#193, #469: Yanma & Yanmega

I guess the days that Yanma was the rare card in a TCG pack are
long gone. 

Okay, so this is one of those Pokémon whose typing American people are fussing about. Yanmega is clearly based on the dragonfly, so surely it should be a dragon type as well, right? Well, no. It makes perfect sense for Yanmega being a bug/flying type, as it is hardly based on dragons. English is one of only a few languages that adopts the word 'dragon' in the name of the dragonfly, the other one I could find being the Icelandic drekaflugur. The Dutch actually call the dragonfly a libelle, and this is by far the most common name, or variations thereof, I could distinguish, along with variations of the suborder the dragonfly belongs to, anisoptera. There are several other names to be found in other languages as well, but I'm not a polyglot (I only speak Dutch fluently, and I'd dare say I'm pretty good in English, too) so please don't quote me on all of this. All I know is that Yanma, at 3'11" and 83.8 pounds, is a big-ass dragonfly. Yanmega is even worse, sitting at 6'03" and 113.5 pounds, so I wouldn't want to encounter one in the wild. Both are probably based on a large prehistoric species of dragonflies that has long gone extinct, but especially Yanmega is based on this meganeura monyi. The fact that yanma is Japanese for 'large dragonfly' only backs this up.

Pretty nice, this piece of fan art. 

Yanma, who has some aesthetic traits with the red-veined darter, very much behaves like a common dragonfly: it makes sudden stops in midair and hovers in place by just flapping its wings. It can generate shock waves capable of shattering glass by flapping its wings very fast, something I doubt real-life dragonflies can do. Although Yanma doesn't have two arthropod-like eyes, it is capable of turning them 360° without actually having to move them around, very much like real compound eyes. Yanmega - into which Yanma evolves when it is leveled up while knowing Ancient Power, a move that both Pokémon have a quadruple weakness to - is a lot more terrifying. Both Yanma and Yanmega are predators, but Yanmega has immense jaw power, which allows it to bite apart its prey's head (decapitation?) while flying by at high speed, and its six legs can even transport a adult human being in flight. The shock waves it generates by beating its wings are even stronger than Yanma's: they cause internal damage to opponents and dislodge trees when Yanmega takes flight.

TCG art of Yanmega.

It proves to be just as terrifying in competitive play, as its quite capable base stat total of 515 doesn't exactly leave it vulnerable. Okay, it's defenses aren't all that - especially its special defense is awfully mediocre - but with 86 HP and defense it should be able to take a physical hit or two. I am going to dwell on two possible sets for Yanmega, the first being the Tinted Lens set. This set allows you to run Choice Specs, so to make sure Yanmega hits as hard as possible with its excellent 116 special attack: Tinted Lens lets all non-super-effective moves deal normal damage instead, while the Choice Specs increase Yanmega's special attack by 50% at the cost of limiting it to using only one move until switched out, so those are welcome boosts. Its other ability, Speed Boost, increases its speed every turn and works well in combination with a Life Orb and the move Protect, which prevents anything from happening to Yanmega. Although it is hard to use it twice in a row, just click Protect after you switch into Yanmega so that it can gain a free speed increase. Both sets should contain the moves Bug Buzz, Air Slash, and either Giga Drain or Ancient Power, while the Tinted Lens set fares better with something like U-Turn instead of Protect. A Timid nature is preferable in both sets, as it increases Yanmega's speed a little, but a Modest nature to focus on special attack instead isn't bad, either. Just know that a Tinted Lens set won't allow your Yanmega to outspeed many speedy Pokémon, while a few Speed Boost increases will.

Goddamn, that is a big-ass bug!

Yanmega is a weird thing that is suprisingly good in battle, especially when you consider it's an evolution of such a bad Pokémon as Yanma. While I'm not exactly fond of it, you can't say that I hate it, either. Its classification of the 'Ogre Darner Pokémon' looks quite confusing, but it's green and vicious - like ogres usually are - and it's based on the green darner dragonfly (its shiny form even on the less common blue female ones), so I won't question it. I have yet to use it on whatever occasion you can come up with - with other words, I have never used this thing before at all - so for now I'll give it 4 stars. Who knows, perhaps I'll max out its rating once I've gotten a chance to make use of it.

