#341 - #342: Corphish & Crawdaunt

Corphish in what looks like the wrong habitat. 

A common misconception I noticed among Pokémon fans is that that they think Corphish is based on some kind of crab or lobster, probably because these animals are more well-known than crayfish, the actual animal Corphish is based on - or, more specifically, the red swamp crayfish. Crayfish are a type of edible crustaceans that are similar to lobsters, sure, but they're something different: they are usually smaller, live in freshwater - Corphish live in ponds found in Petalburg City and Routes 102 and 117, and you can fish them up with a Good Rod or Super Rod - and are more commonly used for home cooking, as opposed to lobsters being considered an expensive delicacy you'll order when you're in a chic restaurant. Corphish, however, won't have none of this kitchen shit, lobster or crayfish. It's a violent Pokémon that will drive out the original inhabitants of a specific area and claim the territory for its own, subsequently defending it from anyone or anything who dares invade it, hence this Pokémon's classification as the 'Ruffian Pokémon'. The reference to a certain species of crayfish that is seen as an invasive pest and has been causing trouble for Japan's wildlife for decades couldn't have been more obvious here. Corphish were originally imported to Hoenn as pets, however, making these Pokémon the first exotic species in the National Pokédex. Eventually turning up in the wild, they quickly proliferated and adapted to any environment, whether it be polluted or not.

Ash Ketchum had a Corphish, too. The dumbass never evolved it. 

The only thing I don't understand about Corphish is the military theme in its English and Asian names. First and foremost, Corphish is derived from 'corps' - which is the term for a branch of military serviceman and is pronounced as 'core' - or maybe 'corporal'. As for the origin of its names in Northeast Asia, well... its Japanese name Heigani (ヘイガニ) derives from hei and its Korean name Gazegun (가재군) from gun, both meaning 'army' or 'troops', but its ridiculously lengthy Chinese name of Lóngxiāxiǎobīng (龍蝦小兵) originates from xiǎobīng and suggests Corphish is a foot soldier. It doesn't really make sense to me, because being a police officer or a military servant requires possessing a certain perception of obedience, reservation and discipline that Corphish - and definitely its evolution Crawdaunt - tremendously lacks. I don't get it and I probably never will, but at least Game Freak were going for something here...

Crawdaunt looks savage. 

However, Corphish is next to nothing compared to Crawdaunt. The latter is so violent and short-tempered that it is compelled to constantly challenge other living things to battle. No other Pokémon dare inhabit its territory because of this habit. Not that they get a chance to do that, because if Crawdaunt senses something venturing too close to it or its nest, it will pinch the trespasser and toss them out of its pond by using its sharp pincers or crash into them with full force. A veteran Crawdaunt that has prevailed in hundreds of battles has giant pincers marked with countless scars. It can be quite vulnerable, however, as it molts its shell on a regular basis and hides in its streambed burrow to hide from its foes when its new shell is still soft and tender. This shell may be based on Batesian mimicry in association with Sharpedo - another water/dark type introduced in the same generation - as it resembles an open shark mouth with a yellow star on the nose, just like Sharpedo's scar. However, Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both, and Crawdaunt can by no means be called harmless. Oh, well... In general, though, Crawdaunt is a relatively big and powerful Pokémon extremely prone to malice, making it a perfect secondary dark type. Because of its size and type, Crawdaunt may actually be based on a lobster, which is comparatively big when you put them next to crayfish - although Crawdaunt still live in ponds rather than saltwater and its name is derived from 'crawdad' or 'crawfish', which are just alternative names for 'crayfish'.

Crawdaunt as seen in TCG. 

Some of Crawdaunt's flavor can be found back in its in-game stats, though, as it possesses an incredible attack stat and some moderate defensive qualities on the physical side of the spectrum. Unfortunately, it is not fast or specially defensive at all; instead, some of these much-needed base points go to its unnecessarily high special attack. It's not sky-high, but it's pretty damn good, which is a shame considering the fact you're only going to utilize its physical strength. It's inevitable, because its physical attack is so much higher than its special attack and its physical movepool so much better than its special one. First off, Crawdaunt has access to an egg move called Dragon Dance, a move that increases its attack and speed by one stage each when used. Secondly, Aqua Jet is a water-type priority move that hits relatively hard after a couple of Dragon Dance boosts. Next, Knock Off is a dark-type move that deals double the damage if the opponent is holding an item. For some STAB moves that are more reliable you can always fall back on moves like Crunch, Waterfall and Crabhammer, although you could opt for some nice type coverage: Crawdaunt learns moves like X-Scissor, Rock Slide, Superpower, Brick Break and Aerial Ace.

Because of Dragon Dance - or, alternatively, Swords Dance - and Aqua Jet, you can consciously run an Adamant Crawdaunt with a Life Orb (makes Crawdaunt lose 10% of its health each turn in return for a bit more power) or a Focus Sash (leaves Crawdaunt at 1 HP when attacked at full HP). As far as abilities go, its two regular abilities Hyper Cutter and Shell Armor aren't worth your while. Sure, no critical hits (Shell Armor) or decreases in its attack (Hyper Cutter) seem like nice little side effects, and the former certainly is, but its hidden ability Adaptability boosts the power of its STAB moves even further, which makes Crawdaunt a force to be reckoned with.

This is actually some nice realistic fan art of Crawdaunt and its little baby
Corphishies. The barnacles on its body are kinda inaccurate, though, as most
barnacles are saltwater crustaceans.

I absolutely love Crawdaunt and I think it is definitely one of the better Pokémon based on a crustacean - it's more appealing than fucking Crabominable, that's for sure. I even used one in an Omega Ruby playthrough and it was the true MVP of the team, rocking a devastating Swords Dance set. I'd say it's up there with Clawitzer, but the dark typing gives it a certain edge to it that I like.

Rating: 5/5

#339 - #340: Barboach & Whiscash

"Barboach", by Ken Sugimori.

On its own merit, Barboach is a pretty cute but boring little fishie. It is based on the pond loach - also called the dojo loach - native to East Asia, and it shares a fair amount of characteristics with this bland and uninteresting fish. Barboach encases itself in mud and buries itself to hide from view, exposing the sensitive barbels that serve as a superb radar system in even the murkiest of water in order for it to detect and determine its surroundings. It secretes a slimy substance to make itself so slippery that it can squirm and slip away when grabbed by prey (or people, for that matter, as its Moon entry states that there are festivals where people compete to see how many they can catch bare-handed), but this film also protects Barboach against certain bacteria in the muddy water from entering its oblong body. Its gray body coloration is very similar to the silver or grayish brown color of the most common type of pond loach, and even its amber-colored shiny may be a reference to the rarer loaches with an orange color, although the shiny form's actual body is still gray.

Whiscash just casually swallowing the Master Ball Sullivan
threw at it.

Things gets more interesting when Barboach evolves into Whiscash, a giant catfish Pokémon with ridiculous whiskers. Whiscash is specifically based on the namazu - or ōnamazu in certain parts of Japan - which is a catfish found in Japanese mythology that is notorious for causing earthquakes and is the inspiration for Whiscash's Japanese name Namazun (ナマズン). And causing earthquakes is exactly Whiscash's shtick, because the earthquakes it triggers when defending its territory against foes extend for over three miles and it can foretell when natural ones will occur as a result of occasionally causing tremors itself. In addition to eating anything that is alive, it is shown eating inanimate objects as well. This could be seen in the episode "Whiscash and Ash" (season 7, episode 35), in which a Fisherman called Sullivan tried to hunt down a Whiscash dubbed Nero for its prominent size but failed because the enormous thing swallowed his Master Ball. Just like that. A season later, another episode with a Whiscash was set to air in Japan, but after the 2004 Chūetsu earthquakes in Niigata Prefecture, which occurred approximately two weeks prior to the scheduled air date, the episode was cancelled. It has never been broadcast in any other country either, and moves like Earthquake and Magnitude have been steered clear of in the entire anime ever since this event.

Nice hand-drawn fan art of Whiscash (above) and its little
Barboach (below).

Naw, Whiscash has hardly gotten any love since then, not even in the competitive scene. That's partly due to the fact that all of Whiscash's stats - barring its HP - are mediocre at best. Base attack and special attack stats of respectively 78 and 76 are nothing to write home about, and respective base 73 and 71 defense and special defense stats are even worse. Fortunately, Whiscash's base 110 HP back up its mediocre defenses neatly, which enables it to 'cash' a few hits that aren't super effective on it - and its water/ground typing makes it weak to only grass-type moves, so that's a plus, although this weakness is a huge one because both water and ground are weak to grass. And let's keep silent about its speed, because Whiscash will hardly move first. Fortunately, there is an answer to that: Dragon Dance. It's an egg move, but it's worth breeding for, because it increases Whiscash's attack and speed by one stage each. It won't make Whiscash an Electrode all of a sudden, but it definitely helps a little. And that attack boost is nice as well, as Whiscash has a more-than-decent physical movepool: it has STAB in Earthquake, Aqua Tail and Waterfall and type coverage in moves like Zen Headbutt, Spark, Stone Edge, Rock Slide and even Bounce. A Jolly nature complements a Dragon Dance set very well, although an Adamant nature isn't bad either and can be used over a Jolly one if you want a little more oomph behind Whiscash's moves. Let it hold a Life Orb, too, and it'll deal some serious damage.

Oh, and make sure your Whiscash has its hidden ability Hydration, which cures any non-volatile status condition when it is raining on the battlefield. Hydration is far more useful than Whiscash's normal abilities Oblivious and Anticipation; the former only keeps it from getting infatuated (seriously though, nobody uses Attract) and the latter warns it for super-effective moves, which is unecessary because you can see grass-type moves coming from miles away.

Whiscash... about to cause an earthquake, I guess?

Whiscash is a funny-looking Pokémon, but it sucks that it isn't just a little bit better competitively. If Dragon Dance had been a level-up move instead of an egg move, I'd definitely consider using this Pokémon in a playthrough. For now, I'll just appreciate it for its simple but effective design and its interesting flavor. I like it if a Pokémon is based on whatever mythology and I think this whole catfish-causes-earthquakes thing is perfectly executed in Whiscash. It's not one of my favorite Pokémon - at least, not just yet - but 4.5 stars will do for now. Don't forget that it's still eligible for a perfect rating; in fact, almost all Pokémon are if they start growing on me.

Rating: 4.5/5

#320 - #321: Wailmer & Wailord

Damn. It's not often I'm putting out reviews three days in a row, so don't get too used to this. It's just that I'm living in one of the southern provinces of the Netherlands, where they're celebrating this idiotic annual thing called carnaval - 'our' version of events before Lent and generally speaking just a lame excuse for dumb people to dress up Halloween style, attend stupid float parades and get drunk, all while singing terrible and cringeworthy carnaval songs. Most people celebrating it aren't even devout Christians in the first place; for them it's just a reason to party hard five days in a fucking row. Me? I'm frantically trying to avoid it until it comes to an end tomorrow, so that's why I'm hiding in my cave writing reviews about video game monsters instead of socializing. I have no life whatsoever.

Brendan traveling underwater on a Wailmer. 

