News: Z-Moves are here!

[François2]

The fact that there are Z-moves for every type stops me worrying about them being particularly exclusive. If it was just starters and a few other special pokémon then I'm sure we wouldn't have moves for types like Poison or Steel.

I have to hope the moves will do a bit more than just lots of damage though. If they're all just the same thing in doing tons of damage then they may as well not be different moves and every pokémon should have been given the same one. So I hope we get interesting ones with some types doing lots of damage, others doing something with status, healing, stat boosts and so on. There should be variety.

 

[WingsofBliss]

Something had come to mind a couple of hours ago, but we still have the unreleased move Light of Ruin. I've noticed how some of the Z-moves in the trailer had wording like "doom", "havoc", and "overdrive", putting emphasis on the power of the moves. I think Light of Ruin kinda fits that bill, so I'm wondering if it's a Fairy-type Z-move for AZ's Floette. The one leak in the other thread confirmed Alola Formes by stating older Pokemon would drastically change typings, but it also mentioned AZ making an appearance in the games. I admit that Light of Ruin looks like small fries in a hacked playthrough compared to the Z-moves, but there's always the possibility of the developers changing the animation and power of that move for SM when it's not even accessible legally in XY/ORAS to begin with.

 

[thedestinedblade]

This is probably the only reveal of so far that I'm iffy of. If it just a really strong move depending not on your pokemon's type and not really customizable, I'm not going to be upset, just unimpressed.

That font they chose though looks ripped straight from Inazuma Eleven, lol,

 

[StarsMmd]

The description of the Z-moves conditions on the official websites makes it sound like they can actually be used as coverage moves. It just says the pokemon needs to learn a move of the same type and hold the right crystal. So for example, pikachu would be able to use the steel move since it can learn iron tail. At least that's what it sounds like.

I just wonder how they'll decide if the moves are physical or special since it sounds like there's only one per type. All the ones we've seen look special so far.

I still stand by my claim that the "secret" of the starters and rockruff was a mistranslation. The lack of exclusivity on Z-moves seems to reinforce that since it was heavily speculated that they were the "secret".

Also, just because the story will focus on the z-moves doesn't mean that megas are scrapped. They're just not the focus of the story. Think of it more like how the DNA splicers are a core part of the story of black2 & white2 but are only a post game item in XY. Or like when someone says "save the polar bears" it doesn't mean that they don't love penguins too.

I think the idea of megas being scrapped has little foundation right now. Anything is possible but I think we should assume they're still in until proven otherwise.

 

[HardstyleRaver2]

I wonder how epic the Dragon Z-move would look.

 

[MarinoKadame]

When they use Z-Moves it says Z-Power it kind of remind me of Gen 6 O-Power

 

[clbgolden]

I wonder if Ash-Greninja/Syncrhos will have any place in this? Someone on another forum pointed this out:

http://imgur.com/k14mgjI

 

[Iceshadow3317]

It is possible that Ash Greninja is the first of its kinda, which might be the reason for Ash to go to Alola, for the professor to study Greninja and him.

The dance moves seem to be to get the pokemon and the trainer in sync to use the move. Mega Water Shuriken can only be used after Ash is in Sync with Greninja and Transforms.

I kinda figured that every type would have one and it would only be usable once in a battle, which makes room for a Mega still. Having one Pokemon with a Z-Move and 1 mega doesn't seem to over powered. It prevents them from using the two on the same pokemon. These crystals might also unlock the ability to Mega Evolve at a later time in the game. With them being called Z-Moves, it seems to be using Life Energy to use them, so it falls into place with Zygarde and everything in XY.

And forgive me for a moment for this bragging moment, but I am loving how right I was when the moves were first mention! I was right on mostly every thing I said and I am loving that I predicted it right :D Sorry had to do that.

 

[Hikamaru]

Like some posts said, Mega Evolution could still be a thing but maybe held off from being obtained until the postgame. Also, in the video from ShadyPenguinn he says Z-Moves aren't going to be as broken as Megas in competitive due to the handicap of holding the Z-Crystal and being able to use the Z-Move only once in battle.

 

[The Evil Mewtwo]

I wonder if Z moves can bypass overpowered Pokemons that are Mega Evolved.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

I wonder if Z moves can bypass overpowered Pokemons that are Mega Evolved.

