random-pokemon-appreciation

[random-pokemon-appreciation]

hey, everyone!!

first, i want to thank everyone for being so supportive!! <3 to those of you who have sent in requests, especially, thank you so much!! i promise i will get to them -- there were just a couple of pokemon i really wanted to get to, first.

as much as i am enjoying this blog, i didn't realize it would be as much work as it is. i think i bit off more than i can chew. ^^'

don't worry, though -- i'm not leaving!! i'm just going to switch this from once a day, to twice a week. i hope i can increase that to three times a week, but i'm going to start off small, lol. ("start of small" like i didn't originally say i was going to post every day... anyway.)

what days of the week would y'all like?? i was thinking either saturday and sunday or saturday/ sunday and wednesday-ish, but i'd like to know what y'all think.

hello, and welcome to...

random pokemon appreciation!!

with more than a thousand pokemon out there, it's easy for a lot of them to end up overlooked or forgotten. so, i've created this blog to give appreciation to pokemon who don't always get it.

once a day, (for now, at least,) i'll make a post about a random pokemon. if there's a specific pokemon you'd like to see a post for, feel free to request them!! there's a good chance i'll make it for you.

that's it for now, but if you have any questions/ comments/ concerns, go ahead and send me an ask!!

[random-pokemon-appreciation]

today's pokemon is...

tyrogue!! (scuffle pokemon, #236)

special traits:

for as little attention as tyrogue receives, there are actually a lot of things that make it super unique!!

tyrogue is one of 19 baby pokemon, and one of 2 fighting-type baby pokemon (the other being riolu).

tyrogue is also the only baby pokemon with a perfectly equal stat distribution (35 points for each stat, 210bst). tyrogue also has the lowest bst and lowest (physical) attack out of any fighting-type pokemon.

evolutions:

what makes tyrogue really cool, though, are its evolutions. tyrogue is the only pokemon to have connected two previously separate evolution lines. while hitmonlee and hitmonchan were undeniably connected even in generation 1, it wasn't until tyrogue was introduced in generation 2 that hitmonlee's and hitmonchan's evolution lines became connected, with tyrogue as a pre-evolution to both of them.

additionally, tyrogue is the only pokemon whose evolution depends on its current stats. if its (physical) attack is higher than its (physical) defense, it will evolve into hitmonlee; if its (physical) attack is lower than its (physical) defense, it will evolve into hitmonchan; and if the two stats are perfectly equal, it will evolve into hitmontop.

for almost 25 years, tyrogue was the only pokemon (other than eevee, of course) to have the ability to directly evolve into three or more pokemon. it now shares this honor with applin, whose third branch evolution, dipplin, was introduced in generation 9.

[random-pokemon-appreciation]

if you saw a second appreciation post today. um. no you didn't

[random-pokemon-appreciation]

kaivee my friend kaivee!!! so glad you are giving all the pokemon the love they deserve. can i see some positivity for my baby klefki 🥺

what a perfect request!!

today's pokemon is...

klefki!! (key ring pokemon, #707)

also hai puddles hai :3

typing:

considering how uncommon both steel-type and fairy-type are, there are a lot of steel/ fairy-type pokemon. introduced in generation 6, klefki was one of the first steel/ fairy pokemon, alongside mawile and magearna (while mawile was introduced in generation 3, it was changed from a pure steel-type to a steel/ fairy-type in generation 6, when the fairy type was introduced). since then, zacian (generation 8) and tinkatink, tinkatuff, and tinkaton (generation 9) have been added as fairy/ steel pokemon.

steel/ fairy is a phenomenal type combination. due to having many more resistances than any other type, as well as being immune to poison, steel is one of, if not the best, pokemon type. fairy is also one of the best types out there; so, it shouldn't be surprising that steel/ fairy is an excellent combo!! klefki's only has two weaknesses, ground and fire; it resists nine different types; and it has two immunities, fairy and poison.

signature moves:

crafty shield: protects all pokemon on the user's side from status moves. -- in generation 6, klefki was the only pokemon capable of learning crafty shield. generations 7 and 8 made the move available to a select few additional pokemon. unfortunately, the move is unusable in brilliant diamond/ shining pearl and scarlet/ violet.

fairy lock: prevents all pokemon (other than ghost types) on the field from switching out. -- the move was introduced in generation 6 and can only be learned by klefki. it is unusable in brilliant diamond/ shining pearl.

tcg:

klefki has a couple of unique cards in the trading card game. klefki cards with the abilities "secret key" and "key of secrets" change the owner's fairy-type (former) or steel-type (latter) pokemon's resistance to 40.

"mischievous lock" klefki can nullify the abilities of basic pokemon and play, as well as assist in discarding your opponent's tool cards.

"wonder lock" allows klefki to become an item; this other klefki card assists a player in finding item cards.

other:

klefki plays a minor role in pokemon super mystery dungeon, where it runs the rockin' lock shop in lively town. for 150p, klefki will open treasure boxes.

in pokemon go, klefki can only be caught in france.

in some artwork, klefki's keys remain the same color whether or not the klefki is shiny; however, in other artwork, such as its models in pokemon home, depict shiny klefki's keys as slightly different colors than non-shiny klefki's keys.

[random-pokemon-appreciation]

today's pokemon is...

bellossom!! (flower pokemon, #182)

what a cutie!!

typing:

bellossom is the only pokemon with only one type (grass) to have evolved from a pokemon with two types (gloom, grass/ poison).

back when bellossom was introduced in generation 2, its solo grass typing helped it stand out, as most grass type pokemon introduced in generation 1 were also poison types. (although bellossom itself isn't a generation 1 pokemon, its pre-evolved forms, oddish and gloom, are.)

color palette:

like a lot of other early pokemon, bellossom's color palette has changed over time. in gold and silver, bellossom had a lime green body with pink head flowers and pink "skirt" leaves, making them look more petal-like. in crystal, bellossom was given a darker green body, and its head flowers and "skirt" became red.

bellossom's official artwork from gold and silver depicts bellossom with nearly the same color palette it has today, the only difference being its dark blue body which more closely resembles oddish, gloom, and vileplume.

bellossom's shiny colors have also changed. in gold, silver, and crystal, shiny bellossom had an indigo body with red head flowers and "skirt."

in ruby and sapphire, both regular and shiny bellossoms' color palettes were changed to what we know today.

image credits to bulbapedia.

other:

bellossom was one of the first pokemon in a split evolution line (oddish evolves into gloom, which can then either evolve into vileplume, a grass/ poison pokemon from generation 1, or bellossom).

in one of pokemon mystery dungeon: explorers of sky's "special episodes," titled "here comes team charm!" there is a ditto disguised as a bellossom. this ditto is given an altered portrait (right).

(sorry for poor image quality.)

[random-pokemon-appreciation]

today's pokemon is...

durant!! (iron ant pokemon, #632)

usually for these, i'll pick a pokemon at random -- but for the first appreciation post, i thought durant would be a good choice!!

lore:

lore-wise, durant has got to be one of the funniest pokemon out there. its main predator is a fire anteater called heatmor. as a bug-type, durant is weak to heatmor, a fire-type -- so, to protect themselves, durant began to cover themselves in steel. the only problem with that?? steel is also weak to fire!!

in attempting to protect themselves, durant ended up making themselves even more vulnerable to their natural predator, heatmor. that's just so funny to me.

hidden ability:

another funny thing about durant is its hidden ability, truant. the famously bad ability fits the pokemon it was designed for, slaking, as it offers a way to balance out its incredible 670 bst. meanwhile, durant, with only a 484 bst, has no business having such a terrible ability.

additionally, with how hard it is to get a pokemon with a hidden ability, for that hidden ability to be something as abyssal as truant?? absolutely hilarious.

appearances (or lack thereof):

since being introduced in generation 5, durant has remained pretty elusive. in its first games, black/ white, durant was only obtainable in victory road. in the sequels, black 2/ white 2, durant's appearance was pushed back even further -- now you need to beat the elite four and champion to even encounter a durant!!

in the years since, durant has only been encounter-able in two games -- x and y, and sword and shield (plus swsh's dlc). even in those games, durant remains difficult to find. meanwhile, in let's go pikachu and eevee, brilliant diamond and shining pearl, legends: arcues, and scarlet and violet, durant is completely unobtainable.

with what few appearances durant has being late-game, and little to no npc trainers who use it, durant just gets completely overlooked.

other:

durant is one of two pokemon with a 484 bst, the other of which being heatmor, its natural predator.

durant's only weakness is fire, which it takes 4x damage from.

[random-pokemon-appreciation]

hello, and welcome to...

random pokemon appreciation!!

with more than a thousand pokemon out there, it's easy for a lot of them to end up overlooked or forgotten. so, i've created this blog to give appreciation to pokemon who don't always get it.

once a day, (for now, at least,) i'll make a post about a random pokemon. if there's a specific pokemon you'd like to see a post for, feel free to request them!! there's a good chance i'll make it for you.

that's it for now, but if you have any questions/ comments/ concerns, go ahead and send me an ask!!