There are several Pokemon that have made a name for themselves in the competitive scene due to different attributes, like their type combinations, abilities, stats, etc. However, some of them are infamous for only being proficient in battle because there’s a single effective move they can learn, and not much more.
Needless to say, numerous Pokemon are flat-out infamous for relying way too much on one move, to the point that they have completely lost their battle viability when that move was removed and/or nerfed in subsequent generations. This has occurred many times throughout the Pokemon franchise, but the following creatures are the most notorious examples of this strange but fascinating phenomenon.
Ditto
Relies On Transform
- Type: Normal
- Category: Status
- Power: –
- Debut: Generation One
- Effect: Allows its user to copy the target and its move set.
There’s no other Pokemon more famous for relying on a single move than Ditto, the Transform Pokemon from Generation One. As implied by its Pokemon Category, it can literally only learn and use Transform, which allows it to copy the opponent’s appearance and move set.
This is a very fun gimmick that has helped Ditto stand out for almost thirty years, but it’s also extremely risky. If it’s knocked out too quickly or if Transform is deactivated in some way before it can use it, there’s nothing else Ditto can do in combat. Fortunately, this was somewhat fixed when the hidden ability Imposter was added in Generation Five, which allows Ditto to transform into its opponent the very moment it lands on the battlefield.
Breloom
Relies On Spore
- Type: Grass
- Category: Status
- Power: –
- Debut: Generation One
- Effect: The user scatters spores that put opponents to sleep.
Every Pokemon that’s based on a mushroom can learn Spore, an extremely effective status move that can induce sleep with no real drawbacks. However, most of them—like Amoonguss or Toedscruel—are durable supporters that can do other things aside from putting their opponents to sleep, whereas Breloom would be nothing without this move.
The strategy to effectively use Breloom in battle is quite simple: it puts its target to sleep with Spore and keeps attacking them with its physical Grass and Fighting-type attacks until they faint. Rinse and repeat. Truth be told, there’s not much more Breloom can do if Spore is deactivated (or it runs out of PP), as its low Speed stat and double weakness to Flying-type attacks make it extremely vulnerable when it loses that huge advantage.
Rayquaza
Relies On Dragon Ascent
- Type: Flying
- Category: Physical
- Power: 120
- Debut: Generation Six
- Effect: Attacks the target and lowers the user’s Defense and Special Defense.
Rayquaza has always been an extremely powerful legendary Pokemon with a large variety of strong physical and special attacks to choose from. Even so, everything changed when its brand-new signature move, Dragon Ascent, was introduced in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
This is not only a really powerful physical attack with a only a minor drawback (seeing as Rayquaza is not really a defensive Pokemon), but it also allows Rayquaza to Mega Evolve. Nowadays, it’s almost impossible to find a Rayquaza that doesn’t know Dragon Ascent (even in games without Mega Evolution), so its very existence makes it really easy for competitive players to predict which moves their opponent’s Rayquaza is going to use.
Darkrai
Relies On Dark Void
- Type: Dark
- Category: Status
- Power: –
- Debut: Generation Four
- Effect: Puts all the opposing Pokemon to sleep.
Sleep-inducing attacks without any drawbacks (like low accuracy) are very hard to come by, which is why Darkrai made such a big impact on the competitive Pokemon scene after its debut. Keeping in line with its nightmare theme, its signature move, Dark Void, allows it to put all the Pokemon on the opposite side of the battlefield to sleep at the same time.
With 80% accuracy, this was a really effective and useful move, especially in Double or Triple battles. Unfortunately, Dark Void was severely nerfed in subsequent generations, and its accuracy was brought down to 50%, making it even less reliable than Hypnosis. This completely destroyed Darkrai’s competitive viability and, ironically enough, this nerf was most likely put into effect because of a separate Pokemon: Smeargle, who often used Dark Void via its own signature move, Sketch.
Xerneas
Relies On Geomancy
- Type: Fairy
- Category: Status
- Power: –
- Debut: Generation Six
- Effect: It sharply boosts the user’s Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed after waiting for one turn.
Xerneas is infamous for being one of the most overpowered Pokemon in the entire franchise, mainly thanks to its excellent signature move, Geomancy. Waiting for one whole turn in exchange for boosting three different stats by two stages seems like a reasonable compromise at first, but this simple drawback can be completely eliminated by equipping this Pokemon with a Power Herb.
Successfully activating Geomancy makes Xerneas into an extremely powerful special attacker, and almost every single trainer who has trained and used one in battle chooses to keep its signature move. Nevertheless, this is a similar situation to Rayquaza. Xerneas is a powerful Legendary Pokemon that can learn many other solid moves, yet the existence of Geomancy has made it very predictable in the competitive scene.
Rillaboom
Relies On Grassy Glide
- Type: Grass
- Category: Physical
- Power: 70 (55 in Generation Nine)
- Debut: Generation Eight
- Effect: It always goes first on Grassy Terrain.
For a while, it seemed like Rillaboom was going to get the short end of the stick in terms of competitive viability when compared to its fellow Kalos Starter Pokemon, Cinderance and Inteleon. However, the complete opposite ended up happening, as it was eventually given the excellent combination of Grassy Surge and Grassy Glide.
Grassy Glide is a physical move that always goes first when there’s Grassy Terrain on the battlefield, and Grassy Surge is a hidden ability that allows Rillaboom to activate said terrain the moment it’s sent into battle. This meant that this Grass-type Starter Pokemon with a very high Attack stat could damage opponents with a physical attack that is significantly stronger than similar moves (like Quick Attack). It was a clever strategy that perfectly complemented Rillaboom’s low Speed stat. This was an extremely effective ability-move combo, which is why it had to be nerfed in Generation Nine, where Grassy Glide’s power was dropped to 55.
Dracovish
Relies On Fishious Rend
- Type: Water
- Category: Physical
- Power: 85
- Debut: Generation Eight
- Effect: A biting move whose power is doubled if the user moves before the target.
Dracovish may seem like a strange-looking Pokemon at first, but it’s actually one of the most frequently used Fossil Pokemon in the history of the franchise’s competitive scene. This is due to its excellent signature move: Fishious Rend, a strong physical attack boasting 85 power that goes up to a whopping 170 if Dracovish moves first or if the target switches during the same turn.
If that isn’t already powerful enough, Fishious Rend can get even stronger thanks to one of Dracovish’s other abilities: Strong Jaw, which doubles the power of every biting move. The combination of Fishious Rend and Strong Jaw has made Dracovish into a really fun and effective Pokemon to use in battle, but it also relies way too much on it and, as a result, it can’t really do much without it.
Houndstone
Relies On Last Respects
- Type: Ghost
- Category: Physical
- Power: 50
- Debut: Generation Nine
- Effect: A physical attack that gets stronger the more defeated allies are in the user’s party.
Sometimes, a very good move is tragically paired up with a really mediocre Pokemon, which is exactly what happened to Last Respects, the signature move of Houndstone. While it does fit its graveyard theme perfectly—since it gets stronger the more Pokemon in the party the opponent has knocked out—it’s also the only real reason Houndstone has had any sort of presence in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s competitive scene.
After all, Pokemon battles always result in the defeat of multiple party members, so if Houndstone is sent in at the last minute, Last Respects’ power can go up to 250 and take down almost any opponent that isn’t resistant to it. The sad truth is, if Houndstone couldn’t learn this move, it would rarely be chosen by professional Pokemon players, which is why many of them prefer to train Basculegion instead, as it’s the only other Pokemon that can learn Last Respects.
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