Rating: 4/5

#191 - #192: Sunkern & Sunflora

There is so little Sunkern fan art to be found on the Internet that I
decided to use a cute GIF of it instead. Here you are. 

There isn't an awful lot to say about Sunkern and Sunflora. Sunkern is the weakest Pokémon in existence; with base stats of 30 across the board it reaches a base stat total of 180, the lowest of all existing Pokémon. It has the lowest HP of all grass-type Pokémon, and it is tied with Lotad for the lowest defense and with Bellsprout and Seedot for the lowest special defense of all grass types. In other words, it is an awful Pokémon. It is aware of its weakness, though, so all it does is feed itself with the dew that collects beneath leaves and be as still as possible so that it can conserve all the nutrients in its body as effectively as possible. Also, it likes to suddenly plummet from the sky in early mornings, just for the heck of it. And that's all there is to it. When this shooting sunflower seed evolves into an actual goddamn sunflower by use of a Sun Stone, it starts to converts sunlight into nutrition. Jeez, in real-life we have such a thing too, only it's called photosynthesis. Have you ever heard of that? I had never even heard of that. (!)

About the best piece of Sunflora art I could
find. This thing does not have many fans...

In all seriousness, though, they need plenty of sunlight and water and rush about in a hectic manner in pursuit of what they need. When the sun sets, they come to a complete stop and close their petals. This whole solar thing is what Sunflora is about, as it is also its niche in battles: its abilities Chlorophyll and Solar Power both center around sunlight and a few of the moves in its level-up movepool have a connection to the sun, too. It has to be said that almost every grass-type Pokémon can learn Sunny Day and Solar Beam, so it's not all that special. My advice is to not use this thing at all competitively (in a regular playtrough it would do just fine), but I guess it has its uses. When Sunkern evolves into Sunflora, its special attack skyrockets to a solid 105, so at least it packs a punch. Too bad its other stats are mediocre or just plain bad. It's speed is terrible and can only be increased by Chlorophyll, which doubles its speed in harsh sunlight. That's what Sunny Day is for, but as Sunflora is slow and not very defensive, you'll have to let another Pokémon set up the sun. It's more hassle than it's worth, honestly, but let's build from there. Its low speed allows Sunflora to sport a Modest nature and a couple of offensive moves, along with Synthesis. The latter heals Sunflora's HP by 75% when the sun is up, but its movepool is... not very versatile. Naturally, it learns a ton of good special-based grass-type moves, but the only move of another type it can learn is Earth Power. And Sludge Bomb, but that kind of takes away the purpose of all those grass/poison dual-type Pokémon. Or not, because they are generally better at this Chlorophyll thing than Sunflora is. There is Solar Power, which increases Sunflora's special attack in the sun in exchange for some HP, but as Sunflora isn't all that bulky, that's kinda risky, especially when you also let it hold a Life Orb.

You know, I don't hate Sunflora, but I think its design, flavor and competitive and in-game utility could've been executed much better. Right now, it's just there and it's doing nothing in particular, which makes it one of the most forgettable Pokémon ever. I... just can't give it a good rating, I'm sorry.

Rating: 2/5

#190, #424: Aipom & Ambipom

Ash's Aipom had a penchant for headgear,
especially Ash's hat, as you can see in these
images. You can't see it here, but Aipom
usually has a cowlick atop its head.

Aipom, wipe that stupid grin off your fucking face.

