Type advantage or STAB?

[rom hunter]

What kind of moves do you prefer for you Pokemon? Do you go for moveset comprising moves of different types to gain type advantage over opponent's Pokemon? Or do you stick to the moves that match your Pokemon's type for same type attack bonus (STAB)?

For just four moves making choice is difficult. It is possible to have moveset that contains the STAB moves along with non-STAB moves to cover a variety of types. Still there are many Pokemon out there who have very little choice when it comes to moves other than those of their own types. Under these circumstances one is forced to think which ones to really go for. It then becomes question of priority - STAB or non-STAB with greater type advantage. Now what is your priority?

 

[moon]

Since I mostly (well, only lol) play in-game and not competitively, I mostly have a pattern for how I put moves on my pokémon. I don't really give pokémon special roles to fill in a team; in-game opponents are easy enough to beat with high levels and being cleverer than the AI. So I always give them a STAB move but often also a Normal type move or one or two differently typed moves. And then one or two status moves of some nifty kind.

So yeah, in general I prioritize STAB moves and choose pokémon on my team from their typing rather than from their stats.

 

[Bellsprout]

I play in game so I'm not big strategist when setting up moves. I like to make sure they have a good stab move, if they're dual typed then a stab for each. Once they have their stab(s) I either try to give them moves that are super effective against types they're weak to or a status move if it seems appropriate.

 

[Mega Venusaur]

I prefer to use type advantage moves and Pokémon so that a victory is pretty much a certain thing. I use STAB moves on occasion but not too much as I don't want to risk something going wrong (for example, Accuracy problems) so I usually use moves which would have an advantage against the enemy.

 

[Brendino]

I almost always go with the same strategy on my Pokemon- one powerful STAB move, plus at least two attacks of varying types for good type coverage. I guess if I had to vote between the two though, I'd lean more towards type coverage, as I don't see any point in having more than one move of the same type on a Pokemon, unless they produce varying effects (ex: Scald can burn, Water Pulse can confuse, etc.).

 

[Hikamaru]

I do both when I can, but I lean more towards super-effective moves because it can really help give you an edge when it's needed. I also tend to have my Pokemon learn at least one STAB move, or two in the case of a dual-typed Pokemon.

 

[Starry Windy]

Even though I can do both, usually I prioritize on type advantages because this makes my Pokémon much more stronger.

 

[Vinny Vidi Vici]

I sort of took this question to mean do you try and predict switches and go for the super effective move on the incoming pokemon or play it safer with a stronger stab move, and I tend to lean towards the latter. I prefer to play it safe until I'm in a losing position and I have to start making plays to get back into the game.

For example, if I have a Donphan in, I'll usually go for the safe Earthquake than anticipate my opponent bringing in a flying type and go for a Stone Edge.

 

[Guest123_x1]

I usually equip my Pokémon with moves of that particular Pokémon's types, and then try to field them up against disadvantaged opponents-taking advantage of the opponents weakness atop of STAB.

 

[Polar Spectrum]

It depends heavily, *heavily* - on the base power of the moves in question, and the type of that STAB. If I have a mon' that can get a 120 base power stab without incredibly harsh downsides, I'm going for that. That's base 180 if they don't resist it :J If it's a great attack type, then even better. If it's steel, and we're talking Iron Tail... ehhh, maybe throw some coverage on it. :P It always depends, allllways depends. Typically though, I like to have STABS first and foremost; because that makes your pokemon essentially able to do what it can do best. No pokemon that doesn't get stab on a move, can really match up to something that can. (barring absurdly higher offensive stats; ie a Rampardos making better use of return than Furret.)

 

[imas234]

Since the question was whether i prioritize STAB or coverage moves i had to go with STAB. This is because a pokemon who can't utilize STAB is a failure as a pokemon, speaking mostly from gen 3 experience where most pokemon couldn't take advantage of stab moves.
When i make a gen 3 team i look at their attack strength, design and stab capability.
That is, i don't pick pokemon who don't have access to or cannot utilize STAB like kingler even if i like the design or if its strong. The only exception to this rule are absol whose design was too cool for me to not use it and swampert for being the best starter in RSE (also it attack stat lets it use atleast one of its STABs).

In later generations though it wasn't a problem at all, but i always gave my pokemon's STAB moves priority over any other moves/TMs

 

[Pepperton]

STAB is extremely valuable, so I voted for that. Every time I play Pokemon, casually or competitively, I try and give my Pokemon a move that utilizes their STAB. However, it's also important to try and cover as many weaknesses as possible, and that's why other moves are important. It's pretty tight, but STAB barely wins in my case.

 

[Captain Gizmo]

I prefer STAB attacks but it also depends on the attack. If a super effective attack got more power than my STAB move, then I'll go for that. But in mist cases I prefer STAB attacks.