Wishful Thinking: Missed Fairy Retype Opportunities

Author's note: If you are new to retypings, I recommend reading Rising_Dusk's article. Its introduction gives you a solid overview about retypings.

Introduction

When Game Freak first announced the Fairy-type, mixed feelings came about from the Pokéfans. For one, it appears to be a very girly type and perhaps something else would have made more sense. On the other hand, it's still a brand new type that combats the dreaded Dragons that had lacked any solid checks or counters otherwise. As the type will forever exist now, we all have to live with it. And because of that, let us explore the wonders of the magical Fairy-type.

A look upon all the Fairies reveals that a good majority of them have a stat or two that looks awful and small, notable issues. This doesn't mean they're all outright terrible, however. For example, Azumarill, Clefable, and Mawile (with the help of its Mega Evolution) have all hugely improved in the new generation. To our dismay, there were certain other Pokémon that most of us felt missed out on the Fairy retype which really would have improved them competitively. This article will outline Pokémon that I believe had a chance to be retyped, though whether they would be shifting tiers or still suffering, that's up to speculation!

Before we start, I would like to recap the qualities of the Fairy-type. Defensively, they resist Bug, Fighting, and Dark, while being immune to Dragon. Offensively, they are super effective against Dragon, Dark, and Fighting and are resisted by Fire, Poison, and Steel. Fairy-types take super effective damage from Poison and Steel.

Manaphy and Phione

We begin with the lovely little pure Water critters, Manaphy and Phione... well, first, just Manaphy. In the past, it has always been an Ubers-worthy Pokémon, due to having a typing with minor drawbacks (Water is resisted by the ever-present Dragon-type, but the Water-type usually comes with Ice-type moves), access to Tail Glow, and the ability to combo Rest with Hydration easily, thanks to Kyogre's Drizzle ability. But now with the rain nerf, Manaphy's viability in Ubers plummeted, and it finds itself in the standard world of OU.

What if we were to add the Fairy-type to Manaphy? Interestingly enough, Manaphy is the only legendary Pokémon to be part of the Fairy Egg Group, so it does make some sense. In standard OU, Manaphy becomes Azumarill's counterpart, focusing on being a bulky attacker, except on the special side. With the Fairy-type, Manaphy gains the ability to switch into certain key moves, such as Volcarona's Bug Buzz, Goodra's Draco Meteor, and Tyranitar's Crunch, and then do whatever it pleases. To expand on that, Manaphy can either use that time to set up with Tail Glow or immediately test the waters with an attack. The Fairy typing also allows Manaphy to obtain special Fairy-types moves—most notably Moonblast—to smash targets which would otherwise be quite annoying, such as Latios and Assault Vest Goodra (which requires a Life Orb and a small amount of prior damage to 2HKO). The neutrality to Steel hurts Manaphy's ability to repeatedly tank Scizor's Bullet Punch, Jirachi's Iron Head, and random Gyro Balls, however. In contrast, the weakness to Poison isn't all that bad, as only a small amount of Pokémon carry Poison-type attacks.

It's sadly a different story for Manaphy's little son, Phione. It's such a forgotten Pokémon that it even ended up making it into Lady Salamence's most forgotten Pokémon article! Competitively, it is horrible, with mediocre stats that rival another terrible Pokémon—Glalie—compounded with a quite shallow movepool. Despite a plausible retype to Water / Fairy, it will still be in the depths of NU for years to come. But I'm sure that, because of the retype, some typical NUers will still be willing to try it out. It does gain the ability to resist Fighting-type attacks, which are common in the tier, so that's a plus. This gives Phione time to fire off some Scalds in attempt to burn the opponent before it suffocates itself in its own tears.

Blissey

Blissey has held the title as the number one special wall in OU ever since its creation, and though it has some competition, it will remain queen for centuries to come. Pure Normal typing is both a blessing and a curse: it has barely any resistances, but hardly any weaknesses at the same time. This is actually okay, as Blissey's special bulk is enormous enough to sponge off almost all neutral special attacks. The fact that Blissey's Special Attack is quite low and it has no STAB coverage means that it is unfortunately set-up bait most of the time (unless said set-up sweeper gets repeatedly fully paralyzed by Thunder Wave).

A retype to Fairy is an overall benefit to Blissey in standard OU. Note that the Normal typing will be replaced by Fairy, not added, in this theorizing. Blissey's usual Fighting-type switch-ins, such as Lucario and Conkeldurr, are no longer effective switch-ins as they deal meager damage to the egg blob (Life Orb Lucario 3HKOes with Extreme Speed at best, while Conkeldurr, with Guts activated, requires +3 Attack to have a chance of OHKOing Blissey with Ice Punch). While Lucario and Conkeldurr can still use Blissey as set-up bait, they risk being afflicted by status (Conkeldurr may have Guts, but it will still be negatively affected as it cannot reliably recover off Toxic damage with Drain Punch) while taking chunks of damage by Seismic Toss, or Flamethrower in Lucario's case. Of course, Lucario can run Bullet Punch, but it's a 3HKO at best against a Blissey with Leftovers recovery taken into account. On the other hand, other Steel-type switch-ins, such as Scizor, can now bring Blissey down with ease, and thus become one of Blissey's best counters. We're not even done with the changes that a Fairy-type Blissey can bring to the table; it can now switch into a good majority of Dragon- and Dark-types without too much thinking. Although, if they carry a powerful physical secondary STAB attack such as Earthquake (Garchomp most likely), then they can still 2HKO Blissey and thus, nothing changes. Offensively, Blissey gains Moonblast and can use it to "hurt" things, but I think we would all still prefer to use Seismic Toss for the consistent damage. Calm Mind Blissey anyone?

Azelf / Uxie / Mesprit

Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit are theoretically really good Pokémon. Azelf has the stats and movepool to crush a variety of threats, Uxie has titanic bulk and a good enough support movepool, and Mesprit is pretty much the middleman. One universal trait stands out from each one, and it sadly makes them not as great as they can be: their Psychic typing. Psychic STAB isn't really that great, especially considering the amount of Dark- and Steel-types that will be switching in and rendering them dead or useless. Although it does not help them against Steel-types, a retyping to Fairy will go a long way in helping the viability of these three magical beings. I mean, come on, they even have elf, pixie, and sprite in their names; how can they not be Fairy?

With a Psychic / Fairy typing, Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit no longer fear super effective Pursuits from the likes of Scizor and Tyranitar (for Uxie and Mesprit, just think in terms of the lower tier threats identical to the ones I'm mentioning), though they tremble upon the mantis's Bullet Punch even more than before. Against opposing Dark-types, they can retaliate with Dazzling Gleams. Azelf must still stay far away from Tyranitar, as against the Assault Vest variant, Dazzling Gleam only warrants a 4HKO, while Stone Edge has a good chance to OHKO back, especially with Sand Stream's residual damage factored in. Sucker Punch no longer being super effective is also a boon, and actually, Azelf can survive neutral Sucker Punches pretty well. Mega Absol's Sucker Punch, for instance, only manages to deal up to 73.5 - 86.9% damage, which allows Azelf to comfortably attack twice with a Life Orb. Steel-types in general become more favorable to switch into these Fairies, which makes Azelf with Flamethrower or Fire Blast very desirable. Bug-type moves being neutral means that the Fairies can stay in and take the hit against U-turn users, allowing for scouting of the U-turner's item and an attack back at the enemy.

Cresselia

Cresselia fits in with the cute little Fairies-that-aren't-actually-Fairies, so I won't delve in too much about it. Back in old DPP OU, it used to be a solid, note-worthy wall, but as it doesn't really do much outside of tanking hits, its usage has since crashed down. Tyranitar and Hippowdon (though it's weak to Ice Beam barrages) were also meanies and would cut off Cresselia's Moonlight healing in half with their sandstorm. Even though I haven't really been involved with the 5th generation that much, I can tell that Cresselia has still suffered from "useless" syndrome and didn't even make it into UU. What a shame too, as it's such a pretty Pokémon with so much potential.

As with the pixies, Cresselia's retype is Psychic / Fairy. It mostly floats in the same boat as Uxie, so what's mentioned here can also relate to Uxie. Being the defensive monster it is, Cresselia can switch into whatever Fighting-type move the enemy uses as if it were just a simple breeze of the wind, and spread paralysis or set up Calm Minds. With Moonblast, Cresselia can cover a wide amount of Pokémon compared to what Psychic could cover, though Steel-types are still a major issue. Weaknesses to Steel and Poison are not that big of a deal; the most note-worthy benefits for the enemy will be from Bullet Punch Scizor and Lucario, Meteor Mash Metagross, and Sludge Bomb Gengar. Cresselia gains more opportunities to switch in and support its team, or possibly even attempt to sweep, but is still crippled by the fact that it does not have a completely reliable 50% recovery move and access to entry hazards.

Mismagius

Pure Ghost typing is quite a mixed bag. For one, it doesn't score many super effective hits, which hurts the type's potential to sweep. It also does not have many resistances, limiting switch-in chances and overall defensive options for a team. In exchange, it is immune to Fighting and Normal, with Fighting being the biggie (Mismagius does have Levitate to add another immunity). One last con for the Ghost-type is a lack of a high-powered STAB attack, meaning that if it wants to do amazing damage, it must boost. All of these combined make Mismagius a hard-to-use Pokémon in OU, and is thus relegated to being an offensive powerhouse in UU territory. And although off-topic, yes, Gengar is OU despite these factors, but that's because it's Gengar and it actually has the Speed, Special Attack, and movepool to be an instantaneous threat.

