Judge a Pokémon Express: Pokémon Z
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Introduction
In the last issue of Judge-A-Pokémon, we left a hint as to what Pokemon would be judged next. If you guessed Hoopa, then you're not even close. The image was clearly a silhouette of Zygarde. Seriously though, this is an express, hot-off-the-press edition of Judge-A-Pokémon featuring all of Zygarde's body parts and formes! Veteran and new writers are on board to tackle Zygarde in all its beauty. Today we're joined by antemortem, Aurora, brightobject, Eevee General, and Tikitik—and I'll also be stepping in to write for this issue.
Zygarde Cell
Aurora
Of late, Pokémon name etymologies have been getting less and less subtle. Generation V brought us Garbodor, a Pokémon that has a body ("bod") made of garbage ("garb") that more than likely emits a pungent stench ("odor"). Generation VI gave us Litleo, a little ("lit") lion ("leo"). However, the two preceding examples at least attempted to be interesting through meshing together syllables of different words or using languages like Latin. Here, we have Zygarde-Cell, which bears a striking resemblance to—you guessed it!—a cell. I cannot believe that I am talking about a separate forme. Zygarde-Cell is straight out of those shitty slides that you look at through a low-quality light microscope during high school Biology class and fawn over the "coolness" of before you realize that what you are looking at is, really, little more than an unremarkable, disfigured sphere. Zygarde-Base or Zygarde-Proto would have been far better names for this green glob. Admittedly, Game Freak probably didn't have too much to work with, but come on...
brightobject
Ahh, Zygarde-Cell... being so similar to Zygarde-Core, there's not much to say about you at all except that Game Freak made a mistake in making the two of you so alike. It's not like the cells that make up our bodies look like tiny humans, after all. Your ugly, flattened appearance makes it seem like your appearance is derived from Zygarde-Core's and not the other way around... Not to mention you seem a lot bulkier than Zygarde-Core in general, which really makes it awkward to try to link the two of you together as the building materials and the building. Rather disappointing—it seems like Game Freak dreamed this guy up as an afterthought—a hasty response to the developers' newfangled idea of gathering germs from all around Kalos.
Eevee General
So I guess Game Freak is so starved for animal, plant, and inanimate object inspiration that they've moved on to the cellular level. Which could have been cool! They could have tackled viruses, bacteria, and T-cells even. Instead we have this uninspiring wannabe Stunfisk pre-evolution that's a "cell" because it has a nucleus and some other goop in it. Not even the attempt at cutesy mismatched eyes can save it. This is one cell the designers should have kept from dividing.
Tikitik
This is a "Judge-A-Pokémon" article, right? I might be in the wrong place then, because it's fairly difficult to even consider this little guy as a legitimate Pokémon. No individual thoughts or will, no ability to use any sort of moves—our buddy here is just one of the many pieces that combine into a puzzle that we call "Zygarde". There's really not much to say designwise, except that the idea of starting the evolution of a legendary with the very basic stage, the cell, is really interesting! It's something that we haven't experienced so far and taking this path was absolutely a good choice from Game Freak.
Zygarde Core
Aurora
Zygarde-Core is kind of cute. It comes across as inquisitive. Having finally taken on a three-dimensional shape, casting aside the flat, boring existence of its lesser forme, Zygarde-Core looks eager to learn more about the world around it. Look at its solitary eye. It's staring at you. It wants to know more about you, such as whether or not you can find it within yourself to care about something so small—a real problem with the society we live in. Cellular social causes aside, however, Zygarde-Core is relatively unremarkable. There just isn't much to it. The red hexagon is a nice touch, although I find it unusual that, even at such a basic level, the blue hexagon that accompanies its red companion in more sophisticated formes is not present. Oh well.
brightobject
In a surprising turn of events, Game Freak has decided to mix the minimalism of Gen I with the smoother curves of Gen VI, making for an interesting ghost amoeba. With such a simple design, there's not much to criticize...or compliment. It's not exactly a feat of design, but it's clean, simple, and cute as hell, and the driving concept behind it is of course something Pokémon has never seen before.
skylight
Zygarde-Core is perhaps the cutest Pokemon forme in existence. How could you not want to wrap it up in a blanket, take it home, cuddle it all night, and then attach it to your car as a hood ornament? If Zygarde had a Motor forme (given the number of formes it has, it is pretty surprising that it doesn't), this would be the ideal ornament that you would want to steal and brag to your friends about. Other than its trophy-like status, it also is an excellent example of why inbreeding (all it has to be is the poster child, nobody has to know the truth) in the Pokemon world is dodgy as hell. Half of its eye is barely formed, and with no arms or proper legs, nobody's gonna wanna take this cute little cell to the dance except a car salesman.
