Top 6 Best and Worst Gift Pokémon

[@Moleoflands]

If I remember correctly, if you raise the shuckle long enough and raise it's happiness enough and then try to return it, the guy decides the Shuckle us better off with you and let's you keep it

[@shawnstafford3019]

That's correct I stumbled across it by accident was wanting to have shuckle in for the memes. Found out he bonded with me :).

[@JaelinBezel]

I caught my own

[@klinkklark255]

*Gen 6 is so hard the game almost gives the player a team of gift Pokémon, Peak game design*

[@emperorcubone]

This is a solid argument...

[@Rarest26]

To be fair it can be almost kinda sorta ok difficulty wise if you don’t use the mega starters or Lucario. That is a big IF though and it’s still not particularly challenging with other monsters like Aegislash.

[@rjante2236]

Not even lol. Most Trainers have horrible movesets. Elite 4 only has 4 Pokemon per member, too. ​@@Rarest26

[@GregHeffley-fo1kh]

Yeah especially the first triple battle against tierno where he leads with reshiram and primal groudon.

[@BN_BearsPOCKET]

Tbf gen 2 does give you a whole team pretty fast

[@Codacious-ph2in]

Kalos really is generous with the Gift Pokemon. -Lapras -Lucario -You get a free Kanto Starter that can mega evolve

[@emperorcubone]

Although as I said, maybe that's part of why everyone thought the games were too easy, because they got to steamroll through with all these great Pokemon.

[@jasontompsett-ince7164]

I know it's not a gift but there's a snorlax you can get before the 2nd gym too.

[@dse763]

You better off using a Riolu from Santalune instead of Korrina's Lucario as it has 3 guaranteed max IV. But you still have to pick Korrina's Lucario anyways for the Mega Stone.

[@lipika2841]

You also forgot 1 of the 2 fossils from Glittering Cave (tho they aren't nearly as omnipotent as all the other gifts from X&Y). This is by far LITERALLY the easiest game to do the 'No Catching' challenge run in.

[@lipika2841]

​@@dse763 Uhh you mean Riolu from Rt. 22? It's way easier to happily pick up the free Lucario than having to deal with raising a baby Pokémon's friendship to max. You can technically evolve it into Lucario really early on (before the 1st gym if you're patient) in both B2W2 & X&Y, but it can be tricky for some to maintain its happiness. It's better to simply wait until after the 3rd gym. & who even needs their Mega Lucario to have 31 IVs on 3 of its random stats when it can decimate everything in its path just fine? Tho if you're doing a Nuzlocke & happen to unfortunately encounter it first, then wild Riolu also works. It's more ef4t for something that's marginally gonna affect your playthrough I think.

[@theknightwithabadpictotall7639]

The elemental monkey you get before the 1st gym in Pokémon Black and White is an absolute blessing, you have a free counter for the gym leader's ace AND you can use it for Cut

[@emperorcubone]

You're absolutely right, but that's about where its usefulness stops, (and not just because most fans hate them.) If they stayed stars throughout the rest of the game they could be some of the best!

[@Trevor_NewJerusalem]

​@@emperorcuboneWell, Pansage will always have a special place in my heart for saving my (literal) bacon at the first gym. Took Simisage all the way to the E4.

[@resolvedenvy]

@@Trevor_NewJerusalem pansear is my favorite fire type I absolutely love the little guy and I got him before the gym then used him all the way through the game as my ace

[@nicolaslimapeixoto3212]

That's why I love this franchise. Every pokémon is someone's favorite pokémon.

[@theknightwithabadpictotall7639]

@@nicolaslimapeixoto3212 Oh no, don't get me wrong, I still dislike them, it's just that they're the exact thing you need to progress Unless you were talking about the replies above

[@InkKidGaming]

Just an FYI about that tentacool, I believe it was added as to help against a certain soft lock where you cannot leave that island. I think that's the whole thing. I agree with the placement, but it does kinda suck that it's only there for a very specific soft lock you need to set up yourself lol

[@ParasocialCatgirl]

Re setup: well, there _is_ the hypothetical possibility of Little Timmy's sibling deciding to try softlocking Little Timmy as a joke at Little Timmy's expense. The Infinite Emergency Tentacool remedies this issue.

[@signalfirefly]

Exactly. It's not a gift, it's a safety net.

[@TKnHappyNess]

If you have the Good Rod, you can fish up something that can learn Surf

[@Grey_Warden_Invasion]

​@@TKnHappyNess The rod is optional though so if you don't pick it up before the soft lock in Cianwood you have no way to get it as you would need Surf before you can get to Olivine City in the first place.

[@ChillingDusselgurr]

Tbf in the video it says you gotta get rid of all of your Pokémon that could learn surf, but since we're talking about Johto, that would only be a few if you even bothered to already catch every possible Pokémon on the way. Most likely you just fished up one to surf in the first place. And Fly isn't even available at that point as far as I know. Doing something like in RSE where you just can't release your last mon with an HM would have been much simpler, but it's still cute that they thought of little Timmy whose evil little brother released his one Lanturn with surf lol

[@GalaxySid]

Lucario is especially cool because you have a history with it. Most people just give you seemingly random Pokémon...

