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TY’s to do list

Trainer Yusuf — Sun, 19 May 2013 08:04:44 GMT

Hello humanoid beings. As you know, I currently have a very busy schedule. So I decided, why not share what I want to do? It is not like I will accomplish anything any time soon. Besides, I need to list these or otherwise I will forget them.

Blog projects.

1-List of currently unavailable, event-only and alternate canon moves for Pokémon(Undefined)
Status: Currently in progress
This is a massive list I’m currently working on. I’m not sure how I will release it. I might do it as a blog series(though that will be far to large) or distribute it as a text document.
I will probably use some of it to mention the wiki errors in the errors or the suggestions thread, though.

2-The team themes of anime characters’ parties(Blog series)
Status: WIP. On hiatus until summer.
This is something I wanted to do for a while and it was pushed a bit forward with Gotpika’s suggestion. This is going to be very long, slow and personally, quite satisfying. Obviously I will ban certain characters, but others will be open to suggestions. I might also do one for the game characters much later on.

3-The list of Gen VI Pokémon merchandise released or confirmed before the release of X/Y.(Blog post)
Status: N/A.
Pre-release merchandise is a very poorly researched topic and I can't think of a better time than the current period, when they are trying to milk the hell out of the “word-of-mouth” aspects of the social media and the internet hype machine.

4-What to least expect from any X ever?(Blog series)
Current status: Generation and Anime Series are WIP and under hiatus. I am not sure if I will do anything else except maybe Main Region and Gameplay Aspects
Yes, Pokémon is a cyclic series(as in, in most well known canons) and I am going to prove it. Sort of. This will be a series that will list common tropes that appear about the topic. I find this important because I am really sick and tired of the farfetched fakes and rumors. Hopefully, this blog will allow more grounded conversations than sheer insanity.

5-April Fools Special Dub Comparison(Blog post)
Status: Lost. On hiatus.
A promise I made to Iteru more than a year ago, hopefully I will manage to write it up in summer and post it next April Fools.

6-Blog Special- Why Iris is the perfect heroine and will continue to stay in the series, a tribute to MisterUrban.(Blog post)
Status: N/A.
A very obvious fact based on the discussions within various different communities and the excessive research of the current marketing trends and fan responses, this blog will also serve as a tribute to a great poster who met an ill fate as it was viciously attacked by the conservative parents of Bulbagarden, who he affectionately referred as “ scavenging members of Aves class”(citation needed).

7-My gripes with the fandom(Blog series)
Status: N/A.
Yeah... this is going to be big. Some of the ones I plan to make are;
a-Why you should stop considering Ninetales as a Disney supporting animal character and start considering it as a demonic, hateful seductress(or seducer).(Needs a smaller title)
b-The conceptional, flavor-wise and practical importance of BST and why the “BST is nothing” is a worse myth than “IV is nothing”.
c- Why the fandom's preferences are its greatest enemy(probably will become a mini-series of sorts).
D- Why homogenization of the communities is killing the forums and the real importance of bashing.(Probably I will use a less controversial title, because this sounds like a zealous political debater's speech.)
e- Bibarel, a misunderstood hero.(Needs a more epic title)
f-List of common misunderstandings caused by the localization errors that people should just look up already.
etc.
Probably this one will start in summer, hopefully anyways.

9-Gen V Battle Simulator Team Dump(Blog post)
Status: Lost. On hiatus until summer.
This will be a dump of the teams that I used on Pokémon Online or Showdown(with comments, of course). Since Showdown lost my updated PO teams, they will probably be in their older form. This will NOT be a RMT.

10-11-Wishlist for future generations(Blog series)
Status: N/A.
This will be a two parted series, one featuring my personal opinions, and other chronicling the fans' opinions. Yes, I am serious about this, though I might just go lazy and just put in talks of the Youtube producers.
Some subsections are:
1-Gameplay changes I want to see.
2-Changes to pre-existing moves and abilities I want to see.
3-New Pokémon ideas I want to see
etc.
And their respective counterparts for fandom opinions.

Elsewhere Blog(All of it N/A)
1-Fantastic Fan Works(Blog series)
Status: N/A.
A list of reviews, gushing and riffing of fan projects that I liked, abandoned or not.
The works that are definitely going to be on the list:
-Persian's Tale of Giovanni
-Pokémon Legends
-Puella Magi Homura Magica(correct sp?)
The writers and artists that are definitely going to be on the list:
-Blackjack Gabbiani
-Bummerdude(Rare Candy Treatment)

2-Fantastic Online Works(Blog Series)
The works that are definitely going to be on the list:
Opey the Warhead(seriously)
I will need to reread this one from start to last though.

3-Symbolic and contextual analysis of Madoka witches.(Blog Series)

4-Symbolic and contextual analysis of NGE Angels(TV series until movie series is finished and last updated rerelease is released).(Blog Series)
Boy these two are gonna be fun.

6-Teen Titans(TV Show) Marathon Opinions(Blog Miniseries)

Future Undefined stuff

1-Other in-depth character analyses perhaps?
2-A doodle blog or tumblr.
3-An ask tumblr?
4-A blog series about the character designs' analyses(anime and/or games)?
5-Losing weight.
6-Redesigns and humanized doodles?
7-Other TR dub comparisons?

Other suggestions are welcome.

The Potential List of Sources of Future Baby Pokémon

Trainer Yusuf — Sat, 04 May 2013 16:43:46 GMT

I don't think there is much question here. All of the generations that contained past Pokémon pre-E4 contained baby Pokémon. In fact, here's the list of the stats:
Gen 2 introduced 7 baby Pokémon for pre-existing Pokémon and 1 original baby.
Gen 3 introduced 2 baby Pokémon for pre-existing Pokémon.
Gen 4 introduced 7 baby Pokémon for pre-existing Pokémon and 1 original baby.

With this fantastic results, it is hard to be optimistic. If anything, only place of solace we have is the fact that we haven't seen a baby Pokémon as a part of the pre-release bunch, but even then, it took a while for Elekid to show up. Now that's over with, let's discuss the tropes of the baby Pokémon.

So, just what is the purpose Baby Pokémon?
In addition to being worthless marketing mechanisms for both the release of the games and other parallel canons, baby Pokémon also allow these to happen:
1-They allow Pokémon to have various different moves, be it Egg moves or leveling up moves.
2-They allow trainers to obtain their evolutions in an earlier stage.
3-They either herald the increased encounter rate and location number of rare or one-time only Pokémon, or are the reason why they can be commonly obtained.
4-They allow regions to use pre-existing Pokémon as their own Pokémon(either as an eary route, mid route or post game Pokémon) and not introduce original families.
5-They give the illusion of previous first stagers to be acted as second stage Pokémon, even if they are still just as pathetic or useful as they were before.
6-They disallow trainers to obtain Pokémon that is far too powerful without any sort of training or effort, as they require specific gimmicks to evolve(though this is mostly due to continuity issues).

Okay, so that's that. Is there any rhyme or reason behind the power levels of babyfied Pokémon?

Not really. So far, we have seen various different shapes and forms of parents for the infants. The lowest current BST of the Pokémon with a pre-evolution is Marill's, with a stunning 250, and Jigglypuff, with a 270, is a close second. As for the singular Pokémon, lowest BST record is Roselia's 400, followed by Wobbuffet's 405. The highest are Chansey's (450) followed by Clefairy's(323), and Snorlax's(540) followed by Lucario's(525) respectively.

Obviously, the lowest have been been repurposed. Roselia was given the duty of being an early route Pokémon for Sinnoh, and thus like the other early route Pokémon of Sinnoh was insanely powerful compared to its pathetic brethen as Gen IV's theme was attemping to become “the ultimate Pokémon game”. Similiarly, Marill, Jigglypuff and Clefairy was used for showcasing later generations newly introduced gameplay changes. Marill was given the Thick Fat ability and Huge Power secondary Ability, Clefairy was given the Magic Guard secondary Ability and later on Friend Guard Hidden Ability, and Jigglypuff was also given the Friend Guard Hidden Ability.

Well, that's random. Are there other variables that help determine what can be babyfied?
Certainly. Currently seven of the Pokémon that have been given infant forms are in the Fairy Egg group, whereas six of them are in the Human-Like group. This has a few reasons:
1-The Pokémon in the Fairy Egg group are generally powerless support Pokémon that are mostly created to appeal to a female audience, or made to appeal both boys and girls. As such, they benefit from an increased enconter rate and larger support movepool, as it makes obtaining them not a waste of time, at least early on.

The Pokémon in the Human-Like group on the other hand are either powerful early-game Pokémon that require excessive effort to increase their potential or mediocre mid-game Pokémon, as such they will also benefit from being available early on or being not a hassle to be obtained and disposed of easily when they can't simply compete further.

2-These Pokémon have more closer shape to plushies and humans respectively, as such they can be more marketable when they are transformed into babies. There are specific factors of cuteness and is surprisingly employed more by Western media than Japanese, just much more subtly.

In addition this:
1-Many of the Pokémon with counterparts had babies after or along with their counterparts.

2-If the Pokémon is completely infant-like, that also decreases the potential, just not much.

3-Generally the Pokémon who are created as a joke or fill a specific gameplay role do not obtain pre-evolutions, or at the least, haven't obtained until now.

4-Singular stagers or Pokémon who were originally first stagers have dominance over two stagers.

5-There haven't been any genderless Pokémon with a baby, though it is most certainly possible to have a genderless Pokémon that gives an Egg which hatches to a different Pokémon than itself, obviously. Same goes for Fossil Pokémon.

Now, let's get to the list. The Pokémon are divided into categories they were in their debut games, not other games, as they can't be called direct counterparts to the Pokémon with baby Pokémon.

Single-stagers and Pokémon who were previously single stagers:

Joke Pokémon:
Farfetch'd
Unown
Dunsparce
Delibird
Spinda
Stunfisk

Honorary mentions:
Qwilfish
Girafarig
Stantler
Phione

Pikachu clones:
Pikachu clones in general are created to be child-like figures, which makes the idea of them having an infant form confusing. However, other elemental counterparts of Pikachu have gained pre-evolutions, such as Jigglypuff/Clefairy and Marill, which makes this a non-issue.
Plusle
Minun
Pachirisu
Emolga

Pokémon created specifically for gameplay mechanics:
Ditto
Shuckle
Smeargle
Castform
Kecleon*
Chatot

Genderless Pokémon:
Lunatone
Solrock
Rotom
Sigilyph
Cryogonal

Fossil Pokémon:
Aerodatcyl

Honorary mention:
Relicanth.

Pokémon with counterparts that got pre-evolutions:

Hitmontop-Hitmonlee-Hitmonchan's counterparts:
Sawk
Throh

Roselia's counterparts:
Tropius
Carnivine
Maractus

Mantine's counterpart:
Skarmory

Chansey's counterpart:
Audino

Honorary mention:
Alomomola

Other previously rare Pokémon:

Rare Safari Zone Pokémon(much like Chansey):
Scyther(-Scizor)
Pinsir
Kangaskhan
Tauros

Trade-only Pokémon(much like Jynx and Mr. Mime)
Lickitung(-Lickilicky)

Other single stagers:
Lapras
Heracross
Corsola
Miltank
Sableye
Mawile
Volbeat
Illumise
Torkoal
Seviper
Zangoose
Absol
Spiritomb
Basculin
Druddigon
Boufallant
Heatmor
Durant

Other previously single-stagers:
Onix-Steelix
Tangela-Tangrowth
Aipom-Ambipom
Yanma-Yanmega
Murkrow-Honchkrow
Misdreavus-Mismagius
Gligar-Gliscor
Sneasel-Weavile
Nosepass-Probopass

Two-stagers

Fossil Pokémon:
Omanyte-Omastar
Kabuto-Kobutops
Lileep-Cradily
Anorith-Armaldo
Cradily-Rampardos
Shieldon-Bastiodon

Genderless Pokémon:
Voltorb-Electrode
Baltoy-Claydol
Bronzor-Bronzong
Golett-Golurk

Pokémon with counterparts that got pre-evolutions:
Pikachu, Clefairy, Jigglypuff and Marill's counterpart:
Minccino(-Cinccino)

Note: Members of this line are much more common than their counterparts.

Other Pokémon allowed in Amity Square(and thus are considered cute by the developers):
Psyduck(-Golduck)**
Shroomish(-Breloom)
Skitty(-Delcatty)
Drifloon(-Drifblim)
Buneary(-Lopunny)

Other Fairy Egg group Pokémon:
Snubbull-Granbull
Snorunt-Glalie/Froslass
Cherubi-Cherrim
Cottonee-Whimsicott

Other Human-Like Egg group Pokémon:
Drowzee-Hypno
Makuhita-Hariyama
Meditite-Medicham
Cacnea-Cacturne
Croagunk-Toxicroak
Elgyem-Beheeyem
Mienfoo-Mienshao
Pawniard-Bisharp

Everything else is much more debatable. But let's discuss some of them:
-Eevee already shares many traits with other baby Pokémon.
-Popular Pokémon such as Vulpix, Growlithe and Petilil already share visual traits with baby Pokémon, featured along with them in various merchandise and are early route Pokémon, though hadn't stopped them before. Same goes for Deerling, Cubchoo and Teddiursa.
-Sandslash and Sandshrew are visually similiar to Pikachu-line, but any conclusions can't be made.
-Meowth is sort of a counterpart to Pikachu, especially due to their animé incarnations' interactions with each other, but in games this is much more shaky.
-Elemental monkeys are pseudo-mascots of Gen V and have been made secondary starters in Gen V games, and this will likely continue, but I can hardly think of anything besides a secondary Tyrogue-esque baby.
-Munna is the mascot of Dream World, and it is large enough to have a baby, but I much prefer to dream a psychedelic Musharna evolution that will never happen. But yes, it is possible I guess.
-Other common determinators for generically cute Pokémon can be the ones with high female to male ratio, and ones that obtain Splash, Fake Tears, Attract, Charm and Captivate through leveling up or breeding, though this is a minimal factor compared to initial and current rarity of a Pokémon. Cute Charm, is of course a no brainer as well.
-Currently there hasn't been any baby Pokémon to a Pokémon that initially had a non-tall grass/surf/fishing method of obtaining that weren't given out as an Egg, were given away, didn't appear in a Safari Zone/was a Casino prize, were given in a trade or were interactable in the overworld. This includes Headbutt Pokémon, Rock Smash Pokémon, Honey tree Pokémon, dust cloud Pokémon, flying Pokémon's shadow Pokémon and others.

*It should be mentioned that Kecleon fullified the duty of a road block Pokémon, much like Sudowoodo and Snorlax, who obtained pre-evolutions. However, this Kecleon opted to flee instead.
**Psyduck served a similar purpose in D/P/Pt, but they also fled instead.

The Plot Thickens... Not Really, No.

Trainer Yusuf — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:30:16 GMT

Well, this is quite fabulous.

Outsourcing for Dream Radar Information(TPCi contact info needed)

Trainer Yusuf — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 07:24:25 GMT

Hello people, welcome to di- do my bidding.

As you know, Dream Radar contains three special extensions so far. However, Pokéjungle's NL claimed that he heard there were 7 in total in the first Smash announcement regarding them. To this date, we have not got a follow up regarding that.

Because of this I ask users who have accounts in the Pokémon Trainer Club, or people who have any contact information to ask this(as offical website doesn't have any and is only forwarding to you to make an account, which I am too old to make at this point). Can you ask if there are more than 3 extensions and if there are, how many are there and will they announce how to obtain them? Or if you have information regarding the episode, can you confirm or deny this? If nobody is able to do this, of course I would swallow my "man" pride and do it myself, but I would like to keep my pride as long as possible.

Of course, I would like to have some actual confirmation, not speculation. So please be considerate about that.

Evolutions for?... Part 2-6: The Filler Post While I Prepare for Something Else.

Trainer Yusuf — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:55:31 GMT

The last part. Hopefully.

“Far away, across the field, tolling on the iron bell”-Late Game Pokémon

I originally intended go with middle route Pokémon, but some are dangerously close to being early route Pokémon and the list would be too large and full of “Maybe?” These are far less complicated to tackle, as they are intended to be competitively viable over other Pokémon(at least the ones in their region). As most of late game Kanto Pokémon have already handled, we will start with “Johto” ones(Gen II would more correct for obvious reasons).

Teddiursa and Ursaring

Arguably the Rhydon of the Generation II, despite its immense body size, it is compeletely about pure raw power and not much about defense. Teddiursa is yet another playschool inspired Pokémon from Johto that was never milked off properly. Thankfully, Cubchoo is milked off better.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Ursaring and Teddiursa changed their exclusive version with Phanpy and Donphan during localization. In addition, both of Ursaring's primary abilities are related to status effects.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution?Ursaring has always been a massively powerful Pokémon that is often outclassed by other easier to use Pokémon. It was given Quick Feet to give it the Speed it needs in Gen IV, which allowed it to be a solid, but underappreciated UU Pokémon. Nowadays, there are much, much powerful beasts roaming around them metagame, and its massive offensive power can now be matched by the butt of generation change jokes, Flareon. Even in its tier it found two powerful adversaries in the form of Cinccino and its previous second banana, Zangoose. While it is still a beast, so is everyone else. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use it in its environment, but there are more sophisticated Pokémon with similiar power, just not quite the same power.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of. Many past competitvely viable Pokémon with low stats that couldn't match the current nature of the game gained evolutions, and with its 500 BST, Ursaring has some semblance of a chance. Even then, the maximum amount of total stat boost it might get is 40, which is meaningless unless its entire stat structure was reshaped, or at least some corners were cut as it was the case with Magmortar and Electivire. So it might not quite forced to have an anti-thesis evolution, but the situation is still pretty close, and would the best case scenario as with Eviolite Ursaring would get a very good bulk.

Houndour and Houndoom

Yet another Gen II Pokémon with unique typing combination that you can't get until you pretty much finish the game, Houndoom and Houndour stand as the only Dark type Pokémon that fit the Christian concept of evil(as a result of demonization of pagan and polytheistic European religions' symbols), even if all Dark types have evil in their nature and design. I blame the current media for making people think causing distress with small pranks amongst people is not a bad thing objectively because it is not an obviously amoral thing like being a serial killer and such.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Houndour line is such a late game Pokémon, only games to obtain them before the end of the game are XD and Platinum. This is actually a thing. They also have a unique typing combination and they often been presented as counterparts to Mightyena and Poochyena, even if those two are some of the worst early-route Pokémon, competitively and in-game.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Houndoom was originally one of the most powerful users of Nasty Plot, making it the prime user of the move in Gen IV UU. It was a very strong Pokémon in previous generations as well. However, in Gen V, many powerful special attackers appeared and previously powerful Special attackers got major boosts. And Houndoom got its new rival, Zoroark, the new hot doggie that could do everything it could do. While Houndoom still has access to Fire Blast and a better Special bulk, its primary niche is its ability, Flash Fire, but even then there is competition in form of Chandelure and Arcanine(though latter is primarily used defensive). Even though Houndoom enjoys the current overabundance of Fire-types due to Flash Fire, it has also very few perks to distinguish itself from others, outside of being really cool(ba-dum-tish).
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of. It briefly became an early-mid route Pokémon for Platinum, and its current counterpart is one of the earliest of early route Pokémon, and it has a high 505 BST. These all mean that the same rules for Ursaring apply to Houndoom, but Houndoom might have a slightly lower chance of succeeding and a higher chance of being ultimately discarded by developers and become a new Golduck for next gens. That is, compared to Ursaring, which is still probably better than what most Pokémon can boast.

