Bonsly

At 0.5 m tall and weighing 15 kg, Bonsly looks like a miniature plant, but its body belongs to the Rock type. Its design combines a bonsai with petrified wood: the branches and small pot bring a cultivated tree to mind, while its mineral composition explains why it is not a Grass type. The pot also gives it a baby-like appearance, reinforced by its tendency to cry and need attention.

Pokédex entries describe a creature adapted to arid environments. It dislikes water and, when it accumulates too much moisture, expels liquid through its eyes. These are not emotional tears: their composition is similar to human sweat and helps it regulate its hydration. The effect can fool its opponents, who let their guard down when they see it crying.

It is the first stage of a two-species evolutionary line. When it levels up while knowing Mimic, it evolves into Sudowoodo, which keeps its plant-like appearance and leaves its baby-like look behind. Its Attack and Defense are its most prominent physical traits, while Special Attack and Speed lag far behind.

Bonsly has 50 HP, 80 Attack, 95 Defense, 10 Special Attack, 45 Special Defense and 10 Speed. The spread makes its role clear: take physical hits and return them with physical attacks. The problem is that its slowness is not a minor detail; with 10 Speed, it almost always takes the hit first, and its 45 Special Defense does not let it withstand special attacks well.

Sturdy is its most useful ability. If it is at full health, it prevents a single hit from knocking it out, giving it room to set Stealth Rock, use Counter or attack once. Rock Head also makes sense with Double-Edge, as it prevents the move's recoil damage. Rattled raises its Speed when it is hit by Bug-, Dark- or Ghost-type attacks, but it starts from such a low figure that the boost does not solve all its problems.

The Rock type lets it apply pressure with Rock Throw, Rock Slide and Stone Edge, and gives it resistances to Fire, Flying, Normal and Poison. In return, it stacks weaknesses to Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground and Steel. In Little Cup, Smogon considers it completely unviable because Geodude fills a similar role with better tools and Onix offers more Speed and versatility. In a normal playthrough, it can work as an early physical wall, set Stealth Rock or take advantage of Sturdy to answer with Counter, but special attackers, super effective moves and any faster Pokémon stop it with ease.

Bonsly belongs to the Undiscovered Egg Group, so it cannot be obtained by breeding two Pokémon at the Day Care. Even so, it has a 50% female gender ratio. Its Egg cycles are 20, equivalent to approximately 5355 steps using the usual hatching conversion.

Its notable Egg Moves include Headbutt, Defense Curl, Rollout and Rock Polish. The last two fit its rocky body: Rollout provides a physical attack that grows stronger as it stays in action, while Rock Polish improves a Speed stat that starts at 10. Curse is also among its options, although its effect requires accepting an even more severe reduction in Speed.

Evolving into Sudowoodo requires levelling up while knowing Mimic. The move is learned at Lv.16, but the condition does not require it to evolve right then: it only needs to know the move when it levels up. Its catch rate is 255, so catching it is trivial when it appears. Its small size and bonsai-like appearance should not lead you to look for it in damp areas: Pokédex entries place it in dry environments and explain that it expels water to prevent bodily fluids from building up.