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_______________________________________#212: Scizor
- Types: Bug/Steel
- Japanese name: Hassamu
- Category: Pincer [previously translated as Scissors]
Scizor, like Steelix, is the Steel-type evolution of a first-generation Pokemon that doesn't have an evolution originally -- in this case, Scizor evolves from Scyther by being traded while holding a Metal Coat. And hoo boy, Scizor is one cool-looking design. Back when I was a kid and Generation III was all on the rage, Scizor was the popular bad boy to own. Which is interesting, because Scizor, despite its vast difference from Scyther, is one of the only Pokemon whose base stat total remains absolutely the same after evolution, only moving points from speed to defense, which is interesting. There are some people who claimed that Scizor wasn't actually meant to be an evolution to Scyther but was originally designed as a completely separate non-evolving big Bug-type... but I can't find anything to source this. Regardless, it does mark the short-lived 'pairing' of Scyther and Pinsir as Generation I's two big Bug-types, with Pinsir getting a more traditionally Japanese rival in Heracross, while Scyther evolves into Scizor.
And boy, Scizor's a really weird fucker, isn't he? Other than being a bipedal bug-creature and the vague shape of its head and thorax/abdomen body style, there is honestly nothing to really tell you that Scizor's meant to be an evolution to Scyther -- in fact, it's not something I put together until I got a guidebook. Scizor changes his entire colour from Scyther's mantis-inspired greens and yellows into a very striking set of dark red and black. Scizor even drops the iconic scythe-arms, replacing them with a set of crab-like pincers, and loses the long, tapering grasshopper wings for a more butterfly-esque bit. And while Scyther's clearly based on a mantis, Scizor is... Scizor is just a robot bug monster.
And honestly, I'm okay with that. He's very cool looking, and while part of me is sad that it loses some of the things that makes Scyther so cool -- the theropodal stance, the scythe arms -- it does end up looking like a very cool Kamen-Rider metal bug-man thing. I also always loved how Scizor's claws has fake eyespots (actually used for that in the Adventures manga) and it uses them to intimidate its prey. As if, y'know, being a human-sized bug covered with metal plating and gigantic claws that could probably crack a skull like an egg isn't intimidating enough. Scizor also loses Scyther's Flying-type, which normally I would complain about... but the Pokedex actually notes that Scizor's wings aren't used to fly (although both anime and manga like to flip-flop on this) but to control and adjust its body temperature, which is pretty cool. Scizor's cool, and having recently played a fair bit of Pokken, I fell in love with his very cool staple-gun and bullet-punch and insane Gundam-inspired animations. Overall, despite my slight disappointment that Scyther doesn't just evolve into a more elaborate mantis-dinosaur, Scizor's still pretty damn cool!
5/6.#213: Shuckle
- Types: Bug/Rock
- Japanese name: Tsubotsubo
- Category: Mold [Fermentation in Japanese]
Hee hee, Shuckle! I've never really paid much attention to Shuckle at all in the second generation. He's a weird turtle-like thing that doesn't evolve, and he's placed between two far-cooler Bug-types in Scizor and Heracross. I was aware that Shuckle is a Bug/Rock type, but never actually having encountered one in-game (-insert tired speech about how Generation II is shit at representing its new species-) and never seeing one in the anime, the biggest moment that changed my perceptions towards this innocent looking long-necked turtle-thing was when I encountered it at the end of Pokemon Emerald's Battle Pike, where Pike Queen Lucy's team consisted of a Seviper, a Milotic and a Shuckle. The first two are easily dispatched, and Shuckle? Pfft, it's a Bug/Rock... and then it proceeded to murder me in the most hilarious way ever.
See, Shuckle is the true definition of a min-maxed Pokemon. I don't like talking about stats, but Shuckle's defenses are so min-maxed, with 230 on both Defense and Special Defense, and 5's and 10's for everything else. Hell, Shuckle simultaneously holds the highest ranking for the two defensive categories (and this includes legendaries and mega evolutions) as well as lowest special attack and speed, while being strong contenders for the other categories. Combined with its pretty unconventional Bug/Rock typing, it's also very wacky to fight, spewing entry hazards, Toxic and Sandstorms and all other shit around.
