#388 grotle

Welcome to the Fourth Generation, Diamond and Pearl! (And Platinum (And Heart Gold Soul Silver)) and to give a brief introduction, this is a Generation often referred to when people want to call out their least favorite.

This Generation may also take longer to review than you’d think. While it is on the smaller side; only composed of 107 Pokemon, the last third or so of the Pokedex is entirely made up of DP’s (too many) Legendaries and the Pokemon that evolves from ones we’re already familiar with. They’re calling those Legacy Evolutions now, I guess?

Or at least the TCG is. So that’s what I’ve been calling them ever since.

We'll have to see how Gen 4 fairs here. I'm kinda curious how my overall opinion is gonna end up being, because even now I'm still not sure how to feel about Gen 4. I could end up thinking of it worse than Gen 2, I could turn out liking it about as much as Gen 1.

387: Turtwig

But enough of the introductions. How about Turtwig, the first of our starters this generation? Well, it's way nicer looking than our previous turtle starter. It's loads cuter, and in ways that make turtles lovable. Or, more accurately, this line is a land-dwelling tortoise. But its still got their beakiness and nubby little legs, and the sprout on top too. Turtwig's just too precious.

Personal Score: 7.5/10

Off to a good start here!

388: Grotle

Though, as per what seems like tradition for Grass Starters at this point, Turtwig takes on a much more dinosaur-like appearance as it evolves into Grotle. Grotle's shell looks less like a tortoise shell and more like the back of an ankylosaurus. The only thing it's missing is a bush in place of the big, blunt wrecking ball at the end of their tails. In place of the spiny hide though, are two bushes, and something down its back appearing to be something like crop lines. It's evolution set-up a lot like Ivysaur, but where it leads into is even more interesting.

I do have a soft spot for Grotle though. It's often forgotten, probably by proxy of being a starter's teenager stage, but it's actually a nice design despite what that connoation might imply.

Personal Score: 7.5/10

Really nice for a starter's “awkward” phase.

389: Torterra

And yes, I haven't said it yet, but the Grass Starter done did it again. Torterra is my favorite starter of this generation. It's always the Grass Starter! Is that just a weird coincidence or do I just have Venusaur and Sceptile bias?

Torterra though is definitely cool for any merit it has on its own. It's still looking like an ankylosaurus like Grotle did, but it got its tortoise shell back this time. And the bushes and crop lines Grotle had? It turned into this Pokemon having an entire landscape on its back. A big field with a tree, and three spikes on its back looking like a mountain range with a mossy “forest” along the base. It's a Pokemon you can have a picnic on.

But in all seriousness, Torterra is among the stronger end of starters in general, let alone grass starters. It's just subtly genius, and I love it.

And I'm sure a good chunk of people have heard of this myth before; the world-bearing turtle. One of the religious world-creation theories (most commonly known from Hinduism) is that the world lies on top of the back of a giant, cosmic turtle. (There's some giant elephants there too but that's tragically not relevant to Torterra.) And Torterra is such a cool tortoise version of that bit of mythology. It's just plain awesome that we have a big tortoise Pokemon with a micro-world on its back. And I'm still crossing my fingers for a Mega or Alternate Form or something to take Torterra to the next level. The advent of Alolan forms has omitted to have a Water/Grass, Island-turtle-flavored Torterra, but I’ll live. For now.

And I know this series isn't exactly about metagame or anything, but you'd think a tortoise Pokemon would be pretty boring to use, but no, this thing actually holds its own super well. Getting moves like Crunch and Earthquake naturally. This thing wrecked house even more than any other starter I've used before it. Just keep it the hell away from Ice types. That Grass/Ground type doesn't do it any favors there.

Personal Score: 9/10

Just an absolute beast and I love it.

Overall:

If nothing else, we're off to a great start here. Torterra's just plain awesome, and those prevos of its have a pretty nice setup going on for them too.