Top 100 Pokemon #97: Kabutops

Prehistoric Pokemon are fairly interesting, some perhaps moreso than others. The first generation's trio of de-fossilized Pokemon are all among the better designs and concepts of the first generation, and while I do like all three of them, only one of them managed to slice his way into the top 100.

Not what I expected when I asked for someone to cut the lawn.

#97: Kabutops

Meet Kabutops, the Shellfish Pokemon. Kabutops is based on the eurypterid, a prehistoric creature that already looks pretty darn cool.

That is a "Put me in a Pokemon game or I will chew out your throats" look right there.

Of course, GameFreak decided Kabutops wasn't quite intimidating enough as he was, so hey, let's give him some scythes for arms!

The official art is all I need to illustrate just how awesome of an idea that was.

Make no mistake, Kabutops looks downright badass. He looks like someone you do not want to cross paths with, lest he rip you apart and suck out your body fluids. Oh yeah, did I mention that Kabutops's Pokedex entry says he rips apart his prey and sucks out their body fluids? Of course, just how accurate Pokedex entries are is always up for debate, but still... dang. Definitely one of the most ferocious Pokemon to come out of Gen I.

Competitively, Kabutops has always been a ferocious physical threat with Base 115 Attack and Base 105 Defense, plus Swords Dance for a massive attack boost. However, starting out, Kabutops didn't have much in the way of STAB attacks; Water-type attacks were all Special before Gen IV and while Rock was physical, Kabutops for some reason did not learn Rock Slide, for Arceus knows what reason. And all Gen II did was give him Ancientpower, which was something, I guess.

Gen III did give him access to Rock Slide, though, and also gave him a neat ability in Swift Swim. Kabutops's Base Speed of 80 is okay, but having that speed doubled in rain makes him incredibly fast, and means he can tear through teams with STAB Rock Slide, among other potent physical attacks. Still, Kabutops definitely appreciated the physical/special split of Gen IV, allowing him to add a physical Waterfall or Aqua Tail to his arsenal. (Though, Kabutops does not really have that much of a tail...) Stone Edge is a cool new physical Rock attack to use, as well. He also got Aqua Jet, which is a cool Water-type priority attack to hit first if rain is not there or if the opponent also has priority to hit with.

Finally, in Gen V, a Drizzle Politoed arrived on the scene, proving the perfect partner to go with Kabutops and Swift Swim... at least as long as you weren't playing in the competitive community where Drizzle and Swift Swim on the same team is banned.

A partnership that was too much to handle.

Due to that ban, Kabutops is now a resident of the RarelyUsed (RU) tier, and he has more roles than just a Rain Dance sweeper. He can learn Rapid Spin to clear away entry hazards, and his offensive power is such that he can tear past most Ghost-types that try to stop him after a Swords Dance. (Alternatively, he can use Foresight to ensure that he can spin even against Ghosts.) In any tier, though, if rain is available, he can be threatening, and yes, that means he can buddy up with Kyogre and take on the legendary Ubers.

Eat Stone Edge, Rayquaza.

So yeah, Kabutops is an awesome Pokemon, and honestly, all I can really say for why he is only at #97 is that there are 96 other Pokemon I like better.

As a parting shot, I'm sure some have thought of trying to make Kabutops even more awesome, like, say, encasing him in metal and giving him a blaster cannon on his back...

...oh crap.

Next time: This Pokemon communicates by clawing signs into boulders.

Top 100 Pokemon #98: Braviary

The Normal/Flying dual type is one that gets some amount of flak, for various reasons. First of all, in Gen I, Normal/Flying was the only dual type assigned to Normal, and given that no natural pure-Flying type appeared until Gen V and Tornadus (or you can count Gen IV's Arceus w/Sky Plate if you really want to), the Normal-type was the dual-type assigned to Flying to indicate that the Pokemon was a, well, normal, run-of-the-mill bird Pokemon. Then, every generation has added a Normal/Flying Pokemon that appears all across the region, adding some degree of annoyance to the equation for those who don't want to see another Pidgey ever again. In addition, the Pokemon that were Normal/Flying, while not necessarily bad, tended to be on the weaker side competitively. Gen III and IV tried to buck the trend by making sure that at least some Normal/Flying birds that could be competitive. Gen V, however, brought the Pidove line, which went right back to subpar Normal/Flying types. If only there was a hero that could save us from Normal/Flying mediocrity...

