#557 - #558: Dwebble & Crustle

To anyone who remembers: back in the day, Slowbro was categorized as the 'Hermit Crab Pokémon'. Now we get to discuss two Pokémon that are actually based on hermit crabs, although neither is classified as such; Dwebble is called the 'Rock Inn Pokémon', while its evolution Crustle is known as the 'Stone Home Pokémon'. Is this the game we're playing, Game Freak?

Cilan's Dwebble in the anime. In the second image you
can see it without it being tucked into its rock shell, which
it seems to be repairing.

A hermit crab is a crustacean with a soft, asymmetrical abdomen that is concealed in a scavenged mollusk shell carried around by the hermit crab, although hollow stones and pieces of wood are used by some species. Dwebble, the Pokémon that is based on this animal, was seen in the anime without its rock shell as well, with a hook-like tail that is possibly used to keep the rock in place or to carve itself a new home should its old one gets lost or destroyed. With the help of a corrosive spray expelled from its mouth to dissolve the rock after inspection, carving a new home shouldn't be much a problem for this little critter. However, if the rock indeed breaks, Dwebble becomes agitated and can't and won't calm down until it finds another rock to replace its old home with, which makes its French name Crabicoque even more fitting: bicoque is French slang for a ramshackle or dilapidated house, which seems to imply that Dwebble isn't picky at all when choosing a rock to live in - either that, or its acidic saliva really doesn't help improving the quality of its home. I'm not sure if the shell changes with it when it evolves into Crustle, but it seems odd that a spherical rock turns into what looks like a massive block of stratified stone (a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil formed at the Earth's surface, with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers; each layer is generally one of a number of parallel layers that lie one upon another, laid down by natural processes) rather than an actual shell, although the design seems to resemble ornately-colored hermit crab shells.

An exceptionally mossy Crustle with an entire ecosystem on its back. It is even
graced by Shaymin's presence. 

These heavy slabs, which seem to consist of multiple layers of strata, are carried around by Crustle through arid lands for days on end due to the enormous strength in its legs. However, Crustle is very territorial and fights viciously in competitions for a habitat: the one whose boulder is broken first is the loser of the battle and will have to find another place to make its home, so its ability to travel long distances with heavy blocks of rock on its back comes in very handy, if I may say so. One of the most bizarre things about this is that, contrary to Dwebble, the giant block of stone on Crustle's back isn't actually its home, but something that seems to be more like a status symbol. It doesn't look like Crustle can retreat in its 'shell'; it just seems keen on lugging it around for no discernable reason other than the fact that it is able to do so in the first place. I wonder whether this boulder isn't physically a part of Crustle, because one Pokédex entry says that whenever it is broken in battles for territory, Crustle feels unsure and begins to weaken - plus, the rock changes color in its shiny form and turns into the same sickly shade of green as its body.

Another piece of fan art with an ecosystem on Crustle's back.

Competitively, Crustle doesn't have a lot of tricks up its sleeve. Its base attack went from 95 to 105 in the most recent generation, which is nice, while its base defense sits at an excellent 125 points, but unfortunately it isn't fast or specially defensive. The speed problem can be fixed to an extent by giving Crustle a Jolly nature as well as the move Shell Smash, which raises its attack, special attack and speed by two stages each, but keep in mind that this comes with a defense and special defense penalty. As a result of that, the White Herb would be a perfect held item for Crustle to have, because it reverts back all decreased stats to their original state. It has a one-time use only, so use it wisely. Of course, a set like that asks for a couple of strong physical moves for Crustle to use, and it seems Crustle has just about enough of them. Rock Wrecker is very niche and requires Crustle to recharge the following turn (which I don't think it can afford to do), but it has 150 power and hits like a truck after a Shell Smash. You're better off using Rock Slide or Stone Edge in the end, though, accompanied by X-Scissor and Earthquake, although Crustle also has access to Poison Jab and Knock Off - especially the latter could come in handy, if the opponent's held items are really bothering you. This White Herb set is perfect if you breed Sturdy onto Crustle, because this ability leaves Crustle with only 1 HP when attacked at full health and that basically means you'll have a free Focus Sash on your hand. Shell Armor prevents critical hits, which is a good ability if you want to go defensive with it and use it as an entry hazard lead, but I'd recommend the hit-and-run tactic. Shell Smash is such a fun move to use that it's hard to pass on it; not many Pokémon have access to it and Crustle is strong enough to utilize this move to its full extent.

