Judge-a-Pokémon Express: Hisui Starters
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Codraroll
We have had a few weeks to experience pre-Sinnoh Sinnoh after the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Hisui is a region mostly filled with familiar faces as far as Pokémon go, but some of them look a little different than before. Pokémon Legends: Arceus has added a few new Pokémon and some Hisuian formes. Among the latter, we find the fully evolved versions of this game's starters. The starting trio of Rowlet, Cyndaquil, and Oshawott still evolve into Pokémon called Decidueye, Typhlosion, and Samurott, but there's something different about their Hisuian formes. Let's gather a team of panelists to look a bit closer at these new formes ...
| Hisuian Decidueye | Hisuian Typhlosion | Hisuian Samurott |
Max. Optimizer
Hisuian Decidueye's design definitely brings a variety of interesting elements to the table, allowing it to add another string to its bow. Generally speaking, the overall design greatly blends in with the Hisui region's motifs and greatly complements the plethora of authentic traditional cultural fashion elements derived from Japan's Meiji era that we are able to explore while venturing through this game (the only humorously anachronistic exception being Warden Lian's cowboy hat of course). I am glad that they managed to preserve Decidueye's mysterious look: while the Alolan variant's face was covered by a hood, the Hisuian variant's face is covered by a hat. My good friend Lego pointed out that Hisuian Decidueye's straw-like hat, in conjunction with the coat, the large eyes, and the beak make it look like the iconic Skull Kids from the Legend of Zelda game series. In addition to this, Hisuian Decidueye's design and role as an archer also strongly remind me of Ashitaka, the prince of the Emishi tribe from the animated movie Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki. While some people seem disappointed with the barely changed design, I honestly have no idea what other arrows Game Freak could have had in their quiver.
zee
Hisuian Decidueye is just cool. I really fell in love with this Pokémon after watching it unleash its new signature move, Triple Arrows, for the first time. It seems like a perfect blend of Hisuian Decidueye’s kicking style of attack and standard Decidueye’s focus on attacking with arrows. Its stats have seen a minor shift towards physical Attack and Defense to reflect its shift to a more close-quarters fighter as well. I also really like the autumnal-red feathers on its new coat, and I feel like its new hat-and-cloak combo makes it feel like a villain out of an old western. It’s such a great design overall and definitely the one I’ll be using as my starter.
avarice
The Rowlet line is easily a top contender for the best starter. Between the adorable Rowlet and the sleek mystique that the modern Decidueye has with its archer aesthetic, it's not surprising that fans love them. However, the older Decidueye we encounter in Hisui has long way to go before it morphs into the Decidueye most are familiar with. Hisuian Decidueye had initially gotten a fair amount of hate when the models were leaked. It is actually a solid design with its own merits, even if it is not as iconic as the "present-day" Decidueye. The Hisuian Decidueye's cloaking is more of a hat and can be rather intimidating with its strong legs. It has definitely earned the Fighting typing. Its new (old?) signature move Triple Arrows is neat as well, though admittingly not as cool as Spirit Shackle or its corresponding Z-Move. Overall, it is not bad just different. Hopefully, it can impress competitively as well when/if they get transferred to the current generation!
Blitz
It's abundantly clear Game Freak has a design philosophy for Decidueye, and two things stick out: make sure it's one hell of an eye-sore of a design, and making sure it's outclassed by a Pokémon of the same generation. Hisuian Decidueye successfully executes the concept, somehow looking even worse than the regular forme AND facing the elegant Grass/Fighting Hisuian Lilligant as the Dhelmise of Hisui. It looks incredibly awkward with the eye glasses still looking jarring on it, and the even-shorter wings are off putting for a Pokémon with such long legs. I will grant that the one positive to Hisuian Decidueye is its color scheme, because the autumn colors are lovely and complement each other well.
ausma
Hisuian Decidueye is a design that especially grew on me as I played the game. At a glance, I was really disappointed, mostly because of the wingspan. A design aspect of base Decidueye I really loved was its incredibly long wings that acted like a slick cloak, which in a way also justified it going from an airborne owl to a grounded fighter. Something similar was utilized here, with the wings being reimagined into breastplate armor, and I notice there was much more of a Ronin samurai look to really play into the Fighting typing it gained. Thankfully in-game their length is done justice and the design generally looks much more fluid and funky in a good way. Considering this is an ancient time, I also do enjoy its re-imagining into a type that suggests it's alive, and that base Decidueye was the result of ancient Decidueye species themselves dying out, but it definitely shakes up Decidueye's vibe in a way that I can see as being jarring.
Plague von Karma
Hisuian Decidueye is alright, but it definitely feels like the worst of the bunch. It's interesting in regards to the game's lore; the starters were taken from other regions, and at the time I believe stilt-owls still existed. However, I'm not sure if I like the direction that went from there. Decidueye being a Ghost-type based on the extinct Grallistrix genus was a super cool idea, sending a message about introduced predators, and I think the redesign we're seeing changes too much.
heritage
Decidueye... well, there was an attempt, which is more than what I can say about the other two. I love the hat, it's cute. The design itself is actually rather clever and region-fitting, not exactly great, but at least something original. The colors make it so painful to look at though. I assume they were going for an autumn theme but they ended up with a "ouch my eyes" theme instead. Its shiny form takes the original Decidueye's colors and puts them to good use, so that's something. And when I say the design is "not exactly great", I mainly mean the anatomy. Those talons are ginormous. Kinda got a Sonic the Hedgehog vibe where I have no idea how it would be able to walk normally with those things. I think the eyes are a bit goofy too, but not a design killer. This is for sure my favorite of the three, but it's only because it actually tried to be something different.
Bandkrook
Hisuian Decidueye's motif of a wandering archer is... okay. I'm not in love with it like I am with the Alolan forme, but I also don't dislike it at all, mainly because I just love the idea of an archer owl so much. The Grass / Fighting typing is kind of boring and disappointing, though. We already have Chesnaught as a starter with that typing, and this just makes Hisuian Decidueye a worse Hisuian Lilligant, which has the same typing but better stats. I do think its new autumn-inspired palette is really pretty though, since it's not something we have a lot of right now from Grass-types aside from like, Sawsbuck? Overall I don't mind this new design, I just prefer the original.
Pikachu315111
So Decidueye goes from a ghost archer to a... living archer? Except, Decidueye was alive, it just was using supernatural powers to hide in the shadows and manipulate the trajectory of its arrows. Its Pokédex entry doesn’t really help, as it’s more focused on trying to justify this is TOTALLY a natural evolution because... Hisui is colder than Alola. Yeah, that’s why it becomes part Fighting? At least is more justifies it being a Physical Attacker and gets a new Signature Move out of it: Triple Arrows. It does an axe kick followed up by firing three arrows, which in-game translates to lowering its target’s Defense and priming itself next turn for a stronger attack. Sounds like someone in Game Freak has been watching Marvel shows and wanted to turn Decidueye into Hawkeye.
Shadowshocker
Maybe it's because I absolutely adore Rowlet, but I can't get over how disappointed Hisuian Decidueye makes me feel. Look, the wandering warrior motif is great for Hisui, but that's honestly about the nicest thing I can say about Hisuian Decidueye. Visually, shortening the feathered cloak makes Hisuian Decidueye look like they exaggerated a Torchic's anatomy and slapped Turtonator's color scheme on it for some reason. And the typing! Grass / Fighting is frankly not great, and we already have an inexplicable Hisuian variant of Lilligant in this game with the same combination. Never mind that stats-wise, we're looking at a slower Chesnaught that still feels the need to hold onto its special stats for some reason.
I get that Samurott is supposed to be the swordsmaster of this game, but you'd think that the idea behind regional variants would have been to push the palette swaps a little harder and give them different niches from what we're already familiar with. Wandering warrior plus Fighting typing and better physical stats could have easily granted opportunities for a Sacred Sword user and pitted Hisuian Decidueye as the noble samurai against Hisuian Samurott's new role as the dastardly shogun. All pointless theory at this stage, true, but considering that they've gone and given us Kleavor instead of Scizor, switching Decidueye's weapon theme shouldn't have been a huge stretch.
