These attacks are widely available to tons of Pokémon, yet I never see them used. Why not? As far as I can see, they have both great potential and great surprise factor, and rarely are they useless.
I'll start with Snatch, as it's not only a favorite of mine, but one that has personally saved my ass on a few occasions, before I lost my DS priveleges (Will be back very soon BTW).
My Blissey ran the oddest set you could imagine, hands down. It had Thunder Blizzard rather than BoltBeam, and Snatch rather than Aromatherapy or Calm Mind. It had serene grace for the insane Para-Thunder. It did, however, have standard softboiled.
I call this little story, the legend of Blissey's hilarious sweep. (This was over a month ago, so don't blame me for any little inaccuracies such as OHKO v 2HKO or whether or not I managed to freeze/para- This is to the best of my memory as accurate as possible. And no, it's not exaggerated.)
The score was something like 4-5 in my opponents' favor. I was fighting some random Serebii guy, who was actually making good predicitions and such.
'Let's see him predict this...' I said to myself, switching Blissey in on what I assumed was a Specsmence.
I was right. Draco Meteor probably did about 50% damage. I softboiled, and he brings out Manaphy. I suppose he thinks my Blissey will be a piece of cake to set up on, right? Predicting his Tail Glow perfectly, I use Snatch. That's BLISSEY'S +2 Sp.Atk, bitch.
"<randomserebiidude> wtf was that, snatch on blissey, are you nuts?"
I could tell this move had really sent him for a loop. He had NO clue how to respond to something so odd. He must have had a temporary lapse in Judgement and didn't expect an electric attack, but when he switched in his Skarm to try and PHaze me, It got raped in the anus by Thunder. Next came a Blissey. (I didn't see THAT coming... Not.) I hit it with Thunder, and what do you know? It's paralyzed. I then repeatedly wailed on it until it croaked- I'll admit I got lucky with Paralysis getting him often, and I only tried using Snatch once, and he was paralyzed that turn. Next turn, he managed to pull off a CM. I though for sure he was well and safe and I'd need to switch post haste, but then... CRITICAL HIT.
"<pissedoffserebiidude> fucking. hax."
Next came TTar, which went down easily. My opponent was obviously getting very frustrated, because forgetting about Snatch (or perhaps predicting that I'd over-predict and not snatch) he started off with a Dragon Dance- Which I snatched. The next turn, I froze TTar with Blizzard (I forget who moved first, but if TTar did he didn't kill me), and then he was a piece of cake. His last two Pokémon were Manaphy and Specsmence... Imagine how well that went for him. XD
So, that's one story of rape by snatch. Good predictions and some luck allowed me to sweep 5 Pokémon with a Blissey. It was completely and utterly lol.
So, that's Snatch in a nutshell. It's like Taunt, I suppose. It stops the foe from setting up (with good predicition), but in exchange for not stopping moves like Baton Pass, it also gives you free boostages.
Snatch is a piece of work, and I have no clue why it's not used a bit more often. I suppose I might not have won without that element of surprise, though...
On to Skill Swap. A thousand times more situational than Snatch, yet also 100 times more deadly. Often thought to be nothing but a gimmick for use in 2v2 on your own partner, there are a TON of opportunities to use it effectively.
How many Pokémon are on your team? 6, right? How many of them would take a large blow if they lost their abilities?
I used to use a Drifblim with Will-O-Wisp and Skill Swap. (I no longer do) It was a great combination, because even if the foe brought in a Heracross, I could skill swap away their Guts, leaving them horribly weakened! That was the exact scenario many times in Serebii battles. (I battle there if I want quick battles against noobs, for the most part.)
Other props to Skill Swap:
Once got Volt Absorb, making my Drifblim immune to FOUR types, weak to 4 (Ice >_>, Rock >_>, Ghost, and Dark), and resistant to Grass, Poison, and Bug4x. The funny part is that I had moved first, and the foe had used an electric attack. Thanks for the HP, nub!
Once nabbed Sand Veil off something on a Sandstream team, making Drifblim immune to the Sandstorm.
Once got Hydration off a Wet Rock Manaphy, on the turn it used Rain Dance.
(Okay, I made that last one up- But that would be nice, eh? XD)
Anyway, I think that's really all I need to say about Skill Swap. Stealing away Levitate could easily make the foe switch, swapping for Cholorophyl or Swift Swim or Rain Dish or any other weather-based effect could both put you on Steroids and make the foe switch... Really, the possiblities of Skill Swap is only limited by the extent of your imagination.
So, that's my two cents on these majorly underused moves. And the first person to steal my Blissey gets both a cookie for being smart and an asswhuppin' for STEALING MY BLISSEY.
