@@gameb9oy i can see them get a branch Evo but they are stone based so it may be harder. Adding a more wild version of each could work and give them a chance to be remembered like primape getting his ghost Evo
Or just give them evos on Legends Z-A. France is known for having a monkey zoo that houses 3 species of monkeys and the elemental monkeys do appear in Kalos already.
Simisear is literally my fire GOAT. he may not have been the strongest or won many battle, but he was there with me from the start and I never once thought of replacing him even when i got a litwic
5:01 Game Freak actually has a very good oportunity to make these guys the starters of a "Legends: Unova". Would people hate it? Probably. Would it be memed? Yes. Would i laugh my ass off? ABSOLUTELY.
People would probably hate them a lot less, if they all evolved from one Pokemon ala Eevee Style. The actual weird part is that we effectively have the same Pokemon line, 3 times over. They’re like a pseudo starter trio but they’re basically a monkey band.
Maybe not eevee but tyrogue where u have a baby chimp or something and u make it have good one stat to become a slightly better and bigger version each form
@@theknightwithabadpictotall7639 The funny part is that Simipour is the best non-starter water type in BW. -Tympole Line? Outclassed by Scald Simipour until fairly late, and then gets screwed over by not getting Ice Beam. -Tirtouga Line Probably the most serious contender overall, but it costs you Archen/Archeops, easily one of the single best mons in the game. -Ducklett Line Outclassed -Basculin Outclassed -Jellicent Way too late and usually caught massively underleveled. Pansear being told it beats Cilan's Pansage would have worked better.
I’m 100% that if they had been released on their own without the other two monkey lines, Pansage and Simisage would be much more popular. It’s the other two that drag them down.
Same for me!! I actually had a Simisear named Caspian on my childhood team and I still have him in Home! Hopefully they'll be added to a future game so I can bring him bavk properly T^T Pansear is one of my favourite Pokémon too in general... I think the Elemental Monkeys are peak Pokémon designs honestly. Like they're clearly recognisable as a "Pokémon" to me, if that makes sence?? xDD I just think they're neat!😊
@@davion4777 They don't look awful, in my opinion. I've always loved them. The first time I played a Unova game, I knew that I wanted a Simisear. They aren't the best designs, but they definitely aren't the worst. They executed their concepts pretty well, in my opinion, and they look silly.
Simisear is awesome, it was so great using acrobatics right when it was invented + gems were introduced, flame charge right when that move was new too, rock slide, and brick break / whatever, RIGHT when TMs became reusable. a true mvp of the team
I really like the elemental monkeys I like how it could potentially provide an explanation as to why starter Pokemon are Grass/Fire/Water, like there could be an unknown region where an elemental monkey is given when someone comes of age, a tradition that is then borrowed and adapted by other regions But I do think that the elemental monkeys need more diverse move pools
For me it’s their evolutions that ruin it for me. They’re not the best designed Pokemon. The pre evolutions are cute and I love the idea of the 3 monkeys representing an element and the see/hear/speak no evil story
@@rogue1248: Simisage is absolutely cool AF and always has been. The other two... well, I think they are victims of poor presentation. Their original sprites were kinda goofy at best, and most other early renditions of them in the card game shared that awkwardness. However, I've seen fanarts that with better posing and composition make them just as cool as Simisage.
I've never understood how they're supposed to represent the see/hear/speak no evil theme. Panpour and Simipour I can understand for see no evil as its eyes are closed. And I could even give Pansear for hear no evil with it seemingly covering an ear, but that goes away when it evolves. And that leaves Pansage and Simisage for speak no evil which they not only don't show in any way, Pansage is the only one of the three with his mouth open. If they're supposed to be reversed and sear is speak and sage is hear, then I see nothing representing that for either of them.
Might sound weird but I think they were intended to be pokemon that you use early game but fall off later, akin to butterfree. The other options for grass,fire, and water types are generally more powerful. The elemental monkeys are both early but can be fully evolved by the 3rd gym but compared to pokemon that require more investment arw much weaker
You also have to hold off on evolving them for quite a while to get full use out of their offensive movesets. Only Simipour avoids this by TM's giving it classic ice/water coverage pretty easily and Scald being its main level up move. Luckily they debuted when Eviolite did.
Simipour never actually falls off, and is very easily a contender for best Water-type(only real contender is Oshawott). Simisage is either the third best Grass-type behind Lilligant and Ferrothorn. Being a grass-type is bad in BW, but Lilligant just ignores that by Sleep Powder Quiver Dancing everything, and Ferrothorn solves the issue by being a steel-type. Simisear though... Tepig beats it, Darumaka is one of the best mons in the game. Fire type offenses also has some overlap with Flying, and Archen is another top tier.
I had the same story in White with Simipour being in my N Final Boss team. Simipour was a nice looking swimmer that wasn’t a fish and I didn’t want the water fossil as there’s too many of them in comparison.
Fun fact the ability blaze, overgrow and torrent can only be on a starter Pokémon of the respective type except for the elemental monkeys so they are consider honorary starters.
The elemental monkeys look something invented to fill up space. They're the kind of thing you make when your back as against the wall in s whiteboard presentation but shouldn't carry over to the final game.
My first (and currently only) Nuzlocke was in Black, and I got a Pansear. It eventually became Simisear and made it all the way to the Elite 4, where I had to sacrifice it against Caitlin. I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the elemental monkeys, but that Simisear has given me more of an appreciation for them.