You know, this time I'm glad Game Freak did the right thing and actually gave such a bad Pokémon a great evolution. But however bad a battler Aipom might be by itself, it is actually a pretty fun Pokémon. At the end of the Advanced Generation series (seasons 6 to 9), Ash encountered one that had quite the playful and jealous nature and had a fetish for headgear, continuously stealing Ash's hat and even getting itself into trouble when it put on a crown that couldn't be taken off. Eventually, a berry helped solve the problem. A bigger problem was that the Advanced Generation series ended shortly after Ash acquired Aipom, causing him to leave all of his Pokémon behind when he left for Sinnoh - with the exception of Pikachu, of course. But Aipom would have none of it: he attacked Professor Oak and snuck aboard the boat Ash was traveling on to accompany him on his journey. This proved to be extremely beneficial, as Pikachu was kidnapped by Team Rocket immediately upon arrival and Aipom helped Ash find him. Ash ultimately traded Aipom for Dawn's Buizel, as Buizel was more interested in Ash's battle training and Aipom was more interested in Dawn's Contest-oriented training. Ash must have regretted that, because soon after the trade was made, Aipom learned Double Hit and evolved into Ambipom. And let's be honest, Ambipom is much better than Aipom and has a lot more tricks up its sleeve.

To hell with fan art, anime screenshots are much more interesting to use in this
particular article. Look at that smirk on Ambipom's face! 

But let's not jump the gun, I want to focus on their flavor first. Aipom seems to be based on a squirrel monkey with traits of cymbal-banging monkey toys and the ahuizotl, a creature of Aztec mythology that has monkey hands and a fifth human hand on its tail. Aipom's tail does look like a hand; its tail is actually prehensile and is strong enough to anchor Aipom to a branch and suspend the rest of its body in the air, while it is delicate enough to pick fruit and grab other objects. Aipom even wraps its tail around tree branches as it sleeps upside down, and even uses it to swing from branch to branch. Ironically, its actual arms aren't all that dexterous because it uses its tail so much. And Ambipom? Well, Ambipom has two tails, both of which have hands on it and both of which it can use equally well - hence the reference to 'ambidextrous' in its name. Its tails are so adept at handling and doing things that it barely uses its hands anymore, and they're used to leap from tree to tree with brilliant speed. Those trees seem to be Aipom and Ambipom's habitat, which is nicely demonstrated by the games: in Gold, Silver and Crystal - and their remakes - Aipom can be found in Headbutt trees, while in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum you have to smear Honey on Honey trees to attract them instead.

These girls just want to have fun. 

Aipom evolves into Ambipom by leveling it up while it knows the move Double Hit, which is the kind of evolution method used for evolving Lickitung into Lickilicky (ugh, I cannot emphasize enough how much I despise that thing), but with the move Rollout instead. There's just one difference: while Lickilicky should avoid using Rollout, Double Hit is actually a viable move for Ambipom to use... when it's running the Technician ability, that is. Pickup lets it occasionally pick up items after winning battles in a regular playthrough, so it's only handy outside of competitive play (Ambipom does pick up one-time use items of opposing Pokémon in battle and uses them itself, but only when it is not already holding an item, and you don't want that), while Skill Link enables it to let multi-strike moves always strike the maximum number of times. As Skill Link only affects Double Slap, with 15 power, and Fury Swipes, with 18 power, it is by far not the preferred ability. True, both moves will strike five times, but the combined power of these moves are 75 and 90, respectively, while Double Hit always hits two times for 35 power a pop. This will be 52.5 power per hit when Technician is applied, which can add up to 105 power in total. That's more than the maximum power of 102 from Return, although Double Hit does have lower accuracy.

No, don't ask me why Double Hit always hits two times and Double Slap can hit two to five times, because I have no clue whatsoever. I can only theorize that it has something to do with their original Japanese names: when translated, the Japanese name for Double Slap is Round Trip Slap, which does not indicate a specific number of strikes, while Double Hit is Double Attack.

Somehow this kind of ghostly wallpaper art fits Ambipom perfectly.

