Pokémon General Thread

The Setting: (due for a rewrite)

• Geographically, the actual inspiration would be based on Nigeria specifically, but Sub-Saharan Africa generally.
  • Conveniently, Victory Road would be based at the center of the region, on "Victory Rock", which lies just outside the capitol city. Aso Rock itself means "Victory" Rock.
  • The desert area at the far north of the region would be based on the Sahara.
• The setting of Pokemon Past might be the verdant but technologically stunted world that the Fairy/Grass ecoterrorists of Team Reset want in Pokemon Future. Pokemon Future would be set in an industrious but polluted and uncaring world, sought by the heartless capitalists of Steel/Poison Team Startup in Pokemon Past. So, each evil team wants to bring about the world of the other game. Consider this based on the vast disparities in rapidly "developing" nations.
  • The Professor and Elite Four are actively working to stop the damage done by the Evil Team. So, your journey is collecting data while the professor is out. But, as you explore, you run into them and help them, which is why Victory Road coincidentally reopens shortly after beating the team.
  • The evil team's base is in a secret facility in the northern desert. The desert is populated by Unown, Castform, the 3-stage Fire/Ice line mentioned below, and the Kantonian and Alolan Sandshrew lines, among others. The team is trying to use Unown and their game's legendary to buff their Pokemon, research efforts on man-made climate change and (de-)industrialization, and make their desires a reality.

The Pokemon of the region:

• The Legendaries:
  • Two new Pokemon would be made this generation, themed around storytelling and fortunetelling. I haven't thought of ideas for them yet. The two would be the only two new legendary Pokemon. Too many exist as it is.
  • The additional version legendary of Past would be Celebi, to take things back and change the past. For Future, it would be Jirachi, to make things new and affect the future. They would be balanced by Victini, representing change to the present itself. Possibly, Hoopa could also be included, with the evil team using Hoopa to bind the legendaries to "Bound" forms, to make them easier to control.
• The Regional Dex:
  • Not a lot of new Pokemon would come in this generation, since there's so many already. However, many returning Pokedex would feature Pokemon have seen retools and buffs (below).
  • Existing Pokemon that fit geographically (based on West Africa) would return, and some of the 'dex would be alternate forms and regional variants, that fit the region and the story of the game.
  • A lot of existing Pokemon fit the culture, if not the geography. From local fauna and flora, to the local customs (e.g. Banette, Haxorus, etc.)
• The National Dex:
  • The first expansion: After the story, a lot of Pokemon that have been displaced, or faced near extinction by the Evil Team's actions, would disburse across the region. Some of the first Pokemon available in the postgame are the Johto starters, as several are native to the region.
  • After this, the full Pokedex would be available for import, once the region's environment has stabilized.

The League:

