Pokémon/Characters/Generation II Families: Difference between revisions

For other generations, [[Pokémon/Characters|go here]].

The first of the Johto starters, Chikorita and its evolutions are plant dinosaurs with a pure-Grass typing. Despite being at a distinct disadvantage compared to the other starters when going against the gyms in their debut game, their adorable looks still keep them a popular pick.

* [[Turns Red]]: Overgrow boosts Grass-type attacks when health becomes low.

The second of the Johto starters, Cyndaquil is an adorable little shy fire echidna/hedgehog. However, as it evolves, it grows more ferocious; Quilava often attempts to intimidate enemies with the flames on its back, and Typhlosion is incredibly quick-tempered with its tendency to resort to [[Kill It with Fire]].

* [[Wicked Weasel]] / [[Weasel Mascot]]: Both Quilava and Typhlosion are fire-breathing ''badgers''.

The final Johto starter, Totodile is a goofy, mischievous crocodile that loves biting whatever they see. Although cute, one must not forget that it evolves into Croconaw, an ill-tempered crocodilian, and finally into Feraligatr, an incredibly ferocious bipedal alligator, which, until Generation V's Serperior, is the largest starter overall.

* [[Took A Levelof Badass]]: Sheer Force and back on gen 4 its acess to Physical Waterfall and Dragon Dance.

The first two new non-Starter Pokémon appearing in the Johto `Dex are Sentret and its evolution, Furret. Despite appearing early in the `Dex listing, they are surprisingly rare, only appearing in a handful routes and only capable of appearing when it is daytime in their debut Generation. Despite this, it is often considered to be a sort of a [[Expy]] of Rattata and Raticate, despite Rattata and Raticate themselves reprising the same role they had in Generation I.

* [[Weasel Mascot]]: Well, Ferret, but close enough.

* [[Abnormal Limb Rotation Range]]: Noctowl as stated in the Pokédex in the ''Silver'' Version.

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Somewhat. Dream World gave it the ability Tinted Lens, which now allows it to get decent hits on Pokemon that its limited movepool otherwise couldn't.

Two Ladybug Pokémon, they are both known as Five Star Pokémon due to the five marks on their backs, but chances are that neither would get a five-star rating on their combat abilities. Ledian, however, does use Starlight as energy. It was exclusive to ''Silver'' and its remake, and even then it's only found in the mornings.

* [[Stone Wall]]: This is what its base Special Defense of 110 is presumably trying to do (as an [[Crutch Character|early game `mon]]), but its poor HP stat mostly mitigates it.

Spinarak is a Spider Pokémon, and so is its evolution Ariados. Spinarak can (surprisingly enough) emote using the "face" on its back; Ariados, on the other hand, seem to have a static angry face on their backs. It is exclusive to Gold and only found at night.

* [[Four-Legged Insect|Six Legged Arachnid]]

You know how [[Alluring Anglerfish]] tend to be hideous looking? Well, that doesn't apply to Chinchou and Lanturn. These two cute blue and yellow Water/Electric Pokémon not only use their [[Buffy-Speak|light dangler thing]] to stun their prey, but also use it to communicate and light their way in the dark depths of the ocean.

* [[Wingding Eyes]]: Chinchou's are plus signs.

<small>''Togekiss debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[Awesome Yet Practical]]: Togekiss can learn Air Slash, which has a 30% chance of making the opponent flinch. That gives it a near 110 power attack that has a 60% chance to make the opponent flinch, and works off Togekiss's very high Special Attack to boot. Add in Thunder Wave to paralyze the opponent and let Togekiss get the first attack each round...

* [[Blow You Away]]: Only the evolved forms.

* [[Cool but Inefficient]]: A Togekiss with Ominous Wind, Silver Wind and Ancientpower. 20% chance when attacking of getting a boost to all its stats with Serene Grace, but too low power to do decent damage. Then again, that fourth move slot could be anything you like, be it a higher power move, or Baton Pass...

* [[Early-Bird Cameo]]: Togepi's the second Generation II Pokémon to appear in the anime after Ho-Oh, becoming a member of the regular cast, even.

* [[Eggshell Clothing]]: Togepi

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Togetic was yet another of Johto's bad Pokémon. Then it evolved, and became something with a stat total higher than things like Snorlax or Blissey. And the ability to learn incredibly powerful attacks with status effects which, when combined with the right ability (Serene Grace, if you're wondering), make it incredibly annoying for its enemies. The catch? The aforementioned moves can only be learned by ''re-learning'' them, and in order to do that, you need Heart Scales, which, while not rare, are still annoyingly uncommon outside of the Sinnoh Underground.