TCG art of Crustle

I actually really like Crustle. This Pokémon is original enough to warrant its existence, especially when it comes to its design, although there are a few flaws that I would like to point out. First off, Crustle's Pokédex entries are as generic as can be, however fun it might be to speculate about the big boulder on its back. They only mention it violently fighting each other because it's extremely territorial, and I'm pretty sure I've already seen that coming up with a couple of other Pokémon in some way, shape or form before. Second, anime Crustle is way too red. Dwebble might be a brighter orange than its evolution, but Crustle's body is still (a shade of) orange rather than crimson, and I'm actually really bothered by the way it was colored in the anime. Fortunately, that is it. I like Crustle a lot, but it's by no means one of my favorite Pokémon. Perhaps I'll raise my score once I get more attached to it during a playthrough, but for now it just falls short of a 5-star rating.

Rating: 4.5/5

#543 - #545: Venipede, Whirlipede & Scolipede

Venipede in TCG, standing in what can only be Roxie's Gym.

From cooing over a cute little caterpillar we proceed to be grossed out by a bug that could easily replace Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The only problem with that is that Quasimodo is actually quite a nice person, while Venipede is aggressive and insistently expresses its continuous anger by injecting a potent poison. Bird Pokémon that try to prey on it are in for a very rude awakening, and Venipede uses the feelers on its head and tail to pick up vibrations in the air and determine its own prey's location and state. Venipede is dangerous, and it gets worse when this thing evolves into Whirlipede: while usually remaining motionless in order to store energy for evolution, it has the tendency to quickly spin its hard-shelled body like a tire and crash furiously into opponents - especially if it's attacked - and it continues to stab approaching predators with its poisonous spikes. And then... Oh boy, to quote Pokémaniacal here: "Then [Whirlipede] evolves into Scolipede and everything gets a whole lot worse for everyone." He's not wrong; Venipede is already pretty foul-tempered, but its final evolution Scolipede takes more than just one cake. This Pokémon is merciless and brutally attacks anyone in its way, clasping its targets with the claws in its neck and finishing them off with a deadly poison, even chasing them down with great speed when they manage to escape. Suffice to say, it won't give up until it emerges victorious.

Also, I think it's safe to say that Scolipede probably doesn't even have predators anymore, because this thing is a massive 8'02" tall and weighs a solid 442 pounds - a human would be morbidly obese if they weighed as much. Real-life centipedes are pretty scary already (I really don't like bugs, especially when they have more than six legs), but Scolipede is nothing short of absolutely fucking terrifying.

One big happy family... literally.

But while Venipede is categorized as the 'Centipede Pokémon', it is more similar in appearance to millipedes, especially green-colored pill millipedes of the glomeris marginata species. Pill millipedes shouldn't be confused with pill bugs, which are a type of woodlouse from the genus armadillidium and are often known as 'armadillo bugs' as a result. Both pill millipedes and pill bugs are able to curl up into a ball when they're in danger (the woodlice more symmetrically so), which probably explains Venipede's evolution into the cocoon-like Whirlipede. While these two types of bugs look alike, pill millipedes can be distinguished from pill bugs by the fact that they have two pairs of legs per body segment, while pill bugs have only one pair. That, as well as the design of Venipede's final evolution Scolipede, makes me think that this evolutionary line is more so based on millipedes going on centipedes rather than ordinary woodlice. Because let's face it: Scolipede is no woodlouse and isn't just a simple millipede anymore, either - as becomes evident in its name, Scolipede is based on the scolopendra genus of centipede, specifically the species scolopendra gigantea. Also known as the Amazonian giant centipede, this bug can reach lengths up to 12 inches and is known to be venomous and predatory, hunting other sizable arthropods, amphibians, reptiles (including small snakes) and even mammals like bats and sparrow-sized birds - large individuals have been known to employ unique strategies to catch bats in which they climb cave ceilings and hold or manipulate their heavier prey with only a few legs attached to the ceiling. Other scolopendra species can be venomous as well, and bites are reported to cause extreme pain and swelling, but most species are by far not as large as scolopendra gigantea - or Scolipede, for that matter.

Big, bad, scary Scolipede.

Gigantea may be fearsome, and Scolipede even more so judging by its behavior, but competitively this Pokémon doesn't quite live up to its reputation of aggressiveness and brutality. Yes, it's speedy and relatively strong on the physical side of the spectrum, but its cardboard defenses and subpar HP make sure it won't live many hits to begin with. It's best to squeeze your Scolipede in a favorable position so that it can set up with Swords Dance and annihilate the hell out of its opponents with moves like Megahorn, Earthquake and Aqua Tail (Hydro Vortex if powered up by a Waterium Z), although it also learns Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Throat Chop and Superpower, among other things. Definitely give Scolipede a Jolly nature and the ability Speed Boost, the latter of which raises its speed at the end of every turn, and you'll have an excellent end-game sweeper. Don't even bother with any of its other abilities, because Poison Point is just purely situational, and Swarm (ups bug-type moves when Scolipede has less than 33% of its HP remaining) isn't all that useful, even though Megahorn becomes a very dangerous move after applying Swarm and a Swords Dance boost. There's also Protect to pull off a free speed boost, but I don't recommend it because Scolipede can't afford losing any of its offensive moves - or you would want to have Baton Pass, in which case you'll have to Swords Dance up and then use Protect for an extra speed boost, allowing you to pass double stat boosts to another, more powerful Pokémon on your team. Scolipede learns both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, but Spikes needs three layers (and thus requires three turns) to have maximum effect and Toxic Spikes is only really effective if you manage to set up a second layer to badly poison all of your opponents. Scolipede just isn't defensive enough for that, although you could delay its demise by giving it a Focus Sash. It's generally better to stick with its Swords Dance set and give it a Z-Crystal or Life Orb to hold - or a Choice Band, if you are willing to drop Swords Dance in exchange for a strong offensive move.

