New Pokemon That Need Nerfs

Highlights

• Garganacl is a powerful Rock-type Pokemon in the new generation, with high HP, defenses, and a signature move that can chip away at foes.
• Palafin’s Hero Form is a potent form change with high Attack, Speed, and strong STAB attacks, making it a formidable opponent.
• Cyclizar’s Shed Tail move combined with its Hidden Ability Regenerator makes it a constant danger in battle, needing a rework for balance.

The ninth generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, has introduced a total of 119 Pokemon as of the most recent DLC expansion, The Indigo Disk. These include brand-new starters, mascot Legendaries, evolutions of pre-existing Pokemon, as well as the new phenomenon of Paradox Pokemon, showcasing certain creatures’ past and future.

Among these many Pokemon added to the franchise, there are plenty who have already raised red flags for competitive players. Whether it’s due to their overpowered stats, unique Ability, or a signature move that’s incredibly tough to counter, these eight Pokemon introduced in the new generation deserve a nerf. Game Freak has been known to implement such nerfs where it has deemed them necessary, and perhaps it’ll do so in the future in these cases.

As Legendary Pokemon are often (but far from exclusively) designed to be overpowered, in a way, this list will only include non-Legendary Pokemon.

8 Garganacl

This Pokemon Makes Opponents Salty

• With its high HP and defenses, combined with its potent Attack, Garganacl is not a foe to take lightly.
• Signature move Salt Cure also allows it to chip away at foes, making it an all-around menace to deal with.

The Rock-type Pokemon Garganacl has quickly become a point of frustration for many competitive Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players. Garganacl’s unique Ability, Purifying Salt, makes it immune to status conditions and gives it resistance to Ghost-type moves, already cementing it as one of the best Rock-type Pokemon in the entire franchise.

However, Garganacl also has the advantage of a useful signature move in Salt Cure, which has only 40 base power but will inflict damage against the target every turn until they switch or faint. If the target is Steel- or Water-type, the move will sap twice as much HP from them. These elements make Garganacl an easily annoying Pokemon in competitive play, so it’d be nice to level the playing field by lowering its Attack, Defense, or Special Defense base stat (100, 130, and 90 respectively).

Garganacl’s low Speed and five weaknesses do render it easier to handle in the right conditions, but a careful trainer who has eradicated the threats to it first will leave their opponent in a very difficult position.

7 Palafin

One Of The Most Potent Form Changes In The Series

• Palafin’s Hero Form has base 160 Attack, base 100 Speed, and very strong STAB attacks, including priority.
• Its much-weaker Zero Form must be switched out of and back into battle to activate Hero Mode, but this can be quite easily done by careful players.

Palafin was a highly-anticipated Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet, as the first dolphin-inspired Pokemon (and there have been some particularly outlandish designs) in nine generations. It certainly doesn’t disappoint in terms of power, as its Ability, Zero to Hero, causes it to change into a different form after switching out. Palafin’s Hero Form boasts a Superman-like design, with massive increases in Attack and other stats.

Palafin also has access to pretty powerful STAB moves, including Flip Turn, Jet Punch, and Wave Crash. Perhaps a good nerf for Palafin would be to tweak its base stats, or even indirectly by giving it a secondary-typing, like Fighting, which would increase its weaknesses to include types like Fairy, Psychic, and Flying. That would, however, give it a second STAB move for opponents to fear (and it does learn Close Combat and even Focus Blast for a potential special Palafin). A particular menace on rain teams, the only real downside to using it is that careless switches can be very dangerous in a Pokemon battle.

6 Cyclizar

There Is No Substitute For What This Dragon-Type Can Do

• It boasts an exceptional base Speed of 121, with modest offenses and very low defenses, but its Hidden Abiilty and signature move makes it a constant danger to the opponent.
• The chance to passively heal after using Shed Tail just allows too many opportunities to use this powerful tactic.

Considering that Cyclizar is intended as a relative of mascot Legendaries Koraidon and Miraidon, it isn’t surprising that it’s made a big impact in the competitive scene. Its stats are quite mediocre, with the most exceptional one being its Speed, and it boasts a solid typing in Dragon/Normal. However, Cyclizar’s signature move, Shed Tail, has proven controversial. Not all the series’ strongest moves deal raw damage alone, and this one is a perfect example of that.

Shed Tail is very problematic due to the Pokemon’s access to the Hidden Ability Regenerator. The move allows Cyclizar to switch out while placing a Substitute for its incoming partner, spending half its own max HP in the process. With Regenerator, it then recovers one-third of its HP while it’s back in the party. This makes it much easier to repeat the strategy, even though a single timely Shed Tail can easily snowball into a victory while being very difficult to prevent. In addition, though Cyclizar is very frail and not very powerful, it has the raw Speed and average offenses it needs to clean up later. A rework is probably in order here.

5 Annihilape

Primeape’s Ghoulish Evolution Packs A Mighty Punch

• A powerful physical attacker with great all-around stats, a movepool offering a range of STAB, coverage, setup, and utility, and a unique gimmick that can make it all but unstoppable if played strategically.
• Signature move Rage Fist begins rather weak, but can soon build to team-sweeping levels of power.

Annihilape is the evolved form of Primeape, a Pokemon introduced back in the first generation games. As far as evolutions go, Annihilape is an interesting approach to the Mankey evolutionary line (once a candidate for a much-more-interesting Mega Evolution), as a dual Fighting/Ghost-type. It also learns the signature move Rage Fist, a physical Ghost attack with 50 base power that receives a further 50 base damage buff every time the user survives a hit in battle (with 350 base power being the hard cap).

