Pecharunt
Well, we dragged this generation out for a few years now, and soon we'll have a round of brand new Mega Pokemon to review, so it's time to complete this region's dex and look at its absolute final addition. Pecharunt is this generation's Little Guy mythical, its Mew or Celebi, but this one is also the first ghost/poison combo since Gastly! I've always wanted to see another, and especially one that actually does anything with the theme of being a poisonous spirit...which Pecharunt certainly does, but how is it as a concept and design? Does it live up to the decades BEREFT of toxic phantasms?
Let's start with the concept and "lore" first: Pecharunt is actually the much hyped boss of the "Loyal Three;" the actual source of the "toxic chains" responsible for their unnatural strength and nefarious personas. These chains are made of a "poisonous mochi" Pecharunt can generate, which it can also feed to people and Pokemon in order to control their minds, though it also apparently "brings out their desires."
There's an entire long backstory in which Pecharunt is raised by an elderly human couple, just like the Eastern myth of the little peach baby, just with a more sinister twist. Supposedly, it fed them its mochi to make them loyal and complacent to it, but the poison's corruptive influence also made them greedy, and this Pecharunt really just wanted to be loved, so it kept trying to grant the couple's increasingly unreasonable wishes.
...I have to say, they kind of lost me for a minute here. The mochi is supposed to turn people into basically this Pokemon's zombie slaves, but it also makes them more selfish and give in to their desires? This felt like two slightly different angles at once, and it isn't really any less confusing in context. It's like they were going for a "demonic possession" kind of scenario, with an evil spirit that pushes humans to wickedness so it can feed on their souls, but it's like nobody wanted to commit to that bit because Pokemon aren't supposed to do those kinds of things. Maybe I'm just looking at it the wrong way, but it feels like yet another case of Gamefreak having too many cooks in the kitchen.
I do like the overall idea, though, even if it doesn't feel completely "sorted out." It's a poisonous fruit ghost with mind control goo, which is exactly my kind of premise and a lot of fun for a Pokemon!
The design, however, is also a bit of a mixed bag. Pecharunt was first revealed to the public with its "shell" closed, resembling a pinkish, upside-down teardrop with two cylindrical lumps on top and cute, glowing eyes in a circular black aperture. It's meant to resemble a peach, and when it opens up, the "peach pit" is a weird little ghost critter, floating between the two halves. This inner body is kind of a dark blue ball with a little spike on the bottom and a long, wilted ponytail thing on its head. It has some blackish markings that make it look a little "decayed," a pure white mouth that's sorta shaped like a bow tie and blank, white eyes under two massive blue eyebrow things. It also has two heart-shaped "hands," and some sort of white band under the brows?
The body plan is broadly interesting, and the silhouette is appealing, but the facial features just don't look right to me. I don't like that white band thing, or the giant eyebrow things, and especially not the way the white band thing passes underneath the giant eyebrow things. I also find the sharp, angular bow tie mouth shape really clashes with the creature's otherwise smoother, more rounded details. I find myself looking at every piece of official art I can find, hoping some angle might help the design "click" for me, but the poor thing's face just continues to look messy and even challenging to read at all, like I wouldn't have been sure what was eye and what was mouth without seeing it animated.
I really want to love it, and everything about it is appealing to me on paper, but both its story and its design suffer the same issue; a fine outline with messier, less polished inner details. It gets a 5/5 from me, but it's frustratingly JUST short of my 6/5 s-tier rating. Still distinctly a high note to end the region on! It could have been better, but I guess I overall like Pecharunt in principle.
There's an entire long backstory in which Pecharunt is raised by an elderly human couple, just like the Eastern myth of the little peach baby, just with a more sinister twist. Supposedly, it fed them its mochi to make them loyal and complacent to it, but the poison's corruptive influence also made them greedy, and this Pecharunt really just wanted to be loved, so it kept trying to grant the couple's increasingly unreasonable wishes.
...I have to say, they kind of lost me for a minute here. The mochi is supposed to turn people into basically this Pokemon's zombie slaves, but it also makes them more selfish and give in to their desires? This felt like two slightly different angles at once, and it isn't really any less confusing in context. It's like they were going for a "demonic possession" kind of scenario, with an evil spirit that pushes humans to wickedness so it can feed on their souls, but it's like nobody wanted to commit to that bit because Pokemon aren't supposed to do those kinds of things. Maybe I'm just looking at it the wrong way, but it feels like yet another case of Gamefreak having too many cooks in the kitchen.
I do like the overall idea, though, even if it doesn't feel completely "sorted out." It's a poisonous fruit ghost with mind control goo, which is exactly my kind of premise and a lot of fun for a Pokemon!
The body plan is broadly interesting, and the silhouette is appealing, but the facial features just don't look right to me. I don't like that white band thing, or the giant eyebrow things, and especially not the way the white band thing passes underneath the giant eyebrow things. I also find the sharp, angular bow tie mouth shape really clashes with the creature's otherwise smoother, more rounded details. I find myself looking at every piece of official art I can find, hoping some angle might help the design "click" for me, but the poor thing's face just continues to look messy and even challenging to read at all, like I wouldn't have been sure what was eye and what was mouth without seeing it animated.
I really want to love it, and everything about it is appealing to me on paper, but both its story and its design suffer the same issue; a fine outline with messier, less polished inner details. It gets a 5/5 from me, but it's frustratingly JUST short of my 6/5 s-tier rating. Still distinctly a high note to end the region on! It could have been better, but I guess I overall like Pecharunt in principle.
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