Well, at least I can catch up a little now and we've bumped into one of my favorite Hoenn Pokémon sooner than I had expected. I guess that's the case because Wailmer can be caught with a Good Rod - which you can get from a Fisherman on the immediately accessible part of Route 118 next to Mauville City - fairly early on in your Ruby/Sapphire playthrough. Honestly, I don't even care all that much about Wailmer; it's a perfectly round whale with a perfectly stupid grin on its face. The teeth aren't even real teeth; they're baleen (or whalebone) plates and serve as a filter-feeder system inside the mouth of baleen whales. The system works by a whale opening its mouth underwater and taking in water, after which the whale pushes the water out and animals such as krill and plankton are filtered by the baleen and remain as a food source for the whale. That doesn't seem to be working for Wailmer at all, because this Pokémon likes to store seawater in its body and the more water filling it, the higher it can bounce. You'd think it'd bounce better when it doesn't have so much water in its body, because Wailmer is taller than an average human being and therefore relatively heavy (almost 287 pounds), but this doesn't seem to be the case at all. It likes to be a bouncing ball, too, because it is often found on beaches playing with other people and even startling them by suddenly spouting water from its nostrils slash blowholes - I'm not even sure which one it is, because all kinds of sources, including its official Pokédex entries, seem to use these two interchangably.

Gym Leader Marlon's Wailord, with Marlon and Ash standing
right on top of it.

Whereas Wailmer likes to be a jerk, though, Wailord likes to entertain people by leaping out of the water, thereby creating gigantic and breathtaking pillars of water. It does so when it searches for food and chases it, which it does in groups called pods, and one specimen can gulp down an entire school of Wishiwashi whole. Well, even the biggest Pokémon of all has to eat, right? That's right, at an enormous 47'07", Wailord has been the tallest Pokémon since it was introduced in Gen. III. Up to this day, not a single Pokémon came even remotely close to Wailord; at a height of 35'09", Alolan Exeggutor made a brave attempt this generation, exceeding Mega Rayquaza's height (35'05") by only a small margin. If you really want to see an image for scale, take a look at the image directly above and argue with me that Wailord isn't huge. I dare you. Surprisingly enough, this big boy is relatively light, weighing 'only' 877 pounds, which is much less than certain other Pokémon that aren't quite as tall as Wailord. Then again, there's no way Wailord are taller or heavier than the animals it was inspired by, blue whales - the largest and heaviest known animals to ever exist on this planet. That would have been way too complicated. Just saying.

Also, I shouldn't have expected Wailord to be so heavy, after all, as it is known as the 'Float Whale Pokémon'. That does not indicate that it's a heavyweight at all, right? In fact, it only enhances the thought that Wailord may be based on a blimp of some sort, or maybe a torpedo (man, Game Freak had a thing with torpedoes in Gen. III; this is the second Pokémon in a row that is based or may be based on such a thing).

Wailord swallowing ocean water like it's nobody's business.
This image contains TCG art from the Diamond and Pearl era.

But can this blimp (torpedo?) hold its own in the competitive scene? Well... not exactly. Despite its base stat total of 500, of which 170 go to its HP, it sits in Smogon's PU tier, the lowest tier with fully evolved Pokémon. That massive HP stat seems nice, but its defenses are a base 45 each and don't really complement it. On top of that, Wailord is quite slow and its attacking stats are 'only' a base 90 each, which isn't very strong. I used a physical-based Wailord in my Omega Ruby playthrough myself - Waterfall, Bounce, Heavy Slam and Earthquake proved to be as effective a moveset as any - but that won't quite cut it here. It's best to let it set up an Aqua Ring (very effective when Wailord is holding the Leftovers), after which it can PP-stall by setting up a Substitute or preventing any damage at all by using Protect. Further helping your tactic of PP-stalling is Wailord's hidden ability Pressure, which deducts one additional PP every time Wailord is targeted by the foe. Water Veil prevents burns, which isn't necessary, and Oblivious prevents confusion, which is even less necessary, so Pressure really is the best ability to go for. The only thing is the EV spread. It's up to you whether you want to max out Wailord's HP, but as its HP is massive already and its defenses do need quite the boost, I'd max out its defense and special defense stats - a Bold or Calm nature would go really well with that - and put the remaining four EVs in special attack so that it can hit slightly harder with Scald. This move may inflict a burn on the foe, by the way, further whittling it down, and it's Wailord's main source of direct damage, so definitely keep it around.

Wailord as seen in Super Smash Bros.

I didn't come to love Wailord until I used one in my before-mentioned Omega Ruby playthrough, and I still don't understand why I didn't like it before. It has a simple but effective design and flavor, and the fact that it is still the biggest Pokémon in existence actually makes a lot of sense and really adds up to its whole concept. Game Freak didn't go overboard with this one - in fact, they even toned it down for once. And that's a positive thing, I can tell you that much.

Rating: 5/5

#318 - #319: Carvanha & Sharpedo

Nice fan art of Carvanha. The only thing that's off is the Mario
star on its belly, which really should be a four-pointed star... with
no eyes whatsoever. 

Today we have a couple of more interesting Pokémon than last time, that's for sure. Carvanha is - surprise! - based on a piranha (or piraña, if you will) and, as expected from a fish with teeth, it has strongly developed jaws that can even chew through solid steel and rip up boat hulls. It even actively attacks boats and ships in swarms and lets them sink when they're entering its territory, and they rush to attack en masse if they scent the faintest trace of blood, but it turns suddenly timid and cowardly when it's on its own.

Sure thing, Carvanha. Sure thing.

One curious thing about Carvanha is that it seems to be a freshwater fish rather than a saltwater fish, but I honestly shouldn't be so surprised in the first place, because I actually know that piranhas are freshwater fish inabiting rivers throughout South America. It's probably the fact that Carvanha, a piranha Pokémon, evolves into Sharpedo, a shark Pokémon. And sharks are saltwater fish, as dozens of different species can in fact be found in oceans throughout the globe. In Pokémon anything is possible; I mean, we've had a swine turning into a mammoth, a remora fish turning into an octopus, a waterstrider turning into a mosquito of some sort and a gull turning into a pelican (whoever came up with that should be fired by Game Freak immediately)... so why not a piranha turning into a shark, right? At least it sounds pretty badass, doesn't it?

Archie and his Sharpedo, his signature Pokémon.

