#622 - Golett
Ground/Ghost
Here we are, the family that some would deem the Magnum Opus of Generation V---the Golett line, a two-stage family who happen to be the franchise's only Ground/Ghost Pokemon. This means that they have a grand total of three immunities to Normal, Fighting, and Electric which if I'm not mistaken is the maximum amount of immunities a Pokemon could possibly have with the current Type Chart, though on the other hand it also has quite a few common weaknesses to Water, Grass, Dark, and Ice-type moves as well as meager defenses so it isn't an impenetrable wall. And until it evolves, which like our last couple of Pokemon is quite late into the game, none of its stats are that well-off so it may have a rough time early on. I used one in White though and it worked well enough, getting one with Iron Fist allows it to fire off some pretty powerful Shadow Punches and it's easy to pick and choose the Pokemon its fights against to ensure it puts those three immunities to work.
Golett was also designed by James Turner and is usually considered to be, along with its evolution, his greatest contribution to the franchise---and depending on whether or not you like him possibly the only reason for Game Freak to keep him on the staff. I was extremely hyped when this Pokemon was revealed because recently I had really gotten into golems for whatever reason. If you think about it, golems don't really get a lot of love in pop-culture compared to various other supernatural creatures such as dragons, unicorns, and zombies, at most they're low-level grunts used by the villains and there's really not a single series I can think of where they're placed front and center as the main "draw" of a piece of media. I guess one could argue that various robot shows, especially the super robot variety, kind of fill that niche but considering there's so many things one could construct a golem out of I personally feel they're ripe for the picking. I've actually worked on an idea about a story involving golems for a few years on-and-off, basically planning things out, and while I've never gotten around to capitalizing on said idea and making it a reality I legitimately do think it's an untapped gold mine of possibility. The positive reception towards the Golett family I think proves that, at least in my mind---think about it, "Jewish Giant Robots". That sells itself if you ask me.
So a Pokemon based on golems isn't anything new, excluding, well, "Golem", we had the Regi Trio in Generation III which were very tried-and-true golems and Golett here takes things a bit further by also incorporating elements of more modern robots, a motif that is expanded upon once it evolves. Though Golett is said to hail from an ancient civilization, the energy that powers it has never been identified by modern science and the creature has a very "digital" look to it, especially in the eyes, that leads one to wonder if those that created it were far more advanced than we give them credit for---XY in particular might point to it being powered by the "infinity energy" that AZ utilized to power the Ultimate Weapon and was later (secretly) being researched by the Devon Co. in ORAS, though this connection hasn't been proven in canon and it's just speculation on my part. Though it is worth mentioning that Golett's evolution is quite prominently seen taking part in the cutscene showing the 3000-year old war and is also part of AZ's squad. Golett has cool lore behind it, and I love its evolution, though it itself looks a bit clunky, purposefully perhaps, and I think this is one Generation V Pokemon who definitely improves upon evolution.
Golett had a small role in the series under the ownership of Luke, an amateur film maker. Though his main starlet was of course his Zorua Golett played an important role as his second-in-command responsible for assisting him with his directorial pursuits such as manning the camera and carrying the props and thus he was quite a useful partner given his strength and golem-like loyalty. He also was fairly decent at battling taking part in the Club Battle, though he ultimately lost to Axew and its newly learned Outrage attack because, you know, he was up against a main character and everything.
#623 - Golurk
Ground/Ghost
At Level 43 Golett evolves into Golurk. If you ask anyone what the best thing about Golurk is, the answer will always be the fact that it can learn Fly which is amazing. You see I like most bird-based Pokemon, but I hate always having to include them in each team since I like to have a flyer with me at all times and very few non-bird Pokemon, even those with wings or aerial capability, can learn Fly which really bugs me. Speaking of which, how come the majority of Bug-type Pokemon like Yanmega can't Fly? I would've loved to have included one on my Platinum team but I had to settle for Togekiss instead since that was the only new Gen IV Pokemon I hadn't used that could Fly, and that pissed me off because I'd take a giant dragonfly over a weird dove any day. So it was a godsend having a chance to forgo the usual mandatory Flying Pokemon in favor of a Ground/Ghost who could Fly. Golurk's an amazingly fun Pokemon to use with his unique Type and access to Iron Fist'd elemental punches but isn't quite as amazing as he looks, sure his Attack like a lot of Unova Pokemon puts a lot of the classics to shame but he's horribly slow despite having access to rocket boosters and all. But really, if you wanna use Golurk, you're gonna use Golurk. He's just too cool to pass up, competitive viability be damned!
Golurk is more than just a golem, though that's what he's most recognizable as and even has a "band-aid" covering his chest just like common depictions of the Golem of Prague---his toga bottom and armor also gives him a Greco-Roman style appearance perhaps referencing the mythological giant automaton known as Talos, especially how he appeared in the classic Jason and the Argonauts film by Columbia Pictures. But most people will look at him and realize, wait a minute, he's basically a giant robot! It's even been pointed out that his original name, "Goloog", sounds quite similar to the Zeon Federation's Gelgoog from Mobile Suit Gundam, and the two even share a somewhat similar design, though given Golurk's creator being a Westerner generally people see it as a reference to the Iron Giant. Its robotic elements were further expanded on once it debuted in the show where it was finally revealed how exactly Golurk flies---it pulls in its legs and hands and deploys rocket boosters which is seriously rad. But yeah, it should come as no surprise that a ton of people like this Pokemon and some may even consider it the best part of Generation V by a country mile. It's not my favorite of the Generation, but I definitely see the appeal and would love to see more mecha-inspired Pokemon in the future.
Golurk made his debut in the Victini film---he plays the same role in both versions, a heroic Pokemon who aids Ash in taking down the film's villain, though in the Black Version it's Shiny---and this was the first time his rocket-booster capabilities were showcased. Most people before then assumed he just flew through the air like Superman. Golurk made a quite a few appearances in the main show as well, such as an illusion of one made by Luke's Zorua playing a role in a film and one aiding Ash and co. in taking down a bunch of Legendaries being controlled by Team Rocket, with one of its appearances containing a reference to a Studio Ghibli film. In the finale of the N Arc Colress takes control of a group of Golurk causing them to rampage, with one scene in particular (far better animated than usual) showing a Golurk rampaging as it crawls along the ground just like the robots do at the end of Castle in the Sky. It was a pretty nice touch and really shows how fun little anime references can be here and there, something that the show used to do far more in the earlier days than they do now perhaps due to trying to appeal to a wide, less-niche audience. But that's the cost of popularity.
I'd find it kinda boring if this was an echo chamber of positivity, but that's just me.
