#283 - #284: Surskit & Masquerain

For the longest time, Surskit was the only bug/water dual-type Pokémon in the franchise. That is, until Gen. VII came around, in which no less than two new bug/water evolutionary lines were introduced (Wimpod and Golisopod, and Dewpider and Araquanid). Surskit doesn't even evolve into a bug/water Pokémon; instead, Masquerain has the much more common and less interesting bug/flying combination. Weird, but evolving from a bug/water type makes Masquerain have some interesting features.

Look at Surskit happily walking on water! 

More on that later, as I'll discuss Surskit first, a water strider Pokémon that also vaguely resembles a curling stone. Too bad Game Freak never actually did something with that curling stone design, because every bit of Surskit's character seems to be based on the water strider: the antenna on Surskit cap-like head secretes a thick, sugary syrup or a sweet scent, the former as a defense mechanism (although it sometimes doesn't work, as some Pokémon love to eat the syrup) and the latter to attract prey. Oil is secreted from the tips of its feet, which enables it to skate across large bodies of water. It would have been nice if at least one Pokédex entry mentioned that people often grab some Surskit by their antennae and push them across the water in order to see which ones comes farthest. It's cruel, but people have no conscientious objection to throwing Pyukumuku back into the ocean, so this shouldn't be a problem either, right? Right? 

Masquerain flaps the four wings on its lower body to freely fly in
any direction - even sideways and backwards, as if it were a
helicopter. Masquerain's Sapphire Pokédex entry mentions that
the 'eyes' on its antennae are droopy and appear sad when heavy
rainfall is on its way, but normally they look kind of angry and
intimidating.

Anyway, it's weird that Surskit's evolution Masquerain isn't even a water type: its head is shaped like a tear- or raindrop, and for heaven's sake, there's 'rain' in its name. Once Surskit evolves, though, it starts flying, so it trades the ever-useful water type for the less interesting flying type. There are a lot of bug/flying Pokémon already, but it has to be said that Masquerain is one of the most interesting ones out there. Despite having a water-themed flavor, it actually cannot fly when its wings are wet and its antennae (yes, the intimidating 'wings' with the eye-like patterns are actually antennae; the rhombus-shaped things on its lower body are its wings instead) become heavy and droop when it's raining. It still creates its nests along the water's edge, but as Masquerain is based on some sort of mosquito, this doesn't surprise me. Another interesting feature of Masquerain is that it's the only bug-type Pokémon to learn Scald - prior to Gen. VI, anyway - and the only bug type aside from Genesect to learn Ice Beam, while it still learns some 'standard' moves like Bug Buzz, Shadow Ball, Air Slash, Energy Ball, Signal Beam and Giga Drain. It even learns Hydro Pump, Aqua Jet and Water Pulse... If only it had the water typing to make good use of those moves, right? Why, its staple move is Quiver Dance, which boosts its special attack, special defense and speed by one stage each and soon makes Masquerain an unstoppable mosquito wiping the floor with everybody. In-game, that is, as using Masquerain is kind of risky to use in the competitive metagame. Its base 70 HP, 62 defense and 82 special defense leave it kind of vulnerable prior to a Quiver Dance, but at least it has some decent speed to set one up reliably - as of Sun and Moon, that is, in which it got a boost of 20 base points in speed, going from 60 to 80. Thankfully, Masquerain also got a boost in its base special attack in Sun and Moon, going from 80 to 100, so it should hit a lot harder now. Especially after a Quiver Dance.

Masquerain.

It's interesting how these Pokémon's behavior towards water turns a full 180 upon evolution. I still think Masquerain looks more like a mosquito than a moth, even though Bulbapedia states that its Japanese, Korean and Chinese names of Amemoth (アメモース), Binabang (비나방) and Yǔchì'é (雨翅蛾) all contain the word 'moth' in their respective languages. It's a small detail, and I think that Pokémon like Venomoth, Dustox, Mothim and Volcarona look more like moths than Masquerain does, but whatever. I like Masquerain primarily because I used it in a playthrough once. Once it had Quiver Dance, it didn't disappoint me. What's more, I think its design is actually more interesting and appealing than those of the other moth Pokémon (aside from Mothim), so I'm giving Masquerain a well-deserved rating of no less than 4 stars.

Now, I probably won't post anything during my playthroughs of Pokémon Sun and Moon, which should arrive tomorrow, so I'll see you all back in December. I hope. I'm going on a hiatus, at least, so take that into account when you're visiting Pokémon By Review. Thank you.

Rating: 4/5

#265 - #269: Wurmple, Silcoon, Beautifly, Cascoon & Dustox

Two Wurmple and their brached evolution lines.

