I forgot the best Bugs ever released, Genesect and Pheromosa. I apologize to the Bug type for my Slander They were too powerful and got Banned from OU. However they're not fantastic in the world of Ubers. Perhaps one day they'll create a Bug type Legendary who can compete with the best.
When I caught my obligatory Zubat for the team I got confused as to why they suddenly had Absorb. Then I picked up that TM and got even MORE confused. THEN I saw the BP. Since then it’s been my favorite Move.
@luissilva1954 Bug type Vicegrip would have made Kingler pretty scary against psychics and especially Exeggutor. SD up and suddenly all those Psychic mons start sweating.
I would actually guess that Bug was the first type added, given that catching bugs was the concept that led to what became Pokemon. If so, that might be why it's so terrible - all the other types added afterwards got all the fancy fun moves.
Yeah I get the impression that for gen 1 specifically when the types were conceived that bug was amongst the first - not just because insect collecting is the basis of the whole franchise, but also because mechanically it interacts with two of the three starter elements, its one of the first types you encounter that teaches you the table, and the bug pokemon's stats slash movepools themselves scream "we're the simple early RPG encounter baddies that annoy the shit out of you with status conditions so you know how to handle them later".
@@Chibisporebased on Gen 1 index numbers Bug was the last type to have a Mon implemented (Scyther at 26). That being said, I can't imagine Bug type was the last one considered given Satoshi Tajiri's story about catching bugs inspiring Pokemon
Nah, it's because Pokemon RB were originally conceived as a more traditional RPG game, and bug types where supposed to be like the early game characters, they evolve early but get outclassed later.
@@ladonmccabe I played with a link cable exactly once in my Pokemon career. I used a Shedinja to beat my friend's team of legendaries and just sat there smugly not telling him what Wonder Guard did. Back in the day when information was less widespread there was a big gap between people who Know and people who just play the games
@@arachnofiend2859 haha I remember those days fondly. I always used to get the guides and book-pokedexes. I remember roght before ruby and saphire came out, we all thought that some pokemon would have 3 types, like groudon having fire/rock/ground. We never expected pokemon abilities!
@@arachnofiend2859 Yep. I was such a pro gamer with my hoard of level 100 pokemon. It really blew their mind when I did it in gen 3, after I hqd already revealed the magic of Missingno. (aka- leave the up button held overnight by a mudslide with Pokemon in the daycare) And I had Blue version on my Red version. (pressing buttons when you start the gameboy) Unfortunately I was a bit too influential on the children in my life with my 1337 gamer sk1llz though, because it resulted in five tweens getting their parents to buy them Morrowind. ...Some fantasy swears got banned at school.
I think with the design philosophy of Gen 1 (JRPG tropes) they were meant for early game only....like how Onix is a check for you having a special attacker since it's awful otherwise Scyther and Pinsir are odd though
Bugs fighting and bug collection may have been the inspiration but that doesn't mean much when you take into consideration the fact that pokemon types became a concept in the middle of gen 1's development, they weren't always meant to be a thing. And they propably did not have the time to balance all the types out like they would want. And then there is exactly what the comment above mentioned, bugs were just designed for early game usage. Pinsir and Scyther were propably just added as rare strong bug types but they weren't meant to be that useful hence the lack of bug moves
while making the game they didn't even think pokemon was going to be 'a thing' so I doubt they had competitive balance in mind at all. IIRC they thought gen 2 would be the last of it
@@arachnofiend2859 while I see your point but from a game balancing perspective I think bug should do neutral damage to fairy and just resist it instead. The reason being if bug does super effective damage to fairy, poison types only two offensive match ups will be taken over by bug. While having bug do neutral is already a good buff having it resist it fairy is a definite yes since all of Bug's regular resistances are done arguably better by flying types. Giving it neutral damage and a resist to fairy will allow for more justification for bug types without damaging poison types viability too much and it'll be a type that will be able deal with the terrifying combo of ground/fairy if Gamefreak decides to make one. By the way bug type is my favorite type and I just wish it was better not over powered.
@@shrooberto ngl, I can't buy that since bug is ALREADY one of the most resisted types in the game before that change. -fire -fighting -flying -steel -poison -ghost I think the only reason they did it is just cause Bug is largely still early-game filler/garbo to gamefreak.
@@Krona-fb4dn nah they did it because they do not care about balance at all, they just design things based on how much they make sense in a real world setting, like making avalugg a massive physical wall because it's literally a giant block of ice despite it obviously failing at it due to the game's mechanics and as we all know, in real life fairies are resistant to bugs /s
the history of bug type pokemon in competitive pokemon is a case that never really sat right with me, in this web of conspiracy several different aspects of the case as far back as gen 1 have always bugged me. Glad to see an expert like Jim needle his way into the conversation, as opposed to taking the same u-turn the rest of the community has.
Bug is kind of a wonder type. In Gen 1, despite mechanically and in practice being not good, theoretically was designed to be a counter to one of the strongest types in the game. The mythology behind a type that is abundantly found early on and that becomes the surprising antidote to the later fights is wonderful to me
I like how half the things in the game just don't work on Shedinja You invest your 252 into Attack, of course... the 252 into Speed, I guess, Shedinja isn't outspeeding anything anyways... then 4 in SpA, I guess? Oh, trick room Shedinja? Yeah, 252 Attack, 252 SpA, and 4 Defense in case my game glitches and Shedinja somehow uses Body Press. Shedinja should absolutely learn Body Press, by the way
@@aprinnyonbreak1290 Defense wasn't relevant on Shedinja until Gen 4 onwards when Download became an ability. Incredibly specific but you'd want higher defense to prevent a Download Pokemon from getting a favorable attack boost.
