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RTTP: The Pokemon. All 721 of them, and counting.

I didn't really care about Dawn, but her Pachirisu sure was something.

zADfmed500HSNO3e3hUkXLyRgC4.gif


Pachirisu_y_Oshawott.gif
 

Toxi

Banned
One of the most infuriating things about Combee for me is that its stupid 7/8 male gender ratio isn't even accurate to real life honey bees. The vast majority of bees in a hive are non-breeding females, not male drones, but Gamefreak wanted to dick us over and so made the majority of Combees male.

On an interesting side note, the sex of a bee is determined by how many sets of chromosomes it has. Males are haploid (One set of chromosomes) and females are diploid (Two sets). Unfertilized eggs are male, while fertilized eggs are female. This means that drones have no father, only a mother, and will have no sons, only daughters.

Would be pretty awesome if Combee reproduction worked in-game the same way, since you would get only female eggs as long as you put Vespiquen with a compatible male. But alas, Gamefreak are dicks.
 
Pikaclone. *yawn*

Combee is one of the best cute pokemon to never get any love. Plus, it's one of those mons that has an intricate design that is based on well-executed ideas (bee + honeycomb + pollen dot) that alot of mons in this gen don't or can't pull off and who rely on more doodads to desperately attract the eye.

Vespiqueen is a tough looking character. Too bad about the speed and weak typing though.
 

CazTGG

Member
I really wish there was a type that could remove Stealth Rock upon entering a battle a la Toxic Spikes (I know Rapid Spin gets rid of both but I digress) because it really crippled the potential viability of certain Pokémon after the Physical/Special split, especially Flying Pokémon (Bug/Flying Pokémon in particular). That said, even if said type did exist, Vespiquen would still have a lot of problems due to its typing giving it a lot of common weaknesses as a mixed wall. It's a shame because it has a great design, one of the few that I actually like from Generation IV. I do wonder if we'll ever get a Vespiking-style Pokémon to make male Combee less useless than it currently is.
 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
DedValve said:
Is it? I obviously dont expect all episodes to look like that but if the quality is good, has entertaining battles and stupid ash is kept to a minimum I'd be down to try it. Haven't seen the anime since May was around. Saw very little of Dawn.

XY has good animation, but IMO it lacks a certain energy sometimes---not as bad as Best Wishes, but a lot of episodes of XY are fairly dull and only saved because they look nice and feel comfortable to watch. Honestly, that's how I'd describe XY for the most part, "comfort food".

Re-watching Diamond and Pearl (muh god Ash vs. Paul!) and while it's kind of ugly, there's more energy in it especially when it comes to Team Rocket. Better humor too.
 

Xux

Member
Burmy and Wormadam are kinda lame. The constant hanging on nothing looks pretty silly. The gimmick's neat; it's like they read Eevee's Pokedex and said "Hey, let's actually do that." And then they did it. And then they did it with Eevee, too.

Mothim...I really like Mothim's design. The shitty 80's decor aesthetic hits just right. If I had to pick one moth/butterfly Pokemon, I'd pick the one in Gen V...but, if I could pick two, it'd be Mothim's looks and some mixture of the rest gameplay wise.

I always wondered why moths and butterflies in Pokemon had psychic powers (7/8 can learn Psychic and Masquerain has PsyBeam as an egg move) and figured it was some Japanese legend or myth about lepidoterans having mind powers and it turns out I was right: Mothra has psychic powers.

I didn't bother getting a Vespiquen. I wanted one but that gender ratio combined with the honey is a bit much. "Rarity" etc.

Pachilis is fine. I, too, imagine a Raichu for it and the next two Pika-likes and get sad that it probably won't happen. :/
I really wish there was a type that could remove Stealth Rock[....]
Just make Stealth Rock give Spikes +1. Meta-game solved.
 
XY has good animation, but IMO it lacks a certain energy sometimes---not as bad as Best Wishes, but a lot of episodes of XY are fairly dull and only saved because they look nice and feel comfortable to watch. Honestly, that's how I'd describe XY for the most part, "comfort food".

Re-watching Diamond and Pearl (muh god Ash vs. Paul!) and while it's kind of ugly, there's more energy in it especially when it comes to Team Rocket. Better humor too.
XY animation is pretty insane for a long running weekly anime. It's honestly might be up there as one of the best animated anime currently running, which is insane for a show that's be going continuously for over 100 episodes
 

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Ahh yes, I had to bring Cute Charm to get a female combee.

Is it? I obviously dont expect all episodes to look like that but if the quality is good, has entertaining battles and stupid ash is kept to a minimum I'd be down to try it. Haven't seen the anime since May was around. Saw very little of Dawn.

a filler episode about Pikachu and Meowth in the Pokeball Factory that was meant as a homage to Tom & Jerry had better animation than Origins.

