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You guys feel Gen 3 had a lot of weak duo/single staged mons to prevent powercreep? Something like Absol being physically oriented despite it being a special type seems way too much of a handicap. Same with Slaking and Tropius having handicaps (either ability or stats), and gimmick mons being fairly weak
Or maybe it's just taking Gen 2 influences incorrectly, I dunno. Stuff got rocked by Gen 4 either way
Dunno with Truant / Slow Start buffing, But Gigas + Weezing in VGC is one of my favorite playstyle, Satisfying to pull but not exactly hard to counter.
252+ Atk Choice Band Tough Claws Weavile Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Buzzwole: 228-270 (54.5 - 64.5%) -- approx. 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Tough Claws Weavile Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 129-153 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- approx. 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Yeah, there's only Tapu Fini (and eventually Toxapex) that could afford against a CB Tough Claws Weavile (because yeah, SD set is even more menacing)
Also:
No matter its popularity amongst the community, if a Pokemon is efficient, it'll be used. Remind what happened when Pelipper and Torkoal got their new abilities.
You guys feel Gen 3 had a lot of weak duo/single staged mons to prevent powercreep? Something like Absol being physically oriented despite it being a special type seems way too much of a handicap. Same with Slaking and Tropius having handicaps (either ability or stats), and gimmick mons being fairly weak
Or maybe it's just taking Gen 2 influences incorrectly, I dunno. Stuff got rocked by Gen 4 either way
Gen 3 is...pretty weird, but I don't think it's really a "power creep" issue. Back then competitive Pokemon wasn't really much of a thing nor was it a primary concern to begin with so I don't think "power creep" was the issue.
I think a lot of mons there are gimmicky because Gen 3 really was the beginning of them trying to do more with Pokemon than the basic formula that Gen 1+2 had established, and Gen 3 introduced quite a handful of new "features" that I think the new mons were explicitly designed to promote or market.
Chief among them is Double Battles. The Pikaclones, Plusle and Minun, for instance, were explicitly designed to promote Double Battles, as they had the abilities Plus and Minus to boost each others' Special Attack in a 2v2 with both of them on the field, both of them learn Helping Hand to boost power further, and as a whole they are basically meant to be a pair used alongside each other in such a format. You have a bunch of other "pairs" who seem designed with this in mind, such as Volbeat and Illumise, Lunatone and Solrock (hence why Tate and Liza use them as their "ace duo" as the Gym Leaders who promote Double Battles), etc.
Another thing is the introduction of Contests, which Hoenn really went out of its way to market as a big new feature as a way to enjoy Pokemon that doesn't involve battling. Gen 3 really tried to push the notion that battling is not the only way to be successful in the world of Pokemon and that some Pokemon who are not cut out for battling can still shine in other areas. This is very evident in how several Gen 3 Pokemon are extraordinarily weak in battle, but when you look at their movepools, they are nigh tailor-made to shine in a Contest environment. Chief among them is Delcatty, who we all know is pretty awful in combat, but it excels in Cute Contests as its movepool is made for that: Skitty is adorable which adds to the aesthetic and Delcatty certainly carries that sort of vibe as well. Other examples of Contest-oriented Pokemon in Gen 3 are arguably Mawile, Sableye, and Luvdisc as chief examples among them. Mawile and Sableye are notoriously mediocre in battle, but they have really standout designs and their movepools make them great fits for a Contest environment, particularly the Tough and Smart categories of Contests respectively.
As for stuff like Slaking, Slaking just feels like a joke design that the designers thought would be funny from a thematic standpoint, and Tropius is just one of those generic single-stage mons who is similar in function to what many weaker single-stage mons served in older games: a mid-game pre-promote option who is reasonably good for the mid game and can be a good crutch while your weaker mons are still not totally up to snuff yet, but will inevitably fall behind and will be ditched once your available options increase.
