#546 - #547: Cottonee & Whimsicott

Cottonee drifting on water.

Cottonee and Whimsicott are curious Pokémon. While these Pokémon don't look like any living being in particular, their designs and flavor revolve entirely around cotton. Being a little ball of such lightweight fluff, Cottonee is easily blown around by the wind, and the only instance in which it stays grounded is when it is soaked by rain, which weighs it down and makes it soggy. This Pokémon gathers in large groups during mating season, and when enough of them have collected, the mass resembles a cumulonimbus cloud - and let's be honest, the fact that it travels around wherever the wind carries it is more similar to clouds and dandelion seeds than cotton. But Cottonee wouldn't be as interesting as Jumpluff - or differ as much as it does from Jumpluff in the first place - if its cotton didn't have some useful applications. When attacked, Cottonee shoots cotton from its body to distract the attacker and uses the diversion to escape the dire situation it is in. However, the most useful application of its cotton can be found entirely in its Pokémon Moon Pokédex entry: "Pillows and beds stuffed with cotton exhaled by Cottonee are soft and puffy, light and airy - altogether top quality." Yeah, I can just imagine the fluffy cotton automatically causing the pillow to take on its original shape after each night it's used, which would definitely help me get rid of the annoyance I have with my own fucking pillows sometimes. I wonder if that's the reason why Cottonee and its evolution Whimsicott are apparently based on sheep, although it is not hard to combine sheep with cotton: both are fluffy, both are used to produce garments, both have origins in a legend I will elaborate on when discussing Whimsicott, and both are commonly associated with the concept of sleep (cotton that is used in pillows, counting sheep to help you falling asleep... you name it).

The shiny Whimsicott seems to be confused about why it's here.

The two leaves on the side of Cottonee's body do give it the appearance of a lamb, but Whimsicott (evolves from Cottonee by use of a Sun Stone) obviously has more physical features that make it resemble a whole-ass sheep, even though the woolly coat and ram's horns are only the beginning. Whimsicott's association with sheep is reinforced by its inclusion in the Unova horoscope, in which it represents the zodiac sign of Aries, a.k.a. the ram.* Moreover, Whimsicott may draw inspiration from the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, a mythical plant that was believed to grow sheep as its fruit. Aside from the fact that this legendary zoophyte - an animal that visually resembles a plant - was used to explain the production of cotton in the Middle Ages, as the plant was unknown in Northern Europe before the Norman conquest of Sicily and travelers who saw it thought wool was growing from it, it also shows that people from 1000 years ago really were blithering morons. Goddamn. Anyway, that's roughly where the comparisons to sheep come to a halt. Whimsicott likes to sneak into houses through the tiniest cracks and cause all sorts of mischief, such as moving furniture and leaving fluffy white puffs in its wake. To quote its Pokémon Sun Pokédex entry: "After it has turned a room into a cotton-filled mess, it giggles to itself and takes off." Very mature. By any means, Whimsicott's fey appearance, trickster personality and ability to ride on whirlwinds are akin to the characteristics of an impish creature from Brazilian folklore called Saci, a one-legged, brown-skinned youngster that lives in forests, rides on the winds and is considered an annoying and incorrigible prankster in most parts of Brazil - there is literally no little harm that he won't do.

*(Personally I'm a Gemini and the corresponding Pokémon in the Unova horoscope is a Klink, which only confirms and invigorates my love for steel types, despite the fact that I really don't believe in this horoscope shit in the first place.)

Wipe that mischievous grin off your face, Whimsicott.

This trickster thing is exactly Whimsicott's shtick in competitive play as well. It's an utter pain the fucking ass if you don't have an answer for it, because its Prankster ability (how fitting!) allows it to move first when it's using any kind of status move. This means that even when your Pokémon is holding a Choice Scarf and should move before most other Pokémon, Whimsicott outspeeds your Pokémon and could paralyze it with Stun Spore (which is a bit inaccurate) in order to prevent it from moving at all. Or Whimsicott could bait your Pokémon with Taunt to prevent it from setting up on its own, use Encore to lock your Pokémon into an unfavorable move, create a Tailwind to increase its entire team's speed by 50% for a couple of turns, or use Defog to remove all entry hazards before it is hit. More uncommon is the use of Leech Seed to get a bit of health back every turn, although it's a status move and allows you catch your opponent by surprise, especially in combination with Substitute. Whimsicott is hit. Of course, Whimsicott needs an offensive move so that it isn't entirely passive, and Moonblast is the best move it gets that provides it STAB. Giga Drain could be preferred over Moonblast because of its effect to drain some of the opponent's HP while still dealing considerable damage, but Moonblast is generally better because grass-type moves aren't that great offensively. To go along with its trickster tactic, people often use a Timid-natured Whimsicott, and its fragility is oftentimes an incentive to give it a Focus Sash in order for it to live a hit at full HP.

Smogon also suggests an offensive moveset consisting of Moonblast, Energy Ball, Psychic and either U-Turn or Defog, along with the Choice Specs to bolster Whimsicott's firepower on the special side of the spectrum or a Life Orb to give a boost to its attacks in general. It's just suggested because Whimsicott has the Infiltrator ability to bypass Substitute and screens and could therefore do 'normal' damage - if you don't count the Choice Specs boost - but its base 77 special attack doesn't make it much of an offensive Pokémon, anyway. And when it comes to its hidden ability... well, Chlorophyll doubles its speed in sunny weather, but Whimsicott is pretty speedy in and of itself and it doesn't really need the boost. Just ignore Chlorophyll (and Infiltrator, while you're at it) and go with the Prankster tactic; it's what Whimsicott is made for.

Whimsicott and its counterpart Lilligant.

Whimsicott is an interesting Pokémon combat- and flavor-wise, and the sheep origins make total sense, but I'm not particularly a fan of its design. It could have been executed a lot better than it was, and if I could redesign it I'd get rid of the old-fashioned hairdo for sure - though with the tale of the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary in mind, the hairdo is not illogical. My light disappointment of it mainly came with the one time I did a fairy mono-type playthrough (with Clefable, Azumarill, Mega Mawile, Togekiss, Whimsicott and Aromatisse), in which it was by far the least offensive Pokémon on my team and fell behind in every aspect except speed. Please note that I don't hate Whimsicott for it; it's just a specific Pokémon to use competitively and it should only be considered if you know exactly what you're doing, while it is just an average Pokémon to use in a normal playthrough. Whimsicott receives some points for its cuteness, as well as for its flavor and origins, and the end result is a decent rating of 4 stars.

Rating: 4/5

#531: Audino

Audino is a benevolent Pokémon, so it's not surprising these
Dedenne are feeling so at ease in its presence. 

