>>56072467>As opposed to gen 3 and 4’s starters that were naturally good in PvP.Torterra is one of the worst starters of all time in competitive before it received Shell Smash in Gen 9. Seriously, it's only better than Meganium. Blaziken also wasn't good until it received Speed Boost, being generally outclassed by Charizard in Gen 3 and Infernape and Typhlosion in Gen 4 (when Typhlosion received Eruption). Sceptile wasn't spectacular in its debut generation either, and it fell off hard in Gen 4 and became a shitmon since then.
>No, they’re trash in the campaign too. Emboar and Serperior are outclassed by Pokemon you can find before the fucking 3rd gym.Emboar isn't wholly outclassed in the campaign until you get Reshiram. It's a sidegrade to Darmanitan that is more useful for longer periods of time considering Pignite > Darumaka. Darmanitan hits harder and is faster, but Emboar has a strong dual type, better bulk, and a better move pool. It can even pick up KOs that Darmanitan can't on account of Darmanitan fainting if something ever doesn't die to Flare Blitz in one hit while Emboar could get 2 hits off. It's the same logic as to why people run bulky Thundurus as opposed to fast and frail Thundurus.
As for Serperior, it's also a sidegrade to Lilligant and Whimsicott. It's more comparable to Whimsicott, and it hits harder and is bulkier than Whimsicott for a negligible tradeoff in Speed. Sure, Whimsicott has Prankster, but Prankster Tailwind isn't really worth using in campaign. Lilligant is really good in campaign, though, but it functions as a setup sweeper instead of a bulky support Pokemon.
