Tuesday, May 8

Ranking the Pokemon: #87- Jynx

Look, Jynx is actually a pretty solid fighter, and is unique in that it's the only Ice/Psychic type in the entire game (which still holds true to this day). So it's only really weak to Fire and Bug types, and chances are you aren't using the latter. Bulbapedia also tells me Rock type moves will damage Jynx more than usual, but I don't think that's actually true, since Ice is strong against Rock. Regardless, Jynx's types make it one of the harder Pokes to match up against.

Statistically, Jynx is certainly in that "Special Sweeper" category, in that it has very good Special and Speed. It can learn Ice Beam and Psychic, too, to get that STAB bonus. Throw on Bubblebeam to counter any Fire types you come across, and Jynxie suddenly becomes a pretty viable threat. It also learns both Sing and Lovely Kiss, two inaccurate "put 'em to sleep" moves, the latter of which is unique to Jynx. I wouldn't use either of them, but still, it's nice to have options.

So why is Jynx not much higher up on this list? Well...I'm sure you noticed that there are two similar-looking Pokemon in the picture at the top. The one on the right is how Jynx currently looks, which is fine. The one on the left is how Jynx used to look (i.e. "first generation Jynx"). What does that remind you of? It reminds ME of blackface, you know, the theatrical makeup used in the 19th and 20th centuries to create an over the top, caricature-esque view of black people? I'm quite positive that Jynx is the only racist Pokemon, and remains so to this day. While it's quite possible that this wasn't intentional at all, the fact that Jynx was so controversial that its skin color had to be changed is kind of a major oversight. And since A Hot Cup certainly doesn't condone racism, it can't condone Jynx being very high on this list, despite its battle utility.

Battling Grade: B

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