Pokémon/Competitive battling/Moves: Difference between revisions

Don't be scared about the terminology, it merely means "which types have the advantage over which types." For every type that your move is "super-effective" against, the power of the attack is increased by 2x. If a move is super-effective against a type, then the move's type is stronger than the Pokémon's type that is taking the hit. For example, [[bp:Ember (move)|Ember]] is a [[bp:Fire (type)|Fire]] type. [[bp:Charmander (Pokémon)|Charmander]] (type: Fire) uses Ember against a [[bp:Bulbasaur (Pokémon)|Bulbasaur]] (type: [[bp:Grass (type)|Grass]]/[[bp:Poison (type)|Poison]]). Ember's base power if 40. When used, Ember's power will become: 40 (base power) x 1.5 (STAB) x 2 (Fire is strong against Grass) =120 power. See how choosing the right attacks can deal more damage to certain Pokémon? If your move is "not very effective" against a Pokémon, then that means your move's type is weak against the Pokémon's type that is taking the hit. In this situation, the move's power is halved, or is multiplied by 0.5x. For example, Charmander uses Ember against a [[bp:Squirtle (Pokémon)|Squirtle]]. When used, Ember's power will be: 40 (base power) x 1.5 (STAB) x 0.5 (Fire is weak against [[bp:Water (type)|Water]])= 30 power. (x 0.5 is the same as ÷ 2) Be careful, as there are some moves that do no damage (x 0) to a type. For example, Normal attacks are useless against a [[bp:Ghost (type)|Ghost]] Pokémon, such as [[bp:Gengar (Pokémon)|Gengar]]. See how using the same move (Ember) deals different amounts of damage to different Pokémon? Type Alignment Advantages must be memorized, as they are very important when fighting a Pokémon. How do you know which type is strong or weak against which? You would have to memorize it. I will list them:

! Type !! It's super effective! !! It's not very effective... !! No effect

| Normal||{{n/a|None}}||Rock, Steel||Ghost

| Poison||Grass, (Bug RBY)||Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost||Steel

| Dragon||Dragon||Steel||{{n/a|None}}

| Dark||Psychic, Ghost||Fighting, Dark, Steel||{{n/a|None}}

| Steel||Ice, Rock||Fire, Water, Electric, Steel||{{n/a|None}}

It's a pain to memorize this chart if you're a starter, but if you know which moves beats which types, then you will deal a lot more damage! Before we move on, don't forget that some Pokémon have two types, and Type Alignment Advantages can be stacked with each other and other damage multipliers. Let's say Charmander uses Ember on a [[bp:Paras (Pokémon)|Paras]](type: [[bp:Bug (type)|Bug]]/[[bp:Grass (type)|Grass]] and scores a Critical Hit. Ember's power will be: 40 (base power) x 1.5 (STAB) x 2 (Fire is strong against Bug) x 2 (Fire is strong against Grass) x 2 (Critical Hit) = 480 damage.

Wow, that's a lot of damage! If you encounter a Charmander with your Paras, switch right away to a Fire, Water, [[bp:Rock (type)|Rock]], or [[bp:Dragon (type)|Dragon]] type immediately! These types resist Fire, and Paras falls. Now that you know the basics are Type Alignment Advantages, let's try to organize four moves that best fit your Pokémon.

It is recommended that you vary your moves. If you do this, you will get more coverage, meaning you will hit more Pokémon with super-effective attacks and less Pokémon with not very effective attacks. If your Charmander was fighting a [[bp:Dratini (Pokémon)|Dratini]] (type: Dragon) and all Charmander have are Fire attacks, then they will be very weak against Dratini! Let's say your teach your Charmander [[bp:Body Slam (move)|Body Slam]] (type: [[bp:Normal type)|Normal]]). This way, you have an attack that deals normal damage against Dratini instead of not very effective damage. The point is, one Fire move is enough. If you meet a Grass Pokémon, you only need one Fire attack, not four. The more varied your moves are, the more cumulative damage output it has. Although this section is very brief, the remaining sections of this guide will constantly refer back to Move Variety.

