#204 - #205: Pineco & Forretress

Although these Pokémon are supposed to be bagworms, they actually look like pine cones. Well, at least Pineco does; it's based on a bagworm living in a pine cone, even though that is not very obviously noticeable in its design. It's more a pine cone with eyes, if you ask me. If I'm being honest, Burmy and Wormadam do this whole bagworm thing a little bit better than Pineco and Forretress design-wise, but I don't like Burmy and Wormadam all that much (Mothim is a whole other matter) and I do like Pineco and Forretress to some extent, so let's get started.

I couldn't find any good fan art, so I'll give you Pineco's official
art instead, drawn by (who else?) Ken Sugimori.

Now, Pineco is a Pokémon that likes to annoy people. Anyone who has ever played a Randomizer Nuzlocke knows what the hell I'm talking about. Its Pokédex entries explicitly say that if it is disturbed while eating hanging from its tree, it will drop to the ground and explode with no warning. That's apparent in this hand grenade's level-up movepool: it learns Self-Destruct at the ridiculously low level of 6. SIX!!! The earliest a Pokémon can learn Self-Destruct in ORAS - barring the level at which Pineco learns it, obviously - is at level 23 (Koffing). Voltorb and Electrode would be extremely jealous, I figure. Anyway, Pineco spits out a fluid on tree bark to make a kind of tree bark glue that keeps sticking to its shell, and it isn't even bothered by the added weight. It is probably one of the causes why its evolution Forretress is part steel type, as Forretress can shoot pieces of its outer steel-like shell to enemies. Tree bark leftovers? And despite its low base 40 speed stat, it can open its shell to capture prey so quickly that its interior cannot be seen; therefore, it's a complete mystery what's inside.

Is that all? Why, of course not; I would like to add that I find the word Tannenzapfen ('fir cone'), a word that lies at the basis of Pineco's German name Tannza, really amusing for some reason. The other word present in Pineco's German name is Panzer, meaning 'armor', although the Dutch pantser sounds almost the same. Despite that, I don't get the German language at all, even though I live in a country in which Dutch, a language very similar to German, is spoken every day by the majority of its inhabitants. I hate speaking German; I'd rather stick with the English language, if that's okay with you guys.

This Forretress TCG art is too cool to ignore. 

Right, so Pineco and Forretress's flavor might be a little bit bland - the fact that they're based on weaponry (Pineco on a hand grenade and Forretress's protrusions on cannons, while their ability to learn Spikes might be a reference to caltrops) is probably the most interesting aspect - but Forretress sure does its name justice: it is a fortress in battle. Well, not completely, but it's a very physically defensive Pokémon that is perfectly capable of setting up some very annoying entry hazards such as Stealth Rock, Spikes and Toxic Spikes. That sure is handy, as Omastar and Smeargle are the only other Pokémon that can learn all three at the same time. Omastar's main business is to smash its shell and wreak havoc and Smeargle is just a bad Pokémon all around, so it's a good thing a tank like Forretress is around to take care of these entry hazards. It's also able to learn Rapid Spin, a move that removes entry hazards on your side of the battlefield, and the steel-type move Gyro Ball, which does considerable damage the lower Forretress's speed is (which is why a Relaxed nature is recommended). You can teach it Volt Switch if you want to get the hell out of an undesirable situation while still doing a bit of damage, and if you don't need Forretress anymore, you can let it blow up using Explosion. It does have a quadruple weakness to fire, which is also its only weakness, but its ability Sturdy prevents it from being one-shotted when it's at full HP. And that's awesome.

While Pineco and Forretress look like rather uneventful Pokémon at first sight, they do have a little bit of oomph behind them. I actually like these scumbag bagworms a lot, so I'll give them a 4.5-star rating. Not bad for Pokémon that almost seem to be forgotten. Almost.

Rating: 4.5/5

#203: Girafarig

Official art of Girafarig, drawn by Ken Sugimori (who else?).

So, this is... an interesting Pokémon, to say the least.

So, Girafarig is based on a giraffokeryx, an extinct ancestor of the giraffe (and maybe the okapi), although its spots really give it the appearance of a modern-day giraffe. As you can see, Girafarig has a tail with eyes and a mouth, and that's because that tail actually has a fucking brain of its own. That's right, this head is capable of independent thinking, but it has to rely on outside stimuli such as smell and sound to guide its actions. If you come too near, it will smell you and try to bite you. The tail wasn't supposed to be a tail at first: Game Freak intended for Girafarig to have a second, fully grown head at the other end of its body. Do you remember the pushmi-pullyu from Doctor Dolittle? Or the cartoon series CatDog? Well, Girafarig was originally supposed to look a little like them, but that was changed at the last minute. To go with the whole palindrome shenanigans after all (Girafarig's name is spelled the same when you read it backwards), Game Freak gave it a tail that can think for its own. That trait might come from the stegosaurus, which are believed by some paleontologists to have possessed a second brain in their tails in order to improve their reflexes against predators. That can be seen in Garafarig as well: when its main head is sleeping, the tail stays awake and can warn the head of danger. Not uninteresting, and also pretty weird, but I would have loved to see a pushmi-pullyu kind of Pokémon. That would have been pretty awesome.

