POTW Pokémon of the Week #59: Klink, Klang, and Klinklang

Maniacal Engineer · Sep 1, 2017

Hello Pokémon fans! Unfortunately, this week's Pokémon of the Week segment has been cancelled in favor of a new, experimental, segment that I am calling:

So, naturally, the Pokémon we will be focusing on this week is the Klink family.

Based on the concept of interlocking gears, the Klink family makes perfect sense as a Steel type. Debuting in Gen V, and found in the Chargestone Cave fairly late in the game, many people have overlooked the Klink family, due to either viewing it a rehash of the Magnemite family or it being available so late in the game. Although their design is simplistic, they draw inspiration from helical gears, sun and planet gears, and bevel gears, among others.

In the anime, the Klink family debuted in the 14th Pokémon movie, under the ownership of Mannes, and they also appeared in the movie Mewtwo -- Prologue to Awakening. Klink and Klinklang also appeared in the anime episode Evolution Exchange Excitement, where Cedric Juniper's pen got stuck in the Klinklang's gears, having been accidentally thrown there by Sunglasses Krokorok, as revealed in a flashback in the episode Battling the Bully! Klinklang was also seen in the episode Team Eevee and the Pokémon Rescue Squad!, where two of them powered helicopters.

The Klink family has appeared a few times in the Pokémon Adventures manga, as well. A Klink under the ownership of Colress appeared in Something Suspicious, presumably evolving into the Klinklang seen under his ownership in Cold Hard Truth. Ingo was seen to own a Klinklang in A Stormy Time in the Battle Subway.

In the games, Klink can be found in the Chargestone Cave. Cedric Juniper comments that they first started appearing spontaneously about 100 years ago, probably coinciding with the Industrial Revolution. This indicates some form of coevolution between humans and Pokémon. A Klink is on N's team when he is battled in the Chargestone Cave, and he later has a Klinklang when battled for the final time as the Pokémon League Champion. This makes Klink possibly the only Pokémon we are aware of that N did not release after battling with it.

Competitively, the Klink family is not very viable, though it does have fairly high Attack and Defense stats, as well as access to its signature moves Shift Gear and Gear Grind, though the former of which can also be learned by Magearna now. The Klink family also has access to many Electric type moves, such as Charge Beam, Thunderbolt, Wild Charge, and Volt Switch. Its normal abilities, Plus and Minus, are only viable in double or triple battles, although it would mean that Magnetic Flux raises both of its defensive stats, even if it was on its own. The better competitive ability, however, would be Clear Body, preventing the opponents from lowering any of their stat buffs from Shift Gear, Charge Beam, or Autotomize. Klinklang can also serve as a paralysis spreader with Lock-On/Zap Cannon, Thunder Wave, and Discharge, or set up a Sandstorm for other Pokémon. Gear Grind is particularly useful for breaking through Sturdy, Focus Sash, and Substitutes, and has a fairly high base power.

Other fun facts about the Klink family, their shiny forms are most likely meant to be copper gears, with their noses having turned green due to oxidation (similar to the Statue of Liberty in the real New York City), and Klink represents June on the Unova horoscope.

Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.

Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
How is this Pokémon in-game?
How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
What do you think about the Klink family's signature move, Gear Grind?
How do you feel that the Klink family stack up to other Steel type Pokémon?
Klinklang's design has often been criticized as being too simplistic. Do you agree or disagee? If you agree, how would you change its design?

Previous Pokémon of the Week:

MegaPod · Sep 2, 2017

I rather like the designs of Klink and its evos, despite the criticism they recieve.

I haven't really bothered yet to use them in-game yet, though I'd try to at some point. But I do think other Steel types are generally more viable options than the Klink family. I feel it might've worked well as a Steel/Ekectric type line with Levitate.

