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[Watch Da Birdie]

Today's entry is a bit dull---it's powder time!

Poison Powder - Poison [Status]
35PP/75%
The user scatters a cloud of poisonous dust that poisons the target.
If powered up by a Poisonium Z into Z-Poison Powder, the user's Defense stat raises one stage.

Poison Powder is our first "dust/spore" move, another subset of moves that consist of Status moves that cause the target to suffer different status effects, and though originally this connection was merely superficial much like Sound-based moves this has become a mechanically distinct category of moves as they are unable to effect Grass-type Pokemon, Pokemon with Overcoat, and those holding the Safety Goggles as of Generation VI. In addition like other moves that cause poison, Poison Powder has no effect on Poison or Steel-type Pokemon, as well as those with the Immunity Ability. Though it will always cause poison if it hits it isn't super reliable due to the low accuracy of the attack itself, and all the examples who currently resist it has reduced its usefulness over the years. This isn't necessarily Poison Powder's fault, rather the fact that Toxic is clearly superior to any move that simply poisons and is learnable by virtually every Pokemon of note.

Though it's a Poison-type attack, it's mainly associated with Grass and Bug-type Pokemon, meant to be irritant "dust" that plants and certain bugs give off such as moths? I don't think every Grass or Bug Pokemon that learns it is based off a poisonous variant, really anything that could irritate you---I don't think cotton is poisonous, but Cottonee learns it I guess because cotton makes some people itch and such? Actually every Pokemon who learns it is one of those two Types, and there's no pure Poison-type Pokemon who learns it. Once more it's another example of "organic" poison, as none of the pollutant/mutated Poison Pokemon pick it up.

Stun Spore - Grass [Status]
30PP/75%
The user scatters a cloud of numbing powder that paralyzes the target.
If powered up by a Grassium Z into Z-Stun Spore, the user's Special Defense stat raises one stage.

Stun Spore (or "Numbing Powder" in Japan, it seems the localization can't agree on which to use at times between spore and powder) is basically Poison Powder, except it causes paralysis. And that reminds me, we haven't talked about paralysis in-depth---the only move I think we talked about was Thunder Punch and Body Slam, but I skipped it then. So, let's talk about paralysis.

Paralysis' biggest use is lowering the opponent's Speed, cutting it down 75% until Sun and Moon which nerfed it to 50%---this surprised me because every time I've been paralyzed I've always moved second, so I assumed paralysis caused you to always go last unless both Pokemon was paralyzed, in which Speed would determine order once more. I was wrong. Well, with your Pokemon's Speed dropping that low in the older games you usually would end up slower unless there was a huge difference in Speed beforehand. Paralysis also has a 25% of making you unable to act, so it can get pretty annoying if your luck is bad. It's a useful status effect to nerf fast and powerful foes, though not all that effective on Pokemon who are already slow and defensive except for the chance of taking a turn away from them, but they're usually the ones ready to hit you with status effects too. While poison, burn, and freeze have traditionally mainly been associated with their corresponding Types---Poison, Fire, and Ice---Paralysis has somewhat been seen as the Electric-type status effect, but even from the beginning you have moves of other Types capable of causing it and currently ten different Types have a paralysis-inducing move. As of Generation VI Electric has "reclaimed" of sorts as they are naturally immune to the status effect, even when it's paralysis caused by a move like Body Slam as opposed to an electrical shock. Limber also prevents Paralysis, and now this makes Stunfisk having it redundant as it already cannot be paralyzed as an Electric-type, though as part Ground it has always been immune to many Electric-type paralysis attacks so it seems this was always kind of a joke Ability for it.

Anyway, with so many moves of different Types causing paralysis Stun Spore is useful to the Pokemon who learn it and can't gain access to the other moves---there are better paralysis moves out there, but you don't always have a choice. So if you want to paralyze the opponent, this might be your best or only choice. However it's gotten hit a lot over the years, as Grass, Electric, and Overcoat/Limber users or those holding Safety Goggles are completely immune to its effects. Like the other spore moves it's learned basically exclusively by Grass and Bug Pokemon, once more operating on I guess the idea of irritants being spread through the air, and many of the same ones at that.

Sleep Powder - Grass [Status]
15PP/75%
The user scatters a big cloud of sleep-inducing dust around the target.
If powered up by a Grassium Z into Z-Sleep Powder, the user's Speed stat raises one stage.

We actually have one more spore/powder move coming up in Generation I later on, but these three are grouped together internally and mechanically due to having the same accuracy, and being learnt by many of the same Pokemon---Butterfree, and a few others, also learn them close together, with Butterfree in Red and Blue learning all three at Levels 15, 16, and 17 in this exact order respectively. As you can guess it can cause sleep, but is overshadowed by our last Generation I "spore", though this attack has the benefit of being learned by a wide array of Pokemon while the latter has been very limited in its run. Though Pokemon with resistance to powder/spore moves aren't effected by it, unlike the other two its status effect isn't resisted by any Type specifically---though there are Pokemon with Abilities that protect them from sleep.

Pretty much the same deal as the previous two moves when it comes to which Pokemon can learn it, exclusively Grass and Bug-type Pokemon and basically the same ones. I guess they were supposed to be the status dealers in Generation I, but that didn't work out so well when quite a few of them were pretty fragile and could get taken out before really having a chance to utilize the status moves.

The PP distribution is different between the three, and in Generation I from my understanding this relates to the effectiveness of each status effect with higher PP inversely related to usefulness---poison was considered to protect you from the worse status effects, paralysis was good but not destructive, and sleep could offset the opponent's strategy. Y'know, I'm surprised we don't have one of these moves that cause Burn but, um, maybe that's a good thing after Scald.

Petal Dance - Grass [Physical]
120/10PP/100%
The user attacks the target by scattering petals for two to three turns. The user then becomes confused.

