Ariados vs Ledian - Pokemon Crystal

Rules:
1. Only my starter in battle
2. No items in battle, except held items
3. No glitches, exploits, or save states
4. No movepool evasion-boosting moves before level 100*
Rule details:
-- I make no attempt to have the exact same rule details between generations.
-- I am allowed to manipulate my starter
-- I play the game at 4x game speed
-- For fair comparisons my Pokemon have perfect (or near perfect) DVs / IVs
-- I am allowed to catch HM users - I can use all field moves
-- Evasion boosting is allowed if the move is not obtained from the Pokemon’s movepool. For example, using Mimic or Mirror Move to boost evasion is allowed.
-- Surge's trash-can-puzzle is automatically solved
-- The bike is allowed in gen1 & 4, banned in gen2, and allowed only to bypass terrain in gen3
-- Saving between league members is allowed
-- I can pause the game and timer to take breaks
-- Items obtained with the ability Pickup can only be used if the starter obtained them
-- The footage is sped up & slowed down to match the pace of my narration
These Rule details apply only to generation 1:
-- All battle-mechanic glitches are allowed (glitches that occur outside of battle are banned)
-- In generation 1, I'm allowed to skip Marowak with the Poke Doll
If you didn’t read these rules and left a comment. Thanks for helping with the algorithm.
Patreon: / scottsthoughts
KZbin memberships:
/ @scottsthoughtspokemon
X: / psychicflying
Thumbnail art by BrianLS: / brianlsart
Illustrations by Sarina Vail: / sarinavail
Video Editing by Shawn McMullen
STAB: bulbapedia.bul...
DVs / IVs: bulbapedia.bul...
Damage Calculation: bulbapedia.bul...
Stat and Catch Calculators: pycosites.com/...
Gen1 Crit Rates: www.smogon.com...
Growth Rates: bulbapedia.bul...
Learnsets: bulbapedia.bul...
Base Stats: bulbapedia.bul...)
If you're new around here, Venomoth is a Psychic/Flying type, you can't change my mind.

[@beebobber546]

The only thing scarier than Halloween is Ledians stats!

[@janjan3583]

Or your moms Spaghetti

[@unnamed7485]

Idk I wouldn't be afraid of base 35 attack. I bet even I have higher base attack

[@bettyunicorn6132]

@@unnamed7485 Its too bad its scary. Scary bad. Like a creature that punches this much shouldn't be so useless.

[@silver_was_found]

classic johto 😞

[@TheModdedwarfare3]

And movepool. And typing.

[@Glidus]

Fun fact: of all the "spider" Pokemon, the ONLY line that actually has eight legs is the Spidops line. You can see all eight clearly with Tarountula, but Spidops always holds its third and fourth legs together so it looks like it only has three pairs of legs. Spinarak has six legs, Ariados has four or six depending on what we're calling those things coming up out of its back. Joltik and Galvantula have four legs, though it's cool that Galvantula actually has pedipalps (the modified limbs coming out at the front). They could've given male Galvantula larger pedipalps for some niche gender dimorphism. Dewpider and Araquanid also only have six legs. As for Ariados' leg placement, they're actually a bit further back than they would be on a real spider. Spiders have two main body segments, the prosoma (or cephalothorax; the head section) and the opisthosoma (or abdomen; the rear section). If you look at any spider, all of its legs protrude from the prosoma, the front segment, and the abdomen has no limbs. I believe these choices were made because many people, especially children, find spiders unsettling or frightening. Giving a "spider" Pokemon fewer than eight legs, no chelicerae, and more tetrapodal limb placement, makes them generally more approachable. I maintain that an anatomically-accurate jumping spider-based Pokemon could be absolutely adorable however.

[@mangoschmooves]

I think the joltik line is supposed to be based on ticks, but I have no idea if it’s accurate to that

[@Glidus]

@@mangoschmooves Joltik is definitely more of a tick, but Galvantula is definitely more of a tarantula.

[@PieEyeToon]

Joltik and Galvantula seem to be at least partially based on jumping spiders. They have large eyes with excellent vision and Joltik hops in its 'running' animation. Joltik doesn't exactly look like a jumping spider but it's certainly adorable!

