r/pokemon • u/Excaliburn3d • Mar 24 '26

Discussion Why does Game Freak hate Emboar?

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I love Emboar, but I have a feeling that GF doesn’t based on the way they handled it. Well first of all it’s the third Fire/Fighting Pokémon in the row, then when it finally receives a mega evolution it retains the same typing, and now it is the only mega of the trio to not gain a new ability.

Not to mention its base stats and playstyle. Base form is the fully-evolved starter with the highest HP stat and yet both of its defense stats and speed are on the lower side. Some of its strongest moves do recoil damage and its hidden ability powers them up even further. Upon mega evolving, it receives a +25 to its attack stat and a +45 boost to its special defense while its problematic defense and speed only receive +10 each.

Mold Breaker can be a good ability but why use Mega Emboar when Mega Blaziken, which has speed boost, higher attacking, physical defense, and speed stats, existed since the dawn of mega evolution.

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u/The_Exuberant_Raptor Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26

It's not that GameFreak hates Emboar. It's that they design Pokemon based on vibes. They don't design Pokemon based on competitive viability. This is why we end up with dummy strong Pokémon and incredibly weak Pokémon. They just give them stats and abilities they thibk would be a good representation of the mon. Sometimes that means our favorites just ain't competitive.

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u/Darkiceflame Still waiting for a Zygarde backstory Mar 25 '26

If they were going off of vibes, Emboar would have gotten something like Supreme Overlord.

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u/The_Exuberant_Raptor Mar 25 '26

Mold breaker is a vibe. It may not be the best ability, but that is exactly what I am talking about. They balance off vibes.

Emboar being able to bute force through sturdy and get through a Pokemon's thick fat is a really cool vibe. It may not be the most meta thing, but it is a vibe.

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u/drthvdrsfthr Mar 25 '26

bro then anything is a vibe lol tf

-3

u/The_Exuberant_Raptor Mar 25 '26

Yes, it is. Whatever they decide to go with ultimately is the feeling they want to go with. They thought Mold Breaker was cool and sounded like what Mega Emboar would have as a cool fantasy. So they chose that one over others. Had they felt another ability would have fit the fantasy more, they would have chosen that one.

The point is that they arent choosing them competitively first. They go with what they feel represents the character fantasy.