On the subject of Blastoise

[NotAVillain]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but ok.

Blastoise has always been an interesting Pokémon. I wish it were better, but I’ll take what I can get. This thread will hopefully discuss why Blastoise is in PU/NU to this day.

R/B​

During R/B, Blastoise was UU at best. Its average stats and alright move pool were out-classed by other, better water types such as:

- Slowbro -
This Pokémon had access to Amnesia, making it a far better wall when paired with Rest. It also had the dual typing of Water/Psychic, meaning it could also pack a great punch when abusing Psychic or Surf one-upping Blastoise in versatility.​

- Tentacruel -
Tentacruel was able to do virtually everything Blastoise could do, but better. It had access to better Hp, Speed, Sp.Atk and Sp.Def and was still able to use and abuse moves like Rapid Spin and Surf. However; Tentacruel was also able to use coveted moves like Wrap and Sword Dance.​

- Lapras -
Again, another case of better stats and a far more diverse move pool. Lapras is everything Blastoise should have been.

- Starmie -
Why would anyone use Blastoise when you could abuse something as fast and powerful as this? Starmie is able to use Thunderbolt Blizzard, Psychic, Hydro Pump, Recover, etc, making it a better attacker than Blastoise would ever be.
​

It's a real shame that Blastoise was out-classed the way it was. Given a better move pool, Blastoise should have been able to stand a chance against the META of R/B. This is a common trend throughout all generations.

G/S​

G/S was a blessing for Blastoise. During this generation, Blastiose had an increase in Special Defence, bringing it up to 105. This mean that Blastoise could finally see some good play in UU. However; as other Pokémon such as Suicune were discovered, players began to realize that Blastoise was still inferior. The newly introduced Pokémon cast a rather large shadow over our beloved turtle. Whether it were Raikou, Suicune or even a recent addition to the OU META, Vaporeon. Blastoise was still out-classed. This didn’t mean that it was unusable or even bad. All it meant was that Blastoise would not rise or fall from UU during the duration of G/S.​

R/S​

Carrying on from the trend of G/S. Blastoise really found a place for itself in UU. Pokémon such as Nidoking, Sandslash and even Claydol were seeing a spike in play during this generation. Because of this, Blastoise was able to work as an effective counter and wall for these popular UU Pokémon. Blastoise sets normally worked around using Rest and Sleep Talk as it had some decent wall stats. However; again this Pokémon didn’t rise or fall from UU during R/S.​

D/P​

This generation wasn’t kind to Blastoise. It’s main set utilized Rapid Spin, Rest, Sleep Talk and one other move. However; this generation had an influx of counter Pokémon for Blastoise, eg. Electivire, Rotom, Leafeon, Tangrowth Palkia. Though some of the Pokémon mentioned quickly rose to OU/Uber, their introduction assured that Blastoise’s fate was only to fall. Despite this, Blastoise remained in UU during this Generation 4 as a half decent wall/Rapid Spinner.​

B/W​

Rapid Spin was unfortunately one of the only ways Blastoise could see play in this generation. The increased popularity of Stealth Rock/Spikes/Toxic Spikes had allowed Pokémon from UU who knew the aforementioned moves to gain some viability in the META and in their own, respected tiers. This was good for Blastoise as it could learn the move Rapid Spin. However; one move didn’t really justify taking up a slot in your team. Other, tanker Pokémon that had a more useful typing/move pool/ability (eg. Hitmontop and Claydol) were in my honest opinion, better options to Blastoise. Even Pokémon such as Armaldo could be utilized more as its ability Swift Swim let it abuse the immense popularity of weather related teams, mainly rain. However; it could also gain the Sp.Def boost of 0.5 that Sandstorm gave to Rock Types.​

X/Y​

Considering that Blastoise was given a Mega in this generation, you would think it would have bumped it up to OU like the other two starters? The problem is that unlike the other two Mega-Starters, Blastoise still lacked both offensive and defensive stats to really do any good. This isn’t even mentioning its ability. Though I do love Mega Launcher, it really just made me question why we would use this Pokémon as our one mega when others like Beedrill and Aerodactyle could be considered a far better option and were in the same tier (UU). This generation wasn’t all bad though. If you were willing to go the mile and create a strategy for Mega-Blastoise, it waas devastating with a rain buffed Scald/Hydro Pump. Throughout its stay in UU, Blastoise regular form was finally pushed down to RU where it would remain for a long time to come.​

S/M​

And so we come to our current generation. Mega-Blastoise had its inevitable drop to PU and its regular form fell to NU where it will most likely reside for a while to come.​

Final Thoughts​

I wish Blastoise was better, really. It was the first starter Pokémon I had and I’ve loved it ever since. Given a better hidden ability, mega ability and a better move pool, its stats would be easy to ignore and it could finally become its own Pokémon, rather than a worse Suicune.​

Improvements ​

• Give it Shell Smash. This would mean that more obscure sets, such as Choice Scarf Tapu Koko would see more play and Unburden Pokémon that may not have been viable before (eg. Hitmonlee) could be used as a great counter.​

• Change its Mega Ability. Mega Launcher doesn’t seem to be great for Blastoise. If I were to change it, it would either be to Swift Swim, or a new ability, something like the water equivalent to Gale Wings would be great!​

- I wish Blastoise was better -​

​

​

​

 

[Oglemi]

While endearing, there isn't really a place for this on this forum (Smogon). This could fit the format of a "Through the Ages" article for the Flying Press, but I don't think your level of writing exactly meets the requirements for that arena.