The Wildlife of the Kalos Region (X and Y update)

Recently, four new Pokémon, among other things, were revealed for X and Y. 

A normal day in Kalos, the region of Pokémon X and Y.

The first of these is Helioptile, the Normal/Electric type lizard. I'm not really sure how it's a normal-type. Granted, Altaria is a Dragon-type despite not having any remotely draconic features.

My opinion on Helioptile is ambivalent. I don't love or hate it, Helioptile is just ok. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to catch it. One thing that's interesting about Helioptile is its move Parabolic Charge. Parabolic Charge attacks the opponent and heals the user half the damage they dealt out. Essentially, it's an electric Giga Drain. Hopefully, more Electric-types can learn this move. I can see this being beneficial with bulky Electric-types like Lanturn and the Rotom appliances.

"Parabolic Charge" functions as an electric Giga Drain

Next is Fletching, your Pidgey/Hoothoot/Taillow/Starly/Pidove of this generation. I'm biased when it comes to the standard Normal/Flying birds. Pidgey and Starly will always have a place in my heart, so there's no love for Fletching from me. It's not all bad though, in fact I would recommend catching this bird if you so choose. Fletching can learn Flame Charge, which is handy to get past Steel-types. I just won't be going out of my way to catch it. What am I saying? I probably wouldn't have to! These things will be swarming the first route!

 Yes, your prayers have been answered. You can catch a panda in Pokémon! Actually, you could catch a Spinda since Ruby and Sapphire...you can now catch a panda that you'll actually like! Pancham is a fighting type who means business. While Teddiursa stands there and licks its palms, Pancham has no problem picking a fight with anyone who makes fun of its small stature. Bear Pokémon for the most part are always cool (sorry Spinda). Snorlax, Ursaring and Beartic are among my favorites and have that cool factor that I know Pancham's final evolution will have. Pancham alone is legit; it's a good mix of cute, tough and playful.

What you say about my leaf?! I'll knock you into next Tuesday!

Finally, there's this big guy. At first, it looks like a standard grass goat. The details about Gogoat though are interesting to say the least. Let's start with his name. REAL creative there. I can just imagine what that meeting sounded like. "Alright, so this goat allows you to go places when you ride on it. Let's call it Gogoat!" That's like naming Pikachu "Shockmouse" because it's a mouse and it can shock you.

That brings me to my next point. Earlier I said you could ride on this and the picture at the beginning of this post shows the trainer riding a Gogoat. So yes, you can ride it. Forget bikes, I'm on a goat! Just imagine strolling down the city, all the ladies checking out your swag as you ride on a Gogoat. That alone is pretty cool, and I hope more Pokémon have this "ride" feature. Can you imagine riding into town on a Zapdos? That would be pretty beast!

They see me rollin', they hatin'. Patrollin' tryna catch me ridin' dirty.

A major part of what makes Pokémon great are the actual Pokémon. When X and Y were first announced, the starters and legendary mascots didn't pique my interest. I originally couldn't commit to X and Y, but these newly revealed Pokémon made me reevaluate my initial impression. It's the Pokémon that make these games worth playing, and X and Y seem to be on the right track. I mean, you can catch pandas and ride goats! What's not to love?