Summary
From theTrading Card Gameto the several generations of video games,Pokemonfans all around the world have had to learn and study the defining structure of every Pokemon battle: type matchups. This concrete ruleset of a water type having an advantage over a fire type and so on has often been compared to the gaming structure of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’. Depending on its type, everyPokemoncan either be the paper for victory, or the rock doomed to fail. The Pokemon Scyther, however, takes this formulaic comparison quite literally.
Scyther, widely recognized for its green humanoid design and armed blades, has been included in the Pokedex since the first generation. For most of the Pokemon’s history, it had only one evolution option, Scizor. At least, that was the case until the addition ofPokemon Legends: Arceus. The newly created Kleavor evolution completed the trio lineup and gave a new option for Scyther fans to train and battle with. Not only that, all three of these Pokemon, combined with their appearance and typing relationship, actually make for a playable battle version of the Pokemon universe’s equivalent of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’.
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‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’: ‘Kleavor, Scyther, Scizor’
The Scyther evolution line, no matter the time period setting, are all unified by their battle-ready artillery arms. While Scyther retains the most insectoid features with its white blades that resemble a field-plowing scythe, its two evolution options shed a lot of theirBug-typefeatures to represent their evolved second typing.
For instance,evolving a Scytherinto Scizor turns the Pokemon into a more mechanic or robotic version of its former Bug self, as trainers are exchanging its Flying type for Steel. The previous white scythe blades of Scyther turn into a pair of pincers for Scizor’s. The same concept applies to Kleavor, although the transition turns into a much more rocky aesthetic to match its typing.
In terms of comparing the physical appearance of Scyther’s evolutions to the game of’Rock, Paper, Scissors', the latter two are pretty clear-cut. The pincers of Scizor, to reference its very namesake, could be easily swapped in for scissors. Kleavor’s rock mallets for hands are similarly straightforward. That only leaves Scyther to fill the role of paper. Even though Scyther may not have a fitting appearance, it is the base evolution of the trio and can be seen as the metaphorical blank canvas to complete the analogy.
Now that all three Pokemon have been assigned their counterparts, all that’s left is to clarify the rules. The game for ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ has no unexpected endings. Likewise, if two trainers were to have only thethree evolutions of Scythersin their party and send only one out at random, the outcome of the battle would be just as predetermined. The only difference in this case would be that instead of rock beating scissors and paper beating rock, Scizor beats Kleavor and Scyther beats Scizor. For trainers wanting to give this a go: Scyther’s Flying type would beat Scizor’s Bug type, Scizor’s Steel type would beat Kleavor’s Rock type, and lastly, Kleavor’s Rock type would beat Scizor’s Flying type.
Now, at first, this lineup may seem unfair as both Kleavor’s Rock type and Scizor’s Steel type are super effective against their ‘Rock, Paper, Scissor’ counterparts. Rather, Scyther’s Flying type is only somewhat effective against Scizor’s Steel type. For trainers andPokemonfans who want to either settle a dispute in multiplayer mode or maybe decide who gets to pick lunch at the next Pokemon event, there now exists a game to settle any quarrel - ‘Kleavor, Scyther, Scizor’ - although its rules are a bit different from what one might be used to.