The most frightening thing about Scolipede is that its legs look so... equine. It's
like a gigantic horse centipede; I'm positive you could make a mean ride on it.

I consider myself lucky that there are no bugs of such extreme size to be found here in the Netherlands - aside from the occasional weirdo that keeps them as pets, obviously. My fear/distaste for big bugs with too many legs hasn't carried over to the Pokémon franchise, and I am simply unfazed by Scolipede being a gigantic, formidable centipede. It's one of the coolest bug types I have seen so far, and it definitely pulled me and the rest of my team through in one of my Y playthroughs - especially since it got a slight boost in its base attack stat as of Gen. VI, anyway. For Pokémon that are supposed to be replacements of some sort for the early-game Kanto bugs (Butterfree and Beedrill), Leavanny and Scolipede are pretty goddamn awesome. The thing is that Scolipede is just slightly more awesome (partly due to its marvelous shiny form) and therefore gets a perfect rating from me.

Rating: 5/5

#540 - #542: Sewaddle, Swadloon & Leavanny

Pinsir, Scyther and Armaldo aren't bad, Scizor and Heracross are even better, and Game Freak did Beedrill and Yanma a huge favor by giving them a respective Mega evolution and regular evolution (Yanmega). On the whole, though, there aren't that many good bug-type Pokémon to be found in the earlier generations, which is partly due to said bug types being such early-game trash: Caterpie, Weedle, Ledyba, Spinarak, Wurmple, Surskit, Kricketot and Burmy turned out to be nothing good offensively and even Paras, Venonat and Nincada are useless to some extent. Heck, Pineco shouldn't be that bad, but Forretress doesn't learn shit for offensive moves and is used as a wall more than anything else, which makes it tricky to use in a playthrough.

Admittedly, Sewaddle is pretty cute for a caterpillar.

Gen. V took a turn for the better when the early bugs were repositioned and weren't even available to you until after beating the second Gym Leader, Lenora. Even then, Sewaddle and Venipede are both excellent options for your in-game team, despite them being the first bug types you happen to run into in Pokémon Black and White. I've actually never used Sewaddle in particular, but I have to say this grassy caterpillar is one of Game Freak's most original bug designs. There's a big, broad, bitten leaf enfolding its head like a hood, which it chews up and then sews using a sticky, thread-like substance extruded from its mouth. This leaf is used by Sewaddle to hide from enemies or gets eaten when food is scarce, but its ability to make its own 'clothes' (or Leavanny does when it just hatches) makes it a popular mascot for fashion designers nonetheless. Sewaddle, then, is of course a combination of 'sew' and 'waddle' (the manner in which a baby walks) or 'swaddle' (to wrap a baby in cloth), with similar references in Sewaddle's Japanese and other foreign names. It shares characteristics with the larva stage of weaver ants, which are arboreal and are known for their unique nest-building behavior where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larval silk. However, this Pokémon appears to be based specifically on the caterpillar of the silver-spotted skipper (epargyreus clarus), as they fold leaves over themselves for shelter as they age and, when cocooning, produce silk to stick the leaves together and form its chrysalis.

So perhaps Swadloon is a little bit shy after all, huh?

Speaking of which, Sewaddle's cocoon-like evolution Swadloon definitely looks like its leaves are stuck to its body. A blanket or cloak of leaves is draped over its entire body except for its face, which Swadloon does to protect itself from the cold. It prefers dark and damp places and spends the entire day eating fallen leaves, which it uses to make nutrients that nourish the plant life in the forest. According to Bulbapedia, the appearance of Swadloon hiding in its blanket bears some resemblance to the stereotypical portrayal of people suffering from hikikomori syndrome (a term often used to refer to suddenly reclusive adolescents or adults who isolate themselves from social life in their homes for an extended period of time) in Japanese media, and its evolution into Leavanny being caused by friendship may be a lesson. However, nothing in Swadloon's Pokédex entries points to itn being such a loner, and it's definitely not the only Pokémon that evolves by friendship. Sure, it's based on a cocoon of some sort, but that's hardly a satisfying explanation for the so-called hikikomori origins Bulbapedia claims Swadloon has. Besides, its evolution Leavanny is a very nurturing and parental Pokémon that uses its arm cutters and a sticky silk it produces to create leafy clothing for small Pokémon, which is hardly a trait that can be attributed to people with an acute social anxiety disorder. What makes it more confusing is that Leavanny's Japanese name is actually Hahakomori (ハハコモリ), but komori means 'babysitting', something that is undeniably in Leavanny's nature to do. Additionally, its English name suggests that it was inspired by Levana, the ancient Roman goddess involved in rituals pertaining to childbirth. Go figure.

Amazing 3D art of Leavanny.

Leavanny itself looks a bit like an ant, which harks back to Sewaddle's possible weaver ant larva origins, although it's more likely that its design is derived from phylliidae, a family of not-so-little bugs that look like walking leaves and are more commonly known as leaf insects. Some sources suggest that Leavanny may be based on mantises, choeradodis in particular because of their laterally expanded thoraxes and abdomens, but true leaf insects actually fall under the order phasmatodea and are stick insects rather than mantises - the latter belong to the order mantodea, in fact, and are thus completely unrelated. However, Leavanny's primitive clothes-making skills and aesthetics ('dress', 'collar' and 'paned sleeves') point to it being designed after fashion in the early 1600s.

Leavanny doing some kind of ballet dance... or something.

However interesting Leavanny's origins may be, though, it is by far not a goddess in a competitive setting. It has mediocre HP and defenses, which makes it incredibly vulnerable, and its speed and attack stats don't actually make up for that entirely. Grass and bug are two of the worst offensive types in the arena and that means I don't recommend using it at all. But wait a minute, I said it was an excellent bug type to use, didn't I? Well, yeah, for in-game purposes it is actually an amazing Pokémon that can set up with Swords Dance and annihilate things with a base 103 attack stat and a moveset completed by Leaf Blade, X-Scissor and some kind of type coverage move; Steel Wing works well against fairy and ice types, the latter of which Leavanny is weak to, although Poison Jab isn't bad at all, either. Shadow Claw and Throat Chop are there as well, but both are primarily used against psychic types, and Leavanny has X-Scissor for that. Should you want to use this Pokémon in competitive despite my warnings, I'd recommend a Jolly nature to make this thing as fast as possible and the Swarm ability to make its bug-type moves hit even harder when it has less than 33% of its original HP left (ignore Overcoat and Chlorophyll, you won't need those abilities in the slightest). Let Leavanny hold a Focus Sash so that it can live a hit at full HP and pull a Sticky Web off (or perhaps even a Swarm-boosted X-Scissor after the Focus Sash is used). You should even teach Leavanny Knock Off aside from its STAB moves Leaf Blade and X-Scissor, so that it can get rid of opponent's annoying held items. Smogon even suggested some special sets involving Leaf Storm and Bug Buzz, among others, but Leavanny's base 70 special attack is abysmal in a competitive setting and there are much better special attackers out there. Galvantula, whom I have yet to review, is an excellent bug-type special attacker that can also set up Sticky Web, so I would advise you to just slap physical moves on Leavanny and be done with it.

Leavanny making clothes for its young with a sewing machine in the form of a
Mawile. I love this.

The first Unova bug type may not be the greatest in terms of competitive usage, but at least it's far better in-game than many bug types that preceded it. Leavanny is relatively strong and fast and has one of the most original designs (and origins) I have seen for a bug type so far. Honestly, I'm surprised there isn't that much more to say about this thing other than the fact that it completely deserves the high rating I'm gonna give it. In the end, Leavanny isn't one of my absolute favorites, but a rating of 4.5 stars is still nothing to sneeze at. Unfortunately, though, it is completely overshadowed by the other bug type that can be found in the interior of Pinwheel Forest...

Rating: 4.5/5

#451 - #452: Skorupi & Drapion

TCG art of Skorupi.

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

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

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

Sinnoh Elite 4 member Aaron and his signature Pokémon
Drapion. 

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

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

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

Rating: 5/5

#415 - #416: Combee & Vespiquen

Combee's hexagonal shape perfectly lends it for locking together
with others of its kind, thus forming a 'wall'. There is even a shiny
Combee thrown into the mix. 

So now it's time to introduce the most useless Pokémon in the history of the entire franchise: male Combee. While Combee is pretty weak in itself, Pokémon that are equally weak or even weaker are often still able to evolve into more superior versions of themselves. Male Combee are based on drones, male bees in a bee hive that are the products of unfertilized eggs and serve to mate with a fertile queen bee. Unlike the female worker bees, drones don't have stingers and do not gather nectar and pollen. This is exactly the reason why only female Combee evolve into Vespiquen, which wouldn't be a problem if the gender ratio hadn't been 87,5% to 12,5%, with male Combee notably dominating the scene. In Diamond and Pearl, it was a very elaborate and tedious task to get Vespiquen, as Combee only appeared in Honey trees. In order to catch one, you had to slather Honey on designated trees and wait at least six fucking hours before a Pokémon appeared. Even then you couldn't be sure you'd get the right species of Pokémon - which is determined at the time a tree is slathered, so saving the game and resetting doesn't work - and if you did manage to get a Combee, you would have to get a female one in order for you to get Vespiquen at all. It's too much of a hassle for a Pokémon that isn't even that good in the first place, but whatever...

Some nice fan art of female Combee.

Admittedly, Combee's design is fairly interesting, aesthetically reminiscent to honey bees (well, duh!) as well as honeycombs. Combee is composed of three pieces of orange hexagonal honeycomb, and each hexagon has its own round face. The bottom-center one is the main thinker of the three and is also the only one to have a red mark on its forehead (if female) and a full abdomen, while the top two 'bees' coordinate the flying. Combee is almost always found collecting nectar, carrying it from flower to flower or taking it to its colony to please the queen, although the collected floral honey can have other purposes as well. When not gathering honey, it sleeps or protects its queen, which it does so by risking it life and recklessly attack any threats or by creating a hive with other Combee and locking together into some kind of wall.

Big bad Vespiquen comin' at ya.

Speaking of queens, the English name of Vespiquen is the only one referring to wasps rather than bees. It comes from vespa, which is Latin for wasp, although it's also the name given to a genus of wasps - specifically hornets. Granted, Vespiquen's black and slender waist connecting its abdomen and round upper body kinda give it the aesthetic of a paper wasp. More than anything, however, it seems to embody an entire beehive, not only because it's the queen bee or looks like real-life queens in some ways - the horn-like projections on its head resemble a hairstyle historically favored by early medieval-period English queens, and its lower body looks like an elegant ballroom gown - but also because there are honeycomb-like cells underneath its abdomen that serve as a nest for its grubs, making them do its bidding by excreting various pheromones while fighting foes. This manifests itself in-game in the fact that Vespiquen has access to no fewer than three signature moves, complete with animations that show several regular-looking bees performing a type of action: Attack Order to attack the foe for base 90 bug-type damage, Defend Order to raise Vespiquen's defense and special defense by one stage each, and Heal Order to recover half of Vespiquen's HP.

Vespiquen surrounded by its slaves. 

Unfortunately, Vespiquen's stats don't allow it to hit very hard or defend very well. Its base 80 offensive stats are okay for in-game purposes, but competitively they're practically unusable. On top of that, its base 102 defenses are backed up by a base 70 HP stat that could be considered no more than just okay, and its speed is just downright terrible. Also, Vespiquen has a quadruple weakness to rock due to its bug/flying type, and as Stone Edge and Rock Slide are prevalent in competitive play, it's bound to take one to the face eventually. Smogon mentions an offensive utility set supported by a Timid nature and a Life Orb, but do you really want that? You can probably 2HKO pretty much everything with a Bug Buzz when you're doing a regular playthrough, but a base 80 special attack stat really won't suffice in the competitive scene. In addition to that, Vespiquen is too slow to execute the utility part in 'offensive utility', so it won't be able to set up Tailwind effectively or take down a foe quickly with Destiny Bond, let alone do anything worthwhile with something else from its terribly shallow support movepool. It does get Defog, but only in the Gen. IV games, so you'd have to transfer it all the way from Diamond and Pearl to Sun and Moon. Not the worth the hassle. So, should you round out its moveset with two more special moves instead? Ironically, Vespiquen is able to learn the special-based rock-type move Power Gem naturally, while Sludge Bomb (via TM) might be a good option for the fairy types running around in competitive lately. A better option is to just make it physically defensive with a Bold nature and give it the Leftovers, but that's kind of redundant with such a terrible support movepool at its disposal.

Sadly, that's it. You could opt to go for a physical set instead, but the only good physical-based moves Vespiquen learns are Attack Order, X-Scissor and Acrobatics, the latter of which forces you to omit its held item from the set. And that's just... not favorable in the slightest, to say the least.

Funny fan art of Vespiquen seducing Beedrill. 

