Rotom-Spin has levitate because it was Electric/Ghost in gen 4 and then none of the other Rotoms got a new ability
Delibird is the one that there just isn't an excuse for. Delbird had Vital Spirit since gen 3
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Underwhelming Single-Staged Pokémon
- Thread starter Samtendo09
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Delibird is the one that there just isn't an excuse for. Delbird had Vital Spirit since gen 3
"the one kid in preschool that shit their pants constantly and would wait proudly for the teacher to discover their "oopsie" " is amazingly descriptive and I love it.Sap Sipper boosts physical Attack, not Special Attack. Seeing as how Drampa only has 60 base Attack, that's not really the best for it.
Just so this isn't a one-liner, let me talk about another Pokemon... or rather, a Pokemon and its regional variant:
Ah, Stunfisk. By far one of the ugliest Pokemon that GameFreak has ever had the audacity to churn out. Its facial expression and cry are very reminiscent of the one kid in preschool that shit their pants constantly and would wait proudly for the teacher to discover their "oopsie". Well, design is subjective, maybe it's secretly a beast in-game!
...is what I would say if it wasn't available just before the seventh gym in BW1 and postgame exclusive in BW2. And even if its availability wasn't so bad, why would you want to use this thing when there are so many better Ground and Electric types available in Unova? The Sandile, Tympole, Blitzle, and Joltik lines are much better than Stunfisk and are available much earlier. For a while, Stunfisk seemed doomed to be just another example of Gen 5's so-called "poor designs".
But then along can Generation 8, which not only gave regional variants to old Pokemon, but it gave new evolutions to some of those regional variants as well! And would you look at that- Stunfisk got a regional variant! I can't wait to see what cool new evolution they gave to Galarian Stunfisk! If the regional variants of Linoone, Farfetch'd, and Corsola could get evolutions, surely Stunfisk is guaranteed to get one as we-
...What do you mean, Galarian Stunfisk is still a single stager?
Well, at least it has a cool new ability that causes it to change its type in Terrains! Maybe that means it has new forms, similar to Castf-
...It doesn't have new forms? Bummer.
Hey, new tutor moves just got added in the DLC, and one of these moves works perfectly with Galarian Stunfisk's new ability! And since regular Stunfisk is a special attacker, Galarian Stunfisk should be able to utilize Terrain Pulse perfe-
...They changed its stats so that it's now a physical attacker?
bangs head on wall
At least in the lower tiers, both forms of Stunfisk aren't half-bad- they actually make decent Stealth Rock setters thanks to their good defensive typings. And Galarian Stunfisk is actually a solid design- I dig the bear trap aspect. But man, did Game Freak screw the pooch when it came to this thing, especially its Galarian form.
My theory for why Stunfisk has Limber is because they either chose its ability before its type was finalized and somehow forgot to change it to something that actually worked in the final game, or they were going to add some new effect to Limber but changed their minds last minute. I can't think of an excuse for Deliberd though.
Actually, I think Sugimori said in an interview around the time of BW1's release that Stunfisk was originally supposed to be part Water type, but it was changed to stand out more from other fish Pokemon. Don't remember exactly when/where he said it, but it is possible that Limber is a leftover from when it was part Water type.
As said before it had Limber in gen 5. Electric types didn't gain immunity to Paralysis until Gen 6.
In Rotom-Fan's defense, in Gen 4 it still had the Ghost/Electric typing, so Levitate was perfectly fine there. They just didn't give it a new ability or a hidden ability in Gen 5 when the Appliances all got new typings so it's stuck with essentially no ability.
Delibird there's no excuse for
Kecleon getting Protean helps its viability in lower tiers. I'd actually like to use one in-game with Protean, I can imagine it'd be extremely fun to use.Haha, I wrote this around the same time as it came out. I didn't watch it until like midnight I think?
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So I've talked about these in another thread but I have zero qualms about shittalking the same mon multiple times and like to complain about badly designed non-evolvers.
For an "intractable" Pokemon Kecleon is some shit. I vaguely get the idea: a bulky Pokemon that changes type when hit makes sense. But in its inception it didn't even get Recover and the design's basis is criminally flawed. Kecleon's stats just don't work. Giant SpD, tiny HP, mediocre Defense, just passable Attack...it's all over the place and feels like something out of GSC.
