Judge A Pokémon Express: The three-stage families of Galar! (part 2)
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Codraroll
Welcome back to the second JAPE in this series, featuring three-stage evolution families! Previously, we have had a look at the usual three-stage archetypes—the regional bird, bug, and pseudo-legendary. Before that, as a precursor to this series, we talked about the starter Pokémon families of Galar. In this second part—or third part, depending on whether you consider the prequel to be canon—we will examine the remaining three-stage evolution families introduced in the Galar Dex. These are the Rolycoly family, the Hatenna family, and the Impidimp family. Their respective Gigantamax forms will be treated in a later article, alongside the Gigantamax forms of Corviknight and Orbeetle. Let's go see what our panelists have to say about these three families, shall we?
| Rolycoly family | Hatenna family | Impidimp family |
| Click on the images to reveal everyone's thoughts! | ||
Max. Optimizer
When it comes to Rolycoly's evolution line, I was originally already able to tell that this was not going to be the Galar region's answer to the classic three-stage Rock-type family that we had already seen in the Kanto region with Geodude's evolution line, as well as in the Unova region with Roggenrola's evolution line. Despite the fact that there exists an undeniable resemblance when it comes to the overall theme, this does not mean that it is just a lazily recycled concept. Au contraire! I would like to welcome the opportunity to state that, in my honest opinion, Rolycoly's evolution line is in fact the most creative one out of the three. As a matter of fact, the genius behind James Turner's design choices can already be noticed early on when he gets the stone rolling with the first evolution stage. While Geodude's and Roggenrola's evolution lines are just regular generic-looking boulders that could very well have been from any other region, James Turner's designs for the Rolycoly evolution line actually manage to associate themselves with an important historical period of the country that the Galar region is based on.
One can already notice the unmistakable reference to Great Britain's industrial revolution during the 18th century just by looking at the first stage of this three-stage family. In addition to this, the evolution line stays true to itself when Rolycoly evolves into Carkol, a living coal wagon. This choice definitely makes the evolution line feel notably logical and natural. The way in which Carkol's body actually allows it to roll around on the rails at over 18 mph in the very first Galar Mine we get to explore in the game definitely adds to the theme of Pokémon being capable of adapting to their surroundings in order to survive and to collaborate with the human partners that live and work in the same shared environment. Contrary to other people's opinions, I do not feel like the evolution line derailed during the middle stage at all. I feel like people raked James Turner over the coals too harshly when criticizing the design, but, then again, trying to please everyone is like carrying coals to Newcastle.
While the final evolution stage was indeed not exactly what I was originally expecting, I cannot really say that I am disappointed either. The evolution line started as a single piece of coal, then it became the living coal wagon that would continue to carry the amassed coal out of the mine, until it became itself the materialization of its own hard labor: a living pile of coal. I do not want to blow the coals again in regards to certain design choices, but I am honestly glad that the common theory and expectation of Rolycoly's final evolution stage taking on the appearance of a steam engine did in fact not turn out to be the case. It is not flawless, but, I think that it is the most unique three-stage Rock-type family yet.
deetah
Rolycoly's design is simple, but it gets the job done. It represents a singular piece of coal with an eye the color of hot magma, as if it's igniting itself, which is a nice touch. Some may think that Rolycoly's design is bland and similar to Rock-types from past generations, but I beg to differ. We haven't had a Pokémon based solely on coal or coal mines in general until now, and the way its design was executed is quite creative. It is also quite a useful little fella, with the coal it produces being used as a fossil fuel to heat homes for the people of Galar!
Carkol's design resembles a minecart, carrying some stray Rolycoly and the coal it produces around. Definitely gives me some Minecraft vibes. It's not hard to imagine workers in a mine using Carkol to move around coal or various other minerals and ore. I absolutely love Carkol's design, and the fact that Game Freak decided to make its legs into rock-like wheels earns bonus points for creativity.
Coalossal definitely has my favorite name of the three, even if it is a silly pun. Coalossal, a colossal beast made out of coal. Now I know that some people are wondering how Coalossal logically fits as the third stage of this evolutionary line, since it was not made into a train, but to me it's evident. Personally, I can see Coalossal resembling a furnace, with its bulky square-shaped body. Its mouth is the opening, glowing a magma red from the coal on its back. So, there is a indeed a logical transition between each stage of this line. It starts as just one little piece of coal, then evolves into a minecart for transporting said coal, which then ends up in a furnace used to heat a home.
Ryota Mitarai
For whatever reason, Rolycoly is not happy, judging by its eye. Probably because it evolves into the abomination called Carkol. Carkol's head literally doesn't fit with its body; its body is table-like, similarly to Avalugg, while the head is... sitting right on top of it and leaves a lot of space around it. Its eyes are also rather weird and its mouth looks like those meters seen in video games that become more red as you, for example, go at a faster speed. And if it couldn't get worse, Coalossal isn't exactly the epitome of beauty either, unfortunately. Its 4-pack abs cannot save it from its rather, in my opinion, ugly face.
Pikachu315111
I'll give Game Freak credit for finding new and interesting ways of making rock monsters. Creating a creature that has wheels instead of feet that looks natural (as opposed to artificial) isn't easy, but I think Rolycoly pulls it off. In fact, I think Rolycoly does it too well; I think it's the best-looking member of its entire family line. It both is simple in appearance andalso has little details here and there to not make it bland. It's a good start to an evolution line... so what happened with the other two?
I can see the logical transition to Carkol, but unfortunately Carkol had the task of trying to bridge the gap between Rolycoly and Coalossal. Carkol is desperately trying to keep with the "wheeled creature" theme that Rolycoly started, though even without it setting up for Coalossal it's hard to make a mine cart into a convincing creature. Maybe if the face wasn't so "structured" and looked more like Rolycoly's it could have worked. But with that face the design is trying to tell me this is a creature shaped in the shape of a coal mine cart instead of a chunk of coal that has come to life and adapted into its form. A positive thing I will say about it is that it made for a memorable experience when you're running along the tracks of Galar Mine and one just suddenly pops up and rolls into you. Remember kids, don't play on railway tracks; a message that would probably work better if Coalossal was an actual train.
