Pok?mon of the Day - Dratini (163/???) [being remade]

"A legendary bird Pokémon that is said to appear from clouds while dropping enormous lightning bolts."

5...4...3...2...1. Thunderbirds are go! Today's Pokemon of the Day is Zapdos! A dual electric/flying-type Pokemon that looks a little bit like an oversized yellow Christmas cracker, Zapdos is one of the three Legendary Birds, and is also the only one that is actually useful in competitive play. Paradoxically, it gains power when struck by lightning, whereas any other flying-type would light up like Moltres before dropping from the sky like a stone...one of the many advantages of being based off a thunderbird. As well as being the most useful of the three competitively, Zapdos can also be obtained the earliest in the original games, requiring only three badges before players can surf on over to the power plant...and, at that point, get blasted by a Legendary several levels higher than their team. Zapdos has appeared several times in the anime in minor roles since its defining moment in the second Pokemon movie, where it was seen giving a good account of itself battling the other Legendary Birds and Lugia...after it was unceremoniously captured by a lunatic in a highly impractical flying machine, at any rate.

Share your opinion, memories, and experiences of Zapdos! As well as the general questions in the first post of this topic, here are some fun things to think about:

• In your opinion, how does Zapdos compare to the other two Legendary Birds?
• Whilst Zapdos was found in a fixed location in the original games, in later titles it has been a roaming Legendary. What did you think of this change in location? Is there a location in the games where you could obtain Zapdos that you would have had it stay at?

"When alone, nothing happens. However, if there are two or more, an odd power is said to emerge."

I haven't seen this many strange letters since the last time I placed a personal ad... Today's Pokemon of the Day is Unown! A mysterious Pokemon that lives in its own dimension, save for when it occasionally leaves it to twist the dreams of little girls - although it does not form contracts with them to do so, thank Arceus - there are twenty-eight different variations of Unown: one for each character of the Latin alphabet, plus the ! and ? symbols. Because those are, of course, essential to proper communication, and form the majority of punctuation for Pokemon's main target audience of young children. Extremely viable competitively with their fantastically varied moveset of one move, Hidden Power, Unown is perhaps the developer's subtle jab at completionists, as collecting them all has always been a long, infuriating exercise in patience. In the anime, Unown's only major appearance was in the third movie, where a large group of them spent most of the film floating in a sphere, chanting their name in a not-quite-satanic ritual. Most ancient writings are also written in Unown...in Japanese.

Share your opinion, memories, and experiences of Unown! As well as the general questions in the first post of this topic, here are some fun things to think about:

• Which do you think came first: ancient writings, or Unown?
• Have you ever caught all of Unown's different forms? Is this something you would want to do in the future?
• If you had to create a new Unown, what character would you base it off?

"Its flame is usually out, but it starts shining when it absorbs life force from people or Pokémon."

Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie, and we'll provide the rest! Today's Pokemon of the Day is Litwick! A perpetually melting candle Pokemon, Litwick has something of a dilemma on its metaphorical hands: it needs life energy, which it gets by drawing it in from the flame atop its head. But the more life force it burns this way, the more (presumably) that it melts. This, like many other illogical happenings in the Pokemon World, is addressed simply by being ignored, so it shall forever remain a mystery. The only Ghost/Fire type to date, Litwick and its evolutions were horribly nerfed by the replacement of its Shadow Tag hidden ability with the sub-par Infiltrator, although its abysmally low speed make it a nice Pokemon for Trick Room-centric teams. In the anime Litwick has only made one major appearance, in which it attempted to take Ash and friends to the mysterious Ghost World that all Ghost Pokemon these days seem to want to take humans...unlike back in the days of the original series where they'd just drop chandeliers (Chandelure?) on them and forcibly separate spirit from body.

Share your opinion, memories, and experiences of Litwick! As well as the general questions in the first post of this topic, here are some fun things to think about:

• As Litwick is a ghost-type Pokemon, it is tecnically already dead...so, what happens when Litwick melts entirely?
• Do you think there are different scented Litwick? What scent would you want yours to have?

"Its heart beats at a tenfold tempo, so it cannot sit still even for a moment."

Get your stinkin' paws off me, you damn dirty ape! Today's Pokemon of the Day is Vigoroth! The evolved form of Slakoth, Vigoroth is the odd one out in the family - where is pre-evolution and evolution are always sleeping, it is always moving. As its heart beats so quickly, it is constantly stressed, and can't even sleep at night...making it highly relatable to anyone in their mid-20s who has just started working. Unsurprisingly, its ability is Vital Spirit, preventing sleep and reflecting its all-consuming insomnia. In the anime, Vigoroth appeared under the control of Norman, where it defeated Ash's Torkoal when used but drew against Pikachu due to lucking out with Static...because no matter how much you need to move, paralysis is paralysis.

Share your opinion, memories, and experiences of Vigoroth! As well as the general questions in the first post of this topic, here are some fun things to think about:

• Vigoroth is the complete opposite of Slakoth and Slaking. How do you think it manages to get so much energy when it evolves from Slakoth, and why do you think it slows down when it evolves again?
• Would you have liked to have had a more active evolution for Vigoroth? How would you have designed this to look different from Slaking?

"Storing energy for evolution, it sits. But, when predators approach, it moves to stab them with poison spikes."

Rolling around at the speed of sound, got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow~ Today's Pokemon of the Day is Whirlipede! The evolved form of Venipede and yet anoter Bug/Poison Pokemon in a ridiculously long line of them, Whirlipede is, roughly, what you'd get if you crossed a bug Pokemon with a car tire. It likes to roll around at high speeds, and stab anything that gets too close to it with its poisonous spikes. Lovely. In the Generation V games, Whirlipede had the hidden ability Quick Feet...despite not having any feet. Huh. This was later rectified in Generation VI, where it was given the much more appropriate Speed Boost. In the anime, Whirlipede made its debut under the ownership of Burgh, where it was summarily thrashed by Ash's Swadloon in a classic anime case of complete disregard for type advantage.

Share your opinion, memories, and experiences of Whirlipede! As well as the general questions in the first post of this topic, here are some fun things to think about:

• What do you suppose Whirlipede would look like if you uncoiled its body? Does it have a small core of some sort inside, or is it all shell and gooey innards?
• As Whirlipede is storing energy for evolution by remaining motionless, do you think a Whirlipede just about to evolve be able to stop its evolution by moving about at high speeds?