Phanpy and Donphan

If Ursaring is Rhydon, Donphan makes a good Graveler. Much like the ever present rock beasts, Donphan annoys you in the Victory Road. Donphan also has the title of one of the few first Pokémon from Gen II to be showcased before the release of the games both in showcasings and in other media.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? See Ursaring. Phanpy also can't learn any Ground-type moves through level-up and the line are the only Pokémon to get Ice Shard that don't have an Ice type in the evolutionary line.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Yeah. Not amazingly, but yes.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it has a high 500 BST and has never been an early-route Pokémon, Donphan's best chance is to get something that acts completely different than Donphan. Not that it needs that.

Snover and Abomasnow

Affectionately called Obamasnow by the Smogon community, Abomasnow is quite simply the “Tyranitar of Snow”.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Abomasnow and Snover have unique BSTs(494 and 334), unique typing and unique primary ability.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Unlike President Obama, Abomasnow has lost its 6 year long war against usage statistics and dropped to UU. It is exceptionally good there, and its still somewhat good in OU, just not as a top tier Pokémon. Though it was never intended to be, considering its presence in the 7th Gym.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Ursaring.

Mienfoo and Mienshao

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Mienfoo and Mienshao are the only Gen V Pokémon that can learn Aura Sphere and Mienfoo is the only unevolved Pokémon to do so naturally. Mienfoo is incapable of learning any claw based moves despite being stated to use them, and Mienshao cannot learn any whipping related move despite being stated to use such techiniques.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Mienshao doesn't have much bussiness in OU despite being usable there, but is a very powerful Pokémon in UU. Considering that it was intended to be a second banana to the likes of Zoroark and Lucario, that is somewhat reasonable, but its low movepool(particularly lack of Nasty Plot and special moves) isn't. In spite of that, thanks to Fake Out and its quard moves it is very good in Doubles.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Ursaring.

Golett and Golurk

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Having a unique typing combination, Golurk is the tallest non-legendary Ghost-type and the heaviest of all Gen V Pokémon that aren't legendaries. It has also the highest Attack of all Ghost-types.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? In NU and RU yes. Elsewhere? No. At least not enough to warrant a yes.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? While it is gigantic in size, its 483 BST is considerably lower than everbody else here. So yes, even if it would be difficult to pull off one. Probably not exceptionally likely though.

Pawniard and Bisharp

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? They are the only Pokémon to have Defiant as a primary Ability, they have a unique type combination and they cannot learn Special moves through leveling-up.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? As a Dark type, Bisharp is obviously a hard Pokémon to use. But yes, it is. It is not worth it(unless Ubers or you play to its strength), but it is.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it has only 490 BST and has a chess motif, it will probably get one, or just weird side evolutions. Ripping off Chessmons ftw.

Rufflet, Braviary, Vullaby and Mandibuzz

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Mandibuzz has the highest HP of all Dark types. It is also impossible to see a Mandibuzz, Vullaby and Rufflet by any trainers(outside of battling facilities) in original B/W, thus it is impossible to get seen data of Mandibuzz in the original White. White 2 changed that, though it is still impossible to get seen data for Vullaby.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Braviary is top tier NU and mid tier RU, whereas Mandibuzz is below mid RU. This is due to Mandibuzz's lack of offensive presence and mediocre defensive typing and abilities. Outside of that they are more or less equal.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As they both have a high 510 BST and are already anti-theses of each other, near none. Only ray of hope they have is the fact that they were originally created without the intention of being counterparts to each other... but that's a long shot. They should try to get their boosts elsewhere.

You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today-Middle Route Pokémon

Let's start wrapping this up quickly. First, let's set some ground rules:
-Any Pokémon you can obtain before the 4th gym without sidetracking is banned.
-Good Rod Pokémon are banned. See Wailord to see why.
-Tentacruel and Jellicent are banned, because really, only Jellicent has a high shot.
-Fossil Pokémon are banned.
-Eevees are banned again.

Ponyta and Rapidash

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Ponyta has the highest BST of all first stage Pokémon that can evolve that weren't originally a single Pokémon. Rapidash is one of the favourite Pokémon of Kanto Pokémon Fan Club President.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Rapidash is surprisingly very good in NU but not useful elsewhere.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Not much. With its high 500 BST and brief run as a early route Pokémon for Sinnoh, Rapidash doesn't seem to have much chance. Best thing it can pull of is to evolve into an all out offensive Pokémon with little to no real defense.

Doduo and Dodrio

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Doduo and Dodrio has been a subject of controversy due to biological mechanics of its aerial capabilities. Dodrio also has a mini-game in FR/LG that requires it to be catched for to be played.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? NO.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of. Dodrio has never been made into an early route Pokémon, and its current prowess is pathetic. It's BST, 460, is very low enough to open some possibilities. However, it is often treated as an early route Pokémon, which is a bit problematic.

Seel and Dewgong

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Seel was incapable of learning Water type moves through level-up until Gen IV. It is also a Water type Pokémon that gains part Ice typing, thus by proxy gains some niches such as having Ice Body ability. Along with Walrein, it is one of the few Pokémon to get a triple resistance with Thick Fat. It also became a counterpart to Walrein by being a version exclusive in Diamond.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? NO.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Being considered as a counterpart to a three staged Pokémon with high BST total might mean that Dewgong is considered to be fully evolved. For everything else, see Dodrio, as Dewgong also has a low BST(475).

Grimer and Muk

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Grimer doesn't change its weight upon evolution and is the only Pokémon to do so except Haunter. Grimer is also capable of getting many Ghost type moves, thanks to being in Amorphous Egg group. They both also have chances of holding Nugget.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution?Thanks to its large movepool, great Special bulk and good Attack, it is quite good in NU.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Not much. Not only Muk has a high 500 BST, it also became a early-mid route Pokémon in both Hoenn's Fiery Path and B2W2's Castelia Sewers.

Shellder and Cloyster

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Outside of their connection to Slowpoke and Shellder starting off as a pure Water type, Cloyster has the biggest Defense stat of all Water and Ice types and Shellder is one of the few Pokémon with Razor Shell. It can also be farmed for Pearls and Big Pearls and is a counterpart to Staryu-line.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Nobody seems to have solid opinion on it, honestly.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As Cloyster has a VERY high 525 BST and it evolves with an evolutionary stone, it has near to no hope.

Krabby and Kingler

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Kingler has the highest Attack of all Water types.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Sort of for NU.. It's special presence is nonexistant, its movepool is very shallow and it doesn't have any helpful abilities. It has raw power, but it is very difficult to setup.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As Kingler has a 475 BST, sort of.

Koffing and Weezing

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Weezing has the highest Defense of all Poison types.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Sort of for NU. It still has very useful moves and good offensive stats for a defensive Pokémon, in addition having a single weakness.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Muk(Weezing's BST is 490 by the way).

Staryu and Starmie
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Staryu could get Egg Moves in original Gold and Silver despite being genderless. Starmie is the fastest of all Water types along with Floatzel. Staryu-line can be farmed for Stardust and Star Piece and is a counterpart to Shellder-line.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? I dunno. Is it?
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Cloyster(Starmie's BST is 520).

Mantyke and Mantine

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Mnatyke has the highest Special Defense of all Pokémon that can evolve. Mantine has the highest Special Defense of all Water type and Flying types, not counting legendaries. Because of havng Remoraid with it originally, Mantyke is the only Pokémon that requires another Pokémon to be in party in game. Mantine and Mantyke has the lowest catch rate of all Pokémon along with its counterpart Skarmory.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Mantine is a very dangerous offensive Rain Dance user and a good wall with Scald and Rest/Sleep Talk in NU.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Mantine has a very low 465 BST and isn't much salvagable for any serious use and is very hard to be obtained, so yes.

Cacnea and Cacturne

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Their Egg Group combination(Grass and Human-Like) is unique and they used to have their signature move Needle Arm until Maractus.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Cacturne is a very good offensive Spiker in NU and a great Swords Dancer.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Cacturne barely qualifies here as it is literally after the 4th Gym, but it does have a low 475 BST. I don't know if it can suffiencently apply its primary niche, abusing Sand Veil, in actual Nintendo hosted competitions in this gen as I don't have any experience regarding that.

Baltoy and Claydol

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Their typing is unique. Claydol also learns the Hyper Beam earliest through level up, at level 36(in its evolution level).
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Claydol used to be top tier(haha, puns) Pokémon, but it struggled in R/S/E OU and in D/P UU. In Gen V, it is considered to be completely ineffectual, partially because its counterpart Bronzong does most of the utility job it does, and has also became UU. Though it is primarily due to its mediocrity mostly brougth by its unfortunate typing.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Ursaring.

Shuppet and Banette

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? No, but they do have interesting background information.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Outside of a suicide Trick Room set, NO.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Considering Dusclops' status as the counterpart to Banette, yes.

Trubbish and Garbodor

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Trubbish and Garbodor are one of the few Pokémon that can learn only two of the three Stockpile moves(they can't Spit Up, much like Munchlax). They are also the only pure Poison types in Gen V and their movepool is very large compared to other Gen V Pokémon(because they are literally made out of random pieces of scraps).
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Thanks to its good bulk and good Speed, Garbodor is the best dual Spiker in NU. That's about it.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Garbodor and Trubbish are literally right after the fourth Gym Leader and is the earliest Poison type that is not part Bug in Unova. While Garbodor does have a very low 474 BST, it is still probably too early to have much hope.

Ferroseed and Ferrothorn
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Despite having genders, they can't learn Attract. Their typing is also unique. Ferroseed cannot learn any Grass-type moves by level-up and is the slowest Grass and Steel type. Ferrothorn is also not used by any in-game trainer in the original Black and White. Ferrothorn's BST(489) is also unique.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? You already know.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of? Ferrothorn surprisingly has a decent 489 BST. Not that it needs one or anything(at least now), but there is potential.

Elgyem and Beheeyem
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? They are the only Pokémon to have Telepathy naturally and the only Pokémon to have Teleport as an Egg Move.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Thanks to its great Special Attack, access to Nasty Plot, good bulk and low Speed, it is a very dangerous Trick Room sweeper and Analytic user in NU.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Yes. Beheeyem has a low 485 BST and doesn't work well in either of the areas in it is supposed to be(doubles, triples and TR teams). It is also obtained quite late(after two early Psychic types in normal playthrough, three disregarding the version differences) as such it doesn't have a justification to be inferior to other Pokémon.

And that's It. If you want me to talk about other Pokémon with low chances of getting an evolution(fossils, Eevees, early route Pokémon), again, tell me in the comments.

Evolutions for?... Part 2-5: Tajiri's Trap?!

Trainer Yusuf — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:11:04 GMT

“You're nearly a laugh”-Joke Pokémon

This is going to be a bit awkward as most of the Pokémon listed here are sidequest Pokémon, however, unlike the likes of Gyarados and Hippowdon, these are meant to be inferior to their counterparts, at least the ones that require trading.

Psyduck and Golduck

Psyduck is yet another funny but somewhat useless(competitively, not in-game) Pokémon. It only gained notoriety through the animé, and that made it well recognized enough give it access to Amity Square and eventually Cloud Nine, just so it can have a reason of existance beyond being a throwaway mid game Water-type.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Psyduck and Golduck were one of the few Water-types to have Psychic moves before that became a thing. They also had their signature ability Cloud Nine(which has been iven a larger distribution), and Psyduck, as a true fan-favourite, became accessible in every National Dex, excluding Black and White's Unova dex for obvious reasons(though it can be obtained post-game). Psyduck was also incapable of learning Psychic outside of breeding until Gen IV and is the only Pokémon to learn Wonder Room through level up while not being Psychic-type. Psyduck also became a version exclusive Pokémon for FireRed despite being accessible in both of the original games, though Golduck is only available in Seafoam Islands for Blue version and Slowpoke and Psyduck's encounter rates change depending on the version for Seafoam Islands. It also had a brief stunt as a road block. It can also learn Soak.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? While it has some bulk, its movepool is only somewhat usable; as such unless you use it for Swift Swim in NU, don't bother with it.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? While you could capture it only in mid game in the original games, it became an early route Pokémon for elsewhere. Not to mention, it does have a high 500 BST.

Slowpoke

Derp.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It has to evolutions that require another Pokémon, but only as flavor and not game mechanics. It is also the only Pokémon that evolves to different Pokémon with different EV yield totals. It and its evolutions are also one of the few Water-types to learn Fire-type moves. Slowpoke also became a version exclusive Pokémon for Leafgreen despite being accessible in both of the original games, though Slowbro is only available in Seafoam Islands for Red version and Slowpoke and Psyduck's encounter rates change depending on the version for Seafoam Islands.

Slowbro

Derp.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? See Slowpoke.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Slowbro is possibly the only proper bulky Water-type that didn't lost almost anything from the transition to Gen V. While it lost its ability to set up Trick Room reliably, its defensive capabilities have been boosted with small pool of new toys it has been presented, and far more so with the changed metagame, which requires its abilities far more so than Gen IV OU. It also has a very nice crime partner in Amoongus. As such, yes.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? While it has a low BST and was a mid game Pokémon in the original games, it also became an early route Pokémon(only in Johto but still), and its side-evolution has 3 EV yield, making it and by proxy Slowbro acceptible as a fully evolved Pokémon.

Slowking

Slowking was one of the first Gen II Pokémon to be showcased not only through the anime but in the events as well.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? See Slowpoke. It is also the only Pokémon with catch rate of 70.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? It is most certainly a reliable Pokémon in its tier, but it struggles to do what its brother can do in OU. On the other hand, it is a dangerous Trick Room user, thanks to its access to Nasty Plot and a large movepool. Unfortunately for it, Trick Room is not a reliable support strategy anymore in upper tiers. If it becomes a useful strategy again, Slowking might rise again as a hipster Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Slowbro.

Mime Jr. and Mr. Mime

Mr. Mime is the earliest trade possible in the original games, location and request-wise(though Farfetch'd doesn't require you to backtrack). Though it is more noticable for its mime design, as Internet despises those.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Mr. Mime was originally the only Pokémon that could Dual Screen(but only through Reflect TM). Mime Jr. evolves upon leveling up with Mimic, was one of the first Gen IV to be announced and was one of the few playable Pokémon in the demo for Diamond/Pearl. Mime Jr. also gives Mr. Mime Tickle and is the only Pokémon with a catch rate of 145. Mime Jr. also has a very large level up movepool comapred to some Baby Pokémon.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Mr. Mime has only one niche over its destined rival Kadabra, Nasty Plot and Baton Pass. Kadabra is faster and more powerful than it is, even with its Techinican. While it has a stunning Special Defense, it also has only 40 HP and no recovery. As such, Mr. Mime should do its job quick and simple.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of. Its counterpart Jynx is a fairly late-game Pokémon, but much like its crime partner Sudowoodo, it became a early route Pokémon from an early-mid game Pokémon. So, it is hard to say anything really.

Smoochum and Jynx

I would put in a description but...
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Jynx has a unique typing and is the only user of Lovely Kiss outside of NYC events in Gen II. It also has the longest cry. Smoochum gives Jynx access to Sweet Kiss and Lucky Chant, everything else is either fairly standard Baby Pokémon moves, Sing and Confusion and Skill Swap from Dream World which Jynx can learn through B2W2 Move Tutors. Jynx was also originally the only user of Ice Punch outside of Hitmonchan and was accessible through an in-game trade in Cerulean City which also requires backtracking. It is also one of the few Pokémon to have Heart Stamp.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Much like Mr. Mime, its Physical presence is non-existant, but it can reliably use Calm Mind and Nasty Plot, far better than Mr. Mime in fact. Dry Skin isn't good enough for it to be used in higher tiers though, except Ubers, sort of.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of. Jynx has always been a fairly late-game Pokémon and it does have a very low BST. So yes, even if the idea of one might be hard to pull off.

Wailmer and Wailord

Largest beasts of the majestic sea, Wailord is the largest of all Pokémon and Wailmer is pretty gigantic as well. Wailmer was also one of the first Pokémon from Gen III to be revealed to the public.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Wailord is largest Pokémon ever, and has the highest HP of all Water-type Pokémon. It was also one of the few Pokémon to get Water Spout and is one of the few Pokémon to learn Soak. It also has a unique Egg Group combination(Water 2 and Field). Wailord is also catchable through surfing in Route 129, but has a %1 encounter rate. It is also the tenth heaviest Pokémon, as such it is the third heaviest non-STAB user of Heavy Slam.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Unless you use it with Trick Room and Choice item, or just with a Choice item, you aren't going to get much results. As gigantic its HP is, it has paper thin defenses and below average offensive prowess, both stat and movepool-wise.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Wailmer is a Good Rod Pokémon, which is the equalivent of an early route Pokémon for fishing Pokémon. Not to mention, Wailord's 500 BST(and its status as the largest Pokémon as said by the Pokédex) means it has little to no chance of evolving unless it is an anti-thesis evolution.

“Now that I've found somewhere safe to bury my bone.”- Those who have succeeded.

This part is mostly meaningless, but still needs to exist because;
-to see how cross-generational evolutions are handled.
-due to the tradition, generally the Pokémon from previous two generations are favoured to gain an evolution. As Gen VI's second previous gen will be Gen IV and a good portion of the Gen IV Pokémon are cross-generational evolutions, this will be useful for that discussion.

Onix

Oh Onix. The original stone wall. The original ultimate challenge that is actually just as powerful as a Raticate. Onix was one of the most useless(though certainly coolest) Pokémon that made you feel like David who conquered Goliath. Too bad, that feeling didn't continue on too much. After all, this isn't Shadow of Regigigas, this a Mon series.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Thanks to Eviolite, Onix is the best Physical wall in the entire game. Statistically speaking, of course. Onix is the largest Pokémon that can hatch from an Egg, or more specifically, largest and heaviest Pokémon that evolves once, or largest that can evolve, period. The Lagging Tail takes its design from Onix. Onix is also found in almost every region except Hoenn, and along with Steelix, it is the only Pokémon outside of Drilbur-line to be encountered from dust clouds. Along with Swablu, it is the only Pokémon to change its primary typing while keeping the secondary one. Onix is also faster than Steelix. Onix and its evolution also can't learn snake moves such as Glare and Coil.

Steelix

Steelix continues Onix's legacy, by having a human face much like its pre-evolution. The difference is, while Onix's seems to be based on a middle aged Japanese man, Steelix's is unmistakably based on Jim Carrey's expression in the “A Night at Roxburry” sketch.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Steelix has the highest Defense of all Pokémon outside of Shuckle. It also had a unique typing until Excadrill(again, the specific combinations are still unique). It also can't learn Iron Defense. It is also the second largest Pokémon and is the heaviest of STAB Heavy Slam Pokémon. See Onix for everything else.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Steelix keeps what its doing in its current enviorenment, being Defensive in RU. Much like Ferrothorn( and Ferroseed), it can Gyro Ball without fear of its high Speed getting in the way. It can theoritically use Curse and Resttalk, but both encounter similar problems. Steelix really needs a reliable recovery move to be more efficient.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As Steelix is a gigantic and very heavy Pokémon, that causes issues. Not only that, but also Onix and to a lesser extent Steelix has always been accessible fairly early in the adventure, and Steelix has a very large 510 BST. All in all, Steelix should either get boosts from elsewhere, or should get an anti-thesis evolution.

