Worst Moves Ever

This is a thread for worst pokemon moves EVER.

Mud Sport
YOU ARE ALREADY A GROUND TYPE SO WHY WEAKEN THE ELECTRIC POWER?!?!?!?!

Splash is definitely one of those totally useless, awful moves that do absolutely nothing but waste a turn. Simple Beam, which changes your opponent's ability, rarely ever has good use. Thief is a pretty bad one too, because most trainers in-game don't have items attached to their Pokemon.

There are quite a lot of "worst moves ever" around in the Pokeon World. The biggest troller in my mind is Synchronoise, as it only damages those of the same type? WTF! Cut is the HM equivalent of a bad move that is totally outclassed by Strength, and even that is outclassed too by Return if your Pokemon is friendly enough. Submission is also a stupid move, as it has only 80 Base Power, 80% accuracy and recoil damage, which makes it possibly the most outclassed move in the game - especially by Close Combat.

I actually used Thief quite a few times, but only to pick up certain items and not use it for competitive battling. I chose Banette, as it is the perfect example of the role of the Thief, as it has the Frisk ability to discover the foe's item so that I know when to use this move accordingly.

Speaking of worst moves ever, I heard that the title of "worst move in the game" has been given to Stone Edge, although I don't think that's true. 100 Base Power and a better chance to land a critical hit is fantastic. This adds to the fact that Rock is great offensively.

Let's see...

Mud Sport and Water Sport, for reasons mentioned above. XD I'm yet to see a battle where those moves actually make a noticeable difference.

Splash, usually (except when the totally awesome Magikarp uses it, in which case it results in massive damage).

Snatch would've resulted as a bad move for me, but I'm just now finding out that it works similarly to Psych Up...I hardly saw its use because Elite Four Sidney's Absol typically used the move at the wrong times, in my experience, so I never really figured out what the move does; I rarely saw it in action. Being a TM with limited availability didn't help matters, either.

I would've said Rock Smash as well, but that move, when learned by a Grovyle that knows Leer/Screech, is really handy against Wattson's Steel-type Magneton, to my recent surprise - handy when a Pokemon doesn't have many moves to trump Steel-type Pokemon with early on in a game. Cut still sucks, though, like a lot of low-power moves (DoubleSlap, ).

Prior to Generation 4, Gust was inferior to Wing Attack (the latter is more powerful, but both share the same Power Points (PP)), until they were made different offensively... I mean, you might as well just let Pokemon learn Wing Attack at the time that Gust is learned...

Fire Spin and similar variants (excluding Magma Storm) - their trapping effect is quite nice, but they seem much weaker than they should be. A boost in power would be nice...

Self-Destruct, if only because it is weaker than Explosion, and most Pokemon that can learn the former learn the latter anyway.

Egg Bomb - a Physical move; the Pokemon that learn it (Chansey, Blissey, and Exeggutor) are better off using more powerful Special moves. And you might as well teach the aforementioned Return, which has a better maximum power output as well as better accuracy.

I dislike Barrage for similar reasons as Egg Bomb...Barrage is the signature move of the Exeggcute family, yet it hasn't taken advantage of their higher Special/Special Attack stat since Generation 1. It freaking took Metronome for me to even see this move's animation in Generation 3.

Flash...it just seems like this move always fails when you use it (my experience with it is mainly in Generation 3). Not to mention that it wastes an HM slot and a moveslot in general.

Protect and its nefarious brethren, Detect and Endure - save for special situations (which you typically have to predict/anticipate, such as a foe using Explosion on the first turn) where it may be useful, this move does nothing but waste my time constantly. Elite Four Phoebe's Level 48 Dusclops is a notorious user of this in Emerald, as if spamming Protect is its sole/ultimate goal in life. -_-

Spikes - I never really saw the usefulness of this move, and Champion Steven Stone's Skarmory likes to grace me with its animation a lot, yet I keep seeing it mentioned in competitive Pokemon circles. A rental Forretress had this in Hoenn's Battle Factory, so I tried setting up 3 layers with it, but the damage output was not near the yield I expected at all... I think I'd be much better just attacking with other moves, if the moveset isn't a paltry collection of moves... Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock seem much more useful, though.

Scary Face - if my Pokemon is really fast, this move is essentially a free turn for me. Even with slower Pokemon that this move might actually have a noticeable effect on, the foe usually goes down in the same turn, or 1-2 turns afterwards. String Shot may count, but that's usually early on in-game, where it's kinda "free turn"-ish but can also have a noticeable effect on low-level Pokemo.

Bone Rush - seems pointless with the existence of Bonemerang and Earthquake (and Marowak learns all 3 of these aforementioned moves).