[@emperorcubone]

That's true; you build a little bit of a bond before it's given to you.

[@blakdeth]

Storywise yes, but mechanically since it's already evolved no. The moment you get lucario it can mega evolve and it's ready to fight. Unlike the starters who you raise from their first stage, you never even see that lucario as a riolu. You don't need to train it because someone else trained it for you. It's Ludonarrative dissonance.

[@JaelinBezel]

Like that guy in Veilstone that gives you a Porygon for no reason

[@abrarkadabrar7829]

Surprised that Lapras isn't number 1 but not disappointed. It's got such a solid BST and so useful in the story of the games you receive it. You really can't go wrong with Lapras

[@emperorcubone]

Easily my favorite Ice type!

[@fenixrises9854]

I love lapras

[@hoshino353]

It can also learn dragon dance so its great

[@bighonkies]

Some of the gift Pokémon you get are clutch when doing Nuzlockes.

[@emperorcubone]

It's not like you were gonna get another encounter in that Pokemon Center!

[@Piddlesticks]

You can still keep Shuckie without stealing it. If you have Max friendship with it the NPC lets you keep it.

[@spit_milk]

Emperor Cubone, I don't know if you usually read comments, but I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate your consistency. You're one of my comfort contents. You always seem to upload when I'm feeling overwhelmed and it helps me relax for a little while. Thank you for that. 🖤

[@lipika2841]

He does read comments & sometimes even hearts or replies to comments on videos that are yrs old. So expect either of that with your comment due to the kind words.

[@emperorcubone]

I do read every comment, and I love interacting with people! That means so much that I can be there for you; I never realized I might help people when I started but I'm always happy to hear that people enjoy watching so much! I hope you feel relaxed this week. :)

[@KokoroFrog]

XY where crazy with the gift Pokémon, when I originally played them my team was literally just gift Pokémon + the box art legendary (greninja, charizard, tyrantrum, lucario, lapras, and xerneas)

[@emperorcubone]

I feel like Kalos kind of has the "Sinnoh" problem, where most teams share 4-5 Pokemon in common across all players...

[@tpsam]

​@@emperorcubonelazy players unlike sinnoh that literally doesn't give you options I literally took a rapidash to the hall of fame Kalos has a crazy roster of regional dex Pokémon and a lot can be obtained before the 2nd gym Fossils aerodactyl included Aegislash Eevee in the wild florgess gardevoir or gallade haxorus 2 starters already is creating a difference experience because sure most people went for greninja and Charizard but even in that case Charizard having 2 megas create different situations for x or y players because they're quite different Pokémons once megaevolved No Charizard x is running solarbeam while most charizard y are specialists with solar beam Also kalos still gives you so many options for later on Garchomp goodra drappion rotom mamoswine lapras Kalos give you plenty of chances to have a unique team and switch it up even victory's roads hydreigon skarmory Not to mention the trade for Steelix Bishop And I forgot the kalos iconic tailonflame If you have an unoriginal team it's 100% your fault not the regions fault unlike sinnoh

[@zyella277]

The npc does let you keep shuckle (shuckie) if its max friendship

[@emperorcubone]

Sure, but you still stole it; that's just cope to let him feel better about him being robbed this time.

[@tvb5509]

​@@emperorcubone Nah, he saw your powerful bond and let you keep it. It's not stealing if you went back to return it. Shuckie was in my HG team

[@brendanboomhour7606]

​@@tvb5509exactly, there's no moral quandary if you go to return Shuckie, but he thinks you should keep him

[@Grey_Warden_Invasion]

​@@emperorcubone He gave it to you in the first place, you tried to return it, he didn't accept it anymore - how is that stealing?

[@UmbraStarWolf]

Gift eevee in Soul Silver and especially Platinum has always been useful

[@emperorcubone]

Eevee is indeed a wonderful gift; it's the difference in a gift card to one single location vs. one that includes Multiple restaurants!

[@UmbraStarWolf]

@@emperorcubone I didn’t mention gen 2 because it takes forever to evolve it in that game Unless I buy protein I also used it in gen 7 where you get it from an egg

[@rockowlgamer631]

5:25 MandJTV is sad, the thing they could also do to make Castform more viable is to at least bump it's stats to 85 across, and then with each form (including a new Dust form for sandstorms) could get a stats distribution change for it's attacks and defenses. Rain form could be the bulkier physical attacker but slow Sun form could be the Fast special attacker with weak special defense Hail form could be the Fast special attacker with weak defense Dust form could be the slow bulk entirely and rely more on status conditions. Also doesn't gift pokemon have the higher exp increase rate when you trade?

[@emperorcubone]

Oh I really like the idea of stat changes for its different weather forms!

[@RoninCatholic]

Lapras as a gift Pokemon is a failsafe, so that no matter how bad you are at catching you have access to something that can learn Surf and Strength. This is also why the anime made Lapras "THE Surf Pokemon" for Ash and friends, and why Gen 2 used Lapras as the default surf sprite while Gen 1 used Seel.

