#307 - #308: Meditite & Medicham

Hoenn is home to some of the weirdest Pokémon in the franchise. Exploud is one of them, but Medicham is pretty fucking weird as well, with even a weirder Mega to boot. Fortunately, it's exactly the kind of weird that I like about Exploud, so prepare yourselves for some serious gushing and raving here.

Official art of Meditite, created by Ken Sugimori. I wish I could
say that I like it, but the onion-shaped head and curled ears are
actually a bit dumb. Also, its eyes are way out of proportion. 

First off, there's Meditite. Y'know, the mediocrity that is called a pre-evolution? That is to say, there are only a few pre-evos that appeal to me more than their final forms - Pikachu, Dragonair and Spheal, for example - and Meditite ain't one of them. Its flavor is quite original for a fighting-type Pokémon, though, and I like it well enough: Meditite usually sits in a yoga position, heightening its inner energy and spiritual power through meditation in order for it to levitate. In yoga, this position is called the Lotus position - or Padmāsana - and supposedly holds the mind completely steady for long periods of time and calms it. However, Meditite always loses its concentration and focus while meditating and thus its training never ends, keeping itself dedicatedly busy with rigorous meditation every day for hours on end. It only eats one berry per day as part of its spiritual training, as it is said that enduring hunger results in a tempered spirit and a sharper mind. Of course, these characteristics explain why Meditite also has the secondary psychic typing on top of its fighting type and why its only regular ability is Pure Power, which doubles its actual attack stat. It's basically Huge Power, but for weird humanoid yoga Pokémon - to this day, the ability is exclusive to Meditite and Medicham.

Medicham is ready to kick some ass! 

The latter of which is one of my favorite Pokémon for a reason, by the way. Instead of having an onion head, like Meditite, Medicham looks like it is wearing a turban - or at least some kind of Arabian headgear. It seems to be based on a couple of deities from the Hindu religion, of which meditation is a prominent aspect, but the bedlah pants and the headgear that resembles a shāl (shawl; compare the Dutch word sjaal, which means 'scarf') give Medicham the appearance of Arabian belly dancers, while the headpiece growth on top of its head resembles a ponytail that can be seen on Persian genies in American fiction. Its flavor is also a lot more interesting than Meditite: Medicham can harness great psychokinetic powers through the practice of meditation, because it has developed a sixth sense that allows it to predict the opponent's next move. To blend it with the belly dancer thing, Medicham battles with elegant, dance-like moves so that it can dodge attacks and launch devastating blows (which is no lie). By becoming one with nature, it can merge itself with its surroundings without much difficulty and vanish, only to focus on its meditation for more than a month without any food; in fact, the deprivation of food allows it to see its opponents' auras. Did you absorb that information? Medicham deprives itself of food to enhance its sixth sense, with which it can predict what its opponent is going to do in battles. In theory, Medicham should never lose or get hit, but of course that's not how it works - not even in the anime - and I bloody damn well know that.

I like how Mega Medicham is depicted as a hieroglyph, given the
fact that its most prominent features are derived from Arabic and
Persian culture.

That is not to say, however, that you shouldn't be cautious around Medicham. Its base 60 attack stat may not look like it's powerful, but its actual attack can reach 480 at level 100 when Pure Power is applied, along with other factors like IVs, EV training and a beneficial nature. Its speed is kind of subpar, but that could easily be fixed by giving it a Choice Scarf. A Choice Band might be an option to boost its ridiculous attack stat even further, although a Life Orb boosts all of its moves without locking it into only one move until you switch it out, because its movepool is way too good for that: aside from STAB High Jump Kick and STAB Zen Headbutt, Medicham also has access to excellent coverage moves like Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Rock Slide and Poison Jab, and even priority moves like Fake Out and Bullet Punch. Drain Punch is a STAB fighting-type move that heals Medicham for half the damage done to the target and is much more reliable than High Jump Kick, as the latter may be strong (130 power!) but takes away half of Medicham's health if it misses. Drain Punch is a safer alternative, but you could also use both at the same time and fill the remaining two moveslots with Zen Headbutt and a good coverage move that perfectly suits your needs for the upcoming battle.

Medicham is awesome.