deetah
If I had to pick one, Hisuian Decidueye would probably be my favorite out of the three starters; it seeing the most changes of the three is a big part of that. I absolutely love Rowlet, so I'm happy to see it get a new evolution. In terms of its design, I like the feathers on its head that resemble a sort of hat. But I can't quite help but feel like it looks a little bit... stiff? Plus, seeing another starter evolution get the secondary Fighting typing is a bit lame. At least it's Grass / Fighting this time around and not Fire / Fighting, but still! I think at this point it's a bit overused. Oh well, at least the typing suits Hisuian Decidueye's design quite well! Also, does anyone else find it odd that Hisuian Decidueye's normal form has the red feathers and its shiny form has the green feathers? It's definitely a little bit strange to me, but I did realize that all three of the starter's shiny forms share similar colors with their original forms.
{Pokemon_Vigilante}
Were you looking to eye up Hisuian Decidueye as your starter? Then let's look at the major points of consideration, shall we? Chief among the things to consider is the new typing for Decidueye. Previously a Grass / Ghost type, Hisuian Decidueye is now a Grass / Fighting type, and that's actually a change for the worse. In its previous typing, Decidueye took 2x damage from a modest group of types. Now it can take 4x damage from Flying-types and increased damage from Fairy- and Poison-types, and it no longer has any immunities to Normal- and Fighting-type moves. Let's be real, though: Decidueye no longer looks mysterious and menacing. Now it simply looks like a walking fruit smoothie with one of those little umbrellas. The aesthetic and mystique of Decidueye is hurt with this regional variant in my opinion. I feel like the creative team went blind in every aspect on this one.
Kaiju Bunny
My first impressions of Hisuian Decidueye weren't the greatest, I'll admit c': We went from a sneaky Robin Hood-like owl to... whatever Hisuian Decidueye is. It's clear enough that the design sports some major traditional Japanese flair, but besides that, that's about all it has going for it. This may be a bit of a hot take, but I think Chesnaught, which shares the same typing as Hisuian Decidueye, has the superior design here. Hisuian Decidueye has a pretty uninteresting design to me, and the fact that its naturally red feathers aren't actually a shiny variation absolutely rubs me the wrong way. The only good thing I can say about Hisuian Decidueye is that it does have a unique typing to me. Grass and Fighting isn't too popular a type combo, so to see it shine in this game seems very fitting.
Clorodulce
Well, I'm not really a fan of the sprite of Decidueye, it looks like a plant from Plants vs Zombies, and for me, I prefer that kind of model for Carnivine, Cacturne, or even Breloom, so I don't think it works well for Decidueye. I know that it has the aura of a mysterious Pokémon, but does that sprite fit that description? And most importantly, does it see well with that hair? I really want to know, because if not then I'll cut that thing. It's getting on my nerves!
churine
I'm not really sure why they needed to give these starters new formes, but here we are. Hisuian Decidueye is definitely the most disappointing of the bunch, though, not because we have a fair number of Grass / Fighting Pokémon such as Breloom, Virizion, and Chesnaught, but more so in the sense that they introduced another Pokémon with the same typing in the very same game in Hisuian Lilligant, which in my opinion looks better. What's even worse is that Game Freak decided to reduce Decidueye's already middling Speed stat even more, something players were disheartened to learn about Decidueye when Sun and Moon first released. Now it's slower than Breloom and fellow starter Chesnaught, which has only exacerbated those unsatisfactory feelings. Who on Game Freak is biased against Decidueye; what gives? It's a shame, too, since I like Decidueye's design a lot, but it really deserves better.
JustoonSmitts
I know a lot of people here are disappointed in Hisuian Decidueye's design. I'm personally not that bothered by it. I miss the sneaky archer vibe that the original variant had, but the more noble Ronin theme is a nice way to tie it to Hisui. I also noticed that the red markings on its face are reminiscent of battle scars, which is a nice touch. It also had some nice movements with its new Triple Arrows move. My absolute favorite thing about Hisuian Decidueye is its autumn color palette. It's so gorgeous to me.
What would I fix about Hisuian Decidueye? Well, its wings sort of bother me. I get that it trades flying for grounded flying but they feel a bit small to me.
Max. Optimizer
When it comes to the Hisuian variants of the starter trio's final evolution stages, I can say with confidence that Hisuian Typhlosion has to be my favorite one by far. Right off the bat, I am genuinely pleased to see that notable emphasis was placed on bringing back the ring of flames around its neck, its signature physical feature that had been left out during the era of Generation 6 and 7 games on the 3DS. In the same positive spirit, I wanted to mention that I also notably in favor of the brand new color palette that definitely goes well in tandem with its newly gained Fire / Ghost dual typing. As a matter of fact, I want to take this thought even a little bit further and say that the color palette also strongly reminds me of Typhlosion's original shiny color palette during the era of Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal on the Game Boy Color. All things considered, I am truly happy this iconic starter was given the opportunity to flare back to life once more, even though it is technically a ghost now (but this seems to be a recurring motif in the Hisui region anyway).
zee
Like most people who first found out about Hisuian Typhlosion through leaks, my initial reaction was… less than positive. However, seeing actual gameplay of Hisuian Typhlosion in action has caused my opinion to thoroughly change—the ring of wisps around its neck really does a great job showcasing its new Fire / Ghost typing.I’m really happy to see Typhlosion gain a second typing here, for years I had felt like the biggest thing holding it back was the lack of coverage options it had outside of Fire- and Normal-type moves. In terms of stats, Typhlosion got an additional 10 base Special Attack, which should make its new Infernal Parade pack even more of a punch.
Blitz
This one was definitely a mixed bag for people. Just seeing Hisuian Typhlosion without the fire makes it look like a lanky, hunched, slightly darker version of Typhlosion and that's that, and that sort of blandness is not something you want to see on a hyped-up version of a popular Pokémon. However, you see its flames ignite and it's another story. The purple wisps mesh very well with Hisuian Typhlosion's new color scheme, and it has a sorta mesmerizing movement that you could look at in battle for quite some time (a perk over the regular variant!). It also has the coolest signature move of the three, with the cool-sounding Infernal Parade being able to burn AND acting as a Hex.
ausma
Hisuian Typhlosion flips the script on the mighty, explosive nature of base Typhlosion by playing into the subtle, ominous creep factor of specter wisps. Something huge about Hisuian Typhlosion that I really like a lot is that it gives Typhlosion a coat of paint that isn't just "Charizard 2". It plays to the caveats of Typhlosion as a Pokémon that make it and only it cool, but it reimagines them to make it much more intrinsically and optically distinct, particularly with a shiny new typing and non-Charizard stats to bat. I can't really say I care for the zoned-out expression, but I do love the color scheme, patterning, and the flame distribution quite a lot, as it, in my opinion, builds upon Typhlosion's normally really stiff feeling posture, shapes, and patterns and makes something super unique and fluid. It's not really what I expected out of a regional Typhlosion considering the nature of the original, but it's a very welcome surprise; especially with a signature move as metal-sounding as "Infernal Parade", good lord.
Plague von Karma
Hisuian Typhlosion is really cool, I especially like that it finally has its own stats and not just GSC Charizard's. It seems to have finally come into its own as a Pokémon rather than constantly being overshadowed by the winged lizard. It seems to resemble the Jewel of Life movie's armored Pokémon as well, being somewhat subdued expression-wise while having those flames come out the holes. I think this is by far the best design to come out of Legends: Arceus and I hope to see it succeed. I do wish the eyes were a bit bigger, but it's not ruinous. I'm just glad Typhlosion finally got its identity.
heritage
Typhlosion's base design is just terrible. Once again, it's a design that barely changes, and just makes it worse. Those dopey eyes and dopey smile and dopey ears... get the point? Typhlosion has always looked intimidating, and this design just makes it looked like it hasn't slept in a year. Not sure what Game Freak's obsession is with not letting Typlosion always have its flames out. In-game with its flames, it looks much better and less boring. I love the wisp necklace, but man, the eyes still don't match in the slightest. That's been a trend recently to be honest, where a Pokémon's eyes look so off on the design. More of those to come, I guess, haha.....