A really cool idea was something the creator of the Inclement Emerald romhack did; they made Vikavolt a pseudo with 109 spd. That would have been a really cool idea for GF to do, especially since you can’t get Vikavolt until the late game in Gen 7
I like the idea of getting the baby form of the pseudo early, too so it grows with you. Much better than getting it in the last area of the game and having to train it up before the League. The way they put Gible in an optional and hidden part of Wayward cave is my favorite way of doing this.
It feels like Bug was designed to be good early on with early evos but bad later on in the game when everything catches up. Even kid me had to box my Butterfree when it couldn't hack it anymore Glad they fleshed it out to make it a solid type in later gens
Heracross is the exception to the rule, for sure! Just a shame that without insane luck/outside tools, getting him in a regular playthrough is nigh on impossible, a shame too since i always liked Ash's one in the Johto anime
While Bug has received quite a bunch of tools and representatives in more recent Gens, it's still sadly very easily bottom 5 among all types. I'd even argue Bug is the "18th best type" overall due to just how little benefit actually _being_ Bug yields. While slow Rock and Ice types suck, fast Rock and Ice types are usually great. Normal and Psychic suffer from "too much" neutrality among the type chart and typically rely on being overstatted or have amazing abilities to keep up, but once they're across the line they tend to perform decently. Bug, on the other hand, has so many downsides for so little benefit that said Bug-types almost need to be cracked/overtuned to even start being good.
@@tylerd1297 Eh. Gen 4 Heracross, sure. Gold/Silver heracross was miserable. Enjoy your fighting attack (Reversal) at like level 54 or whatever, I guess. Hope you like non-stab Headbutt and Strength. Or Rock Smash. Strongest Rock Smash this side of a Link Cable, I tell you what. I forget if Crystal made changes, I don't think it did.
@@aprinnyonbreak1290 hence my first sentence. That's all true but I was talking about what OP wrote in regards to other bugs. In regards to what you're saying, it is still pretty darn strong relative to anything else available at that point. Id compare it to Gyarados. Not winning any awards for power but strong and well rounded stats. The Normal types like Ursaring, Tauros, and Stantler are a lot stronger.
My favorite bug type of all time is araquanid. Diving helmet spiders are so cool that the manhwa Jungle Juice has the main villain be themed like one, and back in the time of FISHIOUS REND I actually used water absorb instead of bubble to switch in to use sticky webs. It's also bulkier than anyone expects, so rocky helmet helped a ton to make progress. Also, the ability to bounce back hazards and toxic on the low ladder sometimes won me the game automatically. I like my water spider, I think I named her Bubbles.
Scolipede should be noted for being the mon to break baton pass in both gen 7 and 6 getting it finally banned in both gens. Other than that it’s a pretty good attacker once it got a nice 10 attack boost from gen 5 to 6 and speed boost. It’s basically what Ninjask wishes it could be once bp was banned as it has Aqua tail, Rock slide, EQ, poison jab for coverage with SD. You can run a full suicide set with sash endeavor and tspikes
A buff I've always dreamed of for bug types is hazard damage immunity. Most bug feet are tiny specialized claws, and bugs have highly sophisticated feelers and leg reflexes for climbing. Most IRL bugs are too light for gravity to impale any part of them on a spike, much less to force a sharp rock through their exoskeleton. It also fits with the theme of bugs being adaptable. This would also greatly improve the bug types ability to spam STAB U-turn and to come in on ground and fighting moves, and I think such a change could singlehandedly save bug from being the worst type.
I think the best thing gamefreak can do for bug types is make bug type super effective against fairy. Fairy is too strong and it gets tiring how gamefreak keeps taking down the "super types" (gen 1 psychic and gen 3-5 dragon) and then uplifting another super type (fairy). This gives bug a much needed boost and goes a long way in balancing fairy.
Jim is spoiling us with amazing content all the time. My favorite youtuber for a while now. Remember to relax, Jim! Don't burn yourself out! Your content is much appriciated
I've been playing Mono-Bug since the reign of terror of the Smogon bird. Nothing you say or do about my beautiful, squishy, underpowered little babies could ever make me stop loving them.
Loved this video! You mentioned Accelgor having more use in Ubers than OU in Gen 5 - I’d love a full video on other such “leapfrog” pokemon that are good in a higher tier and worse in the one below it.
Best thing about bug is the resistance to ground and fighting imo which pairs really well with stuff like steel. On its own or with flying/poison/ grass its just horrendous.
I like how the best thing about Bug is pivoting and that is somehow guards against the two most spammed types in Ground and Fighting. While Ground was always good, Fighting is not, but now that it is Bug is a pretty good defensive type just by blocking those two types
One thing that I was always confused by is Volcarona will typically run the Bug type Z-Move Savage Spin-Out. And that doesn’t sound like a special move, but because it’s based off of Bug Buzz it is.
Durant is probably the best bug not listed in this video. Hustle First Impression can hurt like a bitch and it has seen success in UU and RU, usually ending up in a BL tier for being too overwhelming
I know this is about competitive play, but the stark contrast between Red/Blue and Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee is astounding. They actually made Pinsir and Scyther playable with updated movesets. I always wanted to use them in a Gen 1 playthrough, but felt insanely lackluster and pointless to use. I love it.