...what's that in the sky? It's a bird! It's a plane!

It's... a bird!

#98: Rufflet/Braviary

Rufflet and Braviary are eagle-based Pokemon designed to have a very American flavor. You know, since the bald eagle is the representative bird of the USA. Rufflet recklessly fights foes stronger than he is, while Braviary is a valiant Pokemon that will stand up for his friends.

The concept is pretty good, but why did GameFreak make them male-only? It is kind of silly to keep this "valiant American hero" Pokemon to be male only (moreso to make Mandibuzz a female-only counterpart). This is probably the main thing I don't like about this Pokemon's concept, and the big reason why he does not rank any higher.

That aside, though, the rest of the Pokemon is solid. Both Rufflet and Braviary combine the eaglet/eagle concept with a red-white-blue color scheme (very fitting, of course). Feathers around the head give a reference to Native Americans, which is a nice touch. Rufflet is definitely a cute pre-evolution, while Braviary is designed to be somewhat reminiscent of a Superman-like superhero.

"When I grow up, I'm gonna be like my dad and save the world from defensive walls!

Okay, time to talk competitive. Braviary has very good stats overall. His worst is Special Attack at Base 57, so forget about using him as a special attacker. His best stat is Attack at a nice Base 123, which will definitely do some serious damage. He has a solid Base 100 HP and Base 75 for both Defenses, meaning he can take hits okay. Speed is at Base 80, so he will outspeed many defensive Pokemon, though he might not be able to sweep comfortably.

The main problem with Normal/Flying types like Braviary, though, is that their STAB types are both resisted by Rock and Steel types. The good ones have ways around this, and Braviary, fittingly enough for a heroic Pokemon, has a Superpower.

I break through Rock and Steel types with a Base 120 power Fighting attack. What's your superpower?

Now, this isn't quite as good as Staraptor's Close Combat, since it does drop Braviary's Attack as well as Defense, meaning his next hits won't be as powerful. But while he's in there, the perfect coverage between Superpower, Brave Bird, and Return means that nothing can safely switch into Braviary without possibly taking massive damage, especially if Braviary has a Choice Band. This makes Braviary a great wallbreaker, designed to break through defensive walls and punish anyone that tries to stop him, especially in lower tiers.

Other good moves in Braviary's arsenal include U-Turn, Bulk Up, and Roost. The first allows him to scout for potential switches or to make an escape while still doing damage. The second actually works okay with Braviary's defensive stats, and Roost works with either Bulk Up or with a Life Orb and to recover damage from Stealth Rock or Brave Bird recoil.

Braviary's best ability is his Dream World one, Defiant. (If you have White 2, a Braviary with Defiant appears on Mondays on Route 4.) It keeps him from being affected by Intimidate, which gives him +1 in Attack instead; it also might kick in at other random times, especially in-game. Keep in mind that Defiant is affected neither by Superpower's stat drops or by ones inflicted by his teammates. Keen Eye isn't particularly useful unless all your friends like using Sand-Attack on you, and while Sheer Force is a great ability, the only attack Braviary can really use that would get a boost is Rock Slide, or maybe Sky Attack in-game.

Overall, this is to say that Rufflet and Braviary are very worthy additions to the Normal/Flying family despite being an all-male species. Use one next time you want a true American hero on your team.

The land of the free, and the home of the Brave Bird.

Next time: An eurypterid.

Top 100 Pokemon #99: Zangoose

Sometimes, the best way to deal with the poisonous things in your life is not to try to be immune to them, but to take them in and then attack back with 50% more power.

Actually, that is a horrible analogy for real life.  Pretend I said something like making lemons out of lemonade.

