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Normal-type Reviews: Porygon, Porygon2 & Porygon-Z

We’re back for the Normal-type reviews, and today we’re going to focus on Porygon, Porygon2 and Porygon-Z, virtual Pokémon that are tangible! If you are ready with this one, please proceed.

Selected Fan Art (Artist: aomonii＠ついった)

There are many ways to define a Pokémon, so an artificial monster is one of the definitions. As artificial Pokémon, the Porygon family do not behave like ordinary Pokémon, but they could at least be programmed or learn to behave like them, which makes them Pokémon in the end anyhow. To evolve Porygon, one needs to have an Up-Grade and trade it away, and to evolve Porygon2, one needs a Dubious Disc and trade it away. Since you need to trade twice with the appropriate items, it is often troublesome to obtain Porygon-Z.

The shape of Porygon is quite artificial, since it is drastically polygonal that not even minerals like rocks and diamonds could compare to. It looks like it is designed based on early attempts in displaying a 3D model of an object, which is low on polygons but gets the job done. For example, there’s Mario’s incarnation in Super Mario 64 and the Final Fantasy characters in Final Fantasy VII. Its evolutions are also quite artificial to a lesser extent, but you can still tell that they aren’t meant to be real animals.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Porygon is a man-made Pokémon consisting of program code. It is even mentioned that Porygon is created by scientists using the most advanced technologies, and it is considered the first artificial Pokémon. It might have been true in Generation 1, but some Pokémon in future Generations are also stated to be artificial, such as Castform and Golett. Anyway, since Porygon is artificial, it doesn’t need to breathe; therefore it can be placed in any environment, probably because it might have a reaction to it.

The ability to travel in cyberspace is something Porygon is able to do, since it is made of programming code. In order to become one with the program, Porygon converts itself into program data to be able to better travel in the parts of cyberspace. This ability could come in handy when there is a virus that requires extermination, or when there’s a data you want to remove before it gets to the receiver (probably something embarrassing). In order to prevent a Porygon infestation, it is copy-protected. It doesn’t stop it from being able to breed for more, when a Ditto is involved.

Porygon is the most basic Pokémon for not only being the first Pokémon in line, but also being basic in appearance and limited in behaviour. If upgraded to Porygon2, the Pokémon gets a smoother look and a more adaptable behaviour. In a 3D model, when subdivision is applied, that model gets a smoother look, but sometimes it will make that model look artificial. Porygon2’s overall intelligence has improved to be able to learn what it senses and occasionally do things it isn’t programmed to do. Acquiring new emotions and gestures are part of the program.

Space exploration is one reason Porygon2 is created to do, and earlier attempts at Porygon didn’t work well because it cannot fly to space. Porygon2 can’t fly too, but it is fit for space exploration because it is inorganic and can learn things. Through installing planetary development software, Porygon2 becomes capable in working in space.

When an extra upgrade is applied to Porygon2 that results in Porygon-Z, it gains some new abilities. The main ability it gains is to allow it to travel through alien dimensions. Unfortunately, the disc that is used to get Porygon-Z didn’t work as planned. There is no further explanation on how it didn’t work as planned from the PokéDex, so I am going to guess that Porygon-Z cannot actually travel to different dimensions, but is able to use Trick Room naturally. The Dubious Disc might not be compatible with Porygon2’s programming, possibly because it is not tested well for bugs, which is why Porygon-Z is not quite stable.

The reason these Pokémon are Normal-type is mainly because it is a neutral type. I’ve always thought that the Pokémon could be partially Ghost-type because of their ability to convert into data, which is by definition intangible. It also puts a new spin on what a Ghost-type can be, instead of something spiritual. Anyway, remember that the Pokémon could adapt to its environment, so it could change its type. Their ability to convert into different types with Conversion or Conversion 2 is something that’s tied to their abilities. It can either make its type get a STAB with the former or to resist the opponent’s moves with the latter.

Not only are they adaptable in their moves, they are adaptable in their abilities too. Trace is to basically copy an opponent’s skill, Download is to adapt to the opponent by buffing its power to target their weak side, Adaptability is to improve Porygon-Z’s STAB to be more powerful, and finally, Analytic befits the nature of these Pokémon to read the opponent and plan their strikes better.

