The 'Shroom:Issue 154/Strategy Wing

Director Notes

Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)

Welcome to the first edition of Strategy Wing in 2020, and the first edition of the decade, actually (let's agree to disagree, okay?). Of course, I have to acknowledge that, this year, you all have trusted me to direct The 'Shroom in close partnership with the wonderful Fun Stuff Director we call Roserade (talk), but the two of us have plenty to say about our plans for The 'Shroom as a whole elsewhere. Go read the Directorial Address for that information, or ask us, if you're curious.

This space, however, is going to remain focused on Strategy Wing. Unfortunately, we no longer have The Anatomy of a Kirby, but there's no need to despair. If you enjoyed the section, follow in its footsteps! Your sections don't need to be long and complicated to fit into Strategy Wing. Come give us an exposition dump on something you like (just like Mach Speed Mayhem), or guide us through a task (like Koops, Your Emblem is on Fire), or, since I'm sure you have a particular way you like to do certain things and you're certain that it's the best way to do things, come tell us how to do something! Strategy Wing sections can be fun opportunities to talk about things that interest you and how you approach your hobbies. With that in mind, go sign up! And don't forget to take advice from Superchao (talk) and vote in Mach Speed Mayhem. He's made it easier than ever, just for you readers, so go show your interest.

Section of the Month

Yoshi876 (talk) proves that a little hard work pays off, taking first place this month after delivering not only a look at Snom's Pokédex entries, but a whole collection of new entries from Sword and Shield for Pokémon he's featured before. Take his example to heart, and go that extra mile where possible. As we get this new year underway, I want to thank and congratulate all of our writers. I hope you readers out there do the same by continuing to vote!

STRATEGY WING SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place	Section	Votes	%	Writer
1st	Pokédex Power	7	36.84%	Yoshi876
2nd	Mach Speed Mayhem	4	21.05%	Superchao
3rd	The Anatomy of a Kirby	4	21.05%	ArchagentEverlasting

---

Tips and Challenges

Koops, Your Emblem is on Fire
ManKoops (Talk)

---

Can Florina, the Pegasus Knight, fly Lyn's army to new heights?
[read more]

Racing Like the Staff
Yoshi876 (Talk)

---

It's a tad less violent than its namesake, but how easy is it to conquer Mount Wario?
[read more]

History and Facts

Mach Speed Mayhem
Superchao (Talk)

---

With the magic of money, Don Genie can made his wish for a great vehicle come true.
[read more]

Pokédex Power
Yoshi876 (Talk)

---

Forretress can withstand plenty of (non-Fire) attacks, but can its Pokédex entries hold up as well?
[read more]

Koops, Your Emblem is on Fire

Written by: ManKoops (talk)

No Ill Wil

Hey, everyone! Happy New Year to all (and also by the time you're reading this my birthday just came around, yay)! I hope the next decade treats you guys well, 'cause you, my good sirs and missies, are special. Last time, we got the legendary Mani Katti in our hands, and now we're off to Lycia, where Lyn's heritage awaits!

We recruited two new characters! Let's check 'em out real quick!

Florina, who is A Pegasus Knight earning her title and a friend of Lyn's, has joined the party! Florina is a Pegasus Knight, and a damn good one at that.

Base Stats and Growths:

HP: 17 (60%)

STR: 5 (40%)

SKL: 7 (50%)

SPD: 9 (55%)

LCK: 7 (50%)

DEF: 4 (15%)

RES: 4 (35%)

CON: 4 (+1 upon promotion)

MOVE: 7 (+1 upon promotion)

Florina, at first, seems to have low strength, and low HP, and combined with low base defense and resistance, she is one of the more fragile units we have at this point. What's more, it's that Florina starts with a base of only 9 speed, which is pretty bad by Pegasus Knight standards, even in the early game, further more hampered by her low constitution of 4, just barely allowing her to wield slim lances without a speed penalty. However, with decent growths, she can turn into a good combat unit, and it isn't hard for her to double in Lyn mode anyway provided she doesn't weigh herself down. Her 55% growth in speed ensures that she will always double reliably provided she levels up a few times in Lyn mode, and her strength growth is pretty high for a Pegasus Knight, so in due time, she will be able to dish out ok damage. But her combat potential is only a fraction of what this cutie can do. She can fly, and by doing so can overlook almost all kinds of terrain, and even chip away any annoying out-of-reach enemies. Not only that, but her low constitution as a mounted unit allows her to pick up heavy units and rescue them out of harm's way, one of her biggest selling points, and her flight means that she will be able to rescue and to run away from the enemy just as effectively. Fliers are truly amazing for this reason alone, but with units like Florina who can also become amazing in actual battles, it's not hard to see why these classes tend to be liked. Keep in mind however that if you really want to use Florina to fight, she will need some amount of babying as keeping her alive can prove to be a challenge if you just throw her at any easily killable enemy she meets, especially since not only does she have low defensive bases, but her growths are also really low (15% for defense and 35% for resistance). But at the end of the day, Florina is just a really good flier who still has flier utility and is a good unit to field if you don't know who to bring.

