Pokémon Moves That Lower Your Own Stats: A Comprehensive Guide
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Several Pokémon moves come with a significant drawback: they lower the user’s own stats. This self-inflicted stat reduction is often a trade-off for a powerful effect, making these moves high-risk, high-reward options. Understanding which moves fall into this category is crucial for any trainer looking to master strategic gameplay. Generally, these moves involve actions that are physically taxing or have a chaotic element, resulting in a temporary weakness for the user.
Here’s a breakdown of moves that lower the user’s stats:
- Curse: While this move can boost Attack and Defense (or both in some generations), it significantly lowers the Speed stat, effectively reducing the user’s ability to move quickly. It’s important to note that for Ghost-types, Curse lowers Attack, Defense, and Special Attack while raising HP; not the typical effect.
- Mind Blown: This Fire-type move, exclusive to Blacephalon, deals high damage but, with each use, cuts the user’s Special Attack stat by two stages. This means continuous use of Mind Blown will rapidly diminish its effectiveness.
- Dragon Ascent: This powerful Flying-type move, a signature move of Mega Rayquaza, is incredibly strong but decreases both the user’s Defense and Special Defense after usage. This makes Mega Rayquaza more vulnerable to incoming damage.
- V-Create: This move deals massive damage but significantly lowers the user’s Speed, Defense, and Special Defense stats by one stage after it has been used. This reduction in stats makes subsequent attacks against the user much more dangerous.
- Shell Smash: Though not an attacking move, this move dramatically increases the user’s Attack, Special Attack, and Speed, but also sharply lowers its Defense and Special Defense by one stage. The significant stat boost comes at a significant defensive cost.
- Ice Hammer: This Ice-type move dishes out serious damage but lowers the user’s Speed stat by one stage after it is used. This makes the user slower to move in the following turns.
- Hammer Arm: Like Ice Hammer, Hammer Arm deals heavy damage at the cost of lowering the user’s Speed stat by one stage after use.
- Superpower: This powerful Fighting-type move lowers the user’s Attack and Defense stats by one stage after each use. The considerable offensive power comes at the expense of becoming less of a threat and becoming more vulnerable.
Understanding the nuances of these moves allows for greater strategic depth in Pokémon battles. While the initial impact may be appealing, the subsequent stat reductions often require careful planning and strategic switches to avoid leaving the Pokémon vulnerable.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are base stats, and can they be lowered?
Base stats are the fundamental numbers that determine a Pokémon’s potential in each stat (HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed). These cannot be boosted or lowered in battle. The game refers to Effort Values (EVs) as what impacts the stats, which can be modified through items, battles, and training. Items like vitamins and feathers can boost EVs, but base stats remain static and cannot be changed through moves or items during battles.
What items prevent stat reduction in battle?
The Clear Amulet is a held item that prevents the holder from having its stats lowered by other Pokémon’s moves or abilities. This is particularly useful when facing opponents that frequently use stat-lowering moves.
What moves ignore stat changes when attacking?
Several moves ignore stat changes on the target when calculating damage. These include:
- Chip Away: Ignores target’s Defense stat changes.
- Sacred Sword: Ignores target’s Defense stat changes.
- Darkest Lariat: Ignores target’s Defense stat changes.
- Fissure and Horn Drill: These one-hit KO moves ignores all changes to stats.
- Final Gambit This move has damage based on the user’s HP, therefore stat changes are not considered for calculating damage.
- Foresight, Odor Sleuth, and Miracle Eye: Cause subsequent moves to ignore the target’s Evasion stat stages.
These moves are useful against Pokémon that have boosted their defense or evasion stats, allowing you to inflict damage more reliably.
Does Dragon Rage ignore defense stats?
Dragon Rage is a move that causes exactly 40 HP of damage regardless of any changes to the target’s defensive stats or stat buffs. It also ignores Light Screen, Harden, and the defense aspects of Amnesia and offensive moves like Leer or Psychic. This makes Dragon Rage a reliable, fixed damage option.
How many times can a stat be lowered in Pokémon?
A stat can be lowered by a maximum of six stages, and it can be increased by a max of six stages as well. If a stat has been maxed out at +6, it can then be reduced by up to twelve times to reach the minimum of -6. These changes are reflected in real-time during a battle by tapping the Pokémon’s sprite to reveal its Battle Stat modifications.
Does Mist prevent Haze and status changes?
Mist is a move that prevents a Pokémon’s stats from being lowered by opponent moves for five turns, but does not protect from status conditions, confusion or other moves. It does not stop Haze or protect from status changes like sleep or poison, nor does it prevent statistic alterations from paralysis or burns.
What does the Covert Cloak block?
The Covert Cloak is a held item that protects the wielder from the secondary effects of moves. For instance, it prevents flinching from Rock Slide, freezing from Ice Fang, stat drops from Icy Wind, and burn from a move that has that effect. It also prevents additional passive damage effects like Salt Cure.
What strategies can counter stat boosting?
Revenge killers are often used to counter stat boosters. These are Pokémon that switch in after another has fainted to KO or cripple an opponent that has boosted its stats. Other strategies include using moves that ignore stat changes or status moves like Haze and Clear Smog.
Does evolving Pokémon decrease stats?
Evolving Pokémon does not decrease stats but typically increases them permanently for most Pokémon. Some rare Pokémon might see one stat not increase during evolution, but it never decreases.
Which moves raise your attack stat?
Many moves raise the user’s Attack stat, here are a few examples:
- Max Knuckle
- Shift Gear and Gear Up
- Dragon Dance
- Metal Claw and Meteor Mash
- Bulk Up and Coaching
- Belly Drum
- Power-Up Punch and Fell Stinger
- Shell Smash
Does Psychic Terrain stop Spore?
Psychic Terrain prevents grounded Pokémon from being afflicted with status-inducing moves like Toxic or Spore, but it does not stop moves like Taunt or Encore.
Does Clear Amulet stop Haze?
While the Clear Amulet prevents the holder from having its stats lowered, it does not protect against moves like Haze or Clear Smog, which reset all stat changes for the Pokémon targetted.
Does Covert Cloak prevent burns?
Yes, the Covert Cloak prevents the secondary effects of moves, including burn, freeze, poison, stat drops, and flinching.
How does Clear Smog work?
Clear Smog inflicts damage and resets all stat levels of the target to 0, effectively undoing any stat boosts or drops. Unlike Haze, it only affects one target. However, it will not work if the target is unaffected by the attack due to type immunity, protection, or being behind a substitute.
Is Mist a good move to use?
Mist is useful for preventing stat drops inflicted by opponents, protecting all allied Pokémon for five turns. This effect applies whether Pokemon are switched or not for that duration, making it a good choice for strategies where stat drops are a concern.
By understanding the various moves that lower your own stats, and the items and moves that interact with them, players can make much more informed and strategic choices in their Pokémon battles. The strategic depth these mechanics create is what makes Pokémon battles so engaging and rewarding.