Summary
- Some Pokemon are so overpowered that they repeatedly break the competitive meta across generations.
- Typing, moves, abilities, stats, and forms can make legendaries and Megas near-unstoppable.
- Mewtwo to Flutter Mane: many remain banned or are stuck in the Uber Tier despite repeated nerfs and new tools.
Not all Pokemon are created equal: some are weak and some are strong, but others are so remarkably overpowered that they have even broken the competitive meta on more than one occasion. Almost every Pokemon generation has introduced one or two creatures that are so exceedingly powerful – thanks to their typing, moves, abilities, and stats – that it is almost impossible to defeat them in battle.
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On top of that, many of them have managed to maintain their reputation throughout the years, even after receiving numerous nerfs in subsequent generations. Needless to say, there’s a surprising number of overpowered Pokemon in these games, but the following are the most notorious examples in the franchise's history so far.
Mewtwo
The Original Uber-Tier Legendary Pokemon
- Introduced in: Generation One
- Type: Psychic
- Pokedex Number: 150
Every generation has its own collection of strong legendary Pokemon, but the very first one was relatively small, with Mewtwo sitting on top as the most powerful one. Not even its original counterpart, Mew, could stand a chance against it. It's worth pointing out that, back in Generation One, Special Attack and Special Defense used to share one stat (simply called Special), meaning that, with a total of 154 points, Mewtwo could both unleash and resist a lot of damage.
Combined with its remarkable speed stat of 130, Mewtwo was a true force to be reckoned with in its debut games. Curiously enough, despite receiving some minor nerfs in the following generations, it also kept getting new tools for its arsenal that allowed it to keep its reputation as the original overpowered Pokemon. In Generation Five, Mewtwo received its first signature move called Psystrike, and in Generation Six, it got not one but two different Mega Evolutions, with Mega Mewtwo Y standing out for being a strong and speedy special attacker.
Landorus (Therian Forme)
The Undisputed King Of Competitive Pokemon
- Introduced in: Generation Five
- Type: Ground/Flying
- Pokedex Number: 645
Any seasoned competitive Pokemon player can confirm that Therian Forme Landorus has been dominating the competitive scene since its introduction back in Generation Five, and there are very few creatures that can stop it. This, of course, doesn’t really apply to Incarnate Forme Landorus, as only the Therian Forme has the perfect combination of stats and abilities to stand out in battle.
Its Ground/Flying typing has many useful resistances (including an immunity to the Ground-type), it's both very bulky and very strong, its Intimidate ability can lower the opponent’s physical attack every time it’s sent out into the battlefield, and it can even use Stealth Rock, a hazard that can completely change the tide of battle if it’s set up properly. Landorus-Therian is so overpowered that there are entire strategies and Pokemon teams that were designed specifically to take him down.
Xerneas
The Fairy-Type Really Excelled In Its Debut Generation
- Introduced in: Generation Six
- Type: Fairy
- Pokedex Number: 716
Generation Six saw the introduction of the Fairy-type, which completely redefined the competitive meta. While many powerful Fairy-type Pokemon made their debut in this generation, the most noteworthy one was the "box art legendary" of Pokemon X, Xerneas. For starters, its signature ability, Fairy Aura, allows it to boost the power of all the Fairy-type attacks on the battlefield (including its own), which is obviously very useful.
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However, Xerneas is especially well-known for its signature move, Geomancy, which increases its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by two stages, with the only downside being that it has to wait two turns for the boost to take effect. But, of course, this can be easily circumvented by making it hold a Power Herb, an item that nullifies the waiting period for all charging moves. This all means that Xerneas, which is already a strong legendary Pokemon to begin with, can double its most important stats and become an unstoppable force of nature in just one turn.
Mega Kangaskhan
Two Pokemon For The Price Of One
- Introduced in: Generation Six
- Type: Normal
- Pokedex Number: 115
The introduction of Mega Evolution has naturally resulted in a lot of extremely powerful Pokemon, but only a handful of them are so overpowered that they can be considered broken. Curiously enough, one of the most infamous ones was none other than Mega Kangaskhan, the Mega Evolved form of a Generation One Pokemon that had never really stood out before.
Aside from the obvious increase in stats that every Mega Pokemon receives, Mega Kangaskhan is notorious for gaining a brand-new signature ability called Parental Bond, which turns every single attack into a two-strike move, with the baby attacking right after its mother, with half of the power of her attacks. To make things even worse, this second hit is not immune to secondary effects, meaning that it can result in a critical hit, and the move Power-Up Punch always raises Kangaskhan’s Attack stats by two instead of one. Game Freak must have been aware of how overpowered it had accidentally made this Mega Evolution, because Parental Bond was nerfed in Generation Seven (with the second hit only dealing a quarter of the first one’s damage), but this didn’t prevent Mega Kangaskhan from still doing very well in the competitive scene until Mega Evolution was removed altogether.
