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If You Could Change a Pokémon...

Why has nobody mentioned the most obvious one

Sunflora: Grass/Fire

That probably should've been different to begin with yeah, and that's one of my biggest wishes, but it's not too late to get it. I can easily see Sunflora getting a regional variant in a future game that pushes the sun theme even further to the point of being able to channel fire.

I'd lower the evolution level for the entire Deino line from 50 and 64 to like 30 and 40.

40's too low for a FE pseudo-legend, 30 and 50 would be better.

And there's a lot of Unova Pokemon that had late evolution levels because they weren't available until late in the game, Hydreigon is just the most egregious. Larvesta evolves into Volcarona at Lv. 59, Rufflet/Vullaby evolves into Braviary/Mandibuzz at Lv. 54, Pawniard evolves into Bisharp at Lv. 52, and Mienfoo evolves into Mienshao at Lv. 50. A lot of these Lv. 50+ evolutions would probably be better off retconned lower.
 
That probably should've been different to begin with yeah, and that's one of my biggest wishes, but it's not too late to get it. I can easily see Sunflora getting a regional variant in a future game that pushes the sun theme even further to the point of being able to channel fire.



40's too low for a FE pseudo-legend, 30 and 50 would be better.

And there's a lot of Unova Pokemon that had late evolution levels because they weren't available until late in the game, Hydreigon is just the most egregious. Larvesta evolves into Volcarona at Lv. 59, Rufflet/Vullaby evolves into Braviary/Mandibuzz at Lv. 54, Pawniard evolves into Bisharp at Lv. 52, and Mienfoo evolves into Mienshao at Lv. 50. A lot of these Lv. 50+ evolutions would probably be better off retconned lower.

Briviary/Mandibuzz (Lvl 38), Bisharp (Lvl 42) and Mienshao at lvl 33. Volcarona lvl 45

Deino > Lvl 35 Zweilous > lvl 52 Hydreigon.

Alternatively, i would let Dreepy evolve into Drakloak at lvl 42 (Instead of 50) and then into Dragapult at lvl 55 (Instead of 60).
 
I've always had an extremely conservative mindset about changing Pokémon types, which upon reflection, I think is because Game Freak themselves have always been extremely conservative about it, with it having only occurred three times throughout the entire history of the series, and only in one-off or small-dose instances, at that. So perhaps it's not that I don't find the idea interesting or tempting - just futile.

With this in mind, I went through a list of all Pokémon today, and tried to identify the ones that I might adjust if given free reign to do so. There are also some common suggestions from other fans that I am sympathetic to, which I've included as well. That being said, I also believe that the designers at Game Freak do think carefully about each Pokémon's profile and the role they want it to fulfill, so this is not to say that I think they existing type settings are "wrong," per se.

Blastoise: Water/Steel - Until lately, I've always found the "it has steel cannons" logic somewhat tenuous, but you know what? When you think "cannons," you unequivocally think of big, bulky, iron blasters. Cannons are a part of Blastoise's core concept (and in a more artificial way than, say, Octillery, which just emulates a cannon), and it's a very defensively oriented Pokémon, which being part-Steel would reinforce. At any rate, even if the logic is tenuous, I think it has more grounding than, you know, Dialga's Steel type, so...

Ekans and Arbok: Poison/Dark - A common suggestion, but I think it would give them a nice buff while also giving Kanto some much-needed native Dark types, and Arbok is fairly intimidating.

Ninetales: Fire/Ghost - Over time, the Ghost type has been reconceptualized somewhat to refer not specifically to spirit-like entities and the afterlife, but to spectral energy and invocations of the dead. In addition to giving the Kanto region a Ghost-type that isn't Gengar or a regional import, and Agatha at least one other fucking team member that matches her supposed specialty, I feel like the Ghost type would fit reasonably well into Ninetales's lore, more so than the sometimes suggested Psychic type (which would unfortunately have a conceptual overlap with Delphox). Ninetales "uses supernatural abilities to control fire," can cast wretched curses, and was allegedly formed by the reincarnation of nine unified saints - all pretty spiritual stuff. I'm also thinking of how Vulpix was found on Mt. Pyre in the Gen 3 games, and how there are statues of Ninetales at top floor of the Pokémon Tower in LGPE. I don't think that I would change Alolan Ninetales into an Ice/Ghost-type, however. Fairy still feels more appropriate to me there, perhaps because its transformation was caused by the environment that Vulpix was moved to. This makes me think it has a more terrestrial kind of supernatural energy, rather than spectral.

