You do have four spare EVs, right? There you go.
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Pokémon Movepool Oddities & Explanations
- Thread starter Kurona
- Start date
You do have four spare EVs, right? There you go.
It doesn't even really need them. It's Defense is naturally higher than its Special Defense.
Well if there's no chance of Substitute/BP support, you don't need to run a Def IV of 31. Just run a Def IV of 0 and a SpD IV of 31, and you're set against Download.
Here's something that GF didn't fully think through. The movepools of Pokemon who get the Rock Head Ability:
Geodude family, Onix family, Cubone family, and Bagon & Shelgon only get Double-Edge.
Rhyhorn family, Aerodactyl, Bonsly, and Blue Basculin get Double-Edge &lesser Double-Edge Take Down.
Sudowoodo, Aron family, and Relicanth are the only ones who I would say probably get the best use of it learning Double-Edge (and Take Down) and Wood Hammer (Sudowoodo)/Head Smash (Aron family and Relicanth). Also Tyrantrum only gets Head Smash, but hey it can make use of that at least.
And no Rock Head Pokemon learns Brave Bird, Flare Blitz, Submission, and Wild Charge (also Head Charge, Light of Ruin, and Volt Tackle but those are Signature Moves and I don't see Bouffalant, AZ's Floette, and Pikachu family getting Rock Head).
Think about it, Rock Head Aerodactly with Head Smash, Brave Bird, Flare Blitz, and Roost new meta. Probably would give its Mega Evolution a run for its money.
Geodude family, Onix family, Cubone family, and Bagon & Shelgon only get Double-Edge.
Rhyhorn family, Aerodactyl, Bonsly, and Blue Basculin get Double-Edge &
Sudowoodo, Aron family, and Relicanth are the only ones who I would say probably get the best use of it learning Double-Edge (and Take Down) and Wood Hammer (Sudowoodo)/Head Smash (Aron family and Relicanth). Also Tyrantrum only gets Head Smash, but hey it can make use of that at least.
And no Rock Head Pokemon learns Brave Bird, Flare Blitz, Submission, and Wild Charge (also Head Charge, Light of Ruin, and Volt Tackle but those are Signature Moves and I don't see Bouffalant, AZ's Floette, and Pikachu family getting Rock Head).
Think about it, Rock Head Aerodactly with Head Smash, Brave Bird, Flare Blitz, and Roost new meta. Probably would give its Mega Evolution a run for its money.
Considering the STAB moves, that would indeed make Aerodactyl a formidable Wallbreaker/Sweeper (depending on item), but I wonder if knowing about that kind of absurd power is one reason it hasn't gotten them. They've seen how far high BP moves go already for something like Talonflame.
I also wonder how fitting Head Smash would be. Rock Head ability aside, I never took Pterodactyls to be creatures with hard enough skulls to actively attack with the way other dinosaurs or creatures evolved to.
Any weirder than Tepig family, Deino family, and Tyrantrum learning Head Smash? Heck, Archen learns Head Smash and its frailer than Aerodactyl.
Also Mega Aerodactyl looks like it wouldn't mind bashing you with its head:
Plus Aerodactyl does learn Iron Head via level-up.
Aerodactyl having Rock Head and yet learning neither of the recoil moves it gets STAB on will never stop being bizarre.
Crobat gets Brave Bird. Unfeazant does not. A pheasant definitely is a bird.
Chatot? A parrot is a bird.
Fearow either. Pretty sure a sparrow is a bird, too.
Noctowl? Alright, fine: >implying owls are birds
Togekiss, maybe? No? Okay.
I laughed harder than I should have.
Flash is like Shadow Ball in that it seems to be distributed with no rhyme or reason. Random stuff like Darkrai and Spinda get it while most Fire-types (AKA free light sources) don't.
Sky Attack is called "God Bird" in Japan yet Aerodactyl, Mew, Crobat, Gliscor, Sigilyph, and Noibat family are able to learn it.
Is it not enough that their body is shaped similar enough to that of a typical bird?
Pretty sure I explained this a while back, but Brave Bird is simply just a name; the move itself is nothing more and nothing less than a mid-air dive bomb. Being a "bird" isn't a requirement, the Pokemon in question simply needs to be adept at making fast and sudden dives.
Reason why Zubat gets Brave Bird? As someone who usually watches the bats around here during the summer/fall evenings, bats can make sudden dive snaps mid-air to grab insects. Why would Zubat be any different? The bigger question is why doesn't Zubat get it as a Lv up move?
Reason why Zubat gets Brave Bird? As someone who usually watches the bats around here during the summer/fall evenings, bats can make sudden dive snaps mid-air to grab insects. Why would Zubat be any different? The bigger question is why doesn't Zubat get it as a Lv up move?
I can understand non-Bird Pokemon getting it only via Egg Move, it's called Brave BIRD for a reason, Bird Pokemon probably learn it naturally thus the misnomer. However, as you pointed out, I don't see why a Pokemon who's body shape is similar to that of a bird can't be taught it by some other means like TM, Tutor, or Egg Move.
