-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Birdie's Pokemon Review Thread |Alolan Edition| - 809 And Counting
- Thread starter Birdie
- Start date
Yeah, I got confused myself. In the English version it's Hammer Arm but in the Japanese version it's Arm Hammer.
Not really sure why they changed it in the localized version.
Might just be to avoid any potential lawsuits. I don't think anything would come from it, but they like being on the cautious side.
It is indeed fantastic, but Charjabug is such a nice one that it almost is a pity to evolve it.
Or maybe it's just that you spend so much time with the little fella that you end up developing some kind of hostage syndrome.
OP
OP
# 741 - Oricorio
Electric/Flying (Pom-Pom Style)
Psychic/Flying (P'au Style)
Fire/Flying (Baile Style)
Ghost/Flying (Sensu Style)
If you're looking for a Flying-type Pokemon and find Pikipek too boring, why not go with Oricorio? First found at Melemele Meadow in its Electric/Flying Pom-Pom Style, the other three islands each have their own version of Oricorio that can be caught in the wild---the Psychic/Flying P'au Style on Route 6 on Akala Island, the Fire/Flying Baile Style at Ula'Ula Meadow, and the Psychic/Flying Sensu Style at Poni Meadow, though I recall that cannot be ventured to until you clear the Elite Four.
But if you want to use a "fun Pokemon", you can switch Oricorio's form at each island you visit to change it up as you journey as opposed to catching a different one each time. This is accomplished by feeding it colored nectar, the corresponding nectar located in the same area as Oricorio can be caught except for the Pink Nectar which is found at the nearby Royal Avenue, and only during the day. Similarly the Purple Nectar at the Poni Meadow can only be found at night. There are two nectars you can find in each area per day, though you'll only need one of course if you merely want to see each form once.
Apart from the Type difference, which we'll explore more once we touch upon each individual form, each of the four forms are basically the same. They're fairly solid Pokemon, with all of their stats at least 70---their Special Attack is a workable 98 and, amazingly, they're like twice as fast as all the Pokemon we've pretty much covered with 93. That's pretty solid, and they can definitely stay on your team throughout the adventure without dragging you down. The only issue is while they have good Special, they only have like one attack for the longest time that can make use of that---Air Cutter. That's it until the late 30s, and even when factoring in TMs you don't have a lot of options. I mean, in terms of Special moves, there's just Round and Hidden Power. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon adds Icy Wind too through the Mantine Surf, but while you have a lot of neat support moves in terms of attack Oricorio is gonna be pretty one-note for the longest time.
And that brings us to Revelation Dance, which apart from getting lucky with Hidden Power is the only way for Oricorio to take advantage of non-Flying STAB. It's not learned until Level 40, and other than that Oricorio doesn't learn a single damaging move of any of its primary Types. Revelation Dance is a pretty great move when you do learn it thankfully, which changes to match the primary Type of the Pokemon using it---this is the only time the order of Types actually matters as far as I'm aware. Oricorio is the only Pokemon who can learn it, so barring any trickery it'll either be Electric, Psychic, Fire, or Ghost. It'd be neat if it added an additional effect based on the Type, like a chance of paralysis for Pom-Pom and burn for Baile, but all it really exists for is to actually give these Pokemon a STAB attack other than Flying. Kind of unfortunate until you reach this point, offensively the Type Oricorio changes to is ultimately meaningless.
All the Oricorio also share a unique Ability in the form of Dancer. When another Pokemon uses a dance-based move, Oricorio will use that move as well (provided the original move was successful), and then will use the move you originally selected for it to use---though you can't have Dancer copy a dance-based move that another Pokemon copied with Dancer, if you have two Oricorio out who use Revelation Dance, they'll each use the move twice. Oricorio can learn Feather Dance, Revelation Dance, Swords Dance, and Teeter Dance on its own, while it can copy Fiery Dance, Dragon Dance, Lunar Dance, Petal Dance, and Quiver Dance from other Pokemon. It's worth noting that each Oricorio Style still counts as the same Pokemon, so in official matches you can't use two of them together to spam Dancer.
Competitively, Oricorio doesn't seem to see much use in any of its forms, especially in Singles. It definitely can pull off some interesting combinations in Double Battles with Dancer and the users of the various dances it lacks access to, but it seems it's just not that strong overall for folks to really put a lot of time in experimenting with these combinations based on the lack of much talk about their usage in Doubles. Or maybe people just don't want to use a Pokemon that makes them role-play as Tierno, who nobody likes. Okay, he's popular in Japan, but you can't convince me that's not an ironic meme that ran astray.
In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, there's a sidequest involving an Actress named Meredith who will battle you with Oricorio on each island near where the nectar can be found, using the island's respective form. Upon beating her all four times, you'll be rewarded with the Swords Dance TM for your Oricorio to make use of.
So while each Oricorio has its own theming going on, the one thing they share in common is that they're all based on the Hawaiian honeycreeper. These Hawaiian native birds come in a variety of species and each have unique beak shapes adapted to drawing out nectar from different flowers, which the Pokemon version of course uses as form changes. The most well-known species appears to be the red 'I'iwi, which Baile Style resembles due to the red-and-black plumage. Despite the fact it's found on the third island in Sun and Moon, it seems to be treated as the default Oricorio by Serebii, Bulbapedia, and Smogon, and comes first in the in-game data as well, so this may be the reason why. I don't think the other forms are necessarily based on any one variety, and Baile's resemblence to the 'I'iwi may be a complete coincidence.
The Oricorio are colored corresponding to the color their native island is named after in Hawaiian---yellow (Melemele), pink (Akala), red (Ula'Ula), and purple (Poni). They match the colors of the Tapu as well, and when they were first revealed it was speculated that their Types also corresponded due to Pom-Pom sharing the same Type as Tapu Koko, who was the only Tapu we knew at the time, though apart from P'au sharing its Type with Tapu Lele this doesn't hold true with Baile and Sensu whose counterparts are Grass and Fairy.
Pom-Pom Style
Electric/Flying
The first Style encountered, Pom-Pom is bright, cheerful, and based on a cheerleader---I guess that's a kind of dance? It can create static electricity by rubbing its pom-poms together, which is cool---I'd say it's my third favorite of the designs, nothing too special about it but nothing offensive. I don't really have a lot to say about the individual forms honestly.
It's considered one of the better Styles competitively, due to Electric not giving it any additional weaknesses (and Flying removing the weakness to Ground), and STAB Electric is nice. By the way, Smogon abbreviates them based on Type, so this would be "Oricorio-E".
It has the biggest role in the show due to being owned by Lillie's butler, Hobbes. It's shown to be a fairly capable Pokemon able to take down Ash's Rowlet and put up a pretty good fight with Pikachu, though it hasn't been seen much outside of those two fights. It'd be neat to see it change forms each time it appeared, but I guess as Hobbes pretty much stays at Lillie's house all the time he doesn't have a chance to get out and change it up.
P'au Style
Psychic/Flying
The second Style encountered, and the most fitting since it's based on a hula dancer. Even though we already had a hula-inspired Pokemon in Bellossom, who wasn't good enough for Sun and Moon. Its name is the Hawaiian word for skirt, and it's said to honor Tapu Lele specifically through its dance which fits as hula dances are traditionally spiritual affairs. While it's the only Style to have an official connection to its respective Tapu mentioned, I kind of figure all the Styles probably have some sort of spiritual connection with the Tapu. I think this form looks pretty lame to be honest, something about the headdress and skirt just bother me.
Oricorio-P (for Psychic) is about middle-of-the road competitively, as its Type adds some extra common weaknesses and for a Psychic-type its Special Attack isn't all that since Psychic-type Pokemon typically have Special Attack that surpasses 100.
In the show P'au is owned by Ms. Anela, a fruit vendor who reappears throughout the show and is a literal saint. I won't hear otherwise, she's pretty much the nicest person in the entire franchise. She's also a traditional hula dancer alongside her P'au Style Oricorio, teaching Mallow's Steene the dance as well as putting on a performance for the Pokemon School. I'm not going to lie, she's kind of hot when she's all dressed up---Anela that is, not Oricorio.
Baile Style
Fire/Flying
The third Style encountered, though seemingly the "default" Style in the eyes of many---probably because it looks pretty rad, especially that sweet Shiny variant. Baile's just the Spanish word for dance, by the way, with it based on a Flamenco dancer. The word "flamenco" has various argued origins, though it's though to have possibly derived from the Spanish word for flame, "flama", and given that it's a quick-paced and hot-blooded style that makes perfect sense. It also makes sense that Baile is a Fire-type, able to create powerful flames through its dance.