Next on the list is the Pokémon that would replace Chansey as Nurse Joy's assistant in Pokémon Centers in Unova. Actually, ever since the Unova region Chansey has retired from being Nurse Joy's assistant altogether, as it's Wigglytuff aiding her in Kalos, while in Alola she's accompanied by Blissey and Comfey. It isn't suprising that a Pokémon like Audino was introduced in a generation that is often regarded as a reboot of the series, and as most older Pokémon didn't show up until the Adventures in Unova arc of the Pokémon anime (in the Black and White games, older Pokémon aren't available until post-game), Audino had to take over Chansey's role of assistant healer in Pokémon Centers. It's the perfect Pokémon for that, as the feelers on Audino's ears act like stethoscopes in that it can feel the beat of another Pokémon's heart in order to assess its mood and overall physical condition. Audino's auditory sense is so astounding, in fact, that it has the radar-like ability to understand its surroundings through slight sounds. Mega Audino even has a secondary pair of feelers with which it can put those who come in contact with them into a deep sleep, while it can release relaxing pulses that reduce hostility. Yup, you've read that correctly: Audino can Mega-evolve. It's the only Pokémon introduced in the fifth generation that is capable of Mega-evolving in the first place, and to this day I have absolutely no idea why. I don't think it needed a Mega evolution anyway, and you'll find my arguments for that in the paragraph about its competitive usage.

D'awww, look at this cutie!

Audino may be an excellent healer, but it fulfils no such role in the Gen. V games. You see, there's a phenomenon called rustling grass, and stepping into it may result in an encounter with a rare Pokémon. The only Pokémon in the rustling grass that isn't rare is Audino, appearing at least 80% of the time in pretty much all of Unova's tall grass. Because of its availability in rustling grass - which, by the way, can easily be triggered by walking back and forth nearby a patch of tall grass for a couple of seconds - as well as the absurdly high amount of experience points you can get from it, battling wild Audino is a fast way to level up your Pokémon when playing Black, White, Black 2 or White 2.

Audino is definitely a Pokémon that can be portrayed as
sickeningly kawaii, so I'll just tone it down for this blog and give
you this moderately cute piece of fan art of Audino with its
Trainer, Hilda.

It's weird that Audino is so easily available in the games, because Game Freak have always kept the Chansey line somewhat rare to obtain. Considering the abundance of Audino to be found all over the Unova region, you'd wonder what this thing is actually based on. Well, Bulbapedia suggests that it seems to be partially based on rabbits; and to be fair, those critters aren't very uncommon in real life, either. However, the similarities to rabbits are not very eminent in its design, and I think Game Freak went for a nurse/physician aesthetic more than anything. The stethoscope-like feelers on Audino's ears also bring to mind a butterfly's antennae - or proboscis - and the ears themselves kind of resemble butterfly wings, which may mean it is based on some depiction of a fairy. As regular Audino, a pure normal type, gains the fairy typing upon Mega-evolving, this theory isn't too farfetched. As for Audino's names across the world, they all contain a pun of some sort. Its Japanese name Tabunne
(タブンネ) is a direct play on tabun ne, meaning 'maybe', as well as tabun ('many are heard') and mimitabu ('earlobe'). In Korean, its name sounds quite similar to its Japanese one: Dabunie (다부니) is a corruption of dabunhi, meaning 'quite'. Audino is of course derived from 'audio', but Game Freak have managed to capture the meaning of the Japanese pun quite well with a pun on the phrase 'I dunno.' Its French name Nanméouïe contains ouïe ('hearing') and is phonetically similar to non mais oui ('no but yes'), but I don't think the latter is a phrase that is used very often in spoken word. By all means, correct me if I'm wrong by leaving a comment below. Finally, Audino's German name Ohrdoch is a pun on oh, doch, which means as much as 'oh, yes, actually', but is also heavily inspired by Ohr ('ear') and Doktor (I don't have to explain what that word means, do I?).

The only name I can't quite wrap my head around is Audino's Chinese name Chàbùduōwáwá (差不多娃娃). I mean, chàbùduō means 'almost' or 'more or less' and wáwá means 'doll', but does that mean that they think Audino is more or less a doll? Maybe Audino is a doll in the metaphorical sense of the word - it is often used in English as a synonym for a nice and kind person; a sweetheart, if you will - but I'm not so sure the word 'doll' has the same metaphorical meaning in the Chinese language as it does in English. I don't quite understand, and I have a feeling I'm not supposed to.

Mega Audino. It appears to be wearing some kind of coat and
boots, which indicates that it may have a resemblance to the
Sweet Lolita fashion style, especially color-wise (white and pink).

And then there's Audino's competitive abilities, which are... subpar. Regular Audino resides in Smogon's lowest tier, PU, because its base stat total of 445 renders it pretty much useless in any competitive battle. With base 103 HP and 86 defenses, Audino tries to be bulky, but it doesn't quite succeed in that. It can take a few hits, sure, and the Wish/Protect combo is as good a strategy as any to make Audino last a little longer on the battlefield, but it simply doesn't cut it. Its terrible offensive stats don't really help either, because they make Audino rely on Toxic for damage. No, you'll need the Audinite, the Mega Stone that allows Audino to Mega-evolve and become... well, not stronger. Bulkier, for sure. Mega Audino does get a slight boost in its special attack, which actually allows you to run a Calm Mind set with Dazzling Gleam, but don't expect to hit too hard, especially since you need a Calm or Bold nature to make Mega Audino as bulky as possible. Wish and Protect are still required, especially since you'll have to wait until the right time to Mega-evolve Audino anyway, because regular Audino has the ability Regenerator: every time a Pokémon with this ability is switched out, it regains a third of its maximum HP. Therefore, I'd recommend not going for Calm Mind at all, but slapping on either Toxic or Heal Bell; Dazzling Gleam is a STAB fairy-type move and hits moderately hard in the first place, so Toxic can provide some excellent residual damage, while Heal Bell lets Audino heal all of your Pokémon's status conditions in one turn. The downside to Mega Audino is that it doesn't get Regenerator as its ability and is, unfortunately, stuck with Healer, an ability that only works in Double Battles. And if there's one thing about Pokémon that I don't know jack shit about, it's competitive Double Battles, so... yeah.

Beautiful, painting-style art of Mega Audino.

Audino has access to a slew of coverage moves many a Pokémon would be jealous of: Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Psyshock, Wild Charge, Surf, Signal Beam, the elemental punches, Drain Punch, Iron Tail, Knock Off, Throat Chop, Stomping Tantrum, Zen Headbutt... and I don't think that's all yet. These are all moves that Audino isn't going to use, especially not the physical ones; special coverage moves should only be given to Audino when you think it's absolutely necessary, while Knock Off should be given to a Pokémon that can make much better use of it.

Audino does have a lot of support moves to choose from. Rest and Sleep Talk could replace Wish and Protect, but they're more difficult to pull off and should only be used on a Pokémon that doesn't have access to Wish. Magic Coat bounces back status moves to the user, which can come in handy whenever you see a Taunt coming - or annoying status-inflicting moves like Toxic and entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Spikes, just to name a few. Snatch allows Audino to steal an opponent's beneficial status move, but that might not turn out too beneficial for Audino, even though it temporarily hinders the opponent. Encore locks the opponent into the move it last used, while Trick Room is a weird move that allows slower Pokémon to move first as long as the move is in effect. Skill Swap could be used to let Mega Audino swap abilities with the opponent, which means you'll be able to get rid of Healer, at least. Healing Wish makes Audino faint but fully heals the Pokémon that is switched in after it, status condition and all. Then there's moves like Thunder Wave and Yawn, but Toxic is generally better. Substitute isn't misplaced on a bulky Pokémon like Audino at all, and you could even give it Light Screen and Reflect and make your whole team a bit bulkier overall.

Mega Audino and its cute little babies. 

