I just wanna know what the hell they were thinking with Beat Up. That move was just straight up physical from the beginning.
In gen 1, Ghost was physical because only Lick used the damage calculation. Given how offensively similar they are, Dark got assigned as Special to differentiate it a bit more from Ghost. GSC really should have retconned Ghost to be special since the iconic Ghost move is now Shadow Ball and it would have left room for Crunch and Beat Up to be physical, but didn't.I just wanna know what the hell they were thinking with Beat Up. That move was just straight up physical from the beginning.
That doesn't explain Beat Up at all. Like I understand it dealing typeless damage --- a lot of weirder moves like Future Sight worked like that back then --- but why was Beat Up physical?In gen 1, Ghost was physical because only Lick used the damage calculation. Given how offensively similar they are, Dark got assigned as Special to differentiate it a bit more from Ghost. GSC really should have retconned Ghost to be special since the iconic Ghost move is now Shadow Ball and it would have left room for Crunch and Beat Up to be physical, but didn't.
Ehhh I personally wouldn't say they're overrated (though then again I'm not a particular ratings expert by any capacity) but I do also think it (and a lot of the older gens tbh) just simply aren't for me.I think the GBA Era of the series is the most overrated era of the series if I'm being completely honest.
This isn't me trying to be contrarian or trying to flip off jaded fans for the 386th time, after beating Emerald, I just think the era is just really overhyped.
Like yeah, the addition of abilities, natures, the reworked IV and EV system, the updated box system, and double battles were nice, but besides that the era just feels like the Gameboy era with a fancier coat of paint and a little bit less jank.
You still have limited bag space, you still have no Physical/Special Split, the wild Pokémon are still like 10 levels below your team, the trainer rematch system is still inconsistent (except for the Vs. Seeker in FRLG).
I honestly think if Emerald didn't have the Battle Frontier and/or the cutscene with Rayquaza telling Groudon and Kyogre to fuck off, I think it and the GBA era as a whole would just be viewed by the community as a necessary step forward but dated.
Premise I agree with, but if I may "ackshually" one detail, Cacturne almost has a weirdly opposite/third issue with Stats/Type-damage, in that it has equal mixed offenses for the "Hoenn Special" despite both its STABs and natural learnset being almost entirely Special (it has maybe 2-3 Phys moves without TMs, Tutors, or Breeding, and they're things like Poison Sting and Revenge that feel flavor based).I do somewhat agree with the theory(no clue if leaks support or disprove it) that Phys/Special split was at least being discussed/considered before Gen 3 and they decided not to implement it for various reasons. Gen 3 has a lot of mons with biased attacking stats and either mixed STABs or, like Cacturne, both STABs opposed to their good stats. And a decent supply of moves that would swap category next gen. It just seems like a lot of design decisions make a lot more sense if the PS split was being considered while stuff like Salamence were being developed.
I think this in return does justify noting types that were not strictly intuitive for Type-Category damage, such as Poison, Ghost, and Flying, and that the Eeveelution + Dragon grouping is better to remember once you know the types but does not make the choices more easily guessed on their own beforehand. (...)
Gamefreak continued to design Mons around the stat their types could not use: Dragonite/Salamence are Physical Attackers with very limited Flying moves and Special Dragons, Gengar line and Misdreavus were special focused with Phys STAB
Another example that comes to mind is Grass, Fighting and, to a lesser extent, Psychic.i think my hot take is that i dont like pokemon types being forced into certain archetypes (well, gamefreak can do whatever of course, but only mons of those archetypes will succeed really) and i find it a very boring design choice + have not been convinced about anyones argument.
especially considering that like... they can pick whatever moves a pokemon learns. if they want x mon to not have special stab, it can simply Not Learn It. you do not need to make the entire type lack special stab lol.
i just dont know whats fun about every viable ice type being the exact same pokemon, really
Dark is a type associated by cunning and cleverness, which are in turn associated with the special attack stats. Pokemon with high special attack IVs are described as "often lost in thought", "thoroughly cunning" and with similar characterizations.In gen 1, Ghost was physical because only Lick used the damage calculation. Given how offensively similar they are, Dark got assigned as Special to differentiate it a bit more from Ghost. GSC really should have retconned Ghost to be special since the iconic Ghost move is now Shadow Ball and it would have left room for Crunch and Beat Up to be physical, but didn't.
These are not toolbox substitutions. These are moves with some surface-level similarity. The reason physical Shadow Ball Gengar is toolbox is not because it has 80 BP.Nothing really prevents you from using a modified Toolbox Gengar nowadays though to replicate awkwardness
Can't use STAB Physical Shadow Ball? Just use equally STAB and BP Poison Jab
Can't use Special Ice Punch? Just use Special Giga Drain
Tbolt was always a thing so no change. Explosion even post nerf hurts
Just focusing on the Gen 3 Competitive context as it's its most splashable, the typical OU Psychics weak to Shadow Ball are;These are not toolbox substitutions. These are moves with some surface-level similarity. The reason physical Shadow Ball Gengar is toolbox is not because it has 80 BP.
