Heads up my allergies get REAL bad 2/3rds into the recording sorry for all the nose touching and breaking eye contact, I didn't care enough to rerecord. Subscribe?
Yea but visually, I'd run from a Sandslash or Onix first. The chomps looks like it'll run at 6 mph like a walker zombie instead of a runner. Doesn't look like it can dig with that fat skull.
@@dddmemaybe Well that same logic is what most people say about alot of clunky build wildlife. Until that hippo or polar bear has chased you down and snapped your spine like a twig.
I recently saw Jan on the streets. I went up to him to tell him how I was a big fan. He hit me with a right hook to the jaw, knocked me out, then started dancing around me saying I should have played around the crit. Overall, a wonderful fan interaction!
Very relatable. I was driving on a bridge and waved to him through my car window. He then proceeded to ram me off into the water, and told me I should've thought about the type advantages. Wonderful fan interaction!
There’s something very funny about watching someone as jaded as Jan give genuine compliments. I can feel the pain in his voice when he’s forced to admit that he agrees with the general consensus that charizard is cool
35:20 Kingambit makes more sense once you realise that the chess motif was mostly a localization thing, and that the whole evolutionary line were primarily based on samurai. Kingambit has those big blades all on it's head because that's based on how commanding samurai would have their helmets decked out in a similar fashion The closest to a chess theme it gets in the original Japanese (as far as I can tell) is Pawniard's Japanese name Komatana, which includes the word 'Koma', which is what the pieces in Shogi (Japanese Chess) are called. The localizers must've picked up on that and ran with that naming convention, using it's Western counterpart, for the rest of the evolutionary line
Plus the king cheese piece isn’t a powerful piece regarding movement. It can move to any of the 8 spaces around it, but can only move one space. Kingambit just sitting there still fits with the chess theme
And like… It still does work with the chess theme too? Like the one defining trait of the king is its cross, and Kingambit, with its massive blades sticking out of its face, still represents that.
you asked to be enlightened on the designs you didn't get, so here we go: * wormadam is a bagworm moth, a species whose female doesn't develop its wings and just collects a bunch of stuff and makes that its home, i think it's a very pokémon-y inspiration, and it changing forms on its environment makes a ton of sense. also, the design is like simplistic but pretty cute! * axew line isn't a pseudo legendary! * the elemental monkeys are based on the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" thing, but i'll be the first to say it doesn't really translate well into their design and they do just look like someone went "ooh monke + starter types" bam done! * gumshoos is supposed to look like a detective, but, that REALLY doesn't come across at all, and it just looks insanely ugly. i'm with you on this one. * necrozma is supposed to represent an eclipse. i will say the legendary fusion gimmick is a bit meaningless since it was done so quickly after gen 5, and in gen 8 they did it YET AGAIN. but yeah, that's why it fuses with solgaleo and lunala. in theory that also doesn't really make much sense because a solar eclipse is the moon going in front of the sun, and a lunar eclipse is the earth casting a shadow on the moon, so there isn't really a reason for necrozma to be that middleman, but idk, i think it kinda works! there are worst designs out there! * for hydreigon, the "extra things that look like a flower" are extra appendages that are supposed to help give that hydra feel. a pokemon with nine heads would be way too many, so they had those extra bits there to cover the negative space and make it look bigger and more numerous. it's fair that you don't like it, but i think it's a pretty ingenious solution to the problem, personally. * dedenne seems to be inspired on the french tooth fairy, which is a mouse. but again, not really communicated well in it's concept * kricketune is gives orchestra maestro vibes with it's body shape also resembling a musical instrument, but is also a string instrument player, with its hands that look like bows you'd use on a violin, viola, or cello. it may seem random, but it's based on stridulation, which is the process at which insects produce noise and it's a very interesting parallel to a bow and a string instrument. i for one think kricketune is a fantastic design, and it's incredibly cute. * cosmoem, i know you said you didn't care to learn it, but i'm trying to be thorough, so bear with me. it's a black hole or a neutron star, as explained by it's incredibly small size but gigantic weight. does it make sense for it to evolve into a moon? not really. does it make sense that even if you ignore lunala it goes nebula (star nursery) -> black hole (dead star) -> sun (star)? no not at all. but idk, we also have a remora evolving into an octopus. i don't hate it as much as you do! * pawmot is based on a defibrilator, at least, which is somewhat interesting, until you realize the fact that the only other electric/fighting type, also introduced this generation, is also, a defibrilator. and executes that concept a thousand times better. so pawmot just ends up being a scuffed ugly ass pikaclone with a middle evolution with no reason to exist. yeah, you don't need to not get the design to dislike this one. i'm with you! * after some research i can tell you glalie looks a bit like a hockey mask and and a japanese oni, doesn't really help it's case much i don't think... * kyurem's fusing is actually inspired on the taoism idea of wuji in taoism (absence of yin and yang, aka zekrom and reshiram), so it fusing with them and taking aspects of them kinda makes sense, like it's not bound by the strict boundaries of yin and yang, so it can navigate one or both of them if it wants to. the only sad thing is we never got the original dragon, so the concept feels unfinished... * after some reasearch i can't land on something solid for eternatus, bulbapedia lists a lot of things, but none of them really add up to me. i'm with you on this one. * farfetch'd is a duck holding a leak because of a japanese idiom. it'd be like if they made a flying pig pokémon. meh :| i agree with you here * yveltal has a very deep inspiration actually. it's reminiscent of a long-tailed widowbird to make that Y shape. it also bears resemblance to many birds of mythology like the celtic morrigan, and the norse hræsvelgr and vðrfölnir. all of which are associated with death, corpses, war, etc... * carbink and diancie are based on the carbuncle, a creature of chilean folklore! diancie in particular may be a pun on the "princess cut" of jewels, it seems. i'm 90% sure their relationship is "carbink was supposed to be a pre-evolution but they wanted another mythical", but since there's no confirmation of that. some theories people have suggested is that it's an eusociality situation (basically diancie is like a queen bee). or that it's a mutation of carbink! * porygon-z is like a computer glitch or corrupted data with how it moves so weird and all that. i'm not the biggest fan, but i think it works within its line very nicely! * the ring around floatzel is a buoy! this is a buoy / lifeguard pokémon! * jellicent is inspired on the japanese nurarihyon, which is a jellifish yokai that desguises itself as humans with fancy clothing and all that. although, it is a known fact that this pokémon used to be pure water-type and was given a ghost-type later for gameplay reasons, its designer has even come out and stated that they don't like jellicent being a ghost :( * tangela is based on swamp monsters and seaweed monsters of pop culture. also possibly medusa. the feet i have no idea about though, they're very cursed. * ampharos is a sheared sheep and a lighthouse * forretress is also kind of a bagworm, but this time it's hiding in what looks like a horse chestnut. pineco is a grenade or caltrops, and forretress continues on that theme with gun turrets and cannons, while also resembling a bomb somewhat. * darmanitan is designed after burning daruma dolls, these dolls, in turn, are modeled after the legendary buddhist monk budhidharma. zen mode darmanitan likely is modeled after this monk, meditation and achieving enlightenment and all that! that's all, hope it was insightful :D
Eternatus is just meant to be kind of alien and spooky, so it looks out of place on purpose. Yveltal, along with Xerneas and Yveltal, are probably mostly based on Norse mythology. Xerneas is based on myths about 4 stags which eat at Yggdrasil and make the rivers with their horns. Zygarde is based on Nidhoggr, a dragon that chews the roots of Yggdrasil. Yveltal is probably based on an eagle referenced in myths about an eagle that lived on top of the world tree. They don’t line up perfectly with the dynamics between the legendaries compared to the myths, but the idea of the stag, the bird, and the dragon is there.
