#120 - Staryu
Water
Here's the last line of our big group of Water-type Pokemon (although we still have a few more, though those play a much more important role), and probably the most interesting in both design and gameplay, as we'll talk about more when we get to the evolution. You know the drill, Game Freak stuck most of the Water-type Pokemon at the end of the game in areas that players aren't forced to interact with if they're not purposefully searching for Pokemon, and Staryu is no exception, so many players probably skipped it over when creating their teams. Starting with Leaf Green, it also became a Version Exclusive opposite Shellder in a few games, such as being exclusive to Pokemon X.
Remember when I said the most important element of a Pokemon is its eyes? Well, I actually give Staryu a pass on this, because its unique "eye" really helps it stand out and makes it a cool design. On one hand, it means Staryu feels really mechanical compared to basically every other Pokemon, unable to really express any emotions, but on the other hand, it fits the creature, being based on the starfish which has a very alien-nature to it, and it's basically the central gimmick of the Pokemon. I criticized Seaking for having boring eyes because there's no reason it had to be that way, nothing about Seaking is dependent on having dull fish eyes, and it does not connect to the motif of the Pokemon in any way, it's not known as the "Fish Eye Pokemon" or anything like that, so it's an unfortunate element that brings the design down for me. Staryu is all about being an alien-like creature, you'll notice the gem brings to mind Tentacool's eyes which also give that impression, so leaving the humanoid elements completely out unlike basically every other Pokemon is a smart and fitting design choice.
Starfish are some of nature's most interesting creatures, and in a way you could say Staryu almost doesn't live up to what they're capable of, instead sort of skipping over their weirder elements and being quite simplistic in comparison. I honestly think there's enough material Game Freak could easily create a whole other starfish family of Pokemon, and I certainly wouldn't complain, but for now let's focus on what Staryu does do to liken itself to the creatures. Well, starfish don't have gems in the center of their stomach, but it's believed the gem is possibly an exaggeration of the "madreporite", a small colored opening in the center of starfish that is used to filter water into their water vascular system so, like Staryu's core, you could consider this to be their "life force". While Staryu's eye appears to be within the core, actual starfish don't have eyes at the center of their body, and well they don't quite have "eyes" at all, but their eye spots capable of responding to light are spread across their arms. Perhaps Staryu does have these eye spots, but they're simply not drawn onto it, and the red core really isn't the eye despite apparently serving as one whenever it's depicted? Like starfish, Staryu is capable of regenerating its body, but only as long as its core remains in-tact---some species of starfish are actually capable of regenerating from a single arm, re-forming the core, although in actual starfish regeneration is a long process and they're vulnerable to disease during it so it's not as instant and useful as Staryu's Recover.
Staryu is another Pokemon who has a extraterrestrial element to it, bringing to mind a flying saucer, and its core is said to mysteriously glow, almost as if it's communicating with the stars above. Believe it or not, some people think Staryu was intended to be a reference to the popular Japanese tokusatsu hero Ultraman---in Japan, Staryu is known as Hitodeman (Starfish Man), and its core can be compared to Ultraman's "color timer" which measures his energy, although Ultraman's is blue, only turning red when in danger. This relationship between Staryu and Ultraman was furthered in the show, perhaps the writers realized the similarities on their own though and did their own thing, as like Ultraman, when Staryu is in danger its core flashes indicating that it's running out of energy. Furthermore, Staryu has a very odd "HIYAH!" voice that was kept for the dub which brings to mind the grunts Ultraman made whenever he was fighting. Ultimately, these last bits are of course only present in the show, so it's hard to tell if Game Freak always intended the Pokemon to be a shout-out to Ultraman, or it began as a mere coincidence that the show decided to run with. But I like to think that was the plan from the start, because it makes Staryu far neater to me being a fan of tokusatsu action shows, although I've never really gotten into Ultraman.
Misty's Staryu was one of the hardest working Pokemon in the show, being born with an unfortunate deformity---it lacked a face, so it was really hard to market it thus it really didn't get the spotlight many other Pokemon got. However, it was always shown to be a pretty powerful Pokemon and until Johto came around, was portrayed as Misty's most powerful and useful ally, even more so than its evolution which was also on Misty's squad during Kanto. Poor dude got a lot of his appearances stolen by Psyduck though, who'd always pop out whenever he was about to be called upon by Misty, and he just couldn't compete with that cute duck. But damn, did he try his hardest, and for that he earns my respect.
