Rainbow Chara X
Impossible to gauge!
- 129
- Posts
- 8
- Years
- Shiny Hunting in Sinnoh
- Seen Aug 30, 2024
So begins the romp into the endgame. Between the shiny Sandygast egg and all of the preparing I had to do to fit this into the last four days of 2016, I'm confident that I'll be able to get things done handily.
Rating scale:
Excellent (9-10 stars -
is a 10/10 rating)
Good (7-8 stars)
Servicable (5-6 stars)
Not A Fan (3-4 stars)
Hate (1-2 stars - don't worry about this one. I actually don't hate that many Pokemon.)
[FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Unova (#494-#563)[/FONT][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]
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[Theme for this part: Route 1 (Unova)]
Games:
It's also the generation where the plot started to kick it from "alright we have a vague story going on here" to an actual deconstructive look at Pokemon and human relationships.
Team Plasma were definitely an interesting set of characters thanks to their "royalty" theme and how they had an actual reason for what they did - they wanted to free Pokemon from people. The best part is that their plan to separate Pokemon from humans would have worked if it weren't for your character stomping in through their base. (Releasing every Pokemon deposited in the PC? Imagine how that would have gone if that worked?)
N gets a special mention due to having the most visceral backstory out of any Pokemon character - not only do they have one of the coolest looks out of any of the human characters, they're a person that was raised with Pokemon ever since he was a little boy. His real parents are never seen (maybe Ghetsis killed them?) and he generally led a hard life if him having Ghetsis as a father figure is of any indication.
I know many people would find Black and White polarizing, but me personally? It's arguably my favorite gen in the series (although most of my affection can be attributed to the sequel games) for its story and gameplay advancements. A major problem I had with Sinnoh was that the battles were too slow, but BW comes to the rescue by having the fastest battle system in the series. (Even more so than the 3D games)
Like no joke, the speed of the fights in Gen 5 is addicting to me - from the way Pokemon are released into battle to how the HP bar empties immediately when a move is completed. It's fantastic. Although, I'll admit, there were quite a few features that should have been better - the Dream World and the introduction of Hidden abilities.
(Oh, there's also the introduction of Triple and Rotation Battles, but those are just cumbersome to me. You could also re-use TMs indefinitely! That's incredibly important to mention.)
Essentially, the Dream World was an online service that involved putting one of your Pokemon to sleep so you can go through a dream world of sorts. Here you could plant berries (because Unova lacks soft soil or something) and befriend one new Pokemon per visit, with said Pokemon having their hidden ability - a secret third ability that tends to err from "incredible asset" to "mediocre".
The problem with this, though? Due to all the traffic the service got, Game Freak limited how people would use it - you could only enter the Dream World once a day. That's bad enough in of itself, but then there was the horribly frustrating issue of the servers always being down for maintenance... I honestly cannot blame you if you have never tried the Dream World due to all of the complications it had.
The theme for Unova's mons (and arguably the region itself, seeing as Opelucid and Black City/White Forest change on the version) are opposites, ranging from nature and Pokemon to humanity and industry. Reshiram and Zekrom are the most obvious examples of this, but there's also smaller ones like Braviary and Mandibuzz (bald eagle that embodiesAMERICAN Unovan patriotism vs scumbag vulture), the Kami trio (prankster storm spirits vs a temperate land spirit), etc.
It's all neat stuff and I'll talk about the sequel games in the next Unova part.
#494: Victini
Type:
/
Ability: Victory Star
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 600 (100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#495 - 497: Serperior Family
Type:
Ability: Overgrow / Contrary (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 528 (75, 75, 95, 75, 95, 113)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#498 - 500: Emboar Family
Type:
/
/
(Pignite and Emboar)
Ability: Blaze / Reckless (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 528 (110, 123, 65, 100, 65, 65)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#501 - 503: Samurott Family
Type:
Ability: Torrent / Shell Armor (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 528 (95, 100, 85, 108, 70, 70)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#504 - 505: Watchog Family
Type:
Ability: Illuminate (1st) / Keen Eye (2nd) / Analytic (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 420 (60, 85, 69, 60, 69, 77)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#506 - 508: Stoutland Family
Type:
Ability: Intimidate (1st) / Sand Rush (2nd) / Scrappy (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 500 (85, 110, 90, 45, 90, 80)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#509 - 510: Liepard Family
Type:
Ability: Limber (1st) / Unburden (2nd) / Prankster (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 446 (64, 88, 50, 88, 50, 106)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#511 - 516: Simian Family
Type:
(-Sage) /
(-Sear) /
(-Pour)
Ability: Gluttony (All) / Overgrow (Simisage - Hidden) / Blaze (Simisear - Hidden) / Torrent (Simipour - Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of all their final evolutions: 498 (75, 98, 63, 98, 63, 101)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#517 - 518: Musharna Family
Type:
Ability: Forewarn (1st) / Synchronize (2nd) / Telepathy (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 487 (116, 55, 85, 107, 95, 29)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#519 - 521: Unfezant Family
Type:
/
Ability: Big Pecks (1st) / Super Luck (2nd) / Rivalry (Hidden)
Appearances:
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#522 - 523: Zebstrika Family
Type:
Ability: Lightning Rod (1st) / Motor Drive (2nd) / Sap Sipper (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 497 (75, 100, 63, 80, 63, 116)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#524 - 526: Gigalith Family
Type:
Ability: Sturdy (1st) / Sand Stream (2nd) / Sand Force (Hidden)
Appearances:
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#527 - 528: Swoobat Family
Type:
/
Ability: Unaware (1st) / Klutz (2nd) / Simple (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 425 (67, 57, 55, 77, 55, 114)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#529 - 530: Excadrill Family
Type:
(Drilbur) /
/
(Excadrill)
Ability: Sand Rush (1st) / Sand Force (2nd) / Mold Breaker (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 508 (110, 135, 60, 50, 65, 88)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#531: Audino
Type:
/
/
(Mega)
Ability: Healer (1st) / Regenerator (2nd) / Klutz (Hidden) / Healer (Mega)
Appearances:
Additional forms?: One
-
#532 - 534: Conkeldurr Family
Type:
Ability: Guts (1st) / Sheer Force (2nd) / Iron Fist (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 505 (105, 140, 95, 55, 65, 45)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#535 - 537: Seismitoad Family
Type:
/
/
(Palpitoad and Seismitoad)
Ability: Swift Swim (1st) / Poison Touch (2nd) / Water Absorb (Hidden)
Appearances:
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#538 - 539: Throh and Sawk
Type:
(Both)
Ability (Throh): Guts (1st) / Inner Focus (2nd) / Mold Breaker (Hidden)
Ability (Sawk): Sturdy (1st) / Inner Focus (2nd) / Mold Breaker (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of Throh: 465 (120, 100, 85, 30, 85, 45)
Stats of Sawk: 465 (75, 125, 75, 30, 75, 85)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#540 - 542: Leavanny Family
Type:
/
Ability: Swarm (1st) / Chlorophyll (2nd) / Overcoat (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 500 (75, 103, 80, 70, 80, 92)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#543 - 545: Scolipede Family
Type:
/
Ability: Poison Point (1st) / Swarm (2nd) / Speed Boost (Hidden)
Appearances:
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#546 - 547: Whimsicott Family
Type:
/
Ability: Prankster (1st) / Infiltrator (2nd) / Chlorophyll (Hidden)
Appearances:
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#548 - 549: Lilligant Family
Type:
Ability: Chlorophyll (1st) / Own Tempo (2nd) / Leaf Guard (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 480 (70, 60, 75, 110, 75, 90)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#550: Basculin
Type:
Ability: Reckless (Red-Stripe's 1st) / Rock Head (Blue-Stripe's 1st) / Adaptability (Both - 2nd) / Mold Breaker (Both - Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of both fish: 460 (70, 92, 65, 80, 55, 98)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#551 - 553: Krookodile Family
Type:
/
Ability: Intimidate (1st) / Moxie (2nd) / Anger Point (Hidden)
Appearances:
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#554 - 555: Darmanitan Family
Type:
/
/
(Zen Mode)
Ability: Sheer Force / Zen Mode (Hidden)
Appearances:
Additional forms?: One
-
#556: Maractus
Type:
Ability: Water Absorb (1st) / Chlorophyll (2nd) / Storm Drain (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 461 (75, 86, 67, 106, 67, 60)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#557 - 558: Crustle Family
Type:
/
Ability: Sturdy (1st) / Shell Armor (2nd) / Weak Armor (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 480 (70, 105, 125, 65, 75, 45)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#559 - 560: Scrafty Family
Type:
/
Ability: Shed Skin (1st) / Moxie (2nd) / Intimidate (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 488 (65, 90, 115, 45, 115, 58)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#561: Sigilyph
Type:
/
Ability: Wonder Skin (1st) / Magic Guard (2nd) / Tinted Lens (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 490 (72, 58, 80, 103, 80, 97)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
#562 - 563: Cofa'grigus Family
Type:
Ability: Mummy
Appearances:
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
-
Rating scale:
Excellent (9-10 stars -
Good (7-8 stars)
Servicable (5-6 stars)
Not A Fan (3-4 stars)
Hate (1-2 stars - don't worry about this one. I actually don't hate that many Pokemon.)
[FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Unova (#494-#563)[/FONT][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]
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[Theme for this part: Route 1 (Unova)]
Games:
- Black and White 1 (September 18th, 2010)
- Black and White 2 (June 23rd, 2012)
It's also the generation where the plot started to kick it from "alright we have a vague story going on here" to an actual deconstructive look at Pokemon and human relationships.
Team Plasma were definitely an interesting set of characters thanks to their "royalty" theme and how they had an actual reason for what they did - they wanted to free Pokemon from people. The best part is that their plan to separate Pokemon from humans would have worked if it weren't for your character stomping in through their base. (Releasing every Pokemon deposited in the PC? Imagine how that would have gone if that worked?)
N gets a special mention due to having the most visceral backstory out of any Pokemon character - not only do they have one of the coolest looks out of any of the human characters, they're a person that was raised with Pokemon ever since he was a little boy. His real parents are never seen (maybe Ghetsis killed them?) and he generally led a hard life if him having Ghetsis as a father figure is of any indication.
I know many people would find Black and White polarizing, but me personally? It's arguably my favorite gen in the series (although most of my affection can be attributed to the sequel games) for its story and gameplay advancements. A major problem I had with Sinnoh was that the battles were too slow, but BW comes to the rescue by having the fastest battle system in the series. (Even more so than the 3D games)
Like no joke, the speed of the fights in Gen 5 is addicting to me - from the way Pokemon are released into battle to how the HP bar empties immediately when a move is completed. It's fantastic. Although, I'll admit, there were quite a few features that should have been better - the Dream World and the introduction of Hidden abilities.
(Oh, there's also the introduction of Triple and Rotation Battles, but those are just cumbersome to me. You could also re-use TMs indefinitely! That's incredibly important to mention.)
Essentially, the Dream World was an online service that involved putting one of your Pokemon to sleep so you can go through a dream world of sorts. Here you could plant berries (because Unova lacks soft soil or something) and befriend one new Pokemon per visit, with said Pokemon having their hidden ability - a secret third ability that tends to err from "incredible asset" to "mediocre".
The problem with this, though? Due to all the traffic the service got, Game Freak limited how people would use it - you could only enter the Dream World once a day. That's bad enough in of itself, but then there was the horribly frustrating issue of the servers always being down for maintenance... I honestly cannot blame you if you have never tried the Dream World due to all of the complications it had.
The theme for Unova's mons (and arguably the region itself, seeing as Opelucid and Black City/White Forest change on the version) are opposites, ranging from nature and Pokemon to humanity and industry. Reshiram and Zekrom are the most obvious examples of this, but there's also smaller ones like Braviary and Mandibuzz (bald eagle that embodies
It's all neat stuff and I'll talk about the sequel games in the next Unova part.
Spoiler:
#494: Victini
Type:
Ability: Victory Star
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 600 (100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- We start the Unova dex not with one of the starters, but with one of the cute legendaries! That's... certainly a different way to kick things off.
- Victini is tied with Shaymin-Sky as my second-favorite cute legendary ranging from their absolutely precious design, ridiculously powerful signature move (V-Create) and unique (barring Delphox and Zen Mode Darmanitan) typing.
- Their status as the victory Pokemon with Victory Star raising the accuracy of the entire team makes me imagine them as some sort of cute little cheerleader. Now excuse me while my stone-cold heart melts into pieces.
-
#495 - 497: Serperior Family
Type:
Ability: Overgrow / Contrary (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 528 (75, 75, 95, 75, 95, 113)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- The Unova starters are interesting in that they're all based off of different cultures, with the Serperior line being based off of French royalty. Snivy and Servine are sassy little grass snakes, but it's Serperior where the snootiness gets kicked into high gear.
- They have an incredibly elegant design that reflects their status as the king of serpents, with Glare even suggesting that they might be based on the basilisk, a serpent whose stare could stop its opponents.
- However, Serperior's stats aren't too good besides speed. What are they to do?
- Thankfully, they received their Hidden Ability some time ago and boy howdy does it make a difference - Contrary reverses the effects of stat changes. For example, trying to use Intimidate on Serperior would raise its attack instead of lower it.
- This is a vital ability for the Serperior line because they have a move called Leaf Storm that's supposed to lower their Special Attack by 2 stages if used... but with Contrary, it's turned into a free Special Attack variant of Swords Dance that does damage. It's practically ludicrous.
-
#498 - 500: Emboar Family
Type:
Ability: Blaze / Reckless (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 528 (110, 123, 65, 100, 65, 65)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Out of the entire Emboar line, the only ones I really like are Tepig and the shiny version of Emboar because of the blue fire. They're alright from a design perspective - they're a brawling pig that's based off of Zhu Bajie, a pig demon from the Chinese tale known as Journey to the West.
- Aside from that, they're the third Fire/Fighting type in a row and... not even all that great. Sure, 123 Attack and an immunity to Will-o-Wisp is amazing, but Infernape and Blaziken can do everything they can and better.
- I just don't think they're super great.
-
#501 - 503: Samurott Family
Type:
Ability: Torrent / Shell Armor (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 528 (95, 100, 85, 108, 70, 70)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Oshawott and Dewott are truly adorable little otter soldiers with the cutest little shell blades... so is it alright for me to say that Samurott is a bit of a step down from them? I mean, I think it's a badass samurai sea lion... but it's not as charming as the previous evolutions for some reason.
- I think I can also attribute this Samurott being the worst of the evolutions when it comes to fighting... which is hilarious when you think about it seeing as it's based off of a samurai - aka. military retainers.
-
#504 - 505: Watchog Family
Type:
Ability: Illuminate (1st) / Keen Eye (2nd) / Analytic (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 420 (60, 85, 69, 60, 69, 77)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- The best things the Watchog family has going for them are their crazy psycho eyes and their slight resemblance to Conker from Conker's Bad Fur Day. (Although that's more on me than anything else.)
- They're not strong or even that interesting aside from their novel appearance and (apparent) status as Unova's counterpart to Sentret.
-
#506 - 508: Stoutland Family
Type:
Ability: Intimidate (1st) / Sand Rush (2nd) / Scrappy (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 500 (85, 110, 90, 45, 90, 80)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- I am a sucker for dogs and the Stoutland family qualifies. I like how this one takes cues from a lot of different dog breeds ranging from maltese puppies to scottish terriers and so on.
- It helps that Stoutland is pretty damn strong and comes with the ever-helpful Scrappy to do some damage to the supernatural. That, or you could stick them into a sandstorm to double their speed.
- ... To be fair, there's a ton of other Pokemon that can utilize these abilities more than Stoutland can... with Zangoose cornering this thing in terms of raw physical power, but what can you do?
-
#509 - 510: Liepard Family
Type:
Ability: Limber (1st) / Unburden (2nd) / Prankster (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 446 (64, 88, 50, 88, 50, 106)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Purrloin is so cute, oh my god. It's got a mischievous face and... can walk on its hind legs, apparently? The pun is both really stupid and clever due to purloin being a synonym for stealing.
- Liepard is great for being a purple scumbag leopard that has access to Prankster. Although they may not be the best user of it, they're just cool enough for me to give a crap about them.
- I've learned that Prankster-boosted status moves don't work on Dark types as of Sun and Moon... astonishingly, this makes sense because the Dark type is all about playing dirty. They know all of the tricks, so of course pranks wouldn't work against them.
-
#511 - 516: Simian Family
Type:
Ability: Gluttony (All) / Overgrow (Simisage - Hidden) / Blaze (Simisear - Hidden) / Torrent (Simipour - Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of all their final evolutions: 498 (75, 98, 63, 98, 63, 101)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- I will be dead serious here - the Simian family is just not good enough. Their pseudo-starter status and elemental monkey motifs are cool, but that's where the positives end.
- When it comes to their designs, they're just kind of... ech. I don't really like them due to how... boring they are. A great deal of why I like Infernape and Ambipom were due to how they looked and how they had interesting/strange design concept origins... but these three? Oh, let's just create a bunch of straight-forward monkey + element designs with no real meat to them. (Except probably Simisage being based off of yankee culture - aka. American styled delinquents that live in Japan)
- God forbid talking about their battle capacity, seeing as they can barely hold their own even in the story mode. To their credit, they're not completely worthless but they're still horribly outclassed by almost every other Pokemon... that and their Hidden Abilities are the ones that nobody ever likes having on the actual starter Pokemon.
- These are one of the few Pokemon that will get a "hate" rating - aka. I cannot stand them and will probably never give them a chance in any way possible.
-
#517 - 518: Musharna Family
Type:
Ability: Forewarn (1st) / Synchronize (2nd) / Telepathy (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 487 (116, 55, 85, 107, 95, 29)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Impressive bulk and a neat flower pattern that's combined with their dream-like existence as a sleeping tapir creature.
- Musharna has an amazing default name and has always been one of those Gen 5 Pokemon that have interested me due to how many things they had going for them, even if they're practically a discount Cresselia.
- They're stated to be the creators of Dream Mist, an ethereal substance that Fennel uses to tap into the Dream World (or something)... and that's about it.
-
#519 - 521: Unfezant Family
Type:
Ability: Big Pecks (1st) / Super Luck (2nd) / Rivalry (Hidden)
Appearances:
- Pidove
- Tranquill (Level 21)
- Male and Female Unfezant (Level 32)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- The Unfezant line is alright. They're based off of actual pidgeons (Pidgey was leaning more towards sparrows, funnily enough) and green pheasants, who are stated to be the national bird of real-life Japan.
- Unfezant's sexual dimorphism is also a real thing by the way - male birds tend to be more colorful than females, hence the more humble looking female counterpart.
- (I actually like the female Unfezant better due to the shape of their face)
-
#522 - 523: Zebstrika Family
Type:
Ability: Lightning Rod (1st) / Motor Drive (2nd) / Sap Sipper (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 497 (75, 100, 63, 80, 63, 116)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Zebstrika is really rad. It's an electric zebra that has amazing abilities (all of them are good) and a great speed stat... unfortunately there's no much else going for it, seeing as their best physical move is one that does recoil damage (Wild Charge) and isn't even that durable to begin with.
- Still, I'd be glad to get one just so they can serve as an electric counterpart to Rapidash.
-
#524 - 526: Gigalith Family
Type:
Ability: Sturdy (1st) / Sand Stream (2nd) / Sand Force (Hidden)
Appearances:
- Roggenrola
- Boldore (Level 25)
- Gigalith (Trade)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- The Gigalith line is supposed to be the Unova region's answer to Golem and... honestly? They're far more badass than the thing they're based off of. When you have a name like Gigalith and look like that, you can't really go wrong.
- I should clarify something: Sturdy before Gen 5 only protected from one-hit kill moves like Sheer Cold and Horn Drill, not attacks that did enough to deplete your entire health bar.
- In that sense, it was one of the greatest buffs an ability could have gotten as it's a free Focus Sash that lets mons like Skarmory set up all of their stuff.
- Boldore is annoying to me because they're super common, but I at least have the satisfaction of knowing that they evolve into something cool.
-
#527 - 528: Swoobat Family
Type:
Ability: Unaware (1st) / Klutz (2nd) / Simple (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 425 (67, 57, 55, 77, 55, 114)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Now this one is a bit of an odd design. It's a bat with big eyes and a heart-shaped nose... which are, in turn, based off of a real life animal called the heart-nosed bat.
- The Psychic-Flying typing make them an amusing counterpart to the Zubat line, and they're also the carriers of one of the few physical Psychic moves - Heart Stamp. Psycho Cut is still far better, but you get a 30% flinch rate.
-
#529 - 530: Excadrill Family
Type:
Ability: Sand Rush (1st) / Sand Force (2nd) / Mold Breaker (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 508 (110, 135, 60, 50, 65, 88)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Excadrill. The moles of the Unova region are hardcore if they have all this stuff going for them. Steel/Ground is a neat type that's accentuated by Excadrill's impeccable attack stat and usefulness in Sandstorm teams.
- Sand Rush and Sand Force are very powerful abilities, as one doubles speed and the other boosts Rock/Steel/Ground moves by 30%...
- Essentially, this thing becomes a friggin' monster. Their appearance and name are also great because you have an excalibur drill mole that can back up its namesake due to being a hefty fighter in the competitive scene.
-
#531: Audino
Type:
Ability: Healer (1st) / Regenerator (2nd) / Klutz (Hidden) / Healer (Mega)
Appearances:
- Normal
- Mega Audino (Audinite)
Additional forms?: One
- Mega (Introduced in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire): +100 (103, 60, 126(+40), 80(+20), 126(+40), 50)
- Audino is a Pokemon I adore in many respects, similar to Blissey. The first is their amazing EXP payload - since Blisseys are not normally wild Pokemon and Chanseys are rare enough to justify their namesake, Audino is the best you have for heavy-duty grinding.
- Second, I find them precious. They have a humble design and their big blue eyes are so cute - says Dan as he slaughters them en-masse just to raise a team member to level 100.
- In all seriousness, I never expected much to come out of them aside from me liking how they looked. Fortunately, some kind soul over at Game Freak decided to give Audino a Mega Evolution.
- Mega Audino is about as magical girl as you can get, seeing as they gain a Fairy typing, a shiny new white look and a ton of defense boosts. Admittedly, there was only so much that Mega Evolution could do, but they're still far better off with a Mega under their belt.
-
#532 - 534: Conkeldurr Family
Type:
Ability: Guts (1st) / Sheer Force (2nd) / Iron Fist (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 505 (105, 140, 95, 55, 65, 45)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Conkeldurr and its ilk are... interesting, to say the least. They're these odd little ogre people with clown noses that attack with objects like pieces of lumber, metal beams and stone pillars. I think it's explicitly stated that Conkeldurr taught humans to create concrete, but you got me on the other stuff.
- The fact they're notorious for their strength in the competitive scene helps quite a bit. 140 attack boosted by Iron Fist gives this thing a killer Mach Punch, and their bulk/coverage allows them to strike back against even enemies with a type-advantage.
- While not one of my favorites, I still have to hand it to the big concrete goblin.
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#535 - 537: Seismitoad Family
Type:
Ability: Swift Swim (1st) / Poison Touch (2nd) / Water Absorb (Hidden)
Appearances:
- Tympole
- Palpitoad (Level 25)
- Seismitoad (Level 36)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- I'm tempted to say how there's a lot of Gen 5 Pokemon that serve as parallels to Kanto's own original 151, but I think everyone can see it.
- Water/Ground is a type that I thought had less Pokemon under its belt, to be honest. The most recent member to their little club is the Seismitoad line, and they're... not that bad, actually.
- Tympole is great and Palpitoad is pretty funny-looking (in a good way), but at the end of the line we have... the big mon themselves.
- Seismitoad isn't conventionally cool looking, but they're still pretty intimidating with their red eyes, hunched over look and ability to cause earthquakes and poison people. They're also based off of headphones and use vibrations to enhance their attacks, to the point of possibly rupturing internal organs.
- I didn't make it up, real life did.
- They're also a damn good Pokemon if you're willing to invest them into the competitive scene. Although, since Mega Swampert is a thing, they have quite the competition.
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#538 - 539: Throh and Sawk
Type:
Ability (Throh): Guts (1st) / Inner Focus (2nd) / Mold Breaker (Hidden)
Ability (Sawk): Sturdy (1st) / Inner Focus (2nd) / Mold Breaker (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of Throh: 465 (120, 100, 85, 30, 85, 45)
Stats of Sawk: 465 (75, 125, 75, 30, 75, 85)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Ooh boy, these two. Sawk and Throh are the western counterpart to the Hitmon family in that they're martial-art based Pokemon that are based off of judo and karate practitioners respectively.
- I'm not even going to open the can of worms regarding Pokemon wearing clothes because at that point logic gets screwy. In this case they seem to be explicitly oni creatures, so maybe they have some sort of underground society or some crap like that?
- However, I will note that Sawk and Throh here are based off of the red oni/blue oni character dynamic. It makes sense, as Throh is the stockier and aggressive of the two as they're all about throwing things. Meanwhile, we have Sawk that's desiring to get the ultimate karate chop and trains endlessly to get it right.
- I like Sawk far more than Throh - they have a leaner appearance and greater viability due to their higher attack and access to Sturdy (which, in hindsight, is mind-boggling for Throh to not have).
- When it regards to both of them, I like their color scheme and the thing they're based off of...
- But it is weird how they didn't straight up put horns on them just so they don't clash with Tornadus and Thundurus.
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#540 - 542: Leavanny Family
Type:
Ability: Swarm (1st) / Chlorophyll (2nd) / Overcoat (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 500 (75, 103, 80, 70, 80, 92)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- I feel Leavanny and its pre-evolutions are more appealing as Pokemon to keep than actual fighters. They're cute mantis mons, but barring Leavanny's 103 attack... they're not all that great.
- I want to give Swadloon a hug. All it really needs are friends.
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#543 - 545: Scolipede Family
Type:
Ability: Poison Point (1st) / Swarm (2nd) / Speed Boost (Hidden)
Appearances:
- Venipede
- Whirlipede (Level 22)
- Scolipede (Level 30)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- In a drastic contrast to Leavanny, the Scolipede family is not only visually intimidating but are also nasty fighters to compliment it. Venipede is mean-looking enough by themselves, but then they curl up into Whirlipede... and burst into Scolipede.
- Their design screams "venomous" and I adore it.
- It was around the X/Y era when Scolipede got really good - they swapped out Quick Feet (increases speed by 50% when hit by a status ailment) for straight-up Speed Boost, turning Scolipede into a lethal set-up machine for other Pokemon.
- Swords Dance? Substitute? Or do you just want a reliable speed boost without all that other junk attached to it? It's yours, my friend.
- Scolipede is easily one of my favorite Gen 5 Pokemon, although the best has yet to come.
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#546 - 547: Whimsicott Family
Type:
Ability: Prankster (1st) / Infiltrator (2nd) / Chlorophyll (Hidden)
Appearances:
- Cottonee
- Whimsicott (Sun Stone)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Ayyyy, it's my best buddy! Whimsicott is another favorite of mine due to them being this outrageously fluffy sheep with a crazy Prankster edge. They may be whimsical and all, but that new fairy typing means they're unbelievably infuriating to counter.
- When the opposing Whimsicott can spam Substitute and Leech Seed on you until you lose your patience, that's a problem.
- That said, the shiny version is great because of the blue horns - it's a small change but it's a good one.
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#548 - 549: Lilligant Family
Type:
Ability: Chlorophyll (1st) / Own Tempo (2nd) / Leaf Guard (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 480 (70, 60, 75, 110, 75, 90)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Lilligant is the classier counterpart to Whimsicott and, in my opinion, the big sister counterpart to Bellossom. Their charming southern belle look combined with their great special attack and access to Quiver Dance make them a cool Pokemon to me even if they have the predictable weaknesses of the Grass type.
- One messed up thing I noticed in Pokemon Sun and Moon is that their Pokedex entries tell about their head-flower wilting and falling off when they find a suitable mate.
- ... In other words, Game Freak managed to slip in a "deflowering" joke. YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS.
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#550: Basculin
Type:
Ability: Reckless (Red-Stripe's 1st) / Rock Head (Blue-Stripe's 1st) / Adaptability (Both - 2nd) / Mold Breaker (Both - Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of both fish: 460 (70, 92, 65, 80, 55, 98)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Piranhas that are practically based off of the concept of the Bloods and Crips? Aka. gangsters? That explains why they're so violent. It makes sense too, seeing as the Unova region is based off of America.
- That said, barring their unique appearances and different abilities, they're mediocre fish Pokemon that don't really accomplish much aside from an Adaptability-based Waterfall.
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#551 - 553: Krookodile Family
Type:
Ability: Intimidate (1st) / Moxie (2nd) / Anger Point (Hidden)
Appearances:
- Sandile
- Krokorok (Level 29)
- Krookodile (Level 40)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- When did a Kremling sneak into Pokemon?
- Joking aside, Krookodile is an amazing Pokemon. They're a scuzzbag crocodile that lurks in the desert and never loses sight of their prey - a truly dangerous foe. They might even give Excadrill a run for their money thanks to having access to Intimidate and Moxie.
- Moxie boosts attack with every kill and makes perfect sense due to them being criminal-based Pokemon - that and it can serve as a potent sweeper if you really get them into the groove.
- Great (and familiar) design, too - the black parts of Krookodile compliment the red and give me probable cause to believe that this thing can use Intimidate.
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#554 - 555: Darmanitan Family
Type:
Ability: Sheer Force / Zen Mode (Hidden)
Appearances:
- Darumaka
- Darmanitan (Level 35)
- Zen Mode (Activates when Darmanitan loses over half of their HP)
Additional forms?: One
- Zen Mode (Introduced in Black and White 1): +60 and swaps stats around (105, 30(-110), 105(+50), 140(+110), 105(+50), 55(-40))
- Darumaka and Darmanitan are crazy fire gorillas that are based off of the concept of the daruma doll, a figurine modeled of the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. That's a good idea in of itself, but then we have their impressive strength and status as the quintessential Flare Blitz user. (It really hurts, especially when Sheer Force is put into the equation)
- I find Darmanitan's appearance to be a combination of cool and funny as they're both threatening and have a big stupid grin on their face at all times.
- The most peculiar thing about Darmanitan, however, is their Zen Mode. Their bombastic outlook is replaced with a restrained thousand-yard stare and and their ears cupped.
- They replace their physical strength with Special Attack and generally invoke the image of the "See/speak/hear no evil" monkey... it is a pretty awe-inspiring second form for what is otherwise a normal Pokemon.
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#556: Maractus
Type:
Ability: Water Absorb (1st) / Chlorophyll (2nd) / Storm Drain (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 461 (75, 86, 67, 106, 67, 60)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Maractus is often forgotten as a Pokemon that doesn't do much. They appear in one game and never really get acknowledged again - they just... appear in the subsequent games. Now... as for I feel about them?
- They are my precious cactus baby. I find them so adorable, you don't even know.
- I'll admit, compared to a lot of the better grass types, I can understand why people would forget about them... but I guess I have to be the one person that takes care of them.
- I envision them as the Bellossom to Cacturne - if it weren't for the "no old Pokemon" rule that Gen 5 had, they'd have a direct link to each other. I swear.
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#557 - 558: Crustle Family
Type:
Ability: Sturdy (1st) / Shell Armor (2nd) / Weak Armor (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 480 (70, 105, 125, 65, 75, 45)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Crustle is what would happen if bugs fused with the ground. Silly design aside, the best I can remember Crustle for is how they introduced Shell Smash into the competitive scene. (Either them or Carracosta)
- Shell Smash raises Attack (on both ends) and Speed by two stages but lowers defense... You know, considering you just popped off the thing that was protecting you, it makes sense as to why you'd be more vulnerable.
- (There's still the matter of explaining how you can use Shell Smash more than once, though.)
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#559 - 560: Scrafty Family
Type:
Ability: Shed Skin (1st) / Moxie (2nd) / Intimidate (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 488 (65, 90, 115, 45, 115, 58)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Hey, would you look at that? A punk-rock lizard that knows some moves! Scrafty and Scraggy are the first Dark/Fighting type that come into the series and have more of an emphasis on defense than offense.
- Their mohawk and overall punk demeanor is really charming, with their utility as Intimidate walls being the most powerful thing about them.
- ... Too bad the Fairy type came into pay after Gen 5, didn't it? Scrafty is very weak to Fairies and, as such, their usefulness decreased as time passed.
- Still, they're neat Pokemon and their shed skin serving as pants is just adorable.
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#561: Sigilyph
Type:
Ability: Wonder Skin (1st) / Magic Guard (2nd) / Tinted Lens (Hidden)
Appearances:
Stats of final evolution: 490 (72, 58, 80, 103, 80, 97)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Whoaaaaaa. Look at this thing.
- Sigilyph takes Xatu's design motif and does some insane stuff with it. They are based off of the Nazca Lines, a series of geoglyphs in southern Peru that depict various things ranging from humans, monkeys and, in Sigilyph's case, a hummingbird.
- They are the protectors of ancient cities and are implied (if not directly stated) to be artificial Pokemon much like the Porygon line... albeit made out of clay or something. The alien totem bird design makes them stand out compared to other Pokemon, almost like this thing came from another world or something.
- Magic Guard is pretty good on this thing as they can use Psycho Shift to throw status effects onto another Pokemon while curing themselves in the process... it's an intriguing playstyle more than anything else.
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#562 - 563: Cofa'grigus Family
Type:
Ability: Mummy
Appearances:
- Yamask
- Cofa'grigus (Level 34)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:
- Both members of this family are notable for their own reasons - Yamask is a sad little ghost that carries a mask that's supposed to indicate their previous life as a human while constantly crying some red substance. Poor little guy.
- Cofa'grigus (yes, I am pronouncing it as that because part of their name is unfortunate and gets caught by the censors) does away with the sad little ghost angle and goes straight up sarcophagus demon with creepy shadow hands. It's amazing, especially when they start crawling on all four hands like some Egyptian-styled Exorcist beast.
- Mummy is basically like starting a zombie apocalypse - when they touch you, your ability gets replaced with Mummy too... couple this with their incredible defenses and you're guaranteed to get stuck with Mummy at least once.
- Imagine seeing this thing during the excavation of some ruins - you will leave with brown pants, and that's if you even leave at all.
- The Cofa'grigus from the Mystery Dungeon series is also notable for being eccentrically creepy and enjoyable... I mean, look for yourself. That's a face you can trust.
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