#96 - #97: Drowzee & Hypno

Two pieces of TCG art of Drowzee.

Sometimes I think Pokémon isn't meant for kids at all, because Game Freak come up with the scariest Pokédex entries for certain Pokémon.

The Pokémon I'm going to talk about right now are good examples of that.

Drowzee is a tapir Pokémon that is based on the Japanese myth of the baku, tapir-like creatures that are known for eating people's bad dreams. Drowzee basically does the same thing: it is able to put people to sleep and sense their dreams with its big nose, and will then eat those dreams through the victim's itching nose. Unlike the baku, Drowzee prefers fun dreams over nightmares, as the latter make it ill, and it will rarely eat the dreams of adults because children's dreams are seemingly tastier. They're TASTIER. Drowzee, you're already a creep for being some sort of dream pedophile, but the fact that you remember every dream you've eaten and can even pass them on to someone who sleeps by you is even creepier. Strangely enough, Drowzee is NOT able to learn Dream Eater in the video games; at least not by level-up. A few other Pokémon are, however, but the only one who can learn this particular move that somewhat matches its flavor is Darkrai. Drowzee, on the other hand, learns it through TM85 instead, which can be taught to numerous Pokémon that way. Game Freak, what up wit dat?

Rare Candy Treatment had the same issue with Drowzee not being able to learn
Dream Eater naturally. The only inconsistency is that Drowzee actually eats dreams
through the victim's nose rather than the ear. 

Anyway, if you thought Drowzee was scary, you ain't seen shit yet. You see, when Drowzee reaches level 26 it evolves into Hypno. That Pokémon is based on the same mythological monster its pre-evolution is based on (although Hypno looks more like a combination between a hypnotist and a proboscis monkey rather than a tapir, in my opinion), except it carries a glittering pendulum that it rocks at a steady rhythm to lull people into a deep hypnosis or put them to sleep in order to feast on their dreams, polishing its pendulum while it awaits its prey. But here's the thing: there once was an incident in which a Hypno took away a child it hypnotized. It's a KIDNAPPER! Game Freak, are you trying to let kids have a good time playing Pokémon or scare the shit out of them? Well, you can't say it's not an original concept to work with, at least I'll grant them that.

Hypno hypnotizing a child, which can be seen in the reflection of
his pendulum.

Too bad they didn't do anything in the video games to match its flavor. Okay, they let the player return a child who was kidnapped by a Hypno and taken to the nearby Berry Forest on Three Island (one of the Sevii Islands) in FireRed and LeafGreen, but I still don't get this Dream Eater thing. Not that Hypno needs that move anyway, because it will have to put the foe to sleep first and the only way it can do that is by using the low-accuracy move Hypnosis. Oh hey, looky looky at that: a flavor-matching move! Alright, enough with the sarcasm; let's see what Hypno is used for in competitive play. Its highest stats are its special defense and HP, so it won't come as a surprise that it is used a specially defensive wall. Combined with hold item Leftovers (to heal some of its HP after every turn) and ability Insomnia (so that Hypno can't be put to sleep) that can be accomplished very easily, especially combined with the Wish/Protect combo and a status-inflicting move like Thunder Wave or Toxic. Of course, Hypno should have an attacking move as well, which comes down to either Seismic Toss, which does damage equal to the user's level and is used against Pokémon that resist its STAB move Psychic, or Psychic itself. As for when using Hypno in a playthrough: it can learn Nasty Plot, which sharply raises its special attack, so a moveset consisting of Nasty Plot, Psychic, Shadow Ball and Dazzling Gleam is perfect. Its base 73 special attack (and physical attack, for that matter) might be a bit too low, but at least it's not entirely useless if you use at least one Nasty Plot.

I have never used Hypno before, and I don't think I want to in the future. It's not that I'm appalled by its characteristics or something (on the contrary, I quite find them some of the most interesting in the games), but Hypno is one of those Pokémon that has never really appealed to me, either. Aside from that, Hypno does have an interesting design and flavor, so I'll grant it a well-deserved 3.5-star rating.

Rating: 3.5/5

#95, #208: Onix & Steelix

The Crystal Onix from "The Crystal Onix", the 87th
episode of the Pokémon anime. 

No, I am NOT going to talk about Onix. I refuse.

Shit, I said I'd talk about all Pokémon, didn't I?

