Guide to LC Move Legality [GP 2/2]

Ray Jay · Apr 21, 2012

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Guide to LC Move Legality

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<meta name="description" content="A guide to move legality in Gen V Little Cup, thanks to Ray Jay" />

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<div class="author">by <a href="/forums/member.php?u=51861">Ray Jay</a>.</div>

<ol class="toc">
<li><a href="#introduction">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="#banned">Banned Moves</a></li>
<li><a href="#pomeg">Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Pomeg Glitch</li>
<li>Gen IV and V Genderless Pokemon (Bronzor, Klink, Golett)</li>
<li>Gen IV and V Single Gender Pokemon (Happiny, Petilil, Rufflet, and Vullaby)</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="#illegal">Illegal Dream World Abilities</a></li>
<li><a href="#previous">Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition</li>
<li>Special Event Move + Egg Move</li>
<li>Previously Available Moves + New Ability</li>
<li>Dream World Moves</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="#egg">Egg Move Incompatibilities</a></li>
<li><a href="#hypothetical">Hypothetical Sources of Illegality</a></li>
</ol>

<h2><a name="introduction">Introduction</a></h2>
<p>Despite the seemingly infinite combinations of Level Up moves, event moves, Egg moves, and abilities, Pokemon are capable of learning; there are, unfortunately, restraints and impossibilities in creating a movepool with most Pokemon. Little Cup is not an exception to this rule; in fact, Little Cup actually has more restraints than standard play as it is played at Level 5. Because Little Cup is so different from the standard metagame, there are even some legality issues that some simulators do not catch, as such a moveset may be legal at Level 100. Legality in LC is something that puzzles many newer players, and this guide will attempt to help solve some of the mysteries behind just why a certain set is illegal, whether the simulator catches it or not.</p>

<h2><a name="banned">Banned Moves</a></h2>
<p>One of the most obvious sources of illegality within a moveset in Little Cup arises from there being some moves that are not banned in any other tier.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Dragon Rage</strong> is banned as it always deals 40 damage, which is easily an OHKO on any LC Pokemon.</li>
<li><strong>SonicBoom</strong> is also banned as it always deals 20 damage, and although a portion of LC Pokemon have more than 20 HP, the move is still considered broken.</li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="pomeg">Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon</a></h2>
<p>In order for a Pokemon to obtain a Level Up move by breeding, both of the parents must know the move. This becomes problematic for genderless Pokemon and Pokemon that are always a certain gender. This is cause for legality issues that simulators such as Pokemon Online do not currently catch, as most of these problems caused by this intricacy would not be present at Level 100. To make the matter even more complicated, legality in this field differs between Generation III and Generations IV and V, due to the Pomeg glitch being accessible only in RSE.</p>

<h3>The Pomeg Glitch and Generation III</h3>
<p>Pomeg Berries allow the user to remove 10 HP EVs from a Pokemon (and, in effect, remove all of their Hit Points), and in Generation III, this could be used to battle with an Egg by bringing the HP stats of all other party members down to 0. By battling with an Egg, the player could gain "Experience," allowing the Egg to learn Level Up Moves. However, when the Egg is hatched, it will still be at Level 5; this allows even genderless or single gender Pokemon to obtain a movepool consisting of Level Up moves. The discovery of the Pomeg glitch led to vast changes in the metagame, such as allowing Staryu to use Rapid Spin (normally learned at Level 10) and Hydro Pump (normally learned at Level 60).
These are the genderless Pokemon that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each one that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:</p>

<ul>
<li>Baltoy (Cosmic Power, Explosion)</li>
<li>Beldum (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)</li>
<li>Magnemite (Zap Cannon)</li>
<li>Porygon (Tri Attack, Agility [illegal with Download, which was introduced in Generation IV])</li>
<li>Staryu (Rapid Spin, Hydro Pump)</li>
<li>Voltorb (Mirror Coat)</li>
</ul>

<p>Pokemon that are always a single gender are a bit more complicated, as they do not always have to breed with Ditto. This means that there is always the potential for female Pokemon to breed with a male partner that knows the same Level Up move as them and can thus be passed down to the offspring; unfortunately, this does not always work out. These are the Pokemon that are always a single gender that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:</p>

<ul>
<li>Nidoran F (No legality issues as all moves are learnable by a potential mate)</li>
<li>Nidoran M (Horn Attack)</li>
<li>Smoochum (Powder Snow, Perish Song, Lucky Chant)</li>
<li>Tyrogue (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)</li>
</ul>

<p>One final note on the Pomeg glitch: because it is indeed a glitch, it is often considered by some to be unethical. Know that in an instance in which the Pomeg glitch is deemed illegal, all of the above moves, and a few more inconsequential ones, can be considered illegal as well. Also know, however, that Smogon's official Little Cup rules deem the Pomeg glitch as legal for Pokemon introduced no later than RSE.</p>

<h3>Genderless Pokemon in Generations IV and V</h3>
<p>In DPP and BW, the Pomeg glitch is fixed and thus genderless Pokemon have a difficult time obtaining their Level Up moves, assuming they can at all. Fortunately, the addition of more TMs and Move Tutors has remedied some of these potential problems, with a good example being Bronzor and Gyro Ball. Many people try to argue that the Pomeg glitch is still included in Generations IV and V; however, attempting to do so on a Generation IV cartridge typically crashes the game, while it has indeed been completely removed in Generation V.
Here is the list of genderless Pokemon introduced in Generations IV and V, along with some moves that are <strong>illegal</strong> due to the removal of the Pomeg glitch:</p>

<ul>
<li>Bronzor (Hypnosis, Iron Defense)</li>
<li>Golett (Shadow Punch, Focus Punch)</li>
<li>Klink (Shift Gear, Gear Grind)</li>
</ul>

<p>Once again, it is worth noting that as all of these are Level Up moves, simulators such as Pokemon Online will not recognize them as illegal, as current versions of said simulator cannot differentiate legality between Level 5 and Level 100.</p>

<h3>Single Gender Pokemon in Generations IV and V</h3>
<p>The lack of the Pomeg glitch also leads to complications for Pokemon with only one gender. Primarily, Pokemon that are always male find it simply impossible to breed Level Up moves; this is because these Pokemon can only breed with Ditto, who obviously cannot learn any of their Level Up moves. Pokemon that are always female can breed some of their Level Up moves, provided that there is a potential mate for them that can also learn the required Level Up moves.
Here is the list of Pokemon that are always a specific gender (Happiny, Petilil, and Vullaby are always female, while Rufflet is always male) that were introduced in DPP or BW and thus cannot make use of the Pomeg glitch, along with some explanation on the legality of their Level Up moves:</p>

<ul>
<li>Happiny (its only Level Up moves past Level 5 are Refresh and Sweet Kiss, which can be supplied by a mother Blissey and father Audino; Happiny has no legality issues)</li>
<li>Petilil (nothing in the Plant Egg group aside from Petilil and Lilligant has access to Entrainment, so Entrainment is illegal; furthermore, there are many specific combinations, such as After You + Helping Hand that cannot be obtained on anything in the Plant Egg group; this combination would be illegal)</li>
<li>Rufflet (Rufflet is always male, so none of its Level Up moves beyond Level 5 are legal, including Whirlwind and Brave Bird)</li>
<li>Vullaby (nothing in the Flying Egg group can learn the combination of Nasty Plot + Flatter, so this combination is illegal; most other combinations of moves can be solved by a father Honchkrow, Chatot, or something in the Zubat line)</li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="illegal">Illegal Dream World Abilities</a></h2>
<p>While this section is technically out of the realm of "move legality," I've taken the liberty to add it in for you to point out that sometimes it may be the ability rendering a Pokemon in LC illegal rather than a move combination. Obviously, any unreleased Dream World ability is not allowed; however, Little Cup has some additional intricicacies due to the way Dream World abilities are passed down.</p>

<p>No Dream World Pokemon comes below Level 10. When breeding, there is a chance that the Dream World ability can be passed down if the mother has said ability. This creates legality issues for LC when there is no way to have a mother with the ability. The most obvious example is genderless Pokemon, but male only Pokemon are also included.
Genderless Pokemon or Pokemon that are only male may not use their Dream World abilities, released or not, in LC. The following is the list of Pokemon that fit into this category and their respective Dream World abilities, which will never be legal:</p>

<ul>
<li>Beldum (Light Metal)</li>
<li>Bronzor (Heavy Metal)</li>
<li>Golett (Klutz)</li>
<li>Klink (Clear Body)</li>
<li>Magnemite (Analytic)</li>
<li>Porygon (Analytic)</li>
<li>Staryu (Analytic)</li>
<li>Voltorb (Aftermath)</li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="previous">Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World</a></h2>
<p>Now that most of the Pokemon that work differently are out of the way, it's time to look at some facets of moveset legality that affect nearly every Pokemon. The general rule of thumb to keep in mind is that previous Generation tutor or event moves are incompatible with moves and abilities added to a Pokemon in a later Generation. As with any rule, there are exceptions, so let's take a look at some more specific examples of how illegality in LC can arise. Also keep in mind that many of the movepool problems posed in this section apply at both Level 5 and Level 100. Finally, this list is not exhaustive, as there are illegalities that arise for specific Pokemon that are almost never accounted for in Little Cup and are thus never discovered. These are just the common sources of illegality.</p>

<h3>Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition</h3>
<p>Many Pokemon have access to Move Tutors in RSE that provide them with moves that are not obtainable in future generations. The same applies to DPP, which had a wealth of Move Tutors that are non-existent in BW. Fortunately, Nintendo often fixes potential problems here with TMs or movepool additions, so many of these problems don't exist at Level 100.
Here are a few examples of when an earlier Generation Move Tutor and the acquirement of a new move for a Pokemon in a later Generation force illegality:</p>

<ul>
<li>Machop learns Mega Punch from a Generation III Move Tutor. Heavy Slam was added into Machop's Egg movepool in Generation V. A Level 5 Machop with Mega Punch + Heavy Slam is illegal.</li>
<li>Houndour learns Double Edge from a Generation III Move Tutor. Thunder Fang was added as an Egg move for Houndour in Generation IV. As the only way to get Thunder Fang onto Houndour is to breed a new Houndour in DPP or later, Double Edge + Thunder Fang Houndour is illegal.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Special Event Move + Egg Move</h3>
<p>There are numerous events from the RSE era (and beyond) that provide complications to movepool legality both then and now. Here are a few examples of special event moves and Egg moves that lead to incompatibilities in Little Cup (and, most likely, other tiers):</p>

<ul>
<li>Lickitung obtains Wish via an RSE event. Lickitung has Curse as an Egg move, even in Generation III. As Wish is an event only move, Curse + Wish is illegal</li>
<li>Pichu obtains Endeavor via a DPP event. Pichu has Reversal as an Egg move. As Endeavor is a special, event only move, Endeavor + Reversal is illegal</li>
</ul>

<h3>Previously Available Move + New Ability</h3>
<p>This is easily one of the broadest categories, as both Generation IV and V have introduced new abilities. Previously available moves are moves that were able to be supplied onto a Pokemon in Generation III (or, rarely, in Generation IV) but not in subsequent Generations. Most of the time, this is not a problem as the Pokemon can simply be transferred into the future Generations of Pokemon games. However, the subsequent Generations often introduced a new ability for certain Pokemon, and these new abilities are almost always incompatible with the previously available moves as Pokemon do not change abilities upon being transferred into the future Generations.<br />
Here are a few instances where previously available moves are illegal with a newer ability:</p>

<ul>
<li>Porygon obtains Tri Attack, a Level Up move, through the Pomeg glitch in RSE. Porygon obtained the new ability Download in DPP. Porygon with Tri Attack and the ability Download is thus illegal</li>
<li>Cacnea obtains Focus Punch and Drain Punch via a TM that is in DPP but not in BW. Cacnea's Dream World ability, Water Absorb, is available only in BW. Thus, Cacnea with Focus Punch or Drain Punch and the ability Water Absorb is illegal</li>
<li>Murkrow learns Icy Wind and Heat Wave from DPP Move Tutors. Murkrow's Dream World ability, Prankster, is available only in BW. Thus, Murkrow with Heat Wave or Icy Wind and the ability Prankster is illegal</li>
</ul>

<h3>Dream World Moves</h3>
<p>This one's a bit easier: no Dream World Pokemon is obtainable at below Level 10. Furthermore, Dream World moves cannot as of yet be bred onto a baby Pokemon as Dream World abilities can. For this reason, no LC Pokemon can legally use its moves that are exclusively obtained from the Dream World. Here are a few examples of where this would cause illegality:</p>

