235: Smeargle
How many dang Pokemon in this game have a visual gimmick involving their tail?! Smeargle here though is rather adorable for being one of Gen 2's sadly forgotten. Portrayed as a cartoon dog who also happens to be a caricature of an artist, Smeargle has a paint brush for a tail, apparently the "paint" being made of a natural bodily fluid. It uses this paint to mark its territory, which is quite a clever idea for a creature!
Smeargle even gets its very own battle gimmick. The only move it's ever capable of learning is Sketch, which is a move that permanently copies the last move it saw. So in essence, Smeargle can have any moveset you so desire. It's just a shame then that Smeargle's stats are so mediocre, but it would probably be way too good even if its stats were above average.
Personal Score: 7/10
Actually, in terms of competitive, Smeargle has been able to make its unparalleled movepool work despite its bad stats. In Gens 3 and 6, it was a huge part of what got Baton Pass banned in Smogon singles, and from Gens 4-7 it was the only Dark Void mon in VGC (since mythical Pokemon are banned)
ReplyDeleteAlso for some reason I always thought Smeargle was a cow, not a dog, so it was quite a shock when I learned that a few years ago