Well, to start with, Onix's stats are pretty terrible: except for its defense stat, its stats are all booty, booty, booty, booty, rockin' everywhere. And although you can't say I hate or despise it, it is such an uninteresting Pokémon with an even more uninteresting flavor to it. A giant ground snake that digs tunnels? Yeah, I'm not impressed. Okay, it has a magnet in its brain that prevents it from losing its sense of direction while tunneling, but that is pretty much it. The only thing about Onix that might be interesting enough is the Crystal Onix episode from the Orange Archipelago era. In this episode, Ash, Misty and Tracey end up on Sunburst Island, which is famous for its artists and glassblowers. They meet Mateo, a shopkeeper whose products are of lower quality than the sculptures of other glass makers on the island. In order to find inspiration, Mateo seeks to capture the legendary Crystal Onix, but after they find it and battle it, he realizes that just seeing the special Onix has inspired him. The most curious thing is - despite the fact that Onix are rock/ground-type Pokémon and are thus four times weak to water - that the Crystal Onix can withstand water because of its glass skin. It is weak to fire instead, which regular Onix resist.

Some pretty good papercraft of Steelix.

But that is just one anime episode and doesn't prevent Onix from still being an awful Pokémon stat-wise. However, when you give Onix a Metal Coat to hold and trade it to another game, it evolves into a much better and more fascinating Pokémon: Steelix! Steelix's diamond-hard and magnetic steel body can resist heat (despite it still being weak to fire in the video games) and makes it able to dig towards the Earth's core. The most interesting thing is the change in its primary typing: all of the iron in the soil and rocks Steelix has swallowed as an Onix have accumulated and have caused its body to compress underground, which is why its body is harder than diamond or any other metal. Steelix is, as its name suggests, a primary steel type, as opposed to Onix being a primary rock type. This comes with a more-than-excellent defense stat, a large set of resistances (eight, to be exact) and two immunities (Steelix is still part ground, which makes it immune to electric-type moves). Game Freak even blessed Steelix with the most awesome Mega evolution I have seen thus far.

Mega Steelix's official art.

And that undoubtedly makes Steelix the best powerhouse and defensive wall in the RU tier, and maybe the best overall, barring any legendary Pokémon. Upon Mega-evolving, its already outstanding defense stat becomes even more outstanding, and it even gets a little special bulk behind it. Its very decent base 95 special defense stat gives you the option to run a Steelix with a Careful nature or invest in special defense EVs (or both), as Mega Steelix's physical defense is high enough as is. Being perfectly able to take a hit, Mega Steelix is arguably the best Stealth Rock user, and being the fifth heaviest Pokémon in the game, Heavy Slam - one of its staple moves - does massive damage to most Pokémon. Its other staple move is its STAB Earthquake, which hits Pokémon that are resistant to steel for neutral damage (water) or super-effective damage (fire, electric, steel). This is where you choose to have Toxic to whittle down physically bulkier foes, Roar to force opponents to switch so that they can't set up with stat-increasing moves, or Stone Edge, Crunch, Aqua Tail or even Iron Head/Iron Tail for coverage or more reliable damage. You can even go for Sandstorm, because steel-, ground- and rock-type moves get a 30% boost from Mega Steelix's ability Sand Force when a sandstorm is raging on the battlefield.

And while we're at it, a regular Steelix (before you Mega-evolve it) should have Sturdy, which prevents it from getting OHKO'd while at full health. Rock Head prevents recoil damage, but the only move Steelix gets that benefits from that is Double-Edge. Lastly, its hidden ability Sheer Force ignores additional effects of move (like flinching or stat reduction) of moves for a little extra power, but you want Steelix to Mega-evolve as soon as possible anyway, so you'll barely have the chance to make use of it.

Wow, this piece of fan art of Jasmine and her Mega Steelix is GORGEOUS!

I absolutely love, love, LOVE Mega Steelix and it is by far my favorite Mega evolution. It always looked like some kind of mineral-like spikes were about to protrude from Steelix's body, which they technically already did, but finally Mega-evolving has caused its cells to crystallize and made the prism-like crystalline spikes to burst from it. What's more, Mega Steelix now has its own gravitational orbit, causing metallic-looking scraps to constantly rotate around its neck. These scraps act to its movements and change position when it attacks. I mean, how cool is that? To top all that, Steelix's polished steel body makes its shiny form look more like actual gold, which makes it one of the most effective shinies to date. After all this praise, it probably comes at no surprise that I will give Steelix a perfect rating, just for being a perfect Pokémon.

Rating: 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

#90 - #91: Shellder & Cloyster

Do you remember that I already discussed Shellder in Slowbro and Slowking's entry? Yeah, I know that Shellder doesn't look like the shells on Slowbro's tail and Slowking's head, but there's this thing called evolution that might cause a Shellder that is attached to either Slowbro or Slowking to change its appearance as well, so don't question it. Okay?

