Welcome back. We return to the list of Pokémon that stand
out to me, this time from Gen II!
Typhlosion
I don’t like Typlohsion. I’m only mentioning it because it’s
just Charizard, stat-to-stat. That’s it. A pure Fire-type Charizard. I thought
its fire mane was pretty cool, and I picked one in Gold. But that was it. The
only reason I’m mentioning it is because while Typhlosion can be Charizard
without wings, Infernape and Emboar get shit on for being Fire/Fighting-types
despite have different stats and methods of usage. I hate nostalgiafags.
Feraligatr
The only starter that’s worth a squirt of piss in Gen II.
The one I got in SoulSilver was a female, and adamant at that. Now either I
lucked out, or that was the game’s way of rewarding me with picking it. She was
a leading force in my team, and I like the thought of having a very large
starter. Feraligatr stands at 7’07, and that’s just awesome. Plus, I love
reptiles.
Noctowl
As far as regional birds go, Noctowl is unique. It utilizes
Confusion and other Psychic moves and such and it has a nice special defense
stat to fall back on. It helps that it looks like an actual owl compared to its
pre-evo.
Ledian
And here, Gen II’s problems begin. Well, Furret did that
already, but Ledian is in a state of turmoil. First, it has a good design.
Second, it has access to punching moves. Third, it can utilize them better than
Hitmonchan could prior to Gen IV. So, what’s the problem? Well, its special
attack is trash, its attack is even worse, and it only has a high special
defense stat to fall back on. And even then, its HP is very low. And even its
speed won’t make a difference. Nothing should fall to a Ledian. NOTHING. I
wanted to like Ledian, but it’s the poster boy for bad Pokémon, and moreso one
of the many blunders Gen II has. Furret is bad, but Ledian’s potential is so
wasted Furret doesn’t even exist. If you picked Silver, I’m so sorry for you.
Ariados
And if you picked Gold, you had this instead. Not that Ariados is any better, but it
actually is better compared to Ledian. But that still isn’t saying much. It’s
slower, and a Poison-type to boot. Psychics can floor it with no problem. But
with Gen IV, it got some viability, but it’s still underwhelming.
Underwhelming, but better than Ledian.
Crobat
Crobat is fucking awesome. Great design, great movepool,
fantastic speed and the very first cross evolution in the National Dex line.
And what a fantastic addition to an old line. The design is definitely a vast
change from Golbat, and this is the only time where I can say that Crobat
doesn’t resemble its previous forms. Even the Gen IV evos, which people
complain about look like their past forms.
The Babies
I’m dedicating this whole section to the baby Pokémon. They
were added for egg moves, moves their older counterparts can’t learn, and
mainly to make a connection to adult Pokémon. You had Pichu, Igglybuff, Cleffa,
Togepi, Tyrogue, Smoochum, Elekid and Magby. The first was an attempt to cash
in on Pikachu’s success and instead of giving Raichu an evo, it started the
trend of making a cute Electric-type rodent with each gen. Marill was doing it
right. That Firepika was also doing it right. Making a whole circle of rodents
with each type would be great, but for whatever reason, GameFreak wants to keep
copying Pikachu’s success. Babies aren’t worth using in battle, just slap an
EXP Share on one, and look for the moves you want and evolve it when you’re
ready.
Ampharos
When I first saw it in that magazine, I thought it wasn’t
related to Flaaffy and Mareep. It’s a really cool Pokémon, and its Japanese
name is a pun on electricity and dragon, Denryu. Much later on in Gen VI, it
would get a mega that made that pun a reality.
Azumarill
I love Azumarill. Its Huge Power ability makes it a great
Pokémon to have early on, and even better since it evolves pretty early. It
gives you a reason to have that cute Marill and see it become a force to be
reckoned with, unlike that awful addition Pichu.
Sudowoodo
I also remember Sudowoodo in the magazine, and mentioning it
wasn’t a Grass-type. And thanks to the anime, as mentioned in part 1, I thought
it was immune to Electric attacks. It’s fairly slow, and it can’t take hits,
but it can do some decent damage. And its name is pretty cool.
Politoed
I thought this one was a Grass-type when I first saw it.
It’s also the first Pokémon I forgot existed. I had a Poliwhirl ready to evolve
with the right nature, but I released it. Honestly, Politoed is okay, and I see
the resemblance from it to its previous forms but Poliwrath has more to it,
design-wise. Even as a frog, it doesn’t really appeal to me.
The Hoppip line
I like this whole line. It’s great if you picked Cyndaquil
or Totodile. Chikorita has no reason to be picked when you consider Johto’s
distribution of Pokémon. You have Oddish, Bellsprout and Hoppip, all who can be
obtained early on. Hoppip adds something new at the time and can mix things up
a bit. Synthesis can benefit it due to being weaker than most of your team more
than likely.
Quagsire
The first time a Water-type was anything but, and ultimately
proved that Rock-types weren’t immune to Electric-types. Unfortunately, it
isn’t a spectacular Pokémon, and Gen II seems to have a lot of Pokémon in the
middle area and even more in the lower/bottom area with literally a handful at
the top.
Umbreon
Ah, the Dark counterpart to Espeon. No disrespect to Espeon,
but Umbreon appeals to me more. I like its heavy defenses and its overall set
up of moves and strategies. Granted, it’s not as good as it used to be, but
Blacky still has a place in my heart.
Slowking
As I mentioned before, Slowking was a strange Pokémon to me.
It was Slowpoke, but smarter. And to Slowbro’s defensive capabilities, Slowking
is a showcase of Sp. Def. The two are interchangeable and there’s really no
definitive choice to pick between them. One could say Slowbro gets the edge
with its mega evolution, and some may just want to use Slowking for the sake of
using it. It’s all up to you.
Wobbuffet
I didn’t know what to think of this one. I saw it in the
anime and it only used Counter and seldom Mirror Coat. When I finally fought one, I saw what purpose
it served: An all-or-nothing Pokémon. You had to take it out in one hit, or
risk getting KO’ed if it used the proper attack. And even then, Destiny Bond could seal your
fate. In Gen III, it got Shadow Tag. You REALLY had to take it out in one hit
and hope you got lucky otherwise. On another note, its pre-evo, Wynaut was
shown near the end of Gen II’s run. Wynaut add it and Azurill in Gen II? Too
many babies? Or did they want to keep it an even number of Pokémon added? Who
knows.
Girafarig
A Giraffe is a badass standing almost twenty feet in the
air, with a large neck capable of killing a human in one swing. Girafarig is an
oddball standing less than five feet and is overall unremarkable. Its design is
its only strong point, and don’t get me started on its earlier concept. I want
a real giraffe, not some caricature. Same with Donphan, but we’ll get to that
later.
Forretress
I like Forretress. One of the new Steel-types at the time,
and a Bug-type to boot, it lacks speed, but it has great defense. Though it can
be taken out by most Fire-types, unless you have a Fire-type, you’ll have a hard
time taking one out, and Sturdy gave it an edge just in case.
Steelix
Steelix has the same problem Onix has: It’s great with
defense, but it lacks real oomph with its offensive stats. Steelix at least has
more defensive pros, but it’s still the same as Onix, and when you see what it
can’t take, it becomes a pushover. However, with its mega evo, it finally gets
something to fall back on. I say that
Gen II’s Pokémon need evos, but overall, some of them need a boost, and for the
ones who aren’t exactly in need of evos, Megas fit that bill. This is what
Megas should be used for.
Granbull
It’s a big softie and it’s powerful. It’s also slow. But I
like it. I always get a male in spite of its gender ratio. With Gen VI, it
finally becomes a Fairy-type, referencing its species name and more than likely
actual fae origins. They weren’t cutesy eight-inch women, and they weren’t pure
of heart. I’d love to see some more Fairy-types that aren’t pink and cuddly.
Scizor
The poster bug for Gen II, it’s the evolved form of Scyther.
I didn’t see the relation to Scyther but I liked it. I didn’t know if it was a
crab or an insect. What I did know was its trading card at the time had a black
border around it. At the time, I didn’t know that was the Steel-type until I
saw it in the anime. It’s a beast and still holds up today.
Shuckle
Another oddball. Was it a turtle or what? I liked its
mechanic with making a berry into juice and then rare candy and I’m wondering
why said mechanic was never reintroduced in SoulSilver. They went out the way
to add those redundant apricorns, too. Its gimmick is tricky to pull off, but
when it works, it works!
Heracross
My top favorite Pokémon from Gen II after Smoochum, it has
amazing attack and a great typing. Every opportunity I get to have one on my
team, I take it. I struggled to get one in Pearl and it stood on my team almost
always. Its mega form isn’t too bad either, another example of doing the
concept right: Help a great but flawed Pokémon get an upper hand.
Ursaring
If you didn’t have Snubbull, or Gold you could grab
Teddiursa. It’s the bulky Normal-type, slow but powerful. One thing I noticed
is in the anime it’s a really aggressive and angry Pokémon but in the games
it’s more gluttonous and lazy. It has the power on it, though so I guess you
still wouldn’t want to fuck with one.
