For this one, you don't have to think physically and logically, but rather symbolically. Shiftry is based on tengus and tengus are known for harnessing wind, so a tengu-based Pokemon that can absorb wind attacks is not really absurd imo.
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Pokémon Movepool Oddities & Explanations
- Thread starter Kurona
- Start date
indeed, but Then i hope next gen It changes name
Why would its name need changing?
cuz "absorbing wind" is not exactly "riding wind"
It doesn't take damage from it because isntead of getting hit, it starts riding it and making it work for them.
And having palm leafs isn't enough to make a 1.4m tall pokemon flying since it's prob more than 40kg
It's a tengu, so we are going to the super natural reading of how this is working
Shadow Claw was described as a "sharp claw made from shadows" since its introduction. All its learners, among them Charizard (no joke, it used to be a level-up move!), do have claws or hands or other visible sharp appendages (or are the Diglett line, who can learn a whole bunch of slicing moves, most infamously Aerial Ace).
Also the animation in every game looks like clawing.
Gallade, the Honedge line, and Ceruledge are getting Shadow Claw because it's the designated Ghost-type cutting move. Am I mad it's not boosted by Sharpness? Yes, and the same is true for Stone Edge and even Precipice Blades.
According to MatPat, several flying Pokémon should be unable to fly thanks to the square-cube law:
I'll give you Shadow Claw not being boosted by Sharpness, but Stone Edge and Precipice Blades feel more like it involves striking the opponent hard with pointed earth to inflict damage. It's sharp, sure, but IMO the intent is to open wounds or pierce through defenses with a heavy, sharp object, not to cut.
Aerial Ace is a Flying-type move because it's a vertically slashing sword technique that is named after swallows in Japanese. That's why it's a slashing move, and despite the English name, it has nothing to do with being airborne.
You ever think about how Drowzee and Hypno can't learn Dream Eater by level up in any games besides Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee. Sure, they can still usually learn it by other methods, but you'd expect them to be able to get it by level up, considering how, y'know, eating dreams is a huge part of their whole idea.
QuentinQuonce
formerly green_typhlosion
Kabuto and Kabutops learn Absorb by level up in Gen I, but conspicuously fail to learn Mega Drain by TM. This was corrected in later gens, not that it matters because by then the far better Giga Drain was a thing.
Gen 1 gets somehow gets weirder with Dream Eater and Poison Gas.
"I can assure there's a good reason the Poison Gas learns Dream Eater while the Dream Eater learns Poison Gas." Poor Koffing and Weezing get it worse by having the whole line be based around smog, learn Smog, Smokescreen, and Haze, yet somehow missed learning Poison Gas.
I think Golurk is an iffy example to point to for making the name comparison. Golem despite its name has more in common with a Tortoise or a modern RPG Golem (which is typically just a giant pseudo-organic entity made out Earth Element), while Golurk is based more directly on Folklore Golems which are inanimate effigies brought to life using inscriptions and function in more robotic or "without a soul" manners (the Regis are similarly derived from this concept) alongside the Automaton/Mecha inspiration.
So the thing there is Golem is a "naturally born" creature that has to replace things like its rock scales by shedding, natural processes that presumably take time, while Golurk or the Regis could use something like Ice Punch because even if Freeze-Thaw could damage their bodies, their bodies are also artificial to the extent that they were built by others and could simply repair them after (Regirock even explicitly mentions doing this for chipping/damage after battle in multiple Dex entries).
Is there a reason why the Jigglypuff line doesn't get Boomburst, while Scream Tail does?
You had ONE job!
You had ONE job!
Iirc there are a lot of dex entries for the line stating how their vocal chords can get damaged if they sing for too long, so I imagine that they'd also be damaged if any of em strained them too much (not so much with hyper voice curiously but then again it's significantly weaker so it probably doesn't have that issue). Since there's no mention of scream tail having that issue, they're perfectly free to scream (huh) at the top of their lungs!Is there a reason why the Jigglypuff line doesn't get Boomburst, while Scream Tail does?
