JAPE: The Final Evo-dition
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Introduction
Welcome to our last Judge a Pokémon Express before the release of Sun & Moon! This issue we'll be covering the final evolutions of the starter Pokémon, Decidueye, Incineroar, and Primarina. Let's welcome Codraroll, DHR-107, FellFromtheSky, GatoDelFuego, Pikachu315111, heritage, RODAN!!!, Snobalt, and {Pokemon_Vigilante}.
| Codraroll | DHR-107 | FellFromtheSky | |
| GatoDelFuego | Pikachu315111 | heritage | |
| RODAN!!! | Empress | {Pokemon_Vigilante} | |
| Click on the images to read their thoughts! | |||
Decidueye
Codraroll
The second Gen VII Pokémon we ever saw was the Grass starter, Rowlet. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be a Grass / Flying type, which made fans pretty sure which direction Game Freak would be going with it. "Grass / Flying it is, then!" we all said, confident that we at least knew what one of the final starter evolutions would be like. And then it turns out to swap its Flying typing for Ghost upon its final evolution. Oh, Game Freak, you magnificent bastards. You got us again.
There isn't really much to Decidueye's design that reinforces its Ghost typing. It appears to have gotten black hair, eyelids, and beak, which is the closest thing to a Ghost element I can see in its design. All that black sure would have been nice for camouflage, if not for the fact that its lower face, torso, legs and head feather are all cream colored. In that sense, its tan wings probably do more to help it blend in among the foliage.
Its Grass typing is also only subtly alluded to. Decidueye's hood and shoulder pads are green, and it has a leaf-ended hood string that also doubles as a bow string. The discarded Flying typing remains the most influential to the design, as Decidueye certainly still looks like a bird in every major aspect. Large wings, bird-like feet, a bird-like face, and tail feathers.
Decidueye employs one of the most common clichés for animated avian characters: feather fingers, also known as wingers. Decidueye even has thumbs. Feather thumbs, even. With joints. I'm usually a sucker for some realism in Pokémon designs, so this kind of bothers me.
Details aside, I still find Decidueye a really cool Pokémon. I like its color scheme, a fresh detraction from the usual all-green Grass starters. It has a stealth aspect to it, which is very cool, and I think "archer owl" is a much cooler concept than "plain plant owl", which Decidueye easily could have been with a slightly different design direction. Overall, it remains my favorite fully evolved Gen VII starter.
Incineroar
Codraroll
Like many others, I was very tired of Fire / Fighting starters after Gen V. Game Freak wisely listened to fans, and they did not repeat the typing in Gen VI, nor did they bring it back in Gen VII. However, seeing Incineroar made me realize that the Fire / Fighting combo was not the only overused design convention that troubles Fire-type starters. Another, equally bad, one is the apparent insistence of making every Fire-type starter since Blaziken a human-like fighter of sorts.
Blaziken is a chicken-like humanoid fighter. Infernape is clearly a monkey, but bipedal and with a clear fighter demeanor. Emboar is more of a boar-like sumo wrestler than a sumo wrestler-like boar, with its upright posture and human-like arms. Delphox doesn't fight per se, but it is clearly based on a human mage, albeit slightly fox-like. And now Incineroar is a humanoid, tiger-like fighter. In all but its typing, it follows the "fighting Fire-type" archetype to a tee, which is sad, seeing as neither Charizard nor Typhlosion are humanoid but are still considered pretty kick-ass designs. They prove that Fire-type starters can go different ways than they've done for the past decade and still be successful.
So overall, Incineroar kind of disappoints me. It does execute the archetype well, though, with strategically placed hair tufts looking like spikes, a flaming belt, large hands (again with the thumbs...), and a pretty awesome color scheme. If not for the other Fire starters, I think I would like Incineroar a lot better than I currently do. As my co-panelist RODAN explains, Incineroar even has a solid, real-life basis in Japanese wrestling. But the design is so, so traditional that I can't help but look at it and think that the designers are stuck in a rut, that they chose the heel wrestler theme because it fit their pre-conceived notion of what a Fire starter should be like. Delphox was a small step away from the Fire / Fighting style, Incineroar goes almost the entire way back to that path. Please, designers, consider something different next time.
Primarina
Codraroll
One could make the argument that all fully evolved starter Pokémon in Generations VI and VII are based on human archetypes as much as they are on animals. Primarina is an interesting case in this regard, being based on a mermaid. But instead of being half human and half fish, Primarina is half human-like sea lion and half... Arceus knows what.
To take the front half first: This is Game Freak's answer to the age-old question "how human-like can we possibly draw a sea lion?" You have the large anime-style eyes, a human-like hairdo, long arms with distinct elbows and fingered fins (sigh), even freaking shoulders. The head is shaped more like a bird's than any mammal's, save for the dot on the snout.
The rear half seems to be vaguely fish-like, except there are apparently eight dorsal fins in a circle around the body. The fin looks nothing like anything you'd find in the animal kingdom, more like a piece of clothing than a piece of a body. And the way the tail bends would create fractures in any spine known to scientists.
And to top it off, the color scheme is not very appealing. White + cyan + blue looks just wrong together, especially when the blue is so deep while all the other colors are pale pastel colors. There are splotches of pink in the design, but it's washed out by the other colors.
In conclusion, I'm not really sure if I like Primarina. To design a mermaid Pokémon, they had to "humanize" the front half almost uncannily much, while the rear half is "Pokémonized" until nothing about it makes sense. And the color scheme borders on awful. It creates a decent-enough total impression, but once you start looking at it, it really falls apart.
Decidueye
DHR-107
This is pretty much exactly what most people were expecting. A hooded archer with long legs that look like they are in tights. What I think most people didn't expect is the huge typing change. Decidueye loses its Flying typing and instead gains Ghost typing. I believe this is an incredibly interesting reference to the Stilt Owl, a long extinct genus of Owl that used to live on the Hawaiian islands. Its long legs appear to match Decidueye's almost perfectly. They are now only known from sub fossil records, as they died out before scientists really existed. The lush green and dull brown work extremely well together to give Decidueye perfect camouflage in its preferred hunting grounds.
Decidueye's change to the Ghost-type means it becomes incredibly skilled at stealth and hiding from its enemies, where it can suddenly unleash perfectly placed arrows to prevent them from escaping. Spirit Shackle is an interesting move that deals damage and traps the foe in with Decidueye. It could be incredibly useful versus things that are weak to Dedicueye's STAB moves.
Incineroar
DHR-107
What the heck? What happened here Game Freak? I mean... On the plus side they fixed its spine. BY MAKING IT STAND UP. WHY? At least they didn't make it Fire / Fighting. Oh wait. The design screams that at you, before you realize its actually Dark-typed instead. Not sure why they pulled the bait and switch. Even so, the colors do work pretty well together.
Inciniroar appears to also have enormous paws/hands. These are attached to a heavy muscular chest that is obviously tailored towards powerful full contact fighting. Its legs, however, are a bit on the small side... To me it needs the heavy set tail to help keep it from overbalancing all the time! It is said that its fire burns hotter the bigger the crowds that are watching. This allows it to unleash powerful Fire-type attacks.
Inciniroar's signature move is Darkest Lariat. This move appears to be functionally similar to that of Chip Away, ignoring any stat changes the foe may have incurred. It is a much better typing, however, than Chip Away's Normal. I'm not sure if it will see much use, but it could be useful to have in a pinch.
Primarina
DHR-107
Brionne goes full diva mode with its final evolution. The design exudes a calm elegance and confidence that is difficult to pull off. The small starfish on the side of the head harkens back to the old golden age of films and music, where starlets would wear similar adornments. The colors are spot on and agree with its change in typing. Typically Fairy-types have pink coloring somewhere on their designs, and Primarina is no different.
My hopes of having an Elephant Seal final evolution were dashed. However, I think I actually prefer Primarina's design more than my own hypothetical. Its melodic voice controls the bubbles it uses for attacks. Its signature move is Sparkling Aria. This move deals damage and heals the burns of any Pokémon it touches. Whether or not this means it is equivalent to Wake Up Slap or Smelling Salts, we do not yet know. But doubled power against foes you've burned could turn the tide in battle.