I get that chameleons are slow, but this doesn't translate well when making a Pokemon. By doing this, you can't exactly play proactively. Kecleon has to not only take multiple hits switching in, but also predict to get a drop of STAB. This is really, really bad, and makes Colour Change a nigh-inarguable weakness. If Kecleon was faster, it would mean you're not having to predict really hard going on the offensive, and the opponent may even be giving you a tool for every hit sustained. Hell, I think this would be really fun to use.
To make Colour Change work, you have to essentially inflate every stat. You could maybe dump an attacking stat, but that's also quite iffy in the context of an ADV Pokemon, as back then you could make it a type of the wrong category and it's fucked. Every stat - especially Speed - has to be high to use it well, and that's ignoring movepool requirements.
For the botched resurrection Kecleon is, I think it's been treated very kindly by Game Freak. It's got Recover, Trick Room, Protean, priority, all sorts. Very, very few Pokemon get Recover after they've been introduced. But with those incredibly flawed stats, Kecleon can't really do much. I think despite everything it's just an Assault Vest user these days? Man.
Had they given it a bit more HP he might have been a bit more usable.
about to fight you behind a dennys
The funny thing is that Stunfisk is pretty popular in Japan. That's why they gave it to Cilan in the anime, and created numerous lines of merchandise based solely around it. It's popularity in Japan is probably why it got a Galarian form in the first place.
I'm going to revive this thread.
Luvdisc: Ah yes, the Pokemon used for the Like reaction. It is known to be a popular Pokemon just because of that... maybe. What makes this thing so bad? Well, let the DP UU analysis of this Pokemon speak for itself:
Spinda: Now, I get what they wanted to do with this. In the older gens, it had some amazing moves that were cool at the time. It felt like it could be a really cool Pokemon! Oh and before I roast this, this might be more bias than truthful, so just take it with a bit of grain of salt. Okay let's see why this is trash. As I said before, it had a pretty cool movepool, but where it had its downfall is its stats and abilities. Its stats are 60 across the board, making it an extremely worse Silvally. And second of all, its abilities. While it was gifted Contrary in BW, its other abilities are really weird. Yeah I think you know where this went at this point.
Luvdisc: Ah yes, the Pokemon used for the Like reaction. It is known to be a popular Pokemon just because of that... maybe. What makes this thing so bad? Well, let the DP UU analysis of this Pokemon speak for itself:
Just look at this thing's stats. They are TRASH, except for Speed. Its only ability, Swift Swim, is ok at the most, but its attacking stats are also awful so it won't be able to do much damage. Instead, they gave it 43 / 55 / 65 bulk. bruh.DP UU Analysis for Luvdisc said:
Spinda: Now, I get what they wanted to do with this. In the older gens, it had some amazing moves that were cool at the time. It felt like it could be a really cool Pokemon! Oh and before I roast this, this might be more bias than truthful, so just take it with a bit of grain of salt. Okay let's see why this is trash. As I said before, it had a pretty cool movepool, but where it had its downfall is its stats and abilities. Its stats are 60 across the board, making it an extremely worse Silvally. And second of all, its abilities. While it was gifted Contrary in BW, its other abilities are really weird. Yeah I think you know where this went at this point.
The two are among the biggest style-over-substance single-stages Pokémon ever.I'm going to revive this thread.
Luvdisc: Ah yes, the Pokemon used for the Like reaction. It is known to be a popular Pokemon just because of that... maybe. What makes this thing so bad? Well, let the DP UU analysis of this Pokemon speak for itself:
Just look at this thing's stats. They are TRASH, except for Speed. Its only ability, Swift Swim, is ok at the most, but its attacking stats are also awful so it won't be able to do much damage. Instead, they gave it 43 / 55 / 65 bulk. bruh.
Spinda: Now, I get what they wanted to do with this. In the older gens, it had some amazing moves that were cool at the time. It felt like it could be a really cool Pokemon! Oh and before I roast this, this might be more bias than truthful, so just take it with a bit of grain of salt. Okay let's see why this is trash. As I said before, it had a pretty cool movepool, but where it had its downfall is its stats and abilities. Its stats are 60 across the board, making it an extremely worse Silvally. And second of all, its abilities. While it was gifted Contrary in BW, its other abilities are really weird. Yeah I think you know where this went at this point.
Especially shameful regarding Spinda. If it got slightly better statline, or have an Ability like Spotty Power (spinning moves gain +1 priority and 1.5x power), it might be a little more memorable.
i might catch some flak for this, idk, but...
this guy right here?
