Sandslash

Donphan rolls to bowl things over; this one rolls to stab them. The spikes covering its back are hardened skin, not hair or shell, and it sheds them once a year: the replacements are already growing underneath the old ones. It curls up into a spiky ball, drives opponents back by stabbing them, and finishes with its claws when they are within reach.

The claws are the other half of the animal. It digs with them, and also climbs trees so it can drop onto its prey, turning back into a ball in the process. They break easily — digging too fast can cost it both claws and spikes at once — but they grow back in a day, so it doesn't seem particularly bothered.

One metre tall, 29.5 kg, and the Mouse Pokémon category, inherited from Sandshrew and by this point in the line no longer describing anything. Pure Ground type, with no secondary type, and that's where it ends: there is no third stage. There is, however, another version of the species, the Alolan one, which traded dry ground for snow and came out of it as an Ice- and Steel-type.

Of the 450 base points, the ones that matter are 110 Defense and 100 Attack. Everything else ranges from weak to useless: 75 HP, 65 Speed, 55 Special Defense and 45 Special Attack, which is no use at all because the special moves it learns — Earth Power, Scorching Sands, Mud Shot — use the wrong stat.

Sand Veil, its regular ability, raises its Evasion while the sandstorm lasts and relies on the opponent missing. The one that matters is Sand Rush, its hidden ability: with sand on the field, its Speed rises and those 65 no longer condemn it to moving last. Without sand, it's slow, full stop.

On the attack, Ground has few resistances standing against it and only Flying types ignore it completely. Defensively, it gets an immunity to Electric and three weaknesses spread across every team: Water, Grass and Ice. With 55 Special Defense, all three hit it from the side it can't take.

In NU, it has had steady work as a spinner. It learns Rapid Spin at level 15, resists Stealth Rock and can set it itself with the TM, so it clears its own side of the field and dirties the opponent's without switching Pokémon. Swords Dance at 51 doubles an Attack stat that was already decent, and Earthquake closes out the play.

What holds it back is familiar: Ghost types block its spin and it only has Knock Off and Shadow Claw to bother them, it is too slow to spin before taking a hit, and as soon as the team's plan is sand, you have to justify why Excadrill isn't occupying that slot.

Field Egg Group and no other, which lets it breed with half the terrestrial Pokédex. The gender ratio is 50%, so the female breeds normally and there is no need to wrestle with a Ditto. Twenty incubation cycles, about 5355 steps, on the cheap side. It grows at a medium rate, with no head start or delay compared with the team's level.

Six moves come from the egg, and two are worth the trip: Hone Claws, which raises Attack and Accuracy at the same time, and Night Slash, a 70-power Dark move that gives it something against Ghost types without spending the Knock Off TM. Counter, Flail, Metal Claw and Mud-Slap are filler.

The evolution has no trick on the Kanto side: Sandshrew evolves into Sandslash at level 22, with no item, no time of day and no friendship involved. The Alolan one is another story — it never evolves by level, it needs an Ice Stone, and the frozen form comes from there.

In the wild, it lives in rugged terrain. Its catch rate is 90: neither the 45 of the ones that spend all day breaking Poké Balls nor the 255 of the ones that go down on the first try. It sometimes holds a Quick Claw, Soft Sand or Grip Claw.