Adding a Fairy typing to Mismagius will be a huge factor to its viability in OU. With Moonblast, it gains a decently high-powered STAB attack it oh-so-wants, which also deals with Dark-types that were once troublesome. As with the Psychic retypings, Pursuit and Sucker Punch no longer strike fear into Mismagius's heart, allowing it to switch out in peace. Imagine switching Mismagius into Garchomp; that Dragon is a total joke now! The combination of Ghost and Fairy is almost completed unresisted, with Pyroar being the only contender. This means that it can fit Nasty Plot or Calm Mind in conjunction with Substitute onto its moveset without losing any coverage. To illustrate the power of a +2 STAB Moonblast, Mismagius can 2HKO Careful Assault Vest 252 / 252 Tyranitar after at least 8% residual damage has been done. And that's only with Leftovers, wow!

Mega Absol

We save the best for last! Mega Absol is a welcomed "evolution" to our favorite dark mammal creature thing. Sadly, it retains its singular Dark typing and, as such, has no secondary STAB for additional coverage. The Dark-type really doesn't hit that much, with only Psychic and Ghost as its super effective targets. It also doesn't resist a ton of types; resistances to Dark and Ghost and an immunity to Psychic are all it carries. This generation, Absol obtains Play Rough via Egg moves, allowing it to pummel opposing Dark-types as well as Fighting-types that will inevitably switch into Mega Absol. Wait, it learns a Fairy-type move? With such angelic features, we can only wonder why Mega Absol isn't part Fairy.

A part Fairy-type Mega Absol is exactly what we'll be speculating! And right off the bat, I'll get into the juiciest detail: STAB Play Rough. Here are some calculations detailing just how strong it is (with Adamant and 252 Attack): 50 - 59.3% vs Calm 252 HP Togekiss, 51.1 - 60.5% vs Mega Kangaskhan (I know, it's banned, but that kangaroo deserves it), 53.4 - 63.1% vs 252 HP Azumarill, and 57.7 - 68.5% vs Multiscale 4 HP Dragonite (48.4 - 57.5% against 252 HP variants). So now that Mega Absol's strength has been established, what exactly does adding the Fairy-type do for it defensively? Being immune to Dragon is great, but if it switches in on anything that hits it neutrally from any Dragon Pokémon, Mega Absol's toast. 252+ Atk Conkeldurr's Mach Punch manages to deal 42.4 - 50.1%, a high probability to 2HKO after residual damage, which is a great change from being completely obliterated. The Steel-type weakness really sucks, though, as Bullet Punch from any Scizor variant is now a perfect OHKO.

Honorable Mentions

There are numerous other Pokémon that most likely had a chance to have their own spotlight, but were cut due to either laziness, length, time constraints, or were shaky for a Fairy retype. You see that Manaphy is listed, but not Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, and Victini. I believe that Manaphy, being a pure Water-type and part of the Fairy Egg Group, has the best chance out of the five for obtaining the Fairy-type. Mew probably would be my second choice since it's a pure Psychic-type, though Celebi and Jirachi make a ton of sense for being a Fairy; it's just they're already dual-typed, and Psychic and their other typing also makes sense for them. I know Togekiss is dual-typed and was retyped, but that's because Normal typing was the type that was changed across the Fairy candidates (though some kept it, oddly enough). There was interest in Milotic being retyped to Water / Fairy among the Pokéfans, and so our curiosity caused us to check Restaurant Le Wow and discover that it is sadly still a pure Water-type. Honestly, it's more likely to be a Water / Dragon, given its Egg group, moves, and presence of scales. Chansey is more-or-so like Blissey, so I opted for its mention here. Lilligant also missed out on the Fairy bus, unlike her sister Whimsicott; Fairy-type coverage would go a long way in helping Lilligant's coverage, though Fire- and Steel-types still make her life miserable. Fairy-type Glalie is one of the coolest retypings that could ever happen. I mean, imagine a floating ball of ice with a scary grin being a Fairy. That is cool! There are other Pokémon such as Bellossom, Chimecho, Castform, Audino, and even Luvdisc that I can imagine being retyped to Fairy. Despite that, they will most likely remain some of the most junkiest Pokémon alive for singles.

Conclusion

The Fairy-type is quite extraordinary, and it's amazing how adding it to essentially any Pokémon will improve its viability... unless said Pokémon is really horrible. They also become 100% cuter and 200% more likely to answer little kiddies' wishes. So with that in mind, I am positive that at least one of these Pokémon will be retyped in a future generation. Let's all pray to the Game Freak gods, okay?! May all our wishes come true and all our sweet dreams keep us alive and well everyday.

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