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# 767 - Wimpod
Bug/Water
Wimpod is perhaps the "Magikarp" of Generation VII more than Wishiwashi is, an extremely weak Pokemon that evolves into a fairly powerful Pokemon. It was also revealed as our first new Bug/Water Pokemon since Surskit, as Dewpider wasn't revealed till quite a bit later when the game leaked, and I was excited, but since it seemed right from the get-go to occupy that Magikarp niche I had a sinking feeling that Bug-type would be replaced by a cooler Type, such as Dragon, or Steel. Thankfully I was wrong, and its evolution in fact became an extremely iconic Bug-type in the narrative, but what about Wimpod?
Well, it's a wimp. You can tell as much when you encounter it on the overworld (a taste of things to come?), where it'll instantly flee from you. If it escapes, I believe you just need to leave the area and return, but once you know where it'll appear it's pretty easy to jump on Tauros and charge at it. You can first encounter it on Akala Island, but it pops up a bit elsewhere---may as well just catch it. When you do, don't plan on using it. Apart from its Speed (super fast by Alolan standards) everything else about it is horrible, and all it learns naturally is Struggle Bug and Sand Attack. It does have some TM compatibility, but nothing useful except perhaps in Sun and Moon giving it Scald to quickly burn the opponent. For the most part, until it evolves at Level 30, keep it in your reserves and turn on EXP. Share.
Another thing worth noting is its Ability, Wimp Out. When its HP drops below half its maximum HP, it'll instantly flee if it's a Wild Battle, or switch itself out in a Trainer Battle. It only activates as soon as its HP drops below that threshold, so if you go into battle already hurt and less than half, it won't flee unless you somehow heal it back above the halfway point and it drops again. Also passive damage from weather effects won't activate Wimp Out, and there's quite a bit of other little details here and there involving what counts as its HP dropping below half, but basically just know that if use Wimpod, expect to find yourself constantly being forced to switch out or run. Hope you're not fighting a Shiny! Not that you'll be using it much in this form, but...
Wimpod is an isopod, a small arthropod. They're pretty cool, and you probably know about that sick rad one that replaces a fish's tongue---oh, how I wish we got that! Wimpod is based on the little Ligia genus of isopod it seems, as they're parimarily land dwelling (though live near water much like Wimpod), and are able to scurry along the ground rather quickly to avoid predation. And that's basically why Wimpod is, well, wimpy. Like some isopods Wimpod is also known as a useful scavenger Pokemon that helps clean beaches as it basically eats anything it comes across, so it's seen as an environmentally friendly Pokemon by the people of Alola. It may be a coward, but it seems it has a much better rep than the oft-insulted Magikarp.
Nothing really major from them in the anime. One episode had Ash meet a bunch of them on an abandoned island and won them over by helping rescue one that was trapped. This was another species I remember a lot of folks speculating that Ash would eventually catch, but that never happened.
# 768 - Golisopod
Bug/Water
Wimpod evolves at Level 30 into the mighty Golisopod! Although this Pokemon may look pretty impressive, looking it over reveals a much more disappointing picture. Though it does sort of exist as the "Gyarados" equivalent, the latter evolves by Level 20, while Golisopod is a whole ten levels later. By this point you can acquire fairly powerful Pokemon such as Araquanid and Mudsdale, and your Starter is close to reaching its final form as well, so Golisopod's huge jump in stats don't carry the same impressive weight as they might have had you been able to obtain it in the early 20s where few Pokemon were capable of evolving.
Statistically, it has powerful Attack, but is held back by its poor Speed. And not just poor in general, even by Alola standards 40 Speed isn't good. The only other really exciting thing it has going for it is its heavy Defense, which is nice since two of its three weaknesses are mainly Physical, but I definitely would have traded some of that Defense for a slight more Speed. That being said, when you put it up against the right Pokemon it can certainly take some damage, but if you're looking for a fast attacked you'll mainly leave disappointed...except for one notable exception.