Mega Rayquaza
The Most Overpowered Mega Evolution In The Series
- Introduced in: Generation Six
- Type: Dragon/Flying
- Pokedex Number: 384
Regular Rayquaza is already a powerful legendary Pokemon in and of itself, seeing as it is supposed to be able to stop Kyogre and Groudon’s climactic rampage. So, when those two Pokemon were given strong Primal forms in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Game Freak’s developers must have realized that they also needed to give Rayquaza a powerful new transformation to even the playing field, but they may have gone a bit too far in some places.
Mega Rayquaza is infamous for being one of the most broken and overpowered Mega Evolved Pokemon in the entire franchise, to the point that it was banned from the Uber Tier in the Smogon competitive format, the tier that is only populated by strong legendary Pokemon. For starters, Mega Rayquaza has an impressive stat spread with a total of 780 points, and its signature move, Dragon Ascent, is incredibly strong (and, despite its name, is Flying-type, which means that it can’t be stopped by Fairy-type Pokemon). On top of that, its signature ability, Delta Stream, eliminates its Flying Type weaknesses, and it doesn’t even need to hold a Mega Stone to get access to this transformation, meaning that it can hold another item (like a Life Orb) and increase the power of its attacks even further.
Urshifu
This Skilled Fighter Can Break Through Protective Barriers
- Introduced in: Generation Eight
- Type: Fighting/Dark (Single Strike Style) Fighting/Water (Rapid Strike Style)
- Pokedex Number: 892
Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Isle of Armor DLC evolves almost entirely around the legendary Pokemon Kubfu and the evolution it eventually obtains after a rigorous training session with the player: Urshifu, who is notorious for having two different forms, Single Strike Style and Rapid Strike Style, depending on which scroll the player chose to expose Kubfu to.
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Needless to say, both forms of Urshifu are extremely powerful, mainly because they have their own incredible signature moves: Wicked Blow and Surging Strikes, which, despite some minor differences, are infamous for always resulting in a devastating critical hit. But the thing that makes Urshifu truly overpowered is its signature ability, Unseen Fist, which ignores all protection moves (like Protect, Detect, King’s Shield, etc.) And allows it to hit its target as long as it’s using a move that makes direct contact. This is absolutely terrifying because it means that Urshifu’s opponents can never feel safe around it.
Calyrex
A Legendary Pokemon That Can Use Two Abilities At The Same Time
- Introduced in: Generation Eight
- Type: Psychic/Ice (Ice Rider) Psychic/Ghost (Shadow Rider)
- Pokedex Number: 898
Funnily enough, Pokemon Sword and Shield’s second DLC expansion, The Crown Tundra, also introduced a new legendary Pokemon that immediately became the bane of every competitive player. In this case, it was Calyrex, who is nothing special when it is alone, but can suddenly turn into a true beast in battle when it fuses with either of its two steeds, Glastrier and Spectrier, and becomes Ice Rider Calyrex and Shadow Rider Calyrex, respectively.
These two Calyrex forms are very powerful stats-wise and can use two excellent signature moves, Glacial Lance and Astral Barrage, both of which deal 120 points of damage to all adjacent opponents on the battlefield without suffering any real drawbacks. However, what makes Calyrex especially overpowered to the point it feels broken is its signature ability, As One, which combines the effects of Calyrex’s Unnerve with the abilities of Gastrier and Spectrier, Chilling Neigh and Grim Neigh. This basically means that Calyrex can use two abilities at the same time, something that no other Pokemon before or after its introduction has been able to do.
Flutter Mane
An Ancient Paradox That Can Compete Against Legendaries
- Introduced in: Generation Nine
- Type: Ghost/Fairy
- Pokedex Number: 987
Even the most recent Pokemon generation, the ninth one, has introduced an overpowered Pokemon that quickly began dominating its new competitive meta. Flutter Mane (the Ancient Paradox relative of Misdreavus) is extremely powerful to an absurd degree, despite its seemingly innocuous appearance.
Flutter Mane has 135 points in its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed, meaning that it is very powerful, very durable, and very fast, all at the same time. On top of that, it can learn many useful moves. Ghost/Fairy is an excellent type combination with very few weaknesses, and its ability, Protosynthesis, boosts its strength when it's fighting under harsh sunlight. Flutter Mane was banned from regular competitive play the moment Pokemon Scarlet and Violet came out, and it’s now relegated to compete in the Uber tier, alongside many powerful legendary Pokemon (most of which it can still defeat with ease).
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