Contest Contest-of-the-Week: Volbeat vs Illumise

[Winterdaze]

Welcome to Contest-of-the-Week! With the release of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire on the horizon, the attention of Pokémon fans everywhere turns to Hoenn, and all the cool and interesting Pokemon that live there.

Every week, we'll be looking at a few of the many Pokémon you'll meet along your journey through the Hoenn region, and asking for your opinions on them and how they stack up next to their counterparts or rival Pokemon looking to fill the same spot on your team.

vs

The Mauville gym leader Wattson is a tough opponent, so a bit of training before you face him is never a bad idea. Fortunately Route 117 to the west is full of trainers, and the Day Care centre can even raise your weaker Pokemon for you. Also found on the route are a pair of firefly Pokemon, Volbeat and Illumise, though the former is much more common in Sapphire while you're more likely to encounter the latter in Ruby.

These two bug type Pokemon are very similar, Volbeat has a higher attack stat while Illumise prefers to use special moves, other than that their stats are identical. Both Pokemon are fortunate enough to have Prankster as a hidden ability, although Volbeat stands out as one of the few Pokemon that learns the rare Tail Glow.

Which firefly Pokemon you prefer, and why?

-Which has the better design?
-Which one is easier to train?
-Which is more useful throughout the game?
-Which do you think will be better in ORAS?
-Which is more useful in the competitive environment?
-Do you view the fireflies as separate Pokemon or two genders of the same Pokemon?

Let the contest begin!

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Next week: Camerupt vs Sharpedo

 

[Sakuraa]

Which has the better design?
I say Illumise for no other reason than the fact that she's smiling in her artwork which, imo, makes her more appealing. And I've never really liked Volbeat's face anyway.

Which one is easier to train?/Which is more useful throughout the game?/Which do you think will be better in ORAS?
Don't know. Never used either, and honestly, they seem pretty similar anyway.

Do you view the fireflies as separate Pokemon or two genders of the same Pokemon?
Separate Pokemon. Closely related Pokemon like Plusle and Minun, but separate Pokemon nonetheless.

Illumise wins.

 

[Team Gaara]

Quite the hard one this time around. I have no experience with using either, to be honest. I prefer Illumise's design. Can't really say which would be easier to train, though I'd like to say Illumise just based on stats and move coverage. Both learn mostly Special moves and Illumise excels in Special Attack. As for which is more useful or will be better in ORAS...again, can't really say. Depends on what you're looking for, I guess. Not much in Gens 4-6 really did too much to give the Bugs that much of a boost in usability except maybe Prankster. Even then, you probably won't be using that in ORAS, anyway. Illumise got Bug Buzz and Volbeat got U-Turn for good STAB, but that isn't saying too much.

I've only seen Illumise used for Prankster shenanigans in competitive, so I guess I'll say she's better. Only time I've seen a Volbeat in Wi-Fi was in a Free-For-All so I guess people prefer Illumise.

I suppose the two are separate Pokemon. Just because they're essentially the same doesn't mean they're just opposite genders of the same Pokemon. They have different stats and moves...and names, so, they're pretty much different Pokemon.

 

[winstein]

Interesting that these two Pokemon are related before gender difference are treated as one Pokemon.

Anyway, I think I myself prefer Volbeat, since its hue look nicer on it. In terms of what is easier to train, I believe that Volbeat is the one that wins, because it only require 600,000 points to reach Level 100, whereas Illumise requires a lot more than this (more than two times than that, at 1,640,000 points). Of course early on Illumise don't need a lot of experience, but it becomes increasingly longer to level Illumise up. Volbeat also seems more useful in battling since passing Tail Glow's boost is more beneficial Growth's boost (unless Sun is up).

Finally, I used to think that both Pokemon look like Disney insects since they have noses. When looking at the GBA's sprites, I thought Volbeat's nose was bigger, which reminded of how Disney's insects have noses.

Thanks for reading.

 

[aliveatnight]

I'm going with Illumise although I really don't like either.
I really can't stand how Volbeat looks, and I caught a shiny Illumise one day while playing Emerald. So that gives her some bonus points.
And they're similar Pokemon, but they're still their own separate being.