Fighting Attacks theory (a four-attack subtly or no?)

[Luna Tiger]

It came to my attention recently, that while battling, the majority of the time they don't use more than three of the conventional attacks you'd find in the game.

Is it possible that the anime encorporates the four-attack rule from the games without it being spoken aloud or thought of?

For example, we know Pikachu had used the moves Thundershock, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Iron Tail, and Quick Attack for sure. I don't remember if it ever used Agility, but that's not the point. As far as I remember, Pikachu uses currently, T-bolt, Thunder, and Iron Tail as its conventional attacks. When's the last time it's used Thundershock? Or any other move it knew once upon a time, if any more than those?

I've probably been disproven already by the contest pokémon, if in a single episode any one of them use up to five attacks while displaying their technique, but...thoughts?

And if I'm wrong, for the love of the dancing Mexican hat, just say I am. *pose* I can handle such a blow to my ego, don'cha-know.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Doesn't he use Thundershock on the Rockets on a regular basis?

 

[Argy]

No, it's only Thunderbolt now.

 

[Kthleen]

I just watched the Snorunt episode and caught Pikachu's denkou sekka, quick attack.

I'm not sure if I believe that they use the four-moves rule, though it's to some extent plausible, but I'm slightly leaning to the side of doubt. 'Cause I can. You're right, however. It does seem like they have more limited movepools now.

There are Pokémon that use moves in the show that they can't learn in the game. (Raichu with Thunderpunch [it did use Thunderpunch, right?] is the only one that comes immediately to mind.)

 

[Zeta]

There are Pokémon that use moves in the show that they can't learn in the game. (Raichu with Thunderpunch [it did use Thunderpunch, right?] is the only one that comes immediately to mind.)

Except that Raichu CAN learn Thunderpunch. >_>

The only real example of a Pokemmon using an attack it can't learn that I can think of is Ash's Bulbasaur using Whirlwind several times . . .

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Vibrava using Supersonic is a notable example.

 

[Kthleen no log in]

Dang it, I keep remembering looking it up and not finding it.... Maybe that was some other move. Yeah, probably. But darn it.

Oooh. I see what happened. At the time, I was going with Red/Blue information, and Thunderpunch wasn't a TM. That's what I'm remembering. Sorry.

Didn't Pikachu use Scratch and Bite in the Cubone episode (though Ash didn't order them), or am I looking too far into things?

 

[V Faction]

Pikachu has used all sorts of attacks that would be odd for it's species. My bet would be that many were simply improvised versions of the real attacks. It's basically Pikachu trying to pull them off, with interesting results. Mind you now that most of it was in Kanto (big surprise? nah).

 

[Misty]

Dragonite used, like, 8 moves in Enter The Dragonite.

 

[FalconriderX]

Pikachu used agility to take out Raichu in Vermillion.

 

[MTC]

I don't remember when, but once I decided to count how many attacks a Pokémon used in a battle (I think it was Pikachu during the Orange Champion battle) and I counted 5 attacks, so I don;t gthink the 4-attack rule is present in the anime.

 

[Cybersai]

It came to my attention recently, that while battling, the majority of the time they don't use more than three of the conventional attacks you'd find in the game.

Is it possible that the anime encorporates the four-attack rule from the games without it being spoken aloud or thought of?

It doesn't, take a look at Drake's Dragonite from the Orange Islands.

I remember counting it using 7 or so attacks in that match.

 

[Jo-Jo]

I've probably been disproven already by the contest pokémon, if in a single episode any one of them use up to five attacks while displaying their technique, but...thoughts?

Hmmm. Now that you mention it, I can't think of a contest Pokemon that has demonstrated five moves. May's Beautifly knows Tackle, Gust, String Shot and Silver Wind, and Drew's Roselia knows Magical Leaf, Petal Dance, Stun Spore and Solar Beam, but I can't think of another off the top of my head that even uses four moves. Skitty, for instance, only seems to use Assist, Double-Slap and Blizzard.

 

[Edward Elric]

There are Pokémon that use moves in the show that they can't learn in the game. (Raichu with Thunderpunch [it did use Thunderpunch, right?] is the only one that comes immediately to mind.)

Raichu used Megaton Punch (Mega Punch). Not Thunder Punch.

And yes, Pikachu has indeed used Agility on several occasions as well as Thundershock. However, Thundershock's rarely used anymore due to it being able to use Thunderbolt and Thunder more effectively.