And no, that animal does not really exist; of course it doesn't, it is an imaginary animal Hugh Lofting created for his Doctor Dolittle book series. Yes, it all started with a book series. I didn't know that either, guys; I discovered that, like, fifteen minutes ago.

Fan art of what Girafarig was originally supposed to look like.
Pretty neat. 

Although I don't get what Girafarig's Japanese and Chinese names are supposed to mean. I mean, it's easy to determine kirin and nenriki are Japanese for giraffe and telekinesis (or psychokinesis, if you want to be strict about it), respectively, but there is absolutely nothing about Girafarig's flavor that proves it is able to influence objects with its mind. I mean, it can learn the move Telekinesis, but so can other Pokémon that usually don't have telekinetic abilities at all. It's strange. Furthermore, Girafarig's Mandarin Chinese name is Qílínqí (麒麟奇) and is composed of qílín and qí (obvious name is obvious), but this qílín creature Girafarig is supposed to be based on is neither obviously present in its design nor its flavor. This mythical beast, which looks a little like a chimaera, is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or an illustrious ruler. Criminals fear this creature because it is said to detect guilt, and after sensing it the qílín would stare at the guilty party and pierce their hearts. Although it is almost always depicted as having hooves, these are hooves of an ox, while traits of dragons, fish and lions are also present in its appearance. Just not giraffes. And Girafarig doesn't have any of the characteristics that define a qílín either, so here's another mystery. To me, at least.

Pretty nifty papercraft Girafarig. 

What's not a mystery to me, however, is Girafarig's utility in the competitive scene. It is a pretty well-rounded Pokémon, but its well-rounded stats are somewhat mediocre. Its special attack and speed are passable and so is its attack, but it doesn't need the latter and its defenses are nothing to write home about. Especially when you consider Girafarig doesn't have a massive HP stat, its base 65 defenses are complete and utter ass. It might be able to take two hits, but otherwise it is pretty easily knocked out and thus it should be used as a hit-and-run Pokémon. And with just passable special attack and speed stats, it isn't particularly good at that, either. Luckily, it has access to Calm Mind, which raises its special attack and special defense by one stage. If you manage to pull some off, you can have a specially bulky Pokémon that can hit incredibly hard after that, especially with a Modest nature and a Life Orb as its held item (although it wears Girafarig down quicker than you'd want). The rest of its moveset should consist of Psychic, Dazzling Gleam and either Energy Ball or Thunderbolt. It also learns Hyper Voice for some STAB damage (Girafarig is a normal/psychic type, strangely) and Shadow Ball for some more coverage, but Psychic is usually enough. From ORAS on, it has had access to Nasty Plot as well, if you really want to go with the hit-and-run tactic, and if by any happenstance you encounter an Adamant Girafarig or in-game use: it learns Zen Headbutt, Crunch, Earthquake, Return and Iron Tail.

Wanna suprise your opponents, by the way? Put a Choice Band on a physical-based Girafarig - with the first four physical moves I mentioned, that is - and fire away. It is more of a gimmick though, and not really recommended, but you might have some serious fun with it.

This is some incredible 'realistic' art of Girafarig. Not bad at all!

Girafarig's design is quite interesting, and I appreciate the originality Game Freak put in it, but I think its flavor could have been a little bit more. Of what I don't know, but at least more of something. Hey Game Freak, give it telekinetic traits, or characteristics that fit this whole qílín thing, why don't you? Heh. On a more serious note, though, Girafarig is a decent Pokémon all around and I actually really like it. I've never used it in a playthrough, but I'm not opposed to the idea whatsoever, and I'm just waiting for the right opportunity. Meanwhile, I will have to do with giving Girafarig a well-deserved 4-star rating.

Rating: 4/5

#360, #202: Wynaut & Wobbuffet

You know, I think I'm at a point I've had it with these baby Pokémon. Adding pointless pre-evolutions to already existing Pokémon doesn't make sense to me, and adding a pointless pre-evolution to a Pokémon that is pointless in the first place makes even less sense.

So that's where I should talk about Wynaut, right? Because, why not?

