#86 + #87: Seel and Dewgong

We're approaching the hundred mark on the NationalDex, and it's the little lull in the middle of the first generation where we find ourselves. These are two more Pokemon you could say are in the doldrums...

Seel is a seal, so imagination in design and name here... I grew up in an area with seal boat tours, and although they can be cute, I've never loved them as much as most people due to their wasteful eating habits and their predation of the more adorable penguins (damn the leopard seal to a new circle of hell).

'Hur hur hur!' - Seel

Seel sucks, to be quite blunt. 65 HP is ok, but 55 defence and 70 special defence makes it fairly vulnerable. If it can't act as a wall or tank, then surely it must have good damage and speed? Nope. 45 in each attack and 45 in speed, too. I always think of Seel as ice-type (the evolved form is), as well, but as a water-type, thick fat is next to useless as a main ability since it reduces fire and ice damage, which doesn't really hurt you anyway. Hydration could be a good ability on a good Pokemon in certain circumstances: it can heal a status problem at the end of the turn when it is raining. The hidden ability is ice body: this isn't just an ice equivalent of flame body, it doesn't freeze foes on contact, but it uses hail to heal 1/16th of its HP per turn, and grants hail immunity to things which aren't normally immune.

Since you have basically no damage output regardless of what you specialise in, then it's a pretty open moveset. You start with headbutt, which is probably the best level 1 move we've seen yet: 70 damage normal physical is pretty decent. You then get growl (lowers the foe's attack by a stage), water sport (lowers the effectiveness of fire, which won't be used around you, especially if you have thick fat), icy wind (you get STAB when you evolve, it's 55 base special ice damage with the chance to slow the opponent and 95 accuracy). Next up comes encore, which locks the target into using their last used move for 3 more turns, and then ice shard, which is a base 40 physical ice move with a +1 priority, like quick attack. Rest comes in as a full heal but of course puts you to sleep, whilst the next move, aqua ring, sets up healing like leftovers (1/16th) every turn and can be baton passed. Aurora beam is a reasonably powerful ice special move (base 65) with the chance to lower the foe's attack by a stage, and aqua jet is a nice water priority like ice shard (basically the same thing, and we'll talk more about this attack for a future Pokemon). The last move before you can evolve is brine, which hits the foe harder the less HP they have, so from base 65 as a special move and becomes 130 if they are on less than 50% HP.

The remaining moves are takedown (normal physical base 90 with 85 accuracy and heavy recoil), dive (usually an HM move, base 80 water physical that puts you under water for the first turn and then you pop up and hurt them), aqua tail (pretty powerful water physical at base 90 but 90 accuracy), ice beam (base 90 ice special with 100 accuracy, which is pretty much the best ice attack in the game unless you have something like no guard), safeguard (blocks status problems for your team for a few turns) and finally hail, which goes great with ice body, but aside from that causes routine damage to all Pokemon that are not immune to it.

The fairly small level up set is supplemented by a lot of familiar moves that seemingly every Pokemon gets, like toxic, hidden power, protect, return, double team, boredom, attract, thief, round/echoed voice, swagger, sleep talk, fling, substitute, and rain dance. You also could reclaim ice beam, take blizzard if you don't mind the lower accuracy for more power (base 110 and 70 accuracy), surf (base 90 water special with utility and is a move I seriously suggest if you have to use this Pokemon), and waterfall (base 80 water physical and has a chance to flinch the foe).

You can breed on belch (base 120 special poison) which only works if you've eaten a berry. Disable and encore are easy to ignore, fake out isn't too bad (priority, flinches the foe on the first turn of a battle and does base 40 normal physical). Entrainment is actually a pretty good move since you have pretty dire abilities (it gives the foe your ability, it doesn't swap). Horn drill is a one-hit KO attack that has increased accuracy the lower the level of the foe compared to you, so you can't hit higher level foes, and it has 30 accuracy if they are the same level. You can chain breed on the multi-hitting ice move icicle spear if you are seriously determined, and the same applies to iron tail, but this Pokemon is not worth the effort. You could take slam, lick (causes paralysis to make up for its poor base power) and signal beam (arguably the best bug-type move with base 75 and special attack).Water pulse is an option, as are stockpile, spit up and swallow.

I honestly don't recommend going to the tutor and wasting heart scales, but if you absolutely must, then you can grab the decent moves breeding gives you (pretty much) as well as drill run to ruin electric threats. Just don't bother wasting time and resources on this Pokemon...

When you evolve, you become Dewgong... 90 HP, 80 defence and 95 defence means you could take a hit or maybe two (if they're weak), but 70/70/70 for attacks and speed is still about as threatening as a baby. You keep the abilities, but thick fat now has more use since you've picked up a second type: ice. Yeah...

A little more elegant, but still with the dopey vampire teeth... But it doesn't get bite or crunch or anything to do with fangs?

You remember the small, restrictive move list from Seel from around 4 paragraphs ago? Add in sheer cold (one of the one hit KO moves that has dreadful accuracy and doesn't work if they foe has sturdy) and signal beam, that was available by tutoring and breeding. Big whoops all round here... The only other moves added (none from tutoring, and of course none from breeding) are hyper beam and giga impact.

With a restrictive movepool, poor abilities, indifferent stats that makes this Pokemon fail to stand out at all and the (sort of) baggage of ice-type, this line is well worth avoiding other than as either fodder or 'Dex completion.

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