By Jo
Normal-type Pokemon have always been pretty interesting. Every now and then you’ll come across a normal-type that resembles an actual animal, though has a bit of a twisted design so that it doesn’t resemble it too much (change in color, a feature that’s exaggerated, etc). Patrat and Watchog are prime examples of normal-types with a twist.
Patrat is small and rodent-like. It holds resemblance to a chipmunk, having chubby cheeks and a small brown body. Physically it resembles a prairie dog as well, as its limbs are a bit stubby, their midsections are a bit bigger, and they both have longer tails. However, Patrat’s eyes are ringed red and yellow and a black band surrounds both eyes on either side so that they resemble glasses or goggles. In every generation of the games, there has been a two-stage normal type evolutionary line that is encountered early in the game (Rattata in Kanto, Sentret in Johto, Zigzagoon in Hoenn, and Bidoof in Sinnoh). Patrat seems to be the Unova variant of that theme. Though ironically, Patrat has the lowest base stat out of all fifth generation Pokemon. According to its pokedex entries, they can use the food stored in their cheeks to keep watch for days. Being an extremely cautious species, Patrat take shifts to maintain constant watch over their nests. They feel insecure without a lookout. Apparently, they communicate with others with their tails. The way they stuff their cheeks with food is similar to what Chipmunks do, though their watchful habits seem to be based off from prairie dogs. Patrat’s name seems to be a combination of the words ‘patrol’ and ‘rat’, though could also be a pun on the term “pack rat”.
Patrat evolves into its final form, Watchog, once it reaches level 20. Watchog is a bit taller than Patrat and resembles more of a meerkat than, than a prairie dog, though still has the puffy chipmunk-like cheeks as its pre-evolution as well as the same spiraled eyes. Unlike Patrat, though, Wathog has yellow, torso markings that resemble a shirt of some sort. Its feet are colored white like little booties. According to Watchog’s pokedex entries, they make patterns on their bodies shine in order to threaten predators. Their keen eyesight lets them see in the dark, which may explain its ability Keen Eye. Watchog’s watchful nature seems to be based off from meerkats as well, as they normally take turns watching out for each other and gathering food. It also states that when they see an enemy, their tails stand high, and they spit the seeds of berries stored in their cheeks. Despite that, Watchog is unable to learn any seed-based move. Unlike most Pokemon in the Pokemon Black and White games, Watchog does not close its eyes when sleeping during a battle. Watchog’s name seems to come from the words ‘watch’ and ‘groundhog’. It’s also a possible pun on the word “watchdog”, dogs that are used to guard.