<ul>
<li>Wooper obtains Aqua Tail from the Dream World, but also from a Generation IV move tutor. The only conceivable Wooper with Aqua Tail and its Dream World ability (Unaware) would have to be at Level 10 or greater, so Wooper with Aqua Tail that has the ability Unaware is illegal in LC. Wooper with Aqua Tail and either Damp or Water Absorb, however, is legal</li>
<li>Natu obtains Giga Drain solely from the Dream World, so this move is illegal in LC. Natu also obtains FeatherDance from the Dream World; however, this is also one of Natu's Egg moves, meaning a Natu with its Dream World ability (Magic Bounce) and FeatherDance is thus legal</li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="egg">Egg Move Incompatabilities</a></h2>
<p>So you've made it this far and still cannot figure out why your Pokemon's moveset is illegal. Egg moves are passed down to a Pokemon when the father possesses the desired moves. It is sometimes not possible to get the desired combination of moves onto a single father, meaning a Pokemon cannot obtain the combination of Egg moves in tandem with each other. Here are some examples of how this might cause trouble:</p>

<ul>
<li>Shelmet obtains Spikes and Encore as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Bug breeding group can obtain Spikes and Encore on one moveset. Thus, Shelmet with Spikes + Encore is illegal</li>
<li>Tentacool obtains Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Water 3 breeding group can obtain Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat on one moveset. Thus, Tentacool with Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat is illegal</li>
</ul>

<p>Pokemon that are in the Ground breeding group will very rarely have these problems, as they can breed with Smeargle.</p>

<h2><a name="hypothetical">Hypothetical Sources of Illegality</a></h2>
<p>There are other intricacies of Little Cup that, if a new Pokemon or new moveset combination was introduced that fits the below categories, would be illegal; however, at this time, no examples of these exist within the awareness of your author. Here are just a few potential sources of illegality:</p>

<ul>
<li>Pokemon X evolves into Pokemon Y via learning a special move. Pokemon X has four or more unique Level Up moves that Pokemon Y does not learn. Pokemon X cannot breed but Pokemon Y can. It would be illegal to have a baby Pokemon X with all four of these Level Up moves, as the baby can only carry three of these moves + the move required to evolve if it wants to be able to breed.</li>
<li>Pokemon X wants to have a baby with Egg moves A and B. Unfortunately, the only potential "father" that knows moves A and B is always female. Therefore, baby Pokemon X cannot use moves A + B in Little Cup.</li>
<li>Pokemon X learns move A by Level Up in one game but move B instead in a different game. In our scenario, for one of the complications already listed in this guide, no father can provide both move A and B. Pokemon X then cannot use move A + B in Little Cup.</li>
</ul>

</SPAN>

Hi, we had this here so we should get a Gen V one, especially with all the questions I receive regularly on move legality.
I give up on trying to fix the spacing, lol.

1. Introduction
2. Banned Moves
3. Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon
- Pomeg Glitch
- Gen IV and V Genderless Pokemon (Bronzor, Klink, Golett)
- Gen IV and V Single Gender Pokemon (Happiny, Petilil, Rufflet, and Vullaby)
4. Illegal Dream World Abilities
5. Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World
- Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition
- Special Event Move + Egg Move
- Previously Available Moves + New Ability
- Dream World Moves
6. Egg Move Incompatibilities
7. Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

Introduction

Despite the seemingly infinite combinations of Level Up moves, event moves, Egg moves, and abilities, Pokemon are capable of learning; there are, unfortunately, restraints and impossibilities in creating a movepool with most Pokemon. Little Cup is not an exception to this rule; in fact, Little Cup actually has more restraints than standard play as it is played at Level 5. Because Little Cup is so different from the standard metagame, there are even some legality issues that some simulators do not catch, as such a moveset may be legal at Level 100. Legality in LC is something that puzzles many newer players, and this guide will attempt to help solve some of the mysteries behind just why a certain set is illegal, whether the simulator catches it or not.

Banned Moves

One of the most obvious sources of illegality within a moveset in Little Cup arises from there being some moves that are not banned in any other tier.

Dragon Rage is banned as it always deals 40 damage, which is easily an OHKO on any LC Pokemon.

SonicBoom is also banned as it always deals 20 damage, and although a portion of LC Pokemon have more than 20 HP, the move is still considered broken.

Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon

In order for a Pokemon to obtain a Level Up move by breeding, both of the parents must know the move. This becomes problematic for genderless Pokemon and Pokemon that are always a certain gender. This is cause for legality issues that simulators such as Pokemon Online do not currently catch, as most of these problems caused by this intricacy would not be present at Level 100. To make the matter even more complicated, legality in this field differs between Generation III and Generations IV and V, due to the Pomeg glitch being accessible only in RSE.

The Pomeg Glitch and Generation III

Pomeg Berries allow the user to remove 10 HP EVs from a Pokemon (and, in effect, remove all of their Hit Points), and in Generation III, this could be used to battle with an Egg by bringing the HP stats of all other party members down to 0. By battling with an Egg, the player could gain "Experience," allowing the Egg to learn Level Up Moves. However, when the Egg is hatched, it will still be at Level 5; this allows even genderless or single gender Pokemon to obtain a movepool consisting of Level Up moves. The discovery of the Pomeg glitch led to vast changes in the metagame, such as allowing Staryu to use Rapid Spin (normally learned at Level 10) and Hydro Pump (normally learned at Level 60).

These are the genderless Pokemon that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each one that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:

Baltoy (Cosmic Power, Explosion)
Beldum (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)
Magnemite (Zap Cannon)
Porygon (Tri Attack, Agility [illegal with Download, which was introduced in Generation IV])
Staryu (Rapid Spin, Hydro Pump)
Voltorb (Mirror Coat)

Pokemon that are always a single gender are a bit more complicated, as they do not always have to breed with Ditto. This means that there is always the potential for female Pokemon to breed with a male partner that knows the same Level Up move as them and can thus be passed down to the offspring; unfortunately, this does not always work out. These are the Pokemon that are always a single gender that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:

Nidoran F (No legality issues as all moves are learnable by a potential mate)
Nidoran M (Horn Attack)
Smoochum (Powder Snow, Perish Song, Lucky Chant)
Tyrogue (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)

One final note on the Pomeg glitch: because it is indeed a glitch, it is often considered by some to be unethical. Know that in an instance in which the Pomeg glitch is deemed illegal, all of the above moves, and a few more inconsequential ones, can be considered illegal as well. Also know, however, that Smogon's official Little Cup rules deem the Pomeg glitch as legal for Pokemon introduced no later than RSE.

Genderless Pokemon in Generations IV and V

In DPP and BW, the Pomeg glitch is fixed and thus genderless Pokemon have a difficult time obtaining their Level Up moves, assuming they can at all. Fortunately, the addition of more TMs and Move Tutors has remedied some of these potential problems, with a good example being Bronzor and Gyro Ball. Many people try to argue that the Pomeg glitch is still included in Generations IV and V; however, attempting to do so on a Generation IV cartridge typically crashes the game, while it has indeed been completely removed in Generation V.

Here is the list of genderless Pokemon introduced in Generations IV and V, along with some moves that are illegal due to the removal of the Pomeg glitch:

Bronzor (Hypnosis, Iron Defense)
Golett (Shadow Punch, Focus Punch)
Klink (Shift Gear, Gear Grind)

Once again, it is worth noting that as all of these are Level Up moves, simulators such as Pokemon Online will not recognize them as illegal, as current versions of said simulator cannot differentiate legality between Level 5 and Level 100.

Single Gender Pokemon in Generations IV and V

The lack of the Pomeg glitch also leads to complications for Pokemon with only one gender. Primarily, Pokemon that are always male find it simply impossible to breed Level Up moves; this is because these Pokemon can only breed with Ditto, who obviously cannot learn any of their Level Up moves. Pokemon that are always female can breed some of their Level Up moves, provided that there is a potential mate for them that can also learn the required Level Up moves.

Here is the list of Pokemon that are always a specific gender (Happiny, Petilil, and Vullaby are always female, while Rufflet is always male) that were introduced in DPP or BW and thus cannot make use of the Pomeg glitch, along with some explanation on the legality of their Level Up moves:

Happiny (its only Level Up moves past Level 5 are Refresh and Sweet Kiss, which can be supplied by a mother Blissey and father Audino; Happiny has no legality issues)
Petilil (nothing in the Plant Egg group aside from Petilil and Lilligant has access to Entrainment, so Entrainment is illegal; furthermore, there are many specific combinations, such as After You + Helping Hand that cannot be obtained on anything in the Plant Egg group; this combination would be illegal)
Rufflet (Rufflet is always male, so none of its Level Up moves beyond Level 5 are legal, including Whirlwind and Brave Bird)
Vullaby (nothing in the Flying Egg group can learn the combination of Nasty Plot + Flatter, so this combination is illegal; most other combinations of moves can be solved by a father Honchkrow, Chatot, or something in the Zubat line)

Illegal Dream World Abilities

While this section is technically out of the realm of "move legality," I've taken the liberty to add it in for you to point out that sometimes it may be the ability rendering a Pokemon in LC illegal rather than a move combination. Obviously, any unreleased Dream World ability is not allowed; however, Little Cup has some additional intricicacies due to the way Dream World abilities are passed down.

No Dream World Pokemon comes below Level 10. When breeding, there is a chance that the Dream World ability can be passed down if the mother has said ability. This creates legality issues for LC when there is no way to have a mother with the ability. The most obvious example is genderless Pokemon, but male only Pokemon are also included.

Genderless Pokemon or Pokemon that are only male may not use their Dream World abilities, released or not, in LC. The following is the list of Pokemon that fit into this category and their respective Dream World abilities, which will never be legal:

Beldum (Light Metal)
Bronzor (Heavy Metal)
Golett (Klutz)
Klink (Clear Body)
Magnemite (Analytic)
Porygon (Analytic)
Staryu (Analytic)
Voltorb (Aftermath)

Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World

Now that most of the Pokemon that work differently are out of the way, it's time to look at some facets of moveset legality that affect nearly every Pokemon. The general rule of thumb to keep in mind is that previous Generation tutor or event moves are incompatible with moves and abilities added to a Pokemon in a later Generation. As with any rule, there are exceptions, so let's take a look at some more specific examples of how illegality in LC can arise. Also keep in mind that many of the movepool problems posed in this section apply at both Level 5 and Level 100. Finally, this list is not exhaustive, as there are illegalities that arise for specific Pokemon that are almost never accounted for in Little Cup and are thus never discovered. These are just the common sources of illegality.

Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition

Many Pokemon have access to Move Tutors in RSE that provide them with moves that are not obtainable in future generations. The same applies to DPP, which had a wealth of Move Tutors that are non-existent in BW. Fortunately, Nintendo often fixes potential problems here with TMs or movepool additions, so many of these problems don't exist at Level 100.

Here are a few examples of when an earlier Generation Move Tutor and the acquirement of a new move for a Pokemon in a later Generation force illegality:

Machop learns Mega Punch from a Generation III Move Tutor. Heavy Slam was added into Machop's Egg movepool in Generation V. A Level 5 Machop with Mega Punch + Heavy Slam is illegal.
Houndour learns Double Edge from a Generation III m=Move Tutor. Thunder Fang was added as an Egg move for Houndour in Generation IV. As the only way to get Thunder Fang onto Houndour is to breed a new Houndour in DPP or later, Double Edge + Thunder Fang Houndour is illegal.

Special Event Move + Egg Move

There are numerous events from the RSE era (and beyond) that provide complications to movepool legality both then and now. Here are a few examples of special event moves and Egg moves that lead to incompatibilities in Little Cup (and, most likely, other tiers):

Lickitung obtains Wish via an RSE event. Lickitung has Curse as an Egg move, even in Generation III. As Wish is an event only move, Curse + Wish is illegal
Pichu obtains Endeavor via a DPP event. Pichu has Reversal as an Egg move. As Endeavor is a special, event only move, Endeavor + Reversal is illegal

Previously Available Move + New Ability

This is easily one of the broadest categories, as both Generation IV and V have introduced new abilities. Previously available moves are moves that were able to be supplied onto a Pokemon in Generation III (or, rarely, in Generation IV) but not in subsequent Generations. Most of the time, this is not a problem as the Pokemon can simply be transferred into the future Generations of Pokemon games. However, the subsequent Generations often introduced a new ability for certain Pokemon, and these new abilities are almost always incompatible with the previously available moves as Pokemon do not change abilities upon being transferred into the future Generations.