• The Gyms:
  • While the first and last gyms are the same, the player can otherwise take branching paths for gym locations. Dynamic Difficulty and story progression would be based on however many badges you have.
  • Each Gym would primarily be around a gameplay element, not a type, though gym leaders' teams will mostly overlap with a Type(s).
  • The only Leaders shared between both versions are the Normal, Psychic, Double-Battle, and Multi-type leader's teams. All other
    • Normal - basic team building, type matchups, and held items
    • Ghost/Dark - type immunities (Ghost typing, Dark secondary typing, Levitate), and priority moves
    • Poison/Fire - non-volatile statuses (Poison and Burn, Flame Body and Poison Point, Toxic and Will o' Wisp)
    • Grass/Fairy - status moves (attract/infatuation, Rivalry, stat boosting, barrier/light screen etc.) This gym leader is also in charge of the nursery, and will teach trainers the basics on EV and IV training outside of battle. Or, their spouse does it.
    • Rock/Ground - entry hazards (Spikes and Stealth Rocks, Magic Bounce, Levitate)
    • Psychic - volatile statuses (confusion, infatuation, Taunt, Mean Look)
    • Two trainers mixing Flying, Water & Electric - double battle strategies (rain dance, hurricane, thunder, lightning rod, tailwind...)
    • multi-type - weather effects, team variety, general challenge.
• The Elite Four and Champion:
  • The Champion's Cup:
    • All other trainers use full teams of 6.
    • The League doesn't actually have a set Elite Four when you get there, because the Elite Five, the four strongest trainers and the region's Professor, were busy doing story stuff alongside you, and haven't yet figured out who among them is the strongest. So when everything is settled in the story, the five of them invite you and two of the secondary rivals to participate in an "Elite Eight" tournament, with a Group A and a Group B. The top two in each group, plus whichever one trainer has the next-most points, then hold a single-elimination Tournament Stage (with one wild card match), to determine which of the five will be Champion.
  • On the first run through:
    • It's scripted so that the Cup "starts" after you've already beaten the secondary rivals. That way, you're guaranteed to make it to the Tournament Stage, but if you lose, you have to do the Wild Card match.
    • This way, you have to beat 3 other trainers to be Champion, and becoming Champion isn't guaranteed.
    • The Professor is always scripted to get knocked out in the opposite group stage on the first run through, freeing them up for certain other post-game stuff.
  • On subsequent rematches:
    • You actually do have to play through the entire tournament. The four non-professor type specialists always compete in the tournament, and are thus considered the "canon" Elite Four. That's what makes them Elite.
    • The other three spots in the tournament are a rotating assortment of Gym Leaders (including those from the opposite version of the game), Frontier Brains, the Professor, secondary rivals (including any that didn't participate previously), and your main Rival (consider this similar to the Battle Tree).
  • At least one of the "canon" Elite Four always makes it to the opposite side of the Finals bracket, so that if you don't, one of them always wins the Champion's Cup.
  • The Elite Four and Professor's teams:
    • Professor - Dragon specialist - The professor's area of study is "development". Their team is all 3 final form starters, 3 final form Dragon pseudo-legendaries.
    • Ice specialist - A cool and collected woman in her early 30s. She's seen as the most capable person in the entire League, because despite her type being at a disadvantage to several of the other Elite Four, and just plain being unseasonal for the region, she always has a plan and often comes out ahead. She often uses Hail, entry hazards, and phasing.
    • Fighting specialist - A focused young man, about 20 years old. You can often find him either doing soccer drills with his team, or attempting to challenge Kabu's battle facility. His ace is a Passimian, though he also has a Cinderace.
    • Steel specialist - An architect in her mid 40s. She's heading up the region's responsible development and reconstruction, in the wake of the story's events. No she does not actively use a Conkeldurr, because Conkeldurr is ugly as sin. They can be found on her construction sites, though. Her ace would be a new Steel/Grass Pokemon themed around Bamboo.
    • Bug specialist - A teacher in his mid 30s, training a generation of kids to be professionals in and out of Pokemon battles. His ace is Antellective, the Bug/Psychic "hive mind" Pokemon.
• Other league challengers:
  • You have an actual rival, detailed above, but battling isn't their focus. So, they play more into the game's story than into its league challenge.
  • Two (or more) recurring NPCs act like secondary rivals, but are mostly there to give tips, serve as in-game trade partners, tag along for double battles, and provide regular healing during dungeons.
  • You can re-challenge gyms and face trainers stronger wherever you go. Some trainers in each place, that can be re-matched, would stay at low levels, based on your lead party member.
• The Battle Frontier:
  • In the post-game, when the region's turmoil has settled, and the setting has reached a happy medium, the Professor can now turn his attention to building up and developing the region. As such, he calls in certain battle experts from around the world, to help the region's Battle Frontier get started. In a potential revisit to the region, once the Battle Frontier is up and running, you may find that certain Gym Leaders and major NPCs will have filled in the Battle Frontier and any vacant positions. Some of the international members of the Battle Frontier may decide to stay, however.The Frontier Brains would be implied to be around Elite Four level battlers.
  • Arcade Star Dahlia - Battle Roulette - Roll for random effects
  • Pike Queen Lucy - Battle Pike - Player's choice, certain set effects
  • Subway Bosses Ingo & Emmet - Battle Subway - Double battles
  • Team Captain Kabu - Battle Pitch - Triple battles
  • Thespian Brycen-Man - Battle Studio - Battle against unique "Pokemon" types/moveset/ability combination
  • Proprietor Inver - Battle Mirror - Inverse battles
  • Heartbreaker Charles - Battle Drome - Rotation battles