Toolbox is a puzzle. A Pokemon has advantages that make it worth using, but the puzzle and question you're trying to solve is this: How do I deploy these advantages in a way that succeeds? What are good strategies for this specific Pokemon?
Modern Gengar is less toolbox because that question has an obvious answer. When the guy has huge Special Attack and huge Speed, you line up your strong Special Attacks and use your Speed to hit Pokemon hard and fast. The answer is very straightforward. We can talk about tweaks on the formula here and there, like Angus mentioned in their post (which is great and has multiple ideas reflected in mine), but that is garnish on the obvious core idea of using the power and the speed to hit hard and fast with 3 specifically obvious options (Ball, Wave / Bomb, Focus Blast)
Gen. 3 Gengar is full of puzzle pieces, but it's not obvious how those pieces fit together. We have lots of moves to work with, lots of interesting pieces, but they're pushing in different directions. The pieces have odd shapes and it's not obvious how we connect them to each other. Sure, that Special Attack is great, but we have other many pieces, like STAB and utility moves, pointing in other directions. How good of an answer is "go full special, sacrificing STAB and utility?" Not only are we lacking these advantages for their own sake, but we're also committing to a full-special strategy without the power of special STAB, which makes that answer harder to work well. If we can't have full STAB special power no matter what, maybe utility moves oughta have a larger role. Compare this to Gengar, where the answer of "go full special" sacrifices less, so considering other options is less worthwhile, because physical STAB is not valuable, and utility is harder to justify given the sheer power of its moves.
Solving this puzzle, fitting the pieces together to make a strategy and set, is fun and cool, because you're working through obstacles to build something from your own thinking. You rig together a finished puzzle that works despite the limitations and weaknesses you have to work around. Crafting a set for modern Gengar is very streamlined, so there are less obstacles to overcome and establish your own thinking with. Why get clever when stacking two compatible STABs and the strongest non-STAB is so easy AND optimal? When optimal strategies are harder to find, you can work your own intellectual muscles more, and be rewarded with success for it.
That is the benefit of pre-split (well there are multiple, but the benefit here). Not that it enabled options like special Ice Punch for Pokemon, and not awkwardness for its own sake. By lowering options, constraining what moves can be, pre-split creates an interesting challenge of set construction. You can express your skill to solve the puzzle and do your best in an interesting, engaging way. You learn things in the process, like "It's awkward that Shadow Ball uses my Attack, but most Psychic and Ghost-types weak to it have low Defense, making the move stronger than it looks in the right circumstances. Its neutral coverage also helps when Thunderbolt, my standard raw damage option, has some holes in its neutral coverage." Just slotting in Poison Jab doesn't replicate that process of discovery, especially since its neutral coverage is terrible instead of great, and it lacks this surprise advantage of physical Ghost.
The reason Ice Punch Gengar is cool is not because Gengar gets an Ice move. Giving modern Gengar Ice Beam would not provide the same benefit. Ice Punch works because BoltPunch makes Gengar's high Special Attack valuable, a worthwhile puzzle piece, without making that SpA so valuable through STAB bonus, that solving the set puzzle becomes super easy and uninteresting.
To re-create Toolbox Gengar, the answer is not to find moves similar to Toolbox Gengar Moves, because the cool thing about toolbox is figuring out what works yourself. You'd want to create the puzzle to be solved – taking modern Gengar and slashing Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb / Wave is a good start because they're so set-centralizing – and then try and solve the puzzle – figure out a winning set from the remaining pieces. Toolbox is a process, a game, versus specific output sets. (There are many things to say when we transition from building sets to deploying tools in battle, but this post is long enough for me.)
Jirachi and Metagross aren't weak to Ghost in Gen 3... Steel still resisted Ghost then. Might wanna be careful talking about Pokemon and contexts you don't know very well.Just focusing on the Gen 3 Competitive context as it's its most splashable, the typical OU Psychics weak to Shadow Ball are;
-Celebi
-Alakazam (barely)
-Medicham
-Jirachi
-Metagross
There's already an issue. Jirachi, Celebi, and Metagross especially all have 100+ base Def. It is genuinely better to use Hidden Power Bug on Celebi specifically, even with STAB. The only benefit is the chance Sp Def drop...which is kinda eh to rely on
This has in fact never been a issue, the way VGC is designed specifically prevents this.Nice perspective, but TBF it's more annoying for competitive cartridge players who need particular moves or items on their Pokémon. Granted, these moves or items can also be Dexited in future generations, but I can understand wanting to take chances.
Why did you then? They're available in both SV and ZA if you've got the DLC.even just going back to SwSh to get some Galarian Slowtwins for Champions was rough.
It'a actually more obnoxious to get enough galarica twigs in sv compared to swsh.Why did you then? They're available in both SV and ZA if you've got the DLC.