#767: Wimpod, the Turn Tail Pokemon; #777: Golisopod, the Hard Scale Pokemon
Continuing our Alolan-themed Pokemon of the Week series, I decided on picking one of my favourite Generation VII Pokemon, Golisopod. In my old 'best and worst of Generation VII' article, I listed Golisopod as my all-time favourite Generation VII Pokemon... and honestly? That still doesn't change a lot. There are several strong contenders for that position, like Decidueye, Mimikyu and Ribombee, but shit, Golisopod has an iron-clad grip on my heart.
I've always loved Bug-types and insects in general as a kid, and I was always disappointed that most bug-types are pretty shit in-game. I mean, I did take a jacked-up Butterfree and sweep the Kantonian Elite Four all on her own, and there have been some pretty powerful Bug-types over the years like Scizor, Pinsir and Heracross... but no real powerful bug-types showed up until like Generation V's Volcarona and Genesect. No good bug-types showed up in Generation VI... and then Generation VII gave us so many cool Bug-types! We've got Vikavolt, who is a robot-jet stag beetle, we've got Buzzwole and Pheromosa, a pair of insane eldritch abominations that serve as legendary Pokemon, we've got the insanely cool-looking Araquanid... but one thing captured my eye more than any other, and it's Golisopod.
A Pokemon that evolves from a weak-looking useless shit into a badass final form has been a recurring theme since Generation I. The original one was, of course, Magikarp -- who can't do anything but Splash, a move that does no damage, and Tackle, the most basic of attacks -- that is even a running joke throughout the game, but it evolves into a mighty psychotic dragon dragon-esque sea serpent, the mighty Gyarados. This trope would be reflected in future generations, with how a weak-looking larval stage that can't do much can evolve into a mighty monster, with Feebas/Milotic and Larvesta/Volcarona being notable ones.
Generation VII revealed Wimpod as one of the very first Pokemon during the Pokemon reveals, and it's a pretty... weak-looking creature that obviously evolves. All his dex entries note how he's a coward, he dashes off from battle, and his ability is 'Wimp Out', which has it escape if its health decreases below half. He's Bug/Water, which, prior to Generation VII, was a type that only Surskit has (and it sheds that type once it evolves). So yeah, Wimpod is definitely a creature that evolves, and it has absolutely pitiful stats to boot. I mean, what do you expect from a Pokemon whose name is quite literally 'wimp'?
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| Silverfish |
Other dex entries note how he's a scavenger that eats anything, even rotten food... which is pretty true for most real-life isopods. So Wimpod is pretty obviously based on the tiny little sea-borne bugs like Silverfish and Rock Lice, and since both Wimpod and Golisopod draw their name from 'isopod', it's more likely the latter than the former. To go into real-life biology, the insect known as a Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) is an insect that lives near moist areas. While they don't always live near the water, they do live near moist areas, which earned their whole 'fish' name. And, well, as someone who lives reasonably close to a beach, I can confirm that, just like the Wimpods who scuttle the fuck away when approached, silverfish do the same thing.
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| "Rock Lice" isopod |
On the other hand, Isopods tend to live mostly in moist and humid areas, although there are several types (like woodlice) that live completely on land. Obviously, being a Bug/Water type found in beaches, Wimpod is based on the aquatic variant, who tend to be either parasites or bottom-feeders. A particularly nasty type of isopod will burrow into a fish's tongue, consume it and replace the fish's tongue. I'm not joking.
So yeah, while Wimpod's based on a real-life bug that might be perhaps a bit more obscure, being based on a cool insect isn't enough to really bother caring about, or more people would be more excited about Wormadam. Enter... Golisopod. I was super duper impressed by the design that went into Golisopod, especially when I evolved mine when he was level 30. And Golisopod is... a monstrous beast. Later on in my old Sun playthrough I discovered that one of the game's main antagonists, Guzma, used a Golisopod as his signature Pokemon, and that's awesome that one of the coolest design in the game is highlighted by one of the main villains.
In a series that has been often decried for 'oh, the newer generations just put eyes and mouths on ice creams and gears and call it a day', it's definitely cool to see a cool, organic monster that's not just a variation of an older design. And Golisopod's actually pretty fucking badass, too! Bug/Water is a very interesting type defensively, only being weak to Rock, Flying and Electric, and as someone who uses Golisopod a lot throughout Pokemon Sun, I can definitely confirm how awesome he is. Add that to the fact that Golisopod has an insanely high base 125 Attack and 140 Defense, and a total stat amount that is exactly the same with fully-evolved starters... he hits like a goddamn truck, and he's awesome.
Of course, Golisopod has the weakness of having Emergency Exit as his ability, making him less-than-ideal for competitive battling due to the fact that any move that reduces him to less than half his health causes him to immediately swap out without attacking, but shit, he's still pretty cool. He has a lot of great moves, too -- he has the amazing STAB attack of First Impression, which is a base-90 Bug-type STAB version of Fake Out (minus flinch), only usable n the first turn that Golisopod is in the battle. He also has access to great physical attacks like the Bug-type STAB X-Scissor and Leech Life, and Water-type Liquidation, a brand-new physical water attack in this generation. In addition to those, he's got a fuckton of amazing moves in his arsenal. Sucker Punch! Brick Break! Aerial Ace! Shadow Claw! Rock Slide! Poison Jab! Swords Dance! He's just an amazingly versatile monster, and I'm a big fan of him. |
| B. giganteus |
And his design? His design is just a hulking monstrosity that takes inspiration from both isopods and samurai armour. In addition to two gigantic armoured claws, he also has two pairs of smaller bug-legs under his neck, which, if you interact with him in Pokemon Refresh, apparently can retract when he's not fighting -- a cool bit of detail that I really love. Apparently his giant claws allows Golisopod to cleave seawater and air into two, and despite being a fierce fighter, he meditates in caves beneath the sea.
And Golisopod himself is based on the real-life Giant Isopod. No, real-life giant isopods don't look like hulking samurai kaiju, and are just giant white woodlice that live in the icy depths of the ocean. See, typical isopods are in the size of centimeters, while Wikipedia tells me that the largest of the Bathynomus genus of giant isopods range up to 76 centimeters and weigh 1.7 kilograms... which is pretty damn fucking huge for what's essentially a woodlouse. While Golisopod is obviously far more romanticized, having a humanoid form and samurai-esque armour, it's clear where a good chunk of the design inspiration is from. Yes, it's similar to Kabutops and Armaldo, both of which copy undersea invertebrates (trilobites and Anomalocaris respectively), but Golisopod is the only one whose counterpart is still alive in the oceans right now. And, well, this is really what Pokemon should be -- based on a real-life strange creature, but with its own spin.
Golisopod and Wimpod are awesome, y'all. It's a reflection on one of the world's largest arthropods, and it's a cool design and a powerful fighter in its own right. Definitely a cool Pokemon and one of the best additions from Generation VII.
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