I think an element of why bug seems so awful nowadays is that certain bug types are also not in gen 9 many of which would not be world beaters but they would essentially make an impact. I do also think that we should revert the useage to be in ou to what it was pre gen 8. The shift to 4.52% usage did really cause a lot of artificial power creep compared to past gens as with the dlcs causing a bunch of pokemon dropping to uu at once including many mons that had enough useage to be ou in past gens but not in gen 9. If a absurd mon drops to a tier it will be banned but if dozens of mons drop to a tier no matter many will just become the new faces of the format
I really liked Shelmet in gen 7 and 8. It had a similar niche to Accelgor as a setter of the controversial spikes. But where Accelgor would outspeed everyone, Shelmet can take most Physical hits, especially against tier king Landorus. I think he's an amazing fellow for how good he can be as a non evolved bug guy. Awesome video
I love bug type pokemon. I was running monobug teams in gen 7&8 but they suffered from 6-pokemon-slot-syndrome. When a bug type does well, it seems to do so despite the type rather than because of the type
Volcarona, Scizor/Genesect, and Buzzwole are definitely better because of their Bug typings. Volcarona being neutral to Ground/resistant to Fighting, Buzzwole being resistant to Ground and Grass, and the Bug/Steel types having STAB U-Turn while also being Steel-types that aren’t weak to Fighting/Ground play a HUGE role in their success. And that’s the problem with Bug; the vast majority of typings it’s paired with don’t really play into its strengths, and a lot of those typings instead double down on its crippling weaknesses or just layer on too many weaknesses. But Bug has some genuine potential, as these sorts of monsters show; it has an extremely specific defensive profile that includes resisting the most common offensive typings in the game in Ground and Fighting.
I don't think that bug was necessarily badly thought out in general 1, I think it's just they only really balanced around the single player story mode. Bugs were meant to be sort of early game mons to move past. Kinda like how Onix is pretty bad competitively but as a first in game "boss monster" it works cause it teaches the player about types and special vs physical without being too threatening to feel hopeless to the player
They should just restrict the move's distribution, makes psychic types shittier than they need to be And every bug is outclassed by other stronger Pokémon with a better typing that also can use U-turn.....Either restrict its distribution or make U-turn normal type, that would be insane folks
Golisopod hasn’t had the benefit of having HDB yet. Such a shame it’s one of the COOLEST designs with a sick move. First Impression and switch out isn’t viable with Stealth Rocks. Golisopod 50/50s would be wild with HDB.
The idea that Bug was added late in Gen 1 development seems like a stretch to me considering the idea for Pokémon was Satoshi Tajiri catching bugs in the forests of Japan during his childhood. Regardless of the reasoning, *SOMETHING* was definitely off with many Gen 1 Types, Bug being one of the biggest question mark of the lot.
When he says that Volcorona has “good bulk” I feel like that means it can take most big hits to get a quiver off, then sweep. It has just enough defenses to where it doesn’t need a free turn.
As if bug wasn't bad enough offensively, gamefreak really went the extra step to have it be resisted by fairy as well. Not every type is created equal, but was it really neccessary to have bug being resisted by basically everything?
Bug types have so many amazing tools going for it that would balance the bad typing, but often other pokemon WITHOUT the terrible bug typing also have access to them which makes majority of bug types except the premier ones not worth using. Imagine if u-turn was only available to bug types
Why bug was made weak to fairy when it shpuld have been the opposite i will never know, atleast with gen 9 buffing ice types maybe gen 10 will bring some much needed buffs to the bug type
I always wondered how Mr Cool Jimothy thinks about changing Bug/Fairy type interactions? It's one of the most talked about potential buff ideas for Bug types I've seen people dislike the idea of buffing U-Turn further but it might be something to finally make bugs more threatening while knocking down one of the best types down a peg
I think they need to restrict the distribution of U-Turn to mostly just go to Bugs anyway. Why can Rillaboom U-turn with its bulky drum set but Vikavolt and Golisopod can't?
Kinda surprised Pheromosa wasn't mentioned in Gen 8 since it was legal for a while until people started running Shock Wave for boltbeam coverage and it got banned to Ubers
I love gen 5 for a lot of reasons, most of all because we got tons of cool bug types (galvantula, leavanny, volcarona, crustle, scolipede,.... all of them in fact). Truly a blessed gen (if you're not afraid of bugs^^)
Considering that Pokemon are actually inspired by real life bugs, the struggle bug (pun absolutely intented) types have to go trough in combat is somewhat surprising.
"I don't think Pinsir even gets a single bug-type attack [in gen 1]" Heck, even in gens 2 and 3 it only gets Fury Cutter (by TM). Gen 4 is Pinsir's Paradise, where it gets the massive upgrade of not only a viable stab in X-Scissor, but even a _support_ move in String Shot (by tutoring)! We're lucky it didn't get such groundbreaking buffs in gen 3, or Jim's favourite metagame would surely be unrecognisable
I'm surprised Centiskorch isn't in SV, especially since it was introduced a Gen earlier, plus it has a great design. Oh well, at least I have a Volcarona.
4:33 considering bug catching was Tajiri Satoshi's biggest hobby and the main inspiration for Pokemon's creation as a whole, i highly doubt bug type wasnt considered until late, i think its more likely just gen 1 being gen 1
Something else I should add is that in Gen 1, another quirk in the game is that if Slash actually does crit, it completely ignores the swords dance boosts you have, it plays off of your base attack as if you had never used Swords Dance. It’s tragic, because it makes what little utility could have come out of Pinsir even less useful in the long run
I'm still sad that Fairy resists bug. Could have been a great way to give a boost to one of the weakest types, but instead became another type to pick on arthropoda.
