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Hey all. Ever since Gen V came out, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the current Generations and past ones. Something came to mind. I've noticed that after playing Black and White for some time, I've realized that something about my gaming style has changed. Which is the reason why I'm asking you all. Since Gen V came to be, has there been any particular Abilities, Type(s), or Move(s) that you have been using more frequently that before? For me, there has been a shift in those departments. I'll list them, starting with Types.
Types:
Grass: I've never used a common-placed Grass-type before, and have rarely used Grass-types at all. The only time I have were usually Starters (Bulbasaur and Turtwig, to be exact). However, since Generation V introduced more interesting Pokemon, I've found myself tapping into common Grass-types more frequently. Most notably, Leavanny and Lilligent, both of which have become favorites for me. The reason why I didn't like the Grass-type was due to their shallow move pools and high number of weaknesses, combined with somewhat lacking stats, which made them unfavorable to me. However, because of the two said Pokemon, I have found myself overlooking those downsides and using them nonetheless. Leavanny has been a huge boost for me in that sense, especially in Black and my second White. Even though it has a whomping 6 weaknesses, I find that its great stats and overall nicely done moves to be a blessing. Even though Lilligent has a shallow move pool, her well-balanced stats and interesting choice of moves to be an inviting change to the lackluster Grass-type. Plus the resistance to the ever-annoying Water-type does help me a lot (especially since I tend to pick Fire starters). Overall, because of the new additions to the Pokemon world the Grass-type has become much more interesting to me.
Bug: As with Grass, Bug is a fairly new type for me to use. As with Grass, Bug-types usually have very poor stat and are resisted by a lot of Pokemon. They do come in handy against Psychic and Dark, two types I often see, but they have been (at least until Gen IV) very weak in the move departments. With only a handful of exceptions, Bug has been hard for me to put into play, even when using favorites like Butterfree back in Gen I and II. However, thanks to Gen IV and even more so to Gen V, the Bug-type has become more of an option to me. Favorites like Leavanny and Escavalier have given me a reason to train a Bug Pokemon, giving me more options to work with. Gen V was a big success for me and Bug-types, especially with the above two Pokemon, who have quickly become frequent members in my party. Add on the more powerful moves like X-Scissor and Bug Buzz, the Bug-type finally managed to strike a chord with me. So I thank Gen V for introducing usable Bug-types.
Steel: Steel has been a favorite for defense, but the usual Steel-type don't strike me too much. Lucario has always been a favorite, but its lower defensive stats make me a little upset. Plus Steel is only super effective against Ice and Rock, both of which are rarely used defensively, so that puts them at a disadvantage. However, thanks to additions like Excadrill (a must-have for me) and Escavalier, Steel has become a type I like to use. Even though Excadrill is lacking in the defense stats, its speed and power allow me to decimate the field quickly, and Escavalier's great Defense and Special Defense make it a great tank for me. Steel has always be a good defensive type (and I like to play defensively) but with only a handful of Pokemon actually being useful until Gen V, made it hard to come into play. So Gen V did it for me, especially with Excadrill.
Rock: Rock has been unfavorable to me since Gen I. Even with good defenses, the only really "useful" Rock-type for some time was Omastar. Gen V fixed that. Sure, there still are the large number of weaknesses for Rock-types to consider, but thanks to Gigalith and Carracosta, I've found myself using Rock-types for the first time since Omastar. They may still have the lackluster Speed and Special Defense, but they have become much heavier hitters, enabling me to tap into that brutish power. I'm still a little leery in using Rock-types, but they have become more favorable thanks to Gen V.
Moves:
Attract: Attract is a funny move to me. It can be a royal pain or useless, depending on the situation. However, since TMs are now reusable, and after getting spammed by Audino's accursed Attract all the time, I've decided to try it. Who would've guessed I'd grow to like it. Whenever I have a female Pokemon (my favorite choices is Leavanny and Zoroark) I've realized how disabling it can be. It works really well if the Pokemon I'm battling has a move or is strong against me. After Audino constantly spammed me with that move while I was training, I decided to turn the tables. Needless to say, I love how it can cripple a powerful Pokemon and give me more time to counter the said Pokemon. I know there are better disabling moves, but given that Attract can be learned by just about every Pokemon, it makes it easy to utilize. So I own Audino for getting me to try Attract, and I love the results (when I'm using it, of course).
