I have some decently fond memories of the Squirtle line, not as much as Bulbasaur, but if I ever decided not to choose Bulbasaur I always went with Squirtle.





I'm not going to lie, Squirtle is a pretty cute little Pokemon. Something about its big eyes and pudgy little body just scream "love me!" Apparently its Japanese name's Kanji, zenigame, literally means baby pond turtle. How cute!





Wartortle, though, is where it's really at for me. This thing just fucking rules! I love its expression, and I really wish that the giant' fluffy ears and tail had been kept. It would've made Blastoise such a cool deviation from a regular turtle, but alas. This is where the Squirtle line's curly tail ends. Wartortle is definitely my favorite out of all the Squirtle line, I'm just a sucker for mid-stage evolutions.





Blastoise is still a Little cool in my books. It's a big hulking turtle with cannons on its back, it's hard for it NOT to be cool! That being said... I'm not entirely sure where those cannons come from, or if they're organic or not. It's a little weird to think about since Venusaur's flower and Charizard's flame are both definitively organic to that Pokemon. It's also strange to me how this design feature came out of nowhere and the fluffy ears and curly tails of the prior evolutions are just entirely gone. Weird, but I love Blastoise's bulkiness anyway. It helps that Blastoise is the signature Pokemon of sygna suit Green [yes, I do use the Japanese name for Green] in Pokemon Masters, which has endeared it to me more as a tank.





Blastoise fans might hate me for this, but... I don't like Mega Blastoise. It just looks overly weird and clunky to me, and there seem to be a lot of better ways to emphasize its back cannons than to give it only one but make it bigger and add little ones to its arms. Like, what? Okay. Not much else to say on this one beyond my review of it might've been worse had it not been for the aforementioned Pokemon Masters endearment.

So how does the Squirtle line hold up in battle?

Both Blastoise and its Mega have carved themselves a little niche in battling as Rapid Spin users- with Rapid Spin being a move that clears out the ever-prevalent entry hazards in the competitive Pokemon scene. That being said, its stats don't do it many favors, with it being too much of an all-arounder to excel in any one area beyond its given niche. That being said, it is very good at what it does! Blastoise, both in Masters and in the game, is excellent in its supporting role.

Final Thoughts

Blastoise, while a solid Pokemon, doesn't quite have the same nostalgic appeal as Venusaur for me, or the cool factor of Charizard. My favorite of the line is without a doubt Wartortle, though generally it still ranks below the likes of my beloved Ivysaur or the tough-looking Charmeleon. I can see why it has its fans, however, as there is a very certain appeal to Blastoise that just makes you think, Yeah. That's a cool-ass Pokemon.