Well... yeah? I mean, Sharpedo looks kinda rad, but its flat rear - even though I know full well that Sharpedo's general body shape is that of a torpedo - looks kind of weird, as if its nonexistent tail was cut off abruptly. The main thing I like about Sharpedo is that it has an incredibly battered appearance, with notches cut into its dorsal and pelvic fins and a couple of yellow markings that are supposed to represent scars. I'm not surprised it looks like that, as it is a brutal Pokémon that can chew through iron and steel and destroy supertankers, tearing them into pieces. As such, it is known as the "Bully of the Sea" - or "Gangs of the Sea" when multiple Sharpedo have flocked together - and it is highly feared among mariners. But if that's what seamen are truly afraid of, it is time for them to piss their pants, because Sharpedo has a Mega evolution that looks much scarier than its regular form: its jaws look terrifying, it has yellow markings all over its body now, and it has three pairs of retractable sawblades on its snout that are actually transformed fangs. On top of that, it can now exceed 125 miles per hour with explosive propulsion, compared to the 75 to 80 miles regular Sharpedo can reach by jetting seawater out of its backside.

Official art of Mega Sharpedo, created by Ken Sugimori.

But can Sharpedo live up to its reputation in the competitive scene? Absolutely. It's incredibly frail, but it hits hard and it is relatively fast, especially after a boost from its hidden ability Speed Boost. Rough Skin, its regular ability, damages any foe that makes direct contact with Sharpedo, but it only works when you're feeling super confident and want to run it in combination with a Rocky Helmet for Sharpedo to hold. (Fun fact: Sharpedo's Japanese name is Samehader (サメハダー) and is derived from same, meaning 'shark', and hada-are, which means 'rough skin'. Additionally, samehada means 'shark skin' and Sharpedo's Japanese name might be a corruption of that as well.) It is more of a hit-and-run Pokémon, to be honest, and you'd do better to run Speed Boost in order for you to click Protect and get a free... well, speed boost. After that you can Mega-evolve your Sharpedo and perform a (late-game) sweep with moves like Crunch, Waterfall and Psychic Fangs, although it has access to more coverage moves like Ice Fang, Rock Tomb, Earthquake and Poison Jab. Mega Sharpedo standardly has the ability Strong Jaw, which increases the power of biting moves such as Crunch, Ice Fang and Psychic Fangs and allows it to hit even harder than any other Pokémon normally would. Because of the boost from its hidden ability, Sharpedo can run an Adamant nature over a Jolly one for maximum damage output, too.

A realistic take on Sharpedo.

While Sharpedo is not a favorite of mine, I cannot deny that this Pokémon - its Mega in particular - is pretty dope. I wish I could say its water/dark typing is unique, but Crawdaunt is a Pokémon with the exact same typing as Sharpedo that was introduced in the very same generation (I will discuss Corphish and Crawdaunt probably later next month or early April), and I don't think Sharpedo is any more competitively viable than Crawdaunt, either. Just because of plain badassery, Sharpedo gets a 4.5-star rating, just half a star short of a perfect rating. If only its flat rear didn't make me feel this Pokémon is missing something...

Rating: 4.5/5

#283 - #284: Surskit & Masquerain

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

Look at Surskit happily walking on water! 

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

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

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

Masquerain.

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

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

Rating: 4/5

#278 - #279: Wingull & Pelipper

Ugh. Why does this thing exist, exactly?

Official art of Wingull by Ken Sugimori.

Wingull is probably more boring than Taillow is, and Pelipper isn't that much better. It goes without saying that, with wings like those, Wingull has trouble keeping said wings flapping in flight and instead of that it rides on updrafts rising from the sea as if it were a glider. I also think it is common knowledge that seagulls build their nests on steep cliffs nearby the ocean, among other things. So... meh. Whereas Wingull habitually hides prey and valuables in various locations, though, Pelipper has the tendency to carry eggs and small Pokémon around in its massive bill over long distances, bringing them to safety (the prey it scoops up from the sea is usually swallowed in one gulp). It likes to act like a buoy, bobbing in the ocean while it's resting its wings. Yeah... meh. At the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that Wingull and Pelipper are two mundane sea birds without any excessively distinctive characteristics, and their designs and flavor are just nothing short of unimaginative. On top of that, Pelipper is a bitch and a half to fight in-game. Any time I'm battling an AI opponent with a Pelipper, I find myself struggling with it, for it generally has either Supersonic or a combination of Protect and Stockpile. Even worse, Protect always seems to succeed twice or even three times in a row when used by Pelipper, wasting my time and PP and pissing me the fuck off. I haven't met a single person yet who didn't hate - or at least strongly dislike - the likes of Pelipper, and I can't imagine anyone would go and say, "Pelipper is my absolute favorite Pokémon." Like, no.

Also, Wingull is a seagull and Pelipper is a pelican. Alrighty, then.

Official art of Pelipper, also by Ken Sugimori. Drawing this
thing must have been one of his least 

And in a competitive setting? Personally, I wouldn't want to use Pelipper competitively, but for some reason it has some moderate bulk behind it. Its HP is pretty mediocre, but when it is maxed out it can back up Pelipper's excellent base 100 defense stat, especially when it has a defense-increasing nature (usually Bold). Although it is therefore used as a support Pokémon in order to remove entry hazards with Defog or try to inflict a burn on an opposing Pokémon with Scald, it cannot handle offensive pressure: any electric-type move will quickly do it in and special attacks will leave a huge dent in its health, which forces Pelipper to use Roost instead. This move does take away its flying typing for one subsequent turn, though, removing the weaknesses it has as a flying type and leaving it with only two single weaknesses to electric and grass, which may save its life. Speaking about lifesavers, U-Turn makes use of Pelipper's abominable attack stat, but it lets it get the hell off the goddamn battlefield while still doing a little bit of damage. If you can set up the rain, its hidden ability Rain Dish will heal a little bit of HP, which works very well with the Leftovers. You can even build an offensive moveset around Rain Dance, because its base 85 special attack is quite decent: Scald is boosted in the rain and still has a chance to burn the foe, while Hurricane's accuracy is buffed from 70% to 100% when the rain is up. Pelipper can also learn Ice Beam, which is a strong move almost every water type can learn, so it's a good way to complete your Pelipper's moveset. You can even let another of your Pokémon set up the rain and ditch Rain Dance for Roost, so you can keep Pelipper somewhat healthy. It's necessary, because an offensive moveset requires a Modest nature rather than a Bold one, which leaves Pelipper more vulnerable than you'd desire.

