The two sides of power creep The unstoppable force The immovable object

"Welcome to Pokemon, we got OU tier, UU tier, Ubers tier, and Quagsire." "Wh... what tier is Quagsire?" "Quagsire isn't bound by the concept of tiers."

In gen 9, recover and roosts pp were cut in half. Over the course of its existence, recover went from 32 to 8 pp.

I remember when Milotic was the big unkillable Pokémon. What a quaint time that was.

The creation of Toxapex in general is still one of the funniest decisions Pokémon has ever made right after Ferrothorn

"How could any generation match Gen 5's power creep?" *looks nervously at Gen 9 OU right now*

The year is 20XX, and it’s generation 69, and smogon finally banned Ferrothorn and Toxapex from Ultra OUBL, and now only allowed in Triple Ubers. Chansey and Blissey both fell from Mega Gigachad OU to untiered, but it had a niche in Triple ZU during the first wave of DLC. Ultra Instinct Swampert’s new ability Sap Sipper was too powerful that the new Mega Evolution: Mega Kartana VMAX didn’t have a chance that Swamper got banned from OU V to Anything Goes GX. Tyranitar is still in OU but is struggling against Mega Garchomp’s new offensive and defensive role has been discovered with teaming up Skarmory and Ultra Mega Primal Gigantimax Shuckle.

For Gen 5, you forgot to mention the introduction of Scald, a relatively widespread move that allowed many Water types to burn the opposing Pokémon, thus being more protected on the physical side thanks to the Burn status' effect of halving the Attack stat.

I love looking at the chapters and going “I bet that’s gen 5” when I saw the huge part.

I love how this video ended up coming out right after Gen 9 blew up stall’s/balance’s options and gave us a new Ghost that is now Ubers because it’s signature move is literally just a cheat button.

There is one stat that hasnt been mentioned. The power creep of the speed stat, to the point that pokemon like sceptile, having 120 speed, arent fast enough to earn a spot in todays meta

“Gen 5 was the generation of excess” Scarlet/Violet: Hello there.

For Gen 2 you forgot the addition of leftovers. Lefties was a crucial part of many walls for the passive recovery.

I'm still to this day legitimately upset at hot dirty they did my boy Zamazenta, he should've been been creeping defensively in the same way his sister was power creep incarnate Why is he Fighting/Steel? Where was Recover? Where was King's Shield? Where was Body Press*? *He gets in Generation 9 but not the generation they both were introduced in, _why?_

*Press F* for no mention of Sand Stream Tyranitar. When they made Sandstorm add a 50% SpDef boost to Rock types in Gen 4, TTar became a unique special tank that soaked up hits and dished out wicked damage in return with its big near-unpredictable movepool, Pursuited or setup in almost anyones face. A reliable mon to this day.

GF:What number of both defenses you want? Toxapex:Yes.

Damn I didn't expect Gen 9 to just turn competitive Pokemon into who can set up their weapon of destruction first.

Gen 9 is looking like the most power crept generation ever

False swipe gaming is the Best poketuber we could ask for

You know Quagsire is amazing when both forms of Zacian have to take extreme care for his derpy face showing up to keep him in check like Rayquaza does to Kyogre and Groudon in lore.

Defensive powercreep can be summed up like this. "Don't fear the big boom. Fear the one who is not afraid of the big boom."

Another interesting point in gen 8 is also the removal of Hidden Power. It narrowed down the number of viable offensive threats and more importantly prevented the need to prepare for quite literally any max move on any maxing mon

I'm not sure if this would considered "defense" but the buff to the drain moves in Gen 5 helped a lot. Going to base 75 power and 15pp made them appealing as an offensive option that allowed you to heal up, so like recover without losing momentum.

I know that Gen 6 was mainly about buffs to Defensive Power Creeo, but I feel like the addition of Steel no longer resisting Dark and Ghost would be an example of a hit to Defensive Power Creep.