I have a similar history with the monkeys. I chose tepig on my first playthrough and so got given a pansage. I had it for the whole game and really liked it. Its stats may not be outstanding but its fast and has a surprisingly diverse movepool, allowing it to have something relevant against basically any boss trainer
I've never understood the hate. The monkeys are cute, and the evolutions have solid designs. I started with Oshawatt, but Simipour is my favorite of the three. And Simisage looks like it has a cool mohawk.
I do not think the evolutions have solid designs. Infact I think they were one of the earliest examples of the new design style present in gen 6,7 onward that just look so different than gen 2 pokemon that its off-putting and tonally dissonant to older fans.
Honestly, I didn't really care for them until I got into competitive. I wanted to be different and started using Simisear. And geez it was so refreshing. Gluttony with a healing berry, will-o-wisp, knock off, belch/flamethrower, and recycle. Nobody sees it coming.
I not only used Panpour on my White team, I also got a Pansage in my Y playthrough to use in my team. Since you can catch them pretty early, and I chose Froakie and knew I would be getting Charmander eventually, I caught one to act as the grass-type member of my Grasss-Fire-Water team core. Didn't make it all the way to the Elite four before getting replaced if I recall correctly, but he did stick around for a surprisingly long time.
I wouldn't say I hate the elemental monkeys but I don't really hate that many Pokemon in general. I only really tolerate Simisage on top of that. Do I think there are Pokemon worst than Simisear by the time of that popularity event back in like 2016, yeah sure. But I understand why he's there at the bottom.
Hate is a strong word but the only ones I'd say I hate are the real ugly ones that came out in the last couple generations. I think X & Y had the last creatures somewhat reminiscent of Pokémon, sword & shield and S&V's cute "iconic" early route Pokémon don't even look like Digimon at least, all those fckers look like something else entirely. Man I remember back in the day people were upset with Gen 4 & 5's design 😂 now you can't even tell they're Pokémon until you hear somebody say they are
I appreciate Pansear for being one of the only chill fire type, its devil-like tail is cute and overall Pansear is an improvement over Chimchar in my opinion☕️
dude yes, the guidebooks are AWESOME. my brother and i probly spent over 100 hours of our lives just looking through and rereading the diamond and pearl guidebook as kids. so good.
since their theme is type matchups, one idea I had was to give the simis evolutions, but the evolutions become grass/flying, fire/fighting, and water/rock, making it so they each have a type advantage over the one that previously countered them.
I had the same experience when playing Pokemon white. Tepig was my starter so I got pansage and not only did it stay on my team throughout the entire game, but also became one of my favorite gen 5 Pokemon.
In my first few games, I just kept the first 6 Pokemon I caught so I actually did keep my Panpour. I didn't evolve it for a long time though cuz it's a stone evolution and I was scared it wouldn't learn any new moves. In general, I prefer the base stages over their evolutions (they're very Aipom-shaped), though I like Simisage too. As for how we obtain them in BW, I feel like it might've been more creative if they had just been normal encounters so the player actually had to think more about which one would be useful in the Striaton fight. Then again, approaching their availability this way might've run the risk of making the monkeys competition for the actual starters by the end of the game (especially Simisage vs. Serperior). This isn't as much of a problem in XY cuz those starters are all dual type and have stat distributions more extreme than any of the monkeys, but in Unova Emboar is the only starter with a niche that's completely distinct from its corresponding monkey. That's why I'm fine with them not getting evolutions, because if they're meant to be secondary starters, it'd be weird if they ended up stronger than the actual starters.
Simisage is my all-time favorite grass type Pokemon. I had one on my team from Gen 5-7 because I think it had a very cool design. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have to wait until Gen 5 remakes before being able to use it again.
In my first run of Pokémon White, half my team was literally early route Pokémon because I loved them. Emboar, Simisage and Stoutland were the strongest in the team. The other 3 slots remaining were changing all the time.
In my copy of Pokémon Y, for most of the game I used a Panpour which helped me quite a bit on my journey. Sadly I had to relinquish it as it couldn’t know surf, but I did help it evolve and gave it a special place in the PC. I am even planning on using it for a BW playthrough, so I bet it’ll be fun to have the funny monkey again
I'd have given them sub types for current day to make them unique Add in fairy fighting and ground to help them have some unique typing to be a good second pokemon to your starter. That would also give them more type coverage and better moves.
Well, its a posibility, but fairy, ground and fighting dont seem to fit them well Normal and psychic could fit the bill given their inspiration, and it would make them stand out, since there is like 1 grass/normal, fire/normal and water/normal pokemon around, and fire/psychic, grass/psychic and water/psychic is fairly incommon as well
@@mysticpumpkin8520 fighting is literally right there as they are standing already. Ground they are monkey and could easily be seen throwing mud with sand attack and mud slap so one of them could make it a good sub type. Dark can work since they hide in trees and psychic sure if they don't want to go back and add fairy to types like they did in later gens. Point is they could have been cool second starters if they had some unique sub types. Heck even the unova starters could use the same treatment
@@ivanbluecool ngl, that sounds like rather flimsly excuses to justify the types. And tbh just an evolution can be enough, since dual typing can bring more harm than good. Just ask Aggron
@@mysticpumpkin8520 sounds like your excuse there too since aagron mega went back to single type and rock steel and ground usually can use each other's moves Also that excuse would basically be flismey too as many pokemon can learn strange moves. Wooper has ice punch and primape a tail move. These monkey could have at least learned the punch moves or fang moves to give them extra coverage. Basically the mono types are very pale in comparison to the starters. If they gave them some uniqueness it would have made them more useful overall. They easily get replaced by sizeimtoad and such later on anyways as mono base types can't keep up for the most part
What if the secondary type is also one of the starter typing? So if you picked a water starter, you get Pansear and then when it evolves it gets the Grass type, and so on.