Look at this motherfucker. It's looking at me like, "I'm gonna annoy you to no end
and I'm gonna have goddamn fun doing that."

However, I don't even desire to own a fucking Pelipper in the first place. I hate this thing for everything it stands for: being a nasty little bitch who likes to stall me out for no apparent reason - and, while we're at it, break out of its goddamn Ultra Ball time and time again, even when its HP bar is in the fucking red. Seriously, why does it have a catch rate of only 45?

Fuck this thing. May its soul burn for eternity in the deepest pits of Hell.

P.S.: Have you heard its cry? Irksome.

Rating: 0.5/5

#270 - #272: Lotad, Lombre & Ludicolo

Lotad watering flowers using the dish-shaped lilypad on its back.

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were unique in the sense that they provided version-exclusive counterparts to be caught early on in the game. Even before you'd reach Petalburg City, Lotad could be caught on Route 102 in Sapphire, while Seedot could be caught in the same area in Ruby. While both got unique typings (Seedot evolves into the grass/dark-type Pokémon Nuzleaf, who eventually evolves into Shiftry, while Lotad is water/grass to begin with and stays that way all the way up to its final evolution Ludicolo), Lotad and its evolutions are basically the superior counterparts. Water/grass is such a good typing that it eliminates weaknesses to moves of common types like electric, grass, ice and fire, making them neutral instead, and leaves Lotad with trivial weaknesses to bug and flying and a significant one to poison due to all the fairy types chillin' around lately. Lotad itself is not all that interesting; it is a fresh-water Pokémon with a lilypad on its back, which is used to ferry smaller Pokémon that can't swim across lakes and ponds sometimes and withers when Lotad becomes dehydrated. That's pretty much all there is to say about it, to be honest. Nothing out of the ordinary to be seen here.

Lombre carrying three adorable Mudkipsies on
the hat-like lilypad on its head.

When Lotad evolves, however, it'll become a Pokémon Donald Trump would dub a 'bad hombre'. (Disclaimer: I pity any American who voted for Trump and thinks he will in fact change their country for the better, but I truly feel sorry for those who voted for Hillary Clinton and have to put up with a misogynistic, racist, homophobic and just generally douchy excuse for a President now.) You see, Lombre is a play on either hombre or sombrero - Spanish for 'man' or 'hat', respectively - or both, although its Japanese and German names of Hasubrero (ハスブレロ) and Lombrero definitely point to the latter. If you look closely, you'll see that the lilypad on its head indeed looks a little like this distinctive Mexican hat everybody would recognize from a considerable distance. Also, Lombre looks like it's wearing overalls, giving it the general appearance of a lazy Mexican, which even I think is a little stereotypical. But Lombre is primarily based on a certain creature from Japanese mythology: we've come across Golduck already, who seems to have some traits of a kappa, but Lombre is more obviously based on this creature. Kappa means 'river child' and this may be why Lombre is often mistaken for a human child, but aside from that it also has the aesthetic features of a kappa: the dish on a kappa's head is called a sara and is the source of its power, while the turtle-like beak it is often depicted with can also be found in Lombre's design (when Lombre opens its mouth, it resembles a Mexican with a mustache, too). However, there is nothing much to say about Lombre's Pokédex entries, except for the fact that the film that covers its body is unpleasant to touch and that it is a mischief-maker. When it spots anglers, it tugs on their fishing lines from beneath the surface to interfere and enjoys their consternation, and it even pops out of rivers to startle people. Naughty, naughty Lombre.

Even in the anime Ludicolo has a Mexican Trainer.

The Mexican aspects of this evolutionary line's designs become especially apparent when Lombre evolves into Ludicolo by use of a Water Stone: its headgear now looks more like a traditional sombrero, complete with a pointed crown shaped like a pineapple, while its body seems to be draped in a zigzag-patterned poncho. As if that wasn't enough already, all the cells in Ludicolo's body become stimulated when it hears children singing on hiking outings or just festive music in general, and it will break into a dance as it becomes more energetic and active, making it more powerful. All this certainly makes most people associate Ludicolo with a stereotypical Mexican dancer. However, Japan is a rather homogeneous country: 98% of the population is of Japanese descent and their knowledge of or experience with foreign people is practically nonexistent, so it could very well be that Nintendo and Game Freak were trying to create Pokémon with aesthetics referring to the Mexican culture and it didn't occur to them that said aesthetics are actually regarded as racial stereotypes. The same thing happened with Jynx, who looked evidently African in its older official art with its black skin and thick pink lips. The Story of Little Black Sambo is still considered a classic in Japan and merchandise hereof is still being sold like hotcakes, including things like palm tree kits, figurines, coffee mugs, school accessories and even fruit. It's not exactly what Jynx is based on, but I don't think it is a coincidence that it had a black skin before it was changed to purple due to controversy, even though it wasn't created with bad intentions.

Ludicolo (right) performing some exotic dance with Roserade (left) and Sceptile
(middle), playing the bongo drums in the meantime. 