PS: WONDER GUARD CANNOT BE SKILL SWAPPED
I'll start with Snatch, as it's not only a favorite of mine, but one that has personally saved my ass on a few occasions, before I lost my DS priveleges (Will be back very soon BTW).
My Blissey ran the oddest set you could imagine, hands down. It had Thunder Blizzard rather than BoltBeam, and Snatch rather than Aromatherapy or Calm Mind. It had serene grace for the insane Para-Thunder. It did, however, have standard softboiled.
I call this little story, the legend of Blissey's hilarious sweep. (This was over a month ago, so don't blame me for any little inaccuracies such as OHKO v 2HKO or whether or not I managed to freeze/para- This is to the best of my memory as accurate as possible. And no, it's not exaggerated.)
The score was something like 4-5 in my opponents' favor. I was fighting some random Serebii guy, who was actually making good predicitions and such.
'Let's see him predict this...' I said to myself, switching Blissey in on what I assumed was a Specsmence.
I was right. Draco Meteor probably did about 50% damage. I softboiled, and he brings out Manaphy. I suppose he thinks my Blissey will be a piece of cake to set up on, right? Predicting his Tail Glow perfectly, I use Snatch. That's BLISSEY'S +2 Sp.Atk, bitch.
"<randomserebiidude> wtf was that, snatch on blissey, are you nuts?"
I could tell this move had really sent him for a loop. He had NO clue how to respond to something so odd. He must have had a temporary lapse in Judgement and didn't expect an electric attack, but when he switched in his Skarm to try and PHaze me, It got raped in the anus by Thunder. Next came a Blissey. (I didn't see THAT coming... Not.) I hit it with Thunder, and what do you know? It's paralyzed. I then repeatedly wailed on it until it croaked- I'll admit I got lucky with Paralysis getting him often, and I only tried using Snatch once, and he was paralyzed that turn. Next turn, he managed to pull off a CM. I though for sure he was well and safe and I'd need to switch post haste, but then... CRITICAL HIT.
"<pissedoffserebiidude> fucking. hax."
Next came TTar, which went down easily. My opponent was obviously getting very frustrated, because forgetting about Snatch (or perhaps predicting that I'd over-predict and not snatch) he started off with a Dragon Dance- Which I snatched. The next turn, I froze TTar with Blizzard (I forget who moved first, but if TTar did he didn't kill me), and then he was a piece of cake. His last two Pokémon were Manaphy and Specsmence... Imagine how well that went for him. XD
So, that's one story of rape by snatch. Good predictions and some luck allowed me to sweep 5 Pokémon with a Blissey. It was completely and utterly lol.
So, that's Snatch in a nutshell. It's like Taunt, I suppose. It stops the foe from setting up (with good predicition), but in exchange for not stopping moves like Baton Pass, it also gives you free boostages.
Snatch is a piece of work, and I have no clue why it's not used a bit more often. I suppose I might not have won without that element of surprise, though...
On to Skill Swap. A thousand times more situational than Snatch, yet also 100 times more deadly. Often thought to be nothing but a gimmick for use in 2v2 on your own partner, there are a TON of opportunities to use it effectively.
How many Pokémon are on your team? 6, right? How many of them would take a large blow if they lost their abilities?
I used to use a Drifblim with Will-O-Wisp and Skill Swap. (I no longer do) It was a great combination, because even if the foe brought in a Heracross, I could skill swap away their Guts, leaving them horribly weakened! That was the exact scenario many times in Serebii battles. (I battle there if I want quick battles against noobs, for the most part.)
Other props to Skill Swap:
Once got Volt Absorb, making my Drifblim immune to FOUR types, weak to 4 (Ice >_>, Rock >_>, Ghost, and Dark), and resistant to Grass, Poison, and Bug4x. The funny part is that I had moved first, and the foe had used an electric attack. Thanks for the HP, nub!
Once nabbed Sand Veil off something on a Sandstream team, making Drifblim immune to the Sandstorm.
Once got Hydration off a Wet Rock Manaphy, on the turn it used Rain Dance.
(Okay, I made that last one up- But that would be nice, eh? XD)
Anyway, I think that's really all I need to say about Skill Swap. Stealing away Levitate could easily make the foe switch, swapping for Cholorophyl or Swift Swim or Rain Dish or any other weather-based effect could both put you on Steroids and make the foe switch... Really, the possiblities of Skill Swap is only limited by the extent of your imagination.
So, that's my two cents on these majorly underused moves. And the first person to steal my Blissey gets both a cookie for being smart and an asswhuppin' for STEALING MY BLISSEY.
PS: WONDER GUARD CANNOT BE SKILL SWAPPED
