"The Generation 2 Metagame of Pokemon Go: Basic Predictions"

#PokemonGO: Hey guys! This is likely to be the final installment of my metagame analysis series for the time being. Today, I thought it would be fun to go ahead and lay out some predictions of what the meta might look like once the Generation 2 Pokemon are released.The fact that I'm posting this does NOT mean I'm trying to say that Generation 2 is coming out anytime soon. Just like the rest of you, I have absolutely no idea when that will happen. But I feel that it’s in the nature of most competitive games to coalesce around a core of top-notch options that are demonstrably (or believed to be) better than almost everything else available, so I found it very fun to imagine what things will be like when this stagnation has the opportunity to change significantly in a foreseeable way. I was able to do this thanks to this listing of Generation 2 stat estimates: http://ift.tt/2d2nEdm, here are my predictions for the Generation 2 metagame as it relates to what we’ve seen so far!1) Fire types will continue to slide in popularity: Fire types are already not as good as Water types when it comes to Gym defense, but it’s likely that they’ll be even less influential when Gen 2 debuts. Only three new usable (non-legendary and fully-evolved) Fire types are debuting in Gen 2, and none are particularly useful for Gym defense: Typhlosion and Houndoom continue the tradition of high Attack paired with subpar Stamina and terrible Defense, while Magcargo has a joke of a Stamina stat, terrible Attack, and crippling double weaknesses to Water and Ground. In addition, there will be ten new non-Legendary, fully-evolved Water types making their debut, giving players even more of a plethora of options for booting Fire types out of Gyms.2) Water types will still be popular, but a bit less overwhelming: We have a few more Grass and Electric types to look forward to in Gen 2, many of which are slower and bulkier in the original games, so Water types will be easier to stop as a result. Look out for Meganium, Lanturn, Ampharos, and Bellossom to collectively make an impact, although I expect Waters to stay very relevant as they’re getting some heavyweights of their own.3) Exeggutor (and other Grasses) will be easier to stop: Right now, Psychics have no true countertypes, and Exeggutor can be difficult to face as a result. But once Dark type Pokemon debut with Gen 2’s addition to the game, things will get easier. Also, Exeggutor will face a slew of true countertypes where there weren’t many before: Murkrow, Houndoom, Xatu, Forretress, Scizor, Skarmory, and Lugia all resist the combination of Grass and Psychic moves (with Forretress and Scizor also being likely to get STAB Bug moves), [Edit: I am not trying to imply that, by virtue of resisting Grass and Psychic, these Pokemon are automatically good. I'm just trying to illustrate a point here. A countertype isn't the exact same thing as an actual counter.] so my guess is that Exeggutor will lose some steam as players begin to collect these counters. Grass/Poison types will also probably be easier to stop with the introduction of Pokemon like Typhlosion, Houndoom, Espeon, and Girafarig.4) Dragonite will have a few more answers: We won’t exactly be flooded with new Dragonite answers come Gen 2, but there are still a few to be excited for: Granbull, Piloswine, Steelix, and Tyranitar are all good representatives of types that have an advantage over Dragonite in some way, although Steelix will likely need to get Stone Edge carried over in order to do any serious damage (and even then, its Attack is still below average). Kingdra should also be able to do well against Dragonites that know Steel Wing if it gets moves like Dragon Breath and Ice Beam, in addition to just having great stats (150/208/208). For that matter, any Water types that learn Ice Beam or Blizzard may be fit for taking on Dragonite if their stats are good enough.5) Snorlax will likely remain amazing, while other Normal types may also make a splash: I have some bad news for those of you hoping Snorlax will fall from grace. The problems with Fighting types won’t be solved in Gen 2 barring a stat conversion change – there are only two fully evolved new Fighting types, Heracross and Hitmontop, and their stats are still not great. Although their defensive capability isn’t bad, they’re likely lacking the Attack or CP ranges necessary to bring down Snorlaxes in a safe and timely fashion. There are some good generic attackers coming like Kingdra and Tyranitar, but for now, it seems like Snorlax and the other good Normals will continue to skate by without any serious vulnerabilities.Speaking of other good Normals, there are other decent or good Normal types coming out as well [Edit: When I say "decent or good" here, I'm not trying to say that all of them are good. Some. are. decent.] – Miltank is good defensively, Stantler has good Attack, Ursaring has great Attack and good Stamina, Blissey will be even better at wasting your time than Chansey, and all of Porygon2’s stats are above average. Because of this, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Normal types rise as their own complete category of Gym defenders, though it’s likely that none of the new ones will be quite as good as Snorlax is now. Still, Pokemon like Miltank and Porygon2 may be worth looking out for just in case you can’t find a Snorlax and want to get in on the “we effectively have no weaknesses!” party.So what’s the overall summary of what we can expect once Gen 2 comes? Basically, everything will have a few more viable answers, assuming movesets work out well. Barring additional changes to the Gym system or combat mechanics, it doesn’t seem as if there’ll be a huge, foundational change in the meta. Instead, you’ll simply have more options for defeating pretty much everything you can think of. Normal types and other Pokemon with few good representatives of their weaknesses will remain somewhat pesky, but more generic attackers are coming regardless.I don’t mean to make this sound insignificant – it’s not like you can ignore the first good Electric type, for example – but it’s definitely not the kind of thing I could see totally rearranging the entire meta. Pokemon like Snorlax, Lapras, and Dragonite will likely remain very good, despite being a little easier to beat. The verdict on how this should be taken depends strongly on how you personally enjoy Pokemon. A relative lack of serious changes could be good news if you fervently dislike Pokemon you didn’t grow up with, or bad news if you’re tired of the same stale meta.If this does indeed end up being my last time writing about the metagame dynamics in Pokemon Go, I want to give everyone who read my posts a big thank you. Your appreciation of my work made all of this worth it. Hopefully I’ll return to doing this when Gen 2 debuts! (Well, assuming I’m still alive by then.)Edit: Apparently I'm suddenly really bad at making my points clear, so I added some commentary to hopefully cut down on shitposting in the comments mostly originating from people not getting what I'm trying to say. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2dcxlGE