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

Spyware

Member
Those Nidoboobs annoy me soooo much. It's one reason I don't use her much actually. Otherwise I love the Nidolines. I don't agree that ground is not a fitting type for them, they feel very ground-like to me.

Amazing thread btw :)
 

Firemind

Member
wait, WHAT?

There's a MEGA PIDGEOT???

GXjzXN3.gif


OH HAPPY DAYS
 
I like all the Pokemon. Even the ones with silly designs. People complain about ice cream cones and bags of trash, but Gen 1 has a purple slime puddle and a tumbleweed with eyes...

And I've enjoyed every generation out there.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Nidoking is one of my favorite original Pokemon. Though yeah it's really strange that ithe Nido line uses a moonstone to evolve. Nothing about their type, design, or dex entry share a theme with other moon pokemon. Only thing can come up with is that they're unique and mysterious for having very different looking and functioning male and female forms.
 

Boogiepop

Member
Man, it really is a shame that Sandslash has never really had much of anything to pull him into the spotlight, since he was one of my favorites in Gen I. Hope they get around to giving him an evo or a mega or something at some point...
 

Firemind

Member
Man, it really is a shame that Sandslash has never really had much of anything to pull him into the spotlight, since he was one of my favorites in Gen I. Hope they get around to giving him an evo or a mega or something at some point...
Sandslash is one of only seven non-legendary Ground Pokemon that can learn Swords Dance and unlike Marowak, Sandslash can learn Stealth Rock, and unlike Gliscor and Excadrill, Sanslash can learn respectively Rapid Spin and Knock Off. So that's something at least! Plus Sandslash had that one episode where it was a total badass! Can't say that about Arbok! (edit: oh wait that was sandshrew lol)

There was literally nothing Pidgeot could do that another Pokemon couldn't do better. At all times. Even in the original games, it was outclassed by Fearow. It's time for Pidgeot to shine now! Mach two, baby!
 
I like all the Pokemon. Even the ones with silly designs. People complain about ice cream cones and bags of trash, but Gen 1 has a purple slime puddle and a tumbleweed with eyes...

And I've enjoyed every generation out there.
I feel the same, I've found that I like hearing about people's favorite poke'mon rather than their most hated, because they can be so diverse and interesting in terms of the reason. But, the most hated always seem to have similar reasoning to one another. Even if I'm not fond of certain poke'mon, I would never deny their right to exist, because I enjoy the series too much.
 

Toxi

Banned
wait, WHAT?

There's a MEGA PIDGEOT???

GXjzXN3.gif


OH HAPPY DAYS
It's a pretty great mega too. 100% accurate Hurricane is nothing to sneeze at. Main issue is that Pidgeot's special movepool kinda sucks, with only Heat Wave as decent coverage. It really could use Focus Blast.
 
My favourite is Dragonite.
I like Crobat.

Although...for whatever reason if I had to pick a team of 3 it'd be Dragonite, Gengar and Aerodactyl
 

Firemind

Member
It's a pretty great mega too. 100% accurate Hurricane is nothing to sneeze at. Main issue is that Pidgeot's special movepool kinda sucks, with only Heat Wave as decent coverage. It really could use Focus Blast.
Yeah, I see it's special-based, which unfortunately makes it a prey for T-Tar and Heatran. There's HP Ground at least. If I were still playing competitively, Pidgeot would be a shoe-in. Tbh I'm still salty Pidgeot has never gotten Swords Dance over the decades, while freaking Tentacruel and Ludicolo have. How do they even Swords Dance with their tentacles and mittens? Look at this badass on the other hand. Pidgeot will fuck you up something fierce.

 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
BW9yhnC.png

035 - Clefairy
Fairy (Normal Prior Gen VI)

Okay, let's begin by examining the most popular rumor involving Clefairy---that it was intended to be the original mascot of the Pokemon Franchise. I heard this years ago, and until now, never really looked into it and took it as face value, but when prepping this write-up, I realized that this claim appears to have originated in a book called "Pikachu's Global Adventure", and beyond that there's apparently been no authentic source given to back up this claim otherwise from anyone involved with the Pokemon Franchise. There is an interview that was posted on the official Pokemon site back during the Red/Blue days, translated here that mentions Clefairy was one of the first Pokemon created as a "cute pet-like" type, but that's the furthest this claim is supported. Otherwise, it doesn't seem like Clefairy was ever intended to be the main mascot of Pokemon beyond that as Pikachu appears in a lot of early promotional artwork signaling it was planned to be an important mascot Pokemon all along.