And yeah, from that day onwards, Shuckle has been a Pokemon I've spent way too much time trying to figure out what the fuck he is. Shuckle's whole gimmick is that he's a Pokemon that you get by rock smashing, being hidden in rocks, and he can use his weird shell to compress berries into juice. That's all the pokedex entries ever talk about, and his Japanese name is "Tsubotsubo", essentially meaning jar. It's also known as the 'Mold Pokemon', which adds yet another layer of confusion into it all, and it's glorious.
Just look at its design! On first glance it looks like a weird alien turtle, but its limbs are all just long blobs, its head is a blob with a face, and its shell is intricate with multiple extra holes. It's called the 'mold Pokemon', but it isn't a Grass-type or looks like any sort of fungi or plant. Scale insects, tiny bugs of the superfamily Coccoidea, are bugs that have a huge hard shell on their body and tend to just not move and stick to a spot, and tend to have their normal insect appendages degenerate so much that they look like blobs. Maybe Shuckle is a scale insect that's adapted to feeding on rocks? That doesn't explain the whole berry juice thing, though. Bulbapedia posits that Shuckle is an endolinth, an organism that lives inside the pores within minerals and rocks, and tend to be weird fungi and algae. The shape of the shell and the name 'Shuckle' have led some to note that it's perhaps a terrestrial barnacle of sorts... and honestly, I like it ambiguous. Shuckle's way too weird, from its in-game gimmick to its design to its lore, that I am happy to just leave Shuckle just be Shuckle. I love this innocent-looking obnoxious murder monster.
4/6.#214: Heracross
- Types: Bug/Fighting
- Japanese name: Herakurosu
- Category: Single Horn
Bugs are super-popular in Japan, and none moreso than beetles, often associated with superheroes (Kamen Riders, Time Bokan, Beetleborgs etc). And as such, it's no surprise that we've got a good selection of bug monsters in the first two generations of Pokemon. With Scyther getting an evolution, Pinsir needs a new 'rival', and it comes in the form of Heracross, who is based on a kabutomushi -- the Japanese rhinoceros beetle (Allomyrina dichotoma), often portrayed as the rival to the stag beetle in popular Japanese culture, as well as in general insect-fighting matches which are apparently a thing in Japan. Heracross was one of the earlier Pokemon to be 'leaked' for the second generation, and I really, really love the dude. Heracross certainly took a far more heroic take on turning a beetle into a humanoid compared to Pinsir, without the gigantic monstrous ribcage mouth and having far more friendly-looking eyes. I've always loved the design -- as a kid, I always thought that Heracross had no mouth and that line that connects its eyes was just part of the segmentation that separates its horn from its cephalothorax. Heracross, of course, actually does have an adorable mouth, and is extremely memorable in the anime for continuing to suck Bulbasaur's sap against his will. In both games and anime, Heracross is often shown to be gentle but immensely strong (the insanely powerful Megahorn was exclusive to Heracross in the second generation), and also very, very gluttonous and obsessed with honey.
It's a neat design, very well-deservedly utilized a lot in the anime, and I've always loved the fact that Heracross is Bug/Fighting. I really do love how it also has little spikes on its lower arm that both bulk its silhouette up and also a neat callback to the insectoid origins of this design. Heracross, like actual beetles (and not Pinsir, at least not until the sixth generation) actually has clear wings folded against his back, covered with the thick carapace. I'm not as fond with the female variant of Heracross with its heart-shaped horn, with this change introduced in the fourth generation. I do realize that female beetles don't actually have the large horns, but I really wished they had gone all the way and turned the horns much shorter or leave the design be -- the half-assed heart horn just looks weird.
While Heracross is already pretty cool, I gained an extra love for the bug happy bug when I did a Nuzlocke challenge (for those unitiated) of the second-generation games, and one of my heavy-hitters was a Heracross (which was a pretty uncommon find, but not as bad as many other non-evolving Generation II Pokemon).
