#489 - #490: Phione & Manaphy

Cute little Manaphy frolicking around in the water.

Manaphy used to be one of those Pokémon you could only get through a fairly ridiculous method prior to being distributed through online events regularly along with a whole bunch of other mythical Pokémon. In the fourth generation, however, a special egg containing Manaphy had to be inserted into some stupid Pokémon Ranger game by code before it could be transferred to Diamond or Pearl. In fact, you had to struggle your way through some unnecessary story first, in which a character called Murph picks up the Manaphy egg that had washed ashore on a beach and brings it to Professor Hastings, only for some villains to steal it. The player character is then required to retrieve it safely from the villains, after which Hastings reveals that the egg can only hatch if it is given to 'a Trainer in a faraway region', which is quite a roundabout way to say that the egg will only hatch if you transfer it to Diamond or Pearl. (Not sure if Platinum was in on the joke as well, but I can't see it being left out, being a carbon copy of Diamond and Pearl and all.) Aside from playing a minor role in quite a few Pokémon games, Manaphy had its own movie in Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, in which it was first seen as an egg being stolen by Pokémon Ranger Jackie from a villain named Phantom. Phantom needs Manaphy in order to find the Sea Crown kept in Samiya, an underwater temple created by the People of the Water, but Ash and his friends arrive just in time to ruin his day and manage to keep Phantom from stealing back the egg again. Ultimately, a chase ensues and after performing some dangerous acrobatics in order to keep the egg from falling on the ground multiple times, the egg hatches in May's hands. May and Manaphy bond - much like Misty and Togepi did way back when - and Ash and his friends help the mythical Pokémon to find its home base Samiya.

Manaphy (left) and Phione (right).

The whole egg-hatching thing doesn't make any sense to me in the first place, because if you let Manaphy breed with a Ditto, you'll actually be able to obtain eggs containing Phione. You'd think that Pokémon is Manaphy's pre-evolution then, but nothing could be any further from the truth: Phione is Phione and will always stay a Phione no matter what, which means you'll forever be stuck with what is basically a weaker version of Manaphy, as all of its stats are a base 80 across the board compared to Manaphy's base 100 stats. It's a mystery to me as to why Phione exists in the first place, but I guess Game Freak had to fill up a vacant spot in the National Pokédex or something. As such, Phione's status as a mythical Pokémon is often disputed, with several pieces off evidence and even official statements contradicting each other, but I'm leaning towards the 'no' camp. Admittedly, strategy guides and handbooks have - somewhat inconsistently - listed Phione as a mythical Pokémon simply for being Manaphy's offspring; people seeking Phione on the Global Trade System will not be displayed if the player chooses to exclude people seeking mythical or legendary Pokémon; Phione is banned from most online competitions and online battles; and it is not needed to obtain certain in-game certifications for completing a regional or the National Pokédex, a trait otherwise exclusive to mythical Pokémon. At the end of the day, though, there is one thing that makes me question Phione's status as a mythical Pokémon: it is far too easy to obtain once you actually possess a Manaphy, and you could potentially end up with a hundred Phione coming from one Manaphy and a Ditto. Also, Phione is significantly weaker than other mythical Pokémon, lacking at least 90 base points in its base stat total to even just be considered a legendary Pokémon.

Mommy Ditto and Daddy Manaphy taking care of their young. Aren't they the most
adorable family you have ever seen? 

It's not that I hate Phione or its design or anything; I just can't see the use of a Pokémon like this if it can't evolve anyway and doesn't give a single fuck about making itself at least somewhat distinctive from its parent Pokémon. Both Phione and Manaphy are based on sea angels, a large group of small, transparent-looking swimming sea slugs often known as clione, which is a misleading term because the family clionidae is just one of the six families within this clade. As Phione's name suggests, this Pokémon is definitely based on clione, and it is entirely possible that Manaphy continues this trend despite there being no evidence for this 'theory' in its name. Clione are remarkably popular in Japan for some reason, especially in Hokkaido, the area that Sinnoh is based on, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Manaphy and its useless kin showed up in the fourth generation.

Phione and Manaphy's Pokédex entries are also pretty much the same, as Manaphy's state it will swim great distances to return to the cold seafloor on which it was born and Phione's mention a similar activity: it inflates the flotation sac on its head to languidly drift in warm seas and search for food, which it does in packs (another indication that there are more Phione than Manaphy), but it will always return to its birth place no matter how far it drifts away. While Manaphy is born with a wondrous power that lets it bond with any kind of Pokémon and is easily affected by its environment as 80% of its body consists of water, there is absolutely nothing more to say about Phione, which only makes me wish that Game Freak hadn't created this thing in the first place.

Manaphy playing with Pikachu. How kawaii is this???

Luckily we still have Manaphy to fall back on for competitive purposes. As it has base 100 stats across the board and a fantastic set-up move in Tail Glow, Manaphy is a force to be reckoned with in Smogon's OU tier, as it can boost its special attack to incredible levels and absolutely annihilate everything in its path while still having some natural bulk behind it. After just one Tail Glow, which raises its special attack by a whopping three stages, Manaphy can just use a STAB move like Surf or Scald and do massive damage, although it has access to some amazing coverage moves like Ice Beam, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, Signal Beam and Dazzling Gleam. There are so many good options to choose from, in fact, that it significantly suffers from four-moveslot syndrome. As Manaphy's special attack is going to be raised drastically anyway, you might want to give it a Timid nature and the Leftovers as a hold item, although a Life Orb or a Waterium Z are splendid options as well. Just make sure to steer away from Choice items, as they make Tail Glow ineffective all of a sudden. As for its ability, Manaphy only has Hydration, which will cure it of any non-volatile status conditions (burn, sleep, freeze, paralysis and poison) when it is raining. It's the reason why people often run Rain Dance on it, but I think that's a waste of Manaphy's potential and only worsens its four-moveslot syndrome, so I guess it's better just to let another one of your Pokémon set up the rain for it.

Happiny, what the actual fuck are you doing with that Manaphy egg? Step the hell
away from it; you ain't worthy to take care of that thing.

Although Tail Glow Manaphy is incredibly overpowered, there is one Pokémon that benefits from it even more than Manaphy does: Xurkitree. With a base 173 special attack stat, just one Tail Glow boost would be absolutely destructive. Still, Manaphy is very much worth your time and it can be an asset to any competitive team with some investment in finding a competitively viable one. I am mainly a collector and I don't really care all that much about the competitive scene (even though I can sometimes have a blast on Pokémon Showdown), but at least I know how viable it can be. This thing isn't one of my favorite Pokémon by any means, but I acknowledge its cuteness, strength and popularity and therefore I am giving it 4 stars.

P.S.: Did you know the Manaphy egg is actually based on a real-life sea creature? Pokémon eggs are normally beige with green spots, but Manaphy's is a transparent blue with a red core and a ring of yellowish spots above it. These traits give it resemblances to turritopsis dohrnii, also called the immortal jellyfish, which is found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the waters of Japan. The more you know...

Rating: 4/5

#488: Cresselia

Cresselia radiates an air of beauty and grace.

Legendary Pokémon are relatively popular in general, and Cresselia is actually no different, but this Pokémon is annoying for two simple reasons. The first is that it's usually a roaming Pokémon in the Gen. IV games, which makes it a bitch to find and a bitch and a half to catch, as it has the tendency to run away one turn after it appears. Indeed, you'll have to come prepared if you're hunting for this thing and immediately put it to sleep with Spore or prevent it from fleeing with Mean Look. The second reason why Cresselia is annoying is its competitive usage, because its amazing base 120 HP as well as its base 120 defense and 130 special defense make it a tough cookie to crack. With a Calm or Bold nature you can crank up Cresselia's defenses even more (especially when you invest the right amount of EVs in the right stats), while the Leftovers heal it a little bit at the end of every turn. For more durability on the battlefield, most Cresselia have a moveset consisting of at least Moonlight, Toxic and maybe also Protect, while a move like Psychic provides excellent STAB damage in case of emergency. At least it needs something to attack with, right? Substitute might be a better option instead of Protect, while Reflect and Light Screen extend its longevity on the battlefield even further and Lunar Dance lets it faint in favor of fully recovering the Pokémon that is sent out after Cresselia.

And as Cresselia is tanky enough already, you could run an offensive set consisting of Calm Mind, Psychic, Moonblast and Ice Beam - Shadow Ball, Energy Ball and Signal Beam are good options as well, depending on what you need - although a Modest nature is surely recommended because of Cresselia's mediocre base 75 special attack. Boosting its special attack and special defense with Calm Mind every turn will definitely pay off in the end, though.

Cresselia engulfed in undulating light, while Darkrai is looking
on in darkness.

But Cresselia is ultimately more interesting in terms of design, origins and overall flavor. This Pokémon shares characteristics with the Sarimanok, a legendary fowl of the Maranao people who originate from Mindanao, one of the most southern islands - and the second largest at that - in the Philippines. This bird, whose name derives from sari ('cloth' or 'garment') and manok ('chicken'), has become an ubiquitous symbol or Maranao art and is often depicted with colorful wings, a feathered tail and a profusely decorated head. It is said to be a symbol of good fortune. Furthermore, the constellation Cygnus derives its name from the Latinized Greek word for 'swan', and considering Cresselia's crescent moon motif and the aurora-colored planetary rings around its body, it is more than possible Cygnus has been an inportant inspiration for Cresselia. While it's true that Cresselia looks very swan-like, it is mainly based on the shape of the crescent moon (its name may have even been inspired by Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon) and makes up one half of the Lunar Duo, the other being Darkrai. Darkrai is said to induce nightmares in people, however, while Cresselia is known to prevent or cure them, which manifests itself in the games by having the player cure a Sailor's son with the Lunar Wing found on Crescent Isle. What's more, those who sleep holding Cresselia's feather are assured of joyful dreams.

Shiny Cresselia is absolutely gorgeous!

And that's exactly why I like Cresselia more than the other half of the Lunar Duo. Don't get me wrong; Darkrai seems like an interesting enough Pokémon, but its design is weird and I am not usually drawn to Pokémon that tend to be portrayed as purely evil. There's a certain movie that actually contradicts that, but I'll talk about that when it's Darkrai's time to shine on this blog. The main reason why I love Cresselia so much is its design. In my opinion, Game Freak went out of their way to make it as graceful and beautiful as it could be. I would compliment them on Cresselia's shiny as well, if it weren't for the fact that from Gen. II to Gen. V shinies were created by simply letting the game's code switch up a Pokémon's color palette until they got a decent-looking shiny, while truly handmade shinies didn't appear until the sixth generation. I won't deviate from the topic by nitpicking too much about whether or not Game Freak is fully responsible for creating Cresselia's shiny, because at the end of the day it is still one of the most gorgeous shinies I have ever seen (the purple definitely helps!), but I just thought I'd mention it. If you look past its annoying catching method, Cresselia is just an amazing Pokémon overall - design- and flavor-wise as well as competitively. It may be one of the most average Pokémon out there when it comes to offense, but there is an excellent move that can fix that to some extent and it's still one of the best tanky support Pokémon to use in the competitive metagame.

Holy shit, because I barely even use it I never realized how much I really love this Pokémon.

Rating: 5/5

#487: Giratina

I am terribly annoyed and frustrated with Google at the moment, because they display Blogger in English while the language on both of my Google accounts is clearly set on Dutch. And here I am, trying to write a review about a creepy ghost-type Pokémon that was banished to the Distortion World for being too violent. I feel this will not have a positive effect on my current state of mind, but my goal is to have finished the Gen. IV legendaries plus Victini by the end of May, so here goes nothing.

(Disclaimer: Yes, I know that Victini is technically from the fifth generation, but this Pokémon comes before Snivy and after Arceus in the National Pokédex, so please cut me some slack here.)

Shiny Giratina in its Altered Forme. Isn't it gorgeous?

Giratina is the box-art legendary of Pokémon Platinum in its Origin Forme and is supposed to be Dialga and Palkia's counterpart, but it is separated from the other members of its trio in the Pokédex by Heatran and Regigigas. This is not an uncommon occurrence, however; Cresselia and Darkrai aren't found next to each other in the Pokédex either, no fewer than three legendary Pokémon would be found separately from the other members of their respective groups exactly one generation later as well, and a couple of Ultra Beasts prevent Necrozma from chilling with Solgaleo and Lunala. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter, because it's all about the Pokémon themselves and not about their position in the National Pokédex. In that regard, Giratina may be the most interesting of the Creation Trio flavor-wise, even though some of the references are clearly biblical in nature. Some of Giratina's Pokédex entries claim that it was banished to the Distortion World for its excessive violence, which may be based on the story of how the Devil was once an angel who was banished to Hell for attempting a revolution. Furthering this are the possibilities that Giratina's Altered Forme is based on a basilisk and its Origin Forme on a serpent, two creatures that the Devil would often take the form of in the Bible.

Amazing art of Giratina emerging at Spear Pillar from a portal leading to the
Distortion World.

But the two forms of Giratina seem to be based on entirely different things altogether. Bulbapedia claims that Giratina's Altered Forme may be based on a giant centipede from the Japanese fairytale "My Lord Bag of Rice", which was said to be as large as a mountain and prey on dragon hatchlings. It doesn't really make sense to me, because Giratina is a dragon type itself. Sure, its six legs make it look somewhat insect-like, but not overly so; if anything, I am of the opinion that it has more saurian and draconian features. When in its Origin Forme, Giratina shares physical traits with a creature called an amphiptere, a European dragon-like creature with bat-like wings and a serpentine body but no legs. Too bad the bat-like wings are a feature of Giratina's Altered Forme, as its Origin Forme possesses six black ghostly streamers protruding from its back, and the red spikes attached to the tips of those streamers are reminiscent to scorpion stingers or spider legs.

Also, in interviews Junichi Masuda and Takeshi Kawachimaru did with G4, they said that Giratina and the Distortion World were created to be personifications of antimatter, which Cynthia also states in HeartGold and SoulSilver. I'm guessing antimatter isn't the exact opposite of time and space, but I'll buy it. It's better than having to listen to the trifecta-of-matter theory for the umpteenth time, however solid this theory may be.

Giratina's Origin Forme chillin' with its creator, Arceus. 

Too bad Game Freak cannot be consistent when it comes to creating certain Pokémon's characteristics, because Giratina still seems to be able to travel through and control dimensions besides those of time and space. The movie Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior shows that it can pass through dimensions at will by emitting a whirlwind from its mouth, thereby creating a portal. Traveling to the 'normal' Pokémon world, it ambushed Dialga and dragged it to the Reverse World - the Distortion World in Pokémon Platinum - in order to exact revenge against it for causing damage to said Reverse World during its fight with Palkia in Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai, which shows that Giratina is a highly aggressive and territorial Pokémon protective of its home and capable of kidnapping. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl it can even be caught in its Altered Forme - its default form when not in the Distortion World or holding a Griseous Orb, due to the change in gravity between dimensions - in an ancient cemetery in Sinnoh called Turnback Cave, which is not even in the Distortion World and so it has no business being there in the first place. The point I'm trying to make here is that, ultimately, banishing Giratina to the Distortion World didn't seem to have had any effect whatsoever, as it is still able to travel between all kinds of different dimensions. Great consistency there, Game Freak.

While I'm at it, I should add that I think Giratina's Origin Forme should be called its Altered Forme and vice versa. The way I see it is that Giratina had to alter its body in order to adapt to a different environment after it was banished to the Distortion World, thereby taking on the form of a serpent rather than a centipede of some sort. I think. But what do I know, right?

Giratina's Altered Forme.

In any case, real-life references and name origins are almost never downright confirmed, so we could only guess where Giratina's name comes from. It almost feels like a Japanese corruption of the world 'guillotine', but that can't be the only thing. Bulbapedia suggests that Giratina's name may be derived from girasol opal, a term that is often mistakenly used to refer to red-, orange- and yellow-colored fire opals, but true girasol is a type of translucent hyalite opal that exhibits a bluish glow or sheen that follows the light source around and is sometimes called water opal when it is from Mexico. No, let's go the 'guillotine' way instead and throw some purachina (Japanese for 'platinum') in the mix as well. As Giratina is the game mascot of Pokémon Platinum, I guess the latter isn't such an over-the-top assumption. Lastly, when it comes to Giratina's competitive utility, it actually works quite differently from Dialga and Palkia, who mainly serve as strong special attackers. In its Altered Forme Giratina is a defensive wall sporting an annoying support set consisting of at least Defog, Toxic and Rest, while its Origin Forme swaps some base defenses for some more base offenses. It still won't be knocked out easily though, not even by another legendary Pokémon. Do think twice before sending this thing out to other dragon or ghost types (as well as fairy, ice and dark types), two types Giratina is weak to, which makes it the only dual-type Pokémon that is weak to both of its own types. Ouch.

Palkia (left) and Dialga (right) facing off against Origin Forme Giratina (middle).

I love this thing. It's a creepy yet cool Pokémon to look at, and I can understand why Pokémon Platinum - and by extension also Giratina and the Distortion World - enjoys so much popularity. The fourth generation isn't my favorite by a long shot, but Sinnoh is home to some of the most amazingly designed Pokémon, including my all-time favorite, Luxray. While I'm not a big fan of religious references in Pokémon, I can certainly see the irony in a Pokémon that might be the very embodiment of the Devil, especially since the franchise receives so much backlash from Christian parents. Giratina definitely gets no less than a perfect rating from me!

P.S.: I have now tagged all of my blog posts. From now on, every review will receive labels with the respective Pokémon's typing and rating, as well as the generation it's in. This way, it'll be easier for you to search for Pokémon in certain categories, should you so desire.

Rating: 5/5

#486: Regigigas

Either this Regigigas is way too small or these Eevee are
way too big. 

Usually, there are some redeeming qualities to be found in legendary Pokémon that aren't considered to be very good in a competitive setting. I mean, I made Articuno and Virizion work on Pokémon Showdown to some extent, but they're by far not the best Pokémon to use competitively. However, I guess nobody can really save Regigigas from being downright terrible. For Christ's sake, this thing resides in Smogon's lowest tier (PU) despite having approximately the same base stat total as many of the box-art legendaries. Yeah, Regigigas is that bad. Of course, this has everything to do with its ability Slow Start, which halves its actual attack and speed stats during the first five turns in battle, and switching it out for another Pokémon will only reset the counter. You could give it Substitute in order for it to last a couple turns, but a good fighting type will have no trouble knocking it out in two turns at most. Hell, Regigigas is even set-up fodder, which means opponents with moves such as Swords Dance, Calm Mind or Dragon Dance now have an excellent opportunity to raise their stats and sweep your team. And a defensive Regigigas altogether really doesn't make a lick of sense, because it doesn't learn a wide array of good support moves (it cannot even learn Protect) and it will be at full power and speed after five turns, anyway. No no no, this Pokémon is best to be avoided; if you wish to use crazy powerful Pokémon - I'm talking Groudon, Rayquaza, Solgaleo, Dialga, Yveltal, Reshiram and Zekrom and the like - you'd do better to just participate in Smogon's Uber tier.

Lucas and Dawn (the Diamond and Pearl player
characters) encounter a slumbering Regigigas in
the basement of Snowpoint Temple.

Regigigas's redeeming factors lay in its design and origins. It doesn't occur often that a trio of legendaries get a downright follow-up one generation later; I mean, Lugia had Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres to watch over, but I believe this was merely for the sake of the second movie's storyline. However, Regigigas is very much aesthetically related to Regirock, Regice and Registeel, complete with their signature seven-eye pattern. The six spots apart from its eyes appear to be gemstones, with the red gems representing Regirock, the blue gems indicating Regice and the silver/grey gems representing Registeel. It actually created the legendary titans itself from clay, ice and magma, which showcases its excellent craftsmanship and ability to survive in and work under extreme conditions - for example, it had to work with boiling temperatures of magma (1300 to 2400°F) when creating Registeel and with frigid ice (-328°F) when crafting Regice. Regigigas seems to have parallels to the Legendary Golem of Prague, created out of clay from the banks of the Vltava river by the late 16th-century Czech rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel and brought to life through rituals and Hebrew incantations to defend the Prague ghetto from anti-Semitic attacks and pogroms. The latter is a term ascribed most often to the deliberate persecution of an ethnic or religious group, usually Jews. The golem went out of control, however, and was immobilized and sealed away in the attic genizah of the Old New Synagogue, where it could be restored again if needed. Conversely, Regigigas was stored in the basement of Snowpoint Temple and will go on a rampage if awoken from its slumber uncarefully - and a long slumber it must have been, judging from its mossy feet and bushy shoulders.

For some reason, some of Regigigas's Pokédex entries also mention that there is an enduring legend that states this Pokémon towed continents using ropes. I think this random 'fact' doesn't really fit its design and the rest of its origins, if you ask me, but... I guess I'll believe it?

Regigigas isn't exactly Regi Kick-Ass.

Like Heatran, Regigigas is yet another post-game legendary Game Freak added to Diamond and Pearl just because they could, and it won't be the last one we'll encounter this generation. Unfortunately, it cannot live up to Heatran's offensive prowess and Cresselia's notorious tanking abilities due to its terrible ability hindering it tremendously. Regigigas is basically a second Slaking: both are normal types, both have the same base stat total of 670 and base 160 attack stat, and both have abilities that significantly limit their power. Truant is slightly better than Slow Start, because at least it doesn't halve Slaking's attack stat upon entering the battlefield, making Giga Impact a highly viable move that can do some very serious damage. Sure, Slaking can only move every other turn, but at least it's better than doing only minimum damage for the first five turns. Very few Pokémon stay in play for five turns or more, which officially makes Slow Start the worst ability and Regigigas the worst legendary in the entire franchise.

There, I said it.

Rating: 3.5/5

#485: Heatran

The next legendary on the list is actually a Pokémon you can catch post-game in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum. Upon beating Champion Cynthia and entering the Hall of Fame, the player character has a chance to board a ship to an island somewhere in the northeast area of Sinnoh, where a volcano called Stark Mountain is located. After traversing the volcano with a fella named Buck, the legendary Heatran can be found in a cavern in the back, ready for you to catch it.

TCG promotional art of Heatran.

Heatran is not one of those overly powerful box-art legendaries like Lugia, Kyogre and Dialga, but it's a steel type and it is very popular in competitive play as a result. It's a pity that there isn't much story to be told about Heatran in the games, because design-wise this Pokémon is nothing short of fascinating. Heatran looks like a combination between a tortoise and a warty toad, but it is a cave-dwelling creature that spits fire and has a body armor made of steel, its most prominent feature being the metal bangles locked around its legs. Some parts of its body do look like they're slightly out of shape, because the intense body heat coming from its boiling blood (like magma) made them melt. It is said that some melted bits of metal on its body are the remnants of what used to be its shell, enhancing the theory that Heatran is based on a tortoise. Additionally, the cross-shaped metal claws that allow it to dig deep into walls and the feet that allow it to stick to a surface - so it can hang from and climb walls and ceilings using all four of its feet - give it the characteristics of some larger variants of insects, particularly cockroaches. It also learns Bug Bite by Move Tutor, so go figure.

This art is... different, and I like it.

However, it's almost as if Game Freak intended for Heatran to be the embodiment of the Earth's core, and not only because it is found in the interior of a volcano. Its name is probably derived from 'transition metal', referring to the fact that iron - a transition metal - forms much of Earth's outer and inner core under immense pressure, along with nickel. It's exactly the reason why Heatran is a fire/steel type and the only Pokémon with that type combination to date. Even though this typing comes with a huge quadruple weakness to ground-type moves, Heatran also benefits from being resistant to nine types (and an immunity to poison), of which five are quadruple ones: bug, steel, grass, ice and - most importantly - fairy. Fairy is one of the most common types seen in the competitive metagame nowadays, and Heatran makes for the perfect fairy-type counter. Combined with its base stat total of 600, this makes Heatran a very commonly used Pokémon in competitive play, especially when you consider its base 130 special attack stat has the chance to leave huge dents in your team if you don't watch out. Then again, you can combine almost any other type with steel and you'll have at least a decent Pokémon to work with; the type is that good. As always, there are a few exceptions, but Heatran isn't such an exception by any means and I'd recommend using it if you're looking for an offensive fire type.

Heatran is completely in its element in a volcanic area.

Let's start with the basic things: Heatran should have a Timid nature and the Flash Fire ability. As its speed isn't anything to write home about, a Modest nature is an option as well, but I would definitely stick with Flash Fire over Flame Body. Yes, there is a chance Heatran burns the opposing Pokémon if the latter uses a direct move on it (most of the time this is a physical move), but if you suspect an incoming fire-type move you can just switch in to Heatran, nullify the opponent's attack and raise the power of Heatran's own fire-type moves by 50%. If you really want to burn an opponent, you can just teach Heatran the move Will-O-Wisp anyway. The biggest problem is Heatran's glaring weakness to ground, which is often solved by giving it an Air Balloon to hold, although the Choice Specs or a Choice Scarf might not be a bad idea to give to Heatran at all. Plus, ever since the introduction of Z-Crystals it has been very common to let Heatran hold a Firium-Z and obliterate certain threats by locking them into Magma Storm and upgrade said Magma Storm to an insanely powerful Inferno Overdrive. If you want to use more reliable move than Magma Storm, which has 100 base power but is only 75% accurate, I'd recommend a moveset consisting of Fire Blast/Flamethrower/Lava Plume/Heat Wave, Flash Cannon, Earth Power and Dark Pulse, accompanied by a Choice item or a Life Orb. It is possible to ditch Dark Pulse in order to run two fire-type moves, as Flamethrower and Lave Plume are more accurate and Fire Blast is significantly more powerful. As Heatran has excellent defensive stats as well, it is often used as a utility Pokémon with Taunt, Stealth Rock and either Toxic or Will-O-Wisp, which I honestly think is wasted potential. There are so many tanks with worse offensive stats than Heatran, so I don't know why you would use Heatran as a defensive support Pokémon like that.

Ugh, whatever.

Heatran as seen in a Pokémon Ranger anime special. The yellow spots on its body
make it look as if it's sick and contagious (or warty, for that matter) rather than hot.
This depiction of Heatran is not flattering it at all. 

In any case, Heatran is no doubt an interesting Pokémon, design-wise as well as battle-wise. It's probably because Heatran is yet another steel type, but I never realized how much I love this thing until now. I wish there was a little bit more lore to it, but for a one-off legendary that isn't an event Pokémon and doesn't tie in with the rest of the Diamond and Pearl storyline, I'm surprised Heatran enjoys such a huge amount of popularity, albeit only for its immense competitive utility.

Well, it's better than not being popular at all, right?

Rating: 5/5

#484: Palkia

Even though Palkia may look a bit weird and awkward (to me),
there is quite a bit of fun fan art to be found of it. This artist
actually made Palkia a bit less weird, if only because it seems it
can move its arms more freely and because its design looks
more streamlined.

While Dialga looks as if it's about to fuck you up, Palkia could easily be Groudon's awkward cousin. Now, Dialga is a big, heavy steel-type sauropod and you wouldn't think it has a lot of space to move freely, but in some way Palkia looks way more stiff and robotic than its Diamond counterpart. The two big plates on its shoulder area, each encrusted with a pink pearl, are too round and feel out of place design-wise; its awkward little arms/hands seem to be anatomically connected to its shoulder plates, and judging from its official art it doesn't look like Palkia can move them up; its feet and nails are big and inelegant and stand in contrast to its tiny arms; and its elongated neck and the fins on its back give it fish-like properties. Considering Palkia's water typing that shouldn't be entirely surprising, but there is nothing in its lore or flavor that mention its affiliation with water and those features just make it look all the less menacing for a box legendary. It's like Ken Sugimori decided to randomly put a mishmash of features on the Pearl legendary and called it a day. Not his best day, I'd dare say. Dialga actually looks like it makes sense type- and design-wise, but Palkia...? Ehhh, not so much. That is not to say I hate or dislike Palkia, because it honestly still looks like a big-ass dragon and it has a power I wish I had, but I can't help but to think Game Freak could have put a little bit more effort into it instead of going with such a jumbled design.

Palkia and Dialga in a special LEGEND card
belonging to the Triumphant expansion of the
HeartGold and SoulSilver TCG series. These
are actually two separate cards.

Like I said, Palkia has a power I would kill for and it uses it with finesse. You see, it has the ability to warp space and create alternate realities - a concept we've gotten more familiar with in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, but not due to Palkia. However, it lives in a different dimension itself and as a result its behavioral patterns are nearly impossible to study. Using its signature move Spacial Rend, it can rip through the very space an enemy resides in and damage it in the process. While it is known for its violent conflicts with Dialga, I'm sure Dialga will live a Spacial Rend due to its steel typing making it neutral to dragon-type attacks and blow Palkia out of the water with only one Roar of Time. On top of that, sauropods tended to be bigger and stronger than theropods, so that's another advantage Dialga has over Palkia, especially when you consider that Bulbapedia suggests the latter is based on a couple of smaller theropods - most likely the oviraptor. That critter had a couple of features that fit Palkia quite well, including a flashy mohawk cut. Furthermore, Palkia could be based on the liquid state of matter - hence its water typing - and while I think it's a solid theory, there are a few problems I have with it that I already discussed in Dialga's review. Folklorically, though, its origins most likely lay in the Shintō myth of Izanami and Izanagi - the respective goddess and god of both creation and death - who are said to have created one island with a spear, erected a pillar on it in order to mate and from there created the islands of Japan. That is probably why you face Cyrus and encounter the box legendary on a site called Spear Pillar, on top of Mt. Coronet. Not the most logical place to encounter a water type, but I digress. Last but not least, its name is simply derived from the Japanese spelling of pearl, pāru.

Palkia... about to screw things over? I don't know man, Palkia just doesn't look
threatening enough.

As for its competitive use, Palkia has a base stat total of 680 and it is therefore banned to Smogon's Uber tier. It has similar stats to Dialga, with only slight changes in its speed and HP as well as its defense and special defense being reversed. Like Dialga, Palkia has base 150 special attack and benefits from having access to STAB moves such as Spacial Rend, Dragon Pulse and Surf as well as coverage moves like Power Gem, Earth Power, Aura Sphere, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Focus Blast and Thunderbolt. Those moves are basically the same as Dialga's, with the exception of Focus Blast and their respective signature and non-dragon STAB moves. Just slap on the best moves you can find and you'll be good.

Palkia is interesting enough as a legendary and I have to say that I don't harbor a hatred or dislike for this Pokémon, but its cluttered design is a huge drawback in giving it a rating of 4 stars or higher. Flavor-wise there is nothing wrong with Palkia, but I have to say that it is definitely one of my least favorite legendaries so far because I just can't fully get behind its design.

Rating: 4/5

#483: Dialga

It's another steel type! Y'all know what rating I'm gonna give this thing, right?

Dialga as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

In all seriousness, though, Dialga may just be one of my favorite legendary Pokémon ever. It just looks incredibly cool, is amazingly powerful, has a fantastic type combination that only makes it weak to ground and fighting, and plays a big part in several games and movies. Being the box legendary of Pokémon Diamond, Dialga is the reason for Team Galactic's boss Cyrus's criminal operations, getting captured and being contained by him by use of the Red Chain he made from the crystals found on the Lake Guardians. Cyrus is a nutcase anyway, because he wants to use the power of Dialga (Palkia in Pokémon Pearl) to destroy the world and create a new one without 'illogical and irrational' emotions, one without spirit. Of course, as is the case with every game's storyline, absolute annihilation never actually occurs because the player character saves the day and even catches or defeats the big bad legendary. But why does Cyrus believe that Dialga can be used to destroy the entire fucking world in the first place? Well, according to Sinnoh myths, Dialga, Palkia and Giratina were simultaneously created by Arceus when the universe began, which is why they are often called the Creation Trio. While Palkia represents and controls space and dimensions and Giratina represents antimatter, Dialga is the representation of time and is said to have the power to control it, using the wing-like structure on its back to focus the flow of time by speeding it up, slowing it down or stopping it altogether.

The player character and their partner facing Primal Dialga as the Temporal Tower
is collapsing. Dialga can only be seen in this form in the Gen. IV Mystery Dungeon
games, as Primal Dialga is not present in the main series games. This piece of fan
art is fantastic, by the way.

In other words, Dialga may just be a more powerful creature than many other legendary Pokémon when it comes to lore, which is once more demonstrated in the Mystery Dungeon games Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness and Explorers of Sky, appearing mostly as a fearful creature called Primal Dialga, having lost control of itself and having entered a state of self-preservation due to the Temporal Tower having collapsed. It's keeping time frozen and refuses to let it flow properly, so the player caracter and its partner must return to the present from the future and take on an almost-Primal Dialga upon arriving at the collapsing tower. After beating some sense into it, Dialga is so thankful that it revives the player, who had previously been erased from existence altogether. You can be sure Dialga plays a very big part in all of the Gen. IV Mystery Dungeon games, as the storyline of Explorers of Sky barely changes compared to its two predecessors; if Platinum is an enhanced version of Diamond and Pearl, with mostly the same storyline, Explorers of Sky is an enhanced version of Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness. Aside from being the main 'antagonist' and biggest boss battle in the Mystery Dungeon games - as well as being integral to Pokémon Diamond and Platinum - it also appears in no fewer than four different movies, the most prominent of which are The Rise of Darkrai, Giratina and the Sky Warrior and Arceus and the Jewel of Life. Go figure.

Holy shit, this fan art of Dialga is amazing!

In short, Dialga seems to be a highly favorable Pokémon to be utilized by Game Freak due to it being the most popular of the Creation Trio aesthetically, but what is this thing actually based on? Let's get the crazy fan theory out of the way first: the Pokémon fandom believes that Dialga, Palkia and Giratina are based on the states of matter - the trifecta of solids, liquids and gases - hence Dialga's steel type, Palkia's water type and Giratina's ghost type, while all have the secondary dragon type tacked onto them. While I think it's a solid theory that sounds far more plausible than time being rigid and space being fluid or some shit like that, there are a couple of problems I have with it. First off, this theory is nowhere to be found on Bulbapedia and I don't think it's officially considered to be the inspiration for the Creation Trio's origins, much less confirmed to be true; and second, gases are still considered matter - no matter how unstable they may be - while Giratina and the Distortion World were created to be the personifications of antimatter, as confirmed by Junichi Masuda and Takeshi Kawachimaru in interviews they did with G4. There's a little inconsistency there, but this matter theory is not a bad theory at all and I am definitely not inclined to dismiss it as bullshit.

But enough about this theory; I've spent an entire paragraph on it, goddammit!

Little Riolu (probably representing the player character in
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky) facing a badass
Primal Dialga.

I'm not done yet, however, as there's more to Dialga, including plenty more reasons to why it's a steel type. The hardness of diamonds (or the fact that diamonds are compressed carbon and steel is an alloy from iron and carbon) may be a possibility, as is the fact that most part of a clock are made of metal. Additionally, the turquoise lines on its body are vaguely reminiscent to the diamond-shaped ends of clock hands you see all the time, while the spikes in its neck look similar to Time Gears, artifacts of great importance in the Mystery Dungeon games. As they help keep control of the flow of time in the Pokémon world, it is hardly a surprise that the Time Gears were designed to look specifically like parts of Dialga. The 'dia' part in its name may even derive from dia (Spanish for 'day', a unit of time) or 'sundial', the latter of which is an instrument used to tell time using shadows on a clock face. Faunatically, Dialga bears resemblances to certain genera of short-necked sauropod dinosaurs called camarasaurus supremus and brachytrachelopan mesai. Folklorically, its origins lay in the Shintō myth of Izanami and Izanagi - the respective goddess and god of both creation and death - who are said to have created one island with a spear, erected a pillar on it in order to mate and from there created the islands of Japan. Not unintentionally, you face Cyrus and the box legendary on top of Mt. Coronet, on an ancient site called Spear Pillar.

Game Freak, don't make me think you are secretly geniuses.

Dialga using its signature move Roar of Time, which is basically just a dragon-type
Hyper Beam. 

Finally, do I have to talk about Dialga's competitive utility? This beast has a base stat total of a whopping 680, making it too strong for Smogon's regular tiers. Just make sure you max out its excellent special attack and choose from its wide arrange of special moves (seriously, it learns amazing coverage moves like Power Gem, Earth Power, Aura Sphere, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Fire Blast and Flamethrower alongside STAB moves like Dragon Pulse and Flash Cannon), and you'll annihilate at least half of your opponent's team.

Honestly, Dialga has become one of my favorite legendary Pokémon by now. It certainly helps that it's a steel type, but how cool is it that you can catch an awesome-looking god-like dinosaur creature that can manipulate time at will? Think about that.

Rating: 5/5