Beyond the Ball

Join us in the nest of bones this week as we discuss Vullaby's evolved form, Mandibuzz! We'll also cover: auspicious birthdays, the horrifying sins of actual vultures, bone collecting, and more!

Follow along with the Pokedex entries below:

Black

It makes a nest out of bones it finds. It grabs weakened prey in its talons and hauls it to its nest of bones.

White

Watching from the sky, they swoop to strike weakened Pokémon on the ground. They decorate themselves with bones.

Black and White 2

They fly in circles around the sky. When they spot prey, they attack and carry it back to their nest with ease.

Sun

They adorn themselves beautifully with bones. This is supposedly an effort to attract males, but no male Mandibuzz have ever been found.

Moon

It circles in the sky, keeping a keen eye out for Pokémon in a weakened state. Its choicest food is Cubone.

Ultra Sun

It skillfully arranges the bones of its prey to construct its nest. Most of the bones are Cubone.

Ultra Moon

It’s always searching for food for Vullaby. When it finds a weak Pokémon, Mandibuzz swoops it right off to its nest.

Sword

Although it’s a bit of a ruffian, this Pokémon will take lost Vullaby under its wing and care for them till they’re ready to leave the nest.

Shield

They adorn themselves with bones. There seem to be fashion trends among them, as different bones come into and fall out of popularity.

Photodex

Those Mandibuzz in the desert aren’t just going for a leisurely flight—they’re also looking for food. Other Pokémon are always on alert so that Mandibuzz won’t steal their meals!

BTB

The smuggest Pokemon in the world, it hunts the saddest and uses its bones for fashion, nests, etc. It sucks.

Music by Junichi Masuda

They say it takes all kinds to fill a Pokedex and Beyond the Ball is committed to talking about each and every one of them. Even the ones we don't like all that much. The ones that gross us out quite a bit. Yes, today we are talking about the one and only depraved sicko bird baby Vullaby. Don't worry friends, it just butt armor! We also take some weird sidetracks that only we will understand and delve a little into Will's nightmares. Enjoy!

Follow along with the Pokedex entries below:

Black

Its wings are too tiny to allow it to fly. As the time approaches for it to evolve, it discards the bones it was wearing.

White

They tend to guard their posteriors with suitable bones they have found. They pursue weak Pokémon.

Black and White 2

Their wings are too tiny to allow them to fly. They guard their posteriors with bones that were gathered by Mandibuzz.

Sun

It protects its plump posterior with the bones of prey it has consumed. As it grows, it replaces the bones.

Moon

It can’t fly yet and must wait until its wings have developed more. Since it’s still at a playful age, it hops around friskily.

Ultra Sun

Mandibuzz gives it the bones it wears. Vullaby’s wings are short, so it can’t fly yet, but it jumps around, dreaming of wide open skies.

Ultra Moon

Its healthy appetite leads to visible growth spurts. It often has to replace the bones it wears as its size increases.

Sword

It wears a bone to protect its rear. It often squabbles with others of its kind over particularly comfy bones.

Shield

Vullaby grow quickly. Bones that have gotten too small for older Vullaby to wear often get passed down to younger ones in the nest.

BTB

This bird lives for skull-based fashion. But really it's a dang diaper.

Music by Junichi Masuda

We're back from a holiday break and we're ready to hit the ground running as we talk about the ferocious Kabutops! It's been a minute since we talked about a Pokemon with swords for hands and you can tell we're excited. Other topics include: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the Disappointment of Spore, and foil surfing.

Follow along with entries below:

Red and Blue

Its sleek shape is perfect for swimming. It slashes prey with its claws and drains the body fluids.

Yellow

A slim and fast swimmer. It slices its prey with its sharp sickles and drinks the body fluids.

Gold

In the water, it tucks in its limbs to become more compact, then it wiggles its shell to swim fast.

Silver

With sharp claws, this ferocious, ancient POKéMON rips apart prey and sucks their body fluids.

Crystal

It was able to swim quickly through the water by compactly folding up its razor-sharp sickles.

Ruby and Sapphire

KABUTOPS swam underwater to hunt for its prey in ancient times. The POKéMON was apparently evolving from being a water-dweller to living on land as evident from the beginnings of change in its gills and legs.

FireRed

It swims freely through water. It catches prey with its scythe-like arms and drains the victim’s fluids.

LeafGreen

Its sleek shape is perfect for swimming. It slashes prey with its claws and drains their fluids.

Emerald

KABUTOPS once swam underwater to hunt for prey. It was apparently evolving from being a water dweller to living on land as evident from changes in its gills and legs.

Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum

It is thought that this Pokémon came onto land because its prey adapted to life on land.

Ultra Sun

Its body had begun to change so it could function on land. But it didn’t adapt in time and went extinct.

Ultra Moon

It swims at speeds of roughly 29 knots, quickly closing in on its prey and slashing into them with its scythes to finish them off.

Sword

Kabutops slices its prey apart and sucks out the fluids. The discarded body parts become food for other Pokémon.

Shield

The cause behind the extinction of this species is unknown. Kabutops were aggressive Pokémon that inhabited warm seas.

BTB

Loves those fluids. Gets them with its sword hands, but slow on the evolution uptake.

Music by Junichi Masuda

In this episode we're going way back to talk about our very old friend Kabuto! Turns out actual horseshoe crabs are a lot more interesting but we still love our little rock bug friend.

Photos of Tachypleus tridentatus:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/LimuleFace.jpg/1920px-LimuleFace.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Limule%28dD%29Ventral.jpg/800px-Limule%28dD%29Ventral.jpg

Music by Junichi Masuda

We've arrived at Gothita's final destination in the form of Gothitelle and boy has it been a journey! Join us as we discuss astral bodies and ill portents this episode with our new sad friend! And yes, its cry does sound like that!

Gothitelle cover art by Ken Sugimori

Music by Junichi Masuda

The mystery deepens as we discuss Gothorita this episode! What strange new powers has it acquired and what crimes will it use them to commit? Answers to these questions and more await you Beyond the Ball!

Gothorita cover art by Ken Sugimori

Music by Junichi Masuda

We're onto a new evolution chain this episode as we attempt to unravel the mysteries of a spooky little baby named Gothita! You'll also learn about Will's new pets and Braden's Bad Meat Experience!

Gothita cover art by Ken Sugimori

Music by Junichi Masuda

Corphish is ready for the big leagues this episode as we talk about its evolved form, Crawdaunt! Join us as we peel back its Shrek-like layers to find out what makes this rough customer of a Pokemon tick!

In this episode we do our best to resist talking about Dune and instead discuss the Ruffian Pokemon Corphish! We also touch on the found footage teaser trailer that was recently put out for Pokémon Legends: Arceus which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEb9gbJUUeA

This week we're talking about Eiscue, the Penguin Pokemon! This one's pretty fresh of the Pokepresses but we still have plenty to discuss with four whole entries, including a real humdinger at the end!