#109 - #110: Koffing & Weezing

Some ancient official art of Koffing.

Jesus CHRIST, am I glad I get to review a Pokémon I actually like after the disaster that is called Lickilicky!

Koffing and Weezing are the last of 33 poison types in the Kanto Pokédex (they even outnumber water types in this generation), but are they the best? They are some of the most disgusting, that's for sure, as they are the personification of air pollution. As a matter of fact, Koffing and Weezing were originally known as Ny and La in the Red and Blue bèta. These names obviously represented the air-polluted metropolises of New York City and Los Angeles, respectively, although I guess they can't be as bad as Beijing. Instead, the translators went with Koffing and Weezing, which are corruptions of coughing and wheezing, as you usually do when inhaling toxic gases. Additionally, Koffing and Weezing share traits with two other poison-type evolution lines, namely Grimer and Muk (based on water pollution) and Trubbish and Garbodor (based on land pollution).

Koffing (above) and Weezing (below) in the Pokémon
anime series. 

Koffing is all about air pollution, though. This kind of pollution is probably the most well-known and most serious kind, due to the emission of high concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) by numerous factories and cars all over the world, and more. Koffing is the personification of that kind of pollution, as it is able to create gases within its body by mixing toxins with garbage. These gases are lighter than air, allowing Koffing to hover, and they're so malodorous and unhealthy that they cause sniffles, coughs and teary eyes to those around it. If Koffing becomes agitated, it will increase the toxicity of its eternal and expels them from all over its body. It produces more gas when it's hot, but when too many kinds of gas are mixed up at too high a temperature, they will expand and cause its thin, balloon-like body to explode. Apparently, it takes many years for two Koffing to form a Weezing when two gases pool (of course, leveling up Koffing to level 35 will suffice in the games). Each of Weezing's heads contains a different toxin, which Weezing mixes by inflating one head and deflating the other. When these gases mix (and when Weezing feeds on dust, germs and gases emitted by rotted kitchen garbage and toxic waste, for that matter) it becomes more toxic and putrid, but unlike Koffing's gases, Weezing's can actually be used to make top-grade perfumes by diluting them to the highest level.

Some amazing realistic fan art of Koffing expelling its poisonous
gases.

In short, Koffing and Weezing are dangerous Pokémon you should not be around with if you don't want to choke on highly noxious gases. It's a nice touch to match Koffing and Weezing's level-up movepool (e.g. Poison Gas, Smog, Smokescreen, Haze, Clear Smog, Self-Destruct, Explosion) with their flavor. Seriously though, having these Pokémon be based on air pollution, Trubbish and Garbodor completing the pollution 'cycle' in the fifth generation, is a very subtle way to bring pollution to the attention of people, which may make them aware of it. Whether this was really Game Freaks intention or not (personally, I think they just wanted to come up with some really original ideas), it is probably a slightly ineffective way to do so all the same, as children really don't care about it and just want to use these awesome creatures to proceed through the game. While Weezing definitely isn't the most popular out of all existing Pokémon, it is undoubtedly the most popular pollution Pokémon (poor Garbodor is hated on by practically everybody), being one of the original 151 along with Grimer and Muk and the most defensive one.

Weezing in the anime series, emitting its extremely toxic gases.

And that great defense stat, usually exploited by using a Weezing with a Bold nature, makes this Pokémon very useful in competitive play, combined with its ability to badly cripple its foes. It does that by burning them with Will-O-Wisp, poisoning them by setting up Toxic Spikes or damaging them while gaining some HP back with Pain Split. That last move adds the current HP of the user and the target, divides that value by two and sets the HP of both Pokémon to that result. It's tricky to use, but used correctly it's a good way to regain some health back, not to mention it is actually the only way to do that besides giving either Black Sludge or Leftovers to Weezing as a held item. Black Sludge is the better option, as it only heals poison types and hurts Pokémon of other types; and if some Pokémon or other uses Trick or Switcheroo, it will hurt it instead of heal it. As for the other slot in Weezing's moveset, it should use either Sludge Bomb or Flamethrower, despite its attack being slightly higher than its special attack.

Wait, what? I never knew that; I thought its special attack was much higher than its attack stat! Goddamn, reviewing every single Pokémon can be rather surprising sometimes...

More weird Weezing fan art, just for the hell of it.

Anyway, you can even drop Toxic Spikes and add both moves, because Flamethrower hits steel types whereas Sludge Bomb does not, and Will-O-Wisp gives the opposing Pokémon a status condition anyway. Clear Smog and Haze are options to reset all stat levels of the target to 0, which prevents the opponent from setting up. Clear Smog can be used to damage the foe as well, but it doesn't work on steel types, while Haze is actually able to do so but doesn't do any damage. Lastly, Weezing's ability Levitate makes it get rid of a pesky weakness to a very common type, the ground type, which makes its only weakness the psychic type.

