802+ Pokemon Retrospective - Gen 7

Sun and Moon are incredible games that, while they have their share of problems, shows that the series is going on strong and will keep going that way for god knows how long. I was originally cautious at what Sun and Moon would bring due to the scattered information with each new reveal, but the end result was worth it.

First off, this game looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous. The models are really crisp and high quality now due to them being realistically scaled as opposed to the chibi style of the past few games. The soundtrack is phenomenal to the point where I would rank it up there with Hoenn, Johto and Sinnoh - catchy tunes do that to me.

Alola is also one of the most fleshed out regions yet due to how they have roads and complete houses as opposed to just dirt paths and one-room apartments that don't even have beds. (well, most of the time.) The Hawaii inspiration is the coolest thing about it because you can feel it no matter where you go - they went all out with it.

The story is the best part of Sun and Moon thanks to them actually trying this time around! The Team Skull and Aether Foundation dynamic is so good that it makes my head spin - they're both well-developed and well-defined groups that are effective in their own ways.

One is a street gang group that's depressingly realistic due to Team Skull members being poor people that banded together so they can feel better about themselves. The Aether Foundation, on the other hand, is genuinely painted as a group that help hurt/endangered Pokemon. Lusamine may be off her rocker and does some real nasty shit in her spare time, but the group itself is inherently not evil.

Guzma is my boy.

I find all of the characters in this game to be pretty lovable, actually - to the point where talking about all of them would fill the page and distract from the Pokemon. Special mentions go to Lillie, Nebby, Gladion and Hau.

Lillie is too precious for words, especially when she brightens up and starts on her journey to Kanto. Nebby's infamous for the bag jokes, but their growth into the box art legendaries is amazing - in fact, I get all warm inside whenever I see a Cosmog because they remind me of how cute Nebby and Lillie's relationship was.

Gladion is a spectacular edgelord, but it's justified with all of the stuff he had to go through considering who his mother is and how the members of Team Skull would never accept him. He felt like he had to do everything alone before your character came along, so I find it incredibly admirable that he will help your character and Hau near the end - his sister means that much to him.

Hell, even Hau is pretty good despite being a bit too cheery for my likes. His enthusiasm makes him a sharp foil compared to Gladion's doom and gloom, and his goal to become the kahuna like his grandfather is cool - he knows what he wants to be.

The entire plotline revolving around Lusamine's family is really dark, seeing as it deals with abuse, manipulation and parental neglect in a kid's game of all things. Poor Lillie is traumatized by her mother before you meet her, and that's not even going into whatever happened between Mohn and Lusamine that wound up with them being separated.

Then there was the alien threat that involved the Ultra Beasts - I thought that was like the coolest thing they brought to the table so far even if it was obvious they were simply Pokemon from some alternate super dimension.

To be fair, they only really covered Nihilego while the others get shoved off to the postgame... and that you don't even get to combat Mother Beast Lusamine directly. That was super disappointing... but I can at least justify it in that Lusamine is still Lillie's mom and is definitely not herself when you fight her. Imagine if you did fight her, though...

Gameplay-wise, Sun and Moon was a bit more subdued than the previous games but still had really neat stuff inside. Pokemon Refresh was Pokemon Amie but without the minigames and you could actually heal your Pokemon of status ailments when you finish a battle - that's super convenient and I like it.

Poke Pelago is great, too. When you completely build the islands, they become one of the greatest sources of berries and money yet - a 24 hour wait may be ludicrous, but thankfully you can speed it up by using Poke Beans. Given how Poke Beans are all over the place, this means that there's no real reason to wait entire days to get a million berries or all of the best money items like Big Nuggets, Pearl Strings and so on.

The Festival Plaza is more awkward to use than the PSS, but it's vastly more interesting. Imagine the Join Avenue from Black and White 2 but accessed with the touch of a button. The stuff you can get here can be really wacky if you invest enough time and festival coins, ranging from an instant 255 effort value bounce house to a food item that increases levels by 7!

Then there's the ability to dye white clothes with different colors... Trainer Customization got a bit better in the Sun and Moon even if it's still missing a few cool things. I'm glad they didn't just limit it to Kalos though, because it's too good of a feature to remove. I'll admit, I was expecting Pokemon following you to be a thing they would bring back, but nope.

S.O.S Battles are a novel concept if annoyingly implemented. Pokemon in Alola have enough of of a bond that they call for help if they feel threatened enough, although that's more up to chance than anything else.

It doesn't help that there's rare Pokemon that can only be encountered with S.O.S battles, so you'll potentially be there for hours trying to get the right Pokemon to appear. (Horde Battles from X and Y were better in some respects. Then again, you couldn't actively trigger one like you could with S.O.S battles... Oh well.)

They removed HMs entirely and replaced them with the Ride Pokemon. Hallelujah!

Sun and Moon are also some of the toughest games in the series - a marked improvement over X and Y's disappointingly easy adventure. There were times where I just sat there and thought "man, I might not be able to win this no matter what I do" thanks to how they actually used some form of strategy. I'm looking at you, Totem Lurantis and Guzma.

I don't quite understand why most of the new Pokemon are slow, but at least they're strong/bulky to compensate. The theme for Alola seems to revolve around nature but with a Hawaiian twist due to the location, and it helps that I adore a lot of the new ones they brought out for this generation.

#722 - 724: Decidueye Family
Type: / / / (Decidueye)
Ability: Overgrow / Long Reach (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Rowlet
• Dartix (Level 17)
• Decidueye (Level 34)

Stats of final evolution: 530 (78, 107, 75, 100, 100, 70)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Round bowtie owl is precious. Dartrix is a snooty teenager that reminds me of Arin Hanson, aka. Egoraptor. That gives me a chuckle.
• Decidueye is just plain badass, though. They're a shadowy archer owl with a cool hood that can shoot arrows that can prevent you from leaving (Spirit Shackle)... The assassins of the Pokemon world for sure.
• I love how the Ghost typing is likely due to their relation to the extinct stilt owl and the pueo owl, the latter of which being the common physical form of ancestor spirits in Hawaiian culture.
• Long Reach lets them use contact moves without being hit by the effects of Iron Barbs and other related abilities, and that makes sense because they're long-range fighters.