• A 3 stage line, the first one pure-Rock type and named "Raxpel", who learns some moves like Bounce. It evolves into the Steel/Rock "Orypel", then a minotaur-like "Caprapel", with metal horns and forked beard making its face resemble a grappling hook, and retractable hook hands. Occasionally found in the wild holding an Escape Rope. A favorite line of hikers.
• A 3 Stage Fire/Ice tiger line, "Felcius, Panthermal and Tempantera", that latter of which can learn Ice Burn. Depending on where it's found (cold or hot areas) the line would have Flame Body or Ice Body as an ability, and flip between white with red accents or red with white accents. The shiny version would replace the red with blue. It would have decent speed and Special Defense, terrible Special Attack, and strong Attack and Defense.
• A 3 stage Bug/Poison line "Catoupe, Harsuit, and Pompadopt", which comes in white and yellow and looks suspiciously like Elvis◊. Poison Point for its ability.
• A branching 2 stage line. The first is the Steel/Poison, Tetanus/lockjaw themed Lockuvier evolving into one of two branches: a Dragon/Steel Jawrial, with a possible ability Strong Jaw; or a Dragon/Poison Doomodo, with a possible ability Poison Point.
• A Water/Normal "Thaumimic", with the ability Color Change (or hidden Protean), which could learn Mirror Move, Mimic, and Confusion.
• A Water/Dark cephalopod "Proquo", with the ability Iron Barbs or Synchronize, and a moveset featuring Pain Split, Power Split, Guard Split, Endeavor, Destiny Bond, Revenge, Payback, Snatch, etc. - "squid pro quo"
• A Fighting/Psychic :Ichimaki". Imagine a pokeball with short grey legs and long, white, cloth-like arms. A nose shaped like a "1", and slit eyes shaped like "-" (the Japanese numeral 1). It'd have high Special Attack, but low attack and defenses.
• A Flying/Fighting 2-stage "Shintern and Kicretarie", with several kick moves, and Immunity as a possible ability.
  • Possible other name or stage: "Vocavian"
• A Flying/Dark "Umbrallon" that learns Night Shade, and a variety of offensive and defensive spread moves. Considering its resemblance to an umbrella, it may have Rain Dish or Lightning Rod as an ability.
• A Flying/Fire "Fenext", with a unique ability that once per battle regains 1/10th of max HP if it's KO'd or brought to red health.
• A Bug/Dark female only "Widhour", with an hourglass figure and an actual hourglass, that learns Perish Song, Future Sight, and other such moves.
• A Psychic/Bug "Antellective", that looks like a mix between a brain and a beehive (hive mind) with small wings all over it. In this region, is used to maintain the PC, and can communicate with others of its kind from long distances. High special attack and special defense, extremely low speed and physical defense.
• A Ghost/Rock crab, based on certain Ghost Crabs.

A Psychic/Dark evolution for Girafarig called Ungolognu.

• The name comes from a corruption of "Ungulate" (cloven-hooved mammal), the word "Undo", the word "undulate" (see below), the animal "gnu" (a wildebeest, another type of ungulate like the giraffe) and a palindrome.
• It has a ambguity as to whether or not it's benevolent or malevolent. This is due to some cultures' superstitions about twins being either a good or very bad omen, both of which are undue.
• Its Early Bird secondary ability is replaced by Intimidate.
• Its rear head now fully resembles a mix between a giraffe's and a wildebeest's in appearance.
• Each head holds a white circular mirror floating above its "horns", keeping it looking unsettling to both friend and foe alike:
  • To the foe, it looks as if the end facing you is conceitedly mocking you, while also looking a bit regal.
  • To the trainer, it feels bizarre to have your own Pokemon constantly looking at you, if you have any insecurities. If you don't, you can look past it and interpret that gaze as friendly. (If you've ever been accused of having RBF, or an intense gaze, you might've had it expressed to you that this is how some people see you)
• The tops of both heads, and the spikes along the back, are also both white. Both noses are now pink.
• Its back spikes now resemble a circular sine wave, with no spacing between them. This has them extend all the way along the spine, look a little less menacing, but also the effect is that they are now undulating, which is a waviness that can be seen to have a bit of a hypnotic effect.
• Its kneecaps now all face towards the middle, as opposed to pointing to the "front", allowing it to move easier in both directions, with the back legs (whichever direction it's going) providing a pushing force, and the front legs providing stability (basically, get down on your hands and feet, that's basically how it would run, in more of a hopping motion).

Certain Megas should be redone as evolutions (with less than +100 in stats):

• Altaria (possibly as branched evolution)
• Audino
• Banette
• Houndoom
• Kangaskhan
• Lopunny
• Manectric
• Mawile
• Medicham
• Sableye (possibly Ghost/Rock)

Fully new Pokemon:

• An Ice/Poison evolution of Beartic, that wipes its nose on its elbows and doesn't cover its mouth when it sneezes.
• A Bug/Fighting evolution of Ledian that completes the Sentai inspiration of the line.

In this post, I contemplate how typings are really uneven in their special "perks", in addition to their actual type matchups. That, and the imbalances and lack of logic on some type matchups, made it notable how overwhelmingly better certain types like Ghost and Steel are, and how much worse others are. I mainly focused on rebalancing via what I see as logical changes to types and matchups, to promote players having a reason to use or prefer any type. Also, as a result of these changes, most types would be weak to exactly 3 types. If I don't mention a change below, I'd keep it as is. All lists below are in alphabetical order by defending type. The changes I'd make:

• Fairy no longer resist Bug
• Ghost no longer resist Bug
• Grass resist Fairy
• Ice resist Electric
• Ice resist Fairy
• Ice resist Grass
• Psychic resist Poison
• Psychic immune to Confused status
• Steel weak to Electric
• Water weak to Poison

Sorted by type:

