As gamers explore Paldea in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, they will of course be looking to fill up their Pokedex. As they do so, they may encounter Nacli and its evolutionary line, a set of Pokemon based on salt. They are also so blocky that they look like one of the Mobs that one might find in Minecraft.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet aren't the first titles to experiment with extremely weird Pokemon designs. Famously, Sun and Moon featured the Ultra Beasts which had designs that looked nothing like regular Pokemon. While it may take a while for gamers to get used to Nacli and its evolutionary line, they may find that it can be used quite effectively competitively thanks to Garganacl's good defensive stats.
Nacli, Naclstack, and Garganacl - The Salty Pokemon
Over the years, Pokemon designs have taken inspiration from various things including animals, inanimate objects, and food. Nacli's evolutionary line goes an interesting route, taking inspiration from salt. This is hinted at by Nacli's name, as NaCl is the chemical name for sodium chloride, more commonly known as table salt. Its Pokedex entry reveals that it was born from a layer of rock salt deep underground. Its evolved form, Naclstack, continues the salt theme, and it cures its prey by coating them with salt. It can also blast salt pellets with enough power to rip through iron sheets. The final evolutionary form is Garganacl. This may be a good friend to have around, as its Pokedex entry claims that when it rubs its fingers together, the salt sprinkled can heal wounds.
In addition to its salty theme, Nacli and its evolutions have quite blocky designs. This isn't entirely unexpected, as they are born from the ground, and rock salt tends to be blocky. However, this has the side effect of making the Pokemon look like they have been ripped out of Minecraft. One could easily imagine these critters as hostile Mobs in Minecraft's world. While Nacli's evolutionary line is certainly not badly designed, they do feel less like Pokemon and more like Minecraft Mobs, especially because the blocky design even extends to Nacli's eyes.
Paldea Packs Plenty of Phenomenal Pokemon Designs
For players who find Nacli's blocky design adorable, or who just want to pretend that there's a Pokemon and Minecraft crossover, it's relatively easy to find the critter. It can be found around the beaches and rocky areas of Paldea, which are plentiful. At level 24, it evolves into Naclstack, and at level 38, it reaches its final evolution as Garganacl. Players who fall in love with this evolution line should be warned that Garganacl is a relatively slow Rock-Type Pokemon, though it has good defensive stats. The Purifying Salt Ability makes it immune to status conditions, which can also be a key part of strategies. Other standout designs from this generation include the adorable yet powerful Tinkaton, the Pikachu clone Pawmi, and Varoom's evolutionary line which is based on car engines.
There are plenty of opportunities for players to admire Nacli's design or any Pokemon's design, thanks to Scarlet and Violet's new "Let's Go" feature. This allows Trainers to keep a Pokemon out of its Pokeball. During this time, their Pokemon can collect items and battle wild foes, earning some easy EXP. Some Pokemon's evolution mechanics are tied to the Let's Go feature, encouraging players to let their critters out for a leg stretch more often.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available on Nintendo Switch.