Natu and Xatu are Psychic bird Pokémon that have an unusual Native or South American-inspired design to them. Natu's wings are a bit on the small side, so it tends to hop around pecking or just staring at things. Xatu, on the other hand, tend to stay in the same spot, presumably looking into the past and the future simultaneously. They are very useful in supporting other team members with setting up Reflect or Light Screen, or even healing other team members with Wish.

* [[Magical Native American]]: Well, more like Magical Ainu (judging by the patterns of its feathers), but still ...

* [[Psychic Powers]]

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Generation V gave it the new and highly effective ability Magic Bounce, which is basically the Magic Coat move turned into a passive ability. Even better, it's the only Pokemon that can be legitimately obtained with this ability now that the event that gave out Magic Bounce Espeon has ended.

A family of adorable sheep that bear wool with an electric charge to them. They make excellent electric Pokémon in the Gen II games and their remakes due to their high Special Attack stat. Unlike most Electric Pokémon, though, they're a bit on the slow side.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: "Mareep" is an anagram of "ampere," which is used to measure electric currents.

** Also, Ampharos is 'amp' (as in, electricity) and 'Pharos' (the lighthouse, a.k.a., one of the Wonders of the Ancient World) combined.

* [[Shock and Awe]]

* [[Shout-Out]]

** Mareep's name. '''Mar'''y had a little lamb ...

<small>''Azurill debuts in Gen III''</small>

* [[Water Is Blue|Water-Types Are Blue]]

<small>''Bonsly debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[When Trees Attack|When Fake Trees Attack]]

Hoppip is, despite its looks, not based on a tomato, something that should become apparent when it evolves into the green Skiploom and later the blue Jumpluff. Instead these Pokémon are based on dandelions - they are very light and can fly on the winds, giving them a Grass/Flying typing.

* [[Theme Naming]] and [[Late to the Punchline]]: "Hop, skip and a jump."

<small>''Ambipom debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Before Gen IV, Aipom was just another weak Normal-type, although Baton Pass made it stand out a little. Then it got an evolved form and the useful Technician ability ...

Sunkern is a Sunflower Seed Pokémon. It can evolve into Sunflora using a Sunstone. In Generation II, it is possible to get a Sunstone in the same area that you can catch Sunkern in. This is a good thing, since Sunkern is rather weak (''the'' weakest base stats wise), and will likely need to evolve in order to be useful to your team.

* [[Sunny Sunflower Disposition]]

<small>''Yanmega debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[Technicolor Eyes]]: Yanmega.

Wooper and Quagsire are Mudfish Pokémon based on an animal called [[wikipedia:Axolotl|Axolotl]]. They are not terribly powerful, but with a immunity against electric attacks, an ability to absorb water attacks, and good resistance against fire, they can certainly have their [[Crutch Character|niche]] in a early game team. [[Took a Level In Badass|If your Quagsire has Unaware, however...]]

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: A fairly solid UU wall for its single weakness, good defensive typing, dual immunities, and access to Recover, a move Swampert lacks. In Gen V, however, Quagsire's Unaware ability lets it ignore stat buffs, making it arguably more popular than Swampert for the ability to [[No Sell]] boosted attacks.

<small>''Honchkrow debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[Xtreme Kool Letterz]]

<small>''Mismagius debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[Technicolor Eyes]]

You would expect that a Pokémon based on the alphabet would be terribly weak, wouldn't you? And you would be correct.

During Generation IV, a connection between them and [[Pokémon/Characters/Generation IV Families|Arceus]] was heavily implied. The radio signal they emit is seemingly similar to the Azure Flute's melody, and during the Sinjoh Ruins event they're shown to swarm around Arceus as it begins to create a new Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina.

* [[Signature Move]]: Despite being the move with the largest learnset (as it includes all Pokémon able to learn TMs and Unown), Hidden Power is associated with Unown, mainly due to it being [[When All You Have Is a Hammer|its only move]].

<small>''Wynaut debuts in Gen III''</small>

[[Counter Attack|Counter, Mirror Coat,]] Encore, [[You Will Not Evade Me|Shadow Tag]], [[Taking You with Me|Destiny Bond]], [[Healing Factor|Leftovers]], what more do you need?

* [[Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance]]: Wobbuffet's basically a ''punching bag''.

* [[Wingding Eyes]]: Pretty much invoked, as their faces are styled after Japanese emoticons.

Girafarig is an unusual Pokémon. It's one of the very few Normal dual-types that's not part Flying. Instead, it's part-Psychic, meaning that it can resist Fighting attacks which are normally super-effective, while also being immune to Ghost moves. It also has a undeveloped head on the end of its tail that is non-sentient, giving it an appearance similar to a pushmi-pullyu.

* [[Technicolor Eyes]]: Its tail.

Despite appearing as a pinecone/hand grenade and later as a giant clam-cum-depth charge, it's actually a Bug-type, specifically one based on a bagworm. With its high defenses and a typing that leaves it with a single weakness (which is regretfully a quad weakness), it's a very good choice as a defensive wall.

* [[The Unseen]]: the insides of their shells.

Most people look at it and ask "what the hell was Game Freak thinking/smoking when they came up with ''that''?" Dunsparce is a based of an cryptid known as a Tsuchinoko: A fat-bellied snake that can jump or roll itself like a hoop to move around. Dunsparce is made even wierder by having a drill as a tail and a pair of tiny wings. It's strange, but it does have its share of fans.

* [[Youkai]]: Based on the internationally unknown [[wikipedia:Tsuchinoko|Tsuchinoko]].

<small>''Gliscor debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[Healing Factor]]: Gliscor's Dream World ability, Poison Heal.

* [[Lightning Bruiser]]: Gliscor has excellent Defense with respectable Speed and Attack, it gets Swords Dance and Rock Polish to boost the latter stats further, and has a pretty nice movepool.

** [[Jack of All Trades]] : With the exception of [[Stone Wall]](where it is excellent), Gliscor can perform multitude of roles, but its capability in those other roles are deemed pretty average for its class.

* [[Scary Scorpions]]: And they fly!

* [[Technicolor Eyes]]: Gliscor.

Snubbull and Granbull are based on bulldogs, this gardners it some fans or are fans of the [[Ugly Cute]] trope. Otherwise they're pretty unremarkable normal types.

* [[Standard Status Effects]]: Inflicting one on Granbull will make it faster, thanks to its Quick Feet ability.

What's there to say about this Water/Poison fish Pokémon? It's not as prominent in the Pokémon seas as Tentacool and Tentacruel, but well... Um... It seems to come up alot in discussions of forgetable Pokémon, [[Mind Screw|which makes it unforgetable in the ironic sense]].

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: In Gen IV onwards, this pokemon is a deadly mother of any rain dance team. Access to two power STAB moves, combined with devastating speed in the rain makes Qwilfish a force to be reckoned with. It's not something you can just switch another pokemon in either, due to explosion.

Here's a Pokémon that receives plenty of discussion from fans for a number of reasons. This creature is supposed to be a scale insect, but it resembles a worm-like creature that lives inside a moon rock. Its stats are a collection of extremes: boasting the highest base defenses of all Pokémon (230, each!), but having the lowest stats in everything else including, sadly enough, its HP. However, this doesn't Shuckle from being used by trainers.

* [[Dishing Out Dirt]]

* [[Lethal Joke Character]]: It is, in very specialized situations likely to never happen in actual gameplay, capable of doing the highest amount of damage possible for any Pokémon- a hypothetical amount capping at around ''213 million.''

* [[Let's Get Dangerous]]: Gen IV has Shuckle naturally learn Power Trick, which switches its attack and defense stats. Doing this gives it by far the highest attack stats of any Pokémon. [[Who's Laughing Now?]]

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: In Generation V, Shuckle got the move Power Split, which adds its attack and special attack (among the lowest in the game) with its opponents and averages them out. This not only cripples the offensive abilities of whatever Shuckle is facing, it also gives Shuckle enough of a boost to its own offense to make things like Rollout effective without having to compromise its defense.

A fairly popular Pokémon, Heracross is based on a Kabutomushi, a species of rhinoceres beetle that is popular among the Japanese, who use them in beetle fighting competitions, so it's only natural that a Pokémon would be based on it. It also somehow manages to be obtainable in practically every handheld game since Gold and Silver.

* [[Wrestler in All of Us]]

<small>''Weavile debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[Youkai]]: Based on the kamaitachi.

