56. Acrobatics Nominated by: xx521xx Introduced: Gen V Pokemon I associate this move with: Archeops
*sigh* Another useful move with a lame animation. Why does GameFreak do this to us (specifically, me)? I mean, I guess I can't think of much else a move called "Acrobatics" would do, but anything besides what we got. The reason this gets higher than, say, Overheat is because of two things. One, it is a good move with good uses; just equip a Flying Gem and this move's gonna hurt. And two, for whatever reason, I do like it. But the animation just stops it from becoming more.
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55. Volt Tackle Nominated by: xx521xx Introduced: Gen V Pokemon I associate this move with: Pikachu
Volt Tackle has a really, really cool animation. So that's the good news. And really, looking at it just as a move, it really shouldn't be too bad. But then you find out that the only Pokemon who can learn the move are the Pikachu line. The problem there is that they simply cannot handle the recoil damage; all of them are semi-guaranteed two-hit KO's in the first place, and sucking HP from them just to hit a move is just something they can't do effectively. It's really too bad, because Pikachu + Light Ball + Volt Tackle hurts like b****, and again, it's cool looking. But I just can't put it higher when it's in this state. Come back when Electivire can learn it. (Not that I want him to, from a fan-of-Pikachu standpoint. Just saying)
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54. Psybeam Nominated by: GTM Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Kadabra
Psybeam has to hold a dear place in most Pokemon players' hearts in that it's generally the first non-Confusion (AKA, non-crappy) Psychic move a Psychic type learns. Especially back in the first couple generations where Psychic was more useful, this was a big thing that meant you were about to stomp some heads. It's animation is pretty good, as well. But, of course, the main flaw here is that Psychic (the move) is infinitely better and always has been, and it's hard to rate a move super high with such an inferiority, unless there's something really special about it. Which in this case, there isn't.
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Emporer_Kazbar posted... 54. Psybeam Nominated by: GTM Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Kadabra
Psybeam has to hold a dear place in most Pokemon players' hearts in that it's generally the first non-Confusion (AKA, non-crappy) Psychic move a Psychic type learns. Especially back in the first couple generations where Psychic was more useful, this was a big thing that meant you were about to stomp some heads. It's animation is pretty good, as well. But, of course, the main flaw here is that Psychic (the move) is infinitely better and always has been, and it's hard to rate a move super high with such an inferiority, unless there's something really special about it. Which in this case, there isn't.
Edit: To add on to answer your added judgement, no, I was honestly thinking that you were saying that it was a move that didn't confuse unlike earlier.
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Official Pidgeot of the B/W Boards Clan Quite frankly my Deerling, I don't give a Wormadam- GenesisSaga
Except an added 25 base power (Plus the ability to lower the opponent's Special Defense, thus adding more power) VASTLY overpowers a 1-in-10 chance to confuse an opponent.
There's a reason nobody uses Psybeam competitively.
From: WickIebee | #108 Edit: To add on to answer your added judgement, no, I was honestly thinking that you were saying that it was a move that didn't confuse unlike earlier.
OK.
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Emporer_Kazbar posted... Except an added 25 base power (Plus the ability to lower the opponent's Special Defense, thus adding more power) VASTLY overpowers a 1-in-10 chance to confuse an opponent.
There's a reason nobody uses Psybeam competitively.
From: WickIebee | #108 Edit: To add on to answer your added judgement, no, I was honestly thinking that you were saying that it was a move that didn't confuse unlike earlier. OK.
Oh, let me clarify now. I wasn't talking about the Psychic advantage, I had gone off about the comparison between Confusion and Psybeam.
I know Psychic is better, 90 BP? Who wouldn't use?
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Official Pidgeot of the B/W Boards Clan Quite frankly my Deerling, I don't give a Wormadam- GenesisSaga
From: WickIebee | #111 Oh, let me clarify now. I wasn't talking about the Psychic advantage, I had gone off about the comparison between Confusion and Psybeam.
I know Psychic is better, 90 BP? Who wouldn't use?
Oh, OK.
Still, Psybeam is clearly a complete upgrade over Confusion, too. Sure, it's just 15 BP, but it has the exact same chance of confusion (the ailment). It hits just enough harder that you notice a difference when fighting neutrally hit enemies.
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53. Triple Kick Nominated by: Sorozone Introduced: Gen II Pokemon I associate this move with: Hitmontop
Technically speaking, this move really isn't much better than Double Kick, seeing as it does roughly the same damage all-together. But the fact that it's exclusive to Hitmontop, a Pokemon I think doesn't get as much attention as it should, gives it a bit of a boost. Besides, three chances for a critical hit is always better than two.
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52. Dragon Rage Nominated by: MeteorExF Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Dratini
You're currently looking at the only Gen I Dragon move. How about that? Honestly, as useless as it is in the higher levels, it's seriously useful in the lower ones, making leveling up Dratini (for instance) on it's own really easy. Unfortunately, the move's banned in Little Cup, for the very obvious reason that it one or two hit KO's literally everything in the tier. It'd get a little higher otherwise.