I stand by my opinion that if they didn't give Coalossal a Gigantamax form, then it would have been a train. But no, they wanted a giant volcano monster (and needed a Gigantamax form for Gordie), and so Coalossal's design was hijacked. Sure, if you look carefully it has some train features and had to compromise the volcano concept with a furnace to keep with the coal theme. But it's such a left turn from what Rolycoly promised to become, now it just looks like an Aggron that lost its metal bits. Its design even works against its signature ability, Steam Engine, as the maximum Speed boost doesn't seem that impressive on a Pokémon with a base 30 Speed stat. It's actually slower than Carkol, which tells me had it gone the train route it likely would have been faster. Not sure how much that matters for a mostly defensive Pokémon, though it has alright offense, so it wouldn't be a complete loss.
Does anyone else find it odd that we have two families of Fire / Rock types, a strong offense combination, and they're both defense-focused Pokémon? Not as bad as them making Ice-types defensive, but I don't think we've gotten a true representation of the potential power a Fire / Rock type could be. I'm sorry Rolycoly, you deserved better.
Blitzamirin
From the lines we're discussing in this article, I think we can all agree that the Rolycoly line was easily the one with the greatest amount of speculation. This wheel-shaped cutie left a good first impression on everyone by giving us some nice Galar lore (they used to be in every Galar household 100 years ago and are still multi-purpose to this day!), showcasing a very interesting ability in Steam Engine and having even more adorable artwork. Naturally, this meant everyone wanted it to be perfect: a steam train-based evolution or some daredevil-esque motorcycle like the one from Ghost Rider. I personally envisioned something like the Grand Wheelie DX from the Kirby franchise. Now, that would be a happy ending, but instead we got Carkol. This abomination does away with everything that made Rolycoly remotely interesting by adding a goofy-looking face and removing the wheel in favor of stubby legs. Coalossal was an improvement as a kaiju-steam based monstrosity, but a far cry from what was expected of Rolycoly. And the worst part? Its stat distribution didn't lend itself to any favors by sharing Snorlax's Speed tier and having Glalie's offenses. At least the Gigantamax form emphasizes some traits lost to the imagination of the crowd, but in the end, this concept went "full steam ahead" into the wall.
Kalalokki
Can't have a Britain-focused region without some of that sweet dank coal. Rolycoly was introduced fairly early, and I pegged it for some cool low-tech one wheel, hoping it would continue the trend and keep evolving into faster, more streamlined formes. Sadly, Carkol didn't really step up that much in terms of speed: a minecart encumbered by lots of hot coal. And then we get Coalossal, turning an initial interesting premise into another Golem-esque behemoth. Its Gigantamax form is even more of a disappointment, getting increasingly bulky and being weighed down by a mountain of coal. While all in the family have access to Steam Engine to potentially skyrocket their Speed stat, it would have been a much more interesting concept if Coalossal would've kept the wheeled appearance somehow: a massive intimidating vehicle just waiting to power up and run over its foes. It does have a decent utility niche in competitive at least, providing Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin support, as well as walling a plethora of special attackers.
Kaiju Bunny
I had some pretty high hopes for Rolycoly to be quite honest. It was awfully underwhelming looking, but its whole demeanor and theme sat awfully well with me. I won't lie, the way it just kinda rolls around kinda slowly in-game is awfully adorable, and it gets some pretty interesting abilities as just a Rock-type. This would be the very first Rock-type Pokémon to have Flash Fire as a hidden ability! On top of that, the ability that steals the show is most definitely Steam Engine. Taking a Pokémon with less-than-subpar Speed and giving it a 6x boost when hit by Fire- and Water-type attacks is nothing to pass off. While I never personally used Rolycoly myself in my SS run, I can definitely see the appeal of the little thing.
Carkol, though. This poor thing looks like it's in pain. You may smile, Carkol, but I know just how miserable your little life is >:C Simply sticking a face onto a minecart just… really doesn't sit well with me. The only saving grace this thing has for me is how cool the coal looks that's steadily burning on its back. That's really it. Even now, I'm struggling to think of any other positive things this Pokémon could possibly have besides simply being a meme, but alas, all that's coming to me are just negatives c':
Now Coalossal is a bit of a weird case to me. When I first saw it, my heart was incredibly disappointed we didn't get some sort of train yokai and I thought overall it was just rather ugly, but over time, I learned to actually enjoy its design. No, we didn't get a train, but we got a kaiju oven, which I'm never going to complain about. I've seen this Pokémon absolutely decimate in VGC with its impressive bulk, using Weakness Policy and making stellar use of Steam Engine as an ability. The coal on its back looks like it'll fall at any moment and initially struck me as kinda awkward, but it's definitely grown on me. Can I also say I love how right in its Pokédex entry it mentions it just straight up incinerates people if they vandalize any mines. Besides that, it was interesting to me how it actually became slower once it was fully evolved. I never expect to see that, but it does make me question, why tease with an idea and concept of something moving fast and then throw away said concept and replace it with something slow and sluggish. I'm personally indifferent, but I know some people get pretty upset with that sort of stuff (insert Torracat and Incineroar reference here). Overall, while I like Coalossal by itself, I think it was just a bit of a jumbled mess of a concept and could've been pulled off way better.