As for Dark-types like Absol...I can't say. Absol isn't even strictly *bad* even back in Gen 3 as it can use Shadow Ball as a pseudo-STAB, but it definitely feels like it was introduced a generation too early. It's a decent Pokemon in battle and is certainly not bad thanks to its wide movepool. Also 75 Special Attack wasn't necessarily a bad stat to have back in Gen 3: power creep has made that a lot weaker in newer generations since but it was an okay benchmark to have back in the Gen 3 days.
Gen 3 Pokemon design as a whole definitely feel like a product of its time, several of them were just gimmicks meant to promote certain features that originated in Ruby and Sapphire, some are just decent mons for the time period who haven't really aged well in the years since. I cannot say for certain what they were thinking with every single mon they made back then but a lot of it is just more how different Pokemon design philosophy was back in those days than it is now.
Wasn't giving Megas to already-good Pokemon one of the most frequent criticisms of how the mechanic was handled? I.E. people don't think this is how buffing Mons via Megas should have been approached?
Wasn't giving Megas to already-good Pokemon one of the most frequent criticisms of how the mechanic was handled? I.E. people don't think this is how buffing Mons via Megas should have been approached?
Legendary Bird: Multiple. Mewtwo: I actually wouldn't be surprised if there was a few. Mr. Fuji couldn't create Mewtwo by himself, and in the games it seems like all the scientists lived, and this seemed like a pretty sketchy experiment which may have meant not all the scientists were just in it for the science or good of the world. All it takes is making a copy of the blueprints and selling it to the right contacts on the black market. Mew: Multiple. Legendary Beasts: Despite sounding like they should be one-of-a-kind, there are multiple. Seems like the Ho-Oh species came across a winning formula and seemed to have created multiple trios over time; which means for every Legendary Beast trio there's a tragedy connected to them where at least three Pokemon died. Tower Duo: I believe there are multiple (let's put aside the anime, we're talking about the games). The ones in Johto are just the most well known as they were worshipped. Celebi: So its either there are multiple, its the same Celebi but at different points throughout its possibly eternal life, or a combination of the two (like there's multiple timelines which at points cross with one another and each timeline has a Celebi). Legendary Titans: Multiple. Eon Duo: Multiple. Weather Trio: Hard to say, like it would make sense for them to be one-of-a-kind. If there are multiple, at the very least only one group of Trio is active at a time, it's just that the ones in Hoenn are the most well known cause their territory just so happened to be a populated region. Jirachi: I say multiple, the thing is most are asleep and are either disguised or slip into a pocket dimension until they wake up. Heck, I always question its Dex entry and came up with a theory that only ones which have granted wishes during the seven days is at its strongest need to sleep for a thousand years. All others have a normal sleep cycle but are unable to grant wishes (at least major ones, at most maybe able to manipulate luck) when it's not the seven days. Deoxys: Multiple, but most are likely still in a dormant state. Lake Guardians: Ugh, hard call. Like, lorewise they would be one-of-a-kind, but the in B2W2 threw us a strange curveball with the Cave of Being which is apparently connected to Sinnoh (I'm assuming not literally) and the Lake Guardians. Did Arceus place multiple Lake Guardians around the world to make spreading of emotions, knowledge, and willpower quicker? Or is the Cave a Being a place the Lake Guardians can directly teleport themselves to and there's a few places like it around the world? Creation Trio: Well, if we go by events in the game, they all used to be one-of-a-kind but then Arceus up and goes and creates an additional one using the Mystri Stage in the Sinjoh Temple. Now, since Arceus created that additional one for the player, its questionable whether its considered "active" or, as long as its with the player, it's considered "inactive". Also what would happen to it when finally set free? I guess that's another question entirely. Lunar Duo: Multiple. Heatran: Multiple. Regigigas: There does seem to be multiple. Manaphy Family: Multiple. Shaymin: Multiple. Arceus: That depends what you're talking about. If you're