All in all, I quite like Weezing, although it doesn't really appeal to me as much as Muk and Garbodor do. And yes, I do actually like Garbodor. Don't hate on me. Long story short, Weezing gets a well-deserved rating of 3.5 stars, just half a star lower than Muk and probably Garbodor, too.

P.S.: Did you know that Smogon, the premier website specializing in the art of competitive battling, is actually named after Koffing's German name?

Rating: 3.5/5

#92 - #94: Gastly, Haunter & Gengar

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

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

Gastly.

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

Awesomely eerie fan art of (shiny?) Haunter. 

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

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

Official art of Mega Gengar by Ken Sugimori.

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

ISN'T SHINY MEGA GENGAR BEAUTIFUL???

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

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

Rating: 4.5/5

#88 - #89: Grimer & Muk

Official art of Grimer by Ken Sugimori. Look at the poor thing;
it's extending its arms because it wants a hug!

Is it possible to love a pile of sludge?

Oh, heck yes. Yes, it is.

Everything about Grimer and Muk's flavor is just fucking gross, but I have to admit that their designs are pretty original. Many Pokémon are based off of real-life animals, and their flavor often matches their real-life counterpart as well. Grimer and Muk, however, are a bit more unrealistic. They're imaginative, capable in battles and absolutely disgusting, and that's exactly why I like them. What I like most, though, is the fact that they might be based on the fear that the improper disposal of toxic and/or nuclear waste may result in the creation of new life forms. And let's be real here: pollution is a serious issue in real life. Apparently, pollution is also a problem in the Pokémon world, because Grimer was born when sludge from a dirty stream was exposed to X-rays from the moon. It thrives on polluted wastewater that is pumped out of the same factories that polluted the waters it was born from, and that caused it to be a pungent cesspool of bacteria that are so potent that it renders the soil it moves on incapable of ever supporting plant life again. It is constantly oozing a germ-infected fluid from its body; when a piece of it breaks off, new Grimer will emerge from them, and when two Grimer merge, new poisons are created.

While Grimer looks kinda cute, to some extent, Muk is probably a thing you'll want to
stay away from.

And Grimer's evolution is even worse. Muk doesn't even have to steamroll over plants to instantly kill them: being in the close vicinity of plants is enough for Muk to make them wilt and die. Within seconds. Even briefly touching it can make you incredibly ill, and one tiny drop from its body can turn a lake stagnant and rancid. Like Grimer, Muk can be found in sewers and heavily polluted bodies of water, and therefore it is often believed to be the personification of water pollution, while Koffing and Weezing are based on air pollution and Trubbish and Garbodor are based on land pollution. Game Freak gave these real-life problems a nice touch by actually turning them into 'living' things to fight with.

Muk's official art.

And Muk isn't even bad at that, to be honest. It is not the world's greatest battler, but its massive HP, excellent attack stat and good special defense makes it a good offensive and moderately bulky Pokémon. Except when there are Move Tutors to fall back on mid-game, Muk is not a particularly good in-game Pokémon to use (its level-up movepool, barring Gunk Shot, is absolutely terrible, as it mainly learns special attacks while it's a physical attacker), but it makes for a decent competitive NU Pokémon. It is inferior to Garbodor when it comes to setting up entry hazards, but it has a more diverse direct-damage movepool: Poison Jab works great in conjunction with its hidden ability Poison Touch (which has a chance to poison an opponent when it hits Muk or when Muk hits it with a direct attack), the elemental punches provide great type coverage, Shadow Sneak is an interesting move that gives it some priority but isn't very strong, and Brick Break and Rock Slide aren't bad choices to consider giving Muk either. Let it hold an Assault Vest (which raises its already potent special defense by 50%, but requires it to use only attacking moves) or a Choice Band (which raises its already high attack stat by 50%, but requires it to choose only one move until it switches out) and you'll have a bulky Pokémon that also packs a punch. No pun intended. And as it isn't very fast to begin with, an attack-beneficial nature like Brave or Adamant is the right nature to go with.

Muk is actually just a weird, shapeless blob. This interpretation of Muk looks like it
comes straight out of an R.L. Stine novel. 

Other than maybe Trubbish and Garbodor, I don't think you'll come across more repulsive Pokémon than Grimer and Muk. I absolutely loved it when I used it in a Black 2 playthrough, and its effectiveness made me get an affection for this thing that has never gone away. I think it's deserving of the 4-star rating I'm giving it, no matter how much it is hated on by many others.

Rating: 4/5

#72 - #73: Tentacool & Tentacruel

A Tentacool swimming in the sea, with a Tentacruel in its wake.

Tentacool. The Zubat of the Seas. This little pest is the bane of my existence.

I think I need to explain myself.

Yes, I did say I don't mind Zubat. I also did say to just slap a Repel on and get the area done as quickly as possible if Zubat annoys you so much. But the thing is that I actually like caves to some extent, whereas I absolutely HATE water routes. Caves get you from one room to another, giving you the feeling you're actually making progress, but the vast sea somehow gets me pissed off every fucking time I have to cross it. I constantly get lost because the sea always looks the same no matter where I'm at, while in a cave there are some places you can recognize by cliffs, the position of rocks, and even small ponds and lagoons. I'll gladly take the huge amount of wild Zubat if it means I can explore a cave without getting frustrated.

Back to water routes: Hoenn has the worst ones. No kidding there... out of all regions, this region also has the most water routes; the Hoenn sea is so vast! Johto is a close second, though; not because I think its only sea is so overly big, but because the two (connecting) water routes require you to maneuver between the Whirl Islands, of which there are four. Indeed, there are four different entrances to a big underwater cave (and entering all of them are necessary if you want to explore the whole cave) and that's exactly the reason why this cave is the only one I actually despise, in any core-series Pokémon game ever. But whether you are in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn or Sinnoh, you'll always find that their water routes have something in common: Tentacool is the most common Pokémon you'll find on the water, hence I named it the Zubat of the Seas. Heck, Tentacool is the equivalent of water, because its body is composed of 99% of the goddamn stuff...

Yes, I know I can slap a Repel on when I'm at sea, but let me have this rant about water routes, okay? Like, shut up.

A huge-ass Tentacruel completely demolishing a city in the
anime episode "Tentacool and Tentacruel"; season 1, episode 19.
Due to its content, the episode was temporarily banned after the
events of 9/11, until Cartoon Network began airing the series.

Anyway. You know who also thinks Tentacool is a pest? Nastina, a resident of an seaside city in the anime called Porta Vista, who wants to build a hotel for the wealthy right on top of a coral reef inhabited by Tentacool. Nastina (which is indeed derived from 'nasty'; she also has a cousin called Brutella, go figure) offers a million-dollar reward to anyone who can exterminate the Tentacool, as the jellyfish Pokémon are constantly attacking the construction site and everything and everyone related to it, because it is destroying their natural environment. Naturally, when Team Rocket hear of the reward, they try to eradicate the Tentacool with some device. They are surrounded and attacked, however, and the device lands on the head of a Tentacool who then evolves into a Tentacruel more than a hundred times its usual size. From then on, the demolition is complete. The gigantic Tentacruel, accompanied by its fellow Tentacool, goes and destroys the city, using Meowth as a mouthpiece to make their intentions and objections known. Only pleas from Misty could make it stop and return to the sea.

I'll never forget that episode.

Official Ken Sugimori art of Tentacruel.

That episode is not the only interesting thing about Tentacruel, though. It is actually also a competent competitive Pokémon. It is a fast special tank that is often used for support and defense rather than offense, as its attacking stats are decent but nothing to write home about. Therefore, most EVs are invested in its speed, HP and special defense, and sometimes even in its mediocre defense stat combined with max HP. This is necessary for Tentacruel to endure the battle as long as it possibly can, so that it can set up with Toxic Spikes and Scald (an attacking move that has a chance to burn the foe), remove the opponent's entry hazards with Rapid Spin and remove the opponent's Pokémon's items with Knock Off. Toxic is for flying types, who are immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, whereas Sludge Bomb and/or Acid Spray provide for good STAB moves. The latter even harshly lowers the foe's special defense stat, which might give Tentacruel the chance to knock it out or forces the opponent to switch out. Its ability Liquid Ooze is the preferred ability, making the foe lose HP rather than gain HP when it uses an HP-draining move like Giga Drain, Drain Punch or even Leech Seed. Rain Dish heals Tentacruel when it's raining and Clear Body prevents its stats from being lowered, but neither is worth the hassle. For an in-game Tentacruel is doesn't matter, but such a Tentacruel is more offensive, anyway. It is versatile enough: teach it Sludge Bomb (and later on Sludge Wave), Surf, Ice Beam and Dazzling Gleam and you'll have a perfect Tentacruel.

I love Tentacruel, especially because of that 'spectacular' episode of the anime. Could you even imagine how more fearsome this thing would look like when it's showing off all of its tentacles? That's right, Tentacruel might have up to 80 tentacles, but most of them are hidden, leaving only 14 of them exposed. If that doesn't make you shudder, then I don't know what does.

Rating: 4.5/5

#69 - #71: Bellsprout, Weepinbell & Victreebel

TCG art of Bellsprout.

I was going to make a joke about how Bellsprout's Pokédex number fits it perfectly, but on second thought I think that would have been highly inappropriate.

Shit, I did it, didn't I?

But all joking aside, Bellsprout's only distinctive trait is that it is based off of carnivorous pitcher plants, which is not an uninteresting thing to work with. To find anything interesting, however, we should take a look at its evolutions, Weepinbell and Victreebel, because all Bellsprout can do is prey on bugs and stick its root-like feet in the ground to absorb water and be stuck there. Even Weepinbell behaves much like a real-life pitcher plant does: it camouflages itself to await its prey, sprays pollen to paralyze them, and melts them with its internal acids, which it neutralizes to prevent its own acid fluids from melting its own body. When its victims don't fit in its gigantic mouth, it slices them up with the razor-sharp leaves it has for hands. That is kinda gross, but I'm starting to get a little disappointed there. It looks like Bellsprout and Weepinbell are just alternatives to Oddish and Gloom, and worse ones at that, too.