Toxapex aside, it seems like Gamefreak is going out of its way to kill stall. So many changes in Gen 9 that neuter the tactic, mostly a further reduction in the PP of healing moves...

I find it kinda sad that healing moves like roost and recover were made to have 5 pp.

You know, a question I had for a while was: "If Pokemon ever allowed a 5th move slot, which side would benefit more? Defensive meta, or Offensive?" Defensive get an entire new tool to play with, but Offensive get more coverage with the ability to set up or deny. I'm really curious how a meta would look with just that one difference.

The ability to just switch types at key moments is honestly going to be crazier than anything seen in Pokemon before. Especially as people will always have access to it.

“Once the dust settles, it’s almost certain that defensive improvements will come to be significant pieces of the meta game as well.” And thus, Shedinja found its way into Ubers in the way everyone had hoped or feared.

GF: You know what pokemon we should bring back for gen 9. Kricketune! But let's also do absolutely nothing to improve it, despite the fact it was absolutely awful in the gen it premiered in and power creep is more hellish than ever. It's not like these massive dex cuts are the perfect chance to take a deep look at some of our worst pokemon and give them a new chance at life.

You forgot to mention that a certain high-tier pokemon from RBY found itself blessed with a hefty new special defense stat and a way to shore up its unimpressive physical defense.

FSG: *Talking about Power Creep* Last Respects: _Insert Jaws theme_

i would like to see a video on reverse power creep, which is where old mons become better either due to gaining new moves or by them just having a better matchup against the new meta

One piece of Defensive Powercreep was featured in the Scarlet Violet story mode, but I'm actually not sure how useful it actually is. On Iono'a team, her representative Tera Pokemon was Tera-Electric Mismagius. Using Terastalization, it could turn any pokemon with the Levitate ability into a stronger and/or bulkier Eelektross: toting 0 Weaknesses and likely better stats or moves than Eelektross.

The gen 9 meta has only been live on Smogon for two and a half days and they already have their first two OU bans, and both are brand new mons (though one is really more a move than the mon but it's the only one that can legally learn it for now).

leftovers, black sludge and scald are pretty significant pieces of power creep that weren't mentioned explicitly

Using obnoxious pokemon like Eviolite Chaney, Toxapex, Snorlax, ans Umbreon are way more fun than sweepers.

The most marvellous thing about this non-main series are the thumbnails, they're marvellous

I have a great deal of respect for defensive teams even though I dont usually have the patience to do it myself. I generally view a pokemon more on their defensive merits rather that offensive ones ( Aurora Veil Frosmoth could have potential now that snow boosts Defense to complement Ice Scales Sp. Defense boost).

I am so glad that Quagsire seemed to be a star in this video. He is near perfect as an unaware Pokemon.

Very interesting! Maybe also "Power Seep?" (Pokemon who were nerfed between generations like Aegislash and Talonflame)?

This brings back memories of Gen 2 where I would use Umbreon to slaughter entire teams. Could he be beaten? Of course, but not many people used Fighting types and next to no one used Bug. Even so, I made my defensive bulk high enough that I couldn't be taken out even by super effective moves. That bulk combined with Leftovers, Double Team and Moonlight meant I essentially never went down. Toxic took out most enemies. My 4th move was usually either Confuse Ray, Mean Look, Protect, or Sunny Day. In some cases, I'd replace Moonlight with Rest. Even if Umbreon went down, I had Snorlax. With more offensive styles in mind, I also ran Jolteon for its speed and sheer damage output. Espeon or Alakazam covered psychic when I was choosing to not use legendary pokemon though I prefered Espeon since it could better take a hit, did almost the same damage, was usually fast enough, and had a similarly impressive move pool. The other 2 pokemon I used varies a lot between Tyranitar, Scizor, Gengar, or Skarmory for the most part. If my friends wanted me to go all out, I'd use Mewtwo, but he was so stupid OP and I rarely felt the need to incorporate him into my team. Instead of Jolteon, I also ran Zapdos (largely due to its immunity to ground and lack of weakness to electric), Those were simpler times ^_^

You could honestly make an entire video on Reverse Power-Creep, where mons got better with time, instead of worse.

