"PseudoBlocking"- Where's the love?

[Boa1891]

PseudoBlocking is a term I came up with myself to be coined specifically for this genre of attacks- Attacks like Fire Spin or Whirlpool or Wrap that trap the foe for 2-5 turns while doing damage. They're basically Mean Look that is only temporary, but at the same time they inflict 1/16 damage per turn.

PBlocks are extremely underused competitively, and while their uses are limited, they can turn an unexpected Pokémon into something really powerful. I haven't tested it personally, but I hear that these effects are baton-passable.

I know this is just one scenario, but bear with me this possibility:
You have out Gorebyss. Since it's not exactly standard, your foe who expects something fishy (lol bad pun) switches to a Choice Specs Pokémon with an electric move. On this turn, you use Whirlpool, trapping them. Next turn, you Baton Pass to Electivire as your foe is locked into an electric move for 2-5 turns until they can switch.

Really situational, but meh. Deserves a discussion IMO. Why are they so worthless?

 

[Ellie]

I think the main reason why they're used much less is because of low accuracy.

 

[cookie]

You said it yourself - fire spin-esque moves are very situational. Generally anything you want to trap is something that doesn't want to stay in, in which case they'll switch out. It's not like using Mean Look, either, which is permanent and has 100% accuracy. You're running a high risk even using these moves because they might not hit or last long enough, and even then you might not always find the right situation to use them enough to warrant a moveslot, which is all the more valuable in D/P since there is so much to cover.

 

[Familiar Trainer]

First of all, like Mean Look (which rarely sees use), these moves come after the switch, which means your foe has time to switch to a counter to your trapper.

And in the case you mentioned, Gorebyss would be dead assuming it didn't use Agility before, because with 52 base speed, you won't be outspeeding the Choice Specs user. And with 55 base HP/75 base Sp.Def, you won't be surviving their attack (WEAVILE can take special hits better).

 

[Drab Emordnilap]

Do you have to Baton Pass Fire Spin et al?

I thought they just stuck on whoever you hit with them.

 

[Boa1891]

Do you have to Baton Pass Fire Spin et al?

I thought they just stuck on whoever you hit with them.

I thought that too, but according to the moves list in the analyses forum I'm wrong.

 

[Carl]

I was under the impression these couldn't be Baton Passed and you do see things like Magma Storm used in the case of Heatran to trap Blissey or Cresselia and then Explode on them.

 

[Boa1891]

I was under the impression these couldn't be Baton Passed and you do see things like Magma Storm used in the case of Heatran to trap Blissey or Cresselia and then Explode on them.

I may have heard incorrectly, but I suppose I can test it sometime. Magma Storm is a completely different story, since it's actually a strong attack compared to Fire Spin or Whirlpool...

 

[TVboyCanti]

Let's review why Pseudo trapping (and mean look, in the case of 1 and 2) moves arent used.

1. They will not stop an opponent from switching in a counter on the turn you use the move. You will have then trapped something that counters your pokemon, which is useless.

2. They dont do any significant damage. That, combined with the above point, means you are accomplishing nothing and giving your opponent a free switch or a turn to setup, which can mean the end in DP

3. They are innaccurate, and if they miss, you just wasted a turn, which can mean the end in DP.

4. Even if your attack does hit, and you manage to trap something that doesnt immediately counter you, you just gave your opponent a turn to setup which can blah blah blah.

Magma Storm is used because it does deal damage and it does something useful, namely killing blissey, the uberfairy, who is a staple in Uber teams and therefore worth killing.

 

[Mekkah]

Ubers has little to do with this considering this is Heatran's personal move and Heatran isn't an uber.

Point 4 is moot because if your opponent could be setting up against you and be a danger next turn what the hell are you doing facing it in the first place?

I'd probably try this with Trap move + Sleep move, or Trap move + Dugtrio/Magnezone, but very little beyond that.

 

[Better_Sandw1ch]

It could have some use with Toxic, but even then the variable nature of the move (and the uselessness of Toxic against some pokes) would most likely catch up to you. Running something like:

Milotic - Zoom Lens

Wrap
Toxic
Recover
Surf / Ice Beam / Attract

would probably give you the best shot at a trapper that could survive hits and wait out a Toxic. But you're only guaranteed one turn of Toxic anyway (unless you use Wrap after Toxic, which gives your opponent the opportunity to switch out).

At best, it's a gimmick, because it isn't that reliable.

 

[lincarnate]

One thought I had a while back was using something like...

Lapras @ Grip Claw
Bold / EVs: 252 HP / 252 Defense / 4 Sp. Atk
Whirpool
Perish Song
Protect
Ice Beam/Thunderbolt

but passing Mean Look is more reliable (would Grip Claw even guarantee that your opponent wouldn't be able to run away from Perish Song?) and in DP, I'm not sure that Lapras could last that long. It might be fun to try, but I doubt it could be pulled off.

 

[the Lexx]

I guess you could trap something, put it to sleep, and switch out to Dugtrio, but that's about it as far as useful goes.