Shellder in the anime. Due to its dopey look and big tongue,
Shellder is actually kinda cute, despite being a slimy mollusk. 

Okay. So, Shellder is already interesting by itself, especially because of its symbiotic relationship with the Slowpoke line. Now, I'm not going to write an entire paper about that; if you want to read about what Shellder does to Slowbro and Slowking, I suggest you go read their entry instead. All I know is that Shellder doesn't look so cute in its 'parasite' form anymore, nor does it actually look like a Pokémon when it clamps on to a member of the Slowpoke family, for that matter. In battles, Shellder is not so keen on clamping itself to an opponent, because that will reveal its vulnerable parts and therefore it will only do that as a last resort. Obviously, Shellder lives and sleeps in a hole on the seafloor, which it creates by using its broad tongue that is always kept hanging out. Loose grains of sand that get trapped inside its body after burrowing its hole are mixed with body fluids to form beautiful pearls. Shellder moves around by rapidly opening and closing its bivalve shell (which, by the way, is as hard as diamond)... while facing backwards. So it doesn't see where it is going, or does it have an intuitional orientation? Unfortunately, the Pokédex - or rather: Game Freak - fails to provide us with any information on that.

Cloyster fan art.

What is evident, though, is that Shellder is capable to fully evolve by itself. When it is exposed to a Water Stone, this cute little mussle (or clam) evolves into a giant not-to-be-fucked-with oyster. Cloyster definitely has more spikes on its shell than Shellder, but these spikes are even harder than its diamond-hard shell (harsh tidal currents affect their size and sharpness) and are also its main tools in battle. That is evident in the fact that it is able to learn flavor-matching moves like Spike Cannon and Spikes, as well as Icicle Spear, which can only be learned by Shellder. Its projectile system is also used to move itself forward, swallowing seawater and ejecting it towards the rear propelling it through with siphon-jet propulsion. Cloyster is kind of a mysterious Pokémon in the first place, because no one knows what its innards look like, will ever be able to open its shell when it is closed, or knows why its shell is so hard it can withstand a bomb blast or even a missile strike.

Some more awesome Cloyster fan art.

Whatever material(s) Cloyster's shell is made of, its in-game use strongly matches its flavor: Cloyster has a massive base 180 defense stat, which makes it capable to survive quite some physical attacks from its opponents. Unfortunately, its base HP is quite low and its special defense is absolutely garbage, so its endurance might disappoint in the long run. That is why Cloyster is often given a Focus Sash, which saves it from being one-shotted. Cloyster comes with three excellent abilities, but one of its two regular abilities, Skill Link, is absolutely the best. This ability allows Cloyster to hit the opponent a maximum number of times with multi-strike moves like Icicle Spear and Rock Blast, which hit for 25 power a pop for a maximum of five times. That's some clean 125 damage right there, so these moves are must-haves for Cloyster. So, what about the other abilities? Well, Shell Armor prevents Cloyster from getting a critical hit to the face, which is useless when it is hit by Thunderbolt or something anyway, while its hidden ability Overcoat prevents it from receiving chip damage from weather conditions such as Hail and Sandstorm, which is situational at best.

As for the other moves he should have: Razor Shell is its only usable physical water-type move (although some players carry Ice Shard on Cloyster instead), and Shell Smash raises its attck, special attack and speed by two stages each and lowers its defense and special defense by one stage each. Losing some defense for a lot of offense and speed is a good trade in my opinion, as Cloyster can still withstand quite a few physical attacks after a Shell Smash boost. The defense and special defense drop makes it even more frail than it is though, so that Focus Sash might be a very good idea. Although a Life Orb is a good alternative, a White Herb, which is an item that restores negative stat changes like the defensive drops from Shell Smash, might come in handy as well. A Jolly or Naive nature (both makes Cloyster's speed stat grow better) are the preferred natures for Cloyster and make it outspeed many Choice Scarf opponents after a Shell Smash.

Now, this player takes Game Freak's suggestive joke to the next level. Dirty
motherfucker!

This water/ice dual-type Pokémon is definitely great in battles, but the funniest thing about it is a joke theory that is going round on the Internet. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, the player is challenged by Young Couple Duff and Eda, who use Cloyster and Onix. But as it happens, in this context, Cloyster and Onix tend to strongly resemble a vulva and a phallus, respectively. Very suggestive, but I guess someone at Game Freak likes dirty inside jokes that children won't even notice. It makes adult players go LOL and parents go OMG, but I really don't see the harm in it.