#121 - Starmie
Water/Psychic
The evolved from of Staryu via the Water Stone. Part-Psychic. Fast. Amazingly diverse movepool. A healing move in Recover. Yeah, no surprise Starmie was an absolute monster in Generation I, and alongside Gengar has remained a top-tier Pokemon throughout its life, gaining an additional niche in Generation II as a trusty Rapid Spinner. Furthermore, Starmie served as the second boss in Red and Blue under the command of Misty, and was a major obstacle for a lot of players that taught them the importance of grinding and that Type Advantage alone wouldn't always cut it. Thankfully, Misty's lacked the diverse moveset Starmie is known for in the competitive scene, so it wasn't as overpowered as facing one your friend owned could be. Starmie's also interesting as a boss in Red and Blue because it's pretty rare, and not a Pokemon the player will have access to for a long time---compare to Onix, Raichu, Vileplume, the next couple of bosses, whose earliest form is obtained quite early on and aren't too far out of reach for the player themselves.
Starmie is another Pokemon whose evolution is basically just its base-form multiplied, but in a unique way compared to previous examples in that it's basically two Staryu's stuck together at the center, but the color-change hides this fact and you might not have realized it at first until you examined it closely. Normally, I think Pokemon changing colors drastically upon evolution can ruin the overall cohesion of the line, an issue that a lot of Generation III Pokemon suffer from, and should be reserved for special situations where there's a drastic change in appearance and body-shape, such as the case with the cocoon Pokemon, but I think it works for Starmie and makes it visually interesting, and I think fits the creature it's based upon as starfish are known to be colorful creatures overall. Starmie might draw from the crown-of-thorns starfish, ones that are quite colorful and known for having multiple arms beyond the usual five, although it doesn't share its trademark poison barbs. Real-life starfish are notoriously slow, crawling along the ocean-floor and some people probably think they're totally sedentary creatures, but Starmie can use the second star like a propeller to move around the sea, and air even, with style, and was the fastest Water-type Pokemon till Generation VI introduced a literal ninja.
Starmie is a very mysterious Pokemon---the "Mysterious Pokemon", in fact. In its original PokeDex in Red and Green, it straight up said everyone in the Pokemon World who lived near them suspected it of being an alien, and it's said the gem in its center, which glows the seven-colors of the rainbow, actually emits a strange radio signal into space. Who is Starmie talking to? Possibly Starmie themselves do come from outer space, like speculated, and Starmie on Earth act as a signal for its friends to find them. There's also another Pokemon introduced in Generation III, of an alien-nature, who bears a similar crystal-core and an association with rainbow-like aurora lights, who may be connected, but that's a theory that's never been back by any canon material so it may be simply a coincidence. Or perhaps Starmie really is communicating with an alien race---I imagine Staryu and Starmie's connection to aliens is probably based on the idea of "starfish aliens", popularized by H.P. Lovecraft, to describe alien lifeforms who share very little in common with the human race, and have a much more horrific appearance in general compared to the humanoid aliens popular in mainstream lore. Starmie's Psychic abilities could be inspired by the D.C. villain Starro the Conquerer, an alien starfish with energy and telepathic powers, but that's a bit of a stretch---he doesn't seem like a character those not invested in American comic books would be familiar with, but Game Freak seems to be made up of avid "geeks", so to speak, so it's a possibility.
I know they were copying the games, but it bothered me how Misty had both Staryu and Starmie with her during most of Kanto, neither Pokemon had any real personality so seeing them together on the main cast felt very redundant. Starmie was Misty's main Pokemon at first, but it was soon replaced with Staryu, I guess because it had that awesome "HIYAH!" that everyone loved, and she dumped it at Cerulean Gym alongside Horsea before the end of Kanto, and it remained there for the rest of its life. Misty's Starmie kind of sucked, almost losing to Pidgeotto had Team Rocket not interrupted the fight in its Gym Battle with Ash, and then later losing to a Graveler. And all it knew, despite being a Pokemon known for having basically a move of every Type, was Tackle and Water Gun.