Codraroll
Like many others, I question what became of the Rolycoly line in the end. It seemed to have a good "living coal/mining equipment" concept going for the first two stages, then somehow went all off the rails (heh) and grew into a fairly generic rock monster. It's like Rolycoly and Carkol were designed as a two-stage line at first, but then somebody decided to make it a three-stage line and took the liberty of designing a third stage without consulting whoever made the first two stages. The unique wheeled gimmick of Rolycoly and Carkol was abandoned in favor of something resembling Magmortar or Abomasnow made of rough-hewn boulders. Then they copypasted the top half of Carcol onto its shoulders and clicked submit. It could have worked if its previous stages had been set up to evolve in that direction, but instead they teased something entirely different. Coalossal is such a disappointment.
That being said, I'm not sure if I really like Carkol either. It has a very animal-like head on top of a body that otherwise has no animal features. As a result, it looks very awkward. With that placement of its mouth, how does it even eat? Wouldn't that field of vision be impractical for a creature that can't move its head? How does it stop coal from rolling into its face? It's an interesting concept for a Pokémon, but I think it could have benefited from being a little more abstract in its execution. It's too much minecart and too much animal at the same time, without conceding either of them to meet in the middle. Rolycoly does that well, ditching the animal concept entirely. The designers realized it doesn't need to have a face or limbs, and somehow managed to give it expression with just one eye and no mouth. Rolycoly is masterfully designed; it's such a shame that it evolved like it did.
Estronic
When Rolycoly's design was first shown, I thought it was literally just a rock with an eye. Was I right? Not quite, it's actually just a lump of coal with an eye. Anything else? Well, it has one wheel for movement, which I suppose is a fairly cool design choice, but you can barely tell that considering it's so blended in with the other parts of it. Its design choice is admittedly funny, being literally "coal powered," yet Rolycoly still falls pretty flat in being something unique. The untapped potential in making a coal-based Pokémon was unfortunately clearly left behind here; it's really hard to look at Rolycoly at first glance and not say that it's just a rock. I'm sure it'll get better once it evolves, right?
Unfortunately, it doesn't get any better because Carkol is one of the ugliest things I've ever seen. Like Rolycoly, the design choice of Carkol isn't too irritating: a minecart powered by its own coal it's carrying. And in all honesty, the design isn't really that bad, but good lord, Game Freak has to be kidding with that face. Its stupid eyes straight out of a 90s anime combined with its jackass smirk make me want to throw it back into the mines where it came from. Whoever designed Carkol should've just used a slightly altered version of Rolycoly's one eyes for its pair, but as usual, Game Freak tosses potential away like it's trash. Then again, what else would I expect from the middle evolution? They always screw them up.
Coalossal is definitely, uh, something, but that something is luckily not comparable to Carkol. But it's still something that I can't quite put into accurate words? I don't really love or hate it; I just kind of acknowledge that it exists. Like Rolycoly and Carkol, the initial design choice of Coalossal being centered around coal is a very interesting approach, and though the coal aspect is more apparent by the coal pile on its back, I wish it didn't look so much like rocks. It honestly looks like a glorified Golem with some molten rocks on its back. I wish I can say more about it, but I really can't. It's just there to exist for me, but hey, at least its face is an incredible upgrade.
Rabia
Carkol's face is an emote in a Discord I'm in, so it's probably no surprise to hear that I like this line a bit. Despite Rock / Fire being a pretty mediocre typing competitively, I think it is a cool typing for flavor because magma is... well, relevant to the idea of rocks. Yet, we've only gotten a single Fire / Rock Pokémon prior to this line, which is a bit surprising. And sure, this line doesn't make the best out of this concept, but I do like how hard they went with the idea of coal. It's a cool take on the idea of the interactions between rocks and heat. I also really love how Carkol's design is based on a minecart of sorts; the image of it running down the rails in the mines in SS will also probably never leave my head.
I do have a slight bit of disdain towards Rolycoly and Coalossal, mostly because of how uninspired their designs are, but Carkol? Banger of a Pokémon.
JustoonSmitts
Rolycoly is an odd Pokémon with interesting potential. It's supposed to be a coal and a wheel, which can allow for creative ideas for its future lineage. Rolycoly itself is pretty basic, but I can dig it, I suppose. It at least looks unique enough, and its Rock typing with the Steam Engine ability works very well with it. Carkol is an interesting next step, as it takes the form of a coal mine cart, tying in with Rolycoly's coal/wheel idea. I like the feeling of momentum it has with the coal falling off it on its official artwork. The face is kind of neat, too. Coalossal is a cool design on its own, but it kind of falls flat when you take the coal/wheel inspiration this line has had so far into consideration. It drops the wheel idea in favor of it being a coal kaiju with... a furnace? I think if this looked like a train or some locomotive, then I think I would be a little more satisfied with the final form. But for now, Coalossal is fine on its own.
Max. Optimizer
Hatenna's evolution line is also one of the more interesting three-stage families that the Galar region has to offer. One thing I like about Hatenna, for example, is the fact that its hat works like an antenna. It is often said that humans "send signals," so to speak, whenever they try to convey emotions among each other. So, in this sense, it makes a lot of sense to me that a Pokémon that pays close attention to the emotions emitted by the Pokémon and the humans in its entourage would eventually adapt to the point where it would be able to use the literal antenna on top of its head to receive and process these incoming emotional signals. I genuinely feel like this is a creative way of giving form to this concept. It does, however, turn out that Hatenna does not seem to like strong emotions and uses its antenna as an early-warning mechanism to avoid them as efficiently as possible. James Turner greatly managed to capture Hatenna's notably shy and cautious nature with this specific design by having its eyes completely covered by the hair-like protrusion. This could, for example, be considered a humorous reference to how very young children think that, by covering their eyes to avoid seeing danger, the danger will not be able to see them either.
Later on, when Hatenna evolves into Hattrem, it finally grows up to be more confident and starts looking danger in the eye. By now, it has also learned how to defend itself in case a creature with notably strong emotions dares to get to close to it; the hair-like protrusion has now taken on the shape of braids that it can use to dish out powerful hits against foes that do not want to keep the proper distance. I cannot help but think that James Turner has in fact predicted social distancing, as well as efficient means of ensuring that the people from one's entourage are indeed kept at bay if need be.
