In the Pokémon universe, Grass-types seem to forever be seen as the most harmless of the Pokémon. Many of them are flowers, or mushrooms, or just a tangle of vines. Also, the power of Grass attacks is rather low on average. However, with each new generation of Pokémon games, the Grass typing has gotten new attacks added to its repertoire. After eight generations, Grass-types now have some incredibly strong moves.
The Grass arsenal features many moves that manipulate stats (mostly attack and defense), or add negative status ailments to the opponent and/or positive status effects to the user. The Grass-type is best known for its leeching attacks – attacks that harm the enemy and heal the user simultaneously.
Updated December 3rd, 2020 by Chris Littlechild: Too often, Grass-types really don’t get the appreciation they deserve. With a myriad of weaknesses (they almost have it as bad as Ice- and Bug-types in that regard) and their STAB being resisted by a whopping seven different types, it can be a tough life being a Grass Pokémon. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t more fantastic Grass moves that deserve a spot here, though. In fact, now that Pokémon Sword & Shield’s two expansions (the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra) have both released, there’s no better time to jump back with some more of the best Grass-type moves ever.
15 Strength Sap
Strength Sap has two effects when it is used in battle – both of them are extremely beneficial for the user. The first effect is that the Pokémon using Strength Sap is healed by an amount equal to the opposing Pokémon’s attack rating. In other words, the stronger the opponent the more Strength Sap heals.
The secondary effect is that it lowers the opposing Pokémon’s attack rating. This will cause subsequent uses of this move to heal less, but the opponent’s physical attacks will deal less damage. This would have made a great TM (perhaps in the place of a bad one like Nature Power), but sadly, it’s a rare move. It was Morelull and Shiinotic’s signature move before this generation, but now a select few Pokémon (such as Polteageist) can also learn it.
14 Leaf Storm
This is the second most damaging Grass attack through Generation VII. Leaf Storm has a power rating of 130, an accuracy rating of 90, and a PP count of 5.
There is almost always a penalty in the Pokémon games to using a move with such a high power rating and Leaf Storm is no different – every use lowers the user’s Special Attack by 2, to a minimum of -6 (this is also the case with several other powerful moves, such as Draco Meteor). This penalty prohibits Leaf Storm from really being used much (except in the case of Contrary Serperior), but the PP count doesn’t allow for many uses anyway. Moves like this are best used for finishing a battle.
13 Grassy Glide
Now, this is where Grass-types really get serious. Grassy Glide doesn’t look particularly impressive with its modest 70 Base Power, but do not be fooled.
The crucial thing here is Grassy Terrain. While this Terrain is on the field, Grassy Glide is boosted by said grass and has +1 priority. Grassy Surge and Grassy Glide alone makes Rillaboom an absolute terror. Other Grass-types can make excellent use of Grassy Glide as well, as the priority and 1.3x damage boost combined makes it very oppressive.
12 Petal Blizzard
Petal Blizzard was introduced in Generation VI, so its effect is tailored for the multi-Pokémon battles introduced in Generation V (and doubles matches introduced in Generation III). This attack has a power rating of 90, an accuracy rating of 100, and a PP count of 15. In the multi-Pokémon battles, Petal Blizzard also hits all of the Pokémon adjacent to the target, including the player’s Pokémon.
The power rating for this move is fairly high for an attack that damages multiple Pokémon in a formation. An excellent combo with Petal Blizzard is the Sap Sipper ability, which makes a Pokémon’s attack increase when hit by a grass attack (which also does no damage).
11 Bullet Seed
This can be one of the best standard attacks in the Pokémon series… if players are lucky! Bullet Seed has a power rating of 25, an accuracy rating of 100, and a PP count of 30. This attack always hits at least twice, but it can hit up to five times. Since it always hits twice the base minimum power is 50; if five seeds are launched this has a combined power of 125.
This makes Bullet Seed potentially more powerful than a Fire Blast. Each of these is treated as a separate attack – so each seed has a chance for a critical hit. Couple this with Breloom (which has the Technician Ability to boost the power of each hit) or Toucannon (which has the Skill Link Ability to ensure five hits each time) and the true damaging potential of the move is unlocked!
10 Wood Hammer
Generally speaking, recoil moves are some of the strongest in the games. It’s only fair, after all, as the user takes some of the damage dealt as recoil afterward.
Wood Hammer has 120 Base Power, as do other recoil moves like Double Edge (Normal) and the deadly Flying-type attack Brave Bird. Exchanging HP for raw damage output isn’t always the best idea, so Wood Hammer might be knocked down a peg or two for that, but it’s very, very strong.
9 Synthesis
Synthesis is a very different kind of Grass move. Status moves can be a bit of a mixed bag, but this one will be a perfect fit for the array of bulky Grass-types in the series.