Petal Dance was probably the strongest Grass-type move in Generation I with 70 power, lacking the charge-up time of Solar Beam, but you were probably better off using Razor Leaf and its increased critical hit ratio as Petal Dance worked like Thrash did, forcing you to continuously use it until your Pokemon ends up confusing itself. Like Thrash it's kept this basic ability but has been powered up, the amount it lasts going down by average while its base power received a high boost, but getting stuck in using the same attack over and over, especially a Grass-type with its seven resistances, isn't recommended. Plus, you know, that confusion at the end wasn't helpful either.

Its status as the "strongest" Grass-type move really didn't matter in Generation I, as the Oddish line was the only Pokemon capable of learning it. It's since been expanded to more Pokemon, such as Venusaur, but it's not super common. And besides for Flabebe and Comfey once again, our "pseudo-Grass Pokemon", it's exclusive to Grass-type Pokemon. Well, that's technically not true, there have been some Event Pokemon over the years who have gotten attacks that break these patterns (such as Psyduck and Meowth with Petal Dance) but most of these are fairly obscure and it's doubtful anyone has held on to them beyond novelties, so it's not worth mentioning. Like with Own Tempo Thrash Spinda the "niche" user of Petal Dance is Own Tempo Lilligant. Unlike Spinda it can actually be a fairly good Pokemon, but nobody bothers with Petal Dance because Lilligant has far better options and forcing a Grass-type Pokemon to end up stuck in possibly three turns of using an easily countered Grass-type move well, yeah, that's not a good strategy. Useful maybe in the main game where the CPU rarely switches to counter you though.

String Shot - Bug [Status]
40PP/95%
The opposing Pokémon are bound with silk blown from the user's mouth that harshly lowers the Speed stat.
If powered up by a Buginium Z into Z-String Shot, the user's Speed stat raises one stage.

When it was introduced String Shot only reduced the opponent's Speed by 1 stage, and it was basically a joke move---Caterpie and Weedle learned it, but couldn't make any real use of it because even if they lowered the opponent's Speed they were still easy to kill. The CPU would use this to, well, "bug" you, but for years it remained an early-game move for weak Bug-type Pokemon who couldn't use it effectively. Then Generation VI surprisingly buffed it, now lowering the opponent's Speed by 2 stages ("harshly" indicates this), and by this point you had some actual Bug-type Pokemon with some power behind them such as Galvantula and Volcarona. But, well, Generation VI introduced a more useful Speed-lowering Bug-type attack that serves as an entry hazard so String Shot still didn't catch on, though I think it occasionally sees some use in Double Battle formats since it effects both of the opponent's Pokemon. It's kind of nice that Game Freak remembered it, but it's hard to tell if this was wanting them to legit improve it or just going "hey let's boost this old-school shitty move for a laugh!".

Naturally, this move is limited to Bug-type Pokemon---but actually a small minority of them. For example, only two Generation I lines get it (Caterpie and Weedle), only one Generation II and Generation III lines get it (Spinarak and Wumrple), and nobody is Generation IV gets it. Generation V was at its most common, despite taking place before the boost. Oh, and for some reason HGSS made it a Move Tutor. Why? I'm not sure, this was before the boost too so it almost feels like a joke, or Game Freak overestimating its usefulness. As a Move Tutor it mainly gives more Bug-type Pokemon the chance to learn it, and note once more this was before Bug-type Pokemon really started to come into their own, and a few surprising learners such as Venusaur and Mantine. Perhaps one of the Move Tutor Pokemon learning it in Generation IV gave them a niche with the boosted String Shot in modern games, but I'm not sure. I think I saw mention of a Venusaur String Shot set?

But seriously Game Freak---still 95%? Would it hurt to add 5% to that?

 

[CazTGG]

Sleep Powder can be useful if you have a scarf user since it can upset an opponent's sweep but it's shaky due to its accuracy and the fact that most users of it are slow; only Roserade could qualify as "fast" using Choice Scarf in the current metagame and even then it's outsped by a fair amount of threats.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Petal Dance is cool, it's pretty much all my Lilligant could do in Gen 5 though, if something resisted grass....well it was the last dance.

 

[unknownstranger]

Poison Powder is basically useless because almost everyone gets Toxic. Stun Spore fares a little better but a lot of Pokémon get Thunder Wave as well. Sleep Powder is the best of the 3 as Spore users are pretty sparse and a few things that get it also have Quiver Dance to boost.

 

[TriggerShy]

Poison Powder

Stun Spore

Sleep Powder

Petal Dance

String Shot

Swing Shot

 

[Boss Doggie]

I actually use Sleep Powder and Stun Spore if the alternatives like Spore aren't available. Really useful too. Honestly their only weakness seems to be the poor accuracy.

You're overthinking the weakness again. It isn't any more complicated than a famous saying exists about killing birds with stones. It doesn't matter what the meaning is behind the proverb.

Could be, but I'm just saying that some of the supposed "obvious" stuff aren't in the game anyway.

 

[Bubble]

Never knew that Petal Dance was a Gen I move, but it doesn't help that the Oddish-line was the only family to learn it. Personally, I always associated Petal Dance with the Roselia-line for some reason.

The Powder-moves are good in the early stages of the game, but that is all they are good for. Poison Powder is especially redundant when Toxic can be used by practically everyone as well as having better accuracy.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Do you think they make pajamas out of String Shot

 

[GoldStarz]

Do you think they make pajamas out of String Shot

I mean it's sticky webbing so I would imagine they do not.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

So do they not have silk in the Pokemon world, or do they heat up a Metapod, killing it from within, and then unravel the fibers?

 

[TriggerShy]

Leavanny uses its silk to make clothes for other Pokémon, I'd imagine it can do the same for people.

 

[WPS]

Sleep Powder's pretty decent. Unless they've rebalanced it sinc I last checked, it's the most accurate of the sleeping moves that are actually wide spread.

 

[TriggerShy]

Sleep Powder's pretty decent. Unless they've rebalanced it sinc I last checked, it's the most accurate of the sleeping moves that are actually wide spread.

I think Yawn has Sleep Powder beat, although you'd have to wait a turn for it to take effect.

 

[Toxi]

So do they not have silk in the Pokemon world, or do they heat up a Metapod, killing it from within, and then unravel the fibers?

