Judge-a-Pokémon Express: Knights and Crab
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heritage
We're back with Judge a Pokémon Express! This time, a new generation approaches! And with a new generation come new Pokémon for everyone to love! Or hate. The choices are yours and yours alone! Today we have a mighty-looking crab and two Pokemon that look like they could make quite the tasty meal out of it.
| Armarouge | Klawf | Ceruledge |
Ivy
Well, here's a 'mon that will "challenge an opponent head-on no matter how much stronger that opponent is." I hope that Tyrogue is available to fight side by side with this, since they have that same mentality! Not sure what to think about this fella. As many have pointed out, it's a slow bulky Psychic-type with a worse secondary Fire typing. It lacks a unique ability, unless that'll be the HA (maybe something shared/synergistic with Ceruledge?), so this thing is going to face an uphill battle into relevance apart from its neat and marketable design that will likely lend it to anime glory.
ausma
Armarouge also looks pretty swell and it's very obviously a Fire-type, but I don't think it's as cohesive as Ceruledge, as the Psychic typing doesn't really shine through as clearly or elegantly as Ceruledge's Ghost typing. However, that does make me wonder why they chose to make it a Psychic-type in the first place. The flavor is there via its armor, though the armor's justification for granting Armarouge the Psychic typing seems very Ghost and/or Steel adjacent. It's fun to think about, at least.
However, this is also where the lore between it and Ceruledge get interesting, as it's clear they hold some kind of significance relative to Paldea's past with the "distinguished warrior" that's mentioned in Armarouge's on-site description. Who knows, Ceruledge's spirit could have been the warrior that Armarouge inherited the armor from; it certainly plays into the past vs. future theming of the game. Whether it's that off the walls speculation or not, I do think the core theming of the game holds some significance with the design of these Pokémon, between the ghost of a deceased warrior and a living warrior inheriting armor as a successor. I can't wait to learn more about these Pokémon!
Pikachu315111
Our third (technically fourth) Fire / Psychic Pokémon and the first that's a "plain" Pokémon. While still special;y oriented, Armarouge tries to stand out by also being defense-oriented; and that's where I'm hesitant. Weak to five types (with all but Ghost being common) and having several uncommon resistances, it's not in a good position. Maybe that's why it doesn't care about its signature move being a special Fire Close Combat; its high Defense only serves to keep it around long enough to fire off as many fireballs as it can.
But what it lacks in prospects, it makes up for in style. I like its design; sure, it looks like a Net Navi from Megaman Battle Network (and famed Megaman artist Hitoshi Ariga has been involved with designing Pokémon since XY, hmm...) but it doesn't look out-of-place (no more than the other humanoid Pokémon). The pauldrons combining into an arm cannon is a clever idea. I also find its lore amusing; it's a will-o-wisp that formed a psychic connection with a renowned knight's armor and now goes around acting chivalrous, lol.
It does feel like it was a scrapped Pokémon for Sword & Shield, maybe as a Shield exclusive that was meant to be like a retainer to Zamazenta. But whether a scrapped idea or original, it's now here in Scarlet and I've seen plenty of trainers who are eager to add this literally shinning knight onto their team. *Combines pauldrons into arm cannon* SHAKUNETSU HADOUKEN!
Lumii
Armarouge's design has dramatically grown on me since it was first announced. When compared to Ceruledge's, Armarouge's design fits the mold of a proper knight much better, which I think was the purpose of designing it the way it is. I continue to wonder what Armarouge, as a knight, is sworn to protect. However, I still do not think that Armarouge's Psychic-typing really fits its design well, as I continue to see it as a Fire- and Fighting-type, but I do think that Ceruledge's very strong design makes Armarouge's seem somewhat lackluster in comparison. At first glance, Armarouge's typing and color scheme make me think of Delphox to an extent. However, this is where the similarities end; Delphox seemingly pulls off the Psychic-typing much better in its design than Armarouge does. I think that making the Psychic energy flow more from its blasters than its armor would have been a better idea. There are many ways to approach a Psychic-type Pokémon, but it feels like Pokémon just put the Psychic-typing on Armarouge after designing its counterpart, Ceruledge, as a way to give it a secondary typing.