I gotta disagree with you on the elemental monkeys, I think they're a fun design based on the mantra. Panpour is "See no evil," and so has its eyes closed. Pansear is based on "Hear no evil," represented by the hand always by its ear. Pansage does suffer a bit due to the cultural barrier though. It's essentially a deliquent, the pompadour in particular brings to mind Japan's history of Yankii culture. This represents "Speak no evil" as they are stereotypically loud and foul-mouthed. Personally, I think the designs are clever. I may not change your mind on them, but I hope I at least gave you a bit more appreciation for the designs.☺
Necrozma is supposed to be a corpse, much like Kyurem which I think is the reason whe says that they're so similar. Both have a crystal theme and very geometrical designs, but Necrozma takes more the form of a telescope/cannon made out of crystals. And viciously unlike Kyurem, who still has flesh, Necrozma is a skeleton constantly in a huge deal of pain (to the point that it has completely insane episodes, and the pain never dulls and gets more extreme as times goes on which like ok GameFreak?). The Dusk forms are not really supposed to be eclipses, or at least not the physical but the alchemical idea of an eclipse (and the Japanese name literally mean "moon eater"/"sun eater"). It doesn't hide, but absorbs, and unlike Kyurem who is very much a fusion tho incomplete, Necrozma is more of a parasite highjacking the duo's functions to produce enough energy for a Z explosion? (forgot the name of the ultra form transformation). The godlike/angel status of U-Necrozma, to a point where it was called "The Radiant One" instead of a having a proper name, really gives the impression that Necrozma is trying to reascend. What's weird tho is that, unlike Calyrex (who represents a symbiotic relationship) and Kyurem, Necrozma has barley anything to do with Solgaleo and Lunala? They're even barely a trio, the only thing that links them together is Necrozma sharing Sol/Lun's battle theme in SM, and Necrozma's ability to open wormholes in USUM and ofc their fusion (which is implied to have been done for a practical purpose rather than a necessity, as Necrozma only needs light which Sol/Lun so happen to be able to produce).
There were a few more to debate about. Zebstrika: for this, I gotta 1st repeat what he said only a few seconds b4 it "you didnt even try bro. What is this?" while critiquing it. His argument basically boils down to it being a bigger version of its pre-evo which can be applied to others too, but u picked this cool, edgy zebra to be this low of all things. & what's your issue with 2 bolts on its head anyways? Its zigzaggy patterns all over its body just feels natural with the Pokémon. Bombirdier: its dark typing comes from the fact that real stroks can be...wicked & the Pkmn version of it cant be that bad, so it throws rocks rather than its eggs. The bomber planes, dressed like a nanny getup, it's a blend of many different things come together. Al-Geodude: I also am a hater of Diglett myself, so I'll not gonna say Im defending it, but for Geodude & Graveler, they share a parallel with Sandy Shocks & Probopass, attracting pieces of metal by magnetism to their bodies which appear like body hair. Among other Alolan forms, they dont stand out much & do become sort of forgettable so I understand the lack of care for them.
Porygon-Z is great design. Porygon upgrades into p2 with an upgrade disk. When you try to further upgrade using an upgrade of dubios origin (dubious disk) your p2 gets corrupted (or maybe gets a virus) and it gets scrambled. This is further reflected by not gaining any stats upon evolution, but instead stats getting scrambled, and 2 becoming Z which have a "similar" silhouette. Honestly a super great progression for the Porygon line
10:19 A fun fact about Haxorus is that the evolution line was designed backwards. Someone designed Haxorus, and they proceeded to make Fraxure and Axew based off of Haxorus's design.
Im angry about the haxorus ranking because IN MY OPINION axew is cute, fraxure sucks balls and whenever I get it I can’t wait for it to become its cool older broth Haxorus, haxorus is cool ig kinda wished it was bug dragon tho ugh because a stab first impression from that would be terrifying and it gets some goos bug moves.
I think this is the first Pokemon ranking list I've seen on RUclips that really takes game feel into account in the rankings. So much more thought goes into a Pokemon than how it looks, especially nowadays, that I think often goes unappreciated by a lot of people. Things like how the Pokemon battles, how it fits into the world, real world origins, how funny they are, how it differentiates itself from the others, all that stuff is important too
@@absollnk the og designer of pokemon talked about his process and a lot of the time he liked to take things that were "cool" then add doofy traits to them to make them unique, like how dragonite is a big fat doofy dragon
That's why I'm actually kind of in agreement with him about lumineon and finneon. Sometimes you do need those nothing mons that just fill up the world. Finneon is definitely the thing that bigger, badder water types eat.
@@stingerbrgI know that 😂 I think they both should be though, especially Volcorona the lore makes it sound like a legendary by itself and I think it does the pseudo legend type of weak little guy transforming into a literal monster really well.
Does Jan know that Hydreigon is SUPPOSED to look like a flower....? It starts as a bud around the head, then blooms more until the third evolution. Based on the name of the flower Hydrangea + Dragon, it's literally a flower dragon and I think it's awesome. Also German 1-3 "eins zwei drei" was incorporated into the naming scheme as it grows another head with each evolution. Just that knowledge of a few seemingly completely unrelated things coming together to make a Pokémon line made me appreciate it more.
There IS an explanation for the goth design. They were introduced in the generation that was set in New York City. The designers visited the city for ideas first and saw piles of trash, people dressed in all black, kids in hoodies and baggy pants, and strong men carrying around steel beams on construction projects, and turned them all into Pokémon. Every Pokémon game is filled with social commentary like that, but you may not have caught it due to most of the games being set in Japan. Ex. that town in Kanto that has Grimer infesting a pool in the middle of town.
To expand on your thoughts on Goodra, I feel it is the perfect RPG table-flip. It starts out as a Slime. The quintessential 'first RPG enemy,' the weakest of the weak, but eventually trains itself and evolves INTO A DRAGON. One of the most badass, often -strongest- RPG enemies. A wonderful resolution of it's entire line.
@@eduvieira2022 There is no joke here, we all just really like Lilligant. However, there was a event in the 2012 in the anime that changed the character and the fan base in relation to the economy. For more information search: "Lilligant inflation"
Something so wholesome about Jan, who in his runs generally uses pokemon as tools and is very technical about the games, just gushing about his love towards the little critters towards the end of the video. Genuinely put a smile on my face.
I always assumed the Intelion line progression was. Sad child with a tragic past ya know like a lot action heroes, then that sad child becomes an angsty trouble maker, and learns on the streets and the becomes cool and suave spy using his skills for something else. Also its honestly kind of funny that he love Lumineon and Finneon for the same reason he shat on most of the other standard fish pokemon.
I do prefer the older zangoose art with the purple claws. It really showed the rivalry between it and seviper with seviper having the red tail and fangs and zangoose with purple claws to show how they fight each other
I will defend Whirmadam, it is a bagworm. You most likely have seen them without realizing it. I think it is a cool idea, cool how they gave it variations, and i think the execution is pretty good. Inwould likely never use one, but much like manh pokemon, think it sorta fills out the pokemon world
I was coming here go put this comment even though we all know Jan will bever read them and does not care. I think they did alright going from inspiration to final design on wormadam, but I still don't like it because it really doesn't do anything and just isn't good imo.
Hydreigon's (my favorite Pokémon) flower like design you brought up can be attributed to the Hydrangea flower, which I think has some relevance in its design.
10:45 the elemental monkeys are based on the "See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil" Japanese proverb. Panpour is "See no evil", because it has its eyes closed, Pansear is based on "Hear no evil" because of the hand near its ear, and Pansage is based on "Speak no evil" because uh.... It's the only one that wasn't taken by the other two.
I thought it was more to do with their evos- Pansear being an unnecessarily loud biker, Panpour being a whore???? (I swear to God this is what I remember from a yt vid 5 years ago), and Pansage I forgot. All of these being common sinful people in Japanese culture.
Iirc they're also assigned their own Japanese hooligan tropes and Pansage is based on rowdy street punks who are typically obnoxiously loud and swear a lot.
