10 Pokémon That Got The Shaft

I would never use the term “Bad Pokémon”. I would never even give a Pokémon a memo. But I will say this: I think that there are some Pokémon that can prove to be a challenge to keep on a team. Now I’m not talking about pre-evolutions that have a move-set of maybe 2-4 moves, I’m talking Pokémon that are either evolved or don’t evolve at all that just weren’t given enough development or have Generation by Generation been neglected by the programmers and producers behind the games. So right now, I’m gonna take a look at 10 Pokémon that could really use some work and how that could’ve been done. And I don’t plan to waste any time, and start off with one of my personal favourites on this list…

#303, Mawile - The Deceiver Pokémon

Poor Mawile. I love your design so much, and yet you repeatedly get the shaft. Getting Sheer Force as a Hidden Ability was a definite plus, especially if Mawile has Iron Head, but the problem still remains that, due to low Speed and HP, it still can’t hang on most teams in competitive play. I guess a Focus Band or Quick Claw would solve that problem…for a turn. Otherwise, not much else that can be done as it is currently.

How I would correct this: Evolution. As I said, having Sheer Force helps a lot, but the boost in stats is required too. And maybe a new move, possibly Meteor Mash.

#83, Farfetch'd - The Wild Duck Pokémon

This little birdie just can’t seem to catch a break, I think. What do the producers of this game have against you? The leek it carries allows it to use moves like Night Slash and Leaf Blade, so it DOES have a varied movepool. The downside? Farfetch’d can’t really utilize those attacks to their peak efficiency due to having such low stats! Without good stats, it just can’t keep up in competitive play. There is ONE thing it can do better than any other Pokémon though…

How I would correct this: Either evolution or some new kind of ability, one that increases the power of cutting moves. No real changes needed to the movepool.

#359, Absol - The Disaster Pokémon

If you’re wondering why Absol is on this list, I don’t blame you. Absol is not really what I would consider bad (again, if I were to use that term at all), but rather it’s in a state of some sort of mediocrity limbo. It’s kinda sad, too, as Absol has so much going for it. It can learn the best priority move in the game: Sucker Punch. Problem is that none of the other moves it gets STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) from come close to it and thus, when Absol comes out, the opponent is gonna KNOW that move is coming and plan around it. Oh, and also Absol’s defensive stats could use some work.

How I would correct this: New moves. Really, this is more like how I would improve ALL Dark-type Pokémon. There just aren’t enough Dark-type moves in the game. Also, a move or ability that helps it defend itself against Fighting-type moves. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but it seems like Fighting-type moves and Pokémon got a major boost the past couple of Generations.

#136, Flareon - The Flame Pokémon

Now if you’re again wondering why Flareon is on this list, I pity you. Don’t get me wrong, it has plenty good going for it, but if I had to isolate its biggest problem, it would be the lack of any really good Physical Fire-type move. That’s a problem seeing as how Flareon’s best stat is Attack, and it’s actually a pretty high stat, but without any particularly powerful Physical Fire-type moves, it therefore becomes a classic case of wasted potential.

How I would correct this: Flare Blitz. The best Physical Fire-type move that isn’t a signature move for a Legendary Pokémon, and they NEVER thought to give it to Flareon? What were they thinking?!

#47, Parasect - The Mushroom Pokémon

I wanna smack whoever it was that gave Parasect a base Speed stat of 30. 30, on a Pokémon that has 6 weaknesses, many of whom are usually pretty speedy! Also I wanna find the one who decided Parasect’s Hidden Ability should be Damp and give them one good kick in the arse. They had a chance to give Parasect something really cool, and they messed it up. Dry Skin makes Parasect a great Pokémon to switch to when battling Water Pokémon since it absorbs Water moves automatically, but it also gives it a quintuple weakness to Fire. Effect Spore could potentially, POTENTIALLY, leave an opponent that makes physical contact with it with a status infliction, but unless Parasect is being hit by a move it’s resistant to, it’ll likely get knocked out.

How I would correct this: Evolution. With its current abilities and stats, there really isn’t much else that can be done with it. The only other thing I can think of is an alternate evolution, something that maybe gives it a different typing or better distributed stats. The movepool is okay, all things considered.