Tikitik
Developing a little bit from the flat and simple cell, we have the Zygarde Core. As I said, I definitely love the whole concept of having cells and a whole system of them that communicates between one another whenever trouble in the region occurs, and that's exactly what Zygarde-Core enables! Because of that, I'm assuming that we'll be seeing a lot of these little guys in both the coming game and the anime, and that they've earned themselves a point for cuteness in my book. The only negative side is that I expected more development from cell to core and possibly a more complicated design, but that's something that I can let slide. If you're not a big fan of the whole "cell and core" concept, I have one question for you: how can you say no to those adorable mismatched eyes? How?
Zygarde 10% Forme
antemortem
Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you? I need some help from you now! Come on, Scooby Doo, I need you! I need some—Wait, are you telling me this isn't Scooby Doo? Maybe the similarities are few and far between, but look at this thing and try to tell me one thing that screams Pokémon. Hell, what makes sense about this being the middle transition between Zygarde Core and Zygarde 50% in the first place? A friend of mine mused that Miyamoto was admiring his trusty guard snake one day and mused, "I wonder what my snake would look like had it been a dog in a past life," and thus, pooch was born. I do enjoy the fact that there are now more Legendary Dogs beyond just the hopes in my imagination. Let's be honest—Entei, Raikou, and Suicune are among the best legendary 'mons around. Don't get me wrong, though, I don't think that Zygarde 10% holds a candle to the classic beasts, but I'm totally in support of the fact that my dog can match my fashion sense.
Aurora
The thought process, if any, that led to the design of this forme has led to the creation of something almost as stupid as Zygarde-Cell. How on earth do you take a giant snake and a massive, hulking dragon and link them to a bloody dog? It looks like the German shepherd my neighbor, Mrs. Jones, keeps tied up to the fence of her house. At the very least, its design compensates for the fact that it's a really bizarre means of connecting Zygarde-Core and vanilla Zygarde. It looks pretty athletic, what with those thin legs and streamlined body, so it must occupy a good Speed tier. One of the legs being green is a bit odd, but it coincides with the unevenly spread splotches of green on Zygarde and Zygarde-Complete, so I'm not complaining. I really love the leash it comes pre-equipped with! Should an individual ever come across and take ownership of a Zygarde eternally trapped in this forme, walking with a strangling, beltlike leash will become a thing of the past for them. Overall, I'd be much more partial to this form if it being related to its two superior formes made any scientific sense.
brightobject
In my opinion, the 'Garde dog' is the most interesting of the newly released formes by far. Game Freak did a pretty good job of taking the Zygarde-Nature concept and really pushing it as far as they could with these guys, and 10% Forme is a prime example of that. Hexagonal motifs and a nice little color scheme link it nicely with Zygarde 50% and Core, and it has a cool scarf thing going on too. Its massive eyes look really off compared to its realistic greyhound-esque proportions, however. Overall—pretty nice!
Eevee General
This little pooch reminds me of a wireframe version of the glassy-eyed Doberman Pinschers from Resident Evil. The overall design is interesting—if not a little too spot on—except for those doodads growing out of its legs and backside. Cellular polyps? Is that how it reproduces? Anyway, I could do without the green leash in order to preserve the streamlined body shape. In terms of it being in any way related to the Zygarde line I can only shake my head. How does this possibly bridge the gap from single-celled organism to dragon worm? It's definitely not the missing link I was expecting.
skylight
I see Zygarde 10% Forme as the Egyptian death greyhound of fashion. If at any point you're not wearing a designer label, you will be tracked down and forced to wear knock-off Gucci clothing. Oh, the horror. I feel like it arose from its thousand-year mummified state (as parts of it are still unraveling) just to brutally destroy people committing fashion crimes. The irony is that green is a fugly color, so it is a fashion crime in itself. It is the perfect Pokemon to annihilate anyone that crosses you, though, so all is forgiven.