I reckon the creation of Lombre and Ludicolo didn't go any differently, although it doesn't help that the suffix -colo might be an anagram of loco, Spanish for 'crazy', or may be a reference to the Spanish word for 'ridiculous', ridículo. Additionally, 'ludic' is an adjective you use when you refer to someone who is aimlessly playful (Ludicolo is also classified as the 'Carefree Pokémon') and Ludicolo's name might even refer to the word 'ludicrous', which means something is absurd or laughable. For Nintendo and Game Freak it's probably just a serious attempt to create a pocket monster, but to many people, Ludicolo being a laughably crazy Mexican dancer will have a negative connotation. I'm not particularly bothered by Pokémon clearly based on certain ethnicities, especially since I believe they affirm that Pokémon is meant to be universally recognizable. Since Gen. V, the regions in the core series games have started to be inspired by areas outside of Japan as well: Unova was based on New York City, Kalos was clearly based on France and the Alola region in the upcoming Sun and Moon games is supposed to be an adaptation of Hawaii. Still, I think Game Freak should exercise caution when it comes to applying certain stereotypical features to certain Pokémon's designs, like Ludicolo. At least it can still say it is based on a kappa, as its respective Japanese, German, Korean and Chinese names of Runpappa (ルンパッパ), Kappalores, Ropapa (로파파) and Lètiānhétóng (樂天河童) suggest - lètiān and hétóng mean 'happy-go-lucky' and kappa, respectively, so its Chinese name literally means 'happy kappa', which is cute.

A pretty cool drawing of a shiny Ludicolo.

How does this platypus duck thing hold up in the games, though? Well, while its base stat total of 480 isn't anything crazy, you'll be able to work with it. Its mediocre base 70 defense and excellent base 100 special defense are backed up by its more-than-decent base 80 HP, which makes it a moderately bulky Pokémon all around. What's more, its base 90 special attack can even be used to sweep, especially in the rain. You see, Ludicolo has access to the Swift Swim ability, which doubles its speed when it's raining, so you can set up Rain Dance and pretty much execute a late-game sweep with Hydro Pump. Because its speed is already doubled due to Rain Dance, a Modest nature and a Life Orb as Ludicolo's held item are recommended. So is a complete moveset, by the way, so give it Ice Beam and Giga Drain as a finishing touch. You can even let another Pokémon set up the rain for Ludicolo and replace Rain Dance with Focus Blast in order to have some extra type coverage, although this is optional. There's a Swords Dance set mentioned on Smogon, but due to Ludicolo's mediocre base 70 attack I don't recommend running it, unless you want to catch your opponent off guard. A Waterfall in the rain still hurts, of course, but Hydro Pump - or even Surf if you want a more accurate move - hits much harder, not to mention moves like Giga Drain and Ice Beam are more useful or hit harder than their physical counterparts Seed Bomb and Ice Punch. I mean, Giga Drain is Ludicolo's only means of recovery, except when you let it hold the Leftovers, which honestly works much better in conjunction with its second ability called Rain Dish.

Ludicolo playing in a pond with Ducklett (in the sombrero on Ludicolo's head),
Surskit (on the water), Lotad (in the water), and Goldeen and Poliwag, who can
vaguely be seen underwater.

Ludicolo is an interesting Pokémon. So far, it and its pre-evolutions are the only water/grass dual-types in the Pokémon games, unless Pokémon Sun and Moon will have some pleasant surprises in store for us (THIRTEEN MORE DAYS UNTIL I CAN FINALLY PLAY THESE GAMES I'M SO HYPED AAAAHHHHH!!!). Ludicolo is a comical yet surprisingly useful Pokémon and I really like it, so I'm giving it a 4.5-star rating.

Rating: 4.5/5

#258 - #260: Mudkip, Marshtomp & Swampert

A part of the July 2014 issue of the Japanese manga magazine
CoroCoro Comic was made into a variation of an old Mudkip
meme. 

Goddamn, Mega Swampert is on steroids, I'm tellin' ya. Look at the motherfucker in the image on the right and tell me it's not swallowing anabolic substances. Mega Swampert looks like a bodybuilder whose muscles and veins are fit to burst, so it might be best for it to quit that synthetic crap. All jokes aside, though, the image on the right is an excerpt from the July 2014 issue of the Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro Comic, in which Mega Sceptile, Mega Diancie and Mega Swampert were revealed for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. It was made into a variation of an old Mudkip meme called "So I herd u liek Mudkipz" (in correct English: "I heard you like Mudkip"), as Mudkip is Swampert's basic stage. The new phrase said, "I herd u liek MURDER", which was due to Mega Swampert's ridiculously bulky appearance. It didn't quite catch on, as the Mudkip meme had died off about two or three years previous, but at least it made me snigger a little. That's mainly because I knew the "So I herd u liek Mudkipz" meme existed, although I never quite understood it. Apparently it originated in 2005 with the DeviantArt group MudKipClub, an account founded as a place for users to share their love for Mudkip and its evolutions by submitting fan art of them. The owner of the community started posting the phrase "So I herd u like Mudkips" ('heard' probably unintentionally misspelled) on other users' comment walls as an invitation to join the MudKipClub community. The phrase catched on and other users started to post variations of it in comment sections on forums of sites like Fark and Reddit. The spelling of 'like' and 'Mudkips' - although it's more common for Pokémon names to stay the same in plural - slowly changed into 'liek' and 'Mudkipz', and by 2009 the latter two dominated as opposed to their 'original' spellings.

An adorable little Mudkip playing in the mud. 

It's curious that, of all Pokémon, Mudkip became a meme. I mean... it's cute and all, but if this "So I herd u liek Mudkipz" thing hadn't become a famous Internet meme, it would easily have been one of the most forgettable starter Pokémon. That's my opinion, anyway, and it's mostly based on the fact that Mudkip is supposed to be an axolotl, an animal that was already the inspiration for the design of Wooper. Mudkip does have some features that could resemble those of axolotls, but its classification as the 'Mud Fish Pokémon' might refer to gilled African lungfish. Additionally, its Japanese name Mizugorou (ミズゴロウ) contains the word mutsugorō and indicates - along with the English name of Mudkip - that this Pokémon is based on a mudskipper, while its German name Hydropi refers to the mudpuppy. It's unsurprising Mudkip keeps being compared to an axolotl though, as all above-mentioned critters have some of the features axolotls have as well. At least they're all a little slippery, I imagine. As far as Pokédex entries go, Mudkip can use the sensitive radar receptors on its headfin to determine changes in air and water currents and that's pretty much all there is to say about it.

Up: someone made a collage of Marshtomp's
disquieting Gen. VI sprite. Just what we needed,
right? Down: HELP, AN INVASION OF
MARSHTOMP! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

Mudkip evolves into what is probably the most awkward middle stage of a starter Pokémon I have ever seen. Marshtomp looks both goofy and creepy, and for the most part I can attribute that to its unsettling eyes in combination with its wide mouth. Have you seen its frickin' Gen. VI sprite??? Swampert has the same eyes, but at least it looks a little more intimidating than Marshtomp, whereas the latter is supposed to be somewhat cute. Except it doesn't look cute to me, and I also don't like its design as a whole. As for its Pokédex entries, none actually stood out. Its has a thin, sticky film enveloping its body that enables it to live on land, but it likes to play in and moves faster through mud than actual water. It looks up mud pools when it becomes weak and dehydrated due to its skin drying out and wants to replenish its fluids. Eh. I'm sure mudskippers are called that way for a goddamn reason. Marshtomp's headfin does resemble a murmillo helmet, a helmet worn by a type of gladiator during the Roman Imperial age, and it might be evidence of Swampert's oncoming destructive abilities (note that Mudkip is already stronger than it looks, as it can smash rocks that are bigger than itself, and Mudkip is a mere 1'04"). Swampert, who can apparently be both bipedal and quadrupedal according to its game sprites, is where all the excitement is. Most of its Pokédex entries elaborate on what Mudkip's entries have told us, like Swampert's ability to sense the most subtle of changes and differences in the sounds of waves and tidal winds and its tremendous strength: it can move boulders weighing more than a ton, is capable of towing a gigantic ship while swimming, and propels through water faster than a jet ski. Swampert's vision is excellent, as it can see perfectly in even the murkiest bodies of water.

This piece of fan art perfectly demonstrates how badass
Swampert is.

Most of Swampert's flavor doesn't follow through in the games, though; it is quite slow, and Muddy Water still has terrible accuracy compared to Surf. Game Freak didn't lie about its power, though, as its base 110 attack stat is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. With base 100 HP and 90 defenses, it even has some considerable bulk behind it. which makes it more than viable as a Relaxed- or Impish-natured support Pokémon with moves like Stealth Rock, Roar and an attacking move or two rather than a powerhouse. Let it hold the Leftovers and it will endure the battle for quite some time. When you run a Careful or Sassy nature (both boost its special defense) you can run a Curse set, which allows Swampert to pump up its attack and defense and annihilate incoming foes. It becomes super fast as Mega Swampert, however, due to its excellent Swift Swim ability. If you set up the rain, this ability will activate and double Mega Swampert's speed stat, allowing it to sweep pretty much everything but grass types with its base 150 attack stat. All it needs is Rain Dance, Waterfall, Earthquake and Ice Punch, although it learns Hammer Arm, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Aqua Tail, Iron Tail and Power-Up Punch if you need any these moves. This Rain Dance strategy doesn't explicitly require a Jolly nature, so you can max out its attack stat by slapping an Adamant nature on it. Take note of this, though: an Impish nature on a regular Swampert doesn't work if you want to use the special-based Scald as support, and due to its speed, an Adamant nature on a regular Swampert is more effective if you want to go the offensive way.

Instead of getting carried away about how awesome Swampert is, I'm giving you a
heap of adorable Mudkipsies, because "I herd u liek Mudkipz". 

Swampert is amazing. I never used it in the days of Ruby and Sapphire, but I have gotten a newfound love for this slimy badass - or, more specifically, its Mega - since I used it a couple of times in Omega Ruby and realized this thing is just as good as the other Hoenn starters. Hoenn is by far not my favorite region and the Hoenn Pokémon aren't really my favorite, but I have to say the starters of this region are the absolute best, no exceptions. This is the first - and only - generation in which I'm giving all of the starters perfect ratings, and I don't regret it.

Rating: 5/5

#245: Suicune

This might well be the shortest article I'll write about the legendary beasts; not only have I said quite some things about Suicune when I talked about Raikou and Entei in my previous two posts, but Suicune is also the easiest to write about somehow.

This environment seems about right for Suicune, It might not be
an ice-type Pokémon, but I think it is perfectly able to withstand
cold.

Like Entei and Raikou, Suicune is one of the legendary beasts resurrected by Ho-Oh after the burning of the Brass Tower (referred to as the Burned Tower in the games). While Raikou represents the lightning that struck the tower and Entei the flames that consumed it, Suicune represents the rain that quenched the flames. It also looks the most regal of the three beasts, a trait that can be found in its name: Suicune's name is derived from the Japanese words of sui ('water') and kun ('monarch'), and as this Pokémon is also the mascot of Pokémon Crystal, it is not unlikely that the word suishō ('crystal') was also the inspiration for its name. And - again - while Suicune looks canine rather than feline, the spots on its body indicate it is based off of leopards and possibly even snow leopards. The Japanese deity of Fūjin, the god of the wind in the Japanese Shintō religion, carries a large bag of winds on his shoulders and is often depicted wearing a leopard skin, and the fact that Suicune represents wind and rain - it is a pure water type, but it also learns some flying-type moves like Tailwind, Gust and Air Slash - might mean that it is not only based on this very wind deity but also on wind deities from other cultures. The leopard characteristics, the fact that its mane is based on the northern light (aurora borealis; the light seen on the southern hemisphere is called aurora australis), the Pokédex entry that says that northern winds always blow stronger in its presence and its event-only move Sheer Cold - a move that normally only ice types get, aside from Kyogre - even give it some similarities to ice and cold.

