Pokémon History: Pairs Over the Generations

Introduction

Throughout the generations, there have been several Pokémon introduced as pairs or with contrasting counterparts, with only minor or subtle differences between them. While the spotlight is often cast on pairs that serve as outright rivals to each other, such as Groudon and Kyogre, there are also those pairs that aren't supposed to be enemies of one another, but rather complements, and these are often overlooked for what they truly represent together. This article will cover many of the important pairs introduced over the generations of Pokémon games.

The Pairs

Nidoqueen and Nidoking

The first pair ever introduced in Pokémon was that of the male and female counterparts of the Nido family. Nidoqueen and Nidoking both achieve these final stages of evolution by beginning as a female or male Nidoran, respectively, reaching Level 16 to evolve into their intermediate stage, and then finally becoming complete upon being exposed to a Moon Stone. In their debut in RBY, the two made awesome Pokémon to use in-game in RBY since they could reach their final forms very early in the game and could learn tons of powerful TMs and HMs, including but not limited to Surf, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Earthquake, making them highly versatile attackers. Unfortunately for them, however, their shared typing rendered them weak to many important attacking types in the competitive scene, including Ice, Ground, Water, and Psychic, which caused them to see low usage in competitive play in this early era.

Nidoqueen and Nidoking continued to be subpar figures in the following generations of competitive battling despite their expansive movepools, and in ADV, when abilities were introduced, they only got Poison Point, which didn't help them very much, especially considering that most attacks aimed at their many weak points did not make contact. In DPP, they got Rivalry as an alternative ability, which had an effect on their power that was entirely dependent upon their enemy's gender, making it unreliable and only useful if the genders just so happened to match up in the player's favor. They also got Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes, giving them a secondary role as hazard layers, but these additions weren't enough to salvage them just yet. It wasn't until BW that the two began to really stand out as attackers, when they were blessed with the Sheer Force ability. Coupled with Life Orb, they could fire off strong attacks of many types from the same huge movepool they've had since the get-go, while reaping the boosts of both the item and the ability and suffering no recoil, which made them very formidable on the battlefield. Nidoking had a bit higher power while Nidoqueen had a bit more bulk, but both could be used in generally the same manner. In XY, they both received a +10 increase to their base Attack stat, but this doesn't really affect how they play in this new generation because their preferred attacks to get their boosts from are not physical. More importantly, the introduction of the new Fairy type has given the Nido twins an offensive and defensive advantage against yet another kind of foe, while also adding relevance to their once-ignored Poison-type STAB moves.

Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan

Behold, the two prized Fighting-type Pokémon of the Saffron City Fighting Dojo in RBY, their names a homage to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan and their approaches embodying the fighting tactics of kicking and punching, respectively. These Pokémon were both pretty cool to use in-game in their RBY debut, as they had decent Attack and Speed and got some interesting moves that no other Pokémon had access to at the time. However, their horrendously low Special stat (which was their Special Attack AND Special Defense in RBY) made them easy to beat down with special moves, and this was additionally disappointing in Hitmonchan's case: its unique quality was in its access to all of the elemental punches, but they were all special attacks back then and thus had pitiful offensive potential. In competitive play, the prized fighters came up very short to say the least. Psychic-types were a very dominating force in RBY, and common heavy-hitters such as Alakazam, Slowbro, and Exeggutor could make quick work of them due to their poor Special and Psychic weakness. They might have been fine to keep around for novelty, but in serious matches it was safe to say that they were not going places.

