Gotta Review 'Em All, Part #16: Combee to Chatot

More Generation IV goodness! This time around we'll be covering the second leg of the Sinnoh population, mostly a chunk of the Sinnoh inhabitants and a couple of those fancy new evolutions that the fourth generation gave to the previous generations. 

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#415-416: Combee & Vespiquen

• Types: Bug/Flying [both]
• Japanese names: Mitsuhani, Biikuin
• Categories: Tiny Bee [Combee], Beehive [Vespiquen]

This is... a weird bugger right here. Combee is a Bug/Flying bee pokemon, and what a downright bizarre creature compared to the more conventional Beedrill (who's technically a hornet if we're being pedantic, but eh). Because, well, Combee isn't just a bee. She's a trio of honeycombs, each with the happiest looking face, a pair of wings, two cute little antennae and a little honeybee abdomen. It's one of the wackier design that pokemon has put out, even though it's a relatively simple one -- a bee that has combined with its own honeycombs. It's an adorable little hive-minded bee that flies around, collecting honey, before returning to form their own gigantic nest. Formed out of their own bodies. A swarm of 'drone' bugs that serve a ruling queen is something that pokemon's been missing, and it turns out that, well, their version is one where a group of honeycomb bees.

It's not how I would design a bee pokemon for sure, but that's honestly what makes Combee so ridiculously neat. Combee also plays to the spiritual successor of generation two's "headbutt tree" mechanic. In the fourth generation, you can slather honey onto some specific Honey Trees, attracting a group of pokemon that can only spawn from said trees. This includes some old favourites like Heracross and Aipom, but mostly you attract Combees. See, Combees are pretty shit in combat, but that's because they're mere little drones sent off to collect honey. But once in a while, you'll find a Combee with that special red marking on its bottom honeycomb, indicating that it's actually a female Combee.


And female Combees are born to be queens. Vespiquens, specifically. (Vespidae is the large family that includes bees, wasps and hornets). Yes, one 'e', but it's still pronounced 'queen'. It's not a letter number problem like Feraligatr or Victreebel, so I'm not quite sure why. It's a neat little evolution mechanic tied to gender that I feel is executed so much better than Burmy's. Everyone knows that bees and ants are ruled by a single queen (if you don't... shame on you), while not everyone understands the weirdness behind bagworm moth life cycles. It's instantly understandable, and Vespiquen communicates the whole queen bee aesthetic while still having a unique design that sets her apart from real-life bees.

Vespiquen is an amazing mixture of a bee, a hornet and is shaped like a humanoid bug-lady with a dress made up of honeycombs, inside of which apparently she keeps a swarm of little bees (or Combees, in the anime) to unleash her special moves -- Attack Order, Defend Order and Heal Order. Between her wings, her  awesome buggy eye, that cool little jewel 'crown', her bug-arms and her honeycomb dress, Vespiquen looks regal and bug-like at the same time, and really works well as the queen of a hive of bees. I definitely remember underestimating the Vespiquen belonging to Elite Four Aaron in Platinum, getting my ass handed to me by the unexpected buffing/healing ability of this queen bee. Vespiquen has since grown to be one of my personal favourites from the fourth generation. While I kinda wish that Combee has a more traditional insectoid design, it does kind of at least end up being unique, and Vespiquen just looks pretty awesome.

 5/6.

#417: Pachirisu

• Type: Electric
• Japanese name: Pachirisu
• Category: EleSquirrel [sic]

Pachirisu, unlike Plusle and Minun from the third generation, at least uses a different basis of a rodent instead of just trying too hard to ape Pikachu. As a Pika-clone it's just kinda m'eh and unimpressive, with boring stats, generic electric-rodent lore and a significant lack of evolution or secondary typing or anything wholly unique... but as a cute little blue-white squirrel it has its own identity that at least sets it apart. It's cute enough for me not to hate it, but honestly I really feel that they really could've done something more. Pachirisu's well-drawn, and I've always found that bucktooth and that huge bushy tail adorable, but he's just... there. It's like, look at its dex entries! They are so mind-numbingly generic that the only real thing Pachirisu has going for it is that it's Pokemon's first squirrel and its appearance in the anime. And those are really the only things that prevent Pachirisu from being ranked any lower. 

