Why do newer Pokemon have fewer Egg Moves?

[winstein]

Back in Pokemon X and Y, when the whole picture is revealed in regard to the new Pokemon's Egg Moves, something in common is found among them: compared to past Generations, they have very little Egg Moves on average. Where it wasn't uncommon for older Pokemon to have 10 different Egg Moves, it is rare for a Generation 6 and 7 Pokemon of an original family to have seven or more Egg Moves.

As an example, the Grass starters. Currently, Bulbasaur has 15, Chikorita has 15, Treecko has 16, Turtwig has 16 and Snivy has 11. For comparison, Chespin has 7, and Rowlet has only 6. Note that Chespin is an outlier since not many new Pokemon have 7 or more Egg Moves. As another example, we compare the Fire starters. Fennekin only has 4 Egg Moves, and Litten gets 6 different ones. What about the rest? Tepig has 11 Egg Moves, and the rest of them have 14 each. In fact, the fewest amount of Egg Moves is 2, which is found on Yungoos! This makes a Pokemon like Togedemaru noteworthy since it has 9 Egg Moves, something that is unusual.

Interestingly, this coincides with the updated Egg Move mechanics in Generation 6. Basically, in that Generation, female Pokemon can also pass Egg Moves to their offspring, which makes getting Egg move combinations easier. For example, Rowlet requires at least 4 different parents since its Egg Moves are all over the place. If there are 5 moves or more among both Pokemon, 4 out of them will only be passed down, while the rest are locked away (maybe a new mechanic in the future will make 8 available at one time?). In addition to this, Egg Moves are relearnable, greatly ensuring that they are not lost forever.

My theory on why there are few Egg Moves in newer Pokemon? I think that, by bloating the Pokemon with too many Egg Moves, there is less room to add more, since the list of moves is ever-increasing per Generation, and by putting too many moves the first time, there will eventually be little room later on.

So, why do newer Pokemon have fewer Egg Moves?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Muur]

They've existed in less gens, the newer Pokemon will get more egg moves as time passes on

 

[Stratelier]

^ The obvious answer. Cyndaquil, for example, has 14 available Egg Moves now, but back in its debut generation there were only 5, one of which couldn't be legitimately bred without Gen 1 trading (or Smeargle).

 

[winstein]

They've existed in less gens, the newer Pokemon will get more egg moves as time passes on

This is a good point. It applies more to Generation 2 and 3, from what I have seen. I feel that it's not as bad back then, where there were less moves available.

It is Generation 4 and 5 where the Pokemon received a lot more Egg Moves. For example, Turtwig started with 11 (14 at HGSS), and barely got any new ones (only Grassy Terrain was added).

I figured that since there are so many moves as of now, the new Pokemon would at least have a decent amount of Egg Moves instead of having the amount they have now.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Muur]

Well, I'd rather they have more moves available as level up, TM or tutor moves. Egg moves are a lot of effort

 

[GhostLucario]

I noticed this from the moment XY were released. I also expected them to get new ones in SM but they didn't. The selection for Gen 6 and 7 pokemon is abysmal. I wonder why...

 

[winstein]

I noticed this from the moment XY were released. I also expected them to get new ones in SM but they didn't. The selection for Gen 6 and 7 pokemon is abysmal. I wonder why...

Maybe it was to give them a better-curated selection of moves, which means that there are rarely a useless move. It's true for many cases, where for example, Chespin's entire Egg movepool have their uses. Still, there are some odd choices, such as putting Flatter and Captivate as Egg Moves.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Alola]

I don't know but it's frustrating. Fennekin is one of my favorite starters yet it still only has 4 Egg moves, compared to the other Fire starters (who have up to fifteen). Even Litten, who debuted a generation later, has more Egg moves than it.

In earlier gens, this was understandable as move selection was much more limited. However, as of Generation 7 there are over 700 moves. The same excuse doesn't work anymore. You mean to tell me Gamefreak is still having difficulty deciding who should get what? Sounds more like laziness. Do we really have to wait until Generation 14 for Fennekin to get 15 egg moves when the other starters will have 30?

 

[Muur]

I'd rather have move moves upon level up, or TM/tutor etc than egg moves. If you took 5 moves from Fennekin's move list and moved them to her Egg list so that she had more, would that please you? I would hope not because that'd be silly.

 

[Gengarzilla]

I would take quality over quantity with egg moves, frankly.

Sure, Swirlix/Slurpuff has only four egg moves, but one of them is Belly Drum, which triggers Sitrus Berry usage, which triggers Unburden, giving doubled speed on top of maxed attack. I'll stick with having less egg moves if it means the moves themselves are better.

 

[Alola]

I'd rather have move moves upon level up, or TM/tutor etc than egg moves. If you took 5 moves from Fennekin's move list and moved them to her Egg list so that she had more, would that please you? I would hope not because that'd be silly.

The point of Egg Moves is to provide Pokemon with (usually useful) moves they can't already learn on their own, for the most part. Simply taking several of Fennekin's level up or TM moves and adding them to its breeding list is redundant.

I don't just want more Egg Moves for shits and giggles-I want more moves that are actually useful and make the Pokemon more versatile. Look at Squirtle for example. This thing gets Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse, Yawn, Fake Out, Aqua Jet, Mirror Coat, Water Spout and more in addition to its natural move set. That is the kind, and amount, of diversity I want for Fennekin and the other starters who are lacking in the Egg Move department.

 

[SerenaToAlola]

That is the kind, and amount, of diversity I want for Fennekin and the other starters who are lacking in the Egg Move department.

Just curious, what kind of moves would be good for Fennekin?

 

[Muur]

The point of Egg Moves is to provide Pokemon with (usually useful) moves they can't already learn on their own, for the most part. Simply taking several of Fennekin's level up or TM moves and adding them to its breeding list is redundant.

I don't just want more Egg Moves for shits and giggles-I want more moves that are actually useful and make the Pokemon more versatile. Look at Squirtle for example. This thing gets Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse, Yawn, Fake Out, Aqua Jet, Mirror Coat, Water Spout and more in addition to its natural move set. That is the kind, and amount, of diversity I want for Fennekin and the other starters who are lacking in the Egg Move department.

and how cool would it be if Squrtle could learn those moves vita TM, tutor or level up?

 

[TechSkylander1518]

and how cool would it be if Squrtle could learn those moves vita TM, tutor or level up?

Aura Sphere, Water Spout, Aqua Jet and Mirror Coat are all exclusively level-up moves, and have been so for a few generations. I don't think they're going to suddenly become TM/Tutor moves, and a good deal of those moves don't really make any sense as level-up moves for Squirtle. The only ones that would are Water Spout and Aqua Jet.

 

[Alola]

Just curious, what kind of moves would be good for Fennekin?

I wouldn't say these are good per se, but they would certainly make it, and the whole line, more varied. Given their Fire and Psychic typing, along with each of the species natural characteristics (namely Delphox), I think these moves could be appropriate. Additional Egg Moves are italicized:

~Heat Wave
~Magic Coat
~Wish
~Hypnosis
~Confuse Ray
~Extrasensory
~Ancient Power
~Mirror Coat
~Hex
~Cosmic Power
~Psycho Shift
~Me First
~Disable
~Recover

Something like that.