Niantic
New Attacks are coming to Pokemon GO, according to a blog post from Niantic.
The two new attacks are Charm and Skull Bash. Charm is the first Fairy-type Fast Move added to the game. According to GamePress, its damage per second (DPS) is 13.33 and its energy per second (EPS) is 7.33. The Pokemon that can learn it are Raichu, Clefable, Wigglytuff, Wobbuffet, Granbull, Donphