Who's That Pokémon? #109 Koffing

#109 Koffing (a.k.a. Dogas)

Bulbapedia Article

While the initial English name for this Pokémon was "Ny" (after the smoggy skies of New York), it was eventually dubbed Koffing (as in coughing).  The Japanese name (which appears with a few Romanized spellings such as "Dogars" or "Dogasu") is based on dō for "bad" or possibly "poisonous" and gas.  It is literally a ball of poison gas, based on a floating naval mine, due to its tendency to explode spontaneously.

From the Pokédex: Its thin, balloon-like body is inflated by horribly toxic gases. It reeks when it is nearby.  Because it stores several kinds of toxic gases in its body, it is prone to exploding without warning.

Because it lives such a short, violent life, it lacks intelligence and carries a dopey, unassuming smile on its face at all times.  Apparently, the skin of a Koffing is as thin as a balloon, although in other media, he creates a metallic hollow sound when hit, suggesting a strong, thick skin.  Koffing is the anti-Jigglypuff.

Generation I Moveset and Strategy

Smog- and smoke-based attacks are Koffing's bread while his self-destructive explosive attacks are his butter.  Poison Pokémon aren't very strong in the first generation, so Koffing's best strategy includes annoying its opponent with inconveniences, and then taking it out in a suicidal blaze of glory.  Koffing is not going to be a main attacker on the team, for obvious reasons.

Sludge - Poison Explosion - Normal SmokeScreen - Normal Haze - Ice

Sludge is the strongest Poison attack in the game, and it supplies a decent chance of poisoning the opponent as well.  Explosion is obviously the last resort heavy hitter with the largest amount of base damage.  Now, while a Weezing moveset relies on various elemental attacks to round out the coverage, I picked two moves to play a little more defensively.  SmokeScreen lowers the opponent's accuracy which forces to opponent to switch if they plan on hitting Koffing (and since Double-Team is a banned move for raising evasion, this is the next best thing).  Haze is only really good in Stadium where it resets all conditions of both Pokémon, including statuses and stat-modifiers.  This is to help make sure Explosion stays strong and available for Koffing when he needs it.

Generation I Sprites

  

The infamous "upside-down Koffing" plagued Americans for a long time (at least until Yellow was released).  We were unaware that the Red/Green sprite had gotten it correct and thought there was just a great constrast between the games and the anime or other images of Koffing.  Personally, the flip-flopped version has grown on me.  The other two are fine sprites, but the "mistake" has a lot of character to it.  Of course, if I had to pick one to put in the games, the original would be my pick, with its cool "smoke hands."

Generation I Locations

Koffing are only available in the Pokémon Mansion in Red/Green/Blue.  They don't even make an appearance in the wild in Yellow, due to it being one of Team Rocket's signature Pokémon.  Making their home in an abandoned laboratory fits with their accidentally-man-made nature.

However, in Pokémon Snap, a trio of Koffing live in the Cave on Pokémon Island, bothering the local Jigglypuff.  So, either they emigrated from the abandoned Tunnel, or there might actually be some naturally occurring Koffing in the wild.

Notable Generation I Koffing

1) James's Koffing (Yellow, anime, and The Electric Tale of Pikachu)

James nearly always uses his Koffing to make a quick getaway or to cover up a crime, but as his main Pokémon, it's clear that there is a lot of love between the two.  Plus, all children are familiar with his hilarious cry of "Koffing!" (My friends used to say "Coffee!" whenever mentioning the drink as a reference to this.)  He was omnipresent, even though he was just used as a prop.

2) Ken's Koffing (Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All)

One of Shu's many rivals in the GDZ manga, Ken is a famous guitar player who mainly uses a Koffing for distraction purposes.  It's interesting because, while I don't like looking ahead too far in the franchise, we will see another guitarist who specializes in Koffing many years from now.

3) Super Nerd's Koffing (Red/Green/Blue/Yellow and Pokémon Stadium)

Koffing appears frequently on the team of two trainer types: Super Nerds and Bikers.  But since Super Nerds tend to only use the younger variety of this evolutionary family, I'll talk about them for now.  Unlike most criminal characters who are attracted to Koffing, Super Nerds enjoy the scientific anomaly aspect of these creatures.  Combined with other artificial Pokémon, Super Nerds study the gases emitted to better understand this creature's origins and capabilities.

4) Team Rocket's Koffing (Red/Green/Blue/Yellow, Pokémon Stadium, and TCG)

And then Team Rocket (Grunts and Scientists) just like to use them because they are poisonous and harmful to the public.  Hmm, apparently Koffing were discovered in a weapons factory.  Are they inherently evil as a result?

