#187 - Hoppip
Grass/Flying
Apart from the Mareep family, Hoppip is the only other "common" three-stage line introduced in Generation II, and is the first Grass/Flying Pokemon. While Hoppip is easy enough to come across, and is pretty cute and was one of my favorite Pokemon from Generation II as a kid, it didn't seem that attractive to most players though due to its paltry stats, multiple weaknesses, only learning two attacks, Tackle and Mega Drain , and the fact it starts with Splash. Yeah, that's not a good sign. Though to be fair the line does have its strengths in the competitive scene, but for the in-game scenario where speed and power tend to be key, Hoppip might leave folks feeling a bit under the weather when they try and use one. Nowadays though it's picked up a bit more moves, so using one in the newer games might pay off, though I have yet to get around to trying one out for myself.
I really dislike talking about plant-based Pokemon because I have trouble with the terminology, but Hoppip is the "cottonweed" Pokemon. Cottonweed isn't a specific type of plant, but rather a general term used to refer to flowers with cotton-like fibers, but more specifically Hoppip seems to be based off the dandelion. Now, dandelions don't produce cotton as far as I know, so it seems they mixed in an element of those plants as well alongside the dandelion motif, taking advantage of the fact that white dandelion seeds resemble cotton. Or something, like I said I'm not too keen on plant related issues like that. But well, Game Freak also went ahead and gave the sheep Pokemon a cotton-based attack, so it seems any white, fluffy material is cotton in their book. Hoppip's leaves resemble those of the dandelion---the actual plant's name means "lion's tooth", and is called such because of the fact the leaves resemble teeth. Hoppip itself also kind of looks like a cat, but that's probably a coincidence since in Japan the dandelion doesn't have the cat connection like it does here---though I know there's a Yu-Gi-Oh monster at the very least who works off that pun---and none of its evolutions look cat-like.
Each of the Hoppip family is based off a specific part of the dandelion, and Hoppip represents the roots, with its body probably meant to be a visual representation of a bulb I guess. Though the root is usually, well, rooted, the family is also themed around the aerial method of seed dispersal that dandelions utilize, so Hoppip floats around on the wind with its wing-like leaves. Sometimes the leaves are simply gliders, but at other times, such as in XY, they seem to basically be helicopter propellers! I think the intent was Hoppip passively gliding, though, as the PokeDex says Hoppip can't really control where it's going when a strong wind comes in, whereas the propeller wings would suggest it has greater control and thus work against that claim. Though it's based off the idea of seed dispersal, Hoppip doesn't really seem to actually have a purpose to flying around, it just does because for the most part it doesn't have much of a choice. But it's kind of cute in the same was as Sudowoodo due to its clumsiness and dealing with the cards life gave it in an optimistic manner.
Hoppip's first focus episode, "Foul Weather Friends", was actually more of an episode about an Oddish who wanted to be like Hoppip (which works since they're rather similar), and thus went around dressed in pink-face. That is not okay. The only other notable thing about Hoppip in the show was that Team Rocket actually owned one for about a minute---it was sold to them by the Magikarp Man disguised as a rare Hoenn Pokemon, but once they figured out the scam, it floated away to never be seen again. Kind of unfortunate because James using one would've been pretty neat, and he's been shown to have a natural affinity towards Grass-type Pokemon after all.
#188 - Skiploom
Grass/Flying
Like Mareep, the Hoppip family evolves quickly alongside the Starters, with Hoppip evolving at Level 18 into Skiploom. There's nothing specific to say about this middle-form, other than like Flaaffy it's my favorite member of its line, and I greatly prefer it looks-wise to its evolution. But do you know what bugs me? At Level 18, Skiploom's pretty low-leveled, so why couldn't Game Freak have distributed it around Johto to give players who skipped Hoppip earlier to reconsider using the line by having a slightly stronger member show off their positive points better? Instead you can't catch one till Kanto. Doing this review the poor distribution of Generation II Pokemon was worse than I remembered, I knew they did stuff like shove the Dark Pokemon into Kanto, but now I really see how you're basically far more likely to find a Generation I Pokemon over a Generation II one. I recently played XY, and despite having a ton of Pokemon, the XY Pokemon are actually promoted pretty well in their debut game---I always ran into the New Pokemon in every route, often within the first two encounters, so it seems Game Freak improved on this front over the years.
The Hoppip family is another line like Mareep who go through rapid color-changes which kind of bugs me, though I can see how it thematically fits them though since they represent a different part of the flower. I wish at the least they could've stuck with one body-color, like the pink color of Hoppip seems like it would've worked well enough for all three, as you can see by looking at Skiploom and Jumpluff's shiny colorations. While Hoppip was based on the root of a dandelion, Skiploom is based off the flower, and as you'd expect is far prettier and more vibrant looking overall. Also, now it kind of looks like a dog with its floppy ears. Skiploom loves the sun, and is said to fly high in the air in order to get closer to its warmth---the warmer it is, the more its petals open up, and thus the higher it can likely fly due to having more volume for air to hit and push its body skyward. However when it's cold, or when it rains, the poor thing seems to stay closer to the ground and seeks shelter under trees till it blows over.
