[DISCUSSION] All Our Favorite Ultra Beasts!

[0kamii]

 

Legends in making, I am 0kamii! And this post has been a long time coming, so I think it's about time I sit down and do it!

Ultra Beasts. It's hard to imagine a stranger addition to the Pokémon roster, what with their enlongated body parts, mysterious origins, and anatomical disproportions. Of course, Nintendo did what they always do and turned their exaggerated features into strengths. Now, these oddities are some of the most common mons in the new meta, with the likes of Kartana, Celesteela, Stakataka, and even Nihilego making their way onto World Championship level teams. Clearly, these creature aren't just beasts in name only, and so today I thought it'd be cool to shine and spotlight on some of our favorite otherworldly allies.

Now, personally speaking, I have a very strange relationship with Ultra Beasts. I remember when they were first revealed, and there was a distinct air of mystery around them. Which means, being the control freak that I am, I didn't particularly like that. I wanted to know, and I'm sure we all remember the theory about Lillie, Gladion, and Lusamine being the human forms of the various Ultra Beasts. Over time however, these weirdos have really grown on me, and my favorite among them has been an ever changing battle. I already named my personal favorite in my top five favorite US/UM exclusive mon list, but in case you haven't read that, I'll reiterate it here. My personal favorite Ultra Beast, without a shadow of a doubt, is:

 

Naganadel

 

Naganadel @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 84 HP / 252 Sp. Atk / 172 Spd
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Sludge Bomb
- Tailwind
- Snarl

 

Yes, yes. I know. I've gushed over Naganadel once before, so I'll keep this brief. When Sun and Moon first came out and we all got a little taste of the Ultra Beasts, Guzzlord quickly became my favorite because I thought it had the coolest design and it was the only Dragon-type, i.e. my favorite type. However, part of what makes me like a pokémon is its prowess in battle, be it in competitive or recs. Naturally, Guzzlord has a plethora of problems that makes it very difficult to use in both those formats. So for a while, that title actually went to Xurkitree. But then, lo and behold, US/UM gave us one of the coolest, most un-pokémon looking creatures to ever get churned out of the series. And that was precisely what I loved about it! Naganadel wasn't just a cool looking non-mon, it was a cool looking Dragon-type non-mon! Finally, the Ultra Beasts had a cool dragon among their numbers, and all memories of the time Guzzlord had been my favorite just faded away. Naganadel isn't exactly a star in competitive, but it fills a useful niche as a Tailwind setter with some decent utility, and that's good enough for me. Also, it's Shiny. Enough said.

 

 

Other Ultra Beasts I adore:

 

 

 

What can I say about Stakataka? It's probably the most unexpected Ultra Beast on this list. And that's unexpected for me as well. I never thought I'd like this pile of eyed bricks as much as I do, but wonders never cease. I initially didn't like Stakataka, but again, part of what makes me like a pokémon is its battle prowess. Before I knew it, Stakataka was being adopted by the VGC community as a deadly Trick Room sweeper with Gyro Ball, Rock Slide, and even the ability to set its own Trick Room. Stakataka has earned my respect, and I even came up with a funny comic idea for it. Once it's finished, I'll be sure to post it to the fanart thread. In the meantime, I await the chance to use this thing in competitive play. Maybe my next team? You earned it buddy.

Xurkitree was my favorite Ultra Beast prior to Naganadel's release. It usurped Guzzlord's place once I saw how effective it could be at the hands of Sam Pandelis in the 2017 World Championships. It was featured on several of the teams I'd helped my friends build, and I just love its design, animations, and personality in Pokémon Refresh. To me, Xurkitree just had a lot of character for something with so few parts, and I thought that was irrevocably charming!

Buzzwole, aside from Stakataka, is probably the newest addition to this list. The main reason was that when I Shiny hunted it, I got it in only 121 soft-resets, making it officially the fastest soft-reset hunt I have ever attempted. On top of that, it secured a spot on Sebastian Escalante's Top 16 Worlds team in 2017, which to me meant this swole buzzer wasn't just packing guns. He too has a lot of personality, and my love for this guy only grew after I watched this video by Truegreen7. I'll let Ron do the talking for me...

 

 

Honorable mentions:

 

  

 

And there you have it! Long overdue I know, but I'm a junior publisher now. Sadly, I don't have as much time as I used to, but I promised you all that ol' 0kamii is here to stay, and I intend to keep that promise as long as I can. Be sure to let me know what YOUR favorite Ultra Beast is in the thread below, and I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving, if you're celebrating it. Stay tuned for details on my upcoming giveaway, and I wish you all safety on this inbound Black Friday. The lines...oh sweet Arceus the lines...

Thanks for much for reading, everyone! Battle onwards, friends!

- 0kamii