Overall rating: *********

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#725 - 727: Incineroar Family
Type: / / (Incineroar)
Ability: Blaze / Intimidate (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Litten
• Torracat (Level 17)
• Incineroar (Level 34)

Stats of final evolution: 530 (95, 115, 90, 80, 90, 60)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• The first time I saw Litten, I loved it because of its little grumpy cat face.
• Torracat is even better because now they have the cool factor going for them - they're arguably the best designed second-stage evolution out of any starter yet, possibly beating out Braixen (who I neglected to mention their weird puffy ear hair) and Dewott in my personal scale.
• Incineroar could have very easily turned into a Pokemon I didn't like, but the combination of their typing, their backstory and their overall motif really saved them in my eyes.
• They're heel fighters - they're the asshole counterpart to the other Fire/Fighting types (the face) in that they fight dirty and serve to garner everyone's hate so the audience can cheer for the "face" when they beat the heel. The Fire/Dark typing is excellent for this.
• Them secretly being giant sweethearts when they're not in the ring is so cute, because it's proof that the heel gig is just an act.
• It helps that they have Intimidate as a Hidden ability and a wicked attack stat to compliment their unique move, Darkest Lariat (which ignores stat changes). They're immune to burns too, so there's not much you can really do to stop the pain train.

Overall rating: *********

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#728 - 730: Primarina Family
Type: / /
Ability: Torrent / Liquid Voice (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Popplio
• Brionne (Level 17)
• Primarina (Level 34)

Stats of final evolution: 530 (80, 74, 74, 126, 116, 60)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Poor Popplio got it rough. I mean damn, I have never seen as much vitriol for a Pokemon before this little fellow came along.
• Their evolution to Brionne made things worse because even most of their supporters couldn't get behind the ultra-feminine design. I personally adored this little guy no matter what and even thought Brionne was too cute for words - putting them up with Torracat and Braixen as some of my favorite middle evolution designs.
• The fact they don't reveal their true feelings until they completely trust their trainer is so heartbreaking to me, you don't even know.
• Then... they evolve into the absolutely stunning Primarina. They become this spectacular mermaid seal diva that not only looks great (the hair and the dress are my favorite parts about this thing, by the way) but is an excellent fighter due to their Fairy typing and stupidly high special attack and bulk.
• Liquid Voice is essentially a Aqualize as it turns sound-based moves into Water type. This is very useful for Hyper Voice because Sparkling Aria hits everyone - I don't tolerate friendly fire.
• Phenomenal Pokemon that might even be one of my favorite starters yet. (P.S. Oceanic Operetta is the coolest of the starter-exclusive Z moves.)

Overall rating: **********

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#731 - 733: Toucannon Family
Type: /
Ability: Keen Eye (1st) / Skill Link (2nd) / Sheer Force (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Pikipek
• Trumbeak (Level 14)
• Toucannon (Level 28)

Stats of final evolution: 485 (80, 120, 75, 75, 75, 60)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Pikipek is a small and cute woodpecker while Trumbeak is meaner looking and serves as the standard "wild bird" Pokemon for Alola.
• The first time I saw Toucannon, though, I didn't really believe that it was the final evolution of Pikipek... and can you really blame me? How the hell does a woodpecker evolve into a toucan? (In the same way as to how the hell a remora evolves into an octopus and so on)
• When I sat down and took a good look at Toucannon, I realized how much of a badass this thing was. First off, they're always angry. Second, they have access to Skill Link and have 120 base attack to utilize it with - you know that's a recipe for disaster.
• Third, their shiny is crazy. The colors on them are psychedelic, man!

Overall rating: *******

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#734 - 735: Gumshoos Family
Type:
Ability: Stakeout (1st) / Strong Jaw (2nd) / Adaptability (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Yungoos
• Gumshoos (Level 20 during the day)

Stats of final evolution: 418 (88, 100, 60, 55, 60, 45)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Leave your political jokes at the door.
• Yungoos and Gumshoos are the early game fodder mons for Alola, but they're interesting in that they're an diurnal (day only) invasive species that was brought in to deal with the Rattata problem.
• Their motif is based around detective stuff, which I can get behind because Alolan Rattata and Raticate are supposed to be the "criminals" of this scenario.
• I like Yungoos's teeth because of how dopey it makes them look.
• Stakeout does double damage to a Pokemon that swaps in - really neat idea, but I'm not sure of how reliable Gumshoos themselves are.

Overall rating: ******

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#736 - 738: Vikavolt Family
Type: (Grubbin) / / (Charjabug and Vikavolt)
Ability: Levitate
Appearances:

• Grubbin
• Charjabug (Level 20)
• Vikavolt (Level up near an Electric Rock)

Stats of final evolution: 500 (77, 70, 90, 145, 75, 43)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Grubbin is cute and all, but it's still a maggot. Real life maggots are hideous when you get a good microscopic look at them
• Charjabug is literally a bus charming because it resembles a battery to reinforce the electric bug theme.
• Vikavolt is a rad beetle Pokemon whose mandibles resemble a railgun, for christ's sake. It's described as acrobatic (which does not equal fast, by the way) and has a phenomenal 145 special attack to go along with it.
• Their immunity to Ground and access to moves like Volt Switch make them incredibly powerful, although I've never actually taken them for a spin myself. Still, really cool Pokemon.

Overall rating: ********

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#739 - 740: Crabominable Family
Type: / / (Crabominable)
Ability: Hyper Cutter (1st) / Iron Fist (2nd) / Anger Point (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Crabrawler
• Crabominable (Level up at Mt. Lanakila)

Stats of final evolution: 478 (97, 132, 77, 62, 67, 43)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Crabrawler is based off of the coconut crab, a crab that can't swim and mostly hangs around trees to eat fruits and coconuts. It is also nightmarishly huge - just look at it compared to a trash can!
• A normal-ass crawdad that can fit in a water bottle is enough to give me a heart attack... so I would scream my soul out if I ever encountered this monster.
• Crabrawler is great for this very reason because they're pretty much what would happen if the coconut crab took up karate classes.
• Crabominable... It is so dorky that I can't help but like it. I still have gripes with them, though - how they don't even have Ice Shard, are weak to a total of six types and evolve at a point when the game's practically over.
• It's supposed to be a nod to the Yeti Crab, but they could have still given this guy better survivability.

Overall rating: *******

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#741: Oricorio
Type: / (Baile) / / (Pom-Pom) / / (Pa'u) / / (Sensu)
Ability: Dancer
Appearances:

• Baile Style (Red Nectar)
• Pom-Pom Style (Yellow Nectar)
• Pa'u Style (Pink Nectar)
• Sensu Style (Purple Nectar)

Stats of final evolution: 476 (75, 70, 70, 98, 70, 93)
Additional forms?: Three

• Styles (Introduced in Sun and Moon): Changes the type of Oricorio when you use a different color Nectar on them.

Thoughts:

• Fancy. Oricorio is based off of the Hawaiian honeycreeper, a bird that feeds on nectar - hence all of the different colored nectars that change Oricorio into their different dance forms.
• Baile is a flamenco dancer, Pom-Pom is American cheerleading, Pa'u is a hula dancer and Sensu is based off of traditional japanese dancing. How appropriate is it that my favorites are the fire one and the ghost one due to their typing and design?
• Dancer copies whatever dance move you used... along with doing their regular attack. So if you get Quiver Dance off, they would benefit from the boosts before they get to do anything. Really neat, if situational.
• I'll admit, with stats like these, I don't have that much confidence in their battling ability but they're still hella neat bird Pokemon.

