Are psychic type pokemon(specifically Abra/Kadabra/Alakazam) broken in every game?

[Sophius]

I just recently decided to revisit the pokemon games, having not played them since I was five years old. I decided to try and train Abra in Gold(that is what I played first) and found him, along with most of the other psychic types, to be over powered. The case is the same in yellow. Are psychics over powered in evry game or is that just in these two?

[TheEnd]

They're only really overpowered in 1st gen, as far I know.

[Florete]

They're only really overpowered in 1st gen, as far I know.

That. I'm most familiar with the metagame of 3rd and 4th gen, where I know they aren't nearly as overpowered. Alakazam's defensive capabilities are awful, at least concretely, and iirc he doesn't have a very wide movepool.

[Alex345]

Yeah, they're only super overpowered in Gen 1, but there are several good psychic pokes. (Alakazam, Starmie, Bronzong)

[_____]

Actually, Smogon says that Alakazam is only UU in the latest generation, so it's not even that good, I guess.

[Icon of Sin]

I know I loved elemental punches with those back in Generation 2 for in-game play they were indeed at their best in generation 1.

Jynx and Exeggutor had it worse, though.

[Zanarkin]

Actually, Smogon says that Alakazam is only UU in the latest generation, so it's not even that good, I guess.

;_;

Damn physical special split...

[NinjaMonkey]

Yeah, they're only super overpowered in Gen 1, but there are several good psychic pokes. (Alakazam, Starmie, Bronzong)

Bronzong's considered good?

*Laughs hysterically* XD

[Zanarkin]

Bronzong's considered good?

*Laughs hysterically* XD

He is actually...

[Smiley Jim]

Psychic Pokemon were really only OP'd in the first generation, because there was literally no type that resisted Psychic moves, other than Psychic types themselves, and pretty much every Psychic Pokemon had absurdly high special, so Pokes like Alakazam could 2HKO practically anything in the game that wasn't part Psychic. Also, in Gen 1, only Bug moves were actually SE against it(Ghost was actually completely nulled, not that it made a difference since there were only two damaging ghost moves anyway(Night Shade dealt DMG equal to your level and Lick sucks)), but most Bug types were also part Poison, so they got raped anyway(not to mention that Bug moves sucked apart from Twineedle, which was locked on a NU Pokemon.) GF tried to balance the absurd DMG that the Psychics dealt by giving them low HP/def, but they also gave Alakazam and Starmie stupidly high spd, so they outsped and 2-3HKO'd whatever they touched anyway. Not to mention Mewtwo, who had 154 base special(and had Amnesia to boost it by 2 stages!)

At least in Gen 2, GF hit Alakazam and other Psychics with the nerf bat by adding the Dark type, which nulled Psychic moves like a man, and made Ghost type moves SE on them instead of INE(they also made Dark moves SE). Also the special split meant that a lot of Pokemon had higher Sp. def. Also, Pursuit. While the move itself wasn't very widespread, having the ability to KO them before they could leave was quite helpful.

DK about what they did in Gen 3, but in Gen 4, most Dark moves were made physical, targeting the soft def of Psychics instead of their high Sp. def. Also, Pursuit was given to a bunch of different threats, including but not limited to: T-Tar, Weavile, Scizor and Metagross. Sucker Punch also contributed to the decline of offensive Psychic usage. Granted, most of them are able to use Focus Blast, but Weavile is faster than every Psychic other than Mewtwo and Deoxys, and T-tar can be EVed to survive a non-choiced FB from Zam.

So they went from being Garchomp-like in Gen 1, to mediocre in Gen 4.

Edited August 26, 2010 by DA125

[IntegerZero]

Yeah, Psychic types are not nearly as overpowered as they once were. Mind you, excellent Psychics still exist, but they are hardly the dominant type anymore. They biggest nerf came in gen 3, I think personally.

[Rhythm]

Yeah, pretty sure Alakazam can't learn any non-Psychic attacks without TMs either...

I ditched my Alakazan for that reason, plus it's freakishly low Defense.

Alakazam vs Houndour gogogo

[Jaybee]

Bronzong's considered good?

*Laughs hysterically* XD

Resisant to Rock, Ice and Dragon and immune to ground, which takes out Outrage, Earthquake, Ice Beam and Rock Slide. Also, Trick Room (lol Bronzong's faster now) or Gyro Ball (lol Bronzong's smacking harder for being slow).

And to be on-topic, yeah, Psychics were only OP in Gen 1.

Abra is OP in every game though, unlike Kadabra and Alakazam.

[Eswandar]

Here's my take on the history of Psychic types thus far (Warning: Wall o' Text ahead).

Gen 1: We got Alakazam, who has absurd special and speed, The bulky powerhouses Exeggutor and Slowbro, Jynx, and Starmie. Hypno and Mr. Mime are there too but they're outclassed by Alakazam. All Psychic types are considered "overused" this gen, barring Hypno and Mr. Mime who are "borderline" (according to smogon). Psychic types are completely overpowered 1st gen.

Gen 2: The split of Special into Special Attack and Special Defense reduced the bulkiness of most psychic types, namely Alakazam (reducing his Special defending capabilities from 135 to 85). Also the introduction of Dark and Steel types nerfed Psychics. Dark types are immune to Psychics and hit them for double damage, and Steel types are resistant to Psychic types. The introduction of the move Shadow Ball also hurt Psychics; it's a strong physical based move (targets the soft side of most psychic types) that is super effective, and many Pokemon can learn it. Also the special wall Blissey stops special attackers in their tracks. However, ingame Alakazam could learn all three elemental punches before the third gym, which made him one of the most useful pokemon to use ingame. Overused Psychic types second gen include Alakazam, Starmie, and Exeggutor.

Gen 3: Gen 3 brought us some powerful physical Ghost type threats in Dusclops and Banette. This generation also marks the fall of the typical psychic type "special sweeper," and more psychic types begin to take on the role of team support. These pokemon include Claydol, Celebi, and Jirachi. There are also two powerful physical psychic attackers introduced this gen: Metagross and Medicham.

Gen 4: Generation 4 was the nail in the coffin for the traditional psychic type. This generation introduced the physical/special split, which spelled doom for physically frail pokemon like Alakazam. Most Dark type moves were moved to the physical end of the spectrum, so Tyranitar became much more fearsome. The blindingly fast sweeper Weavile was also introduced which has Night Slash, and pursuit if they decide to switch out. The move Pursuit became much more useful, and put the more frail Psychic types in a checkmate position. Stay in, and get destroyed, or switch out and get pursuit'd. Many Psychic types took on the role of support again here, such as Bronzong, who is capable of setting up weather, reflect/light screen, stealth rock, trick room, etc. The ever powerful Metagross is as awesome as ever. This gen has two special Psychic sweepers in Starmie and Azelf.

Overall Psychic type Pokemon have been great every gen; their roles have just shifted. However most useful Psychic types in later gens have a secondary type which helps them a lot.

There is still a place where Psychic types reign though: The ubers environment. Such ridiculous sweepers exist such as Mewtwo, Deoxys-A, Latios, and Latias. There are near-impenetrable walls in Lugia and Deoxys-D. And there is of course the incredibly diverse Mew.

For the most part, Psychic Pokemon were only really overpowered first generation. However they are definitely still a force to be reckoned with.

[eclipse]

Resisant to Rock, Ice and Dragon and immune to ground, which takes out Outrage, Earthquake, Ice Beam and Rock Slide. Also, Trick Room (lol Bronzong's faster now) or Gyro Ball (lol Bronzong's smacking harder for being slow).

And to be on-topic, yeah, Psychics were only OP in Gen 1.

Abra is OP in every game though, unlike Kadabra and Alakazam.

Bronzong's a PITA, because you'll have to guess what its weakness is (and if you're wrong, you wasted an Earthquake).

Psychics are great for taking out the main game, no matter what generation you're in. Pure non-legendary Psychics aren't in the OU tier, but there's one part-Psychic that's still a huge threat - Starmie. It's fast, has good type coverages with its moves, and can be quite the pain to KO.

A warning about the tiers - they're meant for competitive battling. . .and Wobbuffet is in Uber (I have a pretty good idea why).

[The Envoy of the Beginning]

Bronzong's considered good?

*Laughs hysterically* XD

Wait...What!?

Now you're making me want to laugh out loud.

Psychics were stupidly overpowered in the first generation due to no reliable method of stopping the good ones (well Exeggutor's manageable though). Many of them have high Special, Speed, or both, and some of them had Amnesia which boosted their Special to make them more powerful. All of this is why 1^st-gen!Mewtwo is the most overpowered Pokemon ever (and it's low base DEF can be fixed by using Barrier). Not even Extreme Killer!Arceus is that overpowered, since the Pressure ability that some Pokemon have can reduce its effectiveness because of Extreme Speed's low PP.

Edit: Since the 2^nd Generation, they became more balanced.

Edit2: Burning said Arceus can also reduce its effectiveness. Try doing that with 1^st-gen!Mewtwo.

Edited August 28, 2010 by BLS

[Rewjeo]

They may not have been AS overpowered in Gen 2, but, at least Kadabra/Alakazam, is still absolutely ridiculous in Gen 2, while the posts in this topic seem to imply that they really aren't that great even come Gen 2.

[IntegerZero]

They may not have been AS overpowered in Gen 2, but, at least Kadabra/Alakazam, is still absolutely ridiculous in Gen 2, while the posts in this topic seem to imply that they really aren't that great even come Gen 2.

In Gen 2, they were plenty strong enough still. Espeon was cool and Alakazam or Starmie were still excellent. Mewtwo/Mew were LOL broken still. Dark and Steel types merely pushed things into a better spectrum of things, and the type that was originally good (Supposedly) against Psychics (Ghost), got some non crappy moves.

A warning about the tiers - they're meant for competitive battling. . .and Wobbuffet is in Uber (I have a pretty good idea why).

Interesting Fact: Another non legendary Pokemon has risen to the Uber ranks. Garchomp. Let us not get into the reasons why. I shudder thinking about it.

Edited August 29, 2010 by IntegerZero

[Zanarkin]

Interesting Fact: Another non legendary Pokemon has risen to the Uber ranks. Garchomp. Let us not get into the reasons why. I shudder thinking about it.

That is the oldest thing... Basically every team was Garchomp, a counter for garchomp, a counter for the counter of garchomp, ect until you have the other 3 pokes. I can see why they would make him Uber.

Edited August 30, 2010 by SlayerX

[IntegerZero]

That is the oldest thing... Basically every team was Garchomp, a counter for garchomp, a counter for the counter of garchomp, ect until you have the other 3 pokes. I can see why they would make him Uber.

To put it bluntly, yes, that is kinda it. I wouldn't count the counter counter though.

[Zanarkin]

To put it bluntly, yes, that is kinda it. I wouldn't count the counter counter though.

I basically said what someone else said, i think its on the salamance is uber thread

[dondon151]

Bronzong's a PITA, because you'll have to guess what its weakness is (and if you're wrong, you wasted an Earthquake).

No one runs Heatproof on Bronzong. Foregoing Levitate means that you can't reliably switch in on a good deal of Pokemon that you're supposed to wall.