Though the PokeDex doesn't specify about its flying capabilities, it seems Skiploom has more control over its flight than Hoppip does (despite being only 2.2 lbs.), and looking at its flower I always thought it spun it around like a helicopter. While XY did this (since it's I guess pretty easy to do in 3D), I think everywhere else it seems to simply fly kind of like Kirby does, using its petals to catch air and I think occasionally flapping its ears to gain height. I wonder if Game Freak really thinks these things through or do they just sort of draw up the basic design, have a few notes, and then let the various canons do what they want with the Pokemon as they see fit?
In Johto, it seems every town Ash and co. visited happened to be celebrating some inane, specific festival the day they get there---and in Skiploom's focus episode, it just so happened to be a Tournament specifically for Grass-type Pokemon. Bulbasaur fans, you might want to sit down for this, but the COTD's Skiploom handed Bulbasaur's ass to him with a Solar Beam. Technically, Skiploom "cheated" too---in this episode Leech Seed was shown to work against Grass-type Pokemon. I know in XY they've specifically fixed this, as whenever Leech Seed has been used on a Grass-type Pokemon, it still binds them, however it doesn't actually absorb their energy which is a neat touch, but honestly breaking minor game rules like that doesn't bother me too much.
#189 - Jumpluff
Grass/Flying
At Level 27, Skiploom evolves into Jumpluff---thus getting a fully-evolved Grass Pokemon in Gold and Silver is only a hop, skip, and a jump away. Wait a second, was that the idea behind these names all along? Despite the Hoppip line not looking that impressive, Jumpluff can actually be quite valuable in the competitive scene if you know how to use one. Though it's not that aggressive offensively, it's quite fast, especially in the sun with Chlorophyll, and with its other Ability, Infiltrator, it can even bypass various barriers and hit the opponent with all sorts of status effects making their life miserable. It's even capable of sweeping with Swords Dance if you get lucky enough to set it up, but it seems to be a Pokemon where prediction, and a bit of luck, is key. In Generation V it seemed to be at its best, but Generation VI saw some reduction in its use, though I'm not sure why---the nerf to weather effects? Unable to keep up with Mega Pokemon? Whatever the reason, it's a Pokemon that might surprise you despite its less than impressive stats and cute appearance.
Jumpluff is another third-stage evolution in Johto that I'm actually kind of iffy about, and consider it a downgrade from what it evolved from. Unlike Ampharos, it isn't a total swerve in motif, but I simply like Skiploom's appearance far better than Jumpluff's. It's always struck me as a really fragile and weak looking Pokemon for a final evolution, and Skiploom honestly looks like at first glance it should be the final stage---I actually thought that Jumpluff was smaller and lighter than Skiploom, because the Sugimori art kind of gives that impression, but nope it's actually slightly bigger. Anyway, we had the root of a dandelion, the flower of a dandelion, and now we have the seed of the dandelion. Yeah, it's sort of weird the seed comes last, but I guess it's supposed to give a sort of "full-circle" element to the line. Jumpluff's "cotton spores" are dispersed around the world as it flies around, and become offspring---does this mean they become Hoppip? More Jumpluff, but "baby" ones? Or do they simply become regular dandelion flowers? It's said that the way dandelions reproduce through apomixis results in genetically identical offspring, so I guess all the Hoppips and such of the world are basically clones, more or less? Anyway, don't even think how this ties into it laying Eggs with other Pokemon...
Hoppip and Skiploom both had a cute animal motif to them which I think helped them feel a bit more interesting and cuter to look at, whereas Jumpluff is pretty much just a little round plant creature, kind of looking like an overweight Oddish. It also seems to have a Western cheerleader motif, as shown in the 3D games and the anime, as it's shown using its cotton spores like pom-poms, which is pretty cute and makes it a bit more interesting, though this doesn't really pop up in the main games where it instead kind of aimlessly floats around and such. It does learn a few moves, non-naturally, that seem to fit this motif such as Encore and Helping Hand, but it's one motif that seems to have been created by secondary-sources and never really part of its "canon" character. It's a cute gimmick, though, so I consider it part of the Pokemon even if Game Freak doesn't because that's how I've always pictured it myself.
Jumpluff never really got a major role in the show till XY---it had small appearances in Johto like fighting at Oak's laboratory, participating in a Pokemon cheerleading squad, and being used by Officer Jenny to dust for footprints in one episode, but otherwise XY saw its first "major" role under the ownership of the Grass Gym Leader Ramos. Jumpluff helped solve a weather crisis caused by angry Ice Pokemon through the use of Sunny Day, though it quickly lost in the Gym Battle with Ash and never actually got a real attack in---it just kept using Cotton Guard. Nice way to blow it, dude.