#99: Zangoose

Coming up at #99 in my list is one part of Hoenn's dynamic duo, the Cat Ferret Pokemon, Zangoose. Based on the mongoose, which can fight off venomous snakes, Zangoose's most notable conceptual aspect is its ongoing rivalry with Seviper, a Pokemon that... well, I never liked as much as I liked Zangoose, honestly. It might be because snakes have been done already a fair amount, while the mongoose, even now, is still pretty unique among Pokemon concepts.

It helps that Zangoose has an awesome design. That red looks like battle scars from years and years of Seviper fights. (Seviper isn't too bad, but I like Zangoose's better.) He also has an awesome name, but that's a given when your name starts with "Zan". There are varying theories as to where the "Zan" comes from, but the details don't matter that much because, well, Zan.

Zaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnn!!!!!

That said, Zangoose's feud with Seviper is so critical to its concept, it is practically inseparable from Zangoose himself. All of Zangoose's Pokedex entries mention Seviper (and vice versa), and even TVTropes's listing of Pokemon groups the two under the same sub-entry. Being so intricately linked, fandom has, of course, created as much fanart of the two as friends or lovers as they have of the two trying to tear each other to pieces. Not that those are mutually exclusive.

Zangoose used Pursuit! A critical hit!

To add to the Foe Yay potential, the two are in the same egg group, which has probably led to some of the most awkward moments in the Pokemon Day Care.

But that's enough about Zangoose's concept. Let's talk about Zangoose in battling Pokemon other than Seviper.

Zangoose has okay stats; his best stat is definitely Attack, sitting at a good Base 115. His Speed is decent at 90, moreso for the lower tiers. He has a good movepool that includes Swords Dance and powerful Normal type attacks, as well as great coverage moves in Close Combat and either Night Slash or Shadow Claw.

However, it is in Gen V's Dream World where Zangoose finally got something that allows it to be a dangerous threat. In the Dream World, Zangoose traded his Immunity to poison for Toxic Boost, which boosts his Attack by 50% when poisoned. Kind of like Guts, except it only works with poison, so it's not quite as good, but hey, it makes sense for Zangoose to have an ability that specifically works with poison. By holding and activating a Toxic Orb, Zangoose can boost his Attack extremely high; add in Facade, which attains a Base Power of 210 after STAB, and you have an attack that can pretty much knock out anything that isn't a Rock, Steel, or Ghost in one hit. Also available in Zangoose's movepool is Quick Attack, which can still do some major damage after Toxic Boost (and an optional Swords Dance boost). It's all very risky, as Zangoose is taking that Toxic damage the whole time, and his defensive stats are not very good, so it won't take much to take him out, but while he is alive, expect him to cause a lot of damage.

He's still in NU, but is considered one of the top threats in the tier. Metagame tierings aside, though, one thing I like about Zangoose is this transition he made, from just being immune to poison to taking that poison and using it against the opponent.

Zangoose looks cool, fights well, and has a solid, unique concept behind it, making it a good Pokemon to put in my #99 spot.

The feud between Zangoose and Seviper isn't the most interesting part about Zangoose, but it does provide for some interesting moments, like... what happens should one of the two sides... win?

The Antagonist In Mourning trope is fitting here.

Next time: A male-only Pokemon that can carry a car.

Top 100 Pokemon #100: Leafeon

Let's start this list off with an Eeveelution. Eevee was a Gen I Pokemon that could evolve into different Pokemon by using different evolutionary stones. A Water Stone gives you Vaporeon, a Thunderstone gives Jolteon, a Fire Stone gives Flareon, and a Leaf Stone gives...

Hey guys, I just returned from training near this mossy rock... what's the shiny green stone for?

...oh, wait.

#100: Leafeon

First of all, Leafeon did not appear until Generation IV, and second, you do not use a Leaf Stone on Eevee to get him; all you need to do is level up your Eevee near the Moss Rock in either Sinnoh or Unova.

Now, overall I really like the Eevee family. Having one Pokemon potentially become seven distinct Pokemon, all with their own strengths, is very interesting. Leafeon will not be the last Eeveelution on my list; overall, Leafeon is my third favorite of the Eeveelutions.

The main reason why Leafeon doesn't rank higher is because his concept is rather ordinary, especially with a lot of the fancier Pokemon that came out of Gen IV; Leafeon looks like he should have existed in Gen I as the Leaf Stone evolution. The design comes out fine; Leafeon is definitely one of the cuter Eeveelutions.

Totally adorable.

According to Pokedex entries, Leafeon is constantly using photosynthesis, so the air around him is always clean.

 Anyways, let's move on to the cooler part of Leafeon: his battle capabilities.

The first thing to note about Eeveelutions is that they all have the same numbers in their Base Stats: 130, 110, 95, 65, 65, 60. The Eeveelutions differ in which stats get which number. For those who don't know how good those stats are, 130 means it's one of the best in that stat, 110 is very good, 95 is usually pretty solid, and the rest are that Eeveelution's weak stats. Leafeon is a bit interesting, though, in which stat gets that big Base 130...

...and that is Defense. As in, physical defense.

A more accurate representation of Leafeon's physical defense.

Yes, that frail-looking cat-like critter has the same Base Defense as Pokemon such as Golem, Rhyperior, and Metagross. He's not quite the Grass-type with the highest Base Defense; Ferrothorn beats out Leafeon in this department by all of 1 point. Still, that is Leafeon, a cute plant-cat with the defense of a freaking wall.

Now, his HP and Special Defense are both Base 65, so don't expect Leafeon to be taking special attacks anytime soon.

Leafeon's next best stat is physical Attack at Base 110. This means that Leafeon is more suited to moves like Leaf Blade than Giga Drain or Leaf Storm or whatnot. And thankfully, in Black 2 and White 2, Leafeon learns Leaf Blade much earlier, at level 45. Before? You'd have to wait all the way until Level 71... and there was no way to breed it to have the move already. Until then, you'd have to just use Razor Leaf over and over... that, or try to work off of Leafeon's Base 60 Special Attack.

Finally, at a Base Speed of 95, Leafeon is decently fast.

Leafeon, though, overall suffers from a fairly lacking movepool. Other than Leaf Blade, his other physical attacks are X-Scissor and Dig for in-game; beyond that, you have Return and Double-Edge, but that's it. For this and other reasons, Leafeon is not seen too much in upper tiers, and mainly resides in Smogon's NeverUsed (NU) tier, where it has a particular niche as a good physically-defensive Grass-type with some interesting support options.

And what interesting support options it has! Heal Bell, Wish, and Roar are all great, but I think the role Leafeon is coolest at is using Baton Pass. Leafeon can learn Swords Dance, boosting his already solid Attack to sky-high levels, and if he faces a foe he cannot get past, he can always Baton Pass to someone who can also make use of those boosts.

Alternatively, Baton Pass to a Pokemon that will totally screw over the enemy. Bonus points if a Substitute is included.

Leafeon gets two abilities that are based on sunlight: Leaf Guard and Chlorophyll through Dream World. This allows Leafeon to fit on Sun teams. The latter is better for more offensively-based variations, while the former is good for support variants that utilize that physical bulk and prefer not to be hit by status.

All in all, Leafeon is a cool Pokemon and a good one to kick off this list of my Top 100 Pokemon. He might not be the strongest of the Eeveelutions, but he definitely has some tricks up his sleeve and you would do well not to underestimate him.

As a side note, Googling images of Leafeon (anyone planning on doing this, please use SafeSearch!) brings up quite a few images of him with Glaceon, the other Gen IV Eeveelution. I guess people just naturally pair these two off in that way.

Of course Glaceon would be the tsundere.