Rock Slide/Stone Edge: Rock-type Pokemon and moves haven't been favorites to me. Thanks to the large amount of weaknesses and low accuracy, they have been unfavorable. However, after trying Stone Edge on my Torterra a while back, I realized how powerful they can be. I also realized my luck with certain moves. Since TMs have now become unlimited, I find myself tapping into Rock Slide and Stone Edge a lot. Both have become favorites to me, and my luck with them is usually very good, not just accuracy wise. Since then, I've tried using Rock Slide with a number of Pokemon, and I like the end results. Stone Edge is probably my favorite of the two, but Rock Slide has earned a place on my team's move pools due to its usefulness. I wish I had tapped into them sooner, but, then again, it took until Stone Edge for me to really appreciate the type in terms of offense.
Shell Smash: An interesting move for me. Usually, I prefer a more defensive or speedy style, depending on the Pokemon. However, Shell Smash has proven to be very useful. I started using it in my second White with my Carracosta, and I have to admit, I like the results. Even though it lowers Defense and Special Defense, which I don't like, it does give a massive boost to Attack, Special Attack, and Speed. With one-two use, my Carracosta can outspeed even some of the fastest Pokemon I've encountered in Gen V, as well as smack them hard. Shell Smash has become a staple for me whenever I use Pokemon like Carracosta or Crustle, since it does allow me to bypass the usual problems with those Pokemon.
Abilities:
Sturdy: Sturdy was useless to me. But thanks to Gen V's upgrade of it, it has become fairly handy. When using it with Pokemon that have powerful weaknesses and in combination with moves like Shell Smash, Sturdy can be the difference between winning and losing the battle. Sturdy has become a slight nuisance to me, however, thanks to Pokemon like Pineco's family, Roggenrolla's family, and Geodude's family, due to it has become harder to take them out quickly and save energy at the same time. But still, it has proven to be more useful than before, and works very well with Shell Smash, as I mentioned before.
Swarm: Don't know why, but I never liked Swarm. It is a Bug-type variation of Overgrow/Blaze/Torrent, but I guess because the Bug-type was lacking quite a bit, I didn't like it that much, usually favoring the other abilities available (like Guts or Technician). However, after the Bug-type became more favorable to me, Swarm warmed up to me. Now, I make sure that certain Pokemon, like Leavanny, have Swarm (especially in Leavanny's case, since I rarely, if at all, use moves like Sunny Day, making the other ability useless to me). But I have found myself tapping into that Ability for certain Bug Pokemon (I often get it regardless of what I do, so now I just roll with it).
That about covers it. There are probably more, but I can't think of them right now (probably because I'm sleep deprived right now). But what about all of you? Has there been a change in what Abilities, Types or Moves since shifting from Gen IV to V? Let's hear what you have to say about it. Happy posting.
Types:
Grass: I've never used a common-placed Grass-type before, and have rarely used Grass-types at all. The only time I have were usually Starters (Bulbasaur and Turtwig, to be exact). However, since Generation V introduced more interesting Pokemon, I've found myself tapping into common Grass-types more frequently. Most notably, Leavanny and Lilligent, both of which have become favorites for me. The reason why I didn't like the Grass-type was due to their shallow move pools and high number of weaknesses, combined with somewhat lacking stats, which made them unfavorable to me. However, because of the two said Pokemon, I have found myself overlooking those downsides and using them nonetheless. Leavanny has been a huge boost for me in that sense, especially in Black and my second White. Even though it has a whomping 6 weaknesses, I find that its great stats and overall nicely done moves to be a blessing. Even though Lilligent has a shallow move pool, her well-balanced stats and interesting choice of moves to be an inviting change to the lackluster Grass-type. Plus the resistance to the ever-annoying Water-type does help me a lot (especially since I tend to pick Fire starters). Overall, because of the new additions to the Pokemon world the Grass-type has become much more interesting to me.
Bug: As with Grass, Bug is a fairly new type for me to use. As with Grass, Bug-types usually have very poor stat and are resisted by a lot of Pokemon. They do come in handy against Psychic and Dark, two types I often see, but they have been (at least until Gen IV) very weak in the move departments. With only a handful of exceptions, Bug has been hard for me to put into play, even when using favorites like Butterfree back in Gen I and II. However, thanks to Gen IV and even more so to Gen V, the Bug-type has become more of an option to me. Favorites like Leavanny and Escavalier have given me a reason to train a Bug Pokemon, giving me more options to work with. Gen V was a big success for me and Bug-types, especially with the above two Pokemon, who have quickly become frequent members in my party. Add on the more powerful moves like X-Scissor and Bug Buzz, the Bug-type finally managed to strike a chord with me. So I thank Gen V for introducing usable Bug-types.
