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

Pokémon Movepool Oddities & Explanations

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).
Mew doesn't count in the same way Smeargle doesn't count. Stunfisk and Castform, however, do count. Azuril and Dragalge also get it, but they evolve into or from Water-types.

There is a noticeable pattern in that Water-types that are part Ice can't get Scald. Otherwise I think the all of the rest can learn it, but I'm too lazy to check.
 
Last edited:
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).

Mew gets every TM so it doesn't really count. There are a few non-Water types that get Scald (Stunfisk, Dragalge) but they are based off acquatic animals anyway. Perhaps Emboar drinks water and boils it in its mouth? Other Fires could do it too, but maybe Emboar is the only Fire Pokémon willing to do that. Emboar it's a pig after all and it looks "fat" and gluttonous enough to do that.

EDIT: nanja'd
 
Palkia and Arceus-Water are two non-Ice waters that can't get Scald. Which is kinda weird since they both can use Fire attacks.
And even weirder considering Legendaries' generally very large movepools; especially with Arceus having almost Mew-level TM/Tutor compatibility - usually it's rule of thumb for the TMs/Tutors it can't learn are that they're related to arms or punching in some way, but clearly Scald doesn't involve that. I'm tempted to chalk this up to overlooks but at the same time it's kind of interesting that specifically what are essentially the gods in the Pokémon universe can't learn it...
 
Peck, the most basic thing you'd think a creature with a beak would be able to do, right? Pidgey family & Ho-Oh can't learn it.

Pidgeot can play at Mach 2, that's two times the speed of sound. Can't learn Extreme Speed.

Ninetales is going to have a hard time cursing people who pull its tail as it doesn't actually learn Curse (gets Grudge and Spite though, though only through Vulpix).

Gengar is the Shadow Pokemon, it's Mega Evolution even losing its Levitate Ability to fuse with it shadow. Doesn't learn Shadow Sneak.

You never need to worry about a wild Drowzee or Hypno eating your dreams, they only learn Dream Eater via TM and Tutor.

Vaporeon is the Bubble Jet Pokemon. One must wonder how it got that classification as it can't learn Bubble nor Bubble Beam.

Manaphy can learn Tail Glow despite the parts of its body which glows isn't its tail (and the move's Japanese name is "Firefly Light" which Manaphy isn't either). Honestly Ampharos would make more sense, at least its tail glows.

A sunflower gets its name not only because of its appearance but also because the flower part follows the sun as it moves across the sky. Sunflora, the sunflower Pokemon, doesn't learn Morning Sun. Well at least it gets Synthesis, right? Well, yeah, but only through Sunkern and Move Tutor.

Nuzleaf plays grass flutes which makes those who hear it feel uneasy. I guess that's why it doesn't learn Grass Whistle.

I get they want to make Morning Sun and Moonlight exclusive moves a few Pokemon learn, but I think they can make an exception for Solrock and Lunatone. I mean they only look like a sun and moon...

Not moves, but you'd think Absol, the Pokemon who can predict disasters and tries to warn people about it, would get Forewarn or Anticipation (Japanese name "Danger Premonition").

Bronzor must not be a very reflective bronze mirror as it can't learn Mirror Shot nor Mirror Coat.

Gible family's naming scheme involved biting in some way. The only "biting" moves they learn is Fire Fang and Crunch and that's only for Garchomp, Gible and Gabite don't learn any biting moves.

I have some other but these in particular stood out.
 
Peck, the most basic thing you'd think a creature with a beak would be able to do, right? Pidgey family & Ho-Oh can't learn it.

Pidgeot can play at Mach 2, that's two times the speed of sound. Can't learn Extreme Speed.

Ninetales is going to have a hard time cursing people who pull its tail as it doesn't actually learn Curse (gets Grudge and Spite though, though only through Vulpix).

Gengar is the Shadow Pokemon, it's Mega Evolution even losing its Levitate Ability to fuse with it shadow. Doesn't learn Shadow Sneak.

You never need to worry about a wild Drowzee or Hypno eating your dreams, they only learn Dream Eater via TM and Tutor.

Vaporeon is the Bubble Jet Pokemon. One must wonder how it got that classification as it can't learn Bubble nor Bubble Beam.

Manaphy can learn Tail Glow despite the parts of its body which glows isn't its tail (and the move's Japanese name is "Firefly Light" which Manaphy isn't either). Honestly Ampharos would make more sense, at least its tail glows.

A sunflower gets its name not only because of its appearance but also because the flower part follows the sun as it moves across the sky. Sunflora, the sunflower Pokemon, doesn't learn Morning Sun. Well at least it gets Synthesis, right? Well, yeah, but only through Sunkern and Move Tutor.

Nuzleaf plays grass flutes which makes those who hear it feel uneasy. I guess that's why it doesn't learn Grass Whistle.

I get they want to make Morning Sun and Moonlight exclusive moves a few Pokemon learn, but I think they can make an exception for Solrock and Lunatone. I mean they only look like a sun and moon...

Not moves, but you'd think Absol, the Pokemon who can predict disasters and tries to warn people about it, would get Forewarn or Anticipation (Japanese name "Danger Premonition").

Bronzor must not be a very reflective bronze mirror as it can't learn Mirror Shot nor Mirror Coat.

Gible family's naming scheme involved biting in some way. The only "biting" moves they learn is Fire Fang and Crunch and that's only for Garchomp, Gible and Gabite don't learn any biting moves.

I have some other but these in particular stood out.
Solrock and Lunatune get Morning Sun and Moonlight through 5th gen entree link. Vaporeon got Bubblebeam by TM in gen 1. I have had heard people refer to Sea Angels (What Manaphy is based after) as Sea Fireflies before. Pidgeot's issue is pokedex bullshit.
 
Solrock and Lunatune get Morning Sun and Moonlight through 5th gen entree link. Vaporeon got Bubblebeam by TM in gen 1. I have had heard people refer to Sea Angels (What Manaphy is based after) as Sea Fireflies before. Pidgeot's issue is pokedex bullshit.

1. And since the Dream World is no more once again Solrock & Lunatone cannot get Morning Sun & Moonlight. And still I think they should be able to learn it naturally.
2. Yeah, but it's still called the Bubble Jet Pokemon so you'd think it would learn those moves naturally (an it learning it in Gen I doesn't mean anything now, though to be fair once you get Scald or Surf it doesn't need Bubble Beam anymore).
3. I had a feeling it being sort of bug-like (it's technically a slug) is the reason, though still it's not coming from its tail. I think they can spread Tail Glow to other Pokemon, even if they aren't fireflies, and no one would really say anything against it.
4. A lot of these are Pokedex BS. I sometimes wonder if the content team and the design team even talk to one another. You'd think they'd compare notes and either fix any wrong implications the Pokedex may give or they may add certain moves to the moveset to accommodate what the Pokedex said.

"Pidgeot can fly at mach 2? Yeah, I think you should rewrite that to something more realistic."
"You named the land sharks after mouth parts? Well I guess we can add Bite and Crunch to their moveset."
 
To be fair, does Garchomp even want Crunch?

And Gengar's Attack is so shit, learning Shadow Sneak would be pointless.
 
Last edited:
To be fair, does Garchomp even want Crunch?

And Gengar's Attack is so shit, learning Shadow Sneak would be pointless.
It's just a matter of flavor. And even if you argue the legitimate point that Gengar is a Special attacker and Shadow Sneak Physical, Garchomp is a Physical mon without some of the physical moves his theme would entail.

This is probably not so much a move question as a concept, but do Water Pokemon simply draw water out of their body for Water attacks? How does Surf as an attack move work, especially from non Water types? Hydro Pump or such could be explained as the water being expelled at high pressure as it is drawn out, but Surf creates a Wave, which not only requires a greater quantity of water, but is used in a manner that is much less directly controlled.

As my second sentence alludes to, this particularly confuses me with mons that don't have any reason to have a water affinity regardless of type, like Rhydon, or Pangoro and Tauros, which are based on animals that dwell nowhere near a body of water larger than maybe a lake or small river.
 