Iron Fridgulis would be OU if not it’s terrible defensive typing and lack of coverage to hit steel types, but it’s speed tier makes it an excellent threat with booster energy in UU
Enjoyed the video, but another odd selection for gen 7. Neither webs or golis have ever seen any consistent high level play, I think Mega Pinsir and Mega Hera would have been better to talk about. Another nice thing about Buzzwole to mention is that it can check Mega Swampert, Mega Lopunny and Kartana nicely. Volcarona can also work well without a Z-Crystal, gen 7 is where the Substitute + Swarm set started taking off (utilizing Leftovers, I go into great detail on Volcarona’s analysis page). Overall good video though; keep it up man
0:11 I don't know how and where you found this clip, but Jesus that poor Beedrill, getting crit by a SLOWBRO off all things despite the gen 1 crit mechanics it's like the most unfortunate thing I've ever seen XD
Bug should resist and be super effective against Fairy. Bug should be immune to confusion. Bug should resist Psychic. Bug should be the best type of them all.
one of the shittiest things about Gen 1 game design is that they put a forest with exclusively bug types right befoer the first gym where they are all completly useless.
this could not be further from the truth. the early game of kanto teaches you that type matches dont mean everything- butterfree easily beats brock, and beedrill can with enough luck too.
@@potatoman2580 but Brock's gen1 team are just super tanky normal types cause they don't even use rock moves except for Geodude in Pokemon Yellow only
@@MD-vs9ff you just need a little more skill to beat brock with butterfree in frlg. you can spam harden against the geodude, and then after taking it out with confusion, you can either stun spore the onix, or sleep powder it if you have enough levels. rock tomb is like a 3 hit KO which is very manageable with the right luck
![Digital Circus Episode 4 [TRAILER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/abZtsmMUbJo/mqdefault.jpg)
I forgot the best Bugs ever released, Genesect and Pheromosa. I apologize to the Bug type for my Slander
They were too powerful and got Banned from OU. However they're not fantastic in the world of Ubers.
Perhaps one day they'll create a Bug type Legendary who can compete with the best.
We don’t talk about Genesect.
Genesect is a horrorterror in the older gens its just gotten power creeped
Check out Psychics they are getting worse everyday
To be fair in Gen 5, Genesect was one of the best Ubers IIRC
But where was Durant?
The best thing Pokémon ever did for Bug types is buff Leech Life to 80 power on Gen 7 out of absolutely nowhere
Probably one of the neatest buffs around
Single-handedly changing the course of Zubat forever by forcing them to replace it with Absorb
All hail Buzzwole for giving us this buff
@@echo5172buzzwole really said “do you even lift bro?” And proceeded to show how to properly use Leech Life
When I caught my obligatory Zubat for the team I got confused as to why they suddenly had Absorb.
Then I picked up that TM and got even MORE confused.
THEN I saw the BP. Since then it’s been my favorite Move.
I can't imagine living a life where I am constantly dealing with kitchen themed future paradox forms threatening me.
Also, shout-out to my favorite Pokemon for being the highest ranked Bug in my favorite meta, RBY.
Can't wait for the Air Fryer themed Rotom Heat.
You just assume they're all from the kitchen?
You're setting yourself up for a real bad scare from some alarm clock or answering machine menace
2:30 Gen 1 Pinser is so sad. Never have I seen a pokemon wish so desperately to have been born a normal type.
Heracross is what Pincer should have been.
if at least vicegrip was bug-type
wouldn't be good, but it would be... something
@luissilva1954 Bug type Vicegrip would have made Kingler pretty scary against psychics and especially Exeggutor. SD up and suddenly all those Psychic mons start sweating.
@@DeckKnight yea exeggutor would be TREMBLING
gen 1 dragonite wishes it was normal too tbh
A 40 minute video on U-turn type and Volcorona-type pokemon. This is insane, folks.
I would actually guess that Bug was the first type added, given that catching bugs was the concept that led to what became Pokemon. If so, that might be why it's so terrible - all the other types added afterwards got all the fancy fun moves.
That could be true.
Yeah I get the impression that for gen 1 specifically when the types were conceived that bug was amongst the first - not just because insect collecting is the basis of the whole franchise, but also because mechanically it interacts with two of the three starter elements, its one of the first types you encounter that teaches you the table, and the bug pokemon's stats slash movepools themselves scream "we're the simple early RPG encounter baddies that annoy the shit out of you with status conditions so you know how to handle them later".
@@Chibisporebased on Gen 1 index numbers Bug was the last type to have a Mon implemented (Scyther at 26). That being said, I can't imagine Bug type was the last one considered given Satoshi Tajiri's story about catching bugs inspiring Pokemon
Nah, it's because Pokemon RB were originally conceived as a more traditional RPG game, and bug types where supposed to be like the early game characters, they evolve early but get outclassed later.
kinda like kirby in smash melee, got powercrept out of relevance
The characterization of Shedinja as an unfortunate little guy was very endearing
Shedinja was a guilty pleasure of mine.
@@ladonmccabe I played with a link cable exactly once in my Pokemon career. I used a Shedinja to beat my friend's team of legendaries and just sat there smugly not telling him what Wonder Guard did. Back in the day when information was less widespread there was a big gap between people who Know and people who just play the games
@@arachnofiend2859 haha I remember those days fondly. I always used to get the guides and book-pokedexes. I remember roght before ruby and saphire came out, we all thought that some pokemon would have 3 types, like groudon having fire/rock/ground. We never expected pokemon abilities!
@@arachnofiend2859
Yep.
I was such a pro gamer with my hoard of level 100 pokemon.
It really blew their mind when I did it in gen 3, after I hqd already revealed the magic of Missingno. (aka- leave the up button held overnight by a mudslide with Pokemon in the daycare)
And I had Blue version on my Red version. (pressing buttons when you start the gameboy)
Unfortunately I was a bit too influential on the children in my life with my 1337 gamer sk1llz though, because it resulted in five tweens getting their parents to buy them Morrowind.
