This CP adjustment doesn't make ANY sense. Read.
This is CRAP. Honestly. Just a 'cosmetic' adjustment to lower CPs 'mons, so people believe they are more 'usable' now.
Thing is, CPs are USELESS if base stats are the same as before. I won't start picking a Flareon for attacking over an Arcanaine. Arcanine is still a much better mon, despite having less CPs now.
It doesn't make ANY sense, honestly, this is crap.
Answers
Well the update is very recent so people are still figuring it out, but it seems like they've just adjusted the CP formula.
Many pokemon have changed CPs, and it's unlikely that they would nerf every pokemon individually, plus it would explain why some high tier Pokemon have increased CPs, such as Vaporeon, Dragonite and Snorlax, while some low tier Pokemon have reduced CPs.
The Pokemon that have had the biggest increases in CP have very large differences between their physical and special base stats in the main series. As well as the 3 that Niantic mentioned (Gengar, Rhydon, Alakazam), Kingler has also gone up significantly, as well as Mr Mime.
I don't remember the exact CP values but my highest Mr Mime previously was just under 1000 CP, now it's 1318, and my Kingler, I believe was around 1200 and now it's 1700.
I am not sure if base stats are adjusted, but looking at the pokemon I use regularly, their HPs remain unchanged. I can't be sure if their attack or defence stats have been changed, since I don't have a way to test it.
Whatever the new formula is, if Att and Def base stats are still the same (which we all assume so), there's no reasonable formula that can make a Flareon a better CP 'mon than Arcanine.
It's ridiculous. So far, this just looks like a 'cosmetic' change so other mons starts being more atractive to players.
So sad.
Changing the CP of everything just involves changing the CP formula.
Special values are already used currently in determining base stats, it's just that now they're presumably weighted differently so that Pokemon that only had good stats in special but not physical or vice-versa have higher CP to better reflect their combat ability that they had in the gameboy games.
I doubt Niantic have made any significant reworks with this update. If you look at past updates such as movepools being changed, damage changes, Halloween extra spawns, the extra spawns + extra items from pokestop event, and the Lapras event in Japan, they're not difficult to implement. Same with the upcoming Thanksgiving event that gives double XP and Stardust.
Basically whatever gets them money without requiring much work to be done.
I agree, it's ridiculous, how can they boost the vaporeons even more?
Eevees are just everywhere for the last weeks, I catch more than pidgeots.
Lvl 30+ players just need to catch some high level eevees, and every third evolution they will get an ultra strong defender without investing any stardust.
This change will not lead to more variety, gyms will just be full of vaporeons.
IMO it's really bad for the gameplay.
While it did get boosted, so did other Pokemon, which makes them closer to Vaporeon than before, even with Vaporeon's CP increase.
To be honest even if Vaporeon didn't get buffed it wouldn't really do anything. Those weak Pokemon that now have higher CP are just as weak as the were before. Rhydon can place higher at a gym but it's still going to get dumped on by water or grass type attacks.