Decidueye
FellFromtheSky
I'll preface my critique of all three Pokémon to be reviewed today with this one statement: this is possibly the best set of fully evolved starter designs I have yet to see. While there have been memorable and charming fully evolved starters in past generations—such as Serperior in Gen V and Charizard in Gen I—there has never before been a generation where I could say that all three starters were so innovatively designed and well crafted as now, as we sit on the edge of the generational shift.
Of the three starters, Decidueye is perhaps the most unique and innovative, as it is unlike all the Grass-type starters before it. Every other fully evolved Grass starter Pokémon is, with the exception of Chesnaught, decidedly reptilian. Decidueye, on the other hand, is unique in its avian shape and basis, as well as its somewhat unique typing—Grass / Ghost. The design was also masterfully executed; Decidueye has clearly escaped the awkward phase it was going through as a Dartrix, and its color scheme now more closely resembles Rowlet's and its graceful wings now mimic the shape of a cloak. In addition, unlike many Pokémon whose designers attempted to incorporate clothing-like elements into their designs, Decidueye's hood appears both natural and fitting. In truth, while the cloaked owl is certainly not my favorite of this batch of starters, I cannot find anything negative to say about it. It is, simply put, a cleverly executed, and elegant, design.
Incineroar
FellFromtheSky
Unlike Decidueye, it's difficult to call Inceroar's design an elegant one; it is anything but. Of all three starters, Inceroar is probably my least favorite, but that doesn't mean it isn't well designed. I actually find the situation somewhat analogous to cinema. Decidueye and Primarina are like thoughtful films that cause one to contemplate the intricacies of life, while Incineroar is like an action film—perhaps not profound or beautiful, but entertaining nonetheless. Incineroar's color scheme is composed of simple red and black, effectively communicating its sinister nature, while its form is simultaneously suggestive of a tiger and of a wrestler. While none of these things particularly appeal to me, I can admit that Incineroar's designers knew what they were doing, and the only complaint I can really make against them is the tiger's oddly shaped tail.
Primarina
FellFromtheSky
Finally, the last, but most certainly the best, Pokémon I have the opportunity to critique today is the Soloist Pokémon—Primarina. Much negativity has been spread around about Primarina's feminine appearance, which, in conjunction with the fact that starter Pokémon have a gender ratio of 87.5% male, seems to have upset many people with narrow-minded ideas about gender norms. However, it seems a shame to me that so many people dislike what is, I think, the most well-designed starter Pokémon (including Charizard). Primarina has a harmonious color scheme and a lovely silhouette that effectively stir up images of sirens and mermaids, from which the Pokémon takes many design elements. Gossamer-thin, silk-like details augment the design, emphasizing its ethereal quality. In addition, the bubble motif present on Primarina's pre-evolutions is cleverly incorporated into the soloist's head ornament and flowing aqua hair. Even its flavor and lore are en pointe—the siren-like creature manipulates water with its voice and constantly fears injury toward its throat—referencing the struggles of real-life vocalists. All in all, I feel I must express my admiration of the designers of such a lovely Pokémon. Kudos to them.
Decidueye
GatoDelFuego
I was dreading this evolution from the first time I saw it. But, in all honesty, it looks much better in-game than it did on paper. The leaks had its eyes basically nonexistent, hidden behind the goggles, but they're much better looking now. Decidueye is probably the most "complete" design out of the three starter evolutions. It's an archery robin hood owl thing, and it really fills the niche. There were definitely ways to mess this design up, such as keeping the body owl-shaped but making the wings prehensile. By basically abandoning animal anatomy in the final design, Decidueye winds up looking more like Watchmen's Owlman than an actual owl. I think that this fits well; the cloak doubles as hands and wings, and the elongated legs keep the design from being too creepy. I have two complaints: one, what's up with that edgy hoodie-tightening animation, and two, they sort of abandoned the Grass / Flying line we had going. Grass / Ghost is cool, but it's sort of a random transition to make on the third stage.
Incineroar
GatoDelFuego
I was dreading this evolution from the first time I saw it. But, in all honesty, it looks much better in-game than it did on paper. I was always hoping that Incineroar was going to go in a different direction, but there's no denying that a muscular luchador tiger is awesome. The belt, the chompers, the "come at me bro!" default pose... everything about Incineroar oozes cool. I dig the angry eyebrows too. It keeps enough cat in the final equation to remind me of its cute, cuddly roots while pumping in enough human to be an intimidating wrestler. Fire / Dark is a refreshing type to settle on after expectations of Fire / Fighting from day one. It might look like Tony the Tiger, but who cares in the end? This is a Cat of Fire; I was destined to love it from the start.