The girl character in Pokémon Crystal (or HeartGold and SoulSilver) discovers the
legendary beasts hiding in the Burned Tower with a character called Eusine, who is
after Suicune. While they flee the moment you approach them in the tower, you can
encounter them later on; Raikou and Entei start wandering around the Johto region,
but you get to follow Suicune all the way to somewhere in the vicinity of Cerulean
City, where you can try to capture it without worrying whether it will flee or not.

But the most distinctive trait Suicune has is that it can purify any filthy, polluted body of water it walks on. That's right, it can walk on water.

Suicune is literally the reincarnation of Jesus fucking Christ.

For real though, it is more likely that Suicune takes homage from the Chinese myth of the qílín. This creature is believed to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler and is said to be able to walk on water, like Suicune. It is a powerful and peaceful being that represents prosperity and serenity - one could say Suicune is also the most heroic, serious, calm and serene of the legendary beasts - and possesses a pair of antlers similar to Suicune's crest, with two prongs on either side of the base.

Suicune walking on water.

I can be very brief about Suicune's competitive capacities: it is a bulky staller. Its excellent HP and even more excellent defenses makes it one of the sturdiest walls in the UU and OU tiers. Because it has access to Calm Mind, a move that raises its decent special attack and outstanding special defense by one stage each, you can easily go for a Bold nature, which boosts its defense instead. Suicune can then hit relatively hard with Scald and Ice Beam, while Rest is used to fully heal its HP. It does put Suicune to sleep, though, so you might want to let it hold a Chesto Berry or Lum Berry, both of which wake Suicune up immediately. Leftovers, however, is a nice held item for a little recovery every turn and only enhances Suicune's longevity. And there are other options, too: you can ditch Ice Beam in favor of Roar, which removes the opposing Pokémon from the battlefield and brings another one in. It's a perfect move against Pokémon who want to set up on you. Sleep Talk can be used when Suicune's asleep due to Rest and selects any of its remaining three moves to use while it sleeps - including Rest, which is just fucking dumb. Tailwind increases the speed of your entire team by 50%, while Substitute could come in handy if you want to set up with Calm Mind and PP stall low-PP moves that hurt Suicune, like Leaf Storm and Power Whip. You can even go all-out offensive, but I wouldn't really recommend that; Suicune is just too good a staller for it to be used completely offensively. It's not impossible, as it still learns good coverage moves like Extrasensory, Shadow Ball, Ice Beam, Air Slash and Signal Beam, but still...

One last piece of fan art of the legendary beasts. Look at Suicune being all cool,
calm and collected, as opposed to the savagery Raikou and Entei are radiating. 

While Entei takes up the spot as my favorite Johto legendary beast, I still love Suicune to bits. What especially attracts me is its design; Suicune is so beautiful and so graceful, and its calm and serene water typing is very much in contrast with the restless electric and fire typings of Raikou and Entei, respectively. Maybe that's why I like Articuno more than Zapdos and Moltres as well. All I know now is that, after all these years, Suicune is still deserving of a perfect rating and a spot in my list of favorite Pokémon.

By the way, I guess this isn't the shortest article about the legendary beasts after all; that dubious honor goes to Raikou.

Rating: 5/5

#458, #226: Mantyke & Mantine

As so many manta rays, Mantyke lives underwater.

Another baby Pokémon. Yay.

Fortunately, though, there is nothing special about Mantyke other than the fact that it only evolves into Mantine with a Remoraid in your party. As Mantine is always depicted with a Remoraid under its wing-like fins, this makes sense. In Remoraid and Octillery's entry I explained that attaching itself to a Mantine is an easy way for Remoraid to travel, while at the same time Mantine isn't bothered by the Remoraid on its wing in the slightest and just ignores it, so I guess these Pokémon are dependent on each other at times or at least willing to lend each other a hand (or a wing) when it's needed. This is a beautiful example of interdependent Pokémon relations, because we often see Pokémon as independent creatures that apparently don't need each other and Game Freak are doing little to nothing to change that image. At least when it comes to the core series games; I haven't watched the Pokémon anime in ages.

Official art of Mantine. While based on a manta ray, it looks like a
fighter plane with that Remoraid on its fin. 

But Mantyke is not where it's at. Mantine is where it's at; and to be honest with you, I think this Pokémon is kind of weird. First off, its secondary flying type leaves many people dazed and confused, but it's actually quite simple: like real-life manta rays, Mantine can fly up to 300 feet over the surface of the ocean when it builds up enough speed. Also, the Remoraid on its wing gives Mantine the look of a fighter aircraft, which further adds up to its flying type. Being water/flying instead of pure water, however, leaves it very vulnerable to electric-type attacks, as it has a quadruple weakness to them. It doesn't really matter, because Mantine is a bulky bitch. Its HP leaves a lot to be desired, but EV training solves that problem, and its natural special bulk allows you to invest some EVs in its defense instead. It's obvious Mantine is supposed to be a support Pokémon, but the thing is that it's not very good at it because it doesn't learn anything useful to go with its occupation. The best option is has is to poison its opponent with Toxic or burn it with Scald and then stall with Protect, or put up a Substitute against a specially offensive foe in order to get a free Toxic off. Of course, this set is best run on a defensive Mantine holding the Leftovers, although a specially offensive Mantine (Modest nature) with Choice Specs and moves like Hydro Pump, Scald, Signal Beam and Air Slash might get the job done as well.

Mantine above the surface of the ocean water, with Smeargle, Hoppip, Mantyke
and Wingull in the background.

When used right, Mantine can be a good Pokémon on any team. Too bad Mantyke and Mantine's flavour is a little bland, although the latter's design jacks up my rating a little. That means my eventual rating is going to be 4 stars, which is more than enough for Mantine; I think 3.5 stars is just a little bit too few, so then I'll just give it the benefit of the doubt.

Rating: 4/5