5/6.#215: Sneasel
- Types: Dark/Ice
- Japanese name: Nyura
- Category: Sharp Claw
Sneasel is one of those designs that are just classic. I've always loved Sneasel from the moment I first saw him in the first chapters of the Gold/Silver arc of the Pokemon Adventures manga, and he just looks so stylishly fucking cool, with those two-fingered claws, the beautiful asymmetry of its ears, and it just looks like a speedy, scrappy fighter. It's also Dark/Ice, a typing that I wouldn't expect from the design, but it just adds to the coolness factor because, well, manipulating ice and creating icy claws is just a cool ability to have for this awesome-looking weasel.
Sneasel's design seems to be drawn from the Kamaitachi, literally meaning 'Sickle Weasel', which is one of the more popular yokai in Japanese culture -- a magical weasel that rides the wind (some versions of the legend has three kamaitachi brothers) and cut you with sickles on their heads or hands, leaving cuts but not drawing blood. And just like the sneaky kamaitachi cutting people up without them even realizing that it was there, Sneasel is portrayed in Pokedexes and its manga appearances as a sneaky bastard that uses darkness as cover, steal eggs, and beats up its opponent until they can't move. I'm not sure where the Ice bit comes from, but Sneasel has always been consistently found in icy environments, being a 10% rare encounter at night on a post-game area in Gold/Silver or the Ice Path in Crystal. Yep, insert a tired "poorly represented Generation II Pokemon" tirade here.
Sneasel's design doesn't particularly look that much like a traditional weasel, and honestly more resembles a cartoon cat... but I've always loved just how sleek and unique Sneasel's design is. From the three feather-esque tails, to the jewels on its head and chest, to its sleek claws, to the weird ears... Sneasel has always been one of the highlights of the second generation, and one of those Pokemon that I can say is just such a classic design. Also, and again, it's hopefully not going to be a habit -- but I really, really love shiny Sneasel. It's just rocking an amazing pink/gold combo that works so fucking well.
6/6.#216-217: Teddiursa & Ursaring
- Types: Normal [both]
- Japanese names: Himeguma, Ringuma
- Categories: Little Bear [Teddiursa], Hibernator [Ursaring]
After a group of weird and unique Pokemon, we reach Teddiursa and Ursaring, which... well, for me personally has always been kind of forgettable. They're just teddy bears, with the very, very weak attempt at making their design not "just a bear" by giving Teddiursa a moon tattoo on its forehead and Ursaring a ring tattoo on its belly. Both Teddiursa and Ursaring are just Normal-types, and play into the 'cute baby animal growing into a fierce monster' trope. Teddiursa is adorable as all hell, a literal teddy bear, but fuck with it and its huge daddy, Ursaring, will come and it does look like a particularly irate-looking bear. But while I've never disliked this pair, I've never really cared much about them because... well, they're just bears, and while it's nice that we have a bear Pokemon, it's just kind of boring that they don't do anything much. Hell, their dex entries don't even give them anything cool -- Teddiursa likes honey, Ursaring likes to beat people up. There's not really much to go on between the two of those, really.
Also, Teddiursa and Ursaring are, once again, pretty poorly represented in their home games, once more being only found in a single route in Pokemon Gold (Silver in the original Japanese, they swapped around Teddiursa and Phanpy between games for the English releases for some reason). And in the anime they're reduced to just being a replacement for Beedrill as the scary wild Pokemon that can be accidentally disturbed by a wayward attack. I'm not sure why I'm so apathetic about them -- I guess it's because bears are just kind of a boring animal? It's just a huge mammal without anything too special going on for it. Which is a real shame, because turning these two into some sort of tie-in with their weird 'moon' and 'ring' deal, maybe have some sort of connection to the constellations and play into the whole "Ursa Minor/Ursa Major" thing? But nah, they're just cartoon bears with tattoos. They're alright for what they are, though.