By the time Hattrem evolves into Hatterene, it has quite literally grown so much to the point where foes would probably not even dare to get anywhere near it. It has come a long way, and its demeanor has also drastically changed: from the shy and quiet Hatenna, to the more self-confident Hattrem, until it eventually became the authoritative Hatterene with the faint smile. By now, it is probably safe to assume that it can hit even harder than Hattrem, thanks to the sharp claws on the tether that is attached to its hat. Interestingly enough, while the passive Hatenna used its antenna as a receiver for emotions in its surroundings, the active Hatterene has learned how to use its antenna as a transmitter instead, in order to send headaches to any foes that come too close to it. This would, for example, also explain the notable increase in height: a higher radio tower has a wider transmitting range.
deetah
Something we see emphasized right away in Hatenna's design is its hat, and it definitely stands out as the main focal point. At first it appears to be some kind of party hat that kids typically wear at each other's birthday parties, but we can tell from the later stages that it is not. Hatenna's hat and bangs basically cover its entire body, leaving just a pink blob with a tiny open mouth and stubby feet. "Meh" is the only thing that really comes to mind. I don't find it to be all that cute, as cuteness is what you typically expect from the girly pink Psychic-types, but Hatenna is just meh.
Hattrem's design is the one that begins to point to the whole evolution line being related to witches, wizards, and sorcery. The party hat we saw on Hatenna has transformed into a witch's hat on Hattrem, as we can tell by the pointed end and wide brim. Hattrem is also way cuter, holding its hat up and peeking out ever so slightly! I really like the idea of a Pokémon line themed after witches and wizards; it's definitely something new.
Hatterene rounds out the line with a very prominent witch's hat and hair wrapped around its body like a cape or cloak. Its design very solidly represents a witch, so big plus there. Personally, I am a little over the Psychic / Fairy typing and would have loved to see a Ghost / Fairy typing for Hatterene and the rest of the line. This would've given them a more spooky impression, which makes sense with the topic of witches. I also think the whole theme of them liking peace and quiet makes sense in a way, as anyone who has ever watched movies or read books with witches or wizards knows that they tend to keep to themselves in some mysterious cottage or tower away from the rest of society.
Ryota Mitarai
Although the Hatenna line is supposedly based on witches, I think Hatenna looks a lot more like something that really loves to sleep due to its hat. Or you could consider it a party Pokémon, given its hat can also be seen as a birthday one. For Hattrem, I think it's worth reminding Game Freak to make their Pokédex entries consistent with game mechanics, because there's no way a Pokémon with a base 40 Attack would be able to knock out a professional boxer with its braids, especially in one blow. Hatterene is very mysterious, in my opinion, because it looks calm and patient, but if you do things like being too loud around it, it won't have problems tearing you apart. The fact that its Gigantamax form is known as the Raging Goddess further supports the idea that Hatterene is very aggressive but appears to be harmless. Appearance lies, after all! As a whole, there's a feeling of mysteriousness around the line, especially Hatterene, because you don't know what it's actually feeling and what it's planning on doing to you.
Pikachu315111
Hatenna looks more like an in-training/rookie Digimon than a Pokémon. That could be because its design isn't quite clear; it's presumably a witch like its evolutions. It could be solely based on a witch's hair and magical hat, which is the focus of the family; Hatenna may be a head display with a wig and hat put on it (hence seemingly having no eyes). I don't think Hatenna brings anything to the family that Hattrem doesn't; they could chop Hatenna and start with Hattrem as the basic stage, and I think there's room between Hattrem and Hatterene for a "middle" evolution if they wanted it to be a three-stage family.
Hattrem is when the proper witch design comes in. Folklore says a witch's power comes from their hair and that hair is a vital ingredient in their spells, so I like that they incorporated this concept by having Hattrem manipulating its hair to walk around and attack. However, I wouldn't dare call it cute; not because it isn't, but it'll knock you out if you do. Both Hattrem and Hatterene hate strong emotions and will violently attack anyone who has them (Hatenna just runs away). Some witches are like hermits who isolate themselves away so they can work on their spell making and potion brewing in peace. Some folklore even has them living up in a high tower to save themselves from being disturbed, which leads us to Hatterene.
Hatterene is a bit of a creepy design when you realize its body is actually small and it's using its hair to create a tower to stand on. But I like the design because it continues the idea of it using its magical hair in strange ways to empower it. It also continues its hate on strong emotions by taking a proactive approach, giving anyone who comes near it headaches. It's a neat design, though it has some odd quirks. First, the sudden addition of the Fairy typing, something the entire line probably should have had from the start. Feels like the only reason it didn't was because it's Bede's signature Pokémon (which is odd thinking about it; Bede is pretty emotional, while Marnie is the calm rival), who goes from a Psychic specialist to a Fairy one, so it's like the family evolves along with his progression. It could also maybe refer to Rapunzel, who is a fairytale princess that gets trapped in a tower by a witch. Second is the clawed tentacle, which, while a cool idea, is odd on a Pokémon that's primarily a special attacker (though it doesn't have a bad Attack stat). Third, for a Pokémon that doesn't like others around it, why does it have Healer as an ability? Yes, folklore has plenty of good witches who heroes of stories come to for miracle remedies, but Hatterene does not sound like one of them.
Overall, I think the Hatenna family is a neat concept for a Pokémon that shows how flexible and creative Pokémon designs can be.
