How to improve: 431-432, Glameow-Purugly

1.Stats: Should Purugly get a stat boost, Evolution, Mega Evolution or nothing?

Purugly's stats are atrocious, especially due to its late level. It is 27 BST weaker than its counterpart Skuntank. With this in mind, Purugly can have about +30 BST update, which will give 172 BST gap. from Glameow.

An evolution would be closer to Magnezone and Mamoswine, much more defensive or powerful. It is unlikely, however, as the only cat Pokémon with three stages is Incineroar.

A Mega Evolution would not be too beneficial. It is statistically too weak to make it work, and its typing and abilities, alongside its moves are pretty bad.

2.Should Purugly get more abilities?

Purugly already has three abilities, but potential abilities would be Prankster, Fur Coat, Technician, Speed Boost, Tough Claws, Super Luck and Intimidate.

Quick Feet, Strong Jaw and Limber would also work.

3. Should Purugly get more moves?
Yes. Purugly has a very limited movepool compared to its counterparts. Some potential moves would include:

-Wild Charge, as it gets Thunderbolt.
-Earthquake or Stomping Tantrum, as it gets Bulldoze.
-X-Scissor, Psycho Cut and Swords Dance, due to its claws.
-Tail Slap, due to its odd tail.
-Bounce, again, due to its odd tail.
-Superpower, as it gets Wake-Up Slap.
-Double-Edge, for having a strong STAB move.
-Crunch and Elemental Fangs, as it gets Bite. Psychic Fangs in particular would work.

Nasty Plot for sake of flavour would also work. So would Agility. And Baby-Doll Eyes for Glameow.

4.What additional typing Purugly can have?

Dark is the most obvious choice. Fairy is a lesser choice. Ground and Electric can also work.

Shitty move ideas

[B]Shell Rest:[/B]

Type: Water
PP: 10
Category: Status
Description: "The user withdraws into its shell to recover half of its HP."
Explanation: Recover, for Withdraw users.

[B]
Hard Massage:
[/B]
Type: Normal
PP: 10
Category: Status
Description: "The user massages all its muscles to recover half of its HP."
Explanation: Recover, for Harden users.

[B]Distillation[/B]

Type: Poison
PP: 10
Category: Status
Description: "The user liquefies its cellular structure to purify itself, recovering half of its HP".
Explanation: Recover, for Acid Armor users.

[B]Iron Forge:[/B]

Type: Steel
PP: 10
Category: Status
Description: "The user forges its body's surface like iron, recovering half of its HP."
Explanation: Recover, for Iron Defense users.

Notes on Smogon power creep

How to improve:453-454: Croagunk-Toxicroak

1.Stats: Should Toxicroak get a stat boost, Evolution, Mega Evolution or nothing?

Toxicroak's stats are acceptable for its late level, as the gap between it and Croagunk, 190, is very large. At best, Toxicroak can hope for +10-20 more BST.

An evolution would have to be similar to Electivire to see success. Even then Eviolite Toxicroak would surpass it.

A Mega Evolution would be expected if Megas were to return, as Toxicroak is versatile enough to fit many roles.

2.Should Toxicroak get more abilities?

Yes, as of now, Toxicroak has only two useful abilities, Poison Touch and Dry Skin. With Toxicroak's design and stats it could theoretically gain Abilities such as Technician, Iron Fist, Prankster, Defiant etc. But as it already has three Abilities, that's going to wait for a long while.

3. Should Toxicroak get more moves?

Yes. Toxicroak has a very large movepool, but its most powerful move is Gunk Shot, which is depressing. Another depressing thing is that it doesn't get any Fighting moves besides Revenge through Level-Up.

Biggest move Toxicroak would adore is Close Combat. Other moves like Stomping Tantrum, Night Slash and Recover would be nice as well. Psychic and Earth Power for special sets would be nice as well.

4.What additional typing Toxicroak can have?

Dark is the most obvious choice, after that comes Ground. Though a marshland Pokémon, Toxicroak has no direct connection to Water.

Notes on Terrains

Bug, Dark, Dragon, Fighting, Flying, Ghost, Poison and Steel are the only types without a Nature Power equivalent in Gen VII.

Flying, Dragon and Ghost had equivalents in Gen VI, which leaves Bug, Dark, Fighting, Poison and Steel with only types without an equivalent.

However, in Gen III, Secret Power used Bite's animation in caves.

Currently;

Fighting is associated with cliffs.

Bug is associated with forests.

Poison is associated with polluted areas.

Dark is associated with urban areas.

Steel is associated with buildings, which are currently associated with Tri Attack.

Though Dragon got Space, it is traditionally associated with caves and towers.

How to improve: 422-423: Shellos-Gastrodon

1.Stats: Should Gastrodon get a stat boost, Evolution, Mega Evolution or nothing?

Gastrodon can only get +30 BST boost, due to its level, BST gap and whatnot. This can be on any of its stats, but Special Defense makes the most sense.

An evolution would likely be similar to Rhyperior, as Gastrodon used to have a shell in the past.

