User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Pukei-Pukei/@comment-26034899-20180219205605

Pukei-Pukei is a mixed bag for me. I really don't agree with its classification as a Bird Wyvern (and this is coming from someone who defended the reptilian Fanged Wyverns' classification despite how controversial it was), since the only bird-like traits it has are feathers (which could easily be passed off as fur or hardened scales) and zygodactyl feet (which Seregios also has despite being a Flying Wyvern), though I do find its design oddly appealing, with it having a mix of goofy and cute traits (that tongue is way too thick for its mouth, though; seriously, how does it not choke on it?). The battle with it is pretty simple, which is to be expected from early-game monsters, but the ability to change its poison's properties by eating nuts is a nice touch. Personality-wise, it's your typical bully, picking fights with weaker monsters despite not competing with them while immediately fleeing the instant a stronger monster arrives, and this cowardice can be used against it. Equipment-wise, it offers some nice early-game gear, since most, if not all early-game monsters are vulnerable to poison, and it looks neat, too. All in all, it's not my favourite among the new monsters, but it's not the worst one, either, and it's certainly better than Gypceros and Chameleos, who are pretty annoying to deal with, the latter one especially.