With the upcoming release of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire it seems like an apropos time to revisit the Pokémon of Hoenn, and well, judge them.
Generation III is known for amazing Pokémon like Rayquaza, Metagross, and Absol, but it's also known for Mightyena, Nuzlocke, and Luvdisc (no disrespect to those of you who adore the heart-shaped fish). Overall a pretty mixed bag in terms of additions to your Pokédex.
Keep in mind - overrated does not mean un-useful. It's a fairly subjective term that we'll be wielding to laugh at some ridiculous designs, make fun of fan favorites, and point out useless stats. So try not to get your panties in a twist.
Fire-type starters are typically fan-favorites, and that didn't change with the introduction of Torchic/Combusken/Blaziken. Blaziken is consistently voted into top Pokémon of Gen III lists over his compatriots Swampert and Sceptile. This is just wrong.
Statistically, Swampert is the best starter of the three with a type alignment giving it very few weaknesses. With speed and power on its side, Sceptile is also fairly useful, proving itself to be the most competent grass starter offered in-game at the time.
Don't get me wrong, the kung-fu chicken has decent stats, smooth moves, and looks neat, but does it really deserve everyone's love? It's dual type gives unduly burdens it with extra weaknesses, and it probably has an inferiority complex from all the chicken jokes. Not something I'd want on my team.
From a sheer power perspective, Slaking can definitely hit hard. I still remember what a headache it was to go up against a Slaking in the 8th gym in Pokémon Ruby. The massive monkey just wouldn't go down, even though it rarely did anything to defend itself.
The "loafing around" is ultimately Slaking's demise. You may love him for his stats and/or seductive pose, but what's the point of owning a Pokémon who will only obey you 1/2 the time? You didn't save the world, earn all the badges, and beat the Elite 4 just to have Slaking goof on in the middle of battle!
I love Aggron. I'm a huge Rock-type user and Aggron's Rock/Steel type combo was a great addition in a time when there were few Pokémon like it. Plus, he just looks like he's going to mess your opponents up. There's definitely something to be said for scare tactics.
Unfortunately, Aggron's stats just don't support his bad-ass image. A 4x type weakness against Fighting and Ground attacks combined with a poor Special Defense and Speed makes Aggron barely usable competitively. Sure he has a great move-set and even better attack-stat, but before he gained Mega-Evolution he just couldn't live up to his fame.
Dragon Pokémon in general are highly overrated, for a reason. The dragon-type was so powerful that Nintendo had to create an entire new category of Pokemon (the fairy type) to balance out the dragons.
As a Dragon-type, Flygon is fairly weak. Sure the Ground/Dragon combo is alluring, but what Dragon moves does Flygon actually learn? With its introduction to Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Flygon only naturally learned one Dragon-type move: Dragonbreath. An attack with only 60 attack-power. Weak.
Subsequent games have seen improvements for the little guy, but if they had made Flygon properly the first time there would be no need for Garchomp, the superior Ground/Dragon Pokémon.
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire was not the first game to introduce elementally-theme legendary Pokemon trios. Pokémon Red and Blue had Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos (birds) and Pokémon Silver and Gold had Entei, Suicine, and Raikou (beasts).
Instead of introducing a trio of similarly themed animals, Ruby and Sapphire gave us golems that hardly deserve their "legendary" title. They are by far the slowest of of all the legendary Pokémon, and also only copies of the original Regigigas.
Why would you want Regice, Registeel, or Regirock when you could obtain their master and creator?
If you enjoyed this list, be sure to check out the Top 10 Most Underrated Pokémon from Pokémon Sapphire and Ruby!
Published: Aug 6, 2014 12:07 pm