I like Audino, and a lot more than Chansey, too. The whole healer thing has been done before with Chansey and Blissey, but Audino's doctor aesthetics give it a little bit of much-needed personality and flavor. Of course, Audino - or even Mega Audino - has nothing on Blissey, who is far and away the best special wall in the entire game, even though Audino can take physical blows just as well as special ones, which Blissey can't. In the end, I am drawn more toward Audino's design and flavor than Chansey and Blissey's superior competitive utility.

Rating: 4.5/5

#333 - #334: Swablu & Altaria

Do you remember that in Flygon's entry I said I like the other not-so-dragon-like Pokémon in Hoenn better? Yeah? Well, this is what I was talking about.

It's an uncommon occurrence that the first image in a review is a
realistic take on a Pokémon, but I had to include this. It's just so
nicely drawn. 

Granted, Swablu is yet another bird with the generic normal/flying typing, but it certainly doesn't look the part. Incomparable with actual generic birds like Pidgey, Spearow, Starly, Farfetch'd, Pidove, Taillow and a whole bunch of other plain-looking birds I'm probably forgetting right now, Swablu seems to be based on a combination of real-life avian creatures. Its blue skin indicates it might be inspired from the bluebird or the blue jay, while its tendency to land on people's heads and pretend it's a hat might be a reference to the gray jay, as both wild Swablu and the gray jay get easily accustomed to humans. Swablu's wings look like clouds but are actually made of a cottony substance, which manifests itself in the fact that Swablu learns the grass-type move Cotton Guard, which increases its defense stat by a whopping three stages. Fun fact: I solemnly believed Cotton Guard was introduced in Gen. III and that it used to be Swablu and Altaria's signature move until it was given to other Pokémon in later generations. I was wrong, because it was introduced in Gen. V and given to quite a couple of Pokémon right away. The things you learn when doing research for review articles, goddamn... Cotton Guard or no, Swablu dislikes dirty surroundings, so it will wipe and polish something dirty with the cotton tufts it has for wings, which it then cleans in streams and freshwater. In that regard, Swablu's name is a nice reference to the cotton swabs used for sanitary purposes.

A heap of adorable little Swablu. Cuteness overload. 

Interestingly, Swablu's Japanese and French names of Tyltto (チルット) and Tylton, respectively, refer to entirely different things. For starters, Tyl is an alternative name given to Epsilon Draconis, a star in the constellation Draco, and is often used in the literature. Draco is Latin for 'dragon' and the fact that Swablu's Japanese and French names refer to this specific constellation may be a forshadowing of what typing it gets upon evolution, although I'll get to that later. Also, Tyltto and Tylton may be a reference to the play L'Oiseau Bleu ("The Blue Bird") by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck, a story about two siblings - Mytyl and Tyltyl - who are tasked with finding the 'blue bird of happiness'.

Also, Swablu's Mandarin Chinese name Qīngmiánniǎo (青綿鳥) literally means 'blue cotton-flossed bird'. I can't even...

A mother (or father?) Altaria with her adorable baby Swablu.

Swablu doesn't always stay an adorable little Swablu, however, and it evolves into Altaria at level 35. Altaria looks like it could have been yet another normal/flying type, if it weren't for the fact that Game Freak actually granted it the dragon type upon evolution. Pretty much like Flygon, it doesn't look like it's a dragon type, but its typing does come with a couple of benefits - and disadvantages, too, while we're at it. More on that later, though, as I want to start with Altaria's origin, which is a little bit more complex than Swablu's. First and foremost, its name is derived from alto or altus - the respective Italian and Latin words for 'high' - and aria, which is Italian for 'air'. The thing is that Altaria likes to use its buoyant wings to catch updrafts and soar across the sky, gracefully gliding through the clouds - its coloration provides it perfect camouflage, I'd dare say - and singing or humming tunes in a gorgeous soprano voice while doing so. In addition, its voice seems to have special properties that induce a dreamy state in listeners. Therefore, its name might be a reference to an aria, originally a term for any expressive musical melody but now a term used exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice, usually in opera.

Altaria soaring through the skies, accompanied by a bunch of Swablu. There is even
a shiny Swablu thrown into the mix (bottom right). And let's be honest here: Swablu
and Altaria definitely have some of the prettiest shinies out there. 

But I'm not done yet. Altaria is clearly derived from Altair, the predominantly literary name for Alpha Aquilae, the brightest star in the constellation Aquila. This becomes apparent when you take a look at Altaria's Mandarin Chinese name Qīxìqīngniǎo (七夕青鳥), which is a reference to the before-mentioned stage play by that Belgian dramatist and the annually held Qixi - or Qiqiao - Festival. This festival originated from the tale of The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd, a love story featuring the two titular characters symbolizing the stars Altair and Vega - the latter being Alpha Lyrae, the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra.

Now, I need to stop with these stars and constellations before I start seeing stars myself.

Official Sugimori art of Mega Altaria.

Let's move this review forward by discussing Altaria's competitive utility. In itself, Altaria isn't very good. Its great base 90 defense and 105 special defense are backed up by an alright base 75 HP stat, which makes it a moderately bulky Pokémon, but its attacking stats are mediocre and its speed isn't very high, either. Smogon mentions several offensive sets, but I wouldn't use Altaria for that at all. You see, its bulk, Natural Cure ability and movepool allow it to be used as a very handy support Pokémon: Heal Bell cures all status conditions your team has caught, Tailwind doubles the speed of your entire team for four turns, Roost can be used to heal half of Altaria's HP, Haze resets all stat stages of both Pokémon on the battlefield to 0 again, Cotton Guard raises Altaria's already good defense stat to ridiculous levels (especially with a Bold or Impish nature), Substitute creates a substitute in exchange for 25% of its HP, and the Toxic/Protect combo is a classic stalling tactic. Altaria becomes a real star - excuse the pun - when it Mega-evolves, gaining yet another type combination: the unique dragon/fairy. This time, however, it has good offensive and defensive stats, meaning the damage output when you let Altaria Mega-evolve is significantly higher than when you're using a regular one. Its speed stat stays the same, which is kind of a shame, but you'll have Dragon Dance to take care of that, anyway. Moves that go with that are Earthquake, Return (the Pixilate ability of Mega Altaria turns every normal-type move into a fairy-type move) and either Outrage or Dragon Claw, and the preferred nature to back up this moveset is Jolly or Adamant. It has some steel-type coverage in Steel Wing and Iron Tail, and while I think the steel type is rad, these moves are barely worth it.

Also, considering a special moveset supported by Roost might not be a terrible idea, either. Altaria's special movepool is wider than its physical one, boasting moves like Dragon Pulse, Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Heat Wave, Hyper Voice, Ice Beam, Solar Beam and all types of Hidden Power, but such a moveset is inarguably less effective than a Dragon Dance set.

Altaria looking savage ain't bad, either...

That doesn't take away from Altaria's awesomeness, though, and it certainly doesn't hold me back from loving this thing to death. If I could, I would keep one as a pet. Because, y'know, who wouldn't want a friendly, fluffy and huggable dragon, right? It will envelop someone whom it has bonded with in its soft, cottony wings and then hum with a warm, soothing voice, and I would lie if I said I wouldn't want to experience that. The following rating of 5 whole stars shouldn't be a surprise to y'all, should it?

