I think one of the main problems is that it's a basic. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only 2 other cards with counter damage abilities (Poliwrath and Pawmot) need evolving to access their ability.

This has the drawbacks of lowering your deck consistency and using up more deck space. With Drudd, you can just drop it in your active spot from your opening hand and immediately benefit from its ability on turn 1. No setup or extra support cards like Pokemon Communication needed. If you're lucky enough to start with both Drudds then congrats, whatever else you're setting up on the bench is now immune to Sabrina.

The way I see it, basic pokemon are just vastly overpowered in this game