Mega Medicham (left) and its shiny form (right). Medicham - and by extension its
Mega evolution - has one of the best shiny color palettes in the games. 

But wait a minute, wait a minute... I'm not done yet! Medicham has a Mega evolution that's even more awesome than its regular form. The shawl on its head has transformed into what's obviously a turban now, the harem pants have more accessories to them (look at them frills and beads!), and behind Mega Medicham itself now float four additional arms. These ghost-like arms were formed by Mega Medicham itself by using its enhanced willpower and are more realistic and dexterous the more trained its spirit is. However, not only Mega Medicham's spirit is enhanced, its power has gone through the roof as well! Base 100 attack would normally be nothing more than just good, but Medicham retains Pure Power upon Mega-evolving and can reach an attack stat of 656 when all the right factors are into play. That's only a little bit less than Mega Mawile's attack stat when Huge Power is in effect, but the only reason why Mega Medicham didn't end up in Ubers (Smogon's legendary tier) is because it isn't able to learn Swords Dance and Mega Mawile is. Moreover, Mega Medicham is relatively frail compared to Mega Mawile, even though its decent speed stat may rescue it from getting hit first from time to time.

Mega Medicham (left) in combat with one of the best Megas ever (Mega Aggron,
right). The former has a type advantage over the latter, but I hope Mega Aggron
is winning.

I love everything about Medicham, but I love its Mega the most. It's definitely one of the weirdest Pokémon Hoenn has to offer, and it has one of the most unique Gen. III designs. I fell in love with Medicham when I used one in an Omega Ruby playthrough. It one-shotted everything, although it had a Brave nature, so it was outsped by other Pokémon more often than not.

Not that it bothered me. Much.

Anyway, it won't surprise anybody that, after all this praise, I'm giving Medicham and its Mega a deserved rating of 5 more-than-perfect little stars. Big time.

Rating: 5/5

#296 - #297: Makuhita & Hariyama

Makuhita's official artwork, drawn by - who else? - Ken
Sugimori.

We start the new year with two sumo wrestler Pokémon. That is already really apparent in their designs and typing, but becomes especially apparent when you look at the fact that Makuhita and Makunoshita (マクノシタ) are a corruption of makushita, which is the third highest devision in sumo wrestling. Hariyama's name is a little more complicated than that; it may be based on hariyama, which is literally a pincushion but also the name of a sumo ranking, although its Japanese name of Hariteyama (ハリテヤマ) suggests that it is also most likely a combination of harite - an open-hand slap move in sumo - and yama ('mountain'). The latter doesn't surprise me, because when you look at Hariyama's in-game battle sprite in Gen. VI onwards, you'll find that it's actually a big boy - a very big boy indeed. It's not so big that its head isn't even seen on the upper screen of my 3DS (I am looking at you, Alolan Exeggutor), but I assume it has one of the biggest sprites in X, Y, Sun, Moon and ORAS. Trust me, I know, because I used one in my Omega Ruby playthrough and I remember being quite underwhelmed by it. That has nothing to do with its size and little with its excellent HP and attack stats, but more with the fact that Hariyama doesn't really feel like a legitimate Pokémon. More on that later.

You are not going to tell me Makuhita is only 3'03" tall. Max is, like, eight years old
and should at least be a couple of inches taller than Makuhita. 

Makuhita, then. This tenacious, tireless and feisty little thing never stops getting up and attacking its foe no matter how many times it's knocked down. Never giving up hope, Makuhita eats a lot of food, gets plenty of sleep and devotes itself to rigorous and strenuous training first thing in the morning by slamming its body into thick trees, turning them to splinters. Makuhita stores more and more energy in its body every time it gets back up and hereby prepares itself for evolution. In addition to all characteristics above, Makuhita got a Pokédex entry in Sun that thoroughly confuses me: "It was originally brought in from another region, but now Makuhita from Alola are more famous." Huh? What do wild Makuhita in Alola do - besides charging at you when you enter the tall grass - to become so famous? This Pokémon didn't get an Alola Forme; that feature is reserved for a handful of Kanto Pokémon only, and Makuhita is from Hoenn. Or are they more notorious than they are famous? Unfortunately, the Pokédex doesn't bother explaining and we're left in the dark as to why the hell Makuhita from Alola get more attention than those in Hoenn.

