#220 - #221, #473: Swinub, Piloswine & Mamoswine

Swinub in a grassy plain, not their usual habitat by any means.

Swinub is one of those Pokémon that has gained significance due to its final evolution, Mamoswine, which was introduced two generations later than Swinub and Piloswine. Of course, Swinub itself is nothing special. With a base stat total of 250 it is the weakest ice-type Pokémon in existence, and it stays that way until it evolves into Piloswine at level 33 and finally becomes useful. While it is obviously a piglet - a wild boar piglet at that, considering the stripes on its back - it also has some traits of Peruvian guinea pigs, which have long, shaggy hair that even covers their little legs, as is the case with Swinub. Swinub likes a particular type of mushroom that grows under dead grass, and it searches for them by smell, often discovering hot springs buried under ice in the process. It reminds me of the pigs that were often used for locating and extracting a rare and very expensive type of mushroom delicacy called the truffle, although the use of these so-called truffle hogs has been prohibited since 1985. It seemed that the pigs had an extremely strong appetite for these truffles, which caused damage to the truffles' mycelium (the vegetative part of a fungus) during the excavation and dropped the production rate of the area for some years. These days, well-trained dogs are used to find the delicacy.

A Mamoswine - the big fella in the back - with its family, a
Piloswine (left) and two Swinub (right).

Swinub is like that, too: if it smells an enticing fragrance, it dashes toward it and won't stop until it finds the source. Piloswine is a bit more 'sophisticated', so to speak, as it uses its sensitive nose and ears to check its surroundings instead. It does that because its eyes are usually covered up by tufts of fur and is unable to see properly. Its tusks look insignificant, but they are made of ice, thicken when it snows and have occasionally been proved to be lethal. While Piloswine doesn't have visible hooves, not even when its legs can be seen in full glory, its Pokédex entries talk of hooves that ensure even footing on icy ground, which indicates that Piloswine may be based on a yak. But that idea is thrown out of the window when it evolves into Mamoswine by leveling it up while it knows Ancient Power. Mamoswine, as its name suggests, is based on a mammoth or mastodon - both belong to different genera; they are classified as mammuthus and mammut, respectively. In any case, both are proboscideans that are distant ancestors of the elephant. Mamoswine, however, has a pig's snout instead of a proboscis (also called a 'trunk'), although such hybrid Pokémon are not uncommon. It's interesting to know that even in the Pokémon world there were ice ages, and Mamoswine allegedly disappeared after the last one, until one was dug up from soil/ice (Platinum and HeartGold seem to disagree on which one it is) dating back 10,000 years. To much amazement, it woke up, having survived harsh cold and severe hunger for so many years. It's a bit illogical to say Mamoswine's population thinned 10,000 years in the past while Swinub and Piloswine kept 'existing', but whatever. This is Game Freak we're talking about after all, so what else should I have expected?

Dawn's party, including a Mamoswine. 

Well, what you can expect is a competitive monster. Mamoswine has some beefy HP and a mammoth attack stat - sorry, I had to - with which it can endure quite some hits and hit back as hard as it possibly can. A Life Orb set is obvious here, with a Jolly nature for some more speed, which it needs, or an Adamant nature to boost its attack even further. Its hidden ability Thick Fat is the best option here, as it halves damage from incoming ice- and fire-type moves, the latter of which Mamoswine usually has a weakness to. Because it's quite bulky, it can set up Stealth Rock and proceed annihilating things with moves like Icicle Crash, Earthquake, Superpower, Iron Head, Knock Off, Stone Edge and Rock Slide, while Ice Shard is a rather weak move that does have increased priority. It depends on what you need. Unfortunately, it has no means of boosting its attack apart from a Choice Band, but that item limits it to using one move only.

A Mamoswine set is kind of straightforward, as you - and your opponent, for that matter - know exactly what's gonna come. Evolving Piloswine is tedious, as you have to wait until you get to a Move Relearner in order for them to teach your Piloswine Ancient Power, but at least the result is satisfying. Design-wise I'm not Mamoswine's biggest fan, but at least Game Freak's attempt to create a worthy evolution for Piloswine has paid off. I'll give it a 4-star rating, but only just.

