946: Bramblin

Ohhh, here's another really fun one! But simple! A tumbleweed is another thing that we had on one of our big Pokemon wishlists, and we finally have one in Bramblin! It's just a shame by the time we encountered one for the first time, we were already attached to another new Grass type, and we already had two Ghost types on our team. But when we inevitably get around to doing a second run, Bramblin's totally a top priority!

It's rather simply a ghostly tumbleweed! With a cage-like body that, predictably, rolls around in the wind. In fact, it gets the signature ability "Wind Rider" - which feels like something the Hoppip line should've gotten retroactively, but whatever - giving it an Attack boost either when Tailwind is in effect, or it's hit by a "Wind" move. As well as taking no damage from these "Wind" moves. It's not FULL immunity from Flying type, but still decently handy for a Grass type!

Its Ghost typing comes in with how it's apparently a spirit that was blown away by the wind and got tangled up in dried grass. Which is somewhat accurate! The term "tumbleweed" can refer to a bunch of plants that naturally dry out, die, detach from the root, and become windborne to disperse seeds as part of their life cycle, and certain tumbleweeds are grasses. This is what makes them perfect for the Ghost/Grass typing, they're literally dead plants!

But speaking of seeds, Bramblin gets nothing in the way of facial features other than a pair of free-floating eyes within the cage body itself. Those are just Bramblin's seed pods! And another cute detail about them is how in order to "blink", the seed pods just turn around for a brief second.

What's Brambleghast's favorite social media site? Tumblr!

947: Brambleghast

Bramblin is one of a handful of new Pokemon that evolve specifically using the returning following feature. Or as they're now calling it, "Let's Go". If you have Bramblin travel a certain distance and then level up, it evolves into Brambleghast! What a cute idea for how to evolve a tumbleweed!

Brambleghast itself is perhaps a smidge underwhelming, it's mostly a bigger Bramblin that's a little more bramble bush-ey. And it even has more of a face now, BUT what we like about said face is how it's made up of the negative space of the brambles! It's like a tumbleweed doing its best jack-o-lantern impression, too!

It's so funny how we have a handful of "jack-o-lantern" Pokemon now, two of which merely give the VIBE of a jack-o-lantern without actually being a squash.

It's also said to be carnivorous because of course it is. It opens its branches in order to scoop up and "swallow" prey whole and suck up their life force. You know, standard Ghost type stuff. And once it's had its fill, it hocks up the now life-drained corpse out like a friggin meat owl pellet.

The ONLY thing we'd change about Brambleghast is that name. "Brambleghast" doesn't really roll off the tongue very well, does it? Nor does it sound particularly clever. What about "Tumbhoul" or "Stickerboosh"? Or if you insist on having "bramble" in its name, "Brambloft"?