gastly and Haunter are very light (in fact, they're the lightest Pokémon in existence) and are easily blown away by strong winds.

Awesomely eerie fan art of (shiny?) Haunter. 

Weirdly, though, Gengar doesn't seem to be as light as Haunter. It weighs almost 90 pounds, which indicates that Gengar actually becomes solid, as opposed to Haunter when it evolves from Gastly. Also, Gengar isn't as cruel as Haunter. Sure, it enjoys scaring people shitless by laying a curse on them or pretending to be their shadow (there's even a theory going around that Gengar is Clefable's ghost or shadow because they share some features, as I wrote in Clefable's entry) and laughing maliciously when its victim takes notice, but Gengar seems more like a prankster than an evil creature. Also, its body serves as a heat sink, because it absorbs the warmth from its surroundings and cools the temperature by nearly 10°F.

The most interesting thing about Gastly and its evolutions is that researchers believe that they are multidimensional beings, but are they really able to travel between dimensions? And if so, are they only able to do that because they're ghosts or because their bodies are so transparent? This theory is only strengthened by the fact that Mega Gengar has a third eye with which it can see into other dimensions. Unfortunately, even though traces of this theory can be found, it is only briefly mentioned in a Pokédex entry of Gastly in the anime and a Pokédex entry of Haunter in Red, Blue and LeafGreen (basically the same games); otherwise, Game Freak fail to explain any further, so I think it's safe to say that these Pokémon are shrouded in mystery. And if y'all have been keeping up with this blog, y'all know I like some mystery.

Official art of Mega Gengar by Ken Sugimori.

But it would be nice if Gengar was a good in-game Pokémon, right? Well, brace yourselves, because not only is Gengar an amazing Pokémon to use in-game, it is also a great competitive Pokémon. It has fantastic special attack and speed stats, especially as a Mega, but as it is quite frail, it is meant to sweep rather than stall. That's why players often run a Gengar with solely offensive moves, mainly Shadow Ball, Sludge Wave, Focus Blast and an additional move for Pokémon that have a quadruple weakness to ice, like Hidden Power Ice or Icy Wind. Those moves aren't the only ones Gengar can learn; depending on what Pokémon you might be facing, moves like Thunderbolt, Psychic, Giga Drain, Energy Ball and Dazzling Gleam might prove useful to you. Taunt prevents the opponent from stalling, while Destiny Bond takes the opponent with it when Gengar is knocked out, so these moves aren't uncommon on Gengar, either. Levitate is its only ability and prevents it from being hit by ground-type moves, which would otherwise be super-effective against it due to its secondary poison typing. There are a variety of items that you can let Gengar hold on to. Here are a few: Life Orb strengthens its offensive moves but takes away 1/10 of its health each times it uses one, Choice Scarf doubles its speed but limits it to using only one move until it is switched out, Choice Specs does the same but with its special attack, Black Sludge lets poison types heal some HP after every turn, and Focus Sash prevents the opponent from one-shotting Gengar when the latter is at full health.

ISN'T SHINY MEGA GENGAR BEAUTIFUL???

And what about Gengar's Mega evolution? Well, its Mega is so good that it actually resides in the Uber tier, in which the most overpowered Pokémon reside, usually legendary Pokémon and some other Mega evolutions. There are several methods to use Mega Gengar in this tier, but it is so fast and so strong that downright murder is mostly enough after it has put the opponent to sleep with Hypnosis and set up a Substitute. What I like most about this Mega, though, is its shiny. Shiny Gengar is absolutely nothing special (it is just a slightly darker shade of purple), but shiny Mega Gengar is completely white. I love it, I love it, I love it. And even though I won't give it a perfect rating just for its shiny, Gengar (especially its Mega) deserves a more-than-excellent 4.5-star rating.

Oh God, I can't WAIT to write my next entry!

Rating: 4.5/5