Anyone here NOT like using "HM Slaves"?

[Yumetaro]

Nah, I like to spread my HMs evenly throughout my team. After all, it wastes a space on your team, that wouldn't be very good for the Elite Four and stuff.

 

[BubbleBeams]

I've never really liked using HM slaves and I never did when I was younger, but I've also learned that it's much nicer to have my team's movepool more open.

I like having moves like Surf, Fly, and Strength on my team as I feel they are actually good moves. But moves like Flash, Rock Smash, etc... I really don't care for. Waterfall is okay, I guess, but I usually only have one water-type on my team and I'm not huge on having more than one attack of the same type on my individual Pokemon (with the exception of status moves like Thunder Wave, Toxic, etc..)

I didn't like using an HM slave at first because of having to put on of my team members in the box, but I usually just throw the highest level Pokemon I have in the box. It actually works out because then I can focus on my Pokemon who may not be as well trained and get them up to the level I need them at.

 

[Shrew]

I don't use HM Slaves... I use HM Heroes. :) What? I love the contributions each and every one of my pokemon provide, so they deserve to be recognized with a polite name.

The reason why I don't like teaching my main team HMs is because I don't want to clog up a moveslot. I think HMs should be both forgettable and broader in newer games.

For instance, "CUT" would be a category of moves, including Cut, Slash X-Scissor, Psycho Cut, Razor Leaf, Leaf Blade, and so forth. It wouldn't force you to use a specific low base power move, but just having any cut-like move would work.

For "STRENGTH", you could use Strength, Rock Slide, Seismic Toss, or even Psychic. It makes sense that a psychic-type should be able to move obstables out of the way, right?

Okay, I'm getting off-topic with this idea. But until something that doesn't make HMs a burden, I'm still going to keep using HM Heroes.

 

[WhiteKnightL]

Even if they're sprites, I feel like I should respect my Pokemon enough to give them a decent name. Though I admit I have a Watchog with mostly HMs, and Crunch for attacking.

It's fairly convenient for some, like Samurott, to have an HM like Waterfall in conjunction with Swords Dance for battle.

 

[pokemasta92]

I don't use HM Slaves... I use HM Heroes. :) What? I love the contributions each and every one of my pokemon provide, so they deserve to be recognized with a polite name.

The reason why I don't like teaching my main team HMs is because I don't want to clog up a moveslot. I think HMs should be both forgettable and broader in newer games.

For instance, "CUT" would be a category of moves, including Cut, Slash X-Scissor, Psycho Cut, Razor Leaf, Leaf Blade, and so forth. It wouldn't force you to use a specific low base power move, but just having any cut-like move would work.

For "STRENGTH", you could use Strength, Rock Slide, Seismic Toss, or even Psychic. It makes sense that a psychic-type should be able to move obstables out of the way, right?

Okay, I'm getting off-topic with this idea. But until something that doesn't make HMs a burden, I'm still going to keep using HM Heroes.

That's a great idea! I have too thought that before. That certain moves could obviously in real life have the same effect as the HM moves even though they aren't HM's. That's seriously a good idea, like so good that I hope more people start talking about it and spread the word.

 

[Amore]

That would be a great idea. Personally I find it varies. Right now in LeafGreen, I just taught HMs to my team members - even though I've changed my team a bit (already dropped Butterfree and Raichu, only got 5 badges. Contemplating Swapping another member too), I know I'll have those 5 all the time. Plus, the fact that there are only 5 HMs helps. That and that moves have a type - so it's not like with Kadabra I think "I don't want Flash, it takes up Shadow Ball's slot" because moves such as Shadow Ball are physical in Gen III.
In Gen V I also tend to teach my team members HMs - partially because of the reduced number, but also because tms are relearnable.

I have used HM slaves though, or a pokémon that only has 1 HM that other team members can't use, particularly in Diamond, Platinum and Emerald (those darn water moves!). The doubling of Rock Smash's power does help a little in Gen IV, particularly if I use Chimchar (Scizor's a beast with it in HeartGold too). It does annoy me having to ditch a team-member to traverse a route - in HeartGold the fact that you need Rock Climb for Mount Silver really irritates me, as I've usually used a lot of tms by that stage.

