Drowzee

Thirty-two kilos and four hundred grams packed into one metre of height. That is an odd density for something with the look of a plush toy: it weighs as much as a ten-year-old child and stands as tall as a five-year-old, with a yellow belly, a brown back and a short tapir-like snout in the middle of its face.

That snout does the work. The Pokédex entries describe it lulling its enemies to sleep so it can eat their dreams, and warn that it sometimes gets sick when what it eats are nightmares. If someone's nose itches while they're asleep, another entry says, it's because one is near their pillow trying to draw their dreams out through it. It prefers the funny ones. Anyone who manages to befriend one may even be shown the tastiest dream it has ever tried.

The rest of the entry follows the same line, and not always towards a pleasant place: it can be seen prowling around recreational facilities after nightfall, hunting children's dreams. Its official category is the Hypnosis Pokémon. It learns Hypnosis at level 1, before anything else except Pound, and at 26 it becomes Hypno, which is the same idea with more bulk and a worse reputation.

The distribution of its 328 points is so lopsided it is almost funny: 90 Special Defense against 45 Defense, 60 HP, 48 Attack, 43 Special Attack and 42 Speed. It takes special hits reasonably well and does everything else badly, starting with dealing damage.

That is the bad joke in its stat sheet. It attacks better on the physical side than the special side, while almost all of its Psychic-type moves are special: Psybeam at 21, Psychic at 37, Psyshock at 45 and Future Sight at 49, with 43 Special Attack behind them pushing. Zen Headbutt, at level 29, is the exception, and it is 80 physical power on 48 Attack. Nasty Plot, at 41, raises that Special Attack by two stages in one go, which is the only way it has to threaten anything.

Insomnia stops it from falling asleep, which is useful against Spore or Sleep Powder and rather ironic for a dream eater. Forewarn reveals the opponent's most powerful move. Inner Focus, the hidden ability, prevents flinching. None of them changes anything fundamental.

As a pure Psychic type, it hits Fighting and Poison hard and little else, while taking super effective damage from Bug, Ghost and Dark, three types with fast, cheap attacks. It does not measure up for organised battling, and it is best to say so plainly.

Where it makes sense is in a normal playthrough, and at one specific point: Hypnosis is available from level 1, and putting a wild opponent to sleep before throwing the Ball, or putting whatever gets stuck on a route to sleep, is a service it can provide from the moment it is caught. At level 25 it learns Psych Up, which turns one turn of Hypnosis into two consecutive attacks with its accuracy intact.

It belongs to the Human-Like Egg Group, the same one as Abra and Mr. Mime, with a 50% gender split, so breeding does not force you to hunt down a scarce female or rely on Ditto. Twenty incubation cycles are about 5355 steps, on the shorter side.

Of the eight egg moves, three are the elemental punches—Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunder Punch—and all three can also be taught by TM, so breeding for them is not worthwhile. The one that does justify the trip is Psycho Cut: 70 physical power, which on 48 Attack performs better than any of its same-type special attacks. Power Split equalises the HP of the two battlers. Guard Swap, Mimic and Flatter complete the list and are curiosities.

It evolves by reaching level 26. No stones, no held item, no friendship, no time of day and no trade: level it up and that is it, which was normal in the first generation and feels almost austere today.

Its habitat is the grassland. Its catch rate, 190, puts it on the easy side of the table: an ordinary Poké Ball with the opponent somewhat weakened will usually do. It grows at an average rate and gives 1 Special Defense effort point when defeated, which fits with its only decent figure.