P.S.: For some reason I kept misspelling Swablu as 'Swablue' throughout the whole article, and I have no idea why. I've known its name since 2003, so it shouldn't have been a problem spelling its name.

P.P.S.: Bulbapedia states that Altaria is based on Peng birds, ginormous birds from Chinese mythology capable of flying 3000 li (Chinese miles) in one flap of their mighty, cloud-like wings. I don't think Altaria resembles those creatures at all, especially when you consider these Peng birds are usually portrayed having a fish's head and whiskers.

Rating: 5/5

#303: Mawile

A Sableye making itself comfortable in
Mawile's jaw. These two Pokémon are often
seen as counterparts.

Mawile can be seen as a counterpart to Sableye, whom I discussed exactly a week ago. Like Sableye, this Pokémon is quite unique, although it is based on yet another Japanese mythical being, so its basic form doesn't appeal to me as much as Sableye's basic form does, despite the fact that it's actually a steel type (I can't remember if I mentioned it already, but steel is my favorite of the 18 types currently available in the games). Mawile is based on the Japanese myth of the futakuchi-onna, literally 'two-mouthed woman'. This type of yōkai is characterized by her two mouths - a normal one and a second one located on the back of her head; or rather in the back of her head. The origin of this second mouth is pretty terrifying: in many stories, the soon-to-be futakuchi-onna is a wife of a miser and rarely eats. That's why a second mouth mysteriously appears in the back of the woman's head, often mumbling spiteful and threatening things to her and demanding food. If it's not fed, it can screech obscenely and cause the woman tremendous pain. Ultimately, though, the woman's long hair begins to move on its own like a pair of serpents, so that the second mouth can help itself to twice the amount of food the woman usually consumes. In other stories, the mouth forms from an axe wound she sustains accidentally or even because her own husband tries to murder her. The jaw on the back on Mawile's head, however, is just a set of transformed steel horns that Mawile uses to chomp its foes with after it lulls them out of wariness or into complacency with its docile-looking face. In other words, Mawile is a dangerous creature that likes to deceive people and other Pokémon, hence its classification as the 'Deceiver Pokémon'. Everything comes together when you look at the origins of Mawile's English and foreign names, too: a maw is the mouth of a voracious animal - an animal devouring great quantities of food - and a wile is a strategem or trick intended to deceive or ensnare, while its foreign names are all plays on 'jaw', 'mandible', 'lying' and 'cheating' and the like.

Mega Mawile. 

But Mawile's regular form is nothing compared to its Mega evolution, who suddenly has two sets of jaw-like appendages protruding from its head. While the single jaw is strong enough to chew through iron beams on itself, the pair of jaws can be controlled individually by Mega Mawile and boast tremendous power. Looking at Mega Mawile's ability and base attack stat, that should not come as a surprise: a base attack stat of 105 is already nothing to sneeze at, but the ability Huge Power will raise its physical prowess to ridiculous levels. When you have a Pokémon with a base attack stat of 105, perfect IVs, an attack-beneficial nature (Adamant, Lonely, Naughty and Brave) and EV training in said attack stat, its physical proficiency can be as high as 339 - a massive 678 when Huge Power is applied! This effectively makes Mega Mawile the strongest Pokémon in the game. In fact, its attack stat even exceeds the limit of 669 attack (255 base attack, as 255 is the highest possible 8-digit binary number), equalling a Pokémon with a base attack stat of 259. Mega Mawile's base stat total may be only 480 - the lowest among all Mega forms, along with Mega Sableye - but Huge Power made Smogon ban it from any competitive tier lower than Uber, the tier where powerful legendaries like Rayquaza, Lugia, Dialga, Reshiram and Zekrom reside as well. It is that strong.

Mawile standing next to its Poké Ball.

Unfortunately, Mega Mawile is more of a hit-and-run Pokémon. Its defense is great and its special defense is quite good, too, but its mediocre HP can't back up its good defensive stats and its speed is nothing to write home about. You can't do anything about its speed, either, because Mawile can't learn Agility or Autotomize and can't hold any stat-enhancing items such as the Choice Scarf because it needs to hold a Mega Stone to Mega-evolve. Then again, Mega Mawile has access to some excellent STAB moves like Iron Head and Play Rough (as of Gen. VI, Mawile is a fairy type in addition to its primary steel type), as well as some superb type coverage in Crunch, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Brick Break, Sucker Punch, Knock Off, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch and the elemental fangs. The latter have a base power of 65 and are quite weak compared to moves that are usually used in the competitive scene, but Mega Mawile is so strong that I think it can pull them off quite well if you are in need of them, especially after a Swords Dance boost (yup, as if Huge Power combined with a base attack of 105 wasn't enough already, Mega Mawile can also sharply boost its attack with Swords Dance). As it's not fast to begin with, it's a given you should slap an Adamant nature on it, making it an absolute powerhouse. It even leaves huge dents in defensive teams, easily knocking out Pokémon in two or three hits that are not very effective on them.

Hey Mega Sableye, don't lose your big-ass gemstone. Its defensive qualities are
what makes you competitively viable in the first place. 

It's Mega Mawile's offensive prowess what makes me like this Pokémon in the first place, although I like its design more than regular Mawile's as well. The pink hakama (a type of Japanese garment) make it more reminiscent of the Japanese lore of the futakuchi-onna and also emphasize its fairy typing. Well, in my opinion, anyway. There are plenty of steel-type Pokémon that end up high on my list of favorite Pokémon - in fact, Aggron and its pre-evolutions are next on my rating list - but Mawile will have to do with 4.5 stars rather than 5, the same as Sableye.

+0.5 for originality and +1 for the awesome Mega.

Rating: 4.5/5

#280 - #282, #475: Ralts, Kirlia, Gardevoir & Gallade

You probably wonder why the hell I'm wasting my time writing an entry for Ralts and its evolutions instead of playing the fuck out of Pokémon Sun and Moon, but the answer is simple: I am one of those unfortunate souls living in Europe - the Netherlands, to be exact - and I'm impatiently waiting for the games until I hear the clanging sound of my mailbox on the 23rd of November. Might as well write a couple of articles before I'm going on a 'hiatus', I'd dare say.

3D art of Ralts. If it wasn't looking up, you wouldn't be able to see the eyes that are
usually hidden beneath its cap-like head. Or maybe it is a cap, I'm not sure.

So... Ralts. It's a strange Pokémon, because it doesn't seem to be based on anything in particular. If anything, Ralts looks kind of humanoid, resembling a child. Human children often sense when something is amiss, and Game Freak have built its design and flavor from there: Ralts uses the horns on its cap-like head to read people and Pokémon's emotions and hides when it senses hostility. It reflects the mood of the person it reads, meaning that it becomes happy when its Trainer is in a cheerful mood and gets doleful when its Trainer is in a sad mood. A wild Ralts will rarely show itself to people (which is true, as it's the rarest of the early-route Pokémon), but when it does it will only draw closer when it senses the person has a positive disposition. When it evolves into Kirlia, however, the eyes - which Ralts does in fact have but are hidden beneath its 'cap' - become clearly visible now and it looks like it's wearing a... a tutu. And it has the stance ballet dancers are commonly portrayed with.

Well, I've seen Pokémon with stranger features than those.

3D art of Kirlia, in which it seems to be performing some kind of ballet dance.

