A call for a more balanced Pokemon
January 2, 2010 at 12:24 PM 
I've been a fan of the series literally since day one. I've owned, played and mastered every game since Red and Blue including the third releases in the series. You know what? I'm going to list them all out to emphasize my point.
- Red
- Blue
- Yellow
- Silver
- Gold
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Ruby
- Emerald
- LeafGreen
- Diamond
- Pearl
- Platinum
No joke. And I'm not even going to get into the off shoot games I have(PokeSnap, PokeStadium, etc). You get it though, I like to catch them. I like them so much I don't mind how formulaic the games are. Each version is the same concept, Pokemon, sprites, plot, even some dialogue doesn't change. And I'm totally cool with that. If it aint broke, don't fix it. The structure of the game isn't broken. I get 8 badges to battle the Elite 4 and some evil team will try to stop me. Bring it on.
However, something is broken. No matter the version I end up with a few of the same Pokemon because they are simply good fighters. Pokemon aren't balanced. Tough, big, cool looking Pokemon get the best stats and the best moves. No matter how hard I raised my Clefairy, Chansey, Skitty, etc, they sucked. Double Slap just isn't an effective move. I'd love to have a party that was all cute, round, pink pokemon, and I'd work hard to train them if there was a chance that they'd be strong enough, but they just never will be. Why does cute have to equal shitty?
I'd love to see future installments in the series have a more balanced move system. Ideally normal type Pokemon, who are generally the cutest and pinkest, would get better stats and moves through level raising. TMs and HMs are great too but Pokemon that learn moves on their own are generally stronger.
There are Pokemon like Eevee that are both cute and have the potential to get stronger with evolution. Espeon is one of my favorite Pokemon(have a lvl 100 in Silver), but Psychic is one of the strongest types. It's always been a silent ambition of mine to beat a game with an all Eevee evolution party.
Cute Pokemon equality probably isn't something many people care about. Not everyone is like me. I gave my Chikorita and ever-stone. I didn't let my Piplup in Diamond evolve because it was so damn adorable. I have a level 65 Squirtle(all time favorite). But I really do think this issue of having a more balanced move system can apply to any kind of Pokemon. Certain Pokemon are just stronger, better, and have an advantage. Am I so wrong in believing all Pokemon should be created equally, with the same amount of potential to kick some grass*. Hopefully this issue will be addressed in future installments of the game.
Here are some other Pokemon articles I've written.
My Dream: A Pokemon MMO
Potential Pokemon Games
*An actual line from the PokeRap
** I made that bulbasur picture. Pretty badass.
Reader Comments (5)
maybe they should make a Pokedome two Pokemon enter only won leaves..... alive i dont know i never understood pokemon maybe because i was already becoming an adult
I think you're absolutely right, nikole. The game would be a lot more fun if the pokemon were balanced better. I like how some of them are weaker against other ones, but if you prefer traveling with a certain type over the other ones, than you should still be evenly matched to battle anyone you come across. Good call.
While I don't necessarily believe there should be complete equality in Pokemon, it would be nice if they were balanced a little better. And I definitely agree with you about Normal pokemon being too weak in general. I've never seriously trained any of them (except for maybe Snorlax), mostly because I didn't feel like wasting so many TM's on them. Even as a type, normal doesn't get many good strengths.
And I see where you're coming from about the lack of strong cute Pokemon. I suppose Blissey counts, but I can't think of many others.
I disagree with you about the need for the story to change, but that's a whole different argument.
And lastly, nice job with the Pokerap reference. I don't remember that exact line, though. Was it part of the Gold/Silver rap, or the original?
Cute pics with you and Pikachu my Pikachu StrikeVolt would like to take a pic with ya.. =3 Its true they should put more balance in the Pokemon games and they do have a few cute legendary pokemon like Mew. Mew may be be the closest to a legendary being pink and round X3 Would be fun to play a battle with you sometime. Cute pokemon like Skitty should be a bit stronger they're strong in the anime why can't they do it in the games too..
Also if I remember right in Pokemon Gold and Silver one of the Johto Gym Leaders uses normal type pokemon and she was quite strong she beated my team a couple of times with her Miltank.. X3