Moving on. Tonight's poll is up.
You have until November 6th, 9PM GMT to cast your vote!
Let's look at the numbers.
You have until November 6th, 9PM GMT to cast your vote!
Let's look at the numbers.
Magcargo - 3
Chandelure - 3
Heatmor - 3
Torkoal - 2
Rotom - 1
Gourgeist - 4
Garchomp - 2
Honchkrow - 1
Drapion - 1
Goodra - 1
Arbok - 1
Poliwrath - 1
Altaria - 1
Banette - 1
Dragonite - 1
Tyranitar - 1
Scizor - 1
Trapinch - 1
Ursaring - 1
Analysis
If I may take a quick moment: Mountain Kalos was always a huge disappointment to me. The fact that this is the Kalos region's final frontier, and the section of the Pokedex containing Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, and Mewtwo, implied to me that we'd be entering a harsher and more rugged sort of place than the teeming fields and rivers and coastlines we'd previously traversed. And, you know, actually climbing some mountains.
Consequently, while individual locations - like the dreamy autumnal hush of Laverre City and the gorgeous waterfalls of Couriway Town - are beautiful and evocative, so many of them, like the swamps of Route 14 and 19 and the quiet tranquil fishing lake on Route 16, feel very out of place. Unlike the soaring vistas of Route 8 and the expansive rolling sea view of Azure Bay, Mountain Kalos just... doesn't have that many areas that inspire me. Where are the jaw-dropping cliffs, the remote and trackless mountains, the dark and terrifying caves?
Anyway. All of this is a prelude to me talking about the types found there, isn't it.
So we have a handful of disparate Fire-types which don't gel particularly well with each other. What else does? Dragons - fairly abundant in this location - make sense; though not Goodra, famously a wet and sludgy dragon. But Altaria is specified to breathe fire, Garchomp suits harsh mountain terrain, and Dragonite has vast elemental affinity. There's Tyranitar, too, which is just about as typefied as a mountain Pokemon can get. Arbok, while not terribly Fire-oriented, is a lizard with some draconic affinity so wasn't a total surprise to see.
But none of those were the most common wildcard: that'd be Gourgeist, perhaps the most Fire-aligned Grass-type. Given Gourgeist, Rotom, and Chandelure are all to be found in Mountain Kalos, there's also a natural lean towards Ghosts here for the taking. Banette has also often been quite Fire-adjacent, being one of the early users of the rare Will-o-Wisp. Given that Banette and Gourgeist are both very Fire-aligned Ghosts, it's no surprise to see them get used on the same team.
Stuff I expected to see more (or at all)
Given the way Ghosts feel a natural fit here, to not see Gengar used at all is surprising - it's often a go-to pick where it pops up (which, in fairness, is a lot of places)
For all the Dragons that could have been used, there's also a lot that were left out - Druddigon, Hydreigon, Flygon. All the 'gons. Funny to see Trapinch get used over its evolved brethren.
I did initially wonder if anyone would do a 50/50 Fire/Water split and do a "Volcanion hunter" team before remembering that Volcanion isn't technically a Mountain Kalos Pokemon - if anything, it's a Southern Kalos Pokemon even though it's in the Central Pokedex. Might have been a fun concept to play with.
Golem. Both a mountain Pokemon and one that's always had a slight Fire lean thanks to learning Fire Blast, Flamethrower, and Fire Punch.
Aggron. Another mountainous creature with some elemental affinity.
I was curious to see if anyone would end up using a Rotom other than Heat - but Rotom only got used once. Interesting...
Conkeldurr was a possibility for some Flame Orb fun - Guts, Fling, etc.
I always expect Zoroark when it's part of an area's dex listing, but I'm quite often mistaken. It does learn a couple of Fire moves, though...
Chandelure - 3
Heatmor - 3
Torkoal - 2
Rotom - 1
Gourgeist - 4
Garchomp - 2
Honchkrow - 1
Drapion - 1
Goodra - 1
Arbok - 1
Poliwrath - 1
Altaria - 1
Banette - 1
Dragonite - 1
Tyranitar - 1
Scizor - 1
Trapinch - 1
Ursaring - 1
Analysis
If I may take a quick moment: Mountain Kalos was always a huge disappointment to me. The fact that this is the Kalos region's final frontier, and the section of the Pokedex containing Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, and Mewtwo, implied to me that we'd be entering a harsher and more rugged sort of place than the teeming fields and rivers and coastlines we'd previously traversed. And, you know, actually climbing some mountains.
Consequently, while individual locations - like the dreamy autumnal hush of Laverre City and the gorgeous waterfalls of Couriway Town - are beautiful and evocative, so many of them, like the swamps of Route 14 and 19 and the quiet tranquil fishing lake on Route 16, feel very out of place. Unlike the soaring vistas of Route 8 and the expansive rolling sea view of Azure Bay, Mountain Kalos just... doesn't have that many areas that inspire me. Where are the jaw-dropping cliffs, the remote and trackless mountains, the dark and terrifying caves?
Anyway. All of this is a prelude to me talking about the types found there, isn't it.
So we have a handful of disparate Fire-types which don't gel particularly well with each other. What else does? Dragons - fairly abundant in this location - make sense; though not Goodra, famously a wet and sludgy dragon. But Altaria is specified to breathe fire, Garchomp suits harsh mountain terrain, and Dragonite has vast elemental affinity. There's Tyranitar, too, which is just about as typefied as a mountain Pokemon can get. Arbok, while not terribly Fire-oriented, is a lizard with some draconic affinity so wasn't a total surprise to see.
But none of those were the most common wildcard: that'd be Gourgeist, perhaps the most Fire-aligned Grass-type. Given Gourgeist, Rotom, and Chandelure are all to be found in Mountain Kalos, there's also a natural lean towards Ghosts here for the taking. Banette has also often been quite Fire-adjacent, being one of the early users of the rare Will-o-Wisp. Given that Banette and Gourgeist are both very Fire-aligned Ghosts, it's no surprise to see them get used on the same team.
Stuff I expected to see more (or at all)
Given the way Ghosts feel a natural fit here, to not see Gengar used at all is surprising - it's often a go-to pick where it pops up (which, in fairness, is a lot of places)
For all the Dragons that could have been used, there's also a lot that were left out - Druddigon, Hydreigon, Flygon. All the 'gons. Funny to see Trapinch get used over its evolved brethren.
I did initially wonder if anyone would do a 50/50 Fire/Water split and do a "Volcanion hunter" team before remembering that Volcanion isn't technically a Mountain Kalos Pokemon - if anything, it's a Southern Kalos Pokemon even though it's in the Central Pokedex. Might have been a fun concept to play with.
Golem. Both a mountain Pokemon and one that's always had a slight Fire lean thanks to learning Fire Blast, Flamethrower, and Fire Punch.
Aggron. Another mountainous creature with some elemental affinity.
I was curious to see if anyone would end up using a Rotom other than Heat - but Rotom only got used once. Interesting...
Conkeldurr was a possibility for some Flame Orb fun - Guts, Fling, etc.
I always expect Zoroark when it's part of an area's dex listing, but I'm quite often mistaken. It does learn a couple of Fire moves, though...
. Thunder/Surf/Psychic/Skill Swap)
. Thunder/Night Shade/Haze/Confuse Ray)
. ThunderPunch/Fire Blast/Smokescreen/Confuse Ray)
. Shock Wave/Seismic Toss/Wish/Thunder Wave)
. Thunder Wave/Thief/Fly/Shadow Ball)
. Thunder/AncientPower/Crunch/Earthquake)
Item: Sitrus Berry. Moves: Thunder Wave, Thief, Drill Peck, Feather Dance. A nocturnal Pokemon, but its a crow, not an owl. Therefore it has to generate light sometimes, Thunder Wave is the move for it. Murkrow likes attention, so while everyone focuses on it, it uses an elegant Feather Dance, after which it eats the berry, steals something and pecks if anyone wants to resist.
Item: Big Pearl. Moves: Shadow Ball, Shock Wave, Taunt, Confuse Ray. A Pokemon that likes to do pranks in the darkness. However, the victims of said pranks need to see something in order to maximize their torture, so Shock Wave brings temporary light. Misdreavus then Taunts the opponent by showing a Big Pearl and uses Confuse Ray + Shadow Ball to deal damage.
Item: Charcoal. Moves: Sunny Day, Fire Blast, Thunder Punch, Cross Chop. Unlike all the other team members, Magmar is never in the dark, it generates light by just existing with its Flame Body. Magmar is useful for our trainer to show the villagers the risks of keeping using Fire to illuminate their houses, the risk of the houses being burned down is very high. Still, for an Electric expert, Magmar is valid due to learning Thunder Punch.