Charm - when this is used on my Pokemon, either my active Pokemon attacks with moves dependent on Special Attack, or my active Pokemon has so much Attack that it hardly matters. Growl may count as a "bad move", but I usually encounter that early on in-game (where it does matter, as most low-level Pokemon usually only have access to weak Physical moves like Tackle, Scratch, and Pound).

Iron Tail - I love the concept, name, and the animation of the move, but it just misses so dang much!

Memento - when the opponent can just switch Pokemon to nullify the stat drops, this move really isn't that great, compared to other similar moves with potential uses like Lunar Dance. Major laughs abound when this move happens to be used on a Pokemon with the Ability, Clear Body. {XD}

Helping Hand - what does this move do again? Every time I see it used (usually by a Plusle/Minun), I'm like "Thank God, a free turn!" It's even worse (for the computer player(s), that is) when both foes use it in a Double Battle. Now that I've read its actual effect, I think it might have use in certain situations..

Odor Sleuth/Foresight - that is, when they're used multiple times on the same Pokemon. Usually, the computer's ineptness causes this...

Struggle Bug - probably one of my most detested moves, if only because its English name sounds weird, it wasted the TM slot that could've been allotted to Stealth Rock or another useful move, and it's a move that is weak in power...

Fusion Flare/Fusion Bolt used by Reshiram/Zekrom - The only time Fusion Flare/Cross Flame might be useful IMO is if you're attacking a Black Kyurem that has used Fusion Bolt... Otherwise, I really don't think that these moves should be used against Dragon-type Pokemon (where their use is encouraged/necessitated)...I mean, really, it just hits for "Not very effective" damage anyway!
The yin-yang thing is kind of nice, but the situational "double the power!" effect of Fusion Flare/Fusion Bolt would've worked just as well on Blue Flare/Freeze Bolt (overkill maybe?). For the most part, I'd prefer that each Pokemon just have one signature move; it just seems like Fusion Flare/Fusion Bolt took up space where 2 other new moves could've been introduced.
I imagine most players are just going to dump the more powerful Blue Flare and Bolt Strike on Reshiram and Zekrom, anyway... Since Kyurem doesn't recieve Blue Flare and Bolt Strike by changing Formes, Fusion Flare/Fusion Bolt seem a bit more useful as a reliable STAB move.

Sky Attack, Ice Burn, and Freeze Bolt - moves with awesome names and power, but the required charging turn prior to the actual attack detracts from their usefulness. I kind of wish they could be clones of Aeroblast or Earthquake, or receive some other modification that makes them balanced, powerful one-turn moves...

SonicBoom - it's weak (unless the battle involves low-level Pokemon where 20 HP is a decent chunk of the Pokemon's maximum HP), and it took dibs on the much cooler name that the likely more powerful Generation 6 move, Boomburst, should've used...

Mist Ball/Luster Purge - if you're going to give a Pokemon a signature move (in this case, Latias and Latios, respectively), at least give them a reason to use it. These moves' names and animations are cool, but they pale in comparison to Psychic's higher Base Power (Psychic's 95, compared to the 70 of Mist Ball and Luster Purge), and I would guess that you're better off just using Psychic for Psychic-type coverage. The only advantage of Mist Ball/Luster Purge IMO is the increased chance of causing stat drops in Special Attack and Special Defense, respectively, but as these moves only have 5 Power Points (PP), that drop may or may not get be used...
I'm not sure how to enhance the moves while keeping them balanced...maybe increase the power of each move to 95 while retaining a 50% chance for stat drops; or boost the move to 80 or 85 while guaranteeing the stat drops with each use... My dream would be these moves with 95 or 100 base power with the same Power Points as Psychic, while retaining the 50% chance for drops (or perhaps guaranteeing the drops...? {<3}) In any case, I just really want a good competitive reason to use these 2 moves over Psychic when I send out a Lati@s...

And, by the post-game, most attacking moves with a Base Power below 60 aren't really appealing to me... I get that they're there to (partially) prevent overkill early on in the game, but they just seem to waste space by the time you get to the more powerful moves... And when something like Brawly's Meditite gets Focus Punch in Emerald (in Generation 3: base power 150, Accuracy 100, provided that it hits) during the battle for the 2nd Badge in the game (at a time when the player is likely to utilize a turn to heal other Pokemon in the party or attempt to set up with an attack-boosting or stat-lowering move; AKA major punishment if you don't expect Focus Punch), you might as well let players start with Normal-type moves with base 60 power that hit reliably (basically, stuff to replace Tackle).

Aside from what's mentioned...
Constrict - Splash with damage. How nice.
String Shot (most bugs in-game would die in one of your normal attacks, giving you that one turn is death... I won't even start with competitive battling)
Reflect Type - a.k.a. "Don't mind me, kill me now." Gen I Conversion is the same.
Mind Reader/Lock On/Foresight/Odor Sleuth/Miracle Eye - Hardly worth the turn.
Grudge - Ok, there could be some use. But still one of the worst out there as it has practically little to no use... or not. >_>
Snore - lame
Last Resort - Yeah...no.

Boilurn said:

There are quite a lot of "worst moves ever" around in the Pokeon World. The biggest troller in my mind is Synchronoise, as it only damages those of the same type? WTF!

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I do have to agree with you on Sychronoise, a move hitting only foes of the same type? Even more flattering is that Umbreon learns this move but can't hit anything with it because it takes the Dark-type's Psychic immunity into account.

Also, I do have to admit Mud Sport is bad because the majority of Pokemon that learn it are immune to Electric anyway. And I also admit Constrict is terrible as well due to having a very weak BP.

And I do agree with most of Fenyx4's statements too, Barrage and Egg Bomb are heavily outclassed plus the Pokemon that learn such moves are more special-oriented. And there's Splash obviously, which does absolutely nothing.

I always hated Poison Spikes because it just seems pointless if you already have a poison pokemon in battle

Hikari10 said:

I do have to agree with you on Sychronoise, a move hitting only foes of the same type? Even more flattering is that Umbreon learns this move but can't hit anything with it because it takes the Dark-type's Psychic immunity into account.

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Wow; that has to rank among Final Gambit Shedinja as one of the biggest move oddities in Pokemon. XD

molivious said:

Aside from what's mentioned...
Constrict - Splash with damage. How nice.
String Shot (most bugs in-game would die in one of your normal attacks, giving you that one turn is death... I won't even start with competitive battling)
Reflect Type - a.k.a. "Don't mind me, kill me now." Gen I Conversion is the same.
Mind Reader/Lock On/Foresight/Odor Sleuth/Miracle Eye - Hardly worth the turn.
Grudge - Ok, there could be some use. But still one of the worst out there as it has practically little to no use... or not. >_>
Snore - lame
Last Resort - Yeah...no.

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LOL at your comment for Constrict. XD

Hm, your point about String Shot is good, too...no competitive use was a given, but I think it may have potential over a stretched-out battle if you fight someone like a Bug Catcher with 6 Wurmple/Bug Pokemon... Although, if you can switch to other Pokemon, I agree; String Shot is essentially "OHKO time!"

I would agree with Mind Reader and its variants being useless for the most part, but Articuno with Mind Reader + Sheer Cold has done wondrously for me in Hoenn's Battle Frontier. Admittedly, it's a really cheap move combination IMO (and I would presume is banned in most competitive environments), but that doesn't even begin to compare to some of the hax that the "smart" Battle Frontier computer players pull off. Once you experience some of that, Mind Reader+Sheer Cold is so viable/justified (at least when you use it). XD
Lock-On+Zap Cannon is a slightly good combo for Magneton (and Magnezone?) occasionally, although it doesn't seem advisable as Magneton is already vulnerable as is with a 4x Ground-type weakness, so wasting 1 turn to set up for the attack can easily mean doom the next (especially if the foe switches to an Arena-Trapping Dugtrio on the turn you attempt to use Zap Cannon).

Grudge can be deadly for Choice Band-esque Pokemon, as it forces them to either use Struggle or switch, IIRC; it also spells a lot of trouble for Pokemon who only have and depend on a single attacking move in their moveset (although I would think most Pokemon have at least 2 differently-typed moves to attack with in competitive circles). Plus, it's really annoying in-game when a Pokemon uses it to deplete your main attacking move, as PP-restoring items can be hard to come by (although if you have a fresh stock of Leppa Berries, Grudge is much less of a threat).

Thunder Wave ok yeah yeah i know its a definate chance of paralysis... BUT,
a) Most Pokemon who learn this move have the ability Static.
and b) all Pokemon who learn this move can use a move like Thunder Shock, Thunderbolt or Thunder which all have a chance of Paralyzing the oponent. So why waste a spot in youre moveset with a move that does something that's probably going to happen anyway???

lmcde22 said:

Thunder Wave ok yeah yeah i know its a definate chance of paralysis... BUT,
a) Most Pokemon who learn this move have the ability Static.
and b) all Pokemon who learn this move can use a move like Thunder Shock, Thunderbolt or Thunder which all have a chance of Paralyzing the oponent. So why waste a spot in youre moveset with a move that does something that's probably going to happen anyway???