The two main obstacles to harvesting spider silk are mass breeding spiders and actually harvesting a significant amount of silk from each one.

Since Spinarak and Ariados likely don't eat each other, and since you can just order them to use String Shot, I could see that being the source of silk cloth in the Pokemon universe.

 

[megarockexe]

Petal Dance - Grass [Physical]
120/10PP/100%
The user attacks the target by scattering petals for two to three turns. The user then becomes confused.

Petal Dance was probably the strongest Grass-type move in Generation I with 70 power, lacking the charge-up time of Solar Beam, but you were probably better off using Razor Leaf and its increased critical hit ratio as Petal Dance worked like Thrash did, forcing you to continuously use it until your Pokemon ends up confusing itself. Like Thrash it's kept this basic ability but has been powered up, the amount it lasts going down by average while its base power received a high boost, but getting stuck in using the same attack over and over, especially a Grass-type with its seven resistances, isn't recommended. Plus, you know, that confusion at the end wasn't helpful either.

Its status as the "strongest" Grass-type move really didn't matter in Generation I, as the Oddish line was the only Pokemon capable of learning it. It's since been expanded to more Pokemon, such as Venusaur, but it's not super common. And besides for Flabebe and Comfey once again, our "pseudo-Grass Pokemon", it's exclusive to Grass-type Pokemon. Well, that's technically not true, there have been some Event Pokemon over the years who have gotten attacks that break these patterns (such as Psyduck and Meowth with Petal Dance) but most of these are fairly obscure and it's doubtful anyone has held on to them beyond novelties, so it's not worth mentioning. Like with Own Tempo Thrash Spinda the "niche" user of Petal Dance is Own Tempo Lilligant. Unlike Spinda it can actually be a fairly good Pokemon, but nobody bothers with Petal Dance because Lilligant has far better options and forcing a Grass-type Pokemon to end up stuck in possibly three turns of using an easily countered Grass-type move well, yeah, that's not a good strategy. Useful maybe in the main game where the CPU rarely switches to counter you though.

I, too, didn't know Petal Dance was a Gen 1 move until recently. I know it was quite the burden to face the Sceptile in the Battle Tree in Sun/Moon that knew this move because he'd be so fast and the attack so powerful. But it's probably not as annoying as the Endeavor/Quick Attack one.

 

[Loptous]

Never knew that Petal Dance was a Gen I move, but it doesn't help that the Oddish-line was the only family to learn it. Personally, I always associated Petal Dance with the Roselia-line for some reason.

Erika's Vileplume has it in Red/Blue.
I remember my first time going against her, she wiped out most of my team with it and I was down to a level 13 Oddish.
Then confusion kicked in and I won the battle. It was awesome.

 

[Dryk]

Poison Powder is basically useless because almost everyone gets Toxic. Stun Spore fares a little better but a lot of Pokémon get Thunder Wave as well. Sleep Powder is the best of the 3 as Spore users are pretty sparse and a few things that get it also have Quiver Dance to boost.

Vivillon and Butterfree also have Compound Eyes whivh helps. Vivillon was pretty funny on early Gen 6 Battle Spot against people who weren't prepared for it.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Today...thunder, Thunder, THUNDER!
(but not the "Thunder", that's next time!)

Dragon Rage - Dragon [Special]
10PP/100%
This attack hits the target with a shock wave of pure rage. This attack always inflicts 40 HP damage.

Dragon Rage works like Sonic Boom, inflicting set damage to the opponent without taking stats or Type into account, though as of Generation VI it won't work against Fairy-type Pokemon. It's stronger than Sonic Boom though as it inflicts 40 damage as opposed to merely 20, and thus it's banned from all Little Cup competitions as it could OHKO most of the Pokemon eligible for such competitions. If it was allowed, well, it would surely dominate that metagame as the best strategy would be to raise the fastest Dragon Rage user and go to town. Under normal circumstances this would be Salandit who boasts a base Speed of 77.

The biggest issue with Dragon Rage in Generation I was that it was oddly enough the only Dragon-type attack, but since it did set damage that meant its Type didn't matter whatsoever. This led to the game's programming stating that Dragon-type Pokemon were weak to Dragon-type moves, but no actual way for that to occur in-game. Did Game Freak intend for their to be actual Dragon-type moves in Generation I originally, but either forgot or decided against it? Was Dragon Rage quickly turned into a Sonic Boom-clone late in development for balancing reasons? We don't really know. This also leads to Dratini and Dragonair, the only pure-Dragon Type Pokemon, lacking a STAB move in Generation though there were quite a few Pokemon in Generation I who lacked a solid STAB attack so it's not that big of a deal, and hey, they got Wrap.

Originally it could only be learned by Gyarados, and the Dratini line, but it was also available as a TM in Generation I allowing other dragon-like Pokemon such as Charizard, Lapras, and Aerodactyl to learn it. And, oh, Arcanine? I guess this has to do with it being inspired by those mythological Chinese dogs, which are sometimes depicted as having dragon-like elements, so it works well enough. It was dumped as a TM in Generation II and didn't come back as a Move Tutor in the remakes, and the only TM-exclusive user from Generation I who can currently use it (without counting RBY VC Pokemon) is the Charmander line, who picked it up in Generation II. The only other non-Dragon Pokemon who can learn it now is Horsea, through breeding though it eventually becomes a Dragon-type, and the Salandit line, I guess because people used to associate salamanders with like dragons? Needless to say the move doesn't see that much use nowadays where you have more powerful options, so now Dragon Rage is given out relatively early where it can do some damage to early game Pokemon and, well, that's pretty much it.

This move has changed visually quite a bit over the years---the games had it as resembling fire more or less at first, but it was popularized in the anime by Gyarados who used it by summoning these massive twisters. Both the games and the anime kind of went their own ways for a while with different interpretations, but both seemed to have settled on it being represented by a purple energy ball. I guess purple has sort of become associated with Dragon-type Pokemon?

Fire Spin - Fire [Special]
35/15PP/85%
The target becomes trapped within a fierce vortex of fire that rages for four to five turns.