65/60/60 bulk, all of 75 spe which you know it isn't necessarily the worst but it's not great, either. its attack is amazing sure but back prior to the phys/special split dark was special. not that it matters, since its best STAB moves were bite and thief anyway. like... what was this thing for? you don't get it until after the 6th badge, and its strongest physical move by level up was a flaccid version of skull bash -- less power and no defense boost. and then post-split even though razor wind remained one of its strongest level-up moves, it became special as well! and remained that way until it was (justifiably) snapped!
so absol appears well after you've got the cornerstones of your end-game team established and has literally nothing to offer outside of an attack stat it can't even leverage properly, because wild-caught it learns all of eleven moves, none of which are useful for even the very next badge due to its stat spread. it feels like they wrote its dex entry first and then tried to give it a moveset that fit their idea of an augur rather than create a pokemon with an actual use.
most of its TM/HM and breedable moves were likewise special, but at least you couldwaste use your only shadow ball TM on it to actually make it work against tate & liza. kinda.
like they went back and added some better stuff to it later, and the phys/special split benefitted it MASSIVELY, i admit. gen 4 it got sucker punch so it could finally really do something with that STAB considering its mediocre speed tier. it got false swipe then too, which pairs with double team and T-wave well enough to make it great for like... trying to catch better pokemon. its only other job is clicking swords dance and playing sucker punch mindgames which leaves it wide open for statuses that cripple it completely.
mega absol in gen 7 was the only reason to use it in any other capacity, but honestly it feels like even then it was outshone by better megas. now in gen 8 the power creep means that even though it eventually did accrue a very respectable physical movepool its speed tier and poor bulk mean it really has no niche. also, they're still bloating its learnset with special attacks despite megas getting the axe. 115 SpA (as mega) you could at least do something with. 75 in its base form isn't worth entertaining--it's not like it gets nasty plot, and it's not really fast or bulky enough to be a setup sweeper without the priority sucker punch gives it.
i don't even know how they'd fix it. nix most of its SpA for speed? reconfigure it for bulk so it can make use of snarl and all the weird, random status moves it gets access to? whole thing just needs rebuilt from almost the ground up.
shame they wasted such a cool design on what just feels like such a painfully mediocre mon.
this guy right here?
65/60/60 bulk, all of 75 spe which you know it isn't necessarily the worst but it's not great, either. its attack is amazing sure but back prior to the phys/special split dark was special. not that it matters, since its best STAB moves were bite and thief anyway. like... what was this thing for? you don't get it until after the 6th badge, and its strongest physical move by level up was a flaccid version of skull bash -- less power and no defense boost. and then post-split even though razor wind remained one of its strongest level-up moves, it became special as well! and remained that way until it was (justifiably) snapped!
so absol appears well after you've got the cornerstones of your end-game team established and has literally nothing to offer outside of an attack stat it can't even leverage properly, because wild-caught it learns all of eleven moves, none of which are useful for even the very next badge due to its stat spread. it feels like they wrote its dex entry first and then tried to give it a moveset that fit their idea of an augur rather than create a pokemon with an actual use.
most of its TM/HM and breedable moves were likewise special, but at least you could
like they went back and added some better stuff to it later, and the phys/special split benefitted it MASSIVELY, i admit. gen 4 it got sucker punch so it could finally really do something with that STAB considering its mediocre speed tier. it got false swipe then too, which pairs with double team and T-wave well enough to make it great for like... trying to catch better pokemon. its only other job is clicking swords dance and playing sucker punch mindgames which leaves it wide open for statuses that cripple it completely.
mega absol in gen 7 was the only reason to use it in any other capacity, but honestly it feels like even then it was outshone by better megas. now in gen 8 the power creep means that even though it eventually did accrue a very respectable physical movepool its speed tier and poor bulk mean it really has no niche. also, they're still bloating its learnset with special attacks despite megas getting the axe. 115 SpA (as mega) you could at least do something with. 75 in its base form isn't worth entertaining--it's not like it gets nasty plot, and it's not really fast or bulky enough to be a setup sweeper without the priority sucker punch gives it.
i don't even know how they'd fix it. nix most of its SpA for speed? reconfigure it for bulk so it can make use of snarl and all the weird, random status moves it gets access to? whole thing just needs rebuilt from almost the ground up.
shame they wasted such a cool design on what just feels like such a painfully mediocre mon.
It's worse when even in RT MD, despite its cool intro, Absol isn't a good 3rd member, and loses relevancy in story immediately. Heck, Magnemite is stronger and can fly over terrain, and he was an early game recruit (reminds me, I need to make a vid on the Lil guy)i might catch some flak for this, idk, but...
this guy right here?