It's just a matter of flavor. And even if you argue the legitimate point that Gengar is a Special attacker and Shadow Sneak Physical, Garchomp is a Physical mon without some of the physical moves his theme would entail.

This is probably not so much a move question as a concept, but do Water Pokemon simply draw water out of their body for Water attacks? How does Surf as an attack move work, especially from non Water types? Hydro Pump or such could be explained as the water being expelled at high pressure as it is drawn out, but Surf creates a Wave, which not only requires a greater quantity of water, but is used in a manner that is much less directly controlled.

As my second sentence alludes to, this particularly confuses me with mons that don't have any reason to have a water affinity regardless of type, like Rhydon, or Pangoro and Tauros, which are based on animals that dwell nowhere near a body of water larger than maybe a lake or small river.

I didn't know that Pangoro could even learn Surf, and don't really care, since he'd rather go all Hulk or Clobbering Time on his enemies, rather than drowning them in his spit. Even chucking a trash can at them feels a lot more satisfying!
 
To be fair, does Garchomp even want Crunch?

Garchomp actually learns Crunch, and it did since its introduction. Its pre-evos don't, however, while Patrat of all things gets it.

As for Surf, it does have a very weird distribution among non-Water types. Maybe they gave it to Pokémon that would look good on a surfboard? Even then, Rhydon, Snorlax and Avalugg don't really look like your stereotypical surfer type.
 
Garchomp actually learns Crunch, and it did since its introduction. Its pre-evos don't, however, while Patrat of all things gets it.

As for Surf, it does have a very weird distribution among non-Water types. Maybe they gave it to Pokémon that would look good on a surfboard? Even then, Rhydon, Snorlax and Avalugg don't really look like your stereotypical surfer type.

Well Snorlax probably gets it because it can float and Avalugg is an iceberg, icebergs float on water, so Avalugg can probably use surf. Rhydon is just odd and I don't have an explanation for that one.
 
To be fair, does Garchomp even want Crunch?

And Gengar's Attack is so shit, learning Shadow Sneak would be pointless.
Gengar was given shadow Sneak for flavour...

oh and Snorlax learns surf because it lies on it's back in the water, have you seen it's overworld sprite in Leafgreen and Firered?
 
Ash's Snorlax can swim:
hUu7s1Z.gif


And as a bonus, Rhydon surfing:
200px-Rhydon_Surf.png
 
Here's a question, why does Goodra learn Muddy Water, but not Surf? Everything else that learns the move also learns Surf.

Gardevoir learns Defense Curl as a tutor move. I'm fairly sure that a Gardevoir curling itself into a ball would impale itself on the chest spike. Oh, and by extension, Gallade learns it too.


The Togepi line can learn Peck through breeding. What's it pecking with exactly?

In the same vein, the Togepi line learn Dream Eater(despite only having Yawn), Pluck(what beak again?), and Present.



Gen2 Hopip learns Pay Day, but then again, it's Gen 2


I'm not really sure how Pikachu can learn how to create Webs(Electroweb)


Mewtwo learns Dive, and yet doesn't learn Surf. Or pretty much any other Water-Type move(except Water Pulse)


Victribell learns Bug Bite. Where are its teeth/non-rubbery mouth?


Why exactly does Umbreon learn Synchronoise? Miracle eye AND the one of the most useless moves in the game? 10/10 Gamefreak, it's a good set.

There are multiple things that learn Snore without a mouth to actually SNORE with.(Regis, Staryu, Roggenrola)
 
Garchomp actually learns Crunch, and it did since its introduction. Its pre-evos don't, however, while Patrat of all things gets it.

As for Surf, it does have a very weird distribution among non-Water types. Maybe they gave it to Pokémon that would look good on a surfboard? Even then, Rhydon, Snorlax and Avalugg don't really look like your stereotypical surfer type.
Here's a question, why does Goodra learn Muddy Water, but not Surf? Everything else that learns the move also learns Surf.

Gardevoir learns Defense Curl as a tutor move. I'm fairly sure that a Gardevoir curling itself into a ball would impale itself on the chest spike. Oh, and by extension, Gallade learns it too.