Ofc, that's only my assumption, may be incorrect and/or misinformed.
Only applies to Igglybuff.
Jigglypuff just talks about its singing voice and how it can sing without needing to pause for breath by inflating.
Wigglytuff also has no such issues. In fact none of its entries even mention its singing?? Which is weird?? It's all about how divinely fluffy it is and how much air it can inhale
And that latter bit feels relevant for boombursting
There is the french name that says that mentions that it screams a lot, unlike jigglypuff
Maybe Iron Jugulis getting it is a reference to King Ghidorah?
And why it's not considered a "Punch" Move (and thus isn't powered-up by Iron Fist).
Deoxys descended from the stars.
Togekiss is a peace keeper bringing joy to all those good-hearted.
Zygarde is a guardian of nature which keeps the power of life & death in-balance.
They may not have a specified sacred belief directly connected to them in the game, but they have deity-like traits.
... And then we have Zigzagoon (& Linoone, though only the Normal variant). I can't help but feel that is a Tanuki thing.
Uses its wisp "tail" as a makeshift foot?
As how I see it, these Moves all have an intended methods of being used, but Pokemon have learned ways to use these Moves without having the right body parts by adapting them to what they have.
Normally to use a "Claw" Move (Shadow Claw, Dragon Claw, Metal Claw, Crush Claw, Dire Claw, Scratch) you would need to have elongated nails which end in a sharp point. The intended execution of these moves is to swipe at the target claw points first, pierce those points into the target, and then continue the motion of the strike pulling along the tips to create a bigger wound. The elongated part of the claw is to provide a natural sturdy "handle" which isn't likely to break and let the user more easily guide the attack. In this way you can see claws more as mini glaives or halberds.
Moves powered-up for Sharpness as ones where the user has or created an energy/elemental blade. A blade is sharp all throughout its perimeter. It has given up a sturdy handle so that no matter where it strikes it'll cause a deep wound which could open wider sliding the remainder of the blade parallel to the wound.
Both are about piercing into the target and creating a wider wound, but the difference is claws rip and blades slice. Because of this, a "Claw" Move only needs a point to be sharp enough to puncture, whereas the entire "blade"'s edge needs to be sharp. A dull point will still do its job but just require more effort, meanwhile a dull blade is more or less useless as what it's intended to do. A Pokemon with sharp claws can use "slicing" Moves by imitating the slicing movement or creating energy/elemental claws which act more like blades. A Pokemon with blades can use "claw" Moves by adjusting their blade use so that they more focused on the point of the blade.
Hence the Ability Sharpness only affecting "slicing" moves. The Pokemon which have Sharpness all have blades of some kind and the Ability makes it so their blade's perimeter is even more razor thin for "cleaner" (aka deeper piercing) cuts. Such a adaptation is useless with the "Claw" Moves as they only ever need the point to be sharp (and they also don't want the point to be too sharp as it might not cause the ripping effect).
Note though I am completely talking out of my behind here. Because I too agree that the Claw Moves should also be powered-up by Sharpness, there's no reason to be so strict thinking about this. Though, aside from some coverage Moves missing out, so far this isn't a big deal as all Pokemon who get Sharpness has a STAB Move which can take advantage of the power boost. Which is better than Iron Fist and Strong Jaw which have several Pokemon wishing for a STAB Move would be made so they can too take full advantage of their Ability.
When Drowzee and Hypno snack on dreams for nourishment, they likely do so slowly and only bit-by-bit as not to cause harm to their "host". As odd as it may sound, Dream Eater goes very much against their natural eating habit that it has to be taught via an outside method instead of it knowing it naturally. Dream Eater causes damage and is a big gulp of energy which is used for immediate healing rather than nourishing. Doing so doesn't satisfy the Drowzee family's appetite and may cause their host to wake up thus they just lost their meal ticket. Their natural slow & bit-by-bit feeding causes no harm letting their host keep on sleeping as the Drowzee family feed continually until they get their fill. This is why Drowzee & Hypno are used for sleep therapy.
