Mudkip

The shoreline is where it belongs: neither open sea nor inland, but the strip of mud where water gives way to land. It measures 40 centimetres and weighs 7.6 kilograms, and the Pokédex files it as the Mud Fish Pokémon, which describes what is in front of you with considerable accuracy—a fish that manages just fine out of water.

The fin on its head is its instrument. Pokédex entries keep coming back to it: it detects currents and danger, picks up anything moving in the water and in the air, and lets it know what is happening around it without opening its eyes. Underwater, it breathes through the gills on its cheeks. Its long tail is what propels it.

The other thing the entries repeat is its strength, and that is the detail that matters. It is small, but it can lift rocks; in a serious bind, it can even smash stones larger than itself. That is not decorative flavour text, but a preview of what is coming: Marshtomp at level 16, Swampert at 36, and at the end of the line, a broad-armed animal that solves battles by hitting things. For now, it still fits in one arm.

The distribution of its 310 points is badly stitched together, and you can see it by putting two figures side by side: 70 Attack, its best stat, against 50 Special Attack. The problem is that almost everything it learns by level in the Water type goes on the special side—Water Gun at 3, Water Pulse at 18, Surf at 30, Hydro Pump at 39—which is to say, the weak side. To hit with its good stat, you have to go to the TMs: Waterfall, with 80 power, or Liquidation, with 85.

The rest are fifties. 50 HP, 50 Defense, 50 Special Defense, and 40 Speed, which leaves it moving last against almost anything its size.

Torrent powers up Water-type attacks when its HP is low; with 50 HP, that window is tiny. Damp, its hidden ability, stops any Pokémon on the field from blowing itself up, which is more of an anecdote than a plan. Being pure Water does not tip the balance either: it resists Fire, Water, Ice and Steel, and falls to Grass and Electric.

Where it does the job is in a normal Hoenn playthrough, and it does so early. The region's first Gym is Rock-type, and Water Gun at level 3 already clears it. Rock Smash at 6 and Rock Throw at 9 plug the gaps until something worthwhile arrives, while Rock Slide at 21 gives it 75 physical power backed by its best stat. Protect at 12 and Amnesia at 27 are filler. With no recovery, no Speed and those defences, the whole job is getting to 16 and then to 36.

It belongs to two Egg Groups, Monster and Water 1, which opens up a long list of partners among the starters and much of the aquatic wildlife. Its gender split is the usual one for a starter: 12.5% female, one in eight, so breeding a line of your own means finding that female or relying on Ditto.

The 20 incubation cycles work out to about 5355 steps. Of the Egg Moves, the ones that change anything are Yawn, which forces the opponent to switch and leaves whoever stays asleep, and Wide Guard, which protects the team from priority moves. Bite, Counter, Mirror Coat, Ancient Power, Curse, Stomp, Double-Edge, Sludge and Mud-Slap round out the list.

Its evolution has no unusual conditions: level 16 for Marshtomp and 36 for Swampert, with no items, no time requirements and no happiness involved. It grows at a Medium Slow rate, so those levels arrive later than you might expect at first.

Its catch rate, 45, puts it among the harder Pokémon to catch, a statistic that is almost never relevant: it appears rarely on the shoreline, and you normally receive it from a professor. Defeating it yields 1 Attack EV.