44:43 in Japan Octillery is called Okutank and in Japanese Octozooka is called Okutank Canon. This makes Octillery one of if not the only pokemon to have a move named after it I think that makes it a very cool Pokemon overall
I had a bout of panic as I struggled to think about what pokémon I missed in that perfect game, but then... I saw that man on the street... STILL WAITING ALL THESE WEEKS LATER FOR ME TO SHOW HIM A CHERUBI.
Someone pull up that old flowchart of how Jan rates his viewers' favorite Pokemons, I believe the outcomes were "Based/Simp" "This pokemon looks/is so bad" and "Normie pick"
I’d say my taste in Pokémon designs has leaned more to the cuter side of Pokémon instead of just the cool ones as a kid. I still love loads of “cool” Pokémon, but my preferences shifted a little. For example, I used to not really care for Ninetales, but it’s one of my Top 10 favorites ever now for how pretty and elegant of a Gen 1 design it is. And now my taste is rather…unfortunate, because a lot of my favorites are Pokémon that people see in a rather, *ahem* peculiar light. Example, Lopunny. I used one back in a playthough because I liked how strong the Mega was, only for me to realize I didn’t get the Mega til postgame, which made me appreciate the base design (this was Ultra Moon for those curious). It ended up becoming one of my favorite Pokémon ever for legitimate reasons, but we all know what happens when you say the rabbit is one of your favorites these days
oh I'm like the opposite :O as a kid I'd stick so much more to cute ones (I was obsessed with eeveelutions) but nowadays I enjoy the cool n weird ones more. it's kinda neat how one's likes change with time despite the object of liking remains the same
I personally believe poliwhirl has a purpose. This mainly stems from the fact that to get a poliwrath you use a water stone. By adding this middle stage it at least adds a small level barrier between obtaining such a powerful pokemon as some games give you the water stone early on. It also helps give something somewhat substantial in a fight before you get a stone for games that hold off on giving the player one.
I love how Jan literally lifts Zangoose in the air in the thumbnail, while Zangoose weighs 88.8 lbs (40.3 kg) in the Pokédex. He’s basically Ash confirmed. Also, I love how unimpressed Zangoose looks as well.
The only good thing about Seel is that it's the perfect pokemon to point to to disprove the "pokemon designs have gotten so lazy" argument. It is literally just a seal named Seel and we've had it from the very beginning. Some designs just suck, and that's true no matter what the game
I think its more a matter of the amount of lazy designs per gen rather than earlier gens having no lazy designs. The first gen had its fair share of duds but, at least in my opinion, the later gens got really bad about it. Just my subjective 2 cents.
@@lyrathekitkat Fair enough. I think that the first 2 gens get somewhat of a pass as they were still figuring out what works and what doesn't. The newer gens don't get that pass from me as they've had more than enough time to get it together. But again, just my subjective opinion.
@@andrewmetzenroth5631 While modern generations had more time to figure out what a Pokémon is supposed to be, they instead have the challenge of finding something unique that hasn't been done before but still feels pokémon. That's why i feel some of the newer designs feel too "forced" or "gimmicky". finding something new after over 1000 pokémon without going off the rails completely is really diffifcult.
I 'liked' when you referred to shinx as a "failure" cause that was jaiden's shinx in her nuzlock and I feel like you did that subconsciously and I appreciate that
So one of the fun things I recently learned of the poliwag line is that Poliwrath was originally supposed to look more regal, with a crown on it's head. But Gamefreak thought against it because it made it look weaker and not very intimidating. Instead, they removed the crown and made it just look like an angry Poliwhirl. To fix this in Gen 2, they made Politoed evolve with the King's Rock, giving it it's crown back. That's why Poliwrath is just angry-eyes Poliwhirl.
I think the reason why you rate Rattata so highly is because it also follows the RPG trope of ‘Beginner enemy’ it’s a rat, with one string attached; it’s a Pokémon, so it follows the rule of being able to join your team and fight the other rats.
The number of people's favourites you skim over as mid is frankly astonishing Also you included my personal favourite in that (Misdreavus) so that gets upgraded to being a crime.
Personally, Iron Valiant as a design is #1 for me. Gallade is my favorite, so Iron Valiant being a futuristic fusion of gallade and gardevoir, while having a double sided blade as a weapon is just badass.
Metagross is a supercomputer that floats mgnetically, each leg is a Beldum, they fuse together explaining why Metang has only two, I think it's badass as a Psychic type due to being so cerebral, literally multiple cortexes
25:30 fair take on Kyurem but I feel like him being incomplete is the whole point of Kyurem, he's supposed to be this "missing link" between the big dragon that was once Reshiram and Zekrom combined, that's also why the fusion ones look like abominations, because he's still not complete, he's only fused with Reshiram or Zekrom, not both. Also Ghetsis kind of forces kyurem to fuse so making them look like monstrosities works well for the boss fight against them imo, its like you're not even really fighting a pokemon so much as a big ass mutant freak that wasn't supposed to be made
Since you asked :) Floettes ear things are supposed to be pigtails, like young girls have. Wormadam are bagworms in different camouflage. Intelieon is double o seven, James bond-007, in reference to its Pokédex number (maybe bond was an emo sad kid? I dunno) Kriketune is a maestro! That’s why it’s got the mustache and coat. The hands are like the conductor stick! It’s also a violin🎻 for some reason Pretty sure cacturn is supposed to be part scarecrow. So that’s why it looks like a dude. Kyuurem is supposed to look unfinished, but that doesn’t mean it was done in a satisfying way Eternatus: I see a virus warped to look like a dragon. Togekiss, I think it was trying to keep the egg shape… which tuned it into a plane.. and therefore lost the cohesion. Pretty sure feraligatrs buttcheeks are just the top hump of its tail and the lateral view of its thigh lol I think jynx is an ice type for the same reason flosslass is an ice type-but done very badly. Absols head knives are supposed to be the yin and Yang symbols. Frillish is ghost probably because of the real life phantom jellyfish and how jellyfish in general have a ghostlike appearance-not sure why they’re being associated with royalty Tangela is a naked man man in a clump of vines-he has shoes because otherwise it hurts when he walks. Ampharos is based on a Japanese legend that I know nothing about (this legend also explains its Megas dragon typing). Meowscarada is a magician, not an avenger. Think Joker, not Batman-the mask is theatrical, like a masquerade (in your defense roserade is also based off masquerade😅) Sharpedo: People like to paint shark faces on boats, missles , water toys; I’ve even seen a shark face on a space rocket before
The idea just hit me that roar of time should have encore as a second effect. Works with the lore and even if it's broken its a legendary so it makes sense (if necessary you could lower the BP)
Burmy line is based on the bagworm moth. The males progress into full moths (like Mothim) while the females stay in a "pupa" or "bag" through their whole adulthood. Bagworms make their protective coverings out of random materials around them, such as sand, leaves, or litter.
Listen, I don't like Bombirdier's apron either, but it being a Bombardier aircraft that drops rocks instead of delivering babies is one of my favourite design inspirations of gen 9. I also carry a torch for it because I've never heard a single person pronounce it like it's French (bom-BIRD-jyay) like it's namesake (bom-BARD-jyay) and I can only take so much.
My all-time favourite is Iron Valiant because its strongly androgynous design is such a vibe. Other than that I love all dog pokemon, with my favourite either being Yamper or Rockruff. I don't know my best friend's favourite but he loves the Slowbro line, Whiskash, Lombre, Spinda, and Audino. He just loves both modestly cute and silly dopey pokemon.
you have potentially the hottest/most based take on pokemon design in the community, and I HEAVILY respect you for sharing this. SO MANY fan favorites ranked low and it's too good. keep being you jan
I think this entire tier list can be summed up with: he has trouble understanding conplex ideas for pokemon but also doesnt like it when theyre simple enough for him to understand
Emboar is the perfect in design of what a Fire and Fighting type is when actually made together. There is no lean towards more of one, its completely balanced and hes the big pig who can learn Scald. Emboar is so cool and when you treat it right its super faithful.