Primarina
GatoDelFuego
I was dreading this evolution from the first time I saw it. And, in all honesty, it looks just as bad in-game as it did on paper. In the end I can't really deny that Primarina is interesting... pretty much every critique I'll level on it is personal in some way. A pop star singer is original and cool, but I just can't picture a way to improve this design so long as it's been joined at the hip to a sea lion. Primarina's mermaid body is more snakelike than anything, with impossible curves and incredibly thin pinches at the tail making it totally implausible for its body to have any strength. I look at its front flippers and my only thought is linguine with shovels on the end. I like the medusa-style hair in the trailer when Primarina uses its signature move, but I think a big ponytail with a pearl hair tie makes the design busy. The eyelashes once again creep me out; I can't get the image of this anthropromorphic sea lion batting its eyelashes in a beauty contest. Primarina's (comically large) nose is thicker than its neck! What's up with the pink spikes on its waist? The entire design looks crowded, unfocused, and over the top. Oh well, at least it's an improvement from Brionne.
Decidueye
Pikachu315111
The rumors, they were true! Of the final evos of the Alolan starters, I initially liked Decidueye the most. I liked the idea of it using its wings as a bow (and a cape when not in use), and its hood string not only closes its hood but also acts like the bow's string. It's a tight design and, in my opinion, the one with the most logical evolution progression; Rowlet threw leaf blades, Dartrix threw feather darts, and now Decidueye uses feather arrows. If there's one thing I don't like, it's where its "hands" go when it's not using them: it tucks them under its arm which looks like an awkward place to put them.
What wasn't expected was the type change. Grass / Ghost doesn't give it any fewer weaknesses, but there's at least no quadruple weaknesses like Grass / Flying had. Its description justifies this type change with it becoming a silent sniper, moving around without notice (also it's based on the extinct stilt owl that lived on Hawaii). Another part of its description mentions it can curve its shots, which is reflected with its signature move, Spirit Shackle, where it shoots a curving arrow to trap a foe. It all works nicely together. I'd say Decidueye is the pick of a strategic Trainer, one who plans things out and uses tricks to fluster the opponent.
Incineroar
Pikachu315111
True the rumors be! When we all first saw Incineroar, we all had the same thought: not another Fire / Fighting! But while Incineroar is based on a wrestler, it's based on a heel wrestler, and thus it turned out to be a Fire / Dark type! With our worries relieved, we can now focus on its design. I've never seen the sudden twist they did with Incineroar with any other starter, it's rather jarring. Not helping is its more cartoon-y style (especially the hands), though it does help it being more expressive. It has grown on me after I initially saw it, though that could be because I have a bias toward the Fire-type starter and it turning out to be a Fire / Dark type.
Incineroar becoming a heel wrestler isn't that out of left field. It's a reference to a famous Japanese wrestler named Tiger Mask. From what I read on Tiger Mask, Incineroar's description does match how Tiger Mask has been portrayed. On the outside it acts like a jerk, but it's most happy when it's getting admiration and watched by a pumped crowd. While that sounds egotistical, it doesn't fight weak or injured opponents, which is sometimes used to get an advantage over it. Still, Incineroar is for those Trainers who like going all out, with its signature move, Darkest Lariat, mirroring this by ignoring stat changes. Of course be wary where the opposing Trainer is, as Incineroar's attacks will sometimes hit them (though that's more for flavor than something we'd probably see in the games).
Primarina
Pikachu315111
Rumors? True! Primarina leaves the least impression on me. I don't know why, to me it looks a bit bland and unfinished. It could also be due to its feminine appearance making me think they're trying to recapture what they had with Braixen. That said, it looks alright, I say it looks unfinished but there's nothing about the design that is missing or shouldn't be there (maybe the red spikes on the waist, but that would leave the entire tail looking even more bland).
