hmm the more i think about it the more frustrated i get about how they treat lycanroc. they weren't very creative with its movepool. I can think of simple additions and fixes that improve on lycanroc (both formes) while still keeping the core nature of its appearance and what this pokemon is about.
Attacks i could easily see this pokemon getting but didnt. (both formes btw) ((general consensus is that they are physical attackers so i focused on that))
-play rough -super fang -double edge/take down -wild charge -ice fang of course -retaliate
-Dig -lick -pursuit -head smash -iron head? -if not earthquake at least bulldoze
-hone claws -superpower -smack down -aerial ace -shadow claw -fake out
-knock off -focus energy-u-turn -low kick -slash -night slash
-body slam -switcheroo -iron tail
Both Lycanroc's abilities are piss poor, as great as no guard stone edge is, they shouldve just gave night wolf an exclusive rock attack. no guard is just bad. and sure we can wait for move tutors but its not just the moves that disappoint me. its their choice in abilities as well.
so many abilities are better than keen eye and steadfast. Sand rush a very nice ability seems wasted on an already fast pokemon. Vital Spirit is okay but there is just so many other options. its not like this night wolf is based on not sleeping. its based on being batshit crazy, no?
-technician -scrappy -intimidate -adaptability -tough claws -sturdy - rock head
- sand force -solid rock -guts
all could have been better and well suited
I now feel that Lycanroc day should have been rock/normal type seeing as how normal types tend to get alot of coverage options. it would have been great STAB to have. the downside of that would have been x4 weak to fighting but honestly the trade off would have been worth it. its not like this guy was living a fighting type attack anyways. The benefits were far more favorable such as immunity to ghost, larger move pool, wider range of abilities to choose from and normal type STAB.
meanwhile, as obvious as Lycanroc night would have been if it were Rock/Dark type, it would have at least set it apart from day form (especially with the general consensus that day form is obviously superior than night form) As a dark type lycanroc would have had many dark type attacks available to it along with the STAB. it would have given it more character and thus giving it a wider amount of choices in abilities that even correspond to its official pokemon details " The stronger its opponent is, the more excited for battle Lycanroc becomes. It doesn’t mind getting hurt if it means victory in battle. Battles thrill it so much that its eyes glow" this screams moxie, defiant, hustle, guts, reckless. the abilities i even mentioned above would have worked just as great for night wolf. They shouldve tried much harder to set Night wolf apart from Day wolf.
When looking at this pokemon they have great designs. the rock/normal typing and rock/dark typing would have fit great. The only problem designwise that i have with Lycanroc, which most of you would think is trivial, would be its height. Day wolf (2'07") stands shorter than Herdier (another dog pokemon, who still gets to evolve to an even bigger dog 2'11) Lycanroc night stands at 3'7" which is the exact height for a Watchog (a bipedal rodent like pokemon). BUT i get it. size does not necessarily equate to power in pokemon, but i honestly feel that lycanroc lost some bulk and strength because of how it is portrayed according to height and weight. it weighs about as half as you'd expect a real wolf to be but heighted correctly. This pokemon is dang anorexic. This pokemon is in a strange area where the creators wanted it to be realistic but somehow fell short. My dog stands at a 1'8" but weighs just as much as a lycanroc. Its so frustrating. Pokemon are monsters are they not. Herdier is taller than the tallest wolf, it just boggles my mind. Im not saying Lycanroc deserves to be so big you can ride on it, but it should at least be bigger than furfrou, stoutland. (notice im mentioning alot of dog pokemon) Wolves are just more ferocious than domestic dogs, and yes Lycanroc is stronger than the other dog pokemon. but did it really have to cost it its bulk? The size that it couldve gotten due to being a large pokemon could have aided in its stats, bulk wise.
If you ask me Rockruff seems like the poster child for Sun and Moon, seeing as how often it shows up in trailers and on merchandise. It showed up the most in corocoro magazines barking out notes about the information released. The new manga/comic based on Alola is about a boy and his partner pokemon rockruff. You would've expected that the Rockruff family would've gotten better treatment. Rockruff may not have shared a special feature with the starters but it has been revealed that it shares a certain special feature with the box legendaries. ( Yes thats right, split evolution based on time of day/game version). How awesome is that?! yet it got shafted in movepool and ability and stats. There isnt even an exclusive z-move for Lycanroc.
This brings me to stats. I like the attack and speed stats of both forms, they seem... appropriate. But its not a secret that this pokemon lacks bulk. This pokemons BST sits at 487 which is not too bad. its better than mediocre but as i've stated before i really pictured this pokemon as part of the sun and moon poster child. And its not to say that pokemon with BSTs under 500 are lackluster. its all about distribution sometimes. That being said had lycanroc had better distribution you would be seeing that 55 sp.attack as 45, and then giving that +10 to anything else honestly, (preferably health for day and speed for night) heck that 13 points shy from 500bst would have helped.
When Lycanroc was first revealed i couldnt help feel that it was still incomplete, mostly based on the size of the pokemon and how lackluster it is. I felt that it needed to evolve once more just to step out of that skinny growing up phase. I was really hoping for an evolution. I mean its a wolf pokemon. Wolves are super popular animals, they are apex predators. They have history, we admire wolves, we are afraid of wolves. Lycanroc just didnt seem to fulfill that expectation of wolf based pokemon. (Its like pyroar all over again)
Lycanroc is a cool pokemon. I'll definitely pick it up in-game. My choice between sun and moon is basically based off of which lycanroc i wanted. And although it might be good in ru/nu or whatever the heck. Its just natural to want certain pokemon to be OU. Sadly it doesnt look like Lycanroc would contend strongly there. I feel like we just have to wait for future gens to maybe get the lycanroc we deserve by giving it what it needs. theres always hope. I guess i can be disappointed in the fact that had lycanroc been good it would have actually been unique for competitive play seeing as how there arent many rock types that sit at the speed tier that Lycanroc night and day are at. I think im just honestly going to hope for a future evolution for lycanroc or the aforementioned stat raises it could recieve in the future. An evolution would be great honestly. they can become two seperate pokemon with the vast improvements that it needs. eviolite lycanroc can be a thing, it wouldnt be broken neither just because it would have bad abilities and movepool. Lycanroc just doesnt look like final evolution material and it doesnt intimidate like how a wolf should. Lycanroc is super skinny and small. Honestly Lycanroc night form is suppose to be a bulky pokemon? thats what was intended, well let it evolve and let it fulfill that role. You may think lycanrocs BST are too high for it to to evolve but look at magmar, electabuzz, porygon2, rhydon. The former 2 are outclassed by their evolutions even with an eviolite. Porygon2 is still active because of eviolite fulffilling a different role, and eviolite Rhydon is very similar to rhyperior. so no i dont think that eviolite lycanroc would be broken on the basis that porygon2 is not broken. Yeah im hoping lycanroc can split evolve somehow. that just seems appropriate.. but eh, evolution of past pokemon in newer gens hasnt happened in a long time . i hope they bring this trend back.
if you read all this then, damn. nice. I've read the ideas you guys have offered for sets and i strongly appreciate them. keep up the good work! I feel like you guys are the true champs while i just complain