Pokemon that disappointed you in-game despite looking good initially?

[mertyville]

This may come as a surprise and I don't really get it myself. Obviously I can use Kyurem in White 2 after I get Reshiram and beat the main story. Grinded it a to max out mainly speed and special attack, but not extensively.
Regular Kyurem could not kill much and was surprisingly worn down quickly. Mostly because I used Glaciate for style points. In the White Treehallow during Area 9 onwards I decided to use White Kyurem. I can't count the number of times it failed to 1HKO something even with Freeze Burn. Maybe the moves I used weren't that good: Dragon Pulse, Ice Beam, Fusion Flare, Freeze Burn.
Something is missing and I feel like it is the same issue with Reshiram and Zekrom in BW after you obtain them. They are maybe useful only against the first Pokemon N uses and after that they get owned by anything. Post Game Pokemon destroy them because either too bulky or too fast and strong. White Kyurem suffered similary but it was trained obtaining some evs.
Helpless against Cynthia and most strong Pokemon in the tree. I don't think it will be useful in the Pokemon League either. Last time I checked the stats, it had 300 Special Attack around lv 75.

It does deal massive damage on Super Effective hits I guess. Most of my in-game team members just outperform it with lesser stats like Magnezone, Excadrill, Braviary or Zoroark. Not sure where the real issue lies. Nature is Gentle so it is not getting a Special Attack Drop.

 

[WinterArcanine]

Gengar in Let's go. To be fair, its the first pokemon game that I finished, so I assumed ghost resists psychic and I also didn't know poison was weak to psychic, but I used Gengar as a psychic counter, only for it to be OHKOed by Sabrina's Alakazam and Mewtwo before it could do anything. Literally couldn't use it for the one thing I added it to my team for.

 

[Bug Maniac Aydon]

To be fair, I haven't quite had a lot of time using it, but I got a Cubone using Trainer Fly in Mt. Moon (and yes you can do it THAT early) and i'm expecting it to really flop at some point.

Its issues are:
- Cubone has one good base stat right off the bat and it's the one that does the least for it
- It needs Mega Punch because a lot of early game Pokemon are flying
- It doesn't really get much by level up other than its two ground moves (one at level 48 GODDAMN)
- Generally a worse Sandslash (seethe) (mald)
- Bad against 2 gyms

Though it does have things going for it. Mainly, it doesn't necessarily need either of the Ground TMs (2 hits of Bone Club are stronger than a Dig and it learns Bonemerang so it doesn't need Earthquake). Ground is also pretty good later on (hits a good couple gyms effectively). Also, the circumstances on which I obtained Cubone means it has more oppurtunities to be used throughout the course of the game.

 

[Candelia]

I will say, Sapphire and Sableye.

I caught one and seven-year-old Candy was so hyped, because look at the lil goblin :000000

ended up never using it. Glad to see that in ROMs and the like that Sableye gets bulk buffs (and is a big thing in Unite).
What sucks is that I really like Sableye. He's a cool dude.

^-- this goober makes me happy too

 

[Adeleine]

hgss weavile

annoying evolution for a frail mon with low bp moves

i vividly remember having night slash, ice punch, and ?brick break? and thinking like "hm, yeah, these types are cool, would be nice to have some power tho lol"

 

[Candelia]

hgss weavile

annoying evolution for a frail mon with low bp moves

i vividly remember having night slash, ice punch, and ?brick break? and thinking like "hm, yeah, these types are cool, would be nice to have some power tho lol"

Did it ever get Technician?

Oh wait, it was Pressure, ew

 

[Eeveeto]

Did it ever get Technician?

Oh wait, it was Pressure, ew

Well, this means it's broken in game as long as you have some patience. You need the Protect and Substitute TMs and Leftovers item (though Sitrus Berry also works for shortest battles) and Weavile will end up outstalling 2 or 3 Mons minimum in every important battle (having also the option to KO the ones that are weak to its STABs). Pressure + Sub + Protect is the best strategy in-game to ensure wins. It won't be quick wins like many people like, but they are almost guaranteed.