Overall rating: *******

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#742 - 743: Ribombee Family
Type: /
Ability: Honey Gather (1st) / Shield Dust (2nd) / Sweet Veil (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Cutiefly
• Ribombee (Level 25)

Stats of final evolution: 464 (60, 55, 60, 95, 70, 124)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• I knew Cutiefly was up to no good the instant they showed them off - they're a bee fly, aka. parasitic flies that resemble bees and attack any other insect that winds up hosting them. They're like changelings.
• That said, I do find Cutiefly and Ribombee adorable. They could do far better than 95 Special Attack, but that speed is insane.
• Given their pollen puffs, they might also be based off of the concept of fairy dust. Just... be careful with it. Who knows what it'll do to you?

Overall rating: ******

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#744 - 745: Lycanroc Family
Type:
Ability (Midday): Keen Eye (1st) / Sand Rush (2nd) / Steadfast (Hidden)
Ability (Midnight): Keen Eye (1st) / Vital Spirit (2nd) / No Guard (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Rockruff
• Lycanroc - Midday (Level 25 in Pokemon Sun during the day)
• Lycanroc - Midnight (Level 25 in Pokemon Moon at night)

Stats of final evolution (Midday): 487 (75, 115, 65, 55, 65, 112)
Stats of final evolution (Midnight): 487 (85, 115, 75, 55, 75, 82)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• I think this, the Ultra Beasts and the box art legendary are the primary reasons as to what version I was getting. Rockruff is a precious little pup, but it's what they evolve into that seal the deal for me.
• Lycanroc's different forms are great, but I hate how it's version based and not just based on the time of day.
• The Midday Form is an excellent fighter if a bit standard when it comes to dog designs. Accelerock and that speed make them really tough to deal with. I also like how their collar forms spikes that make it look like it's based off of the sun.
• The Midnight Form may not be as good of a fighter (they're slightly bulkier... and that's it!) or have access to Accelerock, but damn if I don't love my stupid edgelord werewolf. They could have benefitted from being Rock/Dark or something, though.

Overall rating: *********

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#746: Wishiwashi
Type:
Ability: Schooling
Appearances:

• Normal
• School Form (Activates at full health. Disengages at 25% HP)

Stats of final evolution: 175 (45, 20, 20, 25, 25, 40)
Additional forms?: One

• School Form (Introduced in Sun and Moon): +445(!!) (45, 140(+120), 130(+110), 140(+115), 135(+110), 30(-10))

Thoughts:

• A single Wishiwashi is arguably the weakest Pokemon to ever exist - probably even more so than actual baby Pokemon. It looks super sad and that makes me feel bad.
• That's why you don't piss them off.
• The School Form for Wishiwashi is the prime example of "strength in numbers" as they form this scary-looking amalgamate whale composed of hundreds of tinier fish. The disparity in strength is bananas, to the point where even Gyarados would run away like a coward.
• I love the concept and how both forms look, and I especially like how strong they are in the School form.

Overall rating: **********

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#747 - 748: Toxapex Family
Type: /
Ability: Merciless (1st) / Limber (2nd) / Regenerator (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Mareanie
• Toxapex (Level 38)

Stats of final evolution: 495 (50, 63, 152, 53, 142, 35)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Mareanie is based off of the crown of thorns starfish... aka. the natural predator to little coral creatures like Corsola. Their relationship is very brutal, to the point where even the game tells you that Toxapex leaves Corsola bits scattered around the sea floor. That's... jeez.
• Mareanie (mare/marine + meanie) is super cute even with that in mind. It looks really lonely, if I'm gonna be real with you.
• Their evolution into Toxapex is really cool because they resemble a real life crown of thorns starfish. However, the best thing about them is that Toxapex is... the greatest defensive Pokemon to ever exist.
• Like no joke, this thing is Satan to bring down. They can stomach the worst kind of punishment, heal it off and remove your stat boosts with Haze. I'm impressed at how assholish you can get with a Toxapex - it's like the twisted lovechild of a Blissey and a Tentacruel with the better qualities of both.
• I love it.

Overall rating: *********

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#749 - 750: Mudsdale Family
Type:
Ability: Own Tempo (1st) / Stamina (2nd) / Inner Focus (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Mudbray
• Mudsdale (Level 30)

Stats of final evolution: 500 (100, 125, 100, 55, 85, 35)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• At first I didn't know what breed of horse Mudsdale was supposed to be and simply referred to them as donkeys. This is wildly incorrect as Mudsdale is in fact a Clydesdale horse - they're gigantic horses with fluffy parts around their legs and weigh over 2000 pounds. It's nuts.
• Mudsdale is really cool because it reflects this with their high HP, attack and ability.
• Stamina increases defense every time they get attacked, so if you hit them enough without knocking them out, they could potentially turn into a physical wall.
• It's good stuff, even if I'm not going to use them outright.

Overall rating: *******

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#751 - 752: Araquanid Family
Type: /
Ability: Water Bubble / Water Absorb (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Dewpider
• Araquanid (Level 22)

Stats of final evolution: 454 (68, 70, 92, 50, 132, 42)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Move over, Ariados and Galvantula - your aquatic cousin is on a rampage.
• So... Out of everything they could have introduced as a new bug Pokemon, they picked the diving bell spider. Spiders on land scare me enough as it is, so of course we have to have one that lives in the water.
• Araquanid has an intimidating design with funky eyes but not much else going for it in the way of stats... at first. That's where its fantastic ability, Water Bubble, comes into play.
• It serves as a Water version of Huge Power, makes sure Araquanid can't be burned, and halves damage from Fire attacks. It's fantastic.
• The fact this thing is over five feet tall is enough to give me nightmares - imagine actually living in the Pokemon world and seeing that.

Overall rating: *********

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#753 - 754: Lurantis Family
Type:
Ability: Leaf Guard / Contrary (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Fomantis
• Lurantis (Level 34 during the day)

Stats of final evolution: 480 (70, 105, 90, 80, 90, 45)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Oh look at this one! The Lurantis family are orchid mantises - aka. colorful mantises that resemble orchids. However, in Lurantis's case, it's more like... a plant that mimics mantises. It's weird to explain.
• Lurantis has a beautiful and colorful design, but I hate how they're effectively an inferior counterpart to a Pokemon later down this list. Still, that doesn't change the fact that Totem Lurantis is a crazy-good tactician.
• The shiny version is actually a clever reference to a real life orchid mantis color and may even be a nod to Scyther because why not?
• The interesting thing about Lurantis is that has Contrary as a hidden ability, and thanks to its access to Leaf Storm... it could be a very powerful special sweeper. Then again, that's not what it's meant for (if that attack stat is of any indication) and Serperior is way faster. I sort of feel bad for Lurantis.

