Day 21: Empoleon

(BGM: Route 201 from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Generation 4 has my favorite set of Pokemon starters by far. I've used each of them numerous times on my many playthroughs of the main series Gen 4 games, which naturally means they're among my favorite Pokemon in Generation 4. So much so that two of the three Sinnoh starters managed to make the list of my Top 50 Favorite Pokemon.

Let me just start by saying right now, that Torterra isn't one of them.

Don't get me wrong, Torterra is a great Pokemon with good HP, better physical attack and physical defense, and his ability to learn moves like Earthquake giving him good coverage against Poison types is a plus. But with his speed lacking somewhat, and by being part Ground-type, meaning he now has a quadruple weakness to Ice moves and Water moves now do neutral damage rather than non-effective damage, it makes Torterra the Sinnoh starter I prefer the least. Still a good Pokemon and I would recommend him if you want a good Grass-Type, but the other two starters are more my speed.

Now, with all of that out of the way, what's my second favorite Sinnoh starter?

You read the title, it's Empoleon!

(Insert Empoleon cry here)


(BGM: Battle! Rival from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Before Game Freak was tasked to make Pokemon based on real life people like a soccer player or Charlie Chaplin, they were tasked with making a Pokemon based on Napoleon Boneparte. And the best idea they could come up with was an armored penguin.

Shut up and take my money!

It's fitting that a pokemon based on the once great French emperor/military commander would have a regal while also badass design. His beak looks like a cross between a crown and a trident, his fins are encased in armor, and he even has those frilly collar things that Napoleon used to wear (Side note: As you can guess, I don't know what those filly collar things are called). It's a great design, and I can tell that Game Freak had a lot of fun making this one.

Being part Steel type means that Empoleon now has a weakness to Ground and Fighting type moves, but to compensate he now takes neutral damage from Grass type moves and is immune to Poison-type moves, which I feel is a good trade-off. Any stat that makes you immune to a type is always welcome in my book.

Being a Water-type starter, Empoleon comes with the ability Torrent, which boosts his water type moves when his health reaches a third. It's a good ability, and a water starter with Torrent is par for the course. However, you could try his hidden ability on for size. Empoleon's hidden ability is Defiant, which raises his physical attack by two stages when hit with a status lowering move. This can be very useful and could potentially make Empoleon's weaker Physical Attack stat a force to be reckoned with.

It also helps that for Physical Moves, Empoleon can learn Metal Claw, Aerial Ace, Drill Peck, Wave Crash, Avalanche, Brick Break, Shadow Claw, Waterfall, Liquidation, Ice Spinner, Rock Slide, Earthquake, and Giga Impact for some if his better physical attacking moves.

If those moves sound nice, but your Empoleon doesn't have Defiant, that's where Swords Dance comes in. He is a Pokemon based on an emperor, I'd be surprised if he couldn't learn Swords Dance.

Special Attacking is mainly how Empoleon deals damage otherwise. But luckily, he gets some good special attacking moves too in the form of Surf, Hydro Cannon, Ice Beam, Flash Cannon, Air Slash, Hyper Beam, Steel Beam, and Grass Knot.

Add in a pretty good Special Defense stat while making his other stats pretty decent, and you have my second favorite Sinnoh starter, my second favorite Water-type starter, and my favorite water type in Generation 4.

Me: The latter is especially great because Sinnoh Water-types kind of suck.

Lyra: That's a little harsh. I mean, Floatzel and Gastrodon are pretty good…

Me: And the rest are Bibarel, who is better off as an HM Slave. Lumineon, who, tell me honestly, does anyone like Lumineion? Manaphy, while good, is also impossible to find without hacking or using an Action Replay. And Phione, who is basically a lesser Manaphy. And Floatzel and Gastrodon aren't without their problems either. Floatzel has weak defenses and Gastrodon is slow as molasses.

Lyra: Wow…Empoleon really is the best Sinnoh Water-type.

Me: Glad you're seeing things my way.