Day 13: Gliscor
(BGM: Route 206 from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)
We are almost done with the second week of this year's Lent Marathon, and we're finally talking about a Pokemon from Generation 4, which is also the only generation to not have representation so far in this marathon. But I think that's a good thing; it shows just how utterly amazing the Sinnoh Pokedex is.
There are so many great Pokemon in Generation 4 that they're still being used and talked about to this day. Dare I say some of these Pokemon are almost as iconic as the original 151! And I think one of the reasons for that is because Generation 4 took a note out of Generation 2's playbook and gave evolutions to already existing Pokemon…and, man did they give evolutions to a lot of them. Quite a few of them will be appearing on this marathon, so let's start by talking about the first of these monsters.
For the first rep from Generation 4, we have the evolved form of Gligar; the Fang Scorp Pokemon, Gliscor!
(Insert Gliscor cry here)
(BGM: Colosseum Leader Joe's Theme from Pokemon Battle Revolution)
This badass looking Pokemon is what happens when you take a bat and a scorpionfly (I too am surprised this is a real animal) and put them in a blender…mixed with steroids and crack! That's pretty much Gliscor in a nutshell.
Seriously, his appearance is one of the best in the fourth generation; that long tail, those bat wings attached to his lanky arms which are attached to his big, meaty claws, his blue-purple and red color scheme, and those piercing yellow eyes! He has yellow eyes! So help me god…
Lyra: You already said that with Crobat, you lazy punk!
Me: Well it bears repeating! Also if I had a nickel for every Pokemon that was based on a bat-like creature that had yellow eyes, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right?
On to Gliscor's typing, that being Ground-Flying…it's freaking awesome! With this unique typing, Gliscor resits not only ground type moves, but also electric type moves, which is a huge problem for other Flying-Types. Speaking of Flying-Type weaknesses, since it's part Ground, then Rock-Moves deal neutral damage. Really the only things Gliscor has to worry about are Ice-Type Moves, which do quadruple damage, and Water-Moves; that's it!
On that note, when going after Gliscor, don't expect your Physical Moves to do much damage as his Physical Defense stat clocks in at 125, making it Gliscor's best stat. I can also be pretty zippy and hit decently hard with Physical Attacks as both that stat and his speed stat are at a reasonable 95. Gliscor has pretty good stats overall.
Moving onto his abilities, all three of them are fantastic! For starters, we have Sand Veil, which raises evasiveness in sandstorms. His second ability is Hyper Cutter, which prevents the lowering of his Attack stat through means like Growl and Intimidate. And then there's his hidden ability, Poison Heal, which heals Gliscor if he gets poisoned. All three of these abilities are super useful, but ultimately it's a toss up between Hyper Cutter and Poison Heal for me. They're both really good and make Gliscor a force to be reckoned with.
And at last we come to Gliscor's gargantuan movepool. Honestly, it's amazing the types of moves that Gliscor can learn.
Naturally, Gliscor can learn the elemental fangs, X-Scissor, Poison Jab, Acrobatics, Crabhammer as of Generation 9, Night Slash, U-Turn, and Swords Dance to power these moves up.
Already Gliscor has the potential of having a versatile moveset…but I haven't even talked about the moves he can learn through other means!
This list of honor consists of such lovely moves like Earthquake, Aerial Ace, Brick Break, Giga Impact, Rock Slide, Metal Claw, Iron Tail back when that was a TM move, Poison Tail, and even some interesting Special Attacking moves like Dark Pulse, Sludge Bomb, and Earth Power.
It's not everyday where you see a Pokemon that isn't a legendary or Psychic type have this grandiose of a movepool.
In short, Gliscor was a much needed evolution for Gligar. Really the only thing Gligar had going for him before he got his evolution was a good defense, good abilities, and a good type. But as soon as Gliscor came along, he got an awesome appearance, amazing moves, an awesome hidden ability, and much better stats.
And would you believe that there are more Generation 4 Pokemon that I think are better than Gliscor? Let me tell you right now, if Gliscor is only the first Generation 4 Pokemon to be represented in this marathon…then the rest will no doubt knock your socks off.