Zubat, Golbat, and Crobat: Dark/Flying - Again, not really my idea, but the argument resonates with me.

Golduck: Water/Psychic - Perhaps the most obvious. I truly do wonder what Game Freak's rationale for this is. At any rate, I think I would keep the Psychic type exclusive to Golduck, with the idea being that all Psyduck has are the headaches and the occasional outbursts of power - those are latent psychic abilities that only truly manifest upon evolution.

Geodude, Graveler, and Golem: Rock - A more uncommon suggestion. I'm not really sure what about them really justifies their Ground type - they literally are just rocks - and I feel like taking it away would actually be kind of a buff for them (no more 4x weakness to Water and Grass), while differentiating their profile that bit more from their generation-mates Onix and Rhyhorn.

Farfetch'd: Fighting/Flying - Combat is simply too clear an element of Farfetch'd's profile for me to not at least consider this. It would be good for Kanto's type diversity, as I feel that Pidgeot, Fearow, and Dodrio have the Normal/Flying-type niche pretty thoroughly covered and that Farfetch'd doesn't really add anything to that. At the same time, literally all but one of Kanto's Fighting types are mono-Fighting, so it would be good to spread that around a little. Obviously we do now have Galarian Farfetch'd, but I think these ideas could coexist - my logic is that Galarian Farfetch'd loses its Flying type as a result of having to lug around the large leeks found in Galar, which cause it to overdevelop its muscles and become too heavy even for very limited flight. As a trade-off, Galarian Farfetch'd gains the capacity for evolution.

Hypno: Psychic/Dark - Between Alakazam and Mewtwo, I think the mono-Psychic niche in Kanto is effectively covered and optimized for doing what it does best. This would differentiate Hypno's profile, give Kanto another native Dark-type, and would fit in with Hypno's very ominous lore.

Seadra: Water/Dragon - It gains the type upon evolution anyway, so why not just cut to the chase? Kanto has no shortage of mono-Water options (Kingler, Seaking, Vaporeon; plus Blastoise and Golduck if we ignore my other suggestions), but only one real Dragon-type option (Dragonite). I get that the Dragon type is supposed to be rare, but adding one more isn't going to change that, and Lance was already made to use one on his team in LGPE. It's even categorized as the "Dragon Pokémon"!

Lugia: Water/Flying - I think even Game Freak must know on some level that their reasoning for making Lugia a Psychic type was somewhat flimsy. "Psychic was seen as a powerful type, and we wanted Lugia to be seen as powerful" is arbitrary and self-perpetuating. But Lugia is the guardian of the sea, and can conjure massive thunderstorms. The Water type would just be more honest here.

Skitty and Delcatty: Normal/Fairy - Look, these two just suck, and got directly rehashed by Glameow and Purugly in Gen 4. Give them something.

Aron, Lairon, and Aggron: Steel - I'm not... sure I see where "Rock" comes into play with this family. Maybe it's simply a matter of balance, and the designers wanted this line to have devastating, exploitable weaknesses to Fighting and Ground, in which case... that's fair; I'm not opposed to some type determinations being made with regard to battle balance. I'm just saying that they don't really look the part.

Volbeat and Illumise: Bug/Fairy - I dunno man, it's more interesting than mono-Bug and I think if Cutiefly can manage it despite just being a plain old bee fly, then a pair of fireflies, with their enchanting lights and nighttime dances, should probably be able to swing the same feat.

Gulpin and Swalot: Normal/Poison - An odd choice for an odd family. Gulpin and Swalot have always struck me as strange - they seem like a parallel to Grimer and Muk, but are far more natural and far less hazardous than sentient, irradiated industrial sludge that was never meant to be. They're autonomous stomachs - an extremely common organ across many kinds of lifeforms, and something about them feels plain. This could have been a good opportunity for the otherwise-unused Normal/Poison-type combination.