And here's Wil! A youth from Pherae, in the Lycian League. Very social. And awkwardly so in fact, so much, that it's endearing.

Bases stats and Growths:

HP: 20 (75%)

STR: 6 (50%)

SKL: 5 (50%)

SPD: 5 (40%)

LCK: 6 (40%)

DEF: 5 (20%)

RES: 0 (25%)

CON: 6 (+1 Upon promotion)

MOVE: 5 (+1 Upon promotion)

I love Wil. Such a dude. But let's just put characterization aside and analyze Wil as a unit. As much as I am committed to using this guy, he's not actually all that great. For starters, Wil is an archer. It's true that I like archers, but that doesn't make them a good class. They don't double very easily, and they don't deal much damage early on. Raising them can be a pain in the ass, and the payoff usually isn't worth it. However, Wil isn't all bad. For starters, being an archer, he can attack from range, which is a pretty niche thing in on itself, as it allows him to weaken enemies for the other better units to feed on them. Although Wil's XP gain will be slow because of this. His base speed of 5 is horrendous and he can only double enemies with 1 speed, and 6 strength rarely gets anything done. He has decent growths in the important areas aside defense, so if you are willing to use him and feed him kills, he can actually turn out pretty good, something I can vouch for since I've always used him. It's also worth noting that Bows are effective against fliers, so Wil can deal with those, although effectiveness bonus is only x2 in this game instead of the traditional x3. Regardless, if you find yourself wanting to use Wil, just know that you'll have to take your time to raise him and hope for good level-ups, notably on speed, so that he can truly shine. Now as bad as this bio makes him sound, Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword is an easy enough game for you to use anyone without serious repercussions, so really, if you just wanna use Wil, then go ahead. No one's against you. Certainly not me, a fan of him. Once you manage to actually get him to a decent enough level and make him a Sniper, he'll have all the time he needs to shine.

And with that, everyone, that is all for this month. Next month, we'll be resuming our adventure with our ever-growing party of lovely people! And possibly meet more as we go... See Ya! And Happy New Year!

Racing Like the Staff

Written by: Yoshi876 (talk)

Hello readers and welcome to Racing like the Staff, a section where I do 150cc on different Mario Kart games, but the twist is, I take on the Grand Prix by using the combination that a staff and expert staff member used in that Cup. If you're still a little confused, by this I mean if the track is in the Mushroom Cup, then that's the Cup that I race in. Unfortunately, I don't have copies of the Mario Kart games before Mario Kart 7, so it's only that, 8 and Deluxe that will be getting this treatment.

Today we're back on Mario Kart 8 for a section that has been over a year in the making. I was initially planning this Mount Wario race back in December 2018, however, moving house scuppered those plans as my Wii U went into storage. However, now we can finally unveil this Winter-themed section and get around to displaying the snow-capped Mount Wario.

The combination for normal staff for Mount Wario is Waluigi with The Duke, Monster tyres and the Wario Wing, and the stats are as follows:

• Speed – Just over four bars
• Acceleration – Just under two bars
• Weight – Just under five bars
• Handling – Two bars
• Grip – Just over four bars

Sunshine Airport

It has here I realised this would be a difficult section.

Certainly not a race I was hoping for. Although I got second place by the first Item Boxes, I was immediately taken out by a Banana, dropping me down to fourth place. From there, I struggled to build momentum, and it felt like I wasn't really catching anyone. I did manage to pass Luigi and Toadette on the landing strip, and was getting close to Wendy O. Koopa, but a pesky Red Shell took me out. This time, I did catch up, and just before the end of the second lap, I got past Wendy. However, she slipstreamed past me, and a Banana put me down to fifth. Despite getting a few Red Shells myself, perhaps penance from the onslaught from the last section, they all decided obstacles and Bananas were more appropriate things to home in on. Speed managed to take me past Ludwig and Toadette, while a Red Shell dispatched Luigi, but ultimately it was Wendy who was triumphant at the airport.

