Moves that Pokemon should/should not be able to learn

[CynthiaLover]

Skuntank never lost Poison Jab, it's always been available with TM84. Are you sure you're not misremembering this?

No, I'm not. I've tried teaching Skuntank Poison Jab past Gen IV, but it said it was incompatible for some reason. I even used a shiny Skuntank in a X run and tried teaching it Poison Jab but no dice. I doubt it was a one-time glitch, otherwise it wouldn't have been an issue in every one of my Gen V and VI games, which seems a bit too odd. Though I did a back-check earlier today and it does say it can learn it in Gen VII, which I admit I overlooked, but for some reason I've never been able to get Poison Jab on it in my attempts. That's why I brought it up, which is why I thought it was strange. And, again, it can't be a one-time glitch on my end, otherwise that'd be a pretty strange glitch to affect only my systems over three gens. So that's why I brought it up, as every attempt I've made to teach it Poison Jab ended up going nowhere.

 

[Alola]

After playing ORAS recently, I've come to the conclusion that Sceptile should learn Dragonbreath or Dragon Pulse through level-up. If not both, then at least one.

Dual Chop doesn't do its massive Special Attack justice (in fact, Dragonbreath should replace it learning Dual Chop) and it has no way to learn Special Dragon moves outside of breeding or tutoring, both which aren't as accessible as simply leveling-up or using a TM.

 

[RK9]

Kyurem-Black should learn Icicle Shard, Ice Punch, Ice Fang or Ice Shard. Not asking for all of them, but at least one! His entire right arm is encased in ice, for crying out loud.

Greninja should learn Poison Jab. It's a frog, some frog kinds are dangerous upon contact.

Every mon that can learn Focus Blast should be able to learn Aura Sphere. End of discussion. Period.

Entei, Arcanine and Zekrom should get Earthquake, while Snorlax should get Slack Off. Look at Snorlax and tell me he doesn't Slack Off all the time. Even Infernape gets it. Spiky Shield for Ferrothorn. It's literally an iron ball of spikes. Gengar doesn't get Nasty Plot. Look at that grin and tell me he isn't plotting stuff all the time.

This is what comes to me from the top off my head, but there's definitely more mons.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Spiky Shield for Ferrothorn. It's literally an iron ball of spikes.

It probably doesn’t get it due to balance/competitive reasons.

 

[Lone_Garurumon]

It probably doesn’t get it due to balance/competitive reasons.

I'm gonna be the voice of cynicism here, but since when has Game Freak ever given a damn about a Pokemon's competitive capabilities when handling stuff like that? If they cared about Pokemon being good and well balanced then half of our complaints in this thread would be answered.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

but since when has Game Freak ever given a damn about a Pokemon's competitive capabilities when handling stuff like that?

Didn’t they nerf Talonflame and Darkrai?
They sometimes care and sometimes don’t.

Personally I'd hate Ferrotorn to get Spiky Shield since it’s already one of my least favourite Pokemon due to having a horrible design and it’s leech seed+protect+Iron Barbs+Rocky Helmet shenanigans.

 

[atari6600]

Oh I have a HUGE list of moves that I feel certain Pokemon should learn. Here we go:

Hitmonlee- Trop Kick: I figured at that, at the very least, this could make it into Hitmonlee's moveset in US-UM, after all, Hitmonlee IS the Kicking Pokemon. Of everything on this list, I feel this is one that GameFreak absolutely NEEDS to fix in Generation 8.

Rattata, Raticate, Watchog- Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Poison Fang and Ice Fang: after all they can learn Hyper and Super Fang, so why not these elemental fangs?

Pinsir- Air Slash: Every Pokemon with a Mega Evolution that gets a temporary re-typing can learn a move of that new type (ex: Ampharos can learn Dragon Pulse). Pinsir becomes Bug/Flying while Mega Evolved and Air Slash is the most logical move of choice.

Umbreon- Moonblast: I'm assuming Dazzling Gleam is the sun based Fairy move and Espeon, the Morning Sun Pokemon, can learn that so why can't the Moonlight Pokemon learn Moonblast?

Stantler, Bouffalant- Horn Leech: They can learn Megahorn...enough said.

Mamoswine- Heavy Slam: It's basically a wooly mammoth or a mastodon. I think Mamoswine weighs enough that it can learn the move. Especially when it's only about 20 pounds lighter then Golem's lightest possible weight. And Golem is about 400 pounds lighter then Snorlax and can learn Heavy Slam.

I have more on the list but most of them don't make too much sense or are just my personal desires and have nothing to do with whether or not the Pokemon should or shouldn't learn them. These are the only ones I really think SHOULD be learnable.