Overall rating: *******

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#755 - 756: Shiinotic Family
Type: /
Ability: Illuminate (1st) / Effect Spore (2nd) / Rain Dish (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Morelull
• Shiinotic (Level 24)

Stats of final evolution: 405 (60, 45, 80, 90, 100, 30)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Out of all of the mushroom Pokemon, Shiinotic is the second best. While Amoonguss was horribly stupid and not that interesting beyond its battle capacity, Shiinotic is wonderfully creepy with its weird face, hypnotic nature and the fact that they're one of the more malicious Fairy types out there.
• Strength Sap is a fascinating move in that it drains the Attack of the opponent and uses that to heal HP. I find it really interesting if situational because I don't have that much confidence in Shiinotic's battle capacities.
• If you find a bunch of weird lights in the forest at night, be careful otherwise the Shiinotic will never let you find your way home. It is fucked up.

Overall rating: *******

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#757 - 758: Salazzle Family
Type: /
Ability: Corrosion / Oblivious (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Salandit
• Salazzle (Level 33 female Salandit)

Stats of final evolution: 480 (68, 64, 60, 111, 60, 117)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Salandit is adorable enough by itself due to them being little fiery bandit lizards, but it's Salazzle that really caught my attention here.
• Only female Salandit can evolve into Salazzle, which is curious. As it turns out, their real life counterpart is the New Mexico Whiptail, a female exclusive salamander species. Given that Salazzle creates a reverse harem of males, this can explain why female Salandit are so hard to find in the game.
• Salazzle is a super badass evolution, though. They're one of the faster Alola Pokemon and come with a unique ability called Corrosion that allows them to poison anything, even Steel types and other Poison types.
• This is likely because the poison that the Salandit family carries is acidic, hence why it will eat through metal and be a stronger kind of poison than normal.
• I find their weirdly humanoid and openly seductive design to be a tad disturbing, and maybe that's what they were going for? I think it's explicitly stated that males of any species get affected by the pheromones these things shoot out, so you got me.

Overall rating: **********

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#759 - 760: Bewear Family
Type: /
Ability: Fluffy (1st) / Klutz (2nd) / Unnerve (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Stufful
• Bewear (Level 27)

Stats of final evolution: 500 (120, 125, 80, 55, 60, 60)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• No joke, the first time I heard Stufful's cry in the game, my heart nearly melted from how precious it was. It is unbelievably adorable that way.
• Bewear is a combination between a bear and a red panda, these cute little raccoon like creatures that live in trees. At first I didn't know what to make of the Bewear line other than the name and design being super silly but I grew to like them after I saw their thick strength.
• I also like how they straight up tell you that if this thing hugs you, it will break your spine. Good for the kiddies.
• Fluffy halves damage from contact moves of any kind while giving a weakness to fire. If it didn't have that it would be too tough to take down, because 120 HP, halved damage and that kind of Atlas level strength is just too much.
• Between this, Pangoro and Snorlax, you'd have to be a madman to fight these bears. Even Ursaring, the weakest of the bunch, can still maul you to death.

Overall rating: *********

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#761 - 763: Tsareena Family
Type:
Ability: Leaf Guard (1st) / Queenly Majesty (2nd) / Sweet Veil (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Bounsweet
• Steenee (Level 18)
• Tsareena (Level up knowing Stomp aka. Level 29)

Stats of final evolution: 510 (72, 120, 98, 50, 98, 72)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• I thought Bounsweet was lovable, but that was about it. There just wasn't enough details to make me really care other than how it has to run away so it doesn't get eaten. Poor baby.
• Steenee is super cute, though. I didn't quite know what to expect but this at least seemed to go in the right direction.
• Then Tsareena comes out of nowhere and drop kicks her way into my heart. I'm serious - between the gorgeous queen design and the above-average Attack stat, I can't help but love her.
• Tsareena is the combination beween a czarina and the mangosteen, which are referred to as the "queen of fruit." Clever.
• Queenly Majesty is an ability that prevents priority moves from working due to Tsareena giving the enemy an oppresive stare. It's ridiculous, but it works.
• Sure, they could do with some more speed and health, and fall victim to the common Grass weaknesses... but they're still fantastic.

Overall rating: *********

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#764: Comfey
Type:
Ability: Flower Veil (1st) / Triage (2nd) / Natural Cure (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 485 (51, 52, 90, 82, 110, 100)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Comfey is the Alolan counterpart to Klefki in that they're a living lei fairy. I find this one really cute even if their most valuable asset is to give healing moves the maximum amount of priority. (Triage)
• Leis in Hawaiian culture have different meanings, but are generally given out for positive reasons. For example, certain kinds of leis mean different things like love, desire, and so on.
• The shiny blue Comfey is also amazing to the point where I would spend hours shiny hunting trying to get it.

Overall rating: *******

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#765 - 766: Oranguru and Passimian
Type: / (Oranguru) / (Passimian)
Ability (Oranguru): Inner Focus (1st) / Telepathy (2nd) / Symbiosis (Hidden)
Ability (Passimian): Receiver / Defiant (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Oranguru
• Passimian

Stats of Oranguru: 490 (90, 60, 80, 90, 110, 60)
Stats of Passimian: 490 (100, 120, 90, 40, 60, 80)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Harambe memes are stupid. With that said, let's get on to the real show.
• Oranguru and Passimian are rad - one is a sagely orangutan that can see the stars and the other is a fighting rugby lemur. Their gimmick is that they can pass items and abilities - Receiver copies the ability of a fallen opponent and so on.
• Both are cool, but I prefer Oranguru more due to their astro ape appeal.

Overall rating: ********

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#767 - 768: Golisopod Family
Type: /
Ability: Wimp Out - Emergency Exit (They do the same thing)
Appearances:

• Wimpod
• Golisopod (Level 30)

Stats of final evolution: 530 (75, 125, 140, 60, 90, 40)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Ah, Wimpod. Your real life counterpart (trilobytes) freaks me out in the same way as Anorith, but I can't stand to hate you. You're too cute.
• Then you evolve into a freaky bipedal murderfucker bug with like six arms. Holy shit if that's not a drastic change.
• Golisopod is phenomenally badass to the point where I reset progress when I realized I failed to catch the Wimpod on Route 8. It's sooooo cooool, especially when you combine their amazing strength with their signature move & ability.
• First Impression is monstrously powerful Bug move that hits on the first turn out, much like Fake Out without the flinching aspect. It seems situational until you take Emergency Exit into account - an ability that forcibly drags Golisopod out of the battle when they reach half of their health.
• That sounds bad (and trust me it can mess up strategies), but when your First Impressions can severely threaten any Pokemon that only take neutral damage from it... you know you're in for some trouble.