The Togepi line can learn Peck through breeding. What's it pecking with exactly?

In the same vein, the Togepi line learn Dream Eater(despite only having Yawn), Pluck(what beak again?), and Present.



Gen2 Hopip learns Pay Day, but then again, it's Gen 2


I'm not really sure how Pikachu can learn how to create Webs(Electroweb)


Mewtwo learns Dive, and yet doesn't learn Surf. Or pretty much any other Water-Type move(except Water Pulse)


Victribell learns Bug Bite. Where are its teeth/non-rubbery mouth?


Why exactly does Umbreon learn Synchronoise? Miracle eye AND the one of the most useless moves in the game? 10/10 Gamefreak, it's a good set.

There are multiple things that learn Snore without a mouth to actually SNORE with.(Regis, Staryu, Roggenrola)
Togepi is inheriting the flying type moves from Togekiss.

The move electroweb refers to either an actual web or is refering to the electricity of pikachu

Does Gardevoir really have a attacking spike?

Victribell has a mouth. It is a venus fly trap like pokemon

The Regis all have mouths so they can snore. Roggenrola has a secret compartment as well.

Mewtwo has legs. This means it has the ability to jump in water.
 
Togepi is inheriting the flying type moves from Togekiss.

The move electroweb refers to either an actual web or is refering to the electricity of pikachu

Does Gardevoir really have a attacking spike?

Victribell has a mouth. It is a venus fly trap like pokemon

The Regis all have mouths so they can snore. Roggenrola has a secret compartment as well.

Mewtwo has legs. This means it has the ability to jump in water.


The togepi line has no beak to speak of, so how are they USING peck?

Gardevoir has a spike in the middle of its chest. It does not attack with it as far as I know.

Victribell has no teeth, or hard mouth to speak of, so how does it bite things?

The Regis have no mouth, this has been shown in the movies before, so how are they snoring?

Many things have legs and cannot learn dive, but everything else that learns Dive also learns Surf. It makes zero sense.

Electroweb is a literal electrified web as far as I know.


Also, have this hilarious comic I found about Dive Mewtwo:

oras___mewtwo_used_dive_by_myuutsufan-d88y86c.png
 
The togepi line has no beak to speak of, so how are they USING peck?

Gardevoir has a spike in the middle of its chest. It does not attack with it as far as I know.

Victribell has no teeth, or hard mouth to speak of, so how does it bite things?

The Regis have no mouth, this has been shown in the movies before, so how are they snoring?

Many things have legs and cannot learn dive, but everything else that learns Dive also learns Surf. It makes zero sense.

Electroweb is a literal electrified web as far as I know.


Also, have this hilarious comic I found about Dive Mewtwo:

oras___mewtwo_used_dive_by_myuutsufan-d88y86c.png
Umm Victreebell has teeth,and haven't you seen it bite James in the anime? Look it up it's really funny tbh.
 
thdhted:

Mind if I gave my own input?

Muddy Goomy: It is odd it doesn't learn Surf, but I suppose there is some logic. The Goomy family is a slug/snail (yes it's part Dragon but design and flavor wise they more focus on its slug/snail origin, actually they insult its dragon part) which would explain at least why it gets Muddy Water. But why not Surf? Well maybe because it isn't part Water-type. The other two non-Water-type that learns Muddy Water (and Surf) is Stunfisk (who's is based on a fish) and Lickitung (who's a Normal-type so naturally learns a lot of elemental moves; it also only learns it through breeding). And the other slug Pokemon, Shellos & Gastrodon, are part Water-type. So I think its a combination of it being a slug/snail and also not being part Water-type.

Curldavoir: Well first off it only got it as a Tutor Move in Emerald. Also Ralts and Kirlia get it and I don't think they'll have a problem doing it (and even if they made it so Gardevoir didn't learn it it'll still get it could still get it when it was a Ralts/Kirlia). But as for how does Gardevoir itself curl without hurting itself? Well who says those horns are hard? Maybe they're soft or at least can bend. The spikes are a psychic manifestation of Gardevoir's heart so maybe it can turn it back into energy or recall them into its body. Or maybe it just curls up in a way that it isn't poking itself. Also curling up doesn't mean it turns into a ball, it could maybe duck and cover.