Unfortunately it's considered the worst of the bunch competitively, as Oricorio-F (for Fire) ultimately fails considering like every other Fire/Flying Pokemon it has to contend with Steal Rock.
It also has appeared the least in the show, its only "starring role" having it immediately transforming into the Pom-Pom Style while drinking Yellow Nectar. Hopefully it gets a bigger focus in a future episode, perhaps in the Alola League?
Sensu Style
Ghost/Flying
The final Style encountered, in the post-game. Do you like Kanto? Because this Pokemon is all about repping that Kanto, as it draws from traditional Japanese dances as evidenced by its Japanese-style fans, known as "sensu". It seems to be specifically referencing various Japanese-style dances, such as the Bon Odori, in that it draws upon the power of the spirits. Like, seriously, it can straight up summon the dead and use their malice to curse its opponent. Actually all of the Oricorio are kind of jerks in this way as all of them are said to use their dancing to distract their opponent and then attack them when their guard is down, which so isn't cool. But you know what's cool? Sensu Style Oricorio, it comes behind Balie Style in terms of, well, style.
As Smogon knows it as, Oricorio-G is considered a pretty good Style alongside Oricorio-E due to Flying and Ghost being a great STAB combination. Though it has two weaknesses added due to Ghost including Dark-type which means it's susceptible to the common disruptive moves Pursuit and Knock Off, it also has three immunities in total. None of the Oricorio are all that great competitively as mentioned before, but if you want to use one in singles Pom-Pom and Sensu are the recommended ones as they have the best utility on their own without relying on a Doubles partner to pull off funky Dance combinations with.
In the anime, a bunch of them were captured (as in captured with a bag which is "wrong"---though logically it's not that different from a PokeBall) by Team Skull grunts looking to use them in their "Team Skull Paradise", though Ash stepped in and saved the day earning the respect of Poni Island's soon-to-be Kahuna Hapu who previously considered Ash nothing more than a common thief due to a misunderstanding.
I like what they did with Oricorio and how it made the Alolan pokedex seem slightly bigger with its multiple forms you encounter, but it's not particularly exciting and i was never tempted to use one.
Shiny Baile style is really cool looking though
Shiny Baile style is really cool looking though
...No kink-shaming!
Oricorio is a really fun Pokémon. I like it when they make one-stage gimmick Pokémon as opposed to plain one-stage ones like... I don't know, Maractus. Baile is the coolest one, though, but shiny Baile is extra neat.
There were some theories going around about how each island's Tapu+Oricorio represented different countries, but I feel it's just a coincidence in the end. Like I don't particularly see it beyond Flamenco and the bull (Tapu Bulu) being Spanish icons.
Speaking of which: while it's true that "flama" means flame in Spanish it's mostly an outdated word that nobody uses anymore, people usually opting to use "llama", which I guess has the same latin root (same as the animal!). I guess people ocassionally use flama to refer to sudden bursts of hot air.
Mmmm... I wonder how they will integrate Oricorio in future games.
Oricorio is a really fun Pokémon. I like it when they make one-stage gimmick Pokémon as opposed to plain one-stage ones like... I don't know, Maractus. Baile is the coolest one, though, but shiny Baile is extra neat.
There were some theories going around about how each island's Tapu+Oricorio represented different countries, but I feel it's just a coincidence in the end. Like I don't particularly see it beyond Flamenco and the bull (Tapu Bulu) being Spanish icons.
Speaking of which: while it's true that "flama" means flame in Spanish it's mostly an outdated word that nobody uses anymore, people usually opting to use "llama", which I guess has the same latin root (same as the animal!). I guess people ocassionally use flama to refer to sudden bursts of hot air.
Mmmm... I wonder how they will integrate Oricorio in future games.
Oricorio is a wonderful gimmick mon, Baile style is rad.
A great way to the whole forms thing again in a way that's a fun twist on how a species of bird can develop differently on close islands.
A great way to the whole forms thing again in a way that's a fun twist on how a species of bird can develop differently on close islands.
Sensu being post game is another for the "but why" board
You'd think they would at least give access to the nectar separately
There's a good option of just putting in a differenet style based on where they want to show up (ie maybe it will show up at a graveyard as sensu in galar) but if Deerling & Shellos are any indication they'll keep to the "default" which seems to be Baile
You'd think they would at least give access to the nectar separately
They'll probably just have some default style and then offer you the nectar as items you can buy or find to switch them around.