At first sight, Wurmple looks like a pretty unexciting Pokémon. Its design is based on nothing in particular, really, and it seems that it is nothing but your average caterpillar or larva. The fact that it spews some kind of silk that becomes gooey when exposed to the air makes me think of certain aspects of the silkworm, a worm particularly exploited for the fabric production of silk. While in some languages the adult form is referred to as a butterfly (the Dutch word zijdevlinder literally means 'silk butterfly'), it is actually a moth, which may be the reason why Wurmple can go two different ways when it evolves: it can change into either Silcoon or Cascoon, who then evolve into Beautifly and Dustox, respectively. What Wurmple is gonna evolve into actually depends on its personality value, which cannot be influenced or seen by the player, and thus it remains unknown whether it will become a Silcoon or Cascoon until it hits level 7. It's essentially random, so it's better to just catch a Silcoon or Cascoon in Petalburg Woods right away and save yourself the frustration of Wurmple evolving into the wrong goddamn thing. Silcoon and Cascoon share the exact same type, movepool, ability, body style, EV yield and base stat distribution, making them nearly identical, but they occupy two different slots in the National Pokédex nonetheless.

Beautifly (left) chillin' with Vivillon (middle) and Butterfree
(right). 

A silkworm encases itself in its own silk when it enters its pupal stage, and that is exactly what Silcoon is based on. Its official art shows spikes on it, but they're actually strands of silk with which Silcoon attaches itself to tree branches, where it quietly and motionlessly hangs while it awaits evolution. It was thought to endure severe hunger and thirst while waiting to evolve, but it is now known that it slakes its thirst by drinking rainwater and dew that collect on its silk. But as is the case with so many cocoon Pokémon its evolution comes fairly early on, and when it comes... Oh boy, brace yourselves, because there's nothing more terrifying than a territorial butterfly. Beautifly may be pretty, but it is an agressive Pokémon that will jab at foes with its long and curled proboscis if it is disturbed while collecting pollen, its favorite meal. However, as its Japanese name Agehunt (アゲハント) and Mandarin Chinese name Shòulièfèngdié (狩獵鳳蝶) suggest - shòuliè means 'to hunt' - Beautifly is also a hunter that will use its proboscis to drain body fluids from its prey (plus, agehachō and fèngdié both mean 'swallowtail butterfly', which is obviously the inspiration for Beautifly's design). Unfortunately, it is not so savage in-game, as its base stat total is a mere 395. Its base 100 special attack is actually very good, but Beautifly is awfully frail and isn't all that fast either. That's why the move Quiver Dance is a staple in any of Beautifly's movesets, because it raises its special attack, special defense and speed by one stage each when used. The rest of the slots can be filled with Bug Buzz and two other coverage moves. Air Cutter is STAB due to Beautifly's secondary flying type, but it isn't very powerful, so I'd go with Psychic and either Giga Drain or Energy Ball.

Also, should you want to Beautifly it competitively, which is risky as hell, a Timid or Modest nature and a Focus Sash are must-haves. A Timid nature gives it a slight boost to its speed while a Modest nature slightly raises its special attack, and a Focus Sash leaves it at 1 HP when it is attacked at full health and the attack would have knocked it out otherwise. It's a one-time use item, so be careful with it.

Dustox (below), Volcarona (right), Venomoth (top left) and
Mothim (bottom left) all hanging on to a Lampent, even though
it's a myth that moths are attracted to light.

And then we have Cascoon, who hides underneath leaves and inside the gaps of tree branches rather than hanging from them like Silcoon does. It is a grudge-bearing cocoon that will never forget the pain it endures during battles and seeks to get payback upon evolution, even though its silky cask is hard enough to endure attacks. You better hide, then, because you don't want to get chased by a 3'11"-tall moth. Dustox's name is apparent in the fact that its disc-shaped wings contain a noxious dust that, according to the Pokédex, will "even make pro westlers sick". Uhm... what? Since when is immunity to poison an aspect of professional wrestling? I know I don't know a whole lot about sports and the like (actually, I don't know shit about sports), but as far as I'm concerned, pro wrestlers are still human and thus as vulnerable to any poisonous substance as the rest of us. Weird. Anyway, Dustox is based on a Japanese moon moth, actias artemis, or the American luna moth, while its shiny form may be a reference to how moths mimic dead leaves. Dustox is nocturnal and apparently it is instinctively drawn to streetlights, even though actual moths aren't really attracted to light; instead, they navigate by it, operating under the assumption that the source is far away. In fact, the moon is their main source, although artificial lights - streetlights, for example - could mess up the internal navigation systems of certain animals, which is why it's understandable people would think moths are attracted to light when it will likely make them confused. Though that doesn't stop swarms of Dustox from wreaking havoc in towns and cities, where they strip the leaves off trees lining boulevards.

Again, nothing sounds more evil and savage than destroying beautiful trees that were so carefully planted ages ago, but Dustox's competitive utility is really nothing to write home about. Contrary to Beautifly, you'd do best to shy away from using Dustox entirely. Its base stat total is 385, which is only 10 less than Beautifly's, but whereas Beautifly got a boost of 10 base points in its special attack in Pokémon X and Y, Dustox got nothing. Its subpar base 60 HP doesn't make up for its mediocre defense and decent special defense and sure as heck won't prevent it from getting annihilated by a Flamethrower anyway. Its attack and special attack are both a base 50, which is just downright bad. They can't even be saved by Quiver Dance, whereas that move is actually Beautifly's saving grace if played well.

Family picture. Say 'cheese'!

Wurmple is interesting and unique in the sense that it is the only Pokémon with two branched evolutions that can evolve even further. While both second-stage evolutions don't look like much, I absolutely like Beautifly more than Dustox. I used both of them in a playthrough alongside each other and Beautifly was a real powerhouse for as long as it had a Quiver Dance up. Dustox, not so much; I boxed it after the fourth Gym and never looked back to it. I mean, there's an interesting concept behind Dustox's design, but even then I'm drawn towards Beautifly's design and flavor more than Dustox's. By and large, Beautifly is superior to Dustox in every aspect, even its shiny form; thus, I'm going to rate them separately, even though Beautifly's rating is higher by only one star.

Rating Beautifly: 4.5/5

Rating Dustox: 3.5/5

#214: Heracross

Heracross is ready to fuck up its opponents. 

Everything Game Freak did wrong with Pinsir they did right with Heracross. Pinsir is still a competetent and likeable Pokémon, and I didn't give it a 4.5-star rating for no fucking reason, but let's face it: with its ability to learn a ton of fighting-type moves - including its vast fighting-type level-up movepool - Pinsir should have been fighting in the first place. Heracross is less obviously a fighting type in its design (although its Mega form makes up for that) and doesn't learn as many fighting-type moves as Pinsir does, but it's definitely better than its 'predecessor'. Like Pinsir, Heracross is based on a popular bug species used in insect fighting, namely Japanese rhinoceros beetles, which are known for their incredible strength. Heracross, whose name is derived from Ἡρακλῆς ('Heracles', a demigod of Greek mythology more commonly known by its Roman name Hercules) and 'cross', has a flavor that could be expected from a combative bug: the claws on its feet are strong *blah blah blah* it uses them to dig them into the ground to gain a secure and solid footing *yada yada yada* hurls opponents and competitors for food over great distances with force *wah wah wah* thrusts its prized horn under enemies' bellies and flings them far way *yada yada yada* can lift 100 times its own weight and topple trees *blah blah blah*. No surprises there at all. Heracross feeds on fresh sap from leafy trees, though, and while it's usually a gentle and docile Pokémon, it will chase anyone who disturbs it while feeding on tree sap.

That's a sign of a serious tree sap addiction, if you ask me. I would check into rehab if I were you, Crossy. The sooner the better.

Official Mega Heracross art

In all seriousness, though, Heracross has gotten a nice new tactic in competitive play: a Mega. While I initially thought it was just a weird Mega evolution when it was first revealed, it has gradually grown on me since. Its design actually makes a lot of sense, too. It's already in Heracross's name, but Mega Heracross is based on the Hercules beetle, which is obviously derived from that same Greek demigod I was talking about earlier. The oddest thing about Mega Heracross is that its torso apparently resembles the grille of an air conditioner very much, doesn't it? It also functions as such: when it unleashes its maximum power, its body temperature increases dramatically, so it opens the shells of its arms and torso to let the heat escape. And it does indeed unleash its maximum power, because it has a whopping base attack stat of 185! Only Mega Mewtwo X exceeds that with a base attack stat of 190, but that's a legendary Pokémon and all, and Heracross most definitely isn't. It does lose a little speed upon Mega-evolving, though, so it allows you to not run a speed-boosting nature like Jolly but an attack-boosting nature such as Adamant instead. With a maxed-out attack stat of 260, Mega Heracross hits like a pulp truck crashes into an invisible dome. In other words, it hits HARD. And with the Skill Link ability, which allows moves that randomly hit two to five times to always hit five times, and a few nifty moves that benefit from it (Bullet Seed, Rock Blast and STAB Pin Missile), Mega Heracross is a force to be reckoned with. It can even use Swords Dance to boost its attack stat to utterly ridiculous levels.

It looks like this Heracross is swinging an opponent around. I believe it's Salamence,
but I couldn't be entirely sure. 

But there is also regular Heracross. It doesn't have access to Skill Link like Mega Heracross does, but it has some formidable abilities that it can use instead: Guts gives Heracross a 50% attack boost when it is inflicted by a status condition, which is why you can give it a Toxic Orb or Flame Orb to hold, while its hidden ability Moxie raises its attack by one stage every time it knocks out an opposing Pokémon. The latter works very well with a Choice Band or Life Orb rather than a Toxic Orb or something, as an Orb item only hinders Heracross when it doesn't have Guts. Both sets allow you to run a Jolly nature, but you should shy away from multi-strike moves. Go with moves that will do a massive amount of damage instantly, such as Close Combat, Megahorn, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Knock Off, Facade (only in conjunction with an Orb item) and either Night Slash or Shadow Claw.

3D (or semi-3D?) art of Mega Heracross, to be found in the Furious Fists expansion
of the Trading Card Game. The shells on its arms are open in order to ventilate its
body. 