I might be one of the few people who actually kinda liked the Elemental monkeys (I'm not super crazy about them, but I have no hate for them). Receiving the elemental monkey as a gift from that NPC made me love them even more.
To be fair, the Monkey Trio was created more for having a type advantage for the first gym and to give you some diversity. It's why you get a gift Pokemon in Gen 5 while also being found in Santalune Forest. Both around the beginning of their respective games.
Love that there’s finally a video that shows love and appreciation for the elemental monkeys I will forever love them and every other gen 5 Pokémon until my grave
I've always personally loved both the first forms and evolved forms of each of the monkeys, they have such vibrant personalities and really nice designs, to the point where I never got why people hated them, they're among some of my favorite in the entire series!
I remember my first playthrough of Black, I was really missing mons from older gens, so I didn't have the heart to catch anything. Instead, I opted to play the game using only handouts. Which worked out cause levelling was hard enough without having a full team of 6 to slow me down. But on top of that, the choice really made me appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of my 4 gift pokemon, Simipour included. Being one of the only 4 mons I owned in that first playthrough, it really made a mark and I just can't hate it even if I don't think it's the best designed of any of the monkeys. Might be the most useful though, only by virtue of typing.
One of the things I hate about them in Gen 5 is how much the game is pushing them to me. Not only with the npc who gives me an elemental monkey but the fact that your rivals also have their own monkey. Kinda lowkey telling me that maybe I should have one too. Like no. Please stop. They’re garbage statwise and design-wise lmao What a waste of 6 pokedex slots 😭
I actually started pokemon black last month. I picked oshawott and got pansear. I truly wish the voice in the back of my head telling me to drop it was louder 😭
Its weird how if they got a 2nd stage evolution, Unova would technically have 3 sets of starters. The original set, the elemental monkey and the trio of tympole, litwick and sewaddle.
I find them to be peak game design. Especially Pour. Being able to get Scald and evolve at 22 means that it's good, even pushed for that stage of the game. But will need good team support in the late game due to its low defence stats.
I spent 2 hours trying to catch pansage yesterday. I caught a leavany, a lilligant, found 2 of each of the 2 monkeys I didn't need, and about 30 audinos...never again.
I mean, they were in the Kalos intro forest, too, so Legends ZA is viable to bring them back along with Furfrou and Pateat/Watchog, all being available in Kalos.
I always wanted them to get branching evos when traded with one of the other Elemental Monkeys. Giving us interesting typing combos and giving them new life
If the Evolutionary Monkeys (which is a dope title) ever return id like to add more types like with Eeveelutions. And to keep the trio theme: Dark, Fighting, and Psychic. Dark and Psychic to reference Umbreon and Espeon introductions.
Also they are the only pokemon other then starter Pokemon that are able to get starter pokemon abilitys like torrent, blaze and overgrow as their ability/hidden ability
Their pseudo starter status is even more clear when you remember their hidden abilities are Overgrow, Blaze, and Torrent respectively. Also while I do like Pansage, Pansear, Panpour, and Simipour, the other 2 I'm just fine with
I had the idea of giving them combined evolutions. For example after evolving Pansear with a fire stone you can use a leaf or water stone on Simisear and if you used a leaf stone Simisear it would evolve into the same Pokemon as if you used a fire stone on Simisage. I have know idea what you would call them but I feel like Pokemon could use something like the opposite of split evolution.
I dunno if you can count them as starters cause the only reason why they exist is to counter cilan's gym cause they use the super effective typing and i mostly put them under gift pokemons.
They are in the Kalos regional dex so there’s a CHANCE they’ll be in Legends ZA (not guaranteed though as some Pokemon in the Sinnoh dex aren’t in Legends Arceus)
What if they make it's 3rd evolution that combine 2 elemental monkey, ex : simisage+simipour: grass- water evolution with ability that make it so every pledge move they use will set their effect without another pledge move but make it 1 turn only if it's too op
Pansage was the most prominent of the three in marketing, and I remember seeing it a lot when I went to the Black/White tour in 2011. It was an event they had in malls around the U.S. where you could play a demo of the game and watch the Zoroark movie. Because of that I ended up having a Simisage on my team when I played Black, and I always associate it with that tour!
I do think that the monkeys might have a shot in Legends ZA since they were in the OG Kalos dex (in fact, the other mons not yet in a Switch game, Furfrou and Patrat/Watchog, are also in the OG Kalos dex)
I honestly feel like when it comes to Simisear, it kinda suffers from having some bad timing in the Unova games, as around the time you can evolve pansear...you have access to darumaka over on route 4 at that point before you tackle Burgh
I really never liked those, specially the water one, because they seam to be the same pokemon but with different types. Would be more remarkeble if there was only one of monkey evolution line that changes form to mach each type it sure would be memmorable, this way there even would be room for a second evolution.
I think we can expect them to return in Pokemon Legends Z-A since they did reappear in Kalos in XY, but not usable in any of the Pokemon games within the Nintendo Switch, so I hope they’re back in some interesting way.
i had a pansear in my XY nuzlocke. the moveset was amazing and he got me out of MANY close calls that would have ended my run. particularly the double froufrou battle on route 6. when i lost him to a solrock in glittering cave i was DEVASTATED. his name was infernape. i so wanted him to fully evolve before dying. or even better, making it to the end...
