Klefki

Klefki
Pokémon character
Klefki artwork by Ken Sugimori
First game	Pokémon X and Y (2013)
In-universe information
Species	Pokémon
Type	Steel/Fairy

Klefki, known in Japan as Cleffy (クレッフィ), is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Designed by Ken Sugimori and first introduced in Pokémon X and Y. Klefki is a steel and fairy Pokémon that is the only known to constantly collecting keys. It was designed by Pokémon graphic designer Mana Ibe and was inspired by thinking of old mansions and secret keys. A short film about Klefki called Pikachu, What's This Key For? premiered as an opener for the 17th Pokémon film.

Klefki received a largely negative reception, though it gained the most attention. While multiple critics felt that it was a weird or worst Pokémon, other critics spoke more highly of Klefki, defending it and other inanimate object Pokémon. Critics also discussed how nostalgia impacts people's perception of Pokémon like Klefki being a new phenomenon, citing the Pokémon Magnemite from Pokémon Red and Blue. It also became a powerful Pokemon in competitive play, one of the best in Pokémon X and Y.

Concept and design

Klefki was designed by Pokémon graphic designer Mana Ibe, whose base idea derived from Kalos having an old history. Going off of that, they decided to make story elements from a key design, imagining "old mansions and secret keys and stuff" with its design.^[1] While discussing unique Pokémon designs, Pokémon character designer Ken Sugimori felt that Klefki exemplified the "variety and richness" of Pokémon species designs due to being based on a key ring.^[2]

Klefki is a Steel- and Fairy-type Pokémon. Klefki comes from clef (French for "key"), kleptomaniac (a person or creature that collects random things, in this case keys), and key.^[3] It also does not evolve.^[4] Writer Patricia Hernandez speculated that it was partially inspired by the Japanese yōkai Tsukumogami, which are household objects that gain souls.^[5]

Appearances

Klefki originally appeared at Pokémon X and Y,^[5] before appearing in future mainline titles, up to and including Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.^[6] and the fighting game Pokkén Tournament.^[7] It appears in the mobile game Pokémon Go.^[8] While Klefki was only made available in Pokémon Go in France on debut, it was discovered that parts of England, Germany, Spain, and Italy could catch it due to how developer Niantic designed the spawn area.^[9]

Klefki debuted in the Pokémon anime in the short Pikachu, What's This Key?, where it used its keys to help Pikachu and his friends visit several worlds and realms. It later appeared in several other episodes of the anime.^[10]

Reception

Klefki's design received mixed reception, identified by writer Imran Khan as the go-to example of issues with modern Pokémon designs.^[11] Video game journalists regarded its design as among the worst of new Pokémon introduced in X and Y, characterizing the design as uninspired, insipid, strange, and an example of Game Freak's "creative bankruptcy".^{[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]} VentureBeat staff felt unsurprised by the concept behind the Pokémon, arguing that the team had run out of ideas.^[19] It has also been regarded as one of the worst Pokémon in general, with IGN readers voted Klefki as the ninth-worst Pokémon from Pokémon X and Y.^{[20][21][22][23]} Hayes Madsen of Screen Rant claimed that Klefki should never have been made, deriding it for being based on an object.^[24]

Kotaku writer Zack Zwiezen, when he originally saw Klefki, assumed it was a fake design due to the strange premise behind its design. He discussed how people differentiate modern Pokémon designs from classic ones, namely how a common criticism is that classic designs were "all-natural looking creatures." He criticized this notion, citing Magnemite as an example due to it being "screws and magnets." However, he digressed that Klefki may suggest that the designers are out of ideas and need to take a break.^[25] Fanbyte writer James O'Connor similarly cited Magnemite as an example of early Pokémon designs being strange, but still found Klefki unsettling, describing it as a "logistical nightmare" and discussing the notion of whether it is even aware of the world outside of itself.^[26] Other critics were more positive, with Chris Plante of Polygon, Tyler Treese of GameRevolution, and Kyle Hilliard of Game Informer regarding it as one of their favorite Pokémon.^{[27][28][29][30]}

Despite criticisms over it being based on an inanimate object, there has been praise given to it from this angle. Kotaku's Patricia Hernandez noted that while some people dislike "inanimate objects that are somehow Pokémon," she had to defend it due to its basis on the Japanese mythological tsukumogami and its "ridiculous" design.^[5] TheGamer writer Sergio Solorzano felt that the reason why people were more okay with Pokémon like Magnemite than they are Klefki is because of nostalgia. He argued in favor of inanimate object Pokémon, Klefki included. He suggested that Klefki is actually a "mischievous metal fey that steals key, appreciating that Steel-type Pokémon were getting more creative.^[31]

Despite early assumptions that Klefki would be a weak Pokémon,^[32] Klefki was a significant Pokémon in the Pokémon X and Y competitive scene, among the game's top 6 due in part to being a "solid support wall."^[31][33] Klefki's high placement was due to multiple factors, including its ability Prankster, access to certain status-affecting and support moves, and the fact that players could have as many Klefki in their team as they want.^[34][33] Its type combination was also significant in its placement, due to its Steel type cancelling out the Poison weakness of its Fairy type. Additionally, its Fairy typing gave it protection from Dragon types, one of the more powerful Pokémon types in the game.^[34] In Pojo's Unofficial Big Book of Pokemon, the author suggested it was a solid lead in battles, though it is a better fit for a support role in double battles.^[35] VG247 writer Cassandra Khaw was critical of its design, bemoaning that such a sloppy design was so useful competitively.^[34]

References

External links

• Klefki on Pokemon.com
• Klefki  at Bulbapedia, a Pokémon wiki

This page was last edited on 26 March 2024, at 02:41