 

[Kthleen]

It never used Thunder Punch at all? Ok, thank you. (But what the hell am I remembering then? Arrgh.)

My idea is that though the Pokémon obviously have more than four moves and a trainer can remember the moves that their Pokémon have, they trainers find a few moves that work best. Why use Thundershock when Pikachu has Thunderbolt and Thunder now (and why use Thunder when Thunderbolt, a less energy-intensive attack, will do the job?)? Add a couple of other good moves (Iron Tail for Rock-types/anyone who won't take a Thunderbolt and Quick Attack/Agility for speediness), and you shouldn't have to remember others. It's easier because then you don't have to memorize most of your Pokémon's moves. Of course that's rather simplistic, but if it works....
It is thus that I think that the four-attack rule doesn't really apply, but some trainers choose to apply something similar.

 

[Misty]

I think it's more that there's rarely an opportunity and a reason to use more than 4 moves in a single battle, with the flaming exception being Drake's Dragonite.

 

[Nomekop Oen]

Damn,I'm having a hard time remembering what exact attacks the Dragonite used.

-Hyper Beam
-Fly
-Water Gun (I think...)
-Slam
-Thunderbolt
-Dragonrage (I think...)
-Flamethrower (I think...)





As far as attacks in general go,it's probably not so much that the anime is trying to follow the rules of the games.It's probably more of a lack of creativity from the writers themselves.Or it's possible that they're forced to incorporate a battle into a small timeframe of an episode. (i.e. the OHKO fests at the Johto/Hoenn League)

 

[Pokemon Fan]

Hmmm. Now that you mention it, I can't think of a contest Pokemon that has demonstrated five moves. May's Beautifly knows Tackle, Gust, String Shot and Silver Wind,

It also knows Morning Sun (used in the contest when May lost with Bulbasaur).

For Pikachu an interesting transformation has taken place. For a long time it used Agility and Quick Attack interchangeably to dodge and attack. However, over time this changed to it adjusting Quick Attack so that it can dodge and attack with the same move. Essentially it combined the two techniques. Treeko/Grovyle similarly uses Quick Attack to dodge and attack, rather than splitting between Agility (which it can learn) and Quick Attack. Agility is still used in the anime by such things as Surskit but only to dodge attacks and increase speed.

Pikachu has bitten, kicked, punched etc. on many occasions but never as an actual attack command. They were attacks but not actual Attacks.

FYI, from what I've heard in the original Bulbasaur was simply told to blow the Stun Spore/Sleep Powder away, and it was dubbed as Whirlwind. Similar to Heracross using its wings to dissipate flames it is not an actual wind attack, just a bodily movement the pokemon should logically be capable of.

Really, Crobat's use of Sonic Boom and Vibrava's Supersonic are about the only real moves used in the anime that can't be learned in the games.

<><><>

Another example of Pokemon using lots of moves is Ash's Kingler, which during its Krabby to Kingler battle it used the following:

Crabhammer
Water Gun
Bubble
Harden
Stomp
Leer
Hyper Beam
Vicegrip

 

[Luna Tiger]

Another example of Pokemon using lots of moves is Ash's Kingler, which during its Krabby to Kingler battle it used the following:

Crabhammer
Water Gun
Bubble
Harden
Stomp
Leer
Hyper Beam
Vicegrip

That was in the one Indigo League battle? Can you tell me which moves it used as Krabby and which ones as Kingler?

 

[Pokemon Fan]

That was in the one Indigo League battle? Can you tell me which moves it used as Krabby and which ones as Kingler?

As a Krabby it used Harden, Stomp, Leer and Vicegrip, then as Kingler it used Hyper Beam, Bubble, Water Gun, Crabhammer and I think Vicegrip (at the very least it used it much later against Misty's Psyduck).

That Pokemon don't forget moves as they grow would seem to be supported by Ash's Charizard. It used Ember a few times as a Charmander, but then in the Orange Islands proved able to use Ember as a Charizard as well. Similarly when May's Torchic evolves, she thinks to use Ember, until Max tells her it would have learned a better Fire attack. So it seems likely that a Pokemon doesn't forget old moves, it just ceases to use any that are no longer useful. Why Ember when you can Flamethrower after all?

I personally think the anime may have most Pokemon stick with about four regularly used moves simply because it is easier for the writers to remember that way.

<><><>

For a final example there's Prima's Cloyster. All but the first of the following moves were used in its battle with Pikachu:

Blizzard
Withdraw
Reflect
Rage
Aurora Beam
Take Down