[@marleonka.]

I will not stand the slander of Scarlet and Violet's school storyline! It's one of the most fun aspects of the game, because the character writing has been the best its ever been in the series (not a high bar, but still) and going through Mr. Salvatore's friendship arc is not really as much a hurdle than it is a cute little sidestory

[@jpcsdutra]

Thanks to Red in GSC/HGSS every theoretical Main Character's teams are always composed of these gift Pokémon. The wild part is that they have been giving less in game gifts with time, so it's always hard to, anyway.

[@emperorcubone]

It's so true! when looking at the Switch titles vs. the earlier ones they give you next to nothing...

[@darkninjafirefox]

Lapras in Y is my best fishing buddy, and i like that i can ride it without needing a big goofy saddle with an even goofier outfit

[@emperorcubone]

Haha, yeah the Alola getup was a bit much when we've seen that you don't need it.

[@darkninjafirefox]

@emperorcubone probably my least favorite part of those games and legends arceus. Why do I need bike handles to ride a fish?

[@GameFreakSucks]

Rideable pokemon would be a lot better if you could ride your own pokemon and not require a saddle or whatever LGPE perfected this and follow pokemon even though those games were ok yet they didn’t bother bring that feature back

[@JaelinBezel]

Safety is very important

[@BruceBoyde]

You have the most creative ideas for videos AND upload in time for my commute to work. This is the good stuff.

[@emperorcubone]

Have a good day at work! Glad I could be there for you!

[@ArtisticPandemonium]

My only real gripe with gen 6 is the difficulty I’ve always thought they should made the gyms broken on purpose. In any other gen that would be overkill but in kalos it’s perfect. Especially since before your even half way through the game you can have a fossil, a Kanto starter, a Lucario, a lapras, a snorlax, and a gift steelix. I do love gen 6 tho

[@CobaltPerseverance154]

Not really a gift, but a trade. The Hawlucha you get in Gen 7 in the Pokécenter right outside the Normal trial site. Just catch a Spearow in the grass right outside, and trade that for a Hawluch (nicknamed Cha), that will level up faster from the different OT.

[@emperorcubone]

That is a pretty great trade for sure!

[@CobaltPerseverance154]

@@emperorcubone It really is. I remember using it once and it just leveled up so fast and easily carried me through a lot of battles!

[@juanca2567]

The Kalos starter, the Kanto starter, Blaziken, Lucario, Snorlax, and Lapras. The problem wasn’t the team, as that was actually my dream team, but the problem was the bad design from the challenge in Gyms and Team Flare. Heck, one of the rivals has a Roserade with just Petal Dance. JUST PETAL DANCE. Not even a choice scarf or specs, just one move and no items. GameFreak needs to see BDSP as that was a real challenge. That is the difficulty I hoped for.

[@GameFreakSucks]

BDSP was really easy as well especially due to forced exp share and affection, the only hard thing about that game is the E4, champion and the rematches

[@SonicMeters]

I think the best gift Pokémon is the Dratini from Crystal Heart gold and soul silver

[@emperorcubone]

Apparently my answers weren't good enough sometimes even though I was being honest, so there are "right" things to say.

[@MrBrewskiDrewski]

I have a (maybe) funny story about that gift Mew in BDSP. So it has become tradition for me and my older brother to play the new Pokémon game on launch day. BDSP was no different. I was slightly faster than him and got to Floraroma town. The first two people I talked to gave me Jirachi and Mew. My brother then dropped what he was doing (dithering about Jubilife, I think) and ran over to where I was. His only problem was that he never played either Lets Go game. Once we realized that was a problem, I lent him my copy of Lets Go Pikachu. He called his trainer Necessity, the rival Hate, and the Pikachu Stupid. He has since never touched it, but is keeping the save file in case the future games pull a fast one on him.

[@emperorcubone]

Wow, that is Funny! I have TWO extra profiles on my switch to get the other starters that I don't pick and trade to my brother to trade back to my main file!

[@SargeWolf010]

8:22 In Gold, Silver, Crystal The Npc wants Shuckie back but in Heart Gold and Soul Silver he lets you keep it

[@1musamune]

that Tentacool can be a life saver in Nuzlockes though

[@jaynajuly2140]

I can't forgive how Omanyte/Kabuto were level 30 gifts in the originals but only level 5 in the remakes!

[@emperorcubone]

I mean to be fair it took way too long to reach the lab to resurrect them so really any level is kind of too low when you can't get them by the 7th gym.

[@SchadoVA]

the eevee in celadon city is nice two since you can buy the stones right there

[@pkmntrainermark8881]

They could've at least given Salvatore's Meowth that Hidden Ability.

[@SJrad]

Iirc at some point in scarlet and violet raids people were running multiple perserker for steel weak raids because of steely spirit stacking. this was before home connectivity so you couldn’t transfer one in from swsh.

