Rattata and Raticate

#019 Rattata

Rattata: Cautious in the extreme, its hardy vitality lets it live in any kind of environment.

Type: Normal

Stats:
HP          Attack     Defense
30              56            35

Speed   Spec Atk   Spec Def
72              25            35

Growth Rate: Medium Fast

Hatch Steps: 4,000

Evolution: Level 20

Weaknesses: Fighting

Strengths: None
(Ghost-No Effect)

Oh rattata...how annoying this pokémon is. Rattata is annoying to fight, annoying to see, and annoying to train. They are everywhere in the tall grass and the first 5 or so you see are fun, but after that they just never stop coming. In Rattata's defense, however it does have great speed and attack. Low everything else, but its special attack stat doesn't really matter since every single move is either an attack or stat changing move, so it doesn't really need any special attack anyway. Again, this is another pokémon you don't want to get hit if he's in your team, because his defense is low. That, however, can be a plus when battling one. If you can hit it, its going down. The problem is it does have high attack and speed and will give your team a tough battle. On the reverse side, this pokémon can be nice to have for a little while. I once raised a Rattata/Raticate all the way to the elite four and it got destroyed. Its speed and attack may be high, but they aren't the highest and since defense is so low it will get slaughtered once you start fighting stronger pokémon.

#020 Raticate

Raticate: It whittles its constantly growing fangs by gnawing on hard things. It can chew apart cinder walls.

Type: Normal

Stats:
HP          Attack     Defense
55              81            60

Speed   Spec Atk   Spec Def
97              50            70

Growth Rate: Medium Fast

Hatch Steps: 4,000

Evolution: Final Stage

Weaknesses: Fighting

Strengths: None
(Ghost-No Effect)

Raticate is equally as annoying as Rattata, only now its got better attack and speed and defense is even almost decent. They get a little harder to take down and pop up in grass just as frequently once you get farther into the games. Again, I tried raising this pokémon and it actually did a lot better than I thought it would, however it did end up getting destroyed by higher gym leaders and the elite four. Again, speed and attack are pretty good, but everything else is too low to cover when this guy misses.

In summary: Rattata is annoying, Raticate is annoying. Both are okay for awhile, but no good for extended periods. Watch out for them in the grass, because they can make training difficult.