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[gunpointpokereviews]

I love these so much! When can we expect our next hold up and review!?

As soon as I'm being held at gunpoint by the goons of an infamous international criminal organization again, which, hopefully, will never happen. Seriously, I'd think you would be glad to know that I've not been in terrified mortal danger for a good month or two. Can't believe you, anon.

[gunpointpokereviews]

Sprigatito

Hyahhh, what horrors will you...! Huh? This thing is adorable! You guys really didn't have to hold me at gunpoint to make me review this guy/gal/vegetable. In fact, why don't you just untie me so that I can... no? Alright. Where do I start:

Sprigatito! Lovely name. I think its origins are pretty straightforward, it's a small cat with small leaves. Its facial markings even look like leaves, but knowing what I know about its later evolutions, I can see them for what they truly are: the beginnings of a marvelous sort of facialwear.

Its animations are about what you would expect from a relatively frill-less kitty cat like itself, characteristically sweet and inspiring many loud and obnoxious AWWs from myself as I watch them. I may not be a cat person, but I'm also not a callous beefcake who holds people hostage, and so I can appreciate them very well.

I'm enjoying this too much for my situation? Drat. It must have been Sprigatito's soothing scent--supposedly it smells rather nice. I'm thinking something like a cool mint, sharply fresh and distracting. Do they make Sprigatito leaf-flavored toothpaste? Sprigatito leaf-flavored... altoids? Chewing gum? There are so many possibilities, dear captors, if only you had a few with you now, you could demonstrate their efficacy for me personally! WOAH, not so close! *mutters* with your breath, I don't even care about the gun at this point...

Upon its reveal, a combination of its cheerful pink-colored eyes and its other features lead to many exciting and imaginative comparisons that surprised everyone. But in any case, a pink and green color scheme is essentially impossible to screw up, and Sprigatito is no exception, especially when all of its colors (well, all of its three colors) are so vibrant.

Floragato

I want to be a yoyo man, I cry, make me a yoyo man!

Floragato doesn't seem to hear me, but let's see. Hmm... nope, I am still a clumsy woman who can't do anything cool with a yoyo, such as unexpectedly fighting off nonspecific swarms of burly thugs who have me captured with what appeared to them to be merely a children's toy... Maybe next time. Floragato has no such limitations, however.

Sprigatito has evolved, and now walks alongside the trainer on its two hind legs! This might bother some people, but I don't mind it. Personally, I find walking on two legs to be a very beneficial undertaking in day to day life, as it frees up my hands to do important things, like practicing yoyo skills. That's just me, though; Zacian gets along fine with its mouth-wielding.

Again, Floragato's name is straightforward enough. It is still a leafy cat, but it's older now, and carries with it a little flower bud. Aww. Of course, in a classical cat fashion (Do you remember Torracat's "bell" and Incineroar's "belt buckle"? The mind games never end), the bud which appeared to be nothing but a charming decorative pin at first glance actually can extend out on a vine and functions as its favored mode of attack.

This is pretty original, isn't it? I freaked out when I first saw it. My god. Yoyos. Next thing you know, there'll be Pokémon with coins or surfboards, or even spoons. (Nah, that last one is too ridiculous.) Yo-ing requires a lot of skill and dexterity, making it a very flashy art form and perfect for an evolution line themed around showmanship. Also, on a cat Pokémon, it brings to mind the image of a cat playing with a ball of yarn or a cat wand. I'm not sure if that factored into the design, but I do like it.

Meowscarada

As pretty as Meganium, as cool as Decidueye, and as tricky as... hmm, Greninja? And also, as cool as Greninja? Is Greninja cool? Its tongue is... *Hank Meatloaf, one of my most terrifying captors, growls or possibly laughs* anyway, it's MEOWSCARADA!