talking about the entity, one-of-a-kind of course. If you're talking about the physical body we know as Arceus, well Legends: Arceus proved a theory I had that it's merely just an avatar created by Arceus to interact with the physical world and it can (and probably has) created multiple. Victini: Likely multiple, though nothing really hints to it, but I don't see why there wouldn't be. Swords of Justice: Multiple. Forces of Nature: Probably multiple? Tao Trio: From lore alone would be one-of-a-kind, if anything there could be multiple of the Original Dragon. Unless the splitting of one caused a ripple through reality which caused all Original Dragons to split. Problem is they don't really go into where the Original Dragon came from, it just exists in the legend and then splits to create Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem. Meloetta: Probably multiple. Genesect: Anime aside, the issue with Genesect isn't if there are multiple, is if multiple have been made. If there's likely more Mewtwo and we know there's more Type: Null, then I would say the chances are good that a former Plasma scientist got the blueprints onto the black market where some fossils of the ancient Genesect have also likely shown up. Aura Trio: Seemingly one-of-a-kind? According to Dexio & Sina, the Zygarde that appears in Alola is the one from Kalos, having come to Alola because it sensed a disturbance (the Ultra Beasts). Though there could also just be that most of the time Xerneas and Yveltal are inactive. Also Zygarde likely can create new cells & cores if something happens to one of them, and if it can do that than another Zygarde doesn't seem farfetched (if I had to guess, they would share a mental link so would just be two of the same; no need to have multiple then unless it's going into a dangerous situation and leaves some Cores and Cells behind in case the worse happens). Diancie: Multiple. Hoopa: Probably multiple? Volcanion: Despite seeming mechanical, it looks to be organic so see no reason they wouldn't be multiple. Type: Null Family: Multiple, not just because Aether Foundation made three but also because it's revealed in SwSh that the blueprints are on the black market. Guardian Deities: One-of-a-kind. Cosmog Family: Multiple. Necrozma: USUM certainly makes it out to be one-of-a-kind. Magearna: While another artificial Pokemon, the Soul-Heart is a really notable part of it as that doesn't seem like something you can "just" build. If multiple do exist, its just a few, and who knows if more can be even built (its way too old for any blueprints, at least in good quality, of it to still exist; unless the Soul-Heart is that complex to build). Marshadow: Probably multiple? Zeraora: Probably multiple? Meltan Family: Multiple. Hero Duo: I'm guessing one-of-a-kind at this current moment. Eternatus: One-of-a-kind on the Pokemon World, who knows if or how many are flying around the Pokemon universe. Kubfu Family: Multiple. Zarude: Multiple. Calyrex: One-of-a-kind. Calyrex Horses: Like, if Calyrex is one-of-a-kind, it seems like his horses are too?
... Also multiple dimensions (Hoopa's rings, Ultra Space, possibly Dynamax Dens/Lairs) means there are plenty of meta explanation why we're running into Legendaries that are one-of-a-kind or there's very few of.
I watched wolfeys video on ranking the pokemon gimmicks in a vgc context. Went about as I expected, with z moves being the worst, megas being either too much or worthless, and dynamax being overtuned but the closest one resembling balanced.
I'll admit all the competitive talk is lost on me, so not sure how much my ranking will matter. My personal ranking is more from aesthetics & how much it changes (and potential is has, at least in my eyes): Mega > Z-Moves > Dynamax.
Yeah, I know, pretty predictable. And I agree with the problems, though they're not without solutions if GF is willing to take the steps:
Mega: Two main problems: (1) Only 1 Mega per team and (2) too many popularly strong Pokemon got a Mega. The latter problem not only further accentuates the first problem, but has a connected problem (which you could consider a 3rd main problem): All Pokemon got a +100 BST increase. So, going into my suggestions:
Depending on BST range a Pokemon may get a bigger increase or smaller. Like a Pokemon between 450-549 is fine with the +100, but a Pokemon with 550-599 can make do with just a +50 increase and anything above 600 is fine (or could use some stat redistribution); Meanwhile bigger increases I think would be fair for lower BSTs (+125 for 400-449, and +150 for 399 & under).