But let's not digress here. Ambipom isn't the best Pokémon in the competitive metagame, but that's not to say you can't compose a good set for it. It excels in attack and speed, while its defenses are pretty abysmal altogether, so it's more of a hit-and-run Pokémon. Give Ambipom a Jolly nature and a Life Orb and make its moveset look as follows: Fake Out (priority move that makes the opponent flinch and is boosted by Technician), Double Hit/Return (whichever you prefer), Knock Off and U-Turn. This is more of a utility moveset, but if you want more of an offensive threat, Ambipom also learns a variety of other physical-based moves: Seed Bomb, Gunk Shot, the elemental punches, Acrobatics (doesn't work well with a Life Orb, which it needs; its attack is good, but it needs all the power it can get), Brick Break, Focus Punch, Iron Tail and a bunch of Technician-boosted moves like Revenge (this move doubles its base power of 60 when Ambipom is hit first, but the ability only activates when Ambipom gets the first hit instead), Pursuit, Aerial Ace, Thief, Covet and Power-Up Punch. Lastly, one gimmicky strategy you could use is the Fake Out/Last Resort combo. Last Resort is a normal-type move with 140 base power and it will only activate when all of the other moves Ambipom knows have been used at least once without having switched Ambipom out during the battle. It can be pretty lethal combined with a Life Orb, but Ambipom will end up with only two moves in its arsenal, which could turn out to be disadvantageous.

Oh, one more thing: both sets make a Choice Band or Choice Scarf pretty useless, so I don't recommend using them as alternatives to the Life Orb.

Ambipom's official art is heavily modified, but I think it's pretty this way. 

Man, I love Ambipom and I think it is easily the best Gen. IV cross-generational evolution alongside Rhyperior. Aipom was pretty enjoyable back in the day, but I have slowly come to love Ambipom since it was introduced in Diamond and Pearl. I thought it was weird, but now I regret not putting it in my top 50 favorite Pokémon (check my badly-written previous blog for that; or rather, don't). After all this praise, you probably think I'm gonna give it a perfect rating... and you would be entirely correct.

Rating: 5/5

#187 - #189: Hoppip, Skiploom & Jumpluff

One big, happy family: Hoppip (middle), Skiploom (left) and
Jumpluff (right).

I don't even have the faintest idea where to start with such insignificant Pokémon. It's funny I say that, too, because Hoppip might be derived from 'pipsqueak', which means as much as a person who's considered insignificant because of their small size or young age. That's not the reason why I'm calling Hoppip and its evolutions insignificant, though; no, the reason why I see them as such is because I don't think they're good Pokémon at all. Hoppip and Skiploom are actually terrible Pokémon: they have no attacking power whatsoever, and their defenses aren't anything to write home about, either. But if you think Jumpluff is where it's at, you're dead wrong. Okay, if you put some investment in its HP and one or either of its defensive stats, it might live two or three hits that aren't super effective, but it is generally a bad Pokémon. It's no good using it offensively, not even with its ability Infiltrator, which ignores the effects of Reflect, Light Screen, Safeguard and Mist and even bypasses Substitute. The only thing that Jumpluff could be used for, at least in my opinion, is for putting an opponent to sleep and then U-Turn the fuck out in order for you to switch into another Pokémon to finish that opponent off. Seems like as good a strategy as any, although there are other grass-type Pokémon who can do the exact same job for you while they're still packing a punch. They're probably not as fast as Jumpluff, but I guess you'll just have to accept that if you want a better Pokémon overall.

Cute Hoppip fan art.

Oh, you say there are better sets for Jumpluff? Well, it learns Swords Dance, and it looks great in combination with Seed Bomb and Acrobatics, but the latter only has a power of 110 when Jumpluff isn't holding any item, so that means you can't enhance its 'strength' even further with a held item if you want to use that move. And you might not have a choice at all, as it's the only good flying-type move it has access to and, above all, you're gonna need all the power you can get. What else should you run, a Bounce/Power Herb combo? It's better to just slap Memento (lowers the foe's attacking stats by two stages but causes Jumpluff to faint instantly) and/or Encore (locks the foe into an unfavorable move) on it and strategically try to maneuver another Pokémon of yours into battle and let it set up safely. Or just shy away from Jumpluff altogether.

I notice that this kind of art, in which cute Pokémon are thrown
on a heap, is fairly popular on the Internet. In this picture, a
shiny Hoppip is thrown into the mix. 