Dolphin Shoals

Disclaimer: I hate Dolphin Shoals, one of the worst tracks of Mario Kart 8 in my opinion. And just like last time, it was a race that didn't favour me much. I struggled to get past Wendy O. Koopa, and a rogue Green Shell knocked me down, Ludwig von Koopa then got in the way when I tried going through the shortest route on the pipes, and as a result I was knocked off and down into fifth. The Unagi was more favourable, and I was up to third by the end of him, but I went into the shoals and lost a lot of speed. I did start gaining on Wendy and Luigi, and at one point passed Wendy, but Luigi was really powering away, and a Boomerang at the end of the second lap dropped me to third behind Toadette. She was then dropping Bananas left right and centre, so I had to take the middle route through the pipes. This wasn't a good decision, as many others took the shorter routes, and I ended up down in eighth. The Triple Mushrooms was my saviour, however, but despite powering through the shortcut, I couldn't catch Luigi, and finished second place once again.

Electrodrome

My arch-rival this time aroundHelHelHhell.

After two faces finishing in second place, I was determined to finish higher. And things got off to a good start, and by the first Item Boxes, I found myself ahead of Luigi. However, this lead was never convincing, and I could hear him waa-hooing for the entire race behind me, and I was hit by a Spiny Shell on the second lap, it was no surprise that he and Wendy overtook me. Thankfully, I was quickly able to pick up their slipstream and retake the lead during the first gliding section, but that was a lead that was never comfortable in the slightest.

Mount Wario

Wendy out accelerated me at the start, and I thought I got her on one of the slopes, but unfortunately I fell off and down into fourth place I stayed there for the rest of the section, but in the water of the cave, I passed Luigi, and by the end of the dam, I had passed both Wendy and Toadette. The forest proved to be a bad place for this combination, however, as I hit tree after tree after tree. Honestly, after that I am in full support of deforestation on Mount Wario. This had dropped me down into seventh, but after a Blooper a blindly managed my way up into fifth, seriously I have no idea how this worked, and a slipstream and Piranha Plant took out Wendy and positioned me behind Luigi. Speed alone got me past him at the bottom of the slope, and I took the win.

This combination was not one of my favourites that I've used throughout this section. But the worst thing felt like speed. Although Mount Wario was won on this speed, most of the time, especially when it came to Wendy, who appeared to be in the bog-standard combination, I really struggled with catching her most of the time. For these reasons, I don't think I can recommend this combination, and would use Waluigi elsewhere.

The Kart of Champions combination is Wario with the Sport Bike, Cyber Slick tyres and Parafoil. The stats are as follows:

• Speed – Just over five bars
• Acceleration – Just under three bars
• Weight – Four and a half bars
• Handling – Three bars
• Grip – One bar

Sunshine Airport

If my victory on Electrodrome and Mount Wario were less convinving on the previous combination, this one was a different story. My race started out fine, I was lining up Mario in my sights, but then I fell off the cargo boxes, and for a about two second was expecting Lakitu to pick me up. He didn't as I wasn't out of bounds. Two shells then decided to hit me, and I was in sixth. But this thing's speed was phenomenal, and, with a Mushroom right at the end of the first lap, I was in the lead following the baggage carousel. And although I made a mistake on the second lap by driving into the plane engine, and then onto the grass, this lead was mine for the rest of the race.

Dolphin Shoals

If I'd dodged the Banana here, I probably would've won the race.

This race didn't go entirely to plan. I thought I'd done enough to keep the lead, but Toadette stormed ahead, and a Red Shell dropped me to fourth by the pipes, add onto that some poor driving from me, and I fell to fifth. A Spiny Shell hitting me while gliding didn't massively help matters, but Metal Mario did take himself out on my Green Shell. The speed of this bike, quickly got me back into contention, although Toadette still held the lead going onto the final lap. I passed her on the Unagi section, but a Banana on the Glide Pad knocked me into the water. Thankfully, Toadette hit other Bananas, but Mario passed us in that final section. It looked like I might finish second behind Mario, but Lakitu had Mushrooms, used the shortcut, and took the lead while I was a close third.