A Mega Evolution based on the same idea can also work, and due to Gastrodon's access to Recovery, it can be very efficient.

2.Should Gastrodon get more abilities?

Storm Drain and Sand Force are good enough abilities, so that is not too necessary. Poison Heal, Gooey, Hydration, Water Absorb can work.

Limber would also be thematically fitting.

3. Should Gastrodon get more moves?

Gastrodon lacks access to Hydro Pump, which is important. Gastrodon also lacks moves for Level-Up, which can be filled by Poison moves.

Bug and Rock moves can also be given, though we can't say which.

4.What additional typing Gastrodon can have?

Poison and Ice are the only obvious ones sadly. Anything else doesn't make much sense.

Bulbapedia average stats for types

Pokémon according to EV spreads

Notes on Egg Groups

Notes on moves introduction:

Normal: 172->196->220->244->268->292
Psychic: 62->70->78->86->94->102
Fighting: 44->50->56->62->68->74
Grass: 42->48->54->60->66->72
Dark: 39->44->49->54->59->64
Fire: 35->40->45->50->55->60
Water: 35->40->45->50->55->60
Electric: 33->37->41->45->49->53
Bug: 30->34->38->42->46->50
Poison. 28->32->36->40->44->48
Flying: 27->30->33->36->39->42
Ground: 27->30->33->36->39->42
Ghost: 26->29->32->35->38->41
Ice: 25->28->31->34->37->40
Steel: 25->28->31->34->37->40
Fairy: 23->26->29->32->35->38
Rock: 19->21->23->25->27->29
Dragon: 18->20->22->24->26->28

In Gen 12, Psychic will enter 100+.
In Gen 13, Normal will enter 300+.
In Gen 17, Fighting and Grass will enter 100+.
In Gen 20, Water, Fire, Dark will enter 100+.
In Gen 25, Electric, Poison and Bug will enter 100+.
In Gen 32, Flying, Ground, Ice, Ghost, Steel will enter 100+.
In Gen 33, Fairy will enter 100+.
In Gen 43, Dragon and Rock will enter 100+.

Highest-lowest stats for Egg Groups

How to improve: 451-452, Skorupi-Drapion

1.Stats: Should Drapion get a stat boost, Evolution, Mega Evolution or nothing?

Though Drapion evolves very late and has a very strong pre-evo, its 500 BST is acceptable and expected for its level. Highest BST update it can theoretically have is +40, which is not too significant.

An evolution can also only go to 540, so any evolution would have to scramble its stats.

While a Mega Evolution would be expected, Drapion's stats are not significant enough to make it useful without a good ability.

2.Should Drapion get more abilities?

Drapion already has three abilities... and none of them are good. Given its movepool, abilities like Tough Claws, Strong Jaw, Poison Touch, Sand Veil/Rush/Force would be good.

3. Should Drapion get more moves?

Yes. Poison/Dark is a good typing, but Drapion lacks any powerful move. It doesn't have access to Gunk Shot either.

Given it is a desert dweller(according to its dex) and marshland Pokémon(according to its debut) it would make sense for it to learn moves like Mud Shot, Sand Tomb etc. Shadow Claw would also be good, as it already gets Shadow Ball.

However, biggest missing move for Drapion is Sucker Punch.

Drapion can also get Superpower and Psycho Cut.

4.What additional typing Drapion can have?

Bug, the type of its pre-evo, can work. Ground, Rock and Ghost are also potential types.

Missing types from Egg Groups:

How to improve: 574-575-576: Gothita-Gothorita-Gothitelle

1.Stats: Should Gothitelle get a stat boost, Evolution, Mega Evolution or nothing?

Gothitelle shares its BST with its counterpart Reuniclus, which is 490. A +10 boost would make it equal to Alakazam and a +20-30 boost would make it close to Gallade/Gardevoir's 518.

Most obvious area of boost would be Sp. Attack, but since Gothitelle is primarily defensive, defenses can also be boosted.

Boosting other areas do not make much sense, but Speed can be boosted a bit for sake of Scarf.

An evolution is impossible, and a Mega Evolution would make a lot of sense. It can also be meta defining, given the right abilities.

2.Should Gothitelle get more abilities?

Ideally yes, as its only great ability is Shadow Tag, but it has already gained Competitive, so a new ability would have to be bit more creative.

Synchronize, Magic Guard and Magic Bounce make for good abilities.

3. Should Gothitelle get more moves?

Yes. Gothitelle's movepool is pretty bad in terms of Level-Up, and its TM list is covered with mid-range moves like Thunderbolt and Dark Pulse.

Biggest missing move for Gothitelle is Focus Blast, after that comes Thunder. Ignoring these, Gothitelle needs more status moves like Psycho Shift and Cosmic Power, and a proper Recovery move. Fairy moves like Dazzling Gleam and Moonblast would also be great for Gothitelle. So would Barrier and Nasty Plot.

Imprison, a former event-exclusive move for Gothorita would also be great.

Power Gem or another special Rock move would also work since it gets Rock Slide.

4.What additional typing Gothitelle can have?

Dark, Fairy and Ghost-types would all make sense for Gothitelle.