Howdy there, Trainers! Boy… they just kind of dropped these guys into our laps, huh?
I’m talking about the new crop of imports from Unova, of course! They had released some of them late in the year in 2019, but only some. Now, we have an entirely new group to look into! I hope you’re ready, Trainers. Stock up on Pokeballs, grab yourself some Lures and get those walkin’ shoes on. We’ve got a Pokedex to fill.
There’s also one new gameplay mechanic introduced: Trade based evolutions. You can trade certain Pokemon and the candy requirement for evolving them is waived. Nice, right? Kadabra, Machoke, Graveller, Haunter, Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast and Shelmet all work this way. The latter four have a first evolution Candy requirement of 50, with the secondary requirement being to either trade it… or spend a whopping 200 Candy to evolve it without trading. Yikes!
Roggenrola, Boldore and Gigalith
These were the Geodude of Generation 5. Three stage Rock Type with an evolution spurred by trading. The Pokedex tells us that the hole that’s front and center on this guy is actually its ear! It walks in the direction of sounds it hears, but panics and falls if those sounds stop. It compares its body to other Rock Types like Geodude and Carbink to see who’s the hardest. It was discovered one hundred years ago in a fissure opened by an earthquake. They have a small energy core inside which makes them warm to the touch!
Gigalith is a powerhouse of a Rock Type Pokemon, often utilized by miners and construction workers to help complete heavy duty jobs. Those orange crystals are actually for absorbing solar energy, which it can return in the form of a blast powerful enough to tear down mountains! It’s not super great at storing that power for long periods, however; it can’t use this power on rainy days, at night, or presumably in its natural habitat. Which is inside caves.
Gigalith Max CP 3228, Attack 226, Defense 201, Stamina 198
Fast Attacks: Mud Slap, Smack Down
Charge Attacks: Heavy Slam, Super Power, Solar Beam, Rock Slide
Timburr, Gurdurr and Cokeldurr
Much like Roggenrola is the Geodude of Generation 5, Timburr is the Machop. A pure Fighting type with three stages who’s final evolution is based on trading. The Pokedex says that this Pokemon is always found carrying a squared off log, which it uses to fight. These logs will be traded for larger ones as the Timburr gets stronger. When it can carry one about three times its own size with no difficulty, it’s close to evolving. It often helps out on construction jobs and in fact, gets so involved that if work is forced to halt due to weather, it swings that log in a mighty tantrum.
Conkeldurr is thought to have taught humanity the art of making concrete about 2000 years ago. It carries two huge square slabs of the stuff around and uses it in the fighting style this species has developed. However, if you get it REALLY mad, it will throw down the concrete and just beat the stuffing out of you with its hands. It’s a pure Fighting Type, after all.
Conkeldurr Max CP 3337, Attack 243, Defense 158, Stamina 233
Fast Attacks: Poison Jab, Counter
Charge Attacks: Stone Edge, Focus Blast, Dynamic Punch
Tympole, Palpitoad and Seismitoad
Tympole; the adorable tadpole Pokemon who’s eyebrow game is On Point. This Pokemon vibrates its cheeks in a way that generates sounds so high pitched no other species of Pokemon can hear or understand it. Humans can’t either. It does this to warn other Tympole of predators and other danger. If you see otherwise still water covered in a lot of tiny ripples, you can be sure Tympole are deep down, talking with these high pitched noises.
Seismitoad is a fierce Water/Ground Type brawler with multiple avenues of attack. The bumps on its head can fire off a paralyzing toxin. The other bumps on its body generate tremors all the way up to Earthquake strength. One punch utilizing this tremor technique is enough to shatter boulders…. or give an elderly trainer a solid back rub.
Seismitoad Max CP 2564, Attack 188, Defense 150, Stamina 233
Fast Attacks: Bubble, Mud Shot
Charge Attacks: Sludge Bomb, Muddy Water, Earth Power
Throh (Regional: North and South America and Africa.)
Throh and Sawk kind of make me think of Bert and Ernie. Throh? Clearly Ernie. Throh’s signature Gi is based on those worn by practitioners of judo. The Pokedex tells us that this Pokemon wants to throw its opponents, especially big ones. They roam in bands of five members. The belts they wear are woven from vines they come across and the tighter they tie them, the more powerful they are. Over time the belt grows dark with absorbed sweat. (Ew.) If a member of the Throh’s band starts lagging in physical strength, they surrender their belt and leave the group. These fellas are pure Fighting Type.