Electrodrome

I was looking for redemption after that Dolphin Shoals fiasco, and redemption I got. It was easy to accelerate past Mario, but Lakitu put up a little bit of a fight, extended because of a Mushroom he got from the Item Box. However, as the paths split into green and pink, I slid past him, and had no worries for the rest of this disco-themed track.

Mount Wario

There was always overtaking in this cave.

Honestly, I was anticipating a cakewalk, but deciding to spice it up a little, I decided to drive into some rocks - editor's note, writer drove into rocks due to lack of skill, not attempting to add challenge – and Lakitu passed me. A simple Red Shell was enough to dispatch him in the cave, and I thought that would be all my challenge. I did hit a tree, but this was nearly my undoing, as it allowed Mario and his Triple Green Shells to catch up and take me out, allowing Lakitu back in the lead. A Red Shell just before gliding didn't help, but I made the Glide Pad, landed in front of Lakitu and took the victory home.

I know I've used this combination many a time in this section, but I'm glad I get to, as it's a pretty good one. It was only driver error that prevented me from winning on Dolphin Shoals, so any budding driver should be on this combination if they're struggling.

I hope you enjoyed this section, and I'll see you next month where I'll take a look at a combination hopefully from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. If you've got a combination you'd like me to review next, feel free to private message me on the forums.

Mach Speed Mayhem

Written by: Superchao (talk)

The biggest man in F-Zero, in more ways than one

Hello, 'Shroom readers! Welcome to the first Mach Speed Mayhem of the new year and new decade! We're kicking it all off with a surprisingly fitting choice of character, considering it was popular vote and not pre-decided like last month. Wearing a monocle and in a finely tailored suit just like our departing team director MCD, it's #31: Don Genie! The richest man in the galaxy, so you know he's a villain. He's also the first of the ten F-Zero AX characters, meaning I'll finally get to explain the basics behind them!

Main Series

Since Don Genie's the first of them to be covered, I'll start this off with a basic explanation of the AX characters. When Sega made F-Zero GX and F-Zero AX, they made eleven completely new racers for those games. One, Deathborn, was the focus in the Gamecube game, and we've covered him. The other ten were introduced as a set for the arcade tie-in game, where they, along with the four SNES racers, were the only drivers available by default. They were nowhere to be seen in F-Zero GX, though... that is, unless you put the work in! There are two ways to unlock the AX racers in GX: Either get incredibly lucky and find an AX machine, put your memory card in, and use that AX racer, which means they'll show up in your game via memory card data transfer... or beat a specific chapter of the legendarily hard Story Mode on Very Hard to unlock a given AX racer. There's one specific AX racer per each of the nine chapters, and the tenth one is a different case that I'll explain when I cover them. Now, with that preamble out of the way, let's talk about the big man himself!

The head of the universal traders, a conglomerate of businessmen across the galaxy, Don Genie is a man of extravagance personified. As mentioned above, his first appearance was in F-Zero GX and F-Zero AX together, and in GX he can be unlocked by completing Chapter 4 (Challenge of the Bloody Chain) on Very Hard. If Falcon can take out Michael Chain and his 28 goons at their maximum health and strength, the Don and his car become yours to use! Perhaps it's not a surprise that Don Genie is unlocked through a gang leader's chapter, as he's been arrested many times for illegal trading in weapons and energy resources. He's still out and about, paying a small fortune in bail every time - one look at him shows that he's got the cash to afford that. He's decided to join the latest iteration of F-Zero, and while we don't know if it's for fun or publicity, it's very likely it's all because of some scheme he has up his sleeve. The massive Don's also got some very interesting rumors circulating... namely, that he has some sort of connection to the infamous Black Shadow. We don't know what that is, but people are looking very closely at him to see if they're in cahoots.

Unsurprisingly for a man described like that, Don Genie is arrogant and domineering in his interviews. He talks about how pathetic commoners are, and how his rivals don't amount to much... He refuses to donate to charity, despite saying the prize money won't pay for his cigars and that he makes more in interest per second... He's even one of only two racers to refuse to sign autographs, the other being main villain Deathborn. Still, there's some interesting aspects that shine through when Don Genie talks. He has interest in F-Zero as a sport, considering he has an important meeting and expresses a desire to acquire it despite the financial difficulty. He doesn't dismiss everyone out of hand, as he considers Captain Falcon to have plenty of potential and would keep him in F-Zero if he took it over. Most notably, he alludes to a hidden past, as he declares that he clawed his way out of the slums to get where he is now. The secret origins of Don Genie currently remain a secret, perhaps a new game would shed some light? As for GX Story Mode... with the exception of one cameo, none of the AX racers appear in Story Mode, including Don Genie. So don't expect it to come up for them in the future.