Here are a few instances where previously available moves are illegal with a newer ability:

Porygon obtains Tri Attack, a Level Up move, through the Pomeg glitch in RSE. Porygon obtained the new ability Download in DPP. Porygon with Tri Attack and the ability Download is thus illegal
Cacnea obtains Focus Punch and Drain Punch via a TM that is in DPP but not in BW. Cacnea's Dream World ability, Water Absorb, is available only in BW. Thus, Cacnea with Focus Punch or Drain Punch and the ability Water Absorb is illegal
Murkrow learns Icy Wind and Heat Wave from DPP Move Tutors. Murkrow's Dream World ability, Prankster, is available only in BW. Thus, Murkrow with Heat Wave or Icy Wind and the ability Prankster is illegal

Dream World Moves

This one's a bit easier: no Dream World Pokemon is obtainable at below Level 10. Furthermore, Dream World moves cannot as of yet be bred onto a baby Pokemon as Dream World abilities can. For this reason, no LC Pokemon can legally use its moves that are exclusively obtained from the Dream World. Here are a few examples of where this would cause illegality:

Wooper obtains Aqua Tail from the Dream World, but also from a Generation IV move tutor. The only conceivable Wooper with Aqua Tail and its Dream World ability (Unaware) would have to be at Level 10 or greater, so Wooper with Aqua Tail that has the ability Unaware is illegal in LC. Wooper with Aqua Tail and either Damp or Water Absorb, however, is legal
Natu obtains Giga Drain solely from the Dream World, so this move is illegal in LC. Natu also obtains FeatherDance from the Dream World; however, this is also one of Natu's Egg moves, meaning a Natu with its Dream World ability (Magic Bounce) and FeatherDance is thus legal

Egg Move Incompatibilities

So you've made it this far and still cannot figure out why your Pokemon's moveset is illegal. Egg moves are passed down to a Pokemon when the father possesses the desired moves. It is sometimes not possible to get the desired combination of moves onto a single father, meaning a Pokemon cannot obtain the combination of Egg moves in tandem with each other. Here are some examples of how this might cause trouble:

Shelmet obtains Spikes and Encore as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Bug breeding group can obtain Spikes and Encore on one moveset. Thus, Shelmet with Spikes + Encore is illegal
Tentacool obtains Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Water 3 breeding group can obtain Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat on one moveset. Thus, Tentacool with Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat is illegal

Pokemon that are in the Ground breeding group will very rarely have these problems, as they can breed with Smeargle.

Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

There are other intricacies of Little Cup that, if a new Pokemon or new moveset combination was introduced that fits the below categories, would be illegal; however, at this time, no examples of these exist within the awareness of your author. Here are just a few potential sources of illegality:

Pokemon X evolves into Pokemon Y via learning a special move. Pokemon X has four or more unique Level Up moves that Pokemon Y does not learn. Pokemon X cannot breed but Pokemon Y can. It would be illegal to have a baby Pokemon X with all four of these Level Up moves, as the baby can only carry three of these moves + the move required to evolve if it wants to be able to breed.
Pokemon X wants to have a baby with Egg moves A and B. Unfortunately, the only potential "father" that knows moves A and B is always female. Therefore, baby Pokemon X cannot use moves A + B in Little Cup.
Pokemon X learns move A by Level Up in one game but move B instead in a different game. In our scenario, for one of the complications already listed in this guide, no father can provide both move A and B. Pokemon X then cannot use move A + B in Little Cup.

Ray Jay · Apr 28, 2012

Ready for GP! My computer started wigging out with the spacing but it shouldn't be a problem.

Wild Eep · Apr 29, 2012

Ray Jay said:
Bagon obtains the moves Dragon Dance, Dragon Pulse, Endure, and Fire Fang as Egg moves. Charmander can learn all of these moves and act as a father. However, Charmander cannot learn all of these moves at one time as it gets Endure via a DPP TM and Dragon Pulse is only an Egg move in BW. Thus, Bagon with Dragon Dance + Dragon Pulse + Endure + Fire Fang is illegal (this one's a pretty big stretch).Pokemon that are in the Ground breeding group will very rarely have these problems, as they can breed with Smeargle.

Evolve the Charmander first. Charizard learns Dragon Pulse via TM just fine.

(Also, Salamence gets Fire Fang by level, so you could just get whatever egg moves you want on a male Bagon, evolve that, get Fire Fang, and then breed to get something Little Cup eligible)

Ray Jay · Apr 29, 2012

Thank you, please let me know if you see any other inaccuracies / oversights!

Wobbanaut · Apr 29, 2012

Just saying that Machop can also learn Low Sweep from BW TM so that combination ( Mega Punch+ Low Sweep ) is perfectly legal

Desolate · Apr 30, 2012

1. Introduction
2. Banned Moves
3. Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon
-Pomeg Glitch
-Gen IV and V Genderless Pokemon (Bronzor, Klink, Golett)
-Gen IV and V Single Gender Pokemon (Happiny, Petilil, Rufflet, and Vullaby)
4. Illegal Dream World Abilities
5. Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World
-Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition
-Special Event Move + Egg Move
-Previously Available Moves + New Ability
-Dream World Moves
6. Egg Move Incompatibilities
7. Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

Introduction

Despite the seemingly infinite combinations of lLevel uUp moves, ~~abilities,~~ event moves, ~~and~~ Egg moves, and abilities, Pokemon are capable of learning,; there are, unfortunately, restraints and impossibilities in creating a movepool with most Pokemon. Little Cup is not an exception to this rule; in fact, Little Cup actually has more restraints than standard play due to it being played at Level 5. Because Little Cup is so different from the standard metagame, there are even some legality issues that some simulators do not catch, as such a moveset may normally be legal at Level 100. Legality in LC is something that puzzles many newer players, and this guide will attempt to help solve some of the mysteries behind just why a certain set is illegal, whether the simulator catches it or not.

Banned Moves

One of the most obvious sources of illegality within a moveset in Little Cup arises from there being some moves that are not banned in any other tier.

Dragon Rage is banned as it always deals 40 damage, and this is easily an OHKO on any LC Pokemon.

SonicBoom is also banned as it always deals 20 damage, and although a portion of LC Pokemon break 20 HP, the move is still considered broken.

Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon

In order for a Pokemon to obtain a Level uUp move by breeding, both of the parents must know the move. This becomes problematic for genderless Pokemon and Pokemon that are always a certain gender. This is cause for legality issues that simulators such as Pokemon Online do not currently catch, as most of these problems caused by this intricacy would not be present at lLevel 100. To make the matter even more complicated, legality in this field differs between Generation III and Generations IV and V, due to the Pomeg glitch being accessaible only in RSE.

The Pomeg Glitch and Generation III

Pomeg Berries allow the user to remove 10 HP EVs from a Pokemon (and, in effect, remove all of their Hit Points), and in Generation III, this could be used to battle with an Egg by bringing the HP stats of all other party members down to 0. By battling with an Egg, the player could gain "Experience," allowing the Egg to learn Level Up Moves. However, when the Egg is hatched, it will still be at Level 5; this allows even genderless or single gender Pokemon to obtain a movepool consisting of Level Up moves. The discovery of the Pomeg glitch led to vast changes in the metagame, such as allowing Staryu to use Rapid Spin (normally learned at Level 10) and Hydro Pump (normally learned at Level 60).

These are the genderless Pokemon that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each one that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:

Baltoy (Cosmic Power, Explosion)
Beldum (No Level uUp moves beyond Level 5)
Magnemite (Zap Cannon)
Porygon (Tri Attack, Agility [illegal with Download, which was introduced in Generation IV])
Staryu (Rapid Spin, Hydro Pump)
Voltorb (Mirror Coat)

Pokemon that are always a single gender are a bit more complicated, as they do not always have to breed with Ditto. This means that there is always the potential for ~~always~~ female Pokemon to breed with a male partner that knows the same lLevel uUp move as them and can thus be passed down to the offspring; unfortunately, this does not always work out. These are the Pokemon that are always a single gender that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each that become legal via the Pomeg glitch.:

Nidoran F (No legality issues as all moves are learnable by a potential mate)
Nidoran M (Horn Attack)
Smoochum (Powder Snow, Perish Song, Lucky Chant)
Tyrogue (No Level uUp moves beyond Level 5)

One final note on the Pomeg glitch: because it is indeed a glitch, it is often considered by some to be iunethical. Know that in an instance in which the Pomeg glitch is deemed illegal, all of the above moves, and afew more inconsequential ones, can be considered illegal as well. Also know, however, that Smogon's official Little Cup rules deem the Pomeg glitch as legal for Pokemon introduced no later than RSE.
Genderless Pokemon in Generations IV and V

In DPP and BW, the Pomeg glitch is fixed and thus genderless Pokemon have a difficult time obtaining their Level uUp moves, assuming they can at all. Fortunately, the addition of more TMs and Move Tutors has remedied some of these potential problems, with a good example being Bronzor and Gyro Ball. Many people try to argue that the Pomeg glitch is still included in Generations IV and V; however, attempting to do so on a Generation IV cartridge typically crashes the game, while it has indeed been completely removed in Generation V.

Here is the list of genderless Pokemon introduced in Generations IV and V, along with some moves that are illegal due to the removal of the Pomeg glitch.:

Bronzor (Hypnosis, Iron Defense)
Golett (Shadow Punch, Focus Punch)
Klink (Shift Gear, Gear Grind)

It is once again worth noting that as all of these are Level uUp moves, simulators such as Pokemon Online will not catch them as illegal, seeing as current versions of said simulator cannot differentiate legality between Level 5 and Level 100.

Single Gender Pokemon in Generations IV and V

The lack of the Pomeg glitch also leads to complications for Pokemon with only one gender. Primarily, Pokemon that are always male find it simply impossible to breed Level Up moves; this is because these Pokemon can only breed with Ditto, who obviously cannot learn any of their lLevel uUp moves. Pokemon that are always female can breed some of their Level uUp moves, provided that there is a potential mate for them that can also learn the required Level Up moves.

Here is the list of Pokemon that are always a specific gender (Happiny, Petilil, and Vullaby are always female, while Rufflet is always male) that were introduced in DPP or BW and thus cannot make use of the Pomeg glitch, along with some explanation on the legality of their Level Up moves:

Happiny (its only Level Up moves past Level 5 are Refresh and Sweet Kiss, which can be supplied by a mother Blissey and father Audino; Happiny has no legality issues)
Petilil (nothing in the Plant Egg group aside from Petilil and Lilligant has access to Entrainment, so Entrainment is illegal; furthermore, there are many specific combinations, such as After You + Helping Hand that cannot be obtained on anything in the Plant Egg group; this combination would be illegal)
Rufflet (Rufflet is always male, so none of its Level uUp moves beyond Level 5 are legal, including Whirlwind and Brave Bird)
Vullaby (nothing in the Flying Egg group can learn the combination of Nasty Plot + Flatter, so this combination is illegal; most other combinations of moves can be solved by a father Honchkrow, Chatot, or something in the Zubat line)

Illegal Dream World Abilities

While this section is technically out of the realm of "move legality," I've taken the liberty to add it in for you to point out that sometimes it may be the ability rendering a Pokemon in LC illegal rather than a move combination. Obviously, any unreleased Dream World ability is not allowed; however, Little Cup has some additional intricicacies due to the way Dream World abilities are passed down.
No Dream World Pokemon comes below Level 10. When breeding, there is a chance that the Dream World ability can be passed down if the mother has said ability. This creates legality issues for LC when there is no way to have a mother with the ability. The most obvious example is genderless Pokemon, but male only Pokemon are also included.

Genderless Pokemon or Pokemon that are only male may not use their Dream World abilities, released or not, in LC. The following is the list of Pokemon that fit into this category and their respective Dream World abilities, which will never be legal:

Beldum (Light Metal)
Bronzor (Heavy Metal)
Golett (Klutz)
Klink (Clear Body)
Magnemite (Analytic)
Porygon (Analytic)
Staryu (Analytic)
Voltorb (Aftermath)

Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World
Now that most of the Pokemon that work differently are out of the way, it's time to look at some facets of moveset legality that affect nearly every Pokemon. The general rule of thumb to keep in mind is that previous Generation tutor or event moves are incompatible with moves and abilities added to a Pokemon in a later Generation. As with any rule, there are exceptions, so let's take a look at some more specific examples of how illegality in LC can arise. Also keep in mind that many of the movepool problems posed in this section apply at both Level 5 and Level 100. Finally, this list is not exhaustive, as there are some illegalities that arise for specific Pokemon that are almost never accounted for in Little Cup and are thus never discovered. These are just the common sources of illegality.

Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition

Many Pokemon have access to move tutors in RSE that provide them with moves that are not obtainable in future generations. The same applies to DPP, which had a wealth of move tutors that are non-existant in BW. Fortunately, Nintendo often fixes pontential problems here with TMs or movepool additions, and many of these problems don't exist at Level 100.

Here are a few examples of when an earlier Generation move tutor and the acquirement of a new move for a Pokemon in a later Generation force illegality:

Machop learns Mega Punch from a Generation III move tutor. Heavy Slam was added into Machop's Egg movepool in Generation V. A Level 5 Machop with Mega Punch + Heavy Slam is illegal.
Houndour learns Double Edge from a Generation III move tutor. Thunder Fang was added as an Egg move for Houndour in Generation IV. As the only way to get Thunder Fang onto Houndour is to breed a new Houndour in DPP or later, Double Edge + Thunder Fang Houndour is illegal.

Special Event Move + Egg Move

There are numerous events from the RSE era (and beyond) that provide complications to movepool legality both then and now. Here are a few examples of special event moves and egg moves that lead to incompatibilities in Little Cup (and, most likely, other tiers):

Lickitung obtains Wish via an RSE event. Lickitung has Curse as an Egg move, even in Generation III. As Wish is an event only move, Curse + Wish is illegal.
Pichu obtains Endeavor via a DPP event. Pichu has Reversal as an Egg move. As Endeavor is a special, event only move, Endeavor + Reversal is illegal.

Previously Available Move + New Ability
This is easily one of the broadest categories, as both Generation IV and V have introduced new abilities. Previously available moves are moves that were able to be supplied onto a Pokemon in Generation III (or, rarely, in Generation IV) but not in subsequent Generations. Most of the time, this is not a problem as the Pokemon can simply be transferred into the future Generations of Pokemon games. However, the subsequent Generations often introduced a new ability for certain Pokemon, and these new abilities are almost always incompatible with the previously available moves as Pokemon do not change abilities upon being transferred into the future Generations.

Here are a few instances where previously available moves are illegal with a newer ability:

Porygon obtains Tri Attack, a Level uUp move, through the Pomeg glitch in RSE. Porygon obtained the new ability Download in DPP. Porygon with Tri Attack and the ability Download is thus illegal.
Cacnea obtains Focus Punch and Drain Punch via a TM that is in DPP but not in BW. Cacnea's Dream World ability, Water Absorb, is available only in BW. Thus, Cacnea with Focus Punch or Drain Punch and the ability Water Absorb is illegal.
Murkrow learns Icy Wind and Heat Wave from DPP move tutors. Murkrow's Dream World ability, Prankster, is available only in BW. Thus, Murkrow with Heat Wave or Icy Wind and the ability Prankster is illegal.

Dream World Moves

This one's a bit easier: no Dream World Pokemon is obtainable at below Level 10. Furthermore, Dream World moves cannot as of yet be bred onto a baby Pokemon as Dream World abilities can. For this reason, no LC Pokemon can legally use its moves that are exclusively obtained from the Dream World. Here are a few examples of where this would cause illegality:

Wooper obtains Aqua Tail from the Dream World, but also from a Generation IV move tutor. The only conceivable Wooper with Aqua Tail and its Dream World ability (Unaware) would have to be at Level 10 or greater, so Wooper with Aqua Tail that has the ability Unaware is illegal in LC. Wooper with Aqua Tail and either Damp or Water Absorb, however, is legal.
Natu obtains Giga Drain solely from the Dream World, so this move is illegal in LC. Natu also obtains FeatherDance from the Dream World; however, this is also one of Natu's Egg moves, meaning a Natu with its Dream World ability (Magic Bounce) and FeatherDance is thus legal.

Egg Move Incompatibilities

So you've made it this far and still cannot figure out why your Pokemon's moveset is illegal. Egg moves are passed down to a Pokemon when the father possesses the desired moves. It is sometimes not possible to get the desired combination of moves onto a single father, meaning a Pokemon cannot obtain the combination of Egg moves in tandem with each other. Here are some examples of how this might cause trouble:

Shelmet obtains Spikes and Encore as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Bug breeding group can obtain Spikes and Encore on one moveset. Thus, Shelmet with Spikes + Encore is illegal.
Tentacool obtains Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Water 3 breeding group can obtain Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat on one moveset. Thus, Tentacool with Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat is illegal.

Pokemon that are in the Ground breeding group will very rarely have these problems, as they can breed with Smeargle.

Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

There are other intricacies of Little Cup that, if a new Pokemon or new moveset combination was introduced that fits the below categories, would be illegal; however, at this time, no examples of these exist within the awareness of your author. Here are just a few potential sources of illegality:

Pokemon X evolves into Pokemon Y via learning a special move. Pokemon X has four or more unique Level uUp moves that Pokemon Y does not learn. Pokemon X cannot breed but Pokemon Y can. It would be illegal to have a baby Pokemon X with all four of these Level Up moves, as the baby can only carry three of these moves + the move required to evolve if it wants to be able to breed.
Pokemon X wants to have a baby with Egg moves A and B. Unfortunately, the only potential "father" that knows moves A and B is always female. Therefore, baby Pokemon X cannot use moves A + B in Little Cup.
Pokemon X learns move A by Level Up in one game but move B instead in a different game. In our scenario, for one of the complications already listed in this guide, no father can provide both move A and B. Pokemon X then cannot use move A + B in Little Cup.

1. Introduction
2. Banned Moves
3. Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon
- Pomeg Glitch
- Gen IV and V Genderless Pokemon (Bronzor, Klink, Golett)
- Gen IV and V Single Gender Pokemon (Happiny, Petilil, Rufflet, and Vullaby)
4. Illegal Dream World Abilities
5. Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World
- Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition
- Special Event Move + Egg Move
- Previously Available Moves + New Ability
- Dream World Moves
6. Egg Move Incompatibilities
7. Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

Introduction

Despite the seemingly infinite combinations of Level Up moves, event moves, Egg moves, and abilities, Pokemon are capable of learning; there are, unfortunately, restraints and impossibilities in creating a movepool with most Pokemon. Little Cup is not an exception to this rule; in fact, Little Cup actually has more restraints than standard play due to it being played at Level 5. Because Little Cup is so different from the standard metagame, there are even some legality issues that some simulators do not catch, as such a moveset may normally be legal at Level 100. Legality in LC is something that puzzles many newer players, and this guide will attempt to help solve some of the mysteries behind just why a certain set is illegal, whether the simulator catches it or not.

Banned Moves

One of the most obvious sources of illegality within a moveset in Little Cup arises from there being some moves that are not banned in any other tier.

Dragon Rage is banned as it always deals 40 damage, and this is easily an OHKO on any LC Pokemon.

SonicBoom is also banned as it always deals 20 damage, and although a portion of LC Pokemon break 20 HP, the move is still considered broken.

Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon

In order for a Pokemon to obtain a Level Up move by breeding, both of the parents must know the move. This becomes problematic for genderless Pokemon and Pokemon that are always a certain gender. This is cause for legality issues that simulators such as Pokemon Online do not currently catch, as most of these problems caused by this intricacy would not be present at Level 100. To make the matter even more complicated, legality in this field differs between Generation III and Generations IV and V, due to the Pomeg glitch being accessible only in RSE.

The Pomeg Glitch and Generation III

Pomeg Berries allow the user to remove 10 HP EVs from a Pokemon (and, in effect, remove all of their Hit Points), and in Generation III, this could be used to battle with an Egg by bringing the HP stats of all other party members down to 0. By battling with an Egg, the player could gain "Experience," allowing the Egg to learn Level Up Moves. However, when the Egg is hatched, it will still be at Level 5; this allows even genderless or single gender Pokemon to obtain a movepool consisting of Level Up moves. The discovery of the Pomeg glitch led to vast changes in the metagame, such as allowing Staryu to use Rapid Spin (normally learned at Level 10) and Hydro Pump (normally learned at Level 60).

These are the genderless Pokemon that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each one that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:

Baltoy (Cosmic Power, Explosion)
Beldum (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)
Magnemite (Zap Cannon)
Porygon (Tri Attack, Agility [illegal with Download, which was introduced in Generation IV])
Staryu (Rapid Spin, Hydro Pump)
Voltorb (Mirror Coat)

Pokemon that are always a single gender are a bit more complicated, as they do not always have to breed with Ditto. This means that there is always the potential for female Pokemon to breed with a male partner that knows the same Level Up move as them and can thus be passed down to the offspring; unfortunately, this does not always work out. These are the Pokemon that are always a single gender that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:

Nidoran F (No legality issues as all moves are learnable by a potential mate)
Nidoran M (Horn Attack)
Smoochum (Powder Snow, Perish Song, Lucky Chant)
Tyrogue (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)

One final note on the Pomeg glitch: because it is indeed a glitch, it is often considered by some to be unethical. Know that in an instance in which the Pomeg glitch is deemed illegal, all of the above moves, and a few more inconsequential ones, can be considered illegal as well. Also know, however, that Smogon's official Little Cup rules deem the Pomeg glitch as legal for Pokemon introduced no later than RSE.

Genderless Pokemon in Generations IV and V

In DPP and BW, the Pomeg glitch is fixed and thus genderless Pokemon have a difficult time obtaining their Level Up moves, assuming they can at all. Fortunately, the addition of more TMs and Move Tutors has remedied some of these potential problems, with a good example being Bronzor and Gyro Ball. Many people try to argue that the Pomeg glitch is still included in Generations IV and V; however, attempting to do so on a Generation IV cartridge typically crashes the game, while it has indeed been completely removed in Generation V.

Here is the list of genderless Pokemon introduced in Generations IV and V, along with some moves that are illegal due to the removal of the Pomeg glitch:

Bronzor (Hypnosis, Iron Defense)
Golett (Shadow Punch, Focus Punch)
Klink (Shift Gear, Gear Grind)

It is once again worth noting that as all of these are Level Up moves, simulators such as Pokemon Online will not catch them as illegal, seeing as current versions of said simulator cannot differentiate legality between Level 5 and Level 100.

Single Gender Pokemon in Generations IV and V

The lack of the Pomeg glitch also leads to complications for Pokemon with only one gender. Primarily, Pokemon that are always male find it simply impossible to breed Level Up moves; this is because these Pokemon can only breed with Ditto, who obviously cannot learn any of their Level Up moves. Pokemon that are always female can breed some of their Level Up moves, provided that there is a potential mate for them that can also learn the required Level Up moves.

Here is the list of Pokemon that are always a specific gender (Happiny, Petilil, and Vullaby are always female, while Rufflet is always male) that were introduced in DPP or BW and thus cannot make use of the Pomeg glitch, along with some explanation on the legality of their Level Up moves:

Happiny (its only Level Up moves past Level 5 are Refresh and Sweet Kiss, which can be supplied by a mother Blissey and father Audino; Happiny has no legality issues)
Petilil (nothing in the Plant Egg group aside from Petilil and Lilligant has access to Entrainment, so Entrainment is illegal; furthermore, there are many specific combinations, such as After You + Helping Hand that cannot be obtained on anything in the Plant Egg group; this combination would be illegal)
Rufflet (Rufflet is always male, so none of its Level Up moves beyond Level 5 are legal, including Whirlwind and Brave Bird)
Vullaby (nothing in the Flying Egg group can learn the combination of Nasty Plot + Flatter, so this combination is illegal; most other combinations of moves can be solved by a father Honchkrow, Chatot, or something in the Zubat line)

Illegal Dream World Abilities

While this section is technically out of the realm of "move legality," I've taken the liberty to add it in for you to point out that sometimes it may be the ability rendering a Pokemon in LC illegal rather than a move combination. Obviously, any unreleased Dream World ability is not allowed; however, Little Cup has some additional intricicacies due to the way Dream World abilities are passed down.
No Dream World Pokemon comes below Level 10. When breeding, there is a chance that the Dream World ability can be passed down if the mother has said ability. This creates legality issues for LC when there is no way to have a mother with the ability. The most obvious example is genderless Pokemon, but male only Pokemon are also included.

