I used to hate Levitate until I started playing competitively and realized Ground-type moves are everywhere. It sucks for some of the weaker Pokemon like Mismagius that could use something more useful for their playstyle, but I'm not going to complain much about Hydreigon having it seeing he can come in for free when I expect an Earthquake to come.
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RTTP: The Pokemon. All 721 of them, and counting.
- Thread starter Watch Da Birdie
- Start date
I used to hate Levitate until I started playing competitively and realized Ground-type moves are everywhere. It sucks for some of the weaker Pokemon like Mismagius that could use something more useful for their playstyle, but I'm not going to complain much about Hydreigon having it seeing he can come in for free when I expect an Earthquake to come.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Levitate is fantastic on Gengar and Weezing. It mitigates one of their core weaknesses.
For Weezing this is super important because he's a defensive Pokemon and Poison is kind of crappy as a defensive type.
For Weezing this is super important because he's a defensive Pokemon and Poison is kind of crappy as a defensive type.
Aaronrules380
Member
I'd say offensive pokemon also get a ton of mileage from Levitate since it means with good prediction you can switch in without taking damage, which is huge for a pokemon who can't really take a hit in the first place (especially if they're also a life orb user)
I actually think Poison is a good defensive type considering it has key resistances to Fighting and Fairy. Psychic is a garbage type now, so Ground is the only real threat they have these days.
The problem is that none of the Pokemon in that typing are good enough to tank because they have crappy stats all around.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
This line is just okay. I like the more robot design of Magnemite.
Aaronrules380
Member
M-Venusaur and Amoongus would like to say hello
Also, ground is one of the most common attack types used in the metagame, so a weakness to ground is a big deal. Which makes levitate a great ability in general
Poison is actually a swell defensive type these days. Sure, it's weak to URFQUAKE and URFQUAKE is everywhere, but the only other weakness is Psychic (Incredibly uncommon) and it resists Fairy, Poison, Bug, Grass, and Fighting. Fairy and Fighting are super good resists, Grass ain't half bad, and even Bug can be useful because of how common U-turn is. And it's immune to Toxic and absorbs Toxic Spikes!
The worst problems facing defensive poison types are they tend to have lowish stats. Mega Venusaur demonstrates how useful Poison is with some great stats.
Aaronrules380
Member
Actually, I wonder how a Mega Weezing that keeps levitate and gives it a huge Sp. Def boost would do. Since its poor sp def is it's main weakness
Charlie0108
Member
I hate when people say stuff like this but the Klang line really don't look like Pokemon to me at all.
The only reason I say it's a bad ability is because GameFreak has it in its head that once a Pokemon has Levitate, that's the only ability in can get (with some few exceptions). Once GameFreak gets over that I think it's fine but for now, I have a low opinion on it, yes.
Aaronrules380
Member
Yep, Mega Venusaur is currently the 5th most popular mega in OU, and it'd likely be high if Talonflame wasn't so popular in that meta.It's only behind the two M-Charizards, M-Scizor, and M-Lopunny
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
It actually does the "repeating mons" concept much better and is more sensible (and only topped by Barbaracle).
If you actually put more than one gear it improves the workload (i.e. a bunch of gears is better than a single large gear). It makes more sense than "haha let's put three magnets together!" completely missing the idea on how magnets work.
Though I really dislike part of Klinklang's design - it's the weird circular gear at the bottom.
If you actually put more than one gear it improves the workload (i.e. a bunch of gears is better than a single large gear). It makes more sense than "haha let's put three magnets together!" completely missing the idea on how magnets work.
Though I really dislike part of Klinklang's design - it's the weird circular gear at the bottom.
Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
Magnets are known to attract to one another generally, three magnet Pokemon attracting to one another makes sense to me.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
yeah but I feel like it makes it a bit shallow. Like "oh just three magnets because they stuck together".
Magnezone is just a UFO. That's pretty cool.
Just because it's an obvious progression doesn't make it bad.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Nothing wrong with obvious evolutions.
Look at how many tadpoles to frogs we have, or larvae to imago
Look at how many tadpoles to frogs we have, or larvae to imago
Earthquake is literally the most common competitive move in singles. It's powerful. It's ubiquitous. Unless its a Rotom Fan situation having Levitate is never a bad idea.
Also Psychic moves are seeing more of an uptake as Poison becomes more common as a check for Fairy.