Does the 2490kg car count as heavy metal?

He looks far cooler here than the anime treats him.

Don Genie's personal ride, the Fat Shark, was designed for him from the ground up by his own businesses. The Genie Universal Amusement Facilities Operations Group (what a mouthful) built this car to Don Genie's specifications, making it a gloriously decadent display of ostentatiousness. Unsurprisingly, Don Genie spent a huge amount of money to develop this machine, equip it with the best capabilities, and make it very protective. Don Genie's got a lot of enemies who would like to see him dead, so it's built like a tank to keep him safe and comfortable (as seen with the plush seat), making it the heaviest machine in the series. The alleged stats are an A body, a B boost, and an E grip... but hoo boy, Don Genie's machine is even better than you'd guess. With the strongest body and booster in the game and a high top speed, and even solid acceleration on top of it, the Fat Shark is famous for being the most powerful machine in F-Zero GX! The only critical weakness it possesses is handling, which is... well, to put it politely, slippery as an eel. A single mistake on turning and the Fat Shark will dive right off the side of a track. However, if you can get enough skill to master that, the Fat Shark is absolutely incredible. It's set several world records for a reason! This can even be seen in the AI - with long, straight tracks like Cosmo Terminal: Trident, an AI Fat Shark is guaranteed to place in the top three every single time unless it crashes. Curvier, twistier tracks set it back, though, but it still shows that the Don knows how to spend his money.

GP Legend series

Don Genie is the only one of the ten AX racers to appear in the F-Zero: GP Legend anime, the other nine AX debuts all completely ignored for the series... and if you've read the Deathborn article, you know where this is going. But for the sake of those who might start Mach Speed Mayhem here, let's take it from the top anyway! First appearing very late in the series, in episode 42, Don Genie is introduced as a weapons dealer with billions of credits in play. He's invited the Mobile Task Force to participate in a race on Planet Cryton, where his personal pilot, the mysterious cloaked Berserker, claims victory. Don Genie stops by after the race and is given Dark Million's regards, and then swings by to compliment the Mobile Task Force on their race and invite them to his nearby palace. The Don leaves, only to be seen later in the episode when Clank Hughes spies on him. There, he's striking a deal with Dark Million, selling them tons of weapons for lots of dough and letting them borrow his own personal racer. When Don Genie notices Clank, he takes him hostage, forcing Rick Wheeler and Jody Summer to enter Don Genie's Death Race to rescue him!

The Death Race may be the main feature, but Don Genie doesn't participate - the Fat Shark has been adapted out of the anime entirely. Instead, the lovable losers Octoman and Bio Rex show up to job, and Berserker does the heavy lifting, only for the race to distract Don Genie enough that Samurai Goroh and his crew wreck the munitions warehouse. Don Genie decides to get out of dodge, ditching the palace - two episodes later it gets bought by the F-Zero Committee and leveled in a Reactor Might incident. So much for that investment, huh? The big man himself returns in episode 47, where he eagerly watches the race between Rick Wheeler and Black Shadow. At first he's content to stand around, but once Black Shadow knocks Rick unconscious and drags him through a portal, Don Genie has his goons block the Mobile Task Force, allowing the Don to depart for his other destination... When Rick Wheeler wakes up at the F-Zero committee headquarters, he's greeted by Don Genie. The financier is all too happy to explain that this is where the real decisions are made, Black Shadow and Deathborn both joining him to have this conversation.

Science Can't Explain This! Is this image REAL or FAKE?

The Don's been paying the bills of F-Zero for a while now, and thanks to that, the trio of Black Shadow, Don Genie, and Deathborn have gradually taken over the committee! Don Genie awaits Rick's brainwashing, but before they can finish the job and turn him to evil, Rick busts his way out - and then we get a surprise appearance from Berserker to save Rick... revealing that Berserker was Captain Falcon the whole time! The two of them escape, Don Genie chalking up all of this to one big miscalcuation. It's in episode 49 that Don Genie makes a return, walking out of an empty hotel room that Deathborn had just entered. That minor cameo is all we see until the next episode, as the Mobile Task Force heads to the planet Rick was kept on after his capture by Black Shadow. Don Genie makes an appearance on the surface, actually driving a machine! (It's just a copy of Berserker's Red Bull, though.) He shows up, declaring that he was waiting for Rick and they'll settle their score... then immediately turns around and leaves, saying they'll finish this later. Rick chases him, only to find Deathborn instead!