Did an NPC in Sun and Moon mention something about it? Did I miss it?

Big bad Hariyama.

Ugh, I'm probably pondering too much over that one particular Pokédex entry. It's time to get a move on and proceed with Hariyama, Makuhita's evolution. It may look like a fat-ass, but its body consists mostly of muscles - which become hard as stone when its body tenses - as opposed to fat. Hariyama likes to match power with other big-bodied Pokémon and can stomp the ground to build power, while its powerful open-handed and straight-arm punches cause 10-ton trucks to be sent flying and telephone poles to be smashed to smithereens. Its powerful arms can even stop running trains. Like Makuhita, Hariyama dedicates a lot of time and effort into its own training, but as it grows older it focuses more on training Makuhita.

A more 'realistic' depiction of Hariyama, showing a sumo
wrestling stance (well, kind of) and a more muscular body. 

While Makuhita and Hariyama's Pokédex entries talk about sturdy bodies and hard-as-stone muscles, these Pokémon are surprisingly frail. Well, Hariyama has a beefy base HP stat of 144 that enables it to live a couple of hits, but its base defense and special defense are both a mediocre 60, meaning a strong hit will leave a respectable dent in its health bar. That can be solved by giving Hariyama an Assault Vest to hold in order to boost its special defense by 50% and make it a specially bulky physical attacker with resistances to fire and ice due to its ability Thick Fat. Hariyama is slow, so an attack-boosting nature like Adamant is the better option for you, allowing it to hit hard with a wide variety of physical moves. Its fighting type makes Close Combat a move to watch out for, but remember that this move lowers both of Hariyama's defensive stats every time it is used. On the flip side, Hariyama has access to many more moves for you to use: Earthquake, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Poison Jab, Iron Head and the elemental punches provide some excellent coverage (Poison Jab is especially handy against fairy types, to which Hariyama is weak), while Knock Off allows it to knock off the opposing Pokémon's item and Bullet Punch and Fake Out could be considered for some decent priority.

That's not all, though: Guts is an ability that increases Hariyama's attack by 50% when it suffers from a status condition, so you could give it a Flame Orb or Toxic Orb instead. However, this tactic wears it down relatively easy - the same goes for a Life Orb - so only use it when you know what you're doing. A safer alternative might be a Choice Band, but this item locks Hariyama into one single move until it is switched out. At least it leaves room for you to choose either of Hariyama's regular abilities. And while its hidden ability Sheer Force, which removes the added effects of moves in exchange for a little more power, might sound good, you'll find that it's not as useful on Hariyama as on any other Pokémon with the same ability; there are only a few moves that benefit from it and none of them are STAB moves.

A wallpaper focusing on Hariyama's features rather than its entire design. 

Like I said earlier in my review, I was left quite underwhelmed by Hariyama's battle prowess. It's not like it had a low attack IV or something, and its HP stat didn't leave it all that vulnerable either, but I guess I wasn't looking forward to using this thing. I had a Sceptile with an Adamant nature, a Cosplay Pikachu (Pikachu Belle with Icicle Crash), a big-ass whale and a shiny Swellow on the same squad, so Hariyama ultimately ended up being the one Pokémon I didn't use all that often. And while I don't have a problem with humanoid Pokémon as a whole, Hariyama is just a little bit too humanoid to my taste. Makuhita and its top-notch topknot don't face that problem and I'd even dare say it's kind of cute. It's such a shame, because the concept of sumo wrestler Pokémon ain't a bad one by any means and Hariyama isn't a bad Pokémon to use, either. I'm just... not as charmed by it as I probably should be, I guess? I'm sorry, even with the best will in the world I can't give it a good rating.

Rating: 2.5/5

#285 - #286: Shroomish & Breloom

Damn. It's so weird going back to Gen. III when you've spent so much time hanging out with all kinds of brand new Pokémon...

Official art of Shroomish.