#587, Emolga - The Sky Squirrel Pokémon

This one’s actually kind of odd for me to put in the list since I actually have an Emolga on my standard team. I love this thing, it’s easily my favourite of the Generation V Pokémon, is uber kawaii, and is the only non-Legendary Electric/Flying-type. However, as I DO use one on my team, I also know its weaknesses like the back of my hand. It really comes down to this: It lacks any real means of defending itself from Ice and Rock-types. The best it can pull off is Hidden Power Steel or Fighting-type, and it’s near impossible to determine the type and base power that Hidden Power will have. The only other means is Iron Tail, and I hate that move. I hate it because it’s too damned inaccurate and there really is no way around its inaccuracy. Also, Acrobatics is really its best Flying-type move, and that’s only if it’s not holding an item, which could be an issue.

How I would correct this: I’m thinking it doesn’t necessarily need an evolution, just better moves. Mind Reader would make Iron Tail a lot better a choice, and Hurricane would work great in tandem with Rain Dance. Vacuum Wave would be a neat choice too, but if they gave Emolga Mind Reader, I’m thinking another good move to let it learn is Focus Blast.

#225, Delibird - The Delivery Pokémon

A Pokémon that cannot learn anything other than one move naturally. That one move is Present, a move that you cannot predict the outcome of. It can learn other moves through TMs and the like, but due to stats comparable to Farfetch’d, there’s not much it can do with them. Also, its Hidden Ability does the exact same thing as one of its standard ones. What the Flying Dutchman were they thinking?! It’s like GameFreak WANTS this Pokémon to be unplayable in competitive play.

How I would correct this: Evolution, and a different ability. I’m thinking Snow Warning, since that would actually make Delibird a pretty useful lead for Hail teams.

#144, Articuno - The Freeze Pokémon

…Y’know what, I can solve this real quick. Articuno’s biggest issue is 4x weakness to Stealth Rock? Okay…

How I would correct this: Magic Bounce. NEXT!

Regice, Registeel, Regirock, and Regigigas- The Legendary Golems

More Legendaries?! Oy…Okay, problem with the Golems comes down to Speed. The base Speed stat of Regice, Registeel, and Regirock is 50, and Regigigas has Slow Start as its ONLY ability. Also, they ALL share a weakness to Fighting-types, and as I mentioned before, Fighting-types have become an even bigger force in the past two Generations than they ever were before. Therefore, odds are that a powerful and speedy enough Fighting-type can knock any of these four out before they can lay a good enough attack. Regigigas is workable in Double Battles since you can use Skill Swap on it to unleash its full speed and power right away. The others, not so much.

How I would correct this: I would give each of them an ability that causes the equivalent of Trick Room to occur upon entering the arena. This would allow the Golems to hit hard before any of those faster Fighting-types.

And the final Pokémon to appear on this list is…

#289, Slaking - The Lazy Pokémon

Yep, the laziest fully evolved Pokémon of all. I’d actually WAY sooner use its pre-evolved form, Vigoroth, than this thing. ‘Cuz even with its crazy high stats, and it DOES have crazy high stats, the ability to move only once every other turn hinders it FAR too much. Now like Regigigas, it can work in Double Battles where its partner has Skill Swap, but otherwise it just lays there like a massive target. And if it gets paralysed, attracted, or confused, you’re officially screwed.

How I would correct this: Don’t use it…Nah, just kidding. I’m thinking it needs a Hidden Ability. Particularly something that makes it immune to one or more of those status inflictions I mentioned before.

Anyway, that’s all I got to say about all that. Hope you take this with a good sense of humour and remember, I’m not saying not to use certain Pokémon, just what I would do to change them, and also a reminder that if you choose to use them, be prepared for a challenge.

Zelda Chronology: Ghirahim is just CREEPY!

Just a little side-story I thought I’d talk about. I was going through various videos and information on Skyward Sword so that I could talk about it in the Zelda Chronology later on because, as I have to admit to, I have neither played the full game nor own a copy. I will explain why that is when we come to it, but for now, just know that I haven’t. Anyway, one thing that definitely caught my eye in this game is the main villain for the majority of the game, Lord Ghirahim.

"I am the demon who presides over this land you look down upon... The surface."

I’m just gonna say this upfront: Ghirahim is the creepiest villain in Zelda history, but that’s good because it makes him stand out. But there was something else odd about him, that I just couldn’t let go. It was during the cut-scene prior to the second of his boss battles, when he’s changing into his black gloves and he’s showing off the weird patterns on his body. He kinda reminded me of…

Drawn by WforWumbo on deviantArt

…Yep, that sounds about right, except that whereas I find Lady Gaga to be kinda hot, Ghirahim is just kinda…creepy. As evidenced by THIS.

…Oh, and one other bit of footage I wasn’t able to get in there, when he scores a hit on Link with his sword in boss battles, he actually LICKS HIS SWORD CLEAN!