I would also go through the Mega again and maybe tone down some of them. Now that they experimented with increasing Base HP mid-battle with Zygarde and Dynamax, I think if Mega were redone a lot would receive some more in HP. I'd also say if they're going to decrease a stat for a Pokemon which gets additional points it shouldn't be more than 10 points, and that's only to throw a bone to slow Pokemon who wouldn't mind being slower; meanwhile the 600+ Pokemon can have more leeway in how they're stats are increased & lower (that's their special boon for Mega Evolving as they don't get additional points).
Probably a controversial thought: REPLACE the "1 per battle rule" with a "Mega Energy Bar" you need to increase while battling and once full you can Mega Evolve. Charging it depends on how the battle goes, for example if your Pokemon is hit by a Super Effective move it increases by a lot, if hit by a resisted move increased by a little. During PvP battles the bar starts halfway and, depending on how the battle goes, you might be able to Mega Evolve at least 2 if possibly 3 Pokemon.
The idea obviously needs work, if they ever decide to do something similar, but I think it shows Mega aren't unredeemable, just GF was a bit too excited about them and needed to step back.
Z-Moves: Now the Elemental Ones I don't really have a problem with, it's more the Signature Z-Moves. They felt half-baked, like they couldn't resist giving some Pokemon special treatment. Unless they severely weaken them, I think the "1 per battle" rule is fine. As for Signature Z-Moves, honestly I'd just get rid of them needing a special Z-Crystal and just have it be a secret technique some Pokemon have if they use the right Elemental Z-Move with the right Move. That way they could probably include a lot more Signature Z-Moves as they won't have to make a related Z-Crystal. "Actually, in this certain scenario, it's better to use the normal Z-Move instead of the Signature Z-Move thus needing separate Crystals". OR, or, when you select the move that can access the Signature Z-Move, if gives you the option to either do the normal Elemental Z-Move or the Signature Z-Move; there two moves with one crystal!
Dynamax/Gigantamax: Ugh, I want to say the G-Max designs have grown on me, but when compared to the Megas, not really. Size change aside, all D-Max does is increase HP & make all Moves Z-Moves expies for 3 turns. G-Max is the same but has a Signature Move attached to it and nothing else; no stat changes, no Type changes, no Ability changes. I suppose its nice the Pokemon got to hold a normal Held Item, but I just don't like the presentation and feels like its just trying to compromise between Mega (via a super form, but without any trait changes and trying to shove in this kaiju design theme instead of just being a suped up version of that mon) and Z-Moves (via a super attack, but because it lasts 3 turns they're weaker so don't feel to have the "bite" the Z-Moves had even with the added secondary effects).
I truly believe the best solution would be something like a doubles tutorial and then it gives you something to enable double battle opponents. Main issue is you'd double (haha) the time spent creating teams which is really bad, but I know not everyone likes playing double battles all the time
I feel all the Eeveelutions having the same points just distributed differently is fine, it's at the very least a template of various ranges they can experiment with. At most, maybe increase the BST from 525 to 540 and turn one of the 65s to an 80.
Honestly, what some Eeveelutions need is their points re-distributed *looks at Flareon*.
As for Eeveelution for each Type, I have a feeling when it comes to adding new Eeveelutions that's considered a BIG decision cause it comes with several cons they would then have to deal with everytime they include Eevee or do something with the Eeveelutions.
Mega Sableye, Mega Mawile and some other mega's should be regular evolutions instead of meega evolution.
Talked about this is another thread, I'll repost what I said there:
If they weren't afraid to change things, maybe they could give Houndoom, Mawile, Medicham, Manectric, Banette, Absol, Sableye, Glalie, Lopunny, & Audino a new evo which resembles their Mega Evo but isn't so "fancy". Then retcon the Mega for being the new Evo, you would only need to change the names of the Mega, Stones, and also readjust the stats (heck, maybe also slightly redesign the Mega).