Anyhow, Kirlia's horns are used to amplify its psychokinetic power and have the ability to let reality become warped. This distortion of reality causes mirages of nonexistent scenery and can cause a rip in dimensions (would Kirlia have anything to do with the Ultra Beasts in Sun and Moon?), which allows Kirlia to see into the future. It enjoys dancing on sunny mornings (well, duh!) and is said to grow beautiful when exposed to a Trainer with positive emotions. Again, cheerfulness lies at the basis of Kirlia's powers: a happy Trainer gives it energy for its psychokinetic abilities. Also interesting is Ralts and Kirlia's namesake. While the French and German names of Ralts, Tarsal and Trasla, are anagrams of the word 'astral' and even the name Ralts has something to do with it, Kirlia's name is derived from Kirlian photography. Bulbapedia describes it as "a special way of taking pictures that supposedly reveals psychic energy auras around subjects," but it is much more scientific than that: it is a collective term for photographic techniques used to capture the phenomenon of coronal discharges, electrical discharges brought on by the ionization of a fluid surrounding a conductor that is electrically charged. The techniques are named after Semyon Kirlian, a Russian inventor and researcher of Armenian descent, hence Kirlia's name.

Incredible papercraft figures of Ralts (little one in the front),
Kirlia (left), Gardevoir (right) and Gallade (middle).

Kirlia has two ways of evolving: it evolves into Gardevoir starting at level 30 or, if male, you can expose it to a Dawn Stone and let it turn into a Gallade. Gallade was inroduced one generation later than Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir as an alternative evolution of Kirlia, and it is believed to be created as a counterpart to Gardevoir: the latter is a special attacker who looks like a damsel in distress, while Gallade is a physical attacker and resembles a gallant knight. Or so goes a popular fan theory, but the truth is that Gardevoir can also be male. Its Japanese name is even Sirnight
(サーナイト), which may be derived from the phrase Saa, naito! ("Come, knight!") or just simply means Sir Knight. Or both. The English name of Gardevoir is based on the French words of garde and devoir - 'guard' and 'duty', respectively - or may be a combination of garder and voir, French verbs for 'to keep' and 'to see'. This is reflected in its Pokédex data, which explain how Gardevoir will protect its Trainer even at the cost of its own life (wow, that's some heavy shit!) and that it has the ability to see into the future, distorting the dimensions to such an extent it creates small black holes. The former explanation may also suggest that Gardevoir is based on a guardian angel, although it looks more like a principal dancer, very much like Kirlia resembles a ballet dancer.

Gardevoir laying in the grass, resting a bouquet of flowers on its chest.

However, Gardevoir is especially notorious for its role in the Internet meme called Rule 34, which is a generally accepted Internet rule that states that pornography or sexually related material exists for any conceivable object. Or, simply put: if something exists, there is pornographic content of it. Gardevoir isn't the first Pokémon to be made into hentai images (a catch-all term to describe a genre of anime and manga pornography) and it definitely won't be the last, but I can safely say it is the most prominent. Just Googling Gardevoir results into a certain 50/50 mix of normal and pornographic or suggestive images of Gardevoir, and I have to say it's disturbing. Who in their right mind would go and think, "Today I am going to create a pornographic image of a Pokémon, making the suggestion that it's sexy." A Pokémon! Ugh. I'm mentioning this aspect of Gardevoir because it is so painfully visible, otherwise I wouldn't even have mentioned it at all. It goes without saying that I won't post any hentai images of Gardevoir on this blog, nor will I recommend Googling them. And should you decide to do that anyway, enter Google at your own risk; I won't be held accountable.

Fan art of Mega Gardevoir.

It's a relief that Gardevoir is still being seen as a more-than-decent Pokémon to use, in-game as well as competitively. Its HP, attack and defense are mediocre, but its special attack and special defense are both sky-high, while its base 80 speed stat is decent. Its typing - psychic/fairy as of Gen. VI, gaining the fairy typing on top of its already existing psychic typing in X and Y - is especially helpful, as Moonblast helps against dragon types and Psychic makes short work of poison-type Pokémon that threaten its very existence. There are numerous ways to make use of Gardevoir, but it should stay a special attacker at all times. A Choice Specs set is mentioned on Smogon, but there is also a Life Orb set supported by Calm Mind and a Choice Scarf set to let Gardevoir outspeed some Pokémon in the competitive metagame. At least Gardevoir doesn't have to worry about coverage, because it has access to some pretty neat moves of many different typings, among which are Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, Signal Beam and even Icy Wind. Phew. And that's not all, because Gardevoir got a Mega in X and Y. The horns protruding from its chest are know larger and are said to be a physical manifestation of its heart, making it able to let loose tremendous psychic power now that its heart is open. And that is clearly perceptible, because Mega Gardevoir leaves a dent in any opposing team with its base 165 special attack. Moreover, it has access to the Pixilate ability, which lets it turn normal-type moves into fairy-type moves. They also get a boost, making Hyper Voice more competitively viable than Moonblast, especially because Hyper Voice infiltrates substitutes. Before Mega-evolving, though, Trace is the preferred ability, as it copies the opposing Pokémon's ability and might turn it against them.

Shiny Mega Gardevoir. The flower on top of its head is not part of its design, but it's
a nice touch to the whole 'mourning' aspect of its design. 

Also, did you notice that regular Mega Gardevoir looks like it's wearing a wedding gown and shiny Mega Gardevoir seems to be wearing a mourning dress? That is such a nice touch, and I think shiny Mega Gardevoir is one of the most beautiful shinies out there. It's really pretty. Gardevoir is very loveable as a whole, by the way; I love everything about it, including its simple but beautiful design, its characteristics, its competitive utility and its Mega evolution - shiny Mega Gardevoir in particular.

And then we have Gallade, who isn't quite as beautiful and elegant as Gardevoir. Regular Gallade has the same stat distribution as Gardevoir, with only their attack and special attack stats swapped, so it's a very decent physical alternative to Gardevoir, but I'm just not that big a fan of its design. Its horizontally oval thighs are a bit off-putting, its slender body shape just doesn't do it for me as much as Gardevoir's, its blade-like arms don't look overly efficient and its legs are just weird. Gallade significantly earns points when it Mega-evolves, gaining a cape that fits it knightly aesthetics and blades that look more efficient than those of its regular form, as well as a head that resembles a gladiator's helmet. The weird legs and oval shape of its hips stay but are less accentuated because of the overall more busy 'knight in shining armor' design, which is a plus. Mega Gallade has a very nice design overall, but it doesn't even come close to Gardevoir's graceful looks.

I wanted to show you Gallade's weird oval hips and what better
way to do that than include its official artwork here? 

