Day 45: Armarouge & Ceruledge

(BGM: Cascarrafa from Scarlet & Violet)

You thought Gardevoir and Gallade were the only two Pokemon that would get a shared entry in this marathon? Think again!

I know this is the Top 6, you know, the number six; as in the maximum number of Pokemon that you can take with you on a journey. So, logically speaking, these last six entries should be the Pokemon that will be on my team no matter what. How am I going to do that if #6 is a tie?

…

Me: Duh, I could always swap them out after each battle so they level up equally.

Lyra: I don't know, man, I feel like you're going to be pissing a lot of people off in this situation.

Me: When do I not piss people off, Lyra?

Lyra: True.

…

With all of that said and done, allow me to introduce you all to the two Pokemon that I consider my sixth favorite overall, as well as my two favorite Paldea Pokemon…

Armarouge…

(Insert Armarouge cry here)

And Ceruledge!

(Insert Ceruledge cry here)

(BGM: Battle! Sada/Turo from Scarlet and Violet)

Paldea's two armored fire-type soldiers. Of course they'd be in my Top 10 Personal Favorites. Right when they were announced, I knew I had to use them, and when I first played Scarlet you'd better believe I had an Armarouge on my team. Haven't played Violet yet, but I am so getting a Ceruledge on that team when I finally get the chance.

As far as designs go, Armarouge and Ceruledge are the best looking Pokemon in all of Paldea, with their respective armors making them look especially fierce and badass. Seriously, they look like something straight out of the Mega Man Franchise. Hell, Armarouge prefers cannons and Ceruledge prefers blades, they may as well be the Pokemon version of X and Zero.

One thing I find interesting about these two is how much they differ from each other personality wise.

According to Armarouge's Pokedex entry, he's a very loyal Pokemon and evolved through a set of armor that belonged to a distinguished warrior; the Auspicious Armor. Meanwhile, Ceruledge is very bloodthirsty and evolved through the armor of a swordsman that died before he could accomplish his goal; the Malicious Armor.

These two are the Yin and Yang of Pokemon…aside from the obvious Yin and Yang duo that is Zekrom and Reshiram. Armarouge is loyal and fights heroically, while Ceruledge is vicious and fights viciously. They offset each other perfectly, creating, in my opinion, the best duo of Pokemon we've had in a long time.

Both of these Pokemon are fire types, but Armarouge is part Psychic while Ceruledge is part Ghost. While both of them are weak to five of the eighteen types, Ceruledge arguably gets more immunities thanks to his Ghost type, making him immune to Normal and Fighting types. And they both get immunity to Fire moves thanks to their ability of Flash Fire, which raises the power of their own Fire Moves when hit by an opposing Fire type move.

They both also share a hidden ability; Weak Armor. With it, both Armarouge and Ceruledge's defense is lowered by one stage when hit with a physical move, but on the plus side they both get a speed boost. This can be pretty helpful as they're not exactly the fastest Pokemon in Paldea; Armarouge having 75 Speed and Ceruledge having 85 Speed.

On the subject of their stats, Armarouge is Physically Defensive/Special Attacking one, while Ceruledge is the Special Defensive/Physically Attacking one. Naturally they both get moves that cater to these strengths.

Some of Armarouge's best moves are Flamethrower, Lava Plume, Psychic, Flash Cannon, Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball, Dragon Pulse, Energy Ball, Calm Mind, Overhead, and Solar Beam, with two signature moves; the 80/100 Expanding Force and the 120/100 Armor Cannon.

Meanwhile, some of Ceruledge's best moves include Psycho Cut, Flare Blitz, Dragon Claw, Shadow Claw, Night Slash, Shadow Sneak, Poison Jab, Iron Head, Phantom Force, Swords Dance, and Close Combat, with his signature move; the 90/100 Bitter Blade.

These two have some very impressive and powerful movepools which just add to how awesome they are.

In conclusion, Armarouge and Ceruledge are not only the best duo of Pokemon we've gotten so far, but because of their backstories, their appearances, and their moves, they both rightfully deserve to share the #6 spot in my Top 10.