What Pokémon Moves Nullify Stat Changes? A Comprehensive Guide
In the dynamic world of Pokémon battles, stat changes play a crucial role. Trainers strategically boost their Pokémon’s strengths while attempting to weaken their opponents. However, certain moves can circumvent these stat alterations, introducing a fascinating layer of tactical depth. This article will explore Pokémon moves that negate or ignore stat changes, providing a comprehensive understanding of these potent abilities.
Moves That Ignore Stat Changes
The primary way moves nullify stat changes is by ignoring modifications to specific stats of the target. These moves effectively bypass any increases or decreases in the chosen stat, allowing the attacking Pokémon to deal damage as if the stat changes didn’t exist. Here are some of the key moves that function this way:
Chip Away, Sacred Sword, and Darkest Lariat
These three moves share a common characteristic: they ignore changes to the target’s physical Defense and Evasion stat stages. This is a significant advantage against Pokémon that have used moves like Iron Defense or Double Team to boost their defensive stats or evasiveness, respectively. A Pokémon using Chip Away, Sacred Sword, or Darkest Lariat will hit with its raw attack stat, unaffected by the opponent’s raised Defense. Similarly, any increases in evasion are negated, ensuring a more accurate strike. This makes these moves exceptionally useful when facing Pokémon reliant on buffing their defenses and evasion.
Foresight, Odor Sleuth, and Miracle Eye
While not moves that directly ignore stat changes in the damage formula, Foresight, Odor Sleuth, and Miracle Eye serve an important role in negating evasion stat boosts. These moves cause subsequent moves to ignore the target’s Evasion stat stages. By hitting a Pokémon with one of these moves, you effectively remove the benefits of any evasion-boosting stat changes. This ensures that your moves connect more reliably, turning the tide against evasive opponents.
Moves That Negate Stat Changes Altogether
While not explicitly “nullifying” stat changes, moves like Haze can reset all stat changes, both positive and negative, for all Pokémon on the field. This completely undoes all the work of stat-boosting and can create a more level playing field for a turn, even if the Pokemon that used the stat-boosting moves will often be on the advantage afterwards, as they may be quicker or have other advantages that they gained from the stat increase, besides the stats themselves.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How do you counter stat boosting in Pokémon?
Revenge killers are the most common strategy to deal with stat boosters. These are Pokémon that switch in after one of your Pokémon has fainted, aiming to KO or cripple the opposing Pokémon that benefited from stat boosts. Alternatively, moves that bypass defensive boosts like those listed above, or moves that reset stat changes like Haze, can also be effective.
2. What Pokémon moves lower your own stats?
Several moves lower the user’s own stats. Some common examples include: Overheat, Hyperspace Fury, Psycho Boost, Draco Meteor, Leaf Storm, Fleur Cannon, Close Combat, and Clanging Scales. These moves often come with high power but require careful consideration due to their stat-lowering side effects.
3. Which Pokémon ignores changes to opponents’ evasiveness?
Mind’s Eye is an ability that allows a Pokémon to ignore changes to an opponent’s evasiveness. In addition, Pokémon with Mind’s Eye also gain the ability to hit Ghost-type Pokémon with Normal and Fighting-type moves.
4. Does Dragon Rage ignore defense?
No, Dragon Rage does not ignore defense in the way that Chip Away and similar moves do. Dragon Rage deals a fixed 40 HP damage. Defensive stat changes do not affect the amount of damage caused.
5. What Pokémon ability ignores other abilities?
The ability Mold Breaker ignores the effects of opposing Abilities that could potentially affect the damage or effects of a move that its user executes. For instance, a Pokémon with Mold Breaker can hit Pokémon with the ability Levitate with Ground-type moves.
6. What is the least accurate move in Pokémon?
One-hit knockout moves, such as Fissure, Horn Drill, and Sheer Cold, typically have a 30% accuracy. Moves with a 50% accuracy include Zap Cannon, Dynamic Punch, Dark Void, and Inferno.
7. What is the weakest Pokémon based on stats?
Wishiwashi in its solo form is often considered the weakest, boasting a base stat total of just 175.
8. What Pokémon move raises the most stats?
Shell Smash is the move that raises the most stats, boosting Attack, Special Attack, and Speed by two stages, while lowering Defense and Special Defense by one stage.
9. What Pokémon moves boost evasion?
Double Team is a popular move that boosts the user’s evasion by one stage, whilst Minimize increases evasion by two stages at each use.
10. What ability ignores stat boosts?
The ability Unaware allows a Pokémon to ignore any stat changes to its opponent when attacking. This means it will calculate damage based on the opponents’ raw stats without stat boosts.
11. How do you max out a Pokémon’s defense?
You can maximize a stat, like defense, by giving a Pokémon vitamins that increase that stat’s Effort Values (EVs) until 252 EVs have been reached.
12. How many times can you lower a stat in Pokémon?
A Pokémon’s stat can be lowered up to twelve times to reach the minimum. If a stat is increased to the max, it can then be reduced up to twelve times to reach the bare minimum.
13. Does Mist stop Haze?
No, Mist does not protect the user from the effects of Haze, nor does it protect from confusion or status changes.
14. Does Power Trick work with stat changes?
Power Trick only swaps the user’s raw Attack stat with its raw Defense stat. Any stat modifiers, i.e., stat stages, are not swapped.
15. Is there a Pokémon with 0 weaknesses?
The Eelektross line (Tynamo, Eelektrik, and Eelektross) are pure Electric-type Pokémon that have the ability Levitate, which grants them immunity to Ground-type attacks, their only theoretical weakness. However, they can be affected by certain abilities that ignore Levitate, and even though they can avoid all type weaknesses, they are not immune to status conditions or damage via non-type related methods.
Conclusion
Understanding how Pokémon moves can nullify stat changes adds a critical layer to strategic gameplay. From ignoring defensive boosts with moves like Chip Away to completely resetting the playing field with Haze, these abilities offer trainers a wide range of tools to overcome challenging situations. By mastering these moves and strategies, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the complex battles of the Pokémon world.