[DISCUSSION] Neglected Pokémon Spotlight: Beartic!

[0kamii]

 

Hey, everybody! It's 0kamii, and today is Friday!

I have not made a "Neglected Pokémon Spotlight" post since September. Gees, it's been a while. But I won't drone on about how work and school have gotten in the way. The reason y'alls liked the last one is because I took a pokémon that doesn't generally see a lot of attention, and present some logical reasons why you shouldn't leave it out in the cold. And this time, we're doing no different. The pokémon in question this time is none other than the Freezing Pokémon, Beartic!

 

Neglected pokémon Spotlight: Beartic!

 

Unlike the previous contender in the "Neglected Pokémon Spotlight" series, Beartic is not a pokémon that is necessarily hated. Rather, this polar bear gets the blunt end of the ignoring stick. Aside from occasional appearances in the new meta (appearing on 0.06% of teams according to Pikalytics), Beartic is currently chilling in the PU tier. This would give the impression that Beartic is utterly useless, but I beg to differ. Beartic is still a great pokémon if utilized properly, and I can prove it. Which is but one of several reasons why Beartic is a mon worthy of more attention.

Reason 1: Have you ever used one in battle?

 

 

I certainly have, and I'd do it again. Beartic can hit much harder than expected, and that's probably due to its 130 base attack. Yes, you heard that right. 130! That's the same as Garchomp. As thanks to Icicle Crash and Ice Punch, it has reliable STAB. Personally I prefer Icicle Crash because of the flinch chance, but Ice Punch can be just as good. Nintendo must've intentionally showered Beartic in some attention because prior to Gen 7, its Attack stat was only 110. A 20 point boost goes a long way, and Beartic makes great use of it. Not to mention it has enough coverage to be useful, getting moves like Aqua Jet for Swift Swim abuse, Superpower for all those Rock and Steel-Types that give it trouble, and Rock-Type attacks like Stone Edge and Rock Slide for its own shenanigans. Also, I know it got Slush Rush, but in my humble opinion, Swift Swim is still the superior Speed boosting ability. I wouldn't recommend Beartic in VGC, at least not right now (as there's no known working set), but if you want to experiment in recs with this guy, you will not be disappointed.

Reason 2: It has a great design!

 

 

What's that? You don't think Beartic has a great design? That it's just a polar bear? Well, dear reader, allow me to share with you a tale of Beartic's brethren up north. We all know that Beartic is based on a polar bear ('shirokuma' in Japanese), but what about that fact makes its design any better you ask? Simple. For those of you that don't know, the above photo was taken in 1960. It shows the hunter who successfully hunted an approximately 3.66m (12ft) tall polar bear. How tall is Beartic you ask? 8' 6". A whole 1.2m (4ft) shorter than a real-life polar bear (on its hind legs)! Not only that, but if we look at Beartic's official design, its paws are grossly ballooned, likely intended to imitate the gigantic paws of its real-life counterpart. What makes Beartic's design good is exactly what makes it so simple. It is just a polar bear, but its features are accentuated in a way that teaches you what is actually significant about a real polar bear's physiology. And I think that is pretty cool! By the way, that bear's paw is bigger than that guy's head. Just pointing that out...

Conclusion:

I know my last "Neglect Pokémon Spotlight" had three reasons why Garbodor was more likeable than we thought, but here there's really only two. I can't comment on Beartic's Shiny form, as in my opinion it's really not that great. It is suprisingly good in Double battles when paired with a Hail/Rain setter, and its real-life inspiration gives its exaggerated features a meaning outside of just looking like a fluffy triangle. What else do you need? I think Beartic is a pokémon that has potential to be a very good battler, but I'm not entirely sure what it's missing. Better defenses? Higher HP? Who knows, but as of now, Beartic is a pokémon I personally think is neglected, and I will defend this thing to that last! Wow, just realized that both these mons (Garbodor and Beartic) are from Gen 5. Coincidence...?

Thanks so much for reading, everyone! Hope I taught you something about Beartic that you didn't know previously. Also, stay tuned for updates on Amethyst 0mega's February giveaway, which (if all goes to plan) should be live next week. I'm very excited to kick things off, and I'll see you on Monday with a new, "All Our Favorite" post.

Battle onwards, friends!

- 0kamii