Like Recover, Roost, and other similar moves, Synthesis restores the user’s HP by half. There’s an additional complicating factor, though. In harsh sunlight, this move instead restores two-thirds of the user’s HP, while other weather conditions cut the healing to one quarter. It’s situational and it won’t suit every Grass-type, but Synthesis is still a fantastic asset.
8 Spore
This is another of the most useful non-attacking moves for Grass Pokémon. Spore only has one power – it puts the opposing Pokémon to sleep. There isn’t a chance of missing either; barring extenuating circumstances Spore is going to work. The opposing Pokémon is put to sleep for 1-3 turns.
During this time, the player can continue to attack unimpeded, heal wounded Pokémon without the active one being attacked, or switch to a different Pokémon without retaliation. If a critter knows Spore, they are great choices for the Dream Eater TM (#85). It’s certainly not one of the most practical TMs in series history (there are other TMs that are far better), but Dream Eater has a high (100) power and heals the user by an amount equal to half the damage dealt.
7 Giga Drain
The secondary effect of this move makes it superb for come-from-behind victories. Giga Drain has a power rating of 75, an accuracy rating of 100, and a PP count of 10. The secondary effect is that the user is healed by an amount equal to half the damage dealt.
Unless the opponent uses extremely damaging moves, Giga Drain will allow a Pokémon to be victorious without much damage being taken in return. If the Pokémon using this move is holding the Big Root item, the amount of draining increases from 50% to 65%. As a result of the healing effect, this makes an excellent finishing move.
6 Power Whip
Power Whip is an excellent high-damage Grass move with only one glaring drawback. This move has a power rating of 120, an accuracy rating of 85, and a PP count of 10. The accuracy rating of 85 is the only real negative to Power Whip; the base 15% chance to miss ensures that it will happen frequently enough to be a bit of a nuisance at times.
A PP count of 10 for an attack with a power of 120+ is fairly uncommon, as most similar moves have a PP count of 5. Power Whip doesn’t have a secondary effect, but ultimately battles are won by dealing more damage than the opponent.
5 Leech Seed
Leech Seed was introduced in Generation I as one of the mighty Bulbasaur’s moves (among a few other Pokémon) and is still one of the best Grass moves. This move leeches away 1/8 of the maximum hit points from the opposing Pokémon and heals the user an equal amount.
While the damage per turn seems small, it adds up very quickly in protracted battles. This move should be used at the start of every fight to get the most out of the leeching/healing. It works very well with Giga Drain too.
4 Frenzy Plant
Frenzy Plant is the joint most damaging move in the Grass-type move-set. This move has a power rating of 150, an accuracy rating of 90, and a PP count of 5. The only negative to using this move is that the user must recharge, so it cannot move in the following round.
This is a substantial penalty. However, in normal circumstances, it is better to have a recharge following a move than to have to waste a turn while the move powers-up – like Solar Beam. Use this as a finishing move, which will allow the user to avoid the recharge penalty.
3 Leaf Blade
Leaf Blade is among the best standard Grass attacks, having a high power rating of 90, an accuracy rating of 100, and a PP count of 15. The 15 PP count is high considering this move’s power-to-accuracy ratio. The high PP count of Leaf Blade also allows the player to use items that increase a move’s PP count for other moves that need the increase more.
Leaf Blade has an increased chance to score a critical hit on the opponent. Critical hits aren’t as damaging as they used to be (their power has been reduced from double to 1.5 times), but this move has all the advantages and none of the drawbacks of some other top Grass moves (raw base power aside). It’s not quite at the very top, though.
2 Sappy Seed
Those who have played Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee will know that Pikachu and Eevee have a range of fantastic moves available to them from across the type chart. These signature moves are exclusive to these spin-offs, which is probably for the best as they’re absurdly good.
Sappy Seed, for instance, is a huge direct upgrade of the already excellent Leech Seed, hitting for 90 base power and setting the HP-sapping seed afterward. There’s a reason why this move doesn’t exist in the base games, but the very best Grass move (arguably) just beats it out.
1 G-Max Vine Lash
Finally, it’s the exclusive G-Max move of Gigantamax Venusaur. Often, this formidable attack is paired with Frenzy Plant to get the maximum damage potential from it. The two moves share the same base power, 150, but G-Max Vine Lash is another direct upgrade.
There’s no need to skip a turn here, unlike Frenzy Plant. The secondary effect of this move deals damage to the opponent(s) equal to one-sixth of their max HP at the end of the turn, for four turns. In doubles matches, in particular, this is tremendous “damage value.” Gigantamax Charizard’s G-Max Wildfire and Gigantamax Blastoise’s G-Max Cannonade share this effect, helping make these forms of the Kanto starters (introduced in Sword & Shield’s Isle of Armor expansion) popular picks.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply