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Improving Pokémon by giving them new abilities

Discussion in 'Pokémon General' started by DoctorFlygon, Mar 3, 2017.

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  1. DoctorFlygon

    DoctorFlygon myagical girl

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    Pokémon's viability, both in-game and competitively, obviously changes a lot over time in most cases. Whilst many people think of improving them with Megas or flat-out evolving them, sometimes a less flashy change can make a huge difference - In Gen 5, most notably, many Pokémon became drastically more fearsome due to their new Hidden Abilities, infamous examples being Politoed and Ninetales, and it continues to happen, with Gen 6 improving Wigglytuff by giving it the new Competitive ability, and Gen 7 granting weather abilities to several more non-legendaries akin to what happened with 'toed and 'tales back a couple of generations ago. Even if a Pokémon already does great, new abilities can grant them more options and generally be a lot of fun, like with Salamence and Heracross gaining Moxie in Gen 5.

    That's kinda what this thread is for. Suggesting abilities, new or existing, to give to a Pokémon to maybe make them stand out that bit more and perform better, or even just to give them some fun new toys to play with. You can add a couple more buffs to them too, if they'd benefit from it, but nothing too over-the-top, to make sure the main point isn't overshadowed.

    My first Pokémon here is one I'm very fond of:
    [​IMG]
    Dusknoir!

    Now, Dusknoir's problems aren't just because it lacks a really good ability, but because, whilst it's meant to be a tank, and was viable in Gen 4, its HP is super low, which hurts its tanking capability a fair bit. Plus, with how much bulkier Dusclops is holding an Eviolite, my poor badass reaper cyclops thing finds itself very outclassed in-battle. So whilst I wouldn't wanna make its' pre-evo be redundant, I would buff Dusknoir's HP up by 20 points, which puts it at 65/135/135 bulk as opposed to its younger sibling's 40/195/195 with an Eviolite. Still not nearly as bulky, sure, but now it can actually take hits a lot better.

    So with that out of the way, onto the main point here - Abilities. Dusknoir currently has a potential slot for another ability, as do its two pre-evolved forms, and currently, it has Pressure and Frisk, which aren't especially notable. I thought long and hard about this, and whilst I first considered giving it Regenerator or Magic Bounce, I instead thought up a much fresher and, in my opinion, cooler idea, and whilst I lack a solid name for it yet, let's go with "Dimensional Maneuver" for now. The whole idea of this ability is very similar to that of the weather or terrain-setting abilities, except with a certain move effect with a similar turn limit - This ability would instantly set down the effects of Trick Room upon Dusknoir entering the battlefield, something a slow 'mon like it would not only benefit from greatly, but would make it a hugely useful ally to have on slower teams.

    Of course, an item like the Terrain Extender for "Room" moves would also be in place, allowing the spooky cyclops to set down the effect for eight turns following its entrance. "But Doc," I hear you cry, "Dusknoir would still be outclassed as a Trick Room setter by Dusclops, wouldn't it?"

    Well, no. Not necessarily. Many Pokémon change abilities when they evolve, like Clefairy's Friend Guard becoming Unaware upon evolving, and I liked the idea of not just giving my boy Dusknoir a neat new gimmick, but also giving Dusclops (and technically Duskull, too) a different ability for the same slot as Dimensional Maneuver on its bigger sibling, to not just let Dusclops have a chance to escape the pit of irrelevance, but also to, whilst not necessarily making either outright superior, instead letting them have more individual uses, which while is already sort of a thing with Dusknoir hitting harder, it isn't enough to make up for its far inferior bulk as is.

    I'm not entirely sure what it could get, but I think giving 'clops one of the abilities I considered for its evolution would help it greatly, being either Magic Bounce or Regenerator, the latter of which I feel fits it thematically very well for some reason due to its mummy-esque wrapping, but there's plenty of potential for other abilities too.

    Whilst I lack any other extensive ideas as of now, I think Dimensional Maneuver would be a great ability for other Pokémon who lack popularity in-battle - I'd be down for seeing the likes of Musharna gain it as an additional ability, and I can think of some Mega Evolution ideas it could work very well on, like Stantler, Grumpig or Noctowl. (In either case, making their base speed much lower after Mega Evolving would not only let them take full advantage of it, but also give them more points for buffing stats elsewhere.)

    Anyway, those are my ideas as of now, but I'm sure I'll think of more, and I'm interested to see the types of stuff you guys come up with.
     
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    Astronaut likes this.
  2. Seprix

    Seprix Patron Sint

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    A 'Trick Room' ability upon switch in would be so OP that it would be instantly banned.
     
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  3. Drew Blackstone

    Joined:
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    Wonder Guard on Sableye (especially Mega'd) would be insane. It'd be immune to direct damage from all but one type, and it could taunt the opponent to prevent any status moves.

    Anything but Shedinja (being a one-hit-point wonder) would probably be insane with Wonder Guard, to be honest.
     
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