Regarding competitive utility, I see Armarouge being significantly slower than Ceruledge. However, I see it having much better base Defense and Special Defense stats. I think that Armarouge and Ceruledge may end up having similar non-attacking stats to Glastrier and Spectrier, respectively. Armarouge's signature move seems to be a Fire-type Close Combat, which could have good synergy with a potentially lower base Speed stat.
Kalalokki
For a Pokémon whose namesake is claws, they sure don't look all that much. Surprised it took this long to get such a typical native crab of Japanese waters in to a Pokémon game and to then throw it in to rocky hills and make it a Rock-type of all things, really makes you wonder. All those furry patches do play into the cranky toothless old man aesthetic at least, which might also hint towards the likely possibility of it being a bit too slow and useless for competitive. A Ground-type Klawf that focused more on speedy sandy ambushes instead of static hanging from cliffs would've been a nice change of pace from the otherwise stereotypical slow crabs we've seen so far, but I guess we'll just have to settle for throwing its claws into a hotpot when we get bored of it.
churine
Always a delight to see another member of team crustacean. Klawf is a lot more natural in colors compared to the Crabominable family, and even though that makes it look similar to Kingler, it's something I generally prefer; it even reminds me of those enemies from classic Sonic games, which may not be a coincidence, as Game Freak are known Sega fans. Klawf was the first Pokémon they showed off with a Titan form in this game, which really jogs the mind on whether that the marketing team intentionally chose Klawf to spearhead a new gameplay quirk of these games knowing they're cashing in on 2006 internet fads, and whether or not Arven or whoever accompanies the player will tell them word by word to hit the giant enemy crab with super effective moves for massive damage, advice that will probably end up backstabbing the player, as Klawf has the all-new Anger Shell ability. At half health, this ability works like a toned-down Shell Smash in that your offensive stats increase only rise by one stage, which is honestly comparable to Shields Down on Minior in some aspects. Hopefully, Klawf has a decent base Speed stat to take advantage of this ability; 70 or above would work fine being honest. It's also a pure Rock-type, which is a great offensive typing, and most Rock-types usually have access to Earthquake, so I'm confident Klawf with its big meaty claws will have nice coverage.
Ivy
This is a lovely take on a realistic crab. We already had Kingler, but that fella is 8 generations behind now and probably got Dexited. Klawf's bristly parts are nicely reminiscent of the type of algae detritus that can build up over time on larger, slow-moving sea life. I have but one grievance: why does the website description for Klawf say that it can't sustain an upside-down posture due to "blood rushing to its head"? Get a grip! It's a crab. It has a cephalothorax. There is not going to be much of a disturbance in haemolymph equilibrium! We even have crabs about as large as this thing IRL, the coconut crab. That rapscallion can hang upside down on coconut trees and terrorize beach-dwellers with reckless abandon. Crabrawler is based off the coconut crab, and it had the right idea in being as rambunctious as possible (with sadly a much less cool evolution).
ausma
Klawf exists, I guess. I'm most interested by its design, because despite what it's clearly meant to be (a Rock-type crab), its design is a weird angle to take, all things considered. Most notably, it seems inspired by wooden puppets of sorts, with a blocky, segmented mouth/belly, weirdly mechanical-looking slots for its eyes to come out of, and the iconic puppet blush; I'm curious as to what led to these design choices. Based on that, I think depending on what we end up learning of it in-game and in terms of origins, it could wind up being a lot cooler than what I get off the first impression. Though, its ability definitely isn't, as Shell Smash Berserk is basically just Shields Down Minior lite, with none of the flavor that makes Minior unique and worth remembering. To give it the benefit of the doubt, from the angle of dedicated setup I am uninterested, but maybe Anger Shell could wind up creating something more diverse on sets that are generally more offensive utility focused. We won't know for sure until we see its stats and movepool, but my initial impressions of Klawf and Anger Shell are lackluster and skeptical, but open minded.
Blitz
Honestly, you could show me Klawf out of context and I'd assume it's straight out of the Kirby games. It is genuinely adorable! I can already imagine how it'd interact with some of the other members of the crustacean crew: it could "claw wrestle" with Kingler's lesser pincer, provoke Clauncher to launch water blasts at it while it taunts from the ceiling, steal Berries right under Crabrawler's nose, help out Dwebble find new homes in rocks, probably avoid the very territorial Crawdaunt altogether, and obviously participate in crab raves with other Klawf. It is also likely helpful to Paldea's tourism industry, what with them having a giant version of the rock crab for trainers to both admire and challenge, as well as its claws serving as finer dishes for the food connoisseurs. And that's not even getting into its potential battling prowess being pretty interesting with its unique ability, and maybe even Shell Smash? In all, Klawf is dope as hell in more ways than one, and I can't wait to use it!