Fire Spin is another Generation I move along the same lines as Bind and Wrap, really annoying back then and potentially game-ruining but nowadays? Well, not so much. Trapping can be useful, but I don't think too many Fire-type Pokemon are really built for such stalling tactics. As a Fire-type move the one difference it has from the other two is that it inflicts Fire-type damage, which a fair amount of Pokemon are weak to, and in Generation I this was with every hit I believe---as of Generation II, though, I believe only the initial hit counts Type and the subsequent hits do not as they take away a set fraction of the trapped Pokemon's HP. By the way, from what I've read, the Ghost-type Pokemon in Generation I can be immobilized due to Wrap and Bind, but won't take damage, but Fire Spin will do both. This isn't the case nowadays though where Ghost-type Pokemon have an inherent immunity to being trapped by such moves.

When it comes to Fire-type attacks if they're not TMs they're usually more or less exclusive to Fire-type Pokemon, and that's the case here. The only exception being Solrock, but as a living sun it's no surprise it'd have power over fire. A large amount of Generation I Fire Pokemon could use it, Moltres being perhaps the standout example as putting Fire Spin to great use, and plenty of Fire-type Pokemon have gained access to it overtime. Y'know, I'm gonna admit, Fire-type moves are kind of boring to talk about. It doesn't seem there's much really to do with them other than making them well blasts of fire and possibly causing burn. Fire Spin's the only Generation I Fire-type attack that doesn't burn the opponent, by the way.

Thunder Shock - Electric [Special]
40/30PP/100%
A jolt of electricity crashes down on the target to inflict damage. This may also leave the target with paralysis.

Yeah, "Thunder" Shock. It's been pointed out over and over but it's kind of silly so many Electric-type attacks involve the word "Thunder", when that's simply the sound and not the actual electric bolt, but that aside it sounds cool. The Japanese version is simply "Electric Shock", "Denki Shock", and I think someone mentioned this before that Japan doesn't really distinguish the two. And, hey, honestly most kids probably think thunder and lightning are interchangeable, because when I was a kid we were scared of both of them killing us. Y'know, I might be misremembering this, but I'm pretty sure I recall quite a few official merchandise back in the day erroneously referring to the Type itself as the "Thunder Type". It might have been those Scholastic books by Tracy West, though, which were riddled with oddities and mistakes.

Thunder Shock is the basic Electric-type attack introduced in Generation I, doing only 40 damage with a 10% chance to paralyze the opponent. Even today it's still the most basic Electric-type attack next to Nuzzle, though the latter is exclusive to Pikachu and Friends and thus is less of your typical Electric-type attack and more of a "signature move" of sorts. But by Generation I standards a STAB attack with perfect accuracy and the chance to paralyze is good. It hasn't changed at all since it was introduced and hasn't needed to. In Generation I it was the starting move of Pikachu, and every Electric-type other than Voltorb and Electrode could learn it. A solid move until they got their next Electric-type STAB attack, though poor Magnemite didn't get any other damaging Electric-type moves. A majority of Electric-type Pokemon can lean this attack today, and one non-Electric line, the Klink line, which are robotic more or less and thus can presumably generate electricity by grinding their gears, so they're almost pseudo-Electric Pokemon.

Thunder Shock was the first move Ash's Pikachu was shown to use, though he no longer has it---the anime follows the 4-move rule set for the most part, but behind the scenes so you gotta pay attention as the show rarely pops up and goes "so-and-so knows these moves!". Presumably he gave it up in exchange for Iron Tail, as by Hoenn Thunder Shock was redundant as he was shown to know both Thunderbolt and Thunder.

Thunderbolt - Electric [Special]
90/15PP/100%
A strong electric blast crashes down on the target. This may also leave the target with paralysis.

In case you're wondering why Thundershock is now Thunder Shock, yet Thunderbolt remains without a space despite the increased character limit, it's because Thundershock is not an actual word, but Thunderbolt is. Thunderbolt is equivalent to Ice Beam and Flamethrower, one of the strongest and most reliable elemental attacks in Generation I and still useful to this day when it comes to deal with Flying and Water-type Pokemon. Its Japanese name is very cool, "100,000 Volts". That level of electricity would easily kill a human ten times over in reality, but while it's powerful enough to definitely OHKO various Pokemon thankfully nobody ever dies from it---and that's a good thing too since more or less every human character in the anime, friend and foe, has been on the receiving end of this attack from Pikachu.

In Generation I it was a TM from defeating Lt. Surge which gave you a very powerful move to utilize early on and even if you didn't have an Electric-type on your team there were various other Pokemon who could make use of it. Like the other Generation I Gym TMs no Pokemon could naturally learn it in Red and Blue, though Pikachu got it naturally in Yellow. And this makes sense as Thunderbolt is basically his signature move in the show, an attack he's had since Kanto and has outlived Thunder Shock, Thunder, and Volt Tackle. Apart from Quick Attack, it's the only move that every variant of Ash's Hat Pikachu knows.

To this day Thunderbolt as a natural move is fairly rare, even taking into account how there aren't a ton of Electric-type Pokemon in the first place a surprising amount of them don't have access to it naturally. Excluding the Electabuzz line, for instance, it wasn't till Generation V when other Electric-type Pokemon finally saw it added into their learnset. Thunderbolt returned as a TM in Generation III, though, and to this day is fairly popular and useful on a lot of non-Electric Type Pokemon such as Nidoking, Starmie, and Magmortar. Thunder has its uses under certain conditions, but for many Pokemon Thunderbolt remains the best Electric-type coverage option.

Thunder Wave - Electric [Status]
20PP/90%
The user launches a weak jolt of electricity that paralyzes the target.
If powered up by an Electrium Z into Z-Thunder Wave, the user's Special Defense stat raises one stage.