Cloyster is one of those Pokémon I would LOVE to use in a playthrough once, especially one with the Skill Link ability, which makes it an extremely useful, unique and overpowered Pokémon (although it beats me why it isn't able to learn Pin Missile, with its effective projectile system and all). I love its design and its mischievous look, which suggest that we're dealing with a highly defensive and strong Pokémon. I'll gladly give Cloyster a rating of 5 stars, every one of them more than deserving!

Rating: 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

#86 - #87: Seel & Dewgong

Pretty nice fan art of Seel.

Talk about uninspiring Pokémon.

Okay, Seel and Dewgong are obviously based on pinnipeds, or seals, as these animals are more commonly called. More specifically, the Pokédex suggests they are based on sea lions. Otariinae (sea lions) are a subfamily of otariidae (eared seals, under which sea lions and fur seals can be categorized), which is one of three groups categorized under pinnipedia, all pinnipeds in general, even walruses. Not only is Seel's name pretty unimaginative, its flavor is pretty much based on what real seals do as well, if you ignore the fact that sea lions don't actually live on icebergs in frigid ocean waters as cold as -40°F and don't thrive in these cold environments at all; that's the thing of other seal species. They don't have the warm fur and thick hide that Seel has, either. Come to think of it, I think we have another case of 'erroneous Pokédex classification', but let's not get further into that. Game Freak are close enough this time, and there are plenty of other things to talk about.

Dewgong in all its glory.

Like how Dewgong is largely based on the aquatic mammals dugongs (from the dugongidae family) and manatees (from the trichechidae family), also known as sea cows (the order sirenia), rather than seals. Or sea lions, for that matter. Dewgong shares much of its flavor with its pre-evolution, like its ability to resist even extreme cold by storing thermal energy in its body (but don't all ice-type Pokémon have a resistance to cold?), its capability to swim fast and agilely through the water (no shit, it's a water type), and its tendency to hunt for food at night rather than during the day. It even gets more active when the weather is cold, like Seel, and specifically searches for cold places to rest, like Seel. The only thing that can't be found on seals and sea cows is its horn, with which it's able to break through thick layers of ice. It's such a shame Dewgong's characteristics aren't a little bit more interesting, because I actually quite like its design.

More fan art of Dewgong, because its official art isn't near as
interesting. 

Dewgong serves little purpose in battles, either. It's a very mediocre in-game Pokémon, with base attack and special attack stats of only 70. It's more defensive than it is offensive, with 90 base HP, 80 base defense and 95 base special defense. This could be useful in the competitive tier (NU; never used) it resides in. It is recommended to use a Dewgong with a Calm nature, the item Leftovers for it to hold, and the Thick Fat ability. This ability reduces damage from fire- and ice-type moves, from which Dewgong takes neutral damage or to which it is resistant anyway. Hydration makes it cure status conditions in the rain, but this only works in a rain team, while Ice Body allows it to restore some health when it's hailing, which is disadvantageous to the other (non-ice-type) Pokémon in your team, as hail damages them. Now, as for the moves Dewgong should learn... It is a specially defensive support Pokémon, no doubt, which it why it should have Toxic, to poison the foe, and Protect, to Toxic stall the foe and gain some recovery from its own Leftovers. Surf or Ice Beam is an offensive move to keep Dewgong from being Taunt bait, while Perish Song (which makes the user as well as the target faint within three turns) can be used on Pokémon on which Toxic has no effect, such as Pokémon with the Magic Guard ability or steel types.

If it weren't for Dewgong's uninteresting flavor and mediocre battling capabilities, I would have given it a better rating, probably even close to five stars. Now, however, I have no choice but to pull back a little and give Dewgong a rating of 3.5 stars. And that's still generous of me.

Rating: 3.5/5

#84 - #85: Doduo & Dodrio

Doduo can run extremely fast, but there is no way it's faster than
Dodrio...

So, here we have 'em: Doduo and Dodrio, the first Pokémon that are completely based off of an extinct animal.

Well, the Bulbasaur line could very well be based off of a dinosaur, but the suffix -saur is probably derived from the same Latin word, meaning 'lizard'. I think that's plausible.