Swellow just got that confident and smug attitude it's saying "you can count on/depend on me to carry you" and it's ability/move list backs that up. Gigachad
Gonna try and give explanation for designs that I know: The Intelion Line is meant to show growth in confidence. Veluza is a sword fish taken literally- Kricketune - A Maestro played with the idea that krickets at night play music at night. Cosmoem is based on a neutron star I believe. Nincada: Potato bug Kyurem is unfinished. Kinda its whole design point. Swallot: diamonds are supposed to represent royalty (or upper class) in a way and how they are usually gluttonous. Chimecho: Windchimes that look exwctly like it. Porygon Z: A porygon 2 that has become glitched as a result of being given a dubious disk with a ton of viruses and glitches on it. Sandyghast: I believe its a play how castles in general are haunted, but its a sand castle instead of a regular castle. Foretress is meant to represent a bunker with the "pipes" being old style cannons.
The quickfire at the start is just me throwing my hands up in confusion at some of his choices, and by the time I was about to put my hands down, another crazy choice arrived.
35:23 I always felt like the Pawniard line didn't really work with the chess idea. However, when you consider the Japanese names, you'll see why. According to Bulbapedia: Pawniard's Japanese name is Komatana and may be a combination of 駒 koma (a piece in the board game Shogi), 細切れ komagire (small pieces), and 刀 katana (sword) or 小刀 kogatana (knife). Bisharp's Japanese name is Kirikizan and may be a combination of 切り刻む kirikizamu (to mince) and 斬 zan (to cut or slay). Kingambit's Japanese name is Dodogezan and may be a combination of ど do (very much), 土下座 dogeza (kneeling down on the ground), and 斬 zan (to cut or slay). So the English naming concept of chess pieces most likely originated from the "koma" in Komatana. However, the Japanese naming concept is based on blades and cutting/slaying. (Btw I literally researched this during the video cuz I considered if the designs might make more sense if they were shogi pieces instead of chess pieces, but nah the entire theme was just different)
jan the ideas you have on how to work an ad into the video to ensure people actually watch it are truly impressive; there must be a ton of work put in to make sure it comes across as clever and not annoying. i want you to know i see it and i appreciate it. whatever your sponsors are paying you, they need to fucking double it
Nincada is actually not the only Bug/Ground type, but I don't blame you for not knowing because the only other one is Wormadam-Sandy (I didn't even know they were dual type at first)
Uses for Qwilfish: Rain & Swift Swim sweeper Fell Stinger sweeper Suicide lead (toxic spikes) Destiny Bond Its typing is pretty good too, having 8 resistances and 3 weaknesses. Rock and Ground both resist poison, but water typing can cover that, giving Qwilfish's dual type a good synergy.
Heads up my allergies get REAL bad 2/3rds into the recording sorry for all the nose touching and breaking eye contact, I didn't care enough to rerecord.
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your hair looks really good in this video
Get well man, also funny vídeo.
I really like that.
the way you said suicune is wack
Vivillion has different patterns in Pokemon go depending on where in the world you are so it encourages you to go to new places
So many of my fav Pokémon in the mid scroll 💀
I am ready for an hour and a half of a tier list that I do not agree with
Literally first pokemon in broooo
I really can't disagree more with his opinion hahah
First 10 seconds: "This is not a tier list"
I’m ready for an hour and a half of a tier list I don’t even care about lmao
I definitely don't agree with him, but I can respect his opinions because he's not an ass about it XD
Jan saying that Garchomp wouldn't terrify him in real life gives off real "I could totally fight a bear" vibes
Tbh, fighting a bear isn't that hard, it's the horribly painful death from being mauled part that really gets ya.
Yea but visually, I'd run from a Sandslash or Onix first. The chomps looks like it'll run at 6 mph like a walker zombie instead of a runner. Doesn't look like it can dig with that fat skull.
@@dddmemaybe Well that same logic is what most people say about alot of clunky build wildlife. Until that hippo or polar bear has chased you down and snapped your spine like a twig.
@@dddmemaybeand when it starts to fly over you you’ll lose your mind lmao bro is literally a jet
I mean just throw some homemade ice at it
I recently saw Jan on the streets. I went up to him to tell him how I was a big fan. He hit me with a right hook to the jaw, knocked me out, then started dancing around me saying I should have played around the crit. Overall, a wonderful fan interaction!
Very relatable. I was driving on a bridge and waved to him through my car window. He then proceeded to ram me off into the water, and told me I should've thought about the type advantages. Wonderful fan interaction!
How did you know about the parts you were unconscious for?
@@DarkwingDashhe’s the trainer and the mon at the same time
Lets be honest, this dude throws a punch he's missing and falling over lmao
Oh god I’m having Hungrybox flashbacks
Jan noticed that the Pokemon community was starting to actually like him, so he put this out so he could be the villain again.
That's funny but also true
There’s something very funny about watching someone as jaded as Jan give genuine compliments. I can feel the pain in his voice when he’s forced to admit that he agrees with the general consensus that charizard is cool
Yeah nothing like missing half of your health due to stealth rocks eh?
@@Arcana_zero_studios yea but hes cool fire drag- flying... fire... lizard....
@@Arcana_zero_studios not anymore thanks to Heavy Duty Boots.
@@Ryodracosalac berry Belly drum charizard X
It's nice to hear you nerd out about pokemon without numbers involved lmao
Ayo a wild Cal spotted under a jan video
True, even though he found a way to put numbers to it making a numerical ranking list from 0 to 100 lol
35:20 Kingambit makes more sense once you realise that the chess motif was mostly a localization thing, and that the whole evolutionary line were primarily based on samurai. Kingambit has those big blades all on it's head because that's based on how commanding samurai would have their helmets decked out in a similar fashion
The closest to a chess theme it gets in the original Japanese (as far as I can tell) is Pawniard's Japanese name Komatana, which includes the word 'Koma', which is what the pieces in Shogi (Japanese Chess) are called. The localizers must've picked up on that and ran with that naming convention, using it's Western counterpart, for the rest of the evolutionary line
Plus the king cheese piece isn’t a powerful piece regarding movement. It can move to any of the 8 spaces around it, but can only move one space. Kingambit just sitting there still fits with the chess theme
And like… It still does work with the chess theme too? Like the one defining trait of the king is its cross, and Kingambit, with its massive blades sticking out of its face, still represents that.
you asked to be enlightened on the designs you didn't get, so here we go:
* wormadam is a bagworm moth, a species whose female doesn't develop its wings and just collects a bunch of stuff and makes that its home, i think it's a very pokémon-y inspiration, and it changing forms on its environment makes a ton of sense. also, the design is like simplistic but pretty cute!
* axew line isn't a pseudo legendary!
* the elemental monkeys are based on the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" thing, but i'll be the first to say it doesn't really translate well into their design and they do just look like someone went "ooh monke + starter types" bam done!
* gumshoos is supposed to look like a detective, but, that REALLY doesn't come across at all, and it just looks insanely ugly. i'm with you on this one.
* necrozma is supposed to represent an eclipse. i will say the legendary fusion gimmick is a bit meaningless since it was done so quickly after gen 5, and in gen 8 they did it YET AGAIN. but yeah, that's why it fuses with solgaleo and lunala. in theory that also doesn't really make much sense because a solar eclipse is the moon going in front of the sun, and a lunar eclipse is the earth casting a shadow on the moon, so there isn't really a reason for necrozma to be that middleman, but idk, i think it kinda works! there are worst designs out there!
* for hydreigon, the "extra things that look like a flower" are extra appendages that are supposed to help give that hydra feel. a pokemon with nine heads would be way too many, so they had those extra bits there to cover the negative space and make it look bigger and more numerous. it's fair that you don't like it, but i think it's a pretty ingenious solution to the problem, personally.