If it helps, the Italian name for Brave Bird translates to "Brave Wings", so it's a bit more specie-neutral. Then you wonder how Blaziken learns it, though.
Anyway, I think some moves are meant to be exclusive. Take Head Smash: anything with a head can bump hard into a foe and hurt itself a lot in the process, but only a few Pokémon learn it. Also, Aegislash learns it and it doesn't even have a head!
A move whose distribution I find very strange is Agility. Most Pokémon that learn it are fast and agile, but some aren't., such as Empoleon. Maybe it refers to how penguins are very fast swimmers, but Switf Swim would fit the bill more.
Anyway, I think some moves are meant to be exclusive. Take Head Smash: anything with a head can bump hard into a foe and hurt itself a lot in the process, but only a few Pokémon learn it. Also, Aegislash learns it and it doesn't even have a head!
A move whose distribution I find very strange is Agility. Most Pokémon that learn it are fast and agile, but some aren't., such as Empoleon. Maybe it refers to how penguins are very fast swimmers, but Switf Swim would fit the bill more.
I think I've already mentioned this before, but anyways . . .
I believe Aerodactyl may not be able to learn Brave Bird or Head Smash because it never needed to.
Having being described as the 'King of the Skies' back in its day millions of years ago, it was already strong enough not to need these moves to defend itself, similar to how we humans probably won't further evolve because we're already at the top of our biological environment.
Consider that as some Aerodactyl didn't have Rock Head, it would be risky to learn a move that they didn't need which would only serve to damage them back.
Upon being resurrected from a fossil, Aerodactyl was suddenly confronted with a wide array of rival Flying types, but never having to need Brave Bird or Head Smash beforehand, it physically no longer has the ability to learn them.
I believe Aerodactyl may not be able to learn Brave Bird or Head Smash because it never needed to.
Having being described as the 'King of the Skies' back in its day millions of years ago, it was already strong enough not to need these moves to defend itself, similar to how we humans probably won't further evolve because we're already at the top of our biological environment.
Consider that as some Aerodactyl didn't have Rock Head, it would be risky to learn a move that they didn't need which would only serve to damage them back.
Upon being resurrected from a fossil, Aerodactyl was suddenly confronted with a wide array of rival Flying types, but never having to need Brave Bird or Head Smash beforehand, it physically no longer has the ability to learn them.
But... Aerodactyl has a ton of things it never had in the past.
Like TMs. And items.
And Mega Evolution.
... and a human.
Yes, but there has never been a TM, or indeed any artificial method to learn either Brave Bird or Head Smash. My reasoning is for them being unable to learn the moves by level-up, as opposed to artificial methods, which weren't available for them back then.
As for items, they can be used on any Pokémon. Aerodactyl being a Pokémon, albeit an old one, they would of course be able to be used on it too. About Mega Evolution, wasn't there a source implying that Aerodactyl's Mega Evolution was actually closer to what it was like millions of years ago compared to today?
And like any Pokémon, even the most monstrous of all, it can be tamed by the most powerful being that is us :D
And what about Egg Moves? Aerodactyl can learn Egg Moves, and some are notable like Pursuit.
Egg moves don't have to be as a result of Trainer pairing Pokémon to breed to get certain moves. It could happen quite naturally, like with the OR/AS PokéNav in the wild. We have no idea as to the extent of Pokémon from millions of years ago, so any combination could result in Egg moves.
Perhaps, back in the day, Pursuit was an effective, but not necessary move to have, as it allowed Aerodactyl to better chase down its prey.
Also at the same time, while the Pokemon never learned the move back in the day, they might still have the capability TO know the move?
Something like, imagine us learning how to improvise our own attacks. We have the tools to actually use the moves but we don't know how.
Though this brings up a Mysteries topic, how are Pokemon actually able to learn Egg Moves? (I'll bring it up there)
Something like, imagine us learning how to improvise our own attacks. We have the tools to actually use the moves but we don't know how.
Though this brings up a Mysteries topic, how are Pokemon actually able to learn Egg Moves? (I'll bring it up there)
I see it more as a metaphor for a father teaching their child their own unique skill; with Breeding being the best way to implement it mechanics-wise.
Why is Emboar the only non-water type to learn Scald?
Emboar using Scald makes sense because fire = boiling water, but why is Emboar the only fire type, let alone non-water type, to get Scald?
EDIT: didn't do enough research lol. I just remembered Emboar being able to learn scald and found it weird.
Emboar using Scald makes sense because fire = boiling water, but why is Emboar the only fire type, let alone non-water type, to get Scald?
EDIT: didn't do enough research lol. I just remembered Emboar being able to learn scald and found it weird.
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Mew gets it too. I'd say it really just depends on the pokemon, randomly, with no specific pattern or formula showing who gets it (besides the water type requirement obviously).