#31: Samurott

Of all the fifth generation starters Samurott is by far my most favorite to use in the video games. As for design, I have to say that the grass snake Serperior is my favorite. I used Emboar once, but its second fighting-type is so unoriginal (Blaziken and Infernape preceded Emboar and both have a second fighting-type) that I soon ignored Tepig and made choices between Snivy and Oshawott. But Serperior has yet to come in my list and this article is about Samurott. Although Emboar is the strongest Pokémon of the three starter Pokémon offensive-wise, Samurott's stats are more well-rounded, with a good amount of almost everything and a slight preference for special attack and attack. That's just great. It's not overly fast, though, but it's also not terribly slow. Samurott is actually the friendliest to use for beginning players, and even skilled trainers for that matter. What I like most about Oshawott and its evolutions is that they so strongly resemble ninjas. Oshawott and Dewott use scalchops attached to either their chest or hips, while Samurott is able to stand on its hind legs and use its seamitars sheathed inside the scabbards on its forelegs, as you can see in the image below (click on it to enlarge it, or drag it to another tab). These scalchops and seamitars (a type of shell weapons and/or swords, to the looks of it) are being used for the move Razor Shell, their signature water-type move. If the Oshawott evolution line had gotten the added fighting-type instead of Pignite and Emboar, that would not have been out of place, however. Yeah, Samurott is easily one of my favorite starter Pokémon, with only Serperior being more appealing to me design-wise.