Throh Max CP 2562, Attack 172, Defense 160, Stamina 260
Fast Attacks: Zen Headbutt, Low Kick
Charge Attacks: Body Slam, Low Sweep, Focus Blast
Sawk (Regional: Europe, Australia and Asia.)
Sawk is the Bert-ish one in this Bert and Ernie double act. It’s Gi is based on traditional karate garb. This Pokemon secludes itself in the mountains, practicing its karate chops on trees and boulders in search of perfect strength and technique. If you see one smacking rocks around in the mountains, you’d better not bug it or it will be mad with you. A Sawk who has trained their technique beyond all limits can split the ocean with a single swipe. Like its counterpart, this martial artist is all Fighting Type.
Sawk Max CP 2788, Attack 231, Defense 153, Stamina 181
Fast Attacks: Poison Jab, Low Kick
Charge Attacks: Body Slam, Low Sweep, Focus Blast
Venipede, Whirlipede and Scolipede
Venipede and its evolutions are some of my favorites from Generation 5. They just look so cool! Venipede is a super aggressive Pokemon that fights even the bird Pokemon who would normally see it as prey. The venom it can inject will paralyze opponents. Even though it has pretty large eyes, it mostly senses the world around itself with the feelers on its head.
And I mean… look at this bad boy. That’s an armored Bug/Poison death machine, right there. You could ride this monster into battle with full confidence. The Pokedex informs us that Scolipede is fierce and predatory, using its deadly poison to overcome foes it has subdued with the horns on its head. It will run down opponents with great speed.
Scolipede Max CP 2447, Attack 203, Defense 175, Stamina 155
Fast Attacks: Poison Jab, Bug Bite
Charge Attacks: Gyro Ball, Megahorn, X-Scissor, Sludge Bomb
Basculin red and blue (Regional: Red is Eastern Hemisphere, blue is Western Hemisphere.)
…can I be brutally honest? I’m going to. I kind of hate this Pokemon. The story behind these goes (And keeping in mind this may be inaccurate and only people at Game Freak can ever really know for sure.) from what I’ve read, the Pokedex for Unova was pretty much finished until someone realized “Oh no! We have no fish Pokemon!”
They had some Jellyfish and a few other water types, but no actual fish. This was a soft reboot with an all-new Pokedex, devoid of any of the Pokemon from prior generations so they couldn’t just throw in Magikarp and Barboach to give some variety, either. So someone basically had to come up with a couple fish real quick and so we got these kind of boring, one note fish Pokemon with a sort of annoying gimmick of being either red or blue and one is common in one version and one is common in the other and just…. what. This region is based on the United States of America and we have some AMAZING fish. The Flagfish, American Catfish, Flame Barbs (Which are actually minnows.) The list goes on. Heck, if they wanted to play with an invasive species, the Lionfish would make an awesome Pokemon.
But no. We get vaguely Bass looking things in clashing colors that don’t evolve. Do you find that disappointing? I do. I mean, there are a lot of kind of bland fish Pokemon, but these guys just annoy me. (I bet you couldn’t tell.)
Basculin Max CP 2090, Attack 189, Defense 129, Stamina 172
Fast Attacks: Tackle, Water Gun
Charge Attacks: Aqua Jet, Muddy Water, Aqua Tail
Maractus (Regional: Southern United States, Central America, South America, Mexico and the Carribean.)
So, out of all the Pokemon that appeared in the desert region of Unova, this one is one of the most American. Based on the barrel cactus, this pure Grass Type creature produces very nutritious seeds that are a favorite of bird Pokemon. To combat this, when they shake their arms it produces a loud rattle, similar to the sound of maracas. It’s loud enough to scare away said predatory seed eaters.
Maractus Max CP 2274, Attack 201, Defense 130, Stamina 181
Fast Attacks: Poison Jab, Bullet Seed
Charge Attacks: Aerial Ace, Petal Blizzard, Solar Beam
Dwebble and Crustle
Dwebble is a hermit crab Pokemon, but instead of using other Pokemon’s shells, it uses rocks. It melts a hole in them with mouth secretions. However, this does make it the natural enemy of Pokemon who are rocks – the Pokedex mentions Roggenrola and Rolycoly, but we can probably assume the same of Geodude, Shuckle, Carbink and… Hippowdon!? Yeah, apparently it will slide on into one of Hippowdon’s ports if it can’t find an adequate rock.