Aaronboyer
I think Klawf is adorable with its rectangular teeth and mossy claws. The different sizes of Klawf remind me of all the times I've gone freshwater fishing for crawdads, competing for the biggest one, and I'm hoping for more than just a regular and Titan size. I would love to see various sizes for all Pokémon, honestly. Aesthetically, it doesn't scream Rock-type all that much to me, and so I was hoping it would have an evolution. However, very few unevolved Pokémon got special Gigantamax treatment, and I doubt Game Freak would randomly give Klawf any sort of Pikachu or Meowth treatment with regards to an evolution for a Pokémon that also has a Titan size. That said, from the gameplay footage I've seen thus far, I think Klawf has been the most fitting for Paldea-esque thus far. I'm also hopeful Klawf will be a bit more competitively viable than Stonjouner was last generation, and I think Anger Shell pretty much guarantees it will be.
Shadowshocker
I'm not going to lie, Klawf didn't grow on me initially. Between the hairy spiky joints and gear-like mouth, Klawf really didn't stand out compared to the other crab Pokémon we got over the years—and this is keeping in mind that the first one was literally called "Crab" in Japanese. But if I've learned anything in this 25-year-old franchise, it's that the fans will go nuts for absolutely anything GameFreak comes up with, and I've come to appreciate it more after the inevitable Crab Rave references.
I'm uncertain if Klawf was the best representative to demonstrate the Path of Legends, personally. Titan Klawf looks intimidating to be sure, but it doesn't have quite the same feel as the Dynamax or Alpha mechanics introduced in Generation 8, despite how monstrous Titan Klawf looks. I'm hoping that Klawf gets at least an evolution instead of a baby, because going off its Pokédex entry we know it's not a master of the upside-down ambush yet—which by itself has plenty of terrifying implications. This is a crabby, snappy fella who will cling to ceilings and dive bomb you from above to eviscerate anyone it fancies a pinch of. It's basically a facehugger from the Alien franchise! Klawf absolutely needs an evolution to become the assault vehicle crustacean assassin it wants to be.
Itchy
My first impression of this Pokémon was that it was pretty basic and generally appealing. The mono-Rock typing is a bit wacky, but not groundbreaking; the Shell Smash boost at half health from Anger Shell is kind of broken though. Then, I read about its eyes—oh no... I can't. Its eyes freely spin AND they protrude?! Um, ew, no thanks... I'm no biologist, but that does not seem feasible. If that wasn't already weird enough, this poor crab also can't hunt for food properly. Charles Darwin HAS to be rolling over in his grave! I wanted to like Klawf, I really did, but I just hated it more as I learned more about it.
zee
Like the entire global population, I was immediately smitten by this knight in blazing armor's design. If I hadn't already been convinced to settle on Violet version, I've been sold for sure now. I'm a sucker for edgy designs, and Ceruledge is definitely this generation's "it 'mon." Honestly it's really funny to picture having Ceruledge in your party, like on the level of an Ultra Beast or legendary, because no one in a normal society is going to see you with your human-sized chess piece and think "yep, just a normal day at the supermarket". One thing's for certain: I'm going to feel especially protected walking through the vast biomes of Paldea with Ceruledge to protect me.
Not only is Ceruledge my favorite of the revealed Paldea cast thus far, but it's also probably the most competitively promising, as Fire / Ghost is really desirable offensive coverage, and its design surely inspires "strike first, ask questions later". Especially in VGC formats, the importance of Fairy- and Steel-type Pokémon in most past formats has almost always necessitated a reliable Fire-type. If it has the Speed and firepower that its design inspires, I think we'll surely see it at the big stages in this upcoming season.
Pikachu315111
Ceruledge looks like a scrapped Pokémon for Sword & Shield (thinking a retainer for Zacian, hence the feminine appearance; Sword exclusive). They just redesigned it to look more "future-y" cause it's now a Violet exclusive. Call it version bias, but I think it's the best of the "fire knights"; Fire is just better when used offensively (though also as a special attacker, but I digress).