Genderless Pokemon or Pokemon that are only male may not use their Dream World abilities, released or not, in LC. The following is the list of Pokemon that fit into this category and their respective Dream World abilities, which will never be legal:

Beldum (Light Metal)
Bronzor (Heavy Metal)
Golett (Klutz)
Klink (Clear Body)
Magnemite (Analytic)
Porygon (Analytic)
Staryu (Analytic)
Voltorb (Aftermath)

Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World

Now that most of the Pokemon that work differently are out of the way, it's time to look at some facets of moveset legality that affect nearly every Pokemon. The general rule of thumb to keep in mind is that previous Generation tutor or event moves are incompatible with moves and abilities added to a Pokemon in a later Generation. As with any rule, there are exceptions, so let's take a look at some more specific examples of how illegality in LC can arise. Also keep in mind that many of the movepool problems posed in this section apply at both Level 5 and Level 100. Finally, this list is not exhaustive, as there are some illegalities that arise for specific Pokemon that are almost never accounted for in Little Cup and are thus never discovered. These are just the common sources of illegality.

Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition

Many Pokemon have access to move tutors in RSE that provide them with moves that are not obtainable in future generations. The same applies to DPP, which had a wealth of move tutors that are non-existant in BW. Fortunately, Nintendo often fixes pontential problems here with TMs or movepool additions, and many of these problems don't exist at Level 100.

Here are a few examples of when an earlier Generation move tutor and the acquirement of a new move for a Pokemon in a later Generation force illegality:

Machop learns Mega Punch from a Generation III move tutor. Heavy Slam was added into Machop's Egg movepool in Generation V. A Level 5 Machop with Mega Punch + Heavy Slam is illegal
Houndour learns Double Edge from a Generation III move tutor. Thunder Fang was added as an Egg move for Houndour in Generation IV. As the only way to get Thunder Fang onto Houndour is to breed a new Houndour in DPP or later, Double Edge + Thunder Fang Houndour is illegal

Special Event Move + Egg Move

There are numerous events from the RSE era (and beyond) that provide complications to movepool legality both then and now. Here are a few examples of special event moves and egg moves that lead to incompatibilities in Little Cup (and, most likely, other tiers):

Lickitung obtains Wish via an RSE event. Lickitung has Curse as an Egg move, even in Generation III. As Wish is an event only move, Curse + Wish is illegal
Pichu obtains Endeavor via a DPP event. Pichu has Reversal as an Egg move. As Endeavor is a special, event only move, Endeavor + Reversal is illegal

Previously Available Move + New Ability

This is easily one of the broadest categories, as both Generation IV and V have introduced new abilities. Previously available moves are moves that were able to be supplied onto a Pokemon in Generation III (or, rarely, in Generation IV) but not in subsequent Generations. Most of the time, this is not a problem as the Pokemon can simply be transferred into the future Generations of Pokemon games. However, the subsequent Generations often introduced a new ability for certain Pokemon, and these new abilities are almost always incompatible with the previously available moves as Pokemon do not change abilities upon being transferred into the future Generations.

Here are a few instances where previously available moves are illegal with a newer ability:

Porygon obtains Tri Attack, a Level Up move, through the Pomeg glitch in RSE. Porygon obtained the new ability Download in DPP. Porygon with Tri Attack and the ability Download is thus illegal
Cacnea obtains Focus Punch and Drain Punch via a TM that is in DPP but not in BW. Cacnea's Dream World ability, Water Absorb, is available only in BW. Thus, Cacnea with Focus Punch or Drain Punch and the ability Water Absorb is illegal
Murkrow learns Icy Wind and Heat Wave from DPP move tutors. Murkrow's Dream World ability, Prankster, is available only in BW. Thus, Murkrow with Heat Wave or Icy Wind and the ability Prankster is illegal

Dream World Moves

This one's a bit easier: no Dream World Pokemon is obtainable at below Level 10. Furthermore, Dream World moves cannot as of yet be bred onto a baby Pokemon as Dream World abilities can. For this reason, no LC Pokemon can legally use its moves that are exclusively obtained from the Dream World. Here are a few examples of where this would cause illegality:

Wooper obtains Aqua Tail from the Dream World, but also from a Generation IV move tutor. The only conceivable Wooper with Aqua Tail and its Dream World ability (Unaware) would have to be at Level 10 or greater, so Wooper with Aqua Tail that has the ability Unaware is illegal in LC. Wooper with Aqua Tail and either Damp or Water Absorb, however, is legal
Natu obtains Giga Drain solely from the Dream World, so this move is illegal in LC. Natu also obtains FeatherDance from the Dream World; however, this is also one of Natu's Egg moves, meaning a Natu with its Dream World ability (Magic Bounce) and FeatherDance is thus legal

Egg Move Incompatibilities

So you've made it this far and still cannot figure out why your Pokemon's moveset is illegal. Egg moves are passed down to a Pokemon when the father possesses the desired moves. It is sometimes not possible to get the desired combination of moves onto a single father, meaning a Pokemon cannot obtain the combination of Egg moves in tandem with each other. Here are some examples of how this might cause trouble:

Shelmet obtains Spikes and Encore as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Bug breeding group can obtain Spikes and Encore on one moveset. Thus, Shelmet with Spikes + Encore is illegal
Tentacool obtains Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Water 3 breeding group can obtain Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat on one moveset. Thus, Tentacool with Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat is illegal

Pokemon that are in the Ground breeding group will very rarely have these problems, as they can breed with Smeargle.

Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

There are other intricacies of Little Cup that, if a new Pokemon or new moveset combination was introduced that fits the below categories, would be illegal; however, at this time, no examples of these exist within the awareness of your author. Here are just a few potential sources of illegality:

Pokemon X evolves into Pokemon Y via learning a special move. Pokemon X has four or more unique Level Up moves that Pokemon Y does not learn. Pokemon X cannot breed but Pokemon Y can. It would be illegal to have a baby Pokemon X with all four of these Level Up moves, as the baby can only carry three of these moves + the move required to evolve if it wants to be able to breed
Pokemon X wants to have a baby with Egg moves A and B. Unfortunately, the only potential "father" that knows moves A and B is always female. Therefore, baby Pokemon X cannot use moves A + B in Little Cup
Pokemon X learns move A by Level Up in one game but move B instead in a different game. In our scenario, for one of the complications already listed in this guide, no father can provide both move A and B. Pokemon X then cannot use move A + B in Little Cup

GP 1/2

Not too shabby. There weren't any grammatical mistakes that weren't minute, nor were there a significant amount of spelling errors; most of the revisions I made were to keep the consistency of case and such.

Also, when the second GP check is done and if you're still looking for someone to HTML this, send me a message and I'll gladly do it.

Ray Jay · Apr 30, 2012

Thanks, ready for gp 2

Engineer Pikachu · May 3, 2012

BUM BUM BUM

1. Introduction
2. Banned Moves
3. Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon
- Pomeg Glitch
- Gen IV and V Genderless Pokemon (Bronzor, Klink, Golett)
- Gen IV and V Single Gender Pokemon (Happiny, Petilil, Rufflet, and Vullaby)
4. Illegal Dream World Abilities
5. Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World
- Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition
- Special Event Move + Egg Move
- Previously Available Moves + New Ability
- Dream World Moves
6. Egg Move Incompatibilities
7. Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

Introduction

Despite the seemingly infinite combinations of Level Up moves, event moves, Egg moves, and abilities, that Pokemon are capable of learning;, there are, unfortunately, restraints and impossibilities in creating a movepool with most Pokemon. Little Cup is not an exception to this rule; in fact, Little Cup actually has more restraints than standard play ~~due to it being~~, as it is played at Level 5. Because Little Cup is so different from the standard metagame, there are even some legality issues that some simulators do not catch, as such a moveset may ~~normally~~ be legal at Level 100. Legality in LC is something that puzzles many newer players, and this guide will attempt to help solve some of the mysteries behind just why a certain set is illegal, whether the simulator catches it or not.

Banned Moves

One of the most obvious sources of illegality within a moveset in Little Cup arises from there being some moves banned in LC that are not banned in any other tier.

Dragon Rage is banned as it always deals 40 damage, ~~and this~~which is easily an OHKO on any LC Pokemon.

SonicBoom is also banned as it always deals 20 damage, and although a portion of LC Pokemon ~~break~~have more than 20 HP, the move is still considered broken.

Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon

In order for a Pokemon to obtain a Level Up move by breeding, both of the parents must know the move. This ~~become~~is problematic for genderless Pokemon and Pokemon that are always a certain gender. This is cause for legality issues that simulators such as Pokemon Online do not currently catch, as most of these problems caused by this intricacy would not be present at Level 100. To make the matter even more complicated, legality in this field differs between Generation III and Generations IV and V, due to the Pomeg glitch being accessible only in RSE.

The Pomeg Glitch and Generation III

Pomeg Berries allow the user to remove 10 HP EVs from a Pokemon (and, in effect, remove all of their Hit Points), and in Generation III, this could be used to battle with an Egg by bringing the HP stats of all other party members down to 0. By battling with an Egg, the player could gain "Experience," allowing the Egg to learn Level Up Moves. However, when the Egg iwas hatched, it w~~ill~~ould still be at Level 5; this allowsed even genderless or single gender Pokemon to obtain a movepool consisting of Level Up moves from higher levels. The discovery of the Pomeg glitch led to vast changes in the metagame, such as allowing Staryu to use Rapid Spin (normally learned at Level 10) and Hydro Pump (normally learned at Level 60).

These are the genderless Pokemon that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each one that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:

Baltoy (Cosmic Power, Explosion)
Beldum (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)
Magnemite (Zap Cannon)
Porygon (Tri Attack, Agility [illegal with Download, which was introduced in Generation IV])
Staryu (Rapid Spin, Hydro Pump)
Voltorb (Mirror Coat)

Genderless Pokemon in Generations IV and V

Pokemon that are always a single gender are a bit more complicated, as they do not always have to breed with Ditto. This means that there is always the potential for female Pokemon to breed with a male partner that knows the same Level Up move as them and can thus be passed down to the offspring; unfortunately, this does not always work out. These are the Pokemon that are always a single gender that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:

Nidoran-F (No legality issues as all moves are learnable by a potential mate)
Nidoran-M (Horn Attack)
Smoochum (Powder Snow, Perish Song, Lucky Chant)
Tyrogue (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)

One final note on the Pomeg glitch: because it is indeed a glitch, it is often considered by some to be unethical. Know that in an instance in which the Pomeg glitch is deemed illegal, all of the above moves, and a few more inconsequential ones, can be considered illegal as well. Also know, however, that Smogon's official Little Cup rules deem the Pomeg glitch as legal for Pokemon introduced no later than RSE.

Single Gender Pokemon in Generations IV and V

In DPP and BW, the Pomeg glitch is fixed and thus genderless Pokemon have a difficult time obtaining their Level Up moves, assuming they can at all. Fortunately, the addition of more TMs and Move Tutors has remedied some of these potential problems, with a good example being Bronzor and Gyro Ball. Many people try to argue that the Pomeg glitch is still included in Generations IV and V; however, attempting to do so on a Generation IV cartridge typically crashes the game, while it has indeed been completely removed in Generation V.

Here is the list of genderless Pokemon introduced in Generations IV and V, along with some moves that are illegal due to the removal of the Pomeg glitch:

Bronzor (Hypnosis, Iron Defense)
Golett (Shadow Punch, Focus Punch)
Klink (Shift Gear, Gear Grind)

~~It is o~~Once again, it is worth noting that as all of these are Level Up moves, simulators such as Pokemon Online will not ~~catch~~recognize them as illegal, ~~seeing~~ as current versions of said simulator cannot differentiate legality between Level 5 and Level 100.

The lack of the Pomeg glitch also leads to complications for Pokemon with only one gender. Primarily, Pokemon that are always male find it simply impossible to breed Level Up moves; this is because these Pokemon can only breed with Ditto, who obviously cannot learn any of their Level Up moves. Pokemon that are always female can breed some of their Level Up moves, provided that there is a potential mate for them that can also learn the required Level Up moves.