 3/6.

#418-419: Buizel & Floatzel

• Types: Water [both]
• Japanese names: Buizeru, Foruzeru
• Categories: Sea Weasel [both]

Buizel was another fourth-generation pokemon that debuted in the anime before the fourth generation games came out, and he would've been forgotten easily as a boring mammal if not for the simple fact that... a Shiny Buizel is one of the two 'real' Shiny pokemon that I have ever encountered and captured without it being some sort of fancy event. And for that simple fact, Buizel (and Floatzel) will always hold a special place in my heart. Buizel doesn't really even have a good shiny, which just saturates everything in piss-yellow. Buizel and Floatzel are pure Water-type weasels or otters, with Buizel being coloured a pleasant shade of orange, with a couple of blue fins, and two tails that rotate like propellers. Buizel also has a flotation sac that it inflates around its neck, resembling floats that we humans use.

Floatzel is a bigger, meaner-looking Buizel, with a douche-baggy face, a float jacket instead of a neck ring, and sharper blue fins. Oh, and way too small feet in that official art. Floatzel is apparently some sort of wacky otter lifeguard, using its ability to control how much it's floating in the water to help rescue drowning people. It's kinda fitting since he's one of the main pokemon used by the mighty gym leader, pro-wrestler, lifeguard, nature conservationist and all-around swell guy Crasher Wake.

I do like the fact that Buizels and Floatzels seem to just be weasels with an inflatable sac and propeller wheels to help them navigate rivers instead of being real otters, which we'll have properly a generation after this in Oshawott's line.

 4/6, though part of it is the very positive reaction I have thanks to the Shiny association.

#420-421: Cherubi & Cherrim

• Types: Grass [both]
• Japanese names: Cherinbo, Cherimu
• Categories: Cherry [Cherubi], Blossom [Cherrim]

We get a pair of pure Grass-types this time around. Cherubi is a cute little walking cherry who is joined by a stalk to a tiny, smaller sleeping little sibling. The pokedex notes how Cherubi's smaller "ball" holds all the nutrients needed for Cherubi's evolution and that it's actually very tasty. It's like a reverse Weezing situation, where the smaller head isn't spawned during evolution but is actually consumed, with newer dex entries making this as unambiguous as possible, noting that Cherubi sucks out the nutrients in the smaller cherry for evolution. Oh, and that smaller fruit is also often targeted by hungry Starly. Does the little orb have its own mind? Questions to keep you awake at night, I suppose, as you ponder if you've doomed one half of a set of conjoined twins just to fill in a page in your pokedex. Anyway, I don't mind Cherubi. The design's pretty cute, and I do like the sleepy face on the smaller cherry head, blissfully unaware of the horrors that its very nature will cause it to endure.


Cherubi evolves into Cherrim, based on the cherry blossoms, or sakura, so popular in Japan that it's practically a staple of the country. Cherrim's default state is its "overcast" form, which takes the form of an overturned flower bud, with a pair of closed eyes close to its feet. However, Cherrim's ability Flower Gift will cause it to transform under sunny weather into the "Sunshine" form, which is just a happy little fairy creature (it's not fairy, though) with cute little pink petal hairs.

Sometimes I really wonder if the two Cherrim forms aren't meant to be the middle-stage and final-stage evolution, but lumped together just to make a form-changing pokemon. I've always found Sunshine Cherrim to be happy and cheerful, if somewhat generic. But I've never liked the Overcast form, especially when I realized its eyes are weirdly placed literally above its feet. I suppose the weird sunshine ability makes Cherrim far more memorable than if it's been a three-stage line? I kinda wish I could've brought Cherrim along as a happy little sakura fairy 24/7, though -- I honestly think I would've liked it more if that's the case. Overall, neat concept, but one where the far-less-interesting form ends up being the 'default' stage, and that's not Cherrim's best look. 

 3/6. 

