Moves that Pokemon should/should not be able to learn

[swiftgallade46]

I always thought Wooper punched with its antennae thing lol. Not that it makes any sense either way, just how I headcanoned it.

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

Hawlucha can learn Dig, apparently... alright

 

[Chevywolf30]

Bidoof shouldn't be able to learn Surf

 

[zoroarctic]

It’s always bugged me that Purrloin and Liepard can’t learn any biting moves, given that’s how cats kill their prey.

 

[nickdt]

It’s always bugged me that Purrloin and Liepard can’t learn any biting moves, given that’s how cats kill their prey.

Wait! What? They can't?

Also its weird that not every land based Pokemon can learn Sand Attack (And its especially odd with Bunnelby).

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

It’s always bugged me that Purrloin and Liepard can’t learn any biting moves, given that’s how cats kill their prey.

This is the case for most housecat-based Pokemon, though: the Meowth line is literally the only one in the housecat category that gets access to Bite. It might have something to do with the stereotype that biting are more associated with dogs whereas clawing and slashing is more associated with cats.

Stranegly, though, it's very much reversed with Pokemon based on big cats, since most of those tend to get biting moves but not slashing/clawing ones, with the Litten line being the only one that gets at least one of both.

 

[zoroarctic]

This is the case for most housecat-based Pokemon, though: the Meowth line is literally the only one in the housecat category that gets access to Bite.

Glameow gets Bite as an egg move, at least in previous gens.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

Bidoof shouldn't be able to learn Surf

It evolves into a Water-type, and beavers are pretty capable swimmers- not seeing the problem here?

 

[Poke Dragon]

Plus, that would force players to dedicate a third spot for an HM user to get around Sinnoh. Especially since Gen 4 was the first generation that made Surf have friendly fire.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Bidoof learning Surf makes a million times more sense than a bull (Tauros) or a rock rhinocerosaurus (the Ryhorn line) learning it. It's not like the Water-type coverage does anything useful for those guys anyway, since their abyssmal Special Attacks means they'll hardly dent anything with it even if it has a major weakness to Water.

 

[prog rocker]

Well, bovines can swim, but I'm still looking for a justification for the Rhyhorn line.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Well, bovines can swim

By that logic, though, any Pokemon based on an animal that can swim should also be able to learn Surf. And the list of animals that swim is... extensive, to say the least. In fact, I think it'd probably be faster to list the animals that can't swim even in desperate situations.

 

[Camille]

Bidoof shouldn't be able to learn Surf

It doesn't, though, unlike Bibarel, its evolved form.

 

[Yami-no-Game]

I don't get how Metapod and Kakuna can use Bug Bite when they have no fangs or even mouths.

 

[KirbyBulba737]

I don't get how Metapod and Kakuna can use Bug Bite when they have no fangs or even mouths.

That's because it's their pre-evos that learn the move, not the coccons.

 

[prog rocker]

It's the same situation with Mankey/Primeape or Kadabra/Alakazam and Iron Tail.

 

[Poke Dragon]

Heck, you can count Gastly and Wooper learning punching moves despite not even having hands.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Heck, you can count Gastly and Wooper learning punching moves despite not even having hands.

Technically these are something of a reversal of the coccoons, Alakazam, and Primeape. At least those have the excuse that their pre-volutions get the anatomically impossible moves because it actually is anatomically possible for those pre-evos and removing such moves from the volved forms' pools would probably be too much of a coding hassle anyway. Gastly and Wooper, meanwhile, could do with not having any punching moves, since it's not infrequent for certain moves to only be accessible to evolved forms anyway, and Quagsire and Haunter and Gengar have the necessary arms to perform those.

 

[Yami-no-Game]

That's because it's their pre-evos that learn the move, not the coccons.

Obviously but that's not the point I was trying to make. I said that I don't know how they can use that move, not how they learn it. It doesn't make sense that Pokemon without mouths can use an attack that involves biting. It's the biological aspect that I'm confused about, not the origin of where they learn Bug Bite from.

 

[KirbyBulba737]

Obviously but that's not the point I was trying to make. I said that I don't know how they can use that move, not how they learn it. It doesn't make sense that Pokemon without mouths can use an attack that involves biting. It's the biological aspect that I'm confused about, not the origin of where they learn Bug Bite from.

The origin matters, because that's where a pokemon shoudl/shouldn't be able to learn a move, sicne you can't just remove moves from a pokemon when they evolve.