I always loved them, I don’t understand the hate they get. Pansage was my first and it made it to my final team In white. One of my core memories is grinding in Pinwheel forest because I was underleveled for Burg, to my surprise I find the other two moneys I didn’t have and it was beyond happy because they felt like starters to me
They’d be better if they were anything but monkeys. We have SO many monkeys. Maybe differing simians at least, lemurs could be cool? Perhaps spiders as a lil’ spider monkey reference?
I Think Simisage is cool, but the other 2 always looked odd to me, might just be a me thing tho. Simisears torso and arms always looked off to me. And Simipour is just there, nothing great to me, but nothing horrible
i really came around to loving pansear/simisear. carries in the 1st gym and the 3rd gym (against burgh). especially because you can evolve it right when you get the castelia and once it learns a stronger move at 22.
If they had a third evolution where they become pseudo legends and their names are all very different instead of slightly changed I think they could be a lot of people's favorite
I almost aleays love using the monkeys. I think the only one I actually haven't used is Simipour, but that's mostly because I barely pick Snivy and when I do, I usually want to use a different water type.
I really hope they give them new cross-gen evolutions with dual typing in future games like how Starters do most of the time considering they felt so incomplete with just having two-stages hence why most people myself included just boxed them in favor of much better mons to use maybe aside from Simipour who's one of the few decent non-starter Water type to use along with Seismitoad
Went back and played Black a couple years ago. If ANY of my Pokémon clutched HARDEST in most battles it was my Pansear/Simisear. He was the literal CLUTCH that helped me beat Cilan, Clay, Brycen, and even Drayden. To the point where it even became somewhat of a joke between a couple friends where I'd be like "ALRIGHT RELEASE THE MONKEY."
Finally, somebody else who likes the “Elemental Monkey Trio”! If they make a new “Legends” game set in a time period within the Unova region, I’m hoping they’ll get a better deal and receive third stage evolutions. What names would you suggest for such evolved forms?
Your rival in Gen 5 would be sure to have one to counter you likewise. From Gen 6 onwards, the role of the monkey has been taken by Eevee, basically forever.
During my play though of X I caught a pansear in the Forrest area and decided to use him because I simply never had one on my team before. He stuck with me the entire game and inspired me to have an even split between unova and khalos mons. In terms of actual game XY are definitely not the best but that team I put together is still my all time favorite.
I missed gen 5. To me when I played gen 6 it was like there were 200 new mons and with all that choice I didn’t give them a second look. I was also immediately put off by their designs so I never had an idea that they had lame stats/moves
I’m still bitter that it’s called “Panpour” and not “Pansoak” to go with the -sage and -sear of the others.
Now I want it to be called Pansoak and Simisoak. Sounds so much better and fits the theming
I feel the same way
Same, I had that same thought.
Love your idea, what about Panstream maybe? Simistream? It also keeps the “elements” starting with -s.
@@StarWarsJohn maybe, but it doesn’t follow the 4-letter theme of “soak” and “sear.”
When and if pokemon remakes black and white. The monkey trio definitely need a revamp of moves and stats to be extra helpful
Maybe make another evolution too
@@gameb9oy i can see them get a branch Evo but they are stone based so it may be harder.
Adding a more wild version of each could work and give them a chance to be remembered like primape getting his ghost Evo
Or just give them evos on Legends Z-A. France is known for having a monkey zoo that houses 3 species of monkeys and the elemental monkeys do appear in Kalos already.
I don't think touching the stats is necessary but 100% need a better learnset.
Maybe they could be hitmon'ed and be given a baby form and have them all branch off from the same damn monkey. I hate how these lines are unconnected.
Simisear is literally my fire GOAT. he may not have been the strongest or won many battle, but he was there with me from the start and I never once thought of replacing him even when i got a litwic
Breaks my heart that these guys are some of the least popular pokemon :1(
@@queen_sectonia i see nothing wrong about these monkies. they just funky lil guys
that's what im saying
He looks so derpy though
You sir are correct simisear is criminally underrated and it honestly very good, I'd put him up there with maybe Magmar or houndoom
5:01 Game Freak actually has a very good oportunity to make these guys the starters of a "Legends: Unova".
Would people hate it? Probably.
Would it be memed? Yes.
Would i laugh my ass off? ABSOLUTELY.
While I do hate that idea overall, it would at least be a good excuse to give them that final evolution they desperately need.
Makes a lot of sense to give them a 3rd evo. Just like these guys, 2/3rds of middle evolved starters are also ugly
After what they did with Dunsparce finally evolving, I support this God Tier troll move.
The suffering is palpable
Please stop cooking.
If they got alternate evolutions or third stages that actually look cool and aren’t total garbage stats/moves wise I’m sure people wouldn’t mind.
Simisage looks cool
Simipour looks cute
Simisear looks silly
People would probably hate them a lot less, if they all evolved from one Pokemon ala Eevee Style. The actual weird part is that we effectively have the same Pokemon line, 3 times over. They’re like a pseudo starter trio but they’re basically a monkey band.
Yeah, and I think they all have the same stats too, so probably should've been forms instead, IMO.
Maybe not eevee but tyrogue where u have a baby chimp or something and u make it have good one stat to become a slightly better and bigger version each form
@@katakunalutakuchimirikushi2271 Oh ja, ja that’d probably work to.
True, it would be cool to have another Pokémon that has a bunch of evolution branches
Nah that would give them a point that “it’s just eevee”.
The elemental monkeys are equivalent to the, “Bro think they’re the Starter Pokémon💀”
“Bro thinks he’s on the team” ahh pokemon 💀💀💀
"What is my purpose?"