I like Vespiquen, I really do, but some Pokémon are designed or executed in such a way that makes them terrible while they were clearly supposed to be good. Vespiquen is one of them, and it's difinitely a pity it underwhelms me to some degree; I mean, its design and concept are sure interesting, but I boxed it in one of my Pokémon X playthroughs in favor of... well, Mothim, of all things. That Pokémon has something of an edge over Vespiquen due to its higher speed and access to Quiver Dance, and for some reason it also has far superior offensive stats. If anything, Vespiquen should have been a little bit faster and specially offensive in exchange for losing some of its physical attack, as I think it has no reason at all to have equally mediocre attacking stats in the first place, but that's probably none of my beeswax.

Rating: 4/5

#412 - #414: Burmy, Wormadam & Mothim

Burmy feeling uncomfortable losing its cloak.

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

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

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

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

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

Mothim in the anime series.

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

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

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

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

Rating Wormadam: 3/5

Rating Mothim: 5/5

#401 - #402: Kricketot & Kricketune

Kricketot soaking up some sun.

This little critter is curious in the fact that it's not your average early-game bug Pokémon; it's neither a larva nor a catterpillar, and it's definitely not a generic-looking spider or ladybug. Instead, we get a cricket or beetle with a conductor motif, complete with collar, tuxedo shirt and shiny shoes. The only thing that's missing is a bowtie, although not every music conductor wears one, admittedly. It's a bit of an unconventional design for a Pokémon, to say the least, but it makes for an interesting one, combining a human aspect with something many people have an aversion to: insects. That gets worse when Kricketot evolves into Kricketune, who is more distinctively an insect than its pre-evolution. The conductor motif is still visible in its design because of its mustache and cape-like wings, but its body now has the shape and aesthetics of a string instrument, most notably a violin. Kricketune's round shape and weird antennae makes it look a bit like a violin beetle, although the general inspiration for its name and design is still the cricket due to its habit to make chirping noises by rubbing their legs on their abdomen. Making sounds is generally all that this evolutionary line is about, anyway. In order to communicate with others, Kricketot shakes its head back to front, causing its antennae to hit each other and make xylophonic sounds that are considered hallmarks of the fall. Kricketune, however, is able to compose more refined melodies ad-lib. The improvised tunes it creates are used to convey its many emotions and sound so captivating because it resonates its cry in the hollow of its belly. Apparently, Kricketune's captivating melodies have inspired lots of people in the Pokémon world, as scientists are studying its melodic patterns and a village somewhere in what I assume is the Sinnoh region hosts an annual contest based on its amazingly variable cries.

I imagine Kricketune composing some its finest tunes here. 

I wish that Kricketune was as interesting competitively as it is flavor-wise, because its best stat is literally its base 85 attack stat. It's not fast, however, nor is it defensive in any way, so you'd probably wonder what it should be used for. Well, it learns Sticky Web by level-up, and if you give it a Focus Sash as a held item as well as a Jolly nature, it might either outspeed the foe and set up its web or live a hit due to its Focus Sash only to set up its web afterwards, provided it's at full HP. Once set up, Sticky Web lowers the speed of every incoming Pokémon - barring any flying types or Pokémon with the Levitate ability - on the opposite side of the battlefield, but it's generally better just to use Galvantula for that. A base stat total of 384 is pretty bad and will leave you dissatisfied for sure. Kricketune might be a decent addition to an in-game team, as it learns quite a few physical moves that may make it somewhat usuable, among which X-Scissor, Leech Life, Brick Break, Knock Off and Night Slash. You might be able to do something with Bug Bite, Fell Stinger and Aerial Ace if you have the Technician ability on it, which raises the power of moves with a power of 60 or less by 50%, but this is its hidden ability and I believe it isn't available regularly. It's also useless on a competitive Kricketune, as it is used for utility rather than dishing out damage, sporting a moveset consisting of Sticky Web, Taunt (prevents opponents from trying to set up themselves), Knock Off (does damage and gets rid of the foe's held item) and Endeavor (causes the target's HP to equal Kricketune's current HP).

Kricketune playing its one arm with its other arm like a violin, creating some
captivating melodies as a result.

I honestly think Kricketune has an original design and flavor to it, but it is very limited by its competitive capabilities - or rather, its lack thereof. I've never used it and I probably never will, but its design is original and creative and I have to give Game Freak some credit for it. If only they had given this Pokémon some better stats, it would have gotten at least half a star more, if not one whole star. For now, though, Kricketune will have to do with a rrating of four stars, which isn't bad by any means.

Rating: 4/5

#347 - #348: Anorith & Armaldo

Image of a happy prehistoric Pokémon family (minus Tyrunt,
Tyrantrum, Amaura and Aurorus). Armaldo is the big arthropod
standing beneath Archeops, the big flying dinosaur bird. And I
don't know what the fuck Anorith - beside Arnaldo's right eye - is
doing exactly, but I can tell you right now that it certainly doesn't
have the ability to fly.