There's a good option of just putting in a differenet style based on where they want to show up (ie maybe it will show up at a graveyard as sensu in galar) but if Deerling & Shellos are any indication they'll keep to the "default" which seems to be Baile
Someone traded me a shiny Oricorio because I was so into how Shiny Baile Style looked and they didn't have a use for it. I don't, either, but I'm super super glad to have it!
When I first saw the gimmick of Oricorio, I immediately thought of Darwin's study on finches. I like this Pokemon concept despite not really using them in the game. I just like creatures adding their unique flavor to the region.
I love how each Oricorio has their own variation of their cry.
Also here's a very short and dumb thing:
As for favorite, Baile is the most stylish, but I have to give it up for Pom-Pom for being the most cheerful(pun not intended).
I love how each Oricorio has their own variation of their cry.
Also here's a very short and dumb thing:
As for favorite, Baile is the most stylish, but I have to give it up for Pom-Pom for being the most cheerful(pun not intended).
Oricorio is a superb idea, and executed pretty well - I love the designs of Sensu and Baile. But I really hate how limited their movesets are. I had a fun idea for a Rain Dance + Hurricane + Thunder set for the Electric one, but of course it doesn't learn Thunder... or Rain Dance (but it does learn Sandstorm!).
More leak nonsense I nearly forgot about, Oricorio is one of the big facotrs that caused us to believe the "Real Leaks" uh, leak
It had all kinds of things but only a few lined up (I wanted that 2 stage cat whose type changed based on the breeding pair) and half of those were from other, more credible leakers and the other half were just lucky coincidences. Like guessing Oricorio or there being differnetly typed pokemon formes (rip fighting type abra). It's fun how these things shake out.
It had all kinds of things but only a few lined up (I wanted that 2 stage cat whose type changed based on the breeding pair) and half of those were from other, more credible leakers and the other half were just lucky coincidences. Like guessing Oricorio or there being differnetly typed pokemon formes (rip fighting type abra). It's fun how these things shake out.
Alola was full of Pokemon that made it pretty obvious that Gamefreak wanted to tone down how many Pokemon were added to the dex
Back in the day, each of these forms would have been a different Pokemon
Back in the day, each of these forms would have been a different Pokemon
My go to example for this is actually gen 6 and Meowstic
Had Espurr & Meowstic been conceptualized even 2 gens earlier, they'd absolutely be separate pokemon. They even have separate movepools! Seems like a gimmick they'd use in gen 2
I like Oricorio, especially the Sensu style, my favourite of the bunch.
In my first playthrough of Moon, I used Oricorio and switch it's style at each new island. It's one of the best "gimmick" pokemon.
In my first playthrough of Moon, I used Oricorio and switch it's style at each new island. It's one of the best "gimmick" pokemon.
Baile Oricorio is straight up one of my favorite Gen 7 designs (especially with those animations--it's got style), but Oricorio in general was a surprisingly boring Pokemon to use in-game--still took mine to the Elite Four in my initial playthrough of Sun, but the absolutely barren movepool was a huge bummer. Could've at least given it Thundershock/Ember/Confusion/Astonish or something to match its form in the early levels so it has some STAB options besides Flying.
Alola goes nuts with it, thoughMy go to example for this is actually gen 6 and Meowstic
Had Espurr & Meowstic been conceptualized even 2 gens earlier, they'd absolutely be separate pokemon. They even have separate movepools! Seems like a gimmick they'd use in gen 2
Alolan forms could have been all new Pokemon with new designs unrelated to old Pokemon
Wishiwashi could have had an evolution instead of its ability
The various Lycanroc forms would have been separate evos in older games
The seperate Oricorio forms would have been separate Pokemon
I get what you mean but I don't think we would have gotten the 15 or so alolan forms as new Pokemon if they were not new forms of old Pokemon.
I don't think those, specific, forms happened because they wanted to keep dex numbers low, I think it happened because low dex numbers and they wanted to flesh out in a more economical manner.
Like Meowth But Sassy and Dugtrio With Wig tell me there was significantly less bandwidth for more Pokemon unrelated to their decisions on the other, more substantial form differences for new Pokemon. Where as the Oricorio I could see be on par with, say, Plusle/Minun in "different, new pokemon clearly working on the same base".
I feel like Johto should have been what Sensu Style remind people of. I think Johto had more traditional Japanese things than Kanto with the Bellsprout Tower and the Kimono Girls, but for Kanto, all I remember is Erika, but my memory is fuzzy.