Wailord: Water/Flying - I am not tremendously attached to this suggestion, but I at least felt like mentioning it. Wailord is based partially on a blimp, and is notable for its low body weight relative to its size. It is categorized as the "Float Whale Pokémon" which can maybe be taken two ways, and one of its Pokédex entries also talk about it leaping out of the water in order to herd prey, which sounds a lot like using the Flying-type move Bounce, which it can indeed learn.

Absol: Dark/Fairy - I feel like it's not entirely fair for Absol's type to be determined solely by human misconceptions about it being a harbinger of doom. I think that this combination would better capture the complex duality of its existence, and personally speaking, Absol has always looked rather angelic to me, which is of course only further amplified by the look of its Mega Evolution.

Glalie: Ice/Rock - Pokédex entries literally talk about it being a rock that covers itself in glacial armor, and it certainly looks the part. As a very radical suggestion, I would also propose detaching it evolutionarily from Snorunt. Glalie could be a standalone species, while Snorunt could evolve exclusively into Froslass, whose lore is a much more cohesive match for Snorunt's characterization.

Huntail and Gorebyss: Water/Dark - Much like Wailord, this isn't an idea that I feel particularly committed to, but they are both vicious predators from the aphotic zone. Dark could be applied them both pretty easily, and in Gorebyss's case, I feel like that would be a fun contrast with its appearance.

Kricketot and Kricketune: Normal/Bug - This isn't going to revolutionize them or anything, but it's nice to get in an unused type combination, and I can think of few bugs more plain than crickets. Plus, the technical property of sound mostly happens to fall under the Normal-type banner (see also the Whismur family), and that's the core concept with these two.

Luxray: Electric/Dark - Sure, why not? Give it a little extra oomph behind the several Dark-type moves it can learn, make it a bit more unique. They're based on lynxes, which hunt at night - the way that their eyes reflect at that time is what influenced the mythology about them being able to see through objects, which Luxray takes direct inspiration from. So the nocturnal nature of the base animal is a key part of the design here, and I think that probably warrants the Dark type as much as anything. Again, Dialga and Palkia got away with a lot less. (No one @ me about the "states of matter" theory, 'cause I'll tell you right now, I don't buy it.)

Finneon and Lumineon: Water/Fairy - Much like Skitty and Delcatty, I'm mainly throwing them a bone here, but I do think they could at least scrape by on their "neon lights" aesthetic element. They seem kind of cutesy and magical in that Fairy-type way.

Porygon-Z: Normal/Dark - There's a difference of only 20 stat points between Porygon2 and Porygon-Z, and with the addition of the Eviolite, Porygon2 becomes preferable in many cases. I think making Porygon-Z part-Dark would give it a distinctly different niche, while also making sense with its evolution method (exposure to the illicit software stored on a Dubious Disc).

Samurott: Water/Fighting - I don't think I really have to explain this one. It's a samurai. Yes, this would mean that two of Unova's Starter families evolve into Fighting types, but I don't really think that's a big deal. Most players will only be using one or the other.

Gothita, Gothorita, and Gothitelle: Psychic/Dark - T H E Y ' R E G O T H S

Solosis, Duosion, and Reuniclus: Psychic/Electric - Not wanting the Solosis line to seem less-interesting by comparison, I started thinking about what other type they could feasibly support. I arrived at Psychic/Electric by thinking about the ways that our bodies use electricity, specifically the way that cells are built to use ions in order to generate electricity. The Solosis line is clearly based on cells and cell membranes, and when you think about the Psychic type, you often think about the brain, which runs on electrochemistry. Furthermore, it's a pretty unique type combination - only currently available via Alolan Raichu.

Tynamo, Eelektrik, and Eelektross: Electric/Water - It is... odd, that a family based on the electric eel, and which explicitly does live in the sea (at least according to the Pokédex, as opposed to in-game evidence), is not a Water type. Plus, it's another of those combinations that we really don't have that many of, while having plenty of mono-Electric choices.

Florges: Fairy/Grass - It literally says that the flower becomes part of its body.

Goomy, Sliggoo, and Goodra: Dragon/Water - Not super-passionate about this one, but the arguments make sense, as they are characterized by their relationship to moisture.

