I’m playing through Pokémon HeartGold and I have to say I’m kind of disappointed with Gym Leader Faulkner. 

So I played Pokémon Gold on a gameboy color back in the 90s, and I remember thinking Faulkner was a kind of clever gym leader.  He used flying type Pokémon, which are weak against both rock-types and electric-types.  Funnily enough Pokémon of those types are available within a short walk of his gym, so it seems like he should be easy to beat, right?  Just catch a rock-type (geodude) or electric-type (mareep) Pokémon and you can waltz in and beat him.  But Faulkner had a trick up his sleeve, his Pokémon knew mud-slap, a ground-type move that was super effective against both rock-type and electric-type Pokémon.  So you’d walk in with a geodude and a mareep and he’d completely demolish you.  In-universe I’m sure a lot of 10-year-olds ran out of his gym crying.

It was cool to me because it makes sense why he would have that move.  He wants to win but has to use flying-types which are weak to rock and electric moves.  So he devises a way to turn the tables on anyone using those types against him.  But apparently the move mud-slap wasn’t actually any good, because in HeartGold he no longer uses it.  Now you *can* beat Faulkner easily with a nearby mareep or geodude, and it just makes him seem less clever to me, even if the move that replaced mud-slap is probably a better move overall.