Pokemon that improved/got worse after the Physical/Special divide

In generation 4 we were given the new feature where moves were either made Physical and used the attack stat or special and used the special stat. So which Pokemon got better or worse with this? Which new Pokemon would have been better with the old system.

A notable one for me is Sceptile. All 3 gen 3 starters were given signature moves, with Sceptile's being Leaf Blade. Sceptile has a great Sp.Atk stat and when Leaf Blade was Special Sceptile was better.

Now don't get me wrong, I like the divide much more than the old system, but there are exceptions where the Pokemon got worse. discuss....

It's even worse with Pokemon that had the potential to become better, but they weren't given the tools. Flareon, for example. Fire was Special in gen I-III and Flareon's special attack is...eh. We get a special/physical split, and what do they do? Forget to give the poor thing Flare Blitz. Now, I don't think Flareon would be GODLY if it got this (cause you know, Fire Fang just doesn't cut it), but it would make the thing much better than what it is.

Sydian said:

It's even worse with Pokemon that had the potential to become better, but they weren't given the tools. Flareon, for example. Fire was Special in gen I-III and Flareon's special attack is...eh. We get a special/physical split, and what do they do? Forget to give the poor thing Flare Blitz. Now, I don't think Flareon would be GODLY if it got this (cause you know, Fire Fang just doesn't cut it), but it would make the thing much better than what it is.

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I agree with that on Flareon. It is so far behind the other eeveelutions it is ridiculous. Hopefully next gen we will get more physical fire moves and Flareon will get Flare Blitz.

I actually think for the most part/ the phsyical/special split was a good thing. Pokemon that had a better SpA stat but their stab favored atk or vice versa received some nice new/viable tools. A couple examples; Gengar and Mightyena. However some pokemon were hurt such as Muk that their STAB option was limited to sludge and sludge bomb that were made special moves and doesn't learn a physical poison move(gunk shot) until very high levels. But the poison jab tm exists so that doesnt really matter all that much.

However some pokemon were hurt such as Muk that their STAB option was limited to sludge and sludge bomb that were made special moves and doesn't learn a physical poison move(gunk shot) until very high levels. But the poison jab tm exists so that doesnt really matter all that much.

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Poison is so awful offensively though that I think Muk and his Poison type friends could omit having a STAB move honestly.

Sydian said:

Poison is so awful offensively though that I think Muk and his Poison type friends could omit having a STAB move honestly.

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...Well the extra power of STAB is pretty much a necessity and Muk has good coverage moves at his disposal. But I was actually referring to in-game experiences rather than competitive battle.

Anyway, another pokemon that beniffited from the split was Azumarill, getting the full potential of its huge power abillity

Not only did Sneasel gain physical Ice and Dark STABs in the physical/special split, it also gained an evolved form in Weavile. Hitmonchan also improved because the elemental punches became physical; they were originally tied to Hitmonchan's low Special Attack. The same applies to Kingler, but for Crabhammer rather than the punches.

I have to say Arcanine also got some benefits from the physical/special split, they have slightly higher Attack than Special Attack and most of their good moves were previously special (like Outrage) and it eventually got good physical Fire attacks in Generation 4 with Fire Fang and Flare Blitz, and also Flame Charge in Generation 5.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Gyarados yet! Getting a stab physical water move turned Gyarados into an even stronger powerhouse. And also Kingler and Crawdaunt benefited strongly from the phys/spec split. So did Medicham, with physical psychic moves available. (zen headbutt by move tutor, psycho cut by breeding) Also, Hitmonchan was finally able to utilize the elemental punches one they became physical. Mightyena was able to use dark moves more effectively too.


Not too sure of pokemon who didn't benefit from the split. XD

The Physical/Special Split is one of the greatest things to happen to the Pokemon franchise. It made the game even more customizable and strategic, and pretty much all Pokemon benefitted. But then there's Flareon.

Rivvon said:

The Physical/Special Split is one of the greatest things to happen to the Pokemon franchise. It made the game even more customizable and strategic, and pretty much all Pokemon benefitted. But then there's Flareon.

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Oh yes, Flareon didn't get good stuff out of this compared to the other Eeveelutions.

High Attack stat... and only two physical Fire moves are in its learnset (Flame Charge, Fire Fang) and both are pretty weak. If he only got Flare Blitz it would have been epic.

Yup, the split was why I got into competitive battling in the first place. Some pokes that got nerfed on the top of my head would be Snorlax, losing Shadow Ball, and Gengar losing Ice Punch... I think.
I was playing Emerald Randomizer a while back and was so glad to find a Gengar, then I realized Gengar sucked because of a lack of special STAB. It was easy to switch forward, but hard to go back.