We’re back for the Normal-type reviews, and today we’re going to focus on Glameow and Purugly, a couple of cats who have style! If you are ready with this one, please proceed.
Selected Fan Art (Artist: Circus-Of-Fate)
While there is no shortage of cats in Pokémon, it wouldn’t hurt to have more since cats are popular animals. These cats are one to look stylish, with fluffs on their fur here and there, different-coloured eyelids and ears that stand on end (Purugly even has straight whiskers). When people choose the cats to rear, their look is one factor that determines the species to keep. These cat Pokémon are not conventionally cute, but there are surely someone who appreciates their cattiness.
One couldn’t help but stare at their half-open eyes, but it is not necessarily the wisest thing to do. Glameow’s more dilated eyes make it seem more hypnotic, which it could achieve by staring at them. With the tendency for cats to stare at people, when they stare at the cats, certain people couldn’t help by be in a staring contest with them. There is something about a cat’s stare that makes one can’t help but pay attention to it, as if we are becoming interested in them as they are to us. It’s not likely that they will out-stare the cat because cats don’t close their eyes to blink, which is useful for hunting at the right moment. Purugly’s more determined glare is sure to be unnerving and sometimes intimidating with that tougher build, or it could just be willing to win in any staring contest.
Because of the way a cat’s face look, it looks like they are frowning. Their attitude is also rarely affectionate based on people’s understanding on what’s affectionate, so one might view cats as being cranky. The habits of a cat might also be damaging to your property, such as the clawing of furniture, which is what Glameow does if it is displeased. Glameow is indeed quite damaging if displeased, since it will want to hook its claws in the nose of the trainer if not fed, indicating that it is a cat that waits for the food to come instead of one that hunts for it. Because of that, going through with that threat does more harm than good, potentially stopping food from being served. I guess some people find this funny, but I find violence like this as a tragedy.
That isn’t to say that Glameow is negative, because it is also capable of positivity. When it feels affectionate, it will purr, which is a nice sound from a cat that makes one feel more relaxed. Its tail, which looks like a dancing ribbon, is used to demonstrate some stylish movements when Glameow is happy. Glameow is like a natural gymnast with a ribbon, both in look and talent. This could potentially make up for the trouble you have with this Pokémon, as it is like having a free dancer around.
When Glameow evolves into Purugly, it gained weight; a lot of weight (from 3.9kg to 43.8kg). With an evolution like this, it’s as if you need to overfeed Glameow to evolve it, but it’s not the case (it uses the traditional evolution by level-up). Like any animal, it is possible for cats to get fat, and it’s more likely for a housecat, which is what Glameow is. Because of the extra muscle and fat, Purugly doesn’t seem to be fit for dancing with the ribbon-like tail, instead using it to appear bigger through binding itself with them.
The evolution appears to make Purugly look belligerent as it stands straight and gives off a serious stare. With a bigger body, it makes Purugly more inclined to bully a smaller Pokémon’s nest that it deems comfortable and claim it as its own. Cats do have the ability to raise their fur to make themselves look bigger in order to scare others, but this is not likely the case, since Purugly already looks beefy, so it must be quite proud of its body.
Because of the wildly different statures on Glameow and Purugly, their abilities are also different (except Own Tempo), though oddly not their stat distribution (meaning that Purugly is fast and frail like Glameow even if it doesn’t look like it). Of the two, Purugly’s abilities are more primed for battle because one of them gives it type resistances (Thick Fat) and the other boosts its Attack when it stat drops by others (Defiant). By contrast, Glameow has Limber to dodge paralysis and Keen Eye to ignore evasion. With Speed as an advantage, Purugly would make good use of its average Attack. Remember that they learn Hypnosis, which could work with Hone Claws to boost power and the chance Hypnosis hits.
For all intents and purposes, Glameow and Purugly are based on housecats with some fancy flair. This is as normal as you can get, because there aren’t much in terms of inspiration, but they do have some swirly tails and unnerving stares. Their caricature-like faces makes it easy for one to imagine them as real people. I do think cats are quite cute, but it’s really not for me because I don’t think I could bear with the habits of a cat.
+ Both Pokémon contrast each other
± Behaviour might not suit everyone
– Contrast is not applied in battling
Glameow’s TCG Card
When Glameow stands on its two feet, it looks strange, since unlike many cat Pokémon, its default pose is standing on four legs like a real cat. Because of the way Glameow stands, it must be in the middle of dancing. This would explain its slightly unnatural pose even though it might be a natural in its dance movements.
Purugly’s TCG Card
The style in which Purugly displays while walking is one of elegance. Despite its angular whiskers, it has a smooth style in its walking, and the puff at the tip of its tail even looks like it’s carrying a handbag. It is hinted that it is a brute that barges into other Pokémon’s nest as its own, and that is not hard to see due to how big-bodied Purugly is. You can say Purugly is a “fat cat” in more ways than one.
Fake Out
Fake Out is known as Slap Hands, which if you know how this move is animated, you can see how it makes sense. Interestingly, every cat Pokémon knows this move, including Glameow and Purugly. Since this move relies on deception to surprise the opponent, it surprises them so much that it makes them flinch.
When it comes to flinching, only faster Pokémon can do it, so slower Pokémon would never perform it. There are many advantages in flinching, so it would be the best interest for a trainer to be able to do it when possible.
Enter Fake Out: this move is tailored to guarantee a flinch, with its 100% guaranteed flinching backed by 100% accuracy. If that’s not enough, it has increased priority, so even slower Pokémon like Scrafty could make normally-faster opponents flinch. Originally, it has a priority of +1, but now it has a +3 priority, making is the fastest attack. Of course, surely such a powerful effect has a drawback, and you would be right. The drawback is this move only works on the first turn the user is sent out, because otherwise the opponent saw through the trick and isn’t surprised by it.
The fact that it is able to strike first makes it a really useful attack in any game. In Singles or Rotation, it gives a free attack on anything that’s not a Ghost-type. In Doubles or Triples, it stops a potentially dangerous move from an opponent, while providing some breathing room for a teammate.
Overall, the trickiness of Fake Out’s mechanics adds a layer of strategy in the game.
That’s all for today’s article. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it.
Next Article: Helioptile & Heliolisk
