The Preposterous World of Pokémon Base Stats

Did you know that Komala is stronger than most of the cool, tough Pokémon you could think of? Well it has a higher Attack Stat at least, and these sorts of outlandish discrepancies are what we'll be looking into today; How could that Pokémon possibly be slower than a much larger, heavier foe? Why in the world does this tiny little thing pack so much Special Attack, etc.?

[melonman]

I'm surprised the fact onix is physically weaker than a purple rat and a bird with a mildly pointier beak didn't come up

[superzenmodeman]

With Ledian, there’s a bit more justification when you look at dex entries and movepool.

Ledian has dex entries talking about how it uses light from stars as energy, and how it scatters “glowing powder”.

And then when you look at its movepool from the very begginning, it’s one of few pokemon in gen 2 to get all of Reflect, Light Screen, and Safeguard by level-up. It being able to so naturally conjure protective barriers aligns with having special defensive properties.

While there’s still the matter of it being as high as it is, I would say it makes sense as its highest stat. Ledian’s dex entries characterize it as a weakling, and there’s nothing to say it’s standout fast. So the dex entries about its cosmic ties in more passive light I’d say aligns with sp.def.

[diegoreckholder]

the speed stat is about how fast Pokémon react to orders, and not the actual speed for them. That makes Passimian and Rapidash make sense

[DogOnExtendingLead]

Vikavolts speed is so low it gets used under trick room. Compare that to its descriptions and how it is shown in the anime and we have weird discrepancy.

[LadyLeomon]

Can’t wait to see whose Base Stats left us the most stumped 😅😅😅 (in regard to Dunsparce I honestly think they mean it is 4’11” from nose to tail _in length_ from nose to tail, not in height)

Thanks for the new video Emperor and go hug your furbabies all 💙🐱💙

[deadlydingus]

It still blows my mind that literally god doesn’t hit as hard as a cockroach with toothpick limbs.

[BepisQueen]

Don’t listen to any comments that say something along the line of “this stat represents this, which is why they make sense.” Unless they’re siting a source, they might as well be writing fanfiction. You’re right! Pokémon stats DON’T make sense, and they never have. I like the video!

[dylanium]

I picture Leafeon's high defense like a monk in DnD. They have a high armor class because they are dodging attacks, not because they're tanking them. So I picture Leafeon just kind of moving when up close to a physical attack and taking less of a hit.

[JTripp]

I feel like I’m probably the only person who knew Cryogonal’s special defense stat. Considering it’s my favorite Pokémon, it’s kind of necessary to know.

[CalebBlack]

9:03 I can understand Weezing having a high defense. Kind of looks like a couple balloons stuck together. Try punching a balloon & see how long it takes to pop.

[svodkosci]

I love how Leafeon has 130 base defense and yet they made it into speedster in unite :x

[Wailerman]

Emperor Cubone when the leafy cat is bulkier than the bulletproof armadillo man: "I-I dunno, maybe I'm just not woke."

[nintendolife]

I’m not going to lie, I’m genuinely surprised to hear that Reuniclus’ Special Attack is the exact same with its pre-evolution. XD Still, even if it’s the most obvious, I’m never going to get over the fact that Onix, an enormous rock snake that towers over several Pokemon with its size speak less of its height, has a lower attack stat than most 1st stage Pokemon. I know Gen 1 is wacky with stats at the moment but seriously? Great video btw!

[theknightwithabadpictotall]

I would like to say, I knew about Cryogonal's special defense! I used one in my White team. And the reason is that it's partially based on a mirror.

[thorzap]

If you ask me, it's such a crime that Flygon is slower than Garchomp. I say, give my boi ten extra speed to work with

[jayrome]

Have you ever been chased by a Veluza when surfing on the Casseroya Lake?
Of course you have, everyone has, and also everybody noticed how fast this thing chases you in the overworld.
When you use it in battle, it translates to a 70 base speed stat, which I don't understand 😅😅

[Ryodraco]

3:05 or rather, it has a higher HP stat than the fragment of Arceus that a player is actually able to use. Plus its overall effective bulk is still much less.

[FamiliarlyFrigid]

The thing to remember with stats is that they reflect the Pokemon's battle capabilities in an arena, not just their maximum physical capabilities. Pidgeot can fly at mach 2 speeds, but it can't reach those speeds in the confines of an arena, so it doesn't have a ridiculously high speed stat.

[pug_gamer]

I’ve heard speed be described more like recharge speed: vikavolt is very physically fast according to the pokedex, but since it’s a railgun it can’t fire shots off very quickly so its speed stat is low. This works for most pokemon but has some odd implications for some mons. At least it explains how pokemon who can fly as fast as jet planes get outsped by a cat.

[Frokken]

I feel like the classic example is that Trapinch has the same Attack stat as Flygon, its fully evolved from.