Tag: Magikarp

By Jill/Redterror117

Though the main catch of the Pokemon franchise is ‘Gotta Catch Em All’, the majority of Pokemon that are caught are essentially never seen again, as they fulfill their purpose of the checklist system that the game is comprised of. And even though some are brought back out to the light to be evolved, they normally return to their state of storage, unless ever needed again. While the entire Pokemon universe is considered to be a thriving ecosystem based on variety, there are a number of Pokemon that probably should not have been introduced into the game in the first place. I will be examining several of these sort of Pokemon based on my own observations. I am aware that there are probably others who may think otherwise, but this article is based on personal opinion.

The first set of Pokemon on the metaphorical ‘chopping block’ are Pokemon that technically already exist in the previous Pokemon games. With the release of Pokemon Black and White, a number of Pokemon released are essentially copies of Pokemon from the first generation. The first example that I will give of this is Audino, who shares a resemblence to the Chansey evolutionary line in terms of colour (and in Blissey’s cases the ‘fairy’ appearance). Both also have the same role as a ‘healer’, though Audino can be obtained a little easier than Chansey. Nevertheless they are still very similar. The same conflict also appears with Bouffalant, who bears a striking resemblance to Tauros. The only difference between the two is the distinct afro of the newer Pokemon. The resemblance and function scenarios are also obvious to a fighting duo released in Black and White: Throh and Sawk. These two are essentially copies of Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, as the pair are based off of opposite fighting styles, as Throh is the Judo Pokemon, while Sawk is the Karate Pokemon, meanwhile Hitmonlee fights with the feet, and Hitmonchan fights with the fists.

Following this category is a number of Pokemon that show little to no prowess in battle situations. While a big portion of the game is collection, the combat component is also rather prominent, as it decides which species that player carries around on them. Unlike the duplication scenario from above, Pokemon like this can occur in any generation. I’ll only be doing three as an example, as while some like Magikarp and Feebas are almost useless off the bat, they make up for their lack of attack power in their following evolution. From the initial 151 Pokemon there is Ditto, who, although having one of the most unique and fun attacks in the game, lacks any sort of real power. The reasoning for this is that while Transform copies the appearance, type, and moves of the target, it does not copy stats. So a weak ditto copying a legendary Pokemon will not perform as well as the duplicate, unlike the anime counterpart claims. In the Gold and Silver series there’s one of the most often forgotten about Pokemon: Dunsparce. Only appearing in a small cave prior to entering Cherrygrove city, Dunsparce doesn’t have anything special about it, and no adorable appearance to use to save it from being entirely ignored. Luvdisc has this same problem, with base stats matching several other Pokemon, who can overcome their weaknesses with evolution.

Tags: Bouffalant, Feebas, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Magikarp, Sawk, Tauros, Throh