Also Psychic moves are seeing more of an uptake as Poison becomes more common as a check for Fairy.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
I'm curious which Psychic moves? I assume Psychic, Amnesia, and Psybeam.
DeployThatPizza
Member
More along the lines of Psychic/Psyshock.
Yep. I mean, what else is there? Stored Power? Synchronize? (Both of these can actually ruin teams) Psystrike?
EDIT: I have seen a decent amount of Zen Headbutt recently. A lot of surprising things learn that.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Why is Amnesia ignored? I always thought the sharply raising and lowering attacks were the best in the series.
Amnesia raises Special Defense.
Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
#602 - Tynamo
Electric
Tynamo is the rarest Pokemon in Chargestone Cave and could be seen as a parallel to Magikarp, though rarer, due to having an extremely limited movepool and poor stats until it evolves---unlike Magikarp it can learn TMs, but only moves that it learns naturally anyway, and happens to have two evolutions as opposed to one. It's not quite as weak as Magikarp however, but it's the closest analogue to it among the Unova Pokemon which surprises me since it seems like an archetype Game Freak would definitely seek to emulate 1:1 again. The unique thing about this family is that they always have Levitate removing their weakness to Ground, their only weakness, and thus as of Generation VI they've become the only family to lack any weaknesses under normal conditions since Sableye and Spritomb became weak to the Fairy-type, and unless Electric suddenly gains a new weakness this probably won't change anytime soon.
I love this line because they appear to be based off of sea creatures, but aren't actually of the Water-type and Game Freak needs more of that---instead it seems to "swim" through the air. Personally I think a later Pokemon handles the non-Water fish motif a bit better by still living in water, which Game Freak should do more to diversify Pokemon you'll find while surfing or diving, but it's a step in the right direction and another example of how they appeared to realized Water-types were getting a bit out of hand---though then again this Generation pretty much made rain teams pretty overpowered. There seems to be two camps when it comes to this line, are they eels, or are they lampreys, though I think the line incorporates elements of both with the lamprey elements coming into play when it evolves but at this point it appears to be a leptocephaelus, the transparent larval form of certain eels. Though its electrical abilities of course bring to mind the electric eel, but that isn't actually an eel despite the name but rather a knifefish. When it was first revealed I also thought it was supposed to be a rod, otherwise known as skyfish, which are artifacts that appear on film which have been thought to be by some circles cryptids or extra-terrestrial lifeforms. Notice it also happens to resemble one of those electrical tubes you see in generic labs---and it kind of looks like sperm too.
Despite not using one in the games Tynamo ended up being Elesa's ace Pokemon in the show when she was fighting against Ash, and while it proved to be very fast and surprisingly powerful with Tackle one hit from Pikachu's Iron Tail managed to take it out. God, I want to forget Elesa's Gym Battle.
#603 - Eelektrik
Electric
At Level 39 Tynamo evolves into Eelektrik and finally becomes capable of naturally learning moves---an ability it immediately loses again if it evolves since it evolves via an Evolution Stone. Though it'll miss out on a few of its earlier moves it learns prior to Level 39, it learns some useful ones further on up and actually has decent stats now to take advantage of them and its lack of any weaknesses. I think its kind of funny how the level cap has moved up so much where Magikarp evolving at Level 20 was seen as a decent challenge to score Gyrados, but here you almost have to raise Tynamo to twice that amount to have it evolve into a weaker Pokemon.
But Eelektrik is one of those Pokemon who is easy to forget because it's squeezed between two more interesting Pokemon, plus seeing Tynamo as the Magikarp-equivalent most will think off the top of their head it only has one evolution where it receives a respectable power jump as opposed to two---I wouldn't be surprised if there are folks out there who think it goes Tynamo -> Eelektross. While Tynamo mainly seemed to be an eel here Eelektrik takes on a more lamprey-like appearance with its circular-fanged mouth, though despite lampreys popularly being seen as sucking the blood of their victims (most actually don't) it's a bit of a shame Game Freak didn't give it Leech Life. This family starting with Eelektrik becomes a bit infamous for their divisive Gen V/Gen VI animations, with Gen V showing them bouncing on the ground while Gen VI, like the majority of Levitating Pokemon, have it floating through the air like its Ability suggests it would move like. Some like the former, some like the latter, and the argument only gets more heated upon its evolution. Doggie mentioned earlier in the thread that only the localized name includes "eel" but he's incorrect, the Japanese name is usually romanized as "Shibibeel" and thus seems to include "eel" as well.