I think the other Electric-type moves work using the word "Thunder", like a punch so powerful it's as if you were hearing thunder, or a bolt from a thundercloud, but Thunder Wave is kind of odd---the original Japanese name, "Electromagnetic Wave", works far better. That's too long and clunky for the English version, in Japanese it can be written as the much shorter "Denkiha", but surely they could've came up with a decent abbreviation. Also, damn, I didn't realize that every Electric-type move in Generation I had "Thunder" in its name till just now, kind of lame. But the Electric-type was kind of generic when it came to attacks early on just like Fire, where everything was basically a different electrical bolt or something along those lines. They've been churning out some interesting Electric-type moves recently it seems, though those moves are pretty specific and mostly useless as we'll see when we get to around Generation VI. By the way, this is the only non-damaging Electric move in Generation I.

Thunder Wave won't effect Ground-type Pokemon, and in recent Generations, Electric-type Pokemon and those with Lightning Rod---but everyone else is fair game. This move gained notoriety in the competitive scene for giving Pokemon a 100% way (till Gen VII nerfed it to 90%) to paralyze, and with Speed being such a central part of the majority of battles this could wreck plenty of Pokemon. Not to mention the chance your Pokemon couldn't act if the odds were against you made this an annoying status effect for a move to have a 100% chance of causing. It's also a TM, so it isn't just limited to a couple of Electric-type Pokemon, but many Pokemon of different Types giving folks a lot of leeway to surprise the opponent with Thunder Wave, though certain Pokemon tend to carry it. I recall the biggest ones being Thundurus-T, who with Prankster could use it first in every battle and probably led to the classic "BAN GENIES!" meme, and Klefki, who also knew Prankster and could combine it with Swagger to make you endure both a chance of full paralysis and a chance of confusion every time you went to attack. I think another popular one was Serene Grace Togekiss with Thunder Wave and Headbutt, flinching you the majority of the time as insurance if the paralysis didn't get you. I don't think Thunder Wave's 90% accuracy totally destroyed these strategies, but it seems many competitive players don't like to play with odds if they can help it and have gone on to more reliable strategies.

Thunder Wave is mainly learned naturally by Electric-type Pokemon, though Dratini, Nosepass, and Amaura can also obtain it. I'm not sure why Dratini gets it, possibly because it lines are sort of deep-sea creatures and thus send out strange sound waves that are picked up by scientists like in Mystery of the Lighthouse? The other two are pretty clever, well Nosepass of course is magnetic and Easter Island is said to give off strange electromagnetic waves, and Amaura is based on auroras which, as mentioned before, is an electrical phenomena.

 

[WPS]

Funny you say fire type moves are kind of generic, when pokémon still does not have a move that matches the most generic fire attack in fiction, throwing a fireball. Fusion Flare would be the closest, I guess.

 

[TriggerShy]

Dragon Rage

Fire Spin

Thunder Shock

Thunderbolt

Thunder Wave

 

[Nocturnowl]

Gotta love how Indigo League anime made Dragon Rage and Fire Spin look like the beedrills knees only to underwhelm massively when you got them in game.
DR still has its moments but Fire Spin will forever disappoint, the anime has Charmander creating these flaming tornado vortexes, the game has wrap with fire.

 

[lvl99 Pixel]

sun and moons thunderbolt animation is probably the best

 

[Mr-Joker]

I remember when I first watched that episode and I was so annoyed as the episode starts with a match already on the final round, nothing happens in the middle and then we cut to the next in the middle round, with Arcanine doing the most lamest way of doing Dragon Rage.

I mean I like the Kanto season but it was clear that the writers were not interested in displaying the Pokémon Gym battles or have Ash grow throughout the adventure, heck he had 5 Pokémon on his throughout the adventure that's one spot wasted

It wasn't till the Orange Island when he finally got Charizard to obey him did he started growing...somewhat as his growth was stunted during Johto before resuming in Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Dawn: Is that a Pokémon? It looks like a turd.

Heatran: Bitch, what did you call me?! Get back here so I can burn your stupid hat.

The Troll!!!!

Ah ysssssss, the best episode of X and Y, the crushing defeat of Ash and his "super" Greninja. Mwhahahahahahahaah.

Seriously though the battle was okay but lacked the build up that Ash and Paul had as Alain was folded into the show during the, urgh, XY&Z arc and was pretty bland and the interaction between him and Ash was meh.

sun and moons thunderbolt animation is probably the best

Yeah it is, X and Y was probably the worse as it was a stock image that they would recycle over and over.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Sharpedo should get Thunder Wave as a TM move. Not for any particular balance reason, just because of sharks and electromagnetism.

 

[CelestialWolfZX]

The powders are really meh moves, espicially considering Toxic and Thunder Waves wide availability (and better accuracy as well) and yet I run Sleep Powder on my Roserade because it's got the speed and putting something to sleep is enough to swing the battle. Wish I could use something like Spore instead, of course, Breloom gets free access to that now, doesn't it? That Mon gets everything whilst Roserade gets nout.

Also speaking of Sleeping Powder, I have to talk about the infamous Indigo League final battle where Ritchie's Butterfree puts Ash's Squirtle to sleep and the Ref declares it as a full on Elimination. Forget about the whole Charizard thing at the end of it. THAT'S the part that annoyed me the most.

 

[Elaugaufein]

The Dratini line gets Thunder Wave because they have weather control abilities

 

[Mr-Joker]

For a sec I legit thought you posted a lewd gif.

Also speaking of Sleeping Powder, I have to talk about the infamous Indigo League final battle where Ritchie's Butterfree puts Ash's Squirtle to sleep and the Ref declares it as a full on Elimination. Forget about the whole Charizard thing at the end of it. THAT'S the part that annoyed me the most.

Yeah, that's another episode I hate as Ash could have easily explained the situation to the ref, heck Brock and Misty knew that he went to meet "Ritchie" and could have explained to the ref that Ash has gone missing, and they could have post phoned the match till Ash's Pokémon were healed up.

But no, the writer decided to come up with every possible reason under the sun to why Ash lost the match;

-His Pokémon where tried,
-His Squirtle was sent to sleep,
-Charizard refuse to obey.