While not obvious from its design, the progression of Popplio to Primarina is there if you take it from a pure entertainer view. Popplio was a performer, Brionne was a dancer, and Primarina is a singer. But they do have a unifying theme of the bubbles. Unlike with Froakie, who drops its "frubbles" after it evolves, the bubbles the Popplio family create not only are present but are used in different ways. Primarina can control its bubbles by singing, and it can decide (and only tell) which bubbles it can jump on and which will explode on contact. A lot about Primarina is its voice, including its signature move, Sparkling Aria, which will do damage but heal burned targets (so like Smelling Salts except Water-type and for burns?). Without knowing more about Primarina, I can't really tell what type of Trainer would like it, but if the other two don't fit your fancy, then maybe Primarina is what you're looking for.
Decidueye
heritage
Grass / Ghost. Grass / Ghost. What an awesome typing. With my severe hatred of the other Grass / Ghost Pokémon out there, I'm glad I finally found one I can like. The type change was pretty surprising, but I think it's a better typing than Grass / Flying, so no complaints from me. Rowlet didn't impress me originally, but as soon as I saw the final evolution leaks so long ago, I instantly fell for the design. The complaints I had with the first evolution and even the second stage are completely gone. Honestly, the biggest problem I have with the Pokémon is the name, haha, I can never pronounce it! As is the deal with all of the starters, Decidueye has a lot of character. I think it's adorable how it can fold its hood like a hoodie, with the little leaves handing down as the straps. My favorite part of the design has to be the way it uses its bow. The whole evolution line turned around so much after the first stage, and there's a big chance I'll be choosing Rowlet now.
Primarina
heritage
I said this before and I'll say it again, Primarina blew me out of the water (insert pun here). I didn't hate Popplio by any means, but Primarina is filled with so much beauty and vibrant colors, and the whole design shows because of it. I realize people have been worried that it looks "too girly", but plenty of other designs have had the same idea, so I'm not sure why it's suddenly an issue. The biggest issue I have is the way the hair moves when it attacks, it looks so unnatural. Other than that, everything checks out. I especially love the little starfish on the side of its head. Such a nice, subtle touch. Water / Fairy is a neat typing at well.
Incineroar
heritage
Ugh. I hate myself for even saying this... but Incineroar has really started to grow on me. Other than the GIANT HANDS, I think the design is actually quite genius. The in-game model has a lot of different emotions and character, especially in the Pokémon Refresh feature. The only issue for me has to be the idle animation, it looks super awkward and, again, the huge hands don't really help that, but the rest is great. Yes, yes, it looks like a Fire / Fighting design, I get that. And in one of the previous JAPE I admitted that I didn't like the design for that reason, but after remembering Emboar, I realized that Incineroar's design could have been so much worse. Its signature move, Darkest Lariat, is outright hilarious. It just screams "OH GOD GET OUT OF THE WAY," and it made me laugh so hard when I saw it for the first time. If it WERE Fire / Fighting, it would be my favorite out of the bunch, but Game Freak spared us from another Generation of that typing and gave us the awesome Fire / Dark combo. After reconsidering Incineroar's design, I think that his generation has to gave the most solid designs for starters. I like all three of them, making it actually difficult to decide which one I want. Nice job, Game Freak.
Incineroar
RODAN!!!
History lesson on this one, did you know that Incineroar is based off a Real Honest To Goodness person. I bet you didn't, so here's the story. In the 80s, there was a Japanese pro wrestler named Tiger Mask, and he was one of the most popular characters of all time. So obviously they needed a foil to him, a yin to his yang. They ultimately decided on the Bad Guy Wrestler (or Heel) of Black Tiger. Black Tiger is the inspiration for Incineroar, and you can definitely see it. The way they both fight dirty, the way they both taunt their opponents mercilessly. And goddamn if I don't love this design, it's so full of charm. You can immediately gleam this Pokémon's character just by looking at its design, which is rare. Not many Pokémon are this expressive just in the neutral pose. Love it.
Decidueye
RODAN!!!
Don't like this one, it's a little lame for my tastes. I really enjoyed Rowlet a lot and I had extremely high hopes for its evolutions, but seeing this made me kinda opt out. It's not a terrible design by any stretch of the imagination, it just does not appeal to my personal aesthetic. There is a lot to like about the design, I guess. The bow -> bow is a really cool evolution design choice, the Grass / Ghost typing is weird as fuck but ok. The thing I dont like is its hood. it looks really amateurish, like it doesnt even belong on this Pokémon at all. It's hard to explain exactly why its so weird to me, but it really jars me.