[@henrymars6626]

Thank you for your anatomically accurate spider facts 💛 Sincerely, an arachnophobe who wants to pet a tarantula

[@marzbar5877]

@@mangoschmoovesSeems to be multiple inspirations! Joltik and Galvantula have traits of both ticks and spiders. I love when Pokémon combine the characteristics of creatures to make something truly unique and interesting

[@ellinosamakuntan2247]

Here to appreciate the "This set is Halloween themed cause it scared me" joke.

[@Lotus_RT]

Scott, this comment is not related to this versus video, but I have a possible idea for a bonus versus video for Crystal version in the future. Thick Club Cubone/Marowak versus Light Ball Pikachu. The idea behind it is that both run with their respective item that doubles their primary attacking stat. Would be interesting to see how both of them would fare in Crystal when allowed to use their signature held items.

[@johnh290]

and Farfetch'd with it leek :P

[@PatchyConvert]

@@johnh290 A three-way battle for the ages!!!!!

[@2n3j1h2]

​@@johnh290A hidden backport of galarian farfetch'd to compare between the 2 birds will be awesome too, especially if there is a sneaky addition of a sirfetch'd, though that last bit might be hard to programme.

[@sopadumacacoumadelicia5]

That's a good idea, maybe also Thick Club Marowak vs Thick Club Alolan Marowak?

[@llSuperSnivyll]

Ledian, an adorable boi heavily themed around punching, with the Iron Fist ability... and its lowest stat is Attack. 21:25 My assumption is that they programmed it in a way of saying "if it's weakened, don't risk with an inaccurate move (... or Ember)".

[@RaynmanPlays]

To be fair, the elemental punches were special until gen IV.

[@llSuperSnivyll]

@@RaynmanPlays But, even as early as Gen II, it learns as many physical punches (Comet Punch and Dynamic Punch) as special punches (Ice Punch and Thunder Punch).

[@mikesok988]

I had to pause the video to comment. Your best 1-liner ever: "Ariados's moveset must be halloween themed because that move set scares me" LOL

[@daman8492]

It's crazy that they buffed Leech Life to 80 power. I still remember going through DB and seeing that and thinking, "Wait, what?"

[@1stCallipostle]

Thank Guzma. He's probably the sole reason the Leech Life buff, First Impression, and the expansion of Ariados' movepool happened. Well and Leech Life for Buzzwole I guess. Also Lunge came into existence, and Pheromosa is absolutely nutty, with Golisopod being quite respectable too. Bug types ate good in Gen 7.

[@cinnamonsugarcourtney6073]

@@1stCallipostle Leech Life is literally called 'Blood Drink" in japanese, so thank Buzzwole the Mosquito Pokemon

[@henrymars6626]

I just can't believe they took 7 generations to do it

[@1stCallipostle]

@@cinnamonsugarcourtney6073 Spiders drink insides too Ariados was probably quite notable in the consideration. It's very front and center

[@cinnamonsugarcourtney6073]

@@1stCallipostle I mean it was mostly Zubat/Golbat/Crobat's move with Paras/Parasect and Venonat/Venomoth also learning it in gen 1, Spinarak/Ariados were the only new pokemon to learn it in Gen 2. However, the Zubat line would have it as their first move, while the others would learn it in their 20s.

[@Lucurryo]

"His moveset is Halloween themed... because it scares me D:" made my day :D

[@kabutups]

Really enjoyed the structure of this versus video! It is much easier to follow along and get a sense of each playthrough when they aren't arbitrarily going back and forth. In the 'old' comparative style, I would keep forgetting about how the other pokemon did, especially when there were more than 10 minutes between each "meanwhile". It kinda took me out of the moment more than it made it feel like a "race". It was kinda like watching two cars race the same track, but not at the same time, and watching one car do 8 laps, then watch the other car do 8 laps. So big thumbs up for doing each playthrough seperately! :D Edit: It also seemed like you had a good time doing the voice over and that made it more enjoyable and easy to follow as well :) -And this is coming from someone who has been watching since before you started doing crystal runs ~

[@arronfrasier4466]

Ledian the bug/flying type that learns zero bug or flying moves 😅

[@DaermaeonBranKor]

But does it learn Mud Slap?

[@TheSalamanderMenace4]

@@DaermaeonBranKor no

[@zedruumd2119]

I love Ariados's backsprite because it looks like a whistling face!

[@RybackToTheFuture]

Same with Nosepass's Emerald sprite.

[@robbindahood11]

Or a really cool pipe with two bowls 😂

[@itzpat215]

You should see the space gold ariados sprite

[@kulrigalestout]

I love Ledian, it's such a fun design and the idea of a ladybug punching enemies with giant fists is hilarious to me. A shame that it's not great competitively, but for the single player campaign it always finds a place on my team.

[@DwunD016]

The winner was who I expected. I made it to 1:17:58, and no Scott, YOU'RE INCREDIBLE!

[@MayVeryWellBeep]

The calm voiceover makes Ledian 1 look honestly pretty chill at first until you sneak a peek at the timer and see 47 minutes at Kimono Girls :/

[@hardsalami105]

Spinarak was my first ever pokemon - my friend gave me a pokemon card for it, and I still have it on display. Love to see my favorite bug's adult form getting some love.

[@paulmann8570]

As much love as an Ariados can get, though the Gen 4 Ubers niche is good consolation given few Pokémon see even theoretical use, lol.

[@kitkatboard]

My guess is Ariados only has 4 legs because arachnophobs often say the 8 legs are what creeps them out. So basically, they tried to make it more cute. btw, real life spiders do have all of their legs on the first section of their body and have a really big abdomen, just like Ariados

[@lorddelibird]

That final red strat for Ledian was honestly so hype. Love those kinds of shenanigans

[@melfice999]

Here's some cursed Lore for Scott related to Ariados: It has actually 6 legs as seen in Pokemon colosseum and Pokemon Colosseum 2 - the two extra legs are on its back (the yellow things on top)!! and it uses them to push itself back up and leap with

[@jackythewannabe4530]

I’m so glad you redid these Pokémon! As a freak who loves bug types, I figured these two needed a revamp. Ledian is one of my favorite bug types, too, so this makes me very happy. Thank you for doing what you I do, it’s madly entertaining. Very excited to see some of my other favorites pop up in the future (your Spinda run made me very happy, another favorite of mine)

[@ryanedwards177]

Awesome, always brightens the evenings with a new scott'sthoughts vid, cheers again pal

[@T____W____7777]

My friend, back in the GBC days, soloed Crystal with a Ledian that knew the three E Punches and Sleep Talk. He had to grind against the Elite Four to defeat Red. Looking forward to what strat Scott goes for.

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

Whoever designed Ledian’s stat line had in out for that poor thing.

[@et34t34fdf]

GF even gave it iron fist as an ability later on, yeah, people there really were taking the piss.

[@iantaakalla8180]

I suppose props to them for maintaining a joke, like Dunsparce and Dudunsparce referencing the silly tsuchinoko.

[@jkcmpbll74]

I'm ready for the pain. As a kid (circa 8 year old me in Gold traded from a friend in 1999) I drug a Ledian through Red because I did not understand how bad it was. I think it was like level 85 by the end of my run to be useful lol. My money is on Ariados, just better moves overall.

[@frankieinjapan]

I get that Ledian can't get fire punch since it's super effective against its own typing, but for some reason you can pull up to a beach with Rhydon and he's like "yo, wanna go for a swim?" Lmao

[@kairos3855]

Random fact: none of the spider Pokemon had 8 legs until Scarlet/Violet's Tarountula and Spidops. Ariados, Joltik, and Galvantula have 4 legs while Spinarak, Dewpider, and Araquanid have 6 legs.

[@TechHunterOfficial]

I've got a long evening of work ahead, this is perfect for me right now. Thank you Scott!

[@paulmann8570]

Oh, the worst Flying-Type vs “I was theoretically usable in Ubers once”.

[@bettyunicorn6132]

Emphasis on theoretically.

[@UnknownVir]

One thing the note is that in a casual playthrough the ability to learn punches is something going for Ledyba and Ledian over Spinarak and Ariados. Any one-off TM has a higher value in playthroughs with a full party whereas in a solo run it's either use, skip, or sell.

[@tsawy6]

One thing about solo runs is that mons are asked to be generalists, broadly capable at handling every threat in the game. But some mons are more narrowly strong, and in a nuzlocke these mons can ultimately be more useful.

[@dalebumpaous1502]

I was just watching the scyther/scissor battle and thinking about how a matchup like this would be neat when I saw this next in my reccomended. Perfect timing

[@hardsalami105]

I have never been this early! Love the videos Scott, they make my day

[@Penguindude1]

12:29 Damn, Chuck's AI must be awful if he's telling Pryce's Piloswine to use Mist in a battle Chuck is not even in. 17:32 Sad Hitmonlee. (After Ledian's victory against Rival 2 in its first run) Wow, a rare instance of Safeguard being useful. 39:55 I'm guessing that's a Shawn addition, but I loved that laughing guy next to Pryce's dialogue. 1:09:04 Wait a minute, that's Rival 2's setup.

[@PatchyConvert]

I actually used Ledan on my first time simply cause I thought Ledyba looked cute, and the evolution looked like a superhero. I even used it as my lead for simple chip damage. Then i got baton pass and swept through the rest of the game. Was a fun tim! 😂

[@snupietherat6814]

24:00 There is a glitch in GSC with stat overflow, if you go beyond 999 in a stat it rolls over to 1 again. It's the reason Thick Club Marowak doesn't run max atk stat exp with swords dance

[@Undrave]

I used an Ariados in my playthrough of Crystal on Virtual Console. It took me way too long to upgrade to using Sludge Bomb, but for a long time I had Return, Dig, Scary Face and Night Shade on it (I think Shadow Ball might have went to another Pokémon?). Ariados is not a great Pokémon but I think it's better than a lot of people would assume just looking at its stats!

[@mason5789]

is the graphic at 1:09:04 a mistake lol?

[@iSmurfYou]

17:40 I got curious and checked the gen 2 AI documentation, Machamp used foresight because the AI modifications that e4 members (and other "boss" trainers) have don't explicitly encourage higher damage moves, they discourage moves that aren't the most damaging. That's relevant in this case because the modifier that relates to foresight only discourages the move 92% of the time. In other words its around a 4% chance for Machamp to use foresight (specifically, both the highest damage dealing move and foresight end up with unchanged scores while the other 2 moves are eliminated; leaving it to a 50/50).

[@Skipatronic]

I predict Ariados will win this

[@et34t34fdf]

At least it has an attack stat, low bar to clear, but at least it clears that.

[@thorhlavaty8345]

I dunno, those elemental punches

[@trevorparker6400]

​@@thorhlavaty8345they're on a pokemon that has lower special attack than ariados

[@udyrr]

I predict both will loose😂 Not very good mons😢

[@TheModdedwarfare3]

I predict Ledian will lose.

[@nightfan1983]

I love how you don't hide or gloss over mistakes, but own them 🙂

[@ProfOak-ci2cc]

Ariados level 1 moveset does suck from a game play perspective, but thematically that is a pretty spot on moveset for a spider to learn. Pity it couldn't get poison fang rather than poison sting tho.

[@TheShinyFeraligatr]

Poison Fang being a Gen 3 move kinda puts the kibosh on that, though.

[@superpika1of4]

Apparently, Ariados still doesn't learn poison fang even in gen 9.

[@ProfOak-ci2cc]

@@TheShinyFeraligatr yeah, that's true 😂

[@ProfOak-ci2cc]

@@superpika1of4 wow, does it get poison jab at least? I'm scared to look 😂😂

[@superpika1of4]

@@ProfOak-ci2cc Yes, it does

[@ivankelava9191]

Tank you Scott !!!! I´ve been waiting for this one

[@caylacomix]

it would be so cool if you did zangoose vs seviper because in the lore they're rivals, zangoose will probably do better but it would be cool to see

[@Zorafin]

Why does a spider have 40 speed? Has Gamefreak seen spiders?

[@blue_boo3171]

Gamefreak: "Oh, spiders typically sit on webs, so let's make Ariados have a low base speed stat." Also Gamefreak: "My cat was able to dart around the corner of my house rather quickly, so let's give Purugly a higher base speed than Latios."

[@lsrder9385]

12:41 oh Scott, that's because you ditched night shade instead of leech life! Hope you fix this in the second playthrough.

[@outerspacemantarays]

It would be cool to see a versus video where you have one poke against itself, but in different gens 😁

[@tysonpestner]

Love the win with Rollout! Also, what gamefreak did to both of these bugs in terms of stats is a crime because they are my favorite regional bug designs of all time.

[@DarkDashV6]

Ariados is probably my favorite bug-type off the top of my head. It was a star player in one of my first ever nuzlockes I did some five or six years ago. Completely surprised me.

[@antoniacorrales9148]

Goated birthday present, thank you scott 🦸

[@raypetrisko7059]

Hi scott! Love the halloween series so far :) so not sure if you knew this or not, but for another strange reason (poor spec. DEF and starless mons 😢) game freak decided that for the rival team if he has the cyndaquil line (and this also applies to remakes) his team will ALWAYS give you less cash then if you gave him the grass or water starters instead. Hope that helps you decide routes better when you need to rely on cash for a playthrough!

[@mattiamerlo2688]

Pryce: "I do not lose easily" made me laugh more than it should have.

[@Steve_A93]

Here's to us regrouping next year for Spinarak vs Ledyba 😅

[@mickgorro]

Scott: I guess a bug wouldn't be using fire type moves. Volcarona: Not in gen 2 it wouldn't :).

[@ChrisG667]

Ariados at least has a decent attack stat..Ledian has nothing but being a special wall with atrocious weaknesses

[@mullet_muffins]

really enjoyed this bug themed halloween series!

[@reshawshid]

I don't know why this particular video caused me to remember this, but ever since I was a child, I had this uncanny ability for perception. I can look at something and glean a bunch of information on it without really even trying to, or even thinking about it. As a result, I can do things like simply just looking at food and knowing whether I'll like it or not. The point? I never particuarly knew why I hadn't used either of these two Pokemon until now. Something about the designs told me to box them. Now I know why. There's just better choices.

[@Andrew-ke3qh]

1:15:56 Scott’s thoughts on Ariados’s absolute dump truck.

[@kevinsips3658]

Hey Scott :) thanks for the video as always! Before I watch, or really 1 minute in, I’m interested in growth rates. Are we certain that medium-slow is the best rate for all Pokemon? Obviously slow will always be the worst, but would some mons, maybe those that will finish at level 85, 90, or higher, maybe realize more benefit from the fast (or even medium-fast) growth rate in the late game than they would realize from the quick early levels of medium-slow? I’m thinking maybe something like a first stage grass type in gen I that can crush the first two or three gyms with type advantage but then starts to struggle in the mid game, and then needs a high level to beat Champion Butt

[@cinnamonsugarcourtney6073]

Ariados is one of my favorite pokemon, but like, i'm a Poison type person. Zubat/Golbat/Crobat are my fav pokemon~ I was so happy when Ariados got Toxic Thread in Sun and Moon

[@Salnax]

Another bug battle? Will we have yet more additions to the S Tier? No. No we won’t.

[@babosa75]

When I was a kid, I've trained my Ledian to lvl 100 because it was the first Mon I ever caught on my own, and boy, I remember that after I did it I let it live on the box lmao

[@chrisdixon7377]

Ledian was the goat in my gen 2 only pokerogue challenge run. Amazing support

[@henry5274]

I think adding + and/or - letter tiers would be fitting to balance out the tier list. I’m also picturing what a mess the finalized pokemon sun/moon tier list will be.

[@mahnameisj]

Hey Scott. Just wondering if it would be possible to do first runs without using return? It feels like a lot of mons that use it only do so as a crutch because it's the best and it feels like it skews their performance just like it would if they used hidden power as normal hits a lot of types neutrally

[@ilovegarradors]

I have a real soft spot for Ariados. It is pretty bad in gen 2. I can’t defend it there. But I've run one in Heartgold and I can tell you an Adamant nature Ariados with Dig, Shadow Sneak, Bug Bite, and Poison Jab really isn't half bad. I genuinely enjoy using it in that game. It feels like gen 4 is when Ariados hit its stride.

[@vincentwerts4724]

Ariados's first play through was a surprise. It did much better than I ever thought it would. I feel bad for Ledyan though.

[@Dark-Aclyss]

I just wanted to comment on the ledian first playthrough section of the video. Firstly great video Scott love you as always! But I didn’t like seeing all the damage range calcs in the first playthrough. It kinda ruined the mystery and immersion you get watching it.

[@devondavies2637]

Ariados shows its butthole on the characters side of the battle screen. Kinda wild

[@heartnet40]

Oh my God, Scott I'm so sorry.

[@DLC88]

I think charcoal would be cool if it made sunny day last an extra turn. Someone contact smith plays pokemon

[@jimmiewoodsjw]

Shout out to Scott for suffering through Ledian for our benefit; not all heroes wear capes.

[@QualDanas]

Definitely love you giving the bug types some love, very few do. Do you have a Butterfree VS Beedrill video for Gen 2?

[@zachfranklin6359]

I wish ariados was better. I love it's design so much but that's about all that's really good about it

[@justsomejojo]

I love Ledyba and Ledian in terms of design and simultaneously hate that Gamefreak feels the need to make early bug types absolutely terrible for no other reason than them being early game. I don't get it either, because everything else about pokemon seems to encourage keeping your partners longterm, but the bugs (and honestly, a lot of early mons) are designed to be dumped as you get better ones and it's often because of raw stats. Ledian is a mon I regularly use in GSC playthroughs and it is pretty okay using the e-punches and Reflect/Lightscreen (in teams) but that's because the GSC trainers are absolutely terrible. It annoys me greatly.

[@davidwatson6202]

12:32 pryce turned into chuck 🤭

[@devinmiracle7680]

I backed it up because I thought I misheard it 😂

[@Tuerktok]

I love Ledian, for me it looks like a Superhero, with all that Punches ❤ But its soooo sooo bad 😂😢 But thanks scott that you make a solo run with it!!

[@HelloJohnRyan]

I was today years old when I found out Spider Web is in Gen 2.

[@Gungho73]

This is a fun one! I'm very excited.

[@TheShinyFeraligatr]

I will say that Ariados did way better than I expected. I remember it having some pretty brutal Sludge Bombs in casual playthroughs (and at least one Nuzlocke) of GSC, but that's honestly all I remember, and a lot of things can do that. But it does seem to be a fair bit stronger than expected. Also the graphic at 1:09:05 shows the wrong battle. Pikachu didn't use Charm twice against Ledian, if it did you'd be at -4. Charm lowers the stat by 2 stages.

[@ChaosWindScar99]

Welp both of them did pretty underwhelming, not too surprising though. I knew Ledian was bad but I didn't know it lacked STAB moves... Oof. But you managed to power through them anyways props.

[@raikaria3090]

Ariados vs Ledian; also known as Pain vs Suffering Funnily enough; as a kid I used Ledian in Crystal. I remember the thing basically sweeping Lance with Thunder and Ice punches. I specifically recall it dodgeing Thunder, and then tanking Fire Blast [because Ledian's only stat that exists is sp.def]

[@pikminman13]

it would take far too long to add more stuff to the mix, but it would be nice to see some move update solo runs. ariados gets megahorn via breeding, so if it got that as a lategame move, it could be neat to see if that helps its performance.

[@thatoneweirdbish6364]

Damn, never knew my favourite Bug from the first 4 gens was that slow. Ariados looks so much like a fast moving ant thing, that i just falsely remembered it as a fast bug Pokémon Also that gen 2 backsprite is horrible my god. It looks like the face of a confused drinking birds

[@mmpsp693]

Great video and great strats!

[@sandsunderthetable.6625]

This cursed play through is finally finished.

[@olavjorvik94]

Psychic is one of those moves that possibly shouldn’t even be availible to Ariados as a TM. But to give it as a level-up move, is just insanity… But as long as Gligar didn’t get Mud-Slap, Game Freak were happy, I guess😃

[@Nagassh]

I had Silver as a kid and it was my favorite and last Pokemon game until Black, played the hell out of it. I thought the spider was the silver exclusive. That's how little of an impression Ledian left on me.

[@1stCallipostle]

For what is functionally Beedrill 2, Ariados ending up in the middle-ish is good. It's decent, passable. Words I wouldn't use for Beedrill 1 generally

[@jdogx211]

I used an Ariadoes on my first gen 2 play through, I remember Sludge Bomb saving me against Lance!

[@lyoukeefen7199]

Isn’t it weird how normal types are immune to night shade, but it also can’t do super effective or not very effective damage? I wonder why they would only keep one type interaction for the move.

[@archieblue2801]

Ariados's backsprite looks like it nuzlocked a Teddiursa, then decapitated it & used it's head as underwear. I can't unsee it.

[@MaddMoke]

I really like Ledian in theory. I always love defensive characters with a wide variety of support skills for a team composition. While that is a niche in some formats of pokemon (friend guard eviolite clefairy in doubles is a monster) the nature of pokemon games is so unbalanced for slower tactical strats. Between Crits and x4 effective battles, most tanks don't survive long as they might in a Persona or Final Fantasy where buffing a teammate or applying status and such is way more useful. But even grading on that curve Ledian is still bad. Not even in a nuzlocke would it really work as a pivot or screen setter or niche assistant pokemon. Poor stats and lack of useful moves for it's play type. All that said... it has such a fun design. I really want to use it. In someways I've always see Ribombee as the perfected Ledian. I wonder if that's why Ledyba returns in Sun as like a "hey see this, now what if it was good"

[@YoshiMinion]

1:14:49 Literally why I use any Pokemon (and why Pichu is my favorite Pokemon). Unless I'm doing some sort of challenge where I need good Pokemon, I don't care about stats. If they have an appealing design, that's all that matters to me.

[@vfranceschini]

yay finally some og content

[@ihaveanopinion888]

“I love using moves I don’t get to use” Return Curse Rest

[@angelotirado3542]

This tier list reshuffle won't be too bad, you only need to adjust the top portion. You should start with D tier being

[@lazyhippie6139]

It's too bad both of these Bugs are so bad. I really like both of their designs, it's cool to have a "scary" bug and a "cute" one. They are just SO Johto somehow, and I wish they were better! I get early game Bugs aren't supposed to be good, but dang. I kind of want to try a run with them on my team now. A punching ladybug is a fun concept. It's sad that it wasn't executed the best. It makes sense to have an offensive and defensive counterpart, but in this case, they both should have been offensive, maybe giving Ledian good Special Attack (ofc, this does mean it falls off in later gens, but maybe they could augment that with Bug Buzz) and giving it something kind of neat and unexpected in its level up moveset (idk, maybe Faint Attack?). Ariados getting a strong STAB probably helped it out a lot. I love the move Sludge Bomb, and it's a shame that it's usually not that useful until gen 6. I love gen 2 and am so addicted to your gen 2 videos for some reason. Johto is my second home I guess.

[@kb27787]

Yikes, they're both so bad I have no idea who's better here... I'm gonna go with STAB sludge bomb which is physical on this one... Edit: wow, losing to both Surge AND Bruno in Gen 2. That thing is so, so bad. I wonder if either of the screens would've helped... (for example light screen against Pika so that we could setup). Double screens + Toxic with leftovers seems interesting

[@bread7259]

Funny thing about Ariados only having 4 legs, there was no spider Pokemon with 8 legs until Spidops in Gen 9! I don't know why they did Ariados and Galvantula like that

[@BloodfelX]

Looking at Ledian and Ledyba's moveset... I wonder how bad they would be in Generation I? Even using their Special Defense as their Special stat, the only Special move they would access to would be Giga Drain. Would they have to rely on double badge boost Rest strategies with Swords Dance and Agility since their Attack is so low or would Giga Drain and Mimic be just enough for their Special stat to carry them to success?

[@marlysalt]

error at 1:09:11 ish with the damage calcs. You showed one for the Azalea rival, not Jasmine. Also surprised you didn't consider reflect more for Ledian. I kept thinking about how it would be useful for surviving all of those strong physical attacks.