Pokémon Hate to Great

Zubat. I did my first ever nuzlocke on W2 got one in the sewers and it turned into a monster along with a new favorite of mine Sandslash
 

Idyll

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Recently I did a run with mons that I have never used before in Emerald. I caught a Nincada there. Before, I always thought that they were weak and frail little nubs. When it became a Ninjask, though, was when it started to shine. Swords Dance paired with Speed Boost just oozes in-game destructive potential. He was undoubtedly the star of that run.

Although he sucks competitively, he's good for in-game.
 

Litra

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Three cases of this happened in my White Nuzlocke.

- Druddigon, who I initially disliked for being weird and having an annoying ability in Rough Skin. I decided to drop Gigalith (who was lagging behind) for Druddigon (named Valka) and ended up surprise just how quickly useful she became. Sheer Force Crunch was great, but Dragon Claw and Revenge combined with the bulk? Amazing! Shame the speed issues bit her in the ass come Iris.

- Also from the same run is Throh. I was lucky enough to get one and fell in love with how tanky he was (which is what I hated about them due to Marshall) and pretty much killed anything that didn't resist his STABS. The only downside was lack of variety to give him, but Sampson had all that he needed.

- Last, Emolga. Yes, this was a surprise. Not only Emolga is a pikaclone, but the thing's history with being a colossal, dickish troll should have given this squirrel a permanent spot on my hate list without any chance for redemption. That is, until I got to Lostlorn forest where I got one on accident. Since I needed an Electric-type for Skyla in the future at that point and didn't want to use Galvantula again, I gave the thing a shot. Meh Sp Atk IV aside, she was surprisingly disruptive with lucky paralysis thanks to Static or Spark. T-Wave + Electro Ball also dented a ton of things or killed outright. Unfortunately, her bad stats caught up to her and she eventually died. Not exactly in the "great" scale, but out of "hate" enough to where I don't despise it outright.
 
Solrock believe it or not is the MVP of my Black 2 nuzlocke. Stone Edge, Psychic, Levitate, it's just so useful. I've always thought of it as a useless pokedex filler but it has really won me over.
 
I used to think Amoonguss was ugly and weak. Then I used it in b/w RU and boy was I wrong. Regenerator,amazing HP,good typing, and a decent move pool has now made this guy one of my favorite comp. Pokemon to use. He's even better this generation with the poison buff.
 
I never really hated any Pokemon, but the one I can think of is Zubat. It sucked early on, then I got Crobat one level after Golbat, and nothing could ever touch it because it could outspeed everything. Cross Poison, X-Scissor, Fly, and another move that was back when I was only 7.
Another is the Oshawott line. As a big fan of choosing the fire-type starter, you could imagine why. Then I decided to try Oshawott in White 2 because Emboar was ridiculously slow. It ended up dominating most of the opponents I faced with a combination of X-Scissor, Waterfall, Ice Beam, and Aerial Ace. On top of that, Samurott has a nice, broad moveset to choose from.
 
I vaguely remember Aerodactyl being on my "dislike" list before trying it out myself and realizing how amazing it was. ;~; This was yeaars ago though, so yeah. Another 'mon that comes to mind is Manaphy. Didn't really think it was all that good until a year ago I had it on an Ubers rain team and it actually did significantly better than expected~
 

Expulso

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I lost my White 2 nuzlocke after Gym 5, when I was swept by a level 33 Swoobat (not Skyla's, I was training my [level 27] Klink). I hated that thing, but now I find it pretty cool after using it here.
 

Celever

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This thread is really interesting. All of the responses just talk about how you hated the Pokémon but then were forced to use it by nuzlocke rules, and then ended up loving them! It really shows why nuzlockes are such worthwhile experiences and something I truly recommend all of you guys reading this to try at some point in your life.

This also happened to me -- in Diamond. A Pachirisu popped its head out of the valley windworks' grass and made me catch it. My first thought was "ugh it can be some fodder" but then I used it and used it and believe it or not this little squirrel survived all the way through to Lucian in the elite four. And this wasn't even a "back of my team, never use it, just makes me spend more time grinding" it was legitimately useful in so many situations. It actually has fantastic bulk and decent attack, but it was something which I truly love to use ingame. I love support Pokémon. Competitively I never seem to be able to use them well, but in-game I really seize the opportunity to overcome the weaker AI with crappy Pokémon thanks to them being supported perfectly by things like Pachirisu. This could be one of the reasons why I love Pokémon Colosseum and it's double battles - Pokémon like Gligar who would otherwise be awful (I wouldn't be able to trade the guy) actually become solid walls and able to support easily.
 
1) Slaking: I'm just going to get this out of the way, I HATE MONKEYS. They're ugly and gross and smelly and they throw their own shit everywhere. But at the same time, I kept on having trouble with stallers. As in, every damn opponent I fought was determined to drag out the match and get me to ragequit. So, I forced myself to raise one because I knew a Choice Band Giga Impact set would OHKO most tanks even in OU. As it turns out... I was right. Now he's a mainstay on my team and I've even grown to like that goofy-looking old man a bit.

2) Blaziken: When I first saw it, I wondered what the heck was going on with the design. I had a fluffy chicken and then it turned into this thing. Theeeen... well, I discovered the internet. *blush* I fell in love with the design in more than one way.

3) Mewtwo: When I was a kid, I had these huge Mew vs. Mewtwo "debates". I liked Mew better because it was cuter. (Yeah, I was and still am a very girly boy.) Then came Super Smash Bros. Melee - as awful as his metagame turned out to be, he fit my playstyle pretty well, and I enjoyed playing as him a lot. And after that came Mega Y and Pokémon-Amie, and... well, I never thought I'd actually be calling Mewtwo "cute".

4) Medicham: I didn't like his design. I thought it looked goofy and sort of racist. But in Pearl, he worked damn well with Recover and Hi Jump Kick, and he soon became my first-ever Level 100.

5) Ponyta/Rapidash: I didn't hate them as much as think they were just forgettable. But then I was part of a crossover-supporting MLP:FiM roleplay board, and I made a Ponyta character for the heck of it, one that was adorably affectionate and hilariously innocent and naiive. Me and everyone else there grew pretty attached to her, so, even though I don't use them competitively, they've become very high up on my list of favorites.
 
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