"You defeat Chili's Pansear"
"Oh my god"
Couldn’t agree more 😂
@@theknightwithabadpictotall7639
The funny part is that Simipour is the best non-starter water type in BW.
-Tympole Line?
Outclassed by Scald Simipour until fairly late, and then gets screwed over by not getting Ice Beam.
-Tirtouga Line
Probably the most serious contender overall, but it costs you Archen/Archeops, easily one of the single best mons in the game.
-Ducklett Line
Outclassed
-Basculin
Outclassed
-Jellicent
Way too late and usually caught massively underleveled.
Pansear being told it beats Cilan's Pansage would have worked better.
They’re them.
Pansage and Simisage will always be my favorite monkey of the trio.
Same
Ditto
100% agree.
I’m 100% that if they had been released on their own without the other two monkey lines, Pansage and Simisage would be much more popular. It’s the other two that drag them down.
A lot of fans agree that Simisage is the only Simi that isn't ugly
I love the elemental monkeys. It's saddening that people don't like them. I love Simisear
Same for me!! I actually had a Simisear named Caspian on my childhood team and I still have him in Home! Hopefully they'll be added to a future game so I can bring him bavk properly T^T
Pansear is one of my favourite Pokémon too in general... I think the Elemental Monkeys are peak Pokémon designs honestly. Like they're clearly recognisable as a "Pokémon" to me, if that makes sence?? xDD
I just think they're neat!😊
I mean, we don’t like them because they look absolutely awful. Possibly amongst the worst designs in all of Pokémon
@@davion4777 They don't look awful, in my opinion. I've always loved them. The first time I played a Unova game, I knew that I wanted a Simisear. They aren't the best designs, but they definitely aren't the worst. They executed their concepts pretty well, in my opinion, and they look silly.
I love Simisage. That thumbs up gives me an idea hes a wing man.
Simisear is awesome, it was so great using acrobatics right when it was invented + gems were introduced, flame charge right when that move was new too, rock slide, and brick break / whatever, RIGHT when TMs became reusable. a true mvp of the team
I'm indifferent about the Pokemon themselves, but the first gym being a dynamic challenge based on your starter is such a cool concept.
I really like the elemental monkeys
I like how it could potentially provide an explanation as to why starter Pokemon are Grass/Fire/Water, like there could be an unknown region where an elemental monkey is given when someone comes of age, a tradition that is then borrowed and adapted by other regions
But I do think that the elemental monkeys need more diverse move pools
For me it’s their evolutions that ruin it for me. They’re not the best designed Pokemon. The pre evolutions are cute and I love the idea of the 3 monkeys representing an element and the see/hear/speak no evil story
Nah, yall are just Simi haters.
Simisage for life, that guy is cool AF.
@@rogue1248: Simisage is absolutely cool AF and always has been. The other two... well, I think they are victims of poor presentation. Their original sprites were kinda goofy at best, and most other early renditions of them in the card game shared that awkwardness. However, I've seen fanarts that with better posing and composition make them just as cool as Simisage.
I've never understood how they're supposed to represent the see/hear/speak no evil theme. Panpour and Simipour I can understand for see no evil as its eyes are closed. And I could even give Pansear for hear no evil with it seemingly covering an ear, but that goes away when it evolves. And that leaves Pansage and Simisage for speak no evil which they not only don't show in any way, Pansage is the only one of the three with his mouth open. If they're supposed to be reversed and sear is speak and sage is hear, then I see nothing representing that for either of them.
Might sound weird but I think they were intended to be pokemon that you use early game but fall off later, akin to butterfree. The other options for grass,fire, and water types are generally more powerful. The elemental monkeys are both early but can be fully evolved by the 3rd gym but compared to pokemon that require more investment arw much weaker
You also have to hold off on evolving them for quite a while to get full use out of their offensive movesets. Only Simipour avoids this by TM's giving it classic ice/water coverage pretty easily and Scald being its main level up move. Luckily they debuted when Eviolite did.
Simipour never actually falls off, and is very easily a contender for best Water-type(only real contender is Oshawott).
Simisage is either the third best Grass-type behind Lilligant and Ferrothorn. Being a grass-type is bad in BW, but Lilligant just ignores that by Sleep Powder Quiver Dancing everything, and Ferrothorn solves the issue by being a steel-type.
Simisear though... Tepig beats it, Darumaka is one of the best mons in the game. Fire type offenses also has some overlap with Flying, and Archen is another top tier.
Legit picked snivy as my starter in my first black playthrough and used simipoor on my team all the way to the league
Simisage is the legendary SSJ Broly of Pokémon. I love it.
I love all the elemental monkeys, especially Simisage. It’s a simple but cute design! I hope they get more love in the future.
I had the same story in White with Simipour being in my N Final Boss team. Simipour was a nice looking swimmer that wasn’t a fish and I didn’t want the water fossil as there’s too many of them in comparison.
Fun fact the ability blaze, overgrow and torrent can only be on a starter Pokémon of the respective type except for the elemental monkeys so they are consider honorary starters.
The elemental monkeys look something invented to fill up space. They're the kind of thing you make when your back as against the wall in s whiteboard presentation but shouldn't carry over to the final game.
I grew fond towards Simisear because I used it in USUM on a team competitively and it did wonders
Same but for simipour!
My first (and currently only) Nuzlocke was in Black, and I got a Pansear. It eventually became Simisear and made it all the way to the Elite 4, where I had to sacrifice it against Caitlin. I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the elemental monkeys, but that Simisear has given me more of an appreciation for them.
