Ghetsis's hax hydreigon in BW being annoying as heck.
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RTTP: The Pokemon. All 721 of them, and counting.
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Ghetsis's hax hydreigon in BW being annoying as heck.
Draco Meteor too strong for people to handle. Hydry has one of the best cries in the game since it sounds like a dying lion.
Thatwas half the reason I wanted one. The other was "holy fucking shit hydra with dark/dragon typing and dat special attack stat."
If you're including Pseudo-Pseudo Legends, you can't forget Volcarona!
Also, I actually really like Hydreigon's design tbh so:
Hydreigon > Metagross > Dragonite > Garchomp > Tyranitar > Salamance > Goodra
Bolded are one's I like.
AnkiRendan
Member
It makes me salty that they didn't make Haxorus a pseudo as well. Haxorus's design is amazing, and it was the first dragon Pokemon I ever wanted to use. Why the hell did gen 3 get two psuedos?!
balladofwindfishes
Member
Haxorus and Flygon were kind of robbed from joining the 600 club.
Habitual and Volcarona deserve Psuedo status imo, they're too cool not to be, especially with the amount of prestige the game gives Volcarona (encounter in ruins; the champion's starter)
@Goodra guy above me: I'd probably like Goodra more if they had a secondary typing like Poison, Water, or Grass. Although I admit I have a bias against it due to only being shown a blurry image and it's name when some spoiled it for me so I thought it was called Good-Dra and was Dragon/Fairy, so now I can only think of what could have been.
Goomy is hella cool tho
balladofwindfishes
Member
Hydreigon is actually my least favorite pseudo. Either Metagross or Tyranitar are my favorite.
Hydreigon is not Godzilla, so no, it isn't.
I knew there was something suspicious about the egg in B/W. Hatched it, and it was a Bug/Fire type! Certainly something you don't see in the world of Pokemon, and to obtain it as such a late part of the game too.
Brought it around and when it didn't level in the 30s, I definitely knew something was up. To have it blossom to this magnificent bug of burning death has made Volcarona as one of my favourite Pokemons to use. As for the B/W premiere pseudo, I did also have Hydreigon on my team (as I was one of the crazies to actually go through the effort of evolving him for the E4).
Brought it around and when it didn't level in the 30s, I definitely knew something was up. To have it blossom to this magnificent bug of burning death has made Volcarona as one of my favourite Pokemons to use. As for the B/W premiere pseudo, I did also have Hydreigon on my team (as I was one of the crazies to actually go through the effort of evolving him for the E4).
GF definitely fucked up by not giving a secondary typing, Poison or Water would have definitely been cool. But Goodra doesn't stop being adorable and badass at the same time, though.
Oh well, there is always Mega Evolution to fix that kind of stuff.
I would agree, but DAMN did Cynthia's Garchomp leave an impression.
Nocturnowl
Member
I've never been particularly taken with any of the pseudos, I suppose Metagross and Hydregion are my favourites of that batch.
This Goodra underrating is criminal, all of you and your edgy pseudos can go get gooed.
Man I can't wait to use Groodra on my "Pokémon Z" team.
She sure did.
Best champion ever. <(^_^)>
Best champion ever. <(^_^)>
No lies detected
The only try hard focus tested Pokemon in the entire series is Zoroark seeing how hard Game Freak tried pushing it.
Garchomp doesn't need focus testing. He was cool from the moment someone came up with the idea for a jet fighter dragonshark.
I always found that weird that they kept pushing Zorua/Zoroark but for some reason locked them away in Black and White, so you needed an event Pokémon that was a one time use to get them.
Not exactly the greatest idea they had.
Metagross>Tyranitar>Hydreigon>Dragonite>Goodra>Garchomp=Salamence
Salamence has the same problem as Garchomp of always looking angry for no reason.
Flygon not getting a mega in ORAS is bullshit. BULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT
Salamence has the same problem as Garchomp of always looking angry for no reason.
Flygon not getting a mega in ORAS is bullshit. BULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT
Having wings made of cardboard is a pretty good reason to be angry.