Like Gardevoir, however, Gallade fiercely fights to protect its Trainer. When doing that, it shows that it's a master of courtesy and swordsmanship and a master in predicting its foe's moves. The blade-like arms can be extended and therefore show resemblances to tonfa, melee weapons best known for their role in the armed component of Okinawan martial arts. Mega Gallade has arms that look like actual blades, however, and these are used simultaneously in a dual-wielding style by calling on its psychic powers. Predicting the foe's moves is still up to the player, though, because there's no denying it: Gallade is as frail as Gardevoir. Its Mega is kind of bulky, with 115 special defense and 95 defense, but the HP stat is never boosted upon Mega-evolving and Gallade's HP is honestly a bit subpar. Thankfully, its base 80 speed becomes 110 when it Mega-evolves and it can dish out damage hard and relatively fast. While Gardevoir usually needs a Timid nature, which ups speed and lowers attack, that is actually a bad nature for Gallade: Jolly or Adamant (both lower special attack, but the former provides an increase in speed and the latter an increase in attack) are usually the natures to go with, as well as a physical moveset, obviously. Aside from STAB moves like Psycho Cut, Zen Headbutt, Close Combat, Drain Punch and Brick Break, it also has a crazy diverse movepool: Leaf Blade, Night Slash, Earthquake, Aerial Ace, Knock Off (very handy to knock off the opposing Pokémon's item, doing double the damage), Stone Edge, Rock Slide, X-Scissor, Poison Jab, Power-Up Punch, Shadow Sneak, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch and even Dual Chop are all very viable choices on a competitive Gallade's moveset. To top it all off, Gallade learns Swords Dance, which it can use to double its attack stat and perform a late-game sweep.

Wally and his Mega Gallade. 

Don't want to use Mega Gallade? That's fine, because you can use a Choice Scarf or Choice Band set on a regular Gallade, although the latter provides an attack boost rather than a speed boost and both sets lock it into using only one move until it's switched out. A Life Orb would therefore be better, especially because it allows Gallade to use Swords Dance, but Smogon also mentions a Bulk Up set. Bulk Up raises Gallade's attack and defense by one stage each, but its defense is already quite low, so it's not worth the hassle. If you can manage to pull it off, that's fine, but it's not the best way to use Gallade.

At the end of the day, Gardevoir and Gallade give the illusion that they're perfect counterparts, but that is really not the case here. Gardevoir has a 50/50 gender ratio, while Gallade is 100% male, so they're not the damsel in distress and Prince Charming everybody likes them to be. It has to be said that Gallade is a very good physical-based option if you don't need a special attacker, and its Mega is actually really cool; I like how it fits its flavor perfectly. I love everything about Gardevoir, however, while I'm not a big fan of regular Gallade's design. I'm gonna have to rate them separately: Gardevoir gets an easy 5, while Gallade will have to do with 4.5 stars. And that's mainly because of its Mega!

Rating Gardevoir: 5/5

Rating Gallade: 4.5/5

#209 - #210: Snubbull & Granbull

Snubbull first appeared as the leader of a group of antagonists in
the Pikachu short "Pikachu's Vacation". This short was shown
in movie theaters before the main film (Mewtwo Strikes Back).

Okay, Granbull used to be treated like trash. It wasn't very popular, but ever since it went from a nondescript normal type to a dragon-slaying fairy type in Pokémon X and Y, people have come to love it. I have to admit that I'm one of those people. Because, let's face it, having an edge against dragon types and losing a weakness to fighting-type really helps Granbull in the competitive scene; heck, it's even better to use it in-game now that it's pure fairy. I started to use a Granbull in one of my Pokémon X or Y playthroughs (I forgot which one), and because of its strength and versatility it was the MVP of my team. I've absolutely come to love this thing, and I think its typing fits its pink design much better than it did prior to X and Y. Of course, the same counts for Snubbull, although I have to say I don't really care for that Pokémon in the slightest: it's kinda ugly and it doesn't stay around for long anyway, as it evolves into Granbull at the early level of 23. The best thing about Snubbull is its appearance in the anime, in which it was in the possession of Madame Muchmoney (I swear to Satan I'm not making this name up). However, she - it was a female Snubbull who wore ribbons on her ears - was not happy with her life at all and started roaming about Johto chasing Meowth's tail, until she evolved into Granbull, bows and all, and returned to her owner.

Little Snubbull in a Granbull onesie. That's adorable.

While Snubbull might look gruff and grumpy, it is actually kind, affectionate, caring, playful, devoted and loyal and therefore very popular among women. Its fierce appearance is just a façade and it tends to hide from fights rather than engage in them, growling eagerly to hide its fear from its opponents and trying to scare them away. It is saddened that others run from its frightening appearance. Damn, that is sad, poor thing. I pity you. Luckily Snubbull still have women like Madame Muchmoney (I still can't get over the name, seriously), who think they're cute rather than scary, although I can imagine that Snubbull have a desire to play with other Pokémon as well and not only with their snobbish owners. And although Granbull looks much more frightening than its pre-evolution, it is actually a timid Pokémon that only bites when it is startled. It will not bite indiscriminately, and if it's attacked it will flail about to fend off its attacker. If enraged, it will use its huge tusks for powerful fang attacks. These tusks are so heavy that Granbull has trouble keeping its head upright, tilting it a little.

Snubbull and Granbull made of fusible plastic beads. 

Snubbull and Granbull's classification and fairy typing might be a reference to the Celtic myth of the Cù-Sìth, which translates to 'dog fairy', and it is found in Scotland and the Hebrides (a chain of more than 100 islands and small skerries about 45 miles from mainland Scotland). There's a similar hound creature in Irish folklore called the Cú Sídhe. It is said to be the size of a young bull with the appearance of a wolf, and was feared as a harbinger of death that would appear to bear away the soul of a person in the afterlife, similar to the Grim Reaper. According to legend, the Cù-Sìth was capable of hunting silently, but it would occasionally let out three terrifying bays that could be heard for miles by those listening to it, even far out at sea. Those who hear the baying of the Cù-Sìth must reach safety by the third bark or be overcome with terror to the point of death. Here comes the interesting part, though: the baying was a warning to lock up nursing women lest the beast abduct them and take them to a fairy mound to supply milk for the daoine sìth (daoine sídhe in Irish), a supernatural race in Celtic mythology comparable to fairies and elves. You know, Pokémon is a great and interesting way to learn about folklore of different cultures or just learn about other cultures in general; and now that I've learned about the Cù-Sìth, Snubbull and Granbull's fairy typing makes a whole lot more sense.

I'm calling you a fairy, Granbull. You don't have to
be ashamed of it... 

I hope this knowledge lets you have more fun using Granbull, because it is honestly an amazing Pokémon to use. It has a tolerable defense stat and some mediocre special defense, but they're backed up by a pretty good HP stat, so it might be able to take a few hits. Of course, its base 120 attack is its best stat, but it can be quite zippy if you give it a Toxic Orb. Why? Well, Granbull has access to the ability Quick Feet, which raises its speed by 50% when inflicted by a status condition, although Intimidate helps improve its bulk due to the opponent's attack drop. Both are great, although it stands to reason that an Intimidate Granbull shouldn't carry a Toxic Orb, but rather a Life Orb, Choice Band or the Leftovers. In spite of its reasonable bulk, an offensive set on Granbull is much more common, and it has the attack stat and wide movepool to benefit from such a set. A selection of the usable moves that Granbull can learn: Play Rough, the elemental fangs (a little on the weak side), the elemental punches, Crunch, Earthquake, Brick Break, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Wild Charge, Power-Up Punch, Close Combat, Focus Punch (works well in conjunction with Substitute), Iron Tail and Super Fang. I just don't understand why it learns Outrage naturally, as it's a dragon-type moves that only covers dragon-type Pokémon. It's redundant, because Granbull has access to STAB Play Rough to take care of those pesky dragons. Anyway, the moves I just mentioned are only its attacking moves. It also learns a bunch of helpful support moves, especially when you run an Impish Granbull rather than an Adamant one: Charm sharply lowers the opponent's attack by two stages and gives Granbull a bit of momentum, Taunt lures the opponent into using only damaging moves so that they can't set up with moves like Swords Dance and Nasty Plot, Heal Bell cures the entire team of annoying status conditions, Toxic and Thunder Wave can be used to inflict status conditions on the opposing Pokémon yourself, Reflect and Light Screen help boost your entire team's defenses, and the Rest/Sleep Talk combo helps Granbull's durability even more.