#422-423: Shellos & Gastrodon

Types: Water [Shellos], Water/Ground [Gastrodon]

Japanese names: Karanakushi, Toritodon

Categories: Sea Slug [both]

Shellos and Gastrodon are pretty neat! This evolutionary line was initially meant for release in the third generation, with a slightly different sprite that appeared in Beta copies of the game until they were cut out. Shellos and Gastrodon also somewhat hints at the future gimmick of regional variants introduced in the seventh generation, and this is what Arbok really should've been. See, the region of Sinnoh is bisected into two by the huge mountain range of Coronet, and apparently this division of Sinnoh has caused the Shellos species to evolve divergently into two forms whose difference is merely cosmetic -- those caught on the west side are pink, and those caught on the east are blue.

Yeah, the fourth generation saw the popularity Deoxys has and goes wild-hog with alternate forms on a single pokemon 'slot'. It's a bit irritating, to be honest, but Shellos and Gastrodon are a pair I didn't mind because the pink and blue designs both look neat. The two are based on the colourful sea slugs and nudibranches, and just simply gave them faces and a somewhat more defined head. They, naturally, are Water-types. I really like how both variants have a neat unifying theme of those fancy neon-yellow highlights, and have neat visual differences on the spikes/wings on their backs and the shape of the ornaments on their head. Sadly, we won't see any additional forms of Shellos as the generations go along.

Shellos evolves into the Water/Ground Gastrodon, and... and it apparently is just a typing that I end up using before I know it. Between Quagsire, Swampert and Gastrodon, they are all pokemon I've used in a playthrough of a game. Both Gastrodons look lovely, with three eyes (!) and a neat set of horns. Pink Gastrodon has a neat brown upper body to go with the pink, while Blue Gastrodon has a very pleasing blue-green upper body to go with the blue. As a giant sea-slug monster, Gastrodon is actually a lot more down-key with its colour scheme compared to real-life Opisthobranches, most of which look like a highlighter accident. Bulbapedia notes that Gastrodon might be based specifically on the sea hares, well known for their rabbit-like rhinopores and their ability to secrete foul-tasting fluid (which Shellos is noted to be able to do), and the sea hares are actually dull-coloured. Gastrodon is also noted to have 'traces' showing that it used to have a sturdy shell, a reference to how actual sea slugs have lost their shells through evolution... but also to old sprites of generation three Gastrodon, which actually did have a rocky exterior. I'm not 100% sure why Gastrodon is part-Ground, but I guess since it does double-duty as a sea creature as well as a swamp creature in these games, I suppose its the same 'mud' deal that Swampert and Quagsire are known for. Overall, though, pretty neat, looking both gross and pretty at the same time.

 4/6.

#424: Ambipom

Types: Normal

Japanese names: Etebosu

Categories: Long Tail

So the fourth generation acts like sort of an apology and an expansion to the second generation population, giving practically every single non-evolving pokemon an evolution with increasingly ridiculously long-winded methods. Aipom evolves into Ambipom only if it knows a specific new move (Double Hit), into this... horrifying monstrosity. Ambipom is one of my least favourite designs in the game. I'm not the biggest Aipom fan, but Aipom looks cute and cheeky. Ambipom just looks... ew. From that stupid-looking hairdo to the new snub upside-down-V nose, two the weird bushy butt to the fact that it has two new tail-hands... and the tail-hands look like weird inflated udders instead of the glove that it looked like as an Aipom. Like, why did they see the need to change that? Definitely not a fan of this one. It's visually unattractive, and while I get the concept of giving Aipom a second tail-hand, the execution is honestly pretty bad, turning an otherwise okay-looking pokemon into a genuinely ugly design. Also I'm not quite sure why some of the 'updated evolution' Pokemon are placed randomly in-between Sinnoh natives, when the rest are piled up before the legendaries.

 1/6. 

#425-426: Drifloon & Drifblim

Types: Ghost/Flying [both]

Japanese names: Fuwante, Fuwaraido

Categories: Balloon [Drifloon], Blimp [Drifblim]

How crazy is it for the ghost-types of this region to be a cursed, child-kidnapping balloon that further evolves into a bigger hot-air balloon? Drifblim takes special place in my heart for kind of being the mascot of my old "Pokemon of the Week" feature, being the first pokemon that I've reviewed in this way and honestly ends up sort of being the genesis of this massive undertaking (and, wow, I can't believe we're more than halfway through!). The pair are Ghost/Flying types, and Drifloon's a cute little purple jellyfish-esque balloon with two little string-arm/tail things, an X-shaped nose and a little tuft of cloud on its head. While the actual games, anime and manga tend to downplay Drifloon's tendencies, Drifloon apparently "tugs on the hands of children to steal them away", ostensibly to the underworld according to later entries... but because it's a fucking balloon, it instead gets pulled around by the kid instead. It's hilarious yet unsettling at the same time, because despite the detail that it can't lift kids -- most of the time -- it is still known as the "Signpost for Wandering Spirits", and the kids that hold onto Drifloon often vanish. I absolutely loved its Sun dex entry, which specifies that Drifloon "dislikes heavy children". Oh, pokedex.

Drifloon gets an extra ounce of creepiness in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, and I always respect it when newer games give older pokemon a chance to shine. While previously Drifloon's big role is to be an NPC to be rescued in both the fourth and seventh generation games, in US/UM you can go through a bit of an investigation to a fun anime-style ghost school investigation, asked by a little girl and her Drifloon. Most of the paranormal activities tend to be hilarious mundane things or the odd Gastly or Hypno just wandering around, but it turns out that the little girl asking you to investigate is actually the spirit/ghost of a child who went missing after playing with a Drifloon. Does Drifloon just want friends, and unwittingly harmed the kids it likes? Or is it actively malicious?  Look at those beady eyes, and tell me they don't look simultaneously friendly and murder-happy to you. What's clear, though, is that the seventh generation establishes that the gas inside Drifloon (and Drifblim) is actually souls, explicitly noting this fact, and noting that if a Drifloon bursts, its soul "spills out with a screaming sound". All this while, we thought the balloons' Aftermath ability was just a "ha-ha, a balloon burst" moment. Nope, that's apparently someone's soul.


Drifblim is larger and a fair bit more intricate, with extra flat 'arms' and a little butt under it to represent the hot-air balloon's carriage. There is perhaps one too many detail in Drifblim that could've been removed during the editing stage, but ultimately it doesn't bother me the way that, say, Luxray does. Drifblim's dex entries don't say anything about whether it continues its attempts to kidnap children, but its dex entries note how they fly off in the evening in big groups, with no one knowing where they go. Apparently "large flocks of Drifblim flying at dusk will inexplicably disappear from view", even under careful observation. Apparently there are neat little stories abounding about how Drifblims will cause those who catch Drifblims at the dusk to be carried to the afterlife. And the raw material for the gas inside Drifblim? Souls. It's pretty awesome, and other than the whole 'filled with souls' bit, Drifloon and Drifblim really seem to feel like they're a mystery even in the pokemon world, like some sort of weird cryptid whose myth precedes it. (Apparently, there is a cryptid called an 'atmospheric jellyfish', resembling some sort of floating jellyfish -- I thought Ultraman movies made that shit up! Cool.) Overall, Drifblim and Drifloon are far more interesting and creepy than they initially seem, and has earned a neat place in my heart.

 6/6. 

#427-428: Buneary & Lopunny

• Types: Normal [both]
• Japanese names: Mimiroru, Mimiroppu
• Categories: Rabbit [both]

These pair of Normal-types are maybe the 'cute' mascot of the series in the same vein as Jigglypuff or Marill are for previous generations, and... and I've never really taken to them, honestly. Buneary's gimmick of having its ears roll up and then extend rapidly to punch enemies is kinda neat, and she's reasonably cute, but I've found her design to be rather bland, with the cream-coloured puffs seeming rather random and haphazardly placed on the design.