[@loganfoco1184]

YOU CAN GIVE THE SHUCKLE BACK!?!

[@LadyLeomon]

YOU DIDN’T?!!! _YOU MONSTER!!!_ 🥺🥺🥺 (Just kidding, I remembered I could give it back but just never did)

[@emperorcubone]

But not if you want to be a Pokemon Master! You've gotta catch 'em all, especially if you want a Living Dex, as many players do. The best way to get a Shuckle is avoid this moral quandary altogether...

[@jasontompsett-ince7164]

​@emperorcubone you could breed it and give it back.

[@LadyLeomon]

@@jasontompsett-ince7164 it took me longer than I want to admit at the time to remember that little detail 😅😅😅

[@matthewwasser5621]

I liked the Munchlax you get in Sun and Moon. They gave it to you for being one of the first people to get the game. It was holding its evolved forms z-move crystal, if you want to use z-moves in those games. The thing I love about this Munchlax is that it comes a move that is guaranteed to leave one hit point, making it useful for catching wild pokemon. I kept it in my team and never had it forget that move that left one hit point.

[@emperorcubone]

You're not wrong, that one was great! But I wasn't really counting "real world" gifts, so like the Shiny Beldum, or the Speed Boost Mega Torchic weren't here because you don't get them from an in-game NPC. But maybe that would be worth another list?

[@DracoMeteor91]

It took a year to pokemon home to be compatible with s/v which is why you had no way to get him outside of those classes

[@emperorcubone]

Well it takes about a year to finish all those classes too, so it doesn't make that big a difference...

[@user-gc3qj7md8c]

Let's goooo another Cubone upload!

[@browncow5210]

About Shuckie: If you talk to his trainer again, you hand him back over. However if he likes you enough, the trainer lets you keep him. Would Arceus count as a gift from himself? I actually got lucky and caught a shiny Munchlax I found wandering around in Kitakami. Absolute tank in that playthrough.

[@emperorcubone]

Not gonna lie, I did have to think long and hard about the logic of whether Arceus counted as a true gift or not...

[@Grey_Warden_Invasion]

When I started a new playthrough of Violet and transferred all my Pokemon to the new game I actually put the gifted Galarian Meowth from my old file into my new party. Turned into the best of my team. Do they still have that mechanic of Pokemon disobeying you if you don't have enough badges in Scarlet and Violet? Because it was weird that this Meowth and also its evolution never disobeyed me.

[@TheLonelySoulja]

I miss catching Lapras more than one Lapras in that cave in Silver and Gold every Friday.

[@TheDeldiz]

The problem with the Lucario is that you can find wild Riolu on one of the earliest routes you have access to. The encounter rate is low, but since it evolves through friendship, you'll likely already have a Lucario by the time you reach the Tower of Mastery.

[@teddy_0872]

As a German, I appreciate the joke🎁

[@fax8553]

good video but i think tentacool isn't the worst gift pokemon. You showed a picture of gen 3 Kanto but the tentacool was implemented in HGSS so maybe gamefreak learned from the past. The condition to get it is also very unrealistic for a normal playthrough but if you somehow end in this situation you are happy to get out of cianwood city without resetting your game. So I think tentacool is one of the best gift pokemons.

[@emperorcubone]

You don't need it though; even if you lost the ability to go out on the water with Surf you still have a Fishing Rod, so you can catch wild Tentacool to your hearts content from the shore! And as I said this "rescue plan" never comes up again on any island across the series, because they realized no one was ever dumb enough to release all their boxes and then save...

[@fax8553]

@@emperorcubone you don't have to pick up the fishing rods and in the older games you can't release your pokemon from your box if you weren't in a pokecenter so the situation never occured again

[@melonman6522]

It's SUPER unlikely to be needed, but those times that you do need it, it's a blessing

[@Infindox]

It also can actually be shiny hunted

[@HayLeesHomeMade]

​@@emperorcubonepikasprey would like to have a word with you lol

[@k2basior]

What about all those Gift Eevees? Poipole and Type Null should be honorable mentions at least.

[@emperorcubone]

I did almost put Poipole on the list honestly, it's great to get another dimension's starter!

[@loganbrony130]

I have used some of these gifts before. Some a lot more than I expected. I even got myself hyped up for Pokémon Legends Z-A by playing through Pokémon X only using the master ball for catching and reviving only two fossils, with only one of them being able to enter the next gym. I obviously used the Lapras and Lucario after the 3rd gym and obtaining mega evolution, since that's when you get them. This was the first time I did a run like this, and I enjoyed doing something different.

[@alexvaughan1013]

The gift Tentacool at #1 worst is clearly designed to troll players! It's like the guy who trades you a crappy Farfetch'd in exchange for a Spearow.

[@RedDragonForce2]

@ 13:18 That’s because no other game prevents you from fishing by that point. All other locations are after the Old and Good Rod locations. So there’s no need to gift you a Pokémon since the Rods are available before this point.