In GSC, the Special stat was split into Special Attack and Special Defense, and ironically, this worked out in their favor; the poor base 35 stat was moved to their Special Attack where it wouldn't matter anyway, and they received a huge base 110 Special Defense, making that Hitmonchan's highest stat from that point onward. This didn't help them out all that much, unfortunately, as Hitmonlee was still generally outclassed by Machamp and Primeape, and Hitmonchan was actually the worst fully-evolved Fighting-type in the competitive scene. The two were also revealed in this generation to be exclusively male and alternative evolutions of the baby Pokémon Tyrogue, which was also able to evolve into the newly introduced Hitmontop, a somewhat random evolution with no reference in its name or fighting style, unlike Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. When abilities were introduced in Generation III, Hitmonlee once again got the better end of the stick with an ability that prevented paralysis status, while Hitmonchan got one that only prevented its accuracy from being lowered. With DPP came the physical/special split for moves, which Hitmonchan greatly appreciated, as all of its elemental punches became physical and could actually be used. DPP also gave Hitmonchan a better ability in Iron Fist to power up all of its punching attacks, including the new Drain Punch, which restored health in addition to dealing STAB Fighting-type damage; on the other hand, DPP also gave Hitmonlee the Reckless ability to power up its High Jump Kick, as well as Blaze Kick as a level-up move, which was once available only to Blaziken. Gaining Rapid Spin for removing hazards and Stone Edge to really put the hurt on the Bug- and Flying-types that resisted their STAB moves was also quite beneficial for both of them. Hitmonlee got two of its most crucial improvements in BW with the Unburden ability and with High Jump Kick powered up to 130 Base Power. Hitmonchan's only relevant addition in BW was the Inner Focus ability, which was not really useful when compared with Iron Fist. The pair didn't gain anything too notable in the transition to XY except a painful new weakness to Fairy-types, both offensively and defensively, although the Knock Off buff greatly improved Hitmonlee's offense by giving it a move with which to really punish Ghost- and Psychic-types that might attempt to wall its STAB attacks.

Espeon and Umbreon

This pair represents the contrast of light and darkness, or more literally, the sun and the moon, as evidenced by their species listings in the Pokedex and the fact that Morning Sun and Moonlight were first introduced as counterpart healing moves for Espeon and Umbreon, respectively. GSC introduced a handful of wonderful things, and among these were happiness evolutions and an in-game clock with gameplay that conformed to day and night. Both of these things were especially important to Eevee, because they determined which evolution it would undergo once maximum happiness was reached: Espeon if leveled up in the daytime, and Umbreon if leveled up at night. In-game, Espeon was an incredible attacker with great Special Attack and Speed but pitiful physical bulk, and Umbreon (of the newly introduced Dark type) was very hard to bring down but lacked any real offensive presence. In competitive play, Espeon was relegated to rather low usage despite its great special stats, mostly because it was completely outclassed by Alakazam. Umbreon, however, fit right into the stall-infested GSC competitive scene with its high tolerance for damage. Something that made Espeon and Umbreon somewhat unique was their ability to pass boosts to other teammates with Baton Pass, and Umbreon could even pass Mean Look to switch while keeping the enemy trapped.

Pokémon Colosseum was released for Nintendo GameCube in Generation III, and Espeon and Umbreon were quite literally a pair in that they were the protagonist's two starting Pokémon in this game. In Generations III and IV, Espeon and Umbreon didn't shift too much in viability. In ADV, Espeon gained Calm Mind, which was a better boosting move to pass to teammates than Growth in GSC, and Umbreon began seeing more use as a dependable wall and supporter, as well as a Pokémon that could work in active Baton Pass chains, passing not only Mean Look, but also boosts, Wish recovery, and bulky Substitutes to other members of its team. It wasn't until BW that Espeon finally skyrocketed in usage and surpassed Umbreon, when it was given Magic Bounce as its hidden ability (Umbreon got Inner Focus, which again, isn't very useful). This allowed Espeon to serve as a status shield that deflected hazards and crippling moves like Thunder Wave and Sleep Powder, while also allowing it to reliably prevent Roar and Whirlwind from disrupting Baton Pass chains. Espeon also got Stored Power this generation, a move that let it dump the merits of every accumulated boost from a Baton Pass chain into one super-powerful STAB attack, making it very dangerous late-game if the player had successfully kept the chain intact. Umbreon lost the ability to pass the trapping effect of Mean Look to a teammate, and so it began to be used primarily as a Wish passer and Heal Bell cleric, roles that its amazing bulk allowed it to pull off very well. While it didn't see quite as much prosperity as Espeon did, Umbreon was still respected in BW UU as easily one of the best walls and supporters in the tier. In the transition to XY, with the addition of Scolipede as an improved Speed Boost lead over Ninjask, full Baton Pass chain teams are considered so good that they were actually limited with a complex ban on Smogon to prevent more than three Pokémon on a team from carrying Baton Pass, and Espeon was largely considered the main reason for why these kinds of teams were nigh-on impossible to stop. Dazzling Gleam is a new Fairy-type addition to Espeon's move arsenal that allows it to put the hurt on Dark-, Fighting-, and Dragon-types, while Umbreon picked up an unwelcome weakness to this new type in this generation and is, ironically, outclassed by Sylveon (the newest Fairy-type Eeveelution) as a special wall.

Plusle and Minun

This dynamic duo was designed with Double Battles in mind, a new style of battling that was introduced in ADV with the simultaneous debut of this pair. While initially regarded by many as the Pikachu knock-offs of Generation III, a closer look at their ability combination revealed that they were actually quite different and made a perfect match for each other. The two weren't anything special in-game, as most battles there were single battles, but they could really shine in Double Battles due to a ton of advantages they had when used together. With a decent 95 base Speed and reasonable other stats (Plusle has higher offense while Minun has a bit more bulk), these two could really dish out pain with all the boosts they could stack up. Being together automatically made their Plus and Minus abilities activate, giving them 403.5 and 373.5 Special Attack at maximum with Timid natures, respectively, right off the bat. STAB Electric-type moves from such powerful special offense really stung, and they also both had access to Helping Hand to add an additional 50% boost to any one of their attacks if they wanted. However, though these two made a potent combination, they were easily shut down by Ground-types or Pokémon with abilities that could nullify damage from Electric-type attacks. Additionally, any Double Battle strategy that included Earthquake could easily overwhelm the pair, and that was always a very popular move in Double Battles. As a result of how easily they could be beaten, they were unfortunately not used very much in competitive play despite how devastating their combined power was.

In DPP, Plusle and Minun gained Nasty Plot to push their already insane special offense combination to obscene heights, and they could also pass this +2 Special Attack boost to teammates with Baton Pass if the circumstances called for it. They also both picked up a new coverage move in Grass Knot, which gave them a way to hit Ground-types hard, getting an easy OHKO on those with a 4x weakness to Grass, such as Swampert and Rhyperior. BW brought the Air Balloon item, which could remove their only type weakness until they were struck by another damaging attack, and if Item Clause was not in effect, both Plusle and Minun could use it together. This could often give them a turn to set up Nasty Plot and/or Rain Dance without worrying about being knocked out right away by Ground-type onslaughts, and it also pressured the opponent to not let them get away with setting up and often derailed the original plans they had with their leads. Generation V also made Plus and Minus provide boosts for Pokémon with the same ability, not just Plus and Minus together; other Pokémon were given Plus or Minus to fill in this combination as well, but were usually not the best option for them to take. These Pokémon included Ampharos, Manectric, and oddly enough, Klinklang. The only remotely notable thing that XY brought for Plusle and Minun was a new potential Plus/Minus partner in Dedenne, but it's nothing too special. This pair can still be a powerful force in the Doubles competitive scene but is usually forgone in favor of Pokémon that have better stats and don't require specific partners to be effective.

Volbeat and Illumise

Volbeat and Illumise are another Pokémon pair divided by gender, with Volbeat being exclusively male and Illumise being exclusively female. Introduced in ADV and found on Route 117 of Hoenn, these two got some interesting moves and were pretty decent in-game for a little while, but were easily outclassed by other Pokémon later, as they only had good stats for the period of the game they were found in but later on were largely subpar compared to other Pokémon, and neither of them received an evolution to compensate. Being stuck with the abilities Oblivious and Illuminate didn't do very much for them either. Both had decent special bulk, and Volbeat had better Attack while Illumise had better Special Attack. Naturally, Signal Beam made a better STAB option for Volbeat (all Bug-type moves were physical in ADV), while moves like Giga Drain and Thunderbolt were better suited to Illumise. Volbeat also had an exclusive setup move in Tail Glow, which behaved like Nasty Plot by giving a +2 boost to Special Attack. Illumise could have made better use of this move for obvious reasons, but Volbeat could also pass the boost to a teammate via Baton Pass. Competitively, both Volbeat and Illumise were generally not used very much and were not considered viable choices when making teams in the ADV era, largely due to their mediocre stats and lack of powerful STAB moves.

