Sustainability of the Pokémon model

[Skore]

Well on the subject of Mega-Evolution, I think it was a mistake to do it at this point.

They already showed in X/Y that they were willing to finally tweak the base stats of pokemon. So why did Beedrill need a Mega Evolution?

They could have just said "new console platform, new rules" and balanced out the power creep via BST tweaking. +10 to a single stat on some mons was nice, but it was such a small change for others that I almost felt cheated by it.

Keeping older pokemon relevant was done in a very clever way in Gen 5 - Hidden Abilities. This revitalised pokemon like Politoed, Vulpix, Venusaur etc without having them boosted to Super Saiyan levels and widened the diversity of VGC and the fan-made metas around the world.

 

[lucariomaster2]

They already showed in X/Y that they were willing to finally tweak the base stats of pokemon. So why did Beedrill need a Mega Evolution?

Although I understand your point of view, I have to say I disagree.

I feel like Pokemon that got stat increases were ones that just needed a little boost to become relevant again - Raichu, for example, always had good support moves such as Encore, Light Screen, and Thunder Wave, and it is now very usable in VGC because it hits that 110 Speed tier.

Something like Beedrill, on the other hand, really needed a Mega. Look at regular Beedrill's stats, with 65/90/40/45/80/75. It will not be hurting anything anytime soon. True, if it got a good Hidden Ability it might have become viable, but then what could happen is, like Politoed and Ninetales, the ability would actually become more important than the Pokemon. With a Mega Evolution, on the other hand, Beedrill can become a dangerous sweeper that would simply not have been possible had it just gotten a new ability or +10 in Attack or Speed.

 

[noobcubed]

I feel like Pokemon that got stat increases were ones that just needed a little boost to become relevant again - Raichu, for example, always had good support moves such as Encore, Light Screen, and Thunder Wave, and it is now very usable in VGC because it hits that 110 Speed tier.

Lol Raichu has become relevant in PU maybe, but still why the hell would you use it in VGC when Thundurus is available? The only Pokemon that got the stat boost where it could have made a difference were Nidoking/Nidoqueen- too bad TrollFreak added it on to the wrong attack stat...

In broader terms: balancing video gaming's biggest character roster in such a way that all options are equally viable is a ludicrous fantasy. Mega-evolutions and hidden abilities are temporary solutions to this problem only - the more mega-evolutions there are the less each one is individually special. Already we are at the point where mega-evolutions exist which are not viable (or at least, not good) in OU, partly because although they have received a boost relative to other Pokemon they have not received a boost relative to the other Megas with which they are competing for a team slot. And of course the Pokemon that don't receive any of the handouts that GameFreak throws around like confetti are still going to be lagging behind. Sure Altaria might have been saved from obscurity - now what are GameFreak planning to do with Seviper? Mega-Seviper maybe? Well it would probably still be pretty mediocre by Mega-evolution standards.

 

[Codraroll]

Thing is, all Pokémon can not be - and should not try to be - equally strong or viable in play. Not only would it be semi-impossible due to the sheer number of obtainable Pokémon, but there's also the in-game aspect to consider. Namely, players should be incentivized to catch some Pokémon early in the game, and pick up stronger 'mons as they progress. If all Pokémon in the game were equally strong, players might as well stick to their first captures, since the rest of the game roster wouldn't do anything any better than any first random set of six you pick up. And before you ask, no, it's not feasible to give a competitive niche to every Pokémon. Too many niches would just lead to a metagame of niches, and where two or more Pokémon are sharing a niche, one would be bound to do the job better than the other(s).

This does have the effect of centralizing competitive play around the strongest Pokémon, which ends up requiring a hefty dose of moderation (tiers, most notably) for balance to prevail, but it's still a really fun game nonetheless. Besides, competitive play doesn't sell the franchise, so metagame balance is really of second importance when the games are designed.

This is to say not all Pokémon can be relevant at all times on the competitive scene. But they don't really have to either, they usually come to the spotlight in the games of their own introduction, and for marketing purposes that's where their relevance actually counts. GameFreak will have to do a careful balancing between "featured newcomers" and old fan favourites, though, and there's always a question of who to feature, but I think they have done a decent job so far. If you look at which old Pokémon got new features in generations after they were introduced, the mix is actually pretty good. Some Pokémon got new evolutions in Gen. IV. The strongest, most notable recipients of new Hidden Abilities in Gen. V were a completely different bunch of monsters, and yet others have gotten Megas in Gen. VI. GameFreak doesn't give new tools to the same batch of Pokémon in every generation, it seems like they've done a decent job at rotating until now. Question remains, though, how long they can keep going at it.