Top 100 Pokemon Digest Version: #75-#65

I know I haven't been able to keep up with this list, and with Pokemon X&Y soon to come out, I'll have to completely revamp my list of favorite Pokemon before long. So before that happens, I'll quickly go over the rest of the Pokemon with brief descriptions of what I like about each one. Apologies to anyone wanting more details out of any of these. I may try to do something like this again once I've decided on a list of favorites from Gen VI, but until then, you'll have to make do with what I have here...

#75: Krookodile (and pre-evolutions)

This guy’s got a pair of shades that’ll make Kamina jealous. He’s also got a unique typing in Ground/Dark, and with a strong Attack stat and great abilities in Moxie and Intimidate, he’s definitely a force to be reckoned with. Being crocodile-based gives him points for coolness, too. I don't really have much else for him; he's just a cool croc.

#74: Accelgor (and Shelmet)

I love the concept behind this guy. Shelmet starts off as a slug with surprisingly not-steel-typed armor, but when that armor gets stolen by a Karrablast, he decides to become a freaking ninja. Really, the fact that he’s a freaking ninja is already worth a ton of points, and he is one of the fastest Pokemon around, especially among non-legendaries, which combined with his solid Special Attack make him fearsome in battle. Still, it’s the little guy’s determination not to let the loss of his shell get to him that puts him on this list, especially when said determination involves becoming a ninja.

#73: Feraligatr (and pre-evolutions)

Two alligator/crocodile-based Pokemon separated by only one on this listing… Feraligatr has such an awesome name that it breaks the ten-character cap (hence the drop of a vowel), and looks every bit as fearsome as a real alligator ought to. Having solid Attack and Defense stats is nice in battle (moreso since Gen IV once he had access to physical Water moves), though what makes this guy really fearsome is access to both Swords Dance and Dragon Dance, meaning you can either deal with a fast alligator that hits fairly hard or a slow (but tough) alligator that hitsreally hard. (It’s too bad Sheer Force is yet to be legal with him, since that would really kick up the power of moves like Waterfall, Ice Punch, and Crunch.) He’s also the starter I had in the original Silver version (which is the game of nostalgia for me), so there’s some personal attachment to this guy, too.

#72: Whimsicott

This guy is so cute, you wouldn’t expect him to be such a Prankster. The two factors that put Whimsicott here are his cute design and his Prankster ability, which gives him priority on any non-damaging attack. The funny thing about Prankster was that it was one of my “predictions” for Gen V, in that before Black and White came out, I had thought of an ability that gave priority to non-damaging attacks, and wondered how dangerous it could be. The answer: quite dangerous, especially with someone like Whimsicott throwing around +1 Encores, Taunts, Leech Seeds, status moves, or even Memento.

#71: Ferrothorn

Another one of my predictions for Gen V was a Grass/Steel type, as I figured such a type could be quite formidable with its large slate of resistances, particularly with the Grass-type turning Steel’s neutrality to Water and Electric into outright resistances, while most of Grass’s weaknesses get neutralized or even nullified (Poison). My theorized Grass/Steel type came out as Ferrothorn, and he turned out to be far more fearsome than I had predicted. In addition to his typing, he has insane defensive stats, a respectable Attack stat, and a truly fearsome support movepool consisting of entry hazards, Leech Seed, Thunder Wave, and others. Even his low Base 20 Speed stat is not really a hindrance, as it just makes his Gyro Ball attack that much more powerful (alongside Power Whip). His Iron Barbs ability just makes the fools that dare try to attack him with contact attacks hurt themselves in the process (have him hold a Rocky Helmet if you really want to troll physical attackers). Plus, he just looks menacing.

#70: Nidoking

Here's a Gen I staple that was always pretty cool, both in design and in having a unique typing in Poison/Ground. He also had one of the most insane movepools ever, with both physical and special attacks of a ridiculous number of types. His stats only somewhat leaned towards offensive and weren't that special, but his huge movepool gave him something to use against pretty much anyone. However, it was in Gen V that he suddenly gained something huge: Sheer Force. Nidoking easily makes great use of the ability to boost the power of his attacks with additional effects (in exchange for losing said effects) with his huge movepool: both Sludge Wave and Earth Power are STAB attacks that get boosted, and he can get all the coverage he wants with moves like Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, or Focus Blast, all of which also get boosted as well. Don't forget that Nidoking doesn't suffer any recoil from Life Orb when using these moves! A terrifying Pokemon indeed.