Ivy
These Hatenna things look like Kirby enemies, particularly Noddy. There's a strange twist, though, when you see this creature from the back—its butt stands erect, metamorphosing into the very hat/antenna structure of its namesake. Yeah, this struck me as an odd design choice when I happened to use it in my playthrough, but what can you do. It's not long before Hatenna evolves into Hattrem, which once again looks Kirby-esque, moreso as some background character from the anime. Apparently, it had enough emotion sensing as Hatenna, as Hattrem has already become the violent thought-policing beast that everyone knows Hatterene to be. It's kind of interesting that this family is implied to be some sort of counterpart to Impidimp's, since they really are basically the same in essence, unable to form any real bonds and lashing out at anything that dares to approach them.
Blitzamirin
A line hidden to the general public until the game's release date, the witches join the ever-growing group of Psychic / Fairy types, and their resounding popularity has been made clear. Hatenna is probably the least noteworthy of the group, but it is endearing in looking like a child in a sleeping cap. Heck, you could just go up to it and nuzzle it—whoops, you're paralyzed. Hattrem takes this cute concept and turns it on its head; you're still getting bewitched (hehe) by those heart-shaped pupils, but it will silence you violently with its ponytails if you so much as express any emotion it perceives as a threat to itself. What that may be is to anyone's interpretation, and it gets worse when you transition into the Hatterene stage. The countless number of memes paint the picture quite well; not only is it now taller than you, but it can also feel those emotions from farther away, mass teleport, and then use its large tentacle to rip you apart. And the best part? It does this with a shit-eating grin because it knows it can get away with it at the drop of a hat.
Kalalokki
To be honest, I'm a bit done with Psychic / Fairy types overall, so I wasn't that interested when I first saw these. They follow the pinkish, cutesy vibe that you might've expected and are always female. Hatenna starts off as some little blob with flappy hair and bangs covering its face, topped off with what looks like a birthday hat. Hattrem follows suit, and now the hair is getting massive enough to hold its little body off the ground and resembling a wizard more and more. Hatterene completes the wizard look perhaps, but now the hair is just everywhere and basically makes up for its entire body shape. The Gigantamax form is even more absurd: now it's like the small main body is controlling some massive hair mech with tentacles whipping about. The whole slow but powerful Magic Bounce user is certainly very potent in competitive, but its appeal to me was sadly never there in the first place.
Kaiju Bunny
Hatenna is honestly the cutest to me in this evolutionary line. It looks so sleepy and content. Having it be female only wasn't something I expected, but I guess it makes sense given the Happiny line, no? Besides that, while Hatenna is cute, I actually never decided to get one on my team ;w; Training such a small Pokémon to level 32 just to make it evolve once seemed like a bit of an uphill battle to me, and of course I had already spoilered myself with what happened later along the line and unfortunately I was super bummed with what it turns into :c I won't focus on the negatives though, since I love this little Pokémon on its own. Never thought my antisocial self would relate to a Pokémon that prefers areas without people and never warms up to people if they don't have a calm disposition either, not gonna lie. (Added bonus in that hidden ability as well to be quite honest. Magic Bounce is amazing.)
Where there's a cute Pokémon, there has to be a mid-evo that kinda just… ruins it. I really do not see anything appealing with Hattrem, rip. The only amusing thing to me about it is that it beats people up if their emotions are too strong. It keeps its abilities the same as well, which is a nice touch. I feel bad because I definitely have a strong bias against pink humanistic Pokémon (looking at you Mr. Mime), so my perception of this tiny witch Pokémon is skewed, but alas :c
W-Why does Hatterene have so much hair? What constitutes as being too loud that it'll literally tear you apart? Despite its appearance, it's a pleasant surprise that this Pokémon is secretly pretty brutal. I like the little hat it wears, and the color scheme is something I can vibe with, but besides those positive traits, I just see a Gardevoir clone except this one is female only. I'm also kinda curious as to why its Speed stat is so slow. Of course though, the star stat of the show is definitely its stellar Special Attack, which is kinda scary. Overall, I won't lie, I'm a little disappointed they didn't stick with the semi-sleepy/cute theme with Hatenna (thinking Munna line hints), but I can understand the witch motif instead. Very mixed feelings for this line ;w;
Codraroll
I wonder if one of Pokémon's designers went to a costume shop one day, saw one of those novelty wig hats lying in a bargain bin, and thought "I could design a Pokémon family out of those!" Because the Hatenna line is all about their wig hats, to the point that the creatures wearing them are hardly visible. In fact, once you've seen Hatenna as a pink Oddish in a wig hat, can you unsee it? Overall, it's a quite simple design, which reminds me of the design principles of Gen I. I also like the pastel colors.
As Hatenna evolves, however, the wig hat becomes more and more absurd, while the creature wearing it is increasingly obscured. Hattrem is basically just a big wig hat somebody put a doll into. And what exactly Hatterene is meant to be, I have no idea. It looks like the creature itself is barely bigger than the "head" of its figure, the rest is all hat and hair. This does give Hatterene a very unique body shape, though. It's like a pillar with a single arm. Hatterene reminds me a little of Rapunzel in her tower. She's confined to her room, but can observe the world outside from its windows, and reach the ground using her hair... which is also her tower... and she's got psychic powers... and her arm is her hat... uhh, I think Japan tells a slightly different version of that fairy tale than we do in the West.
JustoonSmitts
I am sick of Psychic / Fairy types, but I'm perfectly fine with this line thanks to the witch inspiration, and the pink/blue color scheme that all three share is very appealing to me. Hatenna reminds me of a mix of a Kirby enemy and a little bit of Ralts because of its typing and the fact that you can't see its eyes. Pretty basic. Hatterene, on the other hand, is honestly the cutest Gen 8 Pokémon, and I will protect it at all costs. Now it's easy to dismiss Hatterene as a Gardevoir clone, but there's a lot of inspiration here. It's based on witches that don't like loud children like Baba Yaga and the belief that witches keep their power in their hair. It's an interesting mix of cute, but dangerous. I honestly like this Pokémon more the more I study it.
