• Check out the relaunch of our general collection, with classic designs and new ones by our very own Pissog!

Pokémon Movepool Oddities & Explanations

Water Gun and Bubblebeam in Gen I, and Water Pulse in Gen III, IV, VI, and VII, have many non-Water type users, usually Normal and Ice types, but also oddities like Spiritomb and other Pokemon that otherwise don't get any Water moves at all.

Shock Wave is similar in that it can be taught to many Pokemon that otherwise learn no other offensive Electric moves.
 
Celever said:
with a cool consistently 2-hit effect that actually hasn't been done before to play around Focus Sash and Sturdy.
Click to expand...

*Looks at the whole debacle surrounding Double Kick's animation.*

Ok, I can understand you forgetting Twineedle and Bonemerang, but Double Kick!?

Celever said:
Bug Buzz obsoleting Signal Beam (to the extent that it got cut);
Click to expand...

That was actually terrible for Special-based Bugs in-game because now they have no mid-game STAB option. Bug Buzz was always supposed to be a much-needed upgrade over Signal Beam, otherwise, mons like Yanmega and Volcarona would be relying on 75 BP STAB.

Celever said:
But that's why saying something like "poor Flying-Type, they haven't had a new move in ages" doesn't make much sense. Flying-Type is designed in an interesting way, with inaccurate moves on the special side and very accurate moves on the physical. It has a niche move in Acrobatics which has a wide distribution and also does something fun with items -- doubling in power if the user doesn't have one -- in particular synergising well with Unburden (and most Unburden Pokémon learn Acrobatics, from memory the only exception is Hitmonlee?). The physical side also just received Dual Wingbeat -- essentially a needed power-upgrade to its predecessor Aerial Ace -- with a cool consistently 2-hit effect that actually hasn't been done before to play around Focus Sash and Sturdy. On the special side, Flying-Type Pokémon have the classic choice of special moves between a really powerful but inaccurate option (Hurricane) or a weaker but more accurate one (Air Slash). Both of these have an interesting Flying-Type aspect, where actually almost every special-based Flying-Type move has a pretty useful secondary effect, in Air Slash's case being a high flinch chance and in Hurricane's a high confusion one. And Hurricane even synergises with Rain Dance.
Click to expand...

Speaking of types relying on 75 BP STAB... Air Slash needed more juice tbh. I'd be down with it having 80 or 85 BP.

I was talking about it earlier on the OI Discord, but some types need more flavor in their moves, or at least better distribution of signature moves.

The likes of Volt Tackle, Plasma Fists, Spirit Break, and Drill Peck should have better distribution for their respective types. Not across the board, mind you, within their types. Get some flavor going. Fairy is just a sad type when it comes to STAB options for example, but there's a lot of other types that need some moves like Steel, Ice and Electric.
 
Siggu said:
On the talk about Metal Claw in the other thread, I've noticed that, in Gold and Silver, the only Pokémon that could learn the move had pincers instead of claws (Scizor and, by breeding, Gligar).

While pincers are technically specialized claws, it's... strange.
Click to expand...

Is it? It was originally Scizor's Signature Move (with Gligar able to learn it as a bonus through breeding). Nothing really strange about it. And before FRLG gave it to Charmander GF already decided to expand on what learned it in Ruby & Sapphire.
 
Pikachu315111 said:
Is it? It was originally Scizor's Signature Move (with Gligar able to learn it as a bonus through breeding). Nothing really strange about it. And before FRLG gave it to Charmander GF already decided to expand on what learned it in Ruby & Sapphire.
Click to expand...
It's a little weird it was a signature move to begin with since there was only...3 steel moves? Really?? Metal Claw, Steel Wing, Iron Tail. I mean fair enough for not having a LOT of options at launch I guess, it is more of a defensive type, but it doesnt even have status moves.


Anyway still kinda weird, especially since Scizor wasnt even originally a steel type, metal claw isn't that great a move and the other 2 were so widespread thanks to being a tm. I guess even gamefreak agreed at the timesince Crystal gave it to Sneasel by level up and Teddiursa & Sanshrew by breeding.



No one learned Iron Tail by level up either, on the opposite end of weirdness. You'd think it would have been Steelix's signature move in the same way Skarmory had Steel Wing, but nope...
 
Pikachu315111 said:
Is it? It was originally Scizor's Signature Move (with Gligar able to learn it as a bonus through breeding). Nothing really strange about it. And before FRLG gave it to Charmander GF already decided to expand on what learned it in Ruby & Sapphire.
Click to expand...
This raises an interesting question. Was Metal Claw intended as a signature move, or did they make it first to be the early and weak Steel move, and only later notice that most of the existing Steel types either were evolved forms (thus not needing an early STAB) or lacking claws?
 
I was putting together the theory that each of the new steel types was meant to have a "signature" move but they forgot to actually give Steelix Iron Tail by level up, and that Iron Defense (introduced in gen 3) would've been made for Foretress had it existed earlier in develpoment but--Foretress didnt get Iron Defense until gen 4??

In fact, every Pokemon with Iron Defense in RS were from gen 3. The only 2 exceptions came later:
1. A Bagon (well this was also from gen 3 of course , but only through this event) was given away with the move to celebrate the Pokemon Center's anniversary
2. Scizor got the move by level up in FRLG.

What a bunch of fascinating decisions going on with steel moves
 
R_N said:
It's a little weird it was a signature move to begin with since there was only...3 steel moves? Really?? Metal Claw, Steel Wing, Iron Tail. I mean fair enough for not having a LOT of options at launch I guess, it is more of a defensive type, but it doesnt even have status moves.
Click to expand...