I'm ecstatic that Zoroark never took off. The last thing we need is more Pokemon archetypes that need to be repeated every generation.
Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
#200 - Misdreavus
Ghost
And you thought Murkrow's distribution was bad? Misdreavus can't be found till Mt. Silver in Gold and Silver, literally the last place you'll explore in the entire game meaning by that point, Misdreavus will basically be worthless except to fill your PokeDex. Murkrow and Misdreavus are so early in the 'Dex that I can't help but wonder if they were originally intended to be found much earlier in Johto, but for some reason they were shoved to the post-game for reasons unknown. Speaking of Murkrow and Misdreavus, originally they didn't have too much in common but since Fire Red and Leaf Green the two of them have regularly been Version Counterparts, especially in Diamond and Pearl where they both received new evolutions (via the Dusk Stone) and could be found in the same locations, thankfully this time around early on so you could use on during the main adventure in Pearl. Misdreavus is the only new Ghost-type Pokemon introduced in Generation II, and also the first pure-Ghost Pokemon---this removes its weakness to Psychic like the Gastly family meaning all it really had to worry about was Dark moves and the rare Ghost-type move. Misdreavus is actually surprisingly decent, especially in Generation II where Mean Look + Perish Song was an easy, somewhat cheap strategy to break through stalling strategies. In future Generations better Pokemon took over that role, and Misdreavus' old strategies didn't hold up as well, but it's better than you would think based on first appearance, and how Johto Pokemon have been so far in terms of usefulness. I've never used one myself, but I imagine its various "tricky" moves would be very easy to take advantage of the CPU's limited capabilities during the main game.
I used to think Misdreavus was a huge waste of space, and a major disappointment for the only Ghost Pokemon of Generation II since it was a cool Type with so much potential that wasn't taken advantage of till Generation III, but I've really warmed up to its design in recent years---it's quite cute, though it's another Pokemon I think looks rather poor in XY, but its Sugimori art and Gen IV/Gen V sprites are absolutely ace. While you could say the Gastly family had sort of a "masculine" element to them, Misdreavus is "feminine" (though 50/50 gender split), I always sort of envisioned it as their sister or something, and basically looks like a disembodied woman's head wearing a necklace. If you think about it, it sort of looks like the ghost of Chikorita or something. As for what Misdreavus is based off of, its feminine appearance and status as the "Screech Pokemon" instantly brings to mind the legendary Irish spirit known as the Banshee, whose wail was said to prelude a person's death---this probably influenced the move Perish Song. But actually, though most people think of that move first when thinking of Misdreavus, its actual signature-move is the rather obscure Pain Split, who no one else could learn naturally till Generation V. Misdreavus also bares resemblance to a yokai known as the nukekubi, a variant to the long-necked female yokai the rokurokubi, whose head was said to fly right off and attack humans. Yokai are weird like that.
Compared to the Gastly line, who the PokeDex described as being quite evil and malicious, especially Haunter, Misdreavus seems to be more along the lines of a mischievous spirit who doesn't mean any real harm. It of course takes great pleasure in scaring folks by letting out a loud scream and pulling their hair, but it doesn't seem its actions cause any direct fatalities or serious damage to its victims, though I imagine there's always the possibly it could scare some old lady to death or something. Misdreavus' red necklace is said to absorb fear as nutrition, so it also seems Misdreavus has to scare out of necessity rather than simply pleasure, so like everyone else it's just trying to live its life. Can't really hate a Pokemon for that. Misdreavus would probably be a pretty fun Pokemon to own as a pet, using it to go around scaring folks for fun and everything, plus like I said earlier it's pretty adorable.