Tikitik
Even putting aside the fact that there's absolutely no good reason to have a doglike forme thrown in between the cell and serpentine design, Zygarde's 10% forme concept is still not what the public expected and certainly lacks in creativity. You might as well choose any other animal and add black skin, visible green cells at some body parts, and some sharp edges and you've got yourself a Zygarde forme! The design itself is pretty plain and uninteresting, when it should have been a fresh, creative, and most importantly eye-catching concept that would knock us off our feet. The green leash is a nice touch that gives emphasis on its streamlined body shape, I'll give it that, although it doesn't make up for the fact that I really expected something better. All in all, the design generally isn't that bad but not good enough to be a part of a legendary Pokemon's stage. Yeah I get it, you're a fast dog.
Zygarde 50% Forme
Aurora
Australian snakes are renowned for how venomous and dangerous they are. The coastal taipan, for example, lives on the eastern and northern coasts of Australia and is considered the third-most venomous terrestrial snake in the world. It is also known for how willing it is to attack anything that approaches it. However, the coastal taipan measures only two meters from head to tail. Zygarde, on the other hand, measures a whopping five meters. Even though Zygarde isn't known to be particularly venomous, or even visible to the general public, I'd much prefer being swarmed by dangerous and venomous coastal taipans than faced with this monstrosity. Zygarde at least looks appealing. Its five black frills make it look even more fearsome than it already is, and, for a giant, environmentalist snake, it's nice and streamlined. The black, green, and white color scheme of Zygarde is also top notch, with all of these colors complementing each other well. It's just a shame that it's more or less a worse (and less badass) Garchomp.
brightobject
The flycobra we've all come to know and love, Zygarde 50% is one of my favorite XY pocket monsters. With its multifaceted eyes, its mirrorlike scales and crest, the torn-at-the-end tail, and its color scheme of musty greys and alien greens, Zygarde exudes a sense of alienness, power, agelessness, and silent judgment that befits its title as guardian of the ecosystem. Its stubby little tentacle-majiggers do look a little weird, but really, who cares? Zygarde 50% is truly unique, a really memorable 'mon.
Eevee General
Had I seen Zygarde originally without knowing it was a legendary Pokemon, I would have pegged it as a final evolution maybe on par with the 600 BST pseudo-legendaries. I never liked the "shards" on its body. Now I'm to believe they're cells? I don't buy it. The peacock feather backpack is probably my favorite part about the whole design, and they give it an almost regal look. But then we get its weird flatworm-esque body that reminds me of a half-chewed roll of Fruit by the Foot. How something so sluglike could learn Extreme Speed is beyond me.
skylight
Look at Zygarde 50% forme and then imagine it in Zoidberg's voice saying "Hooray, I'm a Legendary Pokemon!" I'm pretty sure it still got the short end of the stick because it's effectively a snake that has mutated into a slug with the only one redeeming quality: its slight resemblance to a peacock. I'm pretty sure that if it weren't for the fact that it's a legendary, nobody would bother with it. It reminds me of a creature I had a nightmare about once. Maybe my subconcious was warning me to avoid this Pokemon at all costs. Or maybe I just dreamed of a snake and like to think of it as Zygarde. We'll never know.
Tikitik
Ah, here's something that I'm already familiar with. At first, I wasn't so keen on Zygarde's design, but over time, it grew on me. This serpentlike Pokémon has been something that was shrouded in mystery, especially with the green hexagons (which are now apparently cells) oddly glowing in a pattern much like it was some sort of a massive computer processing information. Now that it has revealed its other formes, I can freely say that design-wise, it exceeds its newly revealed dog buddy and Megatron over there. The black and green color pattern fits this guy pretty well, and I love the eyes that remind me of those of an insect. Zygarde's feature that I assume the majority of people along with me enjoy the most would have to be the five frills on its back; they absolutely do wonders for its design and are basically my favorite part of this Pokémon. It almost sickens me to think about what this solid design evolves into. Ugh.