Max. Optimizer
Right off the bat, Impidimp's evolution line has to be my absolute favorite Galarian three-stage family par excellence. Interestingly enough, however, when the first picture of Impidimp started circulating around when players got to play test the demo of the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games, my initial opinion stood in notable contrast with my current one. My original disappointment was primarily due to my personal assumption that Impidimp could very well not receive any future evolutions at all, a sentiment that got further reinforced by the subsequent drought of information. From my perspective, Impidimp appeared to be the Galar region's answer to the Hoenn region's Sableye: a tiny bipedal imp creature that likes to play prankster. However, it turned out that James Turner himself can be a little bit of a prankster himself at times, considering how he managed to troll us by playing with our expectations.
While I had admittedly not been too fond of Impidimp's design, the first leaked pictures of Morgrem's design were an unexpected glimmer of hope. Initially, the first question that arose in my mind was: "How could James Turner have possibly managed to get his hands on one of my old high school yearbook photographs?" As some of our attentive readers that have followed our JAPE article series will surely remember, a lot of us panelists and judges like to describe the middle evolution stages of three-stage families as "the awkward teen phase" and, while this has definitely been undeniably true for a lot of Pokémon that we have seen over the course of many generations now, I personally feel like Morgrem actually manages to pull the demeanor and the coiffure off surprisingly well. All bias aside, I feel like the design choices of Morgrem starting to change its skin color from pink to green and growing out its mane of hair makes it the ideal middle evolution stage, making the overall metamorphosis from the completely glabrous Impidimp to the notably hirsute Grimmsnarl feel notably logical and natural. Grimmsnarl has to be my absolute favorite of the repertoire of Pokémon that the Galar region has to offer.
There is absolutely nothing that I dislike about Grimmsnarl's design; as a matter of fact, the overall design, especially also in conjunction with its shiny form, is a masterfully achieved reference to the Erlkönig, the eponymous psychopomp and king of the forest fairies that was depicted as a hairy goblin-like creature in German Romanticism. Not only that, but Grimmsnarl's design also strongly reminds of Eren Jäger's titan from Attack on Titan: the mane, the sharp teeth, and the intimidating demeanor are definitely very much alike. Its Gigantamax form also did not disappoint: the overall design, especially also in conjunction with its shiny form, definitely reminds me of Ymir, the eponymous primeval titan and ancestor of all jötnar from Norse mythology. This sums up the rather unexpected development of this three-stage family: from having no expectations at all to my growing expectations being surpassed one at a time.
deetah
Impidimp's design matches its personality perfectly, with it being a mischievous little creature with tons of energy and a passion for stealing people's belongings. Perfect candidate for one of Team Rocket's Pokémon, am I right? I can just imagine this little dude sneaking into some unknowing person's house and snatching up every piece of jewelry in sight. Definitely wouldn't want that to be me! Also, the fact that Impidimp's tongue is sticking out just makes its design that much better and adds onto its taunting characteristic. Despite what a nuisance this thing might be, I can't help but find its silliness a little bit cute.
Morgrem's design shows us that it's evidently going through its teen phase, rocking an emo hairstyle. I will admit that its design is definitely my least favorite of the three, probably because the look of mischief in its eyes was only cute when it was a baby Impidimp; now it just looks plain creepy. Also, the fact that the entire line only has one nostril on their noses is somewhat frightening. I found Morgrem's Pokédex entries quite disturbing as well, seeing as that it tries to lure people into the woods with its cunning behavior. ...I think I'll keep mine as a cute little mischievous Impidimp for now, thanks.
Grimmsnarl's body is enveloped in dark purple hair, resembling a creature like that of a werewolf. The first thing that comes to my mind is that it needs a haircut, desperately. However, apparently its hair is similar to muscle fiber, giving it the ability to use its hair to entangle foes. Grimmsnarl is like the Pokémon version of Rapunzel, and that's pretty epic! Also, Dark / Fairy is a unique typing that we hadn't seen yet, so points to the whole evolution line for that.
Ryota Mitarai
I can still remember back when Impidimp was leaked for the first time through a low-quality image. Unforgettable. Though I cannot get a low-quality Impidimp out of my mind due to that. But anyways, Impidimp is one of the many Pokémon that go through a teenager phase upon evolution. Looking at its official art, Morgrem is pleasantly surprised by its new body and is wondering what kind of changes it has received. It also goes through the common long hair phase. However, we can all agree that its evolution, Grimmsnarl, is in a desperate need of shaving. Seriously, I feel uncomfortable around it, seeing how much hair it has. At least its Gigantamax form looks very cool, in my opinion.
Pikachu315111
Finally, we have a troll Pokémon, let the memes begin! And starting out is Game Freak themselves, who kept on trolling the fanbase by showing Impidimp here and there but never giving it its own page on the official website (which is something this Pokémon would totally do, as it "feeds" on negative emotions). It wouldn't be until the games were released that we got to learn all about Impidimp and its evolutions, notably as one of the signature Pokémon of one of our rivals, Marnie. And that's really it for Impidimp, it's just a basic mischievous fey creature such as a goblin/gremlin with a touch of gargoyles/grotesques.
Morgrem hurts my eyes. If Impidimp's obnoxious pink didn't bother you, how about if we made it half green that clashes terribly? Why stop there, how about also giving it a long emo haircut with greasy-looking hair? It's essentially the "internet basement dweller" stereotype Pokémon. Well, not quite. Would you believe there's a little Arthurian legend to it? The additional green body and growth of hair it has (and Grimmsnarl is completely covered in) could be reference to the Green Knight. To keep it short, the Green Knight challenges Sir Gawain in a game where, whatever harm Gawain causes him, the Green Knight will return the harm next year. Gawain beheads the Green Knight who then puts his head back on and reminds Gawain of his promise. Other fairy creatures, such as the Cluricaune of Monaghan and Redcaps, use a similar tactic of falsely surrendering to do a sneak attack; hence the origin of its signature move False Surrender (its hair in the shape of the Green Knight's axe or Redcap's pikestaff). These connections could also be why it makes crops grow, being a nature spirit of sorts.