• Bug:
  • No longer resisted by Fairy or Ghost^note Because Bug is already resisted by more types than anything except Grass, and I can't think of a reason Fairy or Ghost resist them, nor do they need to since they are both very strong defensively. A neutral relationship is fine.
• Electric
  • Super effective against Steel^note Because of conductivity, and to weaken Steel defensively.
  • Resisted by Ice^note Ice and snow are poor conductors of electricity, and thunderstorms also don't tend to form in super cold environments.
• Fairy:
  • No longer resist Bug^note Because Bug is already resisted by a lot, and Fairy doesn't need this resistance since it is already strong defensively.
  • Resisted by Grass^note Logically, life magic would be beneficial to Grass, and Grass needs a defensive buff.
  • Resisted by Ice^note Ice should resist growth and life magic, and Ice needs a defensive buff.
• Ghost:
  • No longer resists Bug^note Because Bug is already resisted by a lot, and Ghost doesn't need this resistance. Ghost is already a strong defensive typing.
• Grass:
  • Resists Fairy^note Logically, life magic would be beneficial to Grass, and Grass needs a defensive buff.
  • Resisted by Ice^note Ice should resist growth and life magic, and needs a defensive buff.
• Ice:
  • Resists Electric^note Ice and snow are poor conductors of electricity, and thunderstorms also don't tend to form in super cold environments.
  • Resists Fairy and Grass^note Ice should resist growth and life magic, and needs a defensive buff.
• Poison:
  • Super effective against Water^note Representing pollution and its massive effects on water that is necessary for life, as well as giving Water a defensive nerf.
  • Resisted by Psychic ^note To actually implement the Mind over Matter justification, and to keep Poison from being overpowered as thanks to the other changes I'd suggest, Poison would be strong against several of the most common types.
• Psychic:
  • Resist Poison ^note To actually implement the Mind over Matter justification, and to keep Poison from being overpowered as thanks to the other changes I'd suggest, Poison would be strong against several of the most common types.
  • Immune to the Confused status condition.^note ViperMagnum357's idea. Not a matchup change, but a logical boost on its own.
• Steel:
  • Weak to Electric^note Because of conductivity, and to weaken Steel defensively.
• Water:
  • Weak to Poison^note Representing pollution and its massive effects on water that is necessary for life, as well as giving Water a defensive nerf.

Other changes I am considering:

• Rock resist Electric - To give Rock a bit more difference from Ground, and because some rocks are poor conductors of electricity. However, this feels like an unneeded change, and in any case, rocks vary in their conductivity, with some being conductive and some being resistors. It's the mineral impurities in water that give it its conductivity, as well. Also, given Ice would resist Electricity, I like the spectrum of the four "solid" types (Steel, Rock, Ice, Ground) each having a different relationship with Electric.
• Bug immune to flinching - To give Bug a logical defensive niche without upsetting type matchups. As many bugs have fast reflexes and pull back once noticed or threatened, this would reflect them not being fully affected by moves that flinch, or preparing their defense against it.

Changes I'd previously considered but no longer support:

• Bug types immune to damaging entry hazards like Stealth Rocks and Spikes^note Vertigo_High's idea. This would reference Bugs' ability to sneak in to various places since they're "small and crafty". This would also give a massive defensive buff to one of their glaring issues, while at the same time not actually affecting other types' damaging moves. This would also mean Bug/Flying types would have a special niche in being immune to almost all entry hazards.
  • Resolved by coming up with an ability that some, but not all, Bug types could have.
• Fairy weak to Bug - To buff Bug offensively. It's an idea others have suggested, but I haven't found a strong logical reason for it, just a gameplay reason.
  • I think just having Fairy (and Ghost) lose its resistance is enough of a boost to Bug, which like most types is already super effective against 3 types.
• Fairy weak to Ghost - This would make the "death energy" type have a special relationship with the "life energy" type. This would also give Ghost offensive utility that is distinct from Dark.
  • Ghost is already quite strong in terms of attack effects, and doesn't need the boosts. Also, Fairy has enough nerfs as is.
• Ghost resist Steel - Intangible specters should resist physical force.
  • Not necessary. Ghost is already quite powerful defensively, and Steel doesn't really need an offensive nerf. Also, Iron and Silver are elements used to ward off spirits including Ghosts, not just Fairies, in some cultures.
• Poison no longer weak to Psychic - There's no real justification for why it was in the first place. Some people suggest "mind over matter". The justifications could easily be used to have Psychic resist Poison.
  • It's still something that bugs me, but considering how hard Psychics got nerfed over the years, I no longer think I need to keep this as something I'd change. It serves a purpose for checking Poison and giving Psychic something to do. I'd still like for someone to actually give a good reason for it, though.
• Steel no longer resist Ice - Referencing metal's vulnerability to both ice damage and sensitivity to cold. Metal can go through temperature-based stress not only by heat, but also by cold.
  • Resolved by coming up with a move ("Hull Piercer") that is like Freeze-Dry and would give Ice and Rock types a way around this.
• Steel no longer resists Psychic ^note Steel's resistance was supposed to balance Psychic, which was broken in Gen 1. I feel they overbalanced it. Psychic was broken because the only typings (Ghost and Bug) and moves (Ghost) that were designed to be strong against it were either: limited in utility, rare (only 1 Ghost line), or neutralized by having a Poison sub-typing (most Bugs, and the only Ghost). It was also imbalanced because of the Psychic legendaries, and abundance of Poison types weak to Psychic (including every Grass type except Tangela), as Poison was the most common typing in Kanto. The Poison/Psychic relationship in particular should've been reworked, see above. Later gens added Dark types that were immune to Psychic, and added Ghosts and other mons that weren't part Poison. I think that balanced Psychic enough. Having Steel resist Psychic was overkill. Plus, ferrokinesis is a type of psychic ability, so common that bending metal spoons was literally the go-to example of psychic types in Gen 1.
  • This still bugs me a bit, but I don't want to do a 180 from the original intent. It would instead make sense to completely rework the Abra line's signature move Kinesis, or make a Ferrokinesis move.
• Poison super effective against Normal - For the same reasons Normal is weak to Fighting - "I'm designed to cause harm." However, while I strongly prefer this change, this would be too large of a change when combined with being strong against Water, so I'll have to hold off on this.
• Fire neutral to Ice (no longer resist or super effective) - This would keep Fire in line with Water and Grass in being super effective against 3 types, and resisting 4-5 types. Also, it makes logical sense as fire and heat both beat and lose to ice and cold (and when ice evaporates, it can become water).

elsewhere

Additions I'd make:

• Rain:
  • Heals Burns.
• Sandstorm:
  • Harvest cannot activate.
  • Aeroblast and Air Cutter always crit.
  • Increase spread of Shore Up among Rock (and Ground) types.
• Snow:
  • Harvest cannot activate.
  • Increase spread of Aurora Veil among Ice types, so that most can learn it.
  • Hail: Bring it back as a second stage of Snow, triggered by things such as "Cold Front" (see below).
  • Wind attacks always crit.

As the Weathers currently stand:

• Harsh Sunlight
  • Type specific boost(s): Fire moves x1.5
  • Any nerfs: Water moves x0.5, (Ice) moves cannot freeze
  • Abilities altered
    • Buffed: Harvest
    • Activated: Chlorophyll, Flower Gift, Forecast, Leaf Guard, Solar Power
    • Nerfed: Dry Skin (negative effect activated)
  • Moves altered
    • Buffed: Solar Beam and Solar Blade don't need a turn to charge, Harvest, Growth, Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis are all more effective
    • Nerfed: Thunder and Hurricane decreased accuracy
  • Lingering damage: No
• Rain
  • Type specific boost(s): Water moves x1.5
  • Any nerfs: Fire moves x0.5
  • Abilities altered
    • Buffed: Dry Skin
    • Activated: Forecast, Hydration, Rain Dish, Swift Swim
    • Nerfed:
  • Moves altered
    • Buffed: Thunder and Hurricane can't miss
    • Nerfed: Solar Beam, Solar Blade, Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis are all weakened
  • Lingering damage: No
• Sandstorm
  • Type specific boost(s): Rock types Sp. Def increase
  • Any nerfs: None
  • Abilities altered
    • Buffed:
    • Activated: Sand Force, Sand Rush, Sand Veil
    • Nerfed:
  • Moves altered
    • Buffed: Shore Up effectiveness increased (but it's only learned by the Palossand line)
    • Nerfed: Solar Beam, Solar Blade, Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis are all weakened
  • Lingering damage: Yes (For all types except Rock, Ground, and Steel)
• Hail
  • Type specific boost(s): None
  • Any nerfs: None
  • Abilities altered
    • Buffed:
    • Activated: Forecast, Ice Body, Snow Cloak, and Slush Rush
    • Nerfed:
  • Moves altered
    • Buffed: Blizzard can't miss, Aurora Veil is possible
    • Nerfed: Solar Beam, Solar Blade, Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis are all weakened
  • Lingering damage: Yes (for all types except Ice)

