#613 - Cubchoo
Ice
Though I do have to give credit to Generation V for handling the majority of Types quite well, Ice kind of got the short end of the stick---there's only three non-Legendary Ice families introduced and all of them are pure Ice, which is unfortunate since Ice by itself really isn't all that good as we've learned. While Vanillite was a three-stage line the other two Ice families are a two-stage line and a single stage, with Cubchoo here being the two-stager. Like a lot of Ice-type Pokemon it comes fairly late into the game, not popping up till Twist Mountain after the sixth Gym, though it can also be found on Route 7 during Winter which is slightly earlier but not by much. And in Black 2 and White 2 since Twist Mountain is blocked off it becomes limited to Winter on Route 7, unless you get lucky and find one in Route 7's Hidden Grotto available all year round. I used one in White, a bred one, and it had a lot of issues early on due to not learning too many good moves, Icy Wind is basically all it has forever, but once it evolved it became a bit better---overall I'd say my experience with it was better than when I used Vanillite.
Cubchoo was another Pokemon that was a long time coming---a polar bear! And like Teddiursa it's pretty cute, though not quite as cute as it I'd say and our next bear-based Pokemon introduced in Generation VI also wins out over it, but it's not bad. It has a kind of gross gimmick involving a large piece of snot hanging from its nose, like that kid from Wind Waker, and it's constantly sniffing its snot back up its nostrils because it actually provides it with the material needed to use its Ice-type moves, or something like that. It's not actually sick because it has a runny nose, that's normal, though the snot is said to serve as a barometer when it comes to its health---if the snot is thick and sticky, it's in good health, but if the snot is watery it's in need of immediate care and its Ice-type attacks suffer as a result. I really wish they would've given this line some sort of sneeze-based attack to take the motif further, because I love when Pokemon get stupid, yet PokeDex-referencing, moves. Savor the sight of this cute little Pokemon because it honestly evolves into one of the ugliest Pokemon of Generation V.
Hey Cubchoo, how come you get two filler episodes? The first filler episode was another one of the "Meowth Negotiator" episodes when he was temporarily traveling with the group, all a (supposed?) front to ultimately lead the twerps into a trap, this time his skills being put to the test when a lone Cubchoo had gotten lost from its group and ended up intruding upon another group of Beartic, these ones attacking it! Eventually though Meowth and the gang managed to end the feud when it was discovered it was caused by a lack of berries due to a recent storm and a solution was found to ensure both groups got a chance to eat, thus the feud was ended. The second filler involved a rich kid losing his Cubchoo and hiring the help of "Detective" Cilan, and this episode was rather fun since it was when Dawn came back and her and Iris continually mocking Cilan's odd behavior while sleuthing made the episode. Ultimately it's discovered Cubchoo escaped with the help of a Larvitar and after the mystery is solved like the episode literally goes completely off the rails---I'm serious, it's like the writers had no clue what to do with the last five minutes of the show so they just have everyone fuck around for a bit with a practice battle and then the rich kid decides to go on a journey, I've never seen an episode of the show lose momentum like this one does. It's pretty much the number one example for me of why I wish Team Rocket wasn't absent from so many Best Wishes episodes because at least they could've brought some form of conflict to the episode.
#614 - Beartic
Ice
Cubchoo evolves into Beartic at the reasonable Level 37, and gains a pretty decent Attack alongside learning a nice physical Ice-type move in Icicle Crash---but beyond that none of its stats are particularly nice otherwise, though its bulk isn't too bad (but, y'know, Ice-type), and its glacially slow. Despite that in Generation V it actually managed to occasionally see some use in the Uber tier due to a rare combination of the Ice-type and Swift Swim, allowing it to take down various Pokemon the majority of Water-type Swift Swimmers cannot, and access to Encore and Swords Dance. But beyond that, and even then Swift Swim doesn't make it all that fast, Beartic has a hard time standing out from the majority of Ice-type Pokemon and really isn't all that great. I had a decent time using one in White due to it having a decent amount of diverse moves unlike Vanilluxe, but I wouldn't recommend really using one when there's so many options in Unova who are simply better. Well, despite its flaws, at least it looks cool...