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

Well, this means it's broken in game as long as you have some patience. You need the Protect and Substitute TMs and Leftovers item (though Sitrus Berry also works for shortest battles) and Weavile will end up outstalling 2 or 3 Mons minimum in every important battle (having also the option to KO the ones that are weak to its STABs). Pressure + Sub + Protect is the best strategy in-game to ensure wins. It won't be quick wins like many people like, but they are almost guaranteed.

I feel like in-game Pressure stalling would be neat for one battle and then the novelty would wear off and it'd become dreadfully boring. The last thing I want in a game I'm playing for fun is to consistently use a strategy that guarantees victory because of inadequate AI.

I remember doing a Platinum Nuzlocke with the knowledge that the AI didn't ever update its immunity flag for Dry Skin, meaning that Dry Skin Croagunk could fully wall Crasher Wake's Gyarados (and potentially Floatzel depending on Croagunk's defensive stats) as it just kept spamming its Water STAB. I thought it'd be satisfying to beat Wake without any risk, but it wasn't really.

Speaking of which, Platinum Croagunk/Toxicroak was a bit of a letdown for me. Its unique dual typing is really cool and its stats seemed solid enough for in-game play, but its movepool leaves a lot to be desired in its debut generation. Its only Fighting attack by level-up is Revenge and your only reliable physical alternative is Brick Break. Nasty Plot shenanigans seem appealing, but once you take away its good Attack stat it's just a little too frail and a little too slow to be a setup sweeper. Overall it just never quite accomplished what I hoped for it. Definitely doesn't help that it has a pretty rough matchup against the Elite Four (with Cynthia's Milotic and Lucario as notable exceptions).

 

[Band]

for me, it's Toxapex in Ultra Sun. I was very excited to use it since it's a mon usually reserved for competitive. I grinded those damn Corsola to finally get a Mareanie (which sucks major ass btw, it's so bad) and when I finally got a Toxapex... it couldn't really take hits that well. That's because pex's HP stat is horrible, and without defensive investment, it dies super quickly. So I was stuck with a passive AND relatively frail Pokemon in a team with power houses like Gengar and Alolan Muk. Needless to say I was really disappointed but I carried it all the way to the Champion just because I think pex looks cool.

 

[LunaStik]

My biggest memory of one of these is Slolan Marowak. Caught a Cubone with a Thick Club, only for it to be STAB-less until level 58. And no Ghost STAB because it evolves at level 28 and it learns its only Ghost move at 27! Why neuter it this much? It was basically useless.

 

[Hugin]

My biggest memory of one of these is Slolan Marowak. Caught a Cubone with a Thick Club, only for it to be STAB-less until level 58. And no Ghost STAB because it evolves at level 28 and it learns its only Ghost move at 27! Why neuter it this much? It was basically useless.

Totem Marowak in USUM fixes this, along with a move tutor for Fire Punch. But SM? Ugh. The move reminder change in those games really screwed things up.

 

[Imperial Magala]

Totem Marowak in USUM fixes this, along with a move tutor for Fire Punch. But SM? Ugh. The move reminder change in those games really screwed things up.

Correction: Ultra Sun is fixed with gift totem Marowak, while Ultra Moon gets totem Araquanid.

 

[Candelia]

Correction: Ultra Sun is fixed with gift totem Marowak, while Ultra Moon gets totem Araquanid.

ewwwwwwww araquanid

 

[Castersvarog]

for me, it's Toxapex in Ultra Sun. I was very excited to use it since it's a mon usually reserved for competitive. I grinded those damn Corsola to finally get a Mareanie (which sucks major ass btw, it's so bad) and when I finally got a Toxapex... it couldn't really take hits that well. That's because pex's HP stat is horrible, and without defensive investment, it dies super quickly. So I was stuck with a passive AND relatively frail Pokemon in a team with power houses like Gengar and Alolan Muk. Needless to say I was really disappointed but I carried it all the way to the Champion just because I think pex looks cool.

