Archen
#072 Unova / #566 National
Type: Rock/Flying
Species classification:First Bird Pokemon
Ability:Defeatist – User's Attack and Special Attack are halved when HP drops below 50%
Location found (Black/White): Revive fromPlume Fossil receivedfrom backpacker in Relic Castle
Wild hold items: None
Egg groups: Flying, Water 3
Gender ratio: 87.5% male, 12.5% female
Effort values: 1 Attack
Evolution family: Archen >Archeopsat level 37
The second of Unova's two new fossil families, Archen and Archeops can be obtained by reviving thePlume Fossil you receive from the backpacker inRelic Castle.Their species classification is "First Bird," butOdd Bird might have been more apt. Firstly, why are these twoRock/Flying types in the Water 3 egg group? Why?! They're not Water type, neither can learn any Water-type moves, and nothing about their design suggests an aquatic animal.If it weren't for the internet, it would be really difficult for the average Pokemon player to figureout that they belong in Water 3 in addition to the Flying egg group.
Their ability is bizarre too– both Pokemon in this family can only have one ability, Defeatist, which is new to Black and White and is exclusive to these two Pokemon. You'd think an exclusive new ability would be at least somewhat cool and interesting, right?Nope, it totally sucks –Defeatist lowers both Attack and Special Attack by half when the user's HP drops below 50%. Why create a brand-new ability specific to this Pokemon, only to make it totally terrible? It's as if the designers were doing it out of spite or something. On the plus side though,Defeatist doesn't hinderArcheops all that much, because you're not goingto want to use it as a defensive Pokemon anyway, and his offenses are absolutely out of control, so it sort of makes sense if you consider that his ability is being used as a check to its awesome power.