It's too bad I have to say that, because I absolutely LOVE Hoppip, Skiploom and Jumpluff's designs. They're based on the life cycle of a dandelion, which used to be my favorite flower when I was a kid, just because I would pluck them in the last phase of their life and blow the fluff away. The leaves on Hoppip's head, which have ragged edges, resemble those of the dandelion, while Skiploom's flower and Jumpluff's fluff are based on the middle and last stages of a dandelion's lifespan, respectively. Their names are a play on the phase , which means that something is just a short distance away. It's quite ironic, because Hoppip can drift away and uncontrollably fly long distances if they aren't careful, which is why they gather in clusters to protect themselves from strong winds that they can sense approaching.

Jumpluff.

Skiploom largely has its movements under control, though, and even tries to get closer to the sun in order to get some much-needed vitamin D. Nah, just kidding. It's just that the flower on its head opens and closes as the temperature fluctuates and blossoms when it gets warmer than 64°F. How much the bloom opens depends on the temperature as well, which is why Skiploom is often used as a thermometer by humans. Jumpluff very much behaves like a dandelion in the last phase of its life, as it drifts on seasonal winds to spread its spores and make offspring (yet in the games, Hoppip still hatch from eggs). Much like Skiploom, it hates rain and cold air currents, so it only rides warm southern winds. Even here, the phrase "Just a hop, skip, and a jump away" appears to be quite ironic, because Jumpluff uses these winds to cross seas and fly to far, foreign lands. I'm almost starting to think Game Freak's use of that phrase was meant to be ironic, but I don't think they're that clever, LOL. Also, it's a nice touch how Jumpluff's cotton-puff spores on/in its hands - I have no idea which one the fuck it is - resemble pom-poms; you know, those things that are often used by cheerleaders to cheer for high school sport teams. Maybe that's why Jumpluff is generally better to use as a support Pokémon, ha ha ha.

Okay, I'm lame.

I've always loved these Pokémon, but it's such a shame I found out they're not really good in battle, not even in-game. Skiploom evolves into Jumpluff at an early level (level 27), but that doesn't really help Jumpluff's cause, either: it might be good at the beginning of the game, but it'll fall behind on the other Pokémon in your team. Putting the foe to sleep with Sleep Powder and switch out afterwards is only useful in Nuzlocke variants, so I was very disappointed with it when I was doing a regular playthrough. That's why they're now a whole star short of a perfect rating, but I have to do this, however much I like these things.

Rating: 4/5

#438, #185: Bonsly & Sudowoodo

I think Bonsly looks stupid, but this realistic 3D art looks even
better than the actual cartoon version. 

Sigh. I don't want to talk about Bonsly. I think it is stupid and unnecessary and basically just a rip-off of its evolution, as I think most baby Pokémon are. All it does is being a downright attention whore by continuously creating fake tears. Okay, it does so because it needs to adjust its body's fluid and moisture levels, but I don't fucking care; this phony bonsai tree can go to hell for all I care. No, I'm much more interested in Sudowoodo, the Pokémon that blocked the road to Ecruteak City in Gold and Silver (and their remakes). You had to beat Whitney and her terrifying Miltank first before you could get a SquirtBottle (or a Wailmer Pail in HeartGold and SoulSilver) from the lady in the Goldenrod flower shop in order to spray water all over Sudowoodo to make it attack you. As Sudowoodo is a static Pokémon and doesn't appear anywhere else in the games, many people tried to catch it at first, until they realized Sudowoodo isn't all that great after all. Of course, I was the exception to the rule, because I started using it in my HeartGold playthrough and it turned out to be quite the strong and diverse Pokémon. Very satisfactory, even better than the other Pokémon on my team. Then again, one of them was a Fearow, and it's generally not hard to outclass mediocre Pokémon like that when you're a slightly better mediocre Pokémon yourself.

Look at Sudowoodo being a happy-go-lucky ray of fucking sunshine. 

One thing that bothers me is that so many people complain that Sudowoodo is not part grass. I mean, WHY would it be a grass-type Pokémon? Sudowoodo is nothing but a phoney trying to fool others with its appearance. It is based on petrified wood, plants that have become fossilized over time, and therefore its composition is closer to a rock than a plant. It likes to disguise itself as a tree and stand along paths to avoid being attacked, although its camouflage fails in wintertime because its fingertips remain green at all times. Sudowoodo is basically a fake tree, which becomes clear in X and Y, in which it can be found in a horde battle alongside four Trevenant. That's genius, Game Freak. This tree disguise thing can also be found in the names it has received from Game Freak across the globe:

English: Sudowoodo is a combination of pseudo- (a prefix meaning 'false') and 'wood'. Aditionally, Bonsly is derived from 'bonsai' and 'sly' or 'lie'.