Pikachu315111
Of the three Hisui Starters' final evolutions, I find Typhlosion to be the most interesting, with some actual lore behind it. Instead of just being the same concept but slightly different like the other two, Hisuian Typhlosion changes from a volcanic eruption to an incense burner. Its flames are said to purify spirits, which it then guides to the afterlife (which is a rather sudden job assignment to a Pokémon species which up till now was foreign to Hisui. Then again I guess it does match the player's predicament in Legends: Arceus, having been suddenly sent to the past by a higher being and assigned a tremendous task). Design wise it changes little: its body color goes from teal to purple and fiery back neck mane changes from yellow-orange to magenta plus some extra flames around its throat (its expression also goes from fierce to mellower); it's simple, but I like it, as it reflects its new typing and lore. Stats changes are only slight and it still plays the same as a normal Typhlosion: a decently fast special attacker. But now instead of just having powerful Fire-type moves, it also gets Ghost ones, including a new signature move: Infernal Parade. Aside from an awesome name and animation (summoning wisps around it and launching them at the target), it’s essentially a copy of Hex but with a chance to also nurn (thus it can activate its secondary effect of doing double damage without needing another move to inflict a status ailment like Hex does, neat). Now, could I be biased because I generally choose the Fire Starters? Maybe, especially as it’s the only one whose Pokédex description mentions these alternate evolutions aren’t natural and is being caused by Mount Coronet (where you-know-who is).
Shadowshocker
I'd say Typhlosion benefited the most from its Hisuian reimagining, but then the original Typhlosion wasn't particularly groundbreaking if you ask me. It didn't have a bad design, it just didn't feel like its evolution brought much to the table aside from "its flames get bigger and shift around its bigger body", unlike other starters such as Delphox or Venusaur which suggests a vivid, visual representation of progress or stronger mastery of its elements. Sure, the obvious link of Fire and Ghost typing to funerary pyres is something we'd already explored in Chandelure, but Hisuian Typhlosion at least plays the role of a benevolent spirit medium to play against Chandelure's vampiric tendencies, and having Hisuian Typhlosion be shaped by the spiritual connection to Mt. Coronet—the cornerstone of the franchise's legendary-spamming continent—was a good idea.
I somewhat wish that the developers had went one step further and given Hisuian variants to the starters' middle stages as well, showing how the Johtonian Cyndaquil became inspired by its new surroundings to command spectral wisps in addition to its fires, transforming it from pyrokinetic to fledgling warlock. It'd also let it become a foil against the "noble versus corrupted" vibe that I get from Hisuian Decidueye and Hisuian Samurott, a little like Gul'dan the warlock pitting the Horde against the Alliance in Warcraft lore. (At least that's how I think it went.)
deetah
In terms of its base design, Hisuian Typhlosion is really not my favorite. It honestly looks a little bit depressed or tired. It's hard for me to get hyped for it when we've gone from the strong and ferocious Typhlosion representing a volcanic eruption to a depressed and dopey looking Hisuian Typhlosion. The ghostly flames around its neck are kinda cool; I think I'd honestly like it more if it always had its flames out. I do enjoy the slight bit of lore that its Pokédex entry gives us, which states that Hisuian Typhlosion purifies lost souls and guides them to the afterlife. I really like this entry, it reminds me of the lore surrounding Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean. Fire / Ghost is also a really cool typing to see a starter evolution get.
{Pokemon_Vigilante}
With a flair for the theatrics, Typhlosion is a fan favorite. In the past, I have to admit that I often thought Typhlosion to be a bit too aggressive looking. Then I caught a look at the lifeless, soul-less version sent to haunt our opponents in battle in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and now I wonder whether I should be more afraid of my opponent or the obvious emo music emanating from Typhlosion's Poké Ball. Anyone who can look at the regional variant and not be disappointed in the demeanor of the third Fire / Ghost type to grace our presence was never introduced to Alolan Marowak, who had it all. Alolan Marowak had an upbeat characterization (albeit somewhat menacing to boot), a unique feel and aesthetic, and a cool color scheme. But before anyone throws Litwick and other Ghost types on the fire, keep in mind that Alolan Marowak, Blacephalon, and Hisuian Typhlosion are the only Ghost types whose primary type is Fire. There is a MAJOR upside to Hisuian Typhlosion though: it has no rivals that can run 4x damage on it. It doesn't make up for the lack of soul, but something is better than being ghosted, I suppose. . . .