One big, happy family of mama and papa Wobbuffet and their three little Wynaut.
The lipstick on mama Wobbuffet is absolutely ridiculous, though. 

Well, to be honest, there is absolutely nothing interesting to say about Wynaut. It is merely Wobbuffet's pre-evolution and doesn't have any distinctive traits that sets it apart from its parent, so to speak, so I'm pretty much done talking about it. I mean, should I say Wynaut is almost always happy and throws a tantrum with its tail when angered? Or that it likes to eat sweet fruits? Great, so do I. NEXT!

Jessie's Wobbuffet in love, apparently.

It has to be said that herds of Wynaut like to squeeze up against each other to gain endurance, while at the same time they are trained to dole out powerful counterattacks. That is why this Pokémon learns Counter and Mirror Coat at level 15 and evolves into Wobbuffet immediately after. And Wobbuffet is supposedly where it's at. It's a docile Pokémon that never attacks first, but when it is attacked it will inflate its body and initiate a counterstrike - which sounds about right, by the way, as both Counter and Mirror Coat have negative priority in the games and always act after the opponent has attacked. When two Wobbuffet meet, they will attempt to outlast each other in a battle of endurance, but since neither of them is able to attack, they may compete to find out which can last longest without food. Wobbuffet is very secretive and overprotective regarding its pitch-black tail, so it likes to reside in dark caves. Also, it can't endure an attack on its tail, so when it's attacked it takes the foe with it by using Destiny Bond, one of the very few moves Wobbuffet can learn at all.

You know when fan art isn't abundant when you
have to feature an entire TCG card. 

And that's why it's not a good Pokémon, in-game as well as competitively. All it can do is wait out an attack with its massive base 190 HP stat and strike back with Counter (in case of an incoming physical attack) or Mirror Coat (in case of an incoming special attack). Its defenses are just mediocre enough - both defensive stats sit at base 58 - that it can take a hit with that massive HP and knock out the opposing Pokémon with its counterattack, but everybody knows what to expect from Wobbuffet, so they'll try to set up when it comes into play and wait until all Destiny Bonds have been used up. That's why it's not very viable in competitive play. At the same time it is very tricky to use in-game, because you never know if the opponent is going to use a physical or special move on you. Of course, you can predict it as accurately as possible, as some Pokémon tend to be special and others tend to be physical, but most AIs tend to use their Pokémon's level-up movepools and there are still special Pokémon with a largely physical movepool and vice versa. In other words, Wobbuffet is always a tricky Pokémon to use. Not good. It's really one of those Pokémon that makes me go, "What were Game Freak thinking? This can't turn out to be any good." And that's the truth, because its low popularity causes it to be not used at all by anyone. And its anime appearances don't really help its cause, either, because Jessie's Wobbuffet tends to break out of its Poké Ball at undesirable moments, much like Misty's Psyduck, and that is just plain irritating. I understand it's supposed to be a running gag, but you don't have to repeat the same unfunny thing all over again, especially when you've done the same with a certain Pokémon called Psyduck previously.

Yeah, would Jessie really love her Wobbuffet? It is often
a source of annoyance, as it lets itself out of its Poké Ball
without having been asked to.

As you can make out from the description above, Wobbuffet is literally a punching bag. That's where an interesting theory comes into play: the tail is actually Wobbuffet's body and the rest is just a cover-up created to take hits. It's an interesting theory, but there's actually not much to back that up; Wobbuffet itself acts so much like an actual living being - again, this could be a cover-up - that I don't think this theory can hold its own unless substantial evidence surfaces anytime soon, which I don't see happen at all. I can tell you what Wynaut and Wobbuffet are probably based on, however, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do. Both are based on a traditional Japanese doll with squinted eyes called the okiagari-kobōshi, which means 'getting-up little priest', and it stands back upright when it is pushed over. It is a symbol of perseverance. Pretty much the trait of a punching bag, which Wobbuffet is based on. Wynaut and Wobbuffet's Japanese names are Sohnano (ソーナノ) and Sonans (ソーナンス), respectively, and are a play on the respective phrases of sō na no and sō na-n-su. Together, they make for a potential perpetual conversation of, "Is that so?" followed by, "That's the way it is," and so on. Additionally, Wobbuffet is probably also based on the Japanese comedian Hayashiya Sanpei, who was famous for repeatedly touching his forehead while saying one of his trademark lines: Sō nansu, okusan! ("That's the way it is, ma'am!")

That Wobbuffet family again. Because, Wynaut?

