Attack or Special Attack?

[Ars Arcanum]

This is not a help thread, but a discussion on which means of offense you prefer. Do you prefer the raw, physical power of the Attack stat and its moves, or do you prefer to use flashy Special Attacks on your pokemon?

Personally I prefer Special Attack. Most of my favorite types and moves come from it. Now that it's special attack, I love Shadow Ball so much more!

Back in the RBY heyday when me and my friends were little, we always thought the long ranged attacks (like Hyper Beam & Rock Slide) were special, because your pokemon didn't come into contact with the enemy. Then when we learned Attacks and Special Attacks were determined by the move's type I was shocked. It boggled my mind. It's ironic that they changed it to how I used to think it was when I was 5, it made me smile when I noticed.

 

[Puddle]

I prefer special attacks. There seems to be a better move pool with it and I've always loved Pokemon that are Special Attackers such as Alakazam and Gardevoir.

 

[Hiatus]

They both have their strong and weak moves, sweepers, Pokémon that wall them, etc., so, to me, they're simply equal; I like them both. To win matches, you need to have both physical and special attackers on your team. If you don't, you may end up having a hard time getting through the battle. Also, since this thread relates to competitive battling, it'd fit better in Battle Center; I'm moving it there. ^^"

Thread moved.

 

[Nakala Pri]

I liek being stylish and occasionally just leaning against the wall with a pair of sunglasses with special attack but...

I LIEK TO SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAM HIGH ATTACK MOVES WITH EVEN HIGHER ATTACK! :D

 

[Kakarot1212]

Well, I like them both, and it depends upon the pokemo i use. LOL

 

[Life]

Special Attack since there's better coverage, better movepool and are generally really powerful. Also, good think about special Pokemon like Alakazam is that even if you bring in something with insane SpDef like Florges, you can always use Psyshock. :D

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

I prefer a balance of both, because I don't want my team to be oversaturated by either one of them nor get into a disadventage with a Pokemon with high defense or SpD, which is why I have 3 physical attackers and 3 special attackers.

 

[PlatinumDude]

I like a balance between both Attack and Special Attack. Being walled by Blissey entirely is a bad thing for instance if you lack Psyshock or Secret Sword.

 

[Sopheria]

I usually go for whatever my Pokemon's highest stat is, but in the case of Pokemon that can go either way like Lucario, I usually go for physical, because Attack boosting moves seem more prominent and easy to obtain than Special Attack boosting moves. For example, Swords Dance is a TM, but for Nasty Plot you usually have to breed for it.

 

[Synerjee]

In-game, I don't really have a preference for any type of attack. As long as the attack is powerful, accurate and reliable, I'll use it. Of course, it'll have to match the Pokemon's highest attack stat. Air Cutter on a Crobat is basically almost useless because of its really low special attack stat. In competitive battles however, I choose the types based on the Pokemon's stats - whether or not it is able to handle physical, special, or both. A mix of both types is always preferable.

 

[Hikamaru]

I like to balance between the two, and the moves I use depend on which one the Pokemon performs better at, like having Waterfall on a physical-based Water-type as opposed to Surf on a special-based one.

I may teach both physical and special moves if said Pokemon is a mixed attacker.