DPP brought Volbeat the Swarm ability and gave Illumise the Tinted Lens ability, which were certainly improvements, but weren't enough to salvage them. Gaining Roost and U-turn were also minor buffs for them both, and the introduction of Bug Buzz and the physical/special move split gave Illumise a very nice STAB move to use with Tinted Lens. The introduction of Stealth Rock in this generation was not very nice to these fireflies or their longevity, however. It was Generation V that brought them amazing gifts in the Prankster ability and a buff to Tail Glow to now provide a +3 boost to Special Attack, as opposed to the previous +2 boost. This gave Volbeat the ability to Baton Pass huge Special Attack boosts to their teammates, and do so with priority. Not only that, but being able to lock enemies into non-damaging moves with Encore as well as paralyze foes with Thunder Wave in crucial moments with +1 priority was a great asset to teams. They still didn't see very much use in BW due to there being more prominent carriers of the Prankster ability, including Whimsicott, Sableye, Tornadus, and Thundurus, but nonetheless, the ability to pass +3 Special Attack after one turn of setup to a specially offensive teammate with priority could be devastating for any unsuspecting team in any tier. The two didn't gain very much in XY other than access to Dazzling Gleam, which added a new Fairy-type coverage move to their arsenal.

Lunatone and Solrock

Much more literally symbolic of a contrast between day and night than Espeon and Umbreon, these genderless Hoenn natives were introduced not only as direct references to the moon and the sun, but also as celestial bodies in and of themselves. Their habitat was within the mysterious Meteor Falls; Solrock was found in the Ruby and Emerald Versions while Lunatone was exclusive to Sapphire. In-game, they were decent Pokémon to use and had interesting movepools, but their Rock/Psychic typing rendered them weak to several common types, though they did receive Levitate as an ability to nullify their Ground weakness. Solrock's higher Attack power made it better at using the Rock-type side of its STAB options, while Lunatone's higher Special Attack made it a more proficient user of the Psychic-type STAB (all Rock-type moves were physical and all Psychic-type moves were special in ADV). In competitive play, their decidedly mediocre stats and aforementioned variety of weaknesses made them questionable choices for spots on a team and they weren't seen very often as a result, though being able to Explode and Baton Pass Cosmic Power boosts to teammates was pretty cool.

They did not receive any alternative abilities in any future generations, but it would probably be odd if they weren't seen levitating in battle anyway (although they are both interestingly able to trade Levitate away with Skill Swap). In DPP, they gained a stronger Rock-type STAB move in Stone Edge as well as access to Trick Room and Stealth Rock; there existed far better users of all of the moves, however. Also notable was that Solrock became able to use Will-O-Wisp to afflict its enemies with burn status. In BW, the pair was given recovery moves via Dream World, Moonlight and Morning Sun, that directly related to what they symbolize, and they got a new special Ground-type coverage move in Earth Power, giving Lunatone a usable Ground-type attack to match what Solrock already had with Earthquake. The transition to XY favored Lunatone, giving it an awesome Fairy-type coverage move in Moonblast but giving Solrock nothing worth mentioning. Sure, it can be said that Solrock has had Solar Beam since ADV when Lunatone got nothing, but Solrock is not a special attacker, while Lunatone is. While these cosmic creatures have always been rather disappointing in competitive battling, they are actually quite decent in XY Sky Battles, having access to Stealth Rock (probably the most important move in the meta), a resistance to Flying, and no weaknesses to any of the types commonly used to hit the many Flying-types found in the metagame.

Latias and Latios

Enter the mythical dragon twins of Hoenn. These roaming legends could only be found randomly in the wild after the player faced the Hoenn Pokémon League and defeated Steven. Latias was exclusively female and only found in Sapphire, while Latios was exclusively male and only available in Ruby, and the player could actually choose which one they would encounter in Emerald. The Eon Ticket event was an exception that allowed players to find the counterpart that didn't appear in their game otherwise. In-game, Latias and Latios were both absolutely incredible in their own respective rights, having high stats and amazing movepools. Latias was the bulkier of the two, making it more effective in fulfilling the role of a supporter, while Latios's stats had more offensive inclination and made it a very potent attacker; both Pokémon also had a great 110 base Speed as well. As far as competitive battling in ADV went, both Latias and Latios were so good that they were sent straight to Ubers, largely due to the elusive Soul Dew item, which increased special stats by 50% (like an auto-Calm Mind boost) when held by them. Both Pokémon used this to rampage through battles with a means to set up further with Calm Mind, heal off damage with Recover, and strike the opposition hard with powerful moves; both operated generally the same but with Latias being a bit better at taking hits and Latios being better at dishing them out.