While Wynaut and Wobbuffet's perpetual conversation probably makes a lot more sense in Japanese, other languages' names for these Pokémon do not feature this pun. The French names are Okéoké and Qulbutoké - Culbuto is the French trademarked name for Weebles - and feature a pun on 'okay', but don't make for a conversation between Wynaut and Wobbuffet. The German names of Isso - from Ist es so? ("Is that so?") - and Woingenau - from Wohin genau? ("Where to, exactly?") - don't make much sense when put together. And don't get me started on the Korean names. Maza (마자) and Mazayong (마자용) seem both be based on majayo, which is 'that's right', but it seems to fit Meowth better than Wynaut and Wobbuffet, I dare say.

Meh, I don't like Wobbuffet all that much. The mystery surrounding its tail isn't all that interesting, as opposed to the mystery surrounding Unown, and it's just a weird-looking Pokémon. And not in a good way. Sorry, I can't give it a passing grade at all.

Rating: 2/5

#201: Unown

All forms of Unown, from A to Z, including ! and ?.

Who actually enjoyed catching all 28 different forms of Unown?

Yeah, nobody.

Nobody except me, that is. Of course, finding all different Unown gets harder exponentially, because Unown forms you've already caught show up more often than you'd like once you're coming close to catching them all. I didn't mind though, because - and I know it's a rather unpopular opinion - I actually love Unown for what it is. Sure, I wouldn't be in my right mind if I actually used it, whether it's in a regular playthrough or in the competitive scene, because it's undoubtedly a terrible Pokémon to fight with, but there is so much mystery surrounding Unown that I can't help but to love this thing. Or these things, whatever. If it wasn't already really obvious, Unown are shaped like the letters of the Latin alphabet and were introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver, where they could be found only in the Ruins of Alph. It's no coincidence they could be found on such an ancient site, because their shapes look like hieroglyphs on ancient tablets. It is a mystery whether Unown predate or postdate written language, and therefore it is unknown which is based on which.

Ken Sugimori only made new official art for Unown F. Prior to
HeartGold and SoulSilver, the official art was an Unown G.

As the core series games progressed, Unown could be found on diverse ancient sites: the Tanoby Chambers on Seven Island (Sevii Islands) in FireRed and LeafGreen, Solaceon Ruins in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, and one of many Mirage Islands in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. However, they were never found very important by players, not even when Game Freak introduced the ! (exclamation mark) and ? (question mark) Unown in FireRed and LeafGreen. Diamond and Pearl let the player catch all 26 Unown so that a Ruin Maniac could dig a tunnel to a seperate room in the Solaceon Ruins, which contained the ! and ? Unown and a couple of items. Catching all Unown also allowed the player to obtain letter seals for their Ball Capsules by showing some boy in Solaceon Town every individual Unown. Yeah, nobody was going to do that, right? Also, the only move it can learn is Hidden Power, which is a move that practically every Pokémon can learn, with an exception here and there. This all has made Unown a Pokémon that is hated upon very often. Of course, everyone is free to hate on a certain Pokémon (for example, I think I've made it very clear that I loathe Lickilicky's very existence), but I don't think the hate for Unown is quite justified: I look beyond its terrible stats and find a whole lot of mystery and lore. Also, I think Unown is a funny-looking Pokémon, which definitely attributes to my love for it.

Scene from the third Pokémon movie, in which Unown emerge
from a portal that leads to their own demension (depicted).

And while everybody fell in love with Entei in the third full movie Pokémon 3: The Movie - Spell of the Unown: Entei, I was more intrigued by the Unown. Don't get me wrong: I liked the movie as a whole and I really like Entei as well, but it was just fascinating to see how these little creatures in the shapes of the letters we are familiar with could be so powerful. Of course, it was a collective of Unown, but you probably get my point. In the movie, archeologist Spencer Hale (which is an awfully ordinary name for Pokémon standards) reads a story about Entei to his daughter Molly, when suddenly he gets interrupted by an email from his assistant, Schuyler, who says he made a discovery in some desert ruins. Hale rushes to the ruins, but once there he vanishes into a portal to another dimension. When Molly overhears Schuyler telling the butler the news about what happened, she takes some tiles with mysterious letters out of a box and lays them on the ground, forming 'papa', 'mama' and 'me' with them. When the letters begin to glow, a portal to the desert ruins opens and Unown start emerging from it, creating a 'real-life' Entei to be Molly's 'papa' when she indicates she misses her Dad. The rest of the movie is basically Ash trying to save the day. Again.

In the third movie, Professor Oak had some pictures of Unown.
Rather than depictions of the Latin alphabet, they look more like
Greek or Cyrillic letters.