It was like they felt that Ash was too OP, and if it was it was the writer fault for making him easily win matches with little efforts, so they had to come up with a cop out issue, at least with Tobias we got a cool match to watch and at that point Ash was a legitimately good trainer with a strong selection of Pokémon and he was the only trainer to actually defeat the broken Darkrai and ended up tying with Latios...that came of nowhere. ¬_¬;

Plus I never liked Ritchie as I found him to be boring clone of Ash and just felt so last minute like they had to scrap their original plans and this is what they came up at the last minute.

On the bright side we at least got to see Pidgeotto on the league battle field...before being called back in the Pokéball because he was too tired to battle after flying all the way to the stadium.

Poor Pidgeotto you were so negligence on the show with your role only being reserved as "find..." or "Blow away the smokescreen" and the only time I recall you displaying any character was a total of 3 times, with the third time being your moment to shine and you evolved into the majestic Pidgeot...then the Writer made Ash release you with the vague promise of seeing you again and too this date he hasn't. ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[balladofwindfishes]

For a sec I legit thought you posted a lewd gif.

There's no way that skirt is holding up like that in that pose. Don't give character's clothing that makes it impractical for them to move around in if you need them to move around a lot and not be lewd.

 

[CazTGG]

Thunder Wave on Togekiss lends itself to one of the most annoying sets used competitively: Paraflinch. Although i'm not sure where Headbutt comes in since most sets prefer Air Slash due to the stab bonus, ability to hit Ghost Pokémon (of which only pure Rotom I believe can't be paralyzed) and it being an attack that uses Togekiss' much higher Special Attack. Either way, it can get pretty irritating if one misses continuously since that set has a 60% chance of flinching without items like King's Rock to up it even higher, let alone the chance for paralysis to cause one to lose a turn though that set typically struggles against Steel types due to limited coverage unless it opts for Flamethrower instead of Dazzling Gleam or Roost.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I think I was thinking of Paraflinch Dunsparce with Headbutt I guess?

 

[balladofwindfishes]

I think I was thinking of Paraflinch Dunsparce with Headbutt I guess?

A Gen III classic

Actually won me a match in an NSider vs Serebii forums Netbattle tournament lol.

 

[Boss Doggie]

You guys think Thunder Wave is broken?

 

[Toxi]

You guys think Thunder Wave is broken?

Nah.

 

[The Shadow Knight]

You guys think Thunder Wave is broken?

It was, and still is, a really good move. But not really broken.

 

[Elaugaufein]

Paralyze doesn't see a lot of competitive use outside of total shutdown combos. Toxic or Burn are generally better against Stall / Physical Attack respectively and the best of formats tend to make high luck Movesets undesirable. Sleep is the better incapacitor. And Trick Room is generally better speed control. And Paralyze shuts down your Ability to apply other statuses too.

There's a lot of stuff more defining how competitive play works than Thunder Wave.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Instead of nerfing the accuracy, they could have "buffed" Thunder Wave and made it do 10 damage. That'd cancel out Prankster, while leaving it still as primarily a status move.

 

[TriggerShy]

Instead of nerfing the accuracy, they could have "buffed" Thunder Wave and made it do 10 damage. That'd cancel out Prankster, while leaving it still as primarily a status move.

Nuzzle already does this, although right now it's a perk for the Electric rodents only, unless you think it necessary for there to be a special based equivalent.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I'm back with some down-to-earth moves this time...

Thunder - Electric [Special]
110/10PP/70%
A wicked thunderbolt is dropped on the target to inflict damage. This may also leave the target with paralysis.

Generation I gave us Thunder Shock, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Thunder Punch, and, finally, Thunder! Sometimes when it comes to power levels of magic in games, the most basic word is the weakest and gets additional words added to it to signify it rising in strength, but here you have the opposite where the plain root word that all the other Electric "magic" attacks add on to is the most powerful. In Japan it's known as "Kaminari", which appears to mean both "thunder" and "lightning" simultaneously, or at least searching both of those words on a Japanese dictionary turns up Kaminari first for both. So, unlike in English, it doesn't seem they really distinguish the visible lightning and the audible thunder like we do. But, I think Thunder generally still gets the meaning across in English as something powerful and to be feared.

Thunder was the strongest Electric-type attack introduced in Generation I, and still is the strongest widespread Electric attack. It originally had 120BP, but like a lot of other Special-based moves it's been nerfed to 110BP as of Generation VI. Why? Well, the best explanation probably has to do with the fact that Physical attackers have more obstacles to deal with it seems like confusion, burn, Intimidate, and contact-activated Abilities compared to Special attackers, so this seems to be a way to balance things out so Special doesn't have all the super powerful attacks without the same drawbacks. Thunder is the "high risk, high reward" Electric-type attack compared to Thunderbolt, and thus for in-game use most people may choose the latter due to more accuracy and PP, but Thunder has decent PP compared to some other powerful attacks. Oh, like the other Electric-type attacks it can also paralyze the opponent, though generally if you use it against in-game Pokemon you're probably going to take them out in one shot.

Its biggest boost, and one that offset its "high risk, high reward" status, was the introduction of rain in Generation II. When it's raining, Thunder will ALWAYS hit the opponent if they're not invulnerable such as in the middle of Fly or Dig, and this turned it into a powerful move under those conditions without any drawback. This wasn't super useful in Generation II for a few reasons, the biggest being that rain could only occur when Rain Dance was used and there weren't a ton of Pokemon built around weather effects back then, but with the introduction of Abilities in Generation III weather-based strategies became a big deal, and they only increased in importance leading to their high-point in Generation V which I recall were known as the "Weather Wars" in some circles. You'd think the idea of powering up Thunder in rain is to punish Water-type Pokemon who otherwise benefit from it, though it seems from my reading up that's not necessarily the case---that's such an expected move pretty much anyone running a rain-based squad likely has a way to either counter it, or use it to their advantage. Though weather has seen a bit of a nerf in Generation VI with weather Abilities no longer being permanent, it still has its place in the high-tier Legendary scene thanks to Primal Kyogre being such a big deal and thus rain a constant. Thunder also has its power halved in harsh sunlight, so depending on which way the weather war goes it may end up being somewhat useless---though I think usually rain seems to win out in such competitions?