Hoopa Confined: Psychic - I don't really understand where the Ghost type comes into play. I'm not convinced that it's because of the portal creation, because Hoopa Unbound has that too, and Solgaleo and Lunala came right around after that and put all the wormhole, hyperspace emphasis on the Psychic type. Plus, Teleport is a Psychic-type move. Hyperspace Hole itself is a Psychic-type move. I think it would arguably make more sense for Hoopa Confined to simply be mono-Psychic, generating a sort of bait-and-switch similarity to Mew as a small, cute, elusive, Psychic-type Mythical Pokémon... only to then reveal that it's because its true monstrous self (represented by the added Dark type) has been sealed.

Tsareena: Grass/Fighting - Those kicks

Stakataka: Rock - This is my favorite Pokémon of all time, so I'm very conflicted, especially since that Trick Room + STAB Gyro Ball combo is what makes Stakataka sing, but I just don't see where the Steel element actually comes from. All of the other UBs, no matter how strange their type combinations get, are eminently clear to me in their reasoning (except, I suppose, for Blacephalon, but even then, I can still see what they're going for and it's interesting) and that's part of why I find them so clever overall. But looking at Stakataka, I just don't see a strong reason for it to be anything other than Rock-type. I would probably rather just give it a signature move (Blacephalon got one, after all), like a Rock-type Gyro Ball (or maybe a Rock-type priority attack that also sets Trick Room) to make sure that it retains its battling niche.

Zeraora: Electric/Fighting - Game Freak actually are wrong about this one.

Rookidee and Corvisquire: Normal/Flying - And the fandom is wrong about this one. I'm all for breaking patterns, but having the common birds be Normal/Flying always made sense, and these two breaking the mold and being mono-Flying after all these years is just awkward. Mono-Flying works perfectly for something like Tornadus, a literal embodiment of the wind, but there's no meaningful difference in the characterization or lore of Rookidee and that of Pidgey, Hoothoot, Taillow, Starly, Fletchling, and Pikipek. The Normal type gives them the substance of everyday creatures.

Clobbopus and Grapploct: Fighting/Water - Same logic as the Tynamo family. They live in the ocean, so it makes sense for that to be reflected in their type profile. On the face of it, it just makes more sense for them to be part-Water than it does for them not to be.

Stonjourner: Rock/Psychic - I'm sure plenty has been said about this one elsewhere, so short version: Standing stones often have cosmic or astrological associations, cosmic and astrological themes are often grouped under the Psychic type, and Stonjourner having some kind of telekinetic ability would explain how it manipulates the stones that comprise its body.

Zacian: Fighting (Fighting/Steel in Crowned Sword form) - Zacian is so grossly superior to Zamazenta, and part of that is because of the Fairy type. It's way too good on Zacian. Zamazenta would still need some other buffs (like access to King's Shield and Body Press) to really even the playing field, but this would be a start, and the typing makes sense - they're warriors.

Also, I'd give Sand Stream to Flygon, and Libero to Passimian. They both still have open Ability slots to fill.
 
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Ditch Dry Skin on the Paras line. It has literally no use beyond a trivia point that they can take even more damage to a double weakness! Wow, so cool!
Rookidee and Corvisquire: Normal/Flying - And the fandom is wrong about this one. I'm all for breaking patterns, but having the common birds be Normal/Flying always made sense, and these two breaking the mold and being mono-Flying after all these years is just awkward. Mono-Flying works perfectly for something like Tornadus, a literal embodiment of the wind, but there's no meaningful difference in the characterization or lore of Rookidee and that of Pidgey, Hoothoot, Taillow, Starly, Fletchling, and Pikipek. The Normal type gives them the substance of everyday creatures.
I'm so glad someone else agrees. If Normal/Flying seemed odd, the solution is to make Flying more of a distinct identity, not just say "Yeah it really is just your everyday birds".
Tynamo, Eelektrik, and Eelektross: Electric/Water - It is... odd, that a family based on the electric eel, and which explicitly does live in the sea (at least according to the Pokédex, as opposed to in-game evidence), is not a Water type. Plus, it's another of those combinations that we really don't have that many of, while having plenty of mono-Electric choices.
Clobbopus and Grapploct: Fighting/Water - Same logic as the Tynamo family. They live in the ocean, so it makes sense for that to be reflected in their type profile. On the face of it, it just makes more sense for them to be part-Water than it does for them not to be.
Honestly, I really liked the choice of making the Tynamo line just Electric, because it made water environments feel a little more diverse. Tall grass has always gotten to have Pokemon from all types, but even caves get to have -bats and other Pokemon that aren't Rock/Ground/Steel. With water, anytime you surfed or fished, you were guaranteed to face a Water-type. It's nice to have a Pokemon that clearly lives in water but has a different types from all the others.

I do agree on Clobbopus, though, although I'm not sure why their line is different to me. Maybe it's all the blue in the evo?
And Starmie being part Psychic never made sense
Its dex entries make a point about mentioning how its core sends waves off into space and it can regenerate itself, both two things pretty associated with Psychic-types.
the main one for me, I'd change based on a pet peeve of mine - arachnids aren't bug, wish they remove that type for them
Spinark and Ariados - Poison/Grass
I get the annoyance at counting an arachnid as a bug, but Spinarak's moves and abilities have a lot less in common with Grass than they do Bug.
 
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Dusknoir is another one of my favourites who looks great but is rather underwhelming in battle. It desperately needs more reliable recovery moves, such as recover and drain punch (which also helps with coverage). I think giving it stockpile, spit up and swallow can also be helpful, as it can increase its defenses and has even another recovery option. I'm so happy to see it get poltergeist recently, because it seriously needed a stronger ghost stab move than shadow punch.

As far as stats go, I'd increase its HP from 45-->60 (BST: 525-->540). I'd like to slightly improve its attack as well (100-->105) but I don't think it's as necessary.
 
Honestly, the only Pokemon I'd like to change is Chewtle. It's design is just absolutely awful. I'd reduce the size of it's head, give it a different face, keep the traffic cone horn but make it smaller, and make it actually look like a turtle and not a water balloon with a sharpie marker face.
 
Solosis, Duosion, and Reuniclus: Psychic/Electric - Not wanting the Solosis line to seem less-interesting by comparison, I started thinking about what other type they could feasibly support. I arrived at Psychic/Electric by thinking about the ways that our bodies use electricity, specifically the way that cells are built to use ions in order to generate electricity. The Solosis line is clearly based on cells and cell membranes, and when you think about the Psychic type, you often think about the brain, which runs on electrochemistry. Furthermore, it's a pretty unique type combination - only currently available via Alolan Raichu.

I think if you're going to give them any dual type, it should be Poison. Its dex entry indicates that the liquid in its cell membrane is highly toxic. Electric would be good for a variant though.

Florges: Fairy/Grass - It literally says that the flower becomes part of its body.

Forgot about this one. Yeah, this is baffling.
 
At the very least, the Chikorita line needs a stat update and better movepool. And frankly, I’d like to see it get Fairy as a secondary typing, at least by the time it evolves into Bayleef.

I know that it would throw off the whole “Johto starters being monotype from start to finish”; but its stats are horrible for a Grass type. And between its design (big sparkly eyes, and happy smile) combined with ‘dex entries that talk about its healing properties, it begs to be part Fairy.
 
Another thing, instead of Coalossal, Carkoal evolves into a Pokemon called Locoalmotive, a rock shaped steam train. Coalossal never really fit the progression of that evolution line, since Rolycoly and Carkoal were based on wheeled devices, whereas Coalossal is a largely stationary creature. The progression would make more sense if the final form was a steam train which is a much larger, much faster wheeled device. Coalossal should be an alternate evo. Maybe we'll still get something like this with a regional variant in the future (Steel/Fire maybe?), but it should've been this way to begin with.
 
Briviary/Mandibuzz (Lvl 38)

Not to say that I wouldn't make the same decision regardless, but y'know, I just got done using a Rufflet in my most recent Sword run, and it held up pretty well with the Eviolite equipped. It never really felt like I was dragging it along, and it evolved around the time I reached Route 10/the semifinals, so there was still a solid chunk of content in which to enjoy using it is a Braviary as well.