Dumb-looking Weepinbell

So, is Victreebel any better? A little. It is less clumsy than Weepinbell, who hangs from the stem of a tree while it is asleep, often letting itself fall and finding itself on the ground when it awakens. Good job there, Weepy. Victreebel's long vine (or whip, if you will) is used to mimic animals in order to attract prey, along with a sweet scent it produces, and an acid that has dissolved numerous victims and becomes even sweeter and more effective at attracting prey (mostly small birds and rodents, which Victreebel hoards). This acid even devours the hardest things it swallows. The most interesting thing is that groups of Victreebel often go out to collect Leaf Stones to help Weepinbell to become more Victreebel during nocturnal evolution rituals. The more Victreebel, the better, I assume.

Except for Pidgey and Rattata, that is.

So its classification as the 'Flycatcher Pokémon', which also applies to Weepinbell, is not strictly true. Real-life pitcher plants often lure just insects, though, so I'll let Game Freak have that one. What I'll also let them have is the misspelling of 'bell' in Victreebel, because the game script only allowed them to use a maximum of 10 characters for each name and item when the Pokémon franchise was just getting started. What I won't let them have, however, is Bellsprout's classification as the 'Flower Pokémon'. It's a bud, not a full-grown flower. Come to think of it, I don't even think I can consider Weepinbell and Victreebel flowers; I'd rather see them as plants. To make it simple, it would have been much more appropriate to make Bellsprout a flycatcher Pokémon as well, but why go the easy way when you can make it as difficult as possible? Right, Game Freak?

Fan art of a dangerous-looking Victreebel.

Well, off to a more pressing matter: how does Victreebel stand out as a battler? Honestly, it sucks. Or rather: I think it sucks. Okay, I'll admit it has some very good attacking stats, with its base attack being a little higher (105) than its base special attack (100). The thing is that Victreebel can't do anything with them for too long, because it is frail and relatively slow. Its ability Chlorophyll doubles its speed in harsh sunlight, so that is the situation you want it in. In the process of setting up the sun, though, it might well have to take a hit first and that is not what you want. Instead, let another Pokémon set up the sun and switch in to a Modest-natured Life Orb Victreebel when the time is right. Victreebel doesn't have many moves to sweep with while the sun is up, but Solar Beam is a good idea; that move normally requires a turn to charge up first, but not in the sun. Sludge Bomb is another STAB move for it, while Weather Ball (through breeding) has the effect to change types during certain weather conditions, changing into fire in harsh sunlight. Sleep Powder (do I need to explain what it does?) or Growth (raises the attack and special attack stats by two stages each while the sun is up; otherwise, this move just raises these stats by one stage each) might be a good idea, but pass on Synthesis; the moment Victreebel has healed up, it'll get an opponent's move in its face. If you're so adamant about having a healing move in its moveset, then drop Sludge Bomb for Giga Drain, which does a great amount of damage and heals 1/3 the damage dealt to the opponent.

This fan-art Victreebel looks more interesting than
the original, and it also looks more like a real-life
pitcher plant to me. The Venonat on the edge of
Victreebel's mouth is about to meet its maker, tho.

Also, the games fail to maintain Victreebel's flavor. Despite its huge whip, it can only learn Power Whip (which is its only good physical attacking move, mind you) and Acid Spray through breeding, while moves like Acid and Gastro Acid are only available through its pre-evolutions. Well, at least that is something, isn't it? It learns such few useful and available moves for a normal playthrough as well, in which setting up the sun is a bit unnecessary and thus it has to rely on some other status moves or perhaps more STAB moves instead. I feel like Game Freak could have done so much more with this whole pitcher plant thing, but Victreebel turns out to be a worse alternative to Vileplume altogether, who could pull off at least the poison part better than Victreebel. Even though Vileplume's ability Chlorophyll contradicts its flavor a little, as it is usually a nocturnal Pokémon, it is still better. It can fight and set up on its own and it is capable of taking a hit, while Victreebel is too frail to set up first and needs another teammate to summon the sun for it instead. It is such a shame I have to be so negative about Victreebel, because I really don't hate this thing; not by a long shot. Carnivorous plants are an original topic to work with, and its flavor text is actually quite interesting (well, more interesting than Bellsprout and Weepinbell's), but it's a pity the games don't really show that it can be a good Pokémon by changing its movepool around a little. For now, I won't use this Pokémon, but its design, characteristics and role in the anime series (who could forget James's Victreebel, who would try to swallow James out of affection for him every time it is sent out of its Poké Ball?) save it from getting a poor rating.

Rating: 3.5/5

#48 - #49: Venonat & Venomoth

Official art of Venonat.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rating: 3.5/5

#43 - #45, #182: Oddish, Gloom, Vileplume & Bellossom

Oddish (up) and Gloom (below) in the
anime series.

This is a special entry in the sense that Gloom is actually the first Pokémon in the Pokédex that is capable of split evolution.

Well, okay... Eevee was the first Pokémon ever to be capable of evolving into multiple Pokémon, being the only Pokémon in Red, Blue and Yellow who could do that, but Gen. II saw the addition of multiple split evolutions and the basic or middle-stage Pokémon capable of evolving into said Gen. II Pokémon (Gloom into Bellossom, Poliwhirl into Politoed, and Slowpoke into Slowking) all come before Eevee in the Pokédex. Tyrogue, a baby Pokémon introduced in Gold and Silver as well, evolves into either Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee or Hitmontop, and the first two of those are to be found a bit earlier in the Pokédex than Eevee, too. Gloom just happens to be the first one. Its pre-evolution, Oddish, seems rather uneventful at first sight, but there are some things about its flavor that is actually quite interesting. Firstly, Oddish is based on a mandrake, a plant that shrieks when you pull it out, killing everyone that is within earshot. Well, at least in folklore. And, you guessed it, Oddish screams when it is pulled out of the soil it hides in. Second, Oddish is the only Pokémon known to have a scientific name: oddium wanderus, referring to its habit of wandering around at night. Lastly, Oddish is a nocturnal Pokémon and buries its sensitive body in the ground during the day to avoid sun and predators. It only starts moving at night, when its leaves start absorbing moonlight, which it uses to grow. It is for this reason that Oddish naturally learns the strong fairy-type move Moonblast (which it has been capable of as of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire), which Gloom, Vileplume and Bellossom cannot learn by level-up at all. They can learn Dazzling Gleam, which hits multiple opponents, but this move isn't near as strong as Moonblast is.

Official Sugimori art of Vileplume.

Vileplume, the grass/poison-type Pokémon Gloom can evolve into by means of using a Leaf Stone, greatly benefits from the lone move that Oddish can learn and that is unavailable to its evolutions otherwise. Quite some Pokémon from the first to the fifth generations have received a small boost in one of their stats, and Vileplume is no different: its special attack stat has actually been raised by 10 base points, from a nothing-to-sneeze-at base special attack of 100 to an even better special attack of 110. While it's in the NU (never used) tier competitive-wise, it's actually a great Pokémon to use, not in the least because of its hidden ability: Effect Spore, which has a chance to paralyze or poison the foe or put the foe to sleep when it makes contact with Vileplume, works great in conjunction with status-inducing moves like Sludge Bomb. With a final moveset of Sludge Bomb, Moonblast, and Giga Drain and Moonlight for reliable recovery (Giga Drain even deals some serious damage to the opponent, too) you actually have a great offensive Vileplume to rock out with. Vileplume has decent defenses as well, so if you invest in those instead of its special attack, you might even be able to stall or have a higher chance of inducing status ailments. Especially when you ditch Moonblast for a move like Sleep Powder.

Old official Sugimori art of Bellossom. Maybe its skin
color causes controversy (as was the case with Jynx),
because now its skin has a green color rather than blue.

Bellossom, on the other hand, has a quite different flavor than Oddish, Gloom and Vileplume. While those Pokémon are predominantly nocturnal and toxic (especially Gloom, who secretes a sticky drool-like nectar from its mouth to attract prey and releases a foul fragrance from the petal on its head that can be smelled from a mile away, and Vileplume, who shakes or burst its petals into bloom to create highly allergenic and toxic pollen with which it paralyzes its prey), Bellossom is actually a happy Pokémon that is often seen dancing and chanting. It dances when cloudy weather persists (as a ritual to summon the sun), or when the period of heavy rainfall ends and it is drawn out by the warm sunlight. That's not strange, regarding the fact that Gloom actually evolves into Bellossom when it is exposed to a Sun Stone. Considering the fact that Bellossom is such a happy Pokémon, almost resembling a hula dancer, it is not illogical that Gloom loses its poison typing when it evolves into Bellossom. I feel like Bellossom should have gotten fairy as its secondary typing, however, as this type wouldn't fit it badly at all. That way, Moonblast and Dazzling Gleam would have been STAB moves that would have hit harder than Vileplume's Moonblast attacks. Bellossom is more defensive than it is offensive, though, so investments in its defenses might have more effect than investments in an offensive Bellossom. A moveset that consists of Sleep Powder, Giga Drain, Sunny Day, and either Synthesis or Moonlight is an excellent moveset to ensure its durability. Sunny Day activates Bellossom's ability Chlorophyll, which doubles its speed in harsh sunlight, while both Moonlight and Synthesis heal 75% of its health while the sun is still up.

The entire Oddish family: Oddish (left), Gloom (right), Vileplume (middle), and
Bellossom (on top of Vileplume's petals). 

At the end of the day, both Vileplume and Bellossom make for interesting flower Pokémon. The former is even based on rafflesia arnoldii, a large flower that looks and smells like decaying flesh and generates heat to match the radiating warmth of an animal carcass. Ew. Both Pokémon have their uses, although I've always liked Vileplume a little bit more than Bellossom. That is just my personal taste though, and if I'd had to rate the entire Oddish family as a whole, I would whole-heartedly grant them a more-than-decent 4.5-star rating! And yes, usually my ratings are mostly (but not entirely) based on the final evolution in an evolution line, and this not really an exception, but in this case I should take Oddish and Gloom's flavor into consideration as well!

Rating: 4.5/5

#41 - #42, #169: Zubat, Golbat & Crobat

Zubat is probably the most hated Pokémon. 

Next up to discuss is the most beloved Pokémon of all time... Zubat!

Wait a minute...

I think I got confused with another Pokémon; Zubat isn't loved by many at all, save for those people whose favorite Pokémon is actually Zubat and/or its evolution line. If anything, this Pokémon is probably the one Pokémon that is most hated on. This, of course, has everything to do with how frequently Zubat shows up while you're roaming the caves all over Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. To be honest, Zubat and its evolution Golbat show up more often than you'd want 'em to, and in almost every goddamn cave at that, too. Yeah, I get why everyone is so upset about this eyeless freak bat (they gradually grew shut because they're constantly hiding from the sunlight in dark places), especially since Game Freak saw fit to let these bat Pokémon return to practically every cave in Hoenn and Sinnoh as well. I absolutely agree that's overkill, but personally I don't have a problem with Zubat and Golbat at all. And even though I do understand everyone's annoyance with this Pokémon, I don't understand those who whine about it. I mean, just slap a goddamn Repel on and get done with the area if Zubat annoys you so much.

Official art of Golbat by Ken Sugimori.

When you proceed through the games, though, you're more likely to run into Golbat instead of Zubat. You might think that would be just as annoying as running into Zubat, but at least Golbat isn't actually Zubat. One downside of encountering Golbat is that it is actually a vampire, because it feeds on blood from both Pokémon and humans to such extent that its blood type will change to that of its victim following a feed (300 cubic centimeters per bite!). It will then become too heavy to fly. What gluttonous little monsters they are, aren't they? Now, Zubat's description on Bulbapedia doesn't say anything about them being bloodsuckers as well (I suppose they are), but they can't be as bad as Golbat is described to be. On the other hand, in-game Golbat don't really suck your blood and they are, quite obviously, stronger than Zubat. They also have better moves. Therefore, it is battle-ready right off the bat.

Get it?

Yeah, lame. I know.

Anyway, that's not all regarding Golbat. Gold and Silver actually saw the introduction of Crobat, Golbat's evolution. While Golbat's attack stat is decent, it isn't very strong on its own. Prior to Gen. II, you didn't have a choice but to use one if you wanted to use it in the first place, but as of Gen. II, you'd do better to evolve it into Crobat immediately. Well, immediately... Golbat evolves when it has a high friendship level, and that friendship level is high enough after having run around like a madman for 30+ minutes.

Crobat by night. Well, it's a bat, what did you expect?

But the hard 'work' pays off! Crobat isn't much stronger than Golbat, but that little extra strength is very much appreciated, especially in the competitive scene. An in-game Crobat's moveset is sufficient enough with just attacking moves like Cross Poison, Acrobatics and X-Scissor, but in the competitive scene, people use completely different moves. See, Crobat resides in the UU tier (underused), which, despite the name, can be a popular tier to play in. To mess with opposing walls, Crobat has Taunt to prevent opponents from setting up, Defog to clear any entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Sticky Web, Roost for some reliable healing, U-Turn to freely switch in to another Pokémon while still doing damage, and the ability Infiltrate to bypass screens and substitutes. Crobat has decent bulk to pull all that off, too. An all-offensive Crobat isn't unheard of either, especially not in combination with maxed out attack and speed stats, the hold item Choice Band, and egg moves like Zen Headbutt and Brave Bird (or maybe TM move Acrobatics for massive damage without the recoil damage Brave Bird does; but that doesn't go well with a Choice Band).

If you don't watch out, Crobat is a force to be reckoned with. My own experiences with Crobat have been nothing but positive and I actually like this Pokémon enough to give it a 4-star rating, to which Zubat and Golbat don't even come close.

Rating: 4/5

#29 - #34: Nidoran♀, Nidorina, Nidoqueen, Nidoran♂, Nidorino & Nidoking

Love at first sight. In the games they aren't able to breed with
each other, though.

Poor little Nidoran♀...

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the female Nidoran has been the least favorite Nido since the beginning, especially considering the fact that Pokémon was initially a boys' thing (although it wasn't necessarily aimed at just boys) and Nidoking was obviously more savage-looking to them than Nidoqueen. However, it goes without saying that the entire Nido family have always been an interesting bunch. Up to now, these Pokémon have been the only species of which the different genders occupy different places in the Pokédex. Without a doubt, the female Nidoran is related to the male Nidoran, but have them be the exact same species and number rather than place them in different spots in the Pokédex (although both evolution lines appear next to each other) was difficult, if not impossible, for Game Freak and Nintendo to encode into the games at the time. I guess. I don't even know exactly, maybe that wasn't even their intention at all, as both Nidoran's evolutions have different names: Nidoran♀ evolves into Nidorina and eventually Nidoqueen, while Nidoran♂ evolves into Nidorino, who ultimately evolves into Nidoking. The same cannot be said about the likes of Unfezant, Meowstic and Pyroar, for example. Their appearances differ drastically based on their gender, but both males and females have the same name.

Official Ken Sugimori art of Nidorina (left) and Nidorino (right). Nidorina are shown
to deeply care for their young, while Nidorino are often violent and easily angered.

One peculiar thing about both Nidoran is that they cannot breed. At least not with each other. They both belong to the 'Monster' and 'Field' egg groups, which are both egg groups with Pokémon that are perfectly able to breed with each other, but both Nidoran are only able to breed with Ditto. It gets even odder, as both Nidoran can produce both Nidoran. Let me explain: if a female Nidoran breeds with Ditto, it is able to produce an egg with either a female or a male Nidoran. The same goes into effect when a male Nidoran breeds with Ditto. Nidorina, Nidorino, Nidoqueen and Nidoking are part of the 'Undiscovered' egg group and cannot even breed themselves. I can imagine the frustration if you're breeding with the goal of getting five or six perfect IVs on your male Nidoran and you're getting a female one... Well, the chance is 50/50 anyway, so I guess it wouldn't be that hard; breeding perfect IVs onto your Pokémon is a torture in the first place.

The Nido family: Nidoking and Nidoqueen (back), Nidorina and
Nidorino (bottom left), and both Nidoran (bottom right).

But eventually it'll be worth your while. Just use a Moon Stone on Nidorina or Nidorino if you want Nidoqueen or Nidoking, respectively, because they do not evolve by leveling them up. Both final evolutions are quite capable in battles, though, and Nidoking is even often used in the competitive scene. That is not without a reason, because it is a little bit stronger than Nidoqueen. Whereas Nidoking is slightly faster and more offensive than it is defensive, Nidoqueen is more of a bulky Pokémon rather than an overly strong one, even though its attack stat is more than decent. It doesn't help Nidoqueen's cause that it is hardly able to effectively use its special attack stat, as it is just mediocre (just like its speed stat, so a choice item Nidoqueen is a lot less effective than a choice item Nidoking, with the exception of maybe the Choice Band). Both Nidos have some interesting physical-based level-up moves and can be taught the very same TM and HM moves, except Aerial Ace (which, for some strange reason, only Nidoqueen can learn), so both can learn some great physical moves, even through breeding.

Awesome 'realistic' interpretation of Nidoking.

As Nidoking has very respectable special attack and speed stat, however, it is often used as a special attacker, not seldom in combination with a choice item such as a Choice Scarf and its hidden ability Sheer Force, which takes away added effects of moves (reducing the target's stats, boosting the user's stats or causing a status effect to the target, but not a higher chance of a critical hit) and adds some extra power. Let's take a look at the special-based moves it can take advantage of due to its ability, shall we? Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Flamethrower, as well as their stronger counterparts Blizzard, Thunder and Fire Blast, are viable options. Earth Power and Sludge Wave (which is stronger in one-on-one battles, but hits multiple Pokémon in double and multi battles) are must-haves for Nidoking, as they're STAB moves and receive an added bonus due to Sheer Force. It also learns Shadow Ball, Focus Blast and Surf, just for good measure. Nidoking's physical attack is even higher, but its hidden ability doesn't allow many physical-based moves to gain a boost from it. The best are probably Poison Jab, Rock Slide and the elemental punches, although Nidoking's attack stat is already so high that it can safely use moves with no added effects such as Megahorn and Earthquake (especially since it's STAB due to Nidoking's secondary ground typing). Thrash is an option, but doesn't counter any other types, and Brick Break and Shadow Claw are a little too weak for Nidoking to make good use of them. Finally we have Head Smash as an egg move, but this isn't STAB, doesn't get the power bonus from Sheer Force and does half the damage Nidoking dealt to its opponent to itself.

Old-ass official art of Nidoran♀ (left) and Nidoran♂ (right). Nidoran♀'s poison is
so venomous that only a scratch from its horn or a drop of poison is deadly.
Nidoran♂ has the ability to detect sounds with ears that contain unique muscles
that allow it to be moved in any direction, flapping them when it hears enemies
approaching.