3/6.#218-219: Slugma & Magcargo
- Types: Fire [Slugma]; Fire/Rock [Magcargo]
- Japanese names: Magumaggu, Magukarugo
- Categoriess: Lava [both]
See? See, this is how you make a Pokemon. Slugma could've so easily been a giant slug like many other Bug Pokemon, but it's not. It's a slug made entirely out of magma, which is a pretty awesome little concept for a Pokemon, and also believably makes a pure Fire-type without just placing fires on an animal or just painting an animal orange or red and giving it fire-breaething abilities. Slugma is just so weirdly creative, and I really love how the normal slug eyestalk/antennae deal are represented with flames tapering up, as well as globs of dripping magma that act as Slugma's weird mustache-things. I've always loved the description of its biology of how it never sleeps because if it does, the magma will cool and its body will harden. It's the sort of Pokemon that would live in a volcano-like environment, a popular trope in fantasy games. It's a neat, simple and charming design, which, of course.... means that they don't actually utilize Sllugma a lot in the games. Hell, I had to remind myself most of the time that Slugma is a Generation II Pokemon and not a Generation III Pokemon, considering how much more common in the volcanic areas of Hoenn. In Gold/Silver/Crystal, Slugma is a rare encounter (time-sensitive in Crystal) on a bunch of very short post-game routes in Kanto that you're liable to just breeze through.
Slugma then evolves into Magcargo, becoming a Fire/Rock, And I really love the concept of this one. It actually pays off on the whole 'cooling lava' deal that Slugma's lore tells us about, and the lava on Magcargo's backhas actually cooled down and became a shell made out of volcanic rock... and thus, Magcargo gains the rock-typing. Genius! I've also always loved how much more chill Magcargo is, lacking the flaming horns that Slugma has, representing how it's chilled down somewhat. Magcargo's shell has also always appealed to me. It's sort of coiled like real-life snail shells, but it's clearly made out of molten rock and it looks rugged and inorganic, with bursts of flame popping out of it as a nice little touch, tying in visually with the dex entries noting how Magcargo's shell is pretty brittle. That sounds pretty painful for poor Magcargo, but that's a neat bit of detail.
Magcargo is also infamous for its silly third-generation dex entries that gave Magcargo's temperature as 18 thousand degrees Fahrenheit, which is hotter than the surface of the sun and a hilariously silly over-exaggeration for magma. Also, how cool is Shiny Slugma? It's silver, like actual molten magma, and it sadly loses it if it evolves into the purple shiny Magcargo (which is a nice standalone design, but I'd rather it be silver). It's of course a shame that Magcargo is next to useless in actual gameplay, with its Fire/Rock typing being way too weak to literally everything and its stat total being too weak for a fully-evolved Pokemon, so they're always kind of relegated to nothing but egg-hatching machines (Slugmas and Magcargos have the 'Flame Body' that allows you to hatch eggs for half the time). Still, one of the neater designs in the second generation despite being relatively simple.
4/6.#220-221: Swinub & Piloswine
- Types: Ice/Ground [both]
- Japanese names: Urimu, Inomu
- Categories: Pig [Swinub], Swine [Piloswine]
I've always adored Swinub. It's such an adorable, sleepy little lump of fur with a pig nose, and it just looks so hilariously snuggly. For our first pig Pokemon, I've always found it hilarious that it's a fun little fat furball as opposed to the more commonly-depicted-in-media pink farm pig. Swinub is an Ice/Ground Pokemon, and the Ice-type is a neat tie-in to how it's always sleeping and very furry because it lives in icy mountains, being found in the Icy Path exclusively in the original Generation II games. (It's actually very common there and Icy Path is a mandatory route, so none of my normal complaints about under-representation) It's ground because it's... brown? Yeah, I dunno. Their 'Ground' typing doesn't actually coincide with the 'lives underground' theme that most of the first generation Pokemon have, so maybe it's the association between pigs and mud? These are ice pigs, though. So... I dunno.
It's such a dopey-looking adorable little cute mush that I can totally imagine just plods on its own sweet time, sniffing mushrooms out of the snow as its dex entry describes it doing. Some people speculate that Swinub is based partly on the guinea pig or the groundhog as puns on the whole 'pig' thing, but I don't see it honestly since those are puns that only work in English.
Swinub and Piloswine both have tiny little legs under all those fur, an added bit of detail that isn't immediately apparent in their official artwork, but far more visible in game sprites and anime appearances.
