Arrokuda

The Rush Pokémon category sums up its behaviour: it detects any movement and charges straight ahead with its jaw first. That sharp jaw is its most visible trait and also the feature it boasts about most. Its design recalls a barracuda, with a narrow body built for accelerating underwater and a silhouette that looks made to ram like an arrow.

When its stomach is full, it loses mobility and becomes vulnerable to being swallowed by a Cramorant. The relationship between both species even appears in the way Cramorant feeds, as it can carry Arrokuda in its beak and spit it at an opponent.

It occupies the first place in a two-species evolutionary line. Upon reaching level 26, it evolves into Barraskewda, which retains the Water type and takes the idea of a fast predatory fish much further. Arrokuda is 0.5 m tall, weighs 1 kg and yields 1 Speed when defeated.

Arrokuda is not competitive outside low-level formats. In Little Cup, its 63 Attack and 66 Speed let it apply pressure with physical moves, but its 41 HP, 40 Defense and 30 Special Defense leave little room for taking hits. Its 40 Special Attack does not justify a special strategy either.

Swift Swim defines its possibilities: it doubles its Speed in rain. With Rain Dance active, it can outspeed a large part of the format, while Aqua Jet provides priority when simply being fast is not enough. Dive, Waterfall and Liquidation offer physical Water STAB; Crunch adds coverage against Psychic- and Ghost-type opponents, and Close Combat broadens its offensive reach if obtained through a TM.

The Water type gives it resistances to Fire, Ice, Steel and Water, but its 30 Special Defense makes special attacks dangerous even when they are not super effective. Electric and Grass hit it super effectively, and its lack of defensive power prevents it from serving as a reliable answer. Propeller Tail stops its moves from being redirected by Abilities or moves, a specific utility in Double Battles, although it does not make up for its stats. In a normal playthrough, it performs as a temporary attacker before evolving, especially if the team is already making use of rain.

It belongs to the Water 2 Egg Group and has an even gender split: 50% female and 50% male. Its 20 Egg cycles are approximately equivalent to 5355 steps. The offspring can inherit moves such as Thrash, Slash, Acupressure and Night Slash; Acupressure is the most unusual, as it can randomly raise one stat of the user or an ally.

The evolution is straightforward: it evolves into Barraskewda upon reaching level 26. It does not need an item, a stone, a specific move or a particular area. Its catch rate is 255, so catching it is easy when it appears. With a Slow growth rate, it takes longer to reach high levels than many species with Medium or Fast growth rates.

It is 0.5 m tall and weighs 1 kg, so it takes up little space in the team and is not notable for physical bulk. Its colour is brown and its form corresponds to a fish. The combination of an easy catch, breeding in Water 2 and level-based evolution makes obtaining a specimen ready to evolve a short process.