Yeah, that's what it reminds me of. Johto is deeply rooted in Japanese tradition, while Kanto is current urban Japan.
Kanto's been slowly absorbing that identity, for some reason.
Like Maile City, the extremly Japanese influence Alolan town. My memory is a little fuzzy but I am pretty sure in-universe this is meant to be made by Kanto immigrants as a stand in for what I believe is Hawaii's Japanese population. Likewise with the fact we come from Kanto specifically, judging by how the commercials for the game worked.
e: I guess the real reason is a combination of trying to have Kanto & Johto be more similar to each other since they're right next door and also how Kanto didn't really have an identity. It was originally just generic contemporary "modern"
Yep, it's quite obvious when you think about it, especially with Game Freak calling new forms, Mega Evolutions etc. as "New Pokémon", so if we take the forms that are substantially different enough to have been other Pokémon
Gen 6: 72 Pokémon + 48 Mega Evolutions & 2 Primal Reversions
Gen 7: 88 Pokémon + 18 Alola Forms + 1 Wishiwashi + 3 Oricorio + 2 Lycanroc + 2 Zygarde (you tell me that shouldn't be an evolution line. I dare you)
I fully expect to see this continue with Gen 8 with many forms. Plus each form needs design concepts, balance etc., just as much as new Pokémon do
But, conversely, Type:Null and Silvally should have been a form change really.
I think the problem with Kanto is that it was never given its own identity, as opposed to later regions. There was no need for it at the time, after all.
OP
OP
# 742 - Cutiefly
Bug/Fairy
If you want a Bug-type Pokemon to use, and find Charjabug's evolution method to be a bit intimidating, why not consider Cutiefly instead? It falls into the two-stage Bug line archetype which aren't as common as the typical three-stage style, and are usually often passed over due to being nothing too special---Pokemon like Venonat or Surskit, basically. While they're typically better than the initial Bug Pokemon, they're still nothing special and due to being less common don't find their way into too many teams. Cutiefly can be obtained fairly early on and isn't tricky to find, so it's a perfectly viable alternative to Grubbin.
It also happens to be Fairy-type as well, making it our first Bug/Fairy Pokemon---a Type that I'm still surprised Vivillon didn't go with. Combining Bug and Fairy is a pretty no-brain Type combination in my opinion, considering how often fairies have butterfly imagery going on, so I'm a bit surprised this didn't happen in Generation VI. While Fairy does add some extra weaknesses to the Bug-type, it certainly isn't the worst Type it can be paired with, as there's no 4X weakness here and you get a cool immunity to Dragon on top of doubly resisting Fighting-types.
The best part about using Cutiefly however is easily the Speed, 84 being extremely impressive for an early game Pokemon and basically leagues above almost everything else Alola offers. It can also dish out some respectable damage as well, learning strong STAB moves early on such as Drain Kiss and Silver Wind, the latter capable of giving it a quick stat boost. It can't take hits all that well, but at the very least you'll generally be able to get a decent hit in before taking damage---something that nearly every other Alolan Pokemon seems to struggle with. Even though most of my Sun squad could OHKO Pokemon easily enough, I constantly had to heal because they'd always take a hit before they could sweep. For this reason, I've seen Cutiefly recommended as a great in-game Pokemon despite its unassuming appearance. I don't think it would shine as much in any other Region where fast Pokemon are more common, but it has a great niche in Alola.
In terms of Abilities, there's really only one option---Shield Dust. Removing the additional effects of attacks used against Cutiefly is an obvious bonus, and there's really no competition when the other options are Honey Gather, which is worthless in Generation VII basically, and its Hidden Ability Sweet Veil, which is useful somewhat by preventing Cutiefly from falling asleep but Shield Dust is just more useful in general. If you end up with a Cutiefly with Honey Gather, you've messed up. Thankfully you can obtain an Ability Capsule fairly early in Sun and Moon through the Battle Royal Shop. While it would normally cost a bunch of Battle Points, these can be obtained through the use of Pokemon Bank.