Teddiursa is an adorable bear cub that's often depicted as sucking on one of its paws. Naturally it evolves into a terrifying adult bear with the appropriate muscle. Both its normal abilities are activated when it receives a status effect, either raising its attack with Guts or raising its speed with Quick Feet. Either way you're in big trouble when that happens. Strangely enough, it is a version exclusive, but which version depended on the language. It's in the ''Silver'' version in the Japanese games, but ''Gold'' in the North American releases. In stays in ''SoulSilver'' for the remake.

* [[Sweet Tooth]]

Slugma and Magcargo are gastropods that are found nowhere near any sources of water. This is due to them being made of boiling lava. It's constantly moving because if it stops, then its body would cool down. Magcargo gains a brittle shell of hardened lava that somehow grants it a high defense. Not that it makes a difference since it can be finished off by Ground or Water attacks.

* [[Boring but Practical]]: Not much use in battle but it's easy to find and one of the best ways to hatch eggs quickly.

* [[Dishing Out Dirt]]: Magcargo

* [[For Massive Damage]]: water- and ground-type attacks.

* [[Playing with Fire]]

<small>''Mamoswine debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[Retcon]]: Piloswine became able to evolve into Mamoswine by leveling up while knowing AncientPower, a move it could already learn in earlier generations.

A Pokémon based on stag coral. It's known to have great regenerative powers: unlike real coral which takes decades to grow, Corsola's broken horns can regrow in a single night. However, they need clean water in order to do this, otherwise it gets sickly and die. It appears to have a plucky nature (One of its abilities is Hustle), but it's mostly defensive according to its stats. Just beware of Grass attacks.

* [[Making a Splash]]

Remoraid and Octillery are water types that are well known for being related by evolution despite being very dissimilar to one another. However, they're also well known for shooting things. Remoraid is a remora that vaguely looks like a gun while Octillery is an octopus that vaguely looks like a tank.

* [[Confusion Fu]]: Due to the above, Octillery has a surprisingly wide movepool. The only types it can't learn a move for are Ghost, Dragon, Flying and Fighting. If you want to raise your Octillery in a Gen IV game and tutor it Bounce, you can cross Flying off the list too.

* [[Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods]]: Octillery is... [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|well, guess]]. Averted with Remoraid.

** Another connection: Both remoras and octopi are aquatic animals with suction pads.

An Ice/Flying type that's a cross between a penguin and Santa Claus. It's talented at delivering presents in its tail, which looks like the jolly old elf's bag. What it isn't talented in is battling. The only attack that it learns by leveling is Present, a move exclusive to it that does random amounts of damage or even ''heals'' the target. The only redeeming quality it might have is that it can have Hustle (an ability that boosts damage but lowers accuracy) and can be taught Aerial Ace (a move that never misses and gets a same type attack bonus), but that's only one pro it has agains many cons. It's only found in ''Silver'' and its remake (''Gold'' players get Gligar instead).

* [[When All You Have Is a Hammer]]: Delibird is a one-trick [[A Worldwide Punomenon|poké]] if there ever was one. It can hold a Choice Band (x1.5 to attack, but forces you into a move), use Hustle as an ability (which lowers accuracy and raises Attack), and use Aerial Ace (Always hits), and Brick Break as a side option. Unfortunately, it has absolutely nothing else.

<small>''Mantyke debuts in Gen IV''</small>

* [[Stone Wall]]: Mantine tries to be this, it really does. Compared to Skarmory, its stats are inverted, with Skarmory specializing in physical defense while Mantine specializes in special defense. Unfortunately for Mantine, its tanking abilities are [[Overshadowed by Awesome|surpassed by Blissey]], and as a further kick in the face... well, just see [[For Massive Damage]] above.

A steel crane (not the machine used in construction, but the bird). After nesting in briars, its skin gets scratched so much that it eventually hardens in metal armor that encases its body. The combination of its typing, Steel/Flying, which leaves with only two special-based weaknesses, and its very high defense stat means that makes for an excellent wall that can shrug off most physical attacks like it was nothing. It's the version counterpart to Mantine.

** Its Attack isn't ''that'' horrible, but there are plenty of better physical attackers.

These devilish dog Pokémon are, appropriately enough, Dark/Fire types with great special attack and decent speed, attack and special defense. However, by the time they're available to catch, you may have a number of useful Fire and Dark types at your disposal already. But don't let that stop you from using it. This Pokémon is partally based on the Doberman.

* [[The Unintelligible]]: To anyone but their own kind. Unlike most Pokemon, they speak a language only they can understand.