Misdreavus' debut episode in Johto was one many folks can relate to---a poor trainer trying to use its Mean Look to trap Entei only to have the jackass Roar and escape. We'll talk about the pain of "Roaming Pokemon" later, but even the show couldn't make that shit look cool. One was also used by Marina in the Legend of Thunder special, and while Ash's rival Paul got Murkrow in Diamond and Pearl, Dawn's rival Zoey got Misdreavus instead---I don't recall her Misdreavus doing anything that notable, but had a decent amount of appearances so for fans of Misdreavus, this was the best you got. In Diamond and Pearl around the time they were advertising Johto Pokemon due to Heart Gold and Soul Silver, Murkrow and Misdreavus got a shared focus episode about two siblings fighting over ownership of the Dusk Stone so they could evolve their respective Pokemon. I'll actually talk about this episode later on in Generation III due to a somewhat obscure connection to a certain Dragon/Flying Pokemon.
#429 - Mismagius
Ghost
Like Murkrow, in Generation IV Misdreavus could also evolve via the Dusk Stone. Misdreavus and Mismagius have a rather odd set of stats, each set of three balanced---their HP, Attack, and Defense are all the same number (and the two share these stats), and then their Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed are all the same number, though Mismagius' are higher. Usually in Pokemon specializing in a stat often proves to be more useful than the Pokemon with perfectly balanced stats, though Mismagius is pretty decent with its strong Special Attack and Speed, and while Misdreavus was the most useful using tricks and gimmicks, Mismagius combined with Nasty Plot can go straight for the opponent with a wide variety of powerful Special moves. Though it's often seen as being an inferior Gengar, who still is pretty much one of the top Ghost-type Pokemon around, Mismagius has her own strengths, and during the main game she'll obviously be a great asset with few Pokemon to worry about specifically due to only two weaknesses. But just remember the Dusk Stone is still a Stone evolution, so with Misdreavus and Murkrow you may want to wait for them to pick up a few moves before you rush and evolve them.
In my Murkrow review, I said that its Generation IV evolution in my opinion basically justified what was once a pretty lackluster and uninteresting design---I don't quite feel the same way with Misdreavus and Mismagius. For me, I grew to find Misdreavus cool enough on its own that when Mismagius was revealed I didn't go "finally, Misdreavus has a point", rather I was just happy to see a pretty neat, yet oft-forgotten single-stager, get placed back in the spotlight. Mismagius is neat, but I don't think the gap between Misdreavus and Mismagius in terms of design is as wide as the gap between Murkrow and Honchkrow, where it was like, "thank god they finally did something with this Pokemon". Mismagius is another Generation IV evolution design that most fans don't seem to have any major issue with, and feels like a natural enough evolution, though I do know a lot of folks are a bit put-off by the weird "football" neck, but looking at the back sprites I guess the intent was for that to serve as Mismagius' bust? Uh...moving on...
While Murkrow was the "witch" Pokemon originally, its evolution went full mafia (you never go full mafia), so it was up to Misdreavus' evolution to own that motif, and I feel it's a pretty natural progression honestly---banshee to witch doesn't seem too off. While Misdreavus was basically a ghostly, disembodied head, Mismagius on the other hand is a typical witch's outfit, minus the actual with---basically a floating hat and dress. I think it's one of those designs where the negative space is as equally important as what's actually there as at least for me, usually when I look at Mismagius normally (and not for analysis purposes) I don't really notice everything that's missing, but just see her as representing a witch. So yeah, I think it's a pretty cool design that works well without having to add too much like some of the other Generation IV Cross-Generation evolutions. In terms of lore, Mismagius is known for her strange incantations which bring headaches and hallucinations to the mind of the target, though on occasion sometimes her enchantments bring happiness as well---her move Lucky Chant, for example, shields her teammates from critical hits.
Mismagius' focus episode in Diamond and Pearl was awesome for one reason---Mismagius Rayquaza. It had a pretty healthy amount of appearances in Diamond and Pearl overall, such as regularly appearing under the ownership of Zoey and the Ghost Gym Leader, Fantina. In the games, Mismagius is usually considered to be Fantina's main Pokemon as it's her highest-leveled Pokemon in Diamond and Pearl and Platinum, though in the show it was her #2---her main Pokemon in the show was instead a new Gen IV Ghost-type Pokemon she used only in Diamond and Pearl, but I actually think this makes more sense as her main consider her clothing is based directly on it.
I actually like Zoroark. Even if it is focus-tested, at least it has a very clear theme with the paintbrush hair, focus on illusion, and fox cleverness. Plus, it has a very cool unique ability.
