The Hoenn region was a major turning point in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokémon history, adding staples to the series such as abilities and double battles, the latter of which would go on to be the official way to battle for VGC tournaments in the future. Along with these changes came many Pokémon that defined their generation, such as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Metagross, Salamence, and Gardevoir, who would go on to see use in the many years that followed 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ruby and Sapphire.
While some of these Pokémon have gained some power in following games, whether with the introduction of Hidden Abilities, Mega Evolutions, or changeꦑs to their types, there are also some who are left in the wake of their brethren and have only become weaker as time goes on.
10 ꦛ Stronger: Blaziken ꦺ
Ever since its debut, Blazไiken has been one of the most powerful starters in the entire series, with it being often banned in Smogon tournaments as a result. In generation V, it would gain the Speed Boost Hidden Ability which gave it even more power than it already had, a terrifying combination alongside its ability to learn Baton Pass. Though it absolutely didn't need it, Blaziken would also gain a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mega Evolution in X and Y, giving it a major boost in stats as well as much easier access to Speed Boost. While it wasn't the most popular Mega Evolution, i💛t did see play fairly often and was often a decent way to keep Mega Kangakhan in check.
9 🅷 🥀 Weaker: Shiftry
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Shiftry and Ludicolo are somewhat defined by their relationship with one another, with each only being found in one version across each generation since Ruby and Sapphire. Unꩲlike Ludicolo, which has seen a great deal of pﷺlay in Rain Dance teams in large part because of its excellent Water/Grass-typing, Shiftry hasn't seen the same success. While its Grass/Dark-typing isn't bad, it does leave it very vulnerable to Ice and Fire-type moves that Lucidolo isn't as affected by, as well as not making it particularly efficient against common competitive types like Dragon and Fairy. This, coupled with its middling speed and poor defense stats, means it has largely been left behind by other, more superior Grass-types from its generation.
8 St♈ronger: Zigz🧸agoon
It's unlikely that players expected the Zigzagoon line to ever be a decent choice on any team, aside from some Belly Drum shenanigans that briefly saw potential before players realized that Snorlax did the same thing way better. That would all change in Sword and Shield with the introduction of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Galarian Zigzagoon and its final evolution, Obstagoon.
While its Dark/Normal-typing could have left i🅠t obsolete like Alolan Raticate before it, Obstagoon stands out from the past failures by having three fantastic abilities: Guts, Defiant, and Reckless. It also has its own unique version of Protect in Obstruct, which lowers attacking Pokémon's defense by 2 stages if it is hit with a physical move, addinဣg to its already great attacking potential.
7 Weake൲r: Castform 🤡
Castfo🗹rm has never been a particularly great Pokémon, acting more as a gimmick for weather based teams than anything else. Unfortunately, with the increase in the number of Pokémon with weather setting abilities, as well as Weather Ball now being available to many more Pokémon, it has largely lost any potential it might have had. The main thing holding Castform back, however, is its complete lack of a Sandstorm form, meaning that even if it could be useful on other weather teaꦰms, it can easily be hindered by Max Rockfall or the very common Tyranitar simply entering the battle field.
6 🦩 ಞ Stronger: Flygon
Flygon has had it rough over the years. Despite being very popular with both Pokémon fans and the creative minds behind the series, Flygon has never been able to elevate itself outside of very niche situations. While it did gain access to U-Turn and Tailwind, making it a decent pseudo support Pokémon, it wasn't until it finally gained Dragon Dance in Sun and Moon that it was able to show its full potential as an attacking threat. It might not hold up next to any of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:pseudo legendary Dragon-types, but it is a far cry fr♛om the middling Dragon/Ground-type it once was.
5 Weaker: Sableye ✅ 💯
Sableye's usefulness has gone up and down over the years. Its Prankster Hidden Ability gave it a huge boost in use during Black and White, as its access to many status moves meant it could make full use of the priority gained from this ability. Not only that, but it now was able to use Recover before being attacked, meaning it could easily build up Burn damage while chipping away at HP with Night Shade. Unfortuately, it would lose part of its strengths in X and Y, not only with the addition of Klefki being the superior Prankster user, but also the introduction of the Fairy-type making it finally vulnerable to attacks, as its Dark/Ghost-typing meant that it once had no weaknesses. As of Sword and Shield, it is largely forgoꦚtten as a Prankster Pokémon, as both Whimsicott and Grimmsnarl are the far superior options, due to their typing and stats resp🐼ectfully.
4 🐈 Stronger: Dusclops
Like Banette, Dusclops was, for a while, a pretty bad attempt at introducing new 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ghost-type Pokémon into the series, since they would✃ have to compete with the likes of Gengar in terms of usefulness. While Banette would still stay in the "OK but not great" category of Pokémon despite getting a Mega Evolution, Dusclops would g🦋et a massive boost with the addion of Dusknoir.
Not only was Dusknoir a great Pokémon for a Trick Room team's attack power, Dusclops could also serve as a support Pokémon due to the introduction of Eviolite giving it defense stats that made it extremely hard to take down, as they 🔯were already at a whopping 130 each before the 50% boost from Eviolite.
3 ⛦ ❀Weaker: Breloom
Breloom was once a Grass/168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Fighting-type force to be reckoned with and a threat that most play෴ers were afraid to face in singles battles. With Spore, Substitute, Leech Seed, and Focus Punch, there wasn't much that Breloom couldn't take down in a few hits. However, as Flying-type Pokémon like Staraptor and Talonflame became more widely used, it became less and less useful until it was almost never seen again. Breloom could have benefited greatly from either a Mega Evolution or Gigantamax form to keep it relevant, but as it stands now, it is likely to remain a more obscure choice for the foreseeable future.
2 🦩 Stronger: Ralts 🌺
As the signature Pokémon for Wally, there was a lot of love for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ralts and its final evo💎lution, Gardevoir. While it wasn't as powerful as the likes of Alakazam, Gardevoir was able to hold its place as a good Psychic-type Pokémon even after its secondary evolution, Gallade, was introduced. In generation six, it would get a massive power boost with both its Mega Evolution as well as now being a Psychic/Fairy-type, a type combination that is still very strong in Sword and Shield. It may have lost the use of⭕ the elemental Punches over the years, w✤hich went a long way to giving its movepool some diversity, but with it now being able to learn the likes of Mystical Fire and Energy Ball, it no longer needs those moves to stay relevant.
1 ✨ Weaker: Sharpedo
There were many Pokémon who should have benefitted from a Mega Evolution, and Sharpedo seemed like the perfect candidate for this new form. However, aside from a boost in speed and power, Sharpedo sta▨yed as weak as it always had been despite the perks it has received, such as the Speed Boost Hidden Ability. What holds it back from being a good Pokémon is its awful defense stats, being a pathetic 40 each, meaning it is unlikely to survive an attack without a Focus Sash, and there are far better options for that item than on a Sharpedo.