Yes, Game Freak did a lot of things right with Heracross, and this Pokémon is a huge step forward compared to regular Pinsir - whom Game Freak did fix somewhat with a Mega. And while Mega Heracross is a monster, I'm still not a huge fan of its design. Yes, I know it's supposed to be based on a Hercules beetle, but the openable shells on its arms and torso makes me think like it's some kind of ventilation shaft. And to me, that's not exactly the definition of 'ordinary'. Then again, Pokémon based on magnets (Magnemite and Magneton) or gears (Klink, Klang and Klinklang) are quite out of the ordinary too, but at least their designs and flavor revolve all around that aspect instead of that aspect being just a small part of their designs. Like I said, I've come to appreciate Mega Heracross's design little by little, but for now I can't give it a perfect rating yet. It's a bit weird when you consider I'm giving 5-star ratings to Pokémon like Shuckle, Furret and Unown, but that's just the way it is.

Rating: 4.5/5

#213: Shuckle

Official Sugimori art of Shuckle.

This is a tricky Pokémon...

Shuckle is the one Pokémon with the most extreme stat distribution, being either the best or in the bottom three of every base stat category. First off, it is tied with Mega Steelix and Mega Aggron for the highest base defense stat and has the highest base special defense stat, period. Both sit at a monstrous 230, although they're offset by Shuckle's terrible base 20 HP stat. It kind of renders those defenses tricky to utilize, as it wears Shuckle down more easily than you'd like. But aside from its good defensive stats, Shuckle also has some atrocious other stats: it is tied with Munchlax for the lowest speed stat, tied with Feebas and Bonsly for the lowest special attack stat, and tied with Magikarp and Blissey for the second lowest attack stat (only Happiny and Chansey have a lower base attack stat). You'd think that Shuckle is impossible to use at all in competitive play, but that couldn't be any further from the truth. It's mainly used as a support Pokémon, sure, but a good support Pokémon despite the low HP stat that hardly backs up its defenses. And in spite of the fact that I love Shuckle for what it is, I'll never use it in competitive play (I'm not really a competitive battler to begin with), simply because I'm sure I'll never make good use of it and because I want a more reliable tank.

Amazing papercraft Shuckle.

While it wasn't used very often prior to X and Y, Gen. VI was kind to Shuckle and gave it access to Sticky Web, a move that lowers the speed of every opposing Pokémon by one stage when they enter the battlefield. That's handy to let the rest of your team get the edge they possibly need over faster foes. The rest of Shuckle's moveset should consist of Stealth Rock for setting up entry hazards on the opponent's side of the battlefield, Encore to lock the opposing Pokémon into some move, and either Infestation or Toxic. Toxic instantly inflicts the foe with bad poison, but Infestation does immediate damage and damages the foe significantly every turn while it also prevents said foe from switching out. Could be useful if you want a Pokémon to stay in if it can't hurt Shuckle all that much. Unfortunately, you'll have to choose between a physically or specially bulky Shuckle, because you need to invest in its HP. If physically defensive, go with a Bold nature, and if specially defensive, a Calm nature would be a good idea. Either way, Shuckle is slow and is very susceptible to Taunt, so give it a Mental Herb to remove the effects of that move. And don't worry about Shuckle getting one-shotted, because it has the Sturdy ability, which leaves it at 1 HP if attacked at full HP should the attack have knocked it out. Gluttony lets it consume a berry earlier than usual, which it doesn't need, while Contrary reverses stat changes, which is only handy if you have a Shuckle with Superpower - lowers attack and defense by one stage after use - or something. And that's a move it doesn't even learn.

A Shuckle wallpaper. Just because there isn't anything else to be found on the
Internet. 

It's such a shame Shuckle can't make use of some awesome moves it gets. Shell Smash lowers its defenses by one stage while it boosts everything else by two stages 'cept for HP. Too bad 'everything else' on Shuckle is downright terrible and disappoints even when maxed out (six stages). Power Trick is a nifty move that switches Shuckle's defense with its attack, which lets it temporarily get an attack stat equivalent to a base 230 stat. Unfortunately that means its defense will be paper-thin, but with Sturdy it should be able to live a hit. If you can pull it off, it's a nice gimmick. Substitute would only break Sturdy because it requires 25% of Shuckle's health, and Shuckle doesn't have any means of recovery except for Leftovers, which I don't recommend giving it. The Rest/Sleep Talk combo would only take the spotlight off of other, more handy moves Shuckle has. This Pokémon is basically a one-way road: everybody knows exactly where you're going with this thing.

A shiny Shuckle in the anime.

But I don't love Shuckle because of its competitive utility; no, I love it for its design. I know it's a bug Pokémon, but it's so adorable. There are some bug types that have a couple of features that make them look kind of cute, but can you name one bug type that's as cute as Shuckle (and no, the recently announced Cutiefly for Pokémon Sun and Moon doesn't count)? I didn't think so. Given the organisms it may be based on, it's no mean feat to make it appear cute, though: Shuckle is based on an endolith, an organism that lives inside porous rocks or animal shells, and possibly also scale insects - small, shelled parasites that produce a sweet fluid called honeydew that attracts other insects. Shuckle does a similar thing: it likes to collect berries and store them in its shell, then liquefies and ferments them with its digestive juices for it to consume or be used to dissolve rocks with so that it can hide under them. But wait, does Shuckle ferment the collected berries with digestive juices or does it turn said barries into a unique juice? Bulbapedia claims it's both, although that website is just a source that keeps information about what the anime and games explicitly say about Shuckle, so blame it on Game Freak. Or Nintendo. Or The Pokémon Company.