...Some fantasy swears got banned at school.
If emergency exit worked at the end of the turn, Golisopod would have been OU for sure. Basically a one-time free pivot on any move
Heracross has once again invaded my home and under the threat of its Swarm-boosted Megahorn, it has forced me to watch this insane video.
bug is one of the most unfortunate types in the world of competitive pokemon
in the early generations, bug-types were very limited defensively and had extremely scarce attacking options.
@@thatoneguy3840 with the introduction of stealth rock to the game, which punished all rock-weak pokemon including bugs, they suffered even more.
with the introduction of Stealth Rocks to the game, which punishes all Rock-weak Pokemon, including Bugs, they suffer even more.
Viable competitve bug types tend to be a rarity but they do exist
Viable competitive bug types tend to be a rarity, but they do exist.
I’ll be waiting for my Iron Fridgilis merch. I need a new fridge
Did your old one run away?
It would be very weird for bug to be added late in development, considering bug fighting was the inspiration for Pokemon lol
I think with the design philosophy of Gen 1 (JRPG tropes) they were meant for early game only....like how Onix is a check for you having a special attacker since it's awful otherwise
Scyther and Pinsir are odd though
Bugs fighting and bug collection may have been the inspiration but that doesn't mean much when you take into consideration the fact that pokemon types became a concept in the middle of gen 1's development, they weren't always meant to be a thing. And they propably did not have the time to balance all the types out like they would want. And then there is exactly what the comment above mentioned, bugs were just designed for early game usage. Pinsir and Scyther were propably just added as rare strong bug types but they weren't meant to be that useful hence the lack of bug moves
while making the game they didn't even think pokemon was going to be 'a thing' so I doubt they had competitive balance in mind at all. IIRC they thought gen 2 would be the last of it
Absolutely absurd they felt the need *nerf* bug in Gen 6 by making Fairy resist it.
Surely bug should be super effective against fairy, right? It plays right into the trope of cutesy characters being freaked out by bugs.
@@arachnofiend2859 while I see your point but from a game balancing perspective I think bug should do neutral damage to fairy and just resist it instead. The reason being if bug does super effective damage to fairy, poison types only two offensive match ups will be taken over by bug. While having bug do neutral is already a good buff having it resist it fairy is a definite yes since all of Bug's regular resistances are done arguably better by flying types. Giving it neutral damage and a resist to fairy will allow for more justification for bug types without damaging poison types viability too much and it'll be a type that will be able deal with the terrifying combo of ground/fairy if Gamefreak decides to make one. By the way bug type is my favorite type and I just wish it was better not over powered.
99% sure they purely did this because of U-turn.
@@shrooberto ngl, I can't buy that since bug is ALREADY one of the most resisted types in the game before that change.
-fire
-fighting
-flying
-steel
-poison
-ghost
I think the only reason they did it is just cause Bug is largely still early-game filler/garbo to gamefreak.
@@Krona-fb4dn nah they did it because they do not care about balance at all, they just design things based on how much they make sense in a real world setting, like making avalugg a massive physical wall because it's literally a giant block of ice despite it obviously failing at it due to the game's mechanics
and as we all know, in real life fairies are resistant to bugs /s
the history of bug type pokemon in competitive pokemon is a case that never really sat right with me, in this web of conspiracy several different aspects of the case as far back as gen 1 have always bugged me. Glad to see an expert like Jim needle his way into the conversation, as opposed to taking the same u-turn the rest of the community has.
In the sticky web of conspiracy
Bug is kind of a wonder type. In Gen 1, despite mechanically and in practice being not good, theoretically was designed to be a counter to one of the strongest types in the game. The mythology behind a type that is abundantly found early on and that becomes the surprising antidote to the later fights is wonderful to me
@@luizpdrnogueira
Tragically, the best Bug type in gen 1 was Jolteon. Some people would cite Pinsir, but, Pinser is clearly a Normal type.
"taking the same U-turn", I see what you did there 😂
The shedinja with leftovers absolute kills me xDD
i was gonna say isnt that nonsensical lmfao
I like how half the things in the game just don't work on Shedinja
You invest your 252 into Attack, of course... the 252 into Speed, I guess, Shedinja isn't outspeeding anything anyways... then 4 in SpA, I guess?
Oh, trick room Shedinja? Yeah, 252 Attack, 252 SpA, and 4 Defense in case my game glitches and Shedinja somehow uses Body Press.
Shedinja should absolutely learn Body Press, by the way
@@aprinnyonbreak1290 Defense wasn't relevant on Shedinja until Gen 4 onwards when Download became an ability. Incredibly specific but you'd want higher defense to prevent a Download Pokemon from getting a favorable attack boost.
In scarlet and violet if you try to make your mon bug tera the game will ask you three times “are you sure?”
But bug isnt even the worst tera
A really cool idea was something the creator of the Inclement Emerald romhack did; they made Vikavolt a pseudo with 109 spd. That would have been a really cool idea for GF to do, especially since you can’t get Vikavolt until the late game in Gen 7
I like the idea of getting the baby form of the pseudo early, too so it grows with you. Much better than getting it in the last area of the game and having to train it up before the League. The way they put Gible in an optional and hidden part of Wayward cave is my favorite way of doing this.
It feels like Bug was designed to be good early on with early evos but bad later on in the game when everything catches up. Even kid me had to box my Butterfree when it couldn't hack it anymore
Glad they fleshed it out to make it a solid type in later gens
Hes a bit limited in Gen 2 but Heracross is like the antithesis of that lol. Single stage, absurdly strong for that point in the game.