• "Allergy Season": When a Pokemon with this ability enters battle, the damage all other Pokemon on the field would take from Grass type moves is doubled.
• Ball Fetch: The holder automatically retrieves an item thrown by Fling or Natural Gift. Doesn't work with King's Rock or Razor Fang.
• "Cold Shoulder": A Flame Body type ability. If the holder of this ability is hit with a contact move, 30% chance of inducing Frostbite to the Pokemon that hit it.
• Color Change: Activates before being hit by the incoming move. User retains STAB on Normal moves if its type is changed.
• Corrosion: Addition to make it remove Steel's immunity to Poison type attacks, which instead deal regular effective damage.
• Defeatist: Lower effect to simply inflict a -1 stage state modifier,
• "Dig Deep": A Ground-type Pinch Mode ability similar to Overgrow et al.
• "Extremophile": An ability some Grass or Bug types may have that halves damage from Fire, Ice, and Rock attacks. Likely common among cactus or desert Pokemon.
• Emergency Exit: When the user is hit by a move that would reduce it to below full health, its health only decreases to "one HP less than 50% of its full health", then it stops losing HP, and switches out immediately. For example, if the user was hit by something that would take of 70% or 100% of its health from full, it still survives with just under 50% of its full health, but must switch.
• Forecast: Added effect where if Castform's holding a Weather Rock when it enters a battle, Forecast would automatically change the weather to the corresponding condition.
• Honey Gather: Restores 1/16 of the Pokemon's maximum HP (rounded down, but not less than 1) at the end of each turn.
• Ice Body: Change it to be similar to Dry Skin, heals 1/4 max HP when hit by an Ice type move or 1/8 max HP when hit by Hail.
• "Icy Grip": If the holder of this ability lands a contact move, 30% chance of inducing Frostbite to the Pokemon that it hit.
• Illuminate: Increase the duration of Reflect and Light Screen from 5 to 8 turns (working as a built in Light Clay).
• "Invasive": Grants immunity to entry hazards. Can be held by Bug, Ghost, and Grass types, representing infestations, hauntings, and weeds, respectively, and invasive species generally.
• Magma Armor: Pokemon with this ability would also be immune to Hail damage and Frostbite.
• Minus: The base effect now triggers any time there is another Electric or Steel type on the field. If there is another Pokemon on the field with the Plus ability, there is an additional effect where each time the holder's Sp.Def is raised, it is raised an additional stage.
• Mycelium Might: Also bypasses type immunities.
• Normalize: User's Normal moves bypass type resistance or immunity.
• "Mysterious Power": Signature ability of Unown, which increases its base stats by 10 for each non-fainted Unown in the party.
• Plus: The base effect now triggers any time there is another Electric or Steel type on the field. If there is another Pokemon on the field with the Plus ability, there is an additional effect where each time the holder's Sp.Atk is raised, it is raised an additional stage.
• "Pollen Protection": The holder takes half damage from Bug and Flying moves. Prevalent on some Grass types.
• "Resinate": Each time a Pokemon with this ability hits an opponent with a contact move, lower that target's speed by one stage.
• Run Away: Pokemon with this ability would be immune to Pursuit, and to trapping moves and abilities.
• "Second Wind": A Flying-type Pinch Mode ability similar to Overgrow et al.
• Slow Start: Counter doesn't reset upon switching out.
• "Snow Compaction": An ability for Ice types, each time it is hit by a physical attack, raise physical defense one stage.
• "Splinter": An ability for Grass types. If a Pokemon hits it with a contact move, they take a splinter that deals 1/16th damage at the end of each turn.
• Truant: Also grant the upsides of Infiltrator. A truant student often tries to sneak in when they do show up late, after all, and this would make it not completely worthless.
• "Unsettle": A version of Intimidate that affects Special Attack. Common among Bug, Dark, Ghost, and Psychic types.

