Pokemon Training 250: Curiosity Spotlights

As anyone learns about Pokemon from playing it, pokemon types all have general attributes that usually apply to them.  Most Rock pokemon are slow and have high Physical stats with low Special stats.  Most Electric-types are fast and have strong offenses that are nearly equal, but are frail.  The majority of Water pokemon have large amounts of HP and at least decent defenses.  Most Steel pokemon are much stronger in their defenses than their offenses.  Many Bug pokemon are very fast.  Fire pokemon are often fast and frail, but usually tend towards one attack stat over the other.
Normal-type pokemon usually have plenty of HP and balanced Physical/Special attributes.

These are all good rules of thumb when encountering a pokemon you don’t know, but they’re hardly universally true.  Every pokemon type has members that stand out not for being exemplars of what their pokemon type does but for going counter to it and being successful anyways.

The same goes for pokemon varieties.  Most walls have high HP and strong defenses together.  Most sweepers have one high attack stat and high speed.  Many of the best trickster pokemon are very fast as well.  But there are exceptions to all of these.

Because these exceptions exist, and because they defy expectations and can leave you clutching your pokeballs and wondering what just kicked you, it pays to know about them- not only so that they don’t always jump you by surprise, but so that you can take advantage of them as well.  It is always a benefit when you leave your opponent with their eyes wide because they want to know what it was that just hit them.

In that spirit, I’m going to begin the Curiosity Spotlights- a series of articles highlighting and explaining not only pokemon that defy expectations, but little tricks and ways to use the game to give you surprises you can spring on your opponents that they may well not be expecting.  From ways to turn maligned misfits into devastating combatants to pokemon that completely turn around what you know about a given type or variety to moves that you may never see used- or just may never see used right- there are dozens of little tidbits hiding here and there in the world of Pokemon just waiting to be taken advantage of.  You don’t have to use them, you don’t have to memorize them- but they stand as examples of the unexpected that will help you to remember- don’t take it for granted.  You never know what someone has up their sleeve.