Here is the list of Pokemon that are always a specific gender (Happiny, Petilil, and Vullaby are always female, while Rufflet is always male) that were introduced in DPP or BW and thus cannot make use of the Pomeg glitch, along with some explanation on the legality of their Level Up moves:

Happiny (its only Level Up moves past Level 5 are Refresh and Sweet Kiss, which can be supplied by a mother Blissey and father Audino; Happiny has no legality issues)
Petilil (nothing in the Plant Egg group aside from Petilil and Lilligant has access to Entrainment, so Entrainment is illegal; furthermore, there are many specific combinations, such as After You + Helping Hand, that cannot be obtained on anything in the Plant Egg group;, so this combination would be illegal)
Rufflet (Rufflet is always male, so none of its Level Up moves beyond Level 5 are legal, including Whirlwind and Brave Bird)
Vullaby (nothing in the Flying Egg group can learn the combination of Nasty Plot + Flatter, so this combination is illegal; most other combinations of moves can be solved by a father Honchkrow, Chatot, or something in the Zubat line)

Illegal Dream World Abilities

While this section is technically out of the realm of "move legality," I've taken the liberty to add it in for you to point out that sometimes it may be the ability rendering a Pokemon in LC illegal rather than a move combination. Obviously, any unreleased Dream World ability is not allowed; however, Little Cup has some additional intricicacies due to the way Dream World abilities are passed down.
No Dream World Pokemon comes below Level 10. When breeding, there is a chance that the Dream World ability can be passed down if the mother has said ability. This creates legality issues for LC when there is no way to have a mother with the ability. The most obvious ~~examp~~category of this legality problem is genderless Pokemon, but male only Pokemon are also included.

Genderless Pokemon or Pokemon that are only male may not use their Dream World abilities, released or not, in LC. The following is the list of Pokemon that fit into this category and their respective Dream World abilities, which will never be legal:

Beldum (Light Metal)
Bronzor (Heavy Metal)
Golett (Klutz)
Klink (Clear Body)
Magnemite (Analytic)
Porygon (Analytic)
Staryu (Analytic)
Voltorb (Aftermath)

Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World

Now that most of the Pokemon that work differently are out of the way, it's time to look at some facets of moveset legality that affect nearly every Pokemon. The general rule of thumb to keep in mind is that previous Generation tutor or event moves are incompatible with moves and abilities added to a Pokemon in a later Generation. As with any rule, there are exceptions, so let's take a look at some more specific examples of how illegality in LC can arise. Also keep in mind that many of the movepool problems ~~pos~~mentioned in this section apply at both Level 5 and Level 100. Finally, this list is not exhaustive, as there are ~~some~~ illegalities that arise for specific Pokemon that are almost never accounted for in Little Cup and are thus never discovered. These are just the common sources of illegality.

Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition

Many Pokemon have access to mMove tTutors in RSE that provide them with moves that are not obtainable in future generations. The same applies to DPP, which had a wealth of mMove tTutors ~~that are~~ non-existaent in BW. Fortunately, Nintendo often fixes pontential problems ~~here~~ with TMs or movepool additions, ~~and~~so many of these problems don't exist at Level 100.

Here are a few examples of when an earlier Generation mMove tTutor and the acquirement of a new move for a Pokemon in a later Generation force illegality:

Machop learns Mega Punch from a Generation III mMove tTutor. Heavy Slam was added into Machop's Egg movepool in Generation V. A Level 5 Machop with Mega Punch + Heavy Slam is illegal.
Houndour learns Double-Edge from a Generation III mMove tTutor. Thunder Fang was added as an Egg move for Houndour in Generation IV. As the only way to get Thunder Fang onto Houndour is to breed a new Houndour in DPP or later, Double-Edge + Thunder Fang Houndour is illegal.

Special Event Move + Egg Move

There are numerous events from the RSE era (and beyond ) that provide complications to movepool legality both then and now. Here are a few examples of special event moves and eEgg moves that lead to incompatibilities in Little Cup (and, most likely, other tiers):

Lickitung obtains Wish via an RSE event. Lickitung has Curse as an Egg move, even in Generation III. As Wish is an event only move, Curse + Wish is illegal.
Pichu obtains Endeavor via a DPP event. Pichu has Reversal as an Egg move. As Endeavor is a special, event only move, Endeavor + Reversal is illegal.

Previously Available Move + New Ability

This is easily one of the broadest categories, as both Generation IV and V have introduced new abilities. Previously available moves are moves that were able to be ~~supplied onto a~~learned by Pokemon in Generation III (or, rarely, in Generation IV) but not in subsequent Generations. Most of the time, this is not a problem as the Pokemon can simply be transferred into the future Generations of Pokemon games. However, the subsequent Generations often introduced a new ability for certain Pokemon, and these new abilities are almost always incompatible with the previously available moves as Pokemon do not change abilities upon being transferred into the future Generations.

Here are a few instances where previously available moves are illegal with a newer ability:

Porygon obtains Tri Attack, a Level Up move, through the Pomeg glitch in RSE. Porygon obtained the new ability Download in DPP. Porygon with Tri Attack and the ability Download is thus illegal.
Cacnea obtains Focus Punch and Drain Punch via a TM that is in DPP but not in BW. Cacnea's Dream World ability, Water Absorb, is available only in BW. Thus, Cacnea with Focus Punch or Drain Punch and the ability Water Absorb is illegal.
Murkrow learns Icy Wind and Heat Wave from DPP mMove tTutors. Murkrow's Dream World ability, Prankster, is available only in BW. Thus, Murkrow with Heat Wave or Icy Wind and the ability Prankster is illegal.

Dream World Moves

This one's a bit easier: no Dream World Pokemon is obtainable at below Level 10. Furthermore, Dream World moves cannot, as of yet, be bred onto a baby Pokemon as Dream World abilities can. For this reason, no LC Pokemon can legally use its moves that are exclusively obtained from the Dream World. Here are a few examples of where this would cause illegality:

Wooper obtains Aqua Tail from the Dream World, but also from a Generation IV mMove tTutor. The only conceivable Wooper with Aqua Tail and its Dream World ability (Unaware) would have to be at Level 10 or greater, so Wooper with Aqua Tail that has the ability Unaware is illegal in LC. Wooper with Aqua Tail and either Damp or Water Absorb, however, is legal.
Natu obtains Giga Drain solely from the Dream World, so this move is illegal in LC. Natu also obtains FeatherDance from the Dream World; however, this is also one of Natu's Egg moves, meaning a Natu with its Dream World ability (Magic Bounce) and FeatherDance is thus legal.

Egg Move Incompatibilities

So you've made it this far and still cannot figure out why your Pokemon's moveset is illegal. An Egg move~~s are~~ is passed down to a Pokemon when the father possesses the desired moves. It is sometimes not possible to get the desired combination of moves onto a single father, meaning a Pokemon cannot obtain the combination of Egg moves in tandem with each other. Here are some examples of how this might cause trouble:

Shelmet obtains Spikes and Encore as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Bug breeding group can obtain both Spikes and Encore on one moveset. Thus, Shelmet with Spikes + Encore is illegal.
Tentacool obtains Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Water 3 breeding group can obtain both Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat on one moveset. Thus, Tentacool with Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat is illegal.

Pokemon that are in the Ground breeding group will very rarely have these problems, as they can breed with Smeargle.

Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

There are other intricacies of Little Cup that, if a new Pokemon or new moveset combination was introduced that fits the below categories, would be illegal; however, at this time, no examples of these exist within the awareness of your author. Here are just a few potential sources of illegality:

Pokemon X evolves into Pokemon Y via learning a special move. Pokemon X has four or more unique Level Up moves that Pokemon Y does not learn. Pokemon X cannot breed but Pokemon Y can. It would be illegal to have a baby Pokemon X with all four of these Level Up moves, as the baby can only carry three of these moves +with the move required to evolve if it wants to be able to breed.
Pokemon X wants to have a baby with Egg moves A and B. Unfortunately, the only potential "father" that knows moves A and B is always female. Therefore, baby Pokemon X cannot use moves A + B in Little Cup.
Pokemon X learns move A by Level Up in one game but move B instead in a different game. In our scenario, for one of the complications already listed in this guide, no father can provide both move A and B. Pokemon X then cannot use move A + B in Little Cup.

1. Introduction
2. Banned Moves
3. Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon
- Pomeg Glitch
- Gen IV and V Genderless Pokemon (Bronzor, Klink, Golett)
- Gen IV and V Single Gender Pokemon (Happiny, Petilil, Rufflet, and Vullaby)
4. Illegal Dream World Abilities
5. Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World
- Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition
- Special Event Move + Egg Move
- Previously Available Moves + New Ability
- Dream World Moves
6. Egg Move Incompatibilities
7. Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

Introduction

Despite the seemingly infinite combinations of Level Up moves, event moves, Egg moves, and abilities that Pokemon are capable of learning, there are, unfortunately, restraints and impossibilities in creating a movepool with most Pokemon. Little Cup is not an exception to this rule; in fact, Little Cup actually has more restraints than standard play, as it is played at Level 5. Because Little Cup is so different from the standard metagame, there are even some legality issues that some simulators do not catch, as such a moveset may be legal at Level 100. Legality in LC is something that puzzles many newer players, and this guide will attempt to help solve some of the mysteries behind just why a certain set is illegal, whether the simulator catches it or not.

Banned Moves

One of the most obvious sources of illegality within a moveset in Little Cup arises from there being some moves banned in LC that are not banned in any other tier.

Dragon Rage is banned as it always deals 40 damage, which is easily an OHKO on any LC Pokemon.

SonicBoom is also banned as it always deals 20 damage, and although a portion of LC Pokemon have more than 20 HP, the move is still considered broken.

Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon

In order for a Pokemon to obtain a Level Up move by breeding, both of the parents must know the move. This is problematic for genderless Pokemon and Pokemon that are always a certain gender. This is cause for legality issues that simulators such as Pokemon Online do not currently catch, as most of these problems caused by this intricacy would not be present at Level 100. To make the matter even more complicated, legality in this field differs between Generation III and Generations IV and V, due to the Pomeg glitch being accessible only in RSE.

The Pomeg Glitch and Generation III

Pomeg Berries allow the user to remove 10 HP EVs from a Pokemon (and, in effect, remove all of their Hit Points), and in Generation III, this could be used to battle with an Egg by bringing the HP stats of all other party members down to 0. By battling with an Egg, the player could gain "Experience," allowing the Egg to learn Level Up Moves. However, when the Egg was hatched, it would still be at Level 5; this allowed even genderless or single gender Pokemon to obtain a movepool consisting of Level Up moves from higher levels. The discovery of the Pomeg glitch led to vast changes in the metagame, such as allowing Staryu to use Rapid Spin (normally learned at Level 10) and Hydro Pump (normally learned at Level 60).

These are the genderless Pokemon that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each one that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:

Baltoy (Cosmic Power, Explosion)
Beldum (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)
Magnemite (Zap Cannon)
Porygon (Tri Attack, Agility [illegal with Download, which was introduced in Generation IV])
Staryu (Rapid Spin, Hydro Pump)
Voltorb (Mirror Coat)

Pokemon that are always a single gender are a bit more complicated, as they do not always have to breed with Ditto. This means that there is always the potential for female Pokemon to breed with a male partner that knows the same Level Up move as them and can thus be passed down to the offspring; unfortunately, this does not always work out. These are the Pokemon that are always a single gender that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:

Nidoran-F (No legality issues as all moves are learnable by a potential mate)
Nidoran-M (Horn Attack)
Smoochum (Powder Snow, Perish Song, Lucky Chant)
Tyrogue (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)

One final note on the Pomeg glitch: because it is indeed a glitch, it is often considered by some to be unethical. Know that in an instance in which the Pomeg glitch is deemed illegal, all of the above moves, and a few more inconsequential ones, can be considered illegal as well. Also know, however, that Smogon's official Little Cup rules deem the Pomeg glitch as legal for Pokemon introduced no later than RSE.

Genderless Pokemon in Generations IV and V

In DPP and BW, the Pomeg glitch is fixed and thus genderless Pokemon have a difficult time obtaining their Level Up moves, assuming they can at all. Fortunately, the addition of more TMs and Move Tutors has remedied some of these potential problems, with a good example being Bronzor and Gyro Ball. Many people try to argue that the Pomeg glitch is still included in Generations IV and V; however, attempting to do so on a Generation IV cartridge typically crashes the game, while it has indeed been completely removed in Generation V.

Here is the list of genderless Pokemon introduced in Generations IV and V, along with some moves that are illegal due to the removal of the Pomeg glitch:

Bronzor (Hypnosis, Iron Defense)
Golett (Shadow Punch, Focus Punch)
Klink (Shift Gear, Gear Grind)

Once again, it is worth noting that as all of these are Level Up moves, simulators such as Pokemon Online will not recognize them as illegal, as current versions of said simulator cannot differentiate legality between Level 5 and Level 100.

