#11: Scyther & Scizor

And we have reached the last pair of Pokémon before we enter the top 10 tomorrow: the bug Pokémon Scyther and Scizor. Scyther is already a strong Pokémon, but it was quite a letdown in the first generation, especially because it didn't learn any bug- or flying-type moves other than the weak Wing Attack. And that was only in Yellow. Instead, it had access to moves like Slash, Skull Bash and Double-Edge. They're not bad moves, but none of them super effective to any Pokémon due to them being normal-type. That changed in generation II, when Scizor came up. Wing Attack got a boost from 35 to 60 power and Scyther could learn Steel Wing (a great move for the steel-type Scizor, which you can obtain by trading Scyther while having it hold a Metal Coat). Later on in the generations they could even learn moves like Aerial Ace, X-Scissor, Acrobatics (yessss!) and Brick Break and Scizor even Iron Head. Not bad at all! Give Scizor a movepool of Iron Head, X-Scissor, Acrobatics and Swords Dance to boost its attack with a whopping two stages and you have a powerhouse! The only letdown is its speed: Scyther is fast, but when it evolves into Scizor, Scizor loses much of that speed. Fortunately, Scizor's attack and defense go up, plus it gets a very useful steel-type, giving it resistances to many types and neutralizing its weaknesses for fighting, flying, rock and ground it would otherwise have. And an immunity for poison is always good!

Now, why do I like these Pokémon so much? Easy, they're just plain awesome bug Pokémon! Most bugs are either lame, weird, weak, too normal or alright, or a combination of all or a couple of before-mentioned adjectives, with the exception of a couple of Pokémon like Heracross, Yanmega, Volcarona, Leavanny and Scolipede. Yes, I know Shuckle and Shedinja are also in this list, but that's because they have weird or interesting characteristics worth having a spot in my list for, especially that cute little Shuckle. But Scyther and Scizor look like strong and actually hazardous, too. Scyther is too obviously a mantis Pokémon, but Scizor resembles red ants and mantises as well as lobsters due to its crab-like claws it gains upon evolution. Because of their dangerous appearances, their designs and their power, Scyther and Scizor are the two best bug-type Pokémon and therefore deserve a high spot in my list of favorite Pokémon, although they have to miss out on the top 10. No worries, because the ten best Pokémon are even better than Scyther and Scizor!