Then again, I guess this is what Regional Variants are for now?
but in the TCG, no-one seem to have issues with format-specific special Pokémon like Pokémon-EX. At worst, they would say Crystal Pokémon from Aquapolia and Skyridge are competitively unviable, and even then, there are fans of the concept
Probably because the TCG started doing different things WAY earlier than the games did. Like before even Gen II was a thing the TCG introduced Dark Pokemon and Gym Leader Pokemon, The main complaint about the TCG isn't with the various gimmicks but rather with the power scaling & HP amounts going up & up. Remember when Base Set Charizard was looked as being super powerful cause it had 120 HP and could do 120 damage? Nowadays those two amounts look like a joke for a fully evolved Pokemon.
I don't know if Nitro Indigo meant it this way, but how I took their post is that if a Pokemon is designed in a certain way where it makes sense for them to just be a mono-type, that's alright. Like, for example, with the Galar Starters about everyone assumed they were going to be dual-type, only a very few thought some if not all were going to be mono-type. Lo and behold, they were all mono-type. Could GF have added bits to their design where they could then slap on a secondary Type? Sure, but doing that would feel artificial, you're purposely making a Pokemon more complicated just to add a second Type instead of the secondary Type feeling natural to the intended design.
It's alright if 80% of the Dex is Dual-type as long as it all feels natural. And if a Pokemon looks like a Mono-Type, let it be a Mono-Type.
Yeah, gotta admit kind of fell off Yu-Gi-Oh! after 5Ds, when I peaked onto it a few years later they had the Pendulum stuff which added new sections to the dueling mat and their cards had stuff on it that I couldn't figure out without having to read the rules.
Hopefully Pokemon won't turn into that, so far the Super Mechanics have been FAIRLY simple enough to understand (once we get our hands on it and dissect it) and after Gen VI they decided not to have more than one Super Mechanic per game.
Also, given that there are still a lot of unique dual-types, I don't mind seeing repeats of those for variety. IIRC there's only one instance, or at least one evolutionary line, of all the following type combinations:
* means there's a Mega Evolution with that type. * means there's a non-permanent Alternate Form with that type. * means there's a Pre-evolution with that type.
An ever simpler fix that would help imo: why not make slow start affect speed only? 100 speed isn't amazing, and I hardly believe anyone is investing in a speedy regigigas Plus, it fits a bit more with the theme: it's a giant being that takes a while to build up speed and react to a battle, even if its attacks are powerful, but once it does, its devastating.
Still wouldn't solve a main problem: It would still have Slow Start taking up its Ability slot. This is my idea:
Slow Start only takes 3 turns to wear off.
Upon wearing off this Pokemon is cured of any status ailments and stats are reset.
Regigigas has different forms. Starts out as "Waking Forme" which has Slow Start, looks the same but the gems on its body are black. Once Slow Start wears off, it changes to "Awoken Forme" which has Clear Body and looks as it does normally. Once in Awoken Forme cannot change back to Waking Forme, even if switched out.
Yes, I know, Clear Body is a pretty niche Ability, but it fits with it being a Regi and at least gives is some passive effect.
Honestly, I like Slow Start, because I find the juxtaposition of "12-foot alien robot colossus thing" and "makes sculptures seemingly just for fun and has a hard time getting up in the morning" to be one of the funniest things Pokemon has ever done.
You listed 3 Megas who I'm pretty sure all had very different reception. The Zards were considered shilling Charizard Marketing but also necessary/welcome for it from a gameplay standpoint, Lucario mostly has to do with being Korrina's Ace (which probably could have been any Fighting Mega), and I don't know anyone laying much praise on Mega Salamence from either direction.
Other people offered stall, but if you remove the attack penalty, slow start just becomes a less shitty stall (unless you want to stick it on a trickroom team ig). I find it more interesting for a lore ability that doesn't harm regigigas that much.