Whatever, one of the three.

More anime Shuckle. Don't you think it looks adorable?

Anyway, other organisms Shuckle may be based on are mollusks - due to the use of acids to receive foods or break obstacles, the liking for fermented foods, the tendency to live near water, and the seemingly limp but actually muscular feet - and, appearance-wise, turtles and vases/jars. The Japanese tsubo, the Korean danji, the Chinese hú and the German Pott all mean 'jar' and refer to Shuckles tendency to store berries in its shell. Shuckle's Japanese and Mandarin Chinese names, Tsubotsubo (ツボツボ) and Húhú (壺壺), contain the words fujitsubo and ténghú, respectively, and both mean 'barnacle'. It's probably the holes in its shells rimmed with white that make it look barnacle-like, but I think that's a bit of a stretch.

I love Shuckle. I know I said I wouldn't ever use it anymore, but that doesn't mean I never tried. I had a Shuckle in Black 2 or White 2 (I forgot which one) and carried it around on my team. It already had Power Trick upon capture and I tried the tactic over and over again, but it was just way too unreliable and I boxed it before I got to the Pokémon League. However, I adored this thing even before that: Gold and Silver were my first Pokémon games, and I remember a PokéManiac in Cianwood City would offer you to take of his Shuckle named Shuckie for a while because he was scared of Team Rocket and wanted Shuckie to be taken care of by an experienced Trainer. I realized it wasn't very good in battles, but I kept it anyway (who didn't?) and stored it in the PC. I felt like such a thief, but at the same time I didn't care because I loved everything about that thing. And because I still have a love for this adorable critter, I'm giving it a perfect rating.

Rating: 5/5

#204 - #205: Pineco & Forretress

Although these Pokémon are supposed to be bagworms, they actually look like pine cones. Well, at least Pineco does; it's based on a bagworm living in a pine cone, even though that is not very obviously noticeable in its design. It's more a pine cone with eyes, if you ask me. If I'm being honest, Burmy and Wormadam do this whole bagworm thing a little bit better than Pineco and Forretress design-wise, but I don't like Burmy and Wormadam all that much (Mothim is a whole other matter) and I do like Pineco and Forretress to some extent, so let's get started.

I couldn't find any good fan art, so I'll give you Pineco's official
art instead, drawn by (who else?) Ken Sugimori.

Now, Pineco is a Pokémon that likes to annoy people. Anyone who has ever played a Randomizer Nuzlocke knows what the hell I'm talking about. Its Pokédex entries explicitly say that if it is disturbed while eating hanging from its tree, it will drop to the ground and explode with no warning. That's apparent in this hand grenade's level-up movepool: it learns Self-Destruct at the ridiculously low level of 6. SIX!!! The earliest a Pokémon can learn Self-Destruct in ORAS - barring the level at which Pineco learns it, obviously - is at level 23 (Koffing). Voltorb and Electrode would be extremely jealous, I figure. Anyway, Pineco spits out a fluid on tree bark to make a kind of tree bark glue that keeps sticking to its shell, and it isn't even bothered by the added weight. It is probably one of the causes why its evolution Forretress is part steel type, as Forretress can shoot pieces of its outer steel-like shell to enemies. Tree bark leftovers? And despite its low base 40 speed stat, it can open its shell to capture prey so quickly that its interior cannot be seen; therefore, it's a complete mystery what's inside.

Is that all? Why, of course not; I would like to add that I find the word Tannenzapfen ('fir cone'), a word that lies at the basis of Pineco's German name Tannza, really amusing for some reason. The other word present in Pineco's German name is Panzer, meaning 'armor', although the Dutch pantser sounds almost the same. Despite that, I don't get the German language at all, even though I live in a country in which Dutch, a language very similar to German, is spoken every day by the majority of its inhabitants. I hate speaking German; I'd rather stick with the English language, if that's okay with you guys.

This Forretress TCG art is too cool to ignore. 

Right, so Pineco and Forretress's flavor might be a little bit bland - the fact that they're based on weaponry (Pineco on a hand grenade and Forretress's protrusions on cannons, while their ability to learn Spikes might be a reference to caltrops) is probably the most interesting aspect - but Forretress sure does its name justice: it is a fortress in battle. Well, not completely, but it's a very physically defensive Pokémon that is perfectly capable of setting up some very annoying entry hazards such as Stealth Rock, Spikes and Toxic Spikes. That sure is handy, as Omastar and Smeargle are the only other Pokémon that can learn all three at the same time. Omastar's main business is to smash its shell and wreak havoc and Smeargle is just a bad Pokémon all around, so it's a good thing a tank like Forretress is around to take care of these entry hazards. It's also able to learn Rapid Spin, a move that removes entry hazards on your side of the battlefield, and the steel-type move Gyro Ball, which does considerable damage the lower Forretress's speed is (which is why a Relaxed nature is recommended). You can teach it Volt Switch if you want to get the hell out of an undesirable situation while still doing a bit of damage, and if you don't need Forretress anymore, you can let it blow up using Explosion. It does have a quadruple weakness to fire, which is also its only weakness, but its ability Sturdy prevents it from being one-shotted when it's at full HP. And that's awesome.