Eelektrik popped up in a small Tournament near the end of Best Wishes and was taken out by Pikachu like in a single frame. That's it.
#604 - Eelektross
Electric
Eelektrik evolves into Elektross through the use of the Thunder Stone, the first and only Pokemon to do so since Pikachu and Eevee in Generation I. Ghetsis uses one when you fight him in Black and White and the sequels and I recall it being rather difficult, lacking any weaknesses and having a pretty diverse movepool to deal with. While it can be dangerous offensively, it's held back a bit by its rather slow Speed and despite lacking any weaknesses it also doesn't have too many resistances so fast and offensive Pokemon shouldn't have too much trouble dealing with it, but you'll still need to be careful around it because as mentioned before for an Electric-type Pokemon its moveset is fairly diverse. As much as I think Levitate is part of its character, and helps it in a lot of ways by making it resistant to Earthquake, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes without the drawback of being weak to Stealth Rock, it's one of those Pokemon that perhaps would also be interesting if it got a different Hidden Ability to mix things up, perhaps one that could curb its low Speed a bit more. But now that it's the sole weakness-less Pokemon I don't see Game Freak changing that anytime soon.
Despite being such an unorthodox design Eelektross is another Generation V Pokemon that seems to be a fan favorite, probably due to his unique gameplay in addition to his iconic appearances under the command of both Ghetsis and Emmet in Black and White. It becomes even more of a lamprey-like creature, capable of using its teeth to deliver powerful electric shocks, though it also begins to take on a somewhat reptilian-appearance with the introduction of rudimentary arms and flippers that in the official art and Generation V seemingly can function as legs allowing it land mobility. It seems Game Freak didn't really think much about where this Pokemon lives, in Black and White only Tynamo could be found in a completely dry area though in Black 2 and White 2 it and Eelektrik could also be encountered in the Seaside Cave living near water. According to the PokeDex it seems Eelektross is amphibious as it is said to be capable of crawling out of the ocean to attack its prey, and thus you have to wonder why it has Levitate since it doesn't really fit it mechanically. In Generation VI, so it can compete in Sky Battles, it's always shown floating through the air like one of those Japanese fish wind socks but it really just looks more like its swimming such as the majority of fish-based Pokemon do---I'm interested if at one point this family were actually part-Water with its removal and Levitate elements added late in the design phrase and not an inherent part of this Pokemon's design from the get go.
Eelektross appeared in the show under the command of Emmet, his signature Pokemon (and it seems most fan works depicts it as such as well) and was used to help power a maintence car allowing him and Ingo to catch up to Team Rocket who had hijacked a subway car and later had a friendly battle against Ash's Tepig and Cilan's Pansage alongside Ingo's Chandelure, quickly defeating the two of them with Thunderbolt after Chandelure immobilized them with Psychic. Later one had a small appearance in the Unova League where it was taken out by Cameron's Ferrothorn.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Are special attacks bad or something?
Oh and didn't realize Tynamo evolved into Elektrik. I recall Hugh's Elektross being troublesome in Black 2 and the thing knows Flamethrower for some reason. Didn't realize they're pure electric and not water/electric. Interesting info about them being the first to evolve with a Thunderstone since Gen I. I guess Game Freak just forgot about the stone throughout the generations.
balladofwindfishes
Member
They're totally lampreys
I used to hate these guys and held them up as some of the worst of Gen V due to being intentionally designed to confuse people on typing, but as time has gone on I've warmed up to them and consider the line to be one of Unova's strongest designs.
Especially as they are rare and used mostly as boss Pokemon, so having confusing typing is more tolerable
I used to hate these guys and held them up as some of the worst of Gen V due to being intentionally designed to confuse people on typing, but as time has gone on I've warmed up to them and consider the line to be one of Unova's strongest designs.
Especially as they are rare and used mostly as boss Pokemon, so having confusing typing is more tolerable
Aaronrules380
Member
Raising either defensive stat is incredibly rare in competitive play, with the noteworthy exception of calm mind since it raises special attack as well
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
Eelektrik is kinda forgetable. With that said you had to stick to pre-evos until it learned the good stuff.