65/60/60 bulk, all of 75 spe which you know it isn't necessarily the worst but it's not great, either. its attack is amazing sure but back prior to the phys/special split dark was special. not that it matters, since its best STAB moves were bite and thief anyway. like... what was this thing for? you don't get it until after the 6th badge, and its strongest physical move by level up was a flaccid version of skull bash -- less power and no defense boost. and then post-split even though razor wind remained one of its strongest level-up moves, it became special as well! and remained that way until it was (justifiably) snapped!
so absol appears well after you've got the cornerstones of your end-game team established and has literally nothing to offer outside of an attack stat it can't even leverage properly, because wild-caught it learns all of eleven moves, none of which are useful for even the very next badge due to its stat spread. it feels like they wrote its dex entry first and then tried to give it a moveset that fit their idea of an augur rather than create a pokemon with an actual use.
most of its TM/HM and breedable moves were likewise special, but at least you couldwasteuse your only shadow ball TM on it to actually make it work against tate & liza. kinda.
like they went back and added some better stuff to it later, and the phys/special split benefitted it MASSIVELY, i admit. gen 4 it got sucker punch so it could finally really do something with that STAB considering its mediocre speed tier. it got false swipe then too, which pairs with double team and T-wave well enough to make it great for like... trying to catch better pokemon. its only other job is clicking swords dance and playing sucker punch mindgames which leaves it wide open for statuses that cripple it completely.
mega absol in gen 7 was the only reason to use it in any other capacity, but honestly it feels like even then it was outshone by better megas. now in gen 8 the power creep means that even though it eventually did accrue a very respectable physical movepool its speed tier and poor bulk mean it really has no niche. also, they're still bloating its learnset with special attacks despite megas getting the axe. 115 SpA (as mega) you could at least do something with. 75 in its base form isn't worth entertaining--it's not like it gets nasty plot, and it's not really fast or bulky enough to be a setup sweeper without the priority sucker punch gives it.
i don't even know how they'd fix it. nix most of its SpA for speed? reconfigure it for bulk so it can make use of snarl and all the weird, random status moves it gets access to? whole thing just needs rebuilt from almost the ground up.
shame they wasted such a cool design on what just feels like such a painfully mediocre mon.
Also, why the small text?
well, at least MD kept it true to the main series with its level of usefulness.
& it's easier for me to read so that i can actually proofread and edit my posts. the letters' shapes at 15 kind of curl together into a blob for some reason. i have font defaults set on chrome to help but for some reason on PS they don't seem to work!
Even when I was little, I hoped for Evolutions for Plusle and Minun. For some reason I wanted their evolution to have a Division and Multiply symbol on them and the final form being the same Pokemon but with Dragon Typing.
They got some little stuff over the years, and their stats aren't *that bad*. But they are just filler gimmick Pokemon and the first Pikaclones that only exist to cash in on Pikachu's cute design. They don't even appear when you need them. I guess Electrice before evolving is worse than both, but do you really feel like using these even in-game?
There is also the mentioned Spinda. I don't know why it can't learn Superpower. It was Dream World Exclusive and it didn't even make it viable in the bottom of all tiers.
I feel it has potential... If it had a priority 80+ STAB move that decreases all stats by 1 stage or something...
They got some little stuff over the years, and their stats aren't *that bad*. But they are just filler gimmick Pokemon and the first Pikaclones that only exist to cash in on Pikachu's cute design. They don't even appear when you need them. I guess Electrice before evolving is worse than both, but do you really feel like using these even in-game?
There is also the mentioned Spinda. I don't know why it can't learn Superpower. It was Dream World Exclusive and it didn't even make it viable in the bottom of all tiers.
I feel it has potential... If it had a priority 80+ STAB move that decreases all stats by 1 stage or something...
Speaking of Pika-Clones…
Don’t think it rubs you the wrong way if you do like Dedenne, it do have a phenomonal popularity in Asian regions. But don’t let that make you forget the fact that it’s not something worth using beyond early-game.
That’s not the worst part, though. The worst part is how poorly it utilizes the by-then-new Fairy-type in XY.
It got stuff like Nuzzle and even Volt Switch through level up, so it might come in handy as an Electric-type member. As a Fairy-type member, however, you better off using / adding another, better Fairy-type like Sylveon and Mega Mawile instead.
What damaging Fairy-type moves it can learn back in Generation 6? Play Rough. Which runs on its poor base 58 Attack compared to its acceptable 81 base Special Attack. For some dumb reasons, it cannot even learn Dazzling Gleam, a TM move, until Generation 8 as a TR move. And it still cannot learn any Special damaging Fairy-type moves through level-up, not even Fairy Wind or Disarming Voice.