Overall rating: **********

-

#769 - 770: Palossand Family
Type: /
Ability: Water Compaction / Sand Veil (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Sandygast
• Palossand (Level 42)

Stats of final evolution: 480 (85, 75, 110, 100, 75, 35)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Haunted sandcastles? What's this about? At first I thought that a sandcastle is a silly idea for a Pokemon... but then I paid attention to their ghost typing. See, this is the most straightforward morbid a Pokemon has gotten since Phantump - Sandygast and Palossand are bluntly described as mobile graves with the bones of their victims inside.
• That's just.... wow. It makes me terrified of beaches on Alola because imagine all of the poor kids who just want to make sandcastles but get attacked by this... thing.
• Their special attack and defense are great, especially when you look at their Water Compaction ability. It raises their Defense if they get hit by a Water attack, much like how water hardens sand in real life. Neat.
• Their shiny is amazing because it's black sand - I hate how you don't have a guaranteed shiny Sandygast encounter (if at least once) at the black sand beach where you take the ghost trial.

Overall rating: ********

-

#771: Pyukumuku
Type:
Ability: Innards Out / Unaware (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 410 (55, 60, 130, 30, 130, 5)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Pyukumuku is based off of the sea bunny, these precious little white ocean floor slugs that coincidentally manage to resemble land rabbits. I really like this little sea cucumber thing because if it likes a place, it will stay there even it dies of starvation. Now that's dedication.
• They have no attacking moves but have a ton of defense, almost as if they're the Alolan counterpart to Shuckle. Innards Out uses Pyukumuku's remaining health to damage the opponent when defeated... and true to its name, that hand coming out of the thing's mouth are actually its intestines. Gross, but cute.

Overall rating: ******

-

#772 - 773: Type: Null and Silvally
Type: (Both)
Type (with Memories):

• 
  (Grass Memory)
• 
  (Fire Memory)
• 
  (Water Memory)
• 
  (Flying Memory)
• 
  (Bug Memory)
• 
  (Poison Memory)
• 
  (Electric Memory)
• 
  (Psychic Memory)
• 
  (Rock Memory)
• 
  (Ground Memory)
• 
  (Dark Memory)
• 
  (Ghost Memory)
• 
  (Steel Memory)
• 
  (Fighting Memory)
• 
  (Ice Memory)
• 
  (Dragon Memory)
• 
  (Fairy Memory)

Ability: RKS System
Appearances:

• Type: Null
• Silvally (Level up with Happiness)
• Grass Memory
• Fire Memory
• Water Memory
• Flying Memory
• Bug Memory
• Poison Memory
• Electric Memory
• Psychic Memory
• Rock Memory
• Ground Memory
• Dark Memory
• Ghost Memory
• Steel Memory
• Fighting Memory
• Ice Memory
• Dragon Memory
• Fairy Memory

Stats of final evolution: 570 (95, 95, 95, 95, 95, 95)
Additional forms?: 17

• RKS System (Introduced in Sun and Moon): Changes type depending on what Memory is held. Also affects what type Multi-Attack will take on.

Thoughts:

• Aether was really playing God with this one, huh?
• Type: Null and Silvally are chimera Pokemon stitched together from multiple other creatures to fit different environments and is obviously made to be a mortal counterpart to Arceus.
• Type: Null is the chimera when it has no bond with its owner and has their powers suppressed by the metal helmet that covers its head. Battle Armor protects from critical hits but doesn't do much else.
• Give them enough love, however... and they become the beast known as Silvally. It's counted as an "evolution" despite it just being the helmet breaking off.
• Still, I adore their design and the entire concept of an "Arceus-like" Frankenstein's monster Pokemon, especially since they adopt Arceus's type changing mechanic through the "memory" items. Multi-Attack is even a physical counterpart to Judgment!
• A 95 average isn't quite that amazing, but given the type change system... Arceus-Lite will still mess you up.
• I love how Gladion's Type: Null evolves into Silvally - that implies they have an actual bond and it's just too cute. Especially when you have this shot in the end credits.

Overall rating: **********

-

#774: Minior
Type: /
Ability: Shields Down
Appearances:

• Minior (Shell)
• Minior Core - Red
• Minior Core - Orange
• Minior Core - Yellow
• Minior Core - Green
• Minior Core - Blue
• Minior Core - Indigo
• Minior Core - Violet
• And just because it's relevant, have the Shiny Minior Core

Stats of final evolution: 440 (60, 60, 100, 60, 100, 60)
Additional forms?: One

• Shields Down (Introduced in Sun and Moon): +60 (60, 100(+40), 60(-40), 100(+40), 60(-40), 120(+60))

Thoughts:

• Oooh, these little guys are neat. Minior are tiny meteorites that remind me of Kinder surprise eggs due to how you'll never know what color you'll get until you crack open the shell. (Or you know, it's a shiny)
• I'm an absolute nut for colors, so I'd get a ton of them just for that alone.
• Shields Down makes them incredible fighters due to how it works - the shell makes them immune to status effects, so you could set up Shell Smash (does not break the actual thing as it's HP dependent) and other nasty things without any fear of getting poisoned or burned.
• When their HP drops to half, they reveal their true colors and gain a massive speed boost - they're great for sweeps that way.
• I mention the shiny because not only is it a cool shade of black... but it gains these little colorful shards on its body. It bears a striking resemblance to a legendary down the list and makes me wonder if it was done on purpose.

Overall rating: *********

-

#775: Komala
Type:
Ability: Comatose
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 480 (65, 115, 65, 75, 95, 65)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• A koala Pokemon! About time.
• I thought they were cute and not much else, but that Attack stat begs to differ. Comatose is easily one of the best new abilities they introduced as it prevents them from being hit by any status ailment and considers the Pokemon asleep minus the turn loss.
• This has its downsides, however, as they take double damage from Wake Up Slap, can be affected by Nightmare and so on.
• I think it's sad that, while Komala is a great fighter, they'll live and die asleep. That's... actually really depressing when you think about it long enough. Are they aware of their surroundings? That is the question.

Overall rating: *******

-

#776: Turtonator
Type: /
Ability: Shell Armor
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 485 (60, 78, 135, 91, 85, 36)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Turtonator. I can't help but say that name in a stupid voice every time it comes up.
• I think their design is a nice mix between cool and silly, plus they're the third Fire/Dragon type (Reshiram and Mega Char X) in the series. Shell Trap is an interesting attack in that it's a 150 power Fire move that activates when Turtonator is attacked.
• Not much else I can say about this one, really.

Overall rating: *******

-

#777: Togedemaru
Type: /
Ability: Iron Barbs (1st) / Lightning Rod (2nd) / Sturdy (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 435 (65, 98, 63, 40, 73, 96)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• We've made it to the Pikaclone of this generation and they're... alright. They're a small electric hedgehog that has access to Lightning Rod and Sturdy, so I already find it interesting for that alone.
• Admittedly, beyond the adorable look and the unique concept, they don't look very capable for a real fight. Oh well.
• I cannot help but make comparisons to this one boss from Megaman ZX Advent that was literally the same thing as this. Their name was Hedgeshock too, so... at least Togedemaru's got the edge there.

Overall rating: ******

-

#778: Mimikyu
Type: /
Ability: Disguise
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 476 (55, 90, 80, 50, 105, 96)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Precious rag baby.
• I don't care if the anime or the game depicts Mimikyu as evil, they will forever be a cute little ghost that just wants friends. As you can tell, I love Mimikyu's concept - they're a creature that dresses themself up as a Pikachu based off of decades old merchandise to gain friends.
• Apparently, Mimikyu's real face is so terrifying that it can kill people, although the legitimacy of this is questionable and I'm leaning on it being not true.
• It's also a hell of a fighter, as everything about them makes them a serious threat. Disguise prevents Mimikyu from taking damage at least once during a fight, although it doesn't protect them from status effects.
• You could set up Swords Dance or a substitute when you still have the disguise, and there's also Mimikyu's incredible Ghost/Fairy typing that gives them strong attacks like Shadow Claw and Play Rough.
• They definitely made me their friend.

Overall rating: **********

-

#779: Bruxish
Type: /
Ability: Dazzling (1st) / Strong Jaw (2nd) / Wonder Skin (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 475 (68, 105, 70, 70, 70, 92)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Whoa. Now that's funky.
• Bruxish is a psychic piranha whose gaudiness can prevent priority moves from working. In all seriousness, I like how they look and how powerful they are (Psychic Fangs is both a STAB move and boosted by Strong Jaw), but they're outclassed compared to something like Sharpedo for example.
• I hate how rare they are, though.

Overall rating: *******

-

#780: Drampa
Type: /
Ability: Berserk (1st) / Sap Sipper (2nd) / Cloud Nine (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 485 (78, 60, 85, 135, 91, 36)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Grandpa dragon! (Although, shouldn't females be Dramma?)
• Drampa is pretty rad, especially with how they look like a Chinese dragon called the Zhu Long. The Zhu Long (candle dragon) is a creature with the face of a man but with the body of a dragon - sort of like a Sphinx from Egypt.
• Berserk raises special attack when they lose half of their health, so you don't want to piss off Grand Dragon over here. They're cool.

Overall rating: ********

-

#781: Dhelmise
Type: /
Ability: Steelworker
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 517 (70, 131, 100, 86, 90, 40)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Where the hell was this thing when I was playing the game? I was expecting a sunken ship level the entire playthrough, yet nope. That said, Dhelmise is really cool. They're a haunted anchor with a compass that looks like a lizard's eye... Spooky.
• At first I was curious as to why it's not Ghost/Steel, but they tell you that the seaweed is what's controlling the anchor... making it the real Pokemon here. Steelworker boosts the strength of steel moves, so it's still using the anchor as part of its body.
• Their massive 131 attack and their typing make me imagine them as a more powerful counterpart to Pokemon I already like, Gourgeist. I like how this thing is described to knock out Wailords in a single shot, because unlike most other Pokedex entries, it legitimately can thanks to that strength and Power Whip.

Overall rating: *********

[Theme for this bit: Vs. Totem Pokemon]

#782 - 784: Kommo-o Family
Type: /
Ability: Bulletproof (1st) / Soundproof (2nd) / Overcoat (Hidden)
Appearances:

• Jangmo-o
• Hakamo-o (Level 35)
• Kommo-o (Level 45)

Stats of final evolution: 600 (75, 110, 125, 100, 105, 85)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• I love these guys! The Kommo-o family are based off of the Mo'o, a mythical Hawaiian lizard, and ankylosaurs. Their armor-like designs and their fighting type make me imagine them as stalwart warriors, supported by the fact that Kommo-o fights to dispel "the darkness" that looms over Alola.
• No matter what you pick, they're either immune to sound or bullet moves... with the very lame Overcoat as their hidden ability. They're known for using Sky Uppercut... and given how they're Dragons, can anybody say shoryuken?

Overall rating: *********

-

[Theme for this bit: Vs. Island Guardian]

#785 - 788: The Tapus
Type: / (Koko) / / (Lele) / / (Bulu) / / (Fini)
Ability: Electric Surge (Koko) / Psychic Surge (Lele) / Grassy Surge (Bulu) / Misty Surge (Fini) / Telepathy (Hidden - All)
Appearances:

• Tapu Koko
• Tapu Lele
• Tapu Bulu
• Tapu Fini

Stats of Tapu Koko: 570 (70, 115, 85, 95, 75, 130)
Stats of Tapu Lele: 570 (70, 85, 75, 130, 115, 95)
Stats of Tapu Bulu: 570 (70, 130, 115, 85, 95, 75)
Stats of Tapu Fini: 570 (70, 75, 115, 95, 130, 85)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• The Guardian Deities are goddamn amazing. They're these cool totem-like Pokemon with an intense battle theme and unique attributes that make all of them valuable team assets.
• Tapu Koko is the guardian of Melemele Island. They have the most story significance as they're the first one you encounter, and arguably the most versatile.
• Their Electric Surge power is effectively a free boost to Electric types and works in tandem with Alolan Raichu's Surge Surfer technique. (They are also based off of a rooster, so that's amusing.)
• Tapu Lele is the guardian of Akala Island and is the most adorable of the bunch. She summons Psychic Surge, which prevents priority moves from hitting and gives a 50% boost to Psychic moves... given how the most common set I encounter is Psychic+Choice Scarf, people know she's insanely powerful. She's likely based off of butterflies, so that's super cute.
• Tapu Bulu is the guardian of Ula'ula Island and gets the least amount of love out of the deities. Poor guy, I think he's really cool with his bull-inspired theme and his muscleman physique. He may not be as tricky as the other three, but Wood Hammer from him really smarts. Grassy Terrain restores health every turn, by the way.
• Tapu Fini is the guardian of Poni Island and is pretty much the best one. She's an elegant mermaid inside of a clam, for one. Misty Terrain protects from status effects - combine this with her bulk and she's a practical nightmare to defeat.
• All of the Island Guardians are excellent and it makes sense that they're the ones to serve as guardians - they're all powerful!

Overall rating: **********

-

[Theme for this bit: Vs. Solgaleo/Lunala]

#789 - 792: Solgaleo and Lunala Family
Type: (Cosmog and Cosmoem) / / (Solgaleo) / / (Lunala)
Ability: Full Metal Body (Solgaleo) / Shadow Shield (Lunala)
Appearances:

• Cosmog
• Cosmoem (Level 43)
• Solgaleo (Level 53 in Pokemon Sun)
• Lunala (Level 53 in Pokemon Moon)

Stats of final evolution (Solgaleo): 680 (137, 113, 89, 137, 107, 97)
Stats of final evolution (Lunala): 680 (137, 137, 107, 113, 89, 97)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Cosmog is wonderfully adorable with their poofy design and their amazing color scheme.. but they know no moves. What's the dealio?
• Cosmoem interests me because they gain a ton of defense and is one of the heaviest Pokemon out there despite being only 4 inches tall. This is because Cosmoem is based off of a neutron star, one of the densest objects in the universe.
• Now, it was a complete mystery as to what Cosmoem would turn out to be. The fact it evolves into the box art legendaries is insane, not only because of how unconventional that is but because the game introduced us to Nebby beforehand. Nebby gets as much development as Lillie without even saying anything other than "pew".
• Solgaleo is the Sun-exclusive evolution and is this rad-as-fuck Zoid lion robot thing. Unfortunately, they're Metagross 2.0 with an ability that does almost the exact same thing, but I'm willing to let it pass because of how badass this thing is.
• Lunala, on the other hand, is simply beautiful. They are this celestial moon bat that not only looks amazing thanks to their purple and gold color scheme but have a potent ability in Shadow Shield - a repurposed Multiscale. Given Lunala's weaknesses, it makes perfect sense and allows them to survive a heated match (maybe with Weakness Policy?).
• I'm glad they thought out of the box for this one, because whoa.

Overall rating: **********

-

[Theme for this bit: Vs. Ultra Beast]

(I have to have this song on full blast because it is just too good.)

#793: Nihilego (UB-01 Symbiont)
Type: /
Ability: Beast Boost
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 570 (109, 53, 47, 127, 131, 103)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• To think this thing was the cause of Lusamine's descent into insanity. Nihilego is a mysterious and super adorable little glass jellyfish thing that's also a parasite - if you get struck by Nihilego poison, you lose all of your inhibitions and can't think rationally. (Wear thick clothing.)
• It makes sense too because Nihilego is literally "no ego" in Latin.
• The philosophy behind Ultra Beast designs is that they all have crazy strong stats and one lopsided one to balance things out - Nihilego's weak spot is defense, but they serve as a wicked-strong mage to compensate.
• Beast Boost is an ability all the Ultra Beasts have - when they knock out a Pokemon, their most powerful stat is increased... like Special Attack for Nihilego.
• It's really messed up how Lillie was forced to dress up as this thing because her mother had a sick fetish for them.
• I also can't help but imagine that... what if this isn't the worst they have? What if this is merely the Tentacool of Ultra Space? That only begs the question of what could be the Tentacruel?

Overall rating: *********

-

#794 - 795: Buzzwole and Pheromosa (UB-02 Absorption and Beauty)
Type: / (Both)
Ability: Beast Boost
Appearances:

• Buzzwole
• Pheromosa

Stats of Buzzwole: 570 (107, 139, 139, 53, 53, 79)
Stats of Pheromosa: 570 (71, 137, 37, 137, 37, 151)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• I love them both.
• Buzzwole is perfection. They are a muscle mosquito who only communicates by posing - their reason? Because they know they look good. They are pretty much a Stand from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, so of course I adore it. I love the fists on this thing because they look like they can really pound someone's face in.
• Pheromosa is an elegant and beautiful cockroach humanoid that can use pheromones to... force people to stop fighting and admire the Pokemon's beauty? Huh. Gives me some alien seductress vibes.
• They are obsessed with cleanliness and refuse to touch anything in our world that they don't like, which I've heard is closer to some actual cockroach behaviors.
• Pheromosa is the better fighter of the two and comes with all the cool stuff... including Rapid Spin to remove entry hazards! Lunge is a new bug move they introduced that lowers attack if it hits, making it easier to deal with big bulky fighters. Pheromosa dies the instant something touches them, so that's the trade off... but still.
• I would peg them as the Heracrosses of Ultra Space due to them being Bug/Fighting with incredible strength.

Overall rating: **********

-

#796: Xurkitree (UB-03 Lighting)
Type:
Ability: Beast Boost
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 570 (83, 89, 71, 173, 71, 83)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Oh hey, it's an electric christmas tree! Xurkitree is a living pile of circuits with a ridiculous amount of Special Attack... and poofy white hair that reminds me of Guzma, although that's more of a coincidence than anything else.
• They're one of the stronger Ultra Beasts thanks to Choice Scarf and Beast Boost, if a bit predictable if you have something that's immune to electric attacks.
• Their happy dance is the best thing ever.

Overall rating: *********

-

#797 - 798: Celesteela and Kartana (UB-04 Blaster and Blade)
Type: / (Celesteela) / / (Kartana)
Ability: Beast Boost
Appearances:

• Celesteela
• Kartana

Stats of final evolution: 570 (97, 101, 103, 107, 101, 61)
Stats of final evolution: 570 (59, 181, 131, 59, 31, 109)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• *Constant stream of "oh my god"s*
• It's my new favorite Pokemon ever! Celesteela is the best. They're based off of Princess Kaguya from the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, only amalgamated into being a 30 foot tall bamboo rocket. Their design is amazing, especially when you take a close look and see that they have the cutest little face.
• Their stats are completely balanced, so if you really wanted, you could set them up to "Beast Boost" any stat and make your own playstyle. The fact they're an attacking counterpart to Skarmory is insane by itself.
• Kartana is great too because they're this teeny little origami samurai... that can slice buildings apart. I mean damn. They have one of the greatest Attack stats that aren't Mega or Huge Power boosted, although they get roasted by Fire types super easily.
• I wish I could break the rating scale for Celesteela, but that'd wind up making the score purple and therefore not count.

Overall rating: **********

-

#799: Guzzlord (UB-05 Glutton)
Type: /
Ability: Beast Boost
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 570 (223, 101, 53, 97, 53, 43)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• WHOAAAAAA.
• Fucking crazy! This thing looks like the final boss of another RPG with all of its teeth and its black hole stomach, yet it's only another one of the Ultra Beasts. It must be like the Hydreigon of their universe or something, geez.
• Their massive health and typing make them super intimidating - since Beast Boost doesn't increase HP, you get more attack by default (unless you boost another stat). Only Fairy types and other dragons can hope to take this thing down, because whoa.
• I do find it hilarious that it's actually one of the more expressive Ultra Beasts. Like it gets really sad when you don't give it a treat in Pokemon Refresh.
• ... That and they specifically state that this thing doesn't poop but instead converts everything it eats into energy. I... yeah, you do you.

Overall rating: **********

-

[Uses the same theme as Solgaleo and Lunala]

#800: Necrozma
Type:
Ability: Prism Armor
Appearances:

• Normal

Stats of final evolution: 600 (97, 107, 101, 127, 89, 79)
Additional forms?: N/A
Thoughts:

• Another Ultra Beast?! Wait, no... This is a Pokemon, but it sure fooled me!
• It shares their otherworldly design aesthetic and is this super cool pitch-black gem monster. Prism Armor is a repurposed Filter/Solid Rock, but Necrozma is one of those Pokemon where that could be very devastating due to their high Special Attack and overall better-than-average bulk.
• It's likely that Necrozma is based off of a black dwarf, the remains of stars after they've burned themselves out. It fits with their name (death prism in greek) and how they're a more malevolent counterpart to Solgaleo and Lunala that shoots lasers indiscriminately (they share the same theme).
• If you look at this thing from behind, it looks like a decapitated black dragon's head. Neat.
• The interesting thing is that Shiny Minior have the same color and pattern as Necrozma... could there be a connection?

Overall rating: **********

-

#801: Magearna
Type: /
Ability: Soul-Heart
Appearances:

• Normal
• Original Color

Stats of final evolution: 600 (80, 95, 115, 130, 115, 65)
Additional forms?: One

• Original Color (Introduced in Sun and Moon but currently unreleased): Purely cosmetic difference. Magearna's original appearance from years ago.

Thoughts:

• It is really hard to decide who I like more - Diancie or Magearna? They're both stellar Pokemon and are tied for first place as the best cute legendaries introduced in the series... but Magearna edges them all out a bit.
• First of all, this thing is a lovely little robot rabbit maid. It's especially adorable when their little ears twitch.
• Second, there's their battle capacity - Magearna may look cute, but they are unbelievably fearsome when you get them started. 130 special attack with those defenses and 80 health? Bruh.
• To make matters worse, there's Magearna's Soul-Heart ability - it allows them to get free Special Attack boosts from anything that has fallen in battle... so if you're on a kill streak, you could be so overpowered that nobody can do anything to stop you.
• Fleur Cannon is Magearna's unique move in that they shoot a super powerful pink laser... that lowers their Special Attack by two stages. Well, one, because it's likely that Fleur Cannon will straight up murder the opponent.
• It makes me wonder - who built Magearna? How did they create what is essentially a Pokemon powered by the Philosopher's Stone? (Also the original color is beast. The fact the Shiny is an Ultra Ball is great.)

Overall rating: **********

-

#802: Marshadow
Type: /
Ability: Technician
Appearances:

• Normal?

Stats of final evolution: 600 (90, 125, 80, 90, 90, 125)
Additional forms?: ???
Thoughts:

• Marshadow may not be released yet, but just from how this little guy looks... I am already in love with them. The typing, the speed and the attack make them out to be the Banette I always wanted.
• Plus, they're a martial arts ghost with the cutest little sullen face and limbs. It's great.
• They also have their own unique Z-Move called Soul-Stealing 7-Star Strike, which sounds uber badass and I want to use it myself but... again, not released yet.

Overall rating: *********

I'll admit, the Alolan Forms are something I'm not 100% on. I like Mega Evolutions and I hope they continue the trend with that, but right now they're focusing on Z-Crystals and Z-Moves. (Which I can appreciate due to them being compatible with every Pokemon instead of just a few)

I like how Alola has regional variants of old Pokemon with different types, but I hate how they're only Gen 1 Pokemon, there's not that many of them and baffled by how weak the changes are. (The most is +10 as opposed to Mega Evolution which is 100+)

Still, let's recap, shall we?

#019 - 020: Alolan Raticate family

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variants.

Additional thoughts:

• I don't have much other than a chuckle for how silly their cheeks look.

Individual rating: ******

-

#026: Alolan Raichu

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variant.

Additional thoughts:

• Out of every Alolan form they've introduced, Alolan Raichu is pretty great. I don't like how they swapped out Lightning Rod for Surge Surfer, but Surge Surfer doubles your speed when Electric Terrain is out. Given how teams tend to sport Tapu Koko on them, that's actually really effective.

Individual rating: ********

-

#027 - 028: Alolan Sandshrew family

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variants.

Additional thoughts:

• In hindsight, how do they become Ice and Steel again? Sure, they went up an icy mountain, but how do you explain the steel part? I dunno.

Individual rating: *****

-

#037 - 038: Alolan Ninetales family

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variants.

Additional thoughts:

• Best Alolan form. Aurora Veil is fantastic when they use it, and their stat boost is the only one that went towards the right place. (Speed)

Individual rating: *********

-

#050 - 051: Alolan Dugtrio family

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variants.

Additional thoughts:

• It's literally Pele from Hawaiian mythology. No seriously, Alolan Dugtrio is described as the reincarnation of a feminine earth spirit... and who else has a head of hair full of stuff called Pele's Hair?

Individual rating: *******

-

#052 - 053: Alolan Persian family

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variants.

Additional thoughts:

• Fur Coat makes this thing a beast.

Individual rating: *******

-

#074 - 076: Alolan Golem family

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variants.

Additional thoughts:

• Galvanize is a great ability and I wish more Pokemon can have it. An electified Facade from this thing is killer.

Individual rating: *******

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#088 - 089: Alolan Muk family

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variants.

Additional thoughts:

• Imagine how much more badass the Dark typing will make them now that they're out of a fatal Psychic weakness.
• I'm curious as to how Power of Alchemy will work since it's more of a Double Battle thing.

Individual rating: ********

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#103: Alolan Exeggutor

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variant.

Additional thoughts:

• After thinking about it, Alolan Exeggutor is pretty silly... still, when this thing can harvest a million Sitrus Berries and slam its giraffe neck to crush lesser Pokemon, I just have to laugh like a madman.

Individual rating: *******

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#105: Alolan Marowak

Already covered in Gen 1 along with their normal variant.

Additional thoughts:

• Alolan Marowak is not only badass but they're a great fighter. Lightning Rod, Shadow Bone and their Ghost/Fire typing make them a joy to use.

Individual rating: ********

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Well... we made it, guys. That's all 802+ Pokemon, all before the 20th Anniversary ended.

It really is amazing that this series has lasted for 20 years - the amount of love and dedication that goes into keeping this series alive is amazing and I'm glad to be part of it.