While Pineco and Forretress look like rather uneventful Pokémon at first sight, they do have a little bit of oomph behind them. I actually like these scumbag bagworms a lot, so I'll give them a 4.5-star rating. Not bad for Pokémon that almost seem to be forgotten. Almost.

Rating: 4.5/5

#193, #469: Yanma & Yanmega

I guess the days that Yanma was the rare card in a TCG pack are
long gone. 

Okay, so this is one of those Pokémon whose typing American people are fussing about. Yanmega is clearly based on the dragonfly, so surely it should be a dragon type as well, right? Well, no. It makes perfect sense for Yanmega being a bug/flying type, as it is hardly based on dragons. English is one of only a few languages that adopts the word 'dragon' in the name of the dragonfly, the other one I could find being the Icelandic drekaflugur. The Dutch actually call the dragonfly a libelle, and this is by far the most common name, or variations thereof, I could distinguish, along with variations of the suborder the dragonfly belongs to, anisoptera. There are several other names to be found in other languages as well, but I'm not a polyglot (I only speak Dutch fluently, and I'd dare say I'm pretty good in English, too) so please don't quote me on all of this. All I know is that Yanma, at 3'11" and 83.8 pounds, is a big-ass dragonfly. Yanmega is even worse, sitting at 6'03" and 113.5 pounds, so I wouldn't want to encounter one in the wild. Both are probably based on a large prehistoric species of dragonflies that has long gone extinct, but especially Yanmega is based on this meganeura monyi. The fact that yanma is Japanese for 'large dragonfly' only backs this up.

Pretty nice, this piece of fan art. 

Yanma, who has some aesthetic traits with the red-veined darter, very much behaves like a common dragonfly: it makes sudden stops in midair and hovers in place by just flapping its wings. It can generate shock waves capable of shattering glass by flapping its wings very fast, something I doubt real-life dragonflies can do. Although Yanma doesn't have two arthropod-like eyes, it is capable of turning them 360° without actually having to move them around, very much like real compound eyes. Yanmega - into which Yanma evolves when it is leveled up while knowing Ancient Power, a move that both Pokémon have a quadruple weakness to - is a lot more terrifying. Both Yanma and Yanmega are predators, but Yanmega has immense jaw power, which allows it to bite apart its prey's head (decapitation?) while flying by at high speed, and its six legs can even transport a adult human being in flight. The shock waves it generates by beating its wings are even stronger than Yanma's: they cause internal damage to opponents and dislodge trees when Yanmega takes flight.

TCG art of Yanmega.

It proves to be just as terrifying in competitive play, as its quite capable base stat total of 515 doesn't exactly leave it vulnerable. Okay, it's defenses aren't all that - especially its special defense is awfully mediocre - but with 86 HP and defense it should be able to take a physical hit or two. I am going to dwell on two possible sets for Yanmega, the first being the Tinted Lens set. This set allows you to run Choice Specs, so to make sure Yanmega hits as hard as possible with its excellent 116 special attack: Tinted Lens lets all non-super-effective moves deal normal damage instead, while the Choice Specs increase Yanmega's special attack by 50% at the cost of limiting it to using only one move until switched out, so those are welcome boosts. Its other ability, Speed Boost, increases its speed every turn and works well in combination with a Life Orb and the move Protect, which prevents anything from happening to Yanmega. Although it is hard to use it twice in a row, just click Protect after you switch into Yanmega so that it can gain a free speed increase. Both sets should contain the moves Bug Buzz, Air Slash, and either Giga Drain or Ancient Power, while the Tinted Lens set fares better with something like U-Turn instead of Protect. A Timid nature is preferable in both sets, as it increases Yanmega's speed a little, but a Modest nature to focus on special attack instead isn't bad, either. Just know that a Tinted Lens set won't allow your Yanmega to outspeed many speedy Pokémon, while a few Speed Boost increases will.

Goddamn, that is a big-ass bug!

Yanmega is a weird thing that is suprisingly good in battle, especially when you consider it's an evolution of such a bad Pokémon as Yanma. While I'm not exactly fond of it, you can't say that I hate it, either. Its classification of the 'Ogre Darner Pokémon' looks quite confusing, but it's green and vicious - like ogres usually are - and it's based on the green darner dragonfly (its shiny form even on the less common blue female ones), so I won't question it. I have yet to use it on whatever occasion you can come up with - with other words, I have never used this thing before at all - so for now I'll give it 4 stars. Who knows, perhaps I'll max out its rating once I've gotten a chance to make use of it.

Rating: 4/5

#167 - #168: Spinarak & Ariados

People with arachnophobia are advised to back away from this entry, because there gon' be plenty of scary-ass spider talk.

...what the hell am I doing to myself?

Spinarak and its host, Joltik.