Not. I don't know what happened here, when Game Freak made Ursaring in Generation II it came out basically flawless, but Beartic is just straight-up ugly and one of my least favorite designs in Generation V. I don't actually hate it, in fact I sort of like it because it's so ugly and it's one Pokemon I can point at and go "this is an objectively bad design", but there's just so much wrong here though it basically boils down to the eyes. The eyes, or lack of for some Pokemon like Zubat, is probably the most important part to get right when designing a Pokemon, and likewise when it comes to fake Pokemon usually their eyes will give you a good indication of their legitimacy since most artists seem to have trouble with them. By looking solely at a Pokemon's eyes you should be able to tell a decent amount about them, even if you don't see the rest of their body---look at what Psyduck's eyes communicate, or Ursaring's. But Beartic's eyes just don't match it at all, it's a large and powerful bear so why does it have these beady little eyes that don't fit whatsoever? Beyond that it also has that weird bottom-heavy body, I mean it's probably meant to be like an iceberg, small on the top and large on the bottom, but while that would work nicely for a more abstract Pokemon made of ice, giving that awkward body shape to an animal just doesn't work. Finally they tossed in crotch-fur too like Blaziken because, hell, why not?
Motif-wise its snot bubble basically explodes over its face giving it an ice-beard---so consider it the counterpart to Emboar and its fire-beard in that sense. It's also said that it can use its frozen breath to create icicle fangs and claws of ice to fight with, but we never see this in any medium which is unfortunate because I'd love to see it form ice-armor for itself and go to town---that's probably where the Mega Evolution will go, though with so many Generation V Pokemon I don't see this guy being chosen by Game Freak for that honor anytime soon. And like a polar bear it's quite capable in water thus why it has Swift Swim and can also learn Surf---maybe they should've just went ahead and made it Ice/Water, sure it's overused but it'd probably help it out a bit. I'm still disappointed they messed up the visual design of this Pokemon so much, a polar bear should've been an easy Pokemon to make and while everything else about it is solid enough its looks really hurt the whole package. Honestly a white Ursaring covered in some ice probably would've worked far better as a design. Also though it looks like it'd be "Bear-tic", like Regice you don't pronounce the name as it looks and it seems to be "Bear-artic".
Beartic appeared in both Cubchoo fillers, but it had a reoccurring role as the main Pokemon of Georgia, Iris's rival and self-proclaimed "Dragon Buster". I gotta admit I kind of got over my distaste for Beartic's design because Georgia and hers were cool enough---the anime really didn't make the design look any better though. Georgia herself though was an odd character because of her status as Iris' rival, because while I liked the idea of Ash's companions getting rivals it was kind of hard for the writers it seemed to give Georgia much to do since Iris didn't have any main competition she competed in with a physical goal like Contests and Gyms do. She usually would compete in the Tournament Arcs and lose, spending the rest of the time with Burgundy giving color commentary. And she basically disappeared from the show without her plot ever being resolved and she never even got a chance to "bust" a Dragon---her whole goal was motivated by being defeated by someone from the Village of Dragons yet when we got to that location later in the show the writers didn't think to actually have Georgia show up. Anyway, Beartic's first appearance had it thrashing Excadrill quite easily causing it and Iris to end up bonding once again and re-challenge the polar bear Pokemon, this time the battle ending in a tie. In a later Tournament it had a cute battle with Joltik like I mentioned before, winning by crushing the poor little Pokemon after it zapped it. And finally in the World Tournament it went head-to-head against Iris' new Dragonite and while it appeared to be winning at first, freezing Dragonite multiple times, in the end Dragonite took it down effortlessly with a single Thunder Punch. And then Burgundy and Beartic were written out of the show which was pretty shit.