The Don, in a more hairless time?

Then, of course... it's that moment. Don Genie and Deathborn are dramatically revealed to be Black Shadow in disguise, despite the fact that Black Shadow, Deathborn, and Don Genie were seen together. And no, new readers, they never explain this. Don Genie is dropped completely from the anime as soon as this reveal is done, and he never shows up in either of the GBA adaptation games either. I honestly wonder if the anime writers just didn't like GX and AX or something. As a minor trivia fact, for whatever reason, Don Genie's monocle is changed into a glass eye for the anime. Admittedly, this is a change that works - it flows well with the scar on his face, after all.

Other Information

There's not that much other information when it comes to the AX racers - after all, none of them got to appear in Smash or anything like that. However, some of them have some neat facts, such as Mr. Money himself! In the comic included with the manual for the SNES F-Zero, a fat, bald, suited boss of some kind appears, in charge of several goons. Captain Falcon shows up to collar him, wanting to collect on the huge bounty that the unnamed boss has on his head - and naturally, the boss has no desire to cooperate. He sends a couple thugs to eliminate the captain, but Falcon quickly thrashes his goons and makes the boss leave with him at gunpoint, ready to collect a sweet payday.

Why do I bring this up? It's possible that Don Genie is some sort of reference to this man and his role in the comic. After all, Don Genie is a fat, balding corporate boss stuffed into a suit, who's been in and out of jail repeatedly and likely brought in by bounty hunters more than once. Considering his underhanded dealings, it wouldn't surprise me if Don Genie has had rivals removed in dirty ways as well. Most of all, though, F-Zero GX is a game that loves making little connections in the lore of the series, such as Dr. Clash constructing Beastman's car, so I could easily see Amusement Vision going back to the SNES comic and purposefully reinventing one of the characters for one of their new drivers. But! This is all speculation - perhaps we'll get solid fact someday, perhaps we won't. For now, I've finished with the Don Genie article, so go vote for my February writeup - and remember, you don't have to post in the forum thread anymore! Just contact me in any way, shape, or form, and your vote will count towards the next issue's choice!

Pokédex Power

Written by: Yoshi876 (talk)

It's a Bagworm Pokémon, and I can't think of anything witty to write.

Hello everyone, it's me, Yoshi876 again with a new edition of Pokédex Power, the section written by the person who finds it odd that you can only catch one legendary bird in the Kalos region, and it depends on your starter Pokémon. I know this was a 2013 game, but you still think it would've made more sense to include all three, and just have a small rotation going on.

But we won't be talking about the legendary birds from Kanto in this section, although I'm sure their time will come one day. This time, we're looking at a Pokémon that only really has Moltres to fear when it comes to the legendary birds, as its armour coating would essentially just be a portable oven for the bug-like Pokémon living inside.

Forretress is not a Pokémon I feel like I have any experience with. I don't remember it at all from the times I played either Gold or Silver and I don't feel like I've seen any NPC using it in any of the games past Generation II either. My only vague recollection of it, is I believe Brock's Pineco in the anime did evolve into Forretress. But honestly, that's all I can say. So, let's see if its Pokédex entries can shed new light for me.

Generation II

Pokémon Gold	Its entire body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside the armour is a total mystery.
Pokémon Silver	It remains immovably rooted to its tree. It scatters pieces of its hard shell to drive its enemies away.
Pokémon Crystal	Usually found hanging on to a fat tree trunk. It shoots out bits of its shell when it sees action.
Pokémon Stadium 2	Its entire body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside the armour is a total mystery.

We're introduced to Forretress with a little bit of a mystery, revealing that no one knows what lurks underneath the shell, which given how hard it looks I am absolutely not surprised with, but Silver is where I get a little confused. What is meant by “its tree”? I'm presuming the tree where the original Pineco lived before evolving, but is there a specific tree for Forretress? Does it get to choose which tree it roots to before permanently staying there? Crystal does seem to clear this up, but it moves Forretress into the branches of the tree instead of lying on the ground by the tree. What is slightly cool with these two entries, however, is that they both references the move Spikes, by noting how it shoots off parts of its body. Hopefully, this is something that grows back, otherwise the mystery of what is inside a Forretress won't remain a secret for much longer.