Latias and Latios continued to be highly potent and versatile contenders on the battlefield in DPP. Light Clay + dual screens sets with Healing Wish and Memento, respectively, gained popularity as well, to allow teammates an easier time setting up for a sweep. In addition, this generation brought a handful of new important Dragon-types to Ubers, making the Lati twins' STAB Dragon-type attacks more relevant than ever. Smogon banned just Soul Dew and Latios to Ubers and made Latias usable in OU, which gave it a different competitive environment to become accustomed to in the age of Sinnoh, but it managed to shine brightly in both OU and Ubers until it was banned in late DPP along with Salamence. In BW, the pair's lack of Soul Dew in OU opened their item slots up to a huge number of possibilities, making the pair even more unpredictable than they were to begin with. Life Orb could be used as a mini-Soul Dew of sorts, while Choice Specs or Choice Scarf could be used for an automatic boost to Special Attack or Speed while also having the option of crippling enemies with Trick. Calm Mind sets also appreciated Leftovers recovery to ease setup and help keep their health in check. XY brought a few things to further keep Latias and Latios in check, the first of these being Fairy-types. Not only do they take super effective damage from moves of this new type, but foes that have this typing additionally are completely immune to Dragon-type moves, making their STAB Draco Meteor go from a huge nuke to something useless against them altogether. The Knock Off buff also wasn't very nice to them, as many Pokémon have access to the move and can hit their weaker defensive stat with it hard for super effective damage while also permanently depriving them of their item. By way of hacking the XY cartridges, unreleased Mega Evolutions were discovered for both Latias and Latios. Both forms were revealed to have increased stats and to retain their Dragon/Psychic typing, and oddly enough, the sprites for both Mega Latias and Mega Latios appear exactly the same, having more jet-like bodies and a purple color, with the only subtle difference being the color of their eyes. It is unknown whether Game Freak ditched these additions midway into development and just never removed the data from the games or if they are actually planned to be officially revealed in the upcoming Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games. We'll have to see!

Throh and Sawk

Generation V brought forth a new Fighting-type duo that was exclusively male and symbolized specific forms of Japanese martial alts—Throh embodies the combat style of judo, while Sawk is the direct personification of karate. While the two individually represent much more thoroughly defined behaviorisms than those of the previous Fighting-type pair of Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, these two were surprisingly not honored by a special sect like the former duo was to the Saffron City Fighting Dojo in RBY, and were instead found in the wild on common routes in Unova. Both made decent companions in-game in BW, with Throh being a slower and more bulky physical juggernaut, and Sawk having less bulk but being a great deal faster and a bit more offensively powerful. As far as competitive battling in the generation they were introduced in went, both had their selling points and a variety of good moves and sets; the only real problem was that they were both greatly overshadowed by other Fighting-types. Throh was outclassed completely by Conkeldurr, Scrafty, and Hariyama as a bulky Fighting-type, and Circle Throw and Storm Throw did not provide enough of a niche to help it stand out. Sawk was outclassed by Terrakion, Mienshao, Heracross, Hitmonlee, and several other Fighting-types as well. That said, both were quite decent contenders in BW NU where they were uninhibited by the Pokémon that made more ideal candidates for their roles; Throh most commonly ran a ChestoRest set with Circle Throw and Sawk was a potent offensive threat usually found with a Choice Band to maximize its power.