Nicolas721 · Sep 2, 2017

When Klink was revelated, it was a decent Pokemon. It was very simplistic, but it was fun that you could have your own perspective on it. It has one eye, but you can see the x or the dot as either the other eye or the mouth the way you want. And it was a pure steel type that wasn't legendary and that actually looked like one!
Then, the skies turned dark. It's evolution was a damn copy-paste of it with a lifeless gear in the back, and its third evolution was a copy-paste of the second one with even more lifeless stuff attached. And the worst part: They made zero effort to hide it: The sprites, the artworks, the icons. the 3d models...They are literal copies of their preevolution. They represent their lack of inspiration everywhere they appear.
As Magearna and Magnemite showed, there are a lot of potential for mechanical Pokemon, but instead of becoming a clock or a gear humanoid they waste potential in something so lifeless and boring, that doesn't even shows up much in the anime and the games. Klank hasn't appeared in a normal anime episode, and I'm glad for that.
The only good thing about them is that in their animations they are always spinning, instead of having a lazy animation that circles between two poses, which was the norm back then.

Gengarzilla · Sep 2, 2017

-Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
Meh is all I can say. What's there to really hate about a set of gears?

-How is this Pokémon in-game?
I suppose it's passable thanks to those signature moves, even if its movepool isn't great.

-How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
This... is where the gears fall flat. I honestly can't think of any strategies which don't revolve around Shift Gear sweep attempts, it's just that one-dimensional.

-If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
More Attack and Speed. Scrap Plus and Minus too, Klinklang does better on the physical end and shouldn't be using the Plus/Minus reliant Gear Up or Magnetic Flux when it could simply use Shift Gear with Clear Body. Manectric and Ampharos should be your go-to duo if you're wanting to play with that ability pair and even then they've got better things to be doing with their time.
For new abilities, I'd say Volt Absorb and Motor Drive. Both of them can stop Thunder Wave from spoiling a Shift Gear sweep and the latter's Speed boost synergizes neatly with its +1 Attack and +2 Speed.

-What do you think about the Klink family's signature move, Gear Grind?
It's really good if you don't mind the questionable accuracy, being on par with Iron Tail as the strongest Steel type move on the physical end when we discount the varying power of Gyro Ball.
I prefer Shift Gear though, one of my biggest dreams is to see that seriously great move given to Metagross. Broken? Yes, but just let me fantasize.

-How do you feel that the Klink family stack up to other Steel type Pokémon?
Falls short against everything except standard Mawile, which is hardly something to brag about.

-Klinklang's design has often been criticized as being too simplistic. Do you agree or disagree? If you agree, how would you change its design?
While I agree with that criticism, I couldn't really care what a Pokémon looks like on the outside. The inside (stats, abilities, movepool, etc.) is much more important to me.
Boring, yes, but I'm a battler and not an art critic.

ocelotlrama jaguar · Sep 2, 2017

Never cared for these Pokemon nor have I used them in-game. I was never a big fan of Pokemon made after inanimate objects and these guys in particular look very lifeless. I've also never had any trouble fighting against them competitively so I'd imagine they are difficult to use in a competitive environment. I guess they can be useful if you get an Automize in, but even then they are super weak to Fire-types and if it's a special move, they're done. Plus and Minus are worthless as its Special Attack is nothing terrific. I guess it could be good enough for support, but getting another Pokemon with Plus or Minus on the field is bleh to me. I'd rather have something on the field more useful than Plus and Minus. Clear Body is a lot more useful, but there are other Pokemon that make better use of it than Klinklang; and as a Hidden Ability, I don't feel like going through the trouble of getting Clear Body on a Pokemon that I do not care much for.

I never saw the Klink-line in the anime because I didn't pay too much attention to the BW series. There's nothing I can really say about them here.

If these Pokemon were in the real world, they would make excellent gears when in need. I'd imagine them being helpful in that realm.

If I could, I would give these Pokemon a higher Special Attack. It would make better use of a STAB Flash Cannon that way. It would also be a better incentive to have Plus and Minus on the field.

Gear Grind would be excellent if it weren't for that 85% accuracy. That is way too low to be reliable.

There are much better Steel-types to choose from, whether it is Magnezone, Metagross, or Aegislash. Klinklang was never a go-to Steel-type Pokemon for me.