While it looked like Game Freak went out of their way to make the Gen. III fossils something unique and unexpected, they did go back to arthropods with Anorith and Armaldo. Kabuto and Kabutops may look more badass and menacing, but I don't think these Gen. III arthropods should be underestimated. Not only is Armaldo stronger and more defensive than Kabutops stat-wise, it also has a better typing in rock/bug rather than rock/water. The result? It doesn't have any major weaknesses to worry about aside from rock and maybe water, which aren't even quadruple weaknesses like Kabutop's one to grass, and it has access to a much better physical movepool, which it benefits greatly from. First off, Armaldo is much better suited to run a Leftovers set accompanied by moves like Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin in order to set up rocks or remove them, respectively. It's also able to take a hit or two - especially when they're physical-based - only to set up with Swords Dance and wreck entire teams with STAB moves like Stone Edge, Rock Slide and X-Scissor. It has much better type coverage than Kabutops in the fantastic Earthquake, as well as in moves like Aqua Tail, Aqua Jet, Cross Poison, Brick Break, Superpower, Iron Tail and Knock Off.

TCG art of Armaldo.

What's more, you don't even have to worry about your Armaldo getting critted, because its only regular ability, Battle Armor, prevents the opponent from landing a critical hit on it. Its hidden ability Swift Swim doubles its speed in the rain, but Armaldo isn't fast in the first place and the rain can be used against it, as water-type moves will cause devastating damage on it due to its weakness to this type. Running Swift Swim is possible in combination with a Swords Dance set and a Life Orb, but it will be quite tricky to pull off and I therefore recommend sticking with Battle Armor if you're not ready to take on complicated rain sets for a Pokémon that is weak to water in the first place. You do need another Pokémon to set up the rain, after all.

Isn't Anorith just adorable???

Anorith and Armaldo may be based on arthropods that have gone extinct, but that doesn't mean they're a complete rip-off of Kabuto and Kabutops. Anorith resembles an anomalocaris, an extinct arthropod believed to have been a predator of approximately 3 feet long and the ancestor of all modern-day arthropods. The anomalocaris had strange aesthetic qualities to it, possessing two large compound eyes on stalks protruding from either side of the head and a pair of arm-like proboscides extending from between its eyes. Those features were maintained when Game Freak created Anorith, and the result is an interesting Pokémon. When Anorith evolves, it becomes bipedal; and while some features of the anomalocaris are still eminent in Armaldo's design, including the side 'feathers' and the eyes on stalks, this Pokémon looks more saurian than ever. It makes Armaldo bigger and more intimidating and the claws protruding from its chest more lethal. And they are deadly, because they can be freely extended or contracted and can cut through steel slabs (which, of course, isn't noticable in in-game mechanics). The only thing that doesn't make sense to me is that both Anorith and Armaldo are weak to water. Anorith's Pokédex entries clearly state that it once lived in warm seas, undulating the eight wings on the side of its body - which were once feet that transformed to adapt to life in the sea - to swim around. Granted, it went ashore upon evolving and thus it became bipedal, which was more convenient for life on land, but Armaldo still hunts for prey underwater and swims around using its two large wings - which are actually the yellow-edged black plates that are part of its armor rather than the weird 'feathers'.

Sigh. I love Pokémon, Game Freak, but you are not without your flaws, are you?

Still of a video tutorial teaching y'all how to draw (and color) Pokémon.

On its own merits, Anorith is kinda cute, but Armaldo is really where it's at. It doesn't look too menacing, but don't be deceived by its rather innocent appearance at first: this thing is a beast. While I never had the privilege to use one in a playthrough (the only time I used a Hoenn fossil was when I picked the Root Fossil rather than the Claw Fossil in an Omega Ruby playthrough of mine, and I only decided on that because I needed a grass type on my team), Armaldo's shrimp-like design appeals to me more than Cradily's disproportional plant-that-is-not-really-a-plant-but-a-marine-animal-called-a-crinoid-and-thus-cannot-actually-be-a-grass-type design. Armaldo doesn't belong to my absolute favorites, but at least I'll grant it half a star more than Cradily.

Rating: 4.5/5

#313 - #314: Volbeat & Illumise

A little GIF of a smitten Volbeat (left) and Illumise (right).

Like Plusle and Minun, Volbeat and Illumise were created to introduce Double Battles, even though that didn't turn out quite well. Both bug-type Pokémon are pretty bad stat-wise, and thus no good competitively, and some of the moves in their movepools should actually be switched. Clearly, Game Freak haven't thought these two Pokémon through very well, and here's why: Volbeat gets Tail Glow and Illumise doesn't. For those who aren't aware, Tail Glow is a move that raises the user's special attack stat by a whopping three stages! That sounds broken, and it actually is to some extent, but only three Pokémon can learn it: Manaphy, Xurkitree and, obviously, Volbeat. Because, you know, it's based on a firefly and it has an adorable and tiny oval tail? Well, the only problem is that Volbeat's base special attack stat of 47 is terrible and its base attack of 73 makes it more of a physical attacker. With Illumise it's exactly the other way around, and that is precisely what bugs me (no pun intended), because Illumise has nothing to boost that somewhat mediocre special attack to competitive levels. It's a shame, because its movepool is quite diverse: Bug Buzz, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam, Giga Drain and even Water Pulse all would have been very good options to use after a nonexistent Tail Glow boost.