When Cutiefly was first revealed, I thought it was meant to be a hummingbird hawk moth. That's a moth that resembles a hummingbird, and they're an idea I wanted to see in a Pokemon for a long time, specifically I thought it would be awesome if it could carry double-duty as both the early bird and bug. In reality Cutiefly is a Bombyliidae, or bee fly, a somewhat similar creature in that it mimics another animal, in this case a bee. In particular it resembles the Anastoechus nitidulus species, and quite a lot at that. Like if you look at Cutiefly and find its design a bit too simple and cutesy, the real-life creature it's based on looks like it could be a Pokemon honestly so it's really not that much of a stretch. I don't know what's up with the eye design that both this Pokemon and Vivillon have though, which look like dead pixels.
Bee flies are important pollinators, known for their unique way in feeding on flower nectar in which they typically use their long proboscis to draw out the nectar while hovering in mid-air. Cutiefly has an interesting special ability though, its Fairy specialty presumably, in which it can sense auras. Note that this doesn't appear to be necessarily THE aura that Lucario focuses on, but rather the general idea of sensing life energy and such which helps it identify which flowers are about to bloom and thus the best source of food. They're drawn to people who have the same aura as flowers, happy and lively people presumably, so you probably won't find these Pokemon hanging around with the villains. It can also use its aura vision to predict the movements of the opponent based on their emotions and such, so in a way it is sort of like Lucario. I'm wondering if the Japanese text specifically uses "hadou", what they use for Lucario's aura, or if there's a different word used that didn't have quite a good way of phrasing it in English.
In the show, these little dudes have just appeared in minor roles flying around and looking cute. But that's still more screen time and contribution to the plot than Decidueye.
# 743 - Ribombee
Bug/Fairy
After a few gimmicky evolutions, we return to a simple Level Up evolution at Level 25. That's fairly early, and you're rewarded with one of the fastest Alolan Pokemon with a Speed of 124 and a decent Special Attack of 95, who can pretty much hold its own through the rest of the game even if it still can't take much of a hit. By Level 35 it'll have its two most powerful STAB moves in Bug Buzz and Dazzling Gleam, and by the tail end of the game it'll be a useful support Pokemon due to having Aromatherapy and can majorly boost its power through the use of Quiver Dance. The only real downside is it doesn't have a way to deal with most of its counters such as Fire, Flying, and especially Steel Pokemon, but that's what its teammates are for! In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon you can also obtain a Totem-sized variant, but as it costs 100 Totem Stickers you won't be able to get it until the end. You'd also be stuck with the less useful Hidden Ability, Sweet Veil, so it's not worth it for in-game use.
Upon evolving it learns an extremely interesting move in the form of Pollen Puff. At first it doesn't appear to be anything special beyond a decently powerful 90 BP Bug-type move, but it's basically two moves in one as it hurts a foe but when you use it on an ally, it heals half of their maximum HP. Basically, you've got two moves in one, and this is off the top of my head the only move that really works this way. While most Pokemon have to sacrifice two slots for a strong STAB attack and support move, Ribombee has it all in one! And the best part is unless your ally has Bulletproof, Ribombee can use this on any ally Pokemon meaning it can serve as an ally for generally anyone. However, in-game, I'd still go with Buz Buzz since Double Battles aren't all that common in Sun and Moon to get much use out of the healing aspect, and Bug Buzz can lower the opponent's Special Defense which is more immediately useful in single player.
So, as you can guess, Ribombee is a pretty amazing Pokemon in Doubles. It seems built for Doubles honestly, with its Hidden Ability protecting its ally from falling asleep, and almost all of its moves hitting both foes. But it's no slouch in Singles either. It's one of the fastest Pokemon in the game, and thus is a great way to begin the battle by laying down a Sticky Web to slow down the opponent or paralyzing them with Stun Spore. Furthermore with Shield Dust, it doesn't have to worry about Fake Out. Offensively though it doesn't have as much to offer beyond typically going with Moonblast (a Bug-type move is usually sacrificed for Hidden Power Fire to deal with Steel-type Pokemon), or sacrificing one of the support move slots for Quiver Dance. It's capable of even working out pretty well in Ubers, thanks to resiting the many Dragon and Dark-type Pokemon that inhabit it.
Totem Ribombee appears as part of Mina's Trial in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. If you recall Sun and Moon lacked a real Fairy-type trial, so Rimbombee is the first Totem Pokemon we've covered that's exclusive to the Ultra games. Because the larger model is not in the code of the originals, Totem-sized Ribombee cannot be traded back to the original games nor can it be put in Pokemon Bank. It's a fairly tough fight, even though it's somewhat anti-climatic coming right after Ultra Necrozma, as Ribombee gets a sharp boost in all of its stats and will be able to outspeed pretty much everyone. It hits really hard with Bug Buzz and Dazzling Gleam, can heal itself with Draining Kiss, and get an even higher boost with Quiver Dance. Kind of disappointing they don't go with Pollen Puff here though to demonstrate how it can be used on its allies.