 

[Gengarzilla]

Pinsir- Air Slash: Every Pokemon with a Mega Evolution that gets a temporary re-typing can learn a move of that new type (ex: Ampharos can learn Dragon Pulse). Pinsir becomes Bug/Flying while Mega Evolved and Air Slash is the most logical move of choice.

I probably would have gone for Aerial Ace here, as it has a cutting origin and synergy with Pinsir's better attacking stat despite being weaker in power. I don't believe it was a coincidence that Ampharos got Dragon Pulse instead of, say, Dual Chop or Outrage or any of the physical Dragon moves that wouldn't exactly go together alongside Mega Ampharos's stat distribution.

 

[atari6600]

I probably would have gone for Aerial Ace here, as it has a cutting origin and synergy with Pinsir's better attacking stat despite being weaker in power. I don't believe it was a coincidence that Ampharos got Dragon Pulse instead of, say, Dual Chop or Outrage or any of the physical Dragon moves that wouldn't exactly go together alongside Mega Ampharos's stat distribution.

I dunno much about the competitive aspect or the meta game as I play for fun. When it came down to Air Slash I just went with the first flying type move that popped into my head that seemed to make sense to me. As for Dragon Pulse, I never really questioned why. Though an Ampharos with Dual Chop WOULD be pretty cool. I mean, I'd teach mine Dual Chop if it were learnable.

 

[Gengarzilla]

Here's another idea: Xerneas with Recover and Healing Wish. Surely you would expect the Pokémon who can share life to heal itself or bring new life to a teammate? It even does the latter already with Heal Pulse.

I dunno, it just bugs me that Yveltal, harbinger of death and destruction, gets a reliable self-recovery move in Roost while Xerneas doesn't.

 

[BigBadButterfree]

Here's another idea: Xerneas with Recover and Healing Wish. Surely you would expect the Pokémon who can share life to heal itself or bring new life to a teammate? It even does the latter already with Heal Pulse.

I dunno, it just bugs me that Yveltal, harbinger of death and destruction, gets a reliable self-recovery move in Roost while Xerneas doesn't.

Hm... Maybe that's intentional. Like, Yveltal keeps itself alive using the life force of other Pokemon, and in turn, Xerneas keeps other Pokemon Alive using it's own life force.

 

[Gengarzilla]

Hm... Maybe that's intentional. Like, Yveltal keeps itself alive using the life force of other Pokemon, and in turn, Xerneas keeps other Pokemon Alice using it's own life force.

Perhaps but I think that adds more weight behind getting Healing Wish, the move where the user takes itself out to heal another Pokémon. It reminds me of how Xerneas releases all its life energy to nearby beings before becoming a tree at the end of its life.

 

[Icy Wind]

Trevenant should learn Synthesis.

Like, how is it possible that a literal tree can’t do photosynthesis?

 

[Dieter]

Trevenant should learn Synthesis.

Like, how is it possible that a literal tree can’t do photosynthesis?

I mean, sure if it didn't have leaves it would make sense, but it does!

So I'm guessing it's because it's a ghost tree and associated with dark places, where synthesis isn't very useful? That's my guess at least...

 

[Icy Wind]

So I'm guessing it's because it's a ghost tree and associated with dark places, where synthesis isn't very useful? That's my guess at least...

Dhelmise lives on the bottom of the sea and can still learn Synthesis though.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Isn’t trevenant supposed to be a dead tree with a human spirit inside it? It would make sense that a dead plant cannot perform photosynthesis.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

It might seem like it ought to be based on Phantump's entries, but nothing in Trevenant's dex entries mention that. (They do mention it controlling living trees, though)

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

It might seem like it ought to be based on Phantump's entries, but nothing in Trevenant's dex entries mention that. (They do mention it controlling living trees, though)

Well, phantump's dey entries say that it possess a rotten tree, and Evolution wouldn’t make the tree stump suddenly living...

So I find it more plausible that Trevenant cannot perform photosynthesis.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Dhelmise lives on the bottom of the sea and can still learn Synthesis though.

It's algae possessing an anchor. Algaes do photosynthesis. Phantump is a dead stump, so it makes sense for its family to not learn Synthesis.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

Well, phantump's dey entries say that it possess a rotten tree, and Evolution wouldn’t make the tree stump suddenly living...

So I find it more plausible that Trevenant cannot perform photosynthesis.

But Trevenant's entries say it has nerves that control trees, so some part of it seems to be living. And it can use Solar Beam, a move which draws from the sun's energy. (though whether that's photosynthesis seems to be up in the air, given the variety of non-plant Pokemon using it)