Pokemon players pick one buff that could save forgotten Pokemon

Dedicated Pokemon fans are picking one change they would make to their favorite Pokemon, in the hopes it might make them relevant again.

All Pokemon fans have their favorites, and while the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet competitive scene changes often, many of our adorable chums fall behind, seeping through the gaps into obscurity. 

There are plenty of different ways to play the games that help to level the playing field, but sometimes a Pokemon is just destined for mediocrity, whether it’s thanks to bad stats, terrible type combination, or even just an awful ability (Regigigas why do you exist). 

So, it’s no surprise that Pokemon fans have some suggestions, and Reddit users are diving into the topic, doing their best to suggest changes that would make some of those forgotten Pokemon relevant again. Who knows, we’ve seen some huge changes to Pokemon stats or abilities that shake up the scene every generation. Who knew Murkrow would make such a comeback?

Pokemon fans use Reddit to suggest the ‘one buff’ they would make to help their favorite Pokemon become viable.

What ONE buff would you give to make a pokemon viable?
byu/Felix_Dei inpokemon

Personally, we’d make every shiny Pokemon pink. But we don’t think that’s what they meant.

It’s fun to play armchair game designer, and this lengthy Reddit thread is already brimming with ideas that could help to save some underwhelming Pocket Monsters. 

Some are pretty obvious, as user AspieKairy suggests “[giving] Levitate to Alolan Raichu” which would give the electric/psychic type a ground immunity. Alolan Raichu doesn’t have the best offensive stats, so a chance to miss some super-effective moves would be very helpful. 

Another user Clockwork765 comments with the idea “Make Ice resist Fairy. I’ve had enough of Fairy just being the best type with very little downsides” which is an idea we can get behind. Ice is a terrible defensive type, and Fairy is easily one of the best types currently for competitions. 

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byu/Felix_Dei from discussion
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But perhaps our favorite suggestion comes from user gudni-bergs, as they comment with “Slaking gets Gorilla tactics”. If you didn’t know, Slaking has one of the highest physical attack stats in the games, but it’s ability ‘Slack Off’ means it can only move every other turn. 

Meanwhile, the ability Gorilla Tactics increases the Pokemon’s attack, but they can only use the first selected move. Essentially it’s a free Choice Band, so if you also doubled up with Gorilla Tactics and a Choice Band, well, it would Slaking a threat that would have even Arceus quaking in its boots.