Heracross is the exception to the rule, for sure!
Just a shame that without insane luck/outside tools, getting him in a regular playthrough is nigh on impossible, a shame too since i always liked Ash's one in the Johto anime
While Bug has received quite a bunch of tools and representatives in more recent Gens, it's still sadly very easily bottom 5 among all types. I'd even argue Bug is the "18th best type" overall due to just how little benefit actually _being_ Bug yields.
While slow Rock and Ice types suck, fast Rock and Ice types are usually great. Normal and Psychic suffer from "too much" neutrality among the type chart and typically rely on being overstatted or have amazing abilities to keep up, but once they're across the line they tend to perform decently. Bug, on the other hand, has so many downsides for so little benefit that said Bug-types almost need to be cracked/overtuned to even start being good.
@@tylerd1297
Eh.
Gen 4 Heracross, sure.
Gold/Silver heracross was miserable. Enjoy your fighting attack (Reversal) at like level 54 or whatever, I guess. Hope you like non-stab Headbutt and Strength. Or Rock Smash. Strongest Rock Smash this side of a Link Cable, I tell you what.
I forget if Crystal made changes, I don't think it did.
@@aprinnyonbreak1290 hence my first sentence.
That's all true but I was talking about what OP wrote in regards to other bugs. In regards to what you're saying, it is still pretty darn strong relative to anything else available at that point. Id compare it to Gyarados. Not winning any awards for power but strong and well rounded stats. The Normal types like Ursaring, Tauros, and Stantler are a lot stronger.
Love that Jimothy Cool uploaded a video about my favorite type on my birthday! How did he know??? 😰
I knew that.
Bro's a Psychic type confirmed
congratulations on 69,000 subscribers, mr. cool. this is insane.
My favorite bug type of all time is araquanid. Diving helmet spiders are so cool that the manhwa Jungle Juice has the main villain be themed like one, and back in the time of FISHIOUS REND I actually used water absorb instead of bubble to switch in to use sticky webs. It's also bulkier than anyone expects, so rocky helmet helped a ton to make progress. Also, the ability to bounce back hazards and toxic on the low ladder sometimes won me the game automatically. I like my water spider, I think I named her Bubbles.
Scolipede should be noted for being the mon to break baton pass in both gen 7 and 6 getting it finally banned in both gens.
Other than that it’s a pretty good attacker once it got a nice 10 attack boost from gen 5 to 6 and speed boost. It’s basically what Ninjask wishes it could be once bp was banned as it has Aqua tail, Rock slide, EQ, poison jab for coverage with SD. You can run a full suicide set with sash endeavor and tspikes
Introducing Buzzwole, Pheromosa, Golisopod, buffing Leech Life and introducing First Impression redeemed the Bug-types
A buff I've always dreamed of for bug types is hazard damage immunity. Most bug feet are tiny specialized claws, and bugs have highly sophisticated feelers and leg reflexes for climbing. Most IRL bugs are too light for gravity to impale any part of them on a spike, much less to force a sharp rock through their exoskeleton. It also fits with the theme of bugs being adaptable.
This would also greatly improve the bug types ability to spam STAB U-turn and to come in on ground and fighting moves, and I think such a change could singlehandedly save bug from being the worst type.
This man does not run out of fantastic video ideas. This is incredible folks
I recently brought a new fridge last week should I be concerned I have let a dangerous Pokemon into my home
yes you should hide.
I love how long Forretress stayed relevant. He's just such a great little guy.
I love the comments on ur videos they just repeat quotes you say in the video and it cracks me up way more than it should 😂
Welcome back, gentlemen, to the best way to spend your 40 minutes productively.
I really like the way you pause to emphasize the second word of 2 word moves like sticky Web and leech Life, makes me giggle
Iron fridgeulis should’ve been a past paradox titled frigid shelf
What about "Cold Storage" ?
I think the best thing gamefreak can do for bug types is make bug type super effective against fairy. Fairy is too strong and it gets tiring how gamefreak keeps taking down the "super types" (gen 1 psychic and gen 3-5 dragon) and then uplifting another super type (fairy). This gives bug a much needed boost and goes a long way in balancing fairy.
Generation 10, megas come back. Oh whats this? Mega Flygon comes buzzing in with Tinted Lens Bug / Dragon STAB coverage!
it gets "Super Lens" which is tinted lens but also makes dragon attacks super effective against fairy types.
@@rot10ed omg that sounds broken!!! I love it. I always thought Bug need a buff to at the very least resist Fairy.
flygon won't get anything cuz charizard is getting a third mega
RELEASE TINTED LENS MEGA FLYGON!!! 85/135/60/130/60/145 STATS, TOO!!
Thats a funny way of spelling yanmega
Jim is spoiling us with amazing content all the time. My favorite youtuber for a while now. Remember to relax, Jim! Don't burn yourself out! Your content is much appriciated
Sounds to me like Stealth Rock is the real problem here. Should have been dexited, or had its mechanics changed to not factor in type weaknesses.
Great vid! I think you should have mentioned the 2 bugs too good for OU : Genesect and Pheromosa
I've been playing Mono-Bug since the reign of terror of the Smogon bird. Nothing you say or do about my beautiful, squishy, underpowered little babies could ever make me stop loving them.
Loved this video! You mentioned Accelgor having more use in Ubers than OU in Gen 5 - I’d love a full video on other such “leapfrog” pokemon that are good in a higher tier and worse in the one below it.
Best thing about bug is the resistance to ground and fighting imo which pairs really well with stuff like steel. On its own or with flying/poison/ grass its just horrendous.