Steel: Steel has been a favorite for defense, but the usual Steel-type don't strike me too much. Lucario has always been a favorite, but its lower defensive stats make me a little upset. Plus Steel is only super effective against Ice and Rock, both of which are rarely used defensively, so that puts them at a disadvantage. However, thanks to additions like Excadrill (a must-have for me) and Escavalier, Steel has become a type I like to use. Even though Excadrill is lacking in the defense stats, its speed and power allow me to decimate the field quickly, and Escavalier's great Defense and Special Defense make it a great tank for me. Steel has always be a good defensive type (and I like to play defensively) but with only a handful of Pokemon actually being useful until Gen V, made it hard to come into play. So Gen V did it for me, especially with Excadrill.
Rock: Rock has been unfavorable to me since Gen I. Even with good defenses, the only really "useful" Rock-type for some time was Omastar. Gen V fixed that. Sure, there still are the large number of weaknesses for Rock-types to consider, but thanks to Gigalith and Carracosta, I've found myself using Rock-types for the first time since Omastar. They may still have the lackluster Speed and Special Defense, but they have become much heavier hitters, enabling me to tap into that brutish power. I'm still a little leery in using Rock-types, but they have become more favorable thanks to Gen V.
Moves:
Attract: Attract is a funny move to me. It can be a royal pain or useless, depending on the situation. However, since TMs are now reusable, and after getting spammed by Audino's accursed Attract all the time, I've decided to try it. Who would've guessed I'd grow to like it. Whenever I have a female Pokemon (my favorite choices is Leavanny and Zoroark) I've realized how disabling it can be. It works really well if the Pokemon I'm battling has a move or is strong against me. After Audino constantly spammed me with that move while I was training, I decided to turn the tables. Needless to say, I love how it can cripple a powerful Pokemon and give me more time to counter the said Pokemon. I know there are better disabling moves, but given that Attract can be learned by just about every Pokemon, it makes it easy to utilize. So I own Audino for getting me to try Attract, and I love the results (when I'm using it, of course).
Rock Slide/Stone Edge: Rock-type Pokemon and moves haven't been favorites to me. Thanks to the large amount of weaknesses and low accuracy, they have been unfavorable. However, after trying Stone Edge on my Torterra a while back, I realized how powerful they can be. I also realized my luck with certain moves. Since TMs have now become unlimited, I find myself tapping into Rock Slide and Stone Edge a lot. Both have become favorites to me, and my luck with them is usually very good, not just accuracy wise. Since then, I've tried using Rock Slide with a number of Pokemon, and I like the end results. Stone Edge is probably my favorite of the two, but Rock Slide has earned a place on my team's move pools due to its usefulness. I wish I had tapped into them sooner, but, then again, it took until Stone Edge for me to really appreciate the type in terms of offense.
Shell Smash: An interesting move for me. Usually, I prefer a more defensive or speedy style, depending on the Pokemon. However, Shell Smash has proven to be very useful. I started using it in my second White with my Carracosta, and I have to admit, I like the results. Even though it lowers Defense and Special Defense, which I don't like, it does give a massive boost to Attack, Special Attack, and Speed. With one-two use, my Carracosta can outspeed even some of the fastest Pokemon I've encountered in Gen V, as well as smack them hard. Shell Smash has become a staple for me whenever I use Pokemon like Carracosta or Crustle, since it does allow me to bypass the usual problems with those Pokemon.
Abilities:
Sturdy: Sturdy was useless to me. But thanks to Gen V's upgrade of it, it has become fairly handy. When using it with Pokemon that have powerful weaknesses and in combination with moves like Shell Smash, Sturdy can be the difference between winning and losing the battle. Sturdy has become a slight nuisance to me, however, thanks to Pokemon like Pineco's family, Roggenrolla's family, and Geodude's family, due to it has become harder to take them out quickly and save energy at the same time. But still, it has proven to be more useful than before, and works very well with Shell Smash, as I mentioned before.
Swarm: Don't know why, but I never liked Swarm. It is a Bug-type variation of Overgrow/Blaze/Torrent, but I guess because the Bug-type was lacking quite a bit, I didn't like it that much, usually favoring the other abilities available (like Guts or Technician). However, after the Bug-type became more favorable to me, Swarm warmed up to me. Now, I make sure that certain Pokemon, like Leavanny, have Swarm (especially in Leavanny's case, since I rarely, if at all, use moves like Sunny Day, making the other ability useless to me). But I have found myself tapping into that Ability for certain Bug Pokemon (I often get it regardless of what I do, so now I just roll with it).
That about covers it. There are probably more, but I can't think of them right now (probably because I'm sleep deprived right now). But what about all of you? Has there been a change in what Abilities, Types or Moves since shifting from Gen IV to V? Let's hear what you have to say about it. Happy posting.