* dedenne seems to be inspired on the french tooth fairy, which is a mouse. but again, not really communicated well in it's concept
* kricketune is gives orchestra maestro vibes with it's body shape also resembling a musical instrument, but is also a string instrument player, with its hands that look like bows you'd use on a violin, viola, or cello. it may seem random, but it's based on stridulation, which is the process at which insects produce noise and it's a very interesting parallel to a bow and a string instrument. i for one think kricketune is a fantastic design, and it's incredibly cute.
* cosmoem, i know you said you didn't care to learn it, but i'm trying to be thorough, so bear with me. it's a black hole or a neutron star, as explained by it's incredibly small size but gigantic weight. does it make sense for it to evolve into a moon? not really. does it make sense that even if you ignore lunala it goes nebula (star nursery) -> black hole (dead star) -> sun (star)? no not at all. but idk, we also have a remora evolving into an octopus. i don't hate it as much as you do!
* pawmot is based on a defibrilator, at least, which is somewhat interesting, until you realize the fact that the only other electric/fighting type, also introduced this generation, is also, a defibrilator. and executes that concept a thousand times better. so pawmot just ends up being a scuffed ugly ass pikaclone with a middle evolution with no reason to exist. yeah, you don't need to not get the design to dislike this one. i'm with you!
* after some research i can tell you glalie looks a bit like a hockey mask and and a japanese oni, doesn't really help it's case much i don't think...
* kyurem's fusing is actually inspired on the taoism idea of wuji in taoism (absence of yin and yang, aka zekrom and reshiram), so it fusing with them and taking aspects of them kinda makes sense, like it's not bound by the strict boundaries of yin and yang, so it can navigate one or both of them if it wants to. the only sad thing is we never got the original dragon, so the concept feels unfinished...
* after some reasearch i can't land on something solid for eternatus, bulbapedia lists a lot of things, but none of them really add up to me. i'm with you on this one.
* farfetch'd is a duck holding a leak because of a japanese idiom. it'd be like if they made a flying pig pokémon. meh :| i agree with you here
* yveltal has a very deep inspiration actually. it's reminiscent of a long-tailed widowbird to make that Y shape. it also bears resemblance to many birds of mythology like the celtic morrigan, and the norse hræsvelgr and vðrfölnir. all of which are associated with death, corpses, war, etc...
* carbink and diancie are based on the carbuncle, a creature of chilean folklore! diancie in particular may be a pun on the "princess cut" of jewels, it seems. i'm 90% sure their relationship is "carbink was supposed to be a pre-evolution but they wanted another mythical", but since there's no confirmation of that. some theories people have suggested is that it's an eusociality situation (basically diancie is like a queen bee). or that it's a mutation of carbink!
* porygon-z is like a computer glitch or corrupted data with how it moves so weird and all that. i'm not the biggest fan, but i think it works within its line very nicely!
* the ring around floatzel is a buoy! this is a buoy / lifeguard pokémon!
* jellicent is inspired on the japanese nurarihyon, which is a jellifish yokai that desguises itself as humans with fancy clothing and all that. although, it is a known fact that this pokémon used to be pure water-type and was given a ghost-type later for gameplay reasons, its designer has even come out and stated that they don't like jellicent being a ghost :(
* tangela is based on swamp monsters and seaweed monsters of pop culture. also possibly medusa. the feet i have no idea about though, they're very cursed.
* ampharos is a sheared sheep and a lighthouse
* forretress is also kind of a bagworm, but this time it's hiding in what looks like a horse chestnut. pineco is a grenade or caltrops, and forretress continues on that theme with gun turrets and cannons, while also resembling a bomb somewhat.
* darmanitan is designed after burning daruma dolls, these dolls, in turn, are modeled after the legendary buddhist monk budhidharma. zen mode darmanitan likely is modeled after this monk, meditation and achieving enlightenment and all that!
that's all, hope it was insightful :D
Eternatus is just meant to be kind of alien and spooky, so it looks out of place on purpose.
Yveltal, along with Xerneas and Yveltal, are probably mostly based on Norse mythology. Xerneas is based on myths about 4 stags which eat at Yggdrasil and make the rivers with their horns. Zygarde is based on Nidhoggr, a dragon that chews the roots of Yggdrasil. Yveltal is probably based on an eagle referenced in myths about an eagle that lived on top of the world tree. They don’t line up perfectly with the dynamics between the legendaries compared to the myths, but the idea of the stag, the bird, and the dragon is there.
Grateful
I gotta disagree with you on the elemental monkeys, I think they're a fun design based on the mantra. Panpour is "See no evil," and so has its eyes closed. Pansear is based on "Hear no evil," represented by the hand always by its ear. Pansage does suffer a bit due to the cultural barrier though. It's essentially a deliquent, the pompadour in particular brings to mind Japan's history of Yankii culture. This represents "Speak no evil" as they are stereotypically loud and foul-mouthed.
Personally, I think the designs are clever. I may not change your mind on them, but I hope I at least gave you a bit more appreciation for the designs.☺
Necrozma is supposed to be a corpse, much like Kyurem which I think is the reason whe says that they're so similar.
Both have a crystal theme and very geometrical designs, but Necrozma takes more the form of a telescope/cannon made out of crystals.
And viciously unlike Kyurem, who still has flesh, Necrozma is a skeleton constantly in a huge deal of pain (to the point that it has completely insane episodes, and the pain never dulls and gets more extreme as times goes on which like ok GameFreak?).
The Dusk forms are not really supposed to be eclipses, or at least not the physical but the alchemical idea of an eclipse (and the Japanese name literally mean "moon eater"/"sun eater").
It doesn't hide, but absorbs, and unlike Kyurem who is very much a fusion tho incomplete, Necrozma is more of a parasite highjacking the duo's functions to produce enough energy for a Z explosion? (forgot the name of the ultra form transformation).
The godlike/angel status of U-Necrozma, to a point where it was called "The Radiant One" instead of a having a proper name, really gives the impression that Necrozma is trying to reascend.
What's weird tho is that, unlike Calyrex (who represents a symbiotic relationship) and Kyurem, Necrozma has barley anything to do with Solgaleo and Lunala?
They're even barely a trio, the only thing that links them together is Necrozma sharing Sol/Lun's battle theme in SM, and Necrozma's ability to open wormholes in USUM and ofc their fusion (which is implied to have been done for a practical purpose rather than a necessity, as Necrozma only needs light which Sol/Lun so happen to be able to produce).
There were a few more to debate about.
Zebstrika: for this, I gotta 1st repeat what he said only a few seconds b4 it "you didnt even try bro. What is this?" while critiquing it. His argument basically boils down to it being a bigger version of its pre-evo which can be applied to others too, but u picked this cool, edgy zebra to be this low of all things. & what's your issue with 2 bolts on its head anyways? Its zigzaggy patterns all over its body just feels natural with the Pokémon.
Bombirdier: its dark typing comes from the fact that real stroks can be...wicked & the Pkmn version of it cant be that bad, so it throws rocks rather than its eggs. The bomber planes, dressed like a nanny getup, it's a blend of many different things come together.
Al-Geodude: I also am a hater of Diglett myself, so I'll not gonna say Im defending it, but for Geodude & Graveler, they share a parallel with Sandy Shocks & Probopass, attracting pieces of metal by magnetism to their bodies which appear like body hair. Among other Alolan forms, they dont stand out much & do become sort of forgettable so I understand the lack of care for them.
honestly skipping over the mid mons is incredibly based
Agreed, there's just so much filler that wasn't worth the runtime. Much better to focus on the interesting takes!
I thought the same thing so I had Alpharad’s stream on while he was going over the mid tiers
@@wezletbullock7424even more based
@@wezletbullock7424 you opened a stream for literally 2 mins of a vid?
Yeah, but holy shit some of the mons in mid teir deserve an explanation. Gardevoir, iron valiant, roaring moon, what the fuck?