Crustle have hideously strong legs and claws – they can even crack Rhyperior’s carapace. This is because they carry huge slabs of rock on their back. When they fight over territory, it gets vicious. The Crustle who’s rock gets broken first becomes unsure in itself and grows weaker over time.
Crustle Max CP 2542, Attack 188, Defense 200, Stamina 172
Fast Attacks: Smack Down, Fury Cutter
Charge Attacks: X-Scissor, Rock Blast, Rock Slide
Sigilyph (Regional: Egypt and Greece.)
This Pokemon, while it may look reminiscent of a Native American Dreamcatcher, will only be seen in Egypt and Greece. Odd, right? It does tie into the lore for this Pokemon, though. It’s said to fly a singular route from the time it guarded ancient cities. These routes, upon further inspection, are above buried ruins. They use their psychic powers to fly and attack intruders in their territory. In case this wasn’t clear, it’s a Psychic/Flying Type.
Sigilyph Max CP 2550, Attack 204, Defense 167, Stamina 176
Fast Attacks: Air Slash, Zen Headbutt
Charge Attacks: Ancient Power, Signal Beam, Air Cutter, Psybeam
Tirtouga and Carracosta
This family is one of my favorite groups of Unova Pokemon. Turtles are my favorite animals so a big, bad-ass sea turtle can’t help but earn my favor. It is thought to be the ancestor of most, if not all, turtle Pokemon. It lived 100 million years ago, and while it might resemble the real world leatherback sea turtle, it differs in one way; it hunts on land. While leatherbacks in the real world eat sea jellies, this feisty terrapin stormed the beaches to track down snacks. It could dive to depths of 1000 meters. (That’s just a smidge below 1100 yards.)
Carracosta, continuing with the theme of hunting on land and in the water, can do both equally well. And when it eats, it doesn’t leave one scrap behind. Not even bones or shells. Instead, it digests these hard parts to strengthen its own shell. Same thing with rocks, steel beams and especially the shells of its favorite food; Omanyte and Omastar. It’s a water/Rock Type.
Carracosta Max CP 2621, Attack 192, Defense 197, Stamina 179
Fast Attacks: Water Gun, Rock Throw
Charge Attacks: Body Slam, Ancient Power, Surf
Archen and Archeops
Archen is such a double edged sword. It looks cool, has an awesome concept and good stats. Its ability, however, is awful. It’s called Defeatist, and will immediately halve this Pokemon’s Attack and Special Attack Stats once its HP hits the half way point.
This Pokemon was initially said to be an ancestor to all bird Pokemon, though as of Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, it seems new research has revealed that this may not be the case. It cannot fly, because its wings are too small and weak (Yet Doduo and Dodrio can. Life’s not fair.) It lives a life in the treetops, gliding from one to the next by spreading its wings and catching air currents. Kind of like a flying squirrel. Anyway, this critter’s design is part avian and part reptillian and it evolves into something pretty spectacular.
Look at that design. The serpent-esque head, especially.
Quetzalcoatl is a winged serpent deity from Mesoamerican myth. With both reptilian and avian features and that color palette, it’s hard not to draw the parallel.
But its ability is still Defeatist.
This Pokemon can in fact fly (Rock and Flying Type) but is faster on the ground with a top running speed of 25mph. It uses this running speed to launch itself into the air. It’s a pack hunter, moving in groups that corner prey as a team. Clever Girl.
Archeops Max CP 3331, Attack 292, Defense 139, Stamina 181
Fast Attacks: Steel Wing, Wing Attack
Charge Attacks: Crunch, Dragon Claw, Ancient Power
Trubbish and Garbodor
Look. I know. I hear you. I get it. Trubbish is often used as the poster child for “Game Freak is running out of ideas! It’s literally sentient trash!”
Generation 1 has a red and white ball (A design so nice, they used it twice.) some eggs, a pile of scum and a googly eye on a couple magnets. Relax.
Trubbish makes part of a trio based on pollution. Grimer and Muk are water pollution like oil slicks and sewage, Koffing and Weezing are air pollution like smog and Trubbish and Garbodor are solid waste of the sort that we throw out every garbage day. It’s the completion of a triumvirate that was started five Generations ago. (Two more of these things and we can summon Captain Pollution, I think.)
So, I think it’s a pretty cool design.
Anyway, the Pokedex tells us that this Pokemon likes areas with filthy conditions. Dumps, landfills etc. It burps noxious gasses that can be extremely dangerous, knocking people into weakened states for weeks and it can be fatal to younger people and Pokemon alike. However, once it befriends a person it cuts back on those emissions.