As a natural move, Thunder is exclusive to Electric Pokemon. And not even the majority of Electric-type Pokemon either, as it's actually pretty rare in that regard. But it's been TM25---get it, as in Pikachu #25?---since Generation I, and as a TM a ton of Pokemon can learn it as a powerful Electric-type coverage move. Even some Pokemon who really have no business being around a powerful surge of electricity such as Lapras, Bibarel, or Drifblim. Oh, the humanity! I guess unlike other Electric-type attacks usually Thunder doesn't seem to be coming from the Pokemon itself, but rather they somehow summon a giant lightning bolt from the sky.

This move apparently could freeze Ruby and Sapphire due to its animation, or lock-up FRLG and Emerald due to its sound effect. Game Freak usually does pretty good when it comes to avoiding major glitches like these, and I don't think bar Generation I I've ever had a Pokemon title freeze on me.

Rock Throw - Rock [Physical]
50/15PP/90%

Generation I wasn't all that kind to the Rock-type. I mean, yeah, Rock is still somewhat of a joke defensively nowadays, but Generation I almost treated it as an afterthought with no pure-Rock Type Pokemon, leading some fans to believe it was immune to Electric attacks as all but the fossils were part-Ground, and only two Rock-type moves. Sometimes I wonder if Game Freak should have just combined Rock and Ground together from the get-go because of all the Types I think those come off as the two that are the most redundant in terms of flavor, though now they have enough mechanical difference that they can't really combine them. Maybe if they ever go through with a huge reboot that will happen, but for now we'll all just have to except that somehow throwing a rock at someone and throwing a huge clod of dirt have such different effects.

Rock Throw is one of two Rock-type moves introduced in Generation I and the weaker of the two. Upon its introduction its power was 50BP as it is today, not all that bad for a STAB attack back then, but its accuracy was a ridiculously low 65%. Yep, there's no logical explanation as to why a middling move like this without any additional effects had such low accuracy but I guess Game Freak was trying to comment on throwing rocks being an ineffective means of attack? Personally I think for flavor it would've made more sense to make Rock-type attacks follow that line of thought, but actually make them have relatively high power to offset that. Yeah, as I said before, it seems like they had no clue what to do with Rock-types in Generation I---luckily Game Freak has learned its lesson and realizes that slow, defensive Rock-type Pokemon are...um...oh. Rock-type did have a lot of advantages though able to effectively hit Fire, Ice, Bug, and Flying Pokemon, but the limited moves meant you'd most likely simply go with the far more plentiful Fire or Electric-type attacks for covering those. And that's not to mention that since the majority of Ice-type Pokemon were also of the Water-type poor Rock-type Pokemon had no business going up against most Ice-type Pokemon.

Rock Throw can only be learned by the Geodude line and Onix line in Generation, and it's actually their only STAB move through natural means---the other Rock-type attack is a TM, and you should definitely save it for your Rock-type Pokemon otherwise they'll be lacking anything good in terms of Rock-type STAB. Nowadays more Pokemon can learn it, and Generation II gave it a buff to 90%, but honestly it really should be 100% by now. It's mainly learned by Rock-type Pokemon, but there are a few exceptions like Mudkip and Timburr---the move seems to literally be picking up rocks and throwing them (in most cases), rather than launching them out of one's body, so you think you'd see it on more non-Rock Pokemon who are simply strong enough to toss a rock at someone.

"As the name implies, a huge boulder is dropped on the target". Stadium uses that as the move's description, except the name doesn't really imply that and generally it's animated as smaller rocks being tossed---and starting with Generation III every description of it makes clear that it's simply small rocks. In the older episodes of the show, this move was very limited as it seems the Pokemon actually needed to have a rock around to toss at the opponent, otherwise it was worthless. Hmm, Rock Throw, worthless? Nowadays they've started to spruce it up, with it currently being shown as the Pokemon summoning floating rocks and launching them at the foe. But I like the idea of a Pokemon made of rock just standing around in a building or something just looking for a rock to throw.

Earthquake - Ground [Physical]
100/10PP/100%
The user sets off an earthquake that strikes every Pokémon around it.

Fucking Earthquake. An amazing attack, you get so much damage with great accuracy and enough PP to make it in-game viable, and it can easily destroy countless Pokemon. It's one of the best moves in Generation I, and it's no surprise it was so powerful---this was balanced by the fact it was only available to the majority of Pokemon through a single-use TM and one that couldn't be obtained till one of the harder dungeons in the game, Silph Co. Find your strongest Physical Pokemon, slap Earthquake on them, and go to town! In the competitive scene, especially simulators where limited-use TMs aren't an issue (I wonder if any simulators used rules to mimic the possible team layouts in Generation I where you technically couldn't have Earthquake on more than one Pokemon without trading), you could splash this move on a ton of Pokemon as an all-around useful counter.

Earthquake's never been directly nerfed, and technically has been buffed if you consider in Generation II it could now hurt Pokemon using Dig for double damage, but has been balanced somewhat through other additions. The biggest being the Levitate Ability, which seemed like it was introduced to give more non-Flying Pokemon a way to deal with such a powerful attack---though personally I dislike this as it has led to a lot of Pokemon, such as Carnivine, being limited to a fairly specific Ability when they could enjoy a much more unique and self-tailored one. Currently Duskull, Bronzor and Bronzong are the only Pokemon with Levitate that actually get another Ability. It also is riskier to use in Double Battles, as it can hurt your ally just as much as it can your foes, though most players running Earthquake probably have prepared for this. The latest nerf comes in Generation VI, where Grassy Terrain reduces the power of Earthquake. With terrains becoming a bigger focus thanks to the Tapu having the ability to summon them automatically, Tapu Bulu being the Grassy Terrain summoner, it'll be interesting to see what the long-term effect is on Earthquake. It's still a great move though especially in-game. And now thanks to infinite TMs everyone can have it!