It is important to talk about this before anything else. Area Effects affect the game greatly. They can increase the power of certain types of moves, decrease it, power up healing moves, prevent certain situations to happen, or even do damage. There are six moves that inflict Area Effects. They are a) [[bp:Sunny Day (move)|Sunny Day]], b) [[bp:Rain Dance (move)|Rain Dance]], c) [[bp:Sandstorm (move)|Sandstorm]], d) [[bp:Hail (move)|Hail]], e) [[bp:Mist (move)|Mist]], and f) [[bp:Spikes (move)|Spikes]].

* [[bp:Solarbeam (move)|Solarbeam]] requires no charge (more on this later)

* [[bp:Thunder (move)|Thunder’s]] accuracy is reduced to 50%

* The powers of the attacks [[bp:Moonlight (move)|Moonlight]], [[bp:Morning Sun (move)|Morning Sun]], and [[bp:Synthesis (move)|Synthesis]] are doubled. (more on this later)

* The type of the attack [[bp:Weatherball (move)|Weatherball]] changes to Fire. (more on this later)

* [[bp:Solarbeam (move)|Solarbeam's]] power is reduced by half. (more on this later)

* [[bp:Thunder (move)|Thunder]] will always hit.

* The powers of the attacks [[bp:Moonlight (move)|Moonlight]], [[bp:Morning Sun (move)|Morning Sun]], and [[bp:Synthesis (move)|Synthesis]] are halved. (more on this later)

* The type of the attack [[bp:Weatherball (move)|Weatherball]] changes to Water. (more on this later)

* The type of the attack [[bp:Weatherball (move)|Weatherball]] changes to Rock. (more on this later)

* The accuracy of all Pokémon on the field is decreased.

* Hurt all Pokémon on the field that are not Ice-, Normal-, Water- and/or Psychic-types.

* The type of the attack [[bp:Weatherball (move)|Weatherball]] changes to Ice. (more on this later)

* One spikes will take away 1/12 of the opponent's HP on switch-ins, two will take away 1/8, and three will take away 1/4

Remember, if your Pokémon uses one of those moves listed above, then you should be more careful about what the Area Effect is. Just as above, as more information is revealed, these Area Effects will play a larger role.

When you have the Freeze status, you cannot attack at all (unless the move happens to be Sacred Fire, or Flame Wheel) and you have to wait until you defrost or use certain moves to defrost yourself. Other Pokémon (opponent or friendly) can also defrost you, and certain items can defrost you. If Sunny Day is in play, you cannot get the Freeze condition. Also, switching to a Pokémon, using Sunny Day, then switching back to the frozen Pokémon will result in your Pokémon becoming defrosted. You will also be defrosted if your opponent attacks you with any Fire-type move or the move [[bp:Scald (move)|Scald]]. If [[bp:Fire Spin (move)|Fire Spin]], [[bp:Flame Wheel (move)|Flame Wheel]], or [[bp:Sacred Fire (move)|Sacred Fire]] is used by the frozen Pokémon or its opponent, then the frozen Pokémon will be defrosted. If you have another Pokémon in your party that knows [[bp:Heal Bell (move)|Heal Bell]] or [[bp:Aromatherapy (move)|Aromatherapy]], then you can switch to that Pokémon, use that move, and your frozen Pokémon will be defrosted. This is the worst Status Effect since there is little you can do to become defrosted. Having a Burnt Berry, Miracleberry, Aspear Berry, or Lum Berry attached will cure this Status Effect. More about Items Attachment later.

Note: [[bp:Outrage (move)|Outrage]] and [[bp:Petal Dance (move)|Petal Dance]] will confuse the user. The move [[bp:Teeter Dance (move)|Teeter Dance]] will confuse all Pokémon on the field, including your own.

There's no doubt about it; this move is extremely annoying. While it reduces your opponent's HP every turn, the user actually gets healed by the HP that the opponent loses. This is deadly, especially if you leech high HP Pokémon like Snorlax or Blissey. There is no way to get rid of Leech Seed unless you switch out.

When you use Encore, your opponent will be forced to use the move it used last again. If it works well, then keeping the encored Pokémon in will not be an advantage, so you must switch. Encore only lasts 2 to 6 turns though, so you can wear it out if you want.