Lucario on the other hand is just a weird mish-mash of stuff. It's Anubis with metal spikes and dreadlocks who can sense people's emotions and shoots Hadoukens.
Lucario on the other hand is just a weird mish-mash of stuff. It's Anubis with metal spikes and dreadlocks who can sense people's emotions and shoots Hadoukens.
TriggerShy
Member
Zorua and Zoroark still seem to liked plenty though, they just didn't become the next Mewtwo. But, I'm not sure what archetype Zoroark would have started that we didn't already have examples of.
Maybe a evil/mischievous Ditto?
It seemed that way with Zoura in the movie.
Zoura is one of the cutest Pokemon ever by the way.
Misdreavus to Mismagius is a surprisingly natural cross-gen evolution. Usually cross-gen evolutions look very different from each other with clashing styles, but looking at Misdreavus and Mismagius together the progression works well; they have similar color palettes and levels of detail, with Mismagius having just a bit more like most evolutions.
Love both Pokemon, but I've never really had an opportunity to use them in-game. It's a pity they're not found in Platinum.
Love both Pokemon, but I've never really had an opportunity to use them in-game. It's a pity they're not found in Platinum.
TriggerShy
Member
I was really close to using Mismagius in Pearl. When I caught him as a Misdreavus I used the Dusk Stone almost instantly and then just put it in the day care for later. I kinda forgot about him and came back to a level 50 Mismagius, only to find out I evolved it too early so I lacked a diverse movepool and didn't want to use the limited TMs I had. But, if/when Gen 4 gets remade I will definitely keep a spot open.
G/S/C shoving a bunch of Gen 2 mons till the postgame is the dumbest fucking thing
Zoroark rules.
Zoroark rules.
Inquisitive_Ghost
Member
Something about Misdreavus's design that I can't place has always made it look wrong to me. Like I look at it and go, "yup, that design sucks." Mismagius is all right, though.
Gens 1,5, and 6 are where my favourite ghosts are from.
Gens 1,5, and 6 are where my favourite ghosts are from.
I actually never used Misdreavus in a team until HG/SS, and when I did I fell in love.
I think you posted the wrong gif, that's not Steven.
Best champion ever. <(^_^)>
I think you posted the wrong gif, that's not Steven.
Ah Misdreavus, the Pokémon that should have been on Morty team but nope gotta have that Gastly and an extra Haunter in the team because...reason hur hur hur. ¬_¬;
Also Mismagius made Fantina a tough battle in Platinum.
Pfft please, Steven isn't anywhere close on Cynthia's level.
Also Mismagius made Fantina a tough battle in Platinum.
I think you posted the wrong gif, that's not Steven.
Pfft please, Steven isn't anywhere close on Cynthia's level.
I am kidding, I think that Steven is pretty cool but not as cool as Cynthia.
Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
When I first started reviewing Johto Pokemon and looked up which Gym Leaders actually used Johto Pokemon, I was surprised because I swore Morty used Misdreavus---but nope.
Did any in-game trainers actually use Misdreavus? Serebii has a Generation IV section showing Trainer Pokemon, and it doesn't seem anyone in Heart Gold and Soul Silver use it...
Did any in-game trainers actually use Misdreavus? Serebii has a Generation IV section showing Trainer Pokemon, and it doesn't seem anyone in Heart Gold and Soul Silver use it...
I don't think there are. I could swear the only place you could see it in G/S/C is the wild.
Don't think so, but I do know that Morty uses Mismagius in the Johto remake rematches and the Pokémon World Tournament in Black and White 2.
Yeah, I think Misdreavus, Sneasel and Larvitar are the only Johto Pokémon that could be found on Mt Silver.
Johto placement of Jotho Pokémon was really really bad.
Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
#201 - Unown
Psychic
Unown is both one of the most pointless Pokemon in the entire series as well as one of the most interesting Pokemon in the entire series---originally themed after the 26 letters of the roman alphabet, with "!" and "?" added in Generation III, Unown as a team-member is pointless. It learns only one attack, Hidden Power, and all it has as an ability is Levitate. Now, Hidden Power is a very versatile and important move in the competitive scene, allowing a ton of Pokemon the ability to counter Types they have no means to otherwise, but with Unown's horrifically low stats it's basically just filler. I guess it might be fun to create a team of six Unown each with a different Hidden Power and see how far you can get through the game (what would be the most efficient Hidden Power Type distribution I wonder that would have the best coverage?), but there's no reason to use Unown for anything, ever. On the other hand, it can be very fun to collect all 28 variants, and in Gold and Silver and Heart Gold and Soul Silver you were even given a special "Unown Dex" to keep track of them, Gold and Silver even allowing you to use the GameBoy Printer to print special messages out. And it's fun to spell out stuff with Unown too, I guess.
Unown are of course based on the Roman alphabet---though in the games this is never stated, and instead it's implied that they resemble an ancient text to the inhabitants of the Pokemon World, though we easily see them as representing the romance languages. This might feel a bit off to Western fans, but if you remember the games are set in Japan, treating a foreign alphabet as unrecognizable makes some sense even though Japan of course uses "romaji" quite frequently, and in fact has been in the games since the original on the signs of the Pokemon Center and Pokemon Mart. Nowadays in the show especially it's implied there's a unique "Pokemon World alphabet" that's used instead, though this is probably to make the show easier to dub in foreign countries as no one has to worry about erasing foreign text---though that begs the question, if they edit out Japanese text because they worry no kid will know what it means, what's the point of leaving in a fictional text that a kid won't understand either? I wouldn't be surprised if some folks look at the "Pokemon Language", which has a somewhat superficial similarity to Japanese, and think it really is simply Japanese they're seeing. In the Pokemon World, while Unown resembles ancient text, there's much debate over which came first---the text, or the Pokemon.
All the Unown are virtually similar to one another---and in my opinion pretty dull and uninteresting, I guess that's the point but I wish they looked a bit cooler---though it seems each one represents a certain word, though the games have never really done anything with this fact and all of them are virtually the same Pokemon with a slight change. I so wish in Generation III Game Freak could've gave them each a unique Ability, not even to make them good just for lore reasons, but sadly they were stuck with Levitate, one of the most unexciting and overused Abilities next to Pressure in my mind. The Trading Card Game actually did something cool with them by giving each one a unique power related to their "meaning", and usually involving a bonus when multiple Unown were out together---the PokeDex says a strange power is said to happen when multiple gather, but once more the main games don't have any bonus when Unown are gathered besides the ability to spell out "FUCK U!". I so, so, so wish Game Freak would actually do something with these guys, the popular fan-art of them combining into some Nazca Line pseudo-Legendary makes me mouth water. The closest we've got is a Gen V Pokemon who seems to possibly have some connection to them in terms of design, but it doesn't go much further than that.
Unown made their first appearance in the Ruins of Alph in Johto, which is implied to be a shrine built to them in the ancient past by humans who once had a special relationship with the Pokemon. By solving various puzzles based on prehistoric Pokemon, the player could make more and more Unown appear---furthermore, the Ruins of Alph also emitted a strange radio frequency that could be picked up on the PokeGear which made Unown appear more frequently, and it's believed that strange frequency is how Unown communicate with one another. In Heart Gold and Soul Silver, a special Event showed that the Ruins of Alph was connected to a far-away temple known as the Sinjoh Ruins, where it was implied that Unown had a connection with the God of Pokemon. Furthermore, the Azure Flute, an (undistributed) Event Item in Diamond and Pearl's tune seems to resemble the Unown Radio frequency as well, once more pointing to a connection between the alphabet Pokemon and a higher power. In Fire Red and Leaf Green there was the Tanoby Ruins in the Sevii Islands which also housed Unown, but didn't have much lore based around it and seemed to simply serve as a distribution method to obtain the Pokemon, and the Solaceon Ruins in Diamond and Pearl, which could be seen perhaps as the original shrine dedicated to Unown being built prior to the Ruins of Alph, especially given that the Sinnoh Region is possibly the origin point of the entire Pokemon World. The lore of the Unown is pretty deep and thought-provoking, so it's no wonder plenty of folks love these Pokemon despite their horrid weaknesses.