Volbeat and Illumise.

Volbeat's physical movepool is not as useful, however. Its strongest STAB move is U-Turn, which at a base power of 70 is decent at best and forces Volbeat to switch out, and only when it comes to coverage moves does Volbeat have a chance to shine: Power-Up Punch is a rather weak move but it raises the user's attack stat by one stage every time it's used, while Acrobatics' base power of 55 doubles when Volbeat isn't holding an item, which I don't recommend. Other moves are Brick Break (redundant when you're running Power-Up Punch), Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Zen Headbutt and Play Rough. My conclusion is that both Volbeat and Illumise aren't good at all, and the small defense and special defense buffs on both Pokémon in Gen. VII won't make any difference. Masquerain's got buffs in both special attack and speed in Pokémon Sun and Moon; now, those make a difference. Not that there isn't any use for Volbeat, though: its hidden ability Prankster treats support moves as if they're priority moves, allowing Volbeat to lock the opponent into an undesirable move with Encore, set up with Tail Glow and pass on the special attack boost to another Pokémon by using Baton Pass. Alternatively, Volbeat is a passable weather setter, being able to use either Sunny Day or Rain Dance while holding a respective Heat Rock or Damp Rock to extend the duration of these moves. While Volbeat also has priority Thunder Wave to paralyze foes, Illumise is better off setting up a Substitute and Baton Pass it on to a bulkier Pokémon.

This comic strip by Rare Candy Treatment is funny
and sad at the same time. 

The reason I put these two Pokémon together in one single review, though, is because they are related. And I mean they're actually related by blood, or whatever you want to call it: when Illumise and Volbeat breed, there is an equal 50/50 chance that either Volbeat or Illumise hatch from the eggs they lay. Even when either Volbeat or Illumise breeds with Ditto, this chance stays the same. Their Pokédex entries also state the one can't live without the other, as Illumise emits a sweet fragrance to lure in swarms and Volbeat in order to lead them to draw geometric patterns in the sky. The Volbeat are able to work in unison because they communicate with each other by adjusting the intensity and flashing of their glowing tails. The more complex the designs in the sky, the greater the respect Illumise gets from its peers. In short, Volbeat and Illumise's flavor is as interesting as a football match... oh, pardon me, a soccer match. I hate all kinds of sports, so you figure out how interesting exactly I think a soccer match is. What is kind of fascinating, though, is the fact that both Volbeat and Illumise are based on fashion styles that were popular in the past. Volbeat's collar, black 'shirt' and striped belly 'undershirt' give it the appearance of a bōsōzoku - the more colorful Japanese counterpart of a greaser, a subculture that was popular among male adolescents in the 1950s - and even its pose may be a reference to greasers, as they are commonly shown with their hands either holding or popping the collars of their leather jackets. The style Illumise sports goes a little while back, as its curled bob and long black 'coat' or 'dress' might be references to flappers, a 1920s women's style.

Fun fact: flappers were often seen as brash for wearing excessive make-up, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving cars and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms. While 'flapper' was generally used to describe a young woman or teenage girl, it is derived from the derogatory slang word 'flap', which was used in England as early as 1631 to refer to a young prostitute. Goddamn.

Yes, this is indeed how Illumise and Volbeat are often depicted in fan art: in love.

Other than the historical fashion styles Volbeat and Illumise are based off of, I don't think these Pokémon are overly special. They even seem a little too awkwardly shaped to me, even though I don't hate their designs by any means. Like I said earlier, it's too bad that the one who has access to Tail Glow is Volbeat, so I think Game Freak could have at least switched up their physical attack and special attack stats. Other than that, I don't think these Pokémon deserve a bad rating and thus I'll reward them with 3 stars each.

P.S.: Has anyone heard of a Danish heavy metal band called Volbeat? Neither had I, until I needed images of Volbeat and Illumise and the only thing that popped up when I was searching for Volbeat on Google Images was this band I'm talking about. Huh. The band Volbeat has even been around longer than the Pokémon, because the former was founded in Copenhagen in 2001 and Ruby and Sapphire weren't a thing until late 2002.

Rating: 3/5

#290 - #292: Nincada, Ninjask & Shedinja

Nincada as seen in the anime. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rating: 4/5