Why only have STAB Moves...? Just why...?

[Greninjaman]

I was watching a youtuber play Pokémon Sword and I just noticed that he has a Dragapult that has Dragon Dance, Dragon Darts, Scald, and Phantom Force. Why not give it a wider set of types than just stab moves (yeah, Dragon Dance is a Status move, so I will let it slide)? If the person were to encounter a Jigglypuff, they would only be able to hit it with Scald, since the Normal/Fairy type combo is immune to Ghost and Dragon Type Moves. Heck, why do a lot of competitive and casual players over rely on STAB Moves by loading up on ONLY STAB moves? I have a Gardevoir in Pokémon Scarlet that has Moonblast, Psychic, Thunderbolt, and Shadow Ball. It can hit 8 types super effectively, while the Dragapult can only hit six (sure, that's not a huge difference). Meanwhile, if my Gardevoir were to encounter a Jigglypuff, it can hit with three moves (Psychic, Moonblast, and Thunderbolt). This means that Gardevoir would have an easier time against Jigglypuff than Dragapult would.

 

[SUP3RN0VA]

If they are casual players, then it is probably just personal preference (using their favourite moves, or giving themselves a handicap), as for competitive players, then I imagine they know what they are doing if they play competitively.

As for myself, I prefer using a range of moves, and whenever possible, I'll teach them moves that are super effective against types that they themselves are super effective against my Pokémon (for instance, I'll teach a steel type move to Dragon Pokémon when possible because it can take out both Fairy and Ice types).

 

[Lone_Garurumon]

Ok, for one thing, you've openly admitted that this isn't only STAB moves. They're packing Scald as cover for additional types and as insurance with the burn chance. They're actively using additional move types for good coverage. They're actively adhering to the exact advice you're giving. One attack of each STAB type to make use of the option, and then additional moves to cover other cases.

This moveset's actually incredibly good for an in-game setup. High power, good set-up, AI is far too dumb to react to Phantom Force. And even competitive would probably just swap out Phantom Force for something single-turn.

As for the more general point, the main thing to remember when constructing movesets and stuff is that you have five other Pokemon. Sure, this Dragapult will have a rough time against the incredibly rare combination of Normal/Fairy, but presumably you have at least one other Pokemon in your pack of six that'll have a better time of it. So even in this cherry-picked scenario there's a simple solution for Dragapult not having a great answer to Jigglypuff: switch out to someone who does.

 

[RavenRaziel98]

I usually hyper focus on STAB too, but I have never bothered about competetive Pokémon (until recently at least), for normal story play it usually works well enough. Actually, I'm even worse, because I usually don't use stat changes/status conditions unless they're an additional effect of a damaging move. Since I never played with other people my whole strategy used to be super effective STAB going for a KO as fast as possible XD

 

[Gengarzilla]

Pokémon isn't all about having the most monstrous level of type coverage, you know. I once battled semi-competitively and still have a working knowledge of relevant mechanics, and even I find value in just going full-STAB when two worthwhile status moves present themselves. The number of times I've benefited from having more than one of moves like Substitute, Protect, Leech Seed, Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, Bulk Up, Calm Mind, Recover, and such is quite extensive.

And if I do find myself in a position where STABs aren't touching the opposing Pokémon? That's what teammates are for. The Jigglypuff that theoretically walks over a hypothetical Dragapult with only STAB will get nowhere when Dragapult's trainer swaps to a Steel type Pokémon. And Jigglypuff itself is so nonthreatening as a species that it's not important to spare a moveslot for covering it anyway. This isn't the Ghost-Fighting-combo-breaking Hisui Zoroark we're talking about.

 

[Defiant]

Probably something to do with a 50% power bonus?

Also I just find it weird to have a Pokemon of a certain type that can't use a move of that type. Almost defeats the purpose of having that type. Happened a lot in Gen 1, no bug pokemon knowing bug moves that sort of thing.

 

[System Error]

Lemme tell you about a little mon called Electivire. Back in Gen 4, it had a build where it could hit a lot of things for Super Effective damage. And yet despite seeing a lot of use? It really wasn't as effective in practice as it was on paper. Big case in point of a lot of move variety not necessarily meaning good.

If you want a more extreme example in-game of the opposite, i.e. what you're advocating against, Tera Raids builds! Partially because of the gimmick and partially because support is important and very viable, it's way better to build four specialized attackers each in one type rather than one mon that can do four types.