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Pokemon you used to dislike, but have grown fond of over time.

-I wasn't convinced by Pignite and Emboar's look when they were released, but now I remember them fondly after choosing them in White 2.
-I was fairly neutral to Mimikyu during its first year, as I found the sad backstory a bit forced. But it grew on me after my Ultra Moon playthrough and several uses on the Battle Tree and the Battle Tower.
-Vikavolt disappointed me because I adored Grubbin and Charjabug and it looked too simple. It grew on me with time, and specially after being disappointed by Orbeetle.
-Alcremie bored me with its girliness initially, but I like it after seeing its deep concept and variants, I like the blue one.
-Dragapult looked strange to me when it was revealed and too simple to be a pseudo, but with time I understood its concept better and I think it's fine.
 
While I technically didn't dislike the following Mons per se, as I was more neutral toward them, they've recently grown on me. They are Heatmor and Durant. Probably one of the reasons why I didn't think much of them is because they tend to be late-game Mons, thus there is little reason to use either one by the time you get to where you can catch them. Plus, there are better Fire and Bug/Steel Mons out there. However, over time this interesting duo started to catch my interest. Like similar natural enemy counterparts, like Zangoose and Seviper, they each share a lot of striking similarities, such as same BST that is just distributed different, the same catch rate, the same hatch rate, the same growth rate, you get it. Plus, it's one of those few predator/prey situations in Pokemon that is actually reflected in their typings: Heatmore, being a Fire-type, is the dominate predator to Durant, a Bug/Steel-type, as the latter is only weak to Fire, but has a 4x weakness to it. While there are other predator/prey relationships between Pokemon, they tend to be fairly balanced, at least by type standards. This case, however, it's purely one-sided, which is realistically correct, as anteaters eat, well, ants in real life (though that doesn't stop Durants from ganging up on Heatmor, as show in XY's Horde Battles).

Sword and Shield helped bring out their personalities more through Camp, which is what helped me start liking them. While I generally prefer Durant over Heatmor, especially since I usually have the Fire starter, so my Fire-type slot is covered, both have grown on me over time. Sure, both are pretty bad in terms of competitive stuff, though Durant has a slight edge due to its better Speed and typing, but they're both fun to run in playthroughs. And since Sword/Shield places them in a more respectable location in-game (outside of certain Max Raids), it actually gives them a better chance to shine, as both tend to be either Victory Road Mons or very late-game (like in XY, where they can only be caught after the climax). So, while I was largely unimpressed with them at first, over time they've actually started to grow on me and I've come to like them, especially considering how underappreciated they are.

So, yeah, I've come to like the almost Tom and Jerry duo of Heatmor and Durant. They're simple but fun, at least to me, and, over time, they've gained some new toys to play with, making them better overall. Sure, they're not champions or anything, but they're still rather interesting and fun overall.
 
i used to hate gyarados with a passion until i started using it in competitive battles. keep in mind though that this was like, half a decade+ ago, but even so during those times, i just never really cared for it. but using it in battles over and over really got me to appreciate how strong it is.
 
Plus, it's one of those few predator/prey situations in Pokemon that is actually reflected in their typings: Heatmore, being a Fire-type, is the dominate predator to Durant, a Bug/Steel-type, as the latter is only weak to Fire, but has a 4x weakness to it. While there are other predator/prey relationships between Pokemon, they tend to be fairly balanced, at least by type standards. This case, however, it's purely one-sided, which is realistically correct, as anteaters eat, well, ants in real life (though that doesn't stop Durants from ganging up on Heatmor, as show in XY's Horde Battles).

These two are particularly interesting to me because of one of Durant's Pokédex entries:

> "They attack in groups, covering themselves in steel armor to protect themselves from Heatmor."

On first pass, this bothers me, because it doesn't make any sense within the context of type effectiveness. Steel armor would be a catastrophically poor choice of protection from Heatmor, because it would turn a mono-Bug Durant's 2x weakness into a 4x one, unless the steel was specially Heatproof, but that's not an ability Durant can have.

But, if you imagine that we're seeing Heatmor and Durant in the middle of an evolutionary arms race, it clicks. Perhaps Heatmor was originally a Normal-type species, and Durant adopted the steel plating in order to weaken its effectiveness against them. But then Heatmor counter-evolved (in the same sense that regional variants do) and became a Fire-type in order to melt through that armor. And who knows where it might go from there - maybe Durant will develop the Heatproof ability after generations of reproduction, and then Heatmor will have to develop Mold Breaker or something to get around that.

At any rate, Durant currently seem to rely on strength in numbers against Heatmor that prey on them. Wherever the two appear together, Durant tend to be more plentiful. At Unova's Victory Road, Heatmor appear in only one section (the cliffs), while Durant can be found in every chamber of the cave. Twist Mountain in B2W2 is similar - Durant have a 15% encounter rate, while Heatmor have only 5%, except in the summer when it jumps to 20% (they probably favor the heat - it's kind of a shame that GF didn't think to have naturally occurring intense sunlight until Gen 7). In Gen 6, on Route 18, Durant have a 90% chance of emerging from a rustling bush, while Heatmor have only 10%. In the grass patches, Durant have a 10% encounter rate, while Heatmor have 5%. (Hordes can go either way - 4 Durant and 1 Heatmor, or 4 Heatmor and 1 very unfortunate Durant.) Sword & Shield, sadly, aren't quite as consistent about it, partly due to the systematic nature of the Wild Area encounter rates, but even on Route 6, it's more of a version-exclusive thing - Heatmor appear more commonly in Shield, while Durant appear more commonly in Sword.

Durant also has a few tricks up its sleeve in terms of its learnset. It can learn Dig naturally for a supereffective hit and a guaranteed turn of protection (as well as being very fitting for an ant Pokémon anyway), in addition to Guillotine at later levels, so very strong Durant might be able to get lucky with scoring auto-KOs on Heatmor that approach their nests. They can learn Beat Up naturally, too, to take even more advantage of their greater numbers. Durant can also have Truant as their Hidden Ability, which seems like a detriment, except that they can also learn Entrainment - perhaps Durant with their Hidden Abilities are specialized in order to change Heatmor's ability to Truant, significantly reducing its offensive capabilities. Which fits very nicely with Durant's other Pokédex entry, which states:

> "Individuals each play different roles in driving Heatmor, their natural predator, away from their colony."
 
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But, if you imagine that we're seeing Heatmor and Durant in the middle of an evolutionary arms race, it clicks. Perhaps Heatmor was originally a Normal-type species, and Durant adopted the steel plating in order to weaken its effectiveness against them. But then Heatmor counter-evolved (in the same sense that regional variants do) and became a Fire-type in order to melt through that armor. And who knows where it might go from there - maybe Durant will develop the Heatproof ability after generations of reproduction, and then Heatmor will have to develop Mold Breaker or something to get around that.
Kinda like what happened with the moths and the bats?
 
When I first saw Dreepy and its evolutions, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I never hated it, but I was kinda eh on it at first. But once I suddenly started getting a bunch of them in the wonder trades and learning more about them, Dreepy started to grow on me, and I like it and its evolutions a lot more now.
 
Keldeo, Arceus, and Shaymin (both forms). I'm not that fond of mythicals (aside from Mew and Diancie) in general but these three have grown on me lately. Keldeo I didn't hate too much cause of it's MLP-esque style, but I didn't outright love it either, but I've started to appreciate it more day by day; Arceus I simply started to like for it's ridiculous (imo) design the longer I stare at it; and Shaymin I didn't like too much because of the Giratina movie, but it does have a cute design and I've since started to like it more cause of that.

Qwilfish, I wouldn't say I really disliked it more that I just simply forgot it existed at times. I don't actively look for this Pokémon in the games so on the occasion it does appear I just think "oh yeah, it's a thing, eh." and just move on. But lately I now have an interest in it sort of, so I'm starting to appreciate this one a bit more as well.

Victreebel, this is another Pokémon I admittedly didn't care too much for due to the show, that screaming it occasionally did grated on me after a while. Though I wouldn't say I'm super fond of it now, I don't dislike it as much anymore, so I'm more neutral on it currently. Has a neat design though.

TOXTRICITY - I was put off by its design at first, but it just grew on me naturally as I played with one; now I think it is a very cool Mon (and now in my top 20 Mons at least). Plus the fact that both its forms are based on a guitar and a bass guitar (which I absolutely love, I used to be a bass player myself a few years back) makes me like Toxtricity even more. I still have problems with its species name, though. I'm glad I always nickname my main Pokemon.
Also this Pokémon as well. I pretty much agree with this description, and the guitar thing is an interesting tidbit (that admittedly I didn't pick up on at first, I don't play instruments lol). Though I still dislike it's pre-evo, I can't get over that it looks like it's wearing a diaper.
 
Hum...
Exeggutor - the Pkmn's name doesn't help, I love Grass and Poison so I tend to dislike Psychic types, the fact that it ended up defeated by Ash's Krabby and that it just seems a derp palm true doesn't help. What changed? Alolan Exeggutor: when compared to this monstrosity that looks more like a Pkmn for decoration and to substitute bridges, the original version grew on me and the fact that it was the only Grass-type from Kanto that I never trained so playing AS, Exeggutor seemed fitting of the region.

Toxapex - I won't never like the fact that it preys on cute little Corsola, that it seems like a shrunken witch head with nasty hair but it has purple, it has spikes and it's Poison. As for Mareanie...I'll just evolve it as soon as I can.
 
Also this Pokémon as well. I pretty much agree with this description, and the guitar thing is an interesting tidbit (that admittedly I didn't pick up on at first, I don't play instruments lol). Though I still dislike it's pre-evo, I can't get over that it looks like it's wearing a diaper.

I agree, Toxel is a sorry Mon, and it is almost Magikarp-level weak. Toxtricity is a huge improvement over Toxel.
 
The Tepig line. I'm not into cutesy pigs or fat things but they have grown on me. Tepig's cute and the evos manage to look both menacing and jolly at the same time. Great color scheme as well and Pignite is one of the best Pokemon names IMO.
 
Sawk. I hated the design when I first saw it and swore it would never be on my team at all. Then, I needed a Fighting type to go up against Lenora in Black, so I caught a Timburr and a Sawk. The Timburr was an easy catch, but the Sawk fought me, tooth and nail. He cost me several Balls and was such a pain to get that I immediately added him to my team.

I remember that people said Lenora was a tough Gym Leader. I had zero problems with her. All that Sawk had to do was cinch his belt and grunt, and her entire team collapsed. I went from hating Sawk, to grudgingly letting him stay on my Black team, to outright adoring him.

I still love the goofball. He's just too cute not to love.
 
Sawk. I hated the design when I first saw it and swore it would never be on my team at all. Then, I needed a Fighting type to go up against Lenora in Black, so I caught a Timburr and a Sawk. The Timburr was an easy catch, but the Sawk fought me, tooth and nail. He cost me several Balls and was such a pain to get that I immediately added him to my team.

I remember that people said Lenora was a tough Gym Leader. I had zero problems with her. All that Sawk had to do was cinch his belt and grunt, and her entire team collapsed. I went from hating Sawk, to grudgingly letting him stay on my Black team, to outright adoring him.

I still love the goofball. He's just too cute not to love.

This is cool and I respect it a great deal. But still, myself, I still don't see more than a silly blue-painted dude with a karate gi, running around the Unovan fields grunting in high pitch and pretending to be a Pokémon.

Glad to know it is usable in a playthrough, though, and that it (he?) has got fans. Probably the same with Bruxish for me, I used to hate it like most Poke Fans, but I came to love its silly design, its Psychic typing, but most of all, its monstruous Attack when it comes to bites.
 
at the moment, two come to mind,
used to dislike or hate them a lot, been trying them out on a team, will say getting attached to them,
the more i use them the more I like them
they are Alolan Grimer and Mawile
 
For me, it was the Wonderful Seed Frog, the Bulbasaur line.
At first, I never saw the appeal of the small plant thing itself, I mean, even if it was still a solidly designed Pokemon, out of the other 2 fully-evolved starters, one being a literal flying, fire-breathing lizard, and one becoming a turtle with actual guns coming out of it's back, what was the point of picking the grass starter?
This was all about to change when I did a FireRed Nuzlocke on an Emulator, where I picked Bulbasaur as my starter. What can I say? I felt bad for the little guy, being overshadowed by the others.
Needless to say, I was surprised how well it carried me throughout the whole game. Easily decimating the first 2 gyms, as well as smooth sailing until other gyms with a type advantage came along, where I had already gathered other Monsters that also had a type advantage. A much, much, easier playthrough of the game compared to my first few tries with Charmander.
 
Keldeo - I just wasn't a big fan of it or many of the Gen 5 legendaries honestly. Then Pokemon Home came out and I brought the gift one (from the 2016 Mythical Distributions) to Sword and Shield and found it actually looks pretty cute. I enjoy watching it run around in Pokemon Camp.

Rattata and Raticate - I just did not like the Gen 1 regional rodent at first. I found both it and Raticate ugly and annoying to encounter all the time. Then I attempted my first Nuzlocke in Soul Silver and it ended up as one of my first encounters. I named her Polaris, and she was just awesome. She helped me through a couple tough battles, and even barely survived being poisoned (and I was out of Antidotes and Potions). I ended up really liking Rattata after that, and after I quit the nuzlocke (after a very tough battle against Bugsy where I lost 5 party members), I evolved her up and even kept playing with her for awhile.
 
Also Mr. Mime. You can blame Detective Pikachu and Pokémon Journeys for that

Definitely share in this. I felt both Detective Pikachu Mr. Mime and Ash's Mr. Mime (from Pokémon Journeys) breathed in so much new life to it. Giving screen time to it really shows off how cool and funny and hilarious it is!


Actually used to hate Mawile until I realized her origins: she is inspired by a Japanese spirit (yōkai) called the futakuchi-onna, who has two mouths and a large, greedy one on her back. It makes so much sense and allowed me a greater appreciation for Mawile.
 
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