XY has good animation, but IMO it lacks a certain energy sometimes---not as bad as Best Wishes, but a lot of episodes of XY are fairly dull and only saved because they look nice and feel comfortable to watch. Honestly, that's how I'd describe XY for the most part, "comfort food".

Re-watching Diamond and Pearl (muh god Ash vs. Paul!) and while it's kind of ugly, there's more energy in it especially when it comes to Team Rocket. Better humor too.

you're comparing some episodes to a battle ep

plot centric action episodes have that feel
 

Oswen

Member
It's ironic how Beedrill is a wasp but has bee- in its name while Vespiqueen is a bee but has Vesp-(from Vespa - wasp).
Silly not accurate names!
 

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Also guys

Vespiquen with one e :p

It's ironic how Beedrill is a wasp but has bee- in its name while Vespiqueen is a bee but has Vesp-(from Vespa - wasp).
Silly not accurate names!
I thought bees and wasps are sorta related
 

Vuapol

Member
Pachirisu is adorable. In fact, Plusle/Minun aside, I really like all of the Pikachu clones. So, uh, keep them coming I guess.
 

Toxi

Banned

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
where do u get all of this information?

I do a pretty decent amount of research for each Pokemon.

When it comes to what Pokemon are inspired by, Bulbapedia has a few suggestions though I use them as a springboard and try and do further research as opposed to taking everything at face value, and I'd say depending on the Pokemon I spend a good amount of time browsing around the net to find fun little facts about their basis. It's also my main source for learnsets, Dex entries, and other data, though I'll admit Bulbapedia seems to fuck up my computer a lot of the time.

I'm not a big competitive player, so Smogon is immensely helpful on the competitive side. That's probably my weakest area though since I don't have much experience there, whereas everything else is based on first-hand experiences. I was also into the Pokemon fandom a lot in the past, so I have a good feel for how certain Pokemon and games were received.

I can proudly say for the anime section, though Bulbapedia helps me refresh my memory, I've seen basically every episode except for the second part of Best Wishes (which I'm watching right now) and the newest couple of episodes, so a lot of that is actually very personal for me and many of the main Pokemon I fondly remember. Though there's so many episodes I need a refresher for some of the more obscure Pokemon.

I'd say each individual entry on average takes me about three hours to complete, as I like to be fairly thorough. Some are easier than others---the Legendary entries you'll notice are quite lengthy and take a bit longer---but I try and put a decent amount of thought into each one, even those who may not really deserve that. I feel I've done a good job on giving every species a fair amount of love, and I try to think of one positive for each. On the other hand, I also try and remember to point out flaws in some of my dear favorites to keep it fair.
 

Toxi

Banned
It's always fun to tell people who say that only legendaries can be competitive that Pachirisu won worlds and see their jaws drop.
There were no legal legendaries for VGC2014 outside the legendary bird trio.

A lot of people seem to miss that the reason Pachirisu was even within spitting distance of Words was because of the heavily restricted list of Pokemon allowed.
 

Crayolan

Member
Pachirisu sucks. Pikaclones suck. But, I'm happy Pachirisu now has a legacy as the most unexpected world champion ever, so it doesn't feel completely worthless and forgettable.

I'd say each individual entry on average takes me about three hours to complete, as I like to be fairly thorough.

That's some serious dedication.

How do you manage to sometimes do 3 in a single day? On second thought, maybe it's best if you don't answer that...
 

JoeM86

Member
Is it? I obviously dont expect all episodes to look like that but if the quality is good, has entertaining battles and stupid ash is kept to a minimum I'd be down to try it. Haven't seen the anime since May was around. Saw very little of Dawn.

Ash definitely isn't stupid in XY. He's badass
 

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Is it? I obviously dont expect all episodes to look like that but if the quality is good, has entertaining battles and stupid ash is kept to a minimum I'd be down to try it. Haven't seen the anime since May was around. Saw very little of Dawn.

to assume XY Ash is like his past incarnations is a horrible mistake in of itself
 

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
"Differently" right.... I'll leave it at this. No point in arguing something we will most likely have very differing views on and this being a Pokedex thread.

Well you cited BW turning him into a different guy, which just proves my point that you could pretty much refer to Ash being different per series. Hell, XY was the only series to make use of Ash being a veteran (it was a throwaway gag in AG). You never even established your point.

Did the dub somehow made Ash an idiot?
 
There were no legal legendaries for VGC2014 outside the legendary bird trio.

A lot of people seem to miss that the reason Pachirisu was even within spitting distance of Words was because of the heavily restricted list of Pokemon allowed.