Kaiju Bunny
Apparently, quite a few people are referring to this fella as an emo or otherwise edgy Typhlosion, which amuses me. Typhlosion on its own was very "meh" to me ever since I saw it, but seeing this tired-looking haunted lad certainly has me liking it a lot more now. In addition, according to its Pokédex entry, it's said to purify lost souls and guide them into the afterlife, which on its own sounds almost whimsical and (no pun intended) spiritual; something I'm all for. I may be alone in what I say next, but I don't care: I'm 100% on board with another Fire / Ghost type. There hasn't been one Pokémon with that type that's had a bad design with respect to incorporating flames and Hisuian Typhlosion is no exception. The way its "collar" erupts into magenta flames is nearly mesmerizing to me. and while I won't be picking Cyndaquil as my starter for this game, it was definitely a top contender.
Clorodulce
So simple, yet so beautiful! I really love the color of the flame and the necklace that Hisuian Typhlosion has. Game Freak decided to make Typhlosion even better; I love this calmed version, and it makes me want to have one in real life, and hug it forever! Sometimes it's better to do a few changes to make something original and good. 10/10
churine
Typhlosion is one Pokémon whose main design motif got absolutely shafted when transitioning into the third dimension, so when I first saw its Hisuian form, it didn't really stand out much. However, those magenta flames when shown off in battle look absolutely wicked, fitting for a ghastly creature. Another thing I'm a fan of is how its stats were finally reallocated, since Typhlosion for the longest time was essentially a flightless Charizard, as both families shared the same exact stat allocations with one another. The Hisuian forme puts more stock into the Special Attack at the cost of Speed and HP, which paired with an incredible secondary typing in Ghost, poises Hisuian Typhlosion to be a potent offensive threat. Lastly, its got an overall chill demeanor, something that has sparked a little meme around it and has positively influenced its memorability; stay in school folks.
JustoonSmitts
Typhlosion was never a favorite of mine. I mean it looks fine, but doesn't have that strong of a tie to its typing like the other Fire starters do. It just felt a little too basic compared to what we had before and since. Hisuian Typhlosion is a design that I initially dismissed as bad but playing Legends: Arceus with one post-game and seeing how it flares up makes me like it more and more. Instead of the more sinister Chandelure, this Pokémon is a benevolent creature: one that harnesses its powers to guide souls instead of taking them. I absolutely adore the purple color scheme and the pink-purple flames. Even that pattern on its neck fur kind of reminds me of prayer beads.
To sum it up, I think this is one of the best regional variants I've seen so far in a Pokémon game. It takes ideas from its region's inspiration and dives inro a more subtle cultural motif instead of doing a simple color palette swap. A+ design choice, Game Freak.
Max. Optimizer
Samurott, unfortunately, has to be my least favorite out of the three. In my honest opinion, it barely looks different from the original variant that we have known since our adventures in the Unova region. However, keeping in mind the fact that the Unovan variant of Samurott with its samurai theme was already heavily inspired by motifs from this specific time period of Japan's history, it becomes clear that there was, honestly, not much left that could have potentially been added to it. The only notable change I can think off the top of my head that would truly have made a notable difference is if they had somehow made it bipedal, in order to match Typhlosion and Decidueye. I, personally, cannot imagine a samurai battling while walking on all fours. The design was not improved, but it was not downgraded either. I am, honestly, kind of surprised this did not happen, considering the latest trend of giving a lot of starter Pokémon anthropomorphic, bipedal final evolution stages. Then again, I am not really a fan of that solution, but I cannot think of any other, more notable changes. Maybe it is just already good enough at what it does.
Blitz
Samurott is an... interesting addition to the trio. While its design perfectly fits with the region's inspiration, it doesn't really look like much has changed on the on-set: its spiked helmet is a different color and spikier, the facial hair is fancier, still sports the scimitars on its legs, and... it's darker. That's pretty much it. However, I consider its palette swap to be an improvement over the original and Samurott still retains its cool factor, quadruped or not.
ausma
I get that standard regional forms need to stay true to the base designs much more than regional evolutions, but it's hard for me not to feel like Hisuian Samurott could've been a bit more substantial. This might be more an issue with base Samurott than it is Hisuian Samurott in of itself and I may be projecting, but surely there was something they could've done to mitigate how stiff Samurott feels and find some way to take advantage of its shell armor more directly? Thinking on it, my wishy-washiness regarding Hisuian Samurott might be more a Samurott problem in general, but I don't really feel Hisuian Samurott does a lot to really remedy the shortcomings Samurott as a whole has. I still like it and it has some really funky shapes, but it's probably my least favorite of the three here.
Plague von Karma
My hot take of the day is that Hisuian Samurott is just finishing the Unovan design. It is absolutely fantastic, I couldn't think of a better Pokémon to use in a game based on the Meiji Restoration of Japan. I get major Pokémon Conquest vibes from this Pokémon and that's just a further sign they got it just right: the plate armor on the legs, the giant Menpō-like "facial hair", it all comes together to make Samurott truly feel like the samurai it wanted to be. Water / Dark feels like something that Feraligatr should have been in another reality, but Samurott taking it and using it so well is amazing. I'm definitely going to be an Oshawott enjoyer for this game!
heritage
None of the new designs in this game are any good to me, but Samurott is the most "whatever" one. It's barely changed, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you're going to make a new forme, I personally think you should go all-out. I can at least respect some of the new Pokémon to a degree if they're doing something new. What's the point of a new form if it basically only changes a few colors? Oh, and I guess it has a bad hair day, its mustache is a little messed up. The only real positive change I can see is that the knives on its arms look a bit more natural. Other than that, this Pokémon just exists. It doesn't make any meaningful changes to the original design for me, it's just so boring. Just gets slightly more spikey, lol. Cool theming and typing, though.
Pikachu315111
Samurott totally should have been part Fighting ever since its introduction, and now with a chance to fix this mistake... they made it part Dark instead. This has to do with its basis, which is still a samurai, but instead of one that loyally serves a lord it’s now a masterless ronin. Why? Because Japanese word puns. The first kanji letter of ronin can also translate to “wave” and Samurott’s Japanese name, Daikenki, can translate to “devilish swordsman”. It’s just an evil Samurott with darker colors to match. One thing they did “fix” was switching its Attack and Special Attack so now it has slightly higher Attack. Does get an equally edgy (though admittedly cool sounding) signature move in Ceaseless Edge. It works like how Stealth Rock works in Legends: Arceus: it does damage and leaves behind “splinters” that does damage every turn. Also says it tries landing a critical hit though no mentioned of an additional slash effect.
Shadowshocker
So I've already gone over at length about how I feel Hisuian Decidueye is a wasted design and how they should've gone the whole hog and turned it from an archer into a wandering swordsman. "But Samurott already plays the sword user and we can't repeat those roles," you might be saying. Thing is, Samurott and Decidueye already overlap each other's roles as mixed attackers leaning towards physical stats, while Typhlosion is the one that stands out from both of them as the frailer special attack specialist. And yet for some reason, despite being clad in armor and having the superior typing, Hisuian Samurott is somehow faster and less defensive than Hisuian Decidueye.
There's nothing wrong with Hisuian Samurott's design of having an exaggerated mustache and crooked shell to give it that unscrupulous Japanese shogun vibe, but I'd agree it doesn't add much to the original and its already heavy Japanese inspirations, which I'd argue applies to all the Hisuian starters. The theme is there, just not pushed hard enough, and Hisuian Samurott might suffer the most from this in my opinion. Maybe Hisuian Samurott could have been given a different sort of shell armor that focuses on defending itself instead, with a twist that lends to the idea of Hisuian starter intermediates I previously mentioned. Instead of diligently honing its scalchop skills, Hisuian Dewott learns to be a dirty fighter who claims power for power's sake and seeks self-preservation above all else, leading to a defensive build and design reminiscent of the greedy feudal landlord trope when it evolves into Hisuian Samurott, necessitating Hisuian Decidueye to heroically intervene. To conclude, I'm perfectly okay with how Hisuian Samurott looks. I personally think it's visually more interesting than Hisuian Decidueye. I just can't help but feel the developers took the easy way out of designing its regional forme, which is something I feel when I look at forms that basically scream "We just added facial hair to this and it's a new creature."
deetah
As someone who picked Oshawott as their starter in Pokémon Black 2, I can't help but feel rather disappointed with Hisuian Samurott's design. It looks as if Game Freak stuck some black and red on its design in place of the white and called it a day. I feel like there's so much unused potential with this design; heck they could've made Hisuian Samurott a bipedal otter that resembles a samurai for crying out loud! It's got the whole "evil ronin" vibe already with its new Water / Dark typing, it just needs to go one step further.