The cute Buneary evolves into Lopunny, though and I have some... problems with this pokemon. It's clearly meant to evoke a Playboy bunny, with its curved, ass-out position, its huge thighs, fur that resemble some sort of high-set heels and its arm-furs placed on its chest to simulate a curvaceous figure. Add that with the fact that bunny-girl costumes are one of the most common fetish costumes in anime... yeah. I really feel like it's extremely unfortunate that Pokemon decides to make such a weirdly somewhat-sexualized look to it. As an anthropomorphic bunny based on the Holland Lop rabbit, she's... okay? But unlike the likes of Gardevoir or Meloetta where it's the creepy side of  the fandom that latches on into the feminine humanoid shape, Lopunny is deliberately designed to invoke a sexy figure and I feel like it's honestly very unfortunate.

Lopunny used to be the only pokemon that can have the ability Klutz, which is like some sort of a joke on an air-headed dumb hot chick? Her other possible abilities are "Cute Charm" and "Limber", which are also likewise rather unfortunate. Her actual portrayals in fiction just have her as a fighting bunny girl which is neat, but her default poses in the sprite-era games and her official artwork are rather unfortunate... and especially so when the sixth generation came along and we have Mega Lopunny. But that's a problem for me to discuss later on. Overall, it's not a pokemon I have a problem with when viewed at through innocent eyes, but one that I've also never really particularly cared about all that much.

 1/6. 

#429: Mismagius

• Types: Ghost
• Japanese names: Mumaji
• Categories: Magical

Ah, another bunch of evolutions given to the second-generation pokemon! It's not until we reach the tail-end of the dex when the fourth generation really went crazy with evolutions, but we have a few in the middle of the Sinnoh pokedex, And while I definitely appreciate the amount of awesomeness that these evolutions brought us, it also does end up causing Sinnoh to feel rather sparse in terms of original designs. As of the fourth generation, Misdreavus evolves

Mismagius evolves from Misdreavus when exposed to a brand-new stone, the Dusk Stone, who is pretty overshadowed by every other Ghost-type out there. And it's a neat evolution! Misdreavus isn't my favourite pokemon, but I never minded it, and Mismagius seems like a more elaborate expansion of the design. It's a bit of a shame that Mismagius ends up being almost entirely purple as opposed to using the unconventional murky-green of Misdreavus as its main colour, but on the other hand it's a very pleasing look regardless. Mismagius' design brings about a very evident witch deal to it, with her huge hat and her body trailing down like a tail. Misdreavus's orbs also work themselves into Mismagius' body pretty neatly.

Mismagius' silhouette calls to mind some sort of witch without arms or legs, although that lump on her neck is supposed to represent its body? I guess that works, but I really kinda wish that they actually did something with the concept of its limb-lessness... especially since the anime kind of treats those two tendrils from her 'dress' as arms. Oh well.  Mismagius's most striking feature to me has always been keeping the creepy-cute eyes from Misdreavus, as well as having a fancy new zigzagged mouth. Mismagius likes to chant, bringing with its chantings either headaches or hallucinations, or happiness and love, making Mismagius some sort of wacky, capricious witch who blesses or curses people on her own whim. Mismagius isn't my favourite ghost, but she's a very competently designed one, and a very good update to an older pokemon.

 4/6.

#430: Honchkrow

• Types: Dark/Flying
• Japanese names: Donkarasu
• Categories: Big Boss

Misdreavus's cross-version counterpart Murkrow (the two get to be cross-counterpart exclusives again in the fourth generation) also gets an evolution via the Dusk Stone, and evolves into Honchkrow, who's like the boss-man mafia to the scrawny Murkrow thugs. Honchkrow is the head honcho of crows, and I absolutely find it fun that this dude exists. Instead of the obligatory giant-predatory-bird-of-prey evolution that everyone hopes every single bird evolves into (and don't get me wrong, Japanese mythology has a fair amount of badass crows), Murkrow becomes Don Corleone. Or should I say Crow-leone? Eh?