Porygon-Z is great design. Porygon upgrades into p2 with an upgrade disk. When you try to further upgrade using an upgrade of dubios origin (dubious disk) your p2 gets corrupted (or maybe gets a virus) and it gets scrambled.
This is further reflected by not gaining any stats upon evolution, but instead stats getting scrambled, and 2 becoming Z which have a "similar" silhouette.
Honestly a super great progression for the Porygon line
Tbh based on thay description alone, it would make sooo much sense for porygon Z to have moody as an ability, showing how unstable it is
10:19 A fun fact about Haxorus is that the evolution line was designed backwards. Someone designed Haxorus, and they proceeded to make Fraxure and Axew based off of Haxorus's design.
Another fun fact, it's not a psuedo
Im angry about the haxorus ranking because IN MY OPINION axew is cute, fraxure sucks balls and whenever I get it I can’t wait for it to become its cool older broth Haxorus, haxorus is cool ig kinda wished it was bug dragon tho ugh because a stab first impression from that would be terrifying and it gets some goos bug moves.
@@TrashCanDolfieit was satire
I think this is the first Pokemon ranking list I've seen on RUclips that really takes game feel into account in the rankings. So much more thought goes into a Pokemon than how it looks, especially nowadays, that I think often goes unappreciated by a lot of people. Things like how the Pokemon battles, how it fits into the world, real world origins, how funny they are, how it differentiates itself from the others, all that stuff is important too
"how funny is it" is a HUGE factor for me in everything and nobody ever considers it
this is the first pokemon design ranking list that rates pokemon off of gameplay
@@absollnk the og designer of pokemon talked about his process and a lot of the time he liked to take things that were "cool" then add doofy traits to them to make them unique, like how dragonite is a big fat doofy dragon
@@absollnkso clodsire is top tier?
That's why I'm actually kind of in agreement with him about lumineon and finneon. Sometimes you do need those nothing mons that just fill up the world. Finneon is definitely the thing that bigger, badder water types eat.
Jan is back with the 'gotta pay bills' video.
My favorite type of videos.
So true and it's very funny.
I mean considering his last video was demonitized for no reason can’t blame him lol
Don't worry though, he's touching major grass when he's not here! Not playing league of legends all day like an incel lmao
@@showsister69 Cause remember kids. Incels. Always. Plays. League.
Now if you don't mind me booting up this ranked match...
Jan: critiques Shelgon for looking like a medicine ball
also Jan: I love whirlipede so much
In the haxorous lines defense, they aren’t actually psuedo legendaries. The design and dragon typing just makes them seem as if they are
I never understood why Haxorous and Volcorona weren’t pseudo legends
@@willevensen7130 pseudo-legends have a BST of 600. Haxorous has 540 and Volcarona has 550.
@@stingerbrg I strongly feel that is not what they meant.
@@stingerbrgI know that 😂 I think they both should be though, especially Volcorona the lore makes it sound like a legendary by itself and I think it does the pseudo legend type of weak little guy transforming into a literal monster really well.
AND insanely high attack stat.
Does Jan know that Hydreigon is SUPPOSED to look like a flower....? It starts as a bud around the head, then blooms more until the third evolution. Based on the name of the flower Hydrangea + Dragon, it's literally a flower dragon and I think it's awesome. Also German 1-3 "eins zwei drei" was incorporated into the naming scheme as it grows another head with each evolution.
Just that knowledge of a few seemingly completely unrelated things coming together to make a Pokémon line made me appreciate it more.
I thought it was a hydra? Isn't that the whole point of the three heads?
@@AirGlobalTicketHouseYeah, I've never heard the flower theory
There IS an explanation for the goth design. They were introduced in the generation that was set in New York City. The designers visited the city for ideas first and saw piles of trash, people dressed in all black, kids in hoodies and baggy pants, and strong men carrying around steel beams on construction projects, and turned them all into Pokémon. Every Pokémon game is filled with social commentary like that, but you may not have caught it due to most of the games being set in Japan. Ex. that town in Kanto that has Grimer infesting a pool in the middle of town.
To expand on your thoughts on Goodra, I feel it is the perfect RPG table-flip. It starts out as a Slime. The quintessential 'first RPG enemy,' the weakest of the weak, but eventually trains itself and evolves INTO A DRAGON. One of the most badass, often -strongest- RPG enemies. A wonderful resolution of it's entire line.
''How much joy the pokemon sparks within me 💀'' We all know its not just joy that happens when he sees lilligant
😏
Not gonna lie. It took me like 3 minutes to comprehend what you meant and I feel dumb now. 😂
Ah yes, Pokemon "I, uh, also... don't, uh, find pokemon, um, attractive" Challanges
can someone explain the joke for me? thanks
@@eduvieira2022 There is no joke here, we all just really like Lilligant.
However, there was a event in the 2012 in the anime that changed the character and the fan base in relation to the economy. For more information search: "Lilligant inflation"
Something so wholesome about Jan, who in his runs generally uses pokemon as tools and is very technical about the games, just gushing about his love towards the little critters towards the end of the video. Genuinely put a smile on my face.
I always assumed the Intelion line progression was. Sad child with a tragic past ya know like a lot action heroes, then that sad child becomes an angsty trouble maker, and learns on the streets and the becomes cool and suave spy using his skills for something else.
Also its honestly kind of funny that he love Lumineon and Finneon for the same reason he shat on most of the other standard fish pokemon.
I do prefer the older zangoose art with the purple claws. It really showed the rivalry between it and seviper with seviper having the red tail and fangs and zangoose with purple claws to show how they fight each other
I will defend Whirmadam, it is a bagworm. You most likely have seen them without realizing it. I think it is a cool idea, cool how they gave it variations, and i think the execution is pretty good. Inwould likely never use one, but much like manh pokemon, think it sorta fills out the pokemon world
Another interesting thing about Wormadam and Mothim are their names. Wormadam, the female, contains “madam”, whereas Mothim, the male, contains “him”.
I was coming here go put this comment even though we all know Jan will bever read them and does not care. I think they did alright going from inspiration to final design on wormadam, but I still don't like it because it really doesn't do anything and just isn't good imo.
Hydreigon's (my favorite Pokémon) flower like design you brought up can be attributed to the Hydrangea flower, which I think has some relevance in its design.
I always felt it looked a little flower but this makes me love it more than I already did
10:45 the elemental monkeys are based on the "See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil" Japanese proverb. Panpour is "See no evil", because it has its eyes closed, Pansear is based on "Hear no evil" because of the hand near its ear, and Pansage is based on "Speak no evil" because uh.... It's the only one that wasn't taken by the other two.
I thought it was more to do with their evos- Pansear being an unnecessarily loud biker, Panpour being a whore???? (I swear to God this is what I remember from a yt vid 5 years ago), and Pansage I forgot. All of these being common sinful people in Japanese culture.
Iirc they're also assigned their own Japanese hooligan tropes and Pansage is based on rowdy street punks who are typically obnoxiously loud and swear a lot.
@@edwardnygma8533 exactly it
So why are they in the NA region
@spicyfalafel9087 Plenty of street punks in NYC I suppose.
44:43 in Japan Octillery is called Okutank and in Japanese Octozooka is called Okutank Canon. This makes Octillery one of if not the only pokemon to have a move named after it
I think that makes it a very cool Pokemon overall
I probably would have forgotten about Cherubi by now if I wasnt stressing to find one in Legends Arceus
Literally me right now. Cherubi is annoying as hell to find.
@@lwfawn I just had a friend trade a cherubi he found to me for the dex entries. If you get fed up with looking for it I can help you out
Didn't that thing have a bugged catch rate at launch
I had to transfer one from Swsh to complete my Legends dex
I had a bout of panic as I struggled to think about what pokémon I missed in that perfect game, but then... I saw that man on the street... STILL WAITING ALL THESE WEEKS LATER FOR ME TO SHOW HIM A CHERUBI.