As a gear, it is a good design. That said, as a gear, I probably would not have cared for it, either way. Maybe if I were to see it in the anime, my opinion would change about it if it had a personality. So far, it just comes across to me as a lifeless gear.

PageEmperor · Sep 3, 2017

This is my 3rd least favorite mon. I am sorry.

Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?

I neither like it nor dislike it. I hate it with a passion.

How is this Pokémon in-game?

I don't care if it is strong or not. It killed one of my best mons in my 2nd Black 2 nuzrun, so I will probably never use it.

If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?

I would probably make it really rare so that I can forget about it.

How do you feel that the Klink family stack up to other Steel type Pokémon?

Don't know in terms of power, but it is definitely my no.1 worst Metal type, with Lucario as a close second (will get back to that later)

Klinklang's design has often been criticized as being too simplistic. Do you agree or disagee? If you agree, how would you change its design?

Well, my hatred for Dumbklang is pretty much 40% it's design and 60% killing my Magmortar in my nuzrun. Normally, I think most inanimate object designs are cool and deserve more respect but gears? Really? At least its better than floating keys, but meh. So yeah, I agree it has a bad design.

Maniacal Engineer · Sep 3, 2017

My two main issues with Klinklang are:
1. Its design: there were a lot of ways they could have gone with the gear motif, a mechanical robot, a grandfather clock, a windup watch, or even just a rather complex series of interlocking gears. That said, I do still like the fact that they designed a Pokémon with the gear motif.

2. Its ability. Give it something like Levitate (since it clearly doesn't have feet or sit on the ground), or Motor Drive (since gears are one of the driving systems for motors).

Its movepool is also rather shallow, with mainly Steel, Electric, and Normal type moves for damage dealing, but that's not a major sticking point to me.

noworry · Sep 3, 2017

I don't like either of these pokémon very much. Design-wise they are just plain lazy. It's not the fact that they are based on gears that's bothering me, because you could probably make something cool out of that. The first one looks like a gear with eyes, which isn't terrible, but still not good. The two evolutions are the real problem, to me at least. Klang is literally just Kling glued to a bigger gear. Klinklang is even worse, as the only real diffrence is some added details (and don't get me started on their names).

Having said that, I don't really mind them too much. I don't hate them the way I hate certain other pokémon, I just find them kind of forgetable. The only reason I remember them is their pure-Steel typing.

Camille · Sep 3, 2017

Never really cared much for this line. I don't have a problem with the Pokemon based on inanimate objects(I like Magnezone, Chandelure, and Aegislash), but this particular line just doesn't look interesting to me. On top of that, its standard abilities are next to useless on it and its physical movepool is too shallow to be effective (Gear Grind is a cool signature move though).

Zexy · Sep 4, 2017

Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
Strange case. I like the concept, but not the design.
How is this Pokémon in-game?
Good enough but a bit slow to evolve and use throughout the game, not the kind of Pokemon I'd like to use.
How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Haven't tried it but Autonomize and Gear Grind are some interesting moves and could make for some interesting setup plays.
Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
I don't remember the episodes that focused on it.
How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
Some people would find it strange, if not creepy. A few might be fascinated.
If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Probably give them a secondary typing and tweak stats a little, help it on the physical side (Atk and Def) while making it worse in the special side.
What do you think about the Klink family's signature move, Gear Grind?
It's a nice move.
How do you feel that the Klink family stack up to other Steel type Pokémon?
It's better than some Steel-types out there, but worse than some others. Not my favourite pick in any case.
Klinklang's design has often been criticized as being too simplistic. Do you agree or disagee? If you agree, how would you change its design?
I'd add some more gears to it, I don't consider it simplistic but it's just a bit too similar to Klang.

Extroth · Sep 4, 2017

I never understood the hate this poor guy gets. I think it's a creative enough idea, it's not my favorite of any sort but it does what it's supposed to well. It also has a multi-hit move that's not too shabby and can use electric type moves as well even though it doesn't get stab.