• "Acid Rain": A Poison type copy of Freeze-Dry that is super effective against Steel.
• "Allergenesis": A Grass type powder status move, doubles the damage taken by Grass type moves, for all Pokemon except the user of this move.
• "Blitz" - An Electric version of Quick Attack, a priority physical attack with 40 base power.
• Constrict: A complete rework. Turn it to a Normal or Poison equivalent of Ice Ball and Rollout, complete with the same effect where it doubles in starting power if used after Defense Curl. Expand the Pokemon who learn it to include all the snake and eel Pokemon.
• "Cold Front": An Ice type status move. Decreases the speed of all Fire, Water, Bug, and Dragon Pokemon on the field by one stage. Changes the following weathers: If Harsh Sunlight is in effect, it turns the weather to normal. If the weather is normal, it turns it to rain. If Rain is in effect, it turns it to Snow. If Snow is in effect, it starts Hailing in addition to the Snow, giving chip damage to non-Ice types. Changing the weather starts a new 5 turn duration. Themed around weather effects and "cold-blooded" animals.
• "Dessicate": A Rock or Fire type move. Similar to Water Sport and Mud Sport, this would cut the effectiveness of Water moves for 5 turns. It could be learned by Fire, Rock, and Ground types.
• "Horde": A Bug type special attack version of Beat Up. Themed around swarming insects.
• "Hull Piercer": An Ice type Physical attack version of Freeze-Dry that always does super effective damage against Steel. Can also be learned by some Rock types.
• Ion Deluge: Lasts for 5 turns.
• Kinesis (the signature move of Kadabra and Alakazam)^note Currently it's a strictly worse version of Flash, Smokescreen, and Sand Attack, in that while all the others have a 100% chance to drop the target's accuracy one stage, Kinesis only has an 80% chance. It also has less PP than Flash and Smokescreen. Mud Slap has the same effect, plus it does damage. Additionally, the effect of Kinesis doesn't even match its own description.: Change it to an equivalent move of Confuse Ray, which as of now the line can only use in the TCG, and have it be a 100% chance to confuse. Also, if used on a Steel type, it'd half the target's HP. This would fit the description by having it bend the target instead of the spoon.
• "Mega Molt": A Bug type move themed around Molting. A Shell Smash copy. The ability Shed Skin, currently strongly associated with Bugs and snakes, is already given the Japanese name "Molting".
• "Overclock": An Electric type status move used by machine/mechanical Pokemon. It increases their Speed, Attack, and Special Attack by one stage, but decreases their HP by 1/8th for each time it's used.
• "Pesticide": A Poison type copy of Freeze-Dry that is super effective against Bug.
• "Resin Trap": A Grass type version of Sticky Web.
• "Shiver": An Ice type Status move that decreases the user's evasiveness by one stage, but raises Special Defense by two stages.
• Shore Up: Only heals 1/4 in non-sandstorm weathers and 1/2 in Sandstorm, increase its spread among Rock and Ground types.
• "Spoilage": A Poison type physical move version of Incinerate that destroys the target's Berry. Can also be learned by Grass types.
• "Thermal Stress/Shock": An Ice type Special attack version of Freeze-Dry that always does super effective damage against Steel.
• "Thunder Armor" - A defictionalization of the anime move, this Electric type status move raises the user's Attack, Sp.Def, and Speed by one stage each, but can only be used once while the user is out.
• Vine Whip: Has a 30% chance to flinch.
• Whirlwind: Retype to Flying.
• "Wisdom King": Signature move of the Elemental Monkeys. Normal type, 100 base power, 100% accuracy, uses whatever is the user's higher offensive stat, and hits whichever is the target's lower defensive stat. Based off of the "Wisdom King/Queen", and the Monkeys' connection to the Three Wise Monkeys.
• "X-Armor": A Bug type move themed around exoskeletons. A Protect copy that also raises the user's Defense by one stage if it is activated.

• Doduo and Dodrio should stay Normal/Flying.
• Pidgey, Spearow, Hoothoot, Taillow, Starly, Pidove, Tranquill, Rufflet, and Pikipek should be Flying/Normal
• Pidgeotto, Pidgeot, Farfetch'd, Fearow, Swellow, Staravia, Staraptor, Braviary, and Trumbeak should be Pure Flying
• Noctowl should be Flying/Psychic
• Swablu should be Fairy/Flying
• Unfezant should be Flying/Dark
• Toucannon should be Flying/Fire

For Bug/Flying Pokemon:
Rationale: The Flying subtyping is generally a liability for Bug types. Bugs don't gain much defensive benefit, only doubling down on types they already resist (Bug, Fighting, Grass), or in one case turning a resistance into an immunity (Ground). However, they instead gain two additional weaknesses (Ice, Electric), and double one weakness (Rock). Offensively, it means SE damage against two types that resist and are resisted by Bug (Bug, Fighting), and SE damage against one already weak to Bug (Grass). Also, the Flying type does come with upsides in immunity to certain hazards and moves, but also means additional damage from Stealth Rock, and no benefit from terrains.

• Scyther and Ninjask should stay Bug/Flying^note As they have dual-typed counterparts and are known for their speed.
• Butterfree, Beautifly, Mothim, and Vivillon could either be Bug/Flying or pure Bug, I'm not sure yet.^note Three of them have dual type counterparts, and all four gain flight upon evolving to that form.
• Ledyba, Ledian^note Ledian would get a Bug/Fighting evolution, Masquerain, Yanma, Combee, and Vespiquen should be Pure Bug
• Yanmega should be Bug/Dragon^note Not only because of its status as a "Dragonfly", but because it is based on a prehistoric bug and evolves with Ancient Power, and being prehistoric and powerful ties into the Dinosaurs Are Dragons trope.