In some ways I kind of miss the scrawniness and scrappiness that Murkrow has, but of course the head of the crow mob has to look regal and confident. Honchkrow even arguably continues the 'witch' theme that Murkrow has if you interpret that white tuft of fur as a Gandalf-style wizard's beard, it still has the broom tail, and that hat is ambiguous enough to either be a don's hat or a wizard's hat. I really love the idea of this dude just flying along leading an army of scrawny Murkrows, and it's apparently called the "Summoner of Night" thanks to its ability to lead the Murkrow and have them assemble at command. It's not until the seventh generation that Honchkrow got some awesome mafia-style dex entries, noting that it will not forgive failure and betrayal from its 'goons', hunting them down and punishing them like a vengeful mob boss.

Honchkrow is always one of the more surprising and cooler evolutions that swap out the themes and gives us a very dignified and proud-looking crow as opposed to Murkrow's scrawniness, but works it in well with lore reasons. Definitely a fan of this mafia bird.

 5/6. 

#431-432: Glameow & Purugly

• Types: Normal [both]
• Japanese names: Nyaruma, Bunyatto
• Categories: Catty [Glameow], Tiger Cat [Purugly]

Yeah, I'm not feeling these two. Meowth embodies the stereotypical 'scrappy' cat, Skitty embodies the 'cute' kitty, and the later-introduced Purrloin embodies the 'sneaky' cat. Glameow, meanwhile, is the sort of snooty, vain "it's all about me" style of cat. And... I'm not a cat person, so I'm definitely not a fan of this. I don't find Glameow pretty or cute at all, and I'm definitely not a fan of its weird croissant-shaped ear-head. She's got that curled-up tail which would be fun and silly if it could use it to spring around... but apparently Glameow uses it to spin like a dancing ribbon? Eh. Definitely not my thing. She's decently drawn, even if I still feel like she could've stood to lose some of those random tufts of fur on its legs and neck. It's a proper, house-groomed show cat, right?

 2/6 for Glameow. A competent spring tail cat.

Purugly, on the other hand, is exactly what his name implies. It's a pure-ugly cat. It's... it's just an ugly cat. I'm not sure what this is supposed to communicate -- a pretty girl becoming an old fat woman when she reaches a certain age? I suppose it's a neat subversion of the Feebas/Milotic trope, but by god I cannot stand Purugly. It's like... I don't know if it's my own taste for grungy, wacky monsters, but I'd rank the likes of Garbodor as being way, way better designed than this fat-ass cat. From its ugly boomerang-shaped head, to its splintered whiskers, to the ugly-looking random white markings on the front legs... are they supposed to represent like, stockings ripping because Purugly is so dumb and fat?

Also, her entire gimmick is that she uses the tail to wrap around her waist to make her stomach look somewhat thinner. Not to mention that its personality is pretty much a dick, where Purugly just bullies smaller pokemon to take over their nests. It's a very unpleasant pokemon to look at, from the messy design to the ugly colour scheme, to its unpleasant personality... yeah. There are several designs that I think are worse than Purugly by a huge margin, but Purugly's honestly pretty bad. Not a fan. Glameow's okay, though.

 0/6. I don't give this score out lightly. 

#433: Chingling

• Type: Psychic
• Japanese name: Rishan
• Category: Bell

Some pokemon in the fourth generation got evolutions, and some got babies. I pity all of those who just ended up getting a shitty pre-evolved form, especially poor Chimecho over here, since Chimecho himself is a pretty weak battler. Chimechos breed Chinglings if they're holding a Pure Incense, and Chingling evolves via happiness, but only at night -- a surprisingly intricate evolution method for such an otherwise underused pokemon. Chingling's a very neat-looking baby, though, and of course the baby of a wind chime is just the bell, and I like how it's mouth opens to reveal the 'orb' of the bell as its tongue. I've always thought Chingling looks far cuter than it should especially in the games when it looks just so happy to tot around on its teeny tiny legs and ring ring ring and make some noise. Its tails even work into Chimecho's more Japanese-centric lore, being based on the Suzu bell used at Shinto shrines. Chingling is also reasonably common in the fourth generation, and always a pleasant little baby bell to meet. My feelings towards Chingling is honestly quite positive as far as these babies go, enough for me to like it a fair bit and give it a 4/6 rating. It's all right. 

 4/6. 