The fact that he didn’t call Decidueye “Decadewy”… somehow makes me feel sad that it got beaten out of him 😅
It shock me more than when he said he wanted to smash a pig
Someone pull up that old flowchart of how Jan rates his viewers' favorite Pokemons, I believe the outcomes were "Based/Simp" "This pokemon looks/is so bad" and "Normie pick"
I think it consisted mostly of the words : Normie, Based, Cringe, Hipster-pick
I’d say my taste in Pokémon designs has leaned more to the cuter side of Pokémon instead of just the cool ones as a kid. I still love loads of “cool” Pokémon, but my preferences shifted a little. For example, I used to not really care for Ninetales, but it’s one of my Top 10 favorites ever now for how pretty and elegant of a Gen 1 design it is.
And now my taste is rather…unfortunate, because a lot of my favorites are Pokémon that people see in a rather, *ahem* peculiar light. Example, Lopunny. I used one back in a playthough because I liked how strong the Mega was, only for me to realize I didn’t get the Mega til postgame, which made me appreciate the base design (this was Ultra Moon for those curious). It ended up becoming one of my favorite Pokémon ever for legitimate reasons, but we all know what happens when you say the rabbit is one of your favorites these days
oh I'm like the opposite :O as a kid I'd stick so much more to cute ones (I was obsessed with eeveelutions) but nowadays I enjoy the cool n weird ones more. it's kinda neat how one's likes change with time despite the object of liking remains the same
I like vaporeon because of Pokémon go :(
Idgaf what anyone says lopunny is bad asf
I personally believe poliwhirl has a purpose. This mainly stems from the fact that to get a poliwrath you use a water stone. By adding this middle stage it at least adds a small level barrier between obtaining such a powerful pokemon as some games give you the water stone early on. It also helps give something somewhat substantial in a fight before you get a stone for games that hold off on giving the player one.
Jan is so aggressive and pissed when he criticizes them, but so wholesome and lovable when he praises them, that's based :D
For those asking how Jan's nuzlockes matter for this, using a pokemon often can change one's opinion on the design of a pokemon.
I love how Jan literally lifts Zangoose in the air in the thumbnail, while Zangoose weighs 88.8 lbs (40.3 kg) in the Pokédex. He’s basically Ash confirmed. Also, I love how unimpressed Zangoose looks as well.
You think lifting up 40 kilos in that fashion is that unbelievable?
Zangoose is pretty much human shaped and you can easily lift a human double that weight like the thumbnail lol
I can lift a 50kg person and I'm a girl that never exercises. I'm sure Jan is able to lift Zangoose even easier
jan comparing meowscarada and roserade makes me realize why i like both so much
Chandelure line best of all time 🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥
SPITTING
idk, the gardevoir/gallade line is pretty fire
Gengar line better
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAH MY G
The Krookodile line is very good too
Never disagreed with a list more. 10/10 finally a unique list that made me realise we are different human beings
The only good thing about Seel is that it's the perfect pokemon to point to to disprove the "pokemon designs have gotten so lazy" argument. It is literally just a seal named Seel and we've had it from the very beginning. Some designs just suck, and that's true no matter what the game
I think its more a matter of the amount of lazy designs per gen rather than earlier gens having no lazy designs. The first gen had its fair share of duds but, at least in my opinion, the later gens got really bad about it. Just my subjective 2 cents.
@@andrewmetzenroth5631hard disagree. I'd say half of the dex from the first 2 generations is considered lazy by the same standards.
@@lyrathekitkat Fair enough. I think that the first 2 gens get somewhat of a pass as they were still figuring out what works and what doesn't. The newer gens don't get that pass from me as they've had more than enough time to get it together. But again, just my subjective opinion.
@@andrewmetzenroth5631 While modern generations had more time to figure out what a Pokémon is supposed to be, they instead have the challenge of finding something unique that hasn't been done before but still feels pokémon. That's why i feel some of the newer designs feel too "forced" or "gimmicky". finding something new after over 1000 pokémon without going off the rails completely is really diffifcult.
@@andrewmetzenroth5631well that’s just moving the goalposts. The argument was made invalid so you’ve changed the argument.
Love videos of Pokétubers just talking unabashedly about Pokémon and why they love or hate certain mons and designs, this was so nice to watch!
I 'liked' when you referred to shinx as a "failure" cause that was jaiden's shinx in her nuzlock and I feel like you did that subconsciously and I appreciate that
So one of the fun things I recently learned of the poliwag line is that Poliwrath was originally supposed to look more regal, with a crown on it's head. But Gamefreak thought against it because it made it look weaker and not very intimidating. Instead, they removed the crown and made it just look like an angry Poliwhirl. To fix this in Gen 2, they made Politoed evolve with the King's Rock, giving it it's crown back. That's why Poliwrath is just angry-eyes Poliwhirl.
It's a shame that the crown wasn't really incorporated in Politoed's design
This mans eyes was closed for 90% of the video
I think the reason why you rate Rattata so highly is because it also follows the RPG trope of ‘Beginner enemy’ it’s a rat, with one string attached; it’s a Pokémon, so it follows the rule of being able to join your team and fight the other rats.
The number of people's favourites you skim over as mid is frankly astonishing
Also you included my personal favourite in that (Misdreavus) so that gets upgraded to being a crime.
I'm a minute and 8 seconds in and have already been disrespected with Totodile near the bottom of mid. That's shocking.
Jan: I hate Golbat he is dumb looking
5 minutes later
“I have a weakness for big mouth Pokémon ❤❤”
jan should make a tierlist of puntable pokemon
Personally, Iron Valiant as a design is #1 for me. Gallade is my favorite, so Iron Valiant being a futuristic fusion of gallade and gardevoir, while having a double sided blade as a weapon is just badass.
I agree with gallade being a sick design. It's one of the best
"Haxorus is a terrible pseudo" -Best nuzlocker in the world
Drifblim has my favorite cry in the game. Sounds other wordly and eerie instead of electronic bleeps or mashed up animal noises
Metagross is a supercomputer that floats mgnetically, each leg is a Beldum, they fuse together explaining why Metang has only two, I think it's badass as a Psychic type due to being so cerebral, literally multiple cortexes
25:30 fair take on Kyurem but I feel like him being incomplete is the whole point of Kyurem, he's supposed to be this "missing link" between the big dragon that was once Reshiram and Zekrom combined, that's also why the fusion ones look like abominations, because he's still not complete, he's only fused with Reshiram or Zekrom, not both. Also Ghetsis kind of forces kyurem to fuse so making them look like monstrosities works well for the boss fight against them imo, its like you're not even really fighting a pokemon so much as a big ass mutant freak that wasn't supposed to be made
"[Magnezone]... is not what I thought... the next progression of Magneton would be."
You thought it was 9 Magnemites, didn't you
if there is something this man is good at besides nuzlockes, is making ads that you don't want to skip
Since you asked :)
Floettes ear things are supposed to be pigtails, like young girls have. Wormadam are bagworms in different camouflage. Intelieon is double o seven, James bond-007, in reference to its Pokédex number (maybe bond was an emo sad kid? I dunno)
Kriketune is a maestro! That’s why it’s got the mustache and coat. The hands are like the conductor stick! It’s also a violin🎻 for some reason
Pretty sure cacturn is supposed to be part scarecrow. So that’s why it looks like a dude. Kyuurem is supposed to look unfinished, but that doesn’t mean it was done in a satisfying way
Eternatus: I see a virus warped to look like a dragon. Togekiss, I think it was trying to keep the egg shape… which tuned it into a plane.. and therefore lost the cohesion.
Pretty sure feraligatrs buttcheeks are just the top hump of its tail and the lateral view of its thigh lol
I think jynx is an ice type for the same reason flosslass is an ice type-but done very badly. Absols head knives are supposed to be the yin and Yang symbols. Frillish is ghost probably because of the real life phantom jellyfish and how jellyfish in general have a ghostlike appearance-not sure why they’re being associated with royalty
Tangela is a naked man man in a clump of vines-he has shoes because otherwise it hurts when he walks. Ampharos is based on a Japanese legend that I know nothing about (this legend also explains its Megas dragon typing). Meowscarada is a magician, not an avenger. Think Joker, not Batman-the mask is theatrical, like a masquerade (in your defense roserade is also based off masquerade😅)
Sharpedo: People like to paint shark faces on boats, missles , water toys; I’ve even seen a shark face on a space rocket before
The idea just hit me that roar of time should have encore as a second effect. Works with the lore and even if it's broken its a legendary so it makes sense (if necessary you could lower the BP)
Burmy line is based on the bagworm moth. The males progress into full moths (like Mothim) while the females stay in a "pupa" or "bag" through their whole adulthood. Bagworms make their protective coverings out of random materials around them, such as sand, leaves, or litter.
Listen, I don't like Bombirdier's apron either, but it being a Bombardier aircraft that drops rocks instead of delivering babies is one of my favourite design inspirations of gen 9. I also carry a torch for it because I've never heard a single person pronounce it like it's French (bom-BIRD-jyay) like it's namesake (bom-BARD-jyay) and I can only take so much.
I am upset that literally the entirety of my top 25 favourite pokemon were in the fucking sponsor segment lol
I get that Bewear doesn't look all that interesting, but it just looks so huggable that I can't help but love it.
Glad to see Dragonite above half of the list!
Wait... Did he called Decidueye in a normal way? WHERE IS THE REAL JAN?!
"based off design"
"this design is bad but its good in nuzlockes"
Things we will never understand:
Dreams, Death, Life, Why Jan doesn’t like Aegislash
My all-time favourite is Iron Valiant because its strongly androgynous design is such a vibe. Other than that I love all dog pokemon, with my favourite either being Yamper or Rockruff.
I don't know my best friend's favourite but he loves the Slowbro line, Whiskash, Lombre, Spinda, and Audino. He just loves both modestly cute and silly dopey pokemon.
you have potentially the hottest/most based take on pokemon design in the community, and I HEAVILY respect you for sharing this. SO MANY fan favorites ranked low and it's too good. keep being you jan
Except for Kyurem, his explanation for why it is bad is invalid because of how it is meant to look incomplete. But everything else is based.
Especially the lugia part
I love ho-oh but those hands ruined lugia
His explanation for kyurem is dumb tho
i still don't know what's so confusing about regigigas' colors
you are so wrong about so many designs aggron is my goat it's like you're a hipster for pokemon designs it's insane
I think this entire tier list can be summed up with: he has trouble understanding conplex ideas for pokemon but also doesnt like it when theyre simple enough for him to understand
I blame Poliwrath more than Ploiwhirl why does Poliwrath look like Poliwhirl just angry
new drinking game: take a shot every time jan says "it's doing too much" or "it's trying too hard to be cool"
This is such a brave video to make. Nobody will be happy with this and I respect that
"Joy that sparks within me", is not a phrase I ever imagined Jan saying. And now I've seen everything.
I like how this is a cash grab video that actually has a good amount of thought behind it.
Majority of my favorites in the opening sequence 🥲😭
i love how Jan keeps his eyes closed through almost the entire video because of how unconfortable looking at the camera makes him
me when I lie
I think the thing I love most about Cursola is its color scheme- it’s so pure and stark white and it represents coral bleaching and that’s so genius
I also love Rowlet but he also has to be one of the most easily puntable pokemon
PCHal: I Ranked every single pokemon design
Also PChal: So...Nuzlocke stats...
I am a woman of simple needs, I see Pokémon design ranking and click
Notify me when the weird comments come
@@WeirdMagnus found one
I love Jirachi's belly eye as a Reality Warping pokemon, it gives him Eldritch Horror/Kirby vibes especially with his star theming :(
Emboar is the perfect in design of what a Fire and Fighting type is when actually made together. There is no lean towards more of one, its completely balanced and hes the big pig who can learn Scald. Emboar is so cool and when you treat it right its super faithful.
As a Zangoose enjoyer (it's my N°1 favorite), this makes me very happy.
Pchal, you made us wait this long for a sweaty allergen infested "tier list?" Coal this Christmas is surely soon to come
Swellow just got that confident and smug attitude it's saying "you can count on/depend on me to carry you" and it's ability/move list backs that up. Gigachad
Hope Gallade is up there, so underrated imo
Are you having a laugh? If anything Gallade is overrated at this point.
Gonna try and give explanation for designs that I know:
The Intelion Line is meant to show growth in confidence.
Veluza is a sword fish taken literally-
Kricketune - A Maestro played with the idea that krickets at night play music at night.
Cosmoem is based on a neutron star I believe.
Nincada: Potato bug
Kyurem is unfinished. Kinda its whole design point.
Swallot: diamonds are supposed to represent royalty (or upper class) in a way and how they are usually gluttonous.
Chimecho: Windchimes that look exwctly like it.
Porygon Z: A porygon 2 that has become glitched as a result of being given a dubious disk with a ton of viruses and glitches on it.
Sandyghast: I believe its a play how castles in general are haunted, but its a sand castle instead of a regular castle.
Foretress is meant to represent a bunker with the "pipes" being old style cannons.
The Gothita line is psychic type because you take psychic damage every time you try to justify its existence.
The quickfire at the start is just me throwing my hands up in confusion at some of his choices, and by the time I was about to put my hands down, another crazy choice arrived.
NEVER fuck with polywhirl again, do you understand me?
Ampharos is meant to be a sheared sheep, idk why that would make it stronger, but i'm not a sheepologist.
35:23
I always felt like the Pawniard line didn't really work with the chess idea.
However, when you consider the Japanese names, you'll see why.
According to Bulbapedia:
Pawniard's Japanese name is Komatana and may be a combination of 駒 koma (a piece in the board game Shogi), 細切れ komagire (small pieces), and 刀 katana (sword) or 小刀 kogatana (knife).
Bisharp's Japanese name is Kirikizan and may be a combination of 切り刻む kirikizamu (to mince) and 斬 zan (to cut or slay).
Kingambit's Japanese name is Dodogezan and may be a combination of ど do (very much), 土下座 dogeza (kneeling down on the ground), and 斬 zan (to cut or slay).
So the English naming concept of chess pieces most likely originated from the "koma" in Komatana. However, the Japanese naming concept is based on blades and cutting/slaying.
(Btw I literally researched this during the video cuz I considered if the designs might make more sense if they were shogi pieces instead of chess pieces, but nah the entire theme was just different)
Funny point: Haxorus isn't even a pseudo legendary which makes me ask even more why the line exists
23:28 it's a mechanical santa and it's holding a snow globe, that's the visual inspiration
Jan telling the Cursola story with “Ressurections” in the background was a vibe
jan the ideas you have on how to work an ad into the video to ensure people actually watch it are truly impressive; there must be a ton of work put in to make sure it comes across as clever and not annoying. i want you to know i see it and i appreciate it. whatever your sponsors are paying you, they need to fucking double it
Mr. Mime might be underwhelming by itself, but the custom sprites for a lot of its fusions in Infinite Fusion are horrifying in the best ways possible
putting haxorus in the same tier as bruxish deserves a death sentence lmao
Empoleon where it is UPSETS ME
Nincada is actually not the only Bug/Ground type, but I don't blame you for not knowing because the only other one is Wormadam-Sandy (I didn't even know they were dual type at first)
Uses for Qwilfish:
Rain & Swift Swim sweeper
Fell Stinger sweeper
Suicide lead (toxic spikes)
Destiny Bond
Its typing is pretty good too, having 8 resistances and 3 weaknesses. Rock and Ground both resist poison, but water typing can cover that, giving Qwilfish's dual type a good synergy.
Jan's hair looks overgrown because he's hiding from the police after smashing my ribs with a metal bar