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1) Thunderbolt/Thunder/anything else, and even Zap Cannon (due to it's accuracy)doesn't ensure the same "Paralyzed" result. Also, Static only works for physical attacks, plus, you have to be attacked first... lastly, it only triggers by chance.

Status effects are useful in situations where power and speed couldn't win the battle. In fact, status alone could change the whole tide of battle. With T.Wave, you have control. You don't simply rely on a "chance".

2) So, you could make sure that your next attack will land first.


3) Aside from the halved speed of the opponent mentioned above, there's a 50% chance that the opponent cannot attack on the next turn at all. He may also be forced to switch pokemon.


So yeah... that's why it's still worth to "waste a spot" in one's moveset. I'd say that there are other status-dealing moves that would be much worse than T.Wave. To name one, Supersonic. It has a good chance to miss, Confusion status wears off (through switching or over-time), and Confusion itself doesn't have the half-speed effect of Paralysis.

I'd consider Constrict and Bubble as the worst moves ever. Constrict is too weak, and Bubble is outpowered by Water Gun. It'd be great for Bubble to have a bit of a power boost in X/Y. Honorable mentions go to Struggle Bug and Astonish.

The worst move for me is cut. It doesn't have a lot of power and, to make matters worse, it's an HM. So unless you go out of your merry little way to visit some guy in a house, there's no way you can forget it.

Mud Sport - I just don't see this one as a useful move, same reasons as the above ones mentioning Mud Sport.

Helping Hand - Might be useful for some, but I don't really use it that much when I can just use better offensive moves.

Worry Seed - Just don't see why it is useful. You're just making the opponent couldn't sleep. Maybe it is quite useful for Pokémons that use Rest a lot (Though I still think attacking is better), but other than that, I don't really see the point.

Rock Smash - Low power, there are a lot of better Fighting moves out there, so I think this one is just for breaking rocks in some of the games. Though it might be useful for some people during the early stage, but well, not really for me.

Splash - I don't think this needs an explanation.

JesterLegacy said:

Mud Sport - I just don't see this one as a useful move, same reasons as the above ones mentioning Mud Sport.

Helping Hand - Might be useful for some, but I don't really use it that much when I can just use better offensive moves.

Worry Seed - Just don't see why it is useful. You're just making the opponent couldn't sleep. Maybe it is quite useful for Pokémons that use Rest a lot (Though I still think attacking is better), but other than that, I don't really see the point.

Rock Smash - Low power, there are a lot of better Fighting moves out there, so I think this one is just for breaking rocks in some of the games. Though it might be useful for some people during the early stage, but well, not really for me.

Splash - I don't think this needs an explanation.

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Worry Seed sees use in Doubles to nullify Regigigas' Slow Start and Archeops' Defeatist. It does see some niche use in disabling Pokemon reliant on their abilities, like Medicham and Pure Power.

I also agree on Mud Sport; most of the Pokemon who learn it are Ground, who are immune to Electric already.

Splash
Bounce
All of the Sport moves
Zap Cannon

Focus Blast = 70% accuracy kills it. We all hate to use this move, and yet we're forced to use it in competitive battling. It's called "Focus Miss"
Splash = I don't need to explain
Glaciate = Icy Wind on steroids, aka 10 more BP. And less PP.
Techno Blast = Thunderbolt, Ice Beam and Flamethrower are all stronger, and Life Orb-boosted Hidden Power Water is stronger than Douse Drive Techno Blast. Genesect didn't need it.
Frustration = Never understood the point of this move.
Fire / Grass / Water Pledge = By the time you obtain these moves, your starters already have better moves, like Flame Burst or Scald.
Hyper Beam (and its clones) = Any move with 75+ BP is better than Hyper Beam and the recharge turn it consumes.
Heal Order = Vespiquen can simply use Roost, which is a far superior recovery move.
Detect = Protect with 5 less PP.
Defog = See Frustration.
Sky Attack and Ice Burn = I don't mention Freeze Shock because Kyurem-B can actually make use of it in OU. These two moves are downright terrible, anything with 70+ BP is better than the charge turn it consumes.
Reflect Type = See Frustration. I didn't even know it was a move until I've checked out Starmie's analysis page!
Supersonic / Sing = Way too inaccurate.
Quick Attack = All the Pokemon that learn it should also learn ExtremeSpeed.

I'd have to say Stealth Rock in all honesty. Was going to say Splash too but someone else beat me to it.

Ugh it's gotta be Splash, what is the point?

Xulek said:

I'd have to say Stealth Rock in all honesty. Was going to say Splash too but someone else beat me to it.

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Stealth Rock is bad in-game, I have to admit.


@PatrickZ: How is Bounce terrible? Gyarados puts it to good use on its SubDD set.

I would say perish song in game is totally useless move