Swinub evolves into Piloswine and it still looks pretty cute, too. It's a very shaggy lump with a fun pair of ears, and tusks similar to a wild boar. I've always loved Piloswine -- it actually has little pinpoint eyes under those bushy eyebrows, rarely seen in the pre-3D games. I love that the dex entries note that its shaggy fur obscures its eyes, so it attacks by just charging blindly forwards. I don't really have much to say about Swinub and Piloswine, and while they may be relatively simple designs, I still kind of like them. They're pretty neat-looking.
3/6.#222: Corsola
- Type: Water/Rock
- Japanese name: Sanigo
- Category: Coral
Corsola is another one of my favourites from the second generation, another weak, non-evolving Pokemon... that's actually pretty prolific if you fish with Good and Super Rods. This little Water/Rock buddy is a living chunk of pink coral, which I've always found to be pretty cool, and it just looks so pleased to just exist. It may not be as adorable as Wooper or Hoppip, but I've always loved its design. More than anything else from this generation, Corsola is a 'flavour Pokemon' first and foremost, with pitiable stats and a crappy movepool. I really love how the third generation introduced Pacifidlog Town to us, a town floating on top of the sea, built atop a colony of Corsola (something foreshadowed in the second generation dex entry). Generation VII also gave us some neat bits with Corsola, painting them as being very common in the tropical region of Alola, but has became endangered due to overpredation from Mareanie, a starfish Pokemon introduced in that generation.
As someone who tried dabbling in raising a marine aquarium, Corsola is apparently very sensitive to the cleanliness of water and will die in any sort of polluted water. I can definitely confirm that real-life coral is pretty fragile as well. Corsola's design has always made me adore it. From the way its pink tapers off to white at the bottom, to its six feet (two of which serve as hands) to how it just wobbles around to move in the 3D games, to the coral horns it has on its back... I've really liked this chunk of living coral, even if it's not particularly good in-game it wins a place in my heart due to its cute design and pretty neat concept.
4/6.#223-224: Remoraid & Octillery
- Types: Water [both]
- Japanese names: Teppouo, Okutank
- Categories: Jet [both]
Yeah, these guys... I'm not a big fan of them. I get the concept that their evolution is based on their concept -- of Remoraid being based on a gun and Octillery based on a cannon... but their designs don't actually reflect this too much until you're actually told, and their evolution is just way too different -- Remoraid its light blue with all sharp edges, while Octillery is bright reds and yellows and all squishy-looking. Again, I don't fault the concept. I really feel like they could've gone through some revisions to make them actually make far more sense immediately. Maybe make them water/steel-types and add some actual mechanical aspects to communicate that Octillery is supposed to be a cannon octopus and not just a generic ink-squirting cartoon octopus?
Even their design feels rather confusing and underwhelming. They're both pure Water-types, and Remoraid is ostensibly based on the Remora fish, little quasi-parasitical fish that latch on to larger fish like sharks and rays to eat the scraps that these predators leave behind. Remoraid is even featured in most official artwork and sprites of Mantine! I've always thought that to be a cool touch. But Remoraid doesn't look much like an actual remora fish and without its name I wouldn't have put two and two together. Being based on the shape of a gun and learning a lot of shooting moves kind of brings to mind the archerfish, a freshwater fish that can actually in real-life use water gun to shoot down bugs flying above the surface of the water. The fact that Remoraid is a pretty bland design makes it pretty m'eh in my books, too.
Octillery is just a generic Japanese cartoon octopus. In Japanese culture, octopi are often portrayed as having their mouths be the 'sucker' that they use only to shoot them forwards in water like a little jet engine, whereas their actual mouth is a beak located underneath all those tentacles. Regardless, though, Octillery is honestly a pretty bland cartoon octopus, and while there's nothing wrong with just being a cartoon animal (and octopi is actually one of my favourite real-life animals), Octillery ends up being a confused concept that isn't executed as well as it could.
At least Octillery has one of the most badass-sounding species-exclusive moves, though. OCTAZOOKA! And Remoraid is at least somewhat involved in Mantine's lore, although as a literal satellite Pokemon. I don't really hate these guys, because they don't offend me in any way, but at the same time I've always felt that they're lacking something from a finished product.