By the way, do you want more proof of Nidoking's superiority? Its tail causes metal towers to fall over and Nidoking uses it to smash, constrict or break a prey's bones or to create distance between it and its foes in battles before it charges, while its horn is so hard that it can pierce a diamond. Also, IT IS PURPLE!!! Just like Baragon, by the way, which is a purple dinosaur-like creature from old Japanese kaijū movies - a film genre that is all about monsters and strange beasts that fight each other or attack big cities; Godzilla, for example - with bunny-like ears and a big horn on its head and the ability to burrow through earth.

All in all, the entire Nido family are great additions to the Pokémon world, especially since they're the first Pokémon that show gender differences. In fact, they were basically the only ones that were assigned a gender in Red, Blue and Yellow, because the rest of the Pokémon didn't get a gender until the second generation, when the concept of breeding was introduced. As Nidoqueen and Nidoking are two entirely seperate Pokémon in both appearance and flavor, and considering the fact that these two Nidos aren't quite equally as interesting to me, I am going to rate them separately.

Rating Nidoqueen: 4/5

Rating Nidoking: 5/5

#23 - #24: Ekans & Arbok

Official art of Ekans.

OMG, IT'S A PURPLE POKÉMON!!! I FUCKING LOVE PURPLE, LET'S DO THIS!!!

Ahem...

Yeah, I need to get my shit together now.

So... where were we?

Right, the next Pokémon. Ekans. To be honest, it's not the first purple Pokémon we've come across; we discussed Butterfree as well. That Pokémon isn't predominantly purple, however, as its wings are white and black, its big eyes are red, and its limbs are blue. And Rattata... well, let's not discuss Rattata. I hate rats. Snakes, on the other hand, are more interesting creatures, and that is exactly the reason why I like snake Pokémon. Add the poison type and my favorite color (which is purple, if that wasn't already quite obvious) and you get a Pokémon I've wanted to use in a playthrough since a couple of years ago: Arbok. Unfortunately, Ekans seems quite hard to get somehow.

Let me explain. In Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, Ekans was only available on Route 212, and even then you had to have FireRed inserted into the GBA slot of your Nintendo DS. In HeartGold they were available in the Goldenrod Game Corner, but I spent my coins on a Dratini instead of an Ekans (duh!). In SoulSilver, even though they were not uncommon in this game, I didn't manage to encounter a single one of them on Route 32 after a search of fifteen minutes (not only am I pretty much the unluckiest guy in the world, I am also a bit impatient). They weren't available in Black and White, except in the Dream World, to which I've never been. And X and Y... well, I encountered lots of Ekans on Route 14, but I only used brand new Pokémon in those games. That is understandable, isn't it?

Ekans and Arbok collectible figures.

So up till today, I'd love to use Arbok in a playthrough once. I guess I should wait until the inevitable follow-up to X and Y (which is most likely going to be Pokémon Z) comes out and hope that Ekans will be available still. I can hear you ask, 'Why would you want to use Arbok, anyway?' You're right if you say that Arbok is a mediocre Pokémon and that it's never used in the competitive scene, but it's actually quite a decent Pokémon to use in a playthrough. Its base attack stat is a solid 85 and its speed isn't that much lower. With a little EV investment in attack and speed, you can have a hard-hitting Pokémon that might be able to outspeed 90% of the things you encounter throughout your playthrough. And Arbok has a quite diverse movepool to go with that, too! It learns Crunch and Gunk Shot (which are must-haves, even though Gunk Shot has relatively low accuracy) by level-up and learns the TM moves Rock Slide, Earthquake and Poison Jab. The latter should be replaced by Gunk Shot as soon as it gets to the point of learning it, while Rock Slide should be replaced by Earthquake as quickly as possible as well. If you transfer an Ekans to another game to start a brand new playthrough, you can teach it Aqua Tail, Iron Tail and Seed Bomb at the Move Tutor too, if you badly need those moves. You might want to leave one spot open for the amazing status move Coil, which raises Arbok's attack, defense and accuracy by one stage each. That's an awesome way to get around the low accuracy that Gunk Shot has, as well as to make Arbok stronger and bulkier!

Great fan art of Arbok. 

In the end there is little that I don't like about Ekans and Arbok. In fact, because Glare was the signature move of these Pokémon in Gen. I, they might be based on the basilisk, a mythical monstrous snake that would kill people with its stare (or paralyze them, if said people looked at its reflection, but maybe that's a Harry Potter thing). And I love a little mythology behind a Pokémon design! Also, if you ever find a real-life snake that can flatten steel oil drums and is able to regenerate any part of its body but its head, let me know. The only thing that confuses me is that Arbok gets to learn the elemental fangs (Thunder Fang, Fire Fang and Ice Fang) at level 1, while it's only able to get Poison Fang through breeding with Seviper. Oh well, it gets a chance to learn it at least, which can't be said about Fearow and Brave Bird... Arbok is one of those Pokémon that don't seem special in the least but that I've taken a huge liking to. Well, what can I say? I am a sucker for purple Pokémon.

Rating: 4.5/5