Still, a small, one-eyed Pokémon that can pull others into another dimension and create an entire fantasy world for a little girl who misses her Daddy? That is dope, even though there are in fact many Unown at the same time who manage to do that (although I recall there weren't a bunch of 'em at the beginning of the movie). Their Pokédex entries don't depict them quite as impressive, aside from that whole hieroglyph thing, but Dawn's Pokédex claims they communicate with each other through telepathy - although Professor Oak's research disagrees with that, as Oak states they use electromagnetic waves instead. Either way, it is probably how they are able to keep this whole demension stable, from which they rarely emerge due to their timid and careful nature. They have the power to perceive the feelings of other creatures, which sounds about right when you look at the fact they made Molly's every wish come true by creating everything she wants. And Oak has been extraordinarily diligent, because he also had some pictures on his computer that look like Unown hieroglyphs. However, these Unown do not resemble letters of the Latin alphabet, but look more like they're depictions of letters from the Greek and Cyrillic alphabets. That is curious, because does this mean that Unown have been created from written language or have evolved in order to look like written language? Or are they really from another demension? In the latter case, Unown were seen by ancient people who doodled them on walls, and later generations started using those very symbols to communicate with each other. That means not only written language can be traced back to Unown, but spoken language as well, provided all ancient people could do was growl at each other.

Jeez. So much speculation, and there is still so little known about Unown. Its name fits it perfectly, don't you think?

Unown as depicted in a children's book in Pokémon 3: The Movie - Spell of the
Unown: Entei. 

I love Unown. It's just an original concept for a Pokémon, and I think Game Freak did a good job creating this one. Of course, it is a terrible battler - it's frail and its only known move is Hidden Power - but at least it's not completely useless. That is to say, it provides contrast to other Pokémon: instead of your regular rodents, generic birds, fighting machines and thousands of fish, there is also this mysterious thing to catch. And there are 28 of them, the most out of all Pokémon with different forms. Also, I understand why Game Freak went with the Latin script as an inspiration for Unown, as it's the most commonly used script in the world, used by almost entire America and Africa, and a large part of Europe. It's also the most commonly accepted and understood type of script, even by people who don't usually make use of it. The Greek script is obviously only officially used in Greece and Cyprus (as far as I know), the Cyrillic script is mainly seen in Russia and the Balkans and a couple of other Eastern European countries, and Japanese is rather complicated and hard to understand for the rest of the world. No, Game Freak did it just right with Unown.

Rating: 5/5

#200, #429: Misdreavus & Mismagius

Yup. While Misdreavus is listed after Murkrow in the National Pokédex, Mismagius (#429) comes before Honchkrow (#430). So much for a certain order in the National Pokédex.

This drawing might be a little vague, but I actually like it!

Now, it's hard to determine Misdreavus's origin, because Misdreavus is a nocturnal Pokémon that likes to frighten people and there are a number of monsters/spirits/demons in several national folklores that share this trait. Yōkai are a class of Japanese monsters, spirits and demons and rokurokubi are such a type of spirits. There are two types of rokurokubi: those whose necks extend and those whose heads come off a fly about freely (nukekubi). As Misdreavus - a play on 'mischievous', 'to reave' and 'dread' or 'dreary' - kinda looks like a severed head, it is probably based on the latter. Nukekubi are said to perform bad deeds such as wailing at night to frighten humans, attacking said humans and drinking their blood. Misdreavus likes to watch frightened people and likes to play tricks on them, yank at or bite their hair, and sneak up on them and sob or shriek to scare them shitless. That sounds about right. There is also the Malaysian myth of the langsuyar, a type of vampire, that may or may not be depicted as a decpitated woman's head with the entrails and spine column still hanging from it, but as Misdreavus doesn't drink blood, I don't think it is actually based on this Malaysian creature. Although the wailing-and-screaming thing could also apply to the banshee, a creature from Gaelic folklore that is known for its unearthly and lethal screaming. It might be that you're familar with them, because popular fantasy TV series such as Charmed and Supernatural (and probably other shows as well) have covered this creature, most of them for only one episode. Heck, Alyssa Milano's character Phoebe Halliwell even became one in Charmed, even though it was just briefly.

Oh, one more thing: Misdreavus uses the red orbs around its neck to absorb people's fear for nourishment. It feeds on goddamn fear. Misdreavus is one sick motherfucker, lemme tell ya.

The big pointed hat and the tattered 'cloak' give Mismagius the
appearance of a witch or wizard. 

And when it evolves into Mismagius by use of a Dusk Stone? It becomes a witch. Or a wizard, because Misdreavus and Mismagius both have 50/50 gender ratio, but you probably get my point: the crest on its head looks like a witch's hat, while the foremost extensions on its lower body look tattered, giving Mismagius the appearance of wearing some kind of cloak. The fact that it can learn Mystical Fire by level-up (well, at level 1; you can give a Heart Scale to the Move Reminder to teach Mismagius that move, and more), a move that was Delphox's signature move in Pokémon X and Y, only enhances the presumption that it is based on a witch/wizard. DelphoxIt chants incantations that can cause misery and happiness alike, but people who hear them will usually receive headaches and hallucinations - this is where the banshee thing comes into play as well, as Mismagius's cries affect people much more than Misdreavus's do. As demonstrated in "Malice in Wonderland!", the 43th episode of the anime's tenth season, Mismagius puts Ash, Brock and Dawn to sleep and lets them enter a strange dream world without them actually noticing it, until Brock's Croagunk wakes him up with Poison Jab. Required to battle a Rayquaza to get out of that dream world, Ash's Pikachu, Brock's Croagunk and Dawn's Piplup suddenly become giant Pokémon being able to conquer Rayquaza, and defeating it knocks Mismagius out and causes the fellowship to wake up. As it was all a prank, it is obvious Mismagius still has a little bit of Misdreavus's personality in it.

But what is actually up with that Adam's apple, though? It looks like it just ate one of its gems. So weird.

Mismagius (left) and Delphox (right) engaging in sorcery around
a cauldron. Delphox is holding a bottle in the air with its wand.
Wingardium Leviosa! 

Anyway, on to Mismagius's competitive utility. Well, let me tell you that its HP, attack and defense are all a mediocre base 60 and its special attack, special defense and speed are all an excellent base 105. The latter half is where it's at, but unfortunately the low HP and defense mean it can't take any physical hits, so you should use a hit-and-run tactic. If you breed Nasty Plot onto Mismagius and manage to pull it off in battle, this Pokémon hits hard. And it learns a variety of special moves to go with it: Shadow Ball, Power Gem, Thunderbolt, Psychic, Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam and Dark Pulse (which is actually a bit redundant, as dark and ghost cover the same types; Mismagius is better off with ghost-type moves anyway, because it is a pure ghost type itself). Hidden Power is a rather weak move and its type depends on the Pokémon's individual values (IVs), but it's also an option. A Life Orb to hold is a good idea, but if you don't like the recoil damage, you can also go with a Colbur Berry - a one-time use berry that weakens an incoming dark-type move - or the Choice Specs. In the latter case it will be impossible to run Nasty Plot, as the specs let Mismagius use only one move until it is switched out, but at least the immediate special attack boost is nice. There's also the stallbreaker tactic, which basically involves crippling physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp then do massive damage with Hex, a 50-power move that doubles the damage whenever the target has a status condition. This set also includes the hold item Leftovers and the moves Taunt and Pain Split, the former to prevent the opponent from setting up entry hazards or recovering and the latter to share each other's HP stat. It's the only reliable recovery Mismagius has and only works when it is at low HP (and the opponent at full or fuller HP).

Misdreavus looks more like a banshee in this picture. 

I absolutely love Mismagius. It looks awesome, with its pointed wizard's hat and ragged cloak, and I would very much like to use it in a playthrough once. The only thing is that Misdreavus are very hard to find and a Dusk Stone is never around the corner, either. Hopefully Pokémon Sun and Moon will provide me with an easy way to obtain a Misdreavus. (Disclaimer: Okay, Pokémon Pearl was always my permanent save file for my Pokémon collection, while I used Diamond to start new games over and over and over again. Misdreavus is exclusive to Pearl, while Murkrow is exclusive to Diamond, so that's why I have never been able to find Misdreavus. Forgive me my error.) Also, it's purple. And an interesting design/origin in combination with a purple color is always a good thing. That's why I award Mismagius a perfect rating of 5 stars!

Harry, Ron and Hermione will be proud.

Rating: 5/5

#198, #430: Murkrow & Honchkrow

Murkrow.

So. Two more entries before I get to discussing Unown. Man, I can't wait to talk about Unown.

For now I'm gonna focus on Murkrow and Honchkrow, though. These Pokémon are obviously crows and Honchkrow is even the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch... oh wait, wrong franchise. Well, at least it is the Lord Commander of the Italian mafia, as it is not only based on a crow but on a mob boss as well. That's awesome. However, let's not jump ahead too much and take a look at Murkrow first. This bird can be taken to resemble a gang member under Honchkrow, although the crest on its head and its tail might also resemble a pointed hat and the bristles of a broom, respectively, giving it a resemblance to a witch in flight. Additionally, Honchkrow's tail looks like a besom broom, which, along with its hat- and beard-like feathers, give it the impression of a sorcerer or wizard. All this reminds me a little of Magica De Spell (in the Netherlands we call her Zwarte Magica, after zwarte magie, 'black magic'), who is a duck witch with a pet crow and continuously attempts to steal Scrooge McDuck's Number One Dime. It's all very innocent, of course, as it's Disney after all, but still...

Darker pieces of fan art are some of my favorite. This artist managed to make
Murkrow really ominous here, as seeing one is an omen of dark things to come,
although it is more of a prankster. 

And, lo and behold, Murkrow has a fondness for sparkly things and will steal objects such as jewelry to bring back to its nest, even when it comes directly from a woman's finger. Stealing glittering things is a trait that is more often attributed to magpies than to crows, but whatever. Contrary to popular belief, magpies and crows don't steal shiny things anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Murkrow does steal shiny things, and goes as far as to fight with other Pokémon that like them; Meowth and Murkrow even loot one another's stashes. Whenever it is chased, it loses its pursuer by leading it down a dark mountain trail, which it even does to other humans and Pokémon by way of a mean-spirited prank. People in the Pokémon world even get superstitious when it comes to Murkrow: they fear and loathe it and believe it to bring misfortune to those who see it at night.

Honchkrow acting as if it's putting a fedora on its head.

In short, Murkrow is nothing more than a criminal bird, which brings me to Honchkrow's origin. What, you want evidence that Honchkrow is based on the boss of a crime syndicate? Well, three leaders of villainous teams have had a Honchkrow on their teams so far: Giovanni from Team Rocket (who is a mob boss himself, which is a very nice touch Game Freak added there), Cyrus from Team Galactic and Lysandre from Team Flare. Its crest looks like a fedora hat, a piece of headgear often associated with mobsters, and its namesake screams it is based on a crime boss. Let's go:

English: Honchkrow is derived from 'honcho' - which in itself is derived from the Japanese word of hanchō - and means as much as 'leader' or 'boss'.

Japanese: Donkarasu (ドンカラス) is from don, Spanish for 'lord', and karasu, Japanese for crow. The Korean name Donkeurou (돈크로우) is a transliteration of Honchkrow's Japanese name and means exactly the same. This name actually makes the most sense, because 'Don' is a title many mafia leaders adopt.

German: Kramshef is a combination of Krähe and Chef, meaning 'crow' and 'boss', respectively.

Mandarin Chinese: Wūyātóutóu (烏鴉頭頭) is literally 'crow chief'.

French: Corboss is derived from the French word for 'crow', corneille (Bulbapedia says corbeau, but I'm going to contradict that because a corbeau is a raven), and 'boss'.

Still not convinced? Well, Honchkrow makes all Murkrow its bitches by uttering a deep cry, for which it is called the "Summoner of Night". It makes its Murkrow cronies bring it food and follow them when it wanders about at night. It is merciless by nature and never forgives the mistakes of its Murkrow followers. If that doesn't sound like a mob boss, then I don't know what does.

Honchkrow looks much more intimidating than Murkrow does.

Honchkrow is a great competitive battler as well. While Murkrow is just mediocre all around, Honchkrow gains much better HP and offensive stats and slightly better defensive stats when it evolves from Murkrow by use of a Dusk Stone (they're the only non-ghost types who can do that). Unfortunately, Honchkrow loses quite a bit of speed, so it is slower than its pre-evolution, which is never a good thing. Luckily there is a move that can get around that quite easily: Sucker Punch, which always hits first but fails when the target is not using a damaging move. Honchkrow has access to a great hidden ability, Moxie, which raises its attack by one stage when it knocks something out. Combine that with an Adamant nature and a Life Orb, and Honchkrow hits like a truck with moves like Brave Bird, Sucker Punch and Superpower (with Roost for reliable recovery). That's as far as useful moves go, though; it learns Steel Wing as well, but it's a rather weak move that's hardly worth the hassle. But fear not: there is another set that is worth your while. Honchkrow's base 125 attack is great, but its base 105 special attack is nothing to sneeze at, either. While it has no access to special-based flying-type moves, it does learn Nasty Plot naturally, with which it essentially doubles its special attack. In conjunction with a Modest nature and a Life Orb it can cause some serious damage. And it has access to just enough useful special moves, too: Dark Pulse, Psychic and Heat Wave are all viable options. It is advisable to go for Insomnia or Super Luck as its ability, though, as Moxie becomes useless when you decide to go for a special Nasty Plot set.

I think it's great Game Freak went for a mob boss Pokémon. It's such a unique concept; I don't think there are many animal Pokémon based on humans - in this case, a crow that resembles a crime boss. Well, there are humanoid Pokémon, but that's not exactly what I mean. While Honchkrow is not one of my all-time favorite Pokémon, it is definitely worthwhile of a 4.5-star rating. Honchkrow is a boss.

