The Original
Rewrite is located here
Introduction
Snatch is almost never seen, but has so much potential. Sometimes it prevents a great set-up chance, or just surprises someone, or even turns the game upside down. It makes players tear their hair out in prediction or it makes you cry that it never works. The move I am talking about is Snatch.
Data
Name: Snatch
Type: Dark
Base Power: --
Accuracy: 100%
PP: 10 (16)
Effect: Steals the effects of the move the foe uses next. First, the user "waits for the opponent to make his move". If this move is one that affects the opponent you're Snatching from only (himself), Snatch steals the benefit of said move. Examples are Rest, Aromatherapy, Swords Dance and Substitute.
Imprison
Grudge
Bide
Destiny Bond
Conversion
Curse
Water Sport
Mud Sport
Roll Play
Recycle
Water Sport
Wish
do not work with Snatch, surprisingly enough.
The Snatch Bug
On Netbattle, if my Blissey uses Snatch, and the enemy Raikou uses Substitute, Raikou will still have 16/16 PP left for Substitute, while my PP for Snatch will drop like normal. PPs lower in-game for both moves, which would make Snatch a lot more usable for some Pokemon.
What Pokemon can abuse Snatch and how?
As I said, Snatch is not seen often in battle, but it can do a great number on people not expecting, and even after that it becomes a mind game what the next move will be. Now, how to abuse this kind of move will be explained when I show some examples for you...
Absol, Aipom, Alakazam, Arbok, Banette, Blissey, Breloom, Chimecho, Clefable, Crobat, Deoxys-E, Deoxys-FR, Deoxys-LG, Deoxys-RS, Dusclops, Gardevoir, Gengar, Grumpig, Houndoom, Huntail, Hypno, Kecleon, Mew, Mewtwo, Mightyena, Misdreavus, Mr. Mime, Murkrow, Persian, Sableye, Seviper, Smeargle, Sneasel, Spinda, Swalot, Umbreon, Wigglytuff.
Lots of things learn it, but only a few of them have good potential.
These are the best Snatchers, the most outstanding being Blissey, Umbreon, Gengar, Gardevoir, Dusclops, Deoxys-LG, Mewtwo and Banette, me thinks. The move catches all sorts of sweepers and stallers off-guard and directly helps you. It's evil, it's fun and prediction and mind games are assured. My favorite actions would probably be Snatching Calm Minds and Subs, as well as letting something die to Toxic/Will-o-Wisp with it. The fact that it always goes first doesn't hurt either...
Counters
Prediction, Choice Banders, attacking, etc. Problem is, once your opponent uses it, it already worked - there's only preventively countering this.
Rewrite is located here
Introduction
Snatch is almost never seen, but has so much potential. Sometimes it prevents a great set-up chance, or just surprises someone, or even turns the game upside down. It makes players tear their hair out in prediction or it makes you cry that it never works. The move I am talking about is Snatch.
Data
Name: Snatch
Type: Dark
Base Power: --
Accuracy: 100%
PP: 10 (16)
Effect: Steals the effects of the move the foe uses next. First, the user "waits for the opponent to make his move". If this move is one that affects the opponent you're Snatching from only (himself), Snatch steals the benefit of said move. Examples are Rest, Aromatherapy, Swords Dance and Substitute.
- Mist
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Psych Up
- Stockpile
- Swallow
- Light Screen
- Safeguard
- Aromatherapy
- Camouflage
- Charge
- Ingrain
Imprison
Grudge
Bide
Destiny Bond
Conversion
Curse
Water Sport
Mud Sport
Roll Play
Recycle
Water Sport
Wish
do not work with Snatch, surprisingly enough.
The Snatch Bug
On Netbattle, if my Blissey uses Snatch, and the enemy Raikou uses Substitute, Raikou will still have 16/16 PP left for Substitute, while my PP for Snatch will drop like normal. PPs lower in-game for both moves, which would make Snatch a lot more usable for some Pokemon.
What Pokemon can abuse Snatch and how?
As I said, Snatch is not seen often in battle, but it can do a great number on people not expecting, and even after that it becomes a mind game what the next move will be. Now, how to abuse this kind of move will be explained when I show some examples for you...
Absol, Aipom, Alakazam, Arbok, Banette, Blissey, Breloom, Chimecho, Clefable, Crobat, Deoxys-E, Deoxys-FR, Deoxys-LG, Deoxys-RS, Dusclops, Gardevoir, Gengar, Grumpig, Houndoom, Huntail, Hypno, Kecleon, Mew, Mewtwo, Mightyena, Misdreavus, Mr. Mime, Murkrow, Persian, Sableye, Seviper, Smeargle, Sneasel, Spinda, Swalot, Umbreon, Wigglytuff.
Lots of things learn it, but only a few of them have good potential.
- The grand masters at Snatching
The following Pokemon are considerable with Snatch in my opinion:
Alakazam, Banette, Blissey, Breloom, Deoxys-LG, Dusclops, Gardevoir, Gengar, Grumpig, Houndoom, Hypno, Mew, Mewtwo, Misdreavus, Mr. Mime, Umbreon.