Rating: 4/5

#218 - #219: Slugma & Magcargo

I think Slugma's old official art (right) is much better than its
current official art (left). The latter's snout shape is just so weird
compared to the other. 

Talk about insignificant. Slugma and Magcargo have never been such popular Pokémon and I can understand why, even though I quite like them personally. That is to blame on a mix of terrible competitive utility, horrendous flavor inconsistency, and its overall easy-to-forget design. While they're not exactly the same, Numel and Camerupt can do what Slugma and Magcargo can, only much better. Camerupt even has a Mega to boot. But surely there are some positive aspects to be found of Slugma and Magcargo, right? Slugma, a little magma slug, has a circulatory system composed entirely of intensely hot magma, which delivers vital nutrients and oxygen to its organs. However, it never sleeps nor ever stops moving in order to prevent its body from cooling or hardening, because if it does it will become brittle and start to break apart. Slugma's shiny form is gray and may be based on cooled, hardened magma, which is usually a metallic gray color.

Magcargo.

But whereas Slugma's body may be intensely hot, Magcargo's body temperature is ridiculously high. I'd say even impossibly high, because at 18,000°F its body is even hotter than the surface of the sun (9,940°F). It would be impossible to approach Magcargo in the first place, let alone touch it. And according to its Pokédex entries, its magma body causes water to evaporate on contact, yet in the games it is still 4x weak to water due to its additional rock type. That's due to the rocky shell, which is just skin that has hardened and is brittle enough to be crumbled apart by touching it slightly, but Magcargo - the 'cargo' part being derived from 'cargo' and escargot, the French word for 'snail' - can reform its body by dipping itself in magma. That reminds me of Magmar, who dips its body in lava in order to instantly recover from its injuries, but reforming your body is still an entirely different thing than healing it. While Slugma and Magcargo are believed to be based on the Chilean myth of the Cherufe, mythical evil creatures of rock and magma that are found in the mythology of the indigenous Mapuche people in south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina and inhabit the magma pools of Chilean volcanoes, nothing actually indicates that those monsters take on the form of snails or slugs.

A more 'realistic' approach to Macargo: a magma snail with a
shell on its back. Snails don't usually let fire escape from their
shells, but whatever. 

In legends, Cherufe are the source of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions; and while Magcargo can learn Earthquake, it's not evidence of it being based on the Cherufe, because many other Pokémon can learn Earthquake as well. Magcargo doesn't even learn Eruption, but it doesn't need it. This move does more damage the more HP Magcargo has, but Magcargo is slow in the first place and it will always take a hit first, instantly reducing its HP and weakening Eruption. Handier is Shell Smash, which sharply raises Magcargo's attack, special attack and speed but lowers each defense stat by one stage. It's an appropriate move for it (however, despite the brittle shell its defense is still a solid base 120) and if you manage to pull it off, you're good to go. Unfortunately, Magcargo doesn't have many coverage moves: Earth Power isn't even STAB, the only special-based rock-type move it gets is Ancient Power, and the only good moves it has aside from Earth Power are its fire-type moves. Lava Plume, Flamethrower and Heat Wave are pretty reliable, while Fire Blast is stronger but less accurate. As for items and abilities, Magcargo isn't very viable competitively, and it is outclassed by so many other fire-type Pokémon in the tier (PU; partly used) that it's not even funny. Don't even think about using Magcargo as a defensive support Pokémon, because its low HP won't back up its great defense stat, and common water- and ground-types will completely annihilate it. And let's not start about its mediocre special defense. It can still be a decent in-game Pokémon with any desirable item attached to it, if you have the patience to wait for Slugma to evolve into Magcargo at level 38.

Magcargo is not as good as it should have been, but at least Game Freak went with an interesting concept, flavor inconsistency aside (a body hotter than the sun's surface, really?). Plus, I quite like its design, and it makes me think that it's just a shame that Magcargo isn't a better Pokémon overall. I don't think I'm ever gonna use it, but I don't hate it. Like, at all.

Rating: 4/5

#216 - #217: Teddiursa & Ursaring

I never had a teddy bear. I had a stuffed thing that I called Knuffie (literal translation: Huggie, obviously not named after the diapers), but I didn't have a goddamn teddy bear. Until I got one in the form of a Teddiursa plush, that is, but I didn't like it very much and thus I didn't have it for very long. At a later time, I think I regretted the decision to discard it a little, because I've come to like Teddiursa and Ursaring much more than I did back then. Well, I was a stubborn child with certain favorite Pokémon and I didn't want to know anything about the rest of them. What more can I say?

This is not the Teddiursa plush I owned, but it's
so fluffy that I had to include it.

Why, I'm gonna say something about Teddiursa and Ursaring. That's what I'm gonna do, because that's what this whole article is for in the first place. Teddiursa loves honey, which is something that is derived from a trait of certain honey-loving bears such as the sloth bear or the Malayan sun bear. But Teddiursa doesn't just have a voracious appetite for this sticky stuff; no, it can also concoct its own honey by blending fruit and Beedrill pollen and absorbs the honey into its forepaws, which it is often seen licking. The crescent marking on its head - which might have been based on the mythology of the constellation Ursa Minor (more commonly called the Little Bear; ursa is Latin for 'bear') - begins to glow when it finds honey already made. Then it evolves into Ursaring: the crescent moon on its forehead changes into a full moon or new moon on its chest, and the aesthetic traits are more likely derived from Asian bears and grizzlies. Unfortunately, that's approximately where the interesting Pokédex entries end. Whereas Game Freak took the concept of honey bears and made Teddiursa's traits actually interesting because honey bears can't actually do what Teddiursa can, Ursaring is nothing special. I like its design, sure, and I have to admit it's a strong and useful Pokémon, but flavor-wise Game Freak really missed the mark when it comes to Ursaring. I mean, you're not gonna tell me that gathering food, sleeping in treetops, a keen olfactory sense (it can distinguish any kind of aroma), marking fruit-bearing trees in its territory with its claws and being too lazy to climb trees to pick fruit (it snaps them instead and collects any fruit and berries that fall down) is overly fascinating. The funny thing is that I never really complained about these Pokédex entries until I started this fucking blog and realized that the flavor of certain Pokémon isn't really all that interesting.

In battles the flavor doesn't matter, but it's nice to see one that matches a Pokémon's battle style (or vice versa) or one that's just an entirely different take on an already existing concept. It's lame to copy the traits of a certain animal and try to pull them off as the traits of a Pokémon based on that animal.

Cute, tiny Teddiursa (right) accompanied by other bear cubs: Pancham (left) and
Cubchoo (middle).

But enough with this lecture, let's take a gander at Ursaring's competitive abilities. Looking at its stats, I see a couple of problems: it's slow and its defenses are mediocre, although it is definitely capable of taking a hit or two due to its very decent HP stat. Furthermore, Ursaring's low speed can be compensated by one of its main abilities, Quick Feet, which raises its speed by 50% when it suffers from a status condition such as poison or paralysis. Guts does the exact same thing, only for attack instead of speed. Both are fine and allow Ursaring to hold onto one single item: the Toxic Orb. That item is the safest option, because the burn Ursaring gets from a Flame Orb halves its attack stat; and although Guts prevents that, Quick Feet does not. Both sets allow you to use Swords Dance, which sharply raises Ursaring's attack, and Facade, a move of base 70 power that doubles when - you guessed it - Ursaring is inflicted by a status condition, although the first set works better with a Jolly nature and the second set with an Adamant nature. To top it off, Ursaring has access to a variety of useful physical moves like Crunch, Close Combat, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Power-Up Punch, Play Rough, Gunk Shot, Seed Bomb and the elemental punches.

Don't fuck with these bears. From left to right: Cubchoo's evolution Beartic,
Ursaring, and Pancham's evolution Pangoro.

It's a shame I didn't like Teddiursa and Ursaring all that much when I was a kid, but at least I appreciate their very existence now. Although I never used it in a playthrough, I am planning on using one in a distant playthrough of Pokémon Sun or Moon. Ursaring is not one of my favorite Pokémon ever, but at least it doesn't have to worry about getting a bad rating.

Rating: 4.5/5

#215, #461: Sneasel & Weavile

Sneasel fan art.

Sneasel was supposed to be one of those Pokémon you should start using in Pokémon Gold and Silver, with very decent attack and excellent speed, but dark and ice (Sneasel's types) were still special in Gen. II and III and Sneasel has an abysmal special attack stat, which kept it from being useful at all. It was mainly a Pokédex filler, until Gen. IV came around and the physical/special split occurred. And to crown it all, Sneasel actually got an evolution: Weavile. And it's not even a considerably good one flavor-wise. Sneasel, a sneaky little motherfucker based on weasels and possibly cats, is notoriously vicious and is known for stealing eggs from unattended Pidgey nests (probably also from nests of other bird Pokémon) in pairs: while one Sneasel drives the parents from their nest, the other steals the eggs. They then feast on them. It's common knowledge that weasels - especially stoats - occasionally steal eggs from bird nests and eat them, so I'm not surprised. Weavile is even less interesting in that regard: they are more devious than Sneasel (no shit), hunt in packs and leave mysterious markings on trees or ice in order to signal companions. However, there is one thing that's interesting about Sneasel en Weavile: both are obviously based on weasels, but in Japanese mythology there is actually a weasel demon with sickles on its front legs called the kamaitachi. It uses the sickles to cut people, but even though that causes a sharp wound, there is no pain. In many regions of the country it's often associated with ice and snow, which is a nod to Sneasel and Weavile's ice typing.

Weavile about to throw a Shadow Ball, from the looks of it. Not that it's going to
inflict a lot of damage, because Weavile's special attack is as dreadful as Sneasel's.

They may also be based on the Western and Japanese superstition when it comes to black cats and weasels, respectively, both notorious for being sneaky and associated with evil and misfortune. Although the superstition about black cats derives from Western, medieval witchcraft, Sneasel and Weavile don't really look like black cats and they sure as hell don't have magical powers (well, Pokémon are magical creatures an sich, but you probably know what the fuck I'm talking about). Weavile's appearance, however, seems to be based on old Egyptian fashion: it wears a headdress, a collar, earrings and 'eyeshadow' similar to Egyptian deities, especially Bastet or Sekhmet, who are often depicted with a cat's head - the former is even considered the god of cats. In addition, both were famous for using their claws in warfare.

TCG art of Weavile.

And Weavile uses its claws in warfare, alright. It's fast and strong, but it's also very fragile due to its mediocre HP and defenses. In other words, your opponent knows exactly what to expect from this thing: a fast-as-hell (because Jolly) wallbreaker or revenge killer with a somewhat predictable moveset: Fake Out, Knock Off, Icicle Crash and Ice Shard, often backed up by a Life Orb to strengthen all of its attacking moves. However, since Weavile is so frail, it could also hang onto a Focus Sash, which leaves it at 1 HP when attacked at full health. Also, that moveset I just mentioned isn't exactly the most reliable one. To start with, Fake Out has only 50 base power and isn't even powered up by STAB, so it could easily be omitted, even though it's a decent way to cause damage and make the foe flinch upon the switch-in of Weavile. Because there are many heavy Pokémon in the OU tier Weavile resides in, Low Kick is an option, as it does more damage to heavier foes like Heatran, Tyranitar and Ferrothorn. Poison Jab and Iron Tail work on fairy types, which Weavile is weak to, and Ice Punch could replace Icicle Crash because its accuracy is higher - although many people prefer the higher base power of Icicle Crash. And while Ice Shard is perfect to finish opponents because it has increased priority, it's a rather weak move that should be reserved for a dark-type move that can be used once Knock Off becomes redundant, like Night Slash (which has a higher chance for a critical hit, too).

I hate Sneasel and Weavile's flavor, because Game Freak are once more stating the obvious when it is clearly present in their designs: one look at these Pokémon and you'll know they're up to no fucking good. It's a shame, because Weavile's design is really cool and its typing makes it a great offensive threat in the competitive metagame. Game Freak could have done a better job with this Pokémon, but I quite like it and it doesn't deserve a bad rating by any means.

Rating: 4/5

#214: Heracross

Heracross is ready to fuck up its opponents. 

Everything Game Freak did wrong with Pinsir they did right with Heracross. Pinsir is still a competetent and likeable Pokémon, and I didn't give it a 4.5-star rating for no fucking reason, but let's face it: with its ability to learn a ton of fighting-type moves - including its vast fighting-type level-up movepool - Pinsir should have been fighting in the first place. Heracross is less obviously a fighting type in its design (although its Mega form makes up for that) and doesn't learn as many fighting-type moves as Pinsir does, but it's definitely better than its 'predecessor'. Like Pinsir, Heracross is based on a popular bug species used in insect fighting, namely Japanese rhinoceros beetles, which are known for their incredible strength. Heracross, whose name is derived from Ἡρακλῆς ('Heracles', a demigod of Greek mythology more commonly known by its Roman name Hercules) and 'cross', has a flavor that could be expected from a combative bug: the claws on its feet are strong *blah blah blah* it uses them to dig them into the ground to gain a secure and solid footing *yada yada yada* hurls opponents and competitors for food over great distances with force *wah wah wah* thrusts its prized horn under enemies' bellies and flings them far way *yada yada yada* can lift 100 times its own weight and topple trees *blah blah blah*. No surprises there at all. Heracross feeds on fresh sap from leafy trees, though, and while it's usually a gentle and docile Pokémon, it will chase anyone who disturbs it while feeding on tree sap.

That's a sign of a serious tree sap addiction, if you ask me. I would check into rehab if I were you, Crossy. The sooner the better.

Official Mega Heracross art

In all seriousness, though, Heracross has gotten a nice new tactic in competitive play: a Mega. While I initially thought it was just a weird Mega evolution when it was first revealed, it has gradually grown on me since. Its design actually makes a lot of sense, too. It's already in Heracross's name, but Mega Heracross is based on the Hercules beetle, which is obviously derived from that same Greek demigod I was talking about earlier. The oddest thing about Mega Heracross is that its torso apparently resembles the grille of an air conditioner very much, doesn't it? It also functions as such: when it unleashes its maximum power, its body temperature increases dramatically, so it opens the shells of its arms and torso to let the heat escape. And it does indeed unleash its maximum power, because it has a whopping base attack stat of 185! Only Mega Mewtwo X exceeds that with a base attack stat of 190, but that's a legendary Pokémon and all, and Heracross most definitely isn't. It does lose a little speed upon Mega-evolving, though, so it allows you to not run a speed-boosting nature like Jolly but an attack-boosting nature such as Adamant instead. With a maxed-out attack stat of 260, Mega Heracross hits like a pulp truck crashes into an invisible dome. In other words, it hits HARD. And with the Skill Link ability, which allows moves that randomly hit two to five times to always hit five times, and a few nifty moves that benefit from it (Bullet Seed, Rock Blast and STAB Pin Missile), Mega Heracross is a force to be reckoned with. It can even use Swords Dance to boost its attack stat to utterly ridiculous levels.

It looks like this Heracross is swinging an opponent around. I believe it's Salamence,
but I couldn't be entirely sure. 

But there is also regular Heracross. It doesn't have access to Skill Link like Mega Heracross does, but it has some formidable abilities that it can use instead: Guts gives Heracross a 50% attack boost when it is inflicted by a status condition, which is why you can give it a Toxic Orb or Flame Orb to hold, while its hidden ability Moxie raises its attack by one stage every time it knocks out an opposing Pokémon. The latter works very well with a Choice Band or Life Orb rather than a Toxic Orb or something, as an Orb item only hinders Heracross when it doesn't have Guts. Both sets allow you to run a Jolly nature, but you should shy away from multi-strike moves. Go with moves that will do a massive amount of damage instantly, such as Close Combat, Megahorn, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Knock Off, Facade (only in conjunction with an Orb item) and either Night Slash or Shadow Claw.

3D (or semi-3D?) art of Mega Heracross, to be found in the Furious Fists expansion
of the Trading Card Game. The shells on its arms are open in order to ventilate its
body. 

Yes, Game Freak did a lot of things right with Heracross, and this Pokémon is a huge step forward compared to regular Pinsir - whom Game Freak did fix somewhat with a Mega. And while Mega Heracross is a monster, I'm still not a huge fan of its design. Yes, I know it's supposed to be based on a Hercules beetle, but the openable shells on its arms and torso makes me think like it's some kind of ventilation shaft. And to me, that's not exactly the definition of 'ordinary'. Then again, Pokémon based on magnets (Magnemite and Magneton) or gears (Klink, Klang and Klinklang) are quite out of the ordinary too, but at least their designs and flavor revolve all around that aspect instead of that aspect being just a small part of their designs. Like I said, I've come to appreciate Mega Heracross's design little by little, but for now I can't give it a perfect rating yet. It's a bit weird when you consider I'm giving 5-star ratings to Pokémon like Shuckle, Furret and Unown, but that's just the way it is.

Rating: 4.5/5

#213: Shuckle

Official Sugimori art of Shuckle.

This is a tricky Pokémon...

Shuckle is the one Pokémon with the most extreme stat distribution, being either the best or in the bottom three of every base stat category. First off, it is tied with Mega Steelix and Mega Aggron for the highest base defense stat and has the highest base special defense stat, period. Both sit at a monstrous 230, although they're offset by Shuckle's terrible base 20 HP stat. It kind of renders those defenses tricky to utilize, as it wears Shuckle down more easily than you'd like. But aside from its good defensive stats, Shuckle also has some atrocious other stats: it is tied with Munchlax for the lowest speed stat, tied with Feebas and Bonsly for the lowest special attack stat, and tied with Magikarp and Blissey for the second lowest attack stat (only Happiny and Chansey have a lower base attack stat). You'd think that Shuckle is impossible to use at all in competitive play, but that couldn't be any further from the truth. It's mainly used as a support Pokémon, sure, but a good support Pokémon despite the low HP stat that hardly backs up its defenses. And in spite of the fact that I love Shuckle for what it is, I'll never use it in competitive play (I'm not really a competitive battler to begin with), simply because I'm sure I'll never make good use of it and because I want a more reliable tank.

Amazing papercraft Shuckle.

While it wasn't used very often prior to X and Y, Gen. VI was kind to Shuckle and gave it access to Sticky Web, a move that lowers the speed of every opposing Pokémon by one stage when they enter the battlefield. That's handy to let the rest of your team get the edge they possibly need over faster foes. The rest of Shuckle's moveset should consist of Stealth Rock for setting up entry hazards on the opponent's side of the battlefield, Encore to lock the opposing Pokémon into some move, and either Infestation or Toxic. Toxic instantly inflicts the foe with bad poison, but Infestation does immediate damage and damages the foe significantly every turn while it also prevents said foe from switching out. Could be useful if you want a Pokémon to stay in if it can't hurt Shuckle all that much. Unfortunately, you'll have to choose between a physically or specially bulky Shuckle, because you need to invest in its HP. If physically defensive, go with a Bold nature, and if specially defensive, a Calm nature would be a good idea. Either way, Shuckle is slow and is very susceptible to Taunt, so give it a Mental Herb to remove the effects of that move. And don't worry about Shuckle getting one-shotted, because it has the Sturdy ability, which leaves it at 1 HP if attacked at full HP should the attack have knocked it out. Gluttony lets it consume a berry earlier than usual, which it doesn't need, while Contrary reverses stat changes, which is only handy if you have a Shuckle with Superpower - lowers attack and defense by one stage after use - or something. And that's a move it doesn't even learn.

A Shuckle wallpaper. Just because there isn't anything else to be found on the
Internet. 

It's such a shame Shuckle can't make use of some awesome moves it gets. Shell Smash lowers its defenses by one stage while it boosts everything else by two stages 'cept for HP. Too bad 'everything else' on Shuckle is downright terrible and disappoints even when maxed out (six stages). Power Trick is a nifty move that switches Shuckle's defense with its attack, which lets it temporarily get an attack stat equivalent to a base 230 stat. Unfortunately that means its defense will be paper-thin, but with Sturdy it should be able to live a hit. If you can pull it off, it's a nice gimmick. Substitute would only break Sturdy because it requires 25% of Shuckle's health, and Shuckle doesn't have any means of recovery except for Leftovers, which I don't recommend giving it. The Rest/Sleep Talk combo would only take the spotlight off of other, more handy moves Shuckle has. This Pokémon is basically a one-way road: everybody knows exactly where you're going with this thing.

A shiny Shuckle in the anime.

But I don't love Shuckle because of its competitive utility; no, I love it for its design. I know it's a bug Pokémon, but it's so adorable. There are some bug types that have a couple of features that make them look kind of cute, but can you name one bug type that's as cute as Shuckle (and no, the recently announced Cutiefly for Pokémon Sun and Moon doesn't count)? I didn't think so. Given the organisms it may be based on, it's no mean feat to make it appear cute, though: Shuckle is based on an endolith, an organism that lives inside porous rocks or animal shells, and possibly also scale insects - small, shelled parasites that produce a sweet fluid called honeydew that attracts other insects. Shuckle does a similar thing: it likes to collect berries and store them in its shell, then liquefies and ferments them with its digestive juices for it to consume or be used to dissolve rocks with so that it can hide under them. But wait, does Shuckle ferment the collected berries with digestive juices or does it turn said barries into a unique juice? Bulbapedia claims it's both, although that website is just a source that keeps information about what the anime and games explicitly say about Shuckle, so blame it on Game Freak. Or Nintendo. Or The Pokémon Company.

Whatever, one of the three.

More anime Shuckle. Don't you think it looks adorable?

Anyway, other organisms Shuckle may be based on are mollusks - due to the use of acids to receive foods or break obstacles, the liking for fermented foods, the tendency to live near water, and the seemingly limp but actually muscular feet - and, appearance-wise, turtles and vases/jars. The Japanese tsubo, the Korean danji, the Chinese hú and the German Pott all mean 'jar' and refer to Shuckles tendency to store berries in its shell. Shuckle's Japanese and Mandarin Chinese names, Tsubotsubo (ツボツボ) and Húhú (壺壺), contain the words fujitsubo and ténghú, respectively, and both mean 'barnacle'. It's probably the holes in its shells rimmed with white that make it look barnacle-like, but I think that's a bit of a stretch.

I love Shuckle. I know I said I wouldn't ever use it anymore, but that doesn't mean I never tried. I had a Shuckle in Black 2 or White 2 (I forgot which one) and carried it around on my team. It already had Power Trick upon capture and I tried the tactic over and over again, but it was just way too unreliable and I boxed it before I got to the Pokémon League. However, I adored this thing even before that: Gold and Silver were my first Pokémon games, and I remember a PokéManiac in Cianwood City would offer you to take of his Shuckle named Shuckie for a while because he was scared of Team Rocket and wanted Shuckie to be taken care of by an experienced Trainer. I realized it wasn't very good in battles, but I kept it anyway (who didn't?) and stored it in the PC. I felt like such a thief, but at the same time I didn't care because I loved everything about that thing. And because I still have a love for this adorable critter, I'm giving it a perfect rating.

Rating: 5/5

#211: Qwilfish

TCG art of Qwilfish.