I used Regenerator Toxapex on my Battle Tree team. Best poison staller ever! Only Pokémon with Taunt could counter it! Baneful Bunker, Scald, Recover, Toxic. Sometimes the opponent got poisoned by Baneful Bunker if I felt I needed to protect from a threatening physical attacker, but Toxic was preferred due to the damage from poison increasing every turn.

I may despise Toxapex with an unholy fury but that thumbnail is the absolute greatest thing.

The thumbnail really do be my gen 9 teams (they all rely on Pex to slow down opposing hyper offense)

And now there's a move in Scarlet and Violet that Revives a Pokemon in your party with some HP. And it can be used in competitive battles. Yippie :')

I hope he covers a slight overview of how the gen 9 meta is shaping out to be next week Ofc it’ll be ages before it finally settles, but right now its carnage.

"The merchant presented the emperor with two objects: A shield he said was capable of withstanding any weapon, and a halberd which he claimed no defence could withstand"

Funny how this comes out after the never-before-seen stall nerf

Interesting timing, since from what I’ve been told Gen 9 has gutted defense. The new Tera mechanic has also blown the hinges off of offensive options. At least in these early days. Maybe the meta will settle in a healthy way.

0:58 we ask...how good was DEFESIVE power creep actually?

When I commented this video came out 31 seconds ago Power creep has a good, a bad, and an ugly. That’s all I have to say.

Dondozo and Clodsire be like: "Did you called us?"

Gerganacl is the defensive power creep of Gen 9. Physical AND Special bulk, can't be afflicted by any status at all, a move that deals reliable damage every turn to every Pokemon, and it has Recover.

Please keep adding your videos to the playlist. Playlist hasn’t been updated since the baton pass video

Toxapex gives off a real "I'm always there for you" vibe

This will age poorly cuz poor Toxapex was slaughtered and nerfed to oblivion in gen 9, heck stall/defense in general was nerfed to oblivion, Scald is all but gone, recovery moves have low PP, oh boy, let's see what happens....

I think we're confusing power creep with polarization in several of these cases. Power creep is universal by default.

“Behold!” *presents Garganacl* “Defensive Power Creep!”

Surprised the EV distribution change between gen2 & 3 wasnt mentioned. Every Pokémon went from having maxed defensives to only being able to max 2 stats: usually speed and attack/sp.atk. To this day the EV chnage is probably the biggest blow to defensive playstyles in the game

"Imagine having Dark Urshifu in Gen1" "Yeah that would be broken, but what about having FERROTHORN in Gen 1 ?"

I know you guys may not be familiar with it, but I think a video on Pokémon GO PvP. it is much more complex than it may seem. PvP ivs, shields, different leagues, undercharging, fast and charged moves, farming energy, baiting, catching, move alignments, CMP ties, immunities being x2 times resistances, The way stab and super effectiveness works and more. I think a video on it would be cool to see.

I think it's interesting that there isn't allways power creep as Zacian, toxapex, aegislash and more +even abilities got nerfed like protean or pokemon lost abilities like Gengar(rip gengar)

With Stall being heavily nerfed Gen 9 this could get ugly very fast

The change to Clefairy had to be one of the most hilarious but most apocalyptic thing they've unleashed.

Love these new styles of videos, keep it up!