Anyway, today's Pokémon are Shroomish and Breloom, who are obviously mushroom Pokémon. Shroomish seems to be a very basic Pokémon at that, being only a mushroom with a face and little feet. That's pretty much all there is to this thing, aside from the fact that it has a very toxic defense mechanism: when it senses danger, it shakes its body to scatter toxic spores from the top of its head, and these spores can make trees and weeds wilt and cause whole body pain in humans if inhaled. The fact that it likes to live in and feed on compost made of rotten leaves doesn't help its cause, either. Fortunately, this disgusting little thing evolves fairly early on in Breloom, a hybrid of a mushroom and a kangaroo, although the shape of its head and tail resemble the body structures of certain armored dinosaurs, specifically ankylosaurs and pachycephalosaurs. Yeah, Breloom is as weird as it sounds. However, we all know that fighting is common in almost all species of kangaroos and that these excellent brawlers wield a fighting style reminiscent to boxing. While Breloom may have short arms and awkward feet, its fighting technique is equal to that of professional boxers (Ruby's Pokédex entry even states this technique puts pro boxers to shame). Its short arms can be stretched by Breloom in order to deliver fast punches, and its light and springy footwork allows it to get close to opponents. Breloom doesn't shy away from a little cheating, however, as it uses the holes in its cap to release spores that can incapitate opponents, allowing it to close in on them.

Breloom taking a stance reminiscent to dinosaurs. I think it's a
pretty cool piece of fan art! 

Which, by the way, is exactly the technique it uses in competitive play: residing in OU, the Smogon tier with Pokémon that are used the most, Breloom has access to a combination of moves and abilities that make it a force to be reckoned with. Shroomish learns Spore by level-up, which is a perfectly accurate move (not counting evasion boosts on the opponent or accuracy drops on Breloom) that puts the opponent to sleep and is exclusive to only mushroom Pokémon, meaning Parasect, Breloom, Amoonguss, Shiinotic and their pre-evolutions. Of course, Smeargle can learn it through Sketch, but let's not go there right now. Because Breloom has access to Bullet Seed, which deals 25 damage a pop for a minimum of two times and a maximum of five times, and the 40-power priority fighting-type move Mach Punch, it should have the Technician ability. This ability boosts moves of 60 base power or less by 50% and is great in combination with the moves I just mentioned. Grass/fighting is an awesome combination only resisted by uncommon types like poison and bug, and with a Swords Dance up Breloom hits like a fucking truck. Technician is better than Effect Spore, which has a 30% chance of paralyzing or poisoning the opponent or putting them to sleep when they make direct contact with Breloom, or even Poison Heal, which heals Breloom a little each turn rather than damaging it when it's poisoned. If you want power over priority, you can use Force Palm over Mach Punch instead (no one does that, though), whereas Swords Dance isn't all that necessary and can be replaced by a coverage move like Rock Tomb, especially when Breloom is holding a Life Orb and has an Adamant nature. This nature is often run over a Jolly one due to Breloom's mediocre base speed of 70, putting emphasis on Breloom's power (base 130 attack!) instead.

"Are you okay, sweetie? You look so angry."

Breloom is an interesting Pokémon, but I feel like it wants to be a zillion different things at the same time, even though it doesn't particularly have a busy design going on. Hybrids are not uncommon in the Pokémon franchise, but when you're trying to stuff at least three things that normally have nothing to do with each other in one design, you gotta watch out a little. Breloom is a solid Pokémon with a solid typing and a solid position in Smogon's competitive scene, but it's not one of my favorites.

Whew! I sure missed 'criticizing' Pokémon like that, goddamn!

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

#255 - #257: Torchic, Combusken & Blaziken

From an incredibly badass plant lizard we move on to... an oversized chicken. An awesome oversized chicken, that is.

Awww, our cute little chickie!

Of course, every oversized chicken starts off as a chick. Torchic is the perfectly adorable starter Pokémon, and like we can expect from a chick it follows its Trainer with an unsteady gait. It keeps a flame somewhere in its belly that causes it to feel warm when it is hugged, which - in combination with its own fluffy coat - will give its Trainer a warm feeling indeed. When Torchic is attacked, it will shoot fireballs with a temperature up to 1,800°F resulting from above-mentioned internal flame. It should be mentioned that Torchic's Japanese name is Achamo (アチャモ), which is derived from the shamo, a breed of chicken once bred and raised for cockfights. As Torchic evolves into Combusken, it gains the fighting type, which set the tone for Game Freak to create Gen. IV and Gen. V fire/fighting starters as well. Maybe they noticed Blaziken's overwhelming popularity and decided to build from there, but by the time Emboar was announced, everybody had come to hate new fire/fighting starters tremendously. I mean, you can pull off the same trick twice in a row, but three times? No. And let's be frank here: a skinny ape and a fat boar aren't quite as impressive as an oversized chicken that beats the crap out of everybody, right? (Yes, I know the phrase 'oversized chicken' has a negative connotation to it, but I don't mean it that way, I swear.)

Pretty cool fan art of Combusken, who seems to be sparring
with Braixen. 

But Torchic and its evolutions are not only based on the shamo chicken. There's a creature in Japanese mythology called the basan - or, alternatively, the basabasa or inuhōō - which is a fowl-like bird that resembles a large chicken and breathes a cold, ghostly fire. The only difference, of course, is that Torchic and its evolutions produce scorching hot flames... Anyway, let's continue with Combusken, a Pokémon that is so engrossed in training every day that its powerful legs can dish out up to ten kicks per second. Combusken is noisy while it fights, producing sharp cries that distract and intimidate its opponent and boost its own confidence and concentration. As a Blaziken, its legs have developed and muscled up so much that it can use techniques Combusken cannot, such as Blaze Kick and High Jump Kick. What's more, its legs are actually so powerful that they allow Blaziken to leap over 30-story buildings. However, not only its kicks are devastating; its punches are also very dangerous, and that's because of the white-hot flames that come out of its wrists, which burn more intensely the tougher the foe is and leave them scorched and blackened. Blaziken even has a Mega evolution, who hones the power of its kicks and even experiences a burning feeling from the friction of the surrounding atmosphere as it unleashes a flurry of savage kicks. As Mega Blaziken's body temperature increases, its power and speed continue to ramp up.

Blaziken as seen in Pokkén Tournament.

In that regard, the Speed Boost ability is quite fitting on (Mega) Blaziken, but when I take a look at its moves I'm surprised it didn't get Reckless. It's an ability that boosts the power of recoil moves by 20%, and moves like High Jump Kick, Brave Bird and Flare Blitz would greatly benefit from it. Speed Boost ain't bad though, and when a hidden ability Blaziken Mega-evolves, it retains that ability. That, in combination with a potential Swords Dance and Blaziken's formidable attacking stats, makes both Blaziken and its Mega form so incredibly powerful that they were bundled off to Smogon's Uber tier. Both can be used as mixed attackers, but they lean more towards a physical moveset, especially when you consider they have easy access to Swords Dance. Blaziken's physical movepool is also extensive to such an extent that a special moveset would be stretching it. I mean, you can run Overheat or Fire Blast instead of - or next to - Flare Blitz, just because the latter deals so much recoil damage to Blaziken, but aside from that a late-game Swords Dance sweep is very much preferable. Just note that you need to let Blaziken carry a Blazikenite when you want to Mega-evolve it, but that a Life Orb or Choice Band would suffice if you don't. And because you're running Speed Boost on Blaziken by default (ain't nobody want to use the Blaze ability; this ability fires up fire-type moves when Blaziken gets below 33% health, but it doesn't have the defenses to make good use of it), you can just slap an Adamant nature on it, no problem. You can even give it the move Protect, so you can get a free speed increase.

Amazing fan art of Mega Blaziken. Yes, the fire 'ribbons' on its wrist are part of
its design. 

Yup, Blaziken is a monster and a fan favorite, and the fact that it got a Mega before Sceptile and Swampert only supports that statement. I always ended up choosing either Treecko or Torchic as my Hoenn starter, just because I thought their final evos were awesome (they still are). Sceptile is still my favorite starter Pokémon ever, but I love Blaziken as well and I certainly think it deserves a perfect rating.

Next up is Swampert. Oh man, you gotta love the Hoenn starters!

Rating: 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

#150: Mewtwo

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

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

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

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

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

The official poster for the first Pokémon movie.

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

This creepy piece of Mewtwo fan art is
awesome!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rating: 4.5/5

#236, #106 - #107, #237: Tyrogue, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan & Hitmontop

Official Sugimori art of Tyrogue, the pre-evolution of Hitmonlee,
Hitmonchan and Hitmontop.

In Gen. I, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan were two seemingly unrelated Pokémon with completely different movepools. One generation later, they both got the same pre-evolution, Tyrogue, and another brother (probably from another mother) to boot. Whereas baby Pokémon are mostly useless in my opinion, Tyrogue has one nice shtick: it is able to evolve into three different Pokémon (one per Tyrogue, of course), which is more than any other Pokémon aside from Eevee. It actually makes Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan related, something that wasn't really clear in Red, Blue and Yellow, mainly because they look different from each other and have completely different movepools: Hitmonlee focuses on kicking moves, while Hitmonchan specializes in punching moves. The second generation even saw the introduction of another evolution alongside Tyrogue: Hitmontop. This means you can choose from three different Tyrogue evolutions to use, and that is exactly what a baby Pokémon should be used for (the only other useful one is Pichu, who can learn the exclusive move Volt Tackle through breeding). Unfortunately, most baby Pokémon are useless and don't have anything to add to their already existing basic forms. I know I've said this a million times already, but I just can't emphasize it enough.

The Hitmon family, consisting of (clockwise
starting from the left) Tyrogue, Hitmonchan,
Hitmonlee and Hitmontop. 

Combat-wise, though, Tyrogue is far from useful. No surprises there, as it is a baby Pokémon and baby Pokémon are generally not really useful in battle, anyway. Maybe that's why this little rascal is always bursting with energy, challenging everyone (even larger foes) to become stronger. Because it is determined to do so, Tyrogue will not quit no matter how many times it loses, often nursing its injuries as a result of that. It even becomes stressed if it won't be able to exercise every single day, which is why its Trainer should establish and maintain a regular training schedule. Tyrogue will be happy, because all of this training will pay off quickly when it evolves at level 20. When its attack is higher than its defense, it will evolve into Hitmonlee; when its defense is higher than its attack, it will evolve into Hitmonchan; and when its attack and defense are the same, it will evolve into Hitmontop. This suggests that you'll get one of those three at random, but you'll be able to manipulate that by giving Tyrogue certain vitamins (Proteins when you want Hitmonlee, Irons when you want Hitmonchan, and both if you want Hitmontop) or grinding Tyrogue up to level 20 while battling Pokémon that give off attack or defense EVs. This sounds complicated, but it's not if you know what you're doing. Even if you don't, you'll get at least one of Tyrogue's three evolutions, and all three of them work out differently in competitive play.

The first is Hitmonlee (whose name is derived from Bruce Lee), who may be the personification of kickboxing and the martial art taekwondo, as it specializes in kicking moves. In fact, Hitmonlee's legs act like a coiled spring, which allows it to run with lengthy strides and gives it greater reach for its kicks due to its flexibility, while its excellent sense of balance enables it to launch lethal successive kicks from any position, especially since the sole of Hitmonlee's foot turns as hard as diamond upon impact. It's a little unsettling Hitmonlee looks like blemmyae or βλέμμυες, headless men in Greek mythology who have their facial features on their chests, but otherwise it's just a cool and strong Pokémon.

TCG art of Hitmonlee.

So it won't come as a surprise that Hitmonlee has a great attack stat that it can use to easily OHKO opponents. Too bad its speed is a little average, but that can be fixed by using a Jolly-natured Hitmonlee with invested speed EVs and a Choice Scarf as a hold item, even though an Adamant nature and/or a Life Orb can be used for a little extra power, especially in combination with Reckless. This ability powers up moves that cause recoil or crash damage, like its staple move High Jump Kick. Limber prevents paralysis but is situational, while Unburden doubles Hitmonlee's speed when its held item is lost (usually a Berry). In combination with a Liechi Berry, which raises its attack in a pinch, and the moves Endure and Reversal, this makes for a great late-game sweep. Otherwise just go with Reckless and the moves High Jump Kick, Knock Off, Stone Edge and Close Combat, while moves like Mach Punch (to make a move first), Bullet Punch (see Mach Punch), Rapid Spin (to remove entry hazards) and other strong coverage moves like Blaze Kick, Poison Jab and Earthquake are also viable options.