An adorable blue baby elephant that evolves into a not-so-adorable adult elephant. Donphan's special talent is rolling around at high speeds. It's not so surprising that its trunk and its back are covered with thick skin that looks somewhat like a tire. Its attack and defense are very high, but its special stats are very bad. It's still an excellent choice if you want to remove obstacles like Spikes and Stealth Rock, or if you just want a solid Ground type. It's the version counterpart to Teddiursa and Ursaring (and switched games with them in certain international releases.)

* [[Signature Move]]: Although it's far from being an exclusive, these Pokemon are the most well-known [[Rolling Attack|Rollout]] users. Due to Donphan's appearance in ''Pokemon: The First Movie'', it's also the first Pokémon shown to have the move.

Stantler is a Pokémon based on a stag or reindeer. Its most famous features are its antlers that vaguely resemble eyes, said to each contain a miniature portal to another dimension. Many of the moves it can learn involve the antlers, ranging from threatening its opponents, confusing them, putting them to sleep, using Psychic attacks, to merely charging with them. Whether this makes it useful remains to be seen though.

* [[What Could Have Been]]: Its English name was originally going to be "Scaribou".

Here is a strange Pokémon. It has a seemingly boring appearance and can only learn a single move naturally. That said, it uses that one move to learn almost ''every other move in the game''. Practically every move combination is possible! The one thing holding Smeargle back is its very low stats, most likely to balance out its tremendous movepool. It's also very useful in breeding since every egg move combination is legal, but only to Pokémon that can breed with it.

* [[Signature Move]]: [[Mega Manning|Sketch]]

Miltank is a pink and inexplicably bipedal cow that's best known for producing much of the milk in the Pokémon world. However, it's also very well known for being [[That One Boss]] to many people in the Metal Generation games and their remakes. It's counterpart is apparently Tauros but it is unable to produce Tauros eggs (you'll need a Ditto for that). As the name suggests, it's mostly defensive in nature but it's perfectly capable of dishing out heavy damage, especially on Ghost types (If it has the Scrappy ability).

* [[Signature Move]]: [[Power-Up Food|Milk Drink]], which allows herself and other Pokémon to recover health.

The second Legendary Trio, and easily one of the most popular. This trio is based on mythical beasts with characteristics of felines and canines, and their elements correspond to the circumstances of the incident of <s>Brass</s> Burned Tower that took away their previous lives. Raikou is a saber-toothed cat [[Youkai|raiju]], representing the lightning that struck the tower, Entei is a either a Chinese guardian lion or a chow, embodiment of the fire that brought the tower down, and Suicune is a cheetah- or wolf-like qilin which corresponds to the rain that quenched the fire. They are the first of many, ''many'' Pokémon that will flee on sight, which is ''really'' annoying. Special measures must be taken to ensure their capture.

* [[Walking on Water]]: Suicune.

A small green reptile-thing with a bird-like tail, which then builds a cocoon around itself and emerges as a huge, vaguely [[Tyrannosaurus Rex]]-ish (or [[Godzilla]]-ish) dinosaur. Its very high attack power, natural bulk and [[Weather Control Machine|its ability to summon sandstorms]] makes it quite useful in battles. Similar to the Dratini line in that it is hard to find and capture, but when fully evolved is [[Magikarp Power|one of the most powerful non-legendary Pokémon in the game]].

** [[Lightning Bruiser]]: "TYRANITAR used [[Status Buff|DRAGON DANCE]]!"

* [[Power-Up Letdown]]: It started out with Sand Stream, an ability that fits it exceedingly well. It's Hidden Ability? ''Unnerve'', an ability that's largely considered a joke.

** [[Stock Dinosaurs]]

* [[Weather Control Machine|Weather Control Creature]]: From Generation III onward, Tyranitar whips up a sandstorm merely by appearing on the battlefield.

Generation II's mascots. They are based on the mythical Japanese rivalry between the dragon and the phoenix. Lugia is a white draconic bird with blue features and handlike wings. Ho-Oh is a phoenix whose feathers are the seven colors of the rainbow.

* [[Sword of Plot Advancement]]: In ''HeartGold and SoulSilver'', the developers changed it so that you must encounter and either catch or defeat the title legendary. To make things easier, its initial move pool will no longer contain Safeguard or Recover.

The strange and mystical Celebi is a Pokémon that boasts many abilities: Its main power is its ability to travel through time. It also has the ability to revive plants. Forests that Celebi inhabit are said to thrive. Like Mew, this Pokémon is a secret character not obtained through normal play.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Pokemon Generation II Families]]

[[Category:Characters]]