It's a will-o-wisp that absorbed the grudges of fallen knights, donning their armor and having ghostly fire swords for hands to drain the life force of its victims; metal as f***! Just so it doesn't have to deal with the finding a good physical Fire move for a sword wielder, its signature move is Drain Punch, but as a ghostly fire sword (and I guess for Ghost it'll settle for Shadow Claw like the Honedge family did, as well as Shadow Sneak cause it likes to sneak attack). Don't know if the healing will help much with what sounds like a high offense / low defense Pokémon, but it could keep it going for a few more turns.
Does it look like a Megeman Battle Network Net Navi? Well has Hitoshi Ariga, famed Megaman artist, been involved with designing Pokémon since XY? (The answer is yes; implication implied) But I don't find it looking anymore out-of-place than other humanoid Pokémon. I'll definitely be adding it to my team, wouldn't be the first team I had with multiple Fire-types. *Ignites blade arms* BURN-NING SWORD(S)!
Lumii
Out of every single new Pokémon that has been announced so far for Scarlet and Violet, Ceruledge is definitely my favorite. One part of Ceruledge's design I like a lot is the color of its blades, which changes from a more blue to a more red shade of purple. Ceruledge, at first glance seems, like a faster, physical version of Chandelure, but the more I look at it, the more I see myself becoming distant from this assumption.
Despite the glaring similarities with Chandelure, which Ceruledge shares its typing and ability, Flash Fire, with, the closest comparison to an existing Pokémon that I think of when I look at Ceruledge is probably Spectrier, which has a somewhat similar color scheme. I also see Ceruledge, like Spectrier, having relatively low base Defense and Special Defense stats and a high base Speed stat. I also assume that its highest base stat would probably be Attack or Speed. However, due to Bitter Blade, its signature move, seeming to be a Ghost-type Drain Punch, I have some concerns about how well Ceruledge will be able to perform its offensively oriented role.
One of the most interesting things that Ceruledge has in the information that has been released for it so far is how its blades transform into "great swords" in battle. I don't know if this is hinting at a potential in-battle forme change akin to Meloetta, but it is definitely worth looking more into. However, I am only cautiously optimistic about any potential developments on this front, as I do not expect anything to materialize on this front.
Shadowshocker
Ceruledge feels like the kind of Pokémon you'd get if you got a playground of kids to design their dream Pokémon in the early 2000s, in all of its inevitable "DEVIANTART OC, DO NOT STEAL" glory. That's not to say I dislike the idea or think it's bad; possessed armor and swordsmen remain a beloved motif across all kinds of fiction, and not without reason. Lines like Scyther and Honedge are some of the series's most popular ones. It's the shonen protagonist every "emo phase" teenager wants to be, the Pokémon you really want to like until someone recalls that Bogleech detests Gallade, and then suddenly it becomes the next in-thing to hate.
You can't really talk about Ceruledge in a vacuum without bringing in its counterpart Armarouge, though, and the way they look does give me a Kubfu/Urshifu vibe. It wouldn't be difficult to see whatever shared Pokémon they evolved from in a sidequest wearing the school's "spirit armor" before a sporting match and turning into an obligatory mascot to rile up the crowd—the question is if it really needs to, with Cyclizar already appearing to fulfill that role. They really seem to be going in hard with the school and rivalry themes this generation. I just wish Ceruledge had more color variation in its design besides dark blue and black so its armor didn't blend into its limbs like it was trying to be Origin Dialga.
Itchy
Unlike Klawf, Ceruledge doesn't even pretend to be realistic, so I can suspend my disbelief here. Fire / Ghost is an epic dual typing aesthetic; blue and purple flames make a Pokémon objectively better, as we all know. It looks sleek as heck, and the life stealing concept with Bitter Blade is super metal. Once again though, the devil's in the details. Ceruledge can't help but be compared to Chandelure, and its Flash Fire ability doesn't help with this. Game Freak, really? It was so close to perfect :c Besides that minor point though, I think this is a well-put-together design, and I will be looking forward to seeing Ceruledge in action.
heritage
So, what did you think of these brilliant knights in flaming armor? And the crab. There was also a giant crab. Can't forget to mention that. We hope you enjoyed the opinions of the guests today, and hopefully Game Freak continues to make such ravishing designs! Here's to the next generation of Pokémon!
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