No Delibird, you're too early! You're supposed to be Pokemon #1225

225: Delibird

A member of Gen 2's weird one-off crew that we regularly forget exists. Which is a shame cause we're suckers for Holiday-themed creature design, but Delibird here touches on the idea but doesn't do a ton with it. Depicting Sandy Claws as a bearded bird with a bag for a tail is the fun absurdity you've come to expect from Pokemon, but it feels like it's just missing that little bit extra that would've made it special.

Delibird also feels like a Pokemon that was made "too early". It has a gimmicky move called "Present" that either does varying amounts of damage... or heals your opponent. Had Delibird been a Pokemon that existed after double battles were an established thing, it feels like it could've been made a niche support Pokemon for use in double battles. But as is it's all around kind of just a novelty Pokemon.