It seems like no one has raised a Ducken around here, or at least not one that they're remotely proud of. Time to give these little guys the in-depth review they've always needed.

First off, Duckens do NOT have bad stats. All parameters except for Life (which ain't horrible or anything) are at least good, if not excellent. Guts Regen is also a big high point on these ring toys brought to life. Of course, all you master trainers know what this means: either an irritating disposition or a short lifespan. In my experience, it's been much more of the latter. A Ducken seems to be somewhere between a Joker and a Pixie in total life expectancy. If you enjoy creatures with fast development and a short life (such as Joker or Gali), this is definately a monster for you. They are somewhat bratty, and will continue to ask for treats even when Best-Natured, but at Best Nature it's more of a vague annoyance than an outright drawback (DO NOT try to raise a Worst-Natured one. It will be like every Joker, Pixie, Wracky, and Zilla you've ever had all rolled into one brightly-colored wad of sheer irritation).


In terms of techniques, Ducken has a rather large list for such a quick-to-die critter (though not as much as Pixie, with thankfully NO Cross-over Moves for all you fellow Tech Collectors out there). It's one of the few monsters that really can work about equally well as an Intelligence-based or Power-based monster. Power-based ones (you'll want a Blocken, or Ducken/Golem for this) can clean up with the high-accuracy, good-damage Bound series of moves, and it's worth dipping into a Bad-Natured personality to pick up Explosion (S/E/S/D, deals backlash damage that any Ducken with reasonable Defense can shrug off). Intelligence-based Duckens (a Ticken or Cawken, meaning Ducken/Suezo or Ducken/???, work well here) can wield the Beam attacks with serious potential, and if you invest in a lot of Skill, the Missile moves could be useful as well (especially Two Missiles, being C/D/D/S for 31 Guts). Boomerang is also a quality move, but Bombing and Falling Beak aren't worth investing in. Sadly, you may end up having to acquire them in order to get to the better moves on their respective Errantries, and they also seem to be two of the most likely techniques for a multi-generational Ducken to inherit. You can flat-out avoid the Withering Errantry, however, because no good will come from there. The Ducken really can't be used as an Antagonizer because of the low hit rate of its withering techs. It excels as Combo King, however. In my opinion, its best overall move for style and power both is Frantic Beam (C/B/C/A, 45 Guts, Good Tech, no prerequisites).

For straight battle strategies, a Ducken is the only creature besides a Beaclon that seems to work BEST on a Desperation strategy (the stat guys must have agreed to give hit and sharpness bonuses to Duckens that use up their Guts as soon as they get'em). There's nothing like opening a battle with Frantic Beam, which will likely set your opponent back aways in in HP and Guts. If you REALLY feel the need to wither an opponent, don't use the Withering techniques, but instead try Maximal Beam or even Explosion. Beam Shower and Bound Charge make the best moves for taking down speedsters, and if you're lucky/good enough to have both Power and Intelligence up aways on your Ducken, you can customize your attack to the enemy's weakspot (Pixie and Kato get Charged, Hare and Gaboo get zapped). As for fighting Duckens, there's only one computer-controlled one in the game who you should easily defeat considering that all stats but Skill and Speed are pitiful for an A-rank monster. Player-controlled Duckens might give you a little more problem, though, especially if you're using a Tank-style beast. Speedsters can easily hide out in close range (but don't get too close or else you'll be pushed into far range and fried), as Flutter Slap is hardly a daunting move and Explosion shouldn't have a good chance of connecting. If you're Tankin', key up to whether the Ducken is Power-based or Int-based. Int-based ones can thwarted by staying just inside close range, while Power-based ones won't be about to do much if you stay as far away as possible. If the enemy Ducken has all-around great offensive stats, you might as well take your chances at close-range (of course, if they don't have Explosion, it's a no-brainer).


Here's my personal results:

Panic
Ticken (Ducken/Suezo)
Lif: 520
Pow: 571
Int: 656
Ski: 801
Spd: 879
Def: 567
4 years, 7 months old. Legends Cup victor against Poritoka, all techniques learned. Not going to die in the next few weeks, but probably won't live past 5 years old.

Likes: Nate/Fish
Dislikes: Meat

67 Wins, 2 Losses, 40 KOs
Prize money: $117,150

When it comes to style, if you like cartoons and get a Good-Natured Ducken, you'll love these little guys, and even feel sorry when they trip and fall apart across the ground. Several of their moves are pretty humorous, and anyone who hasn't seen one before will likely be taken by surprised by its "out-of-control" attacks. Overall, I had a pretty positive experience with my Panic (Sr. and Jr.), partially fueled by the thrill of raising a creature that no one else seems to have touched. If you're a lover of unloved monsters (Kurasu, are you listening?), try out a Ducken. Hopefully you'll fall in love with them as much as I have.

Aaahh, I see I've become famous. ^_- I actually finally did get a better ducken than my first one (who failed, cheated, and lost his way through more months than I care to count) and worked on him. Unfortunately, he never made it to S-class, but that's because in A-class, he kept getting hit by 'Hidden Sting'. Repeatedly. Consistantly. At _960 SPD_. Darned good critter in everythnig but that li'l invisible stat called 'Luck', I think.

Mine had really low defense (as in: that Hidden Sting usually either K.O.ed or brought me low enough for another hit to K.O.), but Lif was passably good, and Speed and Skill were just plain _incredible_. After I've gotten bored with raising my present stableful, I may consider getting a Ticken and giving it a try. Or maybe breednig a Blocken.

*Tony stands and boos Nate, then picks up an empty beer bottle and throws it at Nate* See what you made me do Nate!!! You made me get my Cawken out of the freezer and start training him. I was just getting rolling on my Undine and Garudas, then you have to sing the praises of Ducken! I'm almost as bad as Kurasu when it comes to loving the unloved monster! I am using The Man's method on him. Will post stats when I get done with him. BTW, just kidding about throwing the bottle and the booing. You have given myself and many other trainers a lot of insight to this game!

Nate:

Having just beat Most with a Ticken, I have to say that I disagree that Bombing and Surprise aren't useful. Both have pretty low hit-%s, but once you get SKI maxxed out (not tough to do at all with a Suezo crossbreed), the hit rates are good against anything but the fastest monsters -- and Bombing can do a TON of damage. The only one I hit it with who wasn't KOed immediately was Loveless, and even he ate 450+ damage from it.

Surprise is a B-Witherer, which can knock out 35-40 Guts easily with good INT, and you recharge your own Guts much faster than almost any other monster, so if you can hit reliably with it (read as: max SKI) you can easily keep any slow regenners on Empty. I use it to knock off the last few Life from anyone likely to Grit; that way, when they get up, they're nearly empty on BOTH tanks. Ducken Dance is pretty lousy, though.
I do stick with the Beams and Two Missiles against the toughest opponents, though...