Hoenn 2.0

[Stellar]

Hoenn 2.0​

Three generations of Pokémon games separate XY from RSE—three generations of new moves, new types, new abilities, and new mechanics. When we return to Hoenn this November, we will likely encounter a region that is startlingly different from the one we first experienced in 2003. One of the most interesting conversations I've had with friends during the few months since ORAS' announcement was how these movepool and mechanics updates will change the games we played in the past. Now I'm bringing that discussion to you!

Question: How will movepool/ability/mechanics updates improve/impair the performance of Hoenn Pokémon (player-owned or otherwise)?

Guidelines

• Use XY movepools and abilities as the basis for discussion.
• Movepool update speculation is fine as long as you keep it in the realm of the probable.
• You may discuss the inclusion of later-gen evolutions of Hoenn Dex Pokémon like Dusknoir.

A list of Pokemon in the Hoenn Pokédex can be found here.

To begin discussion, I'll bring up two of the most notable changes.

The Fairy Type
Many past-gen Pokémon found themselves with a shiny new typing with the introduction of the Fairy type in Pokémon XY. Four of these Pokémon—Ralts, Marill, Mawile, and Jigglypuff—are available in RSE (and the first three are available very early at that!). Ralts, Marill, and Mawile can be found before the second gym battle. Now trainers have an extra type with which to hit Brawly's Pokémon for super-effective damage, as well as more Pokémon to resist Makuhita's Bulk Up-boosted Arm Thrusts.

The most disappointing aspect of Fairy-types is their lack of early-game STAB moves. Ralts does not learn an offensive Fairy-type move until it evolves into Gardevoir and learns Moonblast at Lv85 or by move relearner. Marill doesn't learn Play Rough until Lv45 (Lv50 as an Azumarill), and Jigglypuff doesn't learn the disappointingly weak Disarming Voice until Lv50. In BW2, we saw many Pokémon receive movepool updates that allowed them to perform better early in the game (take the Eeveelutions for example). Maybe we'll see the same thing in ORAS?

Gym Leaders
In RSE, trainers were able to take advantage of certain Pokémon's lack of coverage to easily manhandle gym leaders. Brawly was completely incapable of touching Ghost-types like Sableye and Wattson had little means of dealing with Ground-types like Geodude. This will likely change a bit in ORAS where Pokémon now have exponentially larger movepools. Assuming gym leaders maintain their Pokémon's levels from Emerald, Brawly's Makuhita can now slap your Sableye around with Knock Off and Wattson's Magneton can make short work of your Geodude with Magnet Bomb or (potentially) Mirror Shot. Oh, and good luck OHKOing Magneton through a possible Sturdy!

We've also seen certain gym leaders with updated TM access—take Norman for example. We see his Slaking using Retaliate during battle, making it pretty clear that he now gives victorious trainers TM67 Retaliate. Despite Retaliate having the same base power as boosted Facade, its power boost is much more likely to be activated in battle, making it that much easier for Norman to OHKO your Combusken or Blaziken (for reference, Combusken only has a chance of survival beginning at Lv36 with max IVs in HP and Defense).

A list of potential gym leader changes can be found here.

 

[Deleted User 220884]

One question is, if that the Hoen Pokedex is expanded since Pheobe has Duskonoir, How will Magneton and Probopass evolve? Maybe through New Mauville? As it seems likely as electricity flows through that area. Anyone think that both these 2 pokemon will evolve in New Mauville, in ORAS?

 

[stage7_4]

Exploud has got a lot of new toys in the generation shifts. In RSE it was an okay in-game pokemon, but largely forgettable.

Since then it got several buff's. The first is Uproar's power boost to 90, giving it a solid STAB from the get-go that can practically carry it to the end. Then it's hidden ability is scrappy, which is swell enough (in-game it learns Shadow Ball, so not a dealbreaker if you get soundproof). Then it got a small Sp.Def. boost in the XY shift. The biggest contribution is obviously Boomburst, a solid 140 power wrecking ball with no drawbacks in single battles.

All of this in addition to a wide movepool and decent in-game stats could make Exploud the in-game tier leader for ORAS like Magnemite was for B2W2. It really depends on if Boomburst gets a level drop from 85, or how early the move re-learner is.

 

[Stellar]

One question is, if that the Hoen Pokedex is expanded since Pheobe has Duskonoir, How will Magneton and Probopass evolve? Maybe through New Mauville? As it seems likely as electricity flows through that area. Anyone think that both these 2 pokemon will evolve in New Mauville, in ORAS?

This seems likely. Having a Magnezone before Winona might be nice, but a couple of her Pokémon packed EQ in RSE, so it's not ideal. In fact, it seems like most of the gyms after you get Surf have one or more Pokémon that can give Magnezone a ton of trouble. IIRC, Liza and Tate have EQ on a couple PKMN and Wallace has Whiscash.

Exploud has got a lot of new toys in the generation shifts. In RSE it was an okay in-game pokemon, but largely forgettable.

Since then it got several buff's. The first is Uproar's power boost to 90, giving it a solid STAB from the get-go that can practically carry it to the end. Then it's hidden ability is scrappy, which is swell enough (in-game it learns Shadow Ball, so not a dealbreaker if you get soundproof). Then it got a small Sp.Def. boost in the XY shift. The biggest contribution is obviously Boomburst, a solid 140 power wrecking ball with no drawbacks in single battles.

All of this in addition to a wide movepool and decent in-game stats could make Exploud the in-game tier leader for ORAS like Magnemite was for B2W2. It really depends on if Boomburst gets a level drop from 85, or how early the move re-learner is.

Move Relearner was in Fallarbor in RSE, meaning it would be before the fourth gym. That's still incredibly early for a 140 BP move with no drawbacks.

I was just looking at Numel who was already a powerhouse in RSE. When you catch it at Lv15 or Lv16, it will already have Flame Burst and Magnitude. Shortly after, it learns Lava Plume at L22 and Earth Power at Lv26. Those moves alone will likely make it an awesome catch, but you can also play around with Simple (post-RSE ability) and Curse (Lv29, BW2 addition). While not necessarily an economic use of your time, it might also be fun to play around with Growth (XY egg move from Seedot/Nuzleaf) + Simple. +2 boosts to Atk/SpA sound hilariously fun.

 

[Celever]

Is it possible to list all changes to the Gym Leaders we know of in the OP there? It'd just contribute to the topic and make it easier for us who don't know so much about the changes!

To me, it looks like Sableye is going to be amazing for a casual run through this game. It was already a must-have for Brawly as he couldn't do anything to the Ghost-Type, but now that he has a mega-evolution he won't immediately start lagging. I take the fact that he has been pre-released as his mega-stone being available in-game - possibly in Victory Road, as it seems to make sense to have a mega-stone there. If so, then maybe Sableye won't be so good. It depends on where the stone is found. Also, while Brawly's team can now hit Sableye, Sableye can still hit fairly hard back even without mega-evolving, and I don't believe he takes damage from anything besides Makuhita's Knock Off should Brawly's team stay the same. Sableye can easily take a few of those without an item being held.

Something interesting that is new in this generation is also Gallade! You can get the thing as early as level 20 theoretically, but it all depends on where the Dawn Stone is in this game. But if you do get the thing immediately, it would be between Brawly and Wattson. You get Bulk Up from Brawly and after that you can just Slash your way through most things, picking up TMs en route. Once you reach the move tutor Gallade will sweep through everything, though; Close Combat, Lead Blade, Night Slash and Psycho Cut is basically a "gg game nice knowing" ya.

 

[Stellar]

Is it possible to list all changes to the Gym Leaders we know of in the OP there? It'd just contribute to the topic and make it easier for us who don't know so much about the changes!

To me, it looks like Sableye is going to be amazing for a casual run through this game. It was already a must-have for Brawly as he couldn't do anything to the Ghost-Type, but now that he has a mega-evolution he won't immediately start lagging. I take the fact that he has been pre-released as his mega-stone being available in-game - possibly in Victory Road, as it seems to make sense to have a mega-stone there. If so, then maybe Sableye won't be so good. It depends on where the stone is found. Also, while Brawly's team can now hit Sableye, Sableye can still hit fairly hard back even without mega-evolving, and I don't believe he takes damage from anything besides Makuhita's Knock Off should Brawly's team stay the same. Sableye can easily take a few of those without an item being held.

Something interesting that is new in this generation is also Gallade! You can get the thing as early as level 20 theoretically, but it all depends on where the Dawn Stone is in this game. But if you do get the thing immediately, it would be between Brawly and Wattson. You get Bulk Up from Brawly and after that you can just Slash your way through most things, picking up TMs en route. Once you reach the move tutor Gallade will sweep through everything, though; Close Combat, Lead Blade, Night Slash and Psycho Cut is basically a "gg game nice knowing" ya.

I'll see if I can put together a list of potential changes. Another huge change your post reminded me of is reusable TMs. TM use was extremely restricted in RSE, so it'll be interesting to see the effects of reusable ones in ORAS.

 

[Kurona]

There's also the fact to consider that high-level level-up moves can be learned through move tutor now. For instance, Gardevoir gets Moonblast at level 85, but it can also get it with a Heart Scale. This undoubtebly makes it a very good choice for in-game playthroughs, not to mention most everything else that gets these high-level moves with heart scales.

 

[Detective Barricade]

Well, Retaliate only has the base power of a boosted Facade once, if used immediately after coming in when the previous one fainted. Then they're the same...unless I'm missing a tweak in gen 6 that makes the boost permanent?

Anyway, another HUGE thing to consider is the Physical/Special split introduced in gen 4. Sceptile may not have enjoyed its once best and signature tool winding up on its weaker offensive stat, but Pokemon like Gyarados and Crawdant can basically be utter monsters thanks to access to physical STAB moves they can use. (not counting Adaptability in the case of the latter) A Bite from Gyarados in RSE pretty much just tickled a little. Now it's going to really hurt a lot more, and more so if Gyaradosite is available before the E4.

And the Rusturf tunnel/Route 113 is going to be just a little more hazardous thanks to Whismur and Spinda having base 90 STAB Uproars to pelt you with if you're not fast enough to get away immediately/have something with Run Away or Smoke Ball leading.

 

[hitoshura0]

To add onto the reusable TMs, we also have to wonder how the arcade will change. It doesn't make much sense to give away TMs as prizes, as all of them would be tied to sidequests or findable later (Route 118 ,Abandoned Ship, New Mauville quest, and Victory Road) with the exception of Flamethrower, which as far as I can remember is only findable from buying it. I can imagine them sticking Flamethrower in some area accessible by Surf (probably in the Feebas route, because that was filled with dead ends with nothing). It did give dolls as well, so it might only have Secret Base stuff in it.

That is if it doesn't get changed completely , such as what happened with HG/SS

 

[Lumari]

There's also the fact to consider that high-level level-up moves can be learned through move tutor now. For instance, Gardevoir gets Moonblast at level 85, but it can also get it with a Heart Scale. This undoubtebly makes it a very good choice for in-game playthroughs, not to mention most everything else that gets these high-level moves with heart scales.

That is, if that doesn't get reverted in ORAS. Could very well be that GameFreak considers Boomburst Exploud, Moonblast Gardevoir, and Flare Blitz Blaziken (gasp) before 4th gym to be overpowered, and it's not like small movepool changes within generations are unprecedented (e.g. DP vs. PtHGSS). I already found this to be very redundant in XY, and I wouldn't mind seeing it go tbqh, XY really felt too easy imo and this was just one thing that made me feel that (damn that exp share).

As for the dex, I don't think it will be too different from the original Hoenn dex. I think it's gonna be just like the new Johto dex, i.e. new evolutions are added (e.g. Magnezone/Dusknoir/Froslass and some more), but no new evolutionary families. I see no real reason to add other families to the dex, and in FRLG and HGSS they tried to stay as close as possible to the original dex (going even further in FRLG, Golbat simply couldn't evolve before beating the Elite Four lol).

Actually, you know how Wattson gives out Shock Wave in RSE, maybe things like Volt Switch, Acrobatics, Dazzling Gleam, practically some new tm's to replace the other tms.

They're gonna have to replace some because they don't exist anymore (e.g. Shock Wave), but I see no reason why Winona wouldn't give out Aerial Ace tbh (just like HGSS Morty who still gave out Shadow Ball). A lot of the TMs are still the same they were in RSE.

 

[Deleted User 220884]

Actually, you know how Wattson gives out Shock Wave in RSE, maybe things like Volt Switch, Acrobatics, Dazzling Gleam, practically some new tm's to replace the other tms.

 

[Celever]

Well, Retaliate only has the base power of a boosted Facade once, if used immediately after coming in when the previous one fainted. Then they're the same...unless I'm missing a tweak in gen 6 that makes the boost permanent?

Anyway, another HUGE thing to consider is the Physical/Special split introduced in gen 4. Sceptile may not have enjoyed its once best and signature tool winding up on its weaker offensive stat, but Pokemon like Gyarados and Crawdant can basically be utter monsters thanks to access to physical STAB moves they can use. (not counting Adaptability in the case of the latter)

That's very true actually. Corphish and Crawdaunt will become absolute titans this generation. You can catch Corphish as soon as you get the Good Rod (which in R/S was after Norman :o) but after that he would be immediately useful I think. With TMs like X-Scissor and the fact that he can now use attacks such as Waterfall he will truly be a force to be reckoned with.

