This was originally Parts #36 and #37 but I ended up moving things around so that all the Galarian forms and new regional evolutions are all in a single page. So this review ended up being just a wee bit longer than usual.
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#837-839: Rolycoly, Carkoal, Coalossal & Gigantamax Coalossal
Our 'Geodude' equivalent of this generation is a design that I wasn't fully in love with when I first saw it -- but Rolycoly ended up being one of those designs that just look a lot better in motion. It isn't quite as clear in the official art, which just makes Rolycoly look like a lump of rock with a bunch of rocks and an angry anime eye slapped on... and it just feels pretty underwhelming compared to other rock-based monsters like Roggenrola (which goes full-in on an alien look) or Geodude (which goes full-in on an anime-face look). But in motion, Rolycoly is actually a lump of rock with an eyeball that's constantly teetering around on a spinning wheel, and it's also a lump of coal instead of just any old rock. That small little detail, seeing Rolycoly just putter around as this one-wheeled small buddy, made all the difference from turning him from a decent-but-forgettable design into a pretty dang charming one. The dex entries are pretty simple, noting that Rolycoly's basically made out of coal and is found in coal mines, but likes to race around on rocky terrains like a unicycle.
Rolycoly's evolved form isn't anything I would expect, and it evolves into the Rock/Fire Carkol, which... which is such a silly name, and such a silly-looking design. It's just straight up a mine cart carrying a gigantic pile of coal, with a Golem-esque rock lizard head, and little chunky spider-legs that can fold in and become wheels. In fact, one of the areas in Sword/Shield is a mine with mine tracks, and Carkols will zip around the mine cart tracks and ram onto you as a neat little environmental encounter. Carkol is a design that would be one of those designs that I would deride if I saw it image-first and game-model second, and it's one that I find surprisingly charming -- another neat variation on those Pokemon based on objects that some aspects of the fandom really dislike. I feel like they certainly have a place in the franchise's large amount of designs. One of the abilities that the line has, by the way, is the brand-new "Steam Engine", which makes these dudes get a massive boost in speed when you attack them with either fire or water type attacks, which is pretty adorable!
Carkol evolves into a final form, and... and Coalossal is a cool design, don't get me wrong. It's a giant mighty rock golem creature that looks really awesome, I love the asymmetry of his shoulders and I love that he still keeps the pile of coal that he has as Carkol, but on the other hand one of the biggest charming features of Carkol and Rolycoly is the fact that they roll around on wheels and Coalossal sort of loses that aspect by just being a pretty bland rock-man. I don't dislike it, though, using a Coalossal through a decent amount of my playthrough of Pokemon Sword, but it was also a party member that I ultimately dropped in favour of other designs I like better. Coalossal is characterized by the dex as basically a peaceful denizen of mines that will attack dirty punks that vandalize the mines it lives in, and it's able to shoot tar. Which I guess is sort of connected to coal mines?
Coalossal's look, I feel, does have the vibe of one of those tokusatsu suits from a kaiju movie, and it's no surprise that Coalossal became one of the many Pokemon to get the gimmick-of-the-generation, Gigantamax. Giga Coalossal is a lot neater, being a gigantic mountain with a belly shaped like a furnace, looking pretty imposing while goofy at the same time with those stumpy little feet. Apparently someone used a Giga Coalossal as a giant stove at one point during a particularly nasty winter in Galar. It looks pretty neat.
Ultimately, I'm of two minds about this line. I love Rolycoly and Carkol as a set, but the fact that it evolves into Coalossal is a bit off to me... but both Coalossal and Giga-Coalossal are pretty solid designs on their own as giant furnace rock-monsters. They're neat. I like them, but I don't love them.
3/6.#840-842: Applin, Flapple, Appletun, Gigantamax Flapple & Gigantamax Appletun
The 'dragon' type has sort of basically been one of the most bizarre types ever, huh? We've run the gamut of straight-up dragons based on both European, Middle-Eastern and Oriental depictions of dragons, we've gotten two separate dragon-types based on real-life seadragons as a fun pun, we've got a cloud-bird based on a vaguely-draconic mythological creature, we've got a slug, we've got a wyvern-esque bat, we've gotten miscellaneous god-like beings, we've gotten even a coconut tree as a dragon-type in the previous generation... and this generation we straight up have a worm. I know 'wyrm' is used in certain circles as a reference to a dragon or a dragon-like entity, but that's stretching things a bit far and, honestly? I kind of like it.