Lickitung and Lickilicky

Lickitung might look like a mixture between a a corrupted chameleon, Slowpoke and Eraserhead baby. Probably because it is. Lickitung is accessible through trading in a Slowbro, and much like most in-game trades of R/G/B/Y era, it is designed to look and work similar to its counterpart. Lickilicky goes with Slowpoke and baby route, but not the chameleon route(it does have a curved tail like some though).
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Lickitung was only accessible through an in-game trade for Slowbro(Golduck in Firered), but this changed in Japanese Blue and later changed forever until Gen I remakes. Lickitung couldn't originally learn Lick(even though its Pokédex mentions it can paralyze enemies with it) and much like Piloswine, it was perfectly capable of doing its current evolution method in Gen III, making it one of two Pokémon to not exactly have reasonable evolution method retcons. Lickilicky's body is far more rounder due to its unique evolution method, leveling up by having Rollout. It is also the only Normal-type to have Explosio outside of Smeargle. It is also one of the few Pokémon with Cloud Nine, probably as a result of briefly being a counterpart to Golduck.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? With Explosion's nerf, it can no longer spam STAB Explosion. On the other hand, it can run effective support and Swords Dance sets and a decent Curse set in its current habitat. It can be an effective support pivot in slightly higher tiers, but there are generally better options.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? While Lickitung is not an early Pokémon by any means(except Platinum, sort of), Lickilicky also has a high 515 BST, putting it in the “anti-thesis evolution or bust” category.

Tangela and Tangrowth

Yet another Kanto Pokémon that hides its real body, Tangela and Tangrowth keep the standard fantasy trope of a creature that can't be seen due to its body parts.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Tangela was originally the only Grass-type from Gen I that wasn't part of an evolutionary-line and it was the only Pokémon outside of starters and legendaries that was inaccessible in D/P along with Tropius. It also evolves through leveling up with AncientPower. Tangela was also accessible through an in-game trade with Venonat, but you could catch it in wild as well.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Tangrowth was originally accepted as one of the best Pokémon in the Gen IV evolutions batch, as it was a very dangerous and versatile Pokémon that was great in anything it did... except be a Special wall. However, the power creep made its achilles heel a major setback, and its rather mediocrity as a result of being a balanced Pokémon made it outclassed by many different Pokémon, most notably Venusaur. Much like Exeggutor, you can use it for Chlorophyll in theory... but there are very good and easier to use alternatives.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it has a gigantic 535 BST, there is absolutely no hope, until we start seeing 4th and 5th evolutions.

Scyther

The original counterpart to Pinsir, Scyther did not forget its past comrade, and continued to be its version counterpart in Diamond/Pearl and since it was unaccessible in Hoenn, in three generations. Unfortunately, despite Scyther's attempts, the two comrades' routes have long been separated.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? As Scyther was a very usable Pokémon on its own, it only got an evolution that played as its opposite. Because of that, it is the only Pokémon that doesn't change its BST upon evolving. It could also not learn any Bug-type moves through leveling up until Gen III and it was originally accessible only in Safari Zone and Celadon Game Corner. It continued its nature as a Pokémon that could only be caught by specific methods, except for Platinum.

Scizor

Wearing the Iron Coat, Scizor trades its ninja abilities for the armor of Freiza's forces and raw power.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks?Scizor has the highest attack of all Bug-type Pokémon, and despite having pincers it can't learn ViceGrip. It also has the highest amount of sharplt stat increasing moves in its level-up movepool, Swords Dance, Agility, and Iron Defense.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Please tell me you're joking.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? NO. It is already an opposite of Scyther. The only way you can become more opposite is if you become Special oriented, which is near nonsensical for Scizor to become.

Aipom and Ambipom

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Aipom was originally one of the few Pokémon obtained only in Headbutt trees. It is currently the only Pokémon outside of Zigzagoon that has an evolution with Pickup. It has an unique evolution method, evolving by leveling up with Double Hit.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Ambipom used to be very solid UU Pokémon with many different options to play. In Gen V, it recieves stiff competition from Mienshao and Cinccino, both of do what Ambipom does, bt better. Thankfully, they can only do his abilties individually, which allows Ambipom to be an average Pokémon with extremely powerful Fake Out and usable Techinican options for its current place. Beat Up's changed mechanics also helped a bit.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Aipom has always been accessible from specific methods, but those methods essentially allow it to be in every route. The earliest you can get the Aipom is... well, fairly early, as such outside of Ambipom it doesn't have much chance of evolving further.

Yanma and Yanmega

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Yanma was originally a very rare(%1 encounter rate) Pokémon for Route 35. Nowadays it doesn't have much point. Yanma has access to all variations of AncientPower though. What's more, Yanmega has the highest HP of all Bug-types and gives out 2 Attack Evs despite being a Special sweeper.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Yanmega's shallow movepool hurts it a lot, and Volcarona stealing its title as the Bug-type with highest Special Attack doesn't help Yanmega. While it still hits like a truck in UU, don't use it in any higher tiers. As great as Tinted Lens is, it is simply insufficient.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As Yanmega has a high 515 BST, it is in the “no evolutions unless it is a counterpoint to it” camp.

Murkrow and Honchkrow

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Along with Gligar, it is the only Pokémon with gender differences that evolves to one without them. Murkrow also has higher Speed than its evolution. It also used to have a unique typing.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Honchkrow used to be a large threat with the moves it gained from HG/SS. Now it is a larger threat, but so are the Pokémon around it. Because of that, its weakness, its low bulk and low speed, are more noticable now. Its typing is also not a good defensive one, but a decent offensive one. It is difficult to use, but it is certainly worth it... in UU.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It has a 505 BST. You can fill the blanks. It also briefly became an early route Pokémon in D/P in night and it is an evolutionary stone evolution. But it was originally a late game Pokémon.

Misdreavus and Mismagius

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Misdreavus was the first pure Ghost-type. It also keeps its HP, Attack and Defense to its evolution.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Mismagius used to have minor reason to be used in OU with Nasty Plot, but nowadays it stays as a good but not great UU Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of. It briefly became an early route Pokémon in D/P, and a middle route Pokémon in HG/SS. It is also an evolutionary stone evolution. But it was originally a VERY late game Pokémon and it has a sufficiently low 495 BST.

Gligar and Gliscor

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Gligar was originally only capable of learning Earthquake as a gift from Stadium 2. Gligar is also heavier than its evolution, and both Gligar and Gliscor can learn the highest amount of high critical hit ratio moves in a movepool, six. It also used to have a unique type combination.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Insert your own description here.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Not much, thanks to its high 510 BST.

Sneasel and Weavile

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? They have a unique type combination. Sneasel is also the fastest of Pokémon that can evolve, and Weavile is the fastest Dark-type(along with Darkrai) and Ice-type. Sneasel is also one of the few Pokémon that can evolve into a Pokémon with single ability despite having two abilities(not counting Hidden Abilities). They are also some of the few Pokémon with Pickpocket ability.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Insert your own description here.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Gliscor.

Nosepass and Probopass

Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Nosepass can be caught in the place it requires to evolve(in Platinum). Nosepass is the only Pokémon with 375 BST, and as it evolves into a part Steel type Pokémon, it can learn Volt Switch and have Magnet Pull ability. It also had Head Smash as an Egg move from the data in HG/SS, but since it was incompatible with any Pokémon with it, this was eventually deleted(why not give it as a level up move?). Probopass has the highest Special Defense of all Steel types along with Registeel and learns a move at every six levels until 79.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? It makes a good defensive pivot for offensive teams in NU, and has a nice support movepool. There are also some troll sets for OU(particularly to kill Steel types), if you are courageous or insane enough to do it.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Not only Probopass has a very high 525 BST, it also gives out 3 EVs in total just like a three staged Pokémon. It is about as done with as a Pokémon can be.

Next time we will be discussing late-game and mid-game Pokémon, and NOT discuss Eeveelutions, fossil Pokémon, Good Rod Pokémon and early route Pokémon... unless you request it, that is.

Evolutions for?... Part 2-4: A New Despair

Trainer Yusuf — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:11:10 GMT

While this part might not necessarily be the one with most Pokémon without any hope in evolutions, it will be close enough at least. So, let's get going.

Zorua and Zoroark

Lucario 2.0... which was Absol 2.0 which was Arcanine 2.0. Despite what furries or N(both of which are similar but distant factions) might say, Zoroark is most definitely not the top percantage of all Pokémon. At least it has enough decency to evolve faster than other Unova Pokémon, even if you could only obtain it post-game in the original game.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Zorua and Zoroark were the first event-only Pokémon that weren't legendary, and the only reason for it was to sell tickets to the last DP movie. Zorua and Zoroark are special in that they were the first of unneccesary anime related events of the Gen V and were the forebearers of anime's increasing influence over games in Gen V as oppossed the other way around. In Black 2 and White 2, they are literally handed to you(by Rood) to be the introduction of N's Pokémon mechanic, thus removing their nature as quest Pokémon(which was unneccesary anyways as you could only obtain them after getting the National Pokédex and access to Poké Transfer and the Pokémon related to events had no other bearing on the Gen V whatsoever). They are also the only Pokémon that currently have access to Illusion and Night Daze, which is currently the most powerful Special Dark-type move.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? It sucks... kind of. Zoroark has nice offensive stats but paper-thin defenses. It has three great boosting moves in form of Agility, Nasty Plot and Swords Dance, and many annoying moves like Taunt, Torment, Imprison, Fake Tears etc., but its paper-thin defenses disallow it from setting up properly, and its movepool is only barely workable with many “okay” but insufficient moves. As such, Zoroark is a gamble to play to play with. Its Illusion allows it to pass these obstacles, but you need to play your cards carefully, as Zoroark is not reliable at all, and its reward is not that high compared to its risks, just sufficient enough for good player and with good team support. It is a gamble, and you need to be insanely good at your calculations to work miracles with it. Which in hindsight makes it the perfect Pokémon for N.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it has a high 510 BST, its chances of evolving further are very low.

Larvesta and Volcarona

The final of the quest Pokémon, the living embodiment of Quiver Dance and evolutionary differences.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Volcarona was originally accessible only through the capturing the Seven(Six) Sages sidequest, while Larvesta was only accessible as a gift Egg, because apparently not you are essentially a messiah in the games, but also the head of a future breeding program for endangared species. In Black 2 and White 2, you can find an underleveled Volcarona in Relic Castle's remains.
Larvesta is also very distinctly different from its evolution as it is Physical oriented. They both learn moves at Level 100(which isn't the case for other non-legendary Pokémon), they have unique typing, Larvesta is the latest evolving Pokémon and Volcarona keeps the tradition of “holy non-legendary Pokémon with high legendary-like BST” started with Arcanine and continued with Togekiss. They are also incapable of learning Attract despite having genders, and Volcarona has the second lowest possible catch rate for a non legendary Pokémon, 15.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Please tell me you're joking.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It is pretty much a legendary. So no. Not to mention, it gives a total of 3 Evs when defeated, something mostly unique for legendaries and three stagers.

“That's what you get for pretending the rest are not real”-Those who gained their gimmicks eventually

Pokémon is notable for its retcons. Many fantastic designs exist without any reason to exist so and end up completely unrelated to anything outside of potentially interesting backstories, as they are created by some teens(who wanted to become comic artists but failed because of lack of talent) came up with as exercises to flex their creative muscles. Such creations are called “Original Character Do Not Steal” and some of the leading communties that contain these are called DeviantArt and FanFiction.net.

Paras and Parasect

While their Pokédex numbering might claim that Paras and Parasect are encountered after Oddish, the reality couldn't be farther away from that. Discounting Bulbasaur for obvious reasons, Paras is literally the first Grass-type you encounter in the original Red and Blue games.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Paras and Parasect were the first Pokémon the have the mighty Spore. They are also the first Grass-type you encounter in the original games as stated above. However, Paras and Parasect's primary gimmick wasgiven to them in Generation II with the addition of held items... TinyMushroom and Big Mushroom. These two items, based on Paras and Parasect incredibly valuable tochukaso mushroom, were high selling loots and briefly became mandatory for Move Relearner in FR/LG. They have recently gained access to eve more valuable BalmMushroom, but they now encounter stiff competition from another pest that is actaully one of the biggest defensive beasts in the game, Amoonguss, who has all of their primary gimmicks. At least Paras and Parasect still have the honor of being the only Pokémon that are x5 weak to an elemental type and Paras has the disctinction of being the only Pokémon that has 1 EV yield that immediately evolves into a Pokémon with 3 EV yields with the exception of Slowpoke when it evolves to Slowking, Nosepass which evolves to Probopass and Larvesta which evolves to Volcarona. They are also the only Pokémon in both Bug and Grass Egg groups. Parasect is also the only Pokémon that is a zombie, so I guess that is something as well.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Dry Skin makes it usable... somewhat... not really.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it is literally the first Grass-type in the first games AND it has a 3 EV yield in its evolution, a trait almost exclusive to 3 staged Pokémon and legendaries, no.

Cubone and Marowak

The original brooding badass of Pokémon(GTFO Silver), Marowak's story was of inspiration. A meek orphan becoming a master swordsman. Unfortunately that never actually happened in Gen I as Marowak had stats made most Pokémon mock it. Even Sandslash. Because of this Marowak went back its mother's grave and took its club to punish the non-believers. And everyone outsped it and beat it to near death so it went to search for some way to make up for that, finding Rock Polish and Trick Room.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks?Marowak originally had one of the highest amounts of signature moves, Bone Club, Bone Rush and Bonemerang. Bone Rush was eventually given to Lucario to make it more of a marketable whore and Mandibuzz because she was a close colleague of Marowak. Marowak, without its useful moves, found solace with the new held items mechanic and gained Thick Club. Thick Club doubled its, and only its and Cubone's Attack. Cubone could also appear as a Ghost in Pokémon Tower, despite being perfectly living. That's about it really.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? With its decent defensive and offensive typing, good Defense and semi-workable Special Defense, and of course, Thick Club, Marowak stays as one of the strongest Trick Room tanks. It can also work as a normal tank in lower tiers, but it will always prefer Trick Room everywhere else.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? With Thick Club, Marowak reaches an insane 554 BST. As such, no.

“If I were a good man”- Those who act like gimmick Pokémon but aren't.

For every good act, there will be imitators. For every bad act, there will be repeats. And hipsters who like stuff they believe are bad in a humours way. These Pokémon are more close to the latter.

Vulpix and Ninetales

Originally was intended to be the counterpart of Arcanine, Ninetales lived up to its status... back when Special was not a separate stat and Ninetales' was 100. To be honest I have no idea why they didn't made both of its Special stats 100, it is not like it would give it an insane BST or anything. And it is not like Ninetales isn't mythological to be given a common peasant's BST.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Vulpix has a unique BST(299) and Ninetales has a unique EV yield(1 Sp. Def, 1 Speed). Vulpix is also the only non-Ghost-types who can learn Grudge and Will-O-Wisp by leveling up.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Ahahahaha no. Literally the only reason anybody uses it seriously is because it is their gateway to Drought. On the other hand, it makes a surprisingly good combination with Cherrim in doubles.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It is extremely unlikely with its high 505 BST and partially with its status as a early Fire-type Pokémon for both Johto and Kanto(even though Arcanine is the same deal and outclasses it).

Natu and Xatu

Natu and Xatu move around the thin line between a pseudo-gimmick Pokémon, early-route Pokémon and quest Pokémon. They are also specifically created to be very bizzare, just like their pals Unown.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Natu is the smallest Flying-type and was one of the smallest Pokémon until Joltik. They are also one of the few Pokémon to have both of the Swap moves and the ability Magic Bounce. They also had a unique typing until Sigilyph.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Sort of. It is primarly for Magic Bounce and the fact that it doesn't require to have offensive stats to deal damage thanks to Night Shade. It can also status spam, put on Screens and Wish support. But it is only a support Pokémon(despite having higher Speed and Special Attack stats than anything else).
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of. While it is an early route Pokémon and recently gained a gimmick ability, it is both entirely optional and appears late game in other games than its debut, and appears on Elite Four Will's team. All in all, it doesn't have much justification why it shouldn't get one.

Pre-evolutionary corner: Sunkern

Sunkern's story is certainly an epic struggle for all ages. From a weak seed, with proper support by the affectionate trainer, it grows into a large but useless flower. Yeah. That doesn't seem right.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Sunkern is the weakest Pokémon in existance, with lowest BST(180). It is also the only Gen II Pokémon that requires an evolutionary stone(until Gen IV) and is one the few Pokémon with highest Pokéathlon stats, to compensate for its weak nature. It was also the first Grass-type to learn Sunny Day through level-up along with its evolution.

Sunflora

Sunflora is one of the earliest Grass-types in G/S... except Oddish, Hoppip(especially more so in Crystal), Exeggutor if you get Headbutt and Bellsprout. As such, it fails at the thing it was created for.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? See above. In addition to that, it was the only Pokémon to learn Bullet Seed through level-up in Gen III.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Why are you doing this to me? Why are you constantly asking these questions even if you know the answer? Why? Why? WHY?
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It is one of the earliest Pokémon in the game... even though it fails at that. Is National Park even part of the determined route? I haven't played G/S or HG/SS. Jesus, I should pay my attention to those than this.

Slugma and Magcargo

I originally thought these were the early-route Fire-type Pokémon for Johto. They weren't. What.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Yet another concept Pokémon, Slugma's evolution is based on lava's behaviour, as such it gains Rock-typing upon evolving(ie. cooling down). Slugma has the lowest Speed of all Fire-types(along with Litwick and Torkoal) and lowest BST. Magcargo's typing is also unique. Magcargo and Slugma were also accessible in every main Gen II, III and IV games, as their abilities cut the hatching time.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Shell Smash. The only reason you should use Magcargo for anything. Surprisingly it is actually good at it(obviously in lower tiers).
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Yes. As it was a late game Pokémon in its debut and continued to be a late/early-mid Pokémon and has stomach turning stats(BST or otherwise) Magcargo has every chance of evolving, theoritically anyways. Pratically it is hard to come up with one, but we can hope.

Remoraid and Octillery

Revolvers and artillery eh? Remoraid and Octillery is one of those common “how this evolution works” type of Pokémon, as far as the general fandom is concerned. General fandom is also primarly composed of little kids to 13 year olds, so it is obviously likely that they wouldn't immediately get the joke.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Remoraid is a mid-late game Pokémon who was originally only found in Route 44, although, much like its counterpart Qwilfish in Route 32, it can be obtained through any rod during a swarm. Ultimately Octillery did not require Remoraid to be obtained, as such they just became common fishes as opposed to being fishes with gimmicks for two generations(being accessible in Emerald's Safari Zone extension and being a version exclusive for Leafgreen in addition to their original gimmick). Also naturally since they are based on guns and tanks respectively, they learn many shooting moves. Octillery is not just the only Pokémon to learn Gunk Shot through leveling up, but also the only Pokémon to have a signature move(disregarding the fact it passed to Horsea since the move's debut) with its name in it(for Japan anyways), Octazooka(Okutank Cannon).
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Much like Qwilfish, Octillery is a massive threat under right conditions. For Octillery these are Trick Room and Baton Pass chains. In addition to this, it gained access to Moody, which means it can be even more horrendous on its own with its massive movepool.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it recently gained Moody, probably not. Also Eviolite Octillery. My God.