Anyway, while dodos didn't really have two heads, let alone three, Game Freak are known for bending the rules a little. Besides, this is Pokémon, so it doesn't hurt making an extinct bird a little bit more interesting. Right? Well, the FireRed Pokédex says that Doduo was discovered as a sudden mutation, so that explains something. Having two heads is useful anyway, because while one head is always awake and alert and keeping an eye out for enemies, the other head sleeps for two. It is theorized that this is possible because the heads have identical brains and communicate with each other through telepathy. Despite the fact that Doduo aren't particularly good fliers (they run on their strongly developed legs instead, being able to reach speeds up to 60 miles while leaving four-inch footprints wherever they go), they are capable of learning Steel Wing, Fly, Brave Bird and Sky Attack. One could argue that Doduo and Dodrio are still birds, which is why they can learn these moves in the first place, but that makes no sense, as they have no wings. Come to think of it, dodos had wings, even though they were tiny and couldn't be used to fly with. Therefore, Duduo and Dodrio have more in common with modern-day ostriches, and possibly moas (an extinct species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand) and emus.

Proud Mom Dodrio watching its cute little baby Doduo hatch
from the egg.

Dodrio, however, is where Game Freak show a little inconsistency. While Doduo's Pokédex entries mention that it can run up to 60 miles per hour, Dodrio's entries tell us that it can run up to 40 miles per hour. Yet Dodrio's base speed (100) is higher than Doduo's (75), which makes sense, as a Pokémon's base stats usually improve upon evolving. My guess is that mistakes were made when Dodrio's Pokédex entries were written and that Dodrio are actually capable of running 140 miles per hour. Yeah, let's go with that. One specific characteristic of Dodrio backs up my theory as well: Dodrio has three sets of heart and lungs, which allows it to oxygenate and pump blood through its body, giving it increased endurance to run vast distances without rest. I bet it can also run extremely fast because of that. One thing is certain, though: Dodrio is a whole lot different than Dodrio. Each head now has its own working brain and distinct personality, respresenting joy, anger and sorrow respectively, although I mainly see two pissed-off heads and one bored one (see Dodrio's official art below to compare). The brains collect data, formulate and then execute complex plans and strategies, but Dodrio may sometimes over-think and -analyze a situation, causing itself to be immobilized and unable to carry out any action whatsoever. If the heads squabble with each other, they won't stop until at least one of them gets to eat, which will also satisfy the other two heads. Like Doduo, Dodrio likes to keep one head awake to stand guard and look out for enemies while the other two heads are asleep. That is a whole set of characteristics worth mentioning, which gives this Pokémon a little dynamic, personality and originality.

Official art of Dodrio.

That is definitely not the case in the games, especially in the competitive scene. There are a lot of other normal/flying-type birds that are better than Dodrio, including Pidgeot (who has a Mega evolution), Swellow and Staraptor, but that doesn't mean Dodrio is useless. Its base speed compared with a Jolly nature, EV investment in speed and attack, and a Choice Band as hold item makes it hit its opponents fast and hard (although the Choice item limits it to using only one move until it switches out, after which the item will reset). When it comes to moves, Dodrio doesn't learn a whole lot of useful moves, but just enough to fill in a decent moveset: Brave Bird is a strong STAB move but deals recoil damage, Return hits for 102 base damage when Dodrio's friendship level is maxed out, and Quick Attack finishes off opposing Pokémon that don't have much health left. As for the last slot, Dodrio has access to a move that the likes of Swellow and Staraptor can only dream of (Pidgeot has been a special attacker ever since it has a Mega, so it doesn't benefit from it): Knock Off. This is a dark-type move that deals double the damage (its base power is 65) when knocking off the opposing Pokémon's item. It's a shame Dodrio doesn't have any abilities that help it. Run Away makes it run away from wild Pokémon, but it has no effect in battle and is practically useless anyway, as Dodrio is already fast as is. Tangled Feet raises its evasion when it is confused, but is way too situational; besides, it is advised to switch out confused Pokémon before they hurt themselves and whittle away at their own health. Early Bird, which causes Dodrio to wake up early when it is put to sleep, is the only good option.

This fan art of Dodrio shows the distinct personalities of the head - anger, joy and
sorrow - better than its official art.

Dodrio is an interesting Pokémon with a fascinating set of characteristics and a funny design. Unfortunately, even though it is far from a bad attacker, it's not really a popular Pokémon to use. And although it's not useless, it isn't a particularly useful one, either: there are plenty of Pokémon that can do a better job at what Dodrio can do. On the other hand, with its three heads and a design based on an extinct flightless bird, Dodrio is probably the most original normal/flying type out there. Hey, I just like it a lot, and that's why I'm giving it a four-star rating.

Rating: 4/5