Applin's easily one of my favourite designs in the game due to how adorable it is. The first time I saw it it's just an apple with two eyestalks jutting out, but as I get a clearer look at the 3D model, I realize that it's actually a worm that's sticking the front half of its body through an apple! And, hell, even the apple's markings look vaguely like a face with orc-tusk fangs. Sure, this really should've been Grass/Bug since it's a worm in and apple, but it ends up being a Grass/Dragon creature. Okay! Apparently, Applins don't even have the apple as part of its biology, and they burrow into an apple as soon as they're born, apparently to hide from its natural predators, bird Pokemon. Which... I guess birds in this universe don't like apples? I really kinda wished that to tie in with this theme of being a weak little worm baby that hides in an apple, Applin is a pure-Grass type instead, but in the same vein I love the idea of being able to show Applin and Goomy to someone and go "these are dragon-type Pokemon".
6/6 for Applin, six apples out of six apples. 
The flavour of the apple that Applin hides in will determine its evolution -- you basically hand your Applin an item (which I think is version-exclusive) and they will take two different forms. The one I think I prefer is Flapple, which keeps the 'worm in an apple' aspect intact while also looking the most like a dragon out of the four different designs in the Applin line. A particularly comedic-looking dragon, admittedly, but I love it nonetheless. It's basically taken the chunks of the apple as 'armour', to an extent, using one piece as a hat, one piece around its tail and two as wings attached to its funky gecko-like hands I absolutely love those slug-like eyes that protrude out of the sides of Flapple's heads, too. In times of distress apparently Flapple can just fold its apple pieces around to pretend to be an apple again, which is adorable. Flapple evolves if Applin is sour, and its signature move involves it shooting sour apple acid that's so sour that it will cause chemical burns. Death by apple acid, what a way to go!
The fandom's darling, though, is Appletun, which is equally adorable, being this big fat lazy dinosaur-dragon with droppy ears and a big-ass humpback shaped like an apple pie. And if, like me, you think this form takes away from the fact that this used to be a neat worm-slug-dragon creature... those flappy things on Appletun's sides? Those aren't its ears. Those are the very same slug-like eyestalks that Flapple has, but it's just pointing downwards, and interacting with Appletun and looking at its animations show that it's a surprisingly fun design that's full of expression. I wasn't the biggest fan of Appletun initially, but I've grown around to really liking this dopey dude. Appletun, of course, is the sweeter one of the two, and apparently it uses its apple-pie physiology to unleash sweet scents to attract prey that it will munch on. The pokedex also notes that the 'skin on its back is especially yummy', and apparently is a traditional snack for Galarian children. Hopefully, uh, you don't have to murder an Appletun to get the apple pie crust.
Both Flapple and Appletun get a Gigantamax Form... but they're the exact same design. And while it's pretty freaking lazy on Gamefreak's part, it is, I guess, kind of neat that despite the divergent evolution, the power of Gigantamax energy basically reverts them both to their shared ancestry of essentially being a giant Applin? Or it could just be Gamefreak being lazy, and this is another Mega Latios/Latias thing. They could've had the two have slightly different features, with Giga Flapple having wings and Giga Appletun having... oh, I dunno, little apple pie legs or something, but instead it's just a big-ass Applin whose head is bursting out of the apple. S'cute, I guess, but I think it's my least favourite design among the evolutionary line. I think it's the cheeks. It might be the cheeks. I dunno. I just don't find this as cute as Applin, Flapple or Appletun. The dex doesn't really say anything particularly interesting about either Giga-Flapple or Giga-Appletun, just noting how sweet the overflowing nectar from its neck is. Kind of lazy, to be honest, but the charm of the rest of the line is neat.
3/6 as a set for the evolutions. My favourite if Flapple.#843-844: Silicobra, Sandaconda & Gigantamax Sandaconda
After multiple generations of poisonous snake Pokemon, Generation V gave us a tree-dwelling snake in Serperior, and now we get a desert-dwelling snake! And as its name implies, Silicobra is based on a desert cobra, but instead of just being a straight-up snake with a neck-hood, it's got a gigantic pouch where Silicobra apparently stores a gigantic chunk of sand as ammunition. And then it shoots it out of those gigantic nostrils! It's got an interesting unique ability of basically casting the Sandstorm weather effect whenever an enemy hits it, presumably representing someone hitting the sand pouch and unleashing the sand inside into a storm. A neat design, and while not particularly exciting, it's the sort of creature that I wouldn't be surprised to see in a fantasy world like this.
Sandaconda, on the other hand, is a lot more wacky looking, curling up like a gigantic cornucopia or something with its little snake head poking out of those massive coils and looking just so tired and nestled. Sandaconda basically does the same thing Silicobra does, shooting sand out of its even-bigger neck sand pouch, but I do love the pokedex noting that if it ever runs out of sand, it becomes really sad. No! Poor baby! The more I look at Sandaconda, the more I like him, really. he just looks so awkward and tired and all it wants to do is to curl up into himself and take a nice sleep in the sand. Relatable, isn't he? I feel like I don't appreciate Sandaconda and Silicobra enough, I don't think we get enough of a Pokemon like them that's just there without any over-the-top forced gimmick.
Sandaconda also has a Gigantamax form, and it's a pretty interesting one! It stands on the tip of its tail, and the largest coil has basically became a swirling storm, and the resulting Giga Sandaconda ends up resembling a whirling hurricane or tornado of death, spinning around as a literal giant sandstorm. Except it's a snake. A snakenado. I really do love the fact that the little collar-neck thing has transformed into a literal swirling sand-cloud. It's such a bizarre design, but it's one that I feel is pretty dang creative! The pokedex insists that a Giga Sandaconda has a massive swirling cloud of "1,000,000 tons". See, this is how you do a Gigantamax form. Actually do something with the design that makes it a lot more interesting than "hey look this is Butterfree but the wings are big". Okay! Ultimately, this line isn't my favourite out of this generation, but it's a pretty neat one.
4/6.
And here we have a relatively simple, non-evolving little Water/Flying bird, based on the cormorant, a common sea-bird that lives in the British isles. The cormorants are known to use a technique called 'defensive vomiting' to distract predators, which is exactly what you think it is, and apparently some people in the past used to utilize these birds to train them to hunt fish, and then force them to spit the fish back out. An interesting animal to be based on, but the actual design for Cramorant is just a bird. I love that it keeps the dead-eyed look that these birds have, though, with Cramorant looking like it's really seen some shit... or that it's really dumb, because the dex notes that sometimes a Cramorant will get distracted and forget what it's doing mid-battle.
Cramorant has two extra forms, as illustrated here. Whenever Cramorant uses the move Dive or Surf, it'll show up with a little fish, an Arrokuda, in its mouth, struggling for its dear life. We've had the pokedex and the franchise skirting around the fact that these cute Pokemon eat each other just like real-life animals, and now we've got a Pokemon whose whole gimmick involves eating and upchucking other Pokemon! Referred to as its "Gulping Form", the Cramorant will spit out the arrow-shaped Arrokuda at its opponent when it's hit with a move. Sometimes, though, instead of an Arrokuda it shows up with good ol' Pikachu, and my god look at that poor rat struggling for its life. More hilariously is the fact that Pikachu is an Electric-type, which would be able to deal 4x damage to Cramorant, but somehow it's still trapped in Cramorant's mouth. What's a Pikachu doing underwater anyway? Whatever the case, poor, poor Pikachu will also be spat out by Cramorant, dealing an extra bit of paralyzing damage. It's just such a bizarre, unexpected little addition and I'm not sure why I like it so much that this bird's choking on poor little PIkachu, but I kinda do. I love that all three forms get different dex entries in the Pokedex. The Gorging Form's entry? "The half-swallowed Pikachu is so startled that it isn't struggling yet, but it's still looking for a chance to strike back." Isn't struggling my ass, look at that sprite!
2/6. Kind of funny, but not the most memorable. #846-847: Arrokuda & Barraskewda
And here's the aforementioned Arrokuda, based on the Barracuda fish. It's... it's a brown barracuda Pokemon whose tail and general look ends up looking like a dart. Okay? I really don't have much to say here. I kinda want a barracuda Pokemon for a while, but this is, uh... certainly not what I expected. I'm also not sure why it's got that curly mustache-like markings extending from the sides of its mouth. I guess they didn't want to make this another 'just a fish' like Finneon or Goldeen, but man I still find Arrokuda pretty unmemorable. The dex notes that it charges towards its prey really quickly, but then becomes slow and fat and susceptible to Cramorant. Poor fishie.
Arrokuda evolves into Barraskewda, and... I also don't have much to say here. Barraskewda looks a lot meaner, and I do kind of like that the markings on its side sorta resemble a cartoon fish's skeleton. The 3D model also emphasizes that Barraskewda's tail actually spins around like a ship's propeller, which basically allows it to do the same thing that Arrokuda does, but a lot faster and hits harder with its armoured head. It's ultimately just kinda there, though, and I really do wish they've emphasized these aspects of Barraskewda's tactics more. Maybe make its ramming arrow-head thing a lot more prominent, or actually give it the Steel-typing (the dex actually mentions that its jaw is 'strong as steel', which is why I bring it up) or something. Instead it's just kind of just there. More interesting than Basculin for sure, but that's not a high bar to clear. I really wanted to give them a higher score, but during one of those 'remember all the Pokemon in this generation' quizzes, Arrokuda and Barraskewda are two that I completely forgot and didn't even remember at all.
3/6.