Primarina
RODAN!!!
Bae. What an extremely good design this one is, it's adorable. I love most feminine 'mons, because it adds a level of detail and design that you don't usually see in the more masculine Pokémon. I guess you can count legendaries, but I think most of those are extremely overdesigned. Primarina's color scheme is super appealing, the whites combined with the light blues give you a real summer's day feel about it. And it makes you think about a nostalgic time, when you didn't have responsibilities and life was good and everything didn't suck yet. That went to a weird place. Anyway, all and all this Pokémon is hot. 3/10 elbows too pointy.
Decidueye
Empress
I had lofty expectations for Decidueye in large part due to the public's infatuation with Rowlet. Quite frankly, I didn't (and still don't) understand what the big deal about Rowlet is; I just find its design to be silly. And as for its final form, I still have no clue what to make of it. Don't get me wrong; its hugely unexpected Grass / Ghost typing is quite welcome, as the previous representatives in Trevenant and the Gourgeist formes failed to deliver in the competitive scene. I wonder what such a typing is capable of on a Pokémon with a 520+ BST, inevitable access to Flying-type moves, and a signature move that sounds broken on paper. Still, nothing about Decidueye seems Ghost-type to me. On one hand, owls are nocturnal, which brings to mind the idea of spookiness. I also have a pipe dream that Noctowl will shed its Normal typing for something else—perhaps a Psychic or Dark typing. But that's the thing; Noctowl has a logical typing to replace, and Decidueye doesn't. That is, unless Game Freak plans to give it Levitate as a hidden ability. Even then, what is so ghostly about Decidueye? On appearance alone, I feel that if I were to use Tackle on it, it would at least feel something. It just does not scream "spiritual," and even if it did, it also screams "avian" enough to drown out anything else. A ghastly aura may envelop Decidueye's arrows, as seen in how it executes Spirit Shackle, but how did such aura get there in the first place? The world may never know. But hey, Game Freak is fairly notorious for doing things that seem to defy all flavor logic. Moreover, why would I question Decidueye? It looks angry now, and to make it even angrier would not be a smart idea. Considering it's as lethal as an armed American soldier with perfect vision, if I so much as look at it funny, you may not see me in another edition of Judge a Pokémon.
Incineroar
Empress
And his name is John Cena!
If you've followed Pokémon at all within the past decade, you know how the story with the Fire-type starters goes. When we had Blaziken, we were excited; when we had Infernape, we were disappointed; and when we had Emboar, we were outraged. Therefore, as soon as I saw Incineroar, my heart pounded as I thought, "this thing better not be a Fighting-type." Luckily, it wasn't, but even then, I find myself as outraged as I was when Emboar made its debut. Firstly, I saw that many of the fully evolved Alola Pokémon have low Speed stats, and if Incineroar follows that trend, it'll be nothing more than a poor man's Houndoom, as Houndoom already has good power and no amount of bulk can save Fire / Dark from being a poor defensive typing. At least if this proves to be the case, Darkest Lariat may be enough to discourage NU ladder heroes from using Barrier + Stored Power Musharna, though there's nothing else special about the move. While professional wrestling is entertaining to those who don't know its secrets, I know that it's entirely scripted. From the theatric moves to the exaggerated personalities of the professional wrestling world, Incineroar strikes me as nothing more than a wannabe actor. Appearance-wise, it's exactly that, as I'm skeptical about the origin of its muscles. Do steroids exist in Alola? Personality-wise, it's not a bad guy; it just plays one on television. It doesn't want to hurt those who cross its path; it just wants to give Pokémon and humans alike a good show. Ultimately, Incineroar is just incredibly fake, and soon it will be forgotten in the Pokémon world, just like how most of our real-life WWE retirees become washed up very quickly.