Spoink and Grumpig

Spoink and Grumpig has all the trademarks for Pokémon created only to sell toys. Surprisingly though, their marketing(or rather Spoink's) wasn't harsh enough to reap the harvest, as such they fell into obscurity. That and they are sort of the Hypno/Drowzee of Hoenn.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Magic Coat was Spoink and Grumpig's signature move in Gen III(again, disregarding the ones that get the move through breeding).
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Well, I use a Taunt/Trick Room one. Does that count?

Okay... seriously. “It can be used in lower tiers, but everyboody and their mother do what it does better. Most of the time anyways”
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of? It is a early-mid game Pokémon with low stats, but then again, so is Hypno. It might be too early to be a suffienctly powerful Pokémon though.

Swablu and Altaria

Altaria is thought to be worst fully evolved Dragon ever. That is correct. It is also a Dragon, which means it still has one of the best types in the game, which means it is a dangerous mofo.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Outside of Flygon, and Garchomp, it is the earliest Dragon-type to be obtained. It is the earliest one to evolve fully. It is also the only Pokémon that keeps its secondary typing but changes its primary typing except Onix. Also, it is the only Dragon/Flying that isn't a pseudo-legendary or legendary and only Dragon-type to be a part of two staged evolutionary line. It is the Dragon-type that requires the lowest EXP amount to get to level 100 as well. It also also has the lowest HP of all Dragon-type along with Kingdra, highest Special Defense and lowest Attack amongst them. Swablu also can only learn False Swipe from Ruby & Sapphire Box, and not through any TMs. It's Egg group combination, Flying and Dragon, is unique as well.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Altaria is a dangerous Pokémon in lower tiers as it can use any set it wants. Defensive, Specs, Dragon Dance... versatility is Altaria's greatest asset.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Not much. Altaria is very obviously meant to be used early-game, and Swablu can be obtained early-mid game even if Altaria is accessible late-game on its own.

Joltik and Galvantula

Joltik was yet another well favoured Pokémon by the fandom. Too bad, none of the continuities actually respect that fact.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Joltik is the smallest Pokémon ever. Galvantula and Joltik both have unique typing, their signature move Electroweb(which obviously ended up having larger distrubition) and both have unique BSTs(472 and 319). They also have access to Ariados-line's signature move Spider Web and they are the only Pokémon that have Unnerve as a normal ability and not as a Hidden Ability.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Galvantula is a very one-dimensional and traditional fast and hard hitting glass cannon. It's primary selling points are its access to very buggy moves and Compundeyes Thunder. That is pretty much what it is for everywhere, and since Rain is one of the most domination forces in the metagame, Compundeyes Thunder doesn't seem that good in comparison.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Techinically speaking, yes. As it is a (very) mid-game Pokémon with low stats, yes. Nevertheless, every continuity its in treats it as a common early route Bug-type, much like how Sawsbuck is treated. As such, it should logically have a shot at getting one, but unlike Durant, it is probably not well recognized as a Pokémon that isn't in the beginning routes by its own creators.

Cubchoo and Beartic

Teddiursa and Ursaring... IN TUNDRA!
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Beartic is the only Pokémon that learns Aqua Jet by level up that isn't a Water-type and Cubchoo is the only Gen V Pokémon that gets Rattled. Beartic is also only catchable in Winter, but Cubchoo is accessible all seasons in Twist Mountain with varying encounter rates. Though it is only accessible in Route 7 during Winter. They can be considered as half-hearted attempts at changing the region's nature depending on the weather.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? While Beartic has some usable bulk, even with Swift Swim it is not very good, thanks to its shallow movepool, low stats and poor typing.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Techinically yes. It has a very low BST, it is a failed gimmick and it is only accessible near late game. Only issue that might rise is the fear of it replacing Ursaring by the creators(it wouldn't because it lacks the insane movepool, good abilities and massive offensive power).

“And all that you give”-Gift Pokémon
A weird variation of Quest Pokémon, Gift Pokémon often require do specific sidequests, but some of these are obligatory. These Gift Pokémon are often not very powerful or are very difficult to train, depending on when threy are encountered. Eevee will not be discussed here(and probably ever in this blog series) so don't hold your breath.

Hitmonlee

Hitmonlee was the kicking master of Pokémon.. unti Blaziken came. Even though it is regarded to best offensive of the Hitmons, it still struggles to find a place with all the new powerful Fighting-types.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Hitmonlee had 4 Signature moves, Jump Kick, Hi Jump Kick, Rolling Kick and Mega Kick, which is more than any other Pokémon. It was also only accessible by defeating Fighting Dojo. It was also the only Pokémon that had Reckless Ability. It also has a unique Speed stat (87).
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Hitmonlee has many powerful moves, power stats and powerful abilities, but it is simply outclassed by other powerful Fighting-types. Hitmonlee needs more ways to distinquish itself from others(Acrobatics? Head Smash? Flare Blitz?). Hitmonlee along with Hitmonchan is the only Pokémon that ended up being related to a previously unrelated Pokémon with a pre-evolution.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Hitmonlee is a early-mid game Pokémon and it shows. It is hard to say its abilties give it power enough to be considered fully evolved, but it is also hard to say it is not sufficient at its job. This is true for all Hitmons.

Hitmonchan

Punching master of the Pokémon... until Conkeldurr and Golurk came. Hitmonchan has always struggled to find its niche, and it still continues to search for it. Its defensive orientation is hit by horrible 50 Base HP and its Speed and Attack, while good, are nothing amazing.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks?It was only accessible by beating Fighting Dojo. Hitmonchan learns the highest amount of priority moves through leveling up, Quick Guard, Bullet Punch, Vacuum Wave, Mach Punch, Purduit and Feint. It also gets Fake Out from Tyrogue. He also used to have Vacuum Wave and Mach Punch as signature moves(again, not considering breeding chains) and it was the only Pokémon to learn all three of the Elemental Punches. It was also the only Pokémon with Iron Fist and along with Hitmonlee it is the only Pokémon that ended up being related to a previously unrelated Pokémon.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Hitmonchan still has a very good bulk which means it can use various sets to support its team or fully use boosting items without much concern. While it is nearly useless outside of RU, it does have some niches that help it stand out... but everything it does is done better by other Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Hitmonlee.

Tyrogue

Tyrogue is... weird. It is probably the only Baby Pokémon that is created to make sense than create baby spinoffs.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Much like its original evolutions, it could originally be obtained only as a Gift, literally from the same person. It eventually became the only way to obtain Hitmons. It is the only Pokémon with more than one side evolution outside of Eevee; it was the only baby Pokémon to learn only one level up move; and it originally couldn't get Helping Hand despite having it as an Egg Move. Due to its parents, it is the only Baby Pokémon to get Egg Moves from his fathers and can't get anything from a different pool of Pokémon; and it is the only Baby Pokémon that requires Ditto to be obtained. As its evolutions were obtained at Level 30, it is the only baby Pokémon along with Wynaut to evolve at a fixed level different than Level 30. It is also the only Baby Pokémon to have same stats in all areas, due to its evolution method. It is the only Pokémon whose evolution depends on its stats.

Hitmontop

Originally universally accepted as the best of Hitmons(albeit only in Gen IV), Hitmontop is one of the most balanced Fighting-type in the game. It is no wonder that it also became the most mediocre of all Fighting-types in the current metagame.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Hitmontop is the Pokémon with highest unusual priority in its movepool, with 14 increased priority moves and 2 decreased priority moves. It also has one of its pre-evolution's ability, but it doesn't get that ability from keeping it(Steadfast which is a Hidden Ability for Hitmontop and standard ability for Tyrogue). It is also the only Hitmon to keep its signature move, Triple Kick.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Gen IV has been very kind to Hitmontop by giving it Techinican and Close Combat, making it a very good middle weight(hah, get it?) Pokémon. But with the offensive orientation of Gen V, Hitmontop's good balance became aggressive mediocrity and Hitmontop ended up being universally bashed by competitive players by being only good for Foresight+ Rapid Spin. At the very least, Hitmontop is still a top tier dog in doubles, thanks to Wide Guard, Intimidate and Fake Out.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Hitmonlee.

Riolu

Riolu used to be useless addition to Lucario's line, most likely to be nothing but be a doe eyed baby version of the furry king himself. However in Gen V, it gained Prankster and Eviolite, both of which made it one of the most potentially broken troll Pokémon in the game. Just so it can't be even more broken, Copycat was made to be incapable of copying Circle Throw.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Riolu is the only way to obtain Lucario. It was originally only accessible hrough Riley, but it became catachable in wild in Johto Safari Zone in HG/SS, and later became a post-game Pokémon in B/W for Challanger's Cave. But obviously it wasn't enough. To shove Riolu into our mouths better and to capture the fandom even more efficiently, Riolu became an early route Pokémon for, and only for, Black 2 and White 2, along with other fan favorites such as Eevee, Mareep, Growlithe, Azurill and many others. To be fair, it was given a rather useless event to sell ranger games that gave it Aura Sphere as well. It also recently became the way for Lucario to gain Nasty Plot, if Riolu's nature as a devious cash cow wasn't even more obvious. Riolu is also the only pure Fighting to evolve something different than pure Fighting, and both of it and its evolution's abilties are based on flinching.

Lucario

Everbody's favourite merketing whore(or bitch), Lucario was one of the first Gen IV Pokémon to be introduced, and while the hype train finally stopped, it is still getting juiced all over by the fandom and the creators.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? As Lucario is the Aura Pokémon, it is capable of learning all Pulse moves. It was originally the only Fighting/Steel Pokémon, and it is still the only one to have Fighting as the primary typing.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Lucario has a very odd stat distribution and that is more apparent in the current offense oriented metagame. While it was a very versatile Pokémon originally, nowadays it can only use its flagship se with great success, though it can still use other sets, just with lesser success rate. It is not that great to compete against powerful Legendaries though.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? With is gigantic 525 BST and nature as an elusive Pokémon, it has almost no chances of evolving further.

Wow... that's new. I didn't need to cut any sections in half for the next part. I need to celebrate this.

Evolutions for?... Part 2-3: The Search for Gimmick

Trainer Yusuf — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:49:17 GMT

"It's all right, we told you what to dream."-Secondary gimmicks and Pokémon specifically created for marketing

This where we discuss Pokémon that gimmicks that are not strong enough to be a part of their concept or give them notoriety and Pokémon created only to be cashed in. Most of these Pokémon gain their gimmicks over years, but the Pokémon who are made important by the gimmicks they gained later on will be discussed later.

Meowth

Based on Tajiri's own pet cat, much like most other Pokémon, the only reason Meowth is well known is because of the anime. Well, that and it is literally mathemetically anti-Pikachu. Because of this, Meowth gained many boosts, from Nasty Plot to Techinician. In fact, it has recently became the only way Persian could gain Pay Day, even though Persian could obtain the move in previous generations.

Persian

A Pokémon that was previously OU in RBY-era due to critical hit mechanics, Persian doesn't really have much to offer. Most people might defend it as it was the only way to obtain money outside of limited battles and limited amount of item loots in RBY-era thanks to Pay Day, but the sad reality is, Pay Day was a largely accessible TM in that era as well.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Outside of Pay Day, no.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Techinican and Nasty Plot gave it some reason to be used in previous generation, but currently no.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Thanks to iconic nature of its pre-evolution, and its early route Pokémon nature, Persian is more likely to be ignored in favor of a side evolution than gain an evolution.

Granbull

Ursaring with a vagoo. Outside of prefering punching and biting over slashes and major blows, Granbull is literally the same as Ursaring, just with a larger movepool and worser stats.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It has a joke in that despite its intimidating look, it is really insecure and scared, hence why it gets Quick Feet and more importantly, Rattled. It is also a personification of biting moves. Actually, I lied. It couldn't even learn any biting moves outside of Bite without breeding. Granbull's Japanese name is the same as English one so there isn't much pun there(outside of the reason of it being bluish purple might be because “buru” can be the Japanese spelling of both blue and bull). Granbull probably only existed to appeal female fans who wanted something ugly cute yet powerful. That obviously failed.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Barely. Intimidate gives it more help towards Physical Defense, and its Normal-typing helps it defensively, and offensively, thanks to its STAB Return. To top this, as a female appeal Pokémon, it gains a disgusting amount of support and gimmick moves. In addition to this, it still has a large 120 Base Attack. While it has a very small niche in its tier, it is somewhat usable. It is a complete joke in any other standard play however.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Mostly? It's fellow collegue fairy Togetic gained a fairly nice evolution, but its other collegues gained pre-evolutions and not much else.

Pre-evolutionary corner: Snubbull

One of the first Gen II Pokémon showcased, Snubbull has the same reasons of existance as its evolution. It is a homage to bulldogs' tendecy to be affectionate and be dangerous when they get angry, and how women like them and find them cute despite their debatable adorableness.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Same joke as Granbull. It was a rare Pokémon in its debut games, and it and its evolution has continued to have unique ways to be encountered, just nothing specific for them.

Skitty and Delcatty

Much like its cousin Snubbull, Skitty is an early route Pokémon. Much like Snubbull, it was introduced before release of its debut. Much like Snubbull, it gained its gimmicks after its debut. Unlike Snubbull, it legimately sucks.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? So far they are the only Pokémon with Normalize ability. This gives all of their moves STAB bonus, thus making Delcatty's BST somewhere near Wormadam and Mothim's in practice. They also had their signature move, Assist. Skitty is also the inspiration of the Fluffy Tail(Eneco's/Skitty's Tail in Japan). Delcatty also has a unique 1 HP, 1 Speed EV yield.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? You can paralyze Ground-types, Lightningrod, Motor Drive and Volt Absorb Pokémon with Thunder Wave. But seriously, use a Liepard.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? The fact that it was a VERY early route Pokémon in its debut(Snubbull is more like mid-route) doesn't look good on these two. But the thing is, Delcatty sucks more than your common Raticate.

Minccinno and Cincinno

You all saw it coming. Originally thought to be the next early route rodent until Patrat was revealed, Mincinno is, again, one of the most shameless attempts to be cashed in, with Cincinno continuing the trend of useful marketable Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Mincinno is the Pokémon used for Poké Toy, Poké Doll's Unova counterpart. In addition to this, it is used for many tutorials of the game and Prof. Juniper's Pokémon.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Absolutely yes. Cincinno is usable in all tiers up to UU thanks to its great movepool, okay stats, and fantastic abilities. It would obviously want more options for both of its usable abilities, but otherwise it is a fantastic Pokémon thanks to changes made for multi-hit moves to make them OP.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It can go either way, really.

“You gotta have real need”- Quest Pokémon

While many gimmick Pokémon require you to do side quests, there are some Pokémon who are similar to gimmick Pokémon in terms of niches and usage, but are made to be competitively viable. Most of them are treated as this so that you have a good Pokémon early game if you play your cards right or pause your journey to gain them, especially since you will most likely be able to obtain post-main game. They also help to artificially enlargen the world so that they won't create much Pokémon or make more cities and large routes to increase the livelihood of the region. Fossil Pokémon will get their own subdivison later.

Magikarp

Magikarp is probably the most archetypal of the Pokémon here. It is literally created to be a horrible Pokémon that is actually an exceptionally hardy creature, just not in battles.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? I don't think I need to tell you now. Eveything related to Magikarp has become memes on their own. However, there is one thing I can tell that is not rephrased a lot. Magikarp was actually once a requirement to obtain Gyarados in the Red/Blue era. This only started to change in Yellow, where you could catch a Gyarados in Fuchsia City with Super Rod. After this, Gyrados never became a rare sighting in the wild, in fact, it became as common as Magikarp. This completely ignored the concept of Magikarp and betrayed its reason of existance. While this was eventually readressed in Black and White, Black 2 and White 2 returned back the status quo to its place in current generations.

Gyarados

Insert your own reference here. I am not going to do it.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks?See above.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Gyarados is an archetypal example of generational degeneration. While it was one of the most feared Pokémon in past, it is slowly becoming more and more weak, as the environment around it becomes harsher. As it is an iconic Pokémon, Gyrados is constantly getting new elements to become a top tier Pokémon, but only time will tell how long it will manage to keep this.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It's high 540 BST and iconic nature disallows it from getting an evolution. Of course, if it ever got one, it would also mean that Magikarp failed to succeed upon evolving, which would also ignore its entire design, but that has been betrayed a long time ago regardless.

Exeggcute and Exeggutor

Probably one of the most archetypical of sidequest Pokémon, Exeggutor was the prime competitive Grass-type of RBY, and continues on to be a strong force whenever and wherever it's current location is, and not much elsewhere.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Exeggcute was one of the few Safari Zone only Pokémon. It continued to be only obtained through specific methods. They also have their signature move Barrage and Exeggutor is one of the only Pokémon to learn Egg Toss.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Due to power creep of the current generations, Exeggutor has been going downhill much like other original Pokémon. It still has its toys to play around with, even if there are many better choices.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it has a very high 520 BST, it has little to no hope in obtaining an evolution.

Pineco and Forretress

One of the few Pokémon that are only avaible through Headbutt trees, so that the game mechanic could have some reason of existance, Forretress is what exactly it sounds like, a fortress with cannons. It just happens to be shaped as a steel chestnut carved by a bagworm larvae.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Pineco is one of the few Pokémon available only through Headbutt trees.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? While Forretress has still been hit by the major power creep and offense oriented growth of the series much like other defensive Pokémon, it's niche as a sturdy Pokémon with decent Attack and ability to both set up and remove all entry hazards keeps it a great utility Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Surprisingly, yes. Forretress' current form is not even the last metamorphosis stage of a bagworm, and its BST is still low enough to increase the possibiliy of one.

Pre-evolutionary corner: Feebas

One of the most frustrating Pokémon to catch, Feebas has one of the most interesting ways to be obtained.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Feebas showcases two different game mechanics, one is the tiling of the routes. Different from the other wild Pokémon, Feebas can only obtained by specific spots on the routes it can be find(except for Gen V), showcasing that the game is capable of changing the encounter rates for individual spots. Its second mechanic is the method of its evolution. To showcase the new Contest side quest, Feebas takes the concept of “it gets hotter when it passes puberty”(even if other media might try to convince you it is a metaphor for “inner beauty” it really isn't). To evolve Feebas, you must maximize its Beauty and level it up. Sounds easy right? NO. In order to gain a high Beauty stat, you need to feed it incredibly high leveled Poffins and Pokéblocks, which is difficult to do with standard berries and for Pokéblocks, solo. In order to ease the method, you can use natures that boost the Beauty gain, but this means you won't get to use competitively viable natures for Milotic. Unless you have it on HG/SS where Daisy can maximize its Beauty with massages or by grooming by Haircut brothers' and on Gen V games where you can trade it with Prism Scale to evolve it. Or, you know, just catch a Milotic in Gen V. Surprisingly, Feebas' original evolution method still exists on Gen V.

Milotic

The so called beauty queen of the sea, Milotic is essentially a female take on Gyarados.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? See Feebas. It is also the only Cute Charm Pokémon that isn't a Normal-type and was the only Pokémon to have Marvel Scale until Hidden Ability Dratini and Dragonair.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution?Sort of? As the concept of “bulky Water” doesn't exist anymore, Milotic stays as a rather mediocre Pokémon. While it gained Scald and Dragon Tail, its previous issues continue on this generation and it still didn't gained much to help its ability to stall(when it is going to learn Calm Mind oh my God).
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Gyarados.