Even odder, Bulbapedia also mentions (what I assume to be from the same book as the "Clefairy was the mascot" claim) that Pikachu apparently replaced Clefairy last-minute in the show, which sounds extremely unlikely due to how animation works. There's no way Pikachu was a last minute insert. I imagine the Clefairy rumor was also believed due to the first ever and longest running Pokemon manga (it's not Special as people would have you believe) Kosaku Anakubo's Pocket Monsters featuring Clefairy as the main Pokemon, although Pikachu is an equally important character. Anakubo probably just chose Clefairy to use out of personal preference (and because it was funnier to have such a cute Pokemon act so rude), and then was asked to put Pikachu in as well since he was the mascot. If there is any truth to this claim, I imagine Pikachu was probably chosen over Clefairy due to having a more "gender-neutral" appeal, and it's interesting to think if Clefairy was the mascot, if it would've ended up as popular as Pikachu.

With that out of the way, let's talk about Clefairy. Although NOW it's a Fairy-type Pokemon, for the first 15 or so years it was pure-Normal, and one of the first Normal-type Pokemon encountered that was of the "other variety". In other words, a weird, fantasy creature as opposed to a regular animal. I imagine part of the reason Fairy came about, beyond simply countering Dragon-type Pokemon, was to perhaps distill the Normal-type a bit by giving a better home for some of its odder members. Anyway, most people came to learn during Generation 1 that if a Pokemon was a light, pastel-looking color, it was probably a Normal-type, and Clefairy is the originator of this idea.

Clefairy wasn't exactly an impressive Pokemon in Generation 1, but was unique in that it and its evolution were the only Pokemon apart from Mew to learn Metronome---which allowed them to randomly use ANY MOVE except Struggle (and a other gimmick moves in later games). This often didn't work as expected for the player, of course, but it was fun nonetheless. Clefairy has somewhat of a "musical" theme, but this is actually more prominent in the localization where its name includes "cleff", and originally the line were to be called Aria and Ariala according to early promotional art. Metronome is also something the dub added---the original is simply called "Wag Finger". Considering Clefairy learn quite a bit of "sound" moves, I think the localization was actually pretty sharp in this situation.

Clefairy is a "fairy" creature, and looks a bit like Pikachu due to its somewhat similar body-shape and ears. They're really cute and friendly Pokemon, but also quite rare, and are implied to have a connection to the moon. Through the power of the moon, they're said to be able to fly with their wings. Clefairy are believed to be extraterrestrial, perhaps originating from the Moon itself, and this idea was another element that was mainly pushed by the anime, although I imagine the writers had some input from Game Freak as well and didn't create every plot-point out of thin air. However, this idea began to pop up in later games suggesting Game Freak always intended that, or liked the anime's take on it---for example, Clefairy appears in Black and White within the Giant Chasm, where Kyurem lives who is a Pokemon said to have fallen to Earth on a meteor. Since Clefairy can be seen as one of the "iconic" Fairy-type Pokemon now, I wonder if perhaps Game Freak may be implying that many Fairy-type Pokemon have a similar origin, perhaps explaining their sudden appearance?

Clefairy's biggest claim to fame is starring in the Pocket Monsters manga, the first Pokemon manga (as far as I know) that is still running to this day in CoroCoro, and is the second longest running manga. You've likely barely heard of this manga apart from the fact it stars a very ugly Clefairy, and that's probably because it's a rather crude gag manga. The early chapters especially had a lot of dirty jokes (remember the first time you read the Dragon Ball manga and had to deal with Goku's penis?), and pretty weird art, including throwing in a bunch of non-existent Pokemon. It's cleaned up somewhat I believe, but Viz has completely ignored it due to the fact I imagine the humor is pretty Japanese. American fans actually got a taste of it in a Hoenn episode of the anime, where Ash and Gary watched a movie that was a take on it---although the dub changed it up as they cast Clefairy to sound like a typical girly-girl as opposed to the rough and rude Pippi.

In the show, Clefairy was one of the first Pokemon to get a "focus episode", in which its relationship to the moon was examined. A later episode furthered this idea, by having them actually build a UFO. Years later, those same Clefairy returned in a Johto filler. And then years later, a Battle Frontier episode saw the gang return to Mt. Moon, one of the few Battle Frontier episode that actually seemed like it took place in the same Kanto as the original series. Battle Frontier did a lot of things right, but boy, did they love to ignore the original series. Beyond that though, if Clefairy was ever intended to be the "original mascot", it sure has fallen out of that role.

3ehFGA6.png

#36 - Clefable
Fairy (Normal Prior Gen VI)

Clefable is Clefairy's evolution, and evolves through the use of the Moon Stone---it's probably the most well-known Pokemon to do so thanks to the anime featuring their evolution process in Clefairy and the Moon Stone. And it certainly fits that evolution method better than Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Now that I think about it, these Pokemon are right after the Nidorans---perhaps there was some weird mix-up in the planning stage? Clefable is one of those Generation I evolutions that doesn't change much, and thus there's not much to talk about, basically becoming bigger---its wings in particular become much more noticeable, whereas they're somewhat hidden on Clefairy's back. They certainly give off a more "fairy" appearance than Clefairy thanks to this. There's a rumor about Clefable and a connection with a certain Pokemon, but I'll discuss that when I reach that Pokemon.

Clefable might not look like much, but it's surprisingly decent thanks to its extremely diverse move-set---a trademark of many Normal-type Pokemon, and as of Generation VI its Fairy-typing also helped it out as it only has two weaknesses and an immunity to Dragon. It also received a 10-point increase in Special Atk. to help it out as well.

Clefable's appearances in the show have pretty much all been connected to Clefairy, usually simply appearing to show the power of the Moon Stone at the end. They've never really had an episode to themselves, or appeared under the command of an important Trainer. In the Pocket Monsters manga, Red's Clefairy (and Pikachu!) actually evolved at one point, but were able to reverse the evolution ultimately to keep the status-quo in-tact.

229n9iC.png

#173 - Cleffa
Fairy (Normal Prior Gen VI)

Another Baby Pokemon in the vein of Pichu (a pre-evolution to a Pokemon that really didn't need to get any cuter), Cleffa is perhaps one of the better Baby Pokemon in Generation II as it's a bit more clever than Pichu was. Mainly, Cleffa seems to be a way for Game Freak to better implement the "extraterrestrial" element that the anime popularized---Cleffa are "star shape" Pokemon which is a cute design motif that illustrates their connection to space, and the PokeDex mentions that they often appear around meteor-sites and such. They also engage in mass-orgies apparently where they dance like crazy all through the night and "quench their thirst with the morning dew". Ok. You could say Clefairy and Clefable are rather "mystical" Pokemon, whereas Cleffa sort of introduces a more pseudo-scientific element into the mix. It's unlikely Game Freak will ever confirm the origin of Clefairy, and it's one of the many mysteries of Pokemon they keep ambiguous to tease and interest fans. It wouldn't be fun if they explained everything, right?

Cleffa's anime appearances also usually correspond with Clefairy, its focus episode in Johto a shout-out to E.T., in a way, as Ash and friends have to find the UFO it fell from---which turns out to be the Clefairy from back in Kanto. They're accosted by two of the more obscure characters in the show---the Pokemon Mystery Club, which are basically kind of like the bad guys in E.T and acted as a rival Team Rocket. They were somewhat interesting characters, and later popped up again in Hoenn surprisingly, but haven't appeared since. And Cleffa also was featured in the Battle Frontier Clefairy episode mentioned above, but like the whole family, its appearances outside these episodes have been very minor. Perhaps they'll get featured in XY at some point since they have a new Type and everything?
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
No mention of Gary's dead Raticate? for shame

Why someone mention a silly fan theory?

Gary Raticate didn't die, he just dumped it for a better and stronger Pokémon as that's what he believed was important in creating a strong team. Heck in Pokémon Yellow he had a Fearow and in the 6th battle he dumps it and yet no one says his Fearow is dead.

It's just a silly theory created by people trying to make Pokémon seem more darker and mature when it isn't.
 

Spyware

Member
For some reason I really don't like how Clefairy looks but I adore Cleffa and Clefable is a fav. It's like Clefable is the mature and cool version and Cleffa is the adorable baby. Clefairy is the awkward teen. Too "cute" in a really weird looking way.
 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
UpL7X1j.png

#37 - Vulpix
Fire

For players who have Blue Version, and picked Squirtle as their Starter, Vulpix will be the first Fire Pokemon the player encounters---for Red Version players, it'll be Growlithe. While some counterparts over the years have moved apart from one another due to perhaps an evolution given to only one of them, Vulpix and Growlithe have actually grown closer since their debut. They're both pure-Fire canine Pokemon inspired by mythological Japanese creatures, have opposite gender distribution (Vulpix is 75% female, Growlithe 75% male), belong to the same Egg Group, have the same Ability, and even have similar Shiny colorations. I say this now and watch one of them get a Mega Evolution to break this...

Anyway, Vulpix is one of the first Pokemon that reveal Pokemon's origin as a Japanese product, as it's based on a Japanese mythological creature known as the Kitsune. Kitsune are magical fox like creatures said to posses various supernatural powers, such as control of fire (those are apparently specifically called a kitsunebi I believe), shape-shifting, possession, etc., and are known for having multiple tails. The more tails a kitsune has, the more powerful and mature they are, and generally nine is considered the most powerful of them all. Thus, Vulpix is still immature and lacks many of the powers kitsune are associated with, as it only has six tails---although you'll notice the three curls on its head seem to symbolize the three tails it'll grow in the future. In the original back sprites, however, it lacks the curls and instead has the same style of hair that Ninetales has.