Porygon-Z is a very powerful Special attacker, boasting a high Special Attack, good Special moves and abilities to use it with. If it opts for Adaptability, it could unleash powerful Tri Attacks, but if it uses Download, there is a chance to increase its high Special Attack. It is not the fastest Pokémon, so it couldn’t sweep, but if you use Agility, it gains Speed advantage. One could also use Nasty Plot to boost its already high Special Attack. Porygon2 is useful too, because it could use Eviolite to boost its defences, making it a good defensive since it has Recover and Trace to use the opponent’s abilities against them. It is used mainly as a supporter with Trick Room and Thunder Wave, but it is also an effective user of Analytic because it is generally slow, and this ability even activates on Pokémon that are switched in.

When you look at the Pokémon, one would conjure an image of a bird, because they are shaped like one, particularly ducks. Porygon-Z looks less like a duck and more like a flying bird. Of course, they don’t behave like birds. For one, their “beaks” don’t function the same way as bird beaks. I do wonder why the Porygon family look like ducks, because there isn’t something that comes to mind as to why artificial Pokémon should look like them. It might be more suitable if they look like teapots, based on the Utah Teapot, an early 3D model that is quite popular. Perhaps using teapots is too strange for an artificial Pokémon, and ducks are used because that’s the first successful specimen in artificially creating a Pokémon.

Porygon has an unfortunate run in the anime. You see, a long time ago, Porygon starred in an anime episode where the characters travel to a virtual world, and while there, they ride on Porygon, which could travel there more easily. One part of that episode contains very quick flashes that are especially harmful for some people who couldn’t stand the strain, and as a result, many people got seizures. Amusingly, that part was shown on the news, and more people got seizures. It should be noted that it was Pikachu’s electric attack on vaccine missiles that requires rapid flashing, but because this episode is strongly associated to Porygon, it cannot appear in any further anime episode indefinitely, along with its evolutionary relatives. It’s one of the famous stories associated with Pokémon during its heyday that fans should eventually learn about.

Perhaps Porygon is a reference to how Pokémon is a computer game, so one such Pokémon is made to cater to this. It ended up as something grander than that, because it basically has a purpose and has a story behind its creation in-game. In addition, Porygon’s family behave like real Pokémon in a Pokémon battle that it is already difficult to distinguish between whether they’re real or artificial. In a way, they successfully become a real Pokémon (similar to Pinocchio becoming a real boy).

Porygon’s TCG Card

While it’s one of the earliest cards printed, this card’s simplistic art style is representative of Porygon’s rudimentary look. Every object are lacking in curves, which is similar to how 3D models were early on, where they weren’t sufficient enough to be modelled in such a way that gives them curvy edges.

Porygon2’s TCG Card

It’s hard to make out if you don’t take a good look, but those pictures on black paper are Porygon2’s modelling references. This is a suitable card for Porygon2 because it represents the planning that goes into providing Porygon2 for its next step in evolution. This Pokémon is standing beside the plans, which is sure to be pleasing to see for those who contributed to its progress. The pixel particles on this card fit Porygon2’s digital aspect quite well, although those are found on many cards too.

Porygon-Z’s TCG Card

Wherever Porygon-Z is travelling looks like it is travelling in an unknown dimension, which is something Porygon-Z is known to do. The glossiness of Porygon-Z’s skin is another thing that is notable, given the artificial origins of Porygon-Z. It’s interesting that like the selected Porygon-Z card, the particles are pixellated.

Conversion & Conversion 2

Both Conversion and its iterative version are moves that are only learned by the Porygon family, and together with the adaptive nature of the Porygon family, they represent this family of Pokémon the best.

Both moves deal with changing types, but the way they change the user’s type are different. Basically, Conversion changed the user’s type based on what move they learn (for Generation 6, it’s the first move), which grants STAB on that move. For Conversion 2, it will cause the user to change its type to a type that resists the last move’s type, so for example, if Ice Beam was used beforehand, then the user will become Fire-, Water-, Ice- or Steel-type. Interestingly, Conversion’s original effect was to change the user’s type to match the opponent, but its effect live on in Reflect Type. Strangely, Reflect Type is not learned by the Porygon family, which would be fitting in that the original Porygon could already do this at first.

The former move could be used for offensive purposes, but it could also change the Porygon family to a more favourable type like Ghost (Shadow Ball) or Electric (Thunderbolt). The latter move could be used for defensive purposes to resist a repeatedly-used attack, so if the user is a Dragon-type attacker, then changing to a Steel-type would be a huge benefit. Unfortunately, the relative lack of Speed among this family makes such an ordeal difficult to take advantage of, and it’s not like Normal is a terrible type for them, with only one weakness and STAB that covers most types.

Overall, the signature moves look like they have some neat applications, but the family’s incompatibility with the true potential of those moves prevent it from being used properly, and thus, rarely seen.

That’s all for today’s article. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it.