Pre-evolutionary corner: Clamperl

Clamperl is not a quest Pokémon on its own, at least not in its debut, as it is common enough in the underwater routes which you must traverse in order to actually finish the game. It's evolutionary items, DeepSeaTooth and DeepSeaScale, however, are.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Clamperl was theoritically meant to be usable without its evolution much like other trade based evolutions, thanks to its evolutionary items(spoiler alert; it is only good for Trick Room and trolling beginners. It can't even properly utilize DeepSeaScale. It can be incredibly dangerous if you manage to pull off SHELL SMASH though... which is probably what you will do in-game if you are too cool to use Huntail or Gorebyss). Speaking of Shell Smash, Gorebyss and Huntail can't obviously learn SHELL SMASH on their own. It is also one of the few Pokémon accessible through Underwater routes and one of the Pokémon to be farmed for Big Pearls. It is also the only Pokémon that evolves into a Pokémon in the debut generation with an item introduces in its debut generation, and it is the only Pokémon that can evolve by holding one of two different trade items.

Huntail

Evolving from the DeepSeaTooth, Huntail is decidedly a more offense oriented and masculine Pokémon than its counterpart Gorebyss... until you notice Gorebyss' Special Attack. In spite of DeepSeaTooth increasing Clamperl's Special Attack, Huntail has a higher Attack than its Special Attack. Even though it is an eel that evolves from a bivalve, it incorprotes shells to the design of its fins. It also has its counterpart's face on its ass.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It evolves with the help of the DeepSeaTooth, which is obtained through the Scanner sidequest in the Abondoned Ship. It can also use Shell Smash+ Baton Pass.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Thanks to its decent offensive and defensive stats, decent abilities, decent typing, and decent movepool, it is a decent Pokémon... as a Shell Smash Sweeper/Passer. Biggest issues with Huntail are its average offensive stats, horrible HP and average movepool. Its average stats are not skyrocketed with Shell Smash, its movepool lacks powerful physical moves(except Sucker Punxh and Super Fang), and its horrible HP damages its great Defense and its below average Special Defense. Because of these, it fails to distinguish itself from other Shell Smashers(especially since the ongoing power creep ruined the concept of “Mixed Sweeper”) and any other Water-type in general. It is far better in this generation, but it still lacks any extra flair to make it super special awesome.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Glalie/Froslass and Escavalier/Accelgor.

Gorebyss

Evolving from the DeepSeaScale, Gorebyss is a decidedly a more defense oriented and feminine Pokémon than its counterpart Huntail... until you realize they have the same Defenses, except Gorebyss has access to Agility, Captivate and Amnesia as oppossed to Scary Face, Brine and Screech. Which is rather interesting considering DeepSeaScale increases Clamperl's Special Defense. Much like Huntail, it incorporates shells as fins, but it doesn't have Huntail's face on it.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It evolves with the help of the DeepSeaScale which is obtained through the Scanner sidequest in the Abondoned Ship. It can also use Shell Smash+ Baton Pass.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Thanks to its decent offensive and defensive stats, decent abilities, decent typing, and decent movepool, it is a decent Pokémon... as a Shell Smash Sweeper/Passer. It survives better than its counterpart as it has a higher Special Attack and a better movepool to help it, has access to Hydration which is superior to Water Veil and is one of the few Special Attack oriented Shell Smashers.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution?See Glalie/Froslass and Escavalier/Accelgor.

Hippopotas

Hippopotas is a weird side quest Pokémon, because its debut side quest requires obtaining another common sidequest Pokémon. It is also weird in that its evolution can be found post-game, thus removing the requirement for the side quest to obtain it.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? In its debut generation Hippopotas could only be caught in Maniac Tunnel, which is also required to obtain other Unown forms and TM28 Dig. It continues this tradition in later games as it can be only caught by specific methods in them. It and its evolution also have distinct gender specific colors and is the only Pokémon to obtain Slack Off as an Egg move.

Evolutionary corner: Hippowdon

Evolution of Hippopotas, Hippowdon is a large, muscular Pokémon who looks even more badass, but blander when its female.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Outside of not requiring sidequests(except Black 2/White 2) to be obtained, its gimmicks are the same as Hippopotas.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Hippowdon has a relatively shallow movepool, poor speed, and below average Special Defense, but on physical side, it is quite good. Its movepool helps it a lot in terms in stalling with many helpful options such as Toxic, Yawn, Slack Off, and it can use DW ability Sand Force effectively for certain sets. While it always been a Pokémon with obvious shortcomings, its capabilities surpass its faults, but as the metagame becomes more and more offensive, it will not manage to keep up with others because of its obvious issues.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it has a very high 525 BST, it has very little hope in evolution.

Skorupi and Drapion

The famed evolution of Gligar(before we found about Gliscor anyways) Drapion was one of the first Pokémon from Gen IV introduced aound the time Diamond and Pearl was actually being released. Showcasing the Elemental Fangs, Drapion immediately came across as a strong competitve Pokémon... and then we found about Elemental Fangs' Base Power.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Skorupi and Drapion were only accessible through Great Marsh(Drapion being post-game). They also have a unique Egg group combination (Water 3 and Bug) and Skorupi changes its Bug-typing after evolution. It can also learn all biting related moves except Super Fang and Hyper Fang and learns many double effect moves(Cross Poison and Elemental Fangs).
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Drapion was an outclassed but solid Pokémon in the previous generation. Even if its stats were somewhat mediocre, it had a great defensive typing and a decent movepool. However, eventually with the power creep Drapion's shortcomings became more apparent and it lost both its power and versality. Even if it were to get a large power boost through its movepool, it would require a miracle to become a top dog... in addition to a less offense oriented metagame. It is still a solid Pokémon wherever and whenever it currently is, much like Exeggutor.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it has a high 500 BST, only chance it has is an anti-thesis evolution much like Scyther->Scizor and Porygon2->Porygon-Z.

Croagunk and Toxicroak

As Shroomish 2.0, Croagunk aspires to monopolize upon its odd facial structure to sell toys and thanks to the marketing campaign of the animé and its increased importance in Platinum, it seems to have succeeded. On the other hand, Toxicroak aims to capitilize upon its French moustache and constant bird flipping hands.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Croagunk and Toxicroak were originally only accessible through Great Marsh(Toxicroak being post game), but Croagunk's increased popularity allowed it to appear in Route 212 as well, with a nice encounter rate, thus removing their nature as quest Pokémon. Even though Croagunk became a Swarm Pokémon in Black and White, it and its evolution later became uncommon Pokémon. They also have a unique typing and Toxicroak has the highest Attack of all Poison-types.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Thanks to its decent stats, good typing and good ability, Toxicroak has always been a good Pokémon whose usefulness increased with the recent boost happened to its fellow ambiphian Politoed. Even though it might not survive the power creep, as long as its ridiculously large movepool gets boosts, it will continue the struggle.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As Croagunk was intended to be an iconic Pokémon and succeeded being a cash cow, Toxicroak has only a slighlty higher chance than Persian.

Due to picture limit, Zorua-line and Larvesta-line will be delayed to the next part, and everything else will be later. Personally, I will be looking forward to continue being unfunny again and slacking off doing stuff I should probably prioritize instead.

Evolutions for?...2-2: Routine job is routine

Trainer Yusuf — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:34:38 GMT

Evolutionary corner: Froslass

As Glalie was incredibly masculine, and Dawn Stone needed another Pokémon to justify its existance, Froslass was created. Froslass immediately comes across as superior to her masculine counterpart, with better distributed stats and more helpful movepool.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Along with Gengar, she is the fastest Ghost-type and she has a unique typing. It is also in both Fairy and Mineral groups.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Surprisingly yes, even though her niche is small and gimmicky. She can no longer be used semi-seriously as an offensive threat, but she makes a nice supporter, especially thanks to her incredibly fast Destiny Bond. She is not reliable, of course.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Same as Glalie.

Burmy

Eevee 2.0. Burmy is often regarded to be Caterpie/Wumple of the Sinnoh, despite having an actual movepool, evolutions with actual stats, being only accessible through certain means, and Sinnoh having a much proper early route bug in Kricketot. Another common misconception for starters is that it changes its typing with different cloaks. It doesn't.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks?It is only accessible through specific methods, first being the Hoeny Trees. Its primary gimmick is that its cloak depending on where it last battled, which is purely cosmetic until evolution.

Wormadam

Wormadam is a unique Pokémon in that it can be three different Pokémon with different movepools, stats, and typings, even if they are all the same species. This is an incredible rarity, as this is a series that considers different genders of the same species as different Pokémon. It is also one of the few Pokémon that requires more than one determining factor in its evolution.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Read above. In addition to this, Wormadam-G is the only fully evolved Pokémon with Bug/Ground typing combination as of now. It also has unique BST along with Mothim.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? None of them are useful in metagame by any strech of means, even though their stats are somewhat decent and their movepools are somewhat nice, for an early route bug, the thing is, it is not an early route bug. It is a gimmick Pokémon who appears in early-mid game and that is only if you go out of your way to obtain it. Even if you do, you can't get it until you get your first badge at best(then again, so is Nincada-line).
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As Burmy's evolutions are the latest stages of bagworms' life cycle, they would need to go out of their way to accomplish it. Outside of that, they really don't have much reason not to evolve, though it is still an early route Pokémon.

Mothim

Face the second coolest early route bug! And outside of having an actual movepool and stats, it doesn't have much going for it.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It is one of the few Pokémon related to another Pokémon with form differences. It also has a unique BST along with Wormadam.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? It is Venomoth 2.0. It doesn't have much going for it outside of that. It has the highest Special Attack of most Quiver Dancers, but it doesn't have good defences, speed or status moves to help it. It is pretty cool in-game though.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See above.

Combee

With the creation of honey trees, there obviously needed to be a Pokémon who propagated that mechanic. As such, Combee was born. Notable for having a %100 chance of having a Honey when caught, Combee can also get Honey after half of the battles with its Honey Gather ability... until Hidden Ability Teddiursa came, of course.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It is created for Honey Trees. It also has a gender specific evolution and is the booby prize of honey trees.

Vespiquen

Evolution of the notorious female Combee, Vespiquen stands as immediately a threatening Pokémon. Despite being the mother of his followers, Vespiquen will not hestiate from using its biologically incorrect army against intruders.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Vespiquen is the only Pokémon with three signature moves, and only non Poison Pokémon that can learn Toxic through level-up.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Despite its good defensive and usable offensive stats and decent movepool, its typing stops it from achieving greatness... maybe. It is hard to know if its movepool and stats would allow it to be great if they weren't hampered by a bad typing. It would be quite good though.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Wormadam.

Cherrim

Much like its Honey tree breathen, Cherrim is considered to be early route Pokémon of its region, even though it barely is. It has one of the more interesting gimmicks though.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Cherrim is the only Pokémon with Flower Gift ability, which allows it and its double battle partner to gain %50 boost in Sp. Def. and Attack under sun. It's form change is also not depended on its ability, in Gen IV at least. I couldn't find any information about Gen V mechanics yet.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Eh? You can have some success with Cherrim but outside of doubles it is not worth it. It is usable, but not worth it. Not with its current movepool at least.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Flower Gift allows it to gain 567 BST under sun, which is similar to Archeops' BST. Which is, of course ridiculous and ruins its chances of evolving.

Pre-evolutionary corner: Cherubi

Cherubi is an enigmatic Pokémon for gaining more recognition than its evolution, who is an actual gimmick Pokémon. Outside of that, it is generally bland.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Prior to Gen V, it could only be obtained by specific methods. It also has access to Chlorophyll and has no form differences despite being connected to a Pokémon that has.

Shellos and Gastrodon

Previously intended to be introduced in R/S/E, Shellos and Gastrodon had to bid their time in pain and suffering until Gen IV. Shellos and Gastrodon are often mocked in the fandom, despite being created to be fairly decent competitive players, as evidenced by Gastrodon's presence in Cynthia's original team.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks?
Gastrodon and Shellos are the only Pokémon that change appearances depending on which part of the region they are found in.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Uhh... despite being currently OU, it actually suffers more in this gen than in previous gens due to changes in metagame making most bulky Water-types unviable. It is a good Pokémon in theory much like the other Water/Ground-types, but it suffers from many changes their brethen suffer as well.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Maybe? It has a low BST and it is an early route Pokémon, though that is commonplace in Water/Ground typed Pokémon, probably a safety measure to stop them from being overbearing in the metagame. So, who knows?

Drifloon

Much like other Amity Square Pokémon and Pikaclones, Drifloon is a Pokémon that is very transperently created to be cashed in. Unsurprisingly, it and its evolution gained enough recognition in their generation to be iconic and popular, even if their marketing was somewhat half-assed. At least they are relatively cool, useful and incredibly creepy.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Before Hidden Ability Mandibuzz/Braviary and Jellicent, it was the only Pokémon depended on weekly events after Lapras in G/S/C. It also has a unique typing and gained the unique Flare Boost after losing the uniqueness of its Unburden. It and its evolution are also the only Pokémon in the Fluctuating Experience Group that wasn't introduced in Hoenn. It also has the highest amount of immunities along with other Ghost-types with secondary typings that have immunities.

Drifblim

One of the few marketable gimmick evolution that is just as marketable as its pre-evolution, Drifblim was created to be a fan favorite and it has become one. And once its job was done, it was forgetten much like its pre-evolution.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? As it is a balloon, it has the highest HP of all Ghost-types along with Giratina. Its other gimmicks are mostly the same as its pre-evolution, except for requiring weekly events.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? While as a marketable Pokémon it has many different options, its stats are too mediocre to warrant its usage over other Ghost-types, except its titanic HP. In previous generation where the metagame was less offensive and Explosion wasn't nerfed it justified its usage, but in the current generation, it needs to played corretly and for its niches. As such it is still usable, but barely.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Despite GameFreak's attempts to keep it relevant, it is barely relevant, and thanks to its low BST, it has a shot to get its own Togekiss.

Pansage, Simisage, Pansear, Simisear, Panpour, Simipour

It has always been fans desire to obtain more than one starter. Especially considering most starters are better than standard early route Pokémon. Instead of that, we had another set of elemental Pokémon to help the starters. In the generation when the starters and some of the early route Pokémon have been debuffed to force players to use different Pokémon. Yeah, that sounds reasonable.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Elemental Monkeys are introduced to give players a different set of elemental Pokémon the help their starters, and they are created to showcase the Unova's design, that is, all gym leaders are located in areas that contain Pokémon that can beat their type specialty. It also helps with the Stration Gym's gimmick, by allowing the triplets to have different elemental typed Pokémon that are also virtually the same beyond their typing.

In addition to this, Pansage and Panpour get moves only they can learn through levelin-up(Grass Knot and Scald respectively).
Are these Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Surprisingly yes, but in lower tiers, and even then they are incredibly gimmicky and are not worth to be bothered with. This is because of their shallow movepools and low stats.
Do these Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Arguable. Their nature as pseudo-starters are both good arguments and counter-arguments for the case, and it depends which route GameFreak wants to continue with the starters.

Munna and Musharna

Continuing with the theme of the Pokémon introduced to showcase game mechanics, comes a Pokémon who makes a reference to two different NPC comments of previous games. Munna and Musharna were one of the most disliked Pokémon of Unova upon their reveal, and it probably didn't help that it wasn't necessary to obtain them to gain access to the game mechanic they are created for.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Munna and Musharna are created to introduce Dream World and sell toys.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Musharna is often considered to be one of the best Pokémon in NU, so I suppose it is to a degree. Obviously it doesn't work in higher tiers, but for lower tiers it is pretty good, thanks to its good stats and its large marketable Pokémon movepool.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? About the same as Drifloon.

Drilbur and Excadrill

You know the drill. It was introduced to introduce dust clouds mechanics along with elemental gems etc.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Excadrill and Drilbur were originally only accessible through dust clouds and were the only Pokémon to be obtained from them. In addition to this, Drilbur is the only pure Ground-type introduced in Gen V and Excadrill has the highest Attack of all Steel-types along with Metagross and Escavalier, highest HP of all Steel-types and lowest Defense of all Steel-types. It also has a unique BST.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? I really hope you are joking.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It already has a high 508 BST, which is boosted further with its abilities. So, probably not unless it is something akin to Scizor. Also, Eviolite Excadrill. My God.

Ducklett and Swanna

Ducklett and Swanna are similar to Luvdisc in that they are the real-life source of an important item. That is where the similiarities end though.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Ducklett and Swanna are created for the flying Pokémon's shadow mechanic occuring on the two bridges of Unova. They are the source of the feathers obtained from them, and originally could only be caught through this method.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? While it is dangerous rain sweeper in lower tiers, outside of that, no.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Same as Drifloon.

Deerling and Sawsbuck

With the introduction of seasonal changes, obviously there needed to be a Pokémon related to them. Thus came Deerling and Sawsbuck, the two Pokémon who were immediately embraced within fandom after their reveal. Damn you Disney and your propaganda.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Sawsbuck and Deerling change their forms depending on the season, and Sawsbuck has the signature move Horn Leech.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Despite being one of the most one-dimensional Pokémon ever, Sawsbuck is a dangerous Chlorophyll sweeper, thanks to its workable movepool, STAB Return and Horn Leech, and workable stats. Even though Leafeon might look like a better choice, Sawsbuck outclasses it with its better movepool, in higher tiers at least.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Despite being accessible only around mid-game, Deerling and Sawsbuck are deisgned and treated as early-route Pokémon, which is admittedly, kind of stupid. So, if the creators actually realize what they have done with it, it might get one.

Karrablast, Escavalier, Shelmet and Accelgor

I was rather unsure about putting these two here, but considering their design is based on their trading method, they are probably better here.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Their entire concepts are based on their evolution method.
Are these Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? They have nice movepools and great stats, as such they can always find a niche even though they would enjoy even more larger movepools.
Do these Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Again, their nature forces any possible evolution to meet their gimmicks... though it is possible for Karrablast and Shelmet to gain side evolutions.

Foongus and Amoonguss

Continuing “the fake chest” RPG trope Electrode and Voltorb follows, Foongus and Amoonguss are quite literally created to be annoying, which immediately makes them good competitors in the metagame.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? They are fake items, and they access to Spore.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Despite the diffuculties in properly utilising it, Amoonguss is a fantastic Pokémon with good defensive and offensive stats, movepool and typing. Though it will find more difficulties in later offense oriented generations, it is usable in this generation.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it is meant to be annoying and a joke on players, not much. At least, not a standard one.

And picture limit strikes again! That's okay though, since I kinda lost my steam for today. See you whenever.

Evolutions for?... Part 2-1: Le One-Evolutionary Lines

Trainer Yusuf — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 19:00:59 GMT

Yep, we are going to continue this. Whether you like it or not. Why? Because I've got nothing better to do.

Now to the actual opening paragraph. This portion of the “series” is going to be far more difficult because:
1-There are so many two staged Pokémon.
2-There are so many two staged Pokémon that are not meant to be bad but are bad.
3-There are so many two staged Pokémon who have completely different roles than each other.
4-While single stagers traditionally get more pre-evolutions, these guys traditionally get more evolutions as “bug fixes” or “reimagning”s.

Because of these reasons and the fact that I didn't like how I stopped caring after 20 pics limit, this is going to be many itsy bitsy little parts.