2/6.#225: Delibird
- Type: Ice/Flying
- Japanese name: Deribado
- Category: Delivery
And then I came across Delibird again when I was older, looked at its design and realized that it's... it's a Santa Claus bird, and I cannot believe I didn't realize that as a kid. From its red-and-white coat, to being based partially on a penguin, to its beard-like white feathers, and that's not just any bad, it's a little Santa bag! And its exclusive move is 'Present', a hilariously bad move that deals random damage and sometimes even heals the opponent. Hell, it's even in its name -- delivered! Delibird's bag is actually its tail, and looking at its 3D model will show you that the tip of the bag is connected to Delibird's ass. It's perhaps not the most memorable Pokemon out there, even with the manga appearances, but I do like him.
3/6.#226: Mantine
- Type: Water/Flying
- Japanese name: Mantain
- Category: Kite
Manta rays are one of the ocean's most majestic and mysterious-looking animals, looking just so freaking different from the traditional shape of aquatic animals. And Mantine is essentially just a ray without a huge gaping mouth, replacing those with a happy mouth and two cartoon eyes and slight exaggeration of its tail and whatnot... yet Mantine isn't just a boring old water-type. No, it's Water/Flying, a vast exaggeration of a real-life manta rays' tendency to breach above the water. Mantine's flight is even depicted as a hang-glider in Pokemon Adventures, albeit aided with a swarm of Remoraids and a pool cue -- perhaps the coolest little addition to Mantine's lore in my books.
Also, as a neat little addition, Mantine has always been depicted with a Remoraid under its left fin ever since its first appearance, making Remoraid far more interesting by proxy. While the current artwork, revised during the fourth generation, featured a very on-model Remoraid, the original second-generation official artwork, as well as the original sprites, featured a bizarrely off-model Remoraid, without fins and a circular mouth. Has this Remoraid degenerated to adapt to exclusively latch on to Mantine as a parasite? It's an interesting tidbit, although the fourth generation gave Mantine a brand-new artwork with a 'proper' Remoraid attached to it, while the sprites in the games from the fourth generation onwards drops Remoraid from Mantine's in-game appearances altogether. Pity. Overall, Mantine's a neat design and always a cool Pokemon to encounter in the seas, even if it's not particularly useful in-game and somewhat subjected to the "so rare it's hard to actually find" deal that most standalone Generation II Pokemon suffer. Mantine forms a duo of version-exclusive defensive Flying-types with Skarmory, with Mantine being exclusive to Gold. Overall, a pretty cool manta ray. Now give me a water/poison stingray, Gamefreak!
4/6.#227: Skarmory
- Type: Steel/Flying
- Japanese name: Eamudo
- Category: Armor Bird
Skarmory is a Pokemon I associate far more heavily with the third generation, like Slugma, at least as far as the games go, because I remember actually hunting for one in the ash-covered routes of Hoenn, while in the original Generation II games Skarmory is another rare encounter in a late-game route. Skarmory is still one of the most badass motherfuckers in the entire second generation, though, being a bird made out of metal. From its sharp dagger-like tail, its mean-looking claws, its striking head design (I love how it only has teeth on the lower jaw) and its wings, which are just a bunch of metal blades... Skarmory is just badass looking, and exactly what I imagine a Steel/Flying Pokemon would look like. I love the details that it sheds those red giant feathers, and how in the past, people would scavenge Skarmory feathers and use them as swords. In the Adventures comic, Falkner, gym leader of Violet City, uses a far more impressive Skarmory and uses the feathers as boomerangs.
While Skarmory's design as a metal bird with detachable metal feathers might resemble the Grecian Stymphalian birds, who are described to be savage bird pets of the hunting goddess Athena that launch their metal feathers, their origin seems to be another Japanese wordplay deal, being a combination of tsuru (crane) and tsurugi (sword). You don't have to know any of those to really enjoy the coolness of a blade-winged metal bird, though, and I've always thought that Skarmory was just pretty cool.
