Top 10 Pokémon Fixed with One Move

If Swampert gets Stealth Rock, then so should this guy. That point aside, competitively speaking this is a no-brainer; a bulky Water-type with access to both Stealth Rock and instant healing in Recover finds itself having an immediate niche on defensive teams that need a hazard setter with longevity. Not only would Gastrodon become the most consistent Stealth Rock setter in its former home turf of PU, but it would also become an even better option in OU over similar balance options like Heatran and Clefable. With Stealth Rock, Gastrodon would encounter four-moveslot syndrome, as dropping Earthquake and Toxic is undesirable, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. Stealth Rock wouldn't suddenly make Gastrodon spectacular, but it would make it a much better niche pick than it already is.

Keldeo is already an amazing Pokémon, but it cannot be denied that there's a gap in its move coverage. Being unable to hit Assault Vest Tangrowth or Tapu Bulu with anything remotely threatening has always irked me, not to mention its long-time nemeses Latios and Amoonguss. And yes, I realize Keldeo has Icy Wind, but the power difference between it and Ice Beam is staggering: with an unboosted Icy Wind, Keldeo has a 4% chance of 4HKOing AV Tangrowth, while with Ice Beam that's a guaranteed 3HKO, and with a Choice Specs this turns into a 2HKO. Ice Beam still leaves Keldeo walled by Water-types like Toxapex and Mantine, making this movepool suggestion about a generation too late, but it's definitely an improvement to go from being walled by two major types (Grass and Water) to only one (Water). It should also be said that with Ice Beam, Keldeo becomes a bit more self-sufficient; it would no longer require a Pursuit trapper as a teammate to get rid of Latios, as it can now do that itself with proper prediction. This opens up teambuilding around Keldeo a bit more and can allow the team to focus on removing Keldeo's Water-type checks before letting it cut loose.

After DPP, Milotic has found itself becoming more and more passive as the generations go on due to its increasingly subpar Special Attack stat. Dragon Tail and Haze have gone a long way into making sure that Milotic doesn't just become setup fodder for the opponent, but it's felt like a wet noodle offensively for a bit too long. Calm Mind gives Milotic the simultaneous offensive and defensive capabilities it's been craving, allowing it to not only stall out the opponent but also have a late-game sweeping option under its belt. While Suicune may still outclass Milotic thanks to its much higher Defense, Milotic has one major thing over it: instant healing in Recover. This allows Milotic to be less of a sitting duck, and with a set of Calm Mind / Scald / Dragon Tail / Recover, it could be very difficult for bulky offense teams to deal with. Toxic would still ruin Milotic, but that also boosts Milotic's Defense thanks to Marvel Scale. Or alternatively, Milotic could run Refresh over Dragon Tail. Having instant healing and cleric options and being an ever-growing threat thanks to Calm Mind would make Milotic very dangerous indeed.

Some history here: Golem actually had Rapid Spin back in GSC as an event move, but unfortunately it never made it over to RSE because Game Freak hated the over 300 hours I put into making teams on Crystal and didn't want me to have my babies. Anyway, Alolan Golem gets to do two cool things with Rapid Spin depending on its ability. With Galvanize, Alolan Golem gets an Electric-type Rapid Spin, allowing it to not only spin against Ghost-types at the cost of being unable to spin against Ground-types but also giving it a spin with some decent firepower behind it. More importantly though, with Magnet Pull, Alolan Golem becomes the only Pokémon with a trapping ability and hazard removal. While there are few Steel-types in PU to actually take advantage of, it would allow Alolan Golem to trap and spin on Mawile and Bronzor (and Ferroseed should it return to PU) and eliminate them with Fire Punch, giving it a huge niche at dismantling common defensive cores.

Mega Altaria has found itself falling out of favor in USM, largely due to the opportunity cost in using it over other Megas and the general competition in the form of the Tapus. The nerf to Pixilate certainly hasn't helped in this regard, as it already hit noticeably softer than other Megas before a Dragon Dance or two and its specially offensive sets lacked oomph outside of getting surprise hits on physically defensive Pokémon. This is where Boomburst comes in, as it gives Mega Altaria the immediately threatening attack it needs and would make it a top dog in UU. Boomburst could even boost it back into OU territory, considering the fact that its typing and access to Defog make it an excellent check to Ash-Greninja. The power difference between Hyper Voice and Boomburst is pretty substantial, with Hyper Voice dealing 59.1 - 70% to Mega Aerodactyl in UU compared to Boomburst dishing out 92.6 - 108.9% or dealing 28.6 - 33.8% compared to 44.3 - 52.2% against standard Gliscor in OU. Boomburst also makes Mega Altaria offensively threatening even when making use of a defensive set, turning it into a veritable tank that could steamroll teams late-game even without any setup thanks to the sheer power of Boomburst.

Masquerain has seen quite a bit of love over the past few generations. The addition of Quiver Dance to its movepool in BW gave it not only one the best boosting moves in the game, but also a new lease on life as being one of only three Pokémon that could Baton Pass boosts from the aforementioned move to a teammate (until Baton Pass Clauses came into effect, anyway). Unfortunately for Masquerain, Venomoth just kind of directly outshone it thanks to its better typing, stats, and ability and of course its access to Sleep Powder. With ORAS, Masquerain got access to Sticky Web to set itself apart from Venomoth, a rather incredible entry hazard that now has an entire playstyle developed around it, but still there were better users of the move in Smeargle, Shuckle, and Galvantula. Enter Generation 7, and now Masquerain has seen a substantial boost to its stats, making it an even better Sticky Web setter. But there's still just a major problem that occurs when trying to make use of it: its typing leaves it too exposed to properly set up and do much. This is where Sleep Powder comes in. Not only does access to Sleep Powder put Masquerain nearly on par with Venomoth as a Quiver Dance user (save for the worse typing), it also makes Masquerian the most dangerous Sticky Web setter available after Smeargle. Probably nothing will boost Masquerain out of the oblivion of PU short of an entire retyping, but Sleep Powder would at least make Masquerain decently viable.

This one should hopefully speak for itself flavorwise. Competitively, Snorlax has sorely missed an instant recovery move since its inception all the way back in RBY. The "goal" of Snorlax has always been to tank, but with the ever-increasing power level of its competition, having to rely on Rest just doesn't cut it anymore. The Recycle + Berry strategy has seemed to finally catch on with Snorlax, especially in Doubles, but it really, really wants its item slot to do things in Singles. With Slack Off, Snorlax would finally be able to do what it was always meant to do: eat some attacks, heal off the damage, and dish the attacks right back out at the opponent, and not have to waste two turns Resting in order to do so. A pure Normal typing isn't very desirable in SM, so I would highly doubt Snorlax would skyrocket out of RU into OU, but instant recovery combined with Snorlax's great bulk and decent Attack would certainly give it a chance to put itself back in the sumo ring of the upper tiers. This might even give it a chance to make use of Snorlium Z!

Honestly, this is just an entry I had to make because it just doesn't make any sense whatsoever that the most bird-looking bird Pokémon does not get the move Brave BIRD. Seriously, come on Game Freak! And while Fearow is probably more deserving of Brave Bird competitively speaking, since it actually has a movepool to do something with it, Unfezant does at least sport a decently high Attack stat and could KO some things, beating out the current strongest Brave Bird user in PU in Swanna by a good margin. Unfezant getting Brave Bird would at the very least not make it such a dead slot to get in Random Battles (unless you get lucky with crit Returns, I guess). OK, rant over.

OK for a serious entry, this guy really needs a better STAB move, and a Tough Claws-boosted Brave Bird would actually be pretty awesome. Possibly even too awesome, considering its already insane Speed. Brave Bird would be twice as strong as its currently most usable Flying-type STAB moves (Aerial Ace / Wing Attack), allowing it to go from 4HKOing to 2HKOing major walls in OU such as standard Zygarde, Mega Scizor, and Ferrothorn. And that's without a boost; Mega Aerodactyl's power after a Hone Claws boost would make it a serious offensive threat if it can find room on its moveset. Mega Aerodactyl would still have its problems of being frail on top of Brave Bird decreasing its longevity due to recoil, but it could easily become the face of hyper offense and see some use on balance and bulky offense teams.

This would probably be the most dramatic change competitively on this list. In one turn with Skill Swap, Regigigas would simultaneously give its super shitty ability to the opponent and effectively cripple them until they switch out, gain the opponent's ability (almost always good in the upper tiers), and double its Attack and Speed stats. This would make it one of the most dramatic one-turn setups in the metagame, and while Regigigas wouldn't become "The Almighty," I definitely think it would become a niche sweeper you would have to at least keep on your radar. In most teams and situations, Mega Lopunny is still probably going to be better thanks to its higher Speed and STAB High Jump Kick, but Regigigas's sheer Attack (base 160 boosted further by Life Orb or a Z-Move compared to Mega Lopunny's unboosted base 136), ability to cripple the opponent by passing off its ability, and insane bulk would give it more than enough reasons to at least be considered. It certainly would not be infallible though, as it would still be really weak to being phazed, possesses no setup move outside of Power-Up Punch, would be weak to status if not using Substitute, and would be slow and weak before getting Skill Swap off, leaving it exposed late-game if it gets phazed mid-sweep. All things considered, though, Regigigas would finally become the powerhouse it always wanted to be.

This entry is probably the one I've heard the most clamor for since Mega Pidgeot was introduced in ORAS. And really, it's deserved. Hawlucha is proof of just how good Fighting/Flying coverage is, and Mega Pidgeot itself has proven just how stinking good a fast, powerful, completely accurate Hurricane is in the metagame. Now combine that Hurricane with what would be the most perfect coverage available, and Mega Pidgeot would soar in viability. Most problems Mega Pidgeot has would still be problems, namely its Speed tier and typing, but that extra coverage would give it a lot more use in UU and maybe even OU. Rotom-W and other Electric-types, Rock-types, and most special walls not named Blissey are crushed by Fighting coverage, and Pidgeot even keeps its super effective coverage on most Steel-types that it currently gets with Heat Wave. And flavorwise, Focus Blast makes total sense; Mega Pidgeot needs to be able to focus to hunt those Magikarp from way up in the air, surely it can channel that focus into a psychokinetic blast?? Ugh, maybe next generation...