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51. Thunderpunch Nominated by: 20three Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Electabuzz
Honestly, Thunderpunch was a lot more useful back in the day where types determined if a move was physical or special. Back then, Ampharos and Alakazam and the like could use it to great effect. Instead, it's physical now, and while that helps guys like Hitmonchan, I just can't but help feeling like it doesn't have the uses it once did. In anycase, it's nothing spectacular, but it's a good move either way, and I think 51 is perfect for it.
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50. Stomp Nominated by: Silver_Ermine Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Miltank
Stomp really is a mediocre move, stats-wise. It does alright damage, but nothing to write home about, and the flinch percentage is OK, but really, Headbutt does this just slightly better, with an extra 5 BP (Not much, but more is more). So why is this all the way at 50? One reason: it does double damage to Minimized targets. That's so cool to me. Imagine a Minimized Pokemon scurrying around, and suddenly the much bigger Pokemon looks down upon it and squishes it in one big Stomp. Really neat. Also, the sound of the move in Pokemon Stadium always comes back in my head when I use it. Those two cool factors help boost Stomp to much beyond what it would have been without those features.
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49. Dragon Tail Nominated by: Wicklebee Introduced: Gen V Pokemon I associate this move with: Garchomp
Dragon Tail is a neat move in that it semi-obsoletes Whirlwind and Roar; why switch Pokemon out with a non-damaging move when you can do the same while hurting them? It has the same negative priority and everything, so there's really no disadvantage to using it over the aforementioned moves. But, much like Roar and Whirlwind, Dragon Tail itself has limited uses. Sure, you can try to keep hitting the opponent with it, forcing switches and getting them chipped away at by things like Stealth Rock and Spikes and Sandstorm, but the fact that it has such negative priority means you're going to be taking a hit each turn, and that will wear on you quickly (Especially if you accidentally switch-in the opponent's dragon counter with Ice Shard. Oops!) And while it's useful for switching out things with major buffs to get rid of their statboosts, the fact of the matter is most of the Pokemon that learn Dragon Tail have better things to be doing, such as sweeping the enemy team. But it is a cool move, so it gets into the top 50, at least.
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48. Toxic Spikes Nominated by: MarvelousGerbil Introduced: Gen IV Pokemon I associate this move with: Drapion
You gotta like Toxic Spikes. "Hey, switching in, huh? Well guess what, now I just hit you with a free Toxic on the switch in!". Problems exist, of course; Poison types absorb Toxic Spikes, rendering them useless if the other team has a Poison type. Also, while Toxic is a fine ailment (Remember that we're assuming you laid down two layers here; no point in it otherwise), by them being ailed like this you lose the ability to paralyze or burn or freeze them, which can be a big deal if the other team has a monster sweeper waiting. Overall, Toxic Spikes definitely has its uses, but it's probably the least useful of all the collateral damage moves.
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47. Focus Blast Nominated by: Wicklebee Introduced: Gen IV Pokemon I associate this move with: Gengar
Focus Blast ended up being one of the great new moves of the change in Gen IV to physical and special moves. Suddenly, you could hit types weak to Fighting moves in the defensive slot that they weren't jacked up in, as well as giving a powerful Fighting move to Pokemon with good special attack. It adds versatility to Pokemon like Gengar and Alakazam. So why isn't it higher? It's a matter of over-saturation. The moves ahead of it either interest me more, are more useful, have better animations; there's literally nothing wrong with Focus Blast except maybe it's accuracy. There were just too many good moves on this list to justify it getting much higher, for me.
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46. Solarbeam Nominated by: xx521xx Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Venusaur
Two-turn moves are all-but useless in competitive Pokemon, but this moves gets some use on Sunny Day teams where it can hit in one turn. It's also a decent looking move. Hell, it's in-game use is alright, since most AI opponents don't switch. But...well, I'm just not as big a fan of it as I guess I should be. It's a cool move, but not supercool. I suppose I could analyze why, but I don't feel like it. It's here on the list to stay.
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45. Rolling Kick Nominated by: Sorozone Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Hitmonlee
Rolling Kick is a bad move overall. But it's so gosh darn unique and underused that I can't help but find it downright charming. That's literally the only reason it's here.
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44. Leech Seed Nominated by: MarvelousGerbil Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Bulbasaur
Leech Seed is comparable to Curse (by Ghosts), but better in that instead of taking a move and half your health, it just takes a move. That said, it's still canceled by switch-out, which limits its use (though SubSeeders in competitive can be a real b**** to kill off). But what really makes this move for me, and what gets it into the top 50, is how cool it is in the anime, wrapping tons of vines around the opponent and sucking the life out of them. It's just so cool it can't be ignored.
