I'm kinda realizing how much Radical Red kinda spoiled me, both between the QoL and the fact it used so many more recent mechanics.
This disparity wasn't as bad while playing other versions of FireRed because they used a gen 1 map, mostly had gen 1 Pokemon, etc, but it's a different story with Emerald Kaizo. I have to keep remembering that the attack/special split isn't a thing. Then back when I decided to level a Ralts for Gardevoir, I kept not thinking about how fairy isn't a thing in this game and that fairy typing was 99% of the reason it wasn't completely outmoded by the Abra family (sure, the Ralts family has better defensive stats, but speed + spec A are more valuable).
And, of course, steel was barely present in FR (iirc, just Magnemite/ton prior to the Sevii islands, for the versions with Sevii), so I didn't have to think about the weird interactions in older gens. Specifically, the old type table had steel resisting dark and ghost, which always throws me for a loop because that's not how it's worked in like many generations. Then I caught a Rhyhorn thinking it'd be good for Rhyperior... only to remember that was gen 4. Ditto for when I was looking at Swinub, who's kinda useless before gen 4 added Manoswine.
Beyond that, Kaizo's level-up table is somewhat different. Not to mention that some of the moves are changed, but the in-game text doesn't reflect that properly. The only kinda neat thing is Kaizo apparently automatically PP-maxes all attacks (making the PP up another useless object).
Anyway, because of how Kaizo works, I kinda wound up favoring (and overleveling) a Zangoose since the NPC trainers' varied teams, all of which seem to have a lot of counter-coverage (including access to things that feel weird), means that normal typing is valuable again for dealing and taking neutral damage. (It's like gen 1 all over again, except psychic isn't as OP.) On top of that, Zangoose has great coverage for the things that resist normal -- ghost (shadow ball) and steel/rock (brick break as a level-up, then probably other stuff). And crush claw was buffed for no particular reason, giving it a 100 bp instead of the usual 75 (meaning it jumps to 150 with STAB, so Zangoose hits most things pretty hard)
In a weird way, I've kinda wound up where I started, over-relying on 1-2 Pokemon, although Zangoose is a lot better at it.
heIly posted... i also bought a pokemon precon
idk why, no one i know irl plays it
tbh, a big reason why I left CCGs entirely. Kinda lost track of everybody I card gamed with over the years.