Whenever the Unown appear in the show, shit gets real. They seem to be capable of crazy reality-warping powers in the show's canon, as well as inhabiting their own dimension known as the "Unown Dimension" by fans. Their most memorable appearance is of course in the Entei Movie, where they were less Pokemon and more plot-device, setting forth the events of the movie by creating a bizarre "dream world" based on the wishes of a young girl and rather than showing any element of sentience, instead they seemed to be basically a force of nature with no real sense of morality. I think the Entei Movie probably wins out honestly in terms of being the strongest film overall, and the Unown had a lot to do with it because they were just so weird and felt like a really old-school element you'd see in one of those "kids' movie" back in the day that were more frightening than fun. In Johto they got a filler which depicted them in a slightly more positive light, as a lone Unown was lost and rescued by Ash and co., and even helped them solve a mental crisis affecting one of Ash's Pokemon by transporting the gang into its inner thoughts. They've only had one other appearance in the show in Diamond and Pearl, where Team Rocket aggravated a group of them in the Solaceon Ruins causing them to freak out and go all "reality warping" again---they also cameo'd at the beginning of the Darkrai Movie, where it seems that a fight between Dialga and Palkia spilled over into the Unown Dimension. The Diamond and Pearl Movies were set up as a "trilogy" based around a fight between the two of them, and each film had a slight connection to the next one, but unfortunately the Unown didn't play a larger role and didn't appear in any of the other films, even though Heart Gold and Soul Silver was released during that time giving the animators reason to focus on them more. But really, their Movie 3 role was pretty much perfect, there's not really a need to try and top that in my opinion.
If we're gonna talk about which Champ bests which, here's my line-up
Cynthia >>>>> Alder > Steven > Blue > Iris > Wallace > Lance >>>>> Diantha
Sneasel has a low encounter rate at the Ice Path in Crystal.
Cynthia >>>>> Alder > Steven > Blue > Iris > Wallace > Lance >>>>> Diantha
Like a lot of X/Y stuff, Diantha has potential, but with such a lame team (which is made of pushovers, too), an underdeveloped personality, and basically no real involvement in the game's story, she's easily the worst of them
Sneasel has a low encounter rate at the Ice Path in Crystal.
Yes they were. Everytime I played the game as a child I almost always ended up with a team of Kanto Pokemon with a single Johto Pokemon until the end of the game because all of the ones I like are locked away. Seriously, why is Houndour in Kanto?
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Whelp I just started up the third move. Time to find out if my childhood memories hold up at all
I like how Unowns are weak shits in the game, but in the anime, they're basically Legendary-tier and can WARP REALITY if they feel like it.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
OH GOD I FORGOT IN THE SHORT FILM THEY HAVE A VOLTORB THAT SAYS ELECTRODE IT DROVE ME INSANE AS A KID
Unown is one of the few joke/gimmick Pokemon I'm okay with. They're certainly way more interesting than fucking Delibird or Luvdisc. The whole Ruins of Alph area is just really interesting.
Bugsy should have had a Spinarak and Ledyba.
Morty should have had a Misdreavus.
Chuck should have had a Heracross.
Lance should have had a Kingdra.
Well of course. They're based off of letters. One letter is nothing. A few make a word. Thousands or millions together make language, one of the strongest forces in the world.
Falkner should have had a Hoothoot and Noctowl (Or if Noctowl is too strong, Delibird).
Bugsy should have had a Spinarak and Ledyba.
Morty should have had a Misdreavus.
Chuck should have had a Heracross.
Lance should have had a Kingdra.
Lance should have also had a Tyranitar. I mean he has an Aerodactyl so he isn't a pure dragon trainer (aesthetically). Having multiple of a Kanto Pokemon on his team in second gen is dumb.
Randomly Nameless
Member
Yeah I'm tempted to watch the third movie again too. I remember it being my favourite, at least.