What makes this especially overpowered in Annihilape’s case is its stat distribution, which includes decent Defense and Special Defense, as well as an already-high 115 base Attack and 110 HP. This is in addition to its access to Bulk Up, through which it can increase its Attack and Defense, and Drain Punch, which will heal some of the damage it’s sustained. If those stats were lowered even just a little bit, it could become more of a skillful balancing act for Annihilape to stay in battle enough and make the most of Rage Fist.

4 Flutter Mane

Misdreavus Has Never Been So Overpowered

• A unique take on Misdreavus that emphasizes and magnifies the Pokemon’s strongest assets.
• It’s a deadly special sweeper, with the addition of the Fairy typing giving it new STAB options with which to devastate teams.

Flutter Mane is one of the many Paradox Pokemon introduced in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, an ancient version of the second generation Pokemon Misdreavus. It shares its Ability, Protosynthesis, with other ancient Paradox Pokemon, a great boon that boosts its highest stat in harsh sunlight. However, Flutter Mane’s biggest attributes are its incredibly high base stats.

Flutter Mane’s Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed are all evened out at a whopping base 135 each. It also benefits from the strong typing of Ghost/Fairy, making it only weak to Ghost and Steel types (and fully immune to Normal, Fighting, and Dragon). It would be a solid nerf to lower Flutter Mane’s Speed a little, if only to give other Pokemon a fighting chance. As it is, few Pokemon can break through a weakened team quite so ruthlessly without the need of setup.

3 Iron Bundle

The Delibird Buff Fans Always Wanted Went Much Too Far

• A special attacking menace like Flutter Mane, Iron Bundle also has surprisingly high Defense (base 114).
• Its great offensive typing in Ice/Water and high-powered STAB moves and almost unmatched Speed (base 136) means that it’s often only priority moves that can prevent its sweep.

Since its debut in Generation 2, Delibird has been considered something of a novelty. With its awful stats and the many weaknesses of its Ice and Flying typing, it was all but unusable in serious play. However, that time is far in the past as of Generation 9. Its futuristic version, Iron Bundle, made its debut here as an Ice- and Water-type Paradox Pokemon. Already, it’s proven to be one of the biggest threats in the evolving meta.

Its base stats are exceptional, with Defense, Special Attack, and Speed being its highest at base 114, 124, and 136 respectively. Add in Iron Bundle’s incredible movepool, including the likes of Freeze Dry, Ice Beam, and Hydro Pump, and Iron Bundle is a fierce opponent indeed. Terastalizing and items like Choice Specs can be added to the mix on top of that. All in all, it seems this Pokemon needs some stats to be lowered in future games if it makes a return. Hopefully other underappreciated Pokemon might get a Paradox form in the future too.

2 Gholdengo

999 Gimmighoul Coins Really Pay Off

• Another competitive mainstay, Ghouldengo can cause particular havoc in doubles battles with its signature move, Make It Rain, a 120 base power Steel attack that hits both targets.
• Though Make It Rain harshly drops Ghouldengo’s Special Attack, careful switches will negate this drawback and allow it to fire it off repeatedly. It’s a powerful special attacker that can freely ignore status moves thanks to its Ability, Good As Gold.

As far as Pokemon go in Scarlet & Violet, Gholdengo is perhaps the hardest to acquire. Gimmighoul is already a tough find, its Chest Form located in specific areas of Paldea. However, locating Roaming Form Gimmighoul scattered around Paldea will help players collect Gimmighoul Coins, and 999 are needed to evolve it into Gholdengo.

Among Gholdengo’s overpowered attributes are its Ability, Good as Gold, which makes it completely immune to status moves. Its signature move, Make It Rain, deals a massive amount of damage to all opponents, backed up by its base 133 Special Attack. Make It Rain does rightly come with a hefty drawback, but it can be worked around quite easily. Choice Scarf Ghouldengo, in particular, can be difficult to stop, with its rather lacking 84 base Speed patched up. That Special Attack may be a shade too high, or perhaps the move’s base power could be tweaked.

1 Bloodmoon Ursaluna

Kitakami Is Hiding A Nightmarish Special Attacker

• Game Freak’s latest monstrous threat, Bloodmoon Ursaluna has very high HP, Defense, and Special Attack (base 113, 120, and 135 respectively), and its low Speed and range of powerful special attacking options makes it a devastating force in Trick Room.
• Exclusive tools in its Ability and signature move make it a developing danger to watch.

Ursaluna just barely predates the ninth generation games, having been introduced as a Normal/Ground-type evolution of Ursaring in Pokemon Legends Arceus. However, The Teal Mask DLC expansion for Scarlet & Violetintroduced a new form: Bloodmoon Ursaluna, boasting a different stat distribution prioritizing its Special Attack.

Bloodmoon Ursaluna also includes a different movepool, with the most significant being Moonlight, which heals the user. It also learns the new signature Normal-type move, Blood Moon, which deals 140 base damage but can’t be used twice in a row. Its Ability, Mind’s Eye, lets its target Ghost-types with its Normal and Fighting moves while also being unaffected by opposing accuracy boosts and attempts to debuff its own accuracy. It’s a formidable offensive package that could perhaps use a little nerfing in its stat distribution, such as a reduction in its strong HP or Defense or the base power of its signature move.