Magcargo
Oh, my word. If Gen II had a master of disaster, it would be
Magcargo. At least Ledian is expected to be underwhelming, Magcargo has too
much going wrong with it to even be considered a useful Pokémon. Slow speed, a
typing that’s not only doubly weak to Water, but Ground as well and a cool
design. It was bad then and it’s bad now. Not even an evo or a mega could
salvage it. Some people thought Magcargo was a Gen III Pokémon.
Octillery
Amazing. The concept alone sells itself and I was
dumbfounded when I found out why a remora turns into an octopus. It can use
Flamethrower, Ice Beam and Signal Beam, covering a lot of ground. If its
special movepool isn’t enough, it can get physical and do a lot more damage.
Skarmory
Its cry makes it seem robotic. It’s an amazing Pokémon, and
one of Gen II’s top picks. While it doesn’t have anything to talk of
physically, it’s one of best defensive walls you can use, after Blissey(Well,
not physically anyway). Skarmory is perfect as is, and I think even GameFreak
knows it. Some things never change. It took a bit of a blow in Gen VI, but it
still fits the bill.
Houndoom
If you need a Fire-type, this is the go-to Pokémon if you
didn’t pick Cyndaquil or if you were hoping for something good from Magcargo.
Why do you have to wait so long to get a Fire-type in Gen II? Gen IV ended up
with this problem until Platinum. Anyway, it’s pretty good in both attack stats
and very good speed. Speedy enough not to get floored by Slowbro of all Pokémon(What
the fuck were they thinking with Magcargo???).
Kingdra
I knew this was Seadra’s evolution. It’s the prime
definition of a defensive Pokémon, and still is: Water/Dragon means you need a
Dragon-type Pokémon and you need a STAB to really get some damage in.
Unfortunately this is the only Dragon-type introduced in Gen II, and this was a
kid that didn’t have anyone to trade with. A force to be reckoned with.
Donphan
Ah, Donphan. The anime makes it faster than it is. Now it’s
got power and defense at least. But that speed keeps it down. Then again, at
least it’s not Golem or Magcargo. But, my main problem is not only is it fairly
slow, but as an elephant, and the only Pokémon based on one currently, it’s an
embarrassment. I get it’s a tire and a wheel more than an elephant, but still.
If we can have multiple butterflies/moths and two of the same mythical creature
(Baku), we can surely have another elephant and giraffe? Same with a Kangaroo.
Porygon2
I like its concept, and I just now realized what it is at
the time of writing this: Porygon was early 3D, Porygon2 is early Dreamcast/6th
generation graphics. Even in the 3D games, 2 was smoothed out nicely. It has
its own gimmicks and tricks to use, so it’s not really a straightforward
Pokémon to use in my opinion.
Hitmontop
I didn’t know what the hell this was. When I found out it
was a member of the Tyrouge line, it confused me a little. It’s a little bit of
everything (Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan and its own elements), same with Tyrogue.
It’s a good Pokémon, with some nice defenses and attack. It’s an alternate take
on Hitmonlee, and at worst a rehash of it.
Miltank
The casual filter of Gen II, it’s a female-only Pokémon, so
your predominately male Pokémon had a problem with Attract. It’s fairly fast,
so you get floored by its STAB moves. And if that wasn’t enough, you had to
endure with Rollout’s gradual power. So, what do you do? Female Machop can
negate that problem and possibly win the match right there and then. Female
Geodude can get rid of that strategy, along with resisting Normal-type moves.
You need a little more to do with this one unlike Onix, but it’s not hard to
do.
Blissey
Some of the evolutions were obvious when you see them, this
being one of them. It has the highest HP stat
of all Pokémon, and the highest special defense of all Normal-types. And even
with its horribly low defense, all of that HP balances it out. In Pearl, it was
a force to be reckoned with, and it has access to a nice pool of moves and its
family’s signature move, Softboiled. It got knocked down a peg with Eviolite in
Gen V(And a lot of other final forms at that). But it still has an edge.
Seismic Toss is not a joke with Blissey.
Tyranitar
Last but not least, we have our pseudo-legendary: Tyranitar.
It boasts stats on par with legendaries alongside Dragonite and it takes a long
time to evolve from a Larvitar. Sand
Stream gives it an edge, and even in Gen II it had a lot to be worried about.
Now, it’s easy to take one out with some strategizing, but it can still deal
some damage. Its Pokedex entries even dictate how fearful and tyrannical it is.
And, we are at the finish line. I didn’t mention the cat trio
due to none of them really appealing to me, and the legendaries, I really don’t
use. I do like the connection with Lugia and the bird trio, and of course Ho-oh
being the first hint of Gen II coming soon. Celebi is pretty cute as well, but
I don’t really use legendaries.