I like how the best thing about Bug is pivoting and that is somehow guards against the two most spammed types in Ground and Fighting. While Ground was always good, Fighting is not, but now that it is Bug is a pretty good defensive type just by blocking those two types
One thing that I was always confused by is Volcarona will typically run the Bug type Z-Move Savage Spin-Out. And that doesn’t sound like a special move, but because it’s based off of Bug Buzz it is.
Bug/Steel 🤝 Ground/Water
Being a fantastic defensive type with a single 4x weakness
Durant is probably the best bug not listed in this video. Hustle First Impression can hurt like a bitch and it has seen success in UU and RU, usually ending up in a BL tier for being too overwhelming
The Spidops review was the highlight of the video. Bless you.
id love to see you interview moxie boosted and see you guys go back and forth comparing vgc to smogon singles
I know this is about competitive play, but the stark contrast between Red/Blue and Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee is astounding. They actually made Pinsir and Scyther playable with updated movesets. I always wanted to use them in a Gen 1 playthrough, but felt insanely lackluster and pointless to use. I love it.
none of us are questioning why his shedinja has leftovers
Thank you Jim Cool for this excellent video on Bug Type Pokemon!
I think an element of why bug seems so awful nowadays is that certain bug types are also not in gen 9 many of which would not be world beaters but they would essentially make an impact. I do also think that we should revert the useage to be in ou to what it was pre gen 8. The shift to 4.52% usage did really cause a lot of artificial power creep compared to past gens as with the dlcs causing a bunch of pokemon dropping to uu at once including many mons that had enough useage to be ou in past gens but not in gen 9. If a absurd mon drops to a tier it will be banned but if dozens of mons drop to a tier no matter many will just become the new faces of the format
Loved the video! Hope to see it from other types as well
I really liked Shelmet in gen 7 and 8. It had a similar niche to Accelgor as a setter of the controversial spikes. But where Accelgor would outspeed everyone, Shelmet can take most Physical hits, especially against tier king Landorus. I think he's an amazing fellow for how good he can be as a non evolved bug guy.
Awesome video
I love bug type pokemon. I was running monobug teams in gen 7&8 but they suffered from 6-pokemon-slot-syndrome.
When a bug type does well, it seems to do so despite the type rather than because of the type
Volcarona, Scizor/Genesect, and Buzzwole are definitely better because of their Bug typings.
Volcarona being neutral to Ground/resistant to Fighting, Buzzwole being resistant to Ground and Grass, and the Bug/Steel types having STAB U-Turn while also being Steel-types that aren’t weak to Fighting/Ground play a HUGE role in their success.
And that’s the problem with Bug; the vast majority of typings it’s paired with don’t really play into its strengths, and a lot of those typings instead double down on its crippling weaknesses or just layer on too many weaknesses. But Bug has some genuine potential, as these sorts of monsters show; it has an extremely specific defensive profile that includes resisting the most common offensive typings in the game in Ground and Fighting.
I think bug is often underrated as a defensive type, with it’s important resistances to ground and fighting.
I don't think that bug was necessarily badly thought out in general 1, I think it's just they only really balanced around the single player story mode. Bugs were meant to be sort of early game mons to move past.
Kinda like how Onix is pretty bad competitively but as a first in game "boss monster" it works cause it teaches the player about types and special vs physical without being too threatening to feel hopeless to the player
RIP, Phermosa didn't make it in the video
I suspect that the reason why hdb isn't as big of a boon as one might think is because hdb also enables flying and fire types
Being a bug/ice type trainer has been hard 😔
I feel the only reason GF made the asinine decision of giving Fairy a bug resist was to deter U-Turn spam which was completely unnecessary.
And how does fairy resist bug in a real life/folklore logic
They should just restrict the move's distribution, makes psychic types shittier than they need to be
And every bug is outclassed by other stronger Pokémon with a better typing that also can use U-turn.....Either restrict its distribution or make U-turn normal type, that would be insane folks
Heracross is the best bug. Headbutt that tree, get the champion tier bug!
Jimothy continued FSGs how good were "intert type here" actually
It's practically a fact at this point that bug should've been neutral on fairy.
super effective*
Golisopod hasn’t had the benefit of having HDB yet. Such a shame it’s one of the COOLEST designs with a sick move. First Impression and switch out isn’t viable with Stealth Rocks. Golisopod 50/50s would be wild with HDB.
I'll never get tired of the way this guy says Baton Pass
The idea that Bug was added late in Gen 1 development seems like a stretch to me considering the idea for Pokémon was Satoshi Tajiri catching bugs in the forests of Japan during his childhood.
Regardless of the reasoning, *SOMETHING* was definitely off with many Gen 1 Types, Bug being one of the biggest question mark of the lot.
3:59 beedrill does not get a move called brainstorm, Jim. Idk what you're talkin ab
Look at Jimothy, putting out more high quality long-form content!
In other words, I'm BUGGIN OUT over this video!
When he says that Volcorona has “good bulk” I feel like that means it can take most big hits to get a quiver off, then sweep. It has just enough defenses to where it doesn’t need a free turn.
I notice a severe lack of Genesect discussion. Team Plasma won’t stand for this disrespect.
Unfortunately for Pokemon like Pinsir in Gen 1, whose best move is arguably Slash, Swords Dance is a double edged blade.
For gen 6, right now, even tho volcarona isn't ou, it's probably top 10 arguably, easily top 15, i think it deserves a mention
Keep up this kind of content Jimothy. You got my like 👍
As if bug wasn't bad enough offensively, gamefreak really went the extra step to have it be resisted by fairy as well.
Not every type is created equal, but was it really neccessary to have bug being resisted by basically everything?