TBH that feels like a problem alot of purely defensive mons suffer from. You need that defensive investment to get good results to begin with, it makes fights take longer and it's just easier to use a sweeper/bulky damage dealer and just OHKO everything. Fact is, it's not worth playing passively in game

 

[SwampySwampert]

Charcadet is cute, is one of the first Fire-types you’ll encounter in the game, and has a great evolution (either one).

Then you see its stats. Mixed 50/50 attack, 40/40/40 defense and 35 speed put it on par with Patrat in terms of BST.

And finally, evolving it. Both forms require going to Zapapico to get the gear, which is out of the way but not ridiculously so, but also requires 10 of a certain Pokémon drop. For Armarouge, it’s Bronzor, which is common right from the beginning, but for Ceruledge you need Sinistea, which can only be found in two mid/late-game areas. Again, this wouldn’t be so bad if Charcadet was actually usable, but I digress.

 

[wdcjernigan]

Charcadet is cute, is one of the first Fire-types you’ll encounter in the game, and has a great evolution (either one).

Then you see its stats. Mixed 50/50 attack, 40/40/40 defense and 35 speed put it on par with Patrat in terms of BST.

And finally, evolving it. Both forms require going to Zapapico to get the gear, which is out of the way but not ridiculously so, but also requires 10 of a certain Pokémon drop. For Armarouge, it’s Bronzor, which is common right from the beginning, but for Ceruledge you need Sinistea, which can only be found in two mid/late-game areas. Again, this wouldn’t be so bad if Charcadet was actually usable, but I digress.

I definitely had to look up stuff online and sequence break to get Ceruledge in my Violet playthrough. I didn't wait long either after I saw how Charcadet was getting destroyed. So I guess you are correct.

I still love Carlos the Paldea Champion though

 

[Luminarya]

Charjabug in USUM is a disappointment for me : since it can be evolved by going to Vast Poni Canyon, Charjabug is more powerful in Attack than Special Attack when he's not evolved so that you can quickly make a mistake and you can put EVs in the wrong place...

And when I was in Ula'Ula Island : my Charjabug was starting to be One-Shot by all Trainers despite his high level but the worst was during the Trials and the Team Skull in Konikoni City and the Aether Paradise and little by little I started to not use it at all...And I was not aware of the fact that Charjabug can evolve in the Vast Poni Canyon...

The evolution of Charjabug is too long seriously : 4 island to evolve Charjabug, it's abused but there more Pokemon annoying then Charjabug

 

[R_N]

Charjabug in USUM is a disappointment for me : since it can be evolved by going to Vast Poni Canyon, Charjabug is more powerful in Attack than Special Attack when he's not evolved so that you can quickly make a mistake and you can put EVs in the wrong place...

And when I was in Ula'Ula Island : my Charjabug was starting to be One-Shot by all Trainers despite his high level but the worst was during the Trials and the Team Skull in Konikoni City and the Aether Paradise and little by little I started to not use it at all...And I was not aware of the fact that Charjabug can evolve in the Vast Poni Canyon...

The evolution of Charjabug is too long seriously : 4 island to evolve Charjabug, it's abused but there more Pokemon annoying then Charjabug

I used Charjabug in SM to pretty good effect despite the issues, but...assuming you did mean USUM specifically, you could actually evolve it on Blush Mountain on the third island (the mountain with the power plant).

 

[SwampySwampert]

I definitely had to look up stuff online and sequence break to get Ceruledge in my Violet playthrough. I didn't wait long either after I saw how Charcadet was getting destroyed. So I guess you are correct.

I still love Carlos the Paldea Champion though

Yeah, I caught one pretty early and was confused why it was getting destroyed by the trainers for Katy and Brassius until I looked it up.

While I do like that you can beeline straight to get a really powerful Pokemon if you want with some work (kinda like Elder Scrolls almost where you can go do a sidequest to get a rare item), I do wish it wasn't necessary for it to even be viable.