So it really was a once in a life time event.

That kind of makes it cooler.
 

GManDH

Member
I do a pretty decent amount of research for each Pokemon.

When it comes to what Pokemon are inspired by, Bulbapedia has a few suggestions though I use them as a springboard and try and do further research as opposed to taking everything at face value, and I'd say depending on the Pokemon I spend a good amount of time browsing around the net to find fun little facts about their basis. It's also my main source for learnsets, Dex entries, and other data, though I'll admit Bulbapedia seems to fuck up my computer a lot of the time.

I'm not a big competitive player, so Smogon is immensely helpful on the competitive side. That's probably my weakest area though since I don't have much experience there, whereas everything else is based on first-hand experiences. I was also into the Pokemon fandom a lot in the past, so I have a good feel for how certain Pokemon and games were received.

I can proudly say for the anime section, though Bulbapedia helps me refresh my memory, I've seen basically every episode except for the second part of Best Wishes (which I'm watching right now) and the newest couple of episodes, so a lot of that is actually very personal for me and many of the main Pokemon I fondly remember. Though there's so many episodes I need a refresher for some of the more obscure Pokemon.

I'd say each individual entry on average takes me about three hours to complete, as I like to be fairly thorough. Some are easier than others---the Legendary entries you'll notice are quite lengthy and take a bit longer---but I try and put a decent amount of thought into each one, even those who may not really deserve that. I feel I've done a good job on giving every species a fair amount of love, and I try to think of one positive for each. On the other hand, I also try and remember to point out flaws in some of my dear favorites to keep it fair.

Once you do all 721 you have to release a google doc or something with everything on it. This is awesome.
 

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Yeah Bulba has a tendency to miss or fabricate details.

To this day they still hold into this "Peng" for Altaria even though it's quite clear that it's a name pun for the Blue Bird of Happiness.

Also as you notice many dragon types really enjoy puns that it wouldn't surprise me if Excadrill would become a dragon type for its mega.
 

Xux

Member
I can't even imagine Mega Excadrill. It's already such an exaggerated design. Isn't Excadrill one of the reasons Mega Pokemon exist in the first place? Somehow it manages to be ridiculous and boring and still way better than the other mole Pokemon.

Man, it's easy to talk about gen V when there's like three interesting families left in gen IV.
 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
tClrX6a.png

#418 - Buizel
Water

After the deluge of Water-type Pokemon in Generation III, Game Freak dialed things back quite a bit for Generation IV with only 14 Water-type Pokemon, as well as reducing the amount of time one needed to traverse the Region via Surf. For those who didn't pick Piplup and were looking for a decent Water-type replacement, look no further than Buizel, a pretty neat and popular Pokemon with nice stats, like the Chimchar family it's a rather fast mixed attacker, and has an all-around solid learnset. I used one in Platinum alongside the Chimchar line, and they complemented one another quite well. Though the line isn't that good in the competitive scene, I still consider them one of Diamond and Pearl's most standout additions to the franchise.

For some reason, Game Freak decided to call Buizel the "Sea Weasel" Pokemon, which is basically just another way of saying "otter" since otters are members of the Mustelidae family---for those of you keeping count, this is like the seventh Mustelidae Pokemon we've covered. Though he's the "Sea Wesasel", Buizel has more in common with river otters than sea otters due to favoring the belly-down swimming style, though note that the terms "river otter" and "sea otter" are a bit misleading as both otters can be found in freshwater and saltwater locations, and Buizel follows suit. One element about Buizel that is sort of lost in translation is the fact those fins on its arms may be meant to bring to mind the scythes of the weasel yokai known as the "kamaitachi", which is also the Japanese name for Razor Wind which Buizel learns naturally. I still don't know why Game Freak was so adverse to just calling it an otter and leaving it at that though, everyone called it one when it was first revealed.

As far as Water-type Pokemon go, Buizel is pretty interesting as he takes the Water-type motif a bit further than most Water-type Pokemon, who typically get by simply by being based upon animals one would expect to find living in aquatic environments. Buizel, as his name indicates, has an organic "buoy" flotation sac around its neck that it uses to keep its head above water while hunting, which is probably inspired by the extra-large lung real otters have that allows them to remain buoyant alongside their special fur. He also has twin tails that he can spin like a propeller to increase his speed, which of course brings to mind Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog in addition to the two sharing the same color-scheme. One episode of the show even demonstrated Buizel using his tails to fly. I don't know if Game Freak was inspired by Tails, but I'm going to assume it's meant to be a cute homage since I can't imagine Game Freak not knowing about Sonic the Hedgehog, especially considering Ken Sugimori recently drew Sonic himself for the cover of the Sega 3D Classics collection for the 3DS.