The rest is probably UU and/or will die before it can Snatch anything, or just have much better things to do (like Crobat).
The general use of Snatch should be clear first before I go into detail: when your opponent doesn't expect this Pokemon to knock out his, he will probably use something supportive or a stat-upper. A popular Pokemon that won't die and which is Snatch bait is Blissey, which you will see mentioned quite often. Another great use is to annoy Baton Pass teams (the Ninjask / Mr. Mime / Celebi or Scizor / Vaporeon / Smeargle / recipient format everyone has tried once and established that it works). I say annoy because, alas, the move Baton Pass cannot be Snatched. - Alakazam
Alakazam is not utter Blissey food when it's packed with Trickband, Safeguard / Taunt + Recover or even Focus Punch, but Snatch is another cool way to get rid of it. A great way (in theory - I have yet to test all these tactics) would be to use Psychic, Snatch and 2 out of Safeguard/Recover/Encore/Calm Mind/Thunder Wave. The point is to hit Blissey in the face with Psychics, and when it needs to restore HP, Snatch this Softboiled. I could not decide on the other two moves, their uses are all attractive: Safeguard prevents you from dying to Thunder Wave (but if you can Snatch Aromatherapy this is all cured), Recover is if you don't want to rely on Softboiled (it could be that Blissey decides to Seismic Toss a lot, then heal when you are dead), Encore can make sure you Snatch the right thing, Calm Mind is obvious, and Thunder Wave encourages Blissey to switch or to use Aromatherapy, both advantages for Alakazam (the former can be abused with Spikes, the latter with Snatch). Some things (like the occasional Zangoose) like to use Swords Dance, in order to KO next turn with Quick Attack - Snatching wouldn't help all that much in this case, but this way you force it to directly attack instead of stat upping. - Banette
MrE used this thing back in 200 against a Gyarados, and it got 2 Dragon Dances. Nowadays people would probably Taunt to prevent Will-o-Wisp, or attack the frail defenses, but if you find someone unaware don't hesitate - Dragon Danced Banette is a fun sight and can actually pack a big, big punch. Same for Swords Dances, aforementioned Blissey using Softboiled to beat your Hidden Power Fighting, and of course Substitutes to block Will-o-Wisp. - Blissey
I am planning to use this thing on a competitive team, I am sure Jirachi will be downright shocked when Blissey takes it's Substitute (and tanks with almost 180 HP), and grabs Calm Minds as well. Back in old 386, Blissey relied on Toxic and Ice Beam and such to do damage (no Seismic Toss), so people used stuff like Rest Raikou and Gardevoir to beat it one on one. And oh how cool is it if you snag Calm Minds from those. Snatching Rest with Natural Cure is obviously very cool as well sometimes, I hope one day I see a Snorlax dying to Toxic because Blissey prevented it from Resting. Did I mention Snatch Blissey is going to give other Blissey one hell of a match? What about Celebi Calm Minds? Heal Bells? Substitutes? And has anyone thought of how cool it could be to abuse this in the uber metagame, grabbing Kyogre's or Mewtwo's Calm Minds/Recovers/Subs? That's right, Snatch on Blissey is powerful. Oh, and there are still some Gengar around packing Substitute. Do them a favor and grab those as well - you probably won't be able to hit said Gengar and he will probably Focus Punch you or something, but at least you can switch in your favorite Fighting-resistant Gengar-killer in. - Breloom
Another prime candidate for Snatch - thanks chaos. Like with Banette, despite the high Attack, people tend to use Substitute to block this little guy's Spore. Understandable, I wouldn't like to have one Pok�mon asleep and one Pok�mon eating a 394 STAB Focus Punch either. But what if Breloom Snatches said Substitute? And of course, anyone foolish enough to use Bulk Up/Swords Dance/Curse is going to be in a lot of pain if said Snatching Breloom carries Sky Uppercut for some heavy punishment. - Deoxys-LG
The only Deoxys I would consider using Snatch, the other three are sweeper-designed. Faster Pok�mon like to use their 101 HP Substitutes to block Knock Off, Toxic and Seismic Toss/Night Shade, in order to also Calm Mind up and use Recover. Sounds like Blissey's life. Deoxys-LG is all the more a threat if it gets a hold of these. If you get Rest you might be a tad screwed though, you'll have to switch immediately. Also, Deoxys-LG can pull off Toxic + Snatch about as well as it does with Toxic + Taunt. Good luck healing if your attempts are being stolen and used. However, due to the PP Bug described at the top, they can just continually Substitute until you run out of Snatch PP, and then set up like usual. - Dusclops
The durable but slow and weak (offensively) Rapid Spin blocker. Dusclops is a prey to Substitute Rhydon, and other stuff wanting to block Will-o-Wisp. Even less prediction is needed here: I bet 90% of the opponents would Sub against Dusclops if they had it. Of course, a Dusclops Substitute is fairly weak and can be broken - but in the meanwhile you get to launch Will-o-Wisp or, if you have it, Focus Punch upon them. Eat it. Makes Dusclops also even more of a Blissey hunter. If you've ever had your Pain Split Dusclops Toxiced, I think you know what it means to Snatch Snorlax Rest or Blissey Aromatherapy: it means your Dusclops is safe for more heat. Will-o-Wisp + Snatch is dangerous as well here: any tries to heal will fail. - Gardevoir
Gardevoir sometimes gets involved in Calm Mind wars against Raikou, Celebi, Jirachi, Alakazam, or even Suicune, and also has the ability to deal out all sorts of status with Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Wave and Hypnosis. Great unorthodox Snatcher then, in my opinion - because of the low Speed she usually loses against the likes of Raikou, especially if she has to switch in, but with Snatch you can solve all that and force them to attack. In the meantime you could Calm Mind as well, manipulating them to join you again...another Snatch..it becomes a great prediction game here. Gardevoir is cool. - Gengar
Here we have a Pokemon that used to be able to use about 30 moves. Make it 31 - if there's something this Pokemon hates it's Blissey standing up to Focus Punch with Softboiled. Warthog's Gengar uses Focus Punch to deal with this, in a set of Sludge Bomb, Thunderbolt, Focus Punch and Destiny Bond/Explosion/Ice Punch or something, if I recall correctly. Fit in Snatch somewhere and Blissey will be pissing the pants. Raikou is also a common Subber/Calm Minder against this, and a Special-based Gengar is not going to do anything against that. But if you can Snatch Calm Minds, Raikou will have a harder time against you, guaranteed. And Calm Minded Gengar is a big, big threat to teams, with its wide movepool. After a Snatched Calm Mind, you can OHKO Swampert with Giga Drain. - Grumpig
About the same as Gardevoir, really, except you have Thick Fat over Trace/Synchronize. Occasionally you will find a strong physical attacker switching in on Grumpig to use a stat-upper, then hammer away in the case you Trickband them. Snatching this is cool. For the rest, nah, stick to the Calm Mind stuff. - Houndoom
I can think of a few scenarios, but not many where Houndoom would be useful with Snatch. You can try to be a comedian and first Snatch Salamence's Dragon Dance, then HP Ice it, but you could just HP Ice it anyway since a Special wall or Water will come in anyway. Another is of course Blissey, but you have Beat Up. Sometimes you might find Celebi/Jirachi a bitch, despite your type advantage, because they Calm Mind up - Snatch a few of those. You can Snatch Recovers/Wishes/Subs from them too. Also, if I recall correctly, Alakazam needs a Calm Mind to KO Houndoom with Thunderpunch. If he expects Pursuit, he will stay in and attempt to do this trick. Haha, Calm Mind Snatched. Have fun with 450+ Special Attack. - Hypno
Similar to Grumpig. People will also love to block Hypnosis/Thunder Wave with Substitute, and a Subbed Hypno might have the chance to Thunder Wave two things. Blissey of course can also come in on this. - Mew
Learns everything, so in an uber game people won't see anything coming from it. So why not Snatch? Mewtwo still does this better, though. - Mewtwo
The possibilities are ENDLESS in the uber metagame, with Calm Mind about everywhere. Being the fastest non-Deoxys uber, it can pull off a late-game sweep as well. Be sure to carry Ice Beam for if Groudon shows it's ugly face - or see if he dares to Swords Dance against a Snatcher, Ice Beam it, and then start fooling around with the other ubers with Swords Danced Shadow Balls from 130 Attack. - Misdreavus
Infamous as Perish Trapper or Calm Minder, and attempts to stop it include just using other stat-uppers. It learns Thunder Wave and Confuse Ray too, so people might Sub to check for those. I would stick to Taunt + Perishtrap, personally, but it's an above average Snatcher. - Mr. Mime
Mr. Mime is underestimated all the time, and this is no exception. Salamence wants to Dragon Dance up against you? Snatch, and Baton Pass to your Salamence, or Aerodactyl, and get ready to kick some ass. Celebi Recovers against you or Espeon Calm Minds up or anyone tries so? Attempt denied. Snatch and Baton Pass with the right team is horribly scary. - Umbreon
And finally, Mr. Set-up Bait, the Pok�mon with NO offenses at all. People will even Sub against this for the funny Toxic-trapping version. Another Snatch + BPer, the only other ones being Mr. Mime, Huntail, Spinda and Aipom. Umbreon is also often seen as "please use Sub/Rev combo on me" - Snatch says no. I can see a lot of success with Snatchbreon here, passing all sorts of goodies.
These are the best Snatchers, the most outstanding being Blissey, Umbreon, Gengar, Gardevoir, Dusclops, Deoxys-LG, Mewtwo and Banette, me thinks. The move catches all sorts of sweepers and stallers off-guard and directly helps you. It's evil, it's fun and prediction and mind games are assured. My favorite actions would probably be Snatching Calm Minds and Subs, as well as letting something die to Toxic/Will-o-Wisp with it. The fact that it always goes first doesn't hurt either...
Counters
Prediction, Choice Banders, attacking, etc. Problem is, once your opponent uses it, it already worked - there's only preventively countering this.
