PKMN of the Week: Pichu

A day late, but hey, it's here.

Pichu is a small ground-dwelling rodent. Its fur is very short, and it is pale yellow in color. The tips of its large ears are black, and it has additional black markings on its neck and tail. Its tail is short, but still bears some resemblance to the large lightning-bolt structure it will develop later on in life. It has pouches in its cheeks, which are pinkish colored and used for storing electricity. Its nose is extremely small, almost like a dot.

Pichu, like its evolutions, is capable of producing electrical sparks from its cheeks, charging itself with electricity more easily on days with thunderclouds or when the air is very dry. However, since Pichu is only a baby, it cannot control them as well, and may release electricity unintentionally. Fortunately, it is not able to store large amounts of electricity in its body.

Pichu, and its evolution family, Pikachu and Raichu, are the only known Pokémon that can learn Volt Tackle.

Source: BULBAPEDIA

PKMN of the Week: Skarmory

Skarmory are tall birds with long necks and long legs. They have red feathers under sheaths that cover their very sharp wings. Their skin and feathers are hard because they live and are raised in very harsh conditions. Their nests are usually found in thorn bushes, where continual scratching of their skin will eventually harden it into an iron-like state. Skarmory, like most Steel-type Pokémon, are silver-gray except for their red feathers, yellow eyes, and metallic-blue neck, talons, and tail. Their feet both have three toes on them, two in front and one in back, and their tail has hooked ends. Skarmory also possesses a pointed, triangular crest on its head, and, although Skarmory are otherwise birdlike, several teeth in its lower jaw. Their wings are actually hollow, despite their appearance, allowing them to travel up to 190mph.

• No other Pokémon has the same type combination as Skarmory.
• Skarmory is the only Pokémon to learn Steel Wing via level-up, and is one of only three Pokémon that get STAB from it. The other two are Scizor and Empoleon.
• Skarmory has the highest base Defense of all Flying-types.

SOURCE: BULBAPEDIA

PKMN of the Week: Salamence

Lets kick off 2011 with a powerhouse!

Salamence have long, heavy tails which can catapult enemies that enter its territory yards into the air at an instant. Its extremely rough and sturdy body is quite tough and hard to penetrate, especially its almost metallic, red, blade-like wings. Salamence have long necks which allow them to take in deep breaths to store and charge very intense Dragon and Fire attacks.

Triva:

• Salamence shares the same species name with Horsea, Dratini, and their evolutions. They are all known as Dragon Pokémon.
• Salamence is, along with Shelgon, the only Dragon-type that can learn Rollout.

Source: Bulbapeida

Recap of 2010 PKMN of the Week

PKMN of the Week: Nidoking

Today we are going to go over another classic Pokémon. I think it's a good week to talk about Nidoking. That... and... I've been listening to a lot of Jay-Z. Not sure where the relation comes in with these two.

Much larger than their previous evolutions, Nidoking now have the ability to stand on their hind legs. Unlike his pre-evolutions, Nidoking is purple instead of fuchsia, and he does not possess spots. Nidoking’s most prominent feature is its large, pointed, venomous horn which it uses extensively for battling purposes. Nidoking’s ears have small pointed extensions on the tips, and the insides of its round ears are green-colored. Nidoking have five teeth on each side of their lower jaw, the fifth protruding out of the jaw and thus visible when its mouth is closed. Nidoking’s eyes are shaped like scalene triangles, and there is fur growing off the bottom of his jaw. The spines growing down Nidoking’s back are extremely large, as is its tail, which is decorated with several thin stripes. Its chest and abdomen, gray in coloration, seem to be quite muscular. Nidoking has white-colored ridges on its three-clawed arms and a single, large, hoof-like toe.

Some Fun Facts:

• Nidoking and its female counterpart Nidoqueen share the same species name with Rhydon and Rhyperior. They are all known as Drill Pokémon. Coincidentally, all four are also Ground-types.
• Nidoqueen and Nidoking are the only Pokémon with a Poison/Ground type combination.

SOURCE: BULBAPEDIA

PKMN of the Week: Magmar

This week, to celebrate Critical Hit, we are going to be talking about Magmar.

It evolves from Magby starting at level 30, and evolves into Magmortar when traded holding a Magmarizer.

Magmar is a Pokémon with a human-like stance that has traits of a duck and a mythical salamander. Magmar has a red body with a yellow flame design on it. It has a yellow tail that has a flame on it. Magmar has yellow thighs, black legs and red feet with two toes each. Magmar's arms are covered in red, rigid scales and it has red hands with five fingers. Magmar has a row of red spikes running down its back. Magmar has two lumps on its forehead with a flame on top of each one, and a yellow beak.

Due to Magmar's tail-flame and partial-reptilian appearance, it has been considered to be a distant cousin of the Charmander-line.

Fun Fact:
Magmar is one of four Pokémon to receive both a pre-evolution and new evolution in generations after its release. The other three are Chansey, Electabuzz, and Roselia. 

PKMN of the Week: Poliwhirl

In honor to celebrate our new Poli-Shirt, what better to do so by having this week dedicated to one of the Pokémon that inspired everything! Poliwhirl has always been a popular picking when Pokémon came over to the America's in 1998. Now his swirl is back on our exclusive shirt, and back on the site to kick off our Monday. 

It evolves from Poliwag at level 25, and then into either Poliwrath when exposed to a Water Stone or Politoed when traded holding a King's Rock.

Poliwag undergoes a dramatic change when it evolves to Poliwhirl. The most notable difference is that it has become bigger and gained arms with gloved hands while losing its tail. The eyes have moved to the top of its head and it apparently loses its visible mouth. Its nostrils are now visible. Curiously, the swirl on its abdomen as Poliwag reverses when it evolves. The skin on most of Poliwhirl’s body is moist, due to an oily fluid. However, the skin on its belly spiral feels smooth.

• The logo for the Pokémon Center in Tokyo featured Poliwhirl until it was replaced by Piplup in July 2007.

• Poliwhirl is based on a tadpole. The spiral pattern on its belly is supposed to represent how the organs of tadpoles can sometimes be seen through their transparent skin. Its evolution is based on a tadpole's metamorphosis.

PKMN of the Week: Miltank

Miltank is a Normal-type Pokémon.
It is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon.

Miltank is a mostly pink colored bipedal cow with blue eyes, small horns and a long, cream-colored tail with a black ball in the end. She has a cream colored belly with four udders. There are black spots on her back as well as a black "hood."

Miltank has the highest base Defense of all non-legendary Normal-type Pokémon at 105.

Source: Bulbapeida

PKMN of the Week: Zapdos

Another legendary this week: Zapdos!

Zapdos is one of the legendary birds of Kanto. It is a poorly understood species, believed by many to be pure myth. It is always seen in conjunction with thunderstorms, leading many to believe that it gathers energy from the electricity in the atmosphere. It is also reported to cause massive crackling and snapping sounds when it flies; these are attributed to the lightning bolts it is said to shed when airborne.

Zapdos has the second highest Special Attack of all Electric-types with 125. Magnezone ranks first in this regard.

Zapdos is the only one of the legendary birds to not have a double weakness to Rock (or for that matter, any double weakness).

Zapdos's name is a combination of the word zap and the Spanish word for two, dos, indicating that it is the second in the series of Kanto legendary birds. Its Japanese name is simply Thunder.

Source: Bulbapeida