It will typically call Pelipper first as an ally and then Blissey once Pelipper is defeated and its HP drops below 2/3, though if this happens first before it can call Pelipper Blissey will come out instead. Pelipper is sort of an odd choice, because it uses Drizzle depite the fact Ribombee is supposed to hate the rain. However, considering the fight takes place at Seafolk Village, maybe this is meant to be the Pelipper owned by the Seafolk Chief? As Ribombee has a major weakness both offensively and defensively against Fire-type Pokemon, Pelipper makes a great ally, and in fact Ribombee is carrying an Occa Berry to protect it from Fire-type attacks. Pelipper also has Scald, which isn't good. Blissey, while it can fight with Dazzling Gleam, mainly exists to prolong the fight by healing Ribombee, powering up its attacks with Helping Hand, and using Light Screen. Furthermore as the battle won't end until you defeat Blissey, this can make the fight drag on. I would leave Pelipper alone till after you kill Ribombee to prevent Blissey from being summoned. Though Fire-type Pokemon and Rock-type Pokemon can be taken out by Pelipper, Poison and Steel Pokemon don't have a counter here so go with them.
I remember when Ribombee was revealed in a blink-or-you'll miss it appearance in a trailer, seemingly as a mistake, a lot of folks thought that Pokemon could wear clothing now and it was simply Cutiefly with a scarf. This wouldn't be the first time---I remember infamously someone believing the Lake Trio were simply Mew wearing a hat---and perhaps not the last. But yeah, it is basically Cutiefly with a scarf. I'm not even sure the exact nature of the scarf either, is it part of its body or is it literally wearing a scarf? The actual bee fly doesn't seem to have any feature that this is a reference to, though some have this shiny part of their body so perhaps that's what the scarf is meant to represent? I don't really know.
It loves collecting pollen and rolling them up into balls, which it can use as food or as weapons---hence Pollen Puff. As it uses them offensively almost as if they were bombs, this may be a reference to one of the other names of the bee fly---the Bomber fly. Ribombee's bombs, however, are cute pollen puffs. The actual bee fly? They fire off their eggs into the nests of other insects, the larvae hatching and infecting the other insect's eggs and larvae as a parasite. That's pretty rad, and probably not something a Bug/Fairy would do. I'd love to see a Bug-type Pokemon with that as a gimmick, especially since it's not all that different from what's up with Paras. Hey, here's an idea---how about we have a mushroom-based Pokemon that's host to a parasitic bug? Actually, just make that Galarian Parasect.
Ribombee appeared in the show under the ownership of Mina, though the regular sized Ribombee and not the Totem-sized variant. It was shown to be capable of interpreting the emotions of Poipole, who as an Ultra Beast could not be understood even by Meowth, through observing the drawings Poipole made with its slime. Mina could then interpret Ribombee through their emotional bond, relaying to Ash and co. what was up with Poipole. It was also shown to be a capable battler, easily taking on Team Skull with its Pollen Puff.
Best fairy type? it is for me for now
Look at that swag scarf, so far this thread is really reminding me that the Alola mon are a great run so far, wonder when I hit my first dud.
Look at that swag scarf, so far this thread is really reminding me that the Alola mon are a great run so far, wonder when I hit my first dud.
I played Pokémon Moon back when it was released, is the ultra version worth playing if I played the originals?
Speed Swap Ribombee has made me dominate battles so often. I managed to get a super fast Wishiwashi sweep, and a Guzzlord sweep
Basically Eject Button Ribombee works, get the Speed Swap in fast so it hits first, then when Ribombee is attacked...if it survives then it will be brought back. Next time it's back in, it has its old speed and can start Pollen Puffing
Basically Eject Button Ribombee works, get the Speed Swap in fast so it hits first, then when Ribombee is attacked...if it survives then it will be brought back. Next time it's back in, it has its old speed and can start Pollen Puffing
Last edited:
during my playthough of Ultra Sun i stumbled apon a shiny Cutiefly and decided to use it for the rest of that play though and it was neat to use
Ribombee scarf Turing Red was really nice looking
Ribombee scarf Turing Red was really nice looking
Oricorio was an interesting Pokémon and I used one as a reserve member. She did alright and I liked the backstory I made for her.