It’s also not bulky enough to exploit the resistance of Fairy-typing, which means unless you managed to make very skillful use of Cheek Pouch (I’m not kidding), it’s not something that could last more than two hits or even one hit either.
In short, it is a Pika-Clone that introduces the Fairy-type alongside others like the Flabébé line and Klefki, but failed to properly utilize it’s Fairy typing in many aspects. Servicable, but by far the worst Pokémon you could think about using as a Fairy-type.
Don’t think it rubs you the wrong way if you do like Dedenne, it do have a phenomonal popularity in Asian regions. But don’t let that make you forget the fact that it’s not something worth using beyond early-game.
That’s not the worst part, though. The worst part is how poorly it utilizes the by-then-new Fairy-type in XY.
It got stuff like Nuzzle and even Volt Switch through level up, so it might come in handy as an Electric-type member. As a Fairy-type member, however, you better off using / adding another, better Fairy-type like Sylveon and Mega Mawile instead.
What damaging Fairy-type moves it can learn back in Generation 6? Play Rough. Which runs on its poor base 58 Attack compared to its acceptable 81 base Special Attack. For some dumb reasons, it cannot even learn Dazzling Gleam, a TM move, until Generation 8 as a TR move. And it still cannot learn any Special damaging Fairy-type moves through level-up, not even Fairy Wind or Disarming Voice.
It’s also not bulky enough to exploit the resistance of Fairy-typing, which means unless you managed to make very skillful use of Cheek Pouch (I’m not kidding), it’s not something that could last more than two hits or even one hit either.
In short, it is a Pika-Clone that introduces the Fairy-type alongside others like the Flabébé line and Klefki, but failed to properly utilize it’s Fairy typing in many aspects. Servicable, but by far the worst Pokémon you could think about using as a Fairy-type.
This Pokemon doesn't entirely count because of VGC 2014, but Pachirisu stands out to me as a bad Pikachu clone and a bad first form Pokemon. It mostly comes down to it's stats. Samtendo09 mentioned above that Dedenne can only use Play Rough off of a low attack stat, Pachirisu is even worse, having 45 in both offenses. This thing is weaker than PIKACHU WITHOUT LIGHT BALL. Sure it's not made of paper like Pikachu but 60/70/90 bulk isn't exactly stellar either. It gets some interesting moves, like Seed Bomb, U-Turn and some decent support moves, but it can only really use the latter because of it's speed stat. It's speed is really the only positive it has. Every other Pikachu clone has useable attack stats. Pachirisu does not.
EDIT: I forgot to mention it's abilities: Run Away is useful if you're too lazy for repels, Pickup is decent but only in game. Those two have pretty much 0 use in competitive. Volt Absorb is it's only good ability and that's mostly for the fact that it gives you an immunity to a type. Pachirisu doesnt'y have much longevity with it's stats.
In game it's not the greatest either, especially in Platinum. It comes later than Shinx who has higher attack. Pikachu is right next door to Wake and can become a Raichu immediately if you have a Thunderstone. Rotom is available in the Chateau and is better in game in every way. Nevermind other good electric types like Jolteon, Electivire or Magnezone, the latter two are later in game than Pachirisu but have much better stats. It fares a little better in DP where it's only competition is Pikachu and Shinx, but those two are definitely better options.
The only other game it appears is in X&Y, but it comes a little too late in that game. Route 12 at a 5% encounter rate. You would be better off using Dedenne than this.
If it wasn't for Se Jun Park and VGC 2014, Pachirishu would be remembered as just another Pikachu clone, and not a very good one at that. If only it had useable attack stats or an evolution.
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I will always love Pachirisu because of VGC 2014, but yeah, it's shite. Almost Ledian levels of bad. How are you even supposed to use this after the third gym of any game? Especially when Shinx is right there in gen 4.
Are there any Pikaclones that actually pull their weight atleast until like the 7th or 8th gym? Morpeko looks like it'd be somewhat decent, maybe Togedemaru.
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The Emolga you can get from the in game trade in BW is alright. But that's probably because of the boosted experience. And Acrobatics.
For most of the Pikachu clones it usually just comes down to eh movepools and stats. Before Emolga the previous two (technically three) were just generic electric types with nothing really interesting for them. Plusle and Minun were pretty decent in double battles but those were only really common in Emerald. And I've already talked about Pachirisu.
