I’m Luke Summerhayes, and I love Cubchoo.
Polar bears are the largest bears alive on the planet today, and the most dangerous. They are amazing animals, pure white that lets them disappear among the ice and snow of the Arctic. Lethal predators, they are the only bear species which will naturally attack humans. Alas the melting of the ice caps is reducing their natural habitat and food source, making them an endangered species despite their incredible prowess.
I distinctly remember being in Cornwall for a winter vacation in the period between the release of Black and White in Japan and its eventual English release - these being the last Pokémon games not to have a simultaneous worldwide release – and my brother asking me what Pokémon I wanted to see in the next game. I told him I wanted an ice-type bear Pokémon based on a Polar Bear.
Cubchoo is a little blue-and-white bear cub Pokémon. It is indeed an ice type, with a big blue snot bubble bouncing under its nose in the classic anime shorthand for a young kid.
Black
When it is not feeling well, its mucus gets watery and the power of its Ice-type moves decreases.
White
Its nose is always running. It sniffs the snot back up because the mucus provides the raw material for its moves.
Black 2
Their snot is a barometer of health. When healthy, their snot is sticky and the power of their ice moves increases.
White 2
The English name Cubchoo combines a bear cub and achoo, the sound of sneezing. The Japanese name Kumasyun combines kuma, the Japanese for bear, and kusyun, the Japanese for sneeze.
Polar bears live in some of the coldest climates on Earth, where people would no doubt be sneezing nose. Ironically, though, real-life polar bears actually have very clear noses – their sense of smell is incredible, able to detect prey from vast distances even hidden under the ice.
The blocked nose can be mitigated when, at level 37, its frozen and Cubchoo evolves into Beartic.
Beartic is a tall, fearsome white polar bear with a solid blue beard frozen into jagged icicles.
Black
It can make its breath freeze at will. Very able in the water, it swims around in northern seas and catches prey.
White
It freezes its breath to create fangs and claws of ice to fight with. Cold northern areas are its habitat.
Black 2
They love the cold seas of the north. They create pathways across the ocean waters by freezing their own breath.
White 2
The name Beartic combines bear and Arctic, which is ironic as the word Arctic already means land of the bears. The Japanese name is similarly about a bear in an icy environment, being Tunbear, from Tundra.
Andy was right of course, as a bear I do like this Pokémon. I’d love to use a Beartic in Pokémon games more but it’s a tricky Pokémon to make work. Beartic hits hard and has good bulk, in exchange for being slow. In some Pokémon this can work, but the ice type is infamously frail. Some abilities go some way too mitigating this, like swift swim and slush rush, and for a little while in the eighth generation Beartic saw some play. Perhaps through Terastelisation Beartic can escape it defensively weak typing and live up to its promise.
I love bears. Beartic really was the big Polar bear I was hoping for when my brother asked. We now have enough bear Pokémon to make an all-bear team of six but, alas, they’ve never all been in the same game. Beartic, at least, has so far been available in both post-dexit generations.
Original music for Luke Loves Pokémon is by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork is by Katie Groves. Funding is provided by listeners at Patreon.com/PodcastioPodcastius. For just a dollar a month, supporters can listen to episodes a week early and also help cover hosting and fees, making it possible for me to keep making episodes every week.
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I love Cubchoo. And remember, I love you too.