Are you asking if these moves can defeat Megas? To be honest, all megas can be defeated even with normal moves. I have battles some online and all Megas usually fall fairly quickly with the right move.

If you are asking if pokemon that Mega evolve can use them, then yes, but they can only do one or the other as both require you to hold either a Z Crystal or Mega Stone.

 

[Dter ic]

I wonder what attack they'll be (Special / physical) From the trailer, all of them appear to be special attacks. As they'll be Z moves for every type it's possible that me might have Z moves with that are typical for the typing. So maybe Fighting would have a physical attacking Z move etc.

Then again Dragon type have Pokemon with good special and physical attack so I don't know how this would work out.

 

[blue]

Using Z-moves just once in battle really does nerf the potential it has which is a good thing. I don't see why mega evolution can't co-exist with Z-moves, just only having one activated in battle would probably be a good restriction. I'm pretty sure they will make it so that the two are connected somehow and that could be one of the main focuses of the storyline.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

I wonder what attack they'll be (Special / physical) From the trailer, all of them appear to be special attacks. As they'll be Z moves for every type it's possible that me might have Z moves with that are typical for the typing. So maybe Fighting would have a physical attacking Z move etc.

Then again Dragon type have Pokemon with good special and physical attack so I don't know how this would work out.

If I had to guess, the attacks are universal, meaning they are both a Physical and Special Attack at the same time. This would be another reason why they can only be used once.

 

[Kenchiin]

I liked all the Z moves shown. Btw, does anyone think that they might be connected to Zygarde somehow? What's their Japanese name?

These are called "Zワザ" (Z-waza) in Japanese, literally translated as Z-Moves or Z-Techniques (in other context I think it could mean even way or method, as in martial arts context).

Yes, very likely related to Zygarde at some point (probably Zygarde will have its own Z-Move or something).

 

[blue]

Well Zygarde has that move that makes a Z shaped animation in the trailer from July, I can't remember the name of it though.

 

[HardstyleRaver2]

Well Zygarde has that move that makes a Z shaped animation in the trailer from July, I can't remember the name of it though.

That move is called Core Enforcer.

 

[MorganW]

I'm somewhat skeptical of Z-Moves. I feel like they could be good as a game mechanic but there are a few things that concern me. For one what the hell is up with the cringy dances? Like how does it even work?

At first I was like how does a cringy dance make pokemon do certain moves? Then I started reading this thread and you need a Z-Crystal which makes even less sense. Dancing makes a crystal activate and a crystal makes a move happen? What were Game Freak thinking? Also this ruins the point of your character. If you want to create a bond with your character, them doing a cringy dance every battle won't help.

As for it as a game mechanic I feel like it would be better if any pokemon could do them without a Z-Crystal (But still only once per battle) as then you could use them depending on the situation instead of being left helpless if you put on an eletric type and you were up against a Ground Mono team.

 

[skyburial]

When I think about these moves, I go to Pokemon like Rotom-Wash whose only Water STAB has 80% accuracy and think hey - this is one of the most often used Pokémon and its poor RNG loses plenty of games. Why shouldn't it get a piece of that 100% accurate pie?

This seems like an answer to the players who complained about the loss of Gems in Gen VI with an additional stipulation that only one can be used per game.

Also, it leaves a giant opening for Smeargle to come in and wreck shop with Dark Void, which is annoying. Smeargle thrives in VGC 2016 because 2-4 members are guaranteed to hold a specific item - Power Herb on Xerneas, Orbs, Mega Stones.

This is speculative, but considering the way power creep has worked in the past for our beloved series, there will be a "best fit" mon for each of type, that supports a popular mega, or a few of them, particularly well. Let's just postulate that Electivire is the best Gigavolt Havoc user for some bizarre reason.

If I see an Electivire and a Salamence in team preview, both of them are probably coming to battle. Neither can outspeed a Choice Scarf Smeargle because their best-fit item is pretty much guaranteed. Time to hit the win button and fire off a Dark Void so I can start nuking stuff.

Not a big fan of stuff that's locked behind held items for this reason. That's largely colored by my VGC background, but oh well. Bring the pain.

 

[KillerTyphlosion]

The official site states:
There are two conditions for performing Z-Moves: a Pokémon must learn a move of the same type as a Z-Crystal, and it must be holding the corresponding Z-Crystal.
With this hidden power will be broken.