Honestly, I really liked the choice of making the Tynamo line just Electric, because it made water environments feel a little more diverse. Tall grass has always gotten to have Pokemon from all types, but even caves get to have -bats and other Pokemon that aren't Rock/Ground/Steel. With water, anytime you surfed or fished, you were guaranteed to face a Water-type. It's nice to have a Pokemon that clearly lives in water but has a different types from all the others.

That's an interesting point; I hadn't thought about that before.

That said, it kinda just loops back to my bigger issue with Tynamo which is the disparity in where it's supposed to live. In the core games, it and its evolutions have only appeared in a handful of places: Chargestone Cave, Seaside Cave, Mirage Caves, and Poni Grove, all of which are, um... not the sea, which is where the Pokédex entries tells us it lives. Seaside Cave (where you can find Eelektrik) is probably the closest harmony of the two notions, but this matters to me because it changes the calculus as far as how I evaluate the design. If it's a cave dweller, then I become less interested in making it a Water type, since I would instead imagine it as being adapted to levitate around in cave depths using electromagnetism. If it lives in the sea, then I could probably still get behind your argument... but that's not where it's been placed, so functionally it has yet to really add to the diversity of surfing or fishing encounters. Meanwhile, over in the TCG, it's pretty much universally been depicted as a sea dweller.

It reminds me of Skorupi and Drapion, in this way... the Pokédex talks about them having strong associations with deserts and arid locations, never once suggesting that they like damp areas... but as far as actual encounters go, it's been placed in marshes and swamps just as often - if not more frequently! - than it has been in deserts. Real scorpions are indeed hardy creatures and can inhabit a wide variety of biomes, but primarily we do think of them as living in the desert. Spin-offs (for a recent example) and the TCG have pretty firmly sided with Skorupi being desert dwellers, as well.
 
This one confuses me a bit. What about Gorebyss screams Fairy? If anything it leans more Psychic because it learns several Psychic moves.

Yeah, this is supposed to be Water/Psychic. Not sure what went wrong here.

At the very least, the Chikorita line needs a stat update and better movepool. And frankly, I’d like to see it get Fairy as a secondary typing, at least by the time it evolves into Bayleef.

I know that it would throw off the whole “Johto starters being monotype from start to finish”; but its stats are horrible for a Grass type. And between its design (big sparkly eyes, and happy smile) combined with ‘dex entries that talk about its healing properties, it begs to be part Fairy.

I mean, you can do it by giving Feraligatr and Typhlosion dual typings too (Water/Dark or Water/Dragon and Fire/Rock or Fire/Ground). Then again, it's not really that much of an issue. Venusaur and Charizard are dual types while Blastoise, through all forms, stays mono-water as the only one. Meganium could easily get an additional typing while the other 2 stay behind in the dust.
 
I mean, you can do it by giving Feraligatr and Typhlosion dual typings too (Water/Dark or Water/Dragon and Fire/Rock or Fire/Ground). Then again, it's not really that much of an issue. Venusaur and Charizard are dual types while Blastoise, through all forms, stays mono-water as the only one. Meganium could easily get an additional typing while the other 2 stay behind in the dust.

Oh, I’m fine with not giving the other two dual-typing. I just feel that the Johto starters all being mono-typed is considered to be part of their “gimmick”, and changing that might raise complaints from certain parts of the fandom.
 
I think this artist's take on a Jynx redesign is just SOOO good. It's pretty different but it still works.

tumblr_19ca0e502f8a08e456b24f93d60366e0_c6d43811_1280.jpg


(Also I KNEW I wasn't the only one who thought Smoochum looked like a little penguin)
 
I think this artist's take on a Jynx redesign is just SOOO good. It's pretty different but it still works.


(Also I KNEW I wasn't the only one who thought Smoochum looked like a little penguin)
Honestly, props for this take. I genuinely never once considered the idea of making Jynx a penguin, which is kinda genius. I once toyed around with a Jynx redesign roughly six eternities ago and what I ended up going with was making her based on the goddess Hel, resulting in Jynx essentially looking something like a pokemonified Two-Face :p
 
Please note: The thread is from 2 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
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