... Wait, only those three? But...

Scizor: Okay, it got Metal Claw and then can learn Metal Wing via TM. Bug wait, it and Scyther only Bug move is Fury Cutter?! Geez.
Skarmory: Steel Wing of course, though you'd think it could also learn Metal Claw. *shrugs*
Steelix: So, you'd think Steelix would natrually learn Iron Tell then, right? Wrong, it doesn't learn any Steel moves, rather it needs to learn Iron Tail via TM. Infact, no Pokemon naturally learns Iron Tail in Gen II, it's a TM only move. With how often they pair Steelix and Iron Tail together I have to think that was a mistake, it was supposed to learn it naturally but they forgot or something.
Forretress & Magnemite family: I'll pair them together cause they got the same amount of Steel-type moves: ZERO. Like, okay, the Magnemite family probably wouldn't be able to get use of its Steel-type cause it was a Physical Type, still though couldn't even make a Steel-type Tackle or even a Steel-type Explosion/Self-Destruct?

What a bunch of fascinating decisions going on with steel moves
Click to expand...

There is a whole batch of words I could describe these decisions (ludicrous, nonsensical, ridiculous); fascinating certainly isn't one of them. :psywoke:
 
Pikachu315111 said:
... Wait, only those three? But...

Scizor: Okay, it got Metal Claw and then can learn Metal Wing via TM. Bug wait, it and Scyther only Bug move is Fury Cutter?! Geez.
Skarmory: Steel Wing of course, though you'd think it could also learn Metal Claw. *shrugs*
Steelix: So, you'd think Steelix would natrually learn Iron Tell then, right? Wrong, it doesn't learn any Steel moves, rather it needs to learn Iron Tail via TM. Infact, no Pokemon naturally learns Iron Tail in Gen II, it's a TM only move. With how often they pair Steelix and Iron Tail together I have to think that was a mistake, it was supposed to learn it naturally but they forgot or something.
Forretress & Magnemite family: I'll pair them together cause they got the same amount of Steel-type moves: ZERO. Like, okay, the Magnemite family probably wouldn't be able to get use of its Steel-type cause it was a Physical Type, still though couldn't even make a Steel-type Tackle or even a Steel-type Explosion/Self-Destruct?



There is a whole batch of words I could describe these decisions (ludicrous, nonsensical, ridiculous); fascinating certainly isn't one of them. :psywoke:
Click to expand...

Don't think too hard about it. Sandslash did not get a single Ground STAB by level up until Gen 3.

Then it got Sand Tomb. At Level 52. :facepalm:
 
Kurona said:
Always gave me a laugh seeing the final moves of each kanto starter in earlier gens.

Venusaur: SOLARBEAM!
Blastoise: HYDRO PUMP!
Charizard: ... Fire Spin!
Click to expand...
This reminds me of something that happened when I was a kid, which I guess can be seen as an annoyance in retrospect.

In the first season(s) of the anime, Fire Spin was generally portrayed as the most powerful Fire-type move since it was often used as a finisher while Flamethrower was generally used as more of a preparation move. For instance, I remember that Ash's Charmander often used Flamethrower first to cause damage to the opponent, then Fire Spin to finish the opponent. But in the games, it was the other way around as Flamethrower was way better than Fire Spin. Having seen the anime before I played the games, I got fooled by that when I was a kid. Though, the fact that move descriptions did not exist (in the actual games) in Gen 1 did not make things easier (but even if they had existed, I'm not sure how much I would have understood because English is not my first language and I did not understand the majority of the text in the games when I first started playing Pokémon). Either way, I remember being fooled by this in my first playthrough of Blue where I trained a Flareon, it learned Fire Spin and thought I could use that as a super powerful move to burn all opponents into oblivion... but in reality, it turned out to be a pretty bad move. Fortunately, I taught it Fire Blast through TM which managed to get the job done instead. A similar thing happened to a friend, he trained a Charizard and thought that Fire Spin was the best Fire-type move (again, because of the anime) so he taught it to his Charizard over Flamethrower. I remember that he was angry afterwards since the anime had fooled him just like it did for me.
 
Kurona said:
Always gave me a laugh seeing the final moves of each kanto starter in earlier gens.

Venusaur: SOLARBEAM!
Blastoise: HYDRO PUMP!
Charizard: ... Fire Spin!
Click to expand...

Well, going on with Gen I's mechanics, Fire Spin can lock the target until getting KOed, so it has the potential to be better than either Solar Beam or Hydro Pump.

(As long as you could use X Accuracy, of course)
 
Last edited:
Kurona said:
Always gave me a laugh seeing the final moves of each kanto starter in earlier gens.

Venusaur: SOLARBEAM!
Blastoise: HYDRO PUMP!
Charizard: ... Fire Spin!
Click to expand...
I have always wondered why Fire Spin sucked so bad in Gen 1 despite being a trapping move like Wrap. Then I checked it's accuracy and it hit less often than Blizzard in Gen 1. Less often than Hydro Pump. It has the same accuracy as Focus Blast.

Tho gen 1 Solar Beam isn't much of a move worth using either outside in-game
 
Suspicious Derivative said:
since the anime had fooled him just like it did for me.
Click to expand...
37354193-6786-466A-8FD5-230B6EB56CD6.jpeg
0C61E45C-C031-4F7A-A0F9-6026570F8FF7.jpeg
*looks at the time a seviper does a poison attack on a metagross

somehow i get the feeling that the anime is not very trustworthy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top