Vulpix is said to be born with only one white tail, which splits into its other tails as it grows up. Unfortunately, this has never been seen in the games, even in Gen II which introduced breeding---I feel like they set themselves up to create a Baby for Vulpix, but never got around to it. Even the anime didn't take advantage of this despite having more freedom in that regard---there was literally an episode where Vulpix hatched at the end that just had it resemble a fully-grown one. One last note about Vulpix's tails are that they look similar to the "Will O Wisp" type flames that are said to appear around kitsune.

Even though the kitsune is a very Japanese element, I don't think Vulpix had any trouble appealing to Western audiences. Due to their coloring, making a fox a fire-type doesn't seem out of place, and foxes are often depicted as trickster figures in Western fables and such that the mystical elements of the line don't seem too out of place either. Furthermore, a fox with multiple tails is nothing new---many players likely thought of Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog, and figured giving foxes multiple tails was just a gimmick video-games liked to use. Of course kids today are probably more in the know thanks to this information being readily available, and Naruto popularizing the idea of the multi-tailed fox creature. There's probably a kid out there who thinks Ninetales ripped off Naruto.

In the anime, Vulpix was owned by Brock after it was given to him by a professional Pokemon Breeder impressed by his skills. Vulpix literally did shit as far as I remember, and was returned to her original trainer in Johto, but was probably intended to help showcase Brock's role as a "breeder"---a very ambiguous term that was never fully explained and seemed to just mean Brock and his Pokemon basically did nothing of importance in the Pokemon World. If you were a Brock Pokemon, your whole existence was basically meaningless.

BmHwxbB.png

#38 - Ninetales
Fire

In kitsune lore, kitsune basically reach their peak when they grow nine tails, and their fur turns gold---thus we have Ninetales. Ninetales is the first Pokemon who evolves with the Fire Stone, the first Elemental Stone introduced. Unlike the Moon Stone, which has somewhat of an ambiguous nature to what sorts of Pokemon it induces evolution in, the Fire Stone is much simpler---it evolves Fire Pokemon. Ninetales remains pure-Fire, although personally I sort of wish they made it part-Psychic since it has magical abilities and all, but then again there were enough Psychic Pokemon in Kanto. And of course, just recently we actually got a magical Fire/Psychic fox Pokemon.

Ninetales is a very mythical Pokemon with a ton of interesting lore behind it. Despite being a machine made to help research Pokemon scientifically, the PokeDex loves its crazy superstitious theories. Ninetales has two main ones---first, that if you grab it by the tail, it'll curse you for 1,000 years. Second, and the more obscure one, it was apparently created when nine wizards fused together. And now we have a fox wizard Pokemon---you think there might be a connection here? Anyway, Ninetales has quite a few magically-themed attacks and all, but oddly enough, lacks Curse. That's pretty odd, but then again Curse is actually a pun in the original Japanese version---noroi means both curse and slow---and most of the non-Ghost type Pokemon who learn it are large, slow creatures. Ninetales would end up with the "slow" meaning as it's not a Ghost-type, which wouldn't fit with its design and appearance. Like Clefable, Ninetales enjoys success in the battling realm thanks to its large amount of coverage---unique for Fire-type Pokemon who tend to lack that.

Ninetales played a major role in the first Mystery Dungeon, as its curse set off the whole plot of the game. The player is revealed to be a human who was cursed due to grabbing Ninetales' tail, and forced to become a Pokemon---his appearance would also signal a major disaster. Of course, as the game goes on, the player being the human is cast into question, and ultimately it's revealed to have been another major character all along. Honestly, check out Mystery Dungeon if you get a chance, it's a pretty fun take on the Pokemon universe from a different perspective.

In the show, Ninetales didn't get an episode really till Johto---it was used by Blaine, but come on, everyone only remembers Magmar due to the awesome fight and Rhydon thanks to the meme. Its focus episode in Johto saw it entering a Pokemon Beauty Pageant against Brock's Vulpix (under the command of Suzy, it's original trainer), and as you'd expect, Vulpix won out against its evolved form. A more sympathetic episode to Ninetales happened later in Johto, where it took the 'guise of a human girl waiting for her master---who just so happened to look like Brock. Brock, as usual, wanted to bang Human Ninetales, which certainly casts a new light on his relationship with his Vulpix. Pokemon Breeder, alright.
 

GGF

Neo Member
EDIT: Turns out I can't read

Really cool thread idea, by the way. It's nice to go back and look at every Pokemon from the beginning after so long.
 

Toxi

Banned
Ninetales is so cool. One of my favourite designs in the franchise. Shame that Arcanine outclasses it competitively.
Fifth gen had Ninetales with the upper hand because Drought was such a powerful ability.