You can just give it a good ability too if regigigas Needs A Buff, in which I'd agree stamina is pretty good
In terms of buffing Regigigas, I keep imagining merged formes with the three original regis. Since Gigas had its power sealed, it makes sense to me to have the other regis contain compatible power that can be swapped in. The merged formes can then either have Clear Body or an ability that reflects the type of the merged regi (e.g. Regigigas-Rock gets Solid Rock) along with some stat adjustments.
Slow Start is a horrible ability for many reasons but one of the worst parts about that ability is that you can debuff Regigigas into oblivion before it gets the chance to do anything. I like playing FFA random battles and Regigigas can actually stall out turns fine in that mode due to Protect and not being the main target most of the time, but a very easy way to stop it is by hitting it with a bunch of debuffs, either with Intimidate, a few Icy Winds, Max Wyrmwind, etc.
A very easy (and fitting) way to fix this would have been to integrate Clear Body into the ability so Regigigas doesn't have to worry about debuffs when stalling out the 5 turns.
You guys feel Gen 3 had a lot of weak duo/single staged mons to prevent powercreep? Something like Absol being physically oriented despite it being a special type seems way too much of a handicap. Same with Slaking and Tropius having handicaps (either ability or stats), and gimmick mons being fairly weak
Or maybe it's just taking Gen 2 influences incorrectly, I dunno. Stuff got rocked by Gen 4 either way
Gen 3 had a lot of slow mixed offense mons because of how the phys/spec split was still type-based.
Seviper and Exploud were noticeable examples of this.
Ultimately, both are pretty awful because being slow and frail is a recipe for disaster. A lot of Gen 3 mons got buffed in Gen 4 because of the modern split, even though they didn't instantly turn into superstars either. Mightyena getting physical Crunch comes to mind.
That's not even counting all the blatant gimmick mons.
don't know if Nitro Indigo meant it this way, but how I took their post is that if a Pokemon is designed in a certain way where it makes sense for them to just be a mono-type, that's alright. Like, for example, with the Galar Starters about everyone assumed they were going to be dual-type, only a very few thought some if not all were going to be mono-type. Lo and behold, they were all mono-type. Could GF have added bits to their design where they could then slap on a secondary Type? Sure, but doing that would feel artificial, you're purposely making a Pokemon more complicated just to add a second Type instead of the secondary Type feeling natural to the intended design.
That's it. I see a lot of "altering existing Pokémon" fanart/writeups that usually amount to slapping an extra type onto everything, like Electric onto Primal Kyogre or Fairy onto Meganium. Meanwhile, a lot of Pokémon in OU do just fine with one type, such as Clefable. Sometimes less is more. The problem with a lot of Gen 5 Pokémon isn't that they're monotype; it's that they only learn STAB and Normal moves.
Would Pikachu's design be as appealing if it had to incorporate another type? Exactly.
Because Adamant is currently the most used nature on CB Weavile.
Concerning the marketing perspective argument, it doesn't really hold the water since the majority of Pokemon players don't play competitivly and don't pay very much attention to those kind of things. And even when a random Pokemon player (who doesn't play competitivly) notice the Tough Claws ability on a Pokemon, he'd just think "oh, that's pretty cool" but won't think about it very often. And even if there's people who genuinly pay attention to abilities, I don't think making a already excellent and very popular Pokemon even more popular and broken (because it's the word) worth it.
Tbh Serperior was one of these pokemon where you're clicking the stab 99% of the time and you don't care of the other 3 slots.