“I've been mad for f****** years”- The Primary Gimmick Pokémon
Despite the common misconception, the gimmick Pokémon are not only single stagers, but exist within every group of evolutionary lines. Second stagers is the second most common place they live, and the reasons are obvious, a secondary stage doesn't make them overbearing to the metagame and most of the ones listed here were previously single stagers. However, in RBY era, most of the Pokémon had obvious gimmicks, were obvious jokes or gained their gimmicks after sucking for generations(see Marowak, Azumarill etc.), as such to shorten the list and reduce the weight to other areas, we will currently discuss the Pokémon who are VERY OBVIOUSLY created for game mechanics or similiar things... for the RBY era. Rest of the generations will be more relaxed however, for obvious reasons.

Voltorb and Electrode

Created to utilize the “fake chest” RPG trope, Voltorb and Electrode's only reason of existance is to punish people from exploring loots in dungeons and explode on their face.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Both Pokémon are notable for being incredibly fast(fastest Pokémon until Gen III) and having a decent movepool. Also, they are fake items.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? While it had various niches until Gen V, all of them are now done better by other Pokémon. Explosion nerf didn't help either. It still has a usable 80 Sp. Atk and good movepool, so it can be very good in NU, and can continue its niche as a fast Rain Dancer.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution?As it is a joke on players, it would get a non-standard and odd evolution if it ever gets one.

Snorlax

Totoro Fan Art, by Ken Sugimori. While Snorlax have always had troubles, it always remained a tough opponent, until recently, where there has been far too many threats for it to handle with his GSC stat spread. Much like its Curse abusing colleague Swampert, Snorlax is currently far too mediocre for the standard and upper metagames.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Snorlax is the first road block Pokémon to ever grace the game, christening the trend that will be followed by the next generations(until BW, whose region is linear enough to not require an extensive amount of random road blocks.)
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? As much as I would like to say yes, the answer is no... for higher tiers at least.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Obviously no.

Pre-evolutionary corner: Munchlax

One of the only baby Pokémon that can be used competitively seriously somewhat(outside of Riolu and Wynaut), Munchlax was THE first Pokémon from Gen IV that was announced. Thus, Munchlax managed to get a lot of recognition through spin-offs and the animé. Surprisingly enough, this only continued on for Adventures manga and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, whereas every other place mostly conveniently forgot its existence. Probably because it was really uninteresting all along.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Surprisingly yes. It could be only caught in specific honey trees, and it had a specific coding for it to show up. In addition to this, it used to give Snorlax access to Zen Headbutt so it could theoritically fight back against Fighting-types, but B2W2 tutors made breeding a Munchlax unneccessary.

Sudowoodo

Epileptic trees are real! Sudowoodo is the second roadblock Pokémon of the series. Created by Ken Sugimori, it is obvious that Sudowoodo is a living, breathing joke. It is meant to be a rare early-mid-game route Pokémon, but has long upgraded to a rare mid-mid-game Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It was the second roadblock Pokémon, and it is clearly a pun on uso(false), ki(tree) and usotsuki(Liar)(psedo and wood for English version).
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? NO.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution?That depends on whether Sugimori-san wants Sudowoodo to become the lie or just stay as a liar.

Pre-evolutionary corner: Bonsly

Fake Tears' living embodiment. Bonsly was one of the first few Pokémon from Gen IV that was introduced. It was also the first playable Generation IV Pokémon in a RPG game, thanks to Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness' Bonsly Card in Battle Bingo.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It exists for Fake Tears, which is the only exclusive move it gives to Sudowoodo, outside of Uproar. It also has a gimmick that it only evolves after leveling up with having Mimic in its movepool, a trait it shares with Mime Jr. It also continues the pun tradition of its evolution, as it comes from uso(lie) , hachi(flowerpot) and usoppachi(downright lie)(bonsai and sly or lie for English version).

Wobbuffet

Wobbuffet had often been mocked for his ridiculous gimmick. In GSC. In R/S/E, this changed, as Wobbuffet gained an actual movepool and one of the best abilities in the game that was pretty much custom tailored for it. This turned it from one of the worst Pokémon in the game to the single best gimmick Pokémon, except maybe Breloom.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Wobbuffet is the living embodiment of the moves Counter and Mirror Coat, as everything it has were given to it or created to maximise this potential. Wobbuffet single handedly confirmed how these techiniques would be effective in competitive play, and its ability has helped a lot of people to get roaming legendaries. In addition to this, outside of Deoxys, it is the only Pokémon who can gain both of the moves at the same time and in the same moveset.
Wobbuffet was also based off Sanpei Hayashiya, whose son has voiced the Cleavon Schpielbunk(Heat Minamino in Japan) in the Japanese Dub of Original Series, and its Japanese name creates an endless conversation with Wynaut's Japanese name. It also gets to wear lipstick if it is a female one.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Less so in this generation, but most certainly yes. Wobbuffet's life is getting tougher and tougher however, and te franchise will eventually come to a place where it can't be useful even with access to an actual recovery move and Protect. Until then, it stays as one of the most underrated yet incredibly useful Pokémon in the game.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Whatever evolution that may come up MUST follow with Wobbuffet's many joke traits. Outside of that, there is little to no reason for it to not evolve.

Pre-evolutionary corner: Wynaut

One of the few somewhat competitive baby Pokémon, and for good reasons. It can do anything Wobbuffet can do. Scratch that, it IS the reason why Wobbuffet can do what it does. Wynaut was one of the earliest debuted Gen III Pokémon, and it eventually dissapeared after the promotion. It is still a good Pokémon and absolutely adorable.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Wynaut could only be catched in the Mirage Island, though you can get an Egg containing one during your travel to Lavaridge Town's spa. It also gave the moveset Wobbuffet needed to be amazing.

Surskit

Surksit is one of the biggest dick moves made by Game Freak. It could be found in many different routes, but by only %1 chance! Due to this, it is often considered to be the reason why Net Ball existed in the first place.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It had a %1 catch rate and changes its unique typing upon evolution. It also becomes a swarm Pokémon in Emerald after mixing records with Ruby or Sapphire.

Evolutionary corner: Masquerain

The famed evolution of Surskit, in which it gains a common and crappy typing. Masquerain is notable for having intimidation abilities despite not looking intimidating, thanks to its giant eye shaped feelers. It used to be uncatchable, until Platinum came and changed that.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Again, it is one of the few Pokémon with intimidation abilities even though it is not threatening but its design is related. It also has the unique 414 BST.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? While it gained Quiver Dance, the only reason for it to be used over any other Quiver Dancers is the fact that it has Intimidate, gains Water-type related moves and can Baton Pass its boosts. This is due to fact that it has no sleep inducing move and it is incredibly slow.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Maybe? It does have some gimmicks, but it has no gimmicks specific to it left.

Shroomish

With its perpetual frown, Shroomish stands out fairly easily from the rest. Kind of. Somewhat. Not really. Despite having an actually common expression, Shroomish is more than that. As an early route Pokémon, it was one of the earliest showcased Pokémon. But outside of that, it is thought to be a cute enough Pokémon to be a part of Amity Square along with other Pokémon created to exploit young children or ended up becoming iconic eventually. This probably makes it just as popular as the others in Game Freak's eyes, though it might just be easily that they are trolling us. But that doesn't make much sense given Snubbull's entire concept is based around being cute due to others' claim than being actually cute. Alteratively, it might be a part of their own personal favoritism towards it. It's hard to tell.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Not really. It learns Spore at a very high level but learning useful moves at high levels is a part of many unevolved Pokémon. It is clearly created to capitilize its funny looking perpetual frown, but it is not really a popular Pokémon. It is not a dud either, so just what is it?

Evolutionary corner: Breloom

Breloom is one of the best... uhhh... sort of failed gimmick Pokémon. While outside of its 130 Attack and semi-unique typing it doesn't look that significant, with its access to Spore, to lesser extent Growth and its fantastic abilities, it becomes a great Pokémon. This is mostly, and was only because it could reliably use Substitute+Focus Punch. This has changed to Techinican shenanigans nowadays.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Not really.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? It becomes slightly more and more one dimensional each generation. Eventually, it might need an evolution. Until that day comes, it has surpsingly many useful options that are still relevant somewhat.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it is an early route Pokémon, not much.

Ninjask

The famed ultimate noob Pokémon. Ninjask is the coolest of early route bugs. It has a great Speed stat[in fact, he is the fastest thing aliveee(except Deoxys-S)] a great ability and a great Attack stat. Just what ever happened that it gained its recognition?
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks?
It is the single fastest non-legendary Pokémon, and used to be the only owner of the elusive Speed Boost ability.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Outside of Baton Passing Speed boosts, no. Despite its decent Attack, its movepool is far too shallow for it to be anything significant. However, it is still decent enough to make Ninjask somewhat of a threat, if its movepool ever gets a full revamp.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it is an early route Pokémon(sort of), not much.

Shedinja

The prime one-hit wonder. As the only Pokémon 1 HP, Shedinja should fear everything. Thankfully, it is given a gimmick in the form of Wonder Guard, which makes him the shed shell with most immunities.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It is the Pokémon with most immunities. It is also the only Pokémon with 1 HP. It also has unique way to be obtained. Also prior to Gen V, it could gain any level up moves Nincada learned during its evolution.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Shedinja is only useful against Pokémon who has absolutely nothing to fight against it. Fortunately for Shedinja, they are more common than its vulnerabilities might make you think. Unfortunately, it dies to any form of residual damage. However, if Wonder Guard ever gets an upgrade to protect it from any residual damage as well, Shedinja will finally become truly terrifying.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Since it is a shed shell, obviously not. It is a leftover. How that is going to metamorphose on its own?

Pre-evolutionary corner: Nincada

Nincade has always been baffling to people who didn't know about the life cycle of a cicada. Or the ones who simply didn't see its small nymph wings. Essentially it is an anthithesis of Ninjask, with its nice 90 Base Defense and atrocious stats in everywhere else. At least unlike Surskit it had an understandable encounter rate.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Prior to Wormadam, it had a unique type combination. And before Ferroseed and Larvesta-lines, it was the only gendered Pokémon who can learn TMs but not learn Attact and while it was learnable through TMs, it was the only gendered Pokémon who can learn TMs but not Captivate. It was also one of the few Pokémon with the Compundeyes ability, and only one that was accessible in R/S/E without trading with FR/LG. It was also accessible in a single route and unaccessible everywhere else. It also has a unique BST. It can also be bred from Shedinja and it is the only Pokémon that evolves into two different Pokémon at once.

Meditite and Medicham

With the introduction of the abilities in R/S/E, there needed to be a Pokémon that showcased the powers of the abilties. Naturally, best way to do this was to make a Pokémon who could only function with it's ability that isn't Shedinja as it has another gimmick going for it. As such, one of the newly introduced Pokémon needed to be the scapegoat. These guys were that scapegoat.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It is introduced to showcase the power of abilities. As such, it has an ability that makes it amazing, but also makes it relatively useless without it.

In addition to this, it is more common in Sinnoh than in Hoenn and can be catched with using Sinnoh Sound as oppossed to Hoenn Sound in HG/SS.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? While it is relatively one dimensional, it has a great movepool, decent stats(with the exception of its amazing attack) and an incredibly powerful STAB move as of Gen V. As such, it is usable in the current metagame, but not reliable in higher tiers.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? With Pure Power Medicham gains around 518 BST, enough to be considered fully evolved. It is primarily a mid/early-mid-game Pokémon however. So... maybe?

Chimecho

Surskit might be one of the biggest dick moves by Game Freak, but Chimecho is very close second. Unlike Surskit, it could only be caught in the summit of Mt. Pyre and absolutely nowhere else, and but much like Surskit, it had a very, very low chance of appearing(%2). To top this, it had a very low catch rate, 45(%5.9 with a normal Poké Ball). Much like Surskit, it is most certainly not worth it.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It was very rare and very difficult to catch. That's pretty much it.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Surprisingly yes, somewhat. As a support Pokémon it is good, and as a boosting Pokémon it is decent, but that is only because of its support movepool; and even then Gardevoir can do anything it can; outside of Entrainment and Recover.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Maybe? It's gimmick has been long lost, and while it is clear that Game Freak is trying to keep it relevant, even if its stats were completely revamped, it still won't be good.

Pre-evolutionary corner: Chingling

There has never been a Pokémon who had a sucking value that was higher than Chingling, as far as the fandom is concerned. Maybe except Bidoof. Despite this shortcoming and its percieved unneccessity, Chingling gives three elusive moves to Chimecho, Last Resort, Entrainment and Recover(through breeding), the latter two justifying its existance as an addition to Chimecho's line. Outside of these it is completely useless though, and it is even more annoying since it was incredibly common in its debut game, while Chimecho was a quest on its own.

Snorunt

While time based events have been implemented in the games long ago with the day-night system, there hasn't been any events based on specific times of a day outside of Daisy's massage session. As such, Snorunt was created, the only Pokémon depended on the hour outside of Rotom in Gen IV. Not even Spheal, the only other Pokémon specific to Shoal Cave in Gen III, is dependent on the tides of Shoal Cave, as it appears in both times. Snorunt's line is also in both Fairy and Mineral Egg Groups.

Evolutionary corner: Glalie

Glalie was an unimpressive Pokémon with 80 base stats in every stat it has. It was completely overshadowed by its sexier female counterpart, despite having movepool differences and stat differences, as neither of those helped Glalie at all. And then, it got Moody.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? No, outside of being a visual pun(It is an onigiri that is an oni. ZOMGWTFBBQ.) It is also in both Fairy and Mineral groups.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Moody allows it to utilize its decent offensive movepool and makes it a decent Spikes user. However, Moody is banned in most standard tournaments, which leaves Glalie unimpressive for most tournament players.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Maybe? Its BST is low enough even though there hasn't been any Pokémon with branched evolutions that gained evolutions for the brached evolved stages. But broken nature of Moody partially betrays it.

Because of the 20 pics limit, this part concludes here. If you think I am missing something, don't, as I am very likely to discuss about them later.

I continue my hiatus on Best Wishes.+ Q&A with TY, Part 1

Trainer Yusuf — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:56:39 GMT

I have nothing left to look forward to or discuss in Best Wishes, again.

So, I stuggled with my toilet's flush and kept my studying for my final at minumum to learn about the opening. And almost everything was stuff I was expecting! And I have no hopes about any of them actually being above relatively above average! Also, there is nothing left to look forward in Best Wishes that will have any actual value later on. Guess this is it. I will still be around somewhat to post news and stuff but there is simply no amount of f***s I can give left. If there happens something interesting, I might follow that, but if that doesn't happen, I will continue my hiatus.

...
Anyways, I will be having my final final today. After that I will be free for a while. So, since I have been incredibly bored and unamused lately, I decided to open a Q&A segment about me. If you have any questions regarding anything any fandom or franchise, just post it in the comments. I might not answer them all, but it will keep me busy until I can finish or start my planned blog posts, watch some shows and movies that I should or dick around my tablet, which is good.

See you later and etc.

Le Obligatory List of Generation Starting Pokémon Games vs. Console Release Dates

Trainer Yusuf — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 17:02:04 GMT

With the current discussions, it is commonly stated that Pokémon games often made to match the releases of their respective consoles. However, I wondered if this was the case or not, so this blog post sprung up.

Game Boy
Release Dates:
Japan: April 21, 1989
North America: August 1989
Europe: September 28, 1990

Generation I
Japan:
Red/Green: February 27, 1996
Blue: October 15, 1996
North America: September 30, 1998
Europe: October 5, 1999
Australasia: October 23, 1999

Generation II
Japan: November 21, 1999
Australasia: September 4, 2000
North America: October 14, 2000
Europe: April 6, 2001

Game Boy Color:
Release Dates:
Japan: October 21, 1998
North America: November 18, 1998
PAL: November 23, 1998
Australasia: November 27, 1998

Game Boy Advance
Release Dates:
Japan March 21, 2001
North America: June 11, 2001
PAL: June 22, 2001

Generation III
Japan: November 21, 2002
North America: March 19, 2003
Australasia: April 3, 2003
Europe: July 25, 2003

Nintendo DS
Release Dates:
North America: November 21, 2004
Japan: December 2, 2004
Australasia: February 24, 2005
Europe: March 11, 2005

Generation IV
Japan: September 28, 2006
North America: April 22, 2007
Australasia: June 21, 2007
Europe: July 27, 2007

Generation V
Japan: September 18, 2010
Europe: March 4, 2011
North America: March 6, 2011
Australasia: March 10, 2011

Nintendo 3DS:
Release Dates:
Japan: February 26, 2011
Europe: March 25, 2012
North America: March 27, 2011
Australia March 31, 2011
Korea April 28, 2012
China: December 2012

Evolutions for?... Part 1-2: Single Stagers

Trainer Yusuf — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 17:12:40 GMT

The saga continues!
Volbeat and Illumise

Volbeat and Illumise's relationship is weird. In their debut, Volbeat had the niche of being the only Special Attack boost Baton Passer. But in Gen IV Illumise gained Tinted Lens, outclassing Volbeat. And then Tail Glow became a move with +3 boost. They don't exactly have any stand-out gimmicks, at least not one that is clearly defined, outside of being one of the many counterpart Pokémon of Gen III. They gained Prankster which made them relatively powerful, but still they are weird.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks?Outside of Volbeat's access to Tail Glow as its old signature move, Illumise is also the only Pokémon who can have eggs of another Pokémon with completely different dex entry, outside of Nidorans(until Gen V, when Volbeat gained ability to have Illumise children from Ditto). But they really don't have any particularly unique gimmicks.
Except for the fact that they are noth in Bug and Human-Type Egg groups.
Are these Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Thanks to Prankster, sort of.
Do these Pokémon have any hope in evolution? There isn't particularly high hopes for these two.

Castform

One of the most well known gimmick Pokémon, Castform had two exclusive gimmicks for it, one was its custom Forecast ability and other was Weather Ball. Now it only has one. Two went hand to hand, Forecast gave Castform new typings and Weather Ball gained STAB and doubled in power in any weather except Sandstorm. Castform teached young children about weather mechanics which were poorly introduced in Generation II(with the exception of Hail which was introduced in Gen III) and was ignored by investers except Adventures manga. Castform and its fake cloud breasts lived happily a fantasy, in which it hoped to be not forgotten by the children it prepared for Gen V metagame. But ultimately Castform was forgotten.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Castform was the first Pokémon who could change forms in battle. It also further solidified the concept of type changing in battles and the concept of weather effectsalong with Tyranitar, Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza. It was also the only Pokémon with Weather Ball.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? No.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Not much, but it cannot showcase Sandstorm so it should either get an addition to Forecast or an evolution with Sandstorm form.

Kecleon

Kecleon is another mirror opponent tactic. It is created to explore the concept of having opponents' type against it. Thanks to Kecleon we explored this concept well. Here is the result: It sucks. Almost of all of Pokémon in serious battles will have moves that are either super effective or neutral against themselves. As Kecleon's gimmick is objectively bad, while it is keeping its gimmick, it is a very, very bad one.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Color Change is one of the competitively worst abilities in the metagame, even if its' idea is a good one on the paper. Kecleon also got Reflect Type from Dream World to theoretically troll with its ability.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Kinda. Its Special Defense is great and its Attack is below average, but even without Color Change it wouldn't be exceptionally good, but it would probably be decent for lower tiers, just relatively outclassed.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As the gimmick itself is bad, no matter what evolution it gets, it will be a bad Pokémon. Unless gimmick is completely removed of course.

