Can I get a "Woop woop!"?

194: Wooper

Wooper is another highlight of Gen 2 for a lot of people, and can you blame them? Wooper is just so flawless! This awkward, adorable amphibian's combination of armlessness, and big oblivious smile that it wears almost all of the time, and oversized head just make it a recipe for a cute critter. What definitely makes Wooper stand out to me is how, unlike Yanma, it's actually a reference to an animal's relatively unknown younger stage!

I usually see Wooper be attributed to being an axolotl Pokemon, which definitely isn't invalid to be sure. But axolotls aren't the only amphibians with feathery gills! "Regular" salamander larvae also have these gills, and simply grow out of them as they get older. In fact, axolotls are just salamanders that stay in their larval state for their entire lives. Which of course, is unlike Wooper, seeing as it's going to grow up to be Quagsire.

Personal Score: 8.5/10

King of the quagmire is literally just in their name

195: Quagsire

Quagsire's definitely one of those Pokemon I wish I was more enthusiastic about. Quagsire's as good a design as I can poke at; it's got good features like the chubby body of a Giant Salamander, and a funny face with little more than tiny dot eyes. It's just... I don't know. I guess when your pre-evolution is Wooper it's already a tough act to follow, and Quagsire just isn't quite there for me. I kinda wish it WAS an axolotl Pokemon, cause I liked the little gill-horns Wooper had that are sadly just not a part of Wooper anymore. Again, it's hard to say Quagsire is bad by any means, but it's just not hitting me quite the same way.