Last modified: April 5th, 2023
Continuing from my Generation 5 review, here’s my five favorite Pokémon from Generation 6, X and Y.
Not the most amazingly creative generation, but not a bad one, either! Honestly, a lot of the concepts introduced were cooler than the actual execution of the final designs.
Goodra
It’s a cute slimy slug that becomes a cute slimy slug-dragon. It should have slime dripping from that darker purple underside, and I personally would have loved a tiny snail shell or some other gastropod anatomy.
Phantump
There’s always this weird question that comes up with Pokémon that wear “clothes”, even if those clothes are just a hollow tree stump. I mean, for all I know, this is the same black blob ghost that’s underneath Duskull’s hood, or that lives inside Confragrigus’ sarcophagus.
Honedge
There’s a lot of mixed reviews of Honedge and other “animate object” Pokémon. It’s important to remember that Japanese legends feature MANY different yōkai that take the form of, or inhabit, inanimate objects.
Noivern
An amp/speaker bat! It’s so obvious! I love it when Pokemon takes real traits of real animals – like echolocation in bats – and ramps it up to 11 and turns it into a cartoon superpower. What a cool way to explore and exaggerate on real biology! Oddly enough, my favorite thing about Noibat is that aggressively spiky mane of white fur around the neck, which adds a lot of motion to the design. They’re effectively dramatic action lines built in to help you focus on the face and ears. Also, boy, Pokemon sure does love purple and red combined together, don’t they?
Yveltal
Trisymmetry is never explored enough! Of course, I’m a sucker for dragony things, so this dragon-bird-monster immediately appeals to me. The raw fleshy underbelly, clawed hand-wings (and tail!), black diseased vein-markings, and that mysterious mane of black plasma are all wonderful. The head and feet suffer from a lack of creativity, though, in my opinion. I really dislike the recurring theme in Pokemon designs of giving dragons weird parallel horn-rocket-tube things on their heads, and the feet are completely underwhelming, bog-standard bird talons.
Zygarde
I know, I’m really cheating by including two legendaries this time. Honestly, this generation really didn’t thrill me all that much. I feel like the idea of DNA and muscle/nervous tissue-inspired Pokemon should have yielded much more creative (and disturbing!) results. Zygarde has several forms based on how many of its cells it has recovered, but the best is easily the 50% form, this abstract biomechanical serpent with a dramatic peacock-like crest, and no discernable facial features except for the vague suggestion of eyes.
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