Cutiefly/Ribombee is the one Pokémon that I used as a reserve but then grew to love and wanted to add onto the team as a full fledged member really like but unfortunately didn't quite make the cut due to cross over with types.
I am really hoping that I can use her in Sword and Shield, though priority does goes to the gen 8 Pokémon first.
Hmm interesting.
I dunno, ever since I heard Paul say in the Japanese version of the Sinnoh arc. I kinda prefer saying by Arm Hammer. I also loved how Ash's Japanese voice actor would yell out "Brave bird!"
Honestly the amount of energy in the Japanese version of Pokémon Animé really puts the dub to shame.
Yeah, that's how I have been feeling since the game were released.
Oh agreed, I have used both and they just felt like the same Pokémon.
And as a result Kanto is one of the most blandest region to date, with Kalos taking second place.
There's a reason why I have more nostalgia for Johto despite playing Pokémon Red first.
Depends on what you want out of your Pokémon experience. The story is largely the same with the inclusion of Necrozma but as a result some element of the original story are made worse or just underdeveloped. But hey you get a cool tough legendary Pokémon battle, one that I have not seen since Giratina.
There's the new Pokémon that you can't get in Sun and Moon, though you get them late in the game and the Totem battle have been given a twist with an eight one added in.
However the Ultra version doesn't fix the pacing problem so if you didn't like that in Sun and Moon then you're out of luck with the Ultra version.
Cutiefly/Ribombee is the one Pokémon that I used as a reserve but then grew to love and wanted to add onto the team as a full fledged member really like but unfortunately didn't quite make the cut due to cross over with types.
I am really hoping that I can use her in Sword and Shield, though priority does goes to the gen 8 Pokémon first.
Might just be to avoid any potential lawsuits. I don't think anything would come from it, but they like being on the cautious side.
Hmm interesting.
I dunno, ever since I heard Paul say in the Japanese version of the Sinnoh arc. I kinda prefer saying by Arm Hammer. I also loved how Ash's Japanese voice actor would yell out "Brave bird!"
Honestly the amount of energy in the Japanese version of Pokémon Animé really puts the dub to shame.
Yeah, that's how I have been feeling since the game were released.
Oh agreed, I have used both and they just felt like the same Pokémon.
And as a result Kanto is one of the most blandest region to date, with Kalos taking second place.
There's a reason why I have more nostalgia for Johto despite playing Pokémon Red first.
Depends on what you want out of your Pokémon experience. The story is largely the same with the inclusion of Necrozma but as a result some element of the original story are made worse or just underdeveloped. But hey you get a cool tough legendary Pokémon battle, one that I have not seen since Giratina.
There's the new Pokémon that you can't get in Sun and Moon, though you get them late in the game and the Totem battle have been given a twist with an eight one added in.
However the Ultra version doesn't fix the pacing problem so if you didn't like that in Sun and Moon then you're out of luck with the Ultra version.
Add me to the list of "I've always really wanted to try Ribombee but never really had the chance".
Huuuge shoutouts to Cutiefly/Ribombee - probably among my fave Gen 7 mons and one of my faves amongst my Moon story team.
So I had a look at the Alolan Pokédex and, ignoring the regional variants as I don't count them as gen 7 Pokémon. There seems to be only 24 Pokémon who evolves but 31 that don't.
To me personally, I prefer if there are more Pokémon that evolve permanently and less form change and single stage Pokémon. As for me I prefer Pokémon that evolves as it's more exciting watching your team change and grow stronger over the course of the adventure.
I feel that if Game Freak continues the low Pokémon count, they will be limiting the number of Pokémon that can potentially evolve and adding in replacement stands in with forms and region variants
To me personally, I prefer if there are more Pokémon that evolve permanently and less form change and single stage Pokémon. As for me I prefer Pokémon that evolves as it's more exciting watching your team change and grow stronger over the course of the adventure.
I feel that if Game Freak continues the low Pokémon count, they will be limiting the number of Pokémon that can potentially evolve and adding in replacement stands in with forms and region variants
Fairy shroom is definitely my pick for "why are you even here again?"
No dislike, just complete apathy, the worst fate of all.
Though every now and then i remember Bruxish is a thing
No dislike, just complete apathy, the worst fate of all.
Though every now and then i remember Bruxish is a thing