As the original games celebrate their 20th anniversary, an aspiringPokémontrainer now has an incredible722 creaturesto capture to complete their Pokédex. With the recentreveal ofPokémon SunandMoon, there are sure to be a whole host of newPokémonappearing on our 3DS consoles very soon, bringing that total up even higher.
Designing so many different creatures is by no means an easy task, but Nintendo have employed a great deal of creativity in their work. Now, as we wait for the reveal of the 7th generation creatures, it’s time to look back over some of the more unique monsters throughout the history ofPokémon.
9Arceus
Starting strong with the God of allPokémon,Arceus is said to have created Sinnoh, Ransei, and quite possibly the rest of thePokémonuniverse. According to the sometimes less than reliable Pokédex, Arceus was born from an egg in a place where there was nothing before creating the world. It is thought that Arceus was also the creator of other mythicalPokémon, namely the Lake Guardians: Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit, as well as the Creation Trio: Dialga, Palkia and Giratina.
Arceus has an ability named Multitype which allows the creature to change it’s type, based off the type of elemental plate it holds. It’s signature move, Judgement, will also change type this way, allowing trainers worthy of capturing thePokémonto adapt their strategy outside of battle.
8Eevee
One of the most recognizable and belovedPokémon,Eevee was the creature that Professor Oak originally planned to give the player inPokémonYellowbefore your rival claims it. It is also the player’s starterPokémonin the gamesPokémon XD: Gale of DarknessandPokémon Conquest.
While Eevee itself is not particularly interesting, its evolutions are what give the creature its place on the Top 10 list. As of generation 6, Eevee can evolve into any one of 8 differentPokémonof various types, allowing players to create a diverse team for battles. In earlier games, Eevee were incredibly rare, with the player being given only one. This meant thatPokémonfans were forced to choose carefully when it came to evolving their furry friend.
7Shuckle
A hidden gem, Shuckle’s unique fighting style is something that many players will never even know to fear. This unassuming turtle-like creature boasts the highest base Special Defense and Defense stats in the game, tying for the latter with Mega Aggron and Mega Steelix. What’s more, Shuckle learns a move named Power Trick, allowing the creature to swap its incredibly high Defense with it’s low Attack stat and temporarily becoming thePokémonwith the highest Attack in any of the currently released games.
While a level 100 Shuckle could potentially deliver the most powerful hit in the game, thePokémonsuffers from the lowest Speed and Special Attack stats. Despite this, Shuckle has a special ability that makes it an invaluable catch to any trainer: giving thePokémona berry will have Shuckle turn it into berry juice. Wait even longer and that berry juice becomes a Rare Candy, capable of increasing anyPokémon’s level by 1.
6Unown
The Unown made their first major appearance in the thirdPokémonmovie: “Spell of the Unown”. The creature resembles a letter of the alphabet, or the question mark or exclamation point symbols. As such, there are actually 28 different varieties of thePokémon.When together in a large group, the Unown are powerful enough to distort reality to suit the dreams and wishes of whoever controls them, though they themselves are fairly weak.
Unown tend to live in their own dimension, rarely entering thePokémonworld. When they do make their appearance, they tend to stick to walls like ancient text or orbit other Unown, being very timid in character. The creatures have been show with the power to perceive the feelings of others, including bothPokémonand human beings.
5Aegislash
Aegislash - the Royal SwordPokémon- is a creature that is known for attending and serving generations of kings in thePokémonworld. As legend tells it, whomever Aegislash recognizes as worthy is destined to become king.
What makes thisPokémontruly unique is its capability to change its form in battle, based on the moves it uses. For offensive attacks, Aegislash enters Blade Forme in which it carries its shield in one arm and exposes its blade. For defensive moves, the creature uses its Shield Forme, holding its shield in front of its blade and crossing its arms behind it. Aegislash is also the only knownPokémonto be able to use King’s Shield, a powerful protection move that will lower the attack of anyPokémonthat makes contact with the user by two stages.
4Rotom
Rotom is anotherPokémonwith the ability to change its form, although it does so in a rather different manner. By possessing the motors of various appliances, the creature can change its appearance and typing at will. While the creature’s base form is made of plasma, it can take the shape of a microwave oven, refrigerator, washing machine, electric fan, or lawnmower.
In every game since Rotom’s introduction, there must be a room filled with these appliances where the player can take their captured Rotom if they wish to change its form. In this way, thePokémonis more of a hassle to change than most of the transforming creatures. In the anime series, Rotom is shown as a prank-lovingPokémonwho also has the ability to travel through time.
3Volcanion
Theonly fire/water Pokemon typein existence, Volcanion’s reveal had a lot of players very excited. Unfortunately, the mythicalPokémonis not yet available to catch in any of the current games although it is the last creature in the Central Kalos and National Pokédex.
Volcanion has a unique organ, capable of turning nearby water vapor into hot steam in an instant and expelling that steam at incredibly high pressure allows thePokémonto blow away whole mountains. In Southern Kalos, Volcanion is even worshiped for creating the plains in which the humans now live. If rumors are true aboutPokémon SunandMoonbeing set in a tropical area, it’s no stretch to imagine that Volcanion may be making it’s appearance as thePokémonthat created the new island.
2Shedinja
A creature based on the discarded skin of a cicada, Shedinja is aPokémonthat can be obtained by evolving a Nincada into a Ninjask whilst there is an extra space in the player’s party. Shedinja has a hollow body, containing no internal organs, and a hard outer shell which floats without moving its wings. According to the Pokédex, it is believed that thisPokémonwill steal the spirit of anyone peering into its hollow body from the crack on its back.
Shedinja is also unique in being the onlyPokémonto have the ability Wonder Guard. This ability makes Shedinja immune to all attacks that are not super effective against it, giving thePokémonan incredible defence against many creatures. However, Shedinja cannot ever obtain more than 1HP, meaning that even one connected hit will spell the end for thePokémon.
1Mewtwo
Fan-favourite Mewtwo was brought into the spotlight in the firstPokémonmovie where he lured the strongest trainers to him, to prove that he was a betterPokémonmaster than any human. Since then, thePokémonhas made many appearances in media, includingreturning as a veteran characterin theSmash Bros.franchise.
Mewtwo is one of the fewPokémonso far to have two different Mega Evolutions, depending on the held Mega Stone. It is also one of the very fewman-madePokémon,being a clone of Mew created by scientists that wished to control the creature’s power. Mewtwo is revealed to have yet another form in the upcomingPokken Tournamentwhere it will transform intoDark Mewtwoand join the fight as a secret playable boss character. So far, nothing is known about the mysterious new Dark form and Mewtwo is the only creature that we have seen take it on.
Ditto
Why bother catching ‘em all when you could just catch one and already have access to everyPokémonyou could ever want? Ditto is aPokémonthat learns only one move: Transform. While this move doesn’t do any damage, it does allow yourPokémonto transform into a perfect clone of your opponent’s creature until the end of the fight. At this point, you can use the moves that your opponent’sPokémonhas learned.
Ditto can prove very useful to breeders who are searching for that perfectPokémonegg as, due to its transforming abilities, the creature can reproduce with nearly every otherPokémonwhen placed together in the Daycare. There’s a popularfan theorysurrounding Ditto that believes the creature to be a failed attempt at cloning Mew before Mewtwo was created. This is due to Ditto and Mew sharing the same weight and color palette (both in shiny and non-shiny form), as well as both being the onlyPokémonto learn transform.
While some are quick to criticize ThePokémonCompany’s work with some designs, there’s no doubt that the majority of the 722 creatures currently revealed took a lot of work to produce. Honestly, when it came down to it, narrowing down the list to just 10 uniquePokémonwas quite the challenge which says a lot about the amount of effort and imagination that has gone into creating such a diverse and interesting world.
Here’s to hoping that Nintendo hits it out of the park with the new additions brought in byPokémon Sunand Moon, as well as with any futurePokémonprojects, of which there will surely be many.
Are there anyPokémonthat you’d put on your own Top 10 UniquePokémonlist? Leave us a comment and let us know.
