***UPDATE 2 – 2016-07-20 – 13:07 CEST***

Even more Pokémon has been added to the roster. And eventually, we can make a Pokérap out of this list. In any case, let’s start to go through the new Pokémon.

Wimpod

Wimpod is the Turn Tail Pokémon with the typing Bug/Water. It has a cowardly nature and is wary of noises and sudden movements. And when it feels threaten it will spit-out a poisonous liquid (the stench will signal others to the danger in the area). Its ability Wimp Out will cause Wimpod to run away from wild battles or swap out for another Pokémon on the team when its HP is below half. I think design is pretty cool, and the typing helps with Fire-Types. However, I’m not too sure about the ability. Furthermore, there are some strategies that use swapping Pokémon with Baton Pass (which passes buffs to the upcoming Pokémon) and attacks like U-Turn and Volt Switch. Nevertheless, this ability (while fitting for the Wimpod’s nature) might need some thinking when coming up with a strategy (if its stats are any good).

Mudsdale

Mudsdale is a Ground-type that has the classification of being the Draft Horse Pokémon. It is known for its power body as well as its emotional fortitude, which makes it difficult to agitate it. It will take on any trouble head on and defeat any opponent with a single blow. With the ability Own Tempo it won’t be confused and with the new ability Stamina its Defense goes up by 1 stack when it’s hit by an attack. While its entry says it’s covered in protective mud the design looks a bit odd, like a Trogen Horse with dreadlocks. I think this stubborn mule will have some good defensive stats and with Stamina Mudsdale might have an edge until the opponent trainer pulls out the Water Pokémon.

Comfey

Comfey is the Posy Picker Pokémon with Fairy as its only type. It picks flowers and carries them around as it uses them for a ring of blossoms, which it spreads oil from its body to give them a soothing fragrance. This Pokémon also helps with the treatment of people and Pokémon at Pokémon Centers and hospitals with its aroma. With Flower Veil it can prevent stats of a Grass-type ally during battle. Its other ability Triage will put restorative moves on the highest priority during battle. It has a cute design, but it hasn’t grown on me yet. If its stats are any good this could make for a good healer in double battles.

Bounsweet

Bounsweet is a Grass-type that is known simply as the Fruit Pokémon. It is popular with Pokémon and people in the Alola Region for its delicious smell from its entire body. While people let Bounsweets in their homes as air fresheners they also have the unfortunate risk of being swallowed whole by Pokémon drawn by the aroma. With Leaf Guard status conditions are prevented in sunny weather while Oblivious prevents it from being infatuated or falling for taunts. It’s a very simple design, but I think this was made to be a comic relief Pokémon to catch.

Bewear

Bewear is the Strong Arm Pokémon. This Normal/Fighting-type is known to be dangerous for having powerful arms (even when it is swinging them in a friendly fashion). So it will be fond of its trainer and try to embrace that feeling, but the hugs it gives tend to be overpowered. Bewear could unfortunately have Klutz as its ability, which prevents it from using held items. However, it may also have the ability Fluffy, which halves direct damage but at the same time doubles the damage from Fire-type moves. And on a personal level, I just love this Pokémon all around. As it has a simple and cute design while being a deadly cuddle machine. Its cry even sounds like a deep “Yay!” in my opinion. Despite being combustible like a teddy bear made in China I think this could make a good Pokémon for the team, just keep it clear from Litten.

Mimikyu

Mimikyu is the Disguise Pokémon. This Ghost/Fairy-type lives in a cloth and is always hidden. There is a myth that seeing its true form will stricken people with a mysterious illness. And here´s another fun fact. This Pokémon is so lonely that it has made its cloth look like Pikachu-style merchandise in hopes that people will befriend it. It’s Disguise ability allows it to avoid damage from an attack just once, cause the “head” to flop over. This is almost as bad as Cubone only not as depressing but more desperate. When I saw Spring-chu for the very first time, I sort of fell for the eerie design. I’m not sure it would make for a good competitive Pokemon, but so far I’ve seen a bit of a fandom for it already.

And that’s it for this update. Did any of these guys do it for you? Be sure to leave a comment if you did. Train on!

Credit:
Robin Ek – Editor
—————————————————–

***UPDATE 1 – 2016-07-08 – 02:30 CEST***

“Pokémon Go” is already live here in the States (with plenty of problems server-side it seems). However, that’s not going to stop the Pokémon Company from revealing more species for “Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon“. It’s just one this time, but I think this is a Pokemon worth mentioning (and not to batch it with another lot of Pokémon about a month later).

Salandit

Salandit is classified as the Toxic Lizard Pokémon. This Poison/Fire-type emits toxic gas, along with flames, from the base of its tail. The poisonous gas has a sweet smell which people could become dizzy if inhaled. And while not the strongest it is a clever Pokemon. Salandit has the ability Corrosion, which can inflict the Poison status even on Steel and Poison type Pokemon.

The ability may be the best thing about this Pokémon. For those new to Pokémon, you can’t pass the Poison status condition onto a Steel or Poison type Pokemon (there were some loopholes from what I understand). However, Corrosion bypasses this rule and lets it sling toxic on them. And while Salandit and any possible evolution stages may not be the strongest. I think this is a brand-new Pokémon to troll other trainers with. As for the design, I can’t say it has the best poker face. It’s a lizard with eyes that could match an old man with dirty thoughts in any anime. Though I can’t help but crack a smile when I see it.

Hopefully, there will be a batch of Pokemon to write next time. Train on.

Credit:
Robin Ek – Editor
—————————————————–

The Year of Pokémon has been rolling out strong with all the promotions and Mystical Pokémon distributions. The biggest thing going on for the franchise is the upcoming “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon” titles and with every month the hype continues to build. Now that there are a bunch of new Pokémon on the official website I think it’s time to list them off. Without further ado let’s take a look at the brand-new species you’ll be running into.

Magearna

Magearna is the Artificial Pokémon. This Steel/Fairy-type was created by scientists of uncommon genius 500 years ago (building Pokémon before Porygon). Its ability Soul-Heart can raise its Special Attack by 1 stage each time another Pokémon, ally or opponent, faints on the field. The only known way to get this Pokémon is by using the QR Scanner when the code is distributed in the near future. Among the other man-made Pokémon, this is one of the coolest (I have yet to acquire Genesect for my collection and use). I’m a sucker for anything that has mechanic details. However, I doubt we’ll see anything like in the animated movie it’s appearing in (unless there’s a cut-scene). As for its ability, I think it might work well for Battle Royal (unless there are restrictions that prevent it from entering a match).

Pikipek

This Normal/Flying-type is known as the Woodpecker Pokémon. Pikipek can strike 16 times a second with its beak, which would be great for button mashing with the right padding. It can have either the Keen Eye and Skill Link abilities. Keen Eye prevents the loss of accuracy and ignores any boosts in the opponent’s evasion. Outside of battle it can also have a fifty percent chance of reducing a wild Pokémon encounter if the wild’s level is five levels or more below the leader’s (the Pokémon with the ability). With Skill Link a multi-strike move that can hit 2-5 times per use will always strike five times, which is perfect for Pikipek. Well, at least.in my opinion. Every generation needs its early area bird Pokémon and Pikipek aren’t so bad if you can catch one with Skill Link.

Yungoos

The Loitering Pokémon is a straight Normal-type with a long body given to its stomach. With a rapid digestion, it is always hungry (it could give Snorlax a run for its money). One of the abilities it could have is Stakeout, which doubles the damage inflicted on any Pokémon that was switched in or entered the field mid-battle. The other ability, Strong Jaw, increases the power of biting moves by fifty percent. This Pokémon is hilariously cute, and I think Stakeout can give the potential of making Yungoos a sweeper.

Rockruff

This Puppy Pokémon is a Rock-type (not sure if it rocks out) with tales of how it can use the faintest of scents to track down its trainer for days if they were separated at a long distance. For abilities, it has Keen Eye (like Pikipek) and Vital Spirit. With Vital Spirit it won’t be afflicted by sleep inducing moves (which also makes Rest useless). Furthermore, with this ability the chances of encountering a higher-leveled Pokémon in the wild increases by fifty percent if Rockruff takes the lead in the party. This is an overall cool Pokémon with a cute design. If you catch one with Vital Spirit, I think it could help out with leveling your party.

Komala

Komala is a Normal-type with the classification of being the Drowsing Pokémon. This Pokémon is always asleep (more than Abra?). Lore says if you take a small amount of its saliva after it eats leaves, water it down. And if you drink it, then you will be able to sleep well that night. It only has one ability: Comatose. Comatose keeps it perpetually in a drowsing state, preventing it from getting any other status conditions. Komala is another cute Pokémon and while its ability’s name sounds awful. I can see it being useful if its (and any possible evolution) base stats can accommodate for a defensive role.

Grubbin, Charjabug, and Vikavolt

The Pokémon Company has showcased a full evolution line for one of the Bug-type “Pokémon in Sun & Moon“. The line starts with Grubbin, the Larva Pokémon, which is a Bug-type with the ability Swarm. With Swarm its Bug-type moves have a power increase of 1.5% and outside of battle (leading the party), and that increases the chance of encountering wild Pokémon.

The second stage along the line is Charjabug the Battery Pokémon. It’s a Bug/Electric-type with the ability Battery, which allows it to raise the power of allies’ special moves.

Finally, we have Vikavolt as the fully evolved form. This Stag Beetle Pokémon keeps its type from the last stage but exchanges its ability for Levitate, which negates Ground-type attacks and area moves (such as Spikes and Terrain effects).