Japanese: Usokkie (ウソッキー) is derived from uso, ki and usotsuki, meaning 'false', 'tree' and 'liar', respectively. Additionally, Usohachi (ウソハチ) contains the Japanese word for flower pot, hachi. And let's face it, Bonsly does look like a terracotta plant pot. It even has a hole in its rear to boot.

French: Simularbre is a combination of simuler and arbre, the latter of which means 'tree'. Surely I don't have to explain to you guys what simuler means, right?

German: Mogelbaum is a conjunction of mogeln and Baum (the Germans have a tendency to capitalize their nouns), which mean 'to cheat' and 'tree', respectively. Additionally, Bonsly's German name is Mobai.

Korean: Kkojimo (꼬지모) is a combination of keojit or geojit, meaning 'lie' or 'falsehood', and the Korean word for 'tree', mok. Aditionally, the Korean name for Bonsly is Kkojiji
(꼬지지).

Brock licking Sudowoodo, because he likes being weird. I guess
it's effective, because Sudowoodo hates water (and wet things in
general). This scene is from "Type Casting"; season 4, episode 5.

Still think Sudowoodo should be a grass type? I don't - never have, in fact. Sudowoodo is supposed to be a rock thing pretending to be a tree, but it's not an actual tree in the slightest, so it would have made no sense at all if Game Freak had given it the grass type. It would have helped boost Wood Hammer, but that is a strong physical grass-type move in itself, anyway. And with the ability Rock Head, Sudowoodo wouldn't even have to take recoil damage from it, so it can hit the opponent without damaging itself. Sturdy is handy as well, but this ability would only come in handy when you want to guarantee that Stealth Rock will be set up. Don't even look at Rattled, because that is a dumb ability. It raises Sudowoodo's speed by one stage when it is hit by a bug-, dark- or ghost-type move, but its speed is already quite abhorrent, so it doesn't need Rattled. Fortunately, it is very physically defensive, so if you watch out for special attackers you can run a Life Orb or Choice Band set with Rock Slide (or Stone Edge, but that move is less accurate), Wood Hammer, Earthquake and Hammer Arm. It also learns Sucker Punch to catch opponents by surprise, while the elemental punches might be feasible options as well. Just be aware that Rock Head doesn't prevent recoil from the Life Orb, only from regular moves like Double-Edge.

Sudowoodo has always been an intriguing Pokémon to me, although it is not a particularly good Pokémon. Nonetheless, I like it a lot, even though it's such a shame Game Freak had to give it a stupid pre-evolution.

Rating: 4.5/5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pretty neat 3D model of Azumarill. 

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

Rating: 4/5

#179 - #181: Mareep, Flaaffy & Ampharos

Apparently, Mary had three little lambs.

Okay, so these are some very peculiar Pokémon.

Electric sheep. Why, this is an interesting take on a common animal, although we've also encountered electric mice, grass dinosaurs, ice birds and fire foxes, dogs and horses so far. But this time, instead of the usual increase in aesthetic traits by evolutions, the Mareep line gradually loses something: its wool. It's a miracle Game Freak managed to make Mareep's evolutions actually look like they're evolutions. Their electric typing and their ability Static actually make sense, too, if you think about it: these traits are clear references to the science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, which is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco and tells the story of bounty hunter Rick Deckard, who seeks to buy a live animal to replace his electric sheep and signs on to a new police mission in order to be able to do that. The 1982 movie Blade Runner, with Harrison Ford, is an adaptation of this novel and has since become a cult film.

Heh. Y'all know I'm a sucker for this kind of cute fan art. 

