I’ve been fascinated with Pokémon a complete bunch recently, notably in regards to the on-line group and the way a lot time has handed. The aggressive gamers I thought of my buddies are to date prior to now that the subsequent technology after them is taken into account the “old fashioned.” I met lots of them throughout Era 1, and one of the crucial fascinating instances was within the transition to Era 2, notably with regard to theorycrafting.
The significance and limitations of theorycrafting is one thing all gamers must cope with in any aggressive surroundings, however again when info was scarce and we solely had questionably translated supplies from the Japanese launch, it actually felt like one thing totally different. As with each technology change, gamers on websites like Azure Heights tried to determine what can be robust in Gold and Silver. One reply that got here up was Starmie.
On paper, it made sense. Starmie was among the many high picks in Crimson, Blue, and Yellow. It was quick. It hit arduous. Its movepool was additionally among the many greatest. Not solely did it study highly effective strikes that benefited from its Water/Psychic typing (Psychic, Surf, Hydro Pump), however it might additionally cowl each kind mixture within the sport with Ice Beam and Thunderbolt (or Blizzard, which was ~90% correct in Gen 1), and it realized superb defensive/assist strikes within the paralyzing Thunder Wave and the health-restoring Recuperate. Being Psychic kind was additionally an enormous boon in a technology the place they’d no precise weaknesses.
Gen 2 launched egg strikes: strategies that Pokémon might solely study by way of breeding. This might doubtlessly be transformative, and one transfer stood out in Starmie’s checklist: Confuse Ray. Being each paralyzed (25% probability to not transfer in any respect mixed with a 75% pace discount) and confused (50% probability to hit your self and never execute a transfer) was among the many most annoying issues to cope with in Gen 1. To have parafusion on a single Pokémon appeared like a nightmare situation, and so Starmie was predicted to be a severe meta menace.
Time proved issues out in a different way, nonetheless. Whereas parafusion might nonetheless be annoying, the adjustments made to the battle system went far past gamers’ early theorycrafting. The dividing of the Particular stat into two (Particular Assault and Particular Protection) meant that strikes like Amnesia and Psychic weren’t fairly as efficient. The introduction of the Darkish and Metal kind, and to a lesser extent the enhancements made to Bug, all took away the Psychic varieties’ main benefit. Curse turned out to be an extremely robust transfer, particularly when paired with an extremely cumbersome selection like Snorlax—even when caught in place whereas paralyzed and confused, they might climate the storm and Relaxation off the injury. Heal Bell, a transfer that eliminated all of the standing results inflicted by yourself staff, trivialized assaults like Thunder Wave. And that is the technology Imply Look and Perish Track was launched, creating the Perish Entice technique that might lock opponents in and power them into no-win situations.
Again then, the false hype of parafusion Starmie taught me one thing essential: Folks will theorize primarily based on their earlier experiences as a result of that’s what they must depend on, and that energy is relative. Methods don’t exist in a vacuum, and issues that had been thought of universally robust typically falter in a unique surroundings. (And typically, issues are actively nerfed.) That is removed from the one occasion of principle not matching apply in Pokémon and even past, however it’s one I keep in mind with a robust tinge of nostalgia.
