Luxray has long been one of those iconic Pokémon that never really sustained relevance beyond its debut generation. Now, in a Reddit thread posted Nov. 27, players are rallying for something to be done about its mediocre potential, and giving it the Dark-type top of everybody’s list.
Starring as part of Clement’s team in the Pokémon the Series: XY, Luxray’s origins date back to the release of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl in 2006. It can be found relatively early on in the journey across Sinnoh in its initial form of Shinx. The creature’s design was a hit with fans and was recognized as a favorite of casual players who grew a connection to it through two evolutions.
Unfortunately, for competitive players, Luxray failed to make a good impression. Back in the day when nature changes and IV training were far more difficult, finding the perfect version of this Pokémon was highly frustrating. Intimidate was its good ability, Rivalry was one of the worst in the entire catalog. Take a guess at which one was more common to find.
Past this initial annoyance came the truth that Physical Electric attacks are heavily restricted by limited move pools. This is a shame since Luxray’s 120 base Attack stat is actually pretty darn good. It almost seems a waste to have it, combined with the hidden ability Guts, only finding value on something like Wild Charge.
If Dark typing were to be given to Luxray, its threat would become far more potent thanks to the addition of great STAB moves. STAB stands for same type attack bonus and boosts a Pokémon’s attack if it is of the same type as its user. In Luxray’s case, it naturally learns both Bite and Crunch which offer flinch and defense debuffs respectively. Thief also becomes more viable with itemization a foundational element to competitive play.
There are a few who aren’t so fussed about the proposed change, however. “Luxray’s problem isn’t really its mono-Electric typing,” stated one opponent, “its problem is that its Speed and Special Attack stats should be swapped.” A fascinating solution to be sure, giving Luxray a far better chance to earn turn order priority and utilize Wild Charge more effectively. However, this still runs into the issue of lacking move set flexibility thus making it highly susceptible to counters.
Whichever side of the argument you fall upon, it seems unlikely that Luxray will be tweaked in any case. The last typing shake-up landed back in 2013 with the addition of Fairy transforming some classic Pokémon into dual types or the new type altogether. If Luxray were to evolve in a competitive sense, one would imagine Game Freak giving it a similar treatment to the likes of Azumarill.
