Pokemon Go Just Redeemed This "Gen 3" Starter Pokemon

Pokemon Go just made a surprise fix to one of the more disappointing new Pokemon in the metagame.

Blaziken is the fully evolved form of Torchic, one of the three starter Pokemon from Pokemon Ruby. Blaziken is a Fire/Fighting dual-type Pokemon, and players thought that it had the potential to surpass Machamp as the top Fighting-Type Pokemon due to its amazing Attack stat.

Unfortunately, when Blaziken was added to the game yesterday, players discovered that Blaziken didn't have any sort of Fighting-Type charge move. Without a full Fighting-Type set of moves, Blaziken couldn't really be used as a Fighting-Type, which drastically lowered its effectiveness.

Earlier today, Niantic decided to fix that oversight by giving Blaziken the move "Focus Blast," one of the most powerful moves in Pokemon Go. With the addition of Focus Blast, Blaziken can now pump out the most damage of any Fighting-Type Pokemon in the game.

There are still reasons why a player may prefer Machamp over Blaziken. While Blaziken's Fighting-Type moveset is a bit stronger, Machamp is a bit bulkier and can absorb a bit more damage than Blaziken. And while Blaziken has a key resistance to a Tyranitar Raid Boss that knows Fire Blast, Machamp still has the edge over a Tyranitar Raid Boss that can use Stone Edge.

This is a pretty massive change and definitely shakes up gym battles and raid bosses. Machamp won't be fully phased out, but Blaziken is now the best Starting Pokemon available in Pokemon Go.