Safe or Strong Moves ?
I would like to ask, what is the most preferable strategy , to have your Pokemon learn Strong Moves that can heart it or weaker moves but much safer?What do you think and why ?
(1)Close Combat which is the strongest(120) but lowers the Def and Sp Def one stage ?(2)Sky uppercut(Egg Move) witch is a bit weaker move(85) but with no additional effect and can hit Pokemon that use Fly?
The same with Roserade should I go for(1)Leaf storm(Egg Move) wich is strong move (130) but lowers Sp Attack 2 stages? or(2)Energy Ball(TM) wich is a weaker move(90) But with no additional effect?
The same goes for moves like Flare Blitz ,Wild Charge, and Brave Bird that Lowering HP .
Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.
I haven’t done any competitive battling for a while, but when I played VGC the logic went like this:
Stronger but riskier movesare better for frail yet powerful Pokémon like Mega Lucario, Hydreigon, Terrakion and Mega Lopunny. Yes, Mega Lucario does become less durable the more you use Close Combat, but it’s already not the strongest Pokémon and it is much better to OHKO a threat like Mega Kangaskhan and suffer the stat drop, then to use a weaker attack like Sky Uppercut or Aura Sphere and risk getting KOd first. The same logic applies to moves like Draco Meteor, Fire Blast, High Jump Kick, Stone Edge, etc.
TL;DR The best defence is a good offence, as they say.
Safer but weaker movesare better for bulkier Pokémon, if you’re playing the long game, or if they have secondary effects that are more beneficial for you than a simple KO. A good example is Rain teams. All Rain teams ran a Politoed and at least one other Water Pokémon. Depending on what build your Politoed had, youcouldchoose Hydro Pump (mostly Scarf Politoeds) for that sick Rain boost, or you could run Scald (mostly Sitrus Politoeds) for the chance to inflict a burn. Other popular Rain Pokémon like Kingdra and Ludicolo had to choose as well. Using weaker moves is often a tactical decision, and they are better for Pokémon that don’t dish out much damage anyways. A 2HKO on Mega Kangaskhan with Hydro Pump isn’t as good for you as a 3HKO and chance to burn with Scald. Because weather lasts for a limited time, landing a slightly weaker boosted attacks can better than totally whiffing a more powerful one — hence why a good portion of Mega Charizard Y ran Flamethrower over Fire Blast.
As for my other point, about playing the long game, we look to more stall-y Pokémon like Suicune and Mega Venusaur. Sure, Hydro Pump is stronger, but Suicune benefits more from the burn chance and higher PP because it’s planning to stay on the field for a long time. Mega Venusaurcoulduse Petal Dance or Energy Ball to attack, but it’s usually better to use Giga Drain to help it stay alive for longer.
TL;DR Pokémon that focus more on waiting out the opponent rather than beating them to a pulp benefit more from weaker, more tactical moves.
TL;DR Sometimes bulky Pokémon need a riskier move to KO other bulky Pokémon, or a weaker move may be better than a stronger one if it fits your strategy/situation better.
I certainly hope that this helped and made sense! Good luck teambuilding!