Chatot

Also known as Pokémon Mic Demo, Chatot's claim to fame is Chatter, which increases in confusion capability as you scream louder on your DS. Chatot is also based on main idea of a parrot, and not an actual species(there is no species with crests and colorful plumage. Species with crests, cockatoos, are primarly white, grey or black with one single bright color.). It's musical design is cleverly done upon the general idea of a parrot however. And it is also a late route Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Chatter is its only gimmick. This move has caused it to be only Pokémon banned from any Nintendo hosted tournaments, as people can be creative with its move. Because of this move, even if it got a good evolution or massive boost in power, it would still be banned forever.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Surprisingly yes, as its offensive stats are similiar to that of Xatu. It also has a mediocre movepool and access to Nasty Plot, allowing it to be potentially devastating in lower tiers. It just have literally paper thin defenses which decreases Chatot's potential.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As Chatter is banned for offical tournaments, Chatot is forever doomed even if it doesn't actually carry it.

Rotom

As all of its forms are good, Rotom does not need anything except for Rotom-S having an actual ability.

Edit:Phione
Ah how I forgotten this thing. Phione is the doppelganger of its father Manaphy, while also simultaneously being a copycat of Glalie. Unlike Manaphy who prefers colder regions, Phione prefers warm regions. Unlike Manaphy, it cannot switch souls of Pokémon and humans. You can see where I am going with this. Phione was probably some sort of inside joke, a response to the common cry of "Why legendaries can't breed despite having egg step counts?" Just as a true imposter however, Phione is completely outclassed by its father, and has no proper ways to make itself stand out.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Phione is the result of the only legendary that can breed(assuming Phione isn't a legendary itself). By this, it is also the only Pokémon obtainable through an event Pokémon breeding.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Suprisingly yes. If it invests in one defensive stat and HP, it becomes hard to be OHKO'ed from that side. This, combined with its ability Hydration, makes it a prime dedicated Rain Dance set-upper in NU. In addition to this, if it ever gets Tail Glow and Eviolite(which will also increase its BST to match its father) it will become one of the most threatening bulky offense pivots in OU under rain.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Unless it evolves to Manaphy, not really. Especially considering it is already techinically a fully evolved Pokémon, barely though.

Basculin

The only species with four abilities by having two different forms. Basculin is the only Pokémon with two different forms that has one dominant and other non-dominant form catchable in wild.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? I already said it above.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Its movepool is shallow but very much workable. Its offensive stats are also not bad for lower tiers.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it is actually somewhat good, it doesn't exactly need further evolutions outside of keeping it relevant for higher tiers. Its abilities also would like moves they can actually be utilised with.

Sixth circle of Hell- Single Stagers for Sake of Being Single Stagers
Most single stagers have something that keeps them single stage. These Pokémon don't. These Pokémon have no gimmicks, are not meant to properly compete against fully evolved Pokémon despite having one or two good stats and aren't important as ways to showcase themes of region they are based on. They just exist. They are not "failures" because they are not meant to succeed. They are not jokes because they aren't meant mock someone or something. They are just are. And much like their past comrades like Roselia, Gligar, Misdreavus, Murkrow etc., they are the likeliest to evolve or get pre-evolutions.

Corsola

Corsola is closest of these critters who actually has something close to a gimmick, as it is the only non-Grass-type Pokémon who can get Ingrain. That is about it. It actually has good abilities and a great movepool, but its stats, even with Hustle boost, are barely as good as unevolved Pokémon. Corsola is just terrible.

Tropius

Just like a real dinosaur with bannanas on its neck, Tropius is generally rare and can be found in specific locations. It is also used by Winona and was showcased in various spin-off media of AG where it was used as a strong competitor. It isn't, despite its good abilities and decent movepool.

Carnivine

Despite its great offensive stats, Carnivine's other stats are either just below average. Its movepool is completely horrible, except for the fact that it can learn Power Whip and Sleep Powder. It is, like Qwilfish and Tropius, is only accesible in certian routes and by certain techiniques, and it is sort of a joke Pokémon as in PBR its Toxic's animation moves erratically much like Spinda.

Maractus

Its movepool is so bad it can't even function. Its offensive stats are actually somewhat good but it can't use them at all.

Seventh circle of Hell- Single Stagers as Fully Evolved Pokémon
The last list, the Pokémon that are actually intended to be as strong as fully evolved Pokémon. These Pokémon don't evolutionary lines just for the sake of it. These Pokémon has often got pre-evolution and if they lost their power, evolutions. Thes Pokémon don't exactly have major gimmicks or joke potentials, but they are strong competitors.

Kangaskhan

Also known as Smothering Pokémon, Kangaskhan used to be a strong competitor in UU in all generations except Gen V. While it is still a strong Pokémon, it is no longer as useful at it is used to be. It still have niches that keep it relevant and it will likely be relevant due to its well distrubuted stats and movepool.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Surprisingly its base total is a measly 490 which is lower than what most other monsters have.

Pinsir

Ever since its debut, Pinsir was located in UU. Now its a NU. While it has gained many great assets over years, it still struggles to be as threatening as it should be.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Its past rival Scyther gained one with same BST, so who knows, maybe Pinsir might get on GF's good side.
Tauros

Tauros is the poster child of generational decay. All of its great assets have been taken from him. However, it still gains boosts from various places, from Anger Point to Sheer Force.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Kangaskhan.

Lapras

With the introduction of its Hidden Ability Hydration and Drizzle Politoed, Lapras has recently become relevant for OU again, barely. However, it still lacks a proper boosting move to buff its Special Attack and a better stats.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it has same BST as some of the third stage evolutions, not so much.
Aerodactyl

OU in past two gens, Aerodactyl has always been a good but not great Pokémon. Much like its peers, it suffers from generational decay.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? While its BST is still relatively low enough for a second evolution, it simply won't ger much power unless it is something that is played completely differently than Aerodactyl.

Heracross

While Heracross isn't as good in any tier above UU, it is the single most destructive force there.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Pinsir and then see Lapras.

Skarmory

Skarmory is still relevant.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Not until the day Skarmory loses its importance, but it does have potential because of its low BST.

Miltank

See Tauros
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Tauros.

Torkoal
Torkoal is one of the many uncommon specific location Pokémon featured in this list. Much like others in this list, Torkoal actually has very good stats, ( 70/140/70 defences and 85/85 offenses) and a good movepool. However, its lack of good recovery move, its Fire typing, its bad abilities and its low Speed stat forces it to stay as an NU. As a NU, it is actually reatively good, as it is one of the closest things to a good Rapid Spinner in NU, especially with Shell Smash. However, all things considered, it is still a relatively bad Pokémon. Torkoal needs any boost it can get to stay in the tier he is currently in, let alone become a high tier Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Its low 470 BST makes it plausible.

Zangoose
Zangoose has always been a decent Pokémon with good offensive stats. This has been further increased in Gen V with the addition of Toxic Boost, an ability specifically created for Zangoose. However Zangoose has decayed immensely as the metagame shifted around it. While it is still a strong threat, it is too slow and frail to be anything than devastator of low tier Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? While it does have a low BST open for evolution, it is a unique BST for it and Seviper. Not to mention, it recently gained a unique ability, which decreases its chances of evolving in a very soon period.

Seviper
Much like its counterpart Zangoose, Seviper has always been good. Seviper has two great offensive stats and a fantastic movepool to abuse. While it is too frail to utilise its supporting moves, Seviper is still a decent competitor in NU. But it is too mediocre to be an important presence in NU.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Zangoose.

Lunatone and Solrock
Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright used to be moderately strong competitors in AG. However, as more generations passed, Lunatone and Solrock are no longer decent Pokémon. Despite their large movepools and unique typings, they have lost a lot, from Explosion to ability to CM Pass. While they gained a much necessary recovery move, they are still decaying each passing day.
Do these Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Yes.

Absol
AG Arcanine or AG Lucario. Whichever you prefer. Absol has fallen a long time ago, and its abilities did not help it in this regard. While it still has a monstrous Attack, its movepool is only decent and its other stats are very bad.
Do these Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It is too popular to not get any further boosts, and it is too popular to get a major change. Absol simply exists in that odd limbo.

Relicanth
While it used to be usable in OU, nowadays Relicanth spends its days spamming its new toy, Head Smash. While it gained a cool ability in Sturdy, it is still sort of meh.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it is an ancient Pokémon who has remained unchanged for years, it would be weird for it to change now.

Spiritomb

One of the iconic faces of sidequests, Spiritomb was one of the “gimmick” Pokémon who was actually meant to be strong as many of high tier Pokémon. However, despite having well-rounded stats, the same well-rounded stats decreased its usefulness as the metagame shifted into a far more focused one. This change also brought back many of his past flaws, which were the reasons of its lack of popularity; its mediocre base stats, its lack of physical buffing moves, its relatively shallow support and offense movepool, its below average abilities and its lack of reliable recovery. To add further insult to the injury, Gen V not only brought another slow but well rounded Pokémon without weaknesses and made his past competitor one of the most annoying supporter in the game, it also stopped its title as a Pokémon that was only accessible through external devices. Spiritomb was never as good as it was meant to be, and it continues to degrade even further. Spiritomb may continue to be relevant, but only if it gets a full revamp.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Due to the nature of its creation, barely.

Audino
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It's the next Chansey. Moving along.

Sawk and Throh
Despite being often ridiculed by the most common trainers, Sawk and Throh, despite being the epitome of early route Pokémon, are also surprisingly strong. While their movepool is far too generic to allow them to be high tier Pokémon, Sawk and Throh are still very strong competitors in lower tiers. Throh in particular, as it is the most underrated of duo despite being the single bulkiest Fighting-type in the game. They also have iconic level-up moves, but only Throh's was a signature move(just like Hitmonlee being the only one with signature moves in Gen I).
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? That is rather hard to answer, as while they are an obvious reference to Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, their oni based design is also reminiscent of Electrabuzz and Magmar. Sawk's design being based off a real celebrity, Mas Oyama, is also reminiscent of Wobbuffet and its design template in addition to being reminiscent of Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan again(for both Japanese versions and English versions). It is most likely that they don't, but they will most likely get further boosts throughout generations just like their older cousins.

Sigilyph
Sigilyph is just weird. It has a perfect movepool-ability-stat combination that allows it to be used in OU, and its niche, while being also easy to counter, has potential to be impossible to be beaten if played well.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Ergh, not really. The fact that they are ancient guardians make it diffucult, but the implication of the fact that they are man-made does give opportunities for interesting evolution techiniques.

Alomomola

The great master of NU. Just look at its fantastic eyeshades, and its gigantic hand membranes, which it uses to touch itself. Alomomola's stats, abilities and movepool are decent enough to keep Alomomola relevant in any tier below OU. However, its offensive stats outside of its below average Attack stat detriment it, especially since it requires Scald to boost its defences. It is also odd in the fact that it gets lots of offensive, boosting and support from Special side.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Not much, as it is one of the most physically defensive non-legendary Pokémon that gains its defense from its HP and not Defense stat. It does have a low 470 BST however.

Crygonal

The Spiritomb of Unova. Instead of having no weaknesses, it has many weaknesses. Much like Alomomola, despite having stats geared towards Special side, it has moves that boosts it from Physical side and a movepool that is mainly Physical moves. It has two interesting movepool gimmicks, being the only genderless Pokémon with Attract outside of Mew and Staryu-line in Gen II; and only Pokémon who can learn Sharpen outside of Porygon-line. It is also the Pokémon with highest Special Defense in Ice-types.
Despite its oddity, its access to Physical defense boosting stats actually help it, and it has very useful support moves in dual screens, Rapid Spin and Knock Off, making it a surprisingly effective Pokémon in any tiers below OU.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Sort of. It has low BST compared to other high tier Pokémon, but its stats are also very good.

Druddigon
A common misconception with Druddigon is that if it were any other type, Druddigon would have been a great Pokémon. This is idea is incredibly misguided, as Druddigon's stats are still only decent, and it requires high attacking power and loads of resistances to be as good as a Dragon-type. The only other typings that allow this are Steel, Water and Fighting, with Fighting's STAB being easily stopped by any Ghost-type, Steel's strongest physical move being Meteor Mash(though it will be incredibly strong with Hone Claws and Glare) and Warer suffering both of the issues, just in a smaller scale. Dragon-type is one of the primary reasons Druddigon is actually good, and while it would like a secondary typing, it cannot replace its typing with something that gives a good enough effect to make Druddigon not outclassed(especially since the other alternatives have many Pokémon with similiar stat spread to it). Regardless of the argument, Druddigon is still a very powerful Pokémon with good attacking moves, good abilities, and a small niche as the only fully evolved Dragon-type fitting for dedicated Trick Room teams.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? The biggest issue with giving it an evolution is that Druddigon is likely to outclass it due to Eviolite, as such any evolution for it requires to be either a complete abandonment of Druddigon's tactics, or a stat spread-movepool combination that makes it relevant despite the existance of Druddigon(see Gurdurr vs. Conkeldurr, Fraxure vs. Haxorus etc.).

Bouffalant
See Tauros. Note: It would like more moves to take advantage of Reckless and maybe something that boosts its Defense.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? See Tauros.

Heatmor
Heatmor is an interesting Pokémon who has a semi-unique ability, two nice abilities and one of largest movepools of Unova Pokémon. It also has two great offensive stats and two decent stat increase move in Curse and Stockpile. However, all of these traits are not good enough to make Heatmor a good Pokémon. Curse isn't good because Heatmor's physical movepool contains low powered moves and its Defense is low(in addition to Special Defense, which makes Stockpile useless). White Smoke isn't good because outside of Curse and Stockpile it has no buffing moves. Its other abilities aren't that great, especially Gluttony due to its defensive stats. Even its special movepool is shallow. It can't even learn Hyper Beam even though it can learn Giga Impact. All in all, Heatmor just, sucks.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Much like Zangoose and Seviper it has the same BST as its rival Durant, who outclasses it completely as it is faster and can launch powerful Rock-type moves. It also has a semi-unique ability in White Smoke. However, despite these, it needs an evolution to be useful, as its offensive prowess is still too lacking of a Trick Room team. And it might get one, seeing how close it is to Magmar in design.

Durant
Durant is an interesting Pokémon who has a semi-unique ablity, one risky but useful ability and a decently large movepool for a Unova Pokémon. In addition to these traits, it also has a nice niche as the only fully evolved Pokémon with both Hustle and Hone Claws, only Pokémon who can spread Truant with Entrainment and the fastest Steel-type Pokémon. While it is incredibly one-dimensional, with a good typing, decent movepool, decent abilities, and good stat spread, Durant stays as one of the most underrated but useful Pokémon in the game.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Much like Zangoose and Seviper, it has the same BST with its rival Durant. However, it is often thought to be at a disadvantage over Heatmor due to its x4 weakness to its STAB and its abysmal Special Defense. This misconception of Durant as an uninteresting Pokémon(even though it is a late-route Pokémon) prevails in nearly the entirety of the franchise, which might be what will end up allowing Durant to get an evolution.

And this concludes our epic. I hope you have managed to get entertained while I copypasted the long winded fandom arguments to an easily accessible but long and drawn out post. Next time, we will be discussing two staged Pokémon who failed to be relevant or as good as they were intented to be. Until then, you are free to recommend further blog suggestions in the comments section. See ya and stuff.

Evolutions for?... Part 1-1: Single Stagers

Trainer Yusuf — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 10:56:57 GMT

As most of the unavaible Pokémon has been released on DW with the exception of legendaries, I thought this would be a decent time to do this.

When discussing future evolutions for Pokémon, a common excuse for certain Pokémon is that “they are gimmick Pokémon”, “they are introduced to teach certain aspects of game”, “they have specific game mechanics” etc. Since they are “gimmicks”, they don't need evolutions, or in more extreme cases, don't even deserve to Pokémon. As I symphatise with these critters, I wanted to make a large blog. However, as I also wanted to be entertaining, I decided to appeal to most common denominator, and attempted to steal common fandom jokes, particularly those of Smogon.
I hope you end up having a good time reading this epic.

First circle of Hell- The (Obvious) Joke Pokémon
As a series for little kids, Pokémon is infamous its joke characters in all parts of the franchise, be it NPCs or its titular creatures. While there has been joke characters who gained marketable pre-evolutions or if they are lucky enough, evolutions who reach the jokes to their logical conclusions(such as Aipom, Lickitung, Tangela and Nosepass); these Pokémon are solely created to be jokes and thus are meant to suck because of it. This list will not include less obvious jokes, such as Qwilfish, Chimecho(for the Part 2), Dunsparce, Stunfisk, Girafarig and Stantler, as they are more close to their "saved" cousins(maybe not Dunsparce but whatever).

Farfetch'd

Aah Farfetch'd, quite possibly one of the few amalgation of everything 90's despite being something created to be generically cool looking. From his sexy unibrow to onion swordstick to his Akira Toriyama-esque old early 90s anime eyes to his spiky shonen rival hair to being a duck to his wing salute to being owned by a sarcastic thief in the animé, Farfetch'd is the only Pokémon Lewis Lowhaug's 90s Kids persona need as a sidekick. If you want to read a more serious article about Farfetch'd, please read Bikini Miltank's old article about him. It is the most perfect article about this little fella.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Due to nature of his joke, and his status as the first in-game trade, he can be thought as the Pokémon created to teach the nature of trading. In addition to this, he is both in Field and Flying Egg Groups, which gives it significance as an important link in chain breeding.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Despite his interesting DW ability and large movepool compared to most Flying-types, it is completely unsalvagable.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it is meant to suck, none.

Unown

Aside from being totally adorable, Unown still stand as the most enigmatic Pokémon ever created. Mostly because their entire reason of existence is to be enigmatic. Just as Big the Cat is the king of cameos in Sonic universe, Unown are the lords puzzle sidequests in Pokémon universe. As a standalone Pokémon, Unown is worthless; but with others of its kind, they become Munna/Musharna with Fennel's machine. Together they have the power of Gods, literally as Arceus requires them to have another literal newly hatched God in Sinjoh Ruins event. Which may or may not mean Arceus has the cutest harem of husbands, if Arceus is the wife in this equation.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Yes, several in fact.
1-Almost all of their appearances in games require solving a puzzle sidequest. Not to mention that the act of catching them all is more or less a puzzle sidequest on its own.
2-In Generation II, their debut, their entire movepool and their formes were dictated IV values. This has been changed to PIDs in Gen III and a completely different value in later generations. As such, it can be said that Unown are created to introduce the IVs to players and showcase Gameboy's capabilities.
3-They exist as a part of the common RPG cliché "unsolvable myth for sake of creating a sense of curiosty".
4-They are used as an additional cipher alphabet for Pokémon series and fans.
There might be even more that I haven't thought about yet.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Its stats are fairly bad, though their attacking stats are roughly the same Emolga's and they have a nice ability in Levitate. And it is still the only Pokémon who can use Choice items without switching out throught the entire game. But seriously, no.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Swarming bees require queen bees to propagate their species, as the workers cannot breed due to how they are fed. Unown don't have genitals.

