Generation-Defining Mechanics
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Art by Dharma.
Introduction
Pokémon has been around for quite a while. Since its original release in 1996 (that's right, over 24 years ago at the time of writing this) and after eight different generations, it is only natural that the game has changed significantly. In addition to new Pokémon, every generation has come with its own new mechanics and changes to old mechanics that makes each one unique. This article intends to break down some of these changes and show just how dramatically different the game is today.
RBY
Critical Hits
In Generations 2-6, moves have a 1/16 chance to land a critical hit, which was lowered to 1/24 starting in Generation 7. However, in the first Generation, it is calculated differently. The chance of a critical hit was calculated as base Speed * level / 512, meaning fast Pokémon had a higher chance to land critical hits than others. This made Pokémon such as Alakazam, Starmie, and Tauros even more dangerous, as they are already hard hitters regardless of their high critical hit ratio.
If this mechanic was still used in future generations, the game would be dramatically different. Pokémon like Zeraora are already a pain to deal with, so imagine if it had a 27.93% chance to critically hit your Pokémon every time. Doesn't sound like fun. Even Pokémon that aren't particularly fast like Kyurem become a lot harder to switch into with an 18.55% chance to get a huge boost. Its Draco Meteor becomes a lot more threatening, too, as the critical hit chance means that it now has a good chance to totally ignore that Special Attack drop. Needless to say, it's probably a good thing this mechanic got changed.
Chance to Miss
One of the funniest and most annoying mechanics you may run into while playing RBY is the chance to miss. Even moves with perfect accuracy have a 1/256 chance to miss. While this isn't exceedingly common, it's really infuriating to lose a game because you missed a Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, or Psychic.
Special Stat
In the first generation, Special Attack and Special Defense were combined into one stat called Special. This combination of the two resulted in some stat spreads we would find outlandish today, such as a Chansey with base 105 Special Attack, Alakazam with base 135 Special Defense, and Snorlax with only base 65 Special Defense. Imagine how much more threatening Alakazam would be if it could switch in on special attackers, or how less threatening Snorlax would be if it couldn't. The change to split it into two different stats isn't just one of the biggest changes of GSC from RBY, but one of the largest throughout Pokémon as a whole.
Freeze
In RBY, being frozen was permanent. Since there was no Aromatherapy, Heal Bell, or anything like those, being frozen was a death sentence for any Pokémon unlucky enough to be afflicted. The only way that a Pokémon could be unfrozen is to be hit by a Fire-type move that has a chance to burn, and Fire-type moves in RBY are not particularly common. This was problematic to a point that players will try to get their Chansey paralyzed intentionally so that it will not be frozen in a Chansey mirror matchup. It also necessitated its own clause (Freeze Clause Mod) that prevents more than one Pokémon from being frozen at a time.
Body Slam Paralysis
Some of the tier's best Pokémon are Normal-types, namely Snorlax and Tauros, and they often would run Body Slam for its paralysis chance in addition to its solid power. Now, since people play on simulators, which may not perfectly reflect cartridge mechanics, this peculiar mechanic went unnoticed until the December of 2014, when Crystal_, a Smogon researcher, discovered that Body Slam could not paralyze Normal-types because some secondary effects, such as the inability to burn Fire-types, were a result of secondary effects not affecting Pokémon of the same type of the move. This meant that Snorlax and Tauros could not paralyze each other, making both of them less threatening. However, they are still some of the most defining Pokémon of the RBY metagame despite this nerf to them.
GSC
Items
Another one of the biggest changes to the game ever, the introduction of held items opened up a whole realm of possibilities for players everywhere. Although not many items were added back then, it definitely still was a defining aspect of the game. Leftovers increased the longevity of every Pokémon, making it the go-to item of the generation. Though there were not many items introduced in GSC, with the only other common items being Thick Club on Marowak and Magnet on Zapdos and Raikou, this opened up a massive new can of worms for newer generations to go wild with. In addition, the presence of items such as Leftovers in GSC also gave rise to Thief-spam teams, which aim to cripple the opponent's team by removing all of their held items and taking them for themselves, leaving foes at a severe disadvantage by making them more prone to being chipped down over time by attacks and Spikes.
Entry Hazards
GSC introduced Spikes into the game. Though at the time they could only damage a Pokémon when it would switch in by 1/8th of its health, it was still an interesting mechanic that set the stage for more, bigger changes in the future. Spikes allow Pokémon to turn a few 3HKOes into 2HKOes and can really stack up damage over time if you can continue to force switches. It also begets the use of Rapid Spin users (and later Defog), as the need to remove entry hazards became more prominent as entry hazards themselves became more prominent.
Special Stat Split
As mentioned before, the Special stat in RBY was a combination of both Special Attack and Special Defense, and GSC was the generation that made them into separate stats to be more symmetrical with physical stats. This split is especially notable in the case of Snorlax, which originally had a Special stat of 65 and was given a base Special Attack stat of 65 and a base Special Defense stat of 110 in GSC, one of the factors that made it without question the single most important Pokémon in the GSC OU metagame.
RestTalk
In the first generation, the only way a Pokémon could recover HP and not be useless afterwards was to have the move Recover. The introduction of Sleep Talk sparked the use of RestTalk, the combination of Rest and Sleep Talk that allows your Pokémon to recover to full health and not be totally passive for the next two turns. Although 1/3 of the time you click Sleep Talk Rest can be selected, causing a dead turn, it still gives you a 2/3 chance of making some sort of progress.
Boom Buff
In the first generation, Self-Destruct and Explosion went from 130 and 170 Base Power to 200 and 250 Base Power, respectively (a 54% and 47% increase). This simply made them way more threatening for opponents to deal with, and as a result, it allows players to trade for the opposing Pokémon much more easily. There are few things more heartbreaking than weakening your foe only to have it go boom on your healthy Pokémon and take it down too.
Hidden Power
The introduction of Hidden Power allowed (almost) any Pokémon to have a coverage move of any type they desire. This was a godsend for Pokémon with limited coverage such as Raikou and Zapdos, as it allows them to nail potential hard counters. Until its removal in Generation 8, just about 20 years after its introduction, Hidden Power was a mainstay on all sorts of Pokémon who just needed a little bit more coverage, even if not particularly powerful, to make progress against the opposing team.
Haze and Phazing
Though Haze, Whirlwind, and Roar did exist in RBY, they did not see much use (in Haze's case) or any use (for Whirlwind's and Roar's case) until GSC. Haze removes stat boosts from the foe and user, but in RBY it also removes status effects from your opponent's Pokémon and has poor distribution. In addition, there are not enough relevant stat boosters in RBY to make it worthwhile. Roar and Whirlwind, on the other hand, are totally useless in competitive RBY. GSC solved all of these problems not only by making stat boosters such as Snorlax and the occasional Rhydon far more common, but also by making Haze not remove the foe's status conditions. Roar and Whirlwind now force out the opposing Pokémon, removing stat boosts and forcing the incoming Pokémon to take another round of that sweet, sweet Spikes damage.
Pursuit
Pursuit allows the user to hit the opposing Pokémon with double damage before it switches out. This makes it great for trapping Ghost- and Psychic-types . As such, Pursuit allows Pokémon such as Fighting-types to spam their attacks without having to worry about correctly predicting incoming Ghost- and Psychic-types. The ability to remove Ghost-types is also very useful for allowing Rapid Spin users to clear entry hazards more easily. In future generations especially, it allows Pokémon like Keldeo to go nuts on the opposing team once their check is removed. In addition, in metagames like BW, where there are threatening Psychic-types, it can be used to pick off massive offensive threats such as Latios.
Type Chart Changes
Last but about the furthest from least, GSC made a bunch of changes to the type chart. In RBY, Fire did not resist Ice, Ghost did not resist Bug, Bug and Poison were super effective against each other, and Psychic-types were immune to Ghost-type moves. Nowadays, all of these are not the case, and Ghost is actually super effective against Psychic now. In addition, GSC introduced the Dark- and Steel-types into the game, which were given to notable Pokémon like Umbreon, Tyranitar, Steelix, Skarmory, and Forretress. These additions added another layer of complexity to the game and introduced more checks to Psychic-types, which had disgustingly good type advantages previously.
ADV
Abilities
The third generation of Pokémon introduced abilities, a unique trait present on every Pokémon in the game. This became one of the most important changes to the game, as many Pokémon are relevant primarily because of their abilities. Dugtrio and Magneton, for example, are only relevant because of their ability to trap and remove particular Pokémon from the opposing team. In addition, all sorts of Pokémon that may be good otherwise are greatly improved by their abilities, such as Blissey, Celebi, Claydol, Gyarados, Salamence, and especially Tyranitar. Though abilities were not a bonus for every Pokémon (looking at you, Slaking), they added more depth and variety into the game and would go on to define various Pokémon for generations to come.
Limited Stat Investment
In GSC, every Pokémon could and would maximize every stat they had, save for the occasional phazer who would run less Speed in order to phaze out the foe in a mirror match, as Roar and Whirlwind would fail if not used last. ADV changed this, allowing for only a maximum of 510 EVs total, and it also introduced natures, which can give a 10% bonus to any stat at the cost of a 10% loss of another stat. This change caused Pokémon to become much more specialized in their tasks and inspired some serious creativity in EV spreads for Pokémon. Pokémon would now run just enough Speed EVs to get the jump on specific Pokémon and invest the rest into offensive or defensive stats to reach key benchmarks for KOs and survive hits. Since Pokémon in ADV tend to be less specialized because of their base stats alone, moving EVs around can make a huge difference in what a Pokémon does individually. For example, a Celebi with a defensive spread is a great tank in ADV, but a shift to investment in Special Attack and Speed can make it a great Calm Mind sweeper as well. In addition, Pokémon like Snorlax can customize their EVs to hit certain a benchmark, such as OHKOing Dugtrio or being faster than Pokémon that it may paralyze with Body Slam. These EVs can be adjusted more depending on what threatens your team, such as more Special Defense investment to be safer against Zapdos.
Automatic Weather
While this could fall under the "Abilities" section, weather is so important in ADV that it really deserves a section of its own. Though Drought and Drizzle are only present in ADV Ubers, permanent sand from Tyranitar is one of the most pressing factors in an ADV OU game. Sand places significant amounts of pressure on Pokémon that rely on Leftovers for non-Rest recovery, particularly bulky setup sweepers such as Snorlax and Suicune. Sand makes sure that any damage dealt to most Pokémon stays there, as it cancels out Leftovers and can wear down Pokémon remarkably fast when they are taking repeated hits and switching into Spikes. Add Toxic to that combo and you have TSS, short for Toxic / Sand / Spikes, which is notable enough in the community to have its own abbreviation. This repeated chip damage and lack of ability to heal with Leftovers can result in a few 2HKOs that would otherwise be 3HKOs and create free turns for a sandstorm-immune Pokémon that will not be forced to heal as often. It also suppresses pinch Berry users such as Salac Berry Heracross from sweeping your team every game, as they will only have a couple of turns to sweep after the Berry activates.
More Items
Though items were originally added in GSC, ADV added a bunch of fun new items for Pokémon to use. The most notable of these new items are Choice Band and Berries. Choice Band grants the holder a monstrous 50% boost to their Attack at the cost of locking them into one move until they switch out. This allows for Pokémon with hard-hitting physical attacks to hit absurdly hard, making them very capable wallbreakers. Choice Band is one of the most influential items in the ADV metagame, as it encourages players to run very physically bulky Pokémon such as Skarmory, and it is one of the few things holding Blissey back from being broken. More berries are the other big addition item-wise for this generation. Pinch berries give a Pokémon a stat boost when they reach under 25% HP, giving Pokémon such as Heracross and Swampert a boost in Speed, a stat which they can not boost otherwise. The most significant new berry, however, is Lum berry, which heals the holder from status effects once. This allows sweepers such as Tyranitar to set up against a Pokémon that could cripple it with status such as paralysis and burn or put it on a major timer in the case of Toxic.
Setup Moves
Though setup moves had always existed, ADV introduced more of them and gave them better distribution. In RBY, the only setup sweepers of note are Slowbro and Victreebel, neither of which is really common, and GSC's most famous setup sweeper is Snorlax. ADV added more setup moves such as Bulk Up, Calm Mind, and Dragon Dance, making more Pokémon capable of sweeping. Calm Mind quickly became a staple of ADV, finding itself on Pokémon such as Suicune, Jirachi, and Celebi, among others. For many years, Calm Mind spam was a common archetype in ADV, as it would overwhelm specially bulky Pokémon, though they have since fallen out of style. Dragon Dance is another common setup move on Pokémon such as Salamence and Tyranitar, which are some of the most threatening late-game sweepers in the tier as late game sweepers. ADV also increased the distribution of setup moves, giving Swords Dance to Pokémon such as Heracross.
More Utility Moves
ADV introduced more utility moves to the game, such as Taunt and Will-O-Wisp. These moves are very good on their own, as Taunt can stop Pokémon such as Blissey, Suicune, Milotic, and Skarmory, as well as preventing Pokémon from setting up, and Will-O-Wisp can cripple physical attackers and wear down Pokémon that are otherwise immune to Toxic or sandstorm. Breloom got Spore in ADV, and, since the only Pokémon that got it before that was Parasect, this made it a relevant move. As such, it became something players had to prepare for. Also, as more Pokémon got setup moves to use, Celebi became a viable user of Baton Pass to grant stat boosts to Pokémon that otherwise could not boost their stats, such as Gengar and Zapdos. It is also usable on Pokémon such as Zapdos, which are not good stat passers, to see what the opponent brings in before you switch out, removing the need to double switch and gain momentum. Wish is another support move introduced in ADV that allows Pokémon like Blissey and Umbreon to heal up their teammates.
Multiple Hazard Layers
Spikes could now be placed on the opposing side of the field three times instead of the one layer allowed in GSC. One layer would take away 1/8 of the foe's maximum HP, as it did in GSC, but now a second and third layer would deal 1/6 or 1/4 of the foes total HP, respectively. This ability to deal a significant amount of damage any time a Pokémon comes in quickly wears down the opposing team. To put it into perspective, one switch into three layers of Spikes is equivalent to four turns worth of Leftovers recovery, which will not even be healed off for most Pokémon under sand. This makes it an important part of the aforementioned TSS teams, which focus on wearing down the other team, and also enables Pokémon such as mixed Salamence to break holes in the opposing team much more easily and Pokémon such as Aerodactyl and Jolteon to clean late-game when their checks are significantly weakened.
Turn End Mechanics
ADV has a mechanic that causes the turn to end when a Pokémon is knocked out by self-damage or some other cases of residual damage. The most notable of these are Spikes sacs, Explosion or Self-Destruct sacs, and Double-Edge sacs. In these cases, a Pokémon like Gyarados at low HP will use Double-Edge against a Pokémon like a Skarmory to prevent it from setting up a layer of Spikes. Similarly, one could sac their Pokémon if it dies from Spikes damage to keep a foe like Tyranitar or Salamence from setting up with Dragon Dance for that turn, allowing their check to come in without taking extra damage from a +1 attack.
Sleep Talk Nerf
Sleep Talk turns will not be added to the sleep counter if the user switches out without using another move. For example, if Sleep Talk is used twice after Rest and then the user switches out, its user will remain asleep for another two turns when it comes in again. The user will only wake up after switching back in if Sleep Talk was not used on the second Rest turn. This makes it much harder to justify RestTalk sets, as no Pokémon wants to wait an extra turn doing nothing before it switches out in order to wake up earlier. This mechanic was only discovered years after ADV stopped being the current generation, so the effects were visibly dramatic. This mechanic single-handedly made Pokémon such as RestTalk Zapdos less viable, as it went from a popular RestTalk user to never using it anymore. It also made Pokémon like Suicune less viable, which would often use a set like Rest, Calm Mind, Surf, and Sleep talk to continue to make progress even while sleeping. However, it was not hit as hard as Pokémon like Zapdos as a result of this discovery. This mechanic is specific to ADV, however, and did not carry into future generations.
DPP
Physical / Special Split
Prior to DPP, every Water-, Fire-, Grass-, Psychic-, Dark-, and Dragon-type move was special, while the rest were physical. DPP changed this, allowing there to be physical and special moves of every type. This means that Pokémon such as Gengar finally had STAB moves that they could lose. It also enabled Pokémon like Gyarados, Salamence (though it was banned as a result of this), Weavile, and others to take advantage of their higher Attack stat. However, it made all Hidden Power moves special, regardless of type, removing a valuable coverage move from some physical attackers. Notably, it left Pokémon such as Gyarados and Aerodactyl with no strong and reliable physical Flying-type moves to use.
Stealth Rock
This one is huge. No single move has invalidated more Pokémon than Stealth Rock has. Stealth Rock is an entry hazard that deals 1/8 of the incoming Pokémon's total HP when they switch in and is multiplied based on type effectiveness. This means that with one click, you can ensure that Rock-weak Pokémon are losing 1/4 of their HP every time they switch in for the rest of the game. It even goes as high as 1/2 damage for Pokémon that are 4x weak to Rock-type moves, making common Pokémon 4x weak to Rock few and far between. It also affects every single Pokémon in the game, save for Magic Guard users, unlike Spikes, which can not damage Flying-types or Pokémon with Levitate; this made its scope much broader as well. This move is so powerful that literally every single team needs to run it to be viable in the competitive metagame.
Rock-type Special Defense Boost
If you thought Tyranitar was good in ADV, imagine how good it would have been if it got this buff. In DPP, Rock-types get a 50% boost to their Special Defense when sandstorm is active. This allows some Rock-type Pokémon, primarily Tyranitar, to become very bulky under sand, making it a solid check to Pokémon such as Latias, Heatran, Zapdos, Rotom-A, and Gengar. This enables Tyranitar to pick off these threats, set up Stealth Rock, or come in on other weak special attacks and fire off attacks of its own.
Even More Items
DPP introduced more items into the game, most importantly Life Orb, Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, and more berries. The presence of these items helped shift the metagame to be more offensive, as more Pokémon had items capable of allowing them to hit harder and break down walls. Life Orb quickly became a mainstay on fast and strong attackers, as they could switch moves whenever wanted and did not particularly mind the loss in HP because fast Pokémon should not be taking many hits anyway. Choice Specs is the special equivalent of the Choice Band introduced in ADV, and it allows strong special attackers such as Heatran to be immensely threatening to the opposing team. Though there are exceptions, it is more often found on Pokémon that need their bulk to check opposing threats and can not afford to lose HP to Life Orb recoil. Choice Scarf was also is added in DPP, and it quickly became one of the most important items to ever exist. As Speed is the most important stat in the game, the 50% boost to Speed that Choice Scarf gives your Pokémon is incredibly valuable. In ADV, a fast Pokémon that outspeeds your entire team or a Dragon Dance Pokémon at +1 could spell disaster for your team. Thanks to Choice Scarf, many Pokémon could hold it and be fast immediately, allowing them to revenge kill these threats with ease. Also, more berries were added to the game in DPP. The most prominent of these are type-resist berries and Custap Berry. Type-resist berries halved damage taken from a particular super effective type move. One of the most prominent examples of a type-resist berry is Passho Berry on Tyranitar, which allows it to tank an attack from Gyarados, Starmie, Kingdra, and other Water-types and proceed to hit them back with a strong attack of its own. Other common type-resist berries include Shuca Berry to allow Pokémon like Heatran to tank an Earthquake and Chople Berry so that Tyranitar can avoid being revenge killed by Mach Punch users. The other interesting berry introduced in this generation is Custap Berry, a pinch berry that allows the holder to move first in its priority bracket when consumed. This is common on Tyranitar, but it also allows Pokémon like Magnezone to take the opponent by surprise and pick off an opposing Pokémon with Explosion.
BW
Permanent Weather
The tiering discussions around Drizzle, Drought, and Sand Stream were some of the most defining debates of the fifth generation of Pokémon. Though a permanent weather ability has been in OU since ADV in Sand Stream (and Snow Warning in DPP to a lesser degree), the Dream World introduced hidden abilities and gave Politoed and Ninetales Drizzle and Drought, respectively . This sparked all sorts of debates, such as whether or not the abilities should be banned, the abusers should be banned, weather-abusing abilities should be banned, and the like. The power of these abilities caused teams to be defined by what kind of weather they ran, and BW OU games are often decided by who wins the "weather war," meaning whoever can manage to knock out the opposing weather setter and keep their own weather up. This is another one of the reasons why Spikes are so valuable in BW; every weather setter is grounded, so taking a big chunk out of them every time they come in to change the weather is incredibly helpful in trying to win the weather war.
Team Preview
BW was the first generations when one could see their opponent's team before the battle started and choose a lead accordingly. This made it far easier to make a plan to win the game, as Team Preview allows players to make an educated guess as to which Pokémon is carrying Stealth Rock, which Pokémon has a Choice Scarf, and what your opponent might use as a check to each of your own Pokémon. In previous generations, one would have to be very familiar with the metagame and team structures in order to be able to figure out their opponent's team and their Pokémon's respective movesets. As such, gathering information and scouting the opponent's team became less important in BW.
Scald
Arguably one of the most annoying moves to ever grace the game of Pokémon, Scald made it so that one could not safely switch a physical attacker into a bulky Water-type, and it also allowed the user to gain additional residual damage on any Pokémon unfortunate enough to get burned. For example, a Latios taking a burn from a Keldeo's Scald will become worn down very quickly and have a limited ability to check other threatening Pokémon such as Thundurus-T. In addition, a Tentacruel landing a Scald burn on a Ferrothorn changes Ferrothorn from a counter into something Tentacruel can Rapid Spin against, and that burn also hinders Ferrothorn's ability to check Latios. Though it is still weaker than the equally reliable Surf, the ability to cripple what would otherwise be a counter is too valuable to pass up for many Pokémon.
Boom Nerf
In prior generations, Self-Destruct and Explosion halved the foe's Defense stat in damage calculation, making these moves have monstrous effective Base Powers of 400 and 500, respectively. This mechanic was removed in BW, making these moves only have their listed Base Powers of 200 and 250. This change makes these moves simply way less good and less deserving of a moveslot on their users. That said, it still found occasional use on Pokémon, usually in combination with a Normal Gem.
Gems
Gems were a single-use item almost exclusive to BW that gave a move of the corresponding type a 50% damage boost. This allowed the user to fire off an extremely powerful attack once, whether for coverage or just sheer power. For example, Calm Mind Latios or Dragon Dance Dragonite could boost up and then nail a Pokémon that could normally stand up to it for a massive amount of damage. Rock Gem could be used on Terrakion to hit Pokémon that would normally counter it, like Gliscor and Landorus-T, for massive damage. One could also find other Gems around the metagame, such as Normal Gem on the occasional Explosion user, Water Gem on Politoed or Keldeo, and Fighting Gem on Keldeo.
XY
Mega Evolutions
Mega Evolutions breathed new life into a bunch of lesser-used Pokémon and even some common ones by letting them "evolve" during a battle. These Mega Evolutions added a net total of 100 points to the original Pokémon's BST and often included new abilities that made them very powerful. They were so powerful that they would often become the focal point of a team. Mega Evolutions could also not have their item knocked off and as a result would not give Knock Off a damage bonus, making some of them, particularly Mega Scizor and Mawile, the team's primary Knock Off switch-ins. Mega Evolutions and the Mega Stones that made them possible became a common subject of tiering policy discussion, as there was much debate as to whether or not a Mega Evolution should be tiered separately from the base Pokémon. When the change to tier them separately was ultimately made, it allowed powerful Pokémon such as Scizor, Alakazam, Metagross, Gardevoir, and Salamence to drop into lower tiers, causing a whole new wave of shakeups to those metagames.
Fairy-types
Any time a new type is introduced into the game, it is a big deal. The new Fairy-type is especially impactful, as it is a powerful type that has resistances to Dark- and Fighting-type moves, an immunity to Dragon-type moves, and weaknesses to the uncommon Poison- and Steel-types. This helped Fairy-types check some of the most powerful Pokémon in the metagame, as teams could no longer spam powerful Dragon-type moves as easily or deal much damage with the extremely prevalent Knock Off. This defensive utility allowed Clefable, a new recipient of this type, to quickly become one of the central forces of the metagame, as it was very hard to knock out thanks to its great set of resistances and immunity to residual damage with Magic Guard. Fairy-type moves are no slouch offensively either, as the type is super effective against Dark-, Fighting-, and Dragon-types while only being resisted by Poison-, Steel-, and Fire-types. This made it a great offensive type on Pokémon such as Azumarill, Mega Diancie, and Mega Gardevoir, which could fire off extremely powerful attacks that left few Pokémon capable of switching in safely.
Knock Off Buff
In previous generations, Knock Off was a 20-Base Power Dark-type move that removed items from its targets. Though removing items is always nice, Knock Off really got turned up to 11 in XY, which increased its Base Power to 65 and gave it a 50% damage buff when knocking off an item. This made it almost as powerful as the next most widely distributed Dark-type move, Night Slash, while having far more utility and 97.5 Base Power when removing an item from the target. This quickly made it one of the most common moves on physical attackers, as it was not only powerful, but it had great distribution. In addition, the Steel-type nerf in XY made it far more powerful than it would have been otherwise by limiting its number of viable switch-ins.
Steel-type Nerf
In XY, Steel type was changed to no longer resist Dark- and Ghost-type moves. Though this allowed Ghost-types like Gengar to attack with less fear of resistance, the benefit was far more notable for Dark-type moves. The aforementioned Knock Off was everywhere in XY, and though it still would have been very powerful without this nerf to Steel-types, it certainly helped. It made Pokémon such as Heatran and Ferrothorn far more vulnerable to Pokémon such as Bisharp and Weavile, which they might counter otherwise. It also made it impossible for Pokémon such as Metagross to offensively check Bisharp, as it would take super effective damage from Sucker Punch.
Defog Buff
Before XY, the only way to remove entry hazards from your side of the field was through Rapid Spin, and it could be blocked by Ghost-types. This was changed in XY, where the move Defog was buffed to remove entry hazards from both sides of the field as opposed to just your opponent's. This allowed for the increased viability of Flying-types such as Skarmory, Mandibuzz, and Zapdos, as they could offer much more utility than just stopping the Pokémon they were supposed to stop, or setting entry hazards of their own in Skarmory's case. Defog would even find its way onto the movesets of Pokémon such as Latios and Latias, which could pressure Pokémon offensively and use the forced switches to clear any entry hazard.
Weather Ability Nerf
Remember how weather was so important to BW? Well, in XY, weather-inducing abilities were nerfed so that they no longer provided permanent weather, having only the duration of a weather-setting move such as Sunny Day or Rain Dance instead. This change made it so that your team was not defined by the type of weather it used, and weatherless teams became the new normal. Though Rain teams would still be used, especially since Swift Swim was allowed in conjunction with Drizzle, weather as a team archetype largely fell off a cliff. Tyranitar (and Mega Tyranitar) would still find use for other reasons, but sand no longer defined them as it had since ADV.
SM
Z-Moves
Z-Crystals were the spiritual successor to Gems and then some. Like Gems, they allowed the user to fire off a monstrously powerful attack only once, but they had greater effect, almost doubling the Base Power of moves like Thunderbolt. In addition, they could add another effect to a status move. However, they were limited in that a team could only activate one Z-Move per game. Though they did not bring a ton of Pokémon from obsolescence to relevancy, but only a few, they gave a major buff to already viable Pokémon. For example, Greninja would use Groundium Z and Waterium Z to break past its various checks, Gyarados would use Flyinium Z to have a powerful one-turn Flying-type move, and Magearna could be found using Electrium Z or Fairium Z. All of these Pokémon would have been viable either way, but the presence of Z-Moves allowed them to break past Pokémon that could beat them otherwise. Beyond being used as one-time nukes, they could be used for their other capabilities as well. Z-Belly Drum on Azumarill would allow it to set up more easily for a late-game sweep. They also allowed for Clangorous Soulblaze sets on Kommo-O, which simultaneously became a massive nuke to the opposing team that also gave it a +1 boost to every stat.
Terrain
Though Terrains were first added in XY, they did not become popular until SM with the release of the Guardian Deities. The Terrain moves were not powerful enough to warrant a moveslot, but SM giving already decent Pokémon the ability to automatically set them made their presence common all across the OU metagame; Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini, Tapu Koko, and Tapu Lele were each blessed with a Terrain-summoning ability. Because of how these abilities benefitted the user and the team, the four Pokémon quickly became threats in OU. Tapu Koko could hit hard and fast on its own, but its Electric Terrain allowed Hawlucha to sweep reliably by activating an Electric Seed. Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain notably protected itself from priority from Pokémon such as Mega Scizor, Mega Metagross, and Bisharp, which could all pick it off otherwise. In addition, Tapu Lele had good offensive synergy with Pokémon such as Mega Alakazam, which also benefitted from the 50% boost to Psychic-type moves and the immunity to priority. The extra recovery and reduced power of Earthquake from Grassy Terrain, as well as the status immunity and reduced power of Dragon-type moves from Misty Terrain could also come in handy in a pinch aside from being hugely beneficial for their summoners. In summary, the Terrain-summoning abilities gave a previously unseen mechanic a place in the OU metagame that would not have been found otherwise.
Burn Nerf
For the first six generations of Pokémon, burn damage would reduce 1/8 of a Pokémon's total HP per turn. This made it outpace Leftovers recovery and wear Pokémon down very quickly in conjunction with entry hazards and other chip damage. In SM, this damage was lowered to 1/16 of the affected Pokémon's total HP per turn: equal to the damage recovered from Leftovers. This made burn a far less spammable status condition, as the ability to quickly beat down Pokémon was one of the qualities that made it so valuable in generations prior. Now, it is far more difficult to stall out opposing Pokémon with burn rather than with Toxic. Scald is less powerful because Pokémon that would otherwise be severely crippled by a burn like Ferrothorn can still function with it. In addition, Pokémon like Ferrothorn can switch into Toxapex, as its net HP loss with burn and Leftovers is zero, and Toxapex would have to burn it and remove Leftovers with Knock Off to make meaningful progress against it. In lower tiers, the nerf severely crippled Pokémon like Entei that relied on burns to cripple Pokémon such as Suicune and Alomomola, or at least force them to switch, and afforded such defensive Pokémon far more longevity than they had previously.
SS
National Pokedex Removal
In every Pokémon game up to and including SM, a player was able to transfer any of their Pokémon from old generations to new generations, making all released Pokémon available for use. SS limited this capability to the Galar Pokedex Pokémon, meaning the only Pokémon that were available for competitive use were those available in-game. This made former OU staples such as Gliscor and Greninja not allowed in OU. While it is not exactly a large change to game mechanics, it is a big deal in that it hugely shook up metagames with substantial continuity between generations. However, DLC has added back more of these previously removed Pokémon over time.
Move and Item Removal
In addition to the Pokémon lost to DLC, moves and items have been lost, too. Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves were removed from the game, neutering many of the Pokémon that were major threats in the past two generations. Hidden Power was removed as well, meaning a Pokémon may lack a coverage move it had previously. Notable examples of Pokémon that lost an important move are Magnezone, which can no longer trap Ferrothorn as easily, and Grass-types like Amoonguss, which have notoriously bad coverage. Another important move that was removed from the game is Pursuit, which severely hampers the viability of Pokémon like Tyranitar and Weavile, as they can no longer trap Ghost- and Psychic-types.
Heavy-Duty Boots
Remember how big of a deal entry hazards were? Spikes and especially Stealth Rock were immensely powerful moves that could totally invalidate Pokémon on their own. Well, now you can give your Pokémon a pair of Heavy-Duty Boots and they will totally ignore entry hazards unless it gets knocked off. This is especially valuable for Stealth Rock-weak Pokémon, especially since they are often Defoggers or offer entry hazard control for the team. Pokémon like Mandibuzz, Cinderace, and Rotom-H all carry Heavy-Duty Boots, as it allows them to manage entry hazards or beat the Pokémon they need to without taking damage. In lower tiers, it allows Pokémon such as Incineroar, which is susceptible to all three types of entry hazards, to repeatedly come in and check opposing Fire- and Ghost-type Pokémon. Another major beneficiary of Heavy Duty Boots is Volcarona, which now does not necessarily require entry hazards, particularly Stealth Rock, to be removed in order for it to set up. Another notable quirk that comes from Heavy Duty Boots is that Blissey has a niche over Chansey, which is otherwise better thanks to Eviolite.
Teleport
Prior to SS, Teleport had no competitive use. All it was good for was going back to your last heal spot or annoying you to no end when trying to catch an Abra. However, in LGPE (technically a Gen7 game, but not Smogon-official), it allows the user to switch out out with -6 priority. This made it basically the slowest pivot move in the game. Naturally, it was given to an already amazing Pokémon in Clefable, turning it into one of the best pivots to ever grace the game of Pokémon. With a combination of Wish and Teleport, Clefable could safely bring in any Pokémon and heal it with virtually no risk. A player could send a Clefable in against a myriad of Pokémon, taking advantage of its fantastic typing and great bulk, and generate massive amounts of momentum with minimal effort. Teleport was also given to Chansey, Blissey, and Slowbro, all of which are fantastic defensively. One of the main faults that Chansey and Blissey have always had is that they were momentum sinks as a result of their passivity, but their newfound access to Teleport finally gives them the ability to take momentum back. Slowbro is notable because it can use Future Sight and then Teleport out to a Pokémon such as Urshifu-S, forcing the opponent to take a pummeling from your attacker and from Future Sight.
Dynamax
Dynamax was, in a sense, the successor to Mega Evolution and Z-Moves at the same time. Dynamax is a condition whereby a Pokémon gains a massive 50% HP boost and monstrously powerful moves for three turns, or until the user switches out. Because of the unpredictability of Dynamax and the utterly ridiculous destructive power and survivability of a Dynamaxed Pokémon, it was banned from most metagames pretty quickly. Pokémon with already high offensive or Speed stats such as Galarian Darmanitan, Barraskewda, and Gyarados would use Dynamax to blow through Pokémon that would beat them otherwise behind the sheer force of their attacks.
Terrain Nerf
SS caused Terrain to increase the power of moves of the respective type by 1.3x instead of 1.5x. Though that is still a significant boost, this reduced the sheer wallbreaking power that Terrain users had beforehand. For example, it can make wallbreaking and cleaning up weakened threats with the new Grassy Glide more difficult, and, in a game where every percent matters, it could be the difference between winning or losing. In addition, SS gave Defog the ability to clear Terrain, making it more difficult for a Terrain-using team to keep it up and fully take advantage of it.
Rapid Spin
From GSC to SM, Rapid Spin was used solely for its hazard-clearing utility and nothing else. SS gave Rapid Spin two significant buffs. The first smaller buff is that its Base Power was increased from 20 to 50. While still weak, it allows Pokémon such as Excadrill to pick off a weakened Pokémon while taking advantage of its second buff: a Speed boost. This allows the user to clear hazards and then maybe pick off or weaken whatever Pokémon comes in next thanks to the Speed boost.
Conclusion
Though these are not the only mechanics that changed significantly between generations, these are the main ones that a player should know when trying out a different generation. I hope you all enjoyed reading this and have a great day!
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