Next time: _ _ N _ _ _ S E

Top 100 Pokemon - Introduction

So I will soon start a series on my top 100 Pokemon, as of the 5th generation of Pokemon games. The list will be pretty self-explanatory, but here are some notes on what to expect:

1. All Pokemon on this list will be to some extent competitively viable, at the very least in Smogon's NeverUsed tier. I'm not one to consider the best competitive Pokemon as my favorite Pokemon, but I do prefer Pokemon to have at least some battle capabilities.

2. Beyond their combat capabilities, I also rank these Pokemon based on their design, concept, and other non-combat aspects. Anime portrayals of these Pokemon may be applied, though I have not seen much at all of anything past the Johto arc, so don't expect much there.

3. Do not expect to see many Legendaries, particularly ones that are version mascots or otherwise more "monster-like" Legendaries. For whatever reason, I'm just not a big fan of them. I do like the more, well, pixie-like ones, as well as pseudo-Legendaries, so do expect to come across them in my rankings, as well as maybe a big Legendary here and there.

4. Entries will be based on final evolutionary forms. Pre-evolutions will be covered alongside their parent evolution(s) in some entries.

5. New entries will be posted whenever I have the time to post one. Hopefully I can get through this without it taking 100 weeks (by then, Gen VI will probably have come out!), but I won't be able to post one every single day.

6. Finally, this is my list and my opinion. Feel free to comment about your thoughts, but personal attacks on me or anyone else for their opinions will just make you look like a jerk.

The Pokemon at #100 on this list will be coming up soon. Which one is it? Here's a hint: clean air always surrounds this Pokemon.

A new generation...

This post is simply a warning that anything beyond this post (that is, posted before Nov. 21st, 2012) covers the 4th generation and will be outdated if you're concerned with Black and White and the 5th generation of Pokemon.

Generation V Pokemon - Final Pre-Evaluation

With English names and decisions on which of the two games the Pokemon will be in.

The Pokemon

#000 - Victini (Victorious in avoiding a name change - Psychic/Fire) - Still a guaranteed entrant, Victini will tear up the world with its flames of victory. Due to being an event Pokemon, it'll appear in both games.

#003 - Serperior (Will always beat Rhyperior in a superiority contest - Grass) - [CHANGED] Will now be a non-Dream World-dependant starter for one of the two games. Reason: not using Emboar.

#009 - Samurott ('Tis the way of a samurai... otterish-narwhal - Water) [CHANGED] Again, using as a starter, for the other game.

#014 - Stoutland (The Copeland from Scotland - Normal)

#029 - Zebstrika (Electric streak-a-zebra - Electric)

#036 - Excadrill (That just sounds like some kind of uber-weapon - Ground/Steel)

#040 - Conkeldurr (Durr... got a stupid name - Fighting)

#043 - Seismitoad (Frog slipped off the Richter scale - Water/Ground) [CHANGED] Lack of Water-types mean this little froggy is in.

#051 - Scolipede (You'll get more than just a scolding if this giant bug runs you over - Bug/Poison) [CHANGED] I, for one, welcome our new giant-insect overlord.

#053 - Whimsicott (Still the cutest little cottonball of trouble - Grass, Black only)

#055 - Lilligant (Elegant lilliputian - Grass, White only) [CHANGED] Hey look, a balancing Grass-type for our White-version.

#059 - Krookodile (Krooky-crisp! - Ground/Dark)

#061 - Darmanitan (Couldn't think to keep the Daruma reference? - Fire)

#066 - Scrafty (Scrafty-little gangsta, ain't he? - Dark/Fighting)

#067 - Sigilyph (Give me a sign - Psychic/Flying)

#069 - Cofagrigus (Not making any puns for this one... - Ghost)

#071 - Carracosta (From da Costa Rica - Water/Rock)

*#077 - Zoroark (Now with seed of non-perception! - Dark) [REMOVED] - Temporarily removed from main team due to it ultimately being an event Pokemon requiring a Celebi we're not quite willing to give up yet.

#079 - Cinccino (Cutest repetitively-named Pokemon since Eevee - Normal)

#085 - Reuniclus (Free cell - Psychic, White only) Sigilyph will be Black's balancing Psychic-type Magic Guarder.

