977: Dondozo

Here's a curious pair of Pokemon! They're unrelated by evolution, but it makes sense to cover them together, since they're pretty linked at the hip.

Dondozo is a repeat fish, but given our last catfish Pokemon was Whiscash all the way back in Gen 3, and this Gen has already cranked out loads of newbies, we think this one can very easily slide.

Especially since it covers such a different vibe! Whiscash was very cartoony and mascot-like, but Dondozo here is much more grounded and monstrous. Catfish are pretty beastly fish, as it turns out! They're one of the biggest freshwater fish, and as if to reflect this, Dondozo here is now the biggest fish Pokemon in the 'dex, even outsizing Gyarados!

It's a very effective catfish too, with its grumpy visage whisker-covered face. And even then, Dondozo still finds room to be a little more creatively charged, with it having long fins that go down its side, unlike most fish.

It also comes with a ring of fin-pedals on top of its head, meant to evoke the idea of a white bandana, a piece of headgear known to be worn by sushi chefs. Hmmm!

Snack-size

978: Tatsugiri

Arguably the star of this two-mon show is this strange nigiri sushi-shaped fellow! With it resembling an odd fish with limited facial features, sat on top of an inflated throat sac meant to look like a ball of rice. It comes in three slightly different shapes and colors, the shrimp-shaped "curly" form, the tuna-red "droopy" form, and the "stretchy" form is planking and colored yellow like tamago!

But of course, one of the funniest twists with Tatsugiri is how it's actually a Dragon type! This tiny, non-evolving fish-shaped creature! Again, absolutely love the way Pokemon stretches the definition of a dragon, all for the pun on "dragon roll" sushi.

Especially since it makes Charizard's predicament all the funnier. Though you would think it's just a taxonomic thing at that point? Tatsugiri evolved from ancient draconic ancestors, and the Charizard family comes from more traditional reptiles that just happened to evolve into the shape of a dragon. Like Pokemon's first actual convergent evolution!

As if to further separate it from other fish Pokemon, Tatsugiri's normal standing position has it actually sitting upright, rather than the hover-swimming most fish Pokemon do. It's still Water-type, and it still swims! But on land it has this distinct pose like it's tipping off something is Up about it.

Anyway, the fun part comes in with how Tatsugiri actually does a little deception by posing as a tasty sushi, enticing its friend Dondozo here to try to eat it. But instead of this being a fatal interaction for either party, it's actually a case of mutually beneficial parasitism! Tatsugiri stays inside the mouth of the Dondozo, where it remains protected and able to attack from within its catfish-shaped hideaway. Meanwhile, Tatsugiri gives orders to the dim-witted Dondozo, and they end up sharing the meals from their hunts.

This all seems like it would just be some flavor from the Pokedex and little else, but Tatsugiri actually comes with the unique ability "Commander", which allows it to do just this! Hide within the mouth of an ally Dondozo to keep it protected during a double battle, since it is quite frail on its own. Fun! And this artwork of this interaction even reveals that Dondozo's tongue is shaped like a Japanese wooden serving board, hah.

Individually, these Pokemon are fun, but together they're even better!