>>17507965I think the reason for that is because Gen 1 was focused around the single-player experience. Pokemon in Gen 1 felt less like Pokemon as we know them now and more like enemies in an RPG. They didn't have abilities or held items to make Pokemon dynamic, or more importantly, the huge pool of Pokemon like they do now. Pokemon like Ratatta, Goldeen, and Spearow are considered "shitmons" because they were supposed to be easy to obtain and quickly hit their prime. They were also the "cannon fodder" enemes, like Slimes in Dragon Quest. They're SUPPOSED to be weaker than Pokemon like Golem, Gengar, Alakaza, and Machamp - the best Pokemon of their type who were REALLY hard to get because you had to trade to get them. In Gen1, difficulty to obtain was directly proportional to strength, which is a very different design dynamic to the games now, where most Pokemon can fill some sort of niche in the metagame, and literally every Pokemon is viable in the single-player game.
I guess, in short, think of Gen 1 Pokemon like Shin Megami Tensei. Sure, some demons are total bros for when you get them and you carry them as long as possibly, but eventually the time comes for you to upgrade to something objectively better to help you beat the final boss' Dragonties. That was Gen 1.