Throh's Guts ability was something that Conkeldurr and Hariyama also possessed, and so it wasn't a very special characteristic for it, but in lower tiers it could still use it while poisoned (Toxic Orb) or asleep (RestTalk) to deal boosted damage while shuffling enemies with Circle Throw. Sawk came with the Sturdy ability, an unheard-of trait for a Fighting-type, and this somewhat mitigated its lack of ideal bulk by allowing it to survive any one attack and get off at least one good hit even against an enemy with tons of offensive boosts. The pair got Inner Focus as an alternative ability, but that's hardly even worth a mention. Their shared hidden ability Mold Breaker, however, gave them an ideal option for hitting enemies without their abilities getting in the way; Throh usually preferred Guts but Sawk appreciated Mold Breaker for being able to hit Weezing and Mismagius on the switch-in with Earthquake. XY gave Throh and Sawk the improved Knock Off as a coverage option over Payback for hitting Ghost- and Psychic-types, but this was a gift that most of the Fighting-types that outclass them also received. Unfortunately, the only other thing they gained in the transition to XY was an unwelcome vulnerability to the new Fairy-types and Fairy-type attacks. The pair is likely doomed to only see competitive use in NU again this generation as a result.

Escavalier and Accelgor

Finally, the two warrior insects; Escavalier is designed after a jousting knight, and Accelgor is modeled after a ninja. They have two totally different approaches, but they are an undeniable pair in that one cannot exist without the other, as per their requirement for evolution. Over the generations, many Pokémon have been designed to evolve only when traded, and some additionally had to hold a specific item while traded as well. However, the only way to get Escavalier and Accelgor is to execute a trade involving Karrablast and Shelmet being specifically exchanged for one another. By looking at their designs, you can see physical resemblances of the Pokémon they must be traded for to achieve their evolved forms, indicating that the two actually blend attributes upon being exchanged; this was an interesting addition to Pokémon that had never been seen before Generation V, and this method of evolution has yet to be shared by any other Pokémon, making this a very unique pair. Escavalier gains a Steel typing upon evolution, and has very poor Speed but incredible attacking power and all-around bulk, as well as only one weakness. Accelgor has pitiful bulk but blistering Speed and good Special Attack, as well as a handful of useful move options such as Spikes, Yawn, and Final Gambit. Both roamed the corridors of RU last generation and were potent forces there individually.

Escavalier was given the Swarm and Shell Armor abilities and Overcoat as a hidden ability. In BW, Swarm was the most ideal for powering up its Megahorn attack when taken to low health, as Shell Armor prevented critical hits that often wouldn't happen anyway, and Overcoat's protection against damaging weather wasn't very helpful, especially since Escavalier's Steel typing already nullified sandstorm damage and allowed it to easily beat hail-based strategies. Accelgor got Hydration and Sticky Hold, with Unburden as a hidden ability. None of these were really useful for Accelgor, but Sticky Hold at least blocked Trick and Switcheroo; Hydration wasn't very good because it required rain support to work and Accelgor was so frail that nothing would bother to status it when they could easily just knock it out, and Unburden brought an often unneeded Speed boost because Accelgor naturally outsped everything in RU by a long shot anyway. XY brought a handful of changes for the pair, mainly for Escavalier. Steel's loss of resistances to Ghost- and Dark-type attacks hampered Escavalier's walling capabilities a bit, while the introduction of the Fairy type somewhat mitigated this new drawback by providing Escavalier with an offensive and defensive advantage against a new type of foe, though they do resist its Bug-type STAB. However, Escavalier gained a buff to its Overcoat ability that lets it serve as an absorber of powder-based moves like Spore and Sleep Powder, as well as awesome new coverage moves in the improved Knock Off and Drill Run, finally giving it something with which to hit the Fire-types that wall both of its STAB attacks for super effective damage on the switch-in. Accelgor also got the improved Knock Off to play around with, though it isn't nearly as effective for it as it is for Escavalier, and the only other significant change for Accelgor this generation is that the new Fairy-types wall its conventional Bug Buzz + Focus Blast attacking combination, so it may opt to run Sludge Bomb now as a result.

Conclusion

Many interesting pairs exist in Pokémon, and many more have yet to be introduced. Whether they represent likenesses of each other or are total opposites, they are sure to make their marks somehow, be it with in-game backstory, competitive play, or symbolic significance. Stay tuned for the next installment of Pokémon History, which will cover rivalries in Pokémon over the generations!

« Previous Article

Home