Arrokuda evolves into Barraskewda, and... I also don't have much to say here. Barraskewda looks a lot meaner, and I do kind of like that the markings on its side sorta resemble a cartoon fish's skeleton. The 3D model also emphasizes that Barraskewda's tail actually spins around like a ship's propeller, which basically allows it to do the same thing that Arrokuda does, but a lot faster and hits harder with its armoured head. It's ultimately just kinda there, though, and I really do wish they've emphasized these aspects of Barraskewda's tactics more. Maybe make its ramming arrow-head thing a lot more prominent, or actually give it the Steel-typing (the dex actually mentions that its jaw is 'strong as steel', which is why I bring it up) or something. Instead it's just kind of just there. More interesting than Basculin for sure, but that's not a high bar to clear. I really wanted to give them a higher score, but during one of those 'remember all the Pokemon in this generation' quizzes, Arrokuda and Barraskewda are two that I completely forgot and didn't even remember at all.
3/6.#848-849: Toxel, Toxtricity & Gigantamax Toxtricity
Toxel's an... interesting thing. Given to us as a baby in the same vein with how we receive Togepi in Generation II, Toxel's a little baby lizard with a tongue sticking out and markings that sort of resemble a diaper. And while its Sugimori artwork really does make it look like a mutant human baby with lizard features, its official 3D sprite makes it a lot more adorable as it just sort of sits around like a real human baby. Not the sort of design that I typically like, but the 3D model quickly won me over, even if I'm still not quite sure what that weird flickering thunderbolt on the center of its head is supposed to be. Toxel and its evolutions are our very first-ever Electric/Poison creature, and I would never have guessed that the first usage of this type combination is going to be an electric baby poison-lizard. Apparently, Toxel manipulates the chemical makeup of its poison that it secrets through its skin to produce electricity, which I assume is a pun on 'tingling' sensation caused by electrical shocks or something? I like him. We haven't gotten an ambiguous 'monster' that doesn't really fit like 'real world animal with some extra details' in the vibe of Nidoran in a while.
2/6 for Toxel. 
Toxel's evolution is another thing I couldn't have guessed, becoming basically a humanoid reptile with attitude in a similar vein to Scrafty or Toxicroak. Instead of being based on punks, though, Toxtricity is based on a mother-fucking rock star, with punk spikes all over its hips and gangly gecko arms, and markings resembling ripped-up jeans. Depending on the nature of your Toxel, you get one of two possible forms, the purple-and-yellow "Amped Form", or the purple-and-light-blue "Low Key Form". Presumably Low Key Form is all about more mellow songs? I do like just how the shape of the horns around their heads do lend to making the Amped Form look more aggressive, and I'm also a fan of how both Toxtricity forms have a mohawk deal going on with Super Saiyan lightning hair. Best of all is the fact that those random nodules on Toxtricity's chest? Those aren't just random details, those are Toxtricity's actual guitar strings! It strums its own music on its chest-nodules, which is probably meant to be an adaptation of the organs that some toads or whatever use to make loud noises. It's pretty cute, and Toxtricity has some of the best Pokemon Camp (this generation's Pokemon-Amie) animations with its strumming. Toxtricity's ability? "Punk Rock", which massively boosts the damage from sound-based attacks, which is highly appropriate and also hilarious considering how back in Generation VI there was a lot of speculation surrounding a 'sonic' or 'sound' type.
Toxtricity also has a Gigantamax Form, one of the few that's not initially available to the game when it's first released. It's another one that actually feels like a super-form instead of just a bigger version of the base thing. Both Toxtricities share a single form, but unlike the final Applin forms, Giga Toxtricity actually has traits from both Toxtricity variants and it feels a bit more natural, I guess? Giga Toxtricity basically has him adopt the gait of a giant monster lizard, and have both yellow and blue lightning running down its spines, and its eyes have grown soulless and monstrous. A pretty awesome gigantic gecko-monster, even if it doesn't quite feel like it's the evolution of the rock-star-themed Toxtricity... until you see how it attacks! Giga Toxtricity will stand up, rip off that massive pink radio-tower tail it has, transform it into a lightning guitar, and then beat your enemies senseless with a building-sized guitar made out of electricity and detached lizard tail. It's still a rock-star even when it's on all fours crawling like a gecko. That's so bizarre, over-the-top silly. I love it. Apparently, though, Toxtricity go absolutely crazy after they attain this form, because the poison has infected its brain, and it leaves landscapes devastated and drenched in poison. The price of being a rockstar, I guess. Enjoy that awesome artwork from Nintendo of Giga Toxtricity using a gigantic electric guitar to bash people!
Not a design I particularly liked originally, but it has definitely grown on me a lot! I still don't like Toxel all that much, but Toxtricity has definitely won me over.
5/6.#850-851: Sizzlipede, Centiskorch & Gigantamax Centiskorch
Y'know there's just sometimes a Pokemon you see while playing a game and you go "I WANT THIS THING" and then you spend like forever hunting for the rare creature just to add it to your party? That's how I felt trying to catch those teleporting Abras near Cerulean City back in 1996, or those Joltiks from Pokemon White. This generation randomly tosses this adorable little fire centipede at me relatively early on, and it's no exaggeration that I spent more than an hour trying to coax this stupid 1% encounter bug to appear. Sizzlipede isn't even a particularly novel design, it's just a little flat, tapeworm-esque centipede monster that breathes fire. Yet somehow that design really ends up appealing to me, and I absolutely love how those circular markings on Sizzlipede's underbelly glows when it attacks. I love that it has got angry anime eyes, and I love that it's got a mustache presumably made out of glowing flames, representing a real-life centipede's poisonous frontal claws -- not to be confused with the centipede's fangs, which you can see also exists on Sizzlipede under his eyes. I absolutely love the little detail about how Sizzlipede will wrap around its prey to cook it with its coils like some sort of demented tape-shaped oven. It might look adorable but it'll kill those happy Blipbugs and Skwovets! And shit, I love Scolipede to death and I might still go as far to say that the Venipede line is the superior centipede Pokemon, but I love this one all the same. There's actually apparently a real-life centipede species called the Fire Centipede, the Orphaneus brevilabiatus, named as such because parts of it are bio-luminescent and glow in the dark.
Sizzlipede evolves into Centiskorch, which is basically the same design, but longer and meaner-looking. The hook-shaped fangs have migrated to the side of Sizzlipede's face, which is awesome, and its mustache have grown into a massive 'X' made out of flames that jut out of its face and its tail-end. As someone who briefly kept centipedes around in the past, I can definitely confirm that to those that don't know what they're looking for, a centipede's head and tail can really look similar, and that matters a lot since a centipede's poison claws are only on one end. And Centiskorch is a monster that truly means business. It will burn you, stab you, and even use its own body as a whip to beat you senseless if all fails, and the pokedex notes just how apparently brutal this fire centipede is.
Centiskorch, gloriously, has a Gigantamax form which basically makes it even longer, tapering off in the distance as the X-shaped flames trail off like a massive oriental dragon's mustache. Centipedes (or specifically the Mukade, a common name for several members of the Scolopendra genus) have had a fair amount of connotations in Japanese culture thanks to their size and aggressiveness, and a gigantic one, the O-Mukade, being a yokai that shows up in several Japanese legends. Giga-Centiskorch pretty much keeps all of the features of Centiskorch that makes it appealing while really extending it a lot, and I absolutely love the sheer ridiculousness of its attack animation, where it brings its flat body around in a zig-zag pattern to have every radiator part of its underbelly face the enemy. It's glorious. It's ultimately a Gigantamax form that doesn't change too much, but the slight difference in making it longer instead of just bigger actually kind of adds a neat little flair to it. The pose that it strikes in battle and its official art really makes it look amazing, too.
Anyway, it's a giant fire centipede. I love this thing. This is my thing from generation 8.
6/6. 10/6. 20/6.#852-853: Clobbopus & Grapploct
Ehhhhh I'm not really feeling these two. I tend to like cephalopods and I'm happy we're getting another representative in the Pokemon world, but these are just underwhelming. I kinda get why they're pure-Fighting types, because an octopus's body is made out of mostly muscle tissue, but the fact that they're also not Water-type is odd. Unlike Crabrawler or Inkay, which are Pokemon that are based on real-life aquatic creatures without being aquatic themselves, Grapploct are actually explicitly found on water, chasing down humans that pass down their territory with extreme prejudice. Oh well, who knows with Pokemon's classification system anymore?
The first stage, Clobbopus, is pretty adorable. It's got cute little octopus eyes, and its got two massive tentacles that it swings around like boxing gloves. It's got the simple but adorable detail of being inquisitive about things, but the only way it knows how to interact with things is to punch them. The pokedex notes that Clobbopus's tentacles often tear off but they regrow, and they're specifically 'as smart as a three-year old'.
Grapploct is an octopus martial artist, and I kinda like the fact that the "chasing you down" animation sort of shows that Grapploct isn't a humanoid octopus, but an octopus that re-arranges its tentacles to appear humanoid -- its 'belt' is a tentacle that holds its 'feet' tentacles in place, while also resembling a karate or jujitsu practitioner's martial arts belt. And I guess I like the fact that this dude is apparently a wandering warrior that just really wants to fight people as it migrates out of the sea in search of a worthy opponent (before returning back)... but I dunno. It's just kind of an underwhelming design to me, and the fact that Grapploct loses Clobbopus's adorable octopus eyes is definitely another minus mark to me. They're octopus boys, so whatever the case they're still all right. I like Clobbopus a lot more.