Right now it seems to me like the optimal team to go through ORAS will include Crawdaunt and Gallade for sure. Maybe Blaziken, but Swampert for Wattson could be a thing, even with Crawdaunt alongside it.

 

[Kurona]

A few notable re-usable TMs to consider are Roxanne's Rock Tomb and Return for giving back the Meteorite to Cosmo.

 

[Rilan]

As the last Generation before the Physical/Special split, Hoenn has introduced some Pokémon whose typing didn't complement their main offensive stats. For example Medicham. Although both its offensive BSTs are somewhat terrible the same, its STABs are both Physical and Special. Investing EVs in both Attack and Special Attack just to make it a decent Mixed attacker seems pointless. I mainly considered Medicham as a pure Fighting type as Pure Power would complement its Physical attacks. However the split has been defined since then and Medicham has gained access to Physical Psychic attacks, making it an interesting choice to add to my party when ORAS comes around. Same goes for Solrock and Lunatone, except the attacks that utilized their unused STAB, Zen Headbutt and Ancient Power respectfully, are locked as Tutoring moves.

Speculating here. Would Brave Bird on Salamence be considered possible? What was its most threatening Flying STAB back then? Aerial Ace and Fly? Not exactly overpowered. Fly was the one move I was hoping for Drake to use when I battled him pre-Emerald. Salamence needs a major boost to keep it apart from other Dragons. Not a Mega though because I've seen enough with Garchomp and Charizard. Don't think it makes sense because it's called Brave Bird? Look at Crobat. Doesn't make sense because the flavor text reads "The user tucks in its wings and charges from a low altitude. This also damages the user quite a lot."? Blaziken would like a word with you.

Also, are these move pools actually being updated? As in Level Up, Egg Moves, and TM availability/compatibility or just by Tutors?

 

[Stellar]

Also, are these move pools actually being updated? As in Level Up, Egg Moves, and TM availability/compatibility or just by Tutors?

We've seen video confirmation of Leaf Blade Shiftry, meaning there will be level-up movepool updates.

Here is a list of all gym leader's Pokemon and the level-up moves they gained/lost (prior to given level) in the transition from Emerald to XY. I did not list moves that Pokemon were not supposed to have at their level, but did (Rollout Voltorb for example).

*Roxanne
  Nosepass, Lv15
    + Sturdy (Update)
    + Thunder Wave
    + Block
  Geodude (x2), Lv12
    + Sturdy (Update)
    - Rock Throw
    + Rock Polish
    + Rollout

*Brawly
  Machop, Lv16
    + No Guard
    + Low Sweep
  Meditite, Lv16
  Makuhita, Lv19
    + Whirlwind
    + Knock Off

*Wattson
  Voltorb, Lv20
    + Eerie Impulse
    + Screech
  Magneton, Lv22
    + Sturdy (Update)
    + Electric Terrain
    + Thunder Wave
    + Magnet Bomb
  Electrike, Lv20
    + Lightningrod (Update)
  Manectric, Lv24
    + Lightningrod (Update)

*Flannery
  Numel, Lv24
    + Simple
    + Focus Energy
    + Flame Burst
    + Amnesia
    + Lava Plume
  Slugma, Lv24
    + Recover
    + Flame Burst
  Camerupt, Lv26
    + Solid Rock
    + Focus Energy
    + Flame Burst
    + Amnesia
    + Lava Plume
    + Earth Power
  Torkoal, Lv29
    - Body Slam
    + Withdraw
    + Flame Wheel
    + Rapid Spin
    + Flamethrower

*Norman
  Spinda, Lv27
    + Tangled Feet
    + Copycat
  Vigoroth, Lv27
  Linoone, Lv29
    + Gluttony
  Slaking, Lv31
    + Retaliate

*Winona
  Swablu, Lv29
    + Round
    + Natural Gift
    + Take Down
    + Refresh
  Tropius, Lv29
    + Solar Power
  Pelipper, Lv30
    + Water Pulse
    + Payback
    + Roost
  Skarmory, Lv31
    + Sturdy (Updated)
    + Feint
    + Spikes
    + Metal Sound
  Altaria, Lv33
    + Round
    + Natural Gift
    + Take Down
    + Refresh