[@emperorcubone]

I'm confused... I'm not talking about Dewford here; Cianwood is well past the Old Rod in Johto and the Good Rod is in Olivine right before you surf over, with Tentacool being caught with either one! So counting surfing there's 3 easier ways to capture that same Pokemon before you even get there.

[@RedDragonForce2]

@@emperorcubone okay, I double checked for the old rod and there is a 5% chance to get a Krabby, negating my argument. Thanks for that!

[@S3cr3t_Qw1rtz]

2:04 personality i don't have sw/sh and love gal meowth, so i was thrilled

[@RaltsGang]

emperor cubone: slanders castform me: mandjtv would like to know your location.

[@emperorcubone]

Yeah well he hates my favorite Pokemon, Empoleon so I guess we're even...

[@austinmccormick8952]

Oh, that's why I haven't heard of the sun and moon Porygon

[@emperorcubone]

Yeah, if it doesn't come up until the National Dex anyway, why both having it in your regional roster?

[@austinmccormick8952]

@@emperorcubone at least it's not the hunter Mindy trade

[@AzraelThanatos]

With the tentacool, there's actually a way around the restrictions to get it, use the other storage boxes for your pokemon or transfer pokemon onwards. It's main thing is a hidden ability there rather than Clear Body

[@brenlisondra3806]

I'm probably one of those who weren't able to play SwSh prior to SV, so getting the Galarian Meowth is something I welcome

[@agmageever]

13:57 you can actually get a mega by the time you get lucario. If you use rock smash at the final room of Glittering cave, you can get an old amber, revive it, and talk to a scientist to get aerodactylite.

[@emperorcubone]

Considering that's only about a 15% chance to drop AND requires backtracking quite a bit, I think most people would still not have one by then...

[@agmageever]

@@emperorcubone I agree, but its super fun to have a mega aerodactyl for a playthrough, would recommend. Tough claws + Hone claws go crazy

[@nerdyfalco408]

Comunque idea incredibile interessantissima, vorrei vederla ripetuta in altri giochi e non vedo l'ora di vedere la seconda parte

[@LuigiTheMetal64]

It is great when any giveaway Pokémon has any neutral Nature.

[@SeanORaigh]

I remember just adding castforn to my team when I originally played Ruby but that was just because the only Pokemon I actually used at that stage was Sceptile

[@duyanhpham9227]

they only want to stop you from softlocking yourself with the tentacool onto that island

[@emperorcubone]

Yeah, I get that part but it never ever happens again in any other games so it's just weird that seemed to care so much about not getting stuck just to drop it forever...

[@SassyServine17]

I legitimately had no idea until now that you were supposed to give Shuckie back😅😅😅

[@FreedomAnderson]

Lapras is the best gift Pokémon because it is the best Pokémon.

[@jaredsimpson4701]

LOVE the Mass Effect reference

[@emperorcubone]

I feel like doing a Renegade run again soon...

[@jaredsimpson4701]

@@emperorcubone i could never do a full true Renegade run. i always do like 70% Paragon and 30# Renegade. Cause like, cmon, you can’t NOT hug Tali is ME2

[@roberteospeedwagon8178]

14:40 I mean, at the level you're at it isn't going to be long before your gift Kanto starter evolves. So it's not as big of a deal that you get Mega Lucario first. Still Mega Lucario is friggin broken, far more than any of the Kanto starter megas so there's that

[@icecreamorc]

Dosent the Shuckle guy change his mind if you have maxed friendship with Shuckie? Or is that Mandela effect?

[@emperorcubone]

No, you're technically correct, however I'm not sure that's his *actual feelings on the matter; I mean what's he gonna do? Challenge us to a Pokemon battle when we have his last Pokemon?

[@noonie6872]

@@emperorcubone No? It's not like he asks and we refuse to return it. We bring it back and he sees his old pet is happy and leaves it with us. I know you never back down from your dumb opinions, but it IS okay to admit you're wrong. You don't have to invent 'moral quandaries' that don't exist to cling to a filler placement.

[@cisconduct]

my gift lapras from silph co was shiny in my lets go games

[@emperorcubone]

Nice! I wasn't sure if it was shiny locked or not!

[@edwinbuana555]

5:00 hey that is my favorite hairstyle of Serena >

[@ManuelLS1005]

In German "Gift" means poison. I was confused for a second as i saw lapras xD

[@emperorcubone]

Haha, I DID address that in the opening, because the last time I made a "gift" video people said the same thing!

[@stellamagdalene3521]

Them not giving Castform a Mega is a crime.

[@TomAmit42]

12:01 Great vid as always, but if I may indulge in a slight rant: I feel it's unfair to portray this Tentacool as a horrible useless gift that comes at a terrible price, considering the fact that this "gift" has a specific and unique purpose: Preventing you from getting stuck on the island, if you somehow lost all your other surfing mons, and have no way of obtaining a new one. That Tentacool is lame on purpose, we're not supposed to want it, certainly not sacrifice our other Pokemon for it. It serves a specific function under specific circumstances - a small yet crucial help in a time of great need. What you said is about this Tentacool is like saying "Welfare payments are bad cuz you have to cripple yourself to get them" or "Life insurance payments are bad cuz you have to kill your spouse to get them". 12:47 What if you can't beat Chuck? 12:58 How is that weird? Clearly in Gen 3 they just hadn't thought of this fail-safe yet (and I guess in later Gens they implemented better fail-safes).

