1 - I would like to talk about other characters which are similar to Sneasel in concept or design.
Does anyone know of any other characters which are based on scary dark weasels, or on the kamaitachi, or who just look a lot like Sneasel?
2 - I had to explain a few things about the gameplay mechanics of Pokémon, and I've realized that at this point they are so ingrained in my head that I might not know how to explain them. I'd like someone to beta read this passage and let me know if it's easy to follow and understand, or what to change to improve it. Tear it apart if you have to.
For this I would particularly enjoy the input of someone who does not know much about the inner workings of Pokémon.
Thanks to everyone who will help!So, if even getting a Sneasel is such trouble, one has to ask: is it worthwhile? Well...Yes because it counts towards the completion of the game - and no because, in spite of its appearance, Sneasel makes a rather underpowered fighter in Pokémon Gold and Silver. This is mostly because of a problem in the way the game itself works. An important mechanic of all Pokémon games is that, when a Pokémon attacks using a move of its same type, the move's power is boosted by 1.5x. This is popularly referred to by the fandom as the STAB, acronym for Same Type Attack Boost. Another important mechanic of the game is that each Pokémon species comes with different abilities, which the game displays through a number assigned to attributes such as Attack, Defense, and so on. This value plays together with the STAB: up to the third generation of Pokémon games, it is the type of a move that determines which Attack statistic is used in the damage calculation - whether a Pokémon's move is based on its Attack or its Special Attack. For instance, with this mechanic all Psychic-type moves are based on Special Attack, and all Fighting-type moves are based on Attack.
Sneasel happens to have high Attack and low Special Attack; however, its type is Dark/Ice - both of which were designated as based on Special Attack (until the revamping of this mechanic in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, two generations later). This means that Sneasel can't count on using moves of its type effectively, which puts it at a disadvantage. Sneasel has access to a few decent moves of other types that make use of its higher Attack, but, overall, it is rather impaired by the poorly designed STAB mechanic. One might even be disappointed to finally catch a Sneasel and discover that it is not as powerful as expected.