Egg Peck: Many animals who hatch from eggs have something called an "egg tooth". It's a hard tip at the end of a beak (like for birds and turtles) or snout (crocodiles) that the baby uses to break their way out of the egg. Since Togepi is based on an animal hatching from an egg (and it becoming more avian as it evolves), it makes sense. As for what it uses? Well it could have an actual tooth, or being the "Spike Ball" Pokemon maybe it uses one of its spike.

More Togepi: For Dream Eater maybe its a joke on how when you have a baby its crying keeps you up thus sapping your strength. :P Pluck could just be an extension of the "egg tooth" idea, and finally Present because it just likes you that much (Togepi and its evolution are sort of manifestations of happiness an joy).

Gen II Pay Day: Though it's not immediately obvious, the Hoppip family does have a slight resemble to a cat (most obvious with Hoppip). Pay Day's Japanese name is "Coin for a cat". However since Hoppip is more based on a weed they decided to remove it though it was later given to Purloin since it's a sneaky cat like Meowth.

Spiderchu: Pikachu creates an electricified net (note in its description it says its a net) that looks like a web rather then electrically charged silk. This also goes for the other Electric-types that learn it (and Porygon).

Mewtwo Logic: Mewtwo doesn't need to Surf as it can levitate itself over the water. However to go underwater it does need to Dive (probably surrounding itself with Psychic energy).

Plant Teeth: Victreebel has teeth.
Spr_5b_071.png

Do you maybe mean its pre-evolution, Weepinbell?
Spr_5b_070.png

Since Bellsprout can't learn Bug Bite but Victreebel can, maybe Weepinbell have developing teeth we just don't see? It could also be a reference/joke that it's not biting like a bug but rather it eats bugs since its based on a pitcher plant (which could explain some of the other non-Bug-types that learn it too ;)).

Quiet Like The Night: First, Umbreon doesn't learn Miracle Eye. Two, it gets it as an Egg Move, as in EEVEE gets it. It's not meant for Umbreon, its meant for the other Eeveelutions who can use it (though why I don't know; they may have raised its Power to 120 though they still need to re-think that move (like at least have it do typeless or maybe even direct damage thus getting around the whole type chart problem)).

Loud Sleeper: Snore just says the Pokemon makes a loud sound while sleeping, don't need a mouth to do that.
 
Last edited:
The togepi line has no beak to speak of, so how are they USING peck?

Gardevoir has a spike in the middle of its chest. It does not attack with it as far as I know.

Victribell has no teeth, or hard mouth to speak of, so how does it bite things?

The Regis have no mouth, this has been shown in the movies before, so how are they snoring?

Many things have legs and cannot learn dive, but everything else that learns Dive also learns Surf. It makes zero sense.

Electroweb is a literal electrified web as far as I know.


Also, have this hilarious comic I found about Dive Mewtwo:

oras___mewtwo_used_dive_by_myuutsufan-d88y86c.png
I assume the Regis knowing Snore means it comes from the same place where their cries come from...wherever that is, and I think that's what The_Emperor means by the mouth
 
Always thought Togepi used the spike to peck like how Nidoran uses its horn.

As for Weepinbell/Victreebel, Carnvine also gets it but I like to think for those two, it's a pun on the other way to read Bug Bite (as in it bites bugs) since they're based on insectivorous plants. Same with Heatmor, it's like a stealth pun since they eat Bugs.

I mean sure it doesn't actually relate to the actual effect of the move...
 
Beedrill, Kabutops, and Gallade don't get Swords Dance. Their ARMS ARE BLADES/SPEARS! Scyther, Bisharp, and Escavalier gets it and they have blade and spear arms, so why not them? There are other Pokemon I could also list but these stand out the most to me. Also somehow Oddish gets Swords Dance, why (like Bellsprout does too, but it eventually evolves into something that has sharp edges (Weepinbell & Bellsprout have leaf "arms"))?

Meh, messed up.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top