Stat Changes deal with the actually stats of your Pokémon. If you guessed it, Stat Changing moves increase or decrease Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Other stats we haven't talked about yet that can be changed are Accuracy, Evasion, Boost, and Resistance. Besides from the last four, it should be obvious to you what Status Changes do. To articulate on this subject, increasing a stat one stage multiplies the stat by 1.5x, two stages =2x, three stages=2.5x, etc. The highest you can go is six stages= 4x. Using this method, then the reverse is true. Decreasing a stat one stage divides the stat by 1.5x, and etc.. This is simple for the first five stats listed above. For these ones I'll just list the moves that best increase or decrease that stat. I will give further details for the last four. The ability Simple will double the strength of these effects, and Baton Pass can be used to keep them while switching.

Increase: Foresight, Haze, Lock-On, Odor Sleuth

Resistance is when you raise your resistance to the power of one type of move. For example, [[bp:Mud Sport (move)|Mud Sport]] decreases the power of Electric attacks used against you. Resistance moves are not usually a good idea, since your opponent will likely have more than one type of move.

This is one of the most important concept in the game, although not the most important move. Have you wondered what would happen if your opponent uses Swords Dance three times? It would be almost impossible to defend against their physical attacks. When you use [[bp:Haze (move)|Haze]], every Stat Change on the battling field goes away. That annoying Scyther's Swords Dances are gone and its attack stat is back to normal. Be careful, since it also takes away your own Status Change. That is why it is not recommended to have both Stat Changing moves and Haze in a moveset.

These moves are called Pseudo-Hazing, or, for short, PHazing. Pseudo-Hazing means that a move has the effects of Haze without using the move "Haze." When you [[bp:Roar (move)|Roar]], you force your opponent to switch (except under special circumstances, which we will talk about later) and, if you recall from above, Stat Changes go away when you switch! This is a clever way to remove your opponent's Stat Changes without Hazing yourself also. Beware, though, that your opponent will have a new Pokémon in, and that Roar and Whirlwind

[[bp:Mean Look (move)|Mean Look]] is a useful move that prevents your opponent from switching out. [[bp:Spider Web (move)|Spider Web]] does the same thing, but most battlers refer to both as "Mean Look" or "Trapping". Strategies involving these moves will be dealt with later, but there are a few things that you should know about this move. Using Baton Pass will pass on the Mean Look status to your next Pokémon, prior to Generation V. If the user uses Baton Pass to another Pokémon, then the opponent is still trapped. If your trapped opponent Baton Passes to another Pokémon, then that new Pokémon will still be trapped. This is a good way to prevent Hazing or PHazing, since your opponent cannot switch to a Pokémon with Haze, Roar, or Whirlwind. If you switch out the user, then the trapped opponent will no longer become trapped. The held item Shed Shell will allow you to switch no matter what the opponent has.

Oh my, what a wonderful move. [[bp:Substitute (move)|Substitute]] will sacrifice one-fourth of your HP and create another copy of that Pokémon (with the amount of HP you lost by using the move). The copy will have the same stats as the original, but all hits will be taken by the copy until the so-called Substitute breaks. The Substitute will break after its HP (equal to 1/4 of yours) is reduced to zero. While not very appealing to many beginners, this could save you a lot of time and especially good if you predict that your opponent will switch. If you use Baton Pass with a Substitute in play, then the Substitute will be transferred to the next Pokémon but with the latter Pokémon's stats (except for HP).

I've already explained that [[bp:Rapid Spin (move)|Rapid Spin]] will blow away [[bp:Spikes (move)|Spikes]]. I will clarify that this move will only blow away the Spikes hurting you, not the Spikes you used to hurt the opponent. Also, Rapid Spin will release you from restraining moves such as Fire Spin and Wrap. It also has a little bonus of doing 20 base damage to the enemy.

[[bp:Perish Song (move)|Perish Song]] can be a weak, easy to avoid move, or it can be very deadly. When Perish Song is used, 3 turns later, all Pokémon on both sides will faint no matter what! This might sound bad, but you can switch out at any time during the count to save your Pokémon. Further strategies about Perish Song will be explained later on.

These moves protect the user from any damage done that round. Of course, it won't protect the damage taken by Wrap (and other restraining moves), Hail, Sandstorm, Poison, Burn, and Leech Seed. It seems like a move that stalls time (which it does very well with the help of leftovers, toxic, etc.), but it can be used to predict your opponent's move without losing a lot of HP if that move is indeed super-effective. For example, Magneton uses Protect against a Venusaur. Venusaur uses Earthquake, and Magneton is protected! It is not a waste of move, since you will now probably switch out Magneton to prevent being eradicated by Earthquake, which Magneton has a 4x weakness against.