Most of the time, resisted 130 BP stab that also gives +2 spatk is just more damage than a 60 BP non stab, outside of special cases like 4x resists vs supereffective (which is also 90% of hidden power previous usage anyway)
Legendary Bird: Multiple. Mewtwo: I actually wouldn't be surprised if there was a few. Mr. Fuji couldn't create Mewtwo by himself, and in the games it seems like all the scientists lived, and this seemed like a pretty sketchy experiment which may have meant not all the scientists were just in it for the science or good of the world. All it takes is making a copy of the blueprints and selling it to the right contacts on the black market. Mew: Multiple. Legendary Beasts: Despite sounding like they should be one-of-a-kind, there are multiple. Seems like the Ho-Oh species came across a winning formula and seemed to have created multiple trios over time; which means for every Legendary Beast trio there's a tragedy connected to them where at least three Pokemon died. Tower Duo: I believe there are multiple (let's put aside the anime, we're talking about the games). The ones in Johto are just the most well known as they were worshipped. Celebi: So its either there are multiple, its the same Celebi but at different points throughout its possibly eternal life, or a combination of the two (like there's multiple timelines which at points cross with one another and each timeline has a Celebi). Legendary Titans: Multiple. Eon Duo: Multiple. Weather Trio: Hard to say, like it would make sense for them to be one-of-a-kind. If there are multiple, at the very least only one group of Trio is active at a time, it's just that the ones in Hoenn are the most well known cause their territory just so happened to be a populated region. Jirachi: I say multiple, the thing is most are asleep and are either disguised or slip into a pocket dimension until they wake up. Heck, I always question its Dex entry and came up with a theory that only ones which have granted wishes during the seven days is at its strongest need to sleep for a thousand years. All others have a normal sleep cycle but are unable to grant wishes (at least major ones, at most maybe able to manipulate luck) when it's not the seven days. Deoxys: Multiple, but most are likely still in a dormant state. Lake Guardians: Ugh, hard call. Like, lorewise they would be one-of-a-kind, but the in B2W2 threw us a strange curveball with the Cave of Being which is apparently connected to Sinnoh (I'm assuming not literally) and the Lake Guardians. Did Arceus place multiple Lake Guardians around the world to make spreading of emotions, knowledge, and willpower quicker? Or is the Cave a Being a place the Lake Guardians can directly teleport themselves to and there's a few places like it around the world? Creation Trio: Well, if we go by events in the game, they all used to be one-of-a-kind but then Arceus up and goes and creates an additional one using the Mystri Stage in the Sinjoh Temple. Now, since Arceus created that additional one for the player, its questionable whether its considered "active" or, as long as its with the player, it's considered "inactive". Also what would happen to it when finally set free? I guess that's another question entirely. Lunar Duo: Multiple. Heatran: Multiple. Regigigas: There does seem to be multiple. Manaphy Family: Multiple. Shaymin: Multiple. Arceus: That depends what you're talking about. If you're talking about the entity, one-of-a-kind of course. If you're talking about the physical body we know as Arceus, well Legends: Arceus proved a theory I had that it's merely just an avatar created by Arceus to interact with the physical world and it can (and probably has) created multiple. Victini: Likely multiple, though nothing really hints to it, but I don't see why there wouldn't be. Swords of Justice: Multiple. Forces of Nature: Probably multiple? Tao Trio: From lore alone would be one-of-a-kind, if anything there could be multiple of the Original Dragon. Unless the splitting of one caused a ripple through reality which caused all Original Dragons to split. Problem is they don't really go into where the Original Dragon came from, it just exists in the legend and then splits to create Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem. Meloetta: Probably multiple. Genesect: Anime aside, the issue with Genesect isn't if there are multiple, is if multiple have been made. If there's likely more Mewtwo and we know there's more Type: Null, then I would say the chances are good that a former Plasma scientist got the blueprints onto the black market where some fossils of the ancient Genesect have also likely shown up. Aura Trio: Seemingly one-of-a-kind? According to Dexio & Sina, the Zygarde that appears in Alola is the one