#434-435: Stunky & Skuntank

• Types: Poison/Dark [both]
• Japanese names: Sukanpu, Sukantanku
• Categories: Skunk [both]

Stunky and Skuntank are the cross-game exclusives with Glameow and Purugly, being a pair of Poison/Dark types. It's the combination of the two traditionally villainous types in pokemon, and it's... it's okay, I guess? We've never had a skunk pokemon before, and it's a pretty neat cartoon skunk. Stunky's appropriately chunky and its whole deal is that it shoots stinky stench bombs, like real skunks. It's got a funny butt-face, and I really, really found it hilarious that its Japanese name is "Skunkpoo". Also, since it's part-Dark, I guess it's a huge asshole? The dex entries are extremely bland, though, focusing almost exclusively on its smelliness. 

Stunky evolves into Skuntank, which is an angry, uglier and nastier Stunky, but it looks at least somewhat aesthetically pleasing compared to Purugly. Skunks are not the kind of animal I particularly like, but Skuntank is one that looks threatening enough in combat, with its prominently upraised tail and I absolutely love how apparently Skuntanks are apparently confounded by attacks that come from above it. As a hilarious joke to 'fart gas is flammable', Skuntank learns Flamethrower by level-up. I've also always loved how the Platinum and HGSS sprites had Skuntank raise one of its legs up, butt facing you, as if it's ready to shoot some smelly shit out of its butthole straight at your party. Overall, not my kind of thing, and honestly could've stood to be a wee bit more interesting from either a visual or mechanical standpoint, but they're neat.

 3/6. 

#436-437: Bronzor & Bronzong

• Types: Steel/Psychic [both]
• Japanese names: Domira, Dotakun
• Categories: Bronze [Bronzor], Bronze Bell [Bronzong]

Bronzor and Bronzong are very much prominently featured in Platinum, being a pretty common sight in Mt. Coronet, one of the longer areas in the game. They're Psychic/Steel types, sharing the same typing as Metagross before them. Unlike Metagross, though, which is a weird supercomputer robot, Bronzor and Bronzong are more mystical in nature, being based on a Japanese legend, as detailed by this bulbapedia article. According to this legend, a farmer lady donated her bronze mirror to a temple, where it was melted as material to create a bell. However, she regretted her decision, believing that the mirror contained her soul (or the mirror's actually a precious heirloom in some versions of the story), and in response to that, when the time comes for the priests of the temple to melt down all the donated bronze objects, one mirror would not melt, a sign of the farmer lady's selfishness which kept the mirror cold even in the furnace. When it was uncovered who the mirror belonged to, the woman, ashamed, killed herself, leaving behind a letter that she allowed the mirror to be melted, and anyone who struck the bell hard enough to break it will be rewarded with fortune by her ghost. This caused people to come from far and wide to strike the bell, which ended up causing the priests to roll the bell into a swamp to get rid of it -- exactly what the woman wanted, for the bell that have caused her so much suffering to be discarded.

Which is a neat tragic story, but neither Bronzor or Bronzong really have any sort of tragedy or any sort of backstory to them. Bronzor's eyes and the weird tree design on its back are neat enough, though, and the dex entries just note that Bronzor is eerily similar to strange mirrors found in tombs, implying a connection. Bronzong, meanwhile, trades in the cute for wacky and creepy, and I've always loved how its arm-tentacles move to 'open' the gear-like structure on Bronzong's head. Also loved how the dude's eyes are worked into the pattern on the bell's body. It also has some aspects shared with other legends of bronze bells (dotaku) in Japan, like the fact that Bronzong is highly associated with good rain and a great harvest like real-life dotaku. Ultimately, though, there's not really quite as much lore behind Bronzong and Bronzor to make me really appeal to them, unlike, say, Claydol before it or Sigilyph after it. Bronzor and Bronzong are weird and distinct enough to look cool when you see them. A fun addition to Sinnoh's diversity.  

 4/6. 

