Idea: Gender Specific Moves

[Every Breaking Wave]

Apologies if a similar thread has already been created; I looked around briefly but did not find one.

Anyways, my idea can pretty much be summed up via the title of the thread. We have gender specific evolutions, so why not add in some gender-specific moves? I'm not saying to make it a big thing, like male Ampharos getting Thunderbolt while females are stuck with the weaker Discharge. That's too much of a disadvantage. I'm thinking smaller, by making the more strategic moves the ones that are gender specific.

Let's say (hypothetically) that Zorua can learn gender specific moves. The males get something that will lower the opponent's defense so that their attacks hit harder (Screech), while at the same level the female Zorua learn something that lowers the opponent's attack, making it harder for them to be knocked out (say Featherdance solely for the sake of using an existing move that also reduces a stat by two stages).

It could turn out to be quite a nifty thing that alters the way some people want to think about their strategy. What do you think?

 

[Coasting Wingull]

Really good idea, I've never thought of this...

 

[Keegman]

Eehhhhhh, I dunno. Do you really want to have to catch the right gender to get the moves you want?

And how would this effect egg moves?

 

[Every Breaking Wave]

Eehhhhhh, I dunno. Do you really want to have to catch the right gender to get the moves you want?

And how would this effect egg moves?

I don't see how it would be any more of a struggle than trying to get the right gender so I can evolve myself a Gallade instead of a Gardevoir; and like I say, it's only really geared towards the smaller more strategic moves, like stat increasers/decreasers such as Screech. Something like the Thunderbolt/Discharge option I noted about would prove too much of a disparity (unless it was something like the same power moves but different types; male Zoroark get Thunderpunch, female Zoroark get IcePunch, both get FirePunch, or something like that). Granted it would be more difficult for some species with abnormally different male:female ratios, but it's part of the fun of the game. It just adds a slightly new dimension to it.

I imagine most people wouldn't be too perturbed about it, considering the effort they put into breeding for moves, natures, and IVs to begin with. Egg moves would work the same way that they always do, so females could still get the same moves as the males - it would just take a few hours more work, which again most people probably wouldn't care about.

 

[Dexter]

It's an interesting concept but these kinda moves would mostly come after an evolution of the same nature.

 

[Falconwing]

eh, I'm a fan of gender equality. So I don't like this idea.

 

[Mijzelffan]

eh, I'm a fan of gender equality. So I don't like this idea.

Agreed with Ryuu. I already hate Froslass and Gallade to death, and I also think that male combee should be able to evolve too somehow, so yeah.

 

[ashita]

Hmm could be an interesting idea
The only issue would be to ry and make sure that it doesn't end up too biased otherwise all the male Pokemon would have awesome powerful moves and the female would have none
So there would have to be some kind of balance

 

[Mitchman]

Only females will get the move roar, and is ineffective only 2-3 days of a month.

 

[Soulweaver]

Only females will get the move roar, and is ineffective only 2-3 days of a month.

Lol, epic reply spotted.

Agreed with Ryuu. I already hate Froslass and Gallade to death, and I also think that male combee should be able to evolve too somehow, so yeah.

Heyyy, Froslass is my favourite Pokémon. I think gender specific evolutions were a good idea, though they pulled it out the right way only with Burmy - all other gender-split families aren't gender equal (Combee evolves only when ♀, Kirlia and Snorunt have one evolution more for one gender).

As for gender-specific moves, I don't really like the concept.

 

[Ren the Ryoko]

It sounds interesting strategically, but I fear that it may end up with the "Male Pokemon get all the kick ass moves" scenario playing out. That would suck

 

[Lufenium]

Jynx used Boobies!
It's super-effective!

 

[Hector]

Something tells me that this would be a bad idea because the company doesn't want to send the message that they are gender biased in any way.

 

[Graith]

They already have, considering they made frosslass and gallade, which means that as long as there are the same movesets, but with an occasionaly different move of the same power, or learning a uber move earlier for one gender, then the other one learning an even more uber move later.

I don't see how this is sexist or biased.

 

[cowboy dan]

I don't get the point - why not just have the pokemon learn screech/harden (example) regardless of gender? just doesn't seem to have any purpose behind it.

 

[Trainer Yusuf]

No, there shouldn't be. It would be annoying.

 

[KedaseDerragar]

They already have, considering they made frosslass and gallade, which means that as long as there are the same movesets, but with an occasionaly different move of the same power, or learning a uber move earlier for one gender, then the other one learning an even more uber move later.

I don't see how this is sexist or biased.

They're two different things, though. Sexual dimorphism is pretty common in nature, and gender-divergent evolution and the Gen. IV sprite differences are both extensions of that concept. Giving different genders different moves is more in the realm of ability rather than body, so it's more questionable - especially if done in the way the OP suggested, e.g. sticking the females with a weaker move. (Really? What part of that struck you as a good idea?)

And if you think about it, in a way they've already done this with the Pokémon that are so different between genders that they're counted as separate species: looks the Nido families, Volbeat/Illumise, and Tauros/Miltank.

 

[Blastoise]

Jynx used Boobies!
It's super-effective!

Spoiler

AO rating for Pokemon confirmed

 

[Every Breaking Wave]

...especially if done in the way the OP suggested, e.g. sticking the females with a weaker move. (Really? What part of that struck you as a good idea?)

How on earth did you get the idea that one is weaker than the other? I specifically said in the very beginning that such a thing was something that was not intended by the suggestion. Screech and Featherdance, which I did suggest, both lower stats by two stages; one is not weaker than the other. Ditto the idea of one learning Thunderpunch and the other learning Ice Punch, which are both the exact same power. At no time and in no way did I ever suggest that one would get a weaker move than the other.

 

[KedaseDerragar]

How on earth did you get the idea that one is weaker than the other? I specifically said in the very beginning that such a thing was something that was not intended by the suggestion. Screech and Featherdance, which I did suggest, both lower stats by two stages; one is not weaker than the other. Ditto the idea of one learning Thunderpunch and the other learning Ice Punch, which are both the exact same power. At no time and in no way did I ever suggest that one would get a weaker move than the other.

I apologize; I misread that suggestion. Some of the others are not all that better, though (such as the Screech/Featherdance suggestion, which could be read by some as emphasizing strength more for males) - it would be moving along a tack that RPGs have worked very hard to avoid, and quite frankly I don't man people want to see moveset charts get more complicated than they already can be.