Buizel debuted in the Manaphy movie, mainly serving as a cute "sidekick" Pokemon who hung out with the cast here and there. Buizel was easily one of the most popular pre-release Pokemon of Generation IV, so it was no surprise that it became a member of the main cast come the Diamond and Pearl anime---but what did surprise folks was that it ended up under the command of Dawn. A lot of fans were extremely bothered by this because at that point, all of Dawn's Pokemon were cute and "girly", and Buizel totally went against that as not only was he a bit tougher looking, his personality was basically akin to that of Ash's Treecko. Eventually, like many fans had speculated, Ash traded his "girly" Aipom for Dawn's "manly" Buizel and the universe was set right, though I'll admit I was sort of disappointed the writers couldn't let the two have Pokemon who went against the usual gender roles. Under Ash, Buizel despite never evolving (the "Water-type curse!") proved to be quite powerful and a very vital member of Ash's team, though compared to his other Sinnoh Pokemon he didn't get a lot of development and mostly stayed the same---he learned some new moves, such as Ice Punch, but beyond that there wasn't any change in his personality or growth, though I think it's fair to say not every Pokemon necessarily needs that. If a Pokemon is cool already, why change it up?

sJrER6g.png

#419 - Floatzel
Water

At Level 26, Buizel evolves into Floatzel. Like Buizel, it's a very solid Pokemon and you really can't go wrong using one in Diamond and Pearl. It's one of the fastest Water-type Pokemon out there, and with Swift Swim it becomes one of the fastest Pokemon period when it's raining, and has good Attack and Special Attack, and quite a lot of options at its disposal. Like I said earlier, one could say it's somewhat of a Water-type Infernape, though it's not as powerful as he is and in the competitive scene it's in the lower tiers due to how frail it is, and I imagine it doesn't do enough as a pure-Water Type Pokemon to stand out in a category that is pretty large and varied. But for the adventure, yeah, definitely give this guy a shot in at least one of your Sinnoh playthroughs.

You'll notice among the Sinnoh Pokemon their evolutions are quite down-to-earth and pretty simple especially when compared to those of the Hoenn Pokemon, who often underwent radical changes in shape and color, sometimes for no real logical reason. The Sinnoh Pokemon tend to avoid complicated evolutionary leaps, and mostly get bigger though there's a bit more of a change compared to many classic Kanto Pokemon still---but in the case of Floatzel, it's definitely a Pokemon that elicited a "it just got bigger!" response from me and many fans. Pretty much the only notable change is the fact the buoy has evolved into a full-on inflatable raft, which Floatzel is said to rescue people with like the Pokemon version of David Hasselhoff, and like the 'Hoff Floatzel is notoriously popular among the Germans for reasons unknown. Otherwise, Floatzel is just a bigger weasel...otter and kind of looks a bit more pissed off. But I really can't think of any other way to evolve Buizel, so it works, and I can't say I dislike the design, though I definitely like Buizel a bit more.

I never figured out why Ash's Buizel never evolved, the only member of his initial Sinnoh six who didn't. Now, for Corphish, you could argue that Crawdaunt being a Dark-type would be seen as odd for the hero to be using, plus it'd be harder to pull off Corphish's humor with such a vicious looking Pokemon, but Buizel's personality would totally fit with Floatzel since there's such a small change in visual appearance and attitude, so the only reason I can think of is that the writers liked the "underdog" element by keeping Buizel unevolved. They pulled this off in Ash's Gym Battle against Crasher Wake, pitting his Floatzel against Ash's Buizel which brought to mind the classic Pikachu vs. Raichu confrontation from back in Kanto---I shouldn't have to tell you who won this fight, right? Kenny also had a Floatzel, which only existed to get knocked out by his Empoleon during the Grand Festival's Appeals Round leading to the poor kid getting disqualified.
 

Toxi

Banned
These guys huh.

Not sure what to say. I have never used them in-game. I don't dislike them, I don't find them particularly boring, and yet I have nothing to say about them because I have zero experience with them. They just kinda exist in another dimension for me.
I can't even imagine Mega Excadrill. It's already such an exaggerated design. Isn't Excadrill one of the reasons Mega Pokemon exist in the first place? Somehow it manages to be ridiculous and boring and still way better than the other mole Pokemon.
How on Earth do you find Excadrill boring? It's a mole that transforms into a drill. And it's 2 feet tall. That's adorable!
 

Zyrox

Member
I always thought it was Vespiqueen. I'm shocked. Everything I knew was a lie.
Vespiqueen still sounds better.


Floatzel is notoriously popular among the Germans for reasons unknown.

Oh is that so? I wasn't aware of that. Never really cared for the line
or for the 'Hoff
myself.
 
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