History Main / ComMons

** Also, as mentioned above, PowerCreep hasn't exactly helped. These days you have Lvl 4's that are more powerful than the old Level 5's and now certain Lvl 3's ([[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Tune_Warrior Tune Warrior]], [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/X-Saber_Airbellum X-Saber Airbellum]]) are stronger than some of [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Celtic_Guardian the old]] [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Winged_Dragon,_Guardian_of_the_Fortress_1 Level 4's]]. And let's not forget poor [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Red-Eyes_B._Dragon Red-Eyes]], who's a Level 7 Normal Monster and there are Level 6 Monsters that have the ''exact same stats'' for one Tribute less (like [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Amphibian_Beast Amphibian Beast]]).
*** [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Chainsaw_Insect Chainsaw Insect]] is even worse, a level 4 with 2400 attack, 0 defense, even [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Muka_Muka Muka Muka]] which is a low level (and actually is pretty old) that could get that strong by its effect wasn't always and how often are you going to use Chainsaw Insect in defense? Poor, poor Red-Eyes.
*** Not to mention that they remade a couple old notable cards by giving them adjectives to their names to make them have any sort of purpose in the modern game. [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Obnoxious_Celtic_Guard The Obnoxious Celtic Guard]] is a remake of a pathetic card with only 1400 attack points and gives it resistance to being destroyed by strong cards. [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Swift_Gaia_the_Fierce_Knight Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight]] takes a monster which is disappointing for requiring two tributes and gives it the ability to sometimes be summoned WITHOUT a tribute.
*** On the subject of new Gaia's, there's [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gaia_Knight%2C_the_Force_of_Earth this]] and [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gaia_Drake,_the_Universal_Force this]]. Both are much stronger than the original.
** This goes back to [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Vol.1 the very first set]], since the only cards then were Normal monsters. Hitotsu-Me Giant, Silver Fang, and Mammoth Graveyard were the most powerful low-level cards by far, with 1200 ATK, and everything else had 800 at most. The only reason to ever use the 800s was that Trap Hole could kill monsters with more than 1000 ATK, and the only reason to ever use anything weaker than them was... well, nonexistent.

** Although this is averted when you reach hell. All the characters you can invite are actually useful and have a decent amount of good skills. Of course by that point in the game, who cares?

** Rattata, Pidgey and Spearow, as well as [[{{Expy}} all the others based on them.]] (Yes, Hoothoot, Sentret, Poochyena, Taillow, Zigzagoon, Starly, Bidoof, Patrat, Purrloin, Lillipup, Pidove, Bunnelby, Fletchling, Pikipek, Yungoos, Skwovet and Rookiedee, we mean ''you.'') Also [[GoddamnedBats Zubat]] and Geodude, which can be caught early on in all generations (excluding ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'') and ''continue'' to show up in every single cave you enter throughout the game.

** Rookiedee is a pure-Flying type, unlike the rest of the early-game bird which were Normal/Flying. It eventually evolves into the Flying/Steel Corviknight, a StoneWall with decent attack with a ton of useful resistances and only two weaknesses.

** Slimes do have a few things going for them -- First, in every ''Dragon Quest Monsters'' game, you can breed a King slime using basic slimes and a ''lot'' of patience; King slimes tend to be pretty powerful (they are basically given skills similar to the main series' heroes -- lightning, healing, revive, etc). Slimes themselves make good mates for other monsters -- in the original two games, Slime + anything meant a special kind of Slime, like Wingslime, Rockslime, Drakslime, all of which tended to be somewhat useful. But the thing slimes ''really'' had going for them is that, if you leveled them up enough, they learn [[EarthShatteringKaboom Ma]][[EnergyBall n]][[GameBreaker da]][[KamehameHadoken n]][[KiAttacks te]] -- Megamagic in the US version, a spell that uses up all your {{Mana}} at once to hit the enemy with a ''huge'' blast.

* The Meow Wow, Hebby Repp, and Komory Bat dream eaters fill this role in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3D'', being very easy to create and showing up all over the first four worlds of the game. They're not too much weaker statistically then the tougher varieties of dream eater you can create, however, and their abilities can still prove useful in certain situations.

** Yungoos becomes this in ''Videogame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' during the daytime. Rattata appears at night in it's place.

** Pidgey will eventually evolve into a Pidgeot, i.e. the most mediocre bird Pokémon alive. Though it is a MemeticBadass thanks to ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon''.
*** Pidgeot gained a [[SuperMode mega evolution]] in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', gaining a substantial Sp.Atk boost along with the Ability No Guard to abuse STAB Hurricane and Heat Wave.