So why is LGPE the sole exception despite the Drowzee family being available in BDSP and SV (and Dream Eater being a TM in LGPE & BDSP but not SV, so the only way to get a Dream Eater Hypno in SV is trading it up)? Well let's remember LGPE excluded a lot of Moves which caused them to have to fill in gaps in movepools. Notably for the Drowzee family they lost Future Sight, and while not a big loss was still a missing "later level powerful Psychic Move" which they decided to fill with Dream Eater. Why didn't it keep it? My theory: BDSP. It reset their Movepool to pre-LGPE thus losing Dream Eater and getting back Future Sight. But no biggie, Dream Eater was still a TM... until SV (though maybe Indigo Disk will bring it back).
Honestly if GF doesn't consider Dream Eater "proper" for the Drowzee family maybe they should pull an Annihilape and give it a new evolution & new Signature Move and/or Ability which more meshes with its lore (maybe an Ability which heals it a bit every turn there's a sleeping Pokemon (but doesn't damage the sleeping Pokemon) on the field and if it uses Hypnosis its Accuracy increases to 90%).
Them getting Absorb is a weird thing already. Like, if that's part of their biology, give it a STAB version of Giga Drain.
"Uh huh, sure, in the meantime you're sleeping on the couch until you see a gastroenterologist".
I think it makes more sense to question why Scream Tail does learn Boomburst rather than why its more docile 'relatives' don't. Looking at the rest of the Pokemon that learn Boomburst by level-up, I feel like it's generally more about non-vocal (or at least non-oral) sound:
EDIT: I guess another difference between Boomburst and, say, Hyper Voice is that Boomburst hits allies too, perhaps suggesting it's a more savage/frenzied/callous attack, which would fit Scream Tail more than the Igglybuff line.
- Vibrava and Flygon generate sound with their wings
- Exploud has "sound-generating organs all over its body" (I think it's notable that its equally boisterous and shouty pre-evolution Loudred doesn't learn Boomburst)
- Toxtricity prepares its sound attacks with a strumming motion across the electric organ on its chest
- Noivern generates boulder-shattering ultrasonic waves from its ears
- Kommo-o does seem to use its voice in its sound attacks, but I think the ringing of its scales is what makes its sound attacks uniquely powerful
- Rillaboom uses its stump drumkit
- Dudunsparce doesn't appear to really use sound at all, but it draws in huge amounts of air and then exhales it in a huge blast (Wigglytuff, for comparison, doesn't seem to do the explosive exhaling part according to its dex entries)
EDIT: I guess another difference between Boomburst and, say, Hyper Voice is that Boomburst hits allies too, perhaps suggesting it's a more savage/frenzied/callous attack, which would fit Scream Tail more than the Igglybuff line.
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Nobody should talk about lgpe in this thread. arcanine from lgpe has TELEPORT And that makes literally no sense
It has Teleport in LGPE because it had it in Gen 1 probably because it was vaguely more ~mysterious~ (see also Legendary classification, higher BST than most of its peers) and thought it fit the vibe.
Wouldn't surprise me if it was marked to be really fast (lore-wise) and used Teleport as shorthand for that, considering it went on to get Extreme Speed in gen 2 as a signature move.
So is this why Zangoose
can't use Cut?
I don't know how you came to that conclusion? My explanation above is just for why Sharpness powers up "slicing" Moves and no "claw" Moves.So is this why Zangoose
As for why Zangoose doesn't get Cut, just another tally mark for GF logic.
Jigglypuff strikes me more as a performer that wants to put on a show, and Wigglytuff isn't very sound based in general. The last bit you edited in is what locks it for me, since Scream Tail is more aggressive, it would probably be screaming just to scare or attack things rather than to elicit any other specific reaction from them.