Single Gender Pokemon in Generations IV and V

The lack of the Pomeg glitch also leads to complications for Pokemon with only one gender. Primarily, Pokemon that are always male find it simply impossible to breed Level Up moves; this is because these Pokemon can only breed with Ditto, who obviously cannot learn any of their Level Up moves. Pokemon that are always female can breed some of their Level Up moves, provided that there is a potential mate for them that can also learn the required Level Up moves.

Here is the list of Pokemon that are always a specific gender (Happiny, Petilil, and Vullaby are always female, while Rufflet is always male) that were introduced in DPP or BW and thus cannot make use of the Pomeg glitch, along with some explanation on the legality of their Level Up moves:

Happiny (its only Level Up moves past Level 5 are Refresh and Sweet Kiss, which can be supplied by a mother Blissey and father Audino; Happiny has no legality issues)
Petilil (nothing in the Plant Egg group aside from Petilil and Lilligant has access to Entrainment, so Entrainment is illegal; furthermore, there are many specific combinations, such as After You + Helping Hand, that cannot be obtained on anything in the Plant Egg group, so this combination would be illegal)
Rufflet (Rufflet is always male, so none of its Level Up moves beyond Level 5 are legal, including Whirlwind and Brave Bird)
Vullaby (nothing in the Flying Egg group can learn the combination of Nasty Plot + Flatter, so this combination is illegal; most other combinations of moves can be solved by a father Honchkrow, Chatot, or something in the Zubat line)

Illegal Dream World Abilities

While this section is technically out of the realm of "move legality," I've taken the liberty to add it in for you to point out that sometimes it may be the ability rendering a Pokemon in LC illegal rather than a move combination. Obviously, any unreleased Dream World ability is not allowed; however, Little Cup has some additional intricacies due to the way Dream World abilities are passed down.
No Dream World Pokemon comes below Level 10. When breeding, there is a chance that the Dream World ability can be passed down if the mother has said ability. This creates legality issues for LC when there is no way to have a mother with the ability. The most obvious category of this legality problem is genderless Pokemon, but male only Pokemon are also included.

Genderless Pokemon or Pokemon that are only male may not use their Dream World abilities, released or not, in LC. The following is the list of Pokemon that fit into this category and their respective Dream World abilities, which will never be legal:

Beldum (Light Metal)
Bronzor (Heavy Metal)
Golett (Klutz)
Klink (Clear Body)
Magnemite (Analytic)
Porygon (Analytic)
Staryu (Analytic)
Voltorb (Aftermath)

Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World

Now that most of the Pokemon that work differently are out of the way, it's time to look at some facets of moveset legality that affect nearly every Pokemon. The general rule of thumb to keep in mind is that previous Generation tutor or event moves are incompatible with moves and abilities added to a Pokemon in a later Generation. As with any rule, there are exceptions, so let's take a look at some more specific examples of how illegality in LC can arise. Also keep in mind that many of the movepool problems mentioned in this section apply at both Level 5 and Level 100. Finally, this list is not exhaustive, as there are illegalities that arise for specific Pokemon that are almost never accounted for in Little Cup and are thus never discovered. These are just the common sources of illegality.

Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition

Many Pokemon have access to Move Tutors in RSE that provide them with moves that are not obtainable in future generations. The same applies to DPP, which had a wealth of Move Tutors non-existent in BW. Fortunately, Nintendo often fixes potential problems with TMs or movepool additions, so many of these problems don't exist at Level 100.

Here are a few examples of when an earlier Generation Move Tutor and the acquirement of a new move for a Pokemon in a later Generation force illegality:

Machop learns Mega Punch from a Generation III Move Tutor. Heavy Slam was added into Machop's Egg movepool in Generation V. A Level 5 Machop with Mega Punch + Heavy Slam is illegal.
Houndour learns Double-Edge from a Generation III Move Tutor. Thunder Fang was added as an Egg move for Houndour in Generation IV. As the only way to get Thunder Fang onto Houndour is to breed a new Houndour in DPP or later, Double-Edge + Thunder Fang Houndour is illegal.

Special Event Move + Egg Move

There are numerous events from the RSE era and beyond that provide complications to movepool legality both then and now. Here are a few examples of special event moves and Egg moves that lead to incompatibilities in Little Cup (and, most likely, other tiers):

Lickitung obtains Wish via an RSE event. Lickitung has Curse as an Egg move, even in Generation III. As Wish is an event only move, Curse + Wish is illegal.
Pichu obtains Endeavor via a DPP event. Pichu has Reversal as an Egg move. As Endeavor is a special, event only move, Endeavor + Reversal is illegal.

Previously Available Move + New Ability

This is easily one of the broadest categories, as both Generation IV and V have introduced new abilities. Previously available moves are moves that were able to be learned by Pokemon in Generation III (or, rarely, in Generation IV) but not in subsequent Generations. Most of the time, this is not a problem as the Pokemon can simply be transferred into the future Generations of Pokemon games. However, the subsequent Generations often introduced a new ability for certain Pokemon, and these new abilities are almost always incompatible with the previously available moves as Pokemon do not change abilities upon being transferred into the future Generations.

Here are a few instances where previously available moves are illegal with a newer ability:

Porygon obtains Tri Attack, a Level Up move, through the Pomeg glitch in RSE. Porygon obtained the new ability Download in DPP. Porygon with Tri Attack and the ability Download is thus illegal.
Cacnea obtains Focus Punch and Drain Punch via a TM that is in DPP but not in BW. Cacnea's Dream World ability, Water Absorb, is available only in BW. Thus, Cacnea with Focus Punch or Drain Punch and the ability Water Absorb is illegal.
Murkrow learns Icy Wind and Heat Wave from DPP Move Tutors. Murkrow's Dream World ability, Prankster, is available only in BW. Thus, Murkrow with Heat Wave or Icy Wind and the ability Prankster is illegal.

Dream World Moves

This one's a bit easier: no Dream World Pokemon is obtainable at below Level 10. Furthermore, Dream World moves cannot, as of yet, be bred onto a baby Pokemon as Dream World abilities can. For this reason, no LC Pokemon can legally use its moves that are exclusively obtained from the Dream World. Here are a few examples of where this would cause illegality:

Wooper obtains Aqua Tail from the Dream World, but also from a Generation IV Move Tutor. The only conceivable Wooper with Aqua Tail and its Dream World ability (Unaware) would have to be at Level 10 or greater, so Wooper with Aqua Tail that has the ability Unaware is illegal in LC. Wooper with Aqua Tail and either Damp or Water Absorb, however, is legal.
Natu obtains Giga Drain solely from the Dream World, so this move is illegal in LC. Natu also obtains FeatherDance from the Dream World; however, this is also one of Natu's Egg moves, meaning a Natu with its Dream World ability (Magic Bounce) and FeatherDance is thus legal.

Egg Move Incompatibilities

So you've made it this far and still cannot figure out why your Pokemon's moveset is illegal. An Egg move is passed down to a Pokemon when the father possesses the desired move. It is sometimes not possible to get the desired combination of moves onto a single father, meaning a Pokemon cannot obtain the combination of Egg moves in tandem with each other. Here are some examples of how this might cause trouble:

Shelmet obtains Spikes and Encore as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Bug breeding group can obtain both Spikes and Encore on one moveset. Thus, Shelmet with Spikes + Encore is illegal.
Tentacool obtains Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Water 3 breeding group can obtain both Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat on one moveset. Thus, Tentacool with Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat is illegal.

Pokemon that are in the Ground breeding group will very rarely have these problems, as they can breed with Smeargle.

Hypothetical Sources of Illegality

There are other intricacies of Little Cup that, if a new Pokemon or new moveset combination was introduced that fits the below categories, would be illegal; however, at this time, no examples of these exist within the awareness of your author. Here are just a few potential sources of illegality:

Pokemon X evolves into Pokemon Y via learning a special move. Pokemon X has four or more unique Level Up moves that Pokemon Y does not learn. Pokemon X cannot breed but Pokemon Y can. It would be illegal to have a baby Pokemon X with all four of these Level Up moves, as the baby can only carry three of these moves with the move required to evolve if it wants to be able to breed.
Pokemon X wants to have a baby with Egg moves A and B. Unfortunately, the only potential "father" that knows moves A and B is always female. Therefore, baby Pokemon X cannot use moves A + B in Little Cup.
Pokemon X learns move A by Level Up in one game but move B instead in a different game. In our scenario, for one of the complications already listed in this guide, no father can provide both move A and B. Pokemon X then cannot use move A + B in Little Cup.

GP [2/2]

The hide tag with the visible changes has some funky stuff going on; the spacing is kind of messed up, and the last couple paragraphs are in light green for whatever reason. Hopefully you can still read it, though. Overall good job; there weren't that many errors to change.

Ray Jay · May 3, 2012

Implemented, desolate said he'd do the html for this tomorrow.

Desolate · May 5, 2012

HTML:

[title]
Guide to LC Move Legality

[head]
<meta name="description" content="A guide to move legality in Gen V Little Cup, thanks to Ray Jay" />

[page]
<div class="author">by <a href="/forums/member.php?u=51861">Ray Jay</a>.</div>

<ol class="toc">
<li><a href="#introduction">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="#banned">Banned Moves</a></li>
<li><a href="#pomeg">Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Pomeg Glitch</li>
<li>Gen IV and V Genderless Pokemon (Bronzor, Klink, Golett)</li>
<li>Gen IV and V Single Gender Pokemon (Happiny, Petilil, Rufflet, and Vullaby)</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="#illegal">Illegal Dream World Abilities</a></li>
<li><a href="#previous">Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World</a></li>
<ul>
<li>Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition</li>
<li>Special Event Move + Egg Move</li>
<li>Previously Available Moves + New Ability</li>
<li>Dream World Moves</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="#egg">Egg Move Incompatibilities</a></li>
<li><a href="#hypothetical">Hypothetical Sources of Illegality</a></li>
</ol>

<h2><a name="introduction">Introduction</a></h2>
<p>Despite the seemingly infinite combinations of Level Up moves, event moves, Egg moves, and abilities, Pokemon are capable of learning; there are, unfortunately, restraints and impossibilities in creating a movepool with most Pokemon. Little Cup is not an exception to this rule; in fact, Little Cup actually has more restraints than standard play as it is played at Level 5. Because Little Cup is so different from the standard metagame, there are even some legality issues that some simulators do not catch, as such a moveset may be legal at Level 100. Legality in LC is something that puzzles many newer players, and this guide will attempt to help solve some of the mysteries behind just why a certain set is illegal, whether the simulator catches it or not.</p>

<h2><a name="banned">Banned Moves</a></h2>
<p>One of the most obvious sources of illegality within a moveset in Little Cup arises from there being some moves that are not banned in any other tier.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Dragon Rage</strong> is banned as it always deals 40 damage, which is easily an OHKO on any LC Pokemon.</li>
<li><strong>SonicBoom</strong> is also banned as it always deals 20 damage, and although a portion of LC Pokemon have more than 20 HP, the move is still considered broken.</li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="pomeg">Pomeg Glitch, Genderless Pokemon, and Single Gender Pokemon</a></h2>
<p>In order for a Pokemon to obtain a Level Up move by breeding, both of the parents must know the move. This becomes problematic for genderless Pokemon and Pokemon that are always a certain gender. This is cause for legality issues that simulators such as Pokemon Online do not currently catch, as most of these problems caused by this intricacy would not be present at Level 100. To make the matter even more complicated, legality in this field differs between Generation III and Generations IV and V, due to the Pomeg glitch being accessible only in RSE.</p>

<h3>The Pomeg Glitch and Generation III</h3>
<p>Pomeg Berries allow the user to remove 10 HP EVs from a Pokemon (and, in effect, remove all of their Hit Points), and in Generation III, this could be used to battle with an Egg by bringing the HP stats of all other party members down to 0. By battling with an Egg, the player could gain "Experience," allowing the Egg to learn Level Up Moves. However, when the Egg is hatched, it will still be at Level 5; this allows even genderless or single gender Pokemon to obtain a movepool consisting of Level Up moves. The discovery of the Pomeg glitch led to vast changes in the metagame, such as allowing Staryu to use Rapid Spin (normally learned at Level 10) and Hydro Pump (normally learned at Level 60).
These are the genderless Pokemon that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each one that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:</p>