These moves are very weak but they attack several times randomly, 2 to 5, in one turn. It seems like a risk, but these moves are mainly used to break Substitute. Let's say use you [[bp:Rock Blast (move)|Rock Blast]] and you attack four times. The Substitute breaks on the second Rock Blast, meaning that the last two Rock Blasts will hit your opponent, not the Substitute. If the user has the ability Technician, these moves can become very powerful.

[[bp:Fly (move)|Fly]] is a two-turn attack. On the first turn, your Pokémon flies up into the air, avoiding almost all attacks. On the second turn, your Pokémon will attack the enemy for 90 base damage. [[bp:Dig (move)|Dig]] and [[bp:Dive (move)|Dive]] do almost the same thing for 80 damage. These moves are mainly used with the item Leftovers attached (more about this later) to slowly heal the user's HP. Beware that some moves do hit while you're Flying, Digging, and Diving. Shadow Force is another similar move- except you cannot be hit. Dig and Shadow Force (and Dive, to a lesser extent) are not advisable, as the enemy can switch to a Pokémon immune to the move.

After using [[bp:Endure (move)|Endure]], your Pokémon will always have at least 1 HP left after your opponent strikes you. However, Sandstorm, Hail, Leech Seed, Poison, and Burn will still damage you.

[[bp:Swift (move)|Swift]] hits no matter what. (Pokémon using Protect, Detect, and Substitute, as well as Ghost Pokémon are not affected). [[bp:Faint Attack (move)|Faint Attack]] hits any Pokémon that is visible on the field. Flying, Digging, and Diving Pokémon are not affected.

[[bp:Dream Eater (move)|Dream Eater]] can only be used if your opponent is asleep. It is a Psychic attack that has 100% power while 50% of the HP that your opponent lost heals you. [[bp:Nightmare (move)|Nightmare]] is similar, but for every round that your opponent is asleep, it will lose one fourth of its HP. You are not healed when using Nightmare, and you only need to use Nightmare once.

[[bp:Counter (move)|Counter]] retaliates with double the damage when you are hit by a Physical Attack. [[bp:Mirror Coat (move)|Mirror Coat]] retaliates with double the damage when you are hit by a Special Attack. This sounds great, but if you use Counter and your opponent uses a Special attack, then Counter does nothing. The key here is to predict what your opponent will do. Note that if you faint, you cannot Counter to faint you opponent. Counter and Mirror Coat cause you to move last.

===Headbutt, Rock Slide, Crunch, etc.===

These moves deal damage in the future, or in several rounds. They do not get STAB, and they do not consider Type Alignment Advantages.

===Quick Attack, Mach Punch, Aqua Jet, Shadow Sneak, Vacuum Wave, Ice Shard, and Extremespeed===

These moves always attack first. If both Pokémon use one of these seven, then the one with the highest Speed strikes first. Even though Quick Attack and Mach Punch do little damage, they can be use quite effectively with the right strategy.

These moves are almost on the bottom of the list mainly because I've talked so much about them. As described many times before, they get rid of Status Effects and Status Problems on your entire party.

Like above, I've talked about this move. It heals the Burn, Poison, and Paralyze Status Effects.

===Aeroblast, Slash, Cross Chop, etc...===

Rest fully recovers your HP and heals all Status Effects (Burn, Poison, etc.). You go to sleep for the next 2 turns, so your opponent gets the chance to attack twice while you are asleep.

I've talked about this move but I want to review it. When you are Poisoned by Toxic, you lose more HP per round for every round you're not cured. This is a deadly attack indeed.

Now, you have learned mostly all you know about moves. This section should give you the idea that attacking relentlessly is not the only strategy out there. Even though I've given you these moves and what they do, I do not expect you to use them effectively... yet. These moves work well together, and you will learn through experience just as well as reading this guide. For now, try to memorize some of these moves, or constantly refer back to them instead of just saying "I don't have to worry since this move doesn't do damage." This is especially true for the Second Generation, where most battle stalls are so long because these above moves are so effective at preventing your opponent from using damaging moves effectively.