 

[blue]

I don't tend to use HM Slaves, the two HMs that I mainly use are Fly and Surf and since the majority of the time I have a Water and Flying-type on my team I tend to assign those HMS to those Pokémon.

 

[zirico]

I do what the OP does, always have done as I hate switching between pokemon. I like to build a team of six and stick to it.

 

[Calamitastrophe]

I would definitely prefer to have a dedicated Surf'er (and other Water-type HMs) and Fly'er on my main team, but sometimes I just can't find or get a Pokemon I really like that can use those. So I just bring in a slave as the need arises. I'll keep slaves for the other HMs, though, just because it feels like a huge handicap on a Pokemon to use those moves. Because of this, I'll venture into caves with one, two, or even three slaves in extreme cases.

But Surf, Waterfall, Fly, and Strength are all pretty solid enough moves, to me. I try to use them when I can.

 

[pokemasta92]

Glad to hear everyone's opinion and see that some people play the way I do. :D

 

[pokemasta92]

I added a poll sooo let the voting begin!

 

[DynalMaestro]

I dont really use hmslaves and i prefer to distribute the Hm's unless the Hm is cut or rock smash then i teach it to a random pokemon i caught that i will probably never use in battle

 

[ChipmunkGamingInc.]

I must highly agree with you. HM slaves are simply wrong. They sound wrong, and they don't serve a purpose.

You don't train them, you don't care about them, so what happens if all you Pokemon are defeated and all you have is an exceptionally weak HM slave?

If you play through the game without HM slaves, you'll have a heck of an easier time. For example, my starter Pokemon, an Empoleon, knows both Rock Smash and Cut. I actually taught him Cut yesterday. Why? It's a fairly good move. I've destroyed my friends' teams through just Cut.

One Pokemon I didn't realize had all HM moves was my Level 100 Quagsire. I use him most of the time, and he's one of my main competitors. He knows Surf, Dive, Waterfall, and Flash.

HM slaves are unloved, unused, and under-leveled. If you're going to have an HM slave, at least train it along with your other Pokemon.

 

[Pokemon_Trainer_Danny]

I use HM slaves, but I never keep them in the team, because most HMs become obsolete at a point because there are a lot of moves that are better. The only HMs that stay useful in battle, IMO, are Surf and Strength. I never teach HMs to Pokémon I battle with.

 

[Cerberus87]

The only reason people complain about HM slaves is because of the term "slave". In games like Emerald and Platinum, are you really going to waste precious move slots with stuff like Rock Climb and Dive? I don't think so.

The OP has a Wailord with all the Water HMs. Well that means you can move about easily, but it also means the Wailord is going to be destroyed by anything it can't attack effectively. It's really just a glorified HM slave in the end.

That being said, a valid argument for HM usage can be made because there are a few Pokémon in the game which don't fully utilize their moveslots in a playthrough. But still, I'd rather have Curse in my Torterra than Strength, which is a move that doesn't add coverage and isn't very strong.

I learned the need for HM slaves in Pokémon Gold. Feraligatr couldn't learn Waterfall back then, and, since I had already chosen it as my Water-type Pokémon, I had to have an HM slave for the purpose of beating the game.

 

[Gfx]

I have certain HMs distributed through my team. But I don't use Flash at all. Cut and Rock Smash are the only ones I really put on a weaker Pokemon and just get them when I need it. I don't like a full party of 6 normally anyways. Too much balanced training leaves them weak.

 

[pokemasta92]

I must highly agree with you. HM slaves are simply wrong. They sound wrong, and they don't serve a purpose.

You don't train them, you don't care about them, so what happens if all you Pokemon are defeated and all you have is an exceptionally weak HM slave?

If you play through the game without HM slaves, you'll have a heck of an easier time. For example, my starter Pokemon, an Empoleon, knows both Rock Smash and Cut. I actually taught him Cut yesterday. Why? It's a fairly good move. I've destroyed my friends' teams through just Cut.

