Would you consider Psychic to be a bad type nowadays?

your_ethanlac

Everyone knows how busted Psychics were in gen 1, but I've seen some people say that in the modern games, Psychic is too weak. It's resisted by very common types in Dark and Steel, and although hitting Poison is good, Fairy covers Fighting just as well and is otherwise better, both offensively and defensively. Psychics do have some strong tricks, like Expanding Force on Psychic Terrain teams, but the type may still have gone from too strong to too weak. Personally, I think Psychic is below-average, but it's not a terrible type to have like Normal, Rock, or Bug.

D-ManBlue

I definitely see where these people are coming from- these days Psychic could certainly have its advantages in dealing with Poison and Fighting, but there are other options for types that cover those and then some.

From what I've seen, the real draw with Psychic is indeed its tricks. It isn't super helpful in straight combat but a lot of status moves are indeed Psychic type, leading to a variety of support options.

You might enjoy MandJTV's video on Psychic Then vs. Now. He describes the history of the type and how it came to be viewed over time.

TheJeffers

The issues with gen 1 that made Psychic types overpowered are infamous at this point. I think Dark and Steel were introduced partly to balance it out. And I think Gamefreak might be afraid of tipping the scales too far in that direction again, to the point that I doubt we will see it get a buff anytime soon.

Once bitten, twice shy.

D-ManBlue

@TheJeffers Actually, I think that might have actually been the main reason those two types were introduced.

What’s ironic is that even though the Dark type was created to balance out Psychic- it’s barely even present in Kanto. No Kanto Pokemon were made into Dark types when it was added, meaning that Psychic types are still overpowered to an extent in Kanto.

TheJeffers

@D-ManBlue True enough. That is strange. Bugs got a lot better since gen 1 though, and there are plenty of those in Kanto.

D-ManBlue

@TheJeffers@TheJeffers That is certainly true. But most people wouldn't really consider Gen 1 Bug-types to be all that good, save for something like Pinsir.

Then again, I never fought Sabrina, much less brought a Bug-type to use against her.

Eremas

Psyshock is too good of a move for psychic types to be over looked. Maybe we can get a physical psychic move that has its damage determined by sp defense to make the psychic type one of the most versatile.

D-ManBlue

@Eremas Honestly that might be more of a Fighting type thing, especially considering all the other ways those types are counterparts.