3/6.#854-855: Sinistea & Polteageist
I always love it when 'object' Pokemon actually aren't just Pokemon that happen to be objects, but are something else. Like, Dhelmise being the seaweed instead of the anchor has always been one of the more novel object-based Pokemon concepts, and Klefki being a fairy that resembles a key-ring but also collects rings is also pretty funky. And this time around, 'cause we're in Britain, we're getting a Pokemon explicitly based on black tea! And Sinistea, you might think, is a sentient tea-cup with a purple goop in it. It's got a face and everything on the side of its cup, right? It's some Beauty and the Beast stuff going on for sure. Except the fact that the Pokedex explicitly mentions that the swirl pattern in Sinistea is its weakness, and if you stir the spiral-shaped yellow pattern inside the black tea itself, poor Sinistea will get dizzy! And any encounter with Sinistea will feature the gloopy purple-and-yellow tea inside rising up and glaring at you with its formless spiral eye... but the teacup face also emotes. So Sinistea has two faces, then? I do love the little detail of the purple goopy finger reaching out of the crack to become a teacup handle, and it even has a dainty little pinky pointing outwards.
Like many other Ghost-type Pokemon, Sinistea's got a sinister little feature, because it absorbs the
Polteageist sadly drops the "cup and tea as a single bizarre entity" that made Sinistea so appealing, being a more straightforward cartoon ghost hiding inside a cracked teapot. And there's a lot of charm to be found in that, of course, but I feel like Sinistea is so charming with so many little features that Polteageist feels just a mite bit boring. In addition to talking about the phony/antique thing, Polteageist's dex entries also describe its reproductive techniques, which involves it hunting down leftover black tea unattended, which will cause a Polteageist to show up, pour itself into the black tea, which will in turn transform into a new Polteageist. Bizarre and also awesome. The animation is fun, Polteageist will literally 'pour' its face, which will goop out from the spout of the teapot!
I kinda wish that Polteageist was Ghost/Fairy, there's such a wacky-fair-folk thing going on with Polteageist's lore, and it's even found in the Fairy forest! Unlike Sinistea, a Polteageist's tea is apparently top-notch, but it will only allow trainers it trust to drink itself. Ultimately I think that if this generation didn't already have so much better ghost-types, it might be a shoo-in for a spot in my party? As it is, though, it's still pretty neat.
5/6.#856-858: Hatenna, Hattrem, Hatterene & Gigantamax Hatterene
The Hatenna line is kind of an interesting one, because I feel like more than anything else in this generation, it feels like such a nondescript anime monster, something that's becoming kind of a rarity in Pokemon as most creatures nowadays have some sort of real-life basis. Hatenna is... it's just a happy little eyeless pink blob with a confused mouth, two stubby legs, a party hat and a long fringed hairdo that also doubles as its arms. Hatenna is pure-Psychic, which... sure, okay! It's got a very pleasing pastel colouration of muted light blue and pink, and I kind of like it a lot. Like a couple other psychic-type Pokemon in the past, Hatenna is attuned to emotions, and its hat-like organ will allow it to sense other creatures' emotions and will only warm up to those with a calm disposition, running away from anyone who exhibits too strong of an emotion. I'm not sure if this is a reference to some sort of specific fairy from Britain lore, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is.
Hatenna evolves into Hattrem, another altogether very pleasing looking little cutie-pie. I love that the central body has evolved into a stylized little humanoid, but the focus is still the hair/hat deal, which has grown into a massive jellyfish-like dome with two pigtails that double as Hattrem's legs. That's a pretty cool feature, and the shape of its hat-organ basically tell us that this thing, despite its cute pastel colouration, is based on a witch. A witch in the woods... but also one that's actually cute and adorable and wants to be buddies with you. Unless you have any sort of strong emotions, because Hattrem will "silence you violently no matter who you are" if you bring strong emotions near this Pokemon, explicitly noting how it will use its braids to "pummel foes to get them to quiet down". Those braids, by the way, are described to be able to "knock out a professional boxer"... and all of these dex entries combined unexpectedly makes this happy-looking little sprite turn out to be one of the most violent motherfuckers in the Pokemon world. You can't even be happy that your Hatenna has evolved into Hattrem, that's a strong emotion and you'll be beaten up with braids! Braids that can beat up Mike Tyson! I think these pokedex description made the rounds as a meme for a while, characterizing Hattrem as a completely abusive, constantly-smiling little buddy who refuses to allow its trainer to show emotion.