You know, fugu has been the most celebrated and notorious delicacy in Japanese cuisine for centuries now, and in the 17 years Qwilfish has been around, nobody thought, "Hey, let's chop this thing to pieces and eat it." Of course, fugu is lethally poisonous, and it was even banned in Japan a couple of times. Only chefs who have qualified after three or more years of rigorous training are allowed to prepare the fish, and preparation of it is strictly controlled and supervised by law in Japan and several other countries. The Emperor of Japan is even forbidden to eat the dish, for his own safety. And as Qwilfish seems to be a mix of the pufferfish and the porcupinefish - both of which are poisonous (pufferfish more so than some species of porcupinefish) and can inflate their bodies by swallowing air or water - it is not a surprise why it's part poison. The concept of the pufferfish could have been very interesting, but there are just a couple of problems with Qwilfish.

Qwilfish fires its spines at its foe after swallowing 2.6
gallons water all at once first.

First off, I feel like its design could have been so much better than it is right now. Many puffer- and porcupinefish look more colorful and interesting than Qwilfish, so I guess Game Freak could have made something better when it came to this Pokémon. Right? I mean, simple designs can be effective, but nothing about this thing makes you go, "OH MY GOD, I HAVE TO HAVE THIS!!!" No. Second, Qwilfish's flavor is everything a real-life pufferfish can do: like real-life pufferfish, it can inflate its body. It then uses the water pressure to fire poisonous quills at its enemy, which real pufferfish can't do, admittedly, but at least they can extend their spines and emit poison from them. It's not that much of a difference; plus, there are other, more interesting Pokémon that can do the exact same thing. Also, it's a poor swimmer due to its round shape, especially when it is inflated. Fascinating, or nah? Nah, not exactly. Lastly, Qwilfish seems to have mediocre base stats all around. At 95, its attack is its highest stat, while all of its other stats seem to be too low to make anything out of them. I'm gonna try nonetheless.

Now, buckle your seatbelts, kids. It's gonna be a rough ride. (!)

Yes, Qwilfish, you're a doofus. I know.

Oh yeah, I forgot this thing has access to the Intimidate ability, which lowers the opponent's attack stat by one stage. This could turn out to be interesting. At least it makes Qwilfish a decent Spikes or Toxic Spikes setter, especially when you breed one with an Impish nature and invest in HP and defense. And while Taunt (makes the opposing Pokémon unable to use support moves) and Thunder Wave (indefinitely paralyzes the foe) are very common moves for Qwilfish to use as well, an attacking move is absolutely necessary. Waterfall inflicts some decent damage due to Qwilfish's high attack stat, while Scald deals low damage due to its terrible special attack but has a 30% chance to burn the foe. You can also use Qwilfish as a suicide lead, meaning you have to slap Explosion on it and let it blow up first turn - when your opponent has a hyper-offensive team, that is. But Qwilfish has other abilities as well, namely Poison Point and Swift Swim. The first has a chance to poison the opposing Pokémon when it hits Qwilfish with a attack that makes contact, but it shouldn't be used; instead, go with Swift Swim, which doubles Qwilfish's speed in the rain and lets it outspeed many Pokémon, even with an Adamant nature instead of a Jolly one. Give it a Life Orb or Choice Band, put moves like Waterfall, Aqua Jet and Poison Jab on it (last-minute moves like Destiny Bond and Explosion are also viable options in this set), and you'll make the most out of an offensive Qwilfish. Such a shame it doesn't learn any support moves that raise its attack. There are plenty of tactics you can use, but I still think Qwilfish is an average Pokémon and that you should avoid using it.

Lately, there have been quite some Pokémon on this blog I happen to dislike: Sunflora, Wobbuffet, Dunsparce... and now Qwilfish. And except in Dunsparce's case, I didn't even realize I disliked them in the first place; they were just there and I didn't really care about them. I still don't, in fact. Qwilfish is not as bad as the previously mentioned Pokémon, especially because Game Freak tried to make something out of it, but I guess it's an unexciting Pokémon altogether and it falls just too short to receive a passing grade.

Rating: 2.5/5