Battles make up a majority of Pokémon games, so it makes sense to give the team a moveset that takes out the opponent effectively. Unfortunately, not all moves that Pokémon can learn live up to expectation.
Even when trainers just start their quest to become the very best, many of these low-level moves don’t find use in battle. Their general lack of utility and power leave much to be desired. Not only should trainers replace these moves as quickly as possible, but they should also avoid having their Pokémon learn them in the first place. Unless, of course, players prefer to white out constantly.
10 Water Gun
The only case that can be made for this move is that its relatively high base power at lower levels make it a great STAB option. Other than that, Water Gun gets no use from any self-respecting Water type. This move also remains one of the few Water attacks that doesn’t have a secondary effect, such as Water Pulse’s chance at confusion or Bubble Beam’s potential to lower the opponent’s Speed. Squirtle might have looked cool using it in the anime, but it certainly doesn’t live up to the hype in the games.
9 Poison Sting
Because so many Poison types learn this move, many Pokémon trainers may remember the dread of having a stinger poison their darling Pokémon and use up precious Antidotes or Full Heals. However, this became more of an annoyance than anything else, especially at higher levels. Poison Sting has a pitifully low base power of 15, and while its chances of inflicting poison are fairly high, the poison itself doesn’t do much harm over time as a move like Toxic. As far as physical Poison moves are concerned, Poison Jab is a much better option.
8 Absorb
Absorb is a move that has its own sort of evolutionary line, as its more powerful Mega Drain and Giga Drain variants have the same effect. Giga Drain is a must-have for Grass-type Pokémon who can learn it, as it restores the user’s HP by half of the damage dealt.
Unfortunately, this leaves Absorb completely in the dust. Then again, its pitiful 20 base power means it never really restores that much HP to begin with, even against low-level opponents. If the point of a move is to restore health, it should at least be decent at that.
7 Feint
On the surface, Feint seems like a decent attack. It breaks through moves like Protect & Detect and leaves opponents wide open to follow-up attacks. The caveat here is that the move only operates decently in double battles; in one-on-one fights, Feint is useless. Its Normal typing doesn’t do the move any favors, either, as it can’t do any super-effective damage (or hit Ghost types, for that matter). Even in the context of double battles, trainers are better off boosting stats or swapping Pokémon out if they feel their opponent might go for Protect.
6 Astonish
Astonish is a common early-level attack for many Ghost types, which makes sense when considering their mischievous natures. The move has a decent chance of causing opponents to flinch, negating whatever move they were about to use. While that may seem great at first, several factors come into play here. For starters, the Pokémon must go first in order to cause a flinch; if the opponent is faster, there’s no chance for this effect to occur. Second, its miniscule base power should make trainers consider if it’s even worth it to cause flinching, especially when more powerful Ghost-type moves can knock their opponent out faster.
5 Fury Attack
Several moves in the game come in the form of multi-strike attacks. These moves, like Pin Missile and Bullet Seed, generally sacrifice base power for the chance to hit up to five times in a row. Fury Attack is one of these multi-strike moves, but it’s incredibly lackluster compared to the others. Assuming all five hits connect from their 85% accuracy, the attack’s base damage is a whopping 75. At that point, single-hit moves like Slash or Horn Attack are much better options. The lack of consistency is not an ideal trait for a move that’s already so weak.
4 Acid
Typically, Poison attacks come with disruptive side effects. In most cases, they envenomate the target and deal damage over time.
Acid, on the other hand, lowers the target’s defensive capabilities by reducing their Special Defense stat. However, this effect has no guarantee of working; it only activates 10% of the time it hits an opponent. Another Poison-type move, Acid Spray, deals the same damage while having a guaranteed chance to drop Special Defense by two stages! Clearly, Acid Spray is the superior option.
3 Fairy Wind
Being the newest type in the game, Fairy doesn’t have the same reservoir of moves as the more established types. As more moves get added, players can expect to see interesting attack options for their fey Pokémon. Until then, most early-level Fairy types are stuck with Fairy Wind. Much like Water Gun, Fairy Wind is a weak attack with no secondary effect. Because so few Fairy type attacks exist, however, some Pokémon end up stuck with this move for a while. Unless, of course, the TM for Dazzling Gleam is available…
2 Peck
Peck is the weakest Flying-type move available, coming it at a meager 35 base power. Many wild bird Pokémon use Peck against trainers, but they only end up being a nuisance more than an actual threat. What makes this move worse is the fact that many bird Pokémon learn a stronger Flying-type move like Wing Attack or Pluck fairly early on. This makes Peck virtually obsolete from the get-go. Really, little else can be said; it’s a simple attack little merit to its name.
1 Pound
Fairy Wind and Peck are definitely mediocre options for attack moves, but at least they can both deal super-effective damage against certain Pokémon. Pound, meanwhile, takes the cake as the most basic and useless attack ever. While Tackle (the other Normal-type move most Pokémon start with) currently has the same base power, it used to be slightly stronger at the expense of a smidge of accuracy. No matter what game Pound is in, it proves to be one of the weakest moves ever. But what else would trainers expect from a move that almost every Pokémon knows at level 1?
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