[@emperorcubone]

If that were the norm I'd agree with you, but they literally never do this again! You can still get stuck on the Seafoam Islands, or Sootopolis, or Canalave City, etc; so if preventing softlocks was a pattern I wouldn't think twice about it, but the fact that it's the ONLY one in the whole series makes Tentacool stand out by necessity.

[@signalfirefly]

The safety Tentacool was only in HGSS, after all those. The Latis are basically the antisoftlock in ORAS. (I haven't played BDSP so I can't speak for that.)

[@eutekktoid]

German gift mentioned 🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥

[@Zersetzor]

I would say the Lati twins are among the worst gifts for all the reasons that you used to put them among the best.

[@johnbuck4395]

And what's with all these competition clones we've been getting for SV mystery gifts? Ooh, i can get a copy of joe blow's Talonflame from last month's tournament?!

[@klingofgames1560]

Small correction on your tentacool rant. You do get a free fossil pokemon in cinnabar. The fossil is a guaranteed item before reaching it and both learn surf. Also Mossdeep has the Super Rod on the island to ensure you can encounter water types. Tentacool is a bad gift pokemon, not disputing that, but the 2 locations you used as reference do have safety nets to prevent you from being trapped

[@emperorcubone]

This is true, but if you're dumb enough to release all your Pokemon you could probably find a way to toss your fossil too. If those don't work you can always pick something else like Sootopolis, Canalave, or anywhere in Alola...

[@gavinaaric]

I've always hated the Sun and Moon Porygons, It was so annoying to evolve having only 1 system, I had to literally use the gts just to get Porygon Z

[@emperorcubone]

Ah, I remember trading to myself on the GTS; mostly by offering a Caterpie in exchange for a Lugia, etc. since no one in their right mind would make that trade...

[@gavinaaric]

@@emperorcubone I know, it was literally torture finding one when I got Porygon 2 I just hacked my system with pksm and got them

[@ItsFireTiger]

Imagine if the Tentacool was replaced with a level 25 Murkrow that has Fly and also conveniently holding a Dusk Stone (HGSS) 👀

[@TKnHappyNess]

#5 Worst: Even if the Totem Lurantis had Contrary, the only move that would benefit it is Superpower since Leaf Storm is a Fomantis egg move #5 Best: Lapras in FireRed and LeafGreen is Level 25, ten levels higher than in the originals #4 Worst: The only real use for Castform is to access Tornadus and Thundurus in ORAS #2 Worst: Just like with the Galarian Meowth in Scarlet and Violet, it's easier to get a Porygon in ORAS and put it on Gen 7 using Pokemon Bank. Even the gift Porygon in Platinum is better because you can obtain it as soon as you enter Veilstone

[@LadyLeomon]

Hello Early Squad 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻 for me one of my favourite Gift Pokémon is the Hidden Ability Rockruff in USUM: yes evolving him was a bit of a pain but having an Elemental Fang move on a Rock Type is always a boon … and one of my least favourites? Zorua/Zoroark in Black/White. Because you needed a specific Event Legendary (the Shiny Legendary Dogs) to get Zorua AND Zoroark! Not even just one, but BOTH! I missed the Event so I had to trade online for the Beasts which took ~forever~ I know this was changed in B2/W2 to being gifted N’s Zorua and Zoroark but the sting of the BW pair will always be an unpleasant memory 😒😒😒 Thanks for the new video Emperor Cubone and hug your furbabies all 💙🐱💙

[@mogamatsedickpetersen8620]

Togepi! This is just my bias, but Togepi is a great gift Pokemon; especially in HG/SS where it can become a Togekiss that is just such a cool Pokemon.

[@RomanTorchic]

The earliest available mega stone in XY is the Aerodactylite in the fossil lab in the town before Cyllage.

[@RomanTorchic]

Ambrette Town*

[@bennazareth6558]

The Hooh in pokemon colleseum. Not main series but a free level 70? Thank you very much

[@Kev.in1997]

Thats more of a reward than a Gift When you have to 99% the Game and complete an annoying difficult Task at the end to get the Pokemon its a reward If you play the Game normally and a (random) npc gives you a Pokemon for No reason other than existing its a Gift

[@domidoodleYT]

If you think about it, the gen 1 starters in Kalos are *kinda* gift Pokemon and I think they’d be up there with Lucario at the top

[@emperorcubone]

You're not wrong, but I specifically ruled out gifts with choices, since that's a bit different than deciding to make use of a solitary one handed to you.