Generation III

Pokémon Ruby	Forretress conceals itself inside its hardened steel shell. The shell is opened when the Pokémon is catching prey, but it does so at such a quick pace that the shell's inside cannot be seen.
Pokémon Sapphire	Forretress conceals itself inside its hardened steel shell. The shell is opened when the Pokémon is catching prey, but it does so at such a quick pace that the shell's inside cannot be seen.
Pokémon Emerald	It keeps itself inside its steel shell. The shell is opened when it is catching prey, but it is so quick that the shell's inside cannot be seen.
Pokémon FireRed	It remains immovably rooted to its tree. It scatters pieces of its hard shell to drive its enemies away.
Pokémon LeafGreen	Its entire body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside the armour is a total mystery.

Generation III mainly revolves around one fact, and that is what a Forretress eats, and honestly, I wasn't expecting this Pokémon to be a predator. I was expecting it to perhaps gather nutrients from the tree its under, or perhaps eat the falling leaves or any fruit that may hang on it. And given how low its general speed stat is, I certainly wasn't expecting this little Pokémon to be able to move at such blistering speed that it's still able to hide its true body in there. I do slightly wonder what the prey is, however. Is it something like a worm wiggling through the ground, or would it gulp down a Rattata that managed to get too close to it?

Generation IV

Pokémon Diamond	It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.
Pokémon Pearl	It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.
Pokémon Platinum	It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.
Pokémon HeartGold	Its entire body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside the armour is a total mystery.
Pokémon SoulSilver	It remains immovably rooted to its tree. It scatters pieces of its hard shell to drive its enemies away.

A disappointing generation here, to be completely honest. The main entry for Diamond, Pearl and Platinum would've worked better if this was still Generation II and we were just getting introduced to Forretress, but we've had two generations now to be transfixed on only being able to see its eyes. Unless its eyes can shoot lasers, I don't want to know about them.

Generation V

Pokémon Black	It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.
Pokémon White	It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.
Pokémon Black 2	It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.
Pokémon White 2	It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.

Despite the Generation IV entry being very disappointing, Generation V still stole it for its own Pokédex.

Generation VI

Pokémon X	It is encased in a steel shell. Its peering eyes are all that can be seen of its mysterious innards.
Pokémon Y	It remains immovably rooted to its tree. It scatters pieces of its hard shell to drive its enemies away.
Pokémon Omega Ruby	Dragonair stores an enormous amount of energy inside its body. It is said to alter weather conditions in its vicinity by discharging energy from the crystals on its neck and tail.
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire	Forretress conceals itself inside its hardened steel shell. The shell is opened when the Pokémon is catching prey, but it does so at such a quick pace that the shell's inside cannot be seen.

Generation VI is like a Best Of… album, expect it doesn't really take the best Pokédex entries we've had for Forretress.

Generation VII

Pokémon Ultra Sun	When something approaches it, it fires off fragments of its steel shell in attack. This is not a conscious action but a conditioned reflex.
Pokémon Ultra Moon	In the moment that it gulps down its prey, the inside of its shell is exposed, but to this day, no one has ever seen that sight.

Although Sun and Moon didn't feature Forretress, it was featured in Generation VII. And other than Ultra Sun we don't get a lot for its appearance. Although we knew that Forretress fired off its spikes, we now learn this is a reflex kind of motion rather than a genuine attempt at defending itself, but given how this is a reflex, does it mean it can do this by accident? Is it aware to fire off at approaching enemies, or prey items, or does it also fire off if a leaf falls within its range?

Conclusion Forretress started off with some interesting entries, but then it started slipping down after Generation IV, that eye fact is so blindingly obvious I'm amazed it passed quality control. The entries also surprised me, I really wasn't expecting Forretress to be a hunting Pokémon, and I wasn't expecting it to remain rooted to the ground. Obviously, I wasn't expecting it to be this highly mobile Pokémon, but I thought there'd be some movement. One thing that did surprise me, is that I thought there would be mention of hard this shell really is. I was expecting some form of something like 'Even if struck by a sledgehammer, the shell of this Pokémon won't be dented.' But who knows, maybe that'll make an appearance in Generation IX.

• Front Page
• About
• Archives
• Comments
• Forum Boards (Main — Writers)
• Subscribe
• Spotlight
• Contact us
• Manual of Style
• Sign up