"I love defense" Byron

I feel like environmental moves (weather/spikes/trick room/toxic spikes) or stat changes could all be considered utility moves I think that could make a very interesting video especially during the baton pass meta and how tailwind still holds up to this day in vgc

Offensive PC: *Prepare for trouble* Defensive PC: *And make it double*

I thought the inverse of power creep was gonna be Pokemon that stay unaffected by it and go on to permanently shape the Meta around themselves (AKA Landorus)

I find it funny how a fish, a giant catfish, and a flamingo are dominating gen 9 ou

Can we take the average of each stat over the generations to see if it increases by a significant amount? It will add a piece to the puzzle

This explains why so many people I talk to really don't like gen 9 OU and prefer Nat Dex or some other format. The cutting of all healing moves PP in half combined with less Pokémon getting Heal Bell, Armomatherapy, Defog, Scald, Toxic and Teleport makes it way harder to play defensively. Defog especially since it makes hazard stack way more prominent meaning almost every Pokémon has to wear HDB to not get chipped which means they skip out on Leftovers recovery. The reason the generation has so many bans and is regarded as not fun is because there was extreme offensive powercreep without barely any defensive power creep. If anything they tried their damnedest to make playing defensive hard as hell. It's just like fighting games, you may hate Zoners but they're necessary for a healthy meta in the same way defensive mons are necessary for keeping offensive mons in check.

Whoever made these thumbnails deserves a raise.

The thumbnail was so sweet

I’m not sure if this is something worth mentioning, but would the crit chance being lowered be considered a buff or a nerf defensively? It kept some key defensive threats alive, but it also allowed for Crit Me Not Sweepers that would boost defensively into infinity and sweep.

This is the nicest depiction of Toxapex I've ever seen in a thumbnail

Loving all your new artwork man. Makes the channel look sick!

Another great & informative video FGS. Think you could do a video on the importance of reliable recovery? I think that's what screwed so many tank mons over the generations.

Quagsire being a viable defensive wall in OU, UU and Ubers will always amuse me.

TFW Gen 9... * Halves recovery PP again * Removes Scald, Knock Off, Haze, and Defog from most pokemon * Has threats that will nuke nearly any wall (Maushold, Gholdengo, Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu, etc)

I think defense will now die for good in Scarlet and Violet, because i think every single notable healing move like Roost and Recover got their pp decreased to 5.

Toxic's just an attack that ignores the numbers, but takes a while. Ah, it encourages defence. Tyranitar can take fighting-type moves, now.

I think the best example of this as a whole is the fact that defensive teams have seemed to get even more prevalent with each gen lately (idk about gen 9 I haven’t played it much) despite all the new op offensive attacks being released

Dude can you please organize the history of competitive Pokemon videos by the generation they came out it would make it so much easier to find videos for certain Pokemon or see if you've even made them yet

I love how there was a typo here that says, "Defesive" instead of "Defensive!" It's very funny! LMAO

Has anybody told them about the typo in the title card? It says "How good was defesive power-creep actually"

Gen 9 is nerfing healing and removing scald (besides one mon) without defensive power creep how do we deal with offense power creep its a two way street but in the end both need to exist for balance.

1:00 How GOOD was Defesive Power Creep ACTUALLY?

Can you make a video on how good the move "toxic" has been throughout the generations?

I was what? Bibarrel has Unaware in dpp? Wow… I was unaware

Great analysis video! Thanks for uploading!

I wonder who is drawing your latest thumbnails, they're brilliant!!!

I'm reminded of the drawing of drawing of Chansey holding an Eviolite saying "FIVE MORE MINUTES MOM"

I'm already interested what everyone is gonna think of Arbolvia. Arbolvia has some good def bulk, set up Grassy terrain after taking a hit, has leech seed and good special atk, oh also Tinkaton with Gigaton Hammer and Protect as a nice combo to sweep

Defensive power creep is dead. Removing Toxic from TMs (the most prolific way for defensive mons to cause damage), reducing base PP of recovery moves to 5, introduction of heavy-duty boots to remove damage from hazards (second most prolific damage method for defensive mons), burn damage being reduced, Scald being removed from all but Volcanion... need I go on?

kinda surprised you didn’t mention leftovers in gen 2

That is an absolute top tier thumbnail lmao

This channel deserves more subscribers.