*** In ''Black and White'', the Pokemon 'Audino' seems to fit. It fills the same slot as Chansey/Blissey did in previous generations, being a tank and healer with simply ''absurd'' defense - and it appears in rustling grass on almost every route. However, it has a limited number of offensive moves, and its attack/sp. attack are horrible. The [[LampshadeHanging lampshade is hung]] in one Pokemon Center, where one kid says, 'They're lucky! If you beat them, your Pokemon will grow faster.'
*** Actually, nothing is being hung, least of all any kind of lampshade. The kid at the Pokemon Centre is actually giving you, in his own cryptic way, directions for assembling a DiscOneNuke. The "Lucky Egg" held item multiplies the Experience Points you get at battle's end; Audino give a ridiculous amount of Exp Points even without ("grow faster"), so things get turned UpToEleven when you equip the "Lucky" Egg. Notorious InfinityMinusOneSword s Dragonite, Tyranitar, Salamence, Metagross, Garchomp, and Hydreigon can all be received (in their infant forms) as soon as you have a friend to trade with; their sheer power would make the game comically easy, so they grow at a slower-than-normal rate. Now you know how to make your Beldum grow into a big, strong Metagross: give it a Lucky Egg and go Audino hunting!

** Staraptor, the fully evolved Starly, is a DiscOneNuke that just keep nuking. It can learn two flying type field moves with STAB, a fighting type move that covers its feathered ass, and is generally very versatile.

*** Fletchling only LOOKS like it's one of these at first. Unlike all the Normal/Flying types that came before it, Fletchling evolves into the Fire/Flying type Talonflame, which is a certified Lucario killer.

** Corviknight, the fully evolved Rookiedee is a StoneWall with decent attack, and being a Steel/Flying pokemon it has the second-best defensive type in the game with a ton of resistances and only two weaknesses.

** Rattata, Pidgey and Spearow, as well as [[{{Expy}} all the others based on them.]] (Yes, Hoothoot, Sentret, Poochyena, Taillow, Zigzagoon, Starly, Bidoof, Patrat, Purrloin, Lillipup, Pidove, Bunnelby, Fletchling, Pikipek and Yungoos, we mean ''you.'') Also [[GoddamnedBats Zubat]] and Geodude, which can be caught early on in all generations (excluding ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'') and ''continue'' to show up in every single cave you enter throughout the game.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' adds rare viruses, in which Rare Mettaur stands out.
** Also, in the same series, there is a battlechip called Area Grab that is part of your starting folder in every single game. However, Area Grab is usually the only battlechip in the games (baring Metagel in ''3'') that will allow you to take over part of your opponents territory (thus expanding your movement area and opportunity to evade attacks while reducing your opponents and even increase the power of some attacks'). This means ''everything'' to most players, everything to the point in which one in * code is considered far more valuable than any InfinityPlusOneSword battlechip. The rest of the starting battlechips (outside of the attack +10s in 2 and 3, and then only for folders that contain multihit attacks) are commonly viewed as VendorTrash instead.
** Guard/Reflect * . The one chip you're guaranteed to have 99 of at some point in the game. Lampshaded at least twice - in ''EXE 2'', when in a foreign country, a kid asks you to get him a Guard * , because they're super rare there. However, all your spare chips have been stolen; if you don't have one in your folder, you can talk to a tourist from your country, who gives you 30 Guard * chips! If you talk to her again, she says: "No need to thank me, I still have over 1000 'Guard *' chips". Later in the sixth [?] game, someone gives you a good chip in exchange for '''30''' Reflect * as part of a mission.
*** While Shock Wave and Guard chips in early games are mediocre at best, Reflector chips in ''Battle Network 6'' can be incredibly useful while in good hands. They are easy to get (and S busting rank on Rare Mettaur 2 nets you a Reflector 3 chip in * code. You can put four in one folder and one deals 200 damage). What makes them so good is that unlike in older games, where guard chip reflected a shock wave at the opponent, in ''[=BN6=]'' they reflect a very fast shot instead. This means that with correct timing you can block enemy attack AND get a counter hit easily, which puts you into full synchro mode (next attack deals double damage) and the enemy is stunned for a few seconds, turning the flow of battle heavily in your favor. And if you follow it with multi-hit chip like Super Vulcan, Risky Honey or Bass chip and some Attack+ and Color/Double point chips (which add massive damage on multi hit chips, and all of this is doubled with full synchro), you can instantly kill ANY BONUS BOSS with a single attack chip!

* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' provides Prinnies ([[VerbalTic dood!]]), which are a waste of time to level up and train. However, if you keep their HP high, they make excellent [[ActionBomb grenades]] in a pinch.
** They're also useful because, in combos, damage increases with each hit. Prinnies in combos [[DeathOfAThousandCuts hit a hell of a lot]]. Therefore, adding any to a combo quickly ranks the combo up to especially high damage.
** Not to mention, cheap to maintain. No matter how strong they are, it's still only 1 HL to restore them to full health, even if they used up all of their SP and then got killed.
*** Prinnies also level at an obscene rate.
** Also any class can transmigrate to them, and they can transmigrate to any class. (Normaly human-types cannot transmigrate to demon-types and vice versa)

* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' is notable in that you will be using Pixie until well into Bootes. You don't get Fire and Healing magic on the same demon very often in this game, and she's strong against fire. Guess what every other demon uses? (Once you meet Mitra, though, it's time to look into her fusion options.)
** There's a password released by Atlus for a pixie that's Lv. 1, but has 10 MAG (Pixies have 3 at level 1) and 99(!) LUC. It knows Megidolaon (a hyper-powerful non-elemental magic attack), and Mediarahan (a party-wide full heal). It costs a smaller fortune to summon, but around the 4th and 5th zone, it can be leveled quickly and you have a GlassCannon at your disposal.
*** The password is "Madeka Ueno"

* Mocchi in ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher 2'', however ''Monster Rancher'' is built on MagikarpPower, so it can become quite badass.

** Fortunately, Zubat has decent potential. When it becomes Golbat, it gains a few strategic moves like Confuse Ray and Mean Look, but it still isn't much... yet. Generation II gave it more bite. Pump up its happiness high enough, and then you get it to evolve further into Crobat, who has a dastardly combo of Flying attacks it can learn: Air Slash, Acrobatics, Aerial Ace, and Poison Fang turn it into something fierce!

*** As some sort of RunningGag, most games include an [[SuicidalOverconfidence overconfident fisherman]] with an [[CripplingOverspecialization all-Magikarp team]].

* Played straight in the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' card game, where you start with a crappy collection of cards and then have to play other people and sift through their horde of bad cards to get one of the few worth having. That said, the cards can also be refined into items, so every card has at least some sort of use.

** Rattata, Pidgey and Spearow , as well as [[{{Expy}} all the others based on them.]] (Yes, Hoothoot, Sentret, Poochyena, Taillow, Zigzagoon, Starly, Bidoof, Patrat, Purrloin, Lillipup, Pidove, Bunnelby, Fletchling, Pikipek and Yungoos, we mean ''you.'') Also [[GoddamnedBats Zubat]] and Geodude, which can be caught early on in all generations (excluding ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'') and ''continue'' to show up in every single cave you enter throughout the game.

* Rattata, Pidgey and Spearow in ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', as well as [[{{Expy}} all the others based on them.]] (Yes, Hoothoot, Sentret, Poochyena, Taillow, Zigzagoon, Starly, Bidoof, Patrat, Purrloin, Lillipup, Pidove, Bunnelby, Fletchling, Pikipek and Yungoos, we mean ''you.'') Also [[GoddamnedBats Zubat]] and Geodude, which can be caught early on in all generations (excluding ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'') and ''continue'' to show up in every single cave you enter throughout the game.

** Gumshoos becomes this in ''Videogame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' during the daytime. Rattata appears at night in it's place.

*** Their Dex entries hang a bit of a lampshade on the whole thing: in Alola, Rattatas are legitimately considered an invasive species, and Yungoos was imported from another country to try to stop their spread. End result: Alolans Rattatas are now nocturnal, and the islands have ''two'' bunches of ComMons rodents being a pain. [[ShownTheirWork This is a reference to actual Pacific fauna history]]: small Asian mongooses were introduced into Hawaii and Indonesia to get rid of rats in sugarcane plantations, but became an invasive species themselves.

*** Their Dex entries hang a bit of a lampshade on the whole thing: in Alola, Rattatas are legitimately considered an invasive species, and Yungoos was imported from another country to try to stop their spread. End result: Alolans Rattatas are now nocturnal, and the islands have ''two'' bunches of ComMons rodents being a pain.

* For some paleontologists, some types of fossils become this; one example is the Gobi Desert, which is rich with dinosaur bones but fossil enthusiasts who expect find rare dinosaurs will be dissapointed by the ubiquitous amount of ''Protoceratops'' bones that litter the area.