Favorite Pokemon by Generation : Diamond & Pearl

And now, my top ten Pokemon from the fourth generation, beginning with my most loved!


GLISCOR (ground/flying) - take everything that was cool about Gligar - the bat face, gliding membranes, pincers and stinging tail - and amp up the scariness. Gliscor has to be one of the most devilish-looking predatory beasts in the pokeverse, and it's quite powerful in battle to boot. The deranged eyes are probably my favorite feature, and while it's not based on one as far as I know, Gliscor reminds me heavily of the legendary Chupacabras.


CARNIVINE (grass) - it's interesting that we got a pitcher-plant Pokémon (victreebel) long before we got one based on a Venus fly-trap, which is the far more famous carnivorous plant. Carnivine is even a *floating* Venus fly-trap, for no reason other than to be cool. What I really love, though, are those round, staring eyes atop that saucer-like head.


CROAGUNK & TOXICROAK (poison/fighting) - Only in the Pokémon world would a poison dart frog know kung-fu. These guys are the only poison/fighting combo Pokémon, and Toxicroak can inject foes with poison through its awesome wrist talons. Even more awesome are just the faces on these things. Croagunk is often compared to Peter lorre, and Toxicroak reminds me of the Blue Meanies from "Yellow Submarine."


KRICKETUNE (bug) - pretty deadly looking for a "cricket," though the scythelike claws are just used to play music on its own violin-like body. Though supposedly a cricket Pokémon, its design is borrowed from a type of beetle.


DRAPION (poison/dark) - a scorpion Pokémon was a long time coming, and they couldn't have made it more insane. The accordian arms give it an almost Burtonesque vibe, and you can't ask for a meaner type combination than dark/poison.


SPIRITOMB (ghost/dark) - another dark/ghost type, like Sableye, but somewhat more powerful. I can't say I like as much as I like Sableye, but its unnatural vortex-like form is pretty appealing. It's supposedly a bunch of souls trapped in a stone, which was damaged just enough that they can reach out and attack. I think the black swirl in just one eye adds a surprising amount of personality.


HIPPOPOTAS & HIPPOWDON (ground) - a hippo that lives entirely in sand rather than water is another fun concept with a classic Pokémon feel to it, and I like both the incredibly cartoony appearance of Hippopotas and the more lifelike, fearsome look of Hippowdon, especially with all that sand pouring from giant holes in its body. Downright gross!


PROBOPASS (rock/steel) - this poor guy gets a lot of hate from fans as one of the "stupidest" looking Pokémon, but how do you base a monster on a Moai statue and not look at least a little ridiculous? Actual Moai statues had removable red hats and removable blue eyes (actually carved coral), so it makes sense for Nosepass to gain both when it evolves. The mustache, on the other hand, is supposedly just metal flakes clinging to its magnetized nose. Adorable!


TANGROWTH (grass) - Tangela was just barely pushed out of my top ten from the original games, but Tangrowth easily makes my top ten of Diamond & Pearl. It kept the cute, shadowed eyes and writhing tendrils of its predecessor, but just has much, much more of the latter. I say it's just as endearing as ever, but with a much more threatening presence.


DRIFLOON & DRIFBLIM (ghost/flying) - how freaking cute are these things? Really, look at that giant "X" bandage where their mouth should be! Drifloon and Drifblim just happen to resemble balloons, but they're actually flying ghost-type Pokémon.