<ul>
<li>Baltoy (Cosmic Power, Explosion)</li>
<li>Beldum (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)</li>
<li>Magnemite (Zap Cannon)</li>
<li>Porygon (Tri Attack, Agility [illegal with Download, which was introduced in Generation IV])</li>
<li>Staryu (Rapid Spin, Hydro Pump)</li>
<li>Voltorb (Mirror Coat)</li>
</ul>

<p>Pokemon that are always a single gender are a bit more complicated, as they do not always have to breed with Ditto. This means that there is always the potential for female Pokemon to breed with a male partner that knows the same Level Up move as them and can thus be passed down to the offspring; unfortunately, this does not always work out. These are the Pokemon that are always a single gender that were introduced no later than RSE and can thus utilize the Pomeg glitch, along with a few moves for each that become legal via the Pomeg glitch:</p>

<ul>
<li>Nidoran F (No legality issues as all moves are learnable by a potential mate)</li>
<li>Nidoran M (Horn Attack)</li>
<li>Smoochum (Powder Snow, Perish Song, Lucky Chant)</li>
<li>Tyrogue (No Level Up moves beyond Level 5)</li>
</ul>

<p>One final note on the Pomeg glitch: because it is indeed a glitch, it is often considered by some to be unethical. Know that in an instance in which the Pomeg glitch is deemed illegal, all of the above moves, and a few more inconsequential ones, can be considered illegal as well. Also know, however, that Smogon's official Little Cup rules deem the Pomeg glitch as legal for Pokemon introduced no later than RSE.</p>

<h3>Genderless Pokemon in Generations IV and V</h3>
<p>In DPP and BW, the Pomeg glitch is fixed and thus genderless Pokemon have a difficult time obtaining their Level Up moves, assuming they can at all. Fortunately, the addition of more TMs and Move Tutors has remedied some of these potential problems, with a good example being Bronzor and Gyro Ball. Many people try to argue that the Pomeg glitch is still included in Generations IV and V; however, attempting to do so on a Generation IV cartridge typically crashes the game, while it has indeed been completely removed in Generation V.
Here is the list of genderless Pokemon introduced in Generations IV and V, along with some moves that are <strong>illegal</strong> due to the removal of the Pomeg glitch:</p>

<ul>
<li>Bronzor (Hypnosis, Iron Defense)</li>
<li>Golett (Shadow Punch, Focus Punch)</li>
<li>Klink (Shift Gear, Gear Grind)</li>
</ul>

<p>Once again, it is worth noting that as all of these are Level Up moves, simulators such as Pokemon Online will not recognize them as illegal, as current versions of said simulator cannot differentiate legality between Level 5 and Level 100.</p>

<h3>Single Gender Pokemon in Generations IV and V</h3>
<p>The lack of the Pomeg glitch also leads to complications for Pokemon with only one gender. Primarily, Pokemon that are always male find it simply impossible to breed Level Up moves; this is because these Pokemon can only breed with Ditto, who obviously cannot learn any of their Level Up moves. Pokemon that are always female can breed some of their Level Up moves, provided that there is a potential mate for them that can also learn the required Level Up moves.
Here is the list of Pokemon that are always a specific gender (Happiny, Petilil, and Vullaby are always female, while Rufflet is always male) that were introduced in DPP or BW and thus cannot make use of the Pomeg glitch, along with some explanation on the legality of their Level Up moves:</p>

<ul>
<li>Happiny (its only Level Up moves past Level 5 are Refresh and Sweet Kiss, which can be supplied by a mother Blissey and father Audino; Happiny has no legality issues)</li>
<li>Petilil (nothing in the Plant Egg group aside from Petilil and Lilligant has access to Entrainment, so Entrainment is illegal; furthermore, there are many specific combinations, such as After You + Helping Hand that cannot be obtained on anything in the Plant Egg group; this combination would be illegal)</li>
<li>Rufflet (Rufflet is always male, so none of its Level Up moves beyond Level 5 are legal, including Whirlwind and Brave Bird)</li>
<li>Vullaby (nothing in the Flying Egg group can learn the combination of Nasty Plot + Flatter, so this combination is illegal; most other combinations of moves can be solved by a father Honchkrow, Chatot, or something in the Zubat line)</li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="illegal">Illegal Dream World Abilities</a></h2>
<p>While this section is technically out of the realm of "move legality," I've taken the liberty to add it in for you to point out that sometimes it may be the ability rendering a Pokemon in LC illegal rather than a move combination. Obviously, any unreleased Dream World ability is not allowed; however, Little Cup has some additional intricicacies due to the way Dream World abilities are passed down.</p>

<p>No Dream World Pokemon comes below Level 10. When breeding, there is a chance that the Dream World ability can be passed down if the mother has said ability. This creates legality issues for LC when there is no way to have a mother with the ability. The most obvious example is genderless Pokemon, but male only Pokemon are also included.
Genderless Pokemon or Pokemon that are only male may not use their Dream World abilities, released or not, in LC. The following is the list of Pokemon that fit into this category and their respective Dream World abilities, which will never be legal:</p>

<ul>
<li>Beldum (Light Metal)</li>
<li>Bronzor (Heavy Metal)</li>
<li>Golett (Klutz)</li>
<li>Klink (Clear Body)</li>
<li>Magnemite (Analytic)</li>
<li>Porygon (Analytic)</li>
<li>Staryu (Analytic)</li>
<li>Voltorb (Aftermath)</li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="previous">Previous Generation Tutors or Events, New Moves, and the Dream World</a></h2>
<p>Now that most of the Pokemon that work differently are out of the way, it's time to look at some facets of moveset legality that affect nearly every Pokemon. The general rule of thumb to keep in mind is that previous Generation tutor or event moves are incompatible with moves and abilities added to a Pokemon in a later Generation. As with any rule, there are exceptions, so let's take a look at some more specific examples of how illegality in LC can arise. Also keep in mind that many of the movepool problems posed in this section apply at both Level 5 and Level 100. Finally, this list is not exhaustive, as there are illegalities that arise for specific Pokemon that are almost never accounted for in Little Cup and are thus never discovered. These are just the common sources of illegality.</p>

<h3>Earlier Generation Move Tutor + Later Generation Move Addition</h3>
<p>Many Pokemon have access to Move Tutors in RSE that provide them with moves that are not obtainable in future generations. The same applies to DPP, which had a wealth of Move Tutors that are non-existent in BW. Fortunately, Nintendo often fixes potential problems here with TMs or movepool additions, so many of these problems don't exist at Level 100.
Here are a few examples of when an earlier Generation Move Tutor and the acquirement of a new move for a Pokemon in a later Generation force illegality:</p>

<ul>
<li>Machop learns Mega Punch from a Generation III Move Tutor. Heavy Slam was added into Machop's Egg movepool in Generation V. A Level 5 Machop with Mega Punch + Heavy Slam is illegal.</li>
<li>Houndour learns Double Edge from a Generation III Move Tutor. Thunder Fang was added as an Egg move for Houndour in Generation IV. As the only way to get Thunder Fang onto Houndour is to breed a new Houndour in DPP or later, Double Edge + Thunder Fang Houndour is illegal.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Special Event Move + Egg Move</h3>
<p>There are numerous events from the RSE era (and beyond) that provide complications to movepool legality both then and now. Here are a few examples of special event moves and Egg moves that lead to incompatibilities in Little Cup (and, most likely, other tiers):</p>

<ul>
<li>Lickitung obtains Wish via an RSE event. Lickitung has Curse as an Egg move, even in Generation III. As Wish is an event only move, Curse + Wish is illegal</li>
<li>Pichu obtains Endeavor via a DPP event. Pichu has Reversal as an Egg move. As Endeavor is a special, event only move, Endeavor + Reversal is illegal</li>
</ul>

<h3>Previously Available Move + New Ability</h3>
<p>This is easily one of the broadest categories, as both Generation IV and V have introduced new abilities. Previously available moves are moves that were able to be supplied onto a Pokemon in Generation III (or, rarely, in Generation IV) but not in subsequent Generations. Most of the time, this is not a problem as the Pokemon can simply be transferred into the future Generations of Pokemon games. However, the subsequent Generations often introduced a new ability for certain Pokemon, and these new abilities are almost always incompatible with the previously available moves as Pokemon do not change abilities upon being transferred into the future Generations.<br />
Here are a few instances where previously available moves are illegal with a newer ability:</p>

<ul>
<li>Porygon obtains Tri Attack, a Level Up move, through the Pomeg glitch in RSE. Porygon obtained the new ability Download in DPP. Porygon with Tri Attack and the ability Download is thus illegal</li>
<li>Cacnea obtains Focus Punch and Drain Punch via a TM that is in DPP but not in BW. Cacnea's Dream World ability, Water Absorb, is available only in BW. Thus, Cacnea with Focus Punch or Drain Punch and the ability Water Absorb is illegal</li>
<li>Murkrow learns Icy Wind and Heat Wave from DPP Move Tutors. Murkrow's Dream World ability, Prankster, is available only in BW. Thus, Murkrow with Heat Wave or Icy Wind and the ability Prankster is illegal</li>
</ul>

<h3>Dream World Moves</h3>
<p>This one's a bit easier: no Dream World Pokemon is obtainable at below Level 10. Furthermore, Dream World moves cannot as of yet be bred onto a baby Pokemon as Dream World abilities can. For this reason, no LC Pokemon can legally use its moves that are exclusively obtained from the Dream World. Here are a few examples of where this would cause illegality:</p>

<ul>
<li>Wooper obtains Aqua Tail from the Dream World, but also from a Generation IV move tutor. The only conceivable Wooper with Aqua Tail and its Dream World ability (Unaware) would have to be at Level 10 or greater, so Wooper with Aqua Tail that has the ability Unaware is illegal in LC. Wooper with Aqua Tail and either Damp or Water Absorb, however, is legal</li>
<li>Natu obtains Giga Drain solely from the Dream World, so this move is illegal in LC. Natu also obtains FeatherDance from the Dream World; however, this is also one of Natu's Egg moves, meaning a Natu with its Dream World ability (Magic Bounce) and FeatherDance is thus legal</li>
</ul>

<h2><a name="egg">Egg Move Incompatabilities</a></h2>
<p>So you've made it this far and still cannot figure out why your Pokemon's moveset is illegal. Egg moves are passed down to a Pokemon when the father possesses the desired moves. It is sometimes not possible to get the desired combination of moves onto a single father, meaning a Pokemon cannot obtain the combination of Egg moves in tandem with each other. Here are some examples of how this might cause trouble:</p>

<ul>
<li>Shelmet obtains Spikes and Encore as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Bug breeding group can obtain Spikes and Encore on one moveset. Thus, Shelmet with Spikes + Encore is illegal</li>
<li>Tentacool obtains Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat as Egg moves. However, no Pokemon in the Water 3 breeding group can obtain Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat on one moveset. Thus, Tentacool with Rapid Spin and Mirror Coat is illegal</li>
</ul>

<p>Pokemon that are in the Ground breeding group will very rarely have these problems, as they can breed with Smeargle.</p>

<h2><a name="hypothetical">Hypothetical Sources of Illegality</a></h2>
<p>There are other intricacies of Little Cup that, if a new Pokemon or new moveset combination was introduced that fits the below categories, would be illegal; however, at this time, no examples of these exist within the awareness of your author. Here are just a few potential sources of illegality:</p>

<ul>
<li>Pokemon X evolves into Pokemon Y via learning a special move. Pokemon X has four or more unique Level Up moves that Pokemon Y does not learn. Pokemon X cannot breed but Pokemon Y can. It would be illegal to have a baby Pokemon X with all four of these Level Up moves, as the baby can only carry three of these moves + the move required to evolve if it wants to be able to breed.</li>
<li>Pokemon X wants to have a baby with Egg moves A and B. Unfortunately, the only potential "father" that knows moves A and B is always female. Therefore, baby Pokemon X cannot use moves A + B in Little Cup.</li>
<li>Pokemon X learns move A by Level Up in one game but move B instead in a different game. In our scenario, for one of the complications already listed in this guide, no father can provide both move A and B. Pokemon X then cannot use move A + B in Little Cup.</li>
</ul>

Ray Jay · May 5, 2012

Thanks, ready for upload!

Nexus · May 5, 2012

Uploaded. take that Ogles

Guide to LC Move Legality [GP 2/2]

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