from Kalos, having come to Alola because it sensed a disturbance (the Ultra Beasts). Though there could also just be that most of the time Xerneas and Yveltal are inactive. Also Zygarde likely can create new cells & cores if something happens to one of them, and if it can do that than another Zygarde doesn't seem farfetched (if I had to guess, they would share a mental link so would just be two of the same; no need to have multiple then unless it's going into a dangerous situation and leaves some Cores and Cells behind in case the worse happens). Diancie: Multiple. Hoopa: Probably multiple? Volcanion: Despite seeming mechanical, it looks to be organic so see no reason they wouldn't be multiple. Type: Null Family: Multiple, not just because Aether Foundation made three but also because it's revealed in SwSh that the blueprints are on the black market. Guardian Deities: One-of-a-kind. Cosmog Family: Multiple. Necrozma: USUM certainly makes it out to be one-of-a-kind. Magearna: While another artificial Pokemon, the Soul-Heart is a really notable part of it as that doesn't seem like something you can "just" build. If multiple do exist, its just a few, and who knows if more can be even built (its way too old for any blueprints, at least in good quality, of it to still exist; unless the Soul-Heart is that complex to build). Marshadow: Probably multiple? Zeraora: Probably multiple? Meltan Family: Multiple. Hero Duo: I'm guessing one-of-a-kind at this current moment. Eternatus: One-of-a-kind on the Pokemon World, who knows if or how many are flying around the Pokemon universe. Kubfu Family: Multiple. Zarude: Multiple. Calyrex: One-of-a-kind. Calyrex Horses: Like, if Calyrex is one-of-a-kind, it seems like his horses are too?
... Also multiple dimensions (Hoopa's rings, Ultra Space, possibly Dynamax Dens/Lairs) means there are plenty of meta explanation why we're running into Legendaries that are one-of-a-kind or there's very few of.
Where are you getting all of these? The fact that multiple protagonists can catch them? I maintain that in game canon almost all of these are one-of-a-kind, with the legendary birds, Arceus’s avatar, Diancie, Type: Null, Cosmog, Meltan, Kubfu, and Zarude the exceptions. As you said, alternate dimensions can certainly explain different protagonists catching them (quite easy to assume the Max Lair is connected to Ultra Space given the first legendaries encountered there were Solgaleo/Lunala), and I question the ones like Jirachi where it’s just “why not?”. And in the case of something like the Swords of Justice or Meloetta, just because they’re biological doesn’t mean there are multiples: the Swords of Justice are a specific trio of individual Pokemon. Legendaries/mythicals are like demigods and I disagree with assuming there are multiples unless lore says otherwise.
Edit: there are a few more that may make sense, Shaymin for example hasn't been built up to be as mystical as Victini or Jirachi, and although I'm disregarding anime for the most part we can take a clue from the Shaymin movie that there may be multiple. I also agree that there may be multiple Genesect. Oh and I forgot Phione, although I do think there's only one Manaphy. Actually there may be two because how else would Phione occur naturally, although maybe Manaphy reproduces asexually but the process is slow enough that for game purposes you need a Ditto.
There's also an entire village of Shaymin in Explorers of Sky, which is making me wonder if there's internal documents about how unique each legendary/mythical is.
I’m doing a rewatch of the entirety of the OS Pokémon anime and ranking the episodes/specials as I go. The movies are obviously well up there and my favourite 20 minute episode being the Orange League climax shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.
However the latest episode I’ve watched being my second favourite might be one of my most unpopular Pokémon opinions of all:
I suspect even a lot of people who grew up with the original series would struggle to remember this episode. If you want to watch the exploits of Orville, the little Pidgey who could, I couldn’t recommend it more.
Except its the opposite way when we are talking about Gothitelle and not Wobbuffet. Shadow Tag Gothi actually targets defensive teams more. Trick + Rest PP Stalls almost any wall, Charm + Confide + Taunt + Rest does the same, but can also kill something offensive and then there is Calm Mind + Stored Power, who, if traps a Wall, 6-0s everything that doesn,t have a Dark Type or a powerful physical Ghost or Bug.
I do think that having the ability banned is excesive (I don,t consider Gothita and Wobbuffet to be problematic Mons, unlike the big Goth) but your statement of it only being effective against HO is false.