It's now much less powerful without permanent sun, but it's still the only non-Groudon Pokemon with Drought.
 
Interesting thing about Clefairy is that it (IIRC) was originally going to be Ash's starter Pokemon in the anime until the last minute decision to make it Pikachu, which explains Clefairy's presence in that weird gag manga. Crazy to think what would have happened if that had happened, maybe we'd all be complaining about how Clefable never got any attention.

Really cool thread idea, by the way. It's nice to go back and look at every Pokemon from the beginning after so long.

OP's clefairy writeup mentioned this rumor, and his research found absolutely nothing to substantiate it.
 
I have one minor nitpick with the Clefairy description. Wouldn't Jigglypuff be the first Normal pokemon of the "other variety" that the player encounters, as they are available on the route just before Mt. Moon?

I am really enjoying these by the way. I hope you can see this, in all honesty pretty gargantuan, task all the way through.
 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
I have one minor nitpick with the Clefairy description. Wouldn't Jigglypuff be the first Normal pokemon of the "other variety" that the player encounters, as they are available on the route just before Mt. Moon?

I am really enjoying these by the way. I hope you can see this, in all honesty pretty gargantuan, task all the way through.

Oh, perhaps you're right.

I'm going by PokeDex order---forgot that unlike in later games, in Generation I the PokeDex wasn't ordered by appearance.
 

Azuran

Banned
Cleffa's claim to fame for me is being a broken piece of shit in the TCG.

Damn lol. That move name is perfect

Fifth gen had Ninetales with the upper hand because Drought was such a powerful ability.

It's now much less powerful without permanent sun, but it's still the only non-Groudon Pokemon with Drought.

Mega Charizard Y is crying right now.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Clefairy is gosh-darn cute, but Jigglypuff is best. And as awesome as Nintetales is Archanine is even greater.

Cleffa's claim to fame for me is being a broken piece of shit in the TCG.

what makes it so bad? Weren't there already trainer cards with similar effects?
 

Azuran

Banned
Clefairy is gosh-darn cute, but Jigglypuff is best. And as awesome as Nintetales is Archanine is even greater.



what makes it so bad? Weren't there already trainer cards with similar effects?

Drawing 7 cards with little to no cost is broken as hell in any card game.
 

Watch Da Birdie

I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
xdCBd4H.png

039 - Jigglypuff
Normal/Fairy (Normal Prior Gen VI)

Jigglypuff can be seen as a "counterpart" to Clefairy, as they were both introduced as magical Normal-type Pokemon in Generation I who evolved with the Moon Stone, and received a Baby in Generation II. While Clefairy in Generation VI became pure-Fairy, Jigglypuff instead kept its Normal-typing alongside gaining the Fairy-type. Personally, I don't get why Game Freak didn't make Jigglypuff pure Fairy-type as well since the two Pokemon had always been similar, but that's what Game Freak ended up doing!

Jigglypuff is a round, pinkish Pokemon who brings to mind Nintendo's own Kirby due to its ability to inflate its body like a balloon. One oddity about Jigglypuff's appearance is that in the games, it tends to have a darker pink color and blue eyes while in the show and Smash Brothers (until Smash 4 went with the game's coloring), its appearance was much lighter and it had green eyes. Game Freak seemed to homage this in Jigglypuff's Shiny introduced in Generation II, which greatly resembles its anime incarnation, so much so that some people speculate that the anime's Jigglypuff was always intended to be a Shiny Pokemon. This was proven false, however, as subsequent Jigglypuff in the show all used the lighter color scheme.

Like Clefairy, Jigglypuff evolves through the use of the Moon Stone, but its connection to the Moon isn't as strong as Clefairy---one episode of the show hinted that Clefairy had a relationship with Jigglypuff, but otherwise the games don't imply Jiggs to have an extraterrestrial origin like they do with Clefairy. Jigglypuff's body-shape, however, does resemble the moon, as does its saucer-shaped eyes, so it evolving with the Moon Stone feels natural and expected.

In Japan, Jigglypuff is called the Japanese term for pudding, "purin", but it doesn't seem to actually be made of pudding or edible. Its American name somewhat keeps this food theme in-tact, as the "puff" brings to mind the Jet-Puffed Marshmallow brand (or, more likely, the fictitious Stay-Puft brand featured in Ghost Busters), and its pre-evolution is even described to have a body that feels like a marshmallow. A later Fairy-type Pokemon introduced in Gen VI that resembles a popular food item makes me think that Pokemon based on confectionery sweets might become a reoccurring theme when it comes to designing Fairy Pokemon, something that honestly I'm all for.

