Pokemon Y

7. Pangoro

Nickname: Kenshiro
Nickname: Kenshiro

If Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star were a Pokémon, I feel like he would be Pangoro. His design just represents the badass rogue perfectly. And by god, just look at that coat. Is this not one of the most badass things you’ve ever seen? Wait, what’s that? You don’t think this is one of the most badass things you’ve seen? Too bad! My list, my choices.

Aesthetics aside, one of his abilities is Iron Fist. This ability powers up punching moves like Hammer Arm and Sky Uppercut and Comet Punch. All of these are moves that Pangoro could learn. Though, I feel that Game Freak passed on a golden opportunity with Pangoro. I mean, if it had a super-powered version of Comet Punch where it punched its opponent so hard that they violently exploded, it’d be much higher on my list.

I’d also put Pangoro higher on my list if its Fighting/Dark combination weren’t 4x weak to Fairy-type attacks now. Why does the competitive scene have to ruin everything?

6. Clawtizer

Nickname: Dillan
Nickname: Dillan

Water was another type that saw very few new additions this generation. Clauncher was exclusive to Pokémon X, so I had to trade a Skrelp from my game in order to get it. I wasn’t really excited with Clauncher, but when I finally saw what it turned into, I changed my mind. I mean, look at its claw! That thing is bigger than its own head! And it uses it to shoot things at you!

And then there’s its ability. Both Clauncher and Clawtizer both have Mega Launcher as its ability, which power up moves with Pulse or Aura in the name. At first, I thought it was a bit of a waste since the only pulse move Clauncher could learn was Water Pulse. But Clawtizer? That thing can learn Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, and friggin’ Aura Sphere! Like a boss.

5. Hawlucha

Nickname: Rikochet
Nickname: Rikochet

Do I really need to explain this one? Look at it. No, really, just look at it. It’s a luchador-bird. It knows the dual-typed Fighting/Flying move Flying Press. You can teach it Fly, which means you can ride on it despite its small size. I mean…just look at it! Awesome.

Just four more to go.

Kyle Emch
Kyle has been studying music at college for about three years now. He's played the piano since he was 6 years old and has been recently been learning how to write music. He has followed the Operation Rainfall movement on Facebook since it started and was happy to volunteer for the website. Just don't mention Earthbound or the Mother franchise around him.