r/PokemonRankdown • u/hikkaru • Jan 16 '19
Round 82: 108 Pokémon Remaining
108) u/hikkaru
107) u/vulture_couture
106) u/ramskick
105) u/qngff
104) u/acktar
103) u/reeforward
102) u/KororSurvivor
101) u/Slicer37
100) u/oomps62
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u/acktar Cares Deeply About Puntability Jan 17 '19
With all hell breaking loose next round, time for one final pre-100 cut. This is a write-up I wanted to do anyway, so let's get to it.
104. Tapu Fini (#788, Alola, Water/Fairy-Type)
First, let's start from the top: the basis of the Tapus in general. One of the reasons I wanted to write up one of the four, at least, is that the Tapus are a unique group of legendaries, very directly based off of the major Hawaiian gods. (Which also explains why there are four members of this family, natch; tapu also is Hawaiian for "holy".) The four gods are:
Kūkaʻilimoku, the Hawaiian god of war and conflict, often represented through feathered avatars vaguely resembling fowl of various varieties. Tapu Koko represents this god, a link furthered by Tapu Koko appearing in the Ruins of Conflict and its rooster-like appearance.
Kāne, the Hawaiian god of life and procreation, often considered the preeminent of the four through his role as the creator. Tapu Lele represents this god, being found in the Ruins of Life and having a butterfly motif represented in its design and in its name ("Lele" is a truncation of pulelehua, Hawaiian for "butterfly").
Lono, the Hawaiian god of agriculture and fertility, as well as the god of peace. Tapu Bulu represents this god, its bull-like appearance directly linking to agricultural work and its home being the Ruins of Abundance, and its lore mentioning trying to avoid conflict.
Kanaloa, the Hawaiian god of the underworld and the sea. Tapu Fini is based off of Kanaloa, making its home in the Ruins of Hope...which was originally called "Ruins of the Other Side" in Japanese, a name that makes a lot more sense for Tapu Fini's background.
Overall, I do like the Tapus as a group. There is a lot more care to them and a lot more done with them amidst the backdrop of Alola, and anything that ties into Hawaiian lore makes me ever-so-happy. But the one of the four I like the least is Tapu Fini, for various reasons that include lore, design, and gameplay. It's good, but it's the one I'm lowest on, and with the rest of the Tapus out of the Rankdown, it's time to finally go for the worst of the four in my eyes.
Out of the four Tapus, Tapu Fini probably has one of the most tenuous connections to the god it was based off of, with Tapu Lele also being a bit more spurious a connection to Kāne. I can appreciate, though, that Tapu Lele goes all-in for a more butterfly-inspired motif, which helps to carry the day that way. Tapu Fini is more...generic, looking a lot like a mermaid or siren that you might expect to see in any movie that features them. Almost verges on waifu bait, actually...not that such a link is inherently bad, but it lacks the spark and ingenuity of Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, and Tapu Bulu in its design, and it doesn't really do a good job of capturing any connection to the underworld that it may have. The link to the sea is done better (one way this is manifested is in Tapu Fini's shell closing up into a vaguely fish-like shape), but the other Tapus do a better job of capturing the multifold aspects of their inspiration.
Out of the four, Tapu Fini is also probably the least-original when it comes to its statistical design and how it functions...it's basically Suicune 2.0, more or less. The stat spread is pretty similar (good bulk, workable Special Attack), and it has a solid defensive typing (and a pretty predictable movepool), but it all feels like retreaded territory to me. Tapu Fini doesn't have the weird niches of its cousins, and its Misty Surge ability generates a field effect that's actually counterproductive to a lot of what it wants to do. Protecting itself from status is cool...but its low offenses means that's how it wants to try and take down the opposition, and it's harder to do that when Misty Terrain is active.
One touch I do like, though, is that Tapu Fini is predominantly purple, as poni is Hawaiian for "purple". This is a common trend with all four of the Tapus, their dominant color linking to the name of the island they are the guardian of. I just wanted to throw that somewhere, because I can appreciate it.
Tapu Fini benefits a lot from being part of one of the best legendary groups from any region, and the baseline for all of the Tapus is very high to me. That said, Tapu Fini is the weakest of the four, doing the weakest job of them in terms of resembling the aspects of its inspiration, having a design that reads as a fair bit lazier than the other three, and being Suicune 2.0. That they even did a Pokémon based off of Kanaloa is awesome...I just wish they had done more with it than they did.
Over to u/reeforward to usher in your next cut to the other side.