*Liza & Tate
  Claydol, Lv41
    + Power Trick
    + Extrasensory
    + Cosmic Power
    + Power Split
    + Guard Split
    + Earth Power
  Xatu, Lv41
    + Lucky Chant
    + Miracle Eye
    + Me First
    + Confuse Ray
    + Tailwind
    + Psycho Shift
  Lunatone, Lv42
    + Rock Polish
    + Embargo
    + Rock Slide
    + Psychic
    + Heal Block
    + Stone Edge
  Solrock, Lv42
    + Rock Polish
    + Embargo
    + Psychic
    + Heal Block
    + Stone Edge

*Wallace
  Luvdisc, Lv40
    + Lucky Chant
    + Hydro Pump
  Sealeo, Lv40
    + Ice Body
    + Swagger
  Seaking, Lv42
    + Aqua Ring
  Whiscash, Lv42
    - Earthquake
    + Anticipation
    + Mud Bomb
    + Aqua Tail
  Milotic, Lv42
    + Competitive
    + Captivate
    + Aqua Tail
    + Attract

 

[Detective Barricade]

A few notable re-usable TMs to consider are Roxanne's Rock Tomb and Return for giving back the Meteorite to Cosmo.

And Walace's Scald which replaces Water Pulse which is no longer a TM. Considering that, physical attackers aren't going to have a fun time against him with a 30% chance of getting burned unless they have Guts to get a boost to Attack instead of the drop.

Also, Stellar, if we're counting Numel with Simple, it's possible that Wallace's Milotic may have Competitive instead of Marvel Scale. (it gained Competitive as a second normal ability this generation) Moves that lower its stats might become risky when its Sp. Atk rises by two stages if it happens. (provided its ability is changed to the possible Competitive and not left as Marvel Scale)

 

[Stellar]

And Walace's Scald which replaces Water Pulse which is no longer a TM. Considering that, physical attackers aren't going to have a fun time against him with a 30% chance of getting burned unless they have Guts to get a boost to Attack instead of the drop.

Also, Stellar, if we're counting Numel with Simple, it's possible that Wallace's Milotic may have Competitive instead of Marvel Scale. (it gained Competitive as a second normal ability this generation) Moves that lower its stats might become risky when its Sp. Atk rises by two stages if it happens. (provided its ability is changed to the possible Competitive and not left as Marvel Scale)

Xenforo kept eating my edits. Every time I added an ability, it somehow ate all the others I added. Everything should be complete now.

 

[Lady Vader]

One question is, if that the Hoen Pokedex is expanded since Pheobe has Duskonoir, How will Magneton and Probopass evolve? Maybe through New Mauville? As it seems likely as electricity flows through that area. Anyone think that both these 2 pokemon will evolve in New Mauville, in ORAS?

Well, it was impossible to do location based evos in HeartGold and SoulSilver without trading with Sinnoh, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's impossible to do in ORAS or isn't possible to do until post-game (maybe some new islands that have the correct properties). Yet, that Dusknoir really does make you wonder since that is a stone-based evolution, which weren't really accessible in the Johto remakes until the post-game (or you traded said stone from another game).

We've also seen certain gym leaders with updated TM access—take Norman for example. We see his Slaking using Retaliate during battle, making it pretty clear that he now gives victorious trainers TM67 Retaliate. Despite Retaliate having the same base power as boosted Facade, its power boost is much more likely to be activated in battle, making it that much easier for Norman to OHKO your Combusken or Blaziken (for reference, Combusken only has a chance of survival beginning at Lv36 with max IVs in HP and Defense).

Number one reason to catch a Pelliper (learns Protect through level up!).

We've seen video confirmation of Leaf Blade Shiftry, meaning there will be level-up movepool updates.

Always take moves used by Gym Leaders and Elite Four members with a grain of salt. Same applies to any moves used in pre-release trailers, honestly, since things can change between the making of the video and release.

 

[Detective Barricade]

I kind of can't believe I'm saying this, but Makuhita with Knock Off actually sounds threatening. Granted, this would be mostly to a Kadabra/Alakazam that attempts to switch in and the AI happens to pick that move, as Makuhita is still slow as molasses and would never pull it off before eating a Confusion from a very early and offensively powerful stage 2 Pokemon. And Ralts/Kirlia is at least neutral to it but still won't enjoy the raw power from it.

And Skarmory being able to toss around Spikes in a gym battle. Might be negligible, or it might be a downright pain in the butt depending on when it comes out in the battle and how many layers it gets to scatter.