Anyways, let's start with the ever-patient Spinarak, who lies still in the same pose for days in its own web, waiting for unsuspecting prey to wander close. Spinarak even lets its prey suffer for hours if they get caught during the day, as it waits to devour them until it becomes dark. And I don't know if this is a trait of real-life spiders, but Spinarak's web can be considered its second nervous system, as it recognizes its prey by the vibrations it feels through the web's threads. More interesting is its origin, at least to me. Spinarak's design is obviously based on the Hawaiian happy-face spider (theridion grallator), which has a face-like marking on its abdomen, just like Spinarak does. Its name is derived from 'spinneret', the silk-spinning organ of a spider, but might also be a combination of the verb 'spin' and 'arachnid'. However, I would like to believe it's more probable that Spinarak's name derives from spinnerak, the Afrikaans word for 'spider web' or 'cobweb'. And as Afrikaans is descended from Dutch (personally, I see Afrikaans as a heavily simplified version of Dutch), it makes much more sense to me that spin, spinrag and spinnenweb - Dutch for 'spider', 'spider silk' and 'cobweb', respectively - are the words that lie at the basis of its name origin, as well as the Afrikaans variant.

From Pokémon (Heart)Gold, LeafGreen and X: "It spins string not
only from its rear but also from its mouth. It is hard to tell which
end is which." Well, I can perfectly tell which end is which, thank
you very much. 

Ariados, on the other hand, is a very smart kind of savage: it attaches silk to its prey and sets it free, only to track down the silk to the prey and its friends. A single strand of a special string is endlessly spun out of its spinneret, but it can also produce silk from its mouth, although it is said that it's hard to say which end is which. Wut? That makes no sense whatsoever, because its mouth and rear don't even look the same in the slightest. I guess the people in the Pokémon world are blind, but whatever. Anyway, that endless string is a reference to the Greek myth of Theseus and Ariadne, wherein Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of twine before he entered the labyrinth to slay the Minotaur, so that he may trail the strand behind him and find his route back to her. There may also be a hint of 'arachnid' and dos (Spanish for 'two') or odosu (Japanese for 'to threaten'; just because Ariados's Japanese name is the same as its English name) in its name, but the reference to Ariadne is just very obvious in this case. And I love references to myths and legends in Pokémon names and lore, even though they are obvious as fuck in all respects, because they allow me to learn a bunch of new things. Honestly, you'd be surprised about the things I learn while doing research for my articles. Of course I already knew about the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, but you probably get my point.

What would you do if you came across a horde of gigantic-ass
spiders? I'd run; that would probably the best idea. 

Like the competitive utility of certain Pokémon. Sigh... Don't get me started about Ariados, because it has the same base stat total as Ledian, which means it is not a good Pokémon at all. Certainly, with its access to both Sticky Web (lowers opponents' speed by one stage when they switch in) and Toxic Spikes (one layer poisons opponents when they switch in; two layers badly poison opponents, very much like Toxic), Ariados can be a very good lead to any team, especially when you give it a Focus Sash to hold. This item prevents Ariados from fainting when it is hit at full HP and allows it to set up before it gets knocked out, because it is slow as molasses and its defenses are mediocre at best. Might as well run an Adamant nature instead of a Jolly one, too, although either would be fine. At least its base 90 attack stat allows it to hit some Pokémon fairly decently before it goes down. It gets access to some very nice moves that Ledian can only dream of: Megahorn, Foul Play and Sucker Punch, the latter of which lets Ariados attack first when the opponent is using a damaging move. Might come in handy. But sometimes Toxic Spikes isn't necessary, and it is generally better to use another, more competent Pokémon to use Sticky Web. In-game, however, it might well be a decent Pokémon to use: Agility doubles its speed, while Poison Jab, X-Scissor and Dig provide for some pretty neat type coverage. Might as well give it a shot.

Well, I'm not going to do that, because I have no intention of using Ariados anytime soon, but that doesn't mean I don't like it at all. In fact, I think Ariados might have potential, but I do not feel inclined to try it out. At least I like its design and origin; and the same can be said about Spinarak. I don't think they're as appealing as Ledian, however, so even though it is a generally better Pokémon to use, it will not get a better - or even the same - rating from me. Alas.

Rating: 3.5/5

#165 - #166: Ledyba & Ledian

Two Ledyba and a Ledian accompanied by a Yanma.

When I was a kid, ladybugs were the only species of insects that weren't scary or annoying to me. I thoroughly hate most kinds of insects, to be honest, and although I have to admit some species serve as the inspiration for awesome Pokémon, I really don't have to like the real-life variants. Today, ladybugs are still the exception; my country (the Netherlands) has even adopted this little critter as a symbol against senseless violence, and more often than not the Dutch Foundation Against Senseless Violence places a street tile with this symbol on the sites of deadly crimes. Nintendo and Game Freak saw the ladybug as an inspiration for something more fun, however, and created Ledyba and Ledian. And I have to say that I actually kinda like their designs, even though they're nothing special. Ledyba suffers from an extreme form of anxiety: it is afraid or even unable to move when it is alone. It is a gregarious Pokémon and would rather want to stick with others of its species, which it communicates with by secreting an aromatic fluid from where the legs join its body and altering the scent when it wants to convey its feelings. When winter comes, they gather from everywhere and cluster to keep each other warm. Ledian, on the other hand, curls up inside a big leaf to drift off when it gets too warm during daytime. It is a nocturnal Pokémon that uses starlight as energy, and the star patterns on its back (which are just normal ladybug spots in its back sprites in the games) grow larger or smaller depending on the number of stars in the night sky.

