Day 48: Chandelure

(BGM: Opelucid City from Pokemon White)

Pokemon from Generation 5 really did have some interesting concepts, didn't they? Just going into the Pokemon we've covered so far in this marathon, we have a kung-fu fighting weasel, a dragon with axes for teeth, a prehistoric reptile/bird hybrid, and…whatever the hell Sigilyph is supposed to be.

And those are just some of the Gen 5 Pokemon from this marathon. If we look at the Unovan Pokedex as a whole, we have a samurai otter, a fire breathing pig, a Gothic Lolita of all things, and an electric spider. So, before you go taking a dump on how Game Freak has lost their touch and can't come up with more original ideas, you might want to take a look at some of Generation 5's Pokemon. The magnificent bastards at Game Freak have plenty to work with.

Anyway, I just wanted to start this segment off with that little rant because we've reached my favorite Unova Pokemon, which means that it must be the most amazing Pokemon of the whole generation, concept-wise.

Yeah…no…

Of all of the Generation 5 Pokemon that I could pick as my favorite one…I'm picking the chandelier.

Lyra: (To the tune of Sia) I'm gonna fight with the chandelier! With the chandelier! I'll beat my rival 'till they cease to exist! 'Till they cease to exist!

Me: It is a crime that there are so few 'Chandelier' parodies involving Chandelure, you know…Anyway, yeah, Chandelure.

(Insert Chandelure cry here)

(BGM: Battle! Elite Four from Black and White)

I know, it's insane. Of all the awesome and unique looking Pokemon that I could've chosen as my all time favorite Unova Pokemon, I picked the one that looks like a chandelier. Well first of all, Chandelure is not just a chandelier…he's a haunted chandelier! And second, maybe if I go into the things that make Chandelier tick, you can all understand why I like him so much to the point that he's my favorite Unova Pokemon.

Since I said that Chandelure is a haunted chandelier, that means he has the unique type combo of Ghost and Fire, making him immune to Normal and Fighting type moves. However, depending on what ability Chandelure gets, he can have an immunity to Fire too.

The first of Chandelure's abilities is Flash Fire, the one that not only gives Chandelure the Fire-immunity, but also powers up his Fire type moves. Chandelure's second ability is Flame Body, which has the potential to burn the opposing Pokemon if they make contact with him. And finally there's his hidden ability Infiltrator, which ignores moves like Reflect and Light Screen, as well as Safeguard, meaning that you can still inflict status ailments on an opposing Pokemon even after they've used Safeguard.

All three of these abilities are great and I can easily recommend any one of them for Chandelure.

So, good typing and great abilities. I'd say we're off to a good start. Now let's talk about his design.

Gotta admit, there are few ways you can make a monster based on a chandelier work, but leave it to Game Freak to not only make a chandelier Pokemon that looks elegant and ominous, but also give him one of the creepiest Pokedex entries this side of Drifloon.

'It absorbs a spirit, which it then burns. By waving the flames on its arms, it puts its foes into a hypnotic trance.' - Black

OH MY GOD!

So, not only does Chandelure take the souls of the living and have them burn with his flames forever, but it's implied that he likely hypnotizes them to get their souls! That is legitimately terrifying!

Don't let the alluring purple glow of his flames and those yellow eyes fool you, that is not the face of mercy!

Speaking of mercy, don't expect Chandelure to let up on you because for a piece of antique furniture…he can hit hard!

Yeah his Physical Attack is kind of crap, but then you look at his 145 Special Attack stat! That is downright lethal! Throw some pretty decent speed and defense stats, and you have one of Unova's toughest Pokemon.

As for moves, Chandelure, as you'd expect, gets a lot of good Special Attacking moves such as Shadow Ball, Flamethrower, Energy Ball, Psychic, Dark Pulse, Hyper Beam, Inferno, Overheat, Solar Beam, and Heat Wave.

Let's not forget he can also learn a variety of status moves like Toxic, Confuse Ray, and Will-o-Wisp, as well as Hex so he can really do some damage to the opposition. For those who don't know, Hex does more damage if the opposing team has a status ailment; good for Chandelure, a nightmare for everyone else!

And of course Chandelure can learn Calm Mind to not only boost his Special Defense, but also make his already busted Special Attack stat even more powerful.

Disturbing Pokedex entries, great stats, wonderful abilities, excellent movepool, and interesting design. Put them all together, and you have my favorite Unova Pokemon.

Also, Game Freak, in the off chance one of you are reading this, can I make a suggestion…if you're going to give Chandelure a regional variant, can you please make him an electrical chandelier with the Ghost-Electric typing? We haven't had one since Rotom and I think it's high time the Electric-Ghost combination makes a comeback.

I'm just saying, make it happen.