Oh definitely, I love Magnezone.
It's not the obvious progression I'm harping on, it's the lack of... "anything".
nah those are fine, like I said I feel "clumping magnets together" feels unsubstantial.
Oh definitely, I love Magnezone.
It's not the obvious progression I'm harping on, it's the lack of... "anything".
nah those are fine, like I said I feel "clumping magnets together" feels unsubstantial.
Increasing attack, special attack, and speed are always good.
But just increasing Special Defense or Defense? With a few exceptions, much less useful. The problem is you're increasing your defensive stats as you're getting hit, making the increase kinda pointless unless you have recovery.
Amnesia was once the best move in the game though. Back during RBY, Special Attack and Special Defense were governed by one stat, Special. So Amnesia basically was equivalent to modern Amnesia+Nasty Plot.
There is no Gen 3 Water/Electric line.
You might be thinking of Gen 2's Chinchou and Lanturn.
Yeah, that's it. My bad. They feel like gen 3 Pokemon if that makes any sense.
I fucking love these guys.
Not uncommon with some Gen 2 Pokemon thanks to being more easily obtainable in Gen 3. The number of people who assumed Skarmory was a gen 3 Pokemon is hilarious.
Aaronrules380
Member
The one situation I could see where a defense boosting move could be very useful is if they let Blissey learn Iron Defense or Cotton Guard somehow, since a +6 defense Blissey would be pretty much unkillable until softboiled runs out
TriggerShy
Member
I've always hated that about Pokemon games. In DP, you can't get Regigigas without the other 3 Regis. That's crap! It's a new Pokemon. It should be obtainable in the first version. It was good that they added them in Platinum, but still.
Nah, there are already some examples were defense boosting is good (Always in singles; in doubles it's completely fucking pointless).
Calm Mind, Curse, and Bulk Up are often nice because they build both a defensive stat and an offensive stat. Bulk Up Talonflame of all things has seen use.
And then there's Sigilyph and Cosmic Power. Hell hath no fury like a Magic Guard Sigilyph holding Burn Orb with Cosmic Power, Psycho Shift, Stored Power, and Roost.
Aaronrules380
Member
I'm aware of the ones that also raise an offensive stat. Less aware of cosmic power strats.
Also, I'm running calcs on a theoretical +6 def Blissey, and the only OU pokemon who seems capable of 2 hitting it is Mega Medicham, who has a 0.4% chance. Even in Ubers you'd need a boosted pokemon to 2 hit it.
So what I'm saying is, we need a belly drum equivalent that ups defense instead of attack, and then we need to give it to Blissey
I guess they're gimmicky as hell, but anyone who's played Ranbats on Pokemon Showdown will know how terrifying Sigalyph gets with that strat.
NO STAHP YOU'LL DESTROY US ALL
TriggerShy
Member
Aaronrules380
Member
Fine. Instead we'll get Mega Blissey, where all 100 of the mega stat boost is poured into its defense stat. Also regenerator as an ability
Xux
Member
I don't have much to say about these Pokemon...not that I say much a lot anyway.
Joltik's cute. Galvantula's neat but kinda boring; Electric-types feel kinda stale for some reason. Maybe it's 'cause Pikachu and Pikachus every generation or something.
Ferroseed and Ferrothorn are fine. Someone said they thought they were Gen IV Pokemon and I can see that; there's a...plainness to them. Compared to the Gen I-y-II-y strangeness of Forretress, I don't find them that neat. Forretress, I feel like, is a hidden gem that I forget that I like. These too are pretty plain illustrations of a concept that's done alright.
Klinklang never really worked with me. I like weird, abstract Pokemon but this is just so...plain. Mono-Steel just leaves a blank taste in my mouth, the "it needs to constantly do a thing to stay alive angle" is grimmer than most Ghost-types, the limbless "head" archtype that floats around is hard to picture as a Pokemon I'd have on a team. (I don't think I said this but those little arms saved Vanilluxe.) The spike ring is weird, too; is it magnetic? How does it stay in place and in sync? It's annoying how it's centered to the body in the sprite but other appearances have it centered to the red gear. Remember when I said I didn't have much to say?
Eelectross is I dunno. The mouth is a lame cartoony facsimile of a lamprey's mouth. I like the concept of an aquatic creature not being Water-type and I wish there was more of that. The not-mouth hands and the dorsal tendril are neat but otherwise I feel like the design's almost incomplete.
Next Pokemon's neat. I think it's still part of this boring patch that a sick chandelier Pokemon breaks up but doesn't end 'til we get to the sick polar bear. Then it's cool guys 'til the legends.
Joltik's cute. Galvantula's neat but kinda boring; Electric-types feel kinda stale for some reason. Maybe it's 'cause Pikachu and Pikachus every generation or something.
Ferroseed and Ferrothorn are fine. Someone said they thought they were Gen IV Pokemon and I can see that; there's a...plainness to them. Compared to the Gen I-y-II-y strangeness of Forretress, I don't find them that neat. Forretress, I feel like, is a hidden gem that I forget that I like. These too are pretty plain illustrations of a concept that's done alright.
Klinklang never really worked with me. I like weird, abstract Pokemon but this is just so...plain. Mono-Steel just leaves a blank taste in my mouth, the "it needs to constantly do a thing to stay alive angle" is grimmer than most Ghost-types, the limbless "head" archtype that floats around is hard to picture as a Pokemon I'd have on a team. (I don't think I said this but those little arms saved Vanilluxe.) The spike ring is weird, too; is it magnetic? How does it stay in place and in sync? It's annoying how it's centered to the body in the sprite but other appearances have it centered to the red gear. Remember when I said I didn't have much to say?
Eelectross is I dunno. The mouth is a lame cartoony facsimile of a lamprey's mouth. I like the concept of an aquatic creature not being Water-type and I wish there was more of that. The not-mouth hands and the dorsal tendril are neat but otherwise I feel like the design's almost incomplete.
Next Pokemon's neat. I think it's still part of this boring patch that a sick chandelier Pokemon breaks up but doesn't end 'til we get to the sick polar bear. Then it's cool guys 'til the legends.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Just some dumb aliens left before we get to the best 
There is one metagame where Eelektross left a really good impression on me: Pikachu Cup. In a metagame infested with Elecitivire and Stunfisk, and only Electric-types allowed, Eelektross was a god send! Also, Drain Punch tended to make it last for a while, and it was a good Electivire teammate itself to dodge Earthquakes!
Hell, even Eelektrik was usable there. A few people were using it with Eviolite and support moves like Acid Spray to really screw stuff up!
Hell, even Eelektrik was usable there. A few people were using it with Eviolite and support moves like Acid Spray to really screw stuff up!
TriggerShy
Member
God Dayumm
Banned
I always spoil myself the new pokemon before release and thought Tynamo was the Luvdisc equivalent. Imagine my surprise when it evolved. Same with Trapinch
Funny, I have no idea what led me to use them
Funny, I have no idea what led me to use them
The first time I saw this thing I knew I had to have one. It was just so out there and simultaneously cool with its battle sprite somehow simultaneously evoking the idea of its inspiration - a killer deep sea creature -- and a doofy bipedal companion (never forget the fin feet in Gen 5).
My only desire is for it to get a mega with a decent speed buff. :lol
My only desire is for it to get a mega with a decent speed buff. :lol
Paltheos
Member
Pokemon isn't balanced in this manner. Critical hits ignore defensive boosts, and in practice dedicating a move slot to boost only the user's immediate staying power is a poor choice. They limit the user more than his opponent as he seldom poses a greater threat and has a vested interest to not switch out. Moves like Will-o-wisp and Reflect/Light Screen that help the whole team are generally stronger defensive options because they keep switching as an option without losing as much (and defend against critical hits), and boosting attacks like Bulk Up and Calm Mind that raise both offense and defense pressure an opponent more than just a defensive boost because now the opponent doesn't just have to hope for a critical hit or to Roar or whatever. He's gotta be able to take a boosted attack which his team is less likely to have accounted for. A big, defensive boost isn't as effective as smaller, different boosts because a defensive boost can leave both sides still equal (and it does, over long sets - crits are inevitable), and it uses a moveslot to marginal benefit to the rest of the team.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
I always figured Tynamo was a Lancelet.
Never could understand how Ghetsis' Elektross could hit so hard neutrally with Flamethrower on one of my pokes that had good SPDEF. 31 IVs ain't cutting it.
Never could understand how Ghetsis' Elektross could hit so hard neutrally with Flamethrower on one of my pokes that had good SPDEF. 31 IVs ain't cutting it.