Jigglypuff's trademark ability, even more iconic than its ability to inflate itself, is Sing. This primarily gained popularity thanks to the television show, but was Jigglypuff's signature move in the games as well, and the sound effect used in the games became the basis for "Jigglypuff's Lullaby". Sapphire's PokeDex introduces a rather dark element to it, though---Jigglypuff doesn't breathe when it's singing, and will possibly suffocate itself when singing for an opponent it cannot put to sleep.

While never on the level of Pikachu, Jigglypuff became quite popular due to its appearance in Super Smash 64 as one of the game's four secret characters. When it comes to the Pokemon Franchise, it's been said that The Pokemon Company has a say in what Pokemon Sakurai includes, and Jigglypuff was probably put in due to being a very popular Pokemon thanks to the show---in fact more than any other franchise in Smash Brothers, Pokemon seems to draw the most from its expanded media than it does the main games. Jigglypuff was a "joke character", but could be potentially lethal when used correctly, it's apparently pointless Rest move capable of delivering a powerful hit if used when right on top of the opponent. As Jigglypuff's popularity waned in favor of newer Pokemon, some fans have expressed surprise that Jigglypuff has returned for every Smash sequel, but that's probably because it was one of the original 12, and it could be said to be an iconic Smash Brother at this point more so than it is an iconic Pokemon. Like with Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff's Smash Brothers' appearance is basically its main draw at this point. I imagine if Jigglypuff was ever dropped, the outcry would be huge.

In the show, Jigglypuff was a reoccurring character during the earlier seasons, following Ash and co. throughout their adventure. Unlike Jigglypuff in the games, who are said to Sing with the intent of putting their foes to sleep, this Jigglypuff actually wanted to have someone listen to its song, which, as expected, always failed resulting in it getting angry and using its microphone/marker to doodle over everyone's face before storming off. In its last appearance in Hoenn, it finally accomplished this thanks to a Whismur's Soundproof Ability---but even Whismur couldn't help but fall asleep at the end of the episode, worn out by that day's adventures. Jigglypuff marched off, but this time was never seen again---except for a small cameo in one of Best Wish's endings alongside other mascot Pokemon from throughout the show's run. You know, I'm surprised they never let one of the characters actually catch Jigglypuff. It would've fit quite well with May and her Contest Adventures. Outside of the main Jigglypuff, a giant one appeared in the Ancient Puzzle of Pokemopolis, and as the focus on an early Battle Frontier filler which was another instance of Battle Frontier ignoring a well-established character in favor of a cheap replacement.

YoMqlGW.png

040 - Wigglytuff
Normal/Fairy (Normal Prior Gen VI)

Wigglytuff is the evolved form of Jigglypuff, and loses its spherical shape in favor of a "jelly-bean" shape as well as grows long, rabbit-like ears. Given that rabbits in Japan have a connection to the moon, I imagine this element of its design was done to help signify it evolving through the use of a Moon Stone. In older art, Wigglytuff's mouth was above its white belly, but in modern appearances its mouth is now placed right at the top of its belly instead. Like Jigglypuff, its colors in the game were darker than how it appeared elsewhere, although as it didn't appear as frequently as Jigglypuff this wasn't as noticeable.

While Jigglypuff focused on its Sing ability, Wigglytuff instead focuses more-so on its ability to inflate itself just like a balloon. It does this as a means of intimidation, and the PokeDex gives off the impression that Wigglytuff is somewhat of a mean Pokemon who's quick to anger despite its cuddly appearance. Unlike Sing, the ability to inflate has yet to have a move that really represents that ability---I always thought a move that worked akin to Magnet Rise, but for Pokemon who could inflate themselves, would be a fitting idea.

Wigglytuff had a rather memorable appearance in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers series, as the leader of the Treasure Town guild the player belongs to. Despite his cute and childish nature, Wigglytuff is shown to be an extremely powerful and frightening Pokemon when angered. You'd never think a Pokemon like Wigglytuff could be such a badass!

In the show, Wigglytuff first appeared in a somewhat meta-episode all about making a Pokemon Movie that aired around the release of Pokemon: The Movie. This episode seemed to support the idea that Wigglytuff is actually somewhat of a cruel Pokemon, as it had a very diva-like attitude to it and was very hard to work with. It played the role of a Juliet-type character opposite Misty's Psyduck in the Romeo role. In Hoenn, May's rival Harley used a Wigglytuff who was depicted as extremely vicious and cruel-hearted. Some fans I recall speculated that this was THE Jigglypuff last seen in an earlier Hoenn episode, but there's nothing to support this since we don't see its trademark microphone or Sing ability. Wigglytuff has recently gained prominence in the XY series where due to its new Fairy Type making it marketable again, is now depicted as Nurse Joy's signature Pokemon in Kalos as opposed to the traditional Chansey. It mainly plays a background role, but there's been a focus episode on one of these Wigglytuff nurses.