Bug types have so many amazing tools going for it that would balance the bad typing, but often other pokemon WITHOUT the terrible bug typing also have access to them which makes majority of bug types except the premier ones not worth using. Imagine if u-turn was only available to bug types
Why bug was made weak to fairy when it shpuld have been the opposite i will never know, atleast with gen 9 buffing ice types maybe gen 10 will bring some much needed buffs to the bug type
I always wondered how Mr Cool Jimothy thinks about changing Bug/Fairy type interactions? It's one of the most talked about potential buff ideas for Bug types
I've seen people dislike the idea of buffing U-Turn further but it might be something to finally make bugs more threatening while knocking down one of the best types down a peg
I think they need to restrict the distribution of U-Turn to mostly just go to Bugs anyway. Why can Rillaboom U-turn with its bulky drum set but Vikavolt and Golisopod can't?
Kinda surprised Pheromosa wasn't mentioned in Gen 8 since it was legal for a while until people started running Shock Wave for boltbeam coverage and it got banned to Ubers
i hope you talk about mixed genesect extreme speed with ice beam flamethrower and shift gear
I love gen 5 for a lot of reasons, most of all because we got tons of cool bug types (galvantula, leavanny, volcarona, crustle, scolipede,.... all of them in fact).
Truly a blessed gen (if you're not afraid of bugs^^)
Considering that Pokemon are actually inspired by real life bugs, the struggle bug (pun absolutely intented) types have to go trough in combat is somewhat surprising.
"I don't think Pinsir even gets a single bug-type attack [in gen 1]"
Heck, even in gens 2 and 3 it only gets Fury Cutter (by TM). Gen 4 is Pinsir's Paradise, where it gets the massive upgrade of not only a viable stab in X-Scissor, but even a _support_ move in String Shot (by tutoring)! We're lucky it didn't get such groundbreaking buffs in gen 3, or Jim's favourite metagame would surely be unrecognisable
Bug-types are balanced around evolving VERY early by Pokemon standards
He is a especialist in bug types, his name is jiMOTHy cool
this is an ice cold take, but I don't really care about 95% of competitive pokemon, but I like the nice mans voice
Looking at Buzzwole's stat distribution and realizing it's only a few points difference in each stat from Great Tusk. No wonder it was good.
Gen 1 bug types were so bad that they introduced 2 new bug-steel pokemons to compensate in the next gen. 😭
I'm surprised Centiskorch isn't in SV, especially since it was introduced a Gen earlier, plus it has a great design. Oh well, at least I have a Volcarona.
4:33 considering bug catching was Tajiri Satoshi's biggest hobby and the main inspiration for Pokemon's creation as a whole, i highly doubt bug type wasnt considered until late, i think its more likely just gen 1 being gen 1
Awesome, I hope you'll do this for every type for as long as it may take
Something else I should add is that in Gen 1, another quirk in the game is that if Slash actually does crit, it completely ignores the swords dance boosts you have, it plays off of your base attack as if you had never used Swords Dance. It’s tragic, because it makes what little utility could have come out of Pinsir even less useful in the long run
I'm still sad that Fairy resists bug. Could have been a great way to give a boost to one of the weakest types, but instead became another type to pick on arthropoda.
Iron Fridgulis would be OU if not it’s terrible defensive typing and lack of coverage to hit steel types, but it’s speed tier makes it an excellent threat with booster energy in UU
as a bug stan i appreciate the content
Enjoyed the video, but another odd selection for gen 7. Neither webs or golis have ever seen any consistent high level play, I think Mega Pinsir and Mega Hera would have been better to talk about. Another nice thing about Buzzwole to mention is that it can check Mega Swampert, Mega Lopunny and Kartana nicely. Volcarona can also work well without a Z-Crystal, gen 7 is where the Substitute + Swarm set started taking off (utilizing Leftovers, I go into great detail on Volcarona’s analysis page). Overall good video though; keep it up man
0:11 I don't know how and where you found this clip, but Jesus that poor Beedrill, getting crit by a SLOWBRO off all things despite the gen 1 crit mechanics it's like the most unfortunate thing I've ever seen XD
Bug should resist and be super effective against Fairy.
Bug should be immune to confusion.
Bug should resist Psychic.
Bug should be the best type of them all.
Iron Frudgulis is crazy
Btw both podcast slapped🔥we need BKC next, or maybe Blunder, even Chompy
How to fix bug types? Make them get rid of their bug typing 😂
one of the shittiest things about Gen 1 game design is that they put a forest with exclusively bug types right befoer the first gym where they are all completly useless.
this could not be further from the truth. the early game of kanto teaches you that type matches dont mean everything- butterfree easily beats brock, and beedrill can with enough luck too.
@potatoman2580 Butterfree could hack it in RBY maybe. Not FRLG where Brock actually has Rock type attacks.
@@potatoman2580 but Brock's gen1 team are just super tanky normal types cause they don't even use rock moves except for Geodude in Pokemon Yellow only
@@MD-vs9ff you just need a little more skill to beat brock with butterfree in frlg. you can spam harden against the geodude, and then after taking it out with confusion, you can either stun spore the onix, or sleep powder it if you have enough levels. rock tomb is like a 3 hit KO which is very manageable with the right luck
@@chillyfalcon exactly, thats why the bugs have a very easy time with him
I'm a big fan of galvantula and vikavolt two top tier bug types:3
Jimothy, I'm at work, I can't spend 41 minutes watching a video on competitive bugs.
But I will anyway.
I can't believe the future paradox form of Rotom-Frost was able to recruit Jim to his side.
Loved the video. It'd be great if you could include OU banned mons too like Pheromosa and Genesect