5/6.#228-229: Houndour & Houndoom
- Types: Dark/Fire [both]
- Japanese names: Derubiru, Heruga
- Categories: Dark [both]
I'm not sure why so many people clamoured for a 'wolf Pokemon' leading up to the release of the newer generations, when the second generation gave us the perfectly fine one in Houndoom. Like, I know wolves and hounds are not exactly the same, but the way they behave are definitely more wolf-like. They're not even mere wolves or hounds -- they're hellhounds, as noted by their design and their awesome Japanese names of "Delvil" and "Hellgar". Of course, the translation team one-upped the Japanese by giving us the awesome name in Houndoom. These Fire/Dark Pokemon are just pretty cool. Houndour starts off as this angry Rottweiler-esque guard dog, with a skull design on its head, little bony growths on its back and around its legs, sort of looking like the PG version of bindings often associated with demons in popular fantasy.
Sadly, they fall into the same syndrome of being near-nonexistent in the original Generation II games, relegated to a couple of specific routes in the post-game Kanto, and not being particularly prolific either. Thankfully the anime and manga gave us a far greater showing by portraying all of these as ravenous angry pack hunters. Houndour focuses mostly on pack hunting and communicating with howls...
But when it evolves into the mighty Houndoom, with its awesome devil horns, devil tail, a skull shaped necklace-like growth and a more lupine, wolf-like shape, and Houndoom's status as a hellhound isn't even subtle anymore. In retrospect, considering the large 'Satanism' charges levied at Pokemon at the height of the first generation, it's a good thing Houndoom wasn't included in the original 151, huh? I really love how the pokedex entries note that Houndoom's flames are special in that anyone burned by the flames, "the pain will never go away", explained by some later dex entires as being caused by some specific toxins in its mouth. How horrifying is that? Like, you can cure the wound, the skin will grow back, but you'll still feel the pain of being burned by the hellfire spat out by this hellhound. It's definitely a neat design and one of the coolest ones in the second generation, and one of the coolest-looking doggos in the Pokemon world.
6/6.#230: Kingdra
- Types: Water/Dragon
- Japanese name: Kingudora
- Category: Dragon
Kingdra is the only brand-new Dragon-type Pokemon introduced in the second generation, and I've always loved this fact. As the evolution of Seadra, Kingdra is the payoff to the whole 'dragon pokemon' species identification of Horsea and Seadra in the original pokedex, as well as the 'mysterious gene' that Seadra has. When traded while holding a Dragon Scale, Seadra will evolve into the mighty Kingdra, finally evolving into a 'proper' dragon. Being Water/Dragon, Kingdra plays into the myth in Japan of seahorses being supposedly infant dragons. And Kingdra does diverge from Seadra a lot. It is a lighter shade of blue, it is less spike, and it has these cool-looking graceful designs as horns and fins and everything. Its dex entries attribute the ability to control whirlpools and tornadoes by the simple act of waking, and the "yawning of this Pokemon creates spiraling ocean currents". It's got some of the neat mysticism that Eastern depiction of dragons are often depicted with.
It's also somewhat similar to the weedy seadragon, which might add to the whole dragon pun. I've always thought that Kingdra was particularly cool and unconventional as dragon types go, without feeling arbitrarily handed out like, say, little Goomy was, being earned only when Seadra finally reaches its true, final form. Kingdra's pretty neat. I like it a fair bit, and always thought that the second and third generation's usage of Kingdra as the final Pokemon of the final gym leaders Clair and Juan to be particularly tough if you're not well-prepared.
5/6.#231-232: Phanpy & Donphan
- Types: Ground [both]
- Japanese names: Gomazo, Donfan
- Category: Long Nose [Phanpy]; Armor [Donphan]
Phanpy is exclusive to Silver, replacing Teddiursa as a two-stage evolutionary line found in route 45. But Phanpy is just so, so much more memorable. Both Phanpy and Donphan are pure Ground-types, and Phanpy is perhaps the most adorable little elephant baby ever. Look at this thing! It's adorable. With its stubby trunk, its light-blue colour, its smile and the little red bands adding colour without being too disruptive to its design. Phanpy is always somewhat forgotten in the games, although it had a massive presence in the anime with Ash owning one throughout the Johto saga, and in the manga Sapphire uses a Donphan during the Hoenn saga. There's not much to talk about Phanpy -- it's a baby elephant, and it behaves in all the adorable ways that baby elephants do.
