Levitate is one of the skills you see most often on the ranked ladder. This ability makes Pokemon immune to Ground-type moves. This can be very important in a game where many Pokemon, like Garchomp and Great Tusk, use earthquake moves. This ability is pretty common, which isn’t surprising. What is surprising, though, is the Pokemon who don’t have it.
Really, WHY? Some things are always the same. In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, mechanics like Terastalization have given competitive battles a new lease on life. However, unique moves and abilities are still one of the most important factors when it comes to building a team.
Rabsca
Rabsca has to be one of the most interesting new Pokemon we met in Paldea. This scarab sage is pretty unique because it is one of only two Pokemon that can use the rare move Revival blessing to bring back an ally. It’s one of the most noticeable things in the Overworld because it’s a big floating ball.
Even though it’s made this way, it can’t levitate, which doesn’t make much sense. Instead, it has two abilities that are common among Psychic-types: Synchronize and Telepathy. Rabsca is great, but Levitate would have made it even better.
Flapple
Flapple is another Pokemon that floats but still takes damage from Ground-Type moves. This fruity friend is always flapping its wings to stay alive, but even though it is always in the air, it does not get Levitate.
Instead, it can use abilities with a “apple” theme, like “Ripen” or “Gluttony.” These are clever and fun, but Flapple would be a lot more useful in ranked battles if it had an ability like Levitate.
Gengar
Gengar is a very interesting part of the story about the missing Levitate. This Pokemon doesn’t usually fly in battle, but all of its evolved forms do, and they all can’t be hurt by the ground.
This Poison/Ghost-type is in a very frustrating situation. Gengar has a lot of great moves, but it’s hard to use in battle because one earthquake is enough to kill it. It’s one of the most disappointing Pokemon that SHOULD have Levitate but doesn’t have it.
Glalie
By not giving Glalie Levitate, Game Freak really left it out in the cold. Glalie is called “the face Pokemon” because it is just a floating head. It is strange that it doesn’t have this very common ability.
It can use Ice Body, Inner Focus, or Moody as one of its abilities. Inner Focus and Moody, in particular, seem like they could be given to any Pokemon and don’t really fit with how it’s made. Even though it doesn’t have Ground immunity, it’s still an Ice-type, so it’s not the worst thing that could happen.
Glimmora
Glimmora is another friend who floats and feels left behind when she doesn’t have Levitate. Even though this toxic rock floats all over area zero, it has nothing to show for it because the only things it can do are Toxic Debris and Corrosion.
Both of these skills give Glimmora clear advantages in battle, but neither of them protects it from the fact that Ground-type attacks hurt it four times as much as they should. It’s one of many mysteries about this hard-to-find animal, but it’s definitely the most disappointing.
Flutter Mane
When it comes to competition, paradox Pokemon are great choices. Trainers get updated versions of some of the best Pokemon for competition, but the fact that they lose important skills can be pretty disappointing.
Misdreavus and Mismagius both have Levitate, so when players see Flutter Mane, it’s easy to forget that it doesn’t have Levitate. Instead, it has Protosynthesis. It also makes no sense, since it has never been seen touching the ground. Flutter Mane will learn to fly one day, but until then, it will have to deal with those Ground-type attacks.
Roaring Moon
Roaring Moon is another Paradox Pokemon that makes even less sense. Salamence is a Ground-type Pokémon, but Roaring Moon is a Dark/Dragon-type Pokémon, just like Hydreigon. Even though they both have the same type, Hydreigon has the ability to levitate, while this evil flying Pokémon can only be hurt by Ground-type attacks because of its Protosynthesis ability.
This doesn’t make much sense, since Roaring Moon is always flying over the field. In fact, its most common Tera type is Flying because it can still use many of Salamence’s Flying-type moves, which seems unnecessary when there’s Levitate.
Magnezone
Magnezone is the Pokemon that deserves the levitate ability the most. Most 8 Ball Pool players would be sure that this Pokemon has this very common ability. Instead, it has three skills to choose from: Sturdy, Magnet Pull, and Analytic. This is very annoying for more than one reason.
First of all, Magnezone is very weak to Ground-type attacks, so its immunity to Levitate would be very useful. Second, its whole line of evolution floats. Magnezone can only be found in the wild, where they float over big mountains. This means that in the Pokemon world, Magnezone clearly “float.” The fact that it can’t use levitate is by far the most confusing thing about it.