Sao9SFd.png

174 - Igglybuff
Normal/Fairy (Normal Prior Gen VI)

Like Pichu and Cleffa, Igglybuff is another example of a Baby Pokemon created with the sole-goal of being cute and marketable. Despite this being the goal, both Cleffa and Igglybuff never really took off, and their evolutions tend to be more well-known and beloved than they are. Its dub name is a bit odd to me---there's not really any other options to keep the rhyme going (duff? fuff?), but "buff" was an odd choice since the Pokemon is anything but buff.

Igglybuff is also known as the Balloon Pokemon, and the little knot on its head somewhat resembles the bottom portion of a balloon that you tie the string around. Going by the PokeDex, Igglybuff's body is a bit different from Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff, as it's described as being more like a bouncing ball than a balloon. It's also said to not be as good at singing as Jigglypuff due to its weaker vocal cords, but of course in the games its Sing attack is just as effective as its evolutions. The most notable difference compared to its evolutions though are its bright, red eyes---perhaps meant to represent a Red Moon?

In Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky, the "third version" of the Explorers series, Guild Master Wigglytuff was given a special Side Episode where you played as him during his days as an Igglybuff showing his backstory and his journey to become a top-notch Explorer. Per the Mystery Dungeon games, this involves a surprisingly touching plot involving a morally ambiguous mentor.

Igglybuff had like one "major" appearance in a Johto filler as a dance-group duo who had a rivalry with Jigglypuff, but I barely remember anything about that episode. Otherwise it's played bite-size roles.
 

Cryxok

Member
I've been a fan of Pokémon since their GB days and gotta say... It's hard for me to look back at Gen 1 or 2 mons and say "yeah, that guy is totally badass!". I still like some of them like Nidoking, Arcanine and Scizor... but it'd be hard for me to build a 6 man team out of each of them. The nostalgia has slowly gone away.

Pidgeot? I prefer Swellow and Staraptor
Charizard or Dragonite? I prefer Flygon and Hydreigon
Venomoth? Volcarona!

And so on and so forth. Right now my favorites are almost exclusively from Gens 5 and 6... with a guy or 2 from Gen 3.

There is a lot of people who claim that Pokémon have run out of ideas and that new Pokémon are ugly... to which I always reply with this guy:

And so far that has always led to me winning the argument.
 
I've been a fan of Pokémon since their GB days and gotta say... It's hard for me to look back at Gen 1 or 2 mons and say "yeah, that guy is totally badass!". I still like some of them like Nidoking, Arcanine and Scizor... but it'd be hard for me to build a 6 man team out of each of them. The nostalgia has slowly gone away.

Pidgeot? I prefer Swellow and Staraptor
Charizard or Dragonite? I prefer Flygon and Hydreigon
Venomoth? Volcarona!

And so on and so forth. Right now my favorites are almost exclusively from Gens 5 and 6... with a guy or 2 from Gen 3.

There is a lot of people who claim that Pokémon have run out of ideas and that new Pokémon are ugly... to which I always reply with this guy:


And so far that has always led to me winning the argument.

Tyrantrum is amazing,

Perosnally, my favorite generation of pokemon design wise is gen 6. I do think gen 5 is the weakest, followed by gen 2

Overall my rankings would be
Gen 6
Gen 1
Gen 4
Gen 3
Gen 2
Gen 5

Also, on another note, best starter design rankings for me are
Gen 4
Gen 3
Gen 1
Gen 6
Gen 5
Gen 2

Gen 2 starters are just really lackluster. I like Totodile and Croconaw though, but Feraligator is just really ugly, though constraining the design to a gameboy color sprite is probably part of the problem
 
Jigglypuff has to be one of the Pokemon Company's biggest marketing misstep.

They have this popular character who appeared in Smash and everyone likes and enjoys seeing and they just dump her. Completely remove her from the series entirely, despite the potential to have a marketable character that lasts forever.
 

Xenoboy

Member
The Jigglypuff line has always had a place in my heart. Wigglytuff is also one of my favorite pokémon all around.

Poor Armaldo and Igglybuff... :/
 

Azuran

Banned
Jigglypuff has to be one of the Pokemon Company's biggest marketing misstep.

They have this popular character who appeared in Smash and everyone likes and enjoys seeing and they just dump her. Completely remove her from the series entirely, despite the potential to have a marketable character that lasts forever.

Jigglypuff is just boring looking and besides the singing gimmick, she has nothing of note. I'm not surprised she got forgotten when there's plenty of other cute Pokemon with better designs.
 

