Why is Waterfall Physical?

What are some Pokemon moves you don't understand are classified as Physical? How about special?

Also, here's a question about before the physical/special split was a thing: what types do you not understand why they were classified as "physical" or "special" types?

While I do get why the move Waterfall is considered a physical move, I also don't really? In the earlier gens, at least, gens iv and v especially, it looks like the target is just hitting the opponent with a waterfall, not lunging its entire body while summoning a waterfall like in the later generations.

Yes, I'm aware that "physical" and "special" means that it is either using its attack stat for physical or special attack for special, but when my brain sees a move that is considered physical, my brain assumes the Pokemon would be doing something physical in the animation, as well. That's why, for at least gens iv and V, I don't get why Waterfall is considered a physical move.

I also do not get why the Ghost type was considered a Physical type in gens i through iii. Ghosts can't actually touch someone, and I've never understood why, prior to the physical/special split, this entire type was "physical". I honestly would have switched Ghost to Special and the Dark type to Physical. When the physical/special split was introduced, most Dark type moves were classified as Physical, not Special, so I guess you could say I don't understand this classification, either. All the other ones make sense to me.

I don't get why Wring Out is special, either. This move looks like it is directly doing physical damage to the Pokemon.

I also feel like Aura Wheel should be special, and not physical, but that's just me.

Palamon said:

I also do not get why the Ghost type was considered a Physical type in gens i through iii. Ghosts can't actually touch someone, and I've never understood why, prior to the physical/special split, this entire type was "physical". I honestly would have switched Ghost to Special and the Dark type to Physical. When the physical/special split was introduced, most Dark type moves were classified as Physical, not Special, so I guess you could say I don't understand this classification, either. All the other ones make sense to me.

I don't get why Wring Out is special, either. This move looks like it is directly doing physical damage to the Pokemon.

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On the first part, I asked the same thing on another website and the answer I got was that Lick was the only Ghost move back then, and of course that sounded like a physical move, so Ghost ended up being physical. His claim to why Dark is special was to balance it out with there being more physical types than special ones otherwise. But honestly I personally feel like they should have just changed Ghost to be special in the next generation and let Dark be physical in it's place since y'know, Bite and stuff were going to be the most common Dark moves you would see. Does Bite in classic generations work by throwing dentures at the opponent?

I also only just found out that Wring out is a special attack and I'm also unsure why exactly is it that. Maybe it works differently from what we think, but apparently it is also one of few select special attacks with direct contact.

As for my own contribution, I've seen many others accidentally refer Sacred fire as a special attack and I too am unsure why it is physical. I mean of course it's possibly because both of the only mons who get it are physical attackers. I suppose the logic here is that it's something like a mythical Flare blizt.

Physical Water moves make very little sense in general, it's just two concepts that don't fit well together and these moves are essentially to give physical Water Pokémon good moves. Applies to Waterfall, and also Liquidation, which are about slaming into the target with Water and not much else.

The Ghost/Dark issue was one of the dumbest decisions they made, even if Lick makes sense to be physical, Gen 2 introduced one of the most popular Ghost moves: Shadow Ball, which sounds and looks definitely Special. Should have made Ghost special and Dark physical, especially since when the PSS came out, all of the pre-existing Dark moves turned out to be physical, since the "Dark" type wasn't really about Darkness, but more about the concept of battling using dirty/unfair tricks.

I agree on Sacred Fire as well. And another move I don't get why it's physical is Petal Blizzard, especially when all of the Pokémon that learn it, except Lurantis, are special attackers.

Have you ever tried climbing a waterfall? Takes muscles.

According to bulbapedia, it's a pokemon creating a pillar of water ad riding it to ram into the opponent. So physical isn't farfetched.

"Focus Blast: The user heightens its mental focus and unleashes its power. This may also lower the target's Sp. Def stat. " - this basically sounds like your attacking with your mind... It does make sense it's a special move, but how's this not a psychic type move?
"Final Gambit: The user risks everything to attack its target. The user faints but does damage equal to its HP. " - I don't comprehend how this is special. Don't you use your body when fighting someone and are pretty much doing an all or nothing attack?

Mizumanta said:

Have you ever tried climbing a waterfall? Takes muscles.

According to bulbapedia, it's a pokemon creating a pillar of water ad riding it to ram into the opponent. So physical isn't farfetched.

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Waterfall is just an example I used. I said "I kind of get it, kind of don't" because in early generations it was just a waterfall on the screen with no animation of the Pokemon being rammed until generation six.

I do get it now, after people explaining why in this thread, however.

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@ some other people replies that I don't feel like quoting because lazy:

Also I almost mentioned Final Gambit when I made this thread, but didn't.

For Petal Blizzard, I can only think it's Physical because Petal Dance is Special? So, maybe the devs just wanted variety, or something.