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43. High Jump Kick Nominated by: Sorozone Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Mienshao
High Jump Kick has always been pretty decent, but in Gen V it went from decent to incredibly powerful. It's always been a cool move, and having it be useful in competitive made it even cooler. The only flaw is the whole "crash to the ground and die" thing, which is a big deal when the other Pokemon uses Protect or something. All said, I like it, but I can't really put it ahead of the others moves on this list, based mostly on preference.
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42. Dragon Dance Nominated by: Sorozone Introduced: Gen IV Pokemon I associate this move with: Gyarados
This is sort of an opposite scenario with Rolling Kick; I don't really care for the move, but it's just too useful to have any worse on the list than this. Dragon Dance has effected the metagame in such a strong way. With this move, pretty much any of the Pokemon who learn this become a force to be reckoned with after one use, and two uses almost always means sweep. If I had a dollar for every time I saw DD Gyarados on a DP OU team, I'd probably have about 700 dollars.
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41. Horn Drill Nominated by: Blairville Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Rhydon
Ah, OHKO moves. Fun when you hit, infuriating when you're hit. They have a certain charm in that they aren't seen very often, so when they do happen, it's a cool little happenstance. Horn Drill is probably my least favorite OHKO move, but the fact that it still made it to 41 should tell you how I feel about them in general.
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40. Hydro Pump Nominated by: 20three Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Blastoise
You know what this move reminds me of more than anything else? That weird "do-DO do-DO" noise it and a couple other moves in Gen I made. Not really sure what that was supposed to be. Anyway, I like Hydro Pump, but much like High Jump Kick, the moves ahead of it are simply higher on my preference list.
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39. Shell Smash Nominated by: Murphiroth Introduced: Gen V Pokemon I associate this move with: Cloyster
This move has single-handedly turned the likes of Cloyster, Gorebyss and Clamperl (Yes, Clamperl) into monsters. It's pretty great, when you get right down to it. I mean, I'm not going to say it's one of my favorites, by any means (since it's animation is nothing special and it's got no real "coolness" to it), but you have to be blind if it's utility, if nothing else, doesn't catch your eye.
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^Current placement has nothing to do with the final rankings, mind you, which will be determined by average of all moves' placement. I just clustered all the same numbers together for easy reading.
That said, yeah, you're probably going to finish in last.
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38. Thunderbolt Nominated by: xx521xx Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Starmie
Thunderbolt is a part of one of the more famous move combos in Pokemon history; BoltBeam. These two moves (the other being Ice Beam) provide great coverage. And I do like Thunderbolt as a whole, though not as much as Thunder (which wasn't nominated). But a couple of things prevent it from being a little higher, and they're kind of related to one another. Thunderbolt is used so often it kind of saps it's appeal away, and Pikachu has spammed it so much in the anime that it's almost a forgone conclusion in every episode. Which is too bad not just for Thunderbolt, but also for Pikachu. The yellow mouse is in my top 30, but that's in spite of the anime, not because of it. Anime Pikachu, and Ash, for that matter, should have stopped adventuring ages ago and let someone new take over.
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37. Spore Nominated by: Blairville Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Parasect
While this move isn't at all exciting, and indeed it's animation is pretty much the same as other Powder moves, it's really hard to give a low ranking to the only 100% sleep inducing move in the games. Not much more to it than that.
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36. Razor Shell Nominated by: GenesisSaga Introduced: Gen V Pokemon I associate this move with: Dewott
I think we all know that, while Razor Shell is a decently cool move on it's own, it's the presence of Oshawott and Dewott that boost it up. I hated Oshawott the first time I saw it, but over time the little golfball-head grew on me. However, I always liked Dewott. And their anime appearances, in which they use Razor Shell, make this move a nice one.
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35. Mega Kick Nominated by: Silver_Ermine Introduced: Gen I Pokemon I associate this move with: Wigglytuff
Back when I first played FireRed, my sister was watching me play pretty much the whole time (Thank you GameCube Game Boy Player). I have a tendency of turning certain things into jokes when I do this, because me and my sister have a lot of fun lampooning things (With movies we're pretty much a running RiffTrax recording). One of the many that I made while playing this game making a huge deal out of hitting both Mega Punch and Mega Kick, always shouting "MEGA PUUUUUNCH!" or "MEGA KIIIIIIICK!" as we hit the opponent. That experience puts Mega Kick pretty high up. Though Mega Punch would be higher, since that was used more frequently.
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34. Spacial Rend Nominated by: Natwaf_akidna Introduced: Gen IV Pokemon I associate this move with: Palkia
Honestly, I've never once used this move. Why? Because it's never come up via Metronome, I don't play Ubers, and I've never owned a Palkia. But, thanks to lovely internet sources, I don't need to have used a move to see it's animations or know how effective it is. And this move has a pretty dang cool animation (as well as an awesome movie appearance), and is pretty effective. But the fact that I've never actually used it makes it hard to put it higher.
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