Spyware

Member
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Wigglytuff is amazing! :D Changed my opinion on that line a bit too. Now I hope to get them when playing nuzlockes.
 

Macka

Member
Perosnally, my favorite generation of pokemon design wise is gen 6. I do think gen 5 is the weakest, followed by gen 2
This is a much better idea than ranking the games themselves, since most people here just rank them from most recent to oldest anyway.

Pokedex Ranking
1. Kanto
2. Kalos
3. Johto
4. Sinnoh
5. Hoenn
6. Unova

Kanto still contains the majority of my favourites, although if we exclude Mega Evolutions then Kalos would probably have a higher good:bad ratio. Johto has a lot of recycled ideas and generally unnecessary Pokemon tbh, but it also has some of the very best designs too. Sinnoh and Hoenn are a mixture of good and bad with very few high points. Unova is terrible all-round.

As for starter rankings:
1. Kanto (Charizard > Blastoise >>> Venusaur)
2. Hoenn (Sceptile >> Blaziken >>> Swampert)
3. Johto (Feraligatr >> Typhlosion >>> Meganium)
4. Kalos (Greninja >>> Delphox >>> Chesnaught)
5. Sinnoh (Infernape >> Empoleon >>> Torterra)
6. Unova (Serperior > Emboar > Samurott)

Charizard, Blastoise, Greninja, Sceptile, Feraligatr and Blaziken are the best starters imo.
 

Toxi

Banned
The Jigglypuff line probably kept their Normal typing so they could continue to get STAB for the various sound-based attacks like Hyper Voice.
 

Cryxok

Member
Tyrantrum is amazing,

Perosnally, my favorite generation of pokemon design wise is gen 6. I do think gen 5 is the weakest, followed by gen 2

Overall my rankings would be
Gen 6
Gen 1
Gen 4
Gen 3
Gen 2
Gen 5

Also, on another note, best starter design rankings for me are
Gen 4
Gen 3
Gen 1
Gen 6
Gen 5
Gen 2

Gen 2 starters are just really lackluster. I like Totodile and Croconaw though, but Feraligator is just really ugly, though constraining the design to a gameboy color sprite is probably part of the problem

It is my belief that Gen 5 has so many... questionable designs... because it tried to be a second Gen1. To me, Unova's worst designs are those with a Gen1 parallel (Conkeldurr - Machamp, Garbodor - Muk, Klinklang - Magneton). If it had only kept it's unique designs like Scrafty, Volcarona, Krookodile, Carracosta and what not, I'm sure people would see it in a different light (even if it had less Pokemon).

That's why Gen 5 has both the most Pokémon I like and the most Pokémon I dislike out of all Gens. Can't rank'em as those extremes within Gen5's designs would make it very hard to give it a fair place in the ranking,
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Jjigglypuff is best puff. Anyone who disagrees gets a marker to the face!

7166728450_e6de2ca1d3_z.jpg


The Jigglypuff line probably kept their Normal typing so they could continue to get STAB for the various sound-based attacks like Hyper Voice.

If only there was like, an ability that turned normal type moves into fairy type.

Jigglypuff is just boring looking and besides the singing gimmick, she has nothing of note. I'm not surprised she got forgotten when there's plenty of other cute Pokemon with better designs.

What you say?!

CQWABnxWoAEh5Qd.jpg
 

The Adder

Banned
I won't do a write up on it, because this is your thread and it's pretty damn cool so far, but man could I go on and on about all the things that make Trubbish and Gabador, pokemon that constantly get shit on, fucking BRILLIANT. And lightyears ahead of their Gen 1 equivalents (Koffing/Grimer & Wheezing/Muk)

Originally I was just meh on them, but the more and more I examine them the more and more I like them.
 

Cryxok

Member
I won't do a write up on it, because this is your thread and it's pretty damn cool so far, but man could I go on and on about all the things that make Trubbish and Gabador, pokemon that constantly get shit on, fucking BRILLIANT. And lightyears ahead of their Gen 1 equivalents (Koffing/Grimer & Wheezing/Muk)

Originally I was just meh on them, but the more and more I examine them the more and more I like them.

Now THIS is interesting. While I have no problem with Trubbish, I'd like to know what makes Garbodor "brilliant". If you won't do a write up, would you mind to send me a pm? I'm honestly curious and love the hidden backgrounds behind Pokémon designs,
 

Boogiepop

Member
Now THIS is interesting. While I have no problem with Trubbish, I'd like to know what makes Garbodor "brilliant". If you won't do a write up, would you mind to send me a pm? I'm honestly curious and love the hidden backgrounds behind Pokémon designs,
For me at least, I love him because he's pretty much Totoro made out of garbage.

Also, I'm not super fond of Igglybuff's design but it's notworthy to me for being the originator of Pokerus in my games.
 
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