One Pokemon I didn't realize had all HM moves was my Level 100 Quagsire. I use him most of the time, and he's one of my main competitors. He knows Surf, Dive, Waterfall, and Flash.

HM slaves are unloved, unused, and under-leveled. If you're going to have an HM slave, at least train it along with your other Pokemon.

Finally, someone has the exact same opinion as me! I like to have a full team of 6 Pokémon and I train them all evenly, so there's no way I'm giving all of the HM's to 2 Pokémon. How will they hold their own in battle? They won't and I don't like that. I would honestly feel bad if 2 of my 6 Pokémon were useless in battle, which is why I refuse to play that way because for me personally, using "HM Slaves" actually makes the game less enjoyable. I don't understand how people have a hard time beating the game with HM's on their team. If you train a Pokémon to level 100, and it has 1-2 HM's, you still have 2 powerful moves. I don't see the difficulty. I'm not talking competitive battling, I'm talking about the "single player campaign" ^_^
And like you said you've used HM's in competitive battling and still kicked butt.

The only reason people complain about HM slaves is because of the term "slave". In games like Emerald and Platinum, are you really going to waste precious move slots with stuff like Rock Climb and Dive? I don't think so.

Yes I am.

The OP has a Wailord with all the Water HMs. Well that means you can move about easily, but it also means the Wailord is going to be destroyed by anything it can't attack effectively. It's really just a glorified HM slave in the end.

The only reason Wailord has all 3 water HM's is because I don't like to use more than 1 Pokémon of the same type in my party, which is a common strategy. The only water HM another Pokémon in my party can learn is Surf on Aggron, but I try to make moves have STAB whenever possible so I kept it on Wailord. If a grass or electric Pokémon is brought out I'll just switch Pokémon. If there were less water HM's in generation 3 then Wailord would obviously not have them. He's not a slave!

 

[pokemasta92]

The only reason people complain about HM slaves is because of the term "slave". In games like Emerald and Platinum, are you really going to waste precious move slots with stuff like Rock Climb and Dive? I don't think so.

Yes I am.

The OP has a Wailord with all the Water HMs. Well that means you can move about easily, but it also means the Wailord is going to be destroyed by anything it can't attack effectively. It's really just a glorified HM slave in the end.

The only reason Wailord has all 3 water HM's is because I don't like to use more than 1 Pokémon of the same type in my party, which is a common strategy. The only water HM another Pokémon in my party can learn is Surf on Aggron, but I try to make moves have STAB whenever possible so I kept it on Wailord. If a grass or electric Pokémon is brought out I'll just switch Pokémon. If there were less water HM's in generation 3 then Wailord would obviously not have them. And unlike typical "HM Slaves", I actually train Wailord to the same level as my other Pokémon and use him in battle. He's not a slave!

 

[WhiteKnightL]

I try to keep the more important HMs (Fly and Surf, mainly) on as few Pokemon as possible. I have a Vaporeon and a Swanna that know Surf, while I gave my Tranquill (now an Unfezant) Fly until I beat the game. At that point I gave Fly to my Swanna, and then to a Pidgey I transferred from my Soul Silver file.

One of my Audinos has Flash, my Mienshao, Watchog, and Weavile both have Strength, and my Weavile and Watchog have Cut. Pretty much all the Pokemon I use for HM purposes, though I admit I feel bad for my Watchog since the only non-HM move it has is Crunch.

 

[80C]

No, In Generation 1 & 2 usually I teach moves like Surf or Strenght to some powerful pokemon of the team while the pokemon that know CUT, FLASH or something else of those "weak" HM Moves are always deposited in the PC and withdrew at the moment.
Gen 3 is an exception that I will explain a few later.

I think this fact of the HM Slaves is more common from Gen.3 and above, because the total amount of HMs was increased as well as the HM object obstacles - in R\S\E there are more rocks that you need to break (a lot more) and a lot of trees (in R\B\Y & G\S\C there weren't so many).

I think many people here that played R\S\E would admit that they (ab)used of HM Slaves (or maybe instead "occasional" HM Slaves) expecially in the Victory Path because in there you have to use almost every HM Move in the game (Flash, Rock break, surf, waterfall and strenght).