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Normal-type Reviews: Bidoof & Bibarel

We’re back for the Normal-type reviews, and today we’re going to focus on Bidoof and Bibarel, a pair of early-game Pokémon first found in Hoenn! If you are ready with this one, please proceed.

Selected Fan Art (Artist: Reintastic)

It’s hard to believe that Bidoof used to be a sensational Pokémon, whose claim to fame is its excessively cartoonish face and very common encounter in Sinnoh, as well as subpar battling potential. These traits are considered to be annoying to the average player, as evidenced by people mocking it. Its infamy is even a reason for some to look highly on it, so it goes both ways. Bibarel is not as popular in that regard, but it still maintains a cartoonish face that Bidoof possesses, so it’s also infamous to a lesser extent.

Perhaps the silly-looking nature is not the fault of these Pokémon, since they look close to how a real beaver looks. The beaver’s nose looks somewhat big and round, its teeth have a tendency to be visible and its tail looks flat, which contribute to its dopey and cartoonish look.

Bidoof and Bibarel are the two-staged early-game Normal-type mammal of Sinnoh. There is a tendency for some people to call this group “early-game rodents”, but the truth is that only three regions are rodent families (Kanto, Sinnoh and Unova). As with Pokémon that fit this category, they have low stats and are meant to be a choice for the player to use early-game, since Normal is a good type to have early on. Bibarel, being a Water-type, is able to learn Water-type HM moves in addition to a few other HM moves, which is great for many trainers since it is suited to be the designated HM user, guaranteeing convenience in travels and loosening the requirement for key team members to use said moves.

As far as competitive viability for Bidoof and Bibarel go, they are blessed with great abilities, but because their stats are mostly subpar, it can’t use them very well. Basically, Simple quickens stat boosts and drops while Unaware ignore stat boosts and drops from the opponent, but because defences are lacking, it is difficult to take advantage of both abilities. One viable ability they do have, however, is Moody, which grants a two-stage increase in one stat and a one-stage decrease in another, resulting in a huge advantage overtime. This is only relevant in Singles since it is easier to maintain that advantage, unlike Doubles or Triples where it’s possible this Pokémon is ganged on. With Moody, it’s possible to outlast Arceus, even for Bidoof!

The only mention about these abilities are in Bidoof’s PokéDex entry, in which it is said to have nerves of steel as to be unperturbed (Unaware) and being more agile and active than it appears (Moody). Not sure how Simple comes into play, so it’s probable that it is related to how beavers have a tendency to be busy, thus being simple-minded. It’s also possible that Bidoof is named as such because its abilities reflect its simple nature (Simple) and doofy face (Unaware, known as Doofus in Japanese), living up to the “doof” in Bidoof.

Bibarel is cited to be a industrious worker, working to build dams in order to build its nest using wood and mud. Of course, in order to get the wood, it needs some trees, which it could chew off and take parts of it for building. Being that Bibarel is based on a beaver, it is true that real beavers build their homes with mud and wood. The wood is for the structure while the mud is to keep the structure together when it hardens, like cement. The dams are also useful for protection, since beavers are tasty for certain animals, like bears. There are extra benefits with beaver dams, such as flood control and balance of nutrients through removing the excess, which is why they benefit humans, even the people in the Pokémon world.

It’s not mentioned that Bidoof build dams the way Bibarel do, but it does need to chew on wood and rocks so as to maintain its incisors, since it continually grows. Being that beavers are rodents, this is true: they need to continually chew on hard things so that their incisors don’t get unbearably long. It’s a good thing rodents are not large (the capybara is the largest rodent), because their need to chew on things would surely do a lot of damage to anything.

Beavers, being semi-aquatic, spend time in the water as much as it does on land, which is why they have features suited for water mobility, such as webbed feet and a flat tail. Perhaps this is the reason Bibarel becomes a Water-type. This is the first time an early game mammal gets a type change, but it won’t be the last (as Diggersby had proven). Bibarel isn’t strong, but it has enough traits to be a unique battler, even if it couldn’t capitalise its traits well.

Bidoof and Bibarel are indeed quirky Pokémon given some design choices that are deemed ugly to look at for some fans. However, some people would think they look cute for their dopey look. As for me, I appreciate them for being a beaver in a Pokémon world, because I consider beavers to be fascinating creatures (actually, any animal be considered a fascinating creature), and since they resemble their real counterparts, that’s even better. Besides, real beavers are cute in their own way.

Bidoof’s TCG Card

Like beavers, Bidoof shows an affinity for wooden things, and it looked like it chewed off the branch judging from the way the branch is cut off. It does look kind of cute, though.

Bibarel’s TCG Card

It’s hard to make up the scenery, but it does look like some ruins with a dam in front of it, indicating that this place is initially uninhabited until Bibarel make its home there. The slightly blue tint on the whole thing makes it look like this is underwater, even though that might not be the case.

Swagger

For some reason, these Pokémon makes certain players angry, which is why Swagger fits these Pokémon. It might have something to do with how common they are, and how they have funny faces, making it a source of ire for some players. Obviously it has its fans, so these Pokémon are more of a love-or-hate Pokémon.

Swagger is an annoying move because it induces confusion, which prevents the target from acting half the time. Instead they attack themselves, using their Attack stat. To make things riskier, Swagger increases Attack, which will either make the opposing Pokémon more dangerous or make them hurt themselves even more.

Because of the power increase, Foul Play is often a companion move for many Swagger users, since that attack uses the opponent’s Attack stat, therefore Foul Play deals more damage on a Swagger user to rub salt in their wound. It provided a source of ire and imbalance that Swagger is ultimately banned in Singles.

While this move isn’t intrinsically linked to Bidoof and Bibarel, the reaction by some people certainly is, with them probably being pumped and in anger at the sight of these Pokémon.

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