Zygarde Complete Forme
antemortem
Never have I been less of a fan of a Pokemon design. There's no bigger red flag that new design concepts are quickly becoming scarce than when a forme ends up resembling something out of a 2007 Shia LaBeouf movie, or a Hasbro and Tomy boardroom. The extensions that I muse to be makeshift shields protruding from its arms are pretty neat, though; I can see them acting as some sort of "perfect defense". It wouldn't be a far cry given the consummate status it's been bestowed. The rest of its design doesn't seem to flow, however. Its feet look to be elven, its hands (if those homages to Dr. Seuss even constitute hands) have the claws of a dragon, and its head and face are dwarfed comparatively despite the emperial theme that's reflected in them. This design truly baffles me. My fingers are crossed that this isn't much of an example of what the next generation of Pokemon designs might bring us in the coming months.
Aurora
This is by far the best Zygarde forme of all. Ignoring the fact that it looks a little bit like a Transformer, Zygarde-Complete is the definition of "awesome". It's grown limbs and can finally stand upright, with its imposing stance and appearance striking fear or intrigue into the hearts of all who see it. Its very chest is intimidating, with the green splotches opposite each other resembling eyes and the multicolored squiggle just enough to appear to be a distorted smile. Perhaps my favorite thing about Zygarde-Complete is how it integrates the color schemes of Xerneas and Yveltal into its design, with those two massive plate... things on its arms possessing infusions of dark blue and deep red hexagons. There is one small hitch, though. Apparently, it only takes on this forme when it "believes it is outmatched". My fingers are crossed that that doesn't mean that Zygarde-Complete can't be properly used competitively, because that would just suck.
brightobject
My first reaction when I beheld this hideous androphagus-Megazord amalgam was 'Is this really the best Game Freak could come up with?' The smooth hexagonal plating of the previous stages has been thrown out the window in favor of sharp angular spines. Awkward-looking scale shoes, tipped off by garish white toes; weird, stumpy arms ending in strange blunt claws... The thing is a total mess, although I'll admit its wing thingies look pretty bangin'. The worst part is, the core idea (haha) is so amazing—a mecha version of Zygarde? With the powers of Yveltal and Xerneas to boot? Awesome sauce! It really is too bad the designers seemed to have gotten lazy with this one, as it could have been one of the most epic 'mons of all time—but instead it looks like a half-hearted attempt at a Transformers ripoff.
Eevee General
Take the Peter Jackson version of Sauron's head, put it on a Gundam's body, give it a smear of Dusknoir's mouth-belly, and splatter it in white, green, red, and blue pixels and what do you get? I don't know. What is it? Out of all the new formes it's the least inspiring. It's big and bulky with lots of unused real estate. It's as if the body was cobbled together hastily with all these disparate themes in an attempt to make it an amalgam of the old Zygarde plus Xerneas and Yveltal, but in the process Game Freak forgot to make an actual Pokemon out of it. A shame, really. I think fans wanted a killer Zygarde forme in the newest games because the one they got in XY was so mediocre. Instead what we got was certainly less than perfect.
skylight
"I'm the strongest Pokemon in the world. Are you intimidated by my colorful shield of ignorance?" No Zygarde. Have you met Mewtwo, Arceus, or Rayquaza? They look like legitimate threats without looking like something out of a tacky Japanese anime envisioned by 12-year-olds. To think I could've had Mega Kyurem-B instead of this abomination. But no, the silhouette revealed an almost indescribable form of overkill. The only saving grace for this forme is that it has incorporated Xerneas's and Yveltal's color schemes, which I do admit is pretty cool. Other than that, send it back for a redesign.
Tikitik
You know, I'm generally a pretty open-minded person, but seeing what has been done with the design of Zygarde-Complete, I just don't know what to think anymore. Whoever was in the process of creating this was probably watching a little bit too much of the Gundam series, because you can clearly see the resemblance. If I were shown this design before the big Pokémon Z reveal without any context whatsoever, the last thing that I would connect this mecha-like concept with would be Pokémon. Out of all of Zygarde's formes, this one clearly comes out as the loser, not only because of the unexpected robotic body structure but also because of the desperate attempt to make some connection with Yveltal and Xerneas by splashing some red and blue pixels (yeah I know, they're cells) all over its wings. With all the excitement among the community that was on its peak for the next big leak, this forme should have offered so much more. To hell with it, at this point you might as well give it a massive rifle as a weapon.
Conclusion
And that's Zygarde all wrapped up! Join us next time when we take a look at Hoopa.
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