Honestly Pikachu clones have gotten more interesting since gen 5 and I am so glad. Just imagine if they released a meh electric type Pikachu clone every generation.
Yanma failed so hard as a single stage mon in Gen's 2-3. You have a nice 390 BST, of which 75 is thrown into Special Attack. This would be fine enough if it had STAB options that ran off of its Special Attack. For its STAB's you got only physical moves, which comes off of 65 base Attack, which admittedly is not much less than its special attack so its ok enough I guess . But In gen 2 your strongest STAB move is either Wing Attack or Aerial Ace at 60 Base power, which is "lmao" at best. Gen 3 you can use Signal Beam, but again, its coming off a attack stat of 65 so it is not really worth using it for its STAB. Ok, you can use Return and Headbutt, but why use Yanma over any other pokemon in the game then? Ok you can teach its some special moves but its strongest special moves are Solarbeam , Psychic/Dream Eater (Gen 3 only) and Giga Drain. I don't think I really need to explain further how bad its special options are.
Now yeah it could be considered to be an early stage bug pokemon to use and get rid off, but outside of a swarm it is a 1% mon in Gen 2 on Route 35 after Goldenrod, so good luck finding it in its introduction generation if you are not looking for it. Yanma can get Speed Boost in Gen 3 but you are not using it in the main story unless you are playing Colosseum which is a small use case anyways.
Idk why you would bother to use this outside of liking its design. I like Farfetch'd but at least it has the benefit of having traded XP for a decent chunk of the games it is in to make up for its poor stats. Yanma has nothing going for it in its introductory generation, and there is no reason to even pick it up besides to be disappointed.
Now yeah it could be considered to be an early stage bug pokemon to use and get rid off, but outside of a swarm it is a 1% mon in Gen 2 on Route 35 after Goldenrod, so good luck finding it in its introduction generation if you are not looking for it. Yanma can get Speed Boost in Gen 3 but you are not using it in the main story unless you are playing Colosseum which is a small use case anyways.
Idk why you would bother to use this outside of liking its design. I like Farfetch'd but at least it has the benefit of having traded XP for a decent chunk of the games it is in to make up for its poor stats. Yanma has nothing going for it in its introductory generation, and there is no reason to even pick it up besides to be disappointed.
QuentinQuonce
formerly green_typhlosion
I think I will always believe that a designer at Game Freak thought it would be cool to have a weaker Dragon-Type Pokémon, brought it to their boss, and their boss said “I like the design but NO dragons are powerful!!” so they made it Bug/Flying and called it a day. Partly because there was just not a new Dragon-Type family in Gen II, so I feel like Game Freak was really drinking the “Dragon-Type Pokémon are special and elusive” kool-aid at the time. TBH I think Kingdra was created after they came up with Clair and thought it would be cool to have the 8th gym leader as a sibling of the champion, but were smart enough not to double up on aces. After all, Kingdra is one of the least creative Gen II cross-evos, looking more like a Seadra-Mega than any of the others.
Why they didn’t make Yanmega Bug/Dragon stumps me a little, since Altaria existed by this point, but I think Yanmega was probably created specifically to have an actually powerful Bug/Flying type. Yanma was the best candidate to do this with, as the only fully evolved Bug/Flying mon who wasn’t a regional bug, which are intended to be weak. And as Bug/Flying is by far the most common and iconic type that Bug-Type Pokémon come in, and they made efforts to buff the type in Gen IV by adding Bug Buzz, X-Scissor, and U-Turn, they wanted Yanmega to be a “hey maybe give Bug-Type Pokémon another try!” advertisement. If it were Bug/Dragon, people would just accredit its strength to its Dragon-Type and treat the part Bug-Type as more of a gimmick.
Maybe that’s what they were thinking, anyway. Truthfully it’s difficult to imagine a Bug/Dragon Pokémon that isn’t a dragonfly, and Yanma and Yanmega are such good dragonfly designs that I feel like we may just never get one, lol.
Dragonflies don't have dragon in their name in japanese, there's little reason to believe gamefreak would have made yanma dragon type unless someone on the team already knew some english back in the day.
Going by name alone, it would be more likely for yanma to be dark type, since one of the kanji in dragonfly can also reference the moon
I doubt they ever for even a moment considered making Yanma a dragon type. It just seems like the most "hey lets have a dragon fly pokemon" "yeah this is cute, let's do it". Likewise I bet the idea of making Yanmega a dragon type didn't cross their mind, just let's make a bigger, ancient yanma