Ledyba

Six clenched fists, one on each leg, and no intention of using them. Ledyba has the outline of a boxer and the temperament of an animal that cannot stand being alone: the Pokédex entries insist that it is timid, that it feels insecure when there are no others nearby, and that it leaves a trail as it walks so its own kind know where it is.

That trail is an aromatic fluid. It comes out through the six points where the legs join the body, and its scent changes with Ledyba's mood — when it gets angry, the smell turns sour. A chemical language that only works if there is someone there to smell it.

Underneath the expression is a ladybug. Red shell with black spots, round head, transparent wings showing beneath the elytron, and a pattern that the Pokédex itself points out is different on every individual. At 1 metre tall and 10.8 kg, it is a ladybug the size of a small child.

Cold leaves it helpless. When it arrives, lots of them huddle together at once to keep warm, and one entry turns the idea on its head: in Alola, where there is no need for it, Ledyba can be seen flitting about energetically everywhere. At level 18 it evolves into Ledian, and that is where the line ends.

265 base stat points, and the distribution is worse than the total. Attack is stuck at 20, one of the lowest figures in existence, and it comes alongside 40 HP and 30 Defense: any decent physical hit knocks it out immediately. The only figure that holds up is Special Defense, 80, far above the rest of its sheet. Special Attack 40, Speed 55.

Bug and Flying is a combination that makes it pay dearly. Rock hits it for four times the damage, and on top of that it takes double damage from Fire, Electric, Ice, and Flying; in return, it ignores Ground completely and handles Fighting, Bug, and Grass well. As an attacker, there is nothing to work with: Bug Buzz, which it learns at level 33, has 90 power but comes off those 40 Special Attack, while Air Slash, at 36, stops at 75. Double-Edge, the final level-up move at 40, is a physical 120-power attack with recoil on a creature with 20 Attack. The joke writes itself.

Of its abilities, Swarm powers up Bug-type attacks when it is low on health, something that with 40 HP almost never gets a chance to happen. Early Bird halves the time it stays asleep. Rattled, its Hidden Ability, raises its Speed when it is hit by a Bug-, Ghost-, or Dark-type move.

Support is what it does best, and here it does have something of its own: it learns Light Screen and Reflect at the same time at level 12, has Tailwind among its Egg Moves, and gets U-turn from a TM to set up the screens and leave without giving away the turn. Baton Pass at 26 and Agility at 29 complete the idea. It is a plan that works in formats with very limited levels, and not much else.

Bug Egg Group, and only that one, so the breeding stays within the insect order itself. The gender ratio is straightforward, 50% female, without the scarcity that complicates other lines. Fifteen hatch cycles come to around 4080 steps, among the shorter distances.

Seven moves come from the Egg: Psybeam, Counter, Screech, Encore, Knock Off, Tailwind, and Bug Bite. Encore and Tailwind are the ones that justify breeding, because they fit the support role. Counter has its appeal — it returns twice the physical damage received without relying on Attack, which is exactly the stat it lacks — but with 40 HP it rarely survives the hit it was meant to return.

It evolves upon reaching level 18, with no items, time requirements, or friendship conditions. It grows at the Fast rate, so it reaches that 18 before almost any teammate caught at the same time.

Its habitat is the forest, and its catch rate, 255, is the highest on the chart: the cheapest Poké Ball is enough at half health. It gives 1 effort point in Special Defense and 53 base experience, which is little even for an early-route Pokémon.