12. Herdier
I must admit that Ive never been that fond of the starter normal-type Pokémon. You know, those ones that pop up ad nauseum in the first three lanes to the point where youre screaming at the Pokémon on your actual team to get in gear and evolve faster. And so it was with great surprise that I loaded up Pokémon Black for the first time to find a normal-type Pokémon that I actually liked and was more than willing to have on my team. And, beyond that, it actually had evolutions that got more badass instead of more boring! Needless to say, I fell into raptures at first sight. Herdier is based on a dog. And not just any dog, but a Yorkshire terrier one of the most enduring breeds around. I have always been somebody who favours Pokémon that resemble dogs, as you can probably tell from the rest of this article, but I dont really know how anybody could fail to fall in love with that. Herdier clearly links back to the animal that it was based on, and so looks the perfect creature for an adventure story. What better Pokémon to roam the countryside with, after all? The design of Herdier also does inventive things, though, and is all the better for them. Herdier is not just based on a Yorkshire terrier, but also on a Scottish Terrier and a Silky Terrier. These breeds have similarities, and probably come from the same line, but also have differences that make their combination seem interesting and fresh. It also makes Herdier resemble the ideal dog closer than ever not based on a specific one, but drawn from a handful of endearing traits that is very easy to fall in love with. Plus, it has a moustache. A moustache! Most things are made more badass by the addition of moustaches, and that is just a fact. As a result Herdier is not just the ideal dog, but the ideal dog with added facial hair and theres not a lot wrong with that.