First Impression. Learning it upon evolution, it's a powerful Bug-type move with increased priority, though it can only be used when Golisopod first comes to the field. Once you use it you can't use it again unless you switch Golisopod out and bring him back in, which is thankfully not too difficult in single-player if you have the switch options set to on. Kill an opponent with it, switch out, kill that Pokemon, switch Golisopod back in, and repeat. You'll get another possible priority move shortly after in Sucker Punch, though Golisopod is kind of want for moves as when it evolves at Level 30, it misses out on a lot of moves before then, with the only other decent move being Liquidation at Level 48 till you get near the end of the game where you can give it powerful TMs and utilize the Move Relearner.
But what really put me off on using Golisopod in-game was its sole Ability, Emergency Exit. Make no mistake, this is the exact same Ability as Wimp Out simply under another name. That's actually a common theme with this line, by the way. In Japan, Wimpod and Golisopod have the exact same category phonetically, but the context changes with Wimpod's meaning "cowardly" and Golispod's meaning "armored". Pretty neat, but Emergency Exit being Wimp Out is not. Generally being forced to switch out against your will isn't fun, and while it's meant to work together with First Impression, I'd gladly sacrifice it for another Ability other than Emergency Exit.
All in all Golisopod is by no means a bad Pokemon, just annoying to use in-game. You can't do anything with its pre-evolution, and when it does evolve it starts out with little in the way of variety, and unless you build your team around it Emergency Exit is situational at best. In the competitive scene, Golisopod has a lot going for it with a good Type and First Impression, but Emergency Exit just brings that all crashing down. It can't set up, and moves like Stealth Rock can actually activate First Impression, meaning it'll just be recalled and then sent back out once more to take additional Stealth Rock damage. Maybe Generation VIII will give it a Hidden Ability---oh, I guess now I had to add "if it makes it in"---or they'll change how Emergency Exit works, but for now using Golisopod takes a lot of effort that may outweigh its positive points.
In the games, you'll definitely associated Golisopod with your boy, Guzma. It's his signature Pokemon across all mediums, and it can be pretty scary. Sure, it's easy to counter if you know it's coming by exploiting its Ability, but you'll probably have one of your Pokemon taken out by First Impression before you can react. His Golisopod switches up its moves throughout the various fights---the story fights, post-game fights, Battle Tree---but he always carries that. Oh, and he usually augments it with other priority moves such as Aqua Jet and Sucker Punch. Truth be told, of all of Guzma's Pokemon it was always his Masquerain which shocked me the most in how surprisingly powerful it seemed to be. Maybe because it outsped my entire team in Sun and could hit pretty hard with Air Slash?
It took me awhile to realize this Pokemon was "goliath + isopod", because for the longest time I called it "go-lisso-pod". It's based on a giant isopod, which if you've ever heard of the species you've probably seen a picture of one of these intimidating dudes. The giant isopod isn't as big as Golisopod, naturally, but they're not something I'd want to run into under any circumstances. Anyway, Game Freak took this animal and turned it into a samurai basically. Not exactly the most cleverest of concepts, but a striking design nonetheless and one of the coolest Pokemon to come out of Generation VII. I actually really wanted to see it in Smash as a surprise Pokemon newcomer, with Guzma crouching in the background, but due to Ultimate being a "celebration" of Smash as opposed to a mere installment like previous titles, I get them wanting to go with a Pokemon like Incineroar who might outlive Alola as opposed to a Pokemon that will probably remain associated with it.
Guzma really kept us waiting in the anime. Team Skull had been characters in the show since day one, but there was no mention of Guzma for the longest time, even as the anime covered all the plotlines he was involved in in the games such as Ula'Ula and the Aether Foundation. He finally appeared in Episode 115(!), and it seems the show will be focused on his dislike of Alola's customs and his past with Kukui, with him wanting to destroy the upcoming Alola League. Golisopod here is his signature Pokemon and gets to show off its strength with a battle with Pikachu. Golispod manages to wear down Pikachu quite a bit but Emergency Exit kicks in. Though Guzma explains that Golisopod deemed Pikachu too weak to bother with, which may or may not be the truth. Regardless, Guzma will definitely be a major player in the Pokemon League, and I imagine he'll probably end up sweeping one of Ash's friends in order to hype him up. I'm guessing Sophocles to prove his mastery of Bug-type Pokemon.