5) Koga's Many Koffing (Red/Green/Blue, Pokémon Adventures, Pocket Monsters, and TCG)

Koga has a lot of Koffing.  Two in the games, and many more in other various canon.  Being a ninja, Koga probably is attracted to the SmokeScreen move, which can disguise him and allow him to move around undetected.  He's always saying that there is a link between ninjas and Poison types, but his fondness for Koffing show that he primarily likes the smoke.

Final Thoughts

For some reason, Koffing has become the mascot of two important Pokémon fansites, Dogasu's Backpack and Smogon University.  Not that I'm complaining, I just found it odd that this random (and admittedly, not very strong) Pokémon is so popular that he warrants such a fanbase.  The sites explore more in-depth analysis of the media and games, which goes against Koffing's simple nature.  I guess the old saying is true: "Every Pokémon is somebody's favorite."

Koffing's Verdict - Don't Gotta Catch 'Em (Unless He's Your Favorite)

EP002 - Pokémon Emergency

EP002 - Pokémon Emergency!

Showdown! Pokémon Center!

Original Airdates: April 8, 1997 (JP), September 9, 1998 (EN)

Written by:  Takeshi Shudo

Synopsis:

Arriving in Viridian City after the Spearow attack, Satoshi meets Officer Junsar (Jenny) who warns him about Pokémon thieves and transports him to the Pokémon Center.  There, Nurse Joy takes Pikachu to heal him, a process which takes a long time due to Pikachu's state.  After talking on the phone with his mother and Prof. Okido, Satoshi learns that he is several steps behind Shigeru.  He also learns that the mysterious bird he saw is thought to be a mythological creature and Okido doubts his story.  Satoshi is then joined by an angry Kasumi who demands that he repay her for destroying her bike.  Suddenly, Team Rocket appears, consisting of Musashi, Kojiro, and Nyarth (Jessie, James, and Meowth).

They cause a power outage, forcing Nurse Joy to use the backup Pikachu-generator to gather enough energy to transport the weakened Pokémon away.  Team Rocket attempts to rob the Pokémon Center but with a revitalized Pikachu and Satoshi using the bike as a generator to charge him up, Pikachu’s Thundershock (combined with Koffing’s smoke) blows up the building and sends them flying.  The next day, Satoshi and Kasumi head to Viridian Forest and find a Caterpie, which Satoshi attempts to catch.

Will he catch Caterpie?!

Who’s That Pokémon?

It's Koffing, because James's Koffing is partially responsible for the destruction of the Pokémon Center.

New Character and Pokémon Breakdown

Team Rocket: Jessie, James, and Meowth (Musashi, Kojiro, and Nyarth)

This is a big episode for introductions, and this trio consists of the most important characters outside of Ash and Pikachu.  Throughout the entire series, they will appear in nearly every episode as our main antagonists.  Team Rocket are not as goofy as they will become, but this is a nice introduction to them (although it would have been better to include them earlier in the episode to give them more screen time, hinting at their future personalities).  Many of the usual Pokémon tropes are established with them, most of them involving Team Rocket (their motto, their attempt to steal Pokémon, Pikachu zapping them, and them blasting off).  Also, Meowth is a talking Pokémon!  I wonder what the story behind that is...

Jessie's Ekans and James's Koffing

These two Pokémon are almost forgettable, despite appearing nearly as often as their trainers.  This is probably because they are used more as weapons and diversion tactics (Ekans scares the weak Pokémon from attempting to battle and Koffing's gas allows for cover).  Still, this duo are as crucial to the early episodes as the rest of the cast and will eventually have their days in the sun.

Officer Jenny (Junsar)

While Jessie and James are based on the Team Rocket members from the games, Officer Jenny is the only main character not directly originating from the source material.  Or should I say "characters."  As we'll see later, each town has an Officer Jenny with virtually the same appearance and personality, which allows the animators to not have to create new police characters for every episode.  This creates a weird trait of the series, in which we feel as if we are just watching one character (who needs to be constantly reminded of who our heroes are).  Still, Officer Jenny is basically just an authority figure who is necessary to move the story along (or in some cases, stall it).

Nurse Joy (Joi)

Like Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy has an identical counterpart in every city, running the Pokémon Centers.  Joy is usually kinder and more understanding than Jenny, and is always ready to help our heroes in anyway possible.  Like with Jenny, one feels as if they'll see this character "grow," despite actually seeing all of the relatives one at a time.  For all intents and purposes, there is one Nurse Joy and one Officer Jenny (unless the story demands something unique).

Nurse Joy's Chansey

Nurse Joy's are almost always assisted by Chanseys, but this episode barely introduces who these Pokémon are, since they appear so briefly.  I'd imagine first time viewers would be highly confused as to what these pink egg things wee supposed to be.  But, as you can tell by their hats, they are nurses in Pokémon form.

Misty's Goldeen

Despite being a decent fighter in the games, we are now introduced to the stigmatizing concept that Goldeen are usless on land.  Why is Misty acting so cocky when she sends out her Goldeen?  It seems like she was distracting Team Rocket so that Ash could get Pikachu out of there except…they weren’t after Pikachu.  They were after the other Pokémon.  They explicitly said that they did not care about the electric rat.  So why did Ash have to leave the situation?  Weren’t they there to protect the Poké Balls and make sure they got safely transferred?  And why didn’t Misty use her Staryu instead?  Did she not have it with her at this point?  It seems like a bunch of random stuff happened to get Pikachu to the bike so as to make for an epic conclusion.

The Pokémon Center Pikachu

Ah yes, the deus ex machina of Viridian City.  Perhaps they were all caught from the nearby Viridian Forest.  But the abundance of these creatures is never really explained.  Pikachu is supposed to be rare and special and than, WHAM! here's dozens of them, ready to blow things up.  They just serve to remind the kids at home that Pikachu is the toy you should be asking for this Christmas.

A Random Caterpie at the End

We're being violently thrown into the next episode.  Gotta keep watching the show, I guess?

NOT Ho-Oh

When Ash points out the legendary Pokémon he saw, he is actually looking at an engraving of Articuno (as evidenced by the presence of Zapdos and Moltres cavings).  It is understandable that he could make that mistake, but there is no ambiguity in the scene about it, making it seem as if the writers made a mistake too.  Maybe if Prof. Oak explained what it was or if Satoshi began to doubt himself, there would be more of a clue that the bird he saw was even more special than those on the wall.  (And yes, Arcanine is up there as well.  He is never really treated as a legendary Pokémon, but he is based on a mythical creature.  They could’ve played this up in the anime, but it was dropped outside of this one reference.)

Ash's Father (Not Pictured)

This is the only episode that mentions Ash’s father (and his grandfather in the Japanese version) planting a little mystery that never comes to fruition.  Had the series ever decided to show us who his father was, there would have been some sort of closure.  But now it’s been ignored for so long that there is no point in thinking about it anymore.  But it’s fun to speculate.  We only have a couple hints about who he was.  Apparently he is a great, well-respected trainer (as was his father) and he started his journey from Pallet Town as well, taking him four days to get to Viridian.

Setting

Viridian City

Ash arrives at the town just as the sun is setting, and it takes until nighttime for Jenny to drive him from her outpost to the Pokémon Center in the middle of town.  Viridian City is set up to be much larger than Pallet Town, consisting of both suburbs, as well as a downtown area.  With so much time spent in the Center, we only get brief glimpses of the city.  But we shall return in a few important episodes down the line.

Japanese vs. American Versions:

- In the Japanese version, Nurse Joy is ready to go into emergency mode as soon as Junsar arrives, but in the American version, she reprimands Jenny for driving her motorcycle inside.  “We have a driveway, you know!”

- When Satoshi calls his mother, she asks if he’s caught a Pidgey or Spearow yet, bringing up bad memories for Satoshi.  Ash’s mother instead mentions soaring like a Spearow, but Ash makes a weak metaphor about a Pidgey.

- When Prof. Okido calls, he asks if Satoshi finally got Pikachu to get inside his ball.  Prof. Oak however called to say he bet Gary that Ash caught many Pokémon more Pokémon than him by the time he reached Viridian.

- Also, Okido is eating ramen while Oak has ordered a pizza.

- When Kasumi confronts Team Rocket, she introduces herself properly and they comment on her elegant introduction.  Misty doesn’t reveal her name at all in the American episode and it is only mentioned at the end offhandedly by Nurse Joy.

- In the Japanese version, Team Rocket lament their failure while floating away, while in the American version, they officially decide to catch Pikachu, sparking a franchise.

Overall Review:  B+

This episode suffers a little bit in that hit has to do a lot of explaining and set up.  Pokémon Centers are explained, Joy, Junsar, and Team Rocket are all introduced, and Satoshi has to do a lot of waiting.  Not much happens until the very end, which ends up feeling a little rushed as a result.  So, as a basic episode without any gimmicks, this is could give someone a basic idea of the series.  Happiness and destruction.

One problem is that the bar is set very high with Pikachu’s power.  The explosion looks amazing and exciting, and Pikachu will never quite reach that level of awesomeness for the rest of the series.  I do like that Satoshi is able to understand Pikachu’s instructions, showing how much they have bonded in a short period of time, though.

The grand finale packs the spectacle, while the slow start contains the important building blocks.  I wish there had been slightly more balance, but both halves are necessary for the series to continue.