Now reading...
Normal-type Reviews: Miltank

Miltank

We’re back for the Normal-type reviews, and today we’re going to focus on Miltank, a cow Pokémon who could supply its own milk itself! If you are ready with this one, please proceed.

 
 

 

“Ah, Miltank. Along with Kangaskhan she was one of the “female, Normal, based-on-an-animal” Pokemon I always made room for when I was playing Gen 4 UU. Then Kangaskhan got blessed with a Mega Evolution and left her buddy behind. Miltank’s still fun to use though, not only is she bulky but she’s also deceptively fast and has recovery with her signature move Milk Drink. Outside of battle Miltank provides the Pokemon world with MooMoo Milk, which makes made me interested in seeing Pokemon farms where they gathered the food that people eat.” ~ sharkshocker

 
 

Miltank
Selected Fan Art (Artist: CasteelArt)

 

An impression one could get when observing Miltank would be that it looks like a stereotypical cow with the mandatory udders showing. This is obviously the case, and to add to that, it is given the styling of a Pokémon, so it basically could use its milk production for a battling advantage. One could also say that Miltank is Tauros’ counterpart because not only are they’re both cattle, they have different genders (Miltank is always female and Tauros is always male). It would be great if they share a common baby Pokémon, in that case.

The one thing that sticks out when observing Miltank is the udders. They cover a much bigger area on Miltank’s front compared to how much it cover an actual cow’s, which definitely makes it clear that one of Miltank’s specialty is milk. Milking cows can be a tricky process to do if one were to extract milk from them, and it’s also a matter of choosing the right time to do it. In Miltank’s case, it is a matter of pulling its udders up and down rhythmically to milk it. As for timing, it’s possible to train Miltank to milk itself when it needs to, which is very efficient for milk production.

When a cow shows its udders like as if nothing is wrong with it, this might be weird for some people who prefer modesty, since it’s similar to showing off breasts, which is indecent for anybody. When an animal does it, it drives the point home that it’s an animal since animals don’t dress modestly. It’s also often funny because they can go about their normal activities without it interfering much with them, whereas breasts tend to interfere with women’s activities if they’re loose.

Miltank’s milk production is quite abundant, being able to generate up to 20 litres of it per day. Because of this, no wonder it’s quite a popular product you can buy anywhere. Farms must’ve several Miltank to produce the milk, and then sell them as Moomoo Milk, which is quite cheap and restores a substantial amount of HP. Even better is that, unlike the Lemonade, you can buy in bulk! Miltank could even capitalise on this with the move Milk Drink and drink its own milk to recover its own HP, or to give up on its HP to recover for others (this drawback is to prevent unlimited HP recovery because out-of-battle moves can be reused indefinitely). It was the only user of this move until Gogoat is introduced to produce goat’s milk. Strangely, even males could do it, and even strangely, its pre-evolution Skiddy could use it.

The milk produced by Miltank is mainly for drinking, because it is nutritious, similar to any kind of milk. It is presumably delicious, because it is said to be enjoyed by children and grown-ups alike. With that nutrition, it is great for growing children and recovering sick people. Likewise, this applies to the Pokémon. Interestingly, Miltank’s milk production increases if it is around babies of if it just have a baby itself, presumably to supply the milk for them. Because milk can be made into other daily products, this is also done with Moomoo Milk to make yoghurt for anybody who couldn’t drink the milk for whatever reason. Since confectionaries are found in the Pokémon world, they are presumably made using that milk.

In Gold, Silver and Crystal, Miltank was infamous for being a tough challenger in Goldenrod City Gym, where Whitney used it as her ultimate Pokémon. It is annoying for its usage of Attract, which guarantees that any male Pokémon will have a hard time moving (especially the starter since it is rarely female), while its usage of Rollout will pile the damage. Even in the anime, Miltank was the major obstacle for Ash to obtain the Plain Badge because its Rollout was too powerful until Ash learned something to overcome its constant rolling about in a rematch. Because Miltank is practically a fully-evolved Pokémon, its stats might have been too much for the team at that point (it was the third Gym). In the remakes, Whitney’s Miltank has Scrappy, which means that Ghost-types cannot avoid its Normal STAB. Even though it might seem like too much, it won’t be an issue if you plan for the battle, such as using a female Graveler for its resistance to all of Miltank’s moves.

Even though Miltank is quite a toughie in-game, how does it fare in real battles? It certainly have a lot going for it as a defensive Pokémon, such as the high Defence and having recovery, as well as abilities that are defensive, mainly Thick Fat and Sap Sipper. Not only that, it is quite fast for a defensive Pokémon (an uncommon advantage), so it could apply its status moves well, namely Heal Bell and recovery. The main problem with Miltank is essentially its inability to provide much on the offensive front, since its attacks have moderate Base Power, not including STAB. If it uses Scrappy to get past Ghost-types, it will forgo its extra resistances. It is not the best Curse user either because its Special Defence is on the low side, and without the extra resistances, it won’t outlast a Special attacker (and if you do use those abilities, it covers fewer things with its attacks). Miltank has some great qualities, yes, but those qualities are better by other Pokémon.

It’s understandable as to why female cattle Pokémon is needed in the Pokémon world, since milk is healthy, and so is it the case for the citizens there. It’s also an effort for the Pokémon world to reflect the real world, if it were to be relatable. Miltank’s existence is also quite funny mainly because not only it is upfront about its udders, it could also drink its own milk for recovery.

 
 

+ Able to provide milk on its own
+ Being upfront about its udders is funny
+ Nutritious milk
± Being a challenge in the games
– Now has competition as milk producer

 
 
 
 

TCG Card

Whitney's Miltank (VS 19)

This Miltank is situated in its natural habitat: a wide-open farm. Discounting that it’s not exactly natural for cows to be in wide-open farms, it is still natural because Miltank’s productivity in milk makes it found in farms normally. With that aside, this Pokémon is said to belong to Whitney, who is a natural with this Pokémon not only because she has one, but because it is her powerful boss Pokémon.

 
 
 
 

Milk Drink

Because of Miltank’s ability to produce a lot of milk a day, it goes without saying that Milk Drink is the move that represents Milk Drink.

This is a standard recovery move that Miltank is almost always going to have, mainly because it is so reliable for a defensive Pokémon. Outside of battle, Miltank could sacrifice some of its HP to recover another ally’s similar to Soft-Boiled, so it’s not just useful in-battle.

In Generation 6, it turns out that Miltank’s not the only Pokémon with Milk Drink anymore, since Gogoat learns this move too (and surprisingly, Skiddo). Even weirder is that both genders could learn this move, so make of that what you will. The reason they learn it is that goat’s milk is an alternative form of milk to drink, and it’s also a great move for Gogoat to use because of the recovery it provides.

Overall, Milk Drink is a useful and reliable move.

 
 
 
 

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

Thanks for reading.

 

Next Article: Minccino & Cinccino


Ongoing Conversation