Kaiju Bunny
I'm not sure there's a more fitting Pokémon to be immediately introduced to the Hisui region than Hisuian Samurott. I've heard many an argument that Hisuian Samurott is just a slight recolor of any other regular Samurott and to that, I say: I agree. It's a bit underwhelming all things considered, but weirdly enough, it doesn't bother me too much. Samurott already had a pretty strong samurai vibe to it, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. In Hisuian Samurott's case, I believe the traditional Japanese vibes were built more upon given the shape of its whiskers and horn. I feel it also ties in more to its Pokédex entry, which hints at it having strong ties to the ocean, which would make sense given the waviness to the aforementioned horn and whiskers. I was also pleasantly surprised at a Water / Dark type, which is a typing that's only been shown twice before in the entirety of the Pokémon universe. I had a soft spot for the Oshawott line when it was first introduced in Gen 5, so to see one of my favorite starter lines get a Hisuian makeover, I'll definitely be going with the samurai otter for my playthrough.
Clorodulce
Samurott gave me vibes of Monster Legends; I was such a great fan of that game until it turned into a pay-to-win game—and well I mean, it definitely was one all along, but at least I had enough gems to have more workers on my island, ok... let's move on into the sprite, I forgot that I have to talk about Pokémon. Well, Hisuian Samurott is a recolored version for the same sprite that it has in Unova; I don't really like the Unova forme, but I really like the diversity of colors of Hisuian Samurott. Maybe it's because I remember Monster Legends, specifically Fliploch; you know how sometimes happens that you like something because it makes you remember other things that you liked in the past. Maybe I'm encouraging Game Freak to do more lazy stuff, like just recoloring Pokémon, but I don't mind, now I want a sprite that makes me feel like I'm playing Dragon City... please.
churine
This was the perfect time to grant Samurott the Fighting typing it should've had instead of Emboar, but instead let's make it the same type as the most popular Pokémon in Japan that also happens to be an incredibly versatile Pokémon in the competitive space. Hisuian Samurott also doesn't change too drastically, likely due to the original design already drawing heavy inspirations from feudal Japan, but it honestly looks more complete despite lacking an intense redesign. Samurott not being bipedal is a bit awkward despite it being a samurai, but I don't mind it personally. I'm pretty pleased with how they tuned Samurott overall, though, as Samurott originally seemed to have Sceptile syndrome in that its movepool was mostly physical-oriented despite having better Special Attack. Now, the Hisuian form not only swaps the offensive stats, but chips a little of its bulk in order to jump its Speed from 70 to 85, a well-appreciated buff.
JustoonSmitts
Back when Black and White were released, I chose Oshawott as my first Pokémon. As I journeyed across Unova with my fully evolved samurai pinniped, I always thought that Samurott was missing something with its design. Some sort of extra omph...
Now that I have journeyed through Hisui with Samurott again, I feel like this regional variant kind of makes its design feel complete. (Kind of funny since Legends Arceus is the best Pokémon game since Black and White.) It's an extremely simple color swap, trading the whites of its shell for black and red, but it makes it feel more like a shogun, even gaining an interesting signature move that deals residual damage every turn with its wicked blows. It's such a great, simple change that turns Samurott from a mid-tier design for me into a high-tier one.
Codraroll
As usual, opinions differ on the new designs ... which shows there are many possible ways to approach them! Every design has something to appreciate, a tidbit of lore that adds context that makes it a little more interesting, and something that might seem like it should be fixed. That's how it goes with Pokémon, and I think the Hisuian starters do a great job of bringing out the whole spectrum of opinions, like other designs before them. However, for those who prefer something else, Hisui is full of other designs to appreciate (or not, depending on your opinions). Perhaps we will take a look at some of those in a later JAPE?
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