Pokemon Type Reviews: FIRE
We're not really going in any particular order here, so with normal and flying type out of the way, let's talk about fire types. As beautiful as it is painful, fire is sort of the edgy bad boy of the classical elements and one of the most popular of all possible motifs; up there with dinosaurs, rockets and swords as a basic fundamental "cool factor." There's a reason Charizard remains one of the most popular of all Pokemon, and to many, the true face of the franchise over Pikachu.
Unfortunately, fire has never been too high on my own list of favorite motifs. Perhaps it's due in part to its predictable inclusion in just about everything, or the predictable look and feel of so many fire-breathing dragons, firebirds and fire elementals, so I guess you could say I've long been burned out on fire.
Leave it to Pokemon, then, to make even this tired chemical reaction feel fresh and interesting again. Despite that fundamental nature, fire is one of the rarer Pokemon types, and its modest selection is chock full of clever plays on the theme, balanced of course by those predictable - but obligatory - fire-breathing dragons, firebirds and fire elementals.
Strategically, fire is one of the trickier Pokemon types to wield effectively. Weak to the ultra-common rock, ground, and of course water-type moves, fire pokemon tend to work better as "glass cannons" with emphasis on higher speed and attack, though it certainly helps that they boast one of the very few strengths against steel-type pokemon.
Unfortunately, fire has never been too high on my own list of favorite motifs. Perhaps it's due in part to its predictable inclusion in just about everything, or the predictable look and feel of so many fire-breathing dragons, firebirds and fire elementals, so I guess you could say I've long been burned out on fire.
Leave it to Pokemon, then, to make even this tired chemical reaction feel fresh and interesting again. Despite that fundamental nature, fire is one of the rarer Pokemon types, and its modest selection is chock full of clever plays on the theme, balanced of course by those predictable - but obligatory - fire-breathing dragons, firebirds and fire elementals.
Strategically, fire is one of the trickier Pokemon types to wield effectively. Weak to the ultra-common rock, ground, and of course water-type moves, fire pokemon tend to work better as "glass cannons" with emphasis on higher speed and attack, though it certainly helps that they boast one of the very few strengths against steel-type pokemon.
MY TOP SIX FAVORITES:
MY LEAST FAVORITES:
Sorry I'm just not really big on these six. They don't do anything outstanding with their themes, and in some cases, are just far inferior to other, similar designs or even their own unevolved forms.
CLEVEREST USE OF FIRE:
Whoops...this is mostly the same as my favorites list. I guess cleverness is already one of my top criteria for a personal favorite. I just love exactly how fire is integrated into the "biology" and themes of these beasts. A smoking coal turtle? Burning salamander fumes? A fire-tongued anteater that evolved JUST to eat metal-plated ants?! These things are strokes of pure genius...though I have to say, Magcargo really takes the cake. A lava slug that "cools down" into a stony-shelled snail might be one of the most novel ideas in this entire series.
SCARIEST/MOST BADASS:
THE PRETTIEST:
These lists sure have a lot of crossover; that's probably going to be fairly typical for our type reviews, since they're from a more limited pool!
THE CUTEST:
FIRST PREV ARCHIVE NEXT LATEST