Mizumanta said:

According to bulbapedia, it's a pokemon creating a pillar of water ad riding it to ram into the opponent. So physical isn't farfetched.

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Well, according to the games, it's just about charging at the opponent at high speed, which can be used outside battles to climb waterfalls. Unlike Surf, the attack doesn't involve actually creating a waterfall, unless the English descriptions are wrong.

If it did, creating a waterfall just so the Pokémon can ride it wouldn't make much sense as an attack form either, because to ride a waterfall up or down wouldn't physically hit an opponent that's in front of you. Charging at your opponent doesn't require creating a waterfall, and just stiking the opponent with a waterfall would be a special attack.

Same goes for Rock Climbing. In battle, it's just charging at the opponent with brute force but has nothing to do with actually climbing rocks.

Waterfall has always been described as a glorified tackle. Not attacking the foe with a waterfall, but with the same means one would use to climb a waterfall.

I personally like the idea that the move creates a waterfall to propel the attacker into the foe. That would explain the waterfall in the animation.

nothing off the top of my head sticks out, i just kind of laugh at how after the phys/spe split, they went out of their way to make move phys/spe moves for each type and some of them are such reaches lol. zen headbutt sticks out to me bc like how do you make psychic, a type that should basically revolve around using your mind, into a physical entity? with zen headbutt and psycho cut, obviously. idk just very funny to me. steel beam is funny to me too, like just the most generic sounding move but damn guys, we need a special steel move.

I've never understood why so many Rock moves like Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Rock Throw, etc. are physical. They're literally projectile attacks that involve throwing elemental material other than the user's own body, right?

EmTheGhost said:

I've never understood why so many Rock moves like Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Rock Throw, etc. are physical. They're literally projectile attacks that involve throwing elemental material other than the user's own body, right?

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Isn't that still physical? I don't think physical is exclusive to using the Pokemon's own body, you're still hitting them with a physical object. Special would be more like elemental attacks, mental attacks, attacks with conjured items. I think. Haven't looked through the list.

Flowerchild said:

Isn't that still physical? I don't think physical is exclusive to using the Pokemon's own body, you're still hitting them with a physical object. Special would be more like elemental attacks, mental attacks, attacks with conjured items. I think. Haven't looked through the list.

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Yeah, that seems to be the logic they use. Throwing objects is considered physical, so it makes sense for things like Rock moves, Pin Missile, Bullet Seed, Icicle Crash, and Razor Leaf. But of course there are allways gray zones.

I always thought the Pokémon was riding down a waterfall and slamming into their opponent, so to me it has always made sense as to why waterfall is physical as opposed to special.

Hmmm maybe there are stuff inside the water of waterfall but not in hydro pumps

Ninetales said:

I always thought the Pokémon was riding down a waterfall and slamming into their opponent, so to me it has always made sense as to why waterfall is physical as opposed to special.

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Maybe the pokemon riding n hitting another pokemon is the "physical" part? Haha

EmTheGhost said:

I've never understood why so many Rock moves like Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Rock Throw, etc. are physical. They're literally projectile attacks that involve throwing elemental material other than the user's own body, right?

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Need to ask the creator, interesting to know

It took me until recently to realize that object-throwing moves are physical. Razor Leaf has always been initially confusing for me since the anime makes it look more like a special power that summons leaves to hit the opponent with, rather than it being a throw-type move. But I suppose I see their logic with it.

Earthquake is where it gets confusing to me though?? Don't get me wrong, such a strong physical ground move is awesome since most ground types are physical attackers, but I never imagined it made any contact and it doesn't seem to be using any objects as part of the move. Maybe using its body to create quakes is what defines it as a physical move, but by that logic I feel Twister could've been physical instead of special too, since it also uses the Pokémon's body by making it spin to whip up twisters (and doesn't make contact).

I recently dexnaved for Trubbish. Trubbish has an ability where if you faint it with a Physical move it does damage to you.

I was using the 2016 Mew with its original moves. All three were Special moves. I noticed it randomly took damage and later found out that Grass Knot is a Special move but works as a Physical move. Up til then I didn't know there were troll moves like this. Some make sense but besides a vine the leaves that are flung at Pokemon are not part of the original Pokemon so this move being physical doesn't actually make sense.

I'm not actually sure what Waterfall actually is. Like the animation for it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Maserati777 said:

I recently dexnaved for Trubbish. Trubbish has an ability where if you faint it with a Physical move it does damage to you.

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It's if you faint it with a contact move, regardless of its category. Almost all contact moves are Physical, but there are (very few) exceptions, moves like Petal Dance, Grass Knot, Draining Kiss and Wring Out are Special but make contact.

If you defeat an Aftermath Pokémon with a Physical move that does not make contact, such as Rock Slide or Razor Leaf, the ability won't trigger.