[@lulukomadori9651]

Lurantis really needed contrary cause it SO.SLOW. like alot alola mons. Plus even if it did, what moves could it take advantage of? Leaf Storm is special and I don't believe it learn superpower in gen 7 Also 9:51 that pokecard art goes hard, gen 7 is still amazing Surprised u didn't talk about the shiny ponyta in arceus among the 2nd best choice, since it the best shiny compare to an gible/munchlax

[@emperorcubone]

I specifically left out the Ponyta because it doesn't seem to qualify as a "gift," you could argue that the quest-giver in a roundabout way is the one that gives you the Pokemon, but I'm just counting ones that are handed to you directly from another trainer. That's why Snorlax doesn't count, otherwise it definitely would be!

[@lulukomadori9651]

@@emperorcubone I get what u mean BUT the quest is far easier than clearing White Treehollow/Black Tower for the shiny baby dragons, and like the porygon, u get them after beating the game already

[@shadowdoublade3333]

The monkeys all get a good move at level 22: Seed Bomb, Flame Burst, and Scald for that point in the game, they're phenominal, so they're useful past gym 1 Edit: This is what I get for reading the comments before the video

[@Volkaroar]

While interesting to have a Sandstorm variant of Castform, it's really just not an actual weather condition so it can't warrant it. A sandstorm is just wind blowing sand around, so it's not necessarily as natural as rain, hail, or sun.

[@emperorcubone]

That makes sense... in real life. But this is a video game and Sandstorms are one of only four weather conditions, so if they couldn't think of a way to make that work with a cloud then they should have used another idea to interact with the weather to make sure they all fit.

[@Volkaroar]

@@emperorcubone you do realize that game freak has been getting more accustomed to actually replicate believability in how their core dynamics work? Sandstorms can't just make that cloud a clump of coal now just cause sandstorm has been an honourary weather effect since generation 2. With every pokemon and their features they have to have them make sense, and with the sandstorm effect it just doesn't make sense to make castform have a rock-type variant.

[@joshiethepoketeen6357]

IIRC, I think you can get an Alolan Meowth from Savatore in The Indigo Disk

[@AceAviations2]

Actually you can get a better Lucario in X and Y by catching a Riolu on Route 22 and it'll be objectively better than the gift one after it evolves. Remember that you don't need a single badge iirc to reach the area where Riolu is a 5% encounter. This is because of a design quirk in X and Y; Pokémon in the 'Undiscovered' Egg Group are GAURNTEED 3 perfect IV's, and Riolu being a Baby Pokémon is in the 'Undiscovered' Egg Group. I think that this was only supposed to apply to just Legendries probably, however due to the way that it was handled in-game it also applied to wild Riolu, Azuill and Budew. This isn't the case in OR/AS however and it only applies to legendries.

[@Compucles]

To be fair to Castform, Weather Ball becomes a 225 base power Fire or Water type attack or a 150 base power Ice type attack depending on which weather you set up first. They had to make its base stats pretty weak so that it wouldn't be overpowered.

[@lipika2841]

What's more is that it comes with the Mystic Water item, which increases its Weather Ball futher to 247.5. Tho I've counterarguments that the Weather Ball in Rain/Sun is only slightly stronger than STAB Surf/Flamethrower under the respective beneficial weather & Ice Beam from an Ice-type is barely weaker than the Ice Weather Ball (since those moves used to be an extra 5 base power in older gens). Castform can't even get a STAB boost from a Weather Ball during Sandstorm. You've manually set up the weather of your choice mid-fight in order to make this move a nuke that you're talking about. Yes, Weather Ball & Castform itself can also change types depending on the weather, flipping the matchups based on what you're facing, but you're better off obtaining separate team members filling Water & Fire roles that have much higher overall stats instead of keeping this jack of all trades & master of none mf. It's not like Rotom, where you can switch its form before the beginning of battle. There're few routes in Hoenn with naturally occurring weather & most of them are Rainy, making Water-type Castform easily the best. This used to be its signature move & as generations went by, way more competent mons started learning it too. It just needs decent stats to become something more than a poor gimmick cuz its movepool is solid given it's a Normal-type. If it had hands or legs, it'd probably receive things like the punches, Rockslide & Earthquake as well.

[@Compucles]

@@lipika2841 Fair enough, but the type switching within a single roster spot also has value as you've pointed out, and how many Pokémon can learn all three of Flamethrower, Surf, and Ice Beam? As for needing the weather set up, that's true for almost all Pokémon that rely on weather save for the rare ones that set it up automatically with their Abilities. At least Castform has the option to set up each kind of weather on its own. I maintain that if it had all of that utility and good stats on top of that, it would be *too* powerful. It is still kind of weak, though, so a good compromise could be to push it up to 80 in each stat.

[@WhtAbtBob10]

You can also get a free shiny Blitzle in the post-game The Indigo Disk.

[@gametugboat3985]

i refuse to allow you to dis galarian meowth, i am doing a chalenge where im only allowed to use gifts and static encounters and perserker has saved my life many many times

[@thesandman2426]

It is kind of weird that people keep saying that there should be a sandstorm form since he's based on a water molecule and the three alternate forms are based on evaporation, condensation, and sublimation being sun, rain, and hail forms. But if gamefreak wants to forego that restriction, then I would hope they also do forms for all the different type terrains. Not sure how well that would work for programming though since you can have a weather and terrain at the same time.

