Back again to continue this thread! I just wanted everyone to enjoy the new Sun/Moon announcement before returning. Last time was the Mienshao line, today will be about the cave dwelling dragon Druddigon.
My thoughts: I like Druddigon a bit, even though it's everyone's least favorite dragon. In the defense of its design, 2 things:
1) It's coloration may look obnoxious, but apparently there are real life lizards out there who sport a bright red face and a blue body(someone post it)
2) The spikes may look overdesigned, but I can see how it applies to Druddigon's life as a cave dwelling creature. Burrowing through tough, narrow spots, the spikes could allow Druddigon to move at an easier pace through these rocky tunnels.
Competitively, I admit I've never used a Druddigon, but I hear it's a pretty good trick roomer.
Overall, not a dragon I dislike. I think it's okay.
>>26307552
I do unironically like it, my favorite Dragon from this gen, in fact I dislike the rest beside Fraxure and Kyurem.
Pure Dragin type is cool, also found the real life counterpart, not bad and interesting moveset too, wish it had a buff.
It wasn't love at first sight tho, unlike for Ferrothorn, Stunfisk and Chandelure for example.
I really was going to breed one, but I just loathe the little wings. So I guess he's meh
>>26307552
>inb4 some retard screaming about "le overdesigned xDDD"
Pic related is a red headed agama. They hide in small spaces, under huts, between rocks and so on. The design seems to incorporate bearded dragons as well, with their spikey head and body. They are quite aggressive and territorial too, which fits Druddigons pokedex entries.
While I don't outright hate it, I find its design questionable. It's but the spikes, the wings, the color... It's the mouth. It just doesn't make sense. The mouth is jagged and uneven.
Didn't use it and don't really see myself wanting to. I hope it gets a mega or something that makes it look cool and be useful.
It was saved by the tranisition to 3D but I still don't really care for it.
>>26307765
>It was saved by the tranisition to 3D
This.
It was one of the few Pokémon that actually benefited from the transition to 3D rather than suffering from it. It's one of my favourite Dragon-types now.
>>26307638
The Red Headed Agama is not the only one lizard it was inspired by, Druddigon definitely used its colors, yes. As for the body type concept I think it was based on the Horned Lizard (the same laughing lizard used as reaction image). Glare is probably associated with its habit of spraying blood from its eyes as form of selfdefence. Also the sturdy spiky skin configuration not only protects it from some smaller mammals but also from the ants (check Durant's presence in Gen 5 dex) that are part of its diet, another intersting fact is that this skin helps the lizard at being hydrated by absorbing humidity and rain drops in general that it can transport as water through its skin microchannel system. As you can see this lizard is very common in the US territories too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_lizard
https://cosmosmagazine.com/life-sciences/how-texas-horned-lizard-harvests-water-its-skin
>>26307765
Absolutely agree, the Gen 5 terrible sprites didn't leave a good impression of it.
I loved the improvement of the models, although some model poses also backfired, but those are the minority.
>>26307552
I think the Gen 6 model gave it justice. Never cared for it back in BW but it looked okay in XY
>>26307957
I like Druddigon's shiny too, love to use at least 3 sets, one with its standard and two with its shiny forms, named them Pitaya, Kiwano and Gakachika. Although pitaya or dragon fruit's skin shows a shade of yellow and orange that is almost red, kiwano and gakachika definitely fit it.
Also more trivial stuff that Bulbapedia will probably never tell you: the shiny form of Druddigon definitely comes from the kiwano fruit, also known as gakachika and horned melon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucumis_metuliferus
"Cucumis metuliferus, horned melon or kiwano, also African horned cucumber or melon, jelly melon, hedged gourd, melano, in the southeastern United States, blowfish fruit, is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family, Cucurbitaceae. Its fruit has horn-like spines, hence the name "horned melon". Ripe fruit has yellow-orange skin and lime green, jelly-like flesh with a tart taste, and texture similar to a cucumber. C. metuliferus is native to Sub-Saharan Africa.It is now grown in California, Mississippi, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand.
C. metuliferus is a traditional food plant in Africa. Along with the Gemsbok cucumber (Acanthosicyos naudinianus) and Tsamma (Citron melon) it is one of the few sources of water during the dry season in the Kalahari Desert. In northern Zimbabwe it is called gaka or gakachika, and is primarily used as a snack or salad, and rarely for decoration. It can be eaten at any stage of ripening, but when overripened, will burst forcefully to release seeds."
- it has its same exact colors
- is spiky
- is found in desert areas like those lizard
Druddigon was probably one of the smartest Pokémon executions despite the hit or miss design. I really like it personally.
If it will ever have a mega it definitely won't be wasted.
>>26307552
Why must I always fall in love with the underdog?
>>26307765
The model really did improve my opinion of him a lot, I even like the wings now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn9a3oltCAE
>>26308054
Druddigon is cute! CUTE!
>>26307957
Interesting. Sounds like Druddigon might be the most reptilian Pokemon we have.
>>26307552
It's probably my second favorite dragon typethe first one being Sliggoo, man I got mad at its evolution when the leaks came.
While some will say the design is too busy, I love how it's concept is very simple.
It looks cute but like a monster at the same time, which is what a pocket monster should be.
I also think the colors are nice, they make it stand out above other designs and the shiny is great too.
Hell, I even think it's good designed:
>dragon that inhabits rocky narrow tunnels made by other pokemon
>front legs/arms are unusually longer but make sense, probably climbs and burrows a lot
>skin got harder to endure that environment
>it eventually became a spiky defense mechanism
>wings devolved and became part of that defense mechanism
>head seems like the "hardest" part to protect him from the fall of rocks in those dark caves
And it is even somewhat viable, which makes it great for those Karen teams when you're bored.
Didn't like him at first but he grew on me.