Interestingly enough I recall someone telling me that this line was based on a perpetual motion machine. I think in one of its Pokedex entries it says it has to keep moving or it will die.

Sana · Sep 4, 2017

I love most artificial and tsukomogami pokémon, and this one is included. (Honestly though? My favourite of those is Klefki. There's a lot condensed on its concept, it's the best.)
I like clockwork and had been wanting something like that before BW came out, something that starts as simple animated gears and together become something else, like a clockwork magneton...
... except, well, it isn't quite so.

Really, I think most people dislike it because it's just Klang bridging two simple designs what makes the simplicity stand too much. Klink to Klinklang would be pretty good. Then an overly elaborate stage after that, whether an evolution or Mega Klinklang or something. _Clockwork_ of all things having a simple line seems... disappointing.

But Klinklang in itself? is good. I like it, it's different gears together recognizably as a piece of something. I'd just like if it went further with that.

I was also thinking however that something similar to Wishiwashi would've worked much better for the concept?

Maniacal Engineer · Sep 4, 2017

Sana said:
I was also thinking however that something similar to Wishiwashi would've worked much better for the concept?

This is an interesting idea. A "schooling" of various Klink, Klang, and Klinklang that come together to form a much larger looking machine.
That would be pretty awesome, actually.

MegaPod · Sep 4, 2017

A clock evolution would also be cool, as was suggested before. I'm a fan of inanimate object Pokémon, and would love to see a Pokémon more close to being a clock than Bronzor or Hoothoot.

Rainami · Sep 5, 2017

yay, time for a rant

klinklang is one of my least favorite pokemon ever, only losing (or is it winning?) to lucario and maybe dedenne and goodra. I hate all of them about the same, tho. People trash gen V mons like garbodor, vanilluxe, and whatever else, for being results of "lazy", "incompetent" design...and that's really not true for any of them. Stunfisk in particular is another victim of it, just because its design is simple and embodies characteristics a lot of fandom apparently can't comprehend as being cool. Poor stunfisk. Pokemon based off inanimate objects in general tend to get a lot of hate, too. Klefki, electrode, magneton, dhelmise, cryogonal, xurkitree etc are all decent, solid designs (in particular, out of those, I really like dhelmise, cryogonal, and electrode).

meanwhile, klinklang here is actual garbage. It deserves all the hate it gets, and it unfortunately tends to be rather overlooked compared to garbodor and some other mons. Gen V, as much as I love it, does have a lot of lame pokemon. Simisage, the musketeers, the genies, simipour, zekrom, kyurem-black, zoroark, throh, sawk...all garbage designs, but out of all of them, I have to say I hate klinklang the most. Its design doesn't have anything cool about it, apart from the red gear being a sort of power core or something...which really isn't a very notable thing at all, plenty of pokemon have "cores" of sorts. The faces are stupid, it has no personality, it does nothing that's cool, it's a waste of what could have actually been a cool gear pokemon. Ugh. Fuck you, klinklame.

Esserise · Sep 7, 2017

I like the Klink line, but I've never used them, so my interest is based mainly on looks and concept. I am a fan of Steel types, to begin with, so that is probably where my interest in the line begins. As a reimagination of the Magnemite line, I think it is slightly superior to the original. The payoff of how it grows is more satisfying since its evolutionary pathway is more clearly mapped out (as opposed to magnet ball > magnet balls attracting each other > magnet UFO all of a sudden), and the increasing complexity of the gear system is a savvier twist on the "it just adds more of itself" style of evolution that plagued some Gen 1 families, because notably, Klink doesn't actually add more Klink to the equation. It isn't truly like Magneton or Weezing where they just glued multiple base forms together, and the Pokédex doesn't mention any involvement of base form fusion. The gears that are added to the system by evolution don't look like another Klink that came along and joined up with the original. Rather, it appears as though one of the existing Klink "heads" simply became larger and grew and extra layer. So it's sort of a feint in terms of design - Klink invokes the imagery of the likes of Weezing as a call-back to Gen 1, but then proceeds to subvert that whole design trope in a way that is a bit more substantial and rooted in the actual concept.

I also suspect that the Klink line may have been designed the way that it was in large part to show off the constantly animated battle sprites that BW pioneered. Game Freak have spoken before about how certain Pokémon are conceived of with a particular element or feature of the game in mind, and interlocked gears that rotate around each other are a perfect way to illustrate the capabilities of the new graphical engine. It's something that simply wouldn't have been possible in previous games, or at least not to a fully satisfying degree. Related to all of this is Klink's design in general - something that immediately represents technological progress and the incremental escalation that it facilitates. Klink embodies the ideas of modernity and progress in both form and function.

If I'm honest, I think Klang is probably my favorite of the line. I can't quite explain why, though. Something about its design is just very likable, to my mind. It's not that Klinklang is too much, but Klang does look solid and full on its own. And I love its name.

Another reason why the line appeals to me is because of its era. It is said to have first appeared 100 years ago. The OP of this thread alludes to that likely being the time of the Industrial Revolution in the Pokémon world, and I would agree to that - and personally, the "modern past" of the Pokémon world has always been an area of particular fascination for me. We very rarely hear of what life was like in the Pokémon equivalent of the 19th and 20th centuries; instead, much of the past that the writers go in-depth with is dated to several centuries or even millennia back. So there has always been this sort of gap, and I always enjoy seeing hints about that time. On a similar note, one of the first images that I ever saw of BW was of the Dreamyard, which I found mesmerizing for similar reasons. I don't think we'd ever seen a semi-modern abandoned factory in the games before that point, and that further fueled my thoughts about what the Pokémon world must have been like in that time. The Dreamyard is obviously old enough to have been left to rot, but unlike other ruins and abandoned buildings in the series by that point, it featured lots of concrete and rebar and traffic cones. It was a very unique location (having since been joined by the likes of the Lost Hotel, the Thrifty Megamart, and Po Town), and yet these two disparate elements - the Dreamyard and Klink - work in conjunction to color in a picture of Unova's more recent past, to accent all of the ancient past that the primary story explores.

(Fun Fact: Roggenrola's Pokédex entries state that it too was discovered 100 years ago, making it and Klink contemporaries, at least as far as human records are concerned.)

The line also makes an excellent cap for Colress's sciencey team, giving it a nice thematic niche within its native generation. But even before that, Klinklang showed up on N's team during the battle at N's Castle, and I always love when he sends it out at a moment that happens to sync up with the ticking clock sounds in his battle music. (And speaking of N, I've got to nitpick - I'm pretty sure that B2W2 debunked the idea that the Klinkang we see N using at his castle is the same entity as the Klink that he used at Chargestone Cave, since his Klink can be caught in Chargestone Cave in its base form by using the Memory Link feature.)

Beth Pavell · Sep 9, 2017

I actually quite like the line, design-wise. I don't mind simple designs or pokémon derive from inanimate objects as such - what I get tired of seeing are the requisite furry pokémon turn up in each generation - if it's not a dog it's a fox, and if it's not a fox it's a cat. Does the Klink line show any more imagination than another carnivora with funny fur? Arguably not, but I find them more interesting to look at

POTW Pokémon of the Week #59: Klink, Klang, and Klinklang

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Maniacal Engineer

Musing Eternally

MegaPod

New year, same Pod

Nicolas721

Well-Known Member

Gengarzilla

"What do you mean, my Gengarite is contraband?!"

ocelotlrama jaguar

Fluffy with 80% more spots!

PageEmperor

ŤHę Pïñķ +ħèîF!

Maniacal Engineer

Musing Eternally

noworry

⋆⋅☆SᴛᴀR☆⋅⋆

Camille

Call of Fate

Zexy

Quaxly Boy

Extroth

An adventuer, one step at a time

Sana

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Maniacal Engineer

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MegaPod

New year, same Pod

Rainami

beseech the stars

Esserise

Operating without a T-437

Beth Pavell

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