[@emperorcubone]

I get that Castform is based on water/weather and Sandstorms don't fit into that in real life, but this is a VIDEO GAME, and therefore you can make it include whatever you want. They also had a whole generation of lead time to come up with a better idea for interacting with the weather that wouldn't exclude one, but they failed...

[@thesandman2426]

@@emperorcubone Like I said, I wouldn't mind if they just dropped that restriction, but I would also hope if they are going to go in and change it in the future that they add more than just a sandstorm form, I think that would be neat. Yes it's a restriction that makes sense from a logic perspective, but I see why people say they want the fourth form. It just doesn't sense for that to be the only reason it should exist. I also get why it's a bad gift pokemon, because the gimmick requires setup and Castform isn't bulky enough to do it himself. And if you have a weather setter, they usually are going to have moves to compliment the weather they set it up. Good video though, always enjoyable to watch them. Keep up what you're doing.

[@AHomelessShoe]

I don't know if it counts as a gift, but dialga and palkia in legends. I know you have to fight them first, but since you don't have to worry if the catch will work or not it feels like a gift.

[@emperorcubone]

Mmm, I'm more just counting a Pokemon given to you by another character, so the likes of Sudowoodo wouldn't be on the list, etc.

[@liannabunny7775]

You wanna make a Top 6 Best and Worst In-Game Trades list?

[@emperorcubone]

I actually did that a while back! I think it still holds up a couple years later. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5DGpHRjoNd2aNE

[@liannabunny7775]

@@emperorcubone Oh yeah

[@chuckyfan6696]

When I 1st played hgss I didn't even know u was supposed to give back the shuckle, so after I got it, I just stored it in the PC and never used it. Guess I'm a criminal too lol

[@emperorcubone]

I imagine that's what 99% of people did as well, unless you were just Really looking forward to that Shuckle on your team...

[@CmdrUD87]

Shout out to the Magikarp you could buy in R/G on the S.S. Anne. Granted, not quite free, but you effectively get a free Gary, and that's nothing to scoff at, especially on that gen, which is notoriously... basic

[@andrewkatz6649]

11:52 Looking at the Trainer name, guess Snorlax is a god after all

[@ariesstorm9577]

Random hypothetical question: I am a Pokemon trainer and I choose Squirtle for my starter. For years Squirtle is by my side as I grow through my teen years and into adulthood. During this time my Squirtle is also starting to noticeably age. By evolving would Squirtle/Wartortle remain the same “age” or would the change cause some kind of minor reverse in aging (physically, not mentally)? Other than the obvious what other changes does a Pokemon go through during the evolution process?

[@emperorcubone]

Well there's that anime episode with the old Pikachu, (and the young one for that matter) but as far as the games go I think a Pokemon could just stay the same stage forever without any aging effects...

[@asheliastar7]

if you want to keep shuckle without feeling like a thief all you have to do is max out its happiness. if shuckle likes you enough the guy will let you keep it forever. let's be honest, all shuckle deserve to be happy don't they?

[@Rat2rrj]

A lot of people hate the sinnoh girl that trades you a haunter with an everstone, but that gives you a chance to level and trade the ghost yourself i guess Im partial to the makuhita in hoenn and machop in johto myself

[@emperorcubone]

If you could already trade the ghost you wouldn't need her in the first place!

[@Rat2rrj]

@@emperorcubone more like the possibility to trade with another game/player, not in single cartridge play

[@christophersuli1554]

I kind of disagree with Galarian Meowth. I for one enjoyed taking all the courses and it felt rewarding instead of just running into a random NPC and being gifted one.

[@silverice3166]

You can get aerodactyl with its mega stone before lucario

[@kaojlk]

Just curious if anyone knows. My Galarian Meowth from Scarlet has 4 perfect IVs. Was that just luck? I just assumed that was intentional since it was a "gift" that you had to work for

[@nathanblackburn1193]

Fun fact: I do not own Sword and Shield as I thought they looked like garbage (and imo I was right) they are the only main generation games I skipped completely (aside from Red & Blue and Gold, Silver & Crystal as those came out too early and I was too young) so the only way for me to obtain a Galarian Meowth is from that gift

[@Infindox]

They are better then you think they are, not as buggy as SciVi (i enjoy them but good lord) and the dlc is actually really good. Of course, one can argue that the one dlc is just "here's $30, give me a powerful pokemon for competitive" lol

[@nightspawnson-of-luna4936]

I think another downside to the Totem gifts is that you can't transfer them to Bank or Home... For some reason... Even though now with Alpha pokemon as a thing it seems kind of weird... Ooh that's got to be a new theory Idea... Totems are alpha pokemon

[@pkmntrainermark8881]

I wouldn't say you can Mega Evolve Latias/Latios immediately. You don't get the Mega Bracelet until a bit later, right?

[@maartendekroon267]

As to Shuckle: are you saying we'd be worse than Mindy?😅