Additionally:

• The Kantonian legendary birds and the Forces of Nature should be primary-Flying, since that's part of their theme. Potentially Ho-Oh and Lugia as well.
• Primeape should be Fighting/Dark
• Arbok should be Poison/Dark
• Hypno Should be Psychic/Dark
• Psyduck and Golduck should be Water/Psychic
• Ninetales should be Fire/Psychic
• Celebi, Flabebe, Floette, Florges, and Comfey should be Fairy/Grass
• Jirachi should be Steel/Fairy

Scyther and Kleavor: Change their hidden ability. Give Infiltrator to Scyther, and Solid Rock for Kleavor.

Rotom form moves:

• Base Rotom's form exclusive move, Thunder Shock, is significantly weaker than the moves of other forms. Change to Zap Cannon.
• Fan Rotom's form exclusive move, Air Slash, is both weaker and thematically disconnected from the moves of other altered forms. Change to Hurricane.

Castform should be proactive in weather:

• Forecast: Added effect if Castform's holding a Weather Rock when it enters a battle, Forecast should automatically change the weather to the corresponding condition.
• It should always have the opportunity to use a TM/TR to learn: Morning Sun, Fling, Defog, Whirlwind, Tailwind, and Aurora Veil
• Increase base stats by 10 across the board, to 80 on all stats.
• Increase base stats depending on form:
  • Sun: +10 Def, +20 Sp.Atk
  • Rain: +20 Sp.Atk, +10 Sp.Def
  • Sand: +20 Atk, +10 Sp.Def
  • Hail: +20 Atk, +10 Def
• There should be a Rock-type Dusty form in sandstorms, and as a result Castform should have the chance to learn:
  • By Level Up: Smack Down, Sandstorm, and Meteor Beam (at levels 10, 20, and 35 respectively, the same levels it learns similar moves for other weathers)
  • By TM/TR: Power Gem, Sand Attack, Sand Tomb, and Stealth Rock

Unown should reflect its mysterious powers, and how it's strengthened by being in numbers.

• Its signature hidden ability should be "Mysterious Power", which increases its (non-HP) base stats by 10 for each non-fainted Unown in the party. This also gives a gameplay reason to start collecting the alphabet in a main game run.
• It should learn:
  • Secret Power at level 10
  • Ancient Power at level 25
  • Cosmic Power at level 50
  • Wish at level 75

The Elemental Monkeys (Simipour, Simisage, and Simisear) should strengthen the reference to the Three Wise Monkeys' "Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil, See No Evil" theme.

• Add the shared Normal secondary typing.
• The Evolved forms should learn:
  • New shared signature move "Wisdom King": Normal type, 100 base power, 100% accuracy, uses whatever is the user's higher offensive stat, and hits whichever is the target's lower defensive stat. Learned upon evolving.
  • Simple Beam at Level 46
  • Punishment at Level 49
• Some changes should be made depending on their evolutionary line:
  • Simisage (speak no evil):
    • Serene Grace as secondary ability
    • Would learn Disarming Voice upon evolving
  • Simisear (hear no evil):
    • Soundproof as secondary ability
    • Would learn Crafty Shield upon evolving
  • Simipour (see no evil):
    • Tinted Lens as secondary ability
    • Would learn Baby-Doll Eyes upon evolving

Stat boosting Bug types per this post:

• Shedinja
  • Current BST: 236 (It shares the same special attack, special defense, and speed stats as Nincada, flips the Attack and Defense, and has 30 less HP.)
  • Changes:
    • +35 Atk
    • -35 Def
    • +20 Sp.Atk
    • -20 Sp.Def
  • New BST: 236 (same)
• Kricketune
  • Current BST: 384
  • Changes:
    • +20 Speed
  • New BST: 404
• Dustox
  • Current BST: 385
  • Changes:
    • +30 Def
    • +10 Sp.Def
    • +10 Speed
  • New BST: 435
• Beautifly
  • Current BST: 395
  • Changes:
    • +30 Atk
    • +10 Speed
  • New BST: 435
• Butterfree
  • Current BST: 395
  • Changes:
    • -30 Atk
    • +40 Sp.Atk
    • +30 Speed
  • New BST: 435
• Beedrill
  • Current BST: 395
  • Changes:
    • +40 Atk
    • -30 Sp.Atk
    • +30 Speed
  • New BST: 435
• Ariados
  • Current BST: 400
  • Changes:
    • +10 Sp.Atk
    • +40 Speed
  • New BST: 450
• Vivillon
  • Current BST: 411
  • Changes:
    • +10 HP
    • +23 Atk
  • New BST: 444, keeping with its Pokedex number being 666.
• Volbeat
  • Current BST: 430
  • Changes:
    • +10 HP
    • +15 Atk
  • New BST: 455
• Illumise
  • Current BST: 430
  • Changes:
    • +10 HP
    • +15 Sp.Atk
  • New BST: 455
• Venomoth
  • Current BST: 450
  • Changes:
    • +20 HP
    • +5 Sp.Def
  • New BST: 475 (same as Frosmoth)