#438: Bonsly

• Type: Rock
• Japanese names: Usohachi
• Category: Bonsai

Bonsly is the 'baby' of Sudowoodo, obtained if you breed Sudowoodo while it is holding a Rock Incense. Honestly I've never liked the whole incense stuff in the games and really wished that they just handwaved it as a "oh, Sudowoodo feel secure to give birth to their proper young in Sinnoh!" deal or something. Bonsly's reasonably cute, this weird little potted bonsai plant with Sudowoodo's three-fingered arms acting as its 'tree'. The fourth-generation babies try to give a wee bit more effort in their lore, with Bonsly being noted as continually crying -- but those are fake tears, and Bonsly is just using them to eliminate excess fluid in its body, while at the same time being a way to get enemies to lower their guard. Bonsly also evolves into Sudowoodo only when it learns the move 'Mimic', which makes sense -- Bonsly is apparently atrocious at actually blending into its surroundings, being far more fidgety.

 3/6. 

#439: Mime Jr.

• Type: Psychic/Fairy [Psychic prior to Generation VI]
• Japanese names: Manene
• Category: Mime

Hey, Mime Jr is pretty cute! I genuinely didn't think that this thing was Mr. Mime's pre-evolution when I first saw it without its name, and honestly... it's a cute little baby clown that's always dancing and mimicking its trainer's movements. It's adorable, and unless you have a clown phobia Mime Jr's honestly a neat little baby pokemon. While I praise Chingling and Bonsly for looking different enough than their pre-evolutions (something that I complain about most of the second-generation babies is that they're honestly near-identical to their evolutions) Mime Jr doesn't really look like it's Mr. Mime's baby. Bonsly and Mime Jr are both version exclusives, somewhat, both being babies that evolve when they learn Mimic, although there's a way to get the two via the Trophy Garden, which swaps out its pokemon every day as a daily event. Even moreso than Mr. Mime, Mime Jr getting the Fairy type in the sixth generation feels truly appropriate. I don't have much to say about this baby clown other than to say that it's cute and I like it.

 3/6. 

#440: Happiny

• Type: Normal
• Japanese names: Pinpuku
• Category: Playhouse

On the other hand, Happiny is.... is just kinda there. I honestly even forgot Happiny was a thing. I don't like this one, I'm sorry. It feels like the same sort of lazy, "just draw this with chubbier proportions" lack of effort that went into designing the likes of Igglybuff and Cleffa, except Happiny still somehow looks cluttered and weirdly proportioned. It's got a weird ponytail, it's got weird lumps on its head and it always bugged me how that fake-egg (it's apparently a rock?) sits flush against Happiny's body without making a pouch-bulge like Chansey and Blissey. Also, is that supposed to be like a pink diaper thing? It's like this weird baby that is super-obsessed with putting rocks that it thinks are eggs into its pouch and will throw a tantrum if the fake egg is taken away. It's... I dunno. Out of most off the babies, I think Happiny ranks relatively low -- there's a fair amount of weird clutter on Happiny's design that makes it not really work out for me, especially compared side-by-side with the far simpler Chansey.

 2/6. 

#441: Chatot

• Type: Normal/Flying
• Japanese names: Perappu
• Category: Music Note

Chatot is a pokemon I covered back when I was doing "Pokemon of the Week", and my opinion about it hasn't changed much. Neat concept, underwhelming execution. This Normal/Flying parrot is neatly designed, with a fun little musical-note head and a metronome tail, and its combination of blues, yellows, greens and a pink beak is a pleasing combination for a tropical bird, but its whole deal is to be a gimmick pokemon with its signature move, Chatter, which allows Chatot to repeat your own words that you speak into the Nintendo DS microphone -- something that ends up being dropped in later installments because, guess what, everyone's going to have Chatot shout "FUCK YOU" at the top of their lungs. It's got a neat little presence as a little parrot mimicking human speech in the Manaphy movie, and as a companion pokemon in the Adventures manga, but otherwise Chatot's just kinda there. I do like how newer dex entries at least try to expand on Chatot's deal, talking about how it's mimicry of noises function to make other, dumber pokemon think that it's one of them. It's neat, but really could've done a lot more in terms of concept, ending up as one of the more underwhelming non-evolving pokemon in existence. Poor Chatot.

 2/6.