This is a very interesting evolution line. Even though I’m not 100% sure, that its constant ability to swap between stages will help in any way. Battery does sound useful, but losing it when Charjabug hits its final evolution is a let down (since a fully evolved Pokémon is usually stronger than previous stages). Abilities aside I think this line is pretty cool, especially in the design department. While Heracross is a popular Bug-type I think Vikavolt might be a contender.

Bruxish

Bruxish, the Gnash Teeth Pokémon, is a Water/Psychic-type. And it emits strong psychic powers from the protuberance on its head, which induces headaches. And “if” you´re unlucky, that could lead to unconsciousness when bathed in this power. This Pokémon can be caught with the ability Strong Jaw (as mentioned under Yungoos) or Dazzling. Dazzling is a new ability that can prevent opponents from using priority moves that normally strike first (such as Quick Attack). Bruxish is strange and unusual but then again, the same can be said about a lot of Pokémon in the last twenty years. It looks like an angler fish from a Distorted World though the Dazzling ability makes it worth catching.

Cutiefly

The Bee Fly Pokémon is a Bug/Fairy-type that can detect the auras of living things (much like Lucario). They search out flowers by color and brightness of their auras and gather their nectar and pollen when it finds a good spot. Cutiefly can be caught with either the Honey Gather and Dust Shield abilities. Honey Gather allows a Pokémon to collect Honey if it’s not holding an item (similar to Pickup) while Dust Shield negates additional effects from attack moves. Cutiefly, as the name applies, is cute as hell and surprising it’s as cute as its real-life counterpart. Honey Gather may be a useful ability for it to have since Honey can attract Bug-type Pokémon or be sold for some quick Pokedollars.

Drampa

Drampa, the Placid Pokémon, is a Normal/Dragon-type. These dragons live alone in the mountains 10,000 feet above sea level (not ninety million hundred fifty thousand hundred feet in the air) and loves being around people and other Pokémon when they come down to ground level. In fact, they’re especially gentle with children and often appear at schools and parks to play with them, but will grow violent if provoked. Drampa can either have Sap Sipper, which negates Grass-type moves and increases its Attack by one stage, or Berserk, an ability that raises its Special Attack if its HP drops below half. When I was doing research for this article, I just fell in love with this dragon. It reminds me of crazy, next to harmless people.

Togedemaru

Togedemaru is the Roly-Poly Pokémon with an Electric/Steel-typing. It’s essentially a hedgehog. However, it´s made of metal, which can gather and store electricity. Though I think, this is the species of hedgehogs that can’t swim. It’s possible abilities are Lightning Rod and Iron Barbs. With Lightning Rod, it draws Electric-type moves and boosts its Special Attack (like Pikachu in the early Indigo League arc). And with Iron Barbs it inflicts damage to any attackers on contact, and for a Pikachu clone its pretty cute for a metal hedgehog.

Tapu Koko

As the Land Spirit Pokémon (with an Electric/Fairy-typing) it is the guardian deity of Melemele Island, though it’s a very fickle creature. It won’t lend a hand to anyone unless it felt like it. In fact, the only sure way to get an actual response from it is on the chance that it becomes interested in you or your Pokémon (which only occurs when it comes out to play or battle). It’s only ability is Electric Surge, a terrain ability which fills the field with electricity, which raises the power of Electric-type moves. It also comes with a special move called “nature’s Madness” which allows it to slam into an opponent and reduce that Pokémon’s HP by half (sort of like Demi/Gravity from the Final Fantasy series).

Personally, I think Tapu Koko could have been the box art Pokémon if they decided to go with something else instead of Solgaleo and Lunala. It just nails the theme of the region right on the head. Though the problem is that it would have to represent either version, but I think it could pull it off. As its limbs has a sort of totem Transformer thing going on. So “maybe” in its “totem form.” It could take the based on either Solgaleo or Lunala depending on the version it’s found on. Overall Tapu Koko is okay in my book. It looks native to Alola and it’s a deity that doesn’t lift a finger unless you’re on its list.

In conclusion, the list for the new regional Pokémon is looking good. The more I look at these games the more I hear the drums. Train on.

Credit:
Robin Ek – Editor

David Lucas
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @GamerFoxem

More by David Lucas:

• A thought on the exclusions for “Pokémon Sword” and “Pokémon Shield”
• Nintendo’s E3 2019 press conference – A very good presentation that switched between new and old games
• Pokémon Direct 6.5.2019 – Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield has left me with a dynamaxed impression
• Without Within 3 PC review – A masterpiece of a visual novel
• 20 great horror games to play during the November break – Halloween 2018 just got even scarier

Tags: 3DS, Nintendo, Pokémon, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, The Year of Pokémon