Hidden Ability Johto Starters Event!
(Not sure if this has already been posted or if it's in the wrong place, if so i'm sorry)
So with all the Johto starters currently sitting in the NU tier, it seems as though we're finally getting Hidden Ability Johto Starters via Pokemon Bank from February through till November! Here's the link:
https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/bank-on-three-awesome-pokemon/
It seems to me as though Feraligatr is the most likely to get moved up the competitive ranks. It looks absolutely lethal now and I'm very happy about it. It gets Sheer Force which negates the added affect of moves and adds 30% base damage. This means Waterfall, Ice Punch, Rock Slide, Iron Tail, Crunch (as well as less-likey-to-be-used moves like Body Slam, Power-Up Punch & Ice Fang) all get a boost. Plus with access to Dragon Dance & Swords Dance, Feraligatr can be set up to do some big damage and sweeping with its new ability. And let's not forget is has access to Earthquake, as well as moves like Outrage and Superpower too, which may be a lot more useful in the OU or UU metagame.
Typhlosion gets Flash Fire, which increases Fire damage by 50% and means it takes no damage from Fire Type moves. This means the classic Choice Scarf/Eruption set is going to be ridiculously powerful with that 50% boost on a STAB base 150 move with its base 109 Sp.Atk (I'd love to see the maths), especially if you manage to switch Typhlosion in on an opposing Fire type move. And of course Fire Blast or even Flamethrower or Lava Plume will be doing massive damage. I don't know whether this means it will move up in tiers at all, but it will be interesting to see. Personally I still feel it needs a new special move to help it out, like Earth Power or something, because currently Focus Blast, Hidden Power & Extrasensory are the only real options, and are all slightly unreliable whether it be because of accuracy or lack of power/coverage, or even just the fact that by now it's completely predictable. And although it gets some nice physical moves, that 84 Attack just doesn't really cut it when you're using it as a mixed sweeper.
Meganium gets the short straw in my opinion, getting Leaf Guard. This means it can't acquire a status condition in any type of harsh sunlight. I can see why they did it, and I suppose it is helpful with Meganium's slightly more defensively orientated stats (100 in both defenses). I suppose it can now do a nice job of setting up Leech Seed, Poisoning & hitting powerful 1-turn Solar Beams without worrying about poison, burns or paralysis, but relying on that weather is risky and encourages enhanced super-effective fire damage, plus it's going to need a turn to set up Sunny Day and that's going to waste a moveslot, unless of course it's used nicely in conjunction with Mega Charizard Y or Ninetales. It might have potential, but again, we'll have to wait and see.
Well that's my thoughts. What about yours? Do you think we will get any Guaranteed IVs? Cherish Balls? Do you think we might get any exclusive moves?