#090 - Vanilluxe (Now in Deluxe Edition - Ice) [CHANGED] Added to have balanced Ice-type counts for the two games.

#092 - Sawsbuck (More enemies sawed off for your buck - Normal/Grass)

#095 - Escavalier (Ironically, gets mauled by Magcargo - Bug/Steel) [CHANGED] Yeah, here's a Bug/Steel-type for the team.

#099 - Jellicent (Female: CLARA! Male: CAPTAIN MINAMITSU MURASA - Water/Ghost)

#102 - Galvantula (Do the electric jitterbut - Electric/Bug)

#104 - Ferrothorn (Spiked ferrous wheel - Grass/Steel)

#110 - Eelektross (Rime of the Ancient Electrician - Electric)

#115 - Chandelure (It lures, then it traps - Ghost/Fire)

#118 - Haxorus (Yeah, it's haxxors - Dragon)

#120 - Beartic (Now a tsundere polar bear with a verbal tic-desu! - Ice) (Yeah, I was worried about the name change, but that works. Now I have even more reason to put it on my team!)

#123 - Accelgor (That name's just fun to say - Bug)

#126 - Mienshao (面少 - Fighting)

#129 - Golurk (*lurks* - Ghost/Ground) [CHANGED] Balancing defensive Ghost-type.

#131 - Bisharp (*shii-shiiing* - Dark/Fighting)

#132 - Bouffalant (A load of not-bull - Normal)

#138 - Durant (Durant - Bug/Steel) [CHANGED] Balancing Bug/Steel

#141 - Hydreigon (Eins, Zwei, Guten Morgen, 一二一二1111 - Dark/Dragon)

#143 - Volcarona (Into the corona of the volcano - Bug/Fire)

*#144 - Cobalion (Cobalion Caverns - Steel/Fighting) [REMOVED] Temporarily removed, as two of the Musketeers will be used for balancing; the third won't join until the fourth, an event Pokemon, is released.

#145 - Terrakion (Terraform terror - Rock/Fighting)

#146 - Virizion (Can you hear me smacking you down now? - Grass/Fighting)

#148 - Thundurus (Uhh... lots of u's... - Electric/Flying, White only) [CHANGED] Added just 'cause. Landorus is Black's balancing Pokemon.

#151 - Landorus (*do do do do do* - Ground/Flying) [CHANGED] Again, added just 'cause.

(Note: All event Pokemon are temporarily REMOVED until they are released, in which case they will join both teams.)

The Team Split

Black

-------

Victini (Fire/Psychic)

Whimsicott (Grass)

Sigilyph (Psychic/Flying)

Landorus (Ground/Flying)

Serperior (Grass)

Seismitoad (Water/Ground)

Stoutland (Normal)

Zebstrika (Electric)

Excadrill (Ground/Steel)

Conkeldurr (Fighting)

Scolipede (Bug/Poison)

Darmanitan (Fire)

Scrafty (Dark/Fighting)

Cofagrigus (Ghost)

Jellicent (Water/Ghost)

Vanilluxe (Ice)

Escavalier (Bug/Steel)

Hydreigon (Dark/Dragon)

Terrakion (Rock/Fighting)

Ferrothorn (Grass/Steel)

Eelektross (Electric)

White

-------

Victini (Fire/Psychic)

Lilligant (Grass)

Reuniclus (Psychic)

Thundurus (Electric/Flying)

Samurott (Water)

Sawsbuck (Normal/Grass)

Cinccino (Normal)

Galvantula (Electric/Bug)

Krookodile (Ground/Dark)

Mienshao (Fighting)

Accelgor (Bug)

Chandelure (Ghost/Fire)

Bisharp (Dark/Steel)

Golurk (Ghost/Ground)

Carracosta (Water/Rock)

Beartic (Ice)

Durant (Bug/Steel)

Haxorus (Dragon)

Virizion (Grass/Fighting)

Volcarona (Bug/Fire)

Bouffalant (Normal)