#69: Smeargle

The next three Pokemon are linked by all being Normal types with a significant sense of versatility and changeability. First among these is Smeargle, the painter beagle that can learn practically every move in the game, thanks to Sketch (the only moves he can’t learn are Struggle and Chatter, and no one cares about those moves anyways). With this, the number of movesets Smeargle can have far outclass that of any other Pokemon in the game. That said, as cool as it might seem to wield a set consisting of V-Create/Aeroblast/Draco Meteor/Shell Smash, with Smeargle’s pitiful offensive stats, you’re better off using sets based around support moves. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of those, though. For starters, Smeargle is actually the fastest user of Spore, the game’s lone 100%-accuracy instant sleep-inducing move. That move, thus, tends to show up on all of Smeargle’s competitive sets. As for the rest… go wild. Entry hazards, Baton Pass, Trick Room… I’m not going to say the possibilities are endless, because Smeargle’s stats are really bad and there are just some things it’s better to have someone else do. But go look at his analyses on Smogon and then decide for yourself just what kind of Smeargle set you want. Or, you know, create your V-Create/Aeroblast/Draco Meteor/filler Smeargle and go to town on everyone in-game, because at level 100 no one’s going to last, anyways. This guy ranks up here because of his versatility and in how a Pokemon with such pitiful stats could still end up being such a threat.

#68: Arceus

Pokemon’s resident deity, Arceus has the highest Base Stat Total of any Pokemon, with all six of his stats being at a ridiculously high Base 120. I’m not normally a fan of these super-high-Base-Stat-Total legendaries (which is why Arceus is the only one of such a sort on this list), but Arceus takes a spot here because of his sheer versatility. Thanks to his Multitype ability, by holding an elemental plate, he can become any type of Pokemon. He has the movepool to take advantage of it too; his signature move Judgment guarantees a base 100 power special STAB of whatever type he is, but even beyond that, he has moves both physical and special of almost every type in the game. There’s simply a lot one can do with Arceus, and that makes him cool. He also did the whole “percussion-only battle theme” way before Ghetsis, so… yeah.

#67: Ditto

The previous two Pokemon had insane movepools. Ditto has one move that, competitively, it’ll never use. And yet, there’s something about this Gen I Pokemon with no movepool, pitiful stats (Base 48 across the board), and an incredibly simplistic (but still cute) design that makes it irresistible, and not just to all the Pokemon you put in the daycare with it. Ditto’s role in breeding is significant (if somewhat disturbing) and part of the reason why it’s such a big part of Pokemon. It was in BW2, though, when it gained its Imposter Dream World ability and could transform to the opponent as soon as it switched in, that it became a competitively viable Pokemon, capable of revenge-killing setup sweepers with a Choice Scarf adorned. Past that, though, Ditto is just a fun Pokemon. I’m sure the many Pokemon I’ve put in the daycare with it would agree with me.

#66: Shiftry (and Nuzleaf)

There’s a number of really cool things about this tengu tree. First of all, he’s a tengu. That right there already makes Shiftry interesting from a conceptual perspective. Beyond that, he’s got decent mixed attacking stats and a movepool to go along with it, with both physical and special STAB as well as some coverage moves, most notably Nature Power, a move that can become various other moves in different environments, most notably Earthquake in Wi-Fi battles (and hence, Smogon battles). He also has both Swords Dance and Nasty Plot, allowing him to become a menace in either physical or special attacks. Finally, with access to Chlorophyll, Shiftry can fit very well on a Sun team, where he can use Growth to boost both Attack and Special Attack to insane levels quickly. It says something that, despite being NU by usage, Shiftry has an analysis for all of Smogon’s metagames, even Uber. Not bad for this tengu. (On another note, he was one of the few Pokemon to get Extrasensory back in his debut, which I thought was an amusing move that let me get the jump on Fighting and Poison types.)

#65: Victini

The first “pixie” on this list, Victini is named after victory, which is what you will experience when using him. Like all pixies, he has Base 100 stats across the board, making him very well-rounded although not particularly strong in any way. That said, the main reason why Victini brings victory is really one particular move: V-Create. This physical move has an absolutely face-melting Base Power of 180 (in comparison, Fire Blast as a Base Power of 120), an accuracy of 95%—wait, scratch that, 100% thanks to Victini’s ability Victory Star, which makes all moves 10% more accurate, and the lone drawback of knocking down his Defense, Special Defense, and Speed one level each. The Speed drop is a pretty notable drawback, but the ability of this move to punch massive holes in the opponent’s team cannot be denied. Even Pokemon that resist the move could find themselves toast from one hit of this attack. It’s not his only option either; he has Psychic attacks, special Fire attacks, and all sorts of coverage moves, even including Reshiram’s and Zekrom’s signature moves, Fusion Flare/Bolt, Blue Flare, and Bolt Strike (depending on the event you receive him from). And that aforementioned Victory Star ability? It gives Victini’s various moves, such as Zen Headbutt, Focus Blast, and the aforementioned Blue Flare and Bolt Strike just an extra bit of reliability… and, it benefits teammates in Doubles and Triples, too, making for all sorts of cool strategies. Well, if he wasn’t banned from pretty much every official Nintendo tournament and in-game Battle Tower-esque challenge. Also, Victini is cute, which is mandatory for pixie Pokemon.