The Diglett and Geodude lines were the only Pokemon who learned this move naturally in Generation I, and both could put it to fairly good use---Dugtrio being very fast and Golem having impressive Attack and Defense to pull it off multiple times. It's now available naturally to generally every "traditional" Ground-type Pokemon, or Pokemon who either become (Bunnelby) or were (Tyranitar) Ground-type Pokemon. The exceptions are Gogoat and the Tyrunt line, as well as Torkoal as its only Egg Move recipient. But it's been a TM since Generation I, and it can be learned by a large amount of Pokemon of varying Types, and not necessarily those large enough to actually cause an Earthquake. One "famous" user I recall was an Earthquake Gligar as a prize for Stadium 2, which felt kind of odd and not all that exciting---though it was his only STAB move in Generation II!

So, this move has basically been banned from the anime---there was an episode set to air involving Whiscash and its ability to cause earthquakes, but a powerful earthquake wrecked Japan right before it aired causing it to be canceled. There's a previous of the episode available, but the full version never aired and has never been seen. Though there wasn't an official statement announcing it was banned, it as well as Magnitude and Fissure were never seen again---this became apparent when Ash's Phanpy returned a few seasons later without Earthquake, despite the fact it had learned it in the Johto League. And with the infamous Tohoku Earthquake happening only a few years later it seems this move will probably never make an official appearance in the show much like Porygon.

Fissure - Ground [Physical]
5PP/30%

Another OHKO move, see my previous entries on Guillotine and Horn Drill for more info.

Fissure isn't all that useful like the majority of OHKO moves due to the fact that it isn't all that accurate, and you're probably better off going with simply overpowering the foe with real moves such as Earthquake, and as a Ground-type move there are plenty of Pokemon completely immune to it. Once more in Pokemon Contests one could combo it with Earthquake, and that'd be cool if using Fissure after Earthquake in an actual battle would boost its accuracy, but perhaps redundant---after all, Earthquake can easily take down most Pokemon in two hits or so, so using a OHKO move after would be somewhat of a waste and take up a valuable move slot. But for flavor, hey, that'd be cool! This move is pretty dark going by its description as the opponent ends up dropping into the ground, presumably lost forever.

Fissure had an interesting user in Generation II in the form of Poliwrath, who could learn it via TM in Generation I and then be transferred to Generation II where it could learn Mind Reader, using the two in tandem to ensure a guaranteed OHKO. The actual practicability of this was negated by the fact you'd waste two turns doing this, and the opponent would likely realize what you were doing and switch to a Flying-type Pokemon, and thus simply going with a more powerful move on its own would be far more effective. We'll be able to use this combination presumably again once we can trade Gold and Silver VC Pokemon to Generation VII, I think? The VC RBY can communicate with the VC release of GS, correct? Anyway speaking of which, Machamp can also learn Fissure only in Generation I as a TM, and this led to people getting excited that we could get a No Guard Machamp in Generation VII through VC, guaranteeing it could OHKO most Pokemon without any set-up---but it turns out all VC Pokemon came with their Hidden Ability, so any Machop, Machoke, or Machamp traded with Fissure would end up having Steadfast as their Ability. Bullet dodged?

Giovanni apparently made this himself to distribute as his Gym TM in Generation I, and thus no Pokemon could learn it naturally but quite a few could as a TM. These moves sort of fell out of style so it hasn't returned as a TM since, and only a couple of Pokemon can pick it up nowadays naturally, Diglett and Dugtrio being the first to do so in Generation I, and a couple of others through breeding including some non Ground-type Pokemon. But, yeah, let's be honest, when you have EARTHQUAKE there's no need for Fissure.

Dig - Ground [Physical]
The user burrows, then attacks on the next turn.
80/10PP/100%

I totally forgot this move actually had 100BP in Generation I---then it went to 60 in Generation II, and then back to 80 in Generation IV and beyond. Dig was the second best Ground-type move in Generation I behind Earthquake, and basically the only other one other than the gimmicky Fissure and two bone-based moves limited to the Cubone line. Unlike Earthquake it takes two turns to activate, allowing the opponent to dodge it simply by switching to a Flying-type, though once again like Fly one can wreck the CPU with this since they rarely switch out. You get it as a TM fairly early on and I remember as a kid I used it quite frequently with my Starter Pokemon, as all but the Bulbasaur line could learn it, and it was pretty rad. Fly probably wins out for being readily available as an HM and not having a large number of Pokemon completely immune to it though.

Dig has been a TM in every Generation other than Generation VII, so it's had a long and storied history. Since all you really need to use it is a method of digging, lots and lots of Pokemon learn it through this method. Naturally it's generally been reserved for Ground-type Pokemon, likely their best Ground-type STAB till Earthquake becomes available, with Diglett and Dugtrio being the original "unique" natural learners of it till Generation II. Generation VII brings us an oddity in a Bug/Electric Pokemon with Levitate learning it, which almost seems paradoxical. By the way, Pokemon underground with Dig will take double damage from Earthquake and Magnitude and be vulnerable to Fissure. This doesn't extend to Flying and Levitating Pokemon who use Dig, for some reason even if they're literally beneath the ground they're still immune to ground-based attacks. Huh.

Despite being a TM, Dig has an HM-like effect in that when used in dungeons, including some indoor areas, it'll warp you out as if you used an Escape Rope---in Generation I this took you back to the last Pokemon Center. I recall one time I used this move and ended up being sent back further than I wanted as it'd been awhile since I checked in at a Pokemon Center. I guess this happened to a lot of kids as Generation II made it simply warp you to the entrance of a cave, removing the chance of accidentally warping you back further than anticipated and making you backtrack. Generation VII not only removed Dig as a TM, its out-of-battle effect no longer works.

 

[Boogiepop]

Would really appreciate a PM if you resettle elsewhere after all this crap, and hope you do a: salvage all this and b: continue you on. Really love your work on this stuff, and hope this whole mess didn't kill it!

 

[fisheyes]

I'm back with some down-to-earth moves this time...

As above, I have enjoyed Watch Da Birdie's work in these forums immensely, if you're continuing somewhere other than here, please steer me in the right direction.