All About Pokemon Venipede, Whirlipede And Scolipede

By Emily

With so many Bug types in the fifth generation, it’ll take a lot to stand out of the crowd. Scolipede has the looks, the strength, and the speed to set it apart for the others. Its true potential is held back by its somewhat bad typing and uninspiring abilities.

In the games Venipede and Whirlipede are both common in Pinwheel Forest and relatively easy to catch, making them good choices for someone looking for a new team member. Add to that two strong attacks Venipede can learn right before it evolves, these characters can hit hard and fast. However, with Scolipede, strong attack without a diverse move pool leaves it as a cool-looking bug, but not much more. Without TMs, Poison Tail and Steamroller are its best attacks, requiring no recoil and having potentially match-winning effects. Even though this character can learn some other strong attacks such as Earthquake, X-Scissor, and Poison Jab, it still can’t defeat too many different types of Pokemon. A few other moves such as Gyroball and Venoshock would have been good options if only the stats for this Pokemon were a little different.

Making sure these Pokemon don’t get hit with special attacks is key as both HP and special defense are low. Having Toxic or some other attack that can help whittle down the opponent’s HP quickly is a good idea, plus Protect may be able to delay any damage done to Scolipede, and using both attacks together can help turn the tide of the battle.

Poison Point and Swarm are both unexciting abilities, especially since Scolipede can’t handle too many attacks. Of the two, Poison Point may be the better option since this character’s defense is high enough so it can handle at the very least a couple of physical attacks. However, it may not be a good ability if you plan to use Toxic, as you cannot poison an opponent who is already poisoned. The Dream World ability Quick Feet isn’t spectacular either, as a status affliction will severely hinder this Pokemon.

The shiny forms of Whirlipede and Scolipede are noticeably good, especially with the contrasting colors. Scolipede’s red and blue make it look much more vicious compared to its normal form. Not many other bug Pokemon from this generation are lucky enough to have such good shiny coloration. Dark purple and green give Whirlipede a more poisonous image, and its orange eyes give the impression that it won’t hesitate to use its most powerful attacks in a heartbeat.

Both Scolipede and Venipede have been in the anime, though currently very little merchandise has featured either to a great extent. Soon both will get their own Kid figure, and eventually all of these characters will get at least one plush due to the My Pokemon Collection series by Banpresto.

Even without much focus, these Pokemon are definitely worth trying on a team. They may be best for someone who has already beat the game and is looking for some new Pokemon to train, though starting with one early on can lead to a more challenging and fun game later on. But as with any Pokemon, especially these three, making sure you have enough variation to defeat many types of opponents is important.

Tags: Nintendo DS, Pokemon Black & White, Scolipede, Venipede, Whirlipede