Delibird

Before Shaymin, there was Delibird as the physical represantation of gratitude. These ripoffs of the Saint Nicholas try to enjoy the same familiarity the color scheme Coca-Cola bestowed upon Santa, but miserably fail. There is no wonder why Create-A-Pokémon artists use Delibird as the prey of all CAP projects. Delibird is one of the most shameless Christmas tie-ins, and he is actually bad it. He is so bad at it that it is not even the go to Pokémon for New Year's merchandising anymore. Darmanitan line as usurped his main gimmick in Japan, as they are based on an actual New Year's Eve celebration that is actually relevant to their culture.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Not much anymore.
1-His main gimmick as the celebratory Pokémon for Christmas still stands, but barely.
2-His gimmick as the only Pokémon with Hustle that has a priority move no longer stands, thanks to Rattata family and Nidoran families(with the exceptions of their final evolutions).
3-His gimmick as having a present giving based attack no longer stands either thanks to introduction of Bestow.
4-His most important gimmick as the Pokémon with the only move that gives opponents health back also no longer stands as Heal Pulse exists now, making it even more worthless.
5-He still has a decent gimmick as a chain breeding link thanks to being in both Water 1 and Field groups.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? It is most certainly not, especially in this generation.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As he is given another ability that stops it from sleeping, meaning the creators are obviously using him to make jokes about the commercial aspects of Christmas, which is the main part they are familiar with.

Spinda

Plusle and Minun's odd looking immigrant cousin also appears in our list. Spinda, the lord of spinning and metaphors for alcoholic people has a well distrubed stat spread, totaling in 360, representing 360 degress of the circle. In addition to this, he has a great STAB in Thrash which is greatly helped by Own Tempo and a great ability in Contrary which is helped greatly Superpower, which is literally solely given to it just to make this ability not completely worthless. He also has a great signature move in Teeter Dance, which is essentially his answer to Delibird's Present. Unfortuantely for him, if he makes a sexual intercouse with a Cacnea or Cacturne he will lose this specialty. Or Mr. Mime in the later generation. Until Liligant and Meloetta came about and helped him greatly, by obtaining his signature move and removing his well known gimmick, just so that he won't get further delusions of grandeur.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? A fair amount actually.
1-As mentioned above, he was one of the few Pokémon that could learn Teeter Dance, though again as said above, this is no longer the case.
2-His main reason of creation is to showcase the newly introduce PIDs to players, and showcase Gameboy Advance's capabilities.
3-He is within Field and Human-Like groups, making it an important link in chain breeding.
4-He is currently the only Contrary Pokémon with Superpower.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Surprisingly yes, as it makes a decent suicide Trick Room user, especially in low tier 3-on-3 single battles. Outside of that, no.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It is fairly hard given the nature of its stat total. If it gets an evolution who gets something that allows him to rotate his stat values or gives rotating boosts to its stats, then it might work.

Luvdisc

Luvdisc is a Pokémon that allows us to appreciate Sigmund Freud's studies a bit more, as it looks like a pair of breasts, testicles and butts at the same time. While it is one of the few Pokémon with Sweet Kiss, that is the not the reason it is well known. It is well known for it's tendecy to carry Heart Scales, as it is only way to obtain them in its region. As such Luvdisc is important for solidiying a common RPG element for our series, loot grinding.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks?Two.
1-Before Floatzel, it was the fastest Swift Swim user.
2-As it was the only way obtaining Heart Scales in RSE, it teached newcomers about item looting in the series, which was only standardized in Gen III despite being introduced in Gen II. This is also now gone, as held items has become a more complex part of grinding in the series and Heart Scales can be obtained through various other ways.

It also has a in-series gimmick in form of being a symbol of love, making it perfect for sappy love stories, or interesting semi-deconstructions of the concept if Random Doom is anything to go by.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? NO.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It was very fun to see how people thought Alomomola to be the Luvdisc evolution, I must say.

Second circle of Hell- The Pikaclones
As a series grows older and older, it tries to regain the spark that made them great eventually. The Pikaclones are the worst offenders of this. Being early route Electric Pokémon who will eventually be replaced by better Electric-types, they can be thought to be actually relatively decent in terms of copying Pikachu-line's creation purpose. As they are early route Pokémon however, they are doomed to be inferior to others. However, most of them also suffer from an important issue, none of them are strong enough to compete against the actual early route Electric-types. It doesn't help that all of them are available either before them, more easily than them or both; making the whole ordeal worthless in the first place. Plusle and Minun can not compete with Manectric whose pre-evolution is in the same area as them, Pachirisu cannot compete with Luxray whose pre-evolution is more easily AND EARLY accessible than it, same goes for Emolga against Zebstrika. This actually compeletely kills the entire reason Pikachu existed in Viridian Forest, making the Pikaclones forever worthless.

Unless you are one of the investers, in which case you probably already love whoring out Emolga.

Plusle and Minun

The dropped out Smash Bros. Brawl player characters are one of the many red vs. blue Pokémon of R/S. Having same base stat schtick as Latios and Latias, Plusle and Minun are one of the most recognizable gimmick Pokémon of the series. Introduced to introduce double battles, Plusle and Minun's abilities allow them to have 150 and 148 base Special Attack when their Sp. Attack stats are maxed out, same as Pikachu with Light Ball and Raichu with Life Orb. Or when they are paired with Klinklang-line Pokémon, Ampharos or Manectric. Or if they use Entrainment on a Pokémon. Plusle and Minun's gimmick was one of the most basic ones, but it was also one of the worthless ones. So much so that, now the Pokémon who are initially touted as being useful only when they are together don't even need each other anymore thanks to new mechanics of their abilities. It is a rather awkward way to not admit defeat, decimating a core marketing gimmick to keep it going. I am not sure how that was intended to work in the first place.

Of course, Plus and Minus are not only worthless abilities on the previous owners, but also in their new owners as well. Klinklang doesn't have a strong Sp. Attack nor movepool to pull it of decently(it does have actual bulk to keep the gimmick going however), Manectric much prefers Lightningrod over Minus in doubles as it can be further stacked up. Only Ampharos really enjoys this development, and Choice Scarf Entrainment Minun/Plusle might be an interesting gimmick in doubles when combined with actually strong Special sweepers.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? As the Pikaclones of the Gen III, they were created the introduce the double battles. They spend their current days to spam Entrainment on others as a pseudo Kinesis. They are also one of the few Pokémon with Nasty Plot/Baton Pass combination.

In terms of marketing, they are fairly worthless. They didn't get merch as aggressively as it should be to make them actually relevant, and any attempt to make them recurring in series, manga, games and animé, were all half hearted. Their roles as supporting Pokémon is hampered by their shallow movepools, and their supposed team nature started to shackle in Gen IV when Minun gained all of Plusle's exclusive moves and completely shattered in Gen V with new mechanics of their abilities. Even with their abilities, their base total only tops at around 470, same as other gimmick Pokémon, just fully evolved ones.
Are these Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Outside of Choice Scarf Entrainment, no.
Do these Pokémon have any hope in evolution? They are pretty much of a husk of what was intended nowadays.
Would these Pokémon outclass their inspiration if they were to get an evolution? In terms of usefulness they potentially might. If they were given decent offensive and defensive stats, access to dual screens, an improved Special Attack movepool and support movepool, they would completely outclass Pikachu's Special Attack power, somewhat. The biggest issue is that Pikachu-line already got Lightningrod recently, which is essentially Plus and Minus on steroids. This massive buff means that no matter what Plusle and Minun will do, they will still not manage to completely ruin the Pikas. In terms of supporting, even if they suck at it they already outclass Pikachu.

Pachirisu

Pachirisu is interesting, as unlike other Pikaclones, he doesn't have any obvious gimmicks. While it was one of the few Pokémon to learn Super Fang and one of the few fully evolved Pokémon Pickup, it doesn't have anything that particularly stands out. It's design gimmick, its ability to store electricity in its tail was only accounted for in Gen V. It also suffers stiff competition from Luxray, who is literally available in the second route and was more or less intended to be high tier Pokémon stats and ability-wise, even if its movepool betrays it a lot. It was better marketed than Plusle and Minun, but its marketing was still not aggressive enough to make it an important player of Gen IV. Ultimately, while Pachirisu has more than one below average stat, a rarity amongst these critters, it is ultimately fairly worthless. Annoying, but worthless.
Do these Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Nothing specific to it.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? It actually has stats to be incredibly annoying with Light Screen. But seriously, no.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Not much.
Would this Pokémon outclass its inspiration if it were to get an evolution? A dual screener with good double defensive stats, reliable recovery, good support movepool and scouting abilities, decent typing, good ability and decent speed would immediately become one of the higher tier Pokémon. However, it would not actually outclass Pikachu as it would become a good Pokémon by being the polar opposite of what Pikachu stands for.

Emolga

"And then this picture (Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte), which I always thought this painting was sort of like making a movie", explained Hughes."A pointillist style, which at very very close to it, you don't have any idea what you've made until you step back from it. I used it in this context to see that he's (Cameron) looking at that little girl. Again, it's a mother and child. The closer he looks at the child, the less he sees. Of course, with this style of painting. Or any style of painting really. But the more he looks at, there's nothing there. I think he fears that the more you look at him the less you see. There isn't anything there. That's him."
John Hughes' commentary on museum scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off works finely for describing Emolga as well.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It is only available by rustling grass, as such it can be said that it is created to showcase this game mechanic, but that would be a lie as Audino exists and can be found earlier than it. It can also be said to be a way for players to get Cheri Berries as Berry patches don't exist in Unova, however Zebstrika and Blitzle both have %50 chance of having it. As such Emolga has no real game gimmicks that is exclusive to it.

In terms of merchandising, it is probably the most succesful of the Pikaclones, as it appears on every spin-off, is part of one of them most popular gym leaders' team in main series and has gained lots of episodes devoted to it in the animé. It is so successful that none of the main characters in most of manga series had to encounter it beyond Elesa. Which is kind of sad because it is the Pikaclone who deviates least from its real-life counterpart, which is a Japanese mammal even if Unova is based on New York and there are flying squirrels endemic to Americas.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Surprisingly yes, thanks to its below average attacking stats, decent abilties, great offensive and defensive typing, ability to Baton Pass Agility and ridiculously high speed. It just happens to be that anything it can do is done much, much better by other Pokémon.
Would this Pokémon outclass its inspiration if it were to get an evolution? Yes and no. While Emolga is meant to do everything Pikachu can do, its lack of any good buffing move and shallow movepool would make it somewhat bad compared Pikachu-line Pokémon. Motor Drive is also a mixed blessing, as it doesn't increase a stat Emolga doesn't excel already.

Third circle of Hell- The (Less Obvious) Joke Pokémon
Girafarig

One of the earliest designed Gen II Pokémon, Girafarig is the ultimate visual pun. It has appeared in every region since its debut, and has been one of the most showcased Pokémon in the entire franchise. However, despite the fact that Lucian uses one, it is not one of the ultimate Pokémon. In fact, despite being one of the well showcased Pokémon, it is neither popular enough to get recognition or powerful enough to be anything remotely threatening.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Before Meloetta, it was the only Normal/Psychic Pokémon. Now it has no gimmick.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Nope. All of its stats are below average.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? A better question would be "why haven't this Pokémon got an evolution yet?" It has appeared in the first Johto movie, it has appeared under ownership of Lyra in the animé, it is within Lucian's team, it is in every region... just why this thing sucks so bad?

Dunsparce

Dusnparce is one of the most well known Pokémon in the cross generation Pokémon discussions. Probably because it is in its nature. It is based on Tsuchinoko, a Japanese cryptid that is well known for sightings in Western Japan, including Kansai(which is where Johto based on). Much like a real world crytid, catching Dunsparce is a rare occurance that can only be done in certain specific locations or with certain techniques. However, much like the myth of Tsuchinoko, Dunsparce's most interesting ability is the fact that it exists.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? As it is based on a cryptid, all of his appearances are limited to specific areas and generally require certain techiniques or their apperances are odd(for example, in Three Isle Port it is only available in levels divisble by 5).
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Thanks to it's 100 Base HP and large movepool it used to be one of the most annoying Serene Grace users in lower tiers. Current metagame shift made it much less useful however, and getting Coil didn't increase its usefulness enough to make it relevant again.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? The reason Dunsparce exists is to parody how Japanese people make fuss about a creature that is unlikely to exist and very bland and unimportant. As such, getting an evolution would kill the joke. It does however require various to boost keep it somewhat important to keep the joke.

Qwilfish

Qwilfish is often ridiculed because of its ridiculous appearance, its rarity and its lack of presence which causes most people to forget that it exists. However, despite these and its shallow movepool, thanks to its ablities, great typing which gives it perfect coverage just by its STABs and below average stats, and again, thanks to its shallow movepool which gives it everything it needs to be efficient makes Qwilfish one of the single most threating Pokémon ever created under rain. So much so that, in the later days of Gen IV, Qwilfish usage skyrocketed, as people only then realized just how good it is. This living naval mine however faced a big issue in Gen IV, the nerfing of Explosion, which caused it lose its former glory. Not to mention, many of the often overlooked Pokémon gained popularity thanks to introduction of Drizzle and new mechanics, and many new Pokémon which resisted Qwilfish's STAB moves were created and became top tier. Not to mention, Qwilfish under rain was so good, it had to be banned. Qwilfish was cast out of heavens and had to retreat to depths of RU. But then a new ray of hope came to it, in form its DW ability Intimidate. With its old abilities and its new toy, Qwilfish returns to wreak havoc in every tier that isn't NU, waiting for the days he would be allowed to sacrifice itself to cause massive damage on opposing Pokémon.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Aside from being rare and only available in certain areas with certain techiniques, not much. It does have a crosseyed and angry look though, most likely to parody the general elitist trainers who will likely not appreciate it.

Another interesting thing is that it requires cross-generational trade to gain its currently strongest asset, Swords Dance, as it can't learn it through TM(at least for now).
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Qwilfish is one of the most useful Pokémon in any metagame it is in, given that you play to its strengths. If it regains Explosion in its full power, it will continue to be devastating. If it doesn't, it will likely continue to degrade as more threats it can't face are created and its gimmicks will not be as strong as they are now.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Rather low, as it is meant to be actually somewhat good only in hindsight to mock elitists. Getting a standard powerful evolution would kind of kill the joke.

Stantler

Stantler's joke is fairly... puntastic. It's name comes from Shishi-odoshi, which is a traditional device used to scare away birds and deers from gardens by creating sounds. As such, Stantler is the reverse-engineered version of it, a deer that scares humans from its terriority. It is also a reindeer with jingle bells on its eye shaped antlers, making it perfect for Christmas merch.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? Not really.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? While it actually has usable abilities and a usable movepool, its stats are far too abysmal for it to be used seriously.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Its reason of existence is barely a reason of existence.

Stunfisk

Stunfisk is the ultimate troll. Having an exclamation mark on its back, signifying that it is an Electric-type, gaining a masochistic expression when shocking others, having Limber despite being a Ground-type, Stunfisk is obviously created to ridicule people who wanted GameFreak to be not lazy and make interesting typing combinations. After all, why think of interesting combinations when you can reuse same gimmicks over and over again, helping Inafune's thesis about Japanese games and other people's thesis about Nintendo games? Despite these however, Stunfisk is actually good for lower tiers, thanks to its large movepool(especially when compared to other Unova Pokémon) and unique typing. And all of its abilities and Dex entries make sense given what animals it is designed after.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It has a unique typing. That's about it really.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Very much so, but it is not too reliable. It has strong niches that it can use very well, but it is obviously not the best thing ever.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Given it is meant to ridicule people who desired unique typing combinations, there isn't much.

Fourth circle of Hell- Pure-Bred Gimmick Pokémon
As opposed to their joke cousins, these gimmick Pokémon are purely created to explore deep metagame effects, and to experience what tactics work or teach the said tactics to players. Most of these Pokémon are very much personifications of certain gameplay aspects, be it for Pokémon games or RPGs in general. As such, most of these Pokémon can be strong in right hands, but as they are personifications of certain mechanics, they are often given low stats to keep them outright broken. This disallows them to reach their proper potentials, but it is also a leash to keep them balanced. While some of them maanged to succeed with these limitations in the past, nowadays they are mostly pretty useless, be it because their gimmicks are terrible or their stats have started to become too limiting.

Ditto

Imposter.
That is all.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? As of Gen V, it is the only Pokémon with Imposter ability, making the most perfect Revenge Killer in the entire metagame.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? Ditto is as strong as the Pokémon it copies. The more ridiculously overpowered the Pokémon is, the better for Ditto to murder it and rest of its team.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? None due to its very nature, but it would appreciate being able to use its signature items after transformation a lot. It would also appreciate being able to copy the oppenents items' power as it was initially thought to be the case for Gen V mechanics.

Shuckle

The ultimate wall. Until Bastiodon, Probopass and Evoilite came of course. While Shuckle is one of the most popular gimmick Pokémon, at least for European and American fandoms, has gained many new tactics in each generation, and still stands as one of the bulkiest Pokémon ever created, as the metagame changed, its faults have started to become more noticable in every metagame that doesn't have evasion allowed. As years pass, Shuckle becomes more and more worthless. Within next three or so generations, it will stop being a powerhouse.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It is the strongest mixed wall in the metagame. However, in terms Physical Defence it is outmatched by Eviolite Onix and in Special Defence department it is outmatched by Eviolite Chansey. With Power Trick it becomes the Pokémon with highest base Attack.
In Generation II, you could eventually get Rare Candies. In later generations, you can get Berry Juice as a wild held item, though in Black & White it can be won in Royal Unova.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? It is, however it suffers from a lot of problems. Unless of course you allow Double Team.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? As it already has BST of a fully-evolved Pokémon, it is unlikely. However, it most certainly needs a standard recovery move.

Smeargle

The ultimate jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Smeargle's Base Stat Total makes Bidoof blush. However its' ability to learn all moves ever created still makes it an important part of the game, just not as important anymore.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? One of the most famous and archetypal ones.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? It is, but in higher tiers it can only Baton Pass.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? It has recently gained Moody, which combined his original gimmick, makes it a dangerous foe in metagames Moody is allowed.

Sableye

The original Pokémon without any weaknesses. Until Spiritomb and Eelektross-line came of course.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? While it lost its original capability, it stays as the only Pokémon with Stall ability and it gained Prankster which allowed it to become a devastating force.
Much like its counterpart Mawile, it generally appears in post-game or near end of game dungeons.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? For this generation, thanks to Prankster, it is. But eventually it will lose its niche.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? That is an odd question. While it has appeared as a part of Pokémon Sunday in the past, that was only major focus it got. It is rather hard to give an answer, but it doesn't seem to be unlikely.

Mawile

The original Pokémon with most resistances. Until Klinklang and his pre-evolutions came of course.
Does this Pokémon have inherent game gimmicks? It lost its original gimmick, however it is a strong user of Sheer Force.
Much like its counterpart Sableye, it generally appears in post-game or near end of game dungeons.
Is this Pokémon salvagable for metagame without an evolution? For this generation, it is. But much like Sableye it is likely to lose this status.
Does this Pokémon have any hope in evolution? Mawile is pretty weird as while it is ungodly popular and is techinically a last route Pokémon, it never gets any recognition in spin-off media or merchandising. But in terms of its gimmicks, there is no reason for it to not evolve.

To be continued.

Two Minutes Scribble- Rival Grumps

Trainer Yusuf — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:50:22 GMT

So I tried to test out shelbylln's Sai brush... and it certainly looks a like a pencil drawing. A pencil drawing that is improperly scanned, that is.

I am not going to edit the typo. I've got homework to do.