Garbodor, likewise, loves filthy areas. It absorbs trash into its body and what it absorbs alters the composition of the poisons it uses to subdue enemies. It grabs its foes with its left arm and slimes them with the gunk guns it has for fingers on the right. Or belches foul, toxic gas at those same foes. Charming.
An interesting tidbit of information; Trubbish and Garbodor are prey for Alolan Grimer and Muk. One ‘Mon’s trash is another ‘Mon’s treasure, after all.
Garbodor Max CP 2345, Attack 181, Defense 164, Stamina 190
Fast Attacks: Take Down, Infestation, Acid
Charge Attacks: Body Slam, Seed Bomb, Gunk Shot
Shelmet and Accelgor
Shelmet is one of Unova’s more interesting critters. In the main series games it can only be evolved by trading it for a Karrablast. Of course we have had trade based evolutions before, but this is the only time up to this point that it has depended solely on the pokemon that is being traded in return. Interestingly enough, the Pokedex doesn’t state why this occurs, just stating that the answer is unknown but has to do with electricity. Also, it is stated that Karrablast predate on Shelmet and are one of the few predators who can get through Shelmet’s armor. If either Pokemon is holding an Everstone during the trade, neither will evolve.
Accelgor is a very fast Bug Type. Having left its heavy shell behind, it can attack with ninja-esque speed. To protect against the weakening effects of dehydration, it wraps itself in layers of tough, but light, membrane. In the Galar region, this Pokemon is considered popular enough to raise the media profile of movies and comics if it’s featured.
Accelgor Max CP 2441, Attack 220, Defense 120, Stamina 190
Fast Moves: Acid, Infestation
Charge Moves: Acid Spray, Focus Blast, Signal Beam, Bug Buzz
Karrablast and Escavalier
Karrablast is the other half of the strange duo that only evolves while traded for its counterpart- Shelmet.
Even Slowpoke doesn’t need the presence of Shelder to evolve. It’s a weird situation.
This Pokemon is known for hunting Shelmet. It eats them, melting away their shell and noshing on the Pokescargot inside. It can also spit acid if it feels threatened.
Escavalier uses the shells of its Shelmet trade partner as armor, hence Accelgor being shell-less. It’s a Bug/Steel Type. It’s especially popular in the Galar region and features in a prominent piece of art where it’s fighting Sirfetched. It’s also really fast, flying at lightning speed and stabbing foes and prey alike with those vicious Lances.
Escavalier Max CP 2889, Attack 223, Defense 187, Stamina 172
Fast Attacks: Peck, Counter, Bug Bite
Charge Attacks: Aerial Ace, Drill Run, Megahorn, X-Scissor
Joltick and Galvantula
This little guy is so cute it literally hurts. It reminds me of Lucas the Spider.
Right??
One of the absolute smallest Pokemon at only 4″ tall, it clamps onto larger Pokemon to gather their static electricity. It’s too small to make it’s own power. It will also feed on power from outlets in people’s homes and from electric types, like Yamper.
Galvantula is a little more sinister. It will snare prey in electric webs, immobilizing them with electricity so that they can consume this prey at leisure. It uses this trick around trees where bird Pokemon nest to try and catch chicks who are, as yet, bad at flying. It can shoot electrified hair from the abdomen, and if this hair hits you it can mean up to three full days of paralysis. Yikes.
Galvantula Max CP 2206, Attack 201, Defense 128, Stamina 172
Fast Attacks: Fury Cutter, Charge Beam
Charge Attacks: Energy Ball, Cross Poison, Bug Buzz, Thunder
Axew, Fraxure and Haxorus
Axew is a fun little dragon type. The Pokedex tells tales of tusked Pokemon who nest in the ground. They use these tusks to mark territory by slashing trees. They also crush berries with their tusks and this is how they determine Strength amongst peers.
Haxorus is a kindhearted Pokemon that is only roused into violence when its territory is threatened. Other
than that they are generally very gentle. When enraged however, they are extremely frightening. This
Pokemon has got massive tusks and hard armor.
Haxorus Max CP 3593, Attack 284, Defense 172, Stamina 183
Fast Attacks: Counter, Dragon Tail
Charge Attacks: Night Slash, Earthquake, Surf, Dragon Claw
And there you have it, Trainers! A little detail on each of the new recruits for your teams! Hopefully you find some new friends to train out of the new batch. As always, I wish you the best of luck getting that Pokedex filled in!
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