Weezing

Weezing
Pokémon character
First game	Pokémon Red and Blue
Designed by	Ken Sugimori
In-universe information
Species	Pokémon
Type	Poison Poison/Fairy (Galarian)

Weezing, known in Japan as Matadogas (Japanese: マタドガス), is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. First introduced in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue, it evolves from the Pokémon Koffing, both having the Poison type. Since Weezing's debut, it has appeared in multiple games including Pokémon Go and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as media related to the franchise, including as a regular character in the TV series. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, a new variant of Weezing are introduced as part of a form called "Galarian," referring to the region Galar featured in the game. It retains its Poison type while gaining the Fairy type, and features some design differences.

Since its appearance, it has been generally well received, with the Galarian variation being especially popular due to its commentary on the United Kingdom and the environment. It has also been noted for its competitive viability, particularly thanks to the original form's Levitate ability and the Galarian form's Neutralizing Gas ability.

Conception and development

Weezing is a species of fictional creatures called Pokémon created for the Pokémon media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy, which were later released in North America as Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998. In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Some Pokémon can transform into stronger species through a process called evolution via various means, such as exposure to specific items. Each Pokémon have one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon. A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species.

When making the games, the design first started as pixel art sprites by the development team, created with a single color identity chosen to work within the Super Game Boy hardware limitations. Once development was complete, Ken Sugimori re-drew the species along with the others in his own artstyle in order to give the game a unified look and finalize any design elements, while also trying to maintain the original artist's unique style. In English, Weezing was originally going to be named "La," referring to Los Angeles, along with Koffing's name originally named Ny, referring to New York. These names came from the high levels of air pollution in these areas.

Weezing is a Poison-type Pokémon that evolves from the Pokémon Koffing, also a Poison type, via level up. Like Koffing, it is a hovering purple ball containing poison, featuring a skull and bones pattern on its body. With evolution, it gains a second, smaller head. In Ruby and Sapphire, it gained the ability Levitate, protecting it from Ground-type attacks. It received a Galarian form in Pokémon Sword and Shield, which retained its Poison type while also gaining a secondary Fairy type. It also gained a new ability called Neutralizing Gas, causing other Pokémon's abilities to not work. Galarian Weezing has two heads with protrusions from the top of their heads, resembling both smokestacks and top hats. Its color was changed to grey, while it gained green smog, which also created faux facial hair. It retains the skull and bones sign found on Koffing and the original Weezing design. These elements were designed to make it fit into a United Kingdom-based environment. According to the Pokedex, Galarian Weezing came about in response to air pollution from factories, consuming the contaminants and expelling clean air.

Appearances

First found in Pokémon Red and Blue, Ninetales has since appeared in many other Pokémon titles. Weezing is available in both Red and Blue in the wild or through evolution, but can only be obtained in Pokémon Yellow via trading. It appears in the sequels Gold and Silver, as well as Crystal, where Weezing can be found in the wild. It later appears in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. In Sword and Shield, a new form called Galarian Weezing is introduced. Both forms appeared in the mobile game Pokémon Go and, in physical media, were in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

In the Pokémon TV series, Weezing is owned by James, a member of Team Rocket and ally to Jessie. Originally a Koffing, it was James' only Pokémon, with Ekans being owned by Jessie and its counterpart. Both aided Jessie and James in their plots, which typically involved stealing Pikachu from protagonist Ash Ketchum. Koffing and Ekans eventually evolve to become Weezing and Arbok.

Critical reception

Weezing has received generally positive reception. Nintendo Life staff discussed Weezing, with writer Alex Olney commenting that he found it a significant improvement over Koffing's design, a sentiment shared by writer Zion Grassl. Writer Jon Cartwright felt that Weezing followed a trend of Pokémon designs in the first generation of Pokémon games of putting more of a Pokémon on a design to convey evolution, which Olney agreed with while believing that it was a more creative execution on the idea. Olney believed that the second body represented a Koffing growing big enough to split off part of its body into a new body through mitosis. As part of their "Pokémon of the Day" series, IGN staff felt that Weezing was an especially popular Pokémon among viewers of the Pokémon anime series, noting that it, alongside Arbok, sticks around for longer than any Pokémon Ash owned, Pikachu aside. Despite stating she had a soft spot for him because of this, she felt that its role in the video games is "just another forgettable" Poison-type Pokémon in Red and Blue. She felt that it saw improvements in Ruby and Sapphire, thanks to its newfound immunity to the Ground-type attack Earthquake.

Galarian Weezing has been generally well-received, argued by Fanbyte writer Imran Khan as being an example of a good regional Pokémon. Dualshockers writer Logan Moore was not a fan of regional variants, but made an exception for Weezing, feeling this new form was funny. He praised the depth of the design, particularly it being designed to have protrusions that act both as smokestacks and hats. Anime News Network writers Lynzee Loveridge and James Beckett regarded Galarian Weezing as one of the best Poison-type Pokémon, praising its design as a particularly good regional variant as well as praising its design, particularly the "industrial era-London smokestacks" and "oil baron" concepts. GamesRadar+ writer Heather Wald felt that people generally loved this new design, noting its comparison to a bong. Nintendo Life writer Rebecca Stow praised Galarian Weezing's design, appreciating its London influences - particularly the resemblance to the "iconic" smokestacks of the Battersea Power Station. She felt it was one of the most hilarious designs she had ever seen from the series, expressing excitement to be able to use it upon Sword and Shield's release. Destructoid writer CJ Andriessen discussed how it provides commentary on climate change, particularly the smokestacks in the United Kingdom during the industrial revolution.

Galarian Weezing's competitive viability has been the subject of commentary. Dot Esports writer Cale Michael suggested that Galarian Weezing's new ability could help improve the competitive standing of Pokémon such as Archeops, Slaking, and Regigigas in double battles due to their abilities being exclusively negative. This ability tends to be used to counter opponent's abilities, but he believed it would allow for them to be very powerful due to them being otherwise strong. He also felt that its new Fairy type helped it on its own merit as well, thanks in part to its immunity to Dragon-type attacks. TheGamer writer Callum Archer felt that, despite believing that Weezing was originally a decent Pokémon, Galarian Weezing represents an improvement in competitive play across the board, including its type, moveset, and abilities. He also noted his preference for the Galarian design, believing that while the original is "classic," it hasn't aged as well, finding the new design a "fun twist" on the concept.

External links

• Weezing on Pokemon.com
• Weezing at Bulbapedia, a Pokémon wiki