Well, it was impossible to do location based evos in HeartGold and SoulSilver without trading with Sinnoh, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's impossible to do in ORAS or isn't possible to do until post-game (maybe some new islands that have the correct properties). Yet, that Dusknoir really does make you wonder since that is a stone-based evolution, which weren't really accessible in the Johto remakes until the post-game (or you traded said stone from another game).

Uh, Dusclops evolves into Dusknoir by being traded while holding the Reaper Cloth.

 

[Lady Vader]

Uh, Dusclops evolves into Dusknoir by being traded while holding the Reaper Cloth.

Well, I feel stupid. I swore it was a Dusk Stone. Well, the basic point of my post is still valid: new item based evolutions weren't present in the Johto remakes prior to beating the Elite Four.

 

[Kurona]

Well, I feel stupid. I swore it was a Dusk Stone. Well, the basic point of my post is still valid: new item based evolutions weren't present in the Johto remakes prior to beating the Elite Four.

Except Dusknoir was explicitly shown as Phoebe's main. I doubt they'd advertise the aftergame rematch teams which few casual players would get to. Not to mention they actually did say the dex would be expanded.

 

[Detective Barricade]

Except Dusknoir was explicitly shown as Phoebe's main. I doubt they'd advertise the aftergame rematch teams which few casual players would get to. Not to mention they actually did say the dex would be expanded.

And there's not a whole lot of areas they can tuck in a free evolution item that would be inaccessible until post-game. SS Tidal, Sky Pillar, and Battle Frontier are about it as far as I can recall. (not counting the event islands as there's no telling if they'll even come back since Game Freak has taken a liking to directly distributing their event Pokemon for some time now as opposed to an item that unlocks the event in the game itself)

 

[Lady Vader]

Except Dusknoir was explicitly shown as Phoebe's main. I doubt they'd advertise the aftergame rematch teams which few casual players would get to. Not to mention they actually did say the dex would be expanded.

Oh, I know that Dusknoir will be in the regular dex due to this. I just was pointing out the past as a way to possibly illuminate the future. I also enjoy playing Devil's Advocate, making sure that multiple sides are seen and keeping discussion fresh.

And there's not a whole lot of areas they can tuck in a free evolution item that would be inaccessible until post-game. SS Tidal, Sky Pillar, and Battle Frontier are about it as far as I can recall. (not counting the event islands as there's no telling if they'll even come back since Game Freak has taken a liking to directly distributing their event Pokemon for some time now as opposed to an item that unlocks the event in the game itself)

Well, in HeartGold and SoulSilver, stuff like that was done by small added areas that needed Rock Climb throughout the game (I remember on such location right outside Olivine City). And the badge needed to use Rock Climb was the Earth Badge, so those couldn't be obtained until way late in the game.

 

[Stellar]

Let's just agree to assume that evolutions of Hoenn dex Pokémon will be included and that certain Pokémon will receive movepool updates. The thread's already getting bogged down by this unproductive back-and-forth, and I'd like to move the discussion along.

Looking at the list of potential gym changes, I can definitely see Roxanne being even more infuriating if you choose Torchic or Treecko as your starter. While Combusken's Double Kick can get around Sturdy, you still have to deal with Nosepass who can tank Double Kick and paralyze you with Thunder Wave. Treecko might actually have a similarly difficult time, as Absorb is incredibly weak and only 2x super-effective. Treecko just doesn't have the defense necessary to tank Rock Tombs while paralyzed.

And Walace's Scald which replaces Water Pulse which is no longer a TM. Considering that, physical attackers aren't going to have a fun time against him with a 30% chance of getting burned unless they have Guts to get a boost to Attack instead of the drop.

Also, Stellar, if we're counting Numel with Simple, it's possible that Wallace's Milotic may have Competitive instead of Marvel Scale. (it gained Competitive as a second normal ability this generation) Moves that lower its stats might become risky when its Sp. Atk rises by two stages if it happens. (provided its ability is changed to the possible Competitive and not left as Marvel Scale)

I didn't even consider Scald possibly replacing Water Pulse... Milotic was always a pain in the ass to take down initially, so I can only imagine how frustrating it will be to have everything burned and have to waste turns using Full Heals or Full Restores. BW2 Marlon only had Jellicent who could really take advantage of Scald, and Milotic has significantly better defensive stats and fewer weaknesses. One issue with Wallace handing out Scald is that Sealeo can't actually learn the move. Maybe we'll see a bit more variety in his team with the expanded Hoenn Pokédex. I'd think they'd want to minimize the overlap between Wallace and Glacia if at all possible.

 

[Lady Vader]

Well, we do have an advantage against Milotic this time: physical Electric and Grass moves.