Cute fan art of Ledian roaming around in the middle of the night. 

Though competitively, Ledian is absolute garbage. I don't like calling Ledian garbage, because I'm quite fond of this Pokémon, but Ledian is absolutely NOT a good competitive Pokémon. Heck, even in-game it's a terrible Pokémon: its attack and special attack are way too low for it to be useful, and its defenses are ass. Well, its special defense is a solid base 110, but it has no HP to back that up, so you'll be lucky if Ledian can survive two strong hits. I ever used one in a HeartGold playthrough, but I boxed it mid-game because it was such an underwhelming Pokémon. And that's an understatement. Let's put it this way: if Iron Fist was one of its two normal abilities instead of its hidden ability, Game Freak had switched Ledian's base 35 attack with its base 55 special attack, and the Choice Band was a regular item that could be found randomly during a playthrough, Ledian would still only be an OK Pokémon to use. I mean, what are you supposed to do with it, anyway? It has terrible offensive stats, which completely nullifies its extensive offensive movepool. And it has such a shallow support movepool that it renders it useless in that regard. Your best bet would be a Light Screen/Reflect set with Light Clay, but Ledian is outclassed by Pokémon who can do a far better job setting up or making opponents see stars.

Sigh. Game Freak, for heaven's sake, please find a way to make Ledian better than it is now, because it's such a shame to keep such a nice Pokémon so incredibly useless. At least make it so that Ledian can be used in a regular playthrough. I really, really like Ledian, but in order for it to get a perfect rating it'll have to become a lot better first.

Rating: 4/5

#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

#48 - #49: Venonat & Venomoth

Official art of Venonat.

I have absolutely no idea what the hell I'd have to write about Venonat. It's just a bad Pokémon to use, and ultimately it's a forgettable Pokémon as well. It's not that I don't like Venonat, it's just that there's nothing specific about it that I'd want to write about, aside from maybe its radar eyes that allow it to see in the dark. In my opinion, it doesn't add anything to the franchise other than being Venomoth's pre-evolution. That is not necessarily a bad thing, though; the game should not allow you to use some Pokémon until they are actually fully evolved. Venomoth is not one of them, however, but I'll get to that later on. The thing is that Venomoth has become a kind of a legend lately, and I think that this Pokémon won't easily be forgotten. That has everything to do with the part it played in 'Twitch Plays Pokémon'. I told you almost everything in Pidgeot's entrance, though, so I'm not going to repeat all of that right now. All I can say that AATTVVV (also commonly referred to as ATV or All-Terrain Venomoth), as the Venomoth was called because everybody was pressing multiple buttons at the same fucking time, has played a major part in defeating Lance, the fourth Elite 4 member.

Fan art of All-Terrain Venomoth, who slayed Lance's dragon all by itself during the
disaster that is called 'Twitch Plays Pokémon'.  

You see, when ATV was facing Lance's Dragonite, it managed to survive by using Poison Powder on the thing, which slowly wittled away Dragonite's health while it only used Barrier and Agility in return. Needless to say that the poison damage did it in, and therefore, ATV is commonly called 'The Dragon Slayer'. It was one of the most memorable moments during the playthrough of Pokémon Red on streaming service Twitch, but unfortunately, ATV went down during the battle against Champion Blue and the entire team had to defeat the Elite 4 and Blue from scratch. That didn't affect the 'legendary' status Venomoth received after the playthrough was done, by the way, because from now on, many people will think of All-Terrain Venomoth when you mention this Pokémon.

All hail to Ken Sugimori for providing us with this beautiful
official Venomoth art. 

Well, let's be honest... That is not exactly a surprise, as Venomoth isn't really a good Pokémon to use in the competitive scene. For in-game purposes, on the other hand, it would be quite a decent Pokémon to use. Its attack and defense are terrible and should be ignored, but it has a reasonable special defense stat and even better special attack and speed stats. With those, you can hit fast and relatively hard, and with good moves at that, too. Bug Buzz and Sludge Bomb are must-haves, while the other slots should be filled in by Quiver Dance (which raises its special attack, special defense and speed by one stage each) and either Psychic or Energy Ball, depending on the Pokémon you already have in your team. You can even omit Quiver Dance and go for both offensive moves; Venomoth's stats are decent enough to pull that off. There might be people who might make good use of this Pokémon competitively, but I think it would go down very fast. No matter how you look at it, Venomoth is still quite a frail Pokémon, after all...

Ultimately, Venomoth is a likeable Pokémon, but no matter its legendary status, it is still only a decent Pokémon. There is nothing about it that really makes it stand out to other Pokémon. That is to say, if you don't count the stupid theory that it should have been Metapod's evolution while Butterfree should have been Venonat's, because the latter two share so many similarities; from the large bug-like eyes to the little hands and their antennae. Even so, 3.5 is not a bad rating at all!

Rating: 3.5/5