Phanpy evolves into Donphan, which is a lot more memorable than Phanpy. It's an elephant, but its body is built more like a rhinoceros or some sort of prehistoric pachyderm. It's not as tall as a real-life elephant, with stumpy little legs and a head that is joined to its body, but the tusks jutting out of Donphan's cheeks and the trunk makes it clear that, yes, this is the Pokemon world's version of an elephant, and it's an insanely cool design. Everyone that grew up with the first generation can remember when the prologue section of the first movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back, appeared and Ash battles this random dude who sends out a Donphan... who's a Pokemon we've never seen before! And it can roll up into a spinning wheel, which is just such an insane ability to give to an elephant-based Pokemon, but I really liked that tire-esque armour that runs from Donphan's trunk down its spine, with its large ears tapering to the side. And I absolutely love that Ppokemon's first elephant is such an unconventional creature. Really love Donphan, and the big dude really deserves a lot more love.
4/6.#233: Porygon2
- Type: Normal
- Japanese name: Porigon Tsu
- Category: Virtual
I've always liked the concept of Porygon2. Remember Porygon from the first generation? The wackily hard-to-obtain Pokemon that's just a bunch of red and blue polygons with sharp edges that form a 3D duck? Well, Porygon evolves into Porygon2 when traded while holding a disc called 'Up-grade', and it smooths out into Porygon2, being a far more curved duck-like creature that still looks artificial and everything. Looks like the Up-grade gave Porygon a lot of new pixels to smooth out its edges! I also loved how hilariously tech-esque the Porygon2 name is, since Porygon, after all, is a digital, artificial Pokemon.
Porygon2 is still intended to travel into space, but fails because, y'know, it can't actually fly. It's neat, and apparently the up-grade allows it to actually make proper gestures and have some sort of intelligence. And "it may exhibit motions that were not programmed", showing that Porygon2 is actually starting to develop into its actual living thing. Soon it'll become Skynet and take over the world! Overall, a neat little evolution to an under-appreciated Pokemon, and one that feels so appropriate to the theme of the Pokemon.
5/6.#234: Stantler
- Type: Normal
- Japanese name: Odoshishi
- Category: Big Horn
Yeah, Stantler... Stantler's just another Generation II Pokemon that doesn't evolve and is found as an uncommon encounter , and it's just a boring Normal-type. It doesn't even have anything particularly interesting or gimmicky in its backstory. It's just a deer whose horns resemble the eyes of a larger creature. And apparently the antlers can 'change the flow of air' to create a strange space where reality is distorted or something? Couldn't they give Stantler the Psychic typing at least if that's what they're going for? And even then, comparing Stantler to Girafarig makes Stantler just look so freaking boring. And ugly. Look at those floppy cheeks and that gigantic tail. Bulbapedia gives us an elaborate explanation about how Stantler's horns are supposed to resemble shishi odoshi (deer scarer), Japan's equivalent of scarecrows that are often giant eyeball-like balloons... but Stantler really doesn't do much in design to really show off some sort of fear-inducing animal. A pretty forgettable Pokemon.
1/6.#235: Smeargle
- Type: Normal
- Japanese name: Doburu
- Category: Painter
We close this particular set with Smeargle (originally this part was supposed to go all the way to Celebi, but I had to split it due to length) which is also a rare, non-evolving Normal-type, and a particularly rare one... but it's the exact opposite of Stantler. Smeargle's a humanoid dog-man which, instead of pissing on trees, uses paint to mark its territory. Oh, and its head and ears are shaped like a painter's hat, and its tail ends in a paintbrush.
But it's entire learnset is the move 'Sketch', unique to Smeargle, which allows him to permanently copy any move that the opponent uses, replacing Smeargle's Sketch permanently. It's such a unique take on the general anime trope of having mystical warriors who use a paintbrush to bring ink drawings to life (a common trope in Eastern wuxia stories). Smeargle is definitely more of a gimmick pokemon akin to Ditto, but its unique ability and portrayal in the manga has always endeared itself. It's ultimately not my favourite design, and ultimately way too gimmicky, but I do like the effort in making Smeargle somewhat unique of a pokemon. Not the best looking Pokemon out of the second generation batch, but one who ends up feeling pretty neat and creative from both a design and gameplay standpoint.
3/6.
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