They really don't tell me anything, without seeing them ugly, but really anonymous.
I have a similar history with the monkeys. I chose tepig on my first playthrough and so got given a pansage. I had it for the whole game and really liked it. Its stats may not be outstanding but its fast and has a surprisingly diverse movepool, allowing it to have something relevant against basically any boss trainer
I've never understood the hate. The monkeys are cute, and the evolutions have solid designs. I started with Oshawatt, but Simipour is my favorite of the three. And Simisage looks like it has a cool mohawk.
I do not think the evolutions have solid designs. Infact I think they were one of the earliest examples of the new design style present in gen 6,7 onward that just look so different than gen 2 pokemon that its off-putting and tonally dissonant to older fans.
Honestly, I didn't really care for them until I got into competitive. I wanted to be different and started using Simisear. And geez it was so refreshing. Gluttony with a healing berry, will-o-wisp, knock off, belch/flamethrower, and recycle. Nobody sees it coming.
I not only used Panpour on my White team, I also got a Pansage in my Y playthrough to use in my team. Since you can catch them pretty early, and I chose Froakie and knew I would be getting Charmander eventually, I caught one to act as the grass-type member of my Grasss-Fire-Water team core. Didn't make it all the way to the Elite four before getting replaced if I recall correctly, but he did stick around for a surprisingly long time.
I wouldn't say I hate the elemental monkeys but I don't really hate that many Pokemon in general. I only really tolerate Simisage on top of that. Do I think there are Pokemon worst than Simisear by the time of that popularity event back in like 2016, yeah sure. But I understand why he's there at the bottom.
Hate is a strong word but the only ones I'd say I hate are the real ugly ones that came out in the last couple generations. I think X & Y had the last creatures somewhat reminiscent of Pokémon, sword & shield and S&V's cute "iconic" early route Pokémon don't even look like Digimon at least, all those fckers look like something else entirely. Man I remember back in the day people were upset with Gen 4 & 5's design 😂 now you can't even tell they're Pokémon until you hear somebody say they are
I mean Castform is in your picture, you would at least get a feel of what its like to be a fan of an unpopular Pokemon
I appreciate Pansear for being one of the only chill fire type, its devil-like tail is cute and overall Pansear is an improvement over Chimchar in my opinion☕️
When zarude is more likeable than another Pokémon you know it’s bad
1:00 Real ones picked 2 of the same type, because f playing optimally lmao
dude yes, the guidebooks are AWESOME. my brother and i probly spent over 100 hours of our lives just looking through and rereading the diamond and pearl guidebook as kids. so good.
since their theme is type matchups, one idea I had was to give the simis evolutions, but the evolutions become grass/flying, fire/fighting, and water/rock, making it so they each have a type advantage over the one that previously countered them.
I had the same experience when playing Pokemon white. Tepig was my starter so I got pansage and not only did it stay on my team throughout the entire game, but also became one of my favorite gen 5 Pokemon.
I just hate monkeys. The chimchar line gets a pass for me because Explorer of Darkness said I was one and it grew on me.
In my first few games, I just kept the first 6 Pokemon I caught so I actually did keep my Panpour. I didn't evolve it for a long time though cuz it's a stone evolution and I was scared it wouldn't learn any new moves. In general, I prefer the base stages over their evolutions (they're very Aipom-shaped), though I like Simisage too.
As for how we obtain them in BW, I feel like it might've been more creative if they had just been normal encounters so the player actually had to think more about which one would be useful in the Striaton fight. Then again, approaching their availability this way might've run the risk of making the monkeys competition for the actual starters by the end of the game (especially Simisage vs. Serperior). This isn't as much of a problem in XY cuz those starters are all dual type and have stat distributions more extreme than any of the monkeys, but in Unova Emboar is the only starter with a niche that's completely distinct from its corresponding monkey.
That's why I'm fine with them not getting evolutions, because if they're meant to be secondary starters, it'd be weird if they ended up stronger than the actual starters.
Ok i unironically love pansage and panpours lines they’re easily one of my top 5 pokemon
the hate for them is so forced and unnecessary. only reason people ‘hate’ them is bc they see other people doing it and they jump on the bandwagon
@eevee727 nah I remember being like 10 playing that game and thinking they were literally my least favorite out of all 500 pokemon.
Simisage is my all-time favorite grass type Pokemon. I had one on my team from Gen 5-7 because I think it had a very cool design. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have to wait until Gen 5 remakes before being able to use it again.
The evolutions would be much less hated if they weren't standing like that
Lol, I just ordered the guide book for my replays, be more fun than looking up everything online
In my first run of Pokémon White, half my team was literally early route Pokémon because I loved them. Emboar, Simisage and Stoutland were the strongest in the team. The other 3 slots remaining were changing all the time.
In my copy of Pokémon Y, for most of the game I used a Panpour which helped me quite a bit on my journey. Sadly I had to relinquish it as it couldn’t know surf, but I did help it evolve and gave it a special place in the PC. I am even planning on using it for a BW playthrough, so I bet it’ll be fun to have the funny monkey again
Watch these guys get Mega Evolutions in ZA.
I'd have given them sub types for current day to make them unique
Add in fairy fighting and ground to help them have some unique typing to be a good second pokemon to your starter.
That would also give them more type coverage and better moves.
