Lotad

It opens a three-stage line that ends in Ludicolo, and it’s the weakest part of the line: half a metre, 2.6 kg, and a leaf on its head that takes up more surface area than the rest of its body. The official category fits — Duckweed Pokémon. It isn’t an animal carrying a plant; it’s half floating plant.

The Pokédex entries insist on two things. First, that it spends its life floating in ponds and lakes, where it serves as a raft for Pokémon that can’t swim; Hoenn’s river transport is this. Second, that it depends on finding drinkable water: if it takes too long to find a clean source, the leaf on its head wilts, and with the leaf wilted, it grows weak. That’s why it pulls up anchor every so often and drifts to another pond.

One entry goes further and explains how it ended up living that way. It is said to have once lived on land, and it is believed to have returned to the water because its leaf grew so large that it became too heavy. A surrender story told as field data.

None of the six entries mention aggression, defence or hunting. It floats, drinks and waits. None of that changes until level 14.

220 points spread across six boxes, none of them reaching 51. The highest is Special Defense, 50; then come 40 HP and 40 Special Attack, followed by a flat 30 in Attack, Defense and Speed. Defeating it yields 1 effort point in Special Defense and 44 base experience, first-route critter numbers.

Swift Swim is the only ability pointing anywhere: in rain, Speed doubles, and 30 doubled is 60, which still doesn’t outrun almost anyone. Rain Dish restores HP while it’s raining, working from a pool of 40. Own Tempo, its Hidden Ability, prevents confusion.

The Water and Grass combination is good defensively: Water damage drops to a quarter, Steel and Ground to half, and the two usual Water-type weaknesses — Grass and Electric — are cancelled out by the leaf. The cost is double damage from Poison, Flying and Bug, three types that are everywhere on any early route. Offensively, the two types overlap almost completely: both hit Ground and Rock, and both bounce off Grass and Dragon.

Its own movepool exists, but arrives late and out of sync. BubbleBeam at level 20, Giga Drain at 28, Rain Dance at 33, Energy Ball at 43. It evolves at level 14. To see any of those four on the small body, you have to cancel the evolution by hand time and time again, and you gain nothing in return: Lombre has the same type chart with 340 points instead of 220. What a trainer actually uses is Absorb at 3, Water Gun at 6 and Mega Drain at 12, and uses them for eight or nine levels, until the game retires it on its own.

The Egg Groups are Water 1 and Grass, two long lists that leave breeding wide open, and the gender split is even: 50% female. Fifteen incubation cycles come to about 4080 steps, among the quicker eggs.

Six moves come from the egg, and two justify the detour. Synthesis is direct healing, and it doesn’t appear by any other route anywhere in its movepool. Teeter Dance spreads confusion, which is precisely what the species’ Hidden Ability exists to avoid suffering. Counter, on 30 Attack, is a joke. Tickle, Razor Leaf and Sweet Scent round out the list.

The first evolution has no conditions: at level 14 it becomes Lombre, with no item, no time of day and no friendship involved. The second does, and it’s one of those decisions you have to make — Lombre never levels up into it; you have to use a Water Stone on it, so you choose the moment, not the experience counter.

Its habitat is the waterside and its catch rate is 255, the top of the scale: a Poké Ball at half health and without weakening it first. Wild specimens may be holding a Mental Herb. It grows at a Medium Slow pace, the kind that takes a while to get going and catches up later.