The Jungle Games: Episode 2! “This is all just a gimmick”
Please read on for the 2nd episode of “The Jungle Games”! This week our tributes/participants/victims were asked to write a “Focus On” article about Gimmick Pokemon! Any long time reader of pokejungle knows that we’ve been doing these “Focus On” articles since the launch of Black and White and they were one of the first series of original content we created. They do vary depending on what ‘jungle staff is writing them, but generally they provide an overview of a Pokemon or game mechanic with some commentary. Here were the submissions:
As some commenters pointed out, if I put someone’s submission here it may make it unfair… So what is a ‘Gimmick Pokemon’ ? – Gimmick Pokemon, also referred to as ‘novelty Pokemon’, are Pokemon which occupy specific characteristics which differentiate to that of the larger scale of Pokemon within the games. Whether it be an exclusive individual ability, a limited move pool, a unique feature, varied stats different from other characters, restricted evolution or introduced into the game to showcase a new in-game adaption. These Pokemon are often difficult to obtain within the games, and are mainly sought after for their surprise factor.
Kecleon’s design is comparable to the visual of the reptilian, the Chameleon. Possessing a green reptilian figure, it’s lizard inspired shape is centre pieced by a purple zig-zagged flash across its midsection, it’s beady black eyes are highlighted by a yellow ring around each which trail off to the front, connecting into a thicker line ascending down its elongated face, connecting to its outspread yellow lips. The yellow line also extends upward from the eye rings, widening and becoming zig-zagged, forming the top of its head either side. Sitting behind its stretched lips sits a pliable tongue which is long and thin. The base of its feet and palms are yellow, largely highlighting these features from its green body mass. Situated on its back are ridges which stretch up onto its shoulders into a spiked fashion – adding to the reptilian aesthetic of the character. Extruding from its lower back is a long, tightly coiled tail which is nearing equal in size to its body mass.
True to the nature of the chameleon, Kecleon is capable of transforming the colour of its body to match its surrounding, almost making it invisible – this adaption aids it’s hunting instinct and allows it to sneak up on prey within the wild. However, although its camouflaging adaption makes it almost undetectable, the purple zig-zagged pattern across its middle cannot be cloaked, and stays exposed. A fully grown Kecleon averages at a height of 3’03′. They reside mainly within the rain forests of Hoenn, and are rare to find due to their colour changing concealment.
The trait in which makes Kecleon a ‘gimmick Pokemon’ is that it has an individual natural ability. The ‘Color Swap’ Pokemon, is precisely that, and showcases the ability ‘COLOUR CHANGE’. This unique ability allows Kecleon to switch its type from ‘normal’ during battle to the type of the move in which previously attacked it.
This ability is very unique, and if worked strategically in affiliation with a carefully selected move set, its results can be very effective. It’s move pool is very wide ranged expressing moves of various typings, and has strong attack and special defence stats, however it has a very poor speed stat. Kecleon has no resistance against any other moves, and is damaged normally by all type moves when sat within normal type status. The only exception to this is its immunity to ghost attacks.
However this ability’s potential only has to be demonstrated once for your opponent to realise that there is a strong possibility that they can use your ability against you and use your type change as an advantage to them, this compromises its defense, and restricts its competitive appeal. For example, we know some types have a weakness to themselves such as dragon and ghost type moves, if Kecleon was hit by a dragon type move it’s type would switch from normal to dragon – this then leaves it wide open to weakness from that same dragon attack.
Interesting fact – although Kecleon is the only Pokemon with this unique ability which allows it to change it’s typing, It is unable to learn the move ‘Camouflage’ – a move in which allows the using Pokemon to change its type based upon its surroundings.
Interested in catching your very own Color changing reptile? – if so, you’d do well to locate your older Pokemon games as Kecleon is only obtainable in the wild in Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond and Platinum. So boot up that Poketransfer!
So there you have it folks, Pokemon #352, Kecleon.
Hello readers! This small sub-series of Focus On articles will be focusing on the many “Gimmick” Pokémon within the franchise. Gimmick Pokémon is a name generally given to a Pokémon that has certain traits, I won’t go into too much detail as most of you already understand what Gimmick Pokémon are – if not, there’s an abundance of information online! These articles will cover a variety of points on each Pokémon, so read on…
The first Pokémon in the series is Spinda. Introduced in Generation III, Spinda takes its name and inspiration from the panda of our world, and the word spin; Spin and Panda. Appearance wise Spinda draws from both a panda and a play on its trait of confusion. It is nearly always depicted as losing its balance or being dizzy/confused, as well as having a facial expression to boot, however this is part of Spinda’s intended behaviour, and the Pokémon is not actually confused – as described in the Pokédex entry in Generation IV/V: “No two Spinda have the same pattern of spots. Its tottering step fouls the aim of foes.”
What makes Spinda a gimmick Pokémon is mainly the fact each individual looks completely original; no two (in theory) can have the same spot placement. The positioning and number of the salmon-coloured spots is determined by the personality value of the individual Pokémon, with over four billion different combinations being possible. Another key factor in Spinda’s gimmick Pokémon classification, is that all six of the Pokémon’s base stats are 60, with a total of 360, this makes it notoriously bad/difficult to use in competitive battling.
Spinda’s best hope in the competitive battling scene is to boost its attack, defense and speed and land an attack wherever it can, doing as much damage as the little guy can. I’ll only list one set, as personally it’s the best chance you have at using Spinda successfully without making a completely fool of yourself, and this isn’t a purely competitive Focus On.
As a whole Spinda is generally a gimmick Pokémon, it doesn’t have much competitive use, it’s hardly the most visually appealing Pokémon and is rather irritating. Regardless, what do you guys think of this Pokémon? Have you ever used it competitively, or do you plan to? How would you change it? Get commenting below, and see you all again soon!
As some of you may have fathomed from my wonderfully bad intro, today’s “Focus on” is about our unique friend. He has a stylish quiff and absurdly large family jewels. That’s right I can only mean one Pokémon, Castform!
So there you have it, as much as you could possibly want to know about this deformed marshmallow. What are your thoughts on him? Do you find him cute or crude? Would you let him shine in your team or let him become a tear of despair? Would you ever want to see new forms or an evolution? Leave your comments below.
P.S. Does this orange guy remind you of him? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXa2F3kYeBI
Delibird, the Delivery Pokémon; it carries food rolled up in its tail. It has a habit of sharing food with people lost in mountains.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and throughout the region I beseech you, not a Pokémon was stirring, not even a Pichu. And all around Johto, I could have sworn I’d heard, Santa’s faithful Pokémon, his very own Delibird!
That’s all for this week’s Focus On everyone. Thanks for reading and I’ll catch ya later!
With every generation new elements are continually added and expanded upon in order to make the games more realistic. With G/S the time of day became a factor in graphical aspects, evolutions and even trainer availability; In R/S weather effects were advanced upon and became apparent in the overworld; In D/P, gender differences became visible in a fifth of all Pokemon; and with B/W anticipated seasonal aspects were finally introduced in a monthly cycle. Effected factors in season changes include; visual alterations, varied Pokemon encounter rates, and modified background music. With the implementation of seasons, fans also received Deerling and its evolution Sawsbuck, who are consequently the first Pokemon to exercise form changes that reflect the (in-game) seasons, as shown below.
Overview
Unfortunately, unlike other form-changing Pokemon, Deerling and Sawsbuck’s season based changes are purely aesthetic. Despite this, the evolution line is still a fantastic addition to any B/W in-game party. Deerling is a Grass/Normal-type that can be first-obtained prior to fighting the fifth gym. While it can prove useful in combatting the Ground gym leader, the remaining 3 gyms of the region can easily cause the season Pokemon trouble in terms of type matchup. Deerling evolves at level 33 into Sawsbuck and retains its Grass/Normal-typing. The deer evolution doesn’t distinguish itself by exceeding in any particular stat, and upon first appearances it doesn’t outclass any of its Grass-typed regional competition that will undoubtedly be fighting for a slot in your party (Simisage, Whimsicott, Leavanny, etc). However, thanks to some fantastic abilities (Chlorophyll and Sap Sipper) and a movepool that provides efficient type coverage it’s still easy to establish Sawsbuck as one of the best physical Grass-type attackers of generation 5.
Design
The creativity seen in Deerling is minimal, Game Freak has decided to give Pokemon fans a deer (fawn) Pokemon and that’s exactly what they’ve delivered. Honestly, Deerling’s design doesn’t exactly resemble anything that Disney haven’t already established with Bambi. Even Deerling’s from changes only reflect the seasons through simple colour scheme alterations. Unquestionably, Deerling provides me with an appeal in its cute demeanour, but ultimately I’m disappointed in the lack of distinguishable features in the from changes; I would have been significantly happier if only the flower on Deerling’s head went through some sort of season-orientated modifications as well.
As for Sawsbuck, the Pokemon practically emanates elegance through its regal stance. As expected from an evolution, a maturity of growth is exhibited in the development of antlers, thickened fur and appearance of traditional Grass-typed elements (varied by froms). In terms of the forms, the seasonal changes are much more visually prominent when compared to its pre-evolution. In accordance to the gimmick, the antlers clearly depict the growth of trees and the progression they see in terms of the season-cycle. Apart from the antlers, the coloured spots on the back of each form clearly continue the season representation; in particular, the winter incarnation of Sawsbuck features the practical addition of white fur to further emphasise the season based gimmick. When the entire gimmick of Deerling/Sawsbuck is based around aesthetics, it’s nice to see Game Freak pay so much attention to the designs of Sawsbuck, I only wish that Deerling could have exhibited more notable form changes as well.
Competitive Value
Sawsbuck has quite a few factors supporting it in the way of competitive battling. Even though, Sawsbuck’s stats are initially underwhelming, it’s physical Attack and Speed stats are still easily abusable through Swords Dance and Chlorophyll respectively. While Sap Sipper can be seen as situational, Sawsbuck’s Chlorophyll on the other hand can be successfully utilised within a team that supports Sun (in an OU environment Ninetales is essential).
Providing Sawsbuck has maximum EV investment in Attack, after a single boost from Swords Dance Sawsbuck can reach a mighty 656 Attack with an Adamant nature (598 if Jolly); with suitable type coverage in Sawsbuck’s remaining moveslots it can easily smash through an opponents team. Horn Leech is a move exclusive to Sawsbuck and it presents not only a physical, STAB boosted Grass-type move for Sawsbuck, but also additional healing to try and compensate for Sawsbuck’s poor defences. While Double-Edge could be considered a bad choice due to recoil hindering Sawsbuck’s already unsatisfactory survivability, by further utilising Horn Leech, any recoil can easily be mitigated and allow for Sawsbuck to continue initialising itself as a prime physical threat. In Sawbuck’s final move slot, there are a two main options that allow for increased type coverage; in Wi-Fi and simulated battles Nature Power will always emulate Earthquake, allowing Sawsbuck to hit Steel-type Pokemon for super-effective damage; Jump Kick is also an option for the same reason, however the accuracy is lower and the side-effect of missing the move can be considered unattractive.
Competitively, Sawsbuck finds itself sharing battling traits that make it similar to Leafeon. With equal Speed and more attack Leafeon also primarily finds itself as a Swords Dance + Chlorophyll abuser. However, with Leafeon’s weak coverage Sawsbuck has the opportunity to shine through with not only an additional STAB move, but also the opportunity to heal and access to moves that beat Steel-types.
Known to many as the “Pikachu Copies” of the Hoenn region, today I bring the focus onto the gimmick that is Plusle and Minun. Both are classified as the Cheering Pokémon, appropriately named for their ability to cheer the other on in battle. Plusle and Minun are based off of rabbits, and both are the electric type. The two are identical in height, weight, and basic body structure – only having minor differences from the other in looks. Other than their cute, playful looks, the two have never appealed to much. I’ve never felt inclined to choose one for an in-game team. “Pickachu Copies,” is, no-doubt, a fitting name for the cute pair, due to their undeniable resemblence to Pikachu – not to mention, they are both electric typed rodents.
Without further ado, let us delve into the lives of these two Pokémon:
Being known for only working well together in a 2-on-2 battle, Plusle and Minun have earned the status of a gimmick Pokémon. Any Pokémon fan can tell, that the two were created to showcase the introduction of double battles in gen III. Other than being cute to look at, these electric-rabbits aren’t that great to use on a team. But use these two as partners in a double battle, and sparks will really fly.
Bye for now Pokéjunglers! Be sure to keep checking back on Pokéjungle for the latest Pokémon news, and the continuation of our focus on gimmick Pokémon.
Squawk! Click through to see the full article!
So do y’all think of Chatot? Feel free to discuss!
Smeargle, The Painter Pokemon, It marks its territory by using its tail like a paintbrush. There are more than 5,000 different marks.
Smeargle’s an interesting Pokemon in almost any sense, Design or in Battle. It’s a beagle/Picasso mix. Smeargle is a bipedal dog humanoid wearing a french beret, has brown markings scattered around its body, and has a long tail tipped with a special fluid similar to green paint. Based on the design, Smeargle doesn’t really seem to stand out against the other wildly designed Pokemon after the 2nd generation.
As for competitive battling, Smeargle is a VERY interesting case and sad to say but not in a good way. Although he can learn any move in the Pokemon universe via Sketch, when it comes to Smeargle’s stats, it almost seems useless.
- HP: 55
- Atk: 20
- Def: 35
- Sp. Atk: 20
- Sp. Def: 45
- Spd: 75
In the competitive field, even an Adamant (+Atk -Sp.Atk.) or Timid (+Spd. -Atk.) Smeargle stands little chance of survival against almost anything unless a Focus Sash is equipped and with the infinite movepool thanks to Sketch, Smeargle can actually stand his ground if all is played correctly. Also included in a good set up for the little painter would be to have one with the Moody ability. Moody raises a random stat by 2 stages and lowers another stat by 1 stage at the end of your turn. If the odds are ever in Smeargle’s favor, you could have yourself a beast of a beagle! But be warned that the only way of obtaining a Moody Smeargle is through the Dream World within the Spooky Manor. Other abilities include:
Own Tempo- Prevents Smeargle from being Confused. Good for a few online battles considering few battles involve Confusing the opponent unless Hurricane or other Phycial moves with secondary effects are used.
Technician- Attacks with a base power of 60 or less are boosted 1.5x. Good if you use a set with weaker moves with secondary effects, but because of low stats, often considered useless.
Moody- Raises a random stat by 2 stages and lowers another stat by 1 stage at the end of your turn. Best choice for a competitive Smeargle.
Well there you have it guys! I can’t say too much more about the little artist except how darn cute it is! It really is a shame though because of lackluster stats, your chances of seeing a Smeargle in the competitive field are slim to none. But I will say if Pokemon were real, Smeargle would be sight to see painting on canvas! ;D
Until next time everyone, stick around here and tell us what YOU think! Would you guys ever use a Smeargle on your team if he had a boss Sketch movepool? What do you think of Smeargle’s design? Any other Pokemon you think you would use? Leave us a comment below and also discuss with other members your strategies for either the mentioned Smeargle or any of your favorite Pokemon! We would love to here you guy’s ideas!
- Spiritomb is number 108 in the Sinnoh Pokédex.
- It weighs 108.0 kilograms exactly.
- Its base values for Defense and Special Defense are each 108.
- Its Pokédex entry claims it was created from the fusion of 108 mischievous spirits now bound to the Odd Keystone.
Make sure to vote for the most well written piece, not the article that covered a Pokemon you love :p
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ps- This is the last competition like this you’ll see on the site *_* Each of these posts takes an hour to compile and format! Gonna be tired for Japanese class tomorrow. Since summer semester is squished into 8 weeks the class is already 3 hours long… hope I can stay awake :p
pps- The staff does read and take into consideration the long comments about each article! Don’t think that the poll is the only thing we evaluate when scoring reader reactions! In fact there were some really superb write ups last time and I’d love to read through some more!