Rating: 4.5/5

#194 - #195: Wooper & Quagsire

You know, I've never been quite sure what these Pokémon are supposed to represent, so this is an excellent moment to do some research on that.

Wooper trying to cool Magby down with a Water Gun after a
heated argument with two squabbling Pichu. This scene is from
a Pokémon side-story special. 

Okay, so Wooper seems to be based on the larval stage of an axolotl, especially considering the flat tail and the feathery external gills. I don't consider myself dumb, but I thought larvae were a bug thing and I hate it that I didn't know the primary stages of certain amphibians are called the same. I'm just sayin'. Anyway, axolotls are often called 'Mexican walking fish', but they're in fact salamanders and are thus amphibians. Wooper and Upah (ウパー) are derived from the Japanese marketing term wooper looper, which started a true fad involving raising pet salamanders. I can think of something much more fun, like collecting Pokémon cards or listening to music, but whatever floats your boat, I guess... Wooper looper is also the Japanese term used to refer to an axolotl, so go figure. Axolotls don't develop lungs and take to land, by the way; fully grown specimens remain aquatic and gilled instead. Wooper, however, is part ground type and is capable of going on land, but when it does so it creates a poisonous layer of goo to protect its body and keep it from dehydrating. It's better not to touch the film of slime, because doing so causes a shooting pain.

Quagsire. Heh. Quagsire looks very clever
here, but it's actually 'quite' unintelligent, as it
keeps colliding with things while swimming.

Quagsire is more of a giant salamander, and not even an axolotl at that. Quagsire is from 'quagmire' and 'sire', the latter being a honorific form of adress for someone of high social status, especially a king. This makes sense, as Quagsire's Japanese name Nuoh (ヌオー) contains numa, meaning swamp or marsh, and ō, meaning king. So basically, Quagsire is the King of the Swamp. I can name numerous better things to be king of, but at least it's something, right? Well, at 4'07" and 165.3 pounds, Quagsire is a huge-ass salamander thing, so it's probably also based on the Japanese giant salamander (ōsanshōuo) or just giant salamanders in general. These colossi can reach lenghts up to 5 feet and can weigh as much as 55 pounds, which is by far not as much as Quagsire's weight, but I wouldn't want to hold one of those creepy things in my arms, that's for sure. Not that that would be possible, as Quagsire has a slippery layer of skin that makes it very difficult to handle. It's also a very dim-witted and carefree Pokémon that keeps bumping things while swimming, like boulders and boat hulls, and doesn't even get very hungry because it doesn't move very often. While Ash's Pokédex claims Quagsire likes to make its nest in freshwater lakes, it can be found in the Great Marsh and Route 212 in Sinnoh (Diamond, Pearl and Platinum) and the marshland and wetland areas of the Safari Zone in Johto (HeartGold and SoulSilver), which are swampy areas. Kinda contradictory, but whatever. Wooper and Quagsire's classification as the 'Water Fish Pokémon' is also kinda erroneous, as axolotls and other salamanders are amphibians and not fish. Oh, well.

Old-ass official art of Quagsire, as always drawn by Ken
Sugimori. 

What Quagsire really excels in, though, is being bad. Not in the sense that it's terrible, but I can name several other Pokémon that could serve as a physical tank much better than Quagsire can. Gastrodon, for example, who has the same typing as Quagsire (water/ground) but has a better HP stat and a good special attack stat and is therefore more capable of serving as a tank on both sides of the spectrum while still doing some considerable damage. But let's assume you love Quagsire and you want to use it: I recommend slapping a Relaxed nature and its hidden ability Unaware on it.

Relaxed and Unaware; both fit Quagsire's personality perfectly, ha ha ha.

Anyway.

Invest in HP and defense, give it the Leftovers to hold for a little bit of recovery after every turn, and copose a moveset consisting of Scald, Toxic, Recover and Earthquake. Quagsire's special attack is actually really mediocre, but Scald has a chance to burn the foe and that enhances Quagsire's moderate physical bulk even more. Toxic is to inflict poison if burning the target isn't desirable, while Recover lets Quagsire heal half its HP and Earthquake is just a good move to deal damage with.

And that's it. I really don't know how else to use this thing. Like, an Adamant Choice Banded Quagsire? Heh, don't make me laugh. If you don't invest in HP and at least one defense stat, it'll be too frail to take a hit. And its design is kinda LOL, to be honest. It's just silly, although I have to say that both Wooper and Quagsire radiate a certain cuteness, so I guess I'll let them off with a 3-star rating. That should do it, right?

Rating: 3/5