Grimmsnarl thankfully looks better than Morgrem. It resembles the bigger and generally hairier fey monsters such as ogres and bugbears (among other notable strong, hairy monsters such as Beowulf's Grendel). It and Morgrem also gain the sudden ability to control their hair, something that connects them to their counterparts in the Hatenna family. It's not that much of a far-fetched connection; witches would use spells and charms, sometimes using the hair of their intended target, in order to summon familiars such as imps to torment someone. This could be the reason it gets yet another signature move: Spirit Break (which sounds more like something Hattrem and Hatterene would get). Outside of that, Grimmsnarl is what you'd expect: strong physical Attack stat and mischievous related abilities such as Prankster.
While aspects of their design are hit and miss, I do like how Game Freak combined as many imp-like creatures into one Pokémon, working up from small to big and adding in any special traits certain fey creatures had. While a singular concept or two can make for solid and more consistent designs, the Impidimp family shows unique designs can also come from just putting as many similar concepts together in a blender.
Ivy
The hype with this guy was definitely something else. When it's basically the only reveal from an 8-hour livestream, you can be assured that people are going to fixate on the dude. What's even more fun is that it existed in the demo experiences of the game, yet it hadn't even been acknowledged on the official website. Then, finally, one of the illegal early access streamers gets a full-odds shiny Impidimp in their run of the game. This rascal has been playing tricks on us since the very beginning, metaphysically and with in-game lore, and I love it.
That aside, the evolutions are epic as well, with Morgrem looking just how you'd expect this wee fiend to evolve and introducing some sort of gimmick with its hair—which now exists, compared to the bald Impidimp. This then gets blown out of proportion in classic Pokémon style, with Grimmsnarl being an absolute Bayonetta beast with hair-kinesis powers that go so far as to enhance its body like some sort of power armor. And, for once, the Gigantamax forme actually expands on that gimmick even more rather than just making the guy "bigger." What a treat this family is!
Blitzamirin
A gremlin!! Finally, Pokémon introduces one of the most common RPG enemies, and its random appearances and subsequent (lack of) fanfare before the games' official release certainly left a sour taste in fan's mouths. And not for the better, as Impidimp was seen as a weird, ugly "pink Sableye" by the fanbase, but some of us held hope. The mystery surrounding Impidimp ended up working in its favor in a way, in the sense that some fans held out hope. It wasn't as popular as Rolycoly, that's for sure, but the haters would soon later get to eat their words! Morgrem, since its first appearance in the game where it glares at the player from afar and then ambushes them, exemplifies the attitude we'd expect of a Pokémon representing the mischievous fay. Even in the moment, you get to see its aptly named sig move, False Surrender. Then you get to see Grimmsnarl in all its glory, completing what we thought were the "bat wings" belonging to Impidimp to being full-blown body hair. It's not for show either, as it can overwhelm foes such as Machamp with it! And if that doesn't exemplify awesomeness, its Gigantamax form looks straight up like a hidden final boss like in typical RPGs. Truly makes one's hair stand on end, amirite?
Kalalokki
With a very delayed and drawn-out reveal, Impidimp made a very big impression on me early on, and I was very interested to see how this little mischievous devil creature would turn out. While I've lambasted these types of edgy teenager designs in the past, Morgrem manages to pull it off well enough that I don't roll my eyes at it. The dark pink and green might not be the best colors to complement each other, but I like the lanky body and hair style of it all. Grimmsnarl moves away from the pink and settles for the green wrapped up almost completely in its hair, like some very intricately braided werewolf. While I would've preferred for it to continue with the lanky body style of its pre-evolutions, its Gigantamax form makes up for it by miles, completely encompassing the menacing final boss vibe instead of being short and bulky. Combining both its well-rounded Attack stat and physical movepool with Prankster and an extensive supportive movepool, Grimmsnarl is certainly no slouch in competitive either with its Dark / Fairy typing, ready to break the opposition.
Kaiju Bunny
Origin-wise, I love Impidimp's whole mischievous trickster vibes. I'm also more than pleased we have a Dark / Fairy type Pokémon. Prankster as an ability is also super versatile for this lil thing. I find it kinda interesting too that Impidimp uses its nose to feast on the negative emotions and/or frustrations of others. With all of the cool lore this dude has, it makes me wonder why the design is so subpar compared to other first-stage Pokémon. It's just a skinny pink goblin with a ponytail ;; Luckily, however, the design is the only thing I feel "meh" about. As a fan of huge fantasy elements anyway, it's obvious I'm gonna have some bias with how much I like this thing and how it hides in the dark grass in the Glimwood Tangle. I had high hopes for this guy, and I can't say I was really disappointed as it evolved :o
I first saw Morgrem as an incredibly edgy Pokémon (no pun intended given what it does with its hair). The whole demeanor of it being sly and actually using its ability to trick people to actually harm others, as opposed to just causing a little trouble like Impidimp, was something that caught my attention just a bit. The only thing I find off with Morgrem are its colors of deep magenta and green, but besides that, I find Morgrem to be a huge improvement from Impidimp designwise. It seems its personality becomes a bit more serious, but not too serious where it becomes a bit of a meme. It's a nice balance and makes me appreciate this Pokémon all the more (I kinda put it on the same level of Bisharp in that sense, thinking about it actually).