Hatenna's final evolution is Hatterene, and the jellyfish-like hat-hairdo has basically enveloped Hatterene's entire humanoid body in a combination of long hair and a dress. The witch-hat bit is a lot more prominent, and I kinda likehow the end result kind of looks like a massive pile of cotton-candy-coloured slime cracking open to reveal the figure controlling said slime. A pretty neat look for a witch Pokemon, and Hatterene finally gains the Fairy typing, and it's interesting that it only 'properly' becomes a Fairy in its final stage. Hatterene is apparently known as the "Forest Witch", its presence emits psychic powers so strong that it causes headaches in anyone who approaches it, and it still shares Hattrem's sour disposition towards outsiders -- anyone who is too loud will get torn to shreds by its ponytail-claw-tentacle thing. Y'know what? I love that our first witchcraft-based Pokemon looks like a mascot for a cotton candy, and is also such an ill-tempered motherfucker.
Hatterene has a Gigantamax form, which still really reminds me of some sort of monstrous squid-based monster kinda like Malamar. Its one ponytail has sprouted into multiple ones now, and I do love that while its weird hair-dress has grown gigantic, the little central body is still peeking out of the top-most bulb like something from Evangelion or whatever. GIga Hatterene can apparently sense emotions of creatures over 30 miles away, and it will go on a rampage the moment it senses hostility, and it's known to the Galar people as the "Raging Goddess". Well, a giant hair-witch with massive whiplike tentacles that unleash beams like lightning on anyone who shows hostile emotions? Yeah, that's a raging goddess all right. Giga Hatterene really could've been a bit more different, but honestly I ended up liking just how different it looks in-game while retaining what's basically the same silhouette. The haunting sight of the smaller humanoid figure suspended within the folds of the bubblegum wrap of the giant towering body is pretty creepy! I
I'm a big fan of this line as a whole, and I think I ended up liking it the more I play the game, so much that I actually ended up bringing one around as part of my party member. And isn't that like the highest sign of approval you could give a Pokemon? Out of the hundreds available, you chose this one.
6/6.#859-861: Impidimp, Morgrem, Grimmsnarl & Gigantamax Grimmsnarl
We're not done with the fair folk yet! Inhabiting the same Glimwood Tangle that Hatenna and Sinistea hang out in is Impidimp, which is a Dark/Fairy monster that's a neat combination of multiple different 'tiny mischievous supernatural man' legends. Boggarts, goblins, imps, gremlins... stories surrounding these sort of tiny demons or fairies with pointed noses and ears that go around unleashing mischief or actual malicious deeds is a staple in European folklore, and while Impidimp does look a bit awkward with its rather odd stick-figure design, it has the perfect mischievous face. As Sword/Shield shows us, they even live under mushrooms and stuff! Impdimps, unlike Hatenna, actually thrive around negative energy, sucking in emotions like anger and sadness through its massive nose, and it sneaks into people's houses to wreak havoc (very fair folk-like) just to get a massive whiff of the frustrated occupants. We've had more sinister fairy-types before, but this is our straight-up 'evil' one.
Impdimp evolves into a ganglier, more human-like goblin creature called Morgrem, which is easily my favourite part of this evolutionary line. Just look at this thing! Morgrem fixes one of the problems I kind of have with Impidimp, which is its weird set of proportions, and Morgrem's gangly, clawed hands really does sell the 'goblin' look a lot. The dark pink and green work unexpectedly well, and apparently Morgrem's grown out its hair to take on an emo look... which isn't all fashion! Morgrem's signature move that its dex emphasizes is the "False Surrender", where it gets on all fours to beg for forgiveness... then its scorpion-like hair whips around and stabs its opponent! What a dick! Morgrem is noted to love to lure people into the woods, where presumably they'll get lost and get turned into Phantumps or something. What a fucker! I do love the random little detail that with all of this deviousness, some people believe that Morgrem also have the power to make crops grow, which is a neat little detail on how some European fairies are noted to be both mischievous but also able to impart blessings if you treat them right. Leave around some Moomoo Milk out on your doorstep for the local Morgrems!
I'm not quite as enthused with the final form, Grimmsnarl, who's dropped all of the pink in exchange for grayish-black, and has grown into some sort of troll, ogre or orc like creature. Which I suppose is pretty logical for a goblin Pokemon to turn into. Grimmsnarl's whole gimmick is that the prehensile hair on Morgrem has wrapped around its whole body, forming an additional layer of muscle fibers that gives it extra strength -- very anime-esque! Apparently, this allows Grimmsnarl to use its hair musculature to overwhelm the likes of Machamp. Grimmsnarl is also able to cause its massive locks of hair to unfurl and wrap around its enemies like tentacles, something that you actually see in its attack animations where the black hair-tentacles that wrap around its hands unfurl to reveal the green goblin-arm beneath as it whips around the enemy. A pretty interesting gimmick -- if kinda gross -- which is pretty dang appropriate for some sort of troll creature. Not a fan of its face, though, which just looks generically angry as opposed to the more mischievous, shit-eating grins of Impidimp and Morgrem.