The second Tyrogue evolution is Hitmonchan (whose name is derived from Jackie Chan) and is the personification of boxing. This becomes apparent when looking at the color of its gloves in its normal (red boxing gloves) and shiny coloration (blue boxing gloves), which is refers to the red and blue corners in boxing. Also, Hitmonchan is said to be possessed by the spirit of a pro boxer working towards a championship, and it needs a break after three minutes of fighting, which is a reference to the duration of rounds in boxing as well. But when Hitmonchan fights, it does so incredibly efficiently: its punches are so fast that they can't bee seen with the naked eye and even a slight graze of one of them can cause a burn. By punching with a corkscrew motion, Hitmonchan is even capable of drilling through concrete.

Hitmonchan's official art.

Despite its characteristics, Hitmonchan isn't as strong as Hitmonlee. However, it makes up for that with an excellent ability: Iron Fist, which powers up punching moves by 20%. And Hitmonchan learns A TON of useful punching moves, including Mach Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Bullet Punch, Drain Punch and even Focus Punch (works best in conjunction with Substitute). Forget about Inner Focus and don't even mention Keen Eye; Iron Fist is the number one ability to go with. Unfortunately, Hitmonchan is slower and slightly weaker than Hitmonlee, which is compensated by a better defense stat, hence its evolution method. The fact that it is capable of taking at least one physical-based hit means that the Substitute/Focus Punch combo is a viable option, but mostly you'll be better off with Drain Punch (which is STAB and heals HP), Mach Punch, Ice Punch and another move like Rapid Spin, Bullet Punch or Close Combat. As it's not fast anyway, an Adamant nature and a Life Orb or Fist Plate are more than fine to use. In that regard, Hitmonchan is quite the predictable Pokémon, which isn't even a bad thing considering its current moveset in combination with its Iron Fist ability is extremely effective.

TCG art of Hitmontop.

The last evolution of Tyrogue is Hitmontop, introduced alongside Tyrogue in Gen. II, one generation later than Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. Based on a top and probably the personification of the Brazilian martial art capoeira, Hitmontop moves more quickly by spinning on the spike on its head than it does by walking normally. Capable of spinning at high speeds, it delivers smooth and graceful kicks and may even bore into the ground similar to a drill. Its spinning technique is an offensive as well as a defensive mechanism, which manifests itself through its evolution method and its stats: the fact that Tyrogue's attack and defense must be equal in order for it to evolve into Hitmontop is akin to how a top must be in equilibrium to remain upright. As for Hitmontops stats, its attack and defense are exactly the same. This actually coincides with its evolution method, something that didn't really apply to Hitmonchan, as Hitmonchan's attack is still higher than its defense. There is an explanation for that, though: Hitmonchan was one of the first 151 Pokémon, while Tyrogue's evolution method wasn't introduced until the second generation.

GIF of Hitmontop spinning. 

Hitmontop's equal attack and defense stats make room for a more defensive take on the Hitmon family, even though its close-to-terrible HP makes an all-out defensive approach nigh impossible. Nigh, not entirely. Run an Impish-natured Hitmontop with Intimidate (lowers the opponent's attack stat by one stage), invest EVs in HP and Defense, and make its moveset consist of Close Combat, Rapid Spin, Foresight and Toxic. Foresight is used to hit ghost-type Pokémon with Rapid Spin, who would otherwise be immune to it as it is a normal-type move, but if you want a more offensive move for type coverage, Earthquake and Stone Edge are viable options as well. Mach Punch is an excellent STAB priority move, while Fake Out can be used when you have just switched in to Hitmontop (otherwise the move will fail) and want the opponent to flinch and receive a little damage first. An all-out offensive Hitmontop isn't unheard of either, especially combined with its ability Technician (which powers up moves with a base power of 60 or lower by 50%) and the moves Mach Punch, Fake Out and/or Bullet Punch, but I recommend leaving that to Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan.

That's what I like about the Hitmon family, anyway: all three of them are so completely different in their battle techniques and their flavor. Taekwondo, boxing and capoeira are all completely different fighting sports and I think it's great that these Pokémon are based on them, even though I hate sports in general. Personally, I would like to use Hitmonchan once, just because it is more diverse in its movepool than its two counterparts. But that medieval bowl cut, Hitmontop? Not done. Absolutely not done.

Rating: 4/5