Also, wool builds up static charges and that is a very important aspect of Mareep's flavor: its wool grows continuously and stores electricity. When Mareep build static energy within its body the volume of its wool increases, and touching it will result in getting a static shock. Mareep are held in farms for their wool, of which quality clothing is made, but the fleece is only shed in the summer and it will grow back in less than a week. I like how the origin of Mareep's name is Mary, the 'main character' in the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". This is also demonstrated in the 23rd episode of the anime's third season, "Mild 'n Wooly", in which a flock of Mareep is shepherded by a young girl named Mary. Coincidence? I think not, but it's a nice touch. Flaaffy, whose name might have been derived from 'baa' - the sound sheep make - or an AA battery, has lost most of its wool as a result of having stored too much electricity in it. Flaaffy has found a way of generating more electricty with less wool and effectively protect its rubbery hide from said electricity. It can even fire its hair at foes at will.

I laughed way harder at this than I should have. 

Ampharos's flavor, on the other hand, is entirely different from Mareep and Flaaffy's. The origin of its design remains roughly the same, but it is also clearly based on a lighthouse instead. Some traits, such as the stripes on its neck and tail and the gem on top of its head, refer to this, but it is also apparent in the Gold, Silver and Crystal games, as well as their remakes: at a certain point in the storyline, you'll have to visit the lighthouse in Olivine City, where you'll encounter Gym Leader Jasmine and her Ampharos named Amphy. Because the orb on an Ampharos's tail can shine so brightly that it can even seen from space, Amphy serves as the beacon of this lighthouse. However, it is apparently unable to continue doing so due to illness. The player is asked to retrieve the SecretPotion from a pharmacy in Cianwood City and bring it back to Jasmine, so that Amphy's disease can be cured. Must be a boring job, letting your tail shine every night without much to do. Well, at least saving lives by preventing ships from sailing against the cliffs is better than letting people use your tail's light by sending signals back and forth, as the people in the old days used to do. Oh, and before I forget to mention it: pharos, or Φάρος, is Greek for 'lighthouse'. Go figure.

Two Ampharos encircling their 'babies' Mareep and Flaaffy.

But the weirdest thing is still Ampharos's Mega evolution. Not only does Mega Ampharos gain a fabulous mane and a fluffy tail, it also changes into a dragon type. Why it obtains the dragon type upon Mega-evolving is beyond me, but at least it makes for an interesting typing only the legendary Pokémon Zekrom shares with it. Come to think of it, maybe its Japanese name Denryu (デンリュウ) has something to do with it, as it derives from denryū and den ryū, meaning 'electric current' and 'electric dragon', respectively. Anyway, with its amazing defensive stats overall - 90 HP, 105 defense and 110 special defense are absolutely nothing to sneeze at - and an increase in its special attack by 50 base points (from 115 as a regular Ampharos to 165 as Mega Ampharos), you'll have an absolute monster should you decide to put it on your team. Of course, its bulky and offensive capabilities come at the expense of its speed, which is nothing to write home about at all. On the bright side, this allows you to run a Modest nature to make full use of its off-the-charts special attack. And Ampharos's impressive coverage leaves you spoiled for choice: it has access to Signal Beam, Power Gem and Dragon Pulse, which it learns by level-up, as well as moves of its own type and TM moves such as Focus Blast. A defensive Ampharos with a support set isn't uncommon either, as Heal Bell gives it a niche over other electric types, while Rest and the held item Leftovers provide for some reliable recovery. And if you feel bold, you can even run an Agility set on a Timid-natured Ampharos, so that it will be able to outspeed some things out there at the cost of some special attack.

I don't know what Ampharos is doing here, but it sure looks suggestive. Don't forget
we're looking at a kids' show here, though, so it's probably nothing to worry about.

I absolutely adore Ampharos. It is so cute for a stage 2 Pokémon, it has a fabulous Mega evolution, its shiny is enormously pretty and it is an absolute beast in battle. What more can you wish for? I have used this Pokémon several times in playthroughs and it never left me disappointed in the slightest. On the contrary, even, it always turned out to be the favorite on my team. Then again, electric is always a good typing, as it only has one weakness - to ground, that is - and as moves from that type often tend to induce paralysis, which slows opponents down. At any rate, Ampharos is 100% worthy of a perfect rating!

Rating: 5/5