Hair. Grimmsnarl straight up reminds me of Bayonetta in terms of using its hair to attack. It kinda makes me feel iffy? But besides the hair, my goodness does this goblin have a lot going for it. Apparently that hair, when coiled to make muscles, can cause Grimmsnarl to overwhelm even Machamp. Its stats certainly reflect this with its impressive base 120 Attack as well. On the topic of stats, I am definitely curious as to why both Impidimp and Morgrem had what seemed to be growing Special Attack stats, but it all got wiped away and now replaced with Attack. Additionally, it's Incineroar all over again, with Grimmsnarl becoming slower than its prevos. It's a bit of a struggle for it competitively I'd imagine, as most of its sets simply focus on the ability to set up screens and Taunt with Prankster instead of really focusing on its physical prowess (save for the few Bulk Up sets you'll see), but perhaps it'd work in a Trick Room setting? I wouldn't know, but it'd be interesting to at least attempt so that its Attack isn't getting completely dumped. Overall, I love Grimmsnarl as a dark and evil fey, and it is definitely one of my favorite Galar Pokémon c:
Codraroll
Truth be told, I'm not entirely fond of the Impidimp family, but I can recognize that it's well put together. Impidimp looks like mischief incarnate; you can take one glance at its design and tell what it's all about. It looks and feels like the kind of creature that removes socks from your washing machine, makes elaborate knots on your phone charger cables, and breaks into your fridge to drink the last sip of orange juice you had planned to save for breakfast the next morning. And wouldn't you know it, that's exactly what its Pokédex entries say as well.
Morgrem falls right into Pokémon's tired trope of "awkward teenage phase" for the middle stage. However, it might also be the Pokémon that pulls it off the best. You can tell it still has the face of Impidimp under those locks of hair. Its body is more lanky, but it's obviously the same body. It has also moved beyond petty mischief and is playing with overt evil, but it isn't above doing a bit of gardening on the side either. And yes, it is aware that those green legs clash horribly with its otherwise pink color scheme. It does so on purpose, just to annoy you.
Grimmsnarl, however, takes everything a little too far in my eyes. Its eyes and nose are far too big, it has too many teeth, its posture is awkward (seriously, imagine this thing walking—it would waddle like a duck), and there's too much hair everywhere. There's also little left in the way of personality. Grimmsnarl is big and intimidating, but it lacks the finesse of its pre-evolved formes. It feels like this evolutionary line was going for a refined sort of mischief theme until the final stage, when somebody turned all the knobs to 11 and made a "big evil monster wah wah!" I bet that was Impidimp's doing.
Estronic
The unexpected surprise that is Impidimp that was revealed quite a bit of time before Sword and Shield's release was a pretty pleasant surprise for me. There's nothing specific I really like about it; I just love how silly it looks with its big head and eyes and its body nearly akin to a plump stick figure. It's fairly uncommon for me to actually enjoy a Pokémon's design when its arms and legs are literal spaghetti, but Impidimp's quirkiness really makes up for it. The dot eyes are also pretty hilarious to me, but they still look pretty good despite its simplicity. Very cute and charming overall.
Like a kid going through their short-lived emo phase, the transition from Impidimp to Morgrem is fairly jarring, but what else could you expect from Game Freak. Morgrem is definitely my least favorite out of the evolution line, though that doesn't mean that I hate its design. It certainly sports quite the features, from its sly expression to the shape of its hair (at least I would think it's hair). Even the seemingly odd design choices, such as the very long arms and a weird choice of color for what seems to be pants, fit somewhat well together. Nothing much else to say other than props to Game Freak for making a middle evolution stage not so hideous.
Pretty much the Green Goblin himself, Grimmsnarl is to me one of the best designs out of the Pokémon introduced in Sword and Shield. What more can I say? Game Freak nailed its menacing look. The stylistic approach to its body is incredibly unique to Pokémon, and you can easily feel the wrath it can bring to a fight just by looking at its face. I'm just curious about one thing, though: what exactly is it that's all over its body? I would assume it's hair going off of the design of Morgrem's hair, but it would be pretty disturbing if Grimmsnarl was covered in hair. And imagine how much a Trainer needs to pay for shampoo just to clean, or just imagine having to clean it in general. Regardless, I can confidently say that Grimmsnarl is easily one of the best designed Pokémon in the new generation by a long shot.
JustoonSmitts
This line is my favorite of the three we examined in this article. I have loved Impidimp ever since I first saw it in that demo. It's adorably mischievous looking with its expression. It also has my nose, so there's some slight bias here. The pink and black color scheme is kind of nice here, too, as it ties in with its typing. It's funny; despite my previous bashing of Drizzile, I don't find myself hating this emo middle stage. Morgrem keeps its mischievous personality; the hair kind of fits its personality, and I enjoy its magenta/deep green/black color scheme. Grimmsnarl may be one of my favorite Gen 8 Pokémon, period. Like Hatterene, there's a lot of inspiration here. From trolls, goblins, oni, and ogres, this Pokémon fits in very well with this England region. The fact that its hair is the source of its power is kind of cool. It supposedly can outmatch Machamp, and it certainly looks the part. Overall, great line of Pokémon here.
Codraroll
I must say, personally I think three-stage Pokémon that don't belong to Pokédex archetypes like starters or regional birds/bugs/pseudo-legendaries are the most interesting kind of Pokémon out there. Unlike those groups, you never know what you're going to get, as the designers can create anything they like. Having the evolution family consist of three stages also allows for a more extreme transformation than two-stage families, as the middle stage is there to bridge the gap between small and cutesy and huge and imposing. Overall, I think Galar's non-archetypal three-stage families are quite well designed. Our panelists did a good job explaining why!
This series will continue with a look at the Gigantamax forms of the three-stage Pokémon of Galar. That is, we covered the starters in a previous article, and Dragapult doesn't have a Gigantamax form, but there's still five of them to critique out there. However, before we get to that, we plan to do a JAPE panel on the new Pokémon introduced in the Crown Tundra expansion for Pokémon Sword and Shield. I hope to see you then!
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