Let's Talk About Pokemon - The Oddish Family

043: Oddish

Oddish is something of a cute little weed on legs. It's a simple but charming plant monster. As far as Pokedex entries go, Oddish is an interesting subversion of what you'd expect a Grass type to do. With how it photosynthesizes moonlight rather than sunshine. An interesting reversal, fitting for the Oddish line's darker nature.

Oddish is about unmistakably a mandrake. Not only does it resemble one, right down to being a plant root that resembles a pair of legs, but in the Pokedex it is described as letting out an unpleasant shriek whenever it's uprooted.

Personal Score: 7.5/10

044: Gloom

Gloom is pretty out-there as a Grass type, being the only one that looks like a withering, dead plant. Even all the Grass/Ghost types we've been getting lately have looked fairly lively, even Trevenant. A dead plant is a concept so untouched by Pokemon, you'd think they'd have taken another crack at it by now, but no. Even if that wasn't the intention, Gloom gives off an Autumn sort of feel, and I'll like anything that looks like Autumn.

Either way, I like its dreary look and overall color palette. It's nice to get a flower monster that isn't the expected "cute and easy to love" or the "giant and actively monstrous", but rather, well, Gloomy. Gloom's also described as having a putrid stink about it, much like a Rafflesia, and I like how it just looks stinky. You probably could've leaned further into that with an even more "eugh" face or leaves that look a bit more wilted, since they look just a LITTLE bit like they could be turned green and wouldn't look too out of place. But Gloom does a good job of being a neat plant monster that stands out among plant monsters.

I do like that it also has a creepy angle to it, with its drool acting as a bait for prey that like a taste of sweet nectar. It's fairly non-describe with what it does to prey exactly, given it doesn't look that carnivorous, but not knowing almost makes it creepier.

Personal Score: 8/10

045: Vileplume

It's just a shame Vileplume ditches a lot that made Gloom good. It generally looks less dead than Gloom does, which is a shame. Making Gloom even more alone. It feels like a let-down that Gloom begins to elaborate on an idea, but Vileplume goes back on it to look more like Oddish again. It feels a bit like Gloom and Vileplume just should've switched places. We could have had an awesome wilted, dead, gross, Autumny wilted flower monster.

A big part of what I look for in creature designs, especially lately, is faces. While faces like Vileplume's aren't bad and are plenty serviceable, it looks like a downgrade from Gloom's sad visage, doesn't it? Gloom's face is notably more distinct and unusual, while Vileplume just strangely goes back to just being a smiling plant creature with a super-simplified face, not even with any drool this time.

Despite all that though, there are a few things about Vileplume that I do like. The colors and nice and the Rafflesia on its head looks pretty killer. As gross of a flower as it is, the Rafflesia is a really cool-looking plant. It's the reason this line is so associated with putrid smells; the Rafflesia on top of its head is probably giving fumes that smell like a dead animal carcass if it's anything like the real-life equivalent. Its name, while not being anything very clever or having a lot of wordplay behind it, does roll off the tongue so, so well.

Personal Score: 7.5/10

< Prev < | Archive | > Next >