Judge a Pokémon Express: Edition Eight

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Wasn't expecting the Grimer family to get Alolan Forms, with Alola seemingly presented as a clean paradise (of course that may be because of Alolan Grimer, as we learn). For the most part their shape doesn't change, since they wouldn't really be the Grimer family if they weren't piles of sludge, so they got creative. Instead of just general toxic waste, Alolan Grimer looks to be made from motor fluid, hydraulic fluid, and/or coolant (as hinted by the yellow jaw). Alolan Muk furthers this by its garish display of colors, similar to what a spill of these fluids look like (after mixed with water). It's a clever way of re-imagining what the Grimer family is, a result of the direct pollution of the region. But they go one more step by adding in the hardened chemical crystals. This is the most important change, as now it allows Alolan Grimer to use biting moves and Alolan Muk to use slashing moves on top of that.

So how did the Alolan Grimer family come to be? Well, where there's people there's pollution, so Grimer were brought over to eat the pollution (and this time it didn't completely backfire like with Yungoos). I don't quite understand why they became Dark-type—if they gained a second type I would have though it would be Water—but this does mean they get STAB Crunch and Night Slash, which could be the exact reason why. But there's some good news, since they don't smell bad anymore (of course that possibly was your only warning if one was nearby, and now they leave around non-decomposing, sharp, poisonous crystals).

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Ribombee sure is a Cutiefly evolution. Yup, no mistaking that. So... next Pokémon. Okay, okay, I have some more to say, but really it all comes down to that. It's Cutiefly's evolution, that's it. It at least now is starting to look like a fairy (or a modern-day stereotypical depiction of a fairy, think Tinker Bell), becoming bipedal and replacing its proboscis with a mouth (though its scarf is designed to call back to it). It's an evolution which I could relate to another Bug-type, and that's not a good thing. For this Bug-type is Ledian, a cool-looking Pokemon with neat abilities but horrible stats. We actually knew about Ribombee thanks to a freeze frame sneak peak in a trailer, and I had the same concerns then as I do now. Hopefully, since it has a unique type combination, it's given more attention to how its stats are assigned (and being a three-stage evolution wouldn't hurt either).

There is one more thing that may or may not be hinting to something. Ribombee creates something called "Pollen Puffs", balls of honey that are not only food but can be used as a projectile to confuse and paralyze its foes. Hints of a signature move? A new item you could maybe use in a battle? Or is it like some other Pokémon descriptions that say the Pokémon creates something but we don't see it used in-game, like Froakie's Frubbles? Well, at least if you see one you'll know it'll be nice weather.

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Bounsweet's evolutions weren't something I was expecting. Here I thought we had a Cherubi expy, but it turns out its a Petilil expy with a touch of Gothita. Bounsweet quickly changes from looking like a piece of fruit to something humanoid, it's almost jarring. I also wasn't expecting a gender lean, though the Gothita family has a gender lean yet they can still be male, so who knows. Steenee is very moe, while Tsareena just looks like a queenly figure (this is probably because the fruit they're based on, the (purple) mangosteen, is called the "Queen of Fruit"). Not sure how I feel about this sudden evolution twist. I don't mind them going the direction of having it resembling a queen to reference its nickname, but the humanoid shape it takes just makes me think they're still pandering to the pop idol/waifu crowd.

I'd argue their descriptions are also all over the place. As a Bounsweet, it smelled so delicious it was afraid of being eaten, so it would run and bounce away. Steenee pulls a 180; it now has a "tomboy-like personality" (their words, not mine), and so it fights back by spinning its calyx (its stem, which doubles as hair) and kicking (though you'd think they would have it attacking with its hip instead). Tsareena drops the calyx spinning and instead focuses on the kicks, getting a kicking signature move, Trop Kick (get it? "Trop" like "tropical" but also sounds like "drop kick"?). But that's not all; to match its now high-class attitude (aka snob; it glares back at its trainer if they aren't in sync or told to use a non-effective attack. You're a Grass-type, get used to having to use non-effective attacks) Tsareena gets a signature ability, Queenly Majesty... which might be a clone of Dazzling. You think it would have something to do with gender, but no, it just stops priority moves. It feels like there were pulling Bounsweet's evolutions in multiple directions but never fully unified its themes into one whole design.

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They're certainly scaly Pokémon and look cool, but what are they? Best answer I could find is possibly a combination of a Hawaiian dragon (which are called "mo'o", though they're more described as water dragons than scaly) and possibly ancient Hawaiian warriors (called "koa", though they notably didn't wear much clothing, as they covered themselves with oils so that they'll be difficult to grab). Some people have said they look like Mesoamerican reptilian gods, but to me they more look like they're wearing plated samurai armor (and Kommo-o's tail looks like a khakkhara, a ringed staff of Buddhist monks). I think its just best to judge the two on what you see, and they look pretty cool. I like what they did with the layered scales and how it went from a lizard to looking more dragon-like. It looks like this thing will have a ton of Defense, to match its defensive abilities, though it also will be up for a brawl to match its new part Fighting-type. Definitely looking like pseudo-Legendary material, but will it turn out to be too?

Their descriptions make them "proud warrior race guys". More so for Hakamo-o, though Kommo-o has shades of this but moved onto the older guardian and mentor phase. But that's not what's interesting about them. Hakamo-o does a war dance ("haka" is a war dance of the Maori people of New Zealand) with its clanging scales and doesn't mind losing scales, as they grow back fast and sees it as proof they're fighting at their fullest. However, Kommo-o has the most interesting description: its glittering scales drive away a "darkness", it trains to defeat this "darkness", and the scales on its tail will ring when the "darkness" approaches. Could this maybe have something to do with Sun & Moon's plot, an important character has one or maybe have it be a Totem Pokémon?

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And its true form is revealed, and it looks better than I was expecting, though I thought it would have an Arceus-like face (which isn't too far off the mark). Now nothing has changed about its body aside some gray parts becoming whiter (for an obvious reason), all it did was breaking its odd-looking retraining helmet. Its head changed a bit though, in addition to seeing its cyborg feline/canine face (add that to the list, all it now needs is a pair of wings) that "horn" opens up to reveal 3 energy spikes. Honestly most of what I said about Type: Null also applies to Silvally, just without the helmet.

As if the ring around its helmet wasn't enough of a hint, Silvally is able to use 18 signature items (which I wish they didn't do) to change its type, the white parts of its body changes color to match so it has 18 forms, and the ability that allows it to do this is called AR System in Japanese, RKS System in English, and Sistema Alfa, "Alpha System," in Spanish. AR Sys & RKS, Arsys & Ar-kay-es... Arceus, who is known as the Alpha Pokémon. Yup, Aether Foundation isn't only playing god but even took the extra step of trying to create one. When they aren't pushing that Silvally is Arceus lite, once again the theme of "trust" appears as Silvally only "evolves" (really stretching that word there) to a trainer it trusts (which looks to be Gladion according to official art, hmm). Without its helmet it's faster, though I'm guessing this comes with a loss in Defense, so maybe Type: Null may still have a niche? Well, whatever the case, Silvally's role in the story is seemingly becoming ever more prominent.