Its shawl/scarf/poncho thing has grown out into a magnificent dual masquerade/magician's cape that refracts light around Meowscarada to aid it in its increasingly extravagant sleights of hand, and also looks a bit like a fleur-de-lis. Meanwhile now-hidden vine's flower bud has also apparently opened, but all that's normally visible is four sepals with nothing at all in between. This changes in battle, blooming into an explosive six-petaled flower that looks suspiciously like a young pomegranate.

In fact, I rather suspect that it actually is based on a pomegranate and its flower, particularly with the historical importance of pomegranate iconography in particular regions of Spain, such as the aptly-named province of Granada in Andalusia, and the fact that Meowscarada uses the flower as a bomb. Did you know the word for grenades in many languages comes from the word for pomegranate? I bet you did, huh. *I pat Bloody Kate's beefy arm knowingly and am rewarded with a riveting punch to my solar plexus*

Now why would a pomegranate grow on a vine? Well, here's my conspiracy theory about the vine. Meowscarada's paws look suspiciously like beans. I don't mean like, cat toe beans. But like, actual beans. Their claws, which I have never seen protract, look exactly like the germ of a bean. There's no way they didn't think about this, come on, you should just beanlieve me on this one.

Regardless of what flower it actually is, the same one blooms around Meowscarada's neck in the manner of a collar. Cats wear collars, of course, but I think this is more of a traditional ruff. Its mask is potentially a part of its fur; Floragato's dex entry mentions that its fur can stiffen up into a very hard and tough consistency, and so so far as evolution is concerned, this feels like a logical continuation. Who can say, though.

Between the diamonds printed on its mask, its diamond shaped flower (the idle version, I mean), and the many acute angles across the rest of its body, diamonds are important to its design in some capacity. I'm inclined to think its a reference to harlequin print, as Meowscarada itself seems to take a general influence from the harlequin character, but along with its refractive cape it could be something crystalline as well. Maybe if we get something like Terastrallized forms in the DLC, that could end up featuring a bit more prominently.

It's really very impressive how much they integrated all of its fancy faux "clothes" with its nature and gameplay, isn't it? Well, that's Pokémon for you. *starts thinking about Greninja's tongue again*

The official Pokémon website justifies its overall flashiness by saying that it, along with Floragato, is a very needy Pokémon that loves attention, and grows lonely and jealous easily. That's such a perfect explanation for why it would develop such a showy demeanor, though it is a little sad. But really, if you can give it the attention it wants, who doesn't love a velcro cat? All the more cuddles.

Wrapping up!

Unless my zooarchaeological knowledge of real-life Iberia is severely lacking (*pushes up glasses but then devolves into a coughing fit*), all members of this evolutionary line don't appear to be based on any sort of extinct fauna, which means that the rough-and-ready theory that grass starters are based off of extinct animals can at last be discard... no, adapted! The Iberian lynx, which Meowscarada seems to take a spiritual inspiration from, is endangered. Therefore, it is very nearly extinct (nevermind the ongoing and relatively successful conservation efforts for the species, this ain't about them). Dearest captors, you needn't throw out that dollhouse-scale child's boot just yet. If you managed to shove it on poor Grookey, Rowlet, Chespin, Snivy, and that Sinnoh twig turtle whose name escapes me, no doubt you shall continue to be able to do so for the rest of time. Huh? No, I'm not being a smartass! Aaaghh no I'll behave I swear just back off with the peashooter I'm [muffled] [indecipherable]

But all in all, the Sprigatito line is cute, complex and interesting, and visually quite stunning. The sundry themes and influences you might expect to be a little discordant come together just perfectly for my tastes. It purrforms its duty as the primeowry starter and face of the beautiful Paldenya region very nicely, and it's basically everything I could ask for from a cat made of salad. I'm looking forward to finally having one myself. Have you seen how Meowscarada run??

For my special personal rating, I give it a Mari-approval mark: GOLD EDITION. This is a real thing now, I'm totally sticking by it. Unless you threaten me some more about it.