This is not a drill people - the best dog Pokemon is coming to Pokemon Go. What do you mean, "Growlithe's already there"? I'm talking, of course, about Furfrou, the poodle Pokemon with terrible stats but oh so many looks. Furfrou has always felt to me like the unofficial mascot of the Kalos region, with its floof and pomp perfectly in-keeping with the region's Parisienne inspirations. Pokemon Go, a more casual game with less emphasis on stats, could be the perfect place for Furfrou to finally gain some recognition - as long as Niantic keeps what makes it so unique.

First though, I want to address my comment that Furfrou is Pokemon's best dog. I'm sure there were a few raised eyebrows, but honestly, who is challenging it? For all of Pokemon's brilliant designs and the innate lovableness of dogs, they have rarely combined into anything special. Eevee, for the record, is a fox, so doesn't count here. Growlithe is a cop, so that's out. Remember fighting all those Policemen in Gold & Silver? All had a Growlithe didn't they, the little grass. Ironic, since it's a Fire-type. Then who else is there? Snubbull? Rockruff? Manectric? Lol, okay. Dogs are either boring or stupid in Pokemon. The Legendary Dogs are cool, but Legendaries aren't a fair comparison, and they aren't doggies in the way Furfrou is, they're massive beasts. Lucario walks on two legs, so that's out, and Houndoom... that's fair. If Furfrou is second to Houndoom in your Pokemon dog rankings I'll have no complaints, let's still be pals.

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Furfrou isn't just the winner by default. If you twist my arm, I'd admit that some of the boring dogs in Pokemon are quite cute. But still, they're boring. Furfrou, the most fashionable Pokemon ever, is anything but boring. Furfrou is like a quadrupedal Met Gala, only with less blonde Hailee Steinfelds and more fur. While Furfrou is normally quite shaggy and fluffy, it can be trimmed into various different styles: Star, Diamond, Heart, Pharaoh, Kabuki, La Reine, Matron, Dandy, and Debutante Trim. Each of these styles give the Pokemon a new look, and with it take advantage of the feelings and flavour of a Pokemon game set in Paris.

Furfrou Forms

These different trims don't do very much. They're nice to look at though. The problem is how is Pokemon Go going to incorporate what makes Furfrou so unique? It's arriving as part of the Fashion Week update along with some other fashion adjacent goodies, so the game is leaning into what makes it so special, but where do you go from there? The forms are set to be exclusive to different regions, but that ignores the bond created by actually choosing the lewk for your Furfrou. No NPCs besides and handful of trainers exist in Pokemon Go, so there's little chance you'll be able to visit the salon or interact with people that might help you get Furfrou trimmed into shape. Will there eventually be all of the different varieties to catch in the wild? With no evolution, it's not like you'd need to keep farming candies to make catching different ones worth it. Or maybe that's what the candy will be used for, with a transformation costing 25 candies or something similar.

Pokemon Go is a great game, maybe even the best this century when you think about how it brought everyone together. It's also a fantastic way to preserve some of the game's forgotten mechanics, but when we get more interesting Pokemon like Furfrou, it often struggles to know what to do with them, and how best to showcase everything that makes them interesting. Furfrou is perfectly suited for Pokemon Go though, so hopefully Niantic can figure out a way to let it shine.

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