#39 + #40 + #174: Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff and the baby Igglybuff...

So what do we have here? We have another baby introduced to a generation one family by the generation two baby boom, which still makes me frown a little. We also have the original Pokemon mascot, which, for the first episode was actually animated as Ash's Pokemon, and then was replaced after initial testing... So Pikachu, the iconic little mousey-thing, could have easily been the little pink ball, Jigglypuff. I see why they changed it: Pikachu has pretty much universal appeal (it's cute but still kinda badass, and doesn't convey overt gender stereotypes), whereas Jigglypuff is a more niche appeal, being overtly effeminate.

Igglybuff is just terrible, in basically every way... The design is atrocious. Seriously atrocious. Not only is the design crap, but so are the stats, boasting an admittedly good HP but without the defences to back it up, and a mediocre special attack coupled with dreadful speed and poor attack...

It looks like a failed BB for a toy gun...

The abilities you get could be useful, with the exception of cute charm, as this can be negated by neutral gender foes. The hidden ability of friend guard we have seen before on Cleffa and family, but the most interesting is competitive. With the competitive ability, whenever a foe lowers one of your stats, you get a +2 stage boost to special attack, but consider that it doesn't apply if you have the reduction from yourself or a team mate.

You won't want to be Igglybuff for long, since you basically have no moves to learn by level up. You get sing, charm (which is of minimal use if you have the cute charm ability), defence curl, pound, copycat and sweet kiss. Pretty much nothing worth using here, since the only guaranteed attack, pound, is physical, so doesn't even play to your strengths...

From the TM list you can hope for some options: you get sunny day and rain dance, and with the former you can couple in solar beam. You also get hidden power (of course you do), psychic, shadow ball, flamethrower/fire blast, round, grass knot and dream eater (but nothing to provoke sleep). You can sleep yourself with rest and sleep talk, and you can tutor snore. You get protect, light screen, safeguard, reflect, thunderwave, swagger, confide and substitute... The issue is that there isn't much that plays to the shocking stat distribution you get.

Breeding-wise you get some junk, like covet, feint attack and whatnot, and heal pulse, wish, gravity, perish song (works great if you trap them), and misty terrain (which basically casts a fairy aura over the battlefield, reducing the power of dragons (which you are immune to as normal fairy but is a good support idea), making nature power moonblast, but this only affects Pokemon on the ground).

I've touched on tutor moves with snore, and this aside you are looking at hypervoice or uproar, water pulse, shockwave and icy wind. You also can get role play, but you may not want to shed either friend guard (if in multi-battle) or competitive, so this is optional to the extreme. Magic coat is pretty decent, reflecting incoming moves that would inflict status, so this could be a great prediction tool. Recycle, heal bell, pain split and endeavour are possibilities if you aren't going in as damage dealer (per se), but you do get a smattering of physical attacks that are covet, bounce and last resort (which can only be used when nothing else is available, hits extremely hard but with horrific recoil).

Walking around for hours with Igglybuff can lead to the friendship increase needed to get the original Pokemon mascot, Jigglypuff, and hopefully before you miss out on any moves you may want, otherwise to the relearner with you! Staying as normal/fairy-typing and the same abilities, the differences are that you look even odder than before and you get some nice stat boosts, giving you an impressive 115 base HP, but the defences are still frightful at 20 and 25! You also now have more balanced attacks with 45 in both, but the speed is shocking at base 20, so unless you have trick room active, you offer nothing as a Pokemon other than a punching bag.

Mascot idea: deformed Christmas tree decoration. You can see why nobody uses it on Smash Bros.

The level up moves list suddenly expands a fair bit, and if you plan on remaining as a Jigglypuff for whatever reason rather than using a moonstone, then physical options are just as viable as special. If you're looking to do damage, you get pound (terrible, don't use), disarming voice (not bad, avoids stat changes that can halfway make up for low power, but is killed by soundproof), double slap (no, just no...), wake-up slap (goes well if sing actually works, as does the TM move dream eater), body slam, hyper voice and double edge (if you don't mind recoil). Other ideas can run with putting them to sleep, or putting yourself to sleep, which isn't a terrible idea since you have good HP but no defence, so you can fully heal (just carry chesto berry and recycle and you can pull this off a fair deal). Rollout is another damaging move, which lasts for 5 turns of increasing power, but if you use defence curl before it, it gets a nice boost. Arguably the best move you get is gyroball, which hits harder the slower you are, so this goes well with the frankly pathetic speed you get.

You do get some extra moves added to the TM/HM list with things like blizzard/ice beam, thunder/bolt, return (since you have to have high friendship then this may be worthwhile), brick break, facade, charge beam, dazzling glean, strength and power-up punch all being ok damage dealing options. Basically everything else was already available, so scroll back up, dudes.

For breeding, I forgot to mention punishment earlier, which is a decent move, but probably not worth the chain breeding required to get it. Punishment hits the opponent for variable power, which works on how many stat boosts they have, so base 60 and up. Decreases below the normal level, as well as accuracy and evasion are ignored, marking another dramatic difference from stored power. Get this one to hit the recipient on a baton pass team at 200 base (maximum available) and you could make the trainer cry...

There are some decent tutor moves, such as focus punch that fits with substitute pretty well, drain punch is a good option as it restores your health, fire punch and ice punch are both new options with thunder punch, as are stealth rock and knock off.

By using a moon stone, you get Wigglytuff, which looks stupid once more. What's interesting is that the main two abilities remain the same, but the hidden ability, friend guard, is replaced with frisk, showing what item the foe is holding. This is pretty useful whilst wild farming, and also in how to judge the opponent's threat.

That look on its face is the sheer delighted surprise that it's still alive...

HP is now rather high at 140, attack is up to 75 so isn't so laughable anymore, and special attack is better at 85, but the defences are still low, and the speed is a pedestrian 45, so even on trick room it's probably too high, putting it in the limbo of uselessness.

Other than a couple of mediocre or situational moves to the tutor list, there isn't really much here. Yes, it's stronger than Jigglypuff, but then so are most newborn kittens.

As a generalisation, this evolutionary line is one to avoid, or else you need to know exactly what you want to do and know how to achieve it, because the decent stats are drastically let down by what could be paired with them. A decent movepool, but you won't land a hit because you have no defences.

(All artwork presented by Ken Sugimori, taken from the Bulbapedia image archives)