WHO'S THAT POKÉMON, Vol. 008
The gloomy glow-up for a Gen 2 Pokémon in Gen 8 packs some spooky punch.
Pokémon is a wonderful and mythical world of fantastical creatures that has survived for a quarter century in the form of anime, playing cards, collectible toys, and of course, a role-playing video game. Longtime fans can name a large percentage of the 908 creatures that have been released so far. Some people’s knowledge of Pokémon begins and ends with Pikachu. There is nothing at all wrong with that kind of casual fandom, but I feel like I must do a service and at least let you know about the other wonderful creatures you can raise in the universe where these monsters do battle, play, work, and keep people company. It’s time to play WHO’S THAT POKÉMON???!?!?
CURSOLA (No. 864)
Evolution Line – Corsola (Galar) (No. 222) → Cursola (Lv. 38)
Type – Ghost
First Appears In – Pokémon Sword and Shield
The Coral Pokémon is one of many regional forms of older creatures that is the product of a heretofore unavailable evolution. Unlike the snappy Mr. Rime or the defiant Obstagoon, Cursola is baneful and melancholy, probably because their once vibrant ecosystem has become acidic and polluted. They have traded their Rock/Water typing in for Ghost, a sad commentary on the state of environmental protections. Not even Galarian Weezing, whose smokestack hats can turn smog into fresh air, can help their ocean-dwelling friends. That’s right, folks, coral reefs around the world are embrittling and dying thanks to ocean acidification. Cursola isn’t just fodder for creepypasta; they’re an allegory.
Aesthetics and Biology – The spherical organism living inside Galarian Corsola, which I assume also lives inside Johtonian Corsola but is hidden by the solid rock carapace, has developed a taller, more dendritic network of ghost coral around them. Their disposition has not changed, but they can at least see further thanks to their taller stature. A solid rock bowl anchors this ghoulish marine structure on the bottom of the ocean floor, helping to keep Cursola from flittering away in the ocean currents, even if their outward depression would give them no worry if they floated away into oblivion.
This coral, which you might be able to tell from the typing, is not made of rock, however. It is a spirit-absorbing ectoplasm that allows Cursola to leech energy from opponents, be they battlers, potential predators, or even prey. If you touch this ectoplasm? You end up like someone gazing into the stare of Medusa. Good luck. Cursola does have one desire in which they indulge, much like their land-bound peers Clefairy. They love the full moon, and they’ll gather underneath it to release energy into the sky.
In the Games – Cursola is prized for their incredibly potent Special Attack stat. Sitting at a base 145, they can knock even the bulkiest threats for a loop with a Shadow Ball or an Earth Power. In the main game, where Speed isn’t as much of a concern, Cursola can be a valuable partner as you walk the road from town to town or in the Wild Area. If you’re playing Shield, Cursola can wipe the floor with Allister in Stow-on-Side and be your rock against Avery when you get to the Isle of Armor. You can also save potions and annoy the CPU using Strength Sap as prime recovery for long battles where you might want to save the rest of your team.
Conversely, going up against Cursola in the games can be a little annoying if you don’t build your team to handle a threat with high Special Defense and reliable recovery. Allister’s Cursola as a rule has Strength Sap in their arsenal. One thing about facing off against this particular Cursola is that they have Hex as the main STAB move with no reliable way to cause status ailments. Hex is a strong move, but its power doubles if the target is afflicted with status. If you have, say, an Obstagoon that knows Night Slash, Cursola is a breeze. If not? Well, you might be in for a bad time.
The Nerd Section – At 145 Special Attack and 130 Special Defense, Cursola has intriguing potential in the metagame, even if the other important stats kneecap them bad. At 30 base Speed, they’re GLACIAL although that gives them sterling potential as a special sweeper on a Trick Room team. Base HP at 60 and Defense at 50 is even worse. You might be able to fend off Special attackers, but as soon as Obstagoon or another Physical attacker with any neutral or worse attack comes in, either you switch out or dissipate into the Pokémon aether. The big shame out of all of this these dismal low stats make both their Abilities useless. Most moves that make physical contact attack Defense rather than Special Defense, and with such a low base Speed, Weak Armor won’t even get you to speed levels where you’d outgun mid-tier threats.
Still, with the Special Attack, Special Defense, and a diverse movepool that includes plenty of coverage options and some neat status/annoyance plays, you cannot completely discount Cursola. Shadow Ball obviously is big play, but you have access to Power Gem/Earth Power, which hits every Pokémon except for a few straggling Grass-types, all of which do not resist Shadow Ball/Hex anyway. You also can play with moves like Burning Jealousy, Giga Drain, Scald, Psychic, and Ice Beam. Cursola can surprise a lot of options trying to switch in and take advantage of them. Additionally, a base Attack of 95 seems like nothing to sneeze lightly at either. While drastically inferior to the Special Attacking option, you can still wreak havoc on options that switch in thinking they can absorb a special move. You get access to the Stone Edge (or Head Smash!)/Earthquake combo, as well as moves like Throat Chop, Body Slam, Liquidation, Leech Life, and Icicle Spear. The big problem with a physical Cursola set though is your best STAB option is the patently unreliable Poltergeist. It’s a better option in the metagame than it is in mainline game because nearly every single opponent is holding an item. Still, you run the risk of enemies who’ve consumed their berries/Focus Sashes/White or Power Herbs. It’s a cute gimmick idea, but not one I’d personally go with.
Finally, you have options when it comes to dealing status and annoyance to opponents. Perish Song, Strength Sap, Will-o-Wisp, Reflect, Light Screen, Destiny Bond, Confuse Ray, and all the weather moves all have utility that can give Cursola staying power on any team, even if that team is confined to lower tiers. The poor defense, however, might make them less appealing as an annoyance option. However, the pre-evolution, Galarian Corsola? That has the advantages of a better base Defense at 100, a not-as-bad downgrade in Special Defense at 100, and, thanks to not being fully evolved unlike their Johtonian cousin, access to stat boosts from Eviolite. I will give you a set based on that concept at the end of the entry.
Punchy Coral
Modest Nature (Special Attack ↑, Attack ↓)
Ability – Perish Body (When hit by a move that makes direct contact, the Pokémon and the attacker will faint after three turns unless they switch out of battle.)
EVs – 236 HP/252 Special Attack/20 Special Defense
Hold Item – Leftovers/Weakness Policy
- Shadow Ball
- Power Gem/Earth Power
- Earth Power/Ice Beam/Hydro Pump
- Strength Sap
Obviously, that massive Special Attack stat is going to draw you to Cursola, so you want to make use of it. About the only Pokémon safe from Shadow Ball are the ones immune to it. Your secondary attack options are varied. I have Power Gem and Hydro Pump on mine currently, but you can maximize for coverage with a few combos of moves. If you want the most super-effective hits, go with Earth Power and Ice Beam. Strength Sap is there for active recovery and to chase out pesky Physical attackers who might try to knock out your poor little coral reef. Perish Body is the better option, not because it’s particularly useful, but because it’s more useful than Weak Armor. Better to p-Haze an attacker out on threat of fainting than getting a Speed boost that won’t move the needle. I default to Leftovers as an item, but if you time it right and switch in when someone uses a Special Dark or Ghost-type move, you can make use of the Weakness Policy for a free Nasty Plot boost.
Leechy Coral
Calm Nature (Special Defense ↑, Attack ↓)
Ability – Perish Body
EVs – 236 HP/20 Special Attack/252 Special Defense)
Hold Item – Leftovers
- Hex
- Will-o-Wisp
- Curse
- Strength Sap
Admittedly, this is a gimmicky set, and it’s mostly useless against Normal-types. That being said, if you hit it right in the correct moment, you can annoy the hell out of your opponent. At worst, Will-o-Wisp can leave everyone but Fire-types burnt, leeched of HP, and weakened physically. Curse works on everyone, and with Strength Sap, you can defray the cost of your own HP to use it. The Burn-plus-Hex combo will lead to some heavy hits, even with the decreased investment in Special Attack. It’s not an everyday set, but it’s worth some merit to annoy people you particularly don’t like.
SPECIAL BONUS Galarian Corsola Set of FUCKING DOOM
Galarian Corsola
Bold Nature (Defense ↑, Attack ↓)
Ability – Cursed Body (When a move hits the Pokémon, that move has a 30 percent chance of getting disabled.)
EVs – 236 HP/20 Defense/236 Special Defense
Hold Item – Eviolite
- Night Shade
- Will-o-Wisp
- Stealth Rock
- Strength Sap
Oh boy. OH BOY. I went up against one of these in online battle, and they totally flummoxed me to the point where I tried appropriating a set for my own. I’m not sure if I have their EVs right, but I have my own habits – HP divisible by 16 and try to balance as much as I can with the evenness of Defense and Special Defense. Eviolite will boost both stats by 50 percent anyway. You need absolutely no investment in either attack stat either since Night Shade does set damage (HP loss equal to the level of the user). This is a frustration set, built on passive damage from Stealth Rock and Will-o-Wisp, recovery and p-Hazing from Strength Sap, and sweeping through annoyance. You will love this build if you’re a troll. You will hate fighting against it.
Finale – Corsola got a depressing glow-up, but it’s a glow-up no less. Both Galarian Corsola and the evolution Cursola give you a good reason to get the coral reef Pokémon on your team more than you might have considered before. Maybe these games will help kids realize that their fantasy scenarios can tell them something about real life too? That would be pretty nice, all things considered…
PRIOR WHO’S THAT POKÉMON:
Venusaur
Mimikyu
Haxorus
Blaziken
Heracross
Mismagius
Sylveon