Well, its a posibility, but fairy, ground and fighting dont seem to fit them well
Normal and psychic could fit the bill given their inspiration, and it would make them stand out, since there is like 1 grass/normal, fire/normal and water/normal pokemon around, and fire/psychic, grass/psychic and water/psychic is fairly incommon as well
@@mysticpumpkin8520 fighting is literally right there as they are standing already. Ground they are monkey and could easily be seen throwing mud with sand attack and mud slap so one of them could make it a good sub type.
Dark can work since they hide in trees and psychic sure if they don't want to go back and add fairy to types like they did in later gens.
Point is they could have been cool second starters if they had some unique sub types. Heck even the unova starters could use the same treatment
@@ivanbluecool ngl, that sounds like rather flimsly excuses to justify the types. And tbh just an evolution can be enough, since dual typing can bring more harm than good. Just ask Aggron
@@mysticpumpkin8520 sounds like your excuse there too since aagron mega went back to single type and rock steel and ground usually can use each other's moves
Also that excuse would basically be flismey too as many pokemon can learn strange moves. Wooper has ice punch and primape a tail move. These monkey could have at least learned the punch moves or fang moves to give them extra coverage.
Basically the mono types are very pale in comparison to the starters. If they gave them some uniqueness it would have made them more useful overall. They easily get replaced by sizeimtoad and such later on anyways as mono base types can't keep up for the most part
What if the secondary type is also one of the starter typing? So if you picked a water starter, you get Pansear and then when it evolves it gets the Grass type, and so on.
I might be one of the few people who actually kinda liked the Elemental monkeys (I'm not super crazy about them, but I have no hate for them). Receiving the elemental monkey as a gift from that NPC made me love them even more.
To be fair, the Monkey Trio was created more for having a type advantage for the first gym and to give you some diversity.
It's why you get a gift Pokemon in Gen 5 while also being found in Santalune Forest. Both around the beginning of their respective games.
Love that there’s finally a video that shows love and appreciation for the elemental monkeys I will forever love them and every other gen 5 Pokémon until my grave
I've always personally loved both the first forms and evolved forms of each of the monkeys, they have such vibrant personalities and really nice designs, to the point where I never got why people hated them, they're among some of my favorite in the entire series!
I genuinely didn't know they evolved in my first playthrough of Pokemon White. I brought a lvl 72 pansear to the elite four
I remember my first playthrough of Black, I was really missing mons from older gens, so I didn't have the heart to catch anything. Instead, I opted to play the game using only handouts. Which worked out cause levelling was hard enough without having a full team of 6 to slow me down. But on top of that, the choice really made me appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of my 4 gift pokemon, Simipour included. Being one of the only 4 mons I owned in that first playthrough, it really made a mark and I just can't hate it even if I don't think it's the best designed of any of the monkeys. Might be the most useful though, only by virtue of typing.
One of the things I hate about them in Gen 5 is how much the game is pushing them to me.
Not only with the npc who gives me an elemental monkey but the fact that your rivals also have their own monkey.
Kinda lowkey telling me that maybe I should have one too.
Like no. Please stop. They’re garbage statwise and design-wise lmao
What a waste of 6 pokedex slots 😭
If you didn't know about the shaky grass thing, then there's no way you knew about their hidden abilities
I actually started pokemon black last month. I picked oshawott and got pansear. I truly wish the voice in the back of my head telling me to drop it was louder 😭
Its weird how if they got a 2nd stage evolution, Unova would technically have 3 sets of starters. The original set, the elemental monkey and the trio of tympole, litwick and sewaddle.
I find them to be peak game design. Especially Pour. Being able to get Scald and evolve at 22 means that it's good, even pushed for that stage of the game. But will need good team support in the late game due to its low defence stats.
I spent 2 hours trying to catch pansage yesterday. I caught a leavany, a lilligant, found 2 of each of the 2 monkeys I didn't need, and about 30 audinos...never again.
I mean, they were in the Kalos intro forest, too, so Legends ZA is viable to bring them back along with Furfrou and Pateat/Watchog, all being available in Kalos.
I always wanted them to get branching evos when traded with one of the other Elemental Monkeys. Giving us interesting typing combos and giving them new life
I personally love the monkeys with their amazing design with their amazing evolutions
If the Evolutionary Monkeys (which is a dope title) ever return id like to add more types like with Eeveelutions. And to keep the trio theme: Dark, Fighting, and Psychic. Dark and Psychic to reference Umbreon and Espeon introductions.
Also they are the only pokemon other then starter Pokemon that are able to get starter pokemon abilitys like torrent, blaze and overgrow as their ability/hidden ability
Their pseudo starter status is even more clear when you remember their hidden abilities are Overgrow, Blaze, and Torrent respectively. Also while I do like Pansage, Pansear, Panpour, and Simipour, the other 2 I'm just fine with
I had the idea of giving them combined evolutions. For example after evolving Pansear with a fire stone you can use a leaf or water stone on Simisear and if you used a leaf stone Simisear it would evolve into the same Pokemon as if you used a fire stone on Simisage. I have know idea what you would call them but I feel like Pokemon could use something like the opposite of split evolution.
I dunno if you can count them as starters cause the only reason why they exist is to counter cilan's gym cause they use the super effective typing and i mostly put them under gift pokemons.
WHERE'S THAT AMAZING FOOTAGE STARTING AT 04:34 FROM??????
repeat after me : "there is no elemental monkeys in Unova"
I miss the monkeys. The Pansage I got was with me throughout my White journey. I actually really like them. I believe they deserve to come back.
They are in the Kalos regional dex so there’s a CHANCE they’ll be in Legends ZA (not guaranteed though as some Pokemon in the Sinnoh dex aren’t in Legends Arceus)
What if they make it's 3rd evolution that combine 2 elemental monkey, ex : simisage+simipour: grass- water evolution with ability that make it so every pledge move they use will set their effect without another pledge move but make it 1 turn only if it's too op
Pansage was the most prominent of the three in marketing, and I remember seeing it a lot when I went to the Black/White tour in 2011. It was an event they had in malls around the U.S. where you could play a demo of the game and watch the Zoroark movie. Because of that I ended up having a Simisage on my team when I played Black, and I always associate it with that tour!
The elemental monkeys are always part of my BW playtroughs, i love them so badly and always bring me joy whenever i see them
I do think that the monkeys might have a shot in Legends ZA since they were in the OG Kalos dex (in fact, the other mons not yet in a Switch game, Furfrou and Patrat/Watchog, are also in the OG Kalos dex)
I honestly feel like when it comes to Simisear, it kinda suffers from having some bad timing in the Unova games, as around the time you can evolve pansear...you have access to darumaka over on route 4 at that point before you tackle Burgh
I really never liked those, specially the water one, because they seam to be the same pokemon but with different types. Would be more remarkeble if there was only one of monkey evolution line that changes form to mach each type it sure would be memmorable, this way there even would be room for a second evolution.
I think we can expect them to return in Pokemon Legends Z-A since they did reappear in Kalos in XY, but not usable in any of the Pokemon games within the Nintendo Switch, so I hope they’re back in some interesting way.
They are surprisingly good in Gen 5 random battle on showdown
i had a pansear in my XY nuzlocke. the moveset was amazing and he got me out of MANY close calls that would have ended my run. particularly the double froufrou battle on route 6. when i lost him to a solrock in glittering cave i was DEVASTATED. his name was infernape. i so wanted him to fully evolve before dying. or even better, making it to the end...
I always loved them, I don’t understand the hate they get. Pansage was my first and it made it to my final team In white. One of my core memories is grinding in Pinwheel forest because I was underleveled for Burg, to my surprise I find the other two moneys I didn’t have and it was beyond happy because they felt like starters to me
They’d be better if they were anything but monkeys. We have SO many monkeys.
Maybe differing simians at least, lemurs could be cool? Perhaps spiders as a lil’ spider monkey reference?
It’s a reference to the three wise monkeys. See/hear/speak no evil.
these god damn monkeys are really pissing me off
These things would take out some of my team even though they were under leveled. Major threats.
Simisage's pompadour is too cool to hate, best one
I Think Simisage is cool, but the other 2 always looked odd to me, might just be a me thing tho.
Simisears torso and arms always looked off to me.
And Simipour is just there, nothing great to me, but nothing horrible
i really came around to loving pansear/simisear. carries in the 1st gym and the 3rd gym (against burgh). especially because you can evolve it right when you get the castelia and once it learns a stronger move at 22.
If they had a third evolution where they become pseudo legends and their names are all very different instead of slightly changed I think they could be a lot of people's favorite
I almost aleays love using the monkeys. I think the only one I actually haven't used is Simipour, but that's mostly because I barely pick Snivy and when I do, I usually want to use a different water type.
I really hope they give them new cross-gen evolutions with dual typing in future games like how Starters do most of the time considering they felt so incomplete with just having two-stages hence why most people myself included just boxed them in favor of much better mons to use maybe aside from Simipour who's one of the few decent non-starter Water type to use along with Seismitoad
Plot twist they’re the starters for legends ZA
Honestly these monkeys are my favourite Pokemon ever. I shiny hunted for all of them before bank shutdown.
Went back and played Black a couple years ago. If ANY of my Pokémon clutched HARDEST in most battles it was my Pansear/Simisear. He was the literal CLUTCH that helped me beat Cilan, Clay, Brycen, and even Drayden. To the point where it even became somewhat of a joke between a couple friends where I'd be like "ALRIGHT RELEASE THE MONKEY."
i didn't even use my monkey for the first gym. a trained Lillipup was all i needed
Still can't believe Simisear got a Secret Art Rare card in the TCG
I had a pansage in X and kept it until the fairy gym, I swapped it out because I didn’t know it needed a stone to evolve at the time
Always thought simisage had a delinquent look with the hair so every one I’ve had on a team was named The King that man was mvp for several encounters
Finally, somebody else who likes the “Elemental Monkey Trio”! If they make a new “Legends” game set in a time period within the Unova region, I’m hoping they’ll get a better deal and receive third stage evolutions. What names would you suggest for such evolved forms?
Add a fourth monkey named Panspark/Simispark that represents "do no evil" (like crossed arms and a tough expression) and I'll be happy.
I genuially do love Simisage, in fact im pretty sure its the one where people are mostly mixed on or a bit loved!
I really like Simisage as well
Anybody wondering if crispin of the blueberry elite four might be related to thirst triplet gym leaders? They are all chefs too
Your rival in Gen 5 would be sure to have one to counter you likewise. From Gen 6 onwards, the role of the monkey has been taken by Eevee, basically forever.
During my play though of X I caught a pansear in the Forrest area and decided to use him because I simply never had one on my team before. He stuck with me the entire game and inspired me to have an even split between unova and khalos mons. In terms of actual game XY are definitely not the best but that team I put together is still my all time favorite.
I missed gen 5. To me when I played gen 6 it was like there were 200 new mons and with all that choice I didn’t give them a second look. I was also immediately put off by their designs so I never had an idea that they had lame stats/moves
Pokémon Concierge is the only place that I can see these guys now 😂😂😂
They were adorable in concierge. Even with their limited screen time.