Primarina
Empress
Well, one out of three ain't bad. After mulling it over for a bit, Primarina is a much-needed addition to the feminine designs of the Pokémon world. The ORAS Mega Evolutions did such designs no justice, ranging from the overly complicated Mega Diancie to the almost slutty Mega Lopunny. For this reason, my fingers are crossed that Primarina does not get a Mega Evolution. After all, its current form is, in my opinion, the epitome of elegance. Some call it blingy, but I don't find its use of accessories to be cheesy; rather, they accentuate the idea of a mermaid on what would otherwise be a bland design. The gaudy use of jewelry fell flat on Diancie's design, but Primarina proves that it can be done correctly in moderation. It also has shades of Milotic, another aesthetically-pleasing Water-type that similarly draws its features from the mythological siren and projects a calming aura. Disregarding everything else, its secondary typing is the unequivocally most broken type in the game; coupled with the defensive capabilities of the Water typing, I think that you readers will have a lot of fun using Primarina in UU or even OU. Just don't plan on running Sparkling Aria on it; such a strong defensive typing means that Primarina is likely to run Scald, which is obviously counterintuitive with Sparkling Aria's secondary effect of clearing burns. Considering my luck, I guess it's no surprise that my favorite of the Alola final forms has the worst signature move. All in all, the presence of Primarina is not enough to lure me out of retirement, but in any case, I've always picked the Water-type starter, and this time will be no exception.
Decidueye
{Pokemon_Vigilante}
Let's be honest, this majestic Pokémon has to have access to the move Glare, because I feel it looking into my soul! As far back as I can remember, I have never loved a type of Pokémon as much as the Grass-type starters. Serperior was really the only letdown, and that wasn't even hard for me to get over. Now, I get to look forward to working with arguably the coolest starter in the Grass-type class to date. If this is the final chapter in a glorious game saga, then I'm glad that my team leader turned out way better than I could have hoped for. The colors really pop, and the design is made even more mysterious by the appearance of what I would describe as a hood with drawstrings that can further conceal the true majesty of Decidueye, not to mention that I can't get over how awesome it is that Decidueye can turn a wing into a bow and arrow set while using its special move known as Spirit Shackle! I kinda see a resemblance to The Green Arrow in this unique and powerful Pokémon. I also have to admit that I like the fact that Decidueye stands nearly as tall as the Trainers in the game. There will likely not be a starter like Decidueye in my eyes (pun intended) even if the saga continues beyond Sun and Moon. I've made my choice as for who my starter is going to be, and I've decided to go with Decidueye! Ok, I'm done with the puns now. But I do want to hear from the detractors on Decidueye and why you wouldn't use it or like it on your team.
Incineroar
{Pokemon_Vigilante}
This may sound odd, but I have to start with this line that keeps running through my head each time I watch the reveal trailer, "I'm Lion-O!!" (For those who are curious, the count was 7 at the time I wrote this). If the devil had a cat, I'm sure this what it would look like. Back to the Lion-O reference, I figure this is what Lion-O would look like if he did steroids during a midlife crisis and decided to get his fur dyed. Nothing about Incineroar is outstanding, aside from being a cat that walks on two legs, and even that is tame in comparison to the rest of it. I get that the composition of the Pokémon's evolutions are supposed to the resemble the base stages, but there was so much more that could have been done here. I certainly don't like that Incineroar looks like professional wrestling musclehead getting ready to put on a show. Point blank: Incineroar is nothing special for me. I feel so heavily disappointed in having to write that, but it's just how I feel. I'm likening this feeling to that of a tire that gets blown out by a random nail in the middle of the road with no one around for 200 miles to replace it.
Primarina
{Pokemon_Vigilante}
I wonder if Disney knows they have a new Princess in the fold? I can't be the only one who sees Primarina as a small step backwards, can I? I wanted something that had a little less fairy flair and bit more force. If Primarina had a darker color scheme, I'd be ok with it, but looking at so much white and pale blue is bad for my eyes and likely will be for many others. The only thing that really sets this design back other than the color scheme is the fact that I see more of a mime than a fairy due to the face paint. Brionne was the best this evolution line had to offer, and that isn't even a great compliment to Brionne. I'm sorry I can't find a silver lining here, but it's not like there's many to be looking for.
Conclusion
And with that, we conclude our final Judge a Pokémon Express before the release of Sun & Moon. Big thanks to all our panelists, and stay tuned for more JAPE in the future!
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