Grimmsnarl also gets a gigantamax form, which is easily the most epic-looking motherfucker out there, mostly due to the fact that only the hair grows. Like, I don't think the core Grimmsnarl body changes all that much, it's just the troll-head slapped onto a little neck-crown of hair spikes, but the rest of his hair has formed this massive gigantic Attack on Titan looking body that's also obviously explicitly made up of tentacle-like hair. The pose it takes in the battle, and the sheer imposing factor of seeing this giant hair-titan, is honestly pretty hilarious and menacing at the same time. The dex notes how it can 'jump over the world's tallest building' with its massive hair muscles, and it can deliver gigantic 'drill kicks', whereupon its entire leg turns into a massive drill made out of hair, which apparently has caused some gigantic craters to form in Galar.
Kind of a surprising addition to the Pokemon roster, but it's one that feels so different and unique. I don't like all of the Impidimp line's forms, but honestly, as a whole, and after giving myself some time to get used to it, these guys are pretty all right and will probably end up being some of my favourites from this generation.
5/6. Respectable, especially with the Giga form. 
The thing that surprised me the most is that Appletun is so small.
ReplyDeleteI mean, Appletun's a worm in an apple! It should be the size of one, right?
DeleteRolycoly one of the few simplistic designs this gen that really clicked with me, really like the singular orange eye. Then that all got ditched in the evos but oh well. Coalossal is cool in doubles atleast. Kinda wanna have a dungeon where you go inside a Gmax Coalossal(or a gigantic volcano mountain that looks like it, complete with the face).
ReplyDeleteYea dragons are odd. Is fun to see the typing spread out more over the gens. The transition from cool Dragonair to kinda silly derpy Dragonite sorta mirrors how dragons have spread out(though of course still plenty of conventionally "cool" dragons around in Gen7/8)
Sandaconda's swirls are both so weird to comprehend for me but also pleasant looking? Whatever suits the ground snek I guess.
Lowkey want Gmax Cramorant eating like Kyogre or some shit.
Bacon bug. Kinda wish the Gmax had just been an evo, I wanna see looong continue.
Have watched multiple blind lockes lose mons to Clobbopus thinking it was a Water type.
I really really love Polteageist and Hatterene. Hat in particular like my fav mon of this gen. Bless that forest.
Funny that people thought Gmax Grimm was Eternatus.
I didn't care for Rolycoly the first time it showed up in promotional material, but fell in love immediately when I saw it just unicycling along in the in-game models. I really love Rolycoly, and this is someone who tends to be more ambivalent about 'object' Pokemon. And while Carkol isn't what I expected, it's still a fun way to take the line. And then we get the two Coalossals... and I kind of feel bad pooh-pooing on them, because I still think that both Coalossal and G-Coalossal are pretty cool designs, but to slap such a mundane monster design at the end of the insanity that is Rolycoly and Carkol just feels pretty disappointing.
DeleteGeneration 5 had the most conventionally 'cool' dragons, I feel, with Hydreigon, Haxorus, the legendaries and even Druddigon. 3 and 4 had a lot of conventionally cool dragons too, but they were a bit less in volume. And then from Generation 6 onwards you basically have a balance between there being at least one oddball thrown in like Goomy and Alolan-Exeggutor. Part of me kind of doesn't like the thematic confusion, but another part of me really loves the silliness that this game considers a worm in an apple a freaking dragon.
Sandaconda is another design I wasn't super impressed when I saw still images of it, but really liked when I saw him in 3D. There is a discussion to be had on whether the 3D models makes the Pokemon feel static and plasticy or not, but a lot of the Pokemon that are intentionally designed to appear in a 3D game always almost end up looking better in motion.
As a huge fan of Centiskorch I am just sad that when Generation 9 inevitably comes along, considering Nintendo's stance on not continuing 'gimmick' forms, we'll be losing a lot of these Gigantamax forms and the poor dudes like Centiskorch and Alcremie and Sandaconda and Copperajah and Drednaw will just be pretty uninteresting 2-stage forms that just feel incomplete. A lot of these Gigantamax forms really do feel like they were intentioned to be third-stage evolutions that ended up being shuffled into G-max forms.
Is it hard to blame them? Grapploct is a freaking octopus that you first encounter swimming towards you in that water route to beat you up. Unlike most other confusing-types out there, there isn't even a real logical reason for Clobbopus and Grapploct to not be Water/Fighting.
I am genuinely surprised by how much I love the Hattena line, actually. Between its colours and its fun pokedex entries and the fact that it's just straight-up a forest witch, it checks off all of the things I want from a not-malicious-but-not-harmless forest fairy monster.
I was cut off from spoilers pre-release, so I don't even know that there's the whole Grimmsnarl/Eternatus mix up.
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