Granbull 'bout to Thunder Punch the shit out of its opponent. "Who's a fucking fairy?
Yeah, you are!" 

I don't want to repeat myself too often, but I absolutely love Granbull. I feel bad that I've only started to love it since it became a fairy type in X and Y, but to the people who have always loved it no matter what: does it soothe the pain if I tell you I never hated it? I liked it, but I just thought it wasn't a special Pokémon at all. Come to think of it, I think it's only a positive thing that I've come to adore Granbull due to its newly acquired fairy typing, because fairy is my second favorite type behind steel. And it's always a good thing when a Pokémon grows on you, right? Well, at least it shouldn't surprise you that I award Granbull a perfect rating, something it would never have gotten if it hadn't been changed into a fairy type in the first place.

Rating: 5/5

#298, #183 - #184: Azurill, Marill & Azumarill

Another thing: why does Azurill always look so sad, even
in official art? 

Okay, I know I repeatedly called baby Pokémon dumb, but this might be even dumber than dumb. Because WHAT is the point of giving Marill - a water type - a normal-type pre-evolution? So fucking pointless, I'm telling you... Everything about Azurill's flavor suggests it should be a water Pokémon, too. Its nutrient-packed tail looks like a beach ball and is often used as a flotation device or lifebuoy; it lives near the water's edge and likes to gather there with others of its species and splash about on sunny days; its classification as the 'Polka Dot Pokémon' refers to the Japanese word for 'polka dots', mizutama, literally meaning 'water balls'; its name contains the word 'rill', which is a synonym for a small river or brook; and its level-up movepool mainly consists of water-type moves, for heaven's sake! And then Game Freak made it a normal type. I don't understand, but maybe I'm just stupid. At least Azurill and its evolutions have had one type in common since 2013: they all gained the fairy type in Pokémon X and Y, although why they did is a fucking mystery to me. Its typing is not the only thing that bothers me about Azurill, though. You see, it has a gender ratio of 25/75, meaning it is female 75% of the time, while both Marill and Azumarill have a perfect 50/50 gender ratio, which means that Azurill's gender can change upon evolving into Marill. That's... stupid. Unless you're transgender your gender won't change ever, so why didn't Game Freak give Azurill the same gender ratio as its evolutions? I don't get this either, but like I said: maybe I'm just stupid.

Old official art of Marill on the left, new art on the right.

No, I like Marill and Azumarill a lot better than Azurill. Except for their fairy typing, they make a lot more sense to me. Whereas Azurill's tail is packed with nutrients that Azurill needs in order to grow and is used to fling itself at bigger opponents, Marill's tail is full of oil that is lighter than water and allows it to remain steady against the roughest water currents. It also keeps Marill afloat; even when it dives its tail is seen on the water surface. Both Marill and its evolution Azumarill have sensitive ears that can detect distant sounds, and Azumarill's ears even act like sensors underwater in order for it to know exactly what prey is swimming about. Azumarill is a master at camouflaging itself, because the splash pattern on its body is based on countershading: the upper part of its body is blue to match the surface of the water, while the lower part is white to match the sunlight seen from underwater, It can inhale and store a large volume of air, which it uses to make balloons if it spots a drowning Pokémon. Marill and Azumarill are probably on rakali (commonly known as water rats) and swamp rabbits, respectively, even though they mainly live nearby water and not necessarily in water. Both species can swim, but the water rat runs faster than it can swim and I don't think swamp hares can dive and hear underwater as well as Azumarill can.

The Marill family: Azurill (right), Marill (middle) and Azumarill
(left). Marill doesn't really have a tuft of hair, but it surely makes
it much cuter. Besides, its Pokédex entries explicitly mention it
has a water-repellent fur. 

They are probably less capable fighters than Azumarill, I'll betcha. But there is one condition for Azumarill to be a good fighter: its ability Huge Power, which effectively doubles its current attack stat. Its base attack stat is only 50, but it's only an indicator of how high its attack can get: with a beneficial nature (preferably an Adamant nature), perfect IVs and proper EV training its attack can reach a decent 218 at level 100, which will become a massive 436 when Huge Power is applied. Its base 100 HP stat and base 80 defensive stats provide it pretty decent bulk, too, so it is perfectly capable of taking a hit first - which it has to, because its speed is abominable. Its great offensive utility allows it to run pretty much every set possible: you can give it a Choice Band or an Assault Vest, whereas the Belly Drum/Sitrus Berry set is a very viable option as well. The latter makes Azumarill more of a late-game sweeper, and the STAB priority move Aqua Jet really helps it with that. As for moves, Azumarill has access to a wide variety of moves, which makes it pretty diverse. Aqua Jet, Waterfall and Play Rough are its main STAB moves, while Ice Punch, Superpower, Knock Off and Iron Tail might come in handy as well.

Pretty neat 3D model of Azumarill. 

If you are familiar with my blog, you already know I did a fairy mono-type playthrough. Azumarill - of course with Huge Power - was the Gen. II fairy (Clefable was the Gen. I one, Mawile Gen. III, Togekiss Gen. IV, Whimsicott Gen. V and Aromatisse Gen. VI) and I have to say it was a real MVP. I've definitely grown more fond of it over the years. And Marill... You have to love it only because of the temporary nickname it got before it was formally introduced: Pikablu. Even the Topps trading cards for the first movie erroneously refer to it as Pikablu, until it was changed to Marill in the second printing. Heh. Marill and Azumarill are pretty good, although I'm not a huge fan of their designs. Too oval-shaped for a bunch of rabbits, I guess. It's a shame they had to get a pre-evolution, although I have to be honest and say that Azurill is kinda cute.

Rating: 4/5

#175 - #176, #468: Togepi, Togetic & Togekiss

There is so much adorable Togepi fan art to be found on the
Internet that I had a hard time not to download everything of it.

So, there's this question about whether I think Togepi is a baby Pokémon or not. My answer is a whole-hearted 'NO!' In my opinion, baby Pokémon are pre-evolutions of certain Pokémon from previous generations (e.g. Smoochum was introduced in Gen. II and is the pre-evo of the Gen. I Pokémon Jynx, and Bonsly was introduced in Gen. IV and is the pre-evo of Sudowoodo, a Gen. II addition), which means they're pre-evolutions of Pokémon that used to be already in their most basic stage. However, Togepi was introduced in Gen. II alongside its evolution Togetic, and I just cannot see Togetic as a basic Pokémon. The same goes for Riolu and Lucario. I mean... sure, unlike their evolutions and unlike most basic Pokémon, baby Pokémon cannot breed and they all automatically belong to the 'Undiscovered' egg group, which technically makes Togepi and Riolu baby Pokémon as well. Still, I have a hard time considering them as such just for the reasons I mentioned above. Also - as many of you probably know by now - I don't like baby Pokémon. Most of them are useless and I just don't understand why Game Freak would want to add weaker forms of already existing Pokémon rather than stronger forms. Fortunately, this is not the case with Togepi and Togetic, and the latter even got an evolution in the fourth generation, Togekiss, so I dare say that there is plenty to discuss!

Misty's Togepi using Metronome.

Of course, most people know Togepi from the anime. In "Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon" (season 1, episode 46), Ash and his friends get attacked by - you guessed it - a couple of prehistoric Pokémon that were woken up by a few explosions as the result of a fossil hunt, and after Jigglypuff comes to their rescue, everybody falls asleep. Ash wakes up with an egg in his arms, and for a couple of episodes we were left with no clue whatsoever of what Pokémon the egg contained. In the 50th episode, "Who Gets to Keep Togepi?", the egg finally hatches into Togepi and - you guessed it again - a battle about who gets to keep it ensues. Personally, I was on Ash's side, because he basically found the egg and thus it was his, but Misty was the first person Togepi saw when it hatched and that's why it saw her as its 'mother'. From then on, Togepi became a permanent character and was seen in almost every episode until Misty left the show, often helping the friends out when a situation got really dire. Starting during the Orange Islands saga, it would use Metronome to cause big explosions and even produce defensive screens, unbeknownst to Ash, Misty and Tracey (and later Brock when he returned for the Johto saga).

Misty saying goodbye to her Togetic in "A Togepi Mirage!";
season 7, episode 5.

When Misty left the show in favor of May and Max when the Advanced Generation series arrived, Togepi disappeared from the small screen as well. However, in the second season of that series (the seventh season of the Pokémon anime overall) Misty and her Togepi are the center of a two-parter. In "The Princess and the Togepi", Misty is lured to a Togepi festival by a disguised Team Rocket and they guide her to the Mirage Kingdom, followed by Ash, Brock, May and Max, who realize that Misty is in trouble when they see the building from which they take off collapse. Upon arrival, Misty and the rest are attacked by Colonel Hansen, who is after Togepi. After they try to get away, Misty loses Togepi in the chaos and it is then found by Sara, the princess of the Mirage Kingdom. Soon after she shows Togepi to her parents, Misty barges in and demands her Togepi back. Just as Misty and the rest get ready to leave the Mirage Kingdom for their safety, they are attacked again by Hansen and, as a result of fleeing from him, end up in the Togepi Paradise. The story continues in the next episode, "A Togepi Mirage!", when Hansen breaks into the paradise and abducts Togepi in order to rule over the kingdom. He throws the true king in the dungeons and betrays Team Rocket, but Ash and his friends manage to free the king with the help of a vengeful Team Rocket and challenge Hansen once more. Just as Hansen is on the winning side, the Togepi break out of the paradise, which causes Misty's Togepi to evolve into Togetic. Hansen's Shedinja is defeated by a Flamethrower from Misty's Gyarados and after a tearful goodbye, Togetic stays behind to protect the paradise.

All's well that ends well.

Old (left) and new (right) official Sugimori art of Togetic.

Yeah, Togepi was definitely a memorable character and it is a shame that it isn't seen in the anime anymore (not counting any possible cemeos). Togepi was such an innocent little thing and I'm glad it was the center of a storyline in which its flavor becomes more apparent than ever: it exudes a relaxing aura from inside its shell that grows stronger when it is treated nicely, and it is always willing to share some of its energy with kind people, but when it comes near a human with an impure heart this energy quickly disappears. That's why many Togepi in the paradise were so exhausted: Colonel Hansen's presence weakened them because of his impurity. Togetic takes this happiness thing a step further and tends to shower kind-hearted persons with luck and happiness - this is called 'joy dust'. As it can sense someone's personality, it flies around the world seeking these people in order to share its happiness, but, like Togepi, becomes dispirited when it is surrounded by mean or foul people.

Awwww... Such a cute family picture! :D

This is where I start cooing about HOW FUCKING MUCH I LOVE THIS THING!!! Ever since the days of Gold and Silver I've been in love with Togetic, and for the longest time it used to be my second favorite Pokémon, until Luxray came along in 2007. Now, it sits at a solid third place, behind Luxray and Lugia, and I'm still not tired of this Pokémon. I mean, how could I ever get tired of Togetic? Look at it: it's so cute and happy, and I always wish this thing was real so I could give it a hug and never let go of it. That is how fucking much I love Togetic, goddammit! You'd think I was pissed when Togekiss was introduced in Diamond and Pearl, but that's not true at all. I don't dislike Togekiss by any means; on the contrary, I actually quite like it... just not as much as Togetic! Togekiss will never beat my love for its pre-evolution. I did use it in a fairy mono-type playthrough, but that's mainly because it can learn Aura Sphere and Air Slash, whereas Togetic cannot. Deep inside, I hated that I 'had to' evolve Togetic in order to gain a little move diversity that others on my team didn't have, even though Togekiss didn't disappoint me at all. But however strong and diverse Togekiss may be, Togetic will always be my little chick - and I mean chick as in 'baby bird'. Because that is what Togetic is probably based on, y'know.

A Togekiss among other flying types in the movie Pokémon:
Giratina and the Sky Warrior. 

And competitively? Togekiss, whose Pokédex entries don't differ much from its pre-evolutions', is a damn good competitive battler, if I may say so. Its special attack and special defense are off the charts, sitting at base 120 and 115, respectively. It even has some very decent defense and a good HP stat to boot, which makes Togetic quite the bulky Pokémon. That is why it is often used as an offensive and defensive Pokémon in one. Having natural bulk, Togekiss likes to make use of Heal Bell and Roost, which can cure any status condition and heals up Togekiss's HP by half, respectively. It has access to Nasty Plot (why it learns NASTY Plot is beyond me, with its flavor about luck and happiness and all, but I'm not complaining), which increases its special attack by two stages, and in order to attack it can use Air Slash. With its Serene Grace ability, which doubles the chance of additional effects occurring, Air Slash has a 60% chance to make the foe flinch each turn. That is excellent to get Togekiss gain momentum against slower and bulkier foes, because it isn't the fastest Pokémon out there. That's why a Timid nature is recommended, although you could also go for a Modest nature for more offense or a Calm or Bold nature for more defense. In the latter cases, Leftovers would only add to its bulk by healing a little of its HP every turn.

Yes, Togekiss is good, but when you slap an Eviolite on Togetic it will increase its defense by 50%. That's not bad either, because Togetic has some pretty good natural bulk. A Bold-natured Togetic with max HP and defense is often used as a Defogger - so that it can remove entry hazards such as Stealth Rock - and healer, while the Nasty Plot/Baton Pass combo isn't uncommon, either: Togetic can pass on the boost in its special attack to a stronger teammate.

This Togetic is pretty exhausted. Would there be a cold-hearted person around?

Togekiss. I'm sorry buddy, but you'll never be better than Togetic, at least not to me. Your pre-evolution is superior in everything and no evolution can exceed my love for Togetic. Ever. This happens more often than I'd like to, but yet again an evolution gets a lower score than its pre-evolution. Togetic is love, Togetic is life, and not even an evolution and a change in its typing (it went from normal/flying to fairy/flying in X and Y) was able to change my love for it.

Rating Togetic: 5/5

Rating Togekiss: 4.5/5