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

You spin me right round, baby~ Today's Pokemon of the Day is Hitmontop! The third evolution of Tyrogue, Hitmontop is by far the most irritating of the three to obtain, requiring Tyrogue's attack and defense stats to be equal upon reaching Level 20. Unlike its two brethren introduced in the Generation prior, Hitmontop does not derive its name from a famous martial artist. It does, however, have a signature move in Triple Kick, and a niche as a defensive Rapid Spinner...which makes sense because, y'know, it spins. It can also learn more priority moves than any other Pokemon, so there are plenty of options. In the anime, a Hitmontop is owned by Hutch--sorry, Butch, of Team Rocket. Tierno also owns one.

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

• How easy did you find it to evolve Tyrogue into Hitmontop?
• Hitmontop is a male-only species with no female counterpart. What do you think a female counterpart would be like?

What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes. Today's Pokemon of the Day is Alakazam! A Pokemon with an IQ that exceeds 5000 - which begs the question why it allows itself to be confined in a small ball and commanded by a ten-year-old - Alakazam is and always has been a heavy-hitter, with a terrifying Special Attack stat (the highest of all non-Legendary Pokemon in its Mega-evolved state, in fact) and a passable Speed stat that make it a very serious threat...to most things. One of many first-generation Pokemon that could only evolve via trading - making it extremely annoying back in the days of link cables - Alakazam also received a Mega Evolution alongside its traditional counterpart/rival Gengar in Generation VI, where it gained a beard (females included!) and a lot more spoons. Alakazam has made many anime appearances, although its most famous one was arguably when a giant one appeared in the first season to battle a Gengar...and be knocked out by a giant Jigglypuff. Dawn's rival Kenny also owns one.

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

• Alakazam vs. Gengar: which is the better Pokemon?
• So...if Alakazam is so smart, why isn't it running the world?

Green, black and blue, make the colours in the sky~ Today's Pokemon of the Day is Vivillon! The only bug-type Pokemon introduced in Generation VI - and, surprise surprise, it's a weaker early-route one! - Vivillon is the bane of collectors everywhere, given that it has twenty different patterns and the one you will get will depend on your geographical location. Despite its generally weak stats, it has access to Quiver Dance and Hurricane, is the only fully-evolved Pokemon that can have Friend Guard as an ability, and it also has a signature move in Powder, so there is a lot to be said for it. In the anime, a Meadow Pattern Vivillon was Gym Leader Viola's ace Pokemon (although her Surskit was generally more impressive) and several other patterns have appeared as minor cameos.

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

• Which Vivillon pattern is your favourite? Which one did you get in your game?
• Would you like to see more Vivillon patterns in Pokemon Sun and Moon? What sort of colours/design would you like to see?

It's the 4th of July, so today's Pokemon of the Day is Braviary! A very American Pokemon if ever there was one: inspired by the bald eagle, a colour scheme of red, white, and blue, a male-only species of "soldiers of the sky", and extremely aggressive (although only for noble reasons, of course) Braviary was introduced in the fifth generation, and represents August in the Unova horoscope for some reason. Unfortunately, it is rather underwhelming in a competitive battling scenario, being better used in lower tiers. In the anime, Braviary has only appeared a few times, and never in a major role: one was defeated by Stephan's Zebstrika in the Unova League, and another swooped in to save the day when Ash and friends, along with N, were being accosted by Team Plasma Grunts.

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

• What do you think of Braviary's design? Do you think it is a good representation of America?
• Was Braviary's exclusivity a factor in which version of the fifth generation titles you decided to play?

The Moon Stone is an awesome boulder, a million years old or even older! Today's Pokemon of the Day is Clefairy! Originally intended to be the mascot of the entire franchise before Pikachu proved to be so popular amongst fans, Clefairy was intended to be Ash's starter Pokemon to mirror the Pokemon Pocket Monsters manga. However, things didn't work out, and so the adorably pink puffball thing has had to settle for a pre-evolution in Cleffa (which Pikachu got in Pichu) and a re-classification to Normal/Fairy...and being the base model for the Poke Doll item, which allows you to escape from battles. How the mighty have fallen. In the anime, Clefairy appeared very early on whilst Ash and friends were passing through Mt. Moon, and a group of kleptomaniac Clefairy tried to build a spaceship out of various things borrowed from the townspeople...it worked out as well as could be expected. Unfortunately for the leader, it met Jigglypuff. Whitney also had one.

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

• Do you think Clefairy would have made a better mascot for Pokemon than Pikachu? Where do you think the franchise would be if this had happened?
• How quickly did you find a Clefairy in Mt. Moon?

Hear no evil. Today's Pokemon of the Day is Simisear! One of the three elemental monkeys of Generation V, Simisear is actually the most disliked, to the point that it actually ranked last on a recent Japanese poll to decide what would be distributed at the nineteenth movie showings...needless to say, it won't be showing up anytime soon. Despite this, it has reasonable stats and access to Nasty Plot, meaning it makes for a good special attack sweeper in lower tiers. In the anime, Simisear's only major appearance was in an antagonistic role, after it was knocked out of a tree by Iris' Emolga. Needless to say, it wasn't particularly happy about it. A few trainers have used one, although nobody of consequence entertains the idea of having one either.

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

• What do you think about Simisear ranking LAST on a poll - is it really that bad of a Pokemon, in your opinion?
• Were you given Pansear in Pokemon Black/White and, if so, did you evolve it into Simisear and use it? If not, was it a Pokemon that you wanted?

The Stone of Cold Fire will be mine! Today's Pokemon of the Day is Aerodactyl! One of the fossil Pokemon of the first generation, revived from Old Amber, which you could get regardless of version and saved you the agonizing choice of that or something else. Aerodactyl is to date the only fossil Pokemon that has no evolution or pre-evolution, but did receive a Mega Evolution in Generation VI, making it far more useful than any fossil Pokemon to date...and, even before that, it made an excellent lead. Despite being inspired by pterosaurs, Aerodactyl's name was actually the inspiration for the aerodactylus, a genus of pterosaur discovered after its creation, making it something of a Stand Alone Complex. Despite being described as a savage predator, the anime later showed an Aerodactyl consuming fruit of all things...that said, its first appearance in the anime, alongside the other fossil Pokemon of the first generation, saw it in an extremely bad mood due to being woken up.

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

• Would you have preferred Aerodactyl to have been a third standard fossil, or did you like its single stage design? Would you like to see more single stage fossil Pokemon similar to it in the future?
• What did you think of Mega Aerodactyl when it was released in Generation VI compared to other Mega Evolutions? Did it need or deserve a Mega, and has it done the Pokemon any favours competitively in your opinion?

You gotta stop, and look, and you'll be King of the Road~ Today's Pokemon of the Day is Chespin! One of the three Kalos starters, alongside Fennekin and Froakie, Chespin has that typical agreeable and optimistic grass-type personality, although that is about all it shares in common with the other grass-type starters. It is the first (and currently only) grass-type to be based on a mammal, with all others being based upon reptiles - or, in Rowlet's case, a bird - and is also the only grass-type starter not to be owned by Ash in the anime. Apparently, it draws its inspiration from the Warrior class in classic RPGs. In the anime, Chespin is owned instead by Clemont, one of his travelling companions and an electric-type Gym Leader. Mairin, a companion of Alain's in the Mega Evolution specials, also had one.

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

• What do you think of Chespin's design? Would you like to see more grass-type starters based on mammals in the future?
• Did you choose Chespin in X/Y? Why/why not?