No. 789: Cosmog

Back from my Alolan vacation and ready to roll again! Sorry for the lack of heads-up this time.

And who is here to greet me, but this Super Mario Galaxy reject, Mario & Luigi ass, not-in-the-bag piece of stardust - Nebby T. Nebster himself. That's right, it's Cosmog.

Actually, let me dial it back a bit. I don't hate Cosmog. I've long been a champion for a Cosmic-type (though I have now come to believe that it wouldn't be practical without a major overhaul of the entire type system) so it's always neat to see new potential Cosmics.

And despite all the memes, I don't really hate Nebby, either. I thought it was a good way to introduce the legendary early in the game, make it a focal point of the plot from the get-go, and let you build up some interest and relationship with it before you eventually capture it. Kinda like how the movies do it. And while the Pokemon movies are certainly no Citizens Kane, they usually have more interesting plots than the games.

So it looks like I must issue an apology - Nebby (aka Cosmog): You Are All Right. Still look like you came straight outta Paper Mario, tho


Overall: 7/10

No. 788: Tapu Fini

If you've never read about the Fenian raids, which were when Irish terrorists attempted to invade Canada, conquer it, and then trade it to Britain in exchange for Ireland, you should look that up.

There's a few concepts at work here, but unlike Tapu Bulu, I think they lead into eachother - it's kinda a clam shell, kinda a marlin, and kinda a waifu. Er, I mean, kinda a mermaid. Tapu Fini is coming up out the water like the Birth of Venus or something, except with flotation wings.

It's no coincidence that my favorite Tapu are the ones who actually use their shell gimmick to look like things that could/should be hiding in a shell. The main body itself is nicely designed, and the shell looks cool, too. Actually, you know what? It's giving me Pelipper flashbacks. I don't blame Tapu Fini one bit for wanting to spend her life encased in a gentle, mouth-shaped capsule. A shame there's no room in there for me, I'll have to find my own mouth to live in and fly around and see the world.

Now here's the 500-dollar question - what does the T on her forehead stand for? Tapu? No, that's too obvious. Tsunami? Temptation? Triple Double? Terrance? Let me know in the comments what you think! (note: there is no actual $500 prize)


Overall: 10/10

No. 787: Tapu Bulu

bulushit

You know, for some reason I don't like this guy. Once again the shell looks totally superfluous to the rest of the design, and he almost looks like he's upside-down. Something about how his arms connect to his body. Basically I don't believe that he even fits inside his shell.

And get this - he's Grass type. Yeah, that's definitely what I think of, when I think of red-and-gold bulls, some damn ass vegetables.

Dummy broke his horns flipping open his shell and that just further confuses the silhouette, plus he has stupid hands that look like they can't even pour a bowl of cereal without making a huge mess all over the floor. And that's the #1 criteria I look for in a Tapu, obviously.

A lot of words written to say that basically, man is just ugly.


Overall: 2/10

No. 786: Tapu Lele

lel

Who's this cutie, peeking out from her shell? Why, it's Tapu Lele! D'awww!

I'm not sure exactly what her shell is supposed to be - people claim it's a butterfly, but that seems like a stretch to me. She looks more like her hair is made of coral or something, idk.

Also, unlike Koko from last time, Lele works with the shell and makes it a core part of the design, instead of feeling like an awkward afterthought. I'm not always a fan of the obviously-girly Pokemon, but this one is working for me.


Overall: 9/10

Bonus question: Are those white things eyelashes? Or a mustache? Or some sort of reverse eye-black, like baseball players wear? Or are they two tiny mouths? Discuss.

No. 785: Tapu Koko

I'm in love with the koko

The Tapu-series are interesting Legendaries because they actually go with the theme of the region. I mean, Xerneas and Dialga could have swapped designs and it wouldn't have really mattered. But the Tapus are specifically Polynesian, which is kinda neat.

There's a cool quality to seeing how they fold up into their shells - reminds me of high-quality McDonalds' Transformers toys. And I mean that in a good way! Another reason you can't just judge a Pokemon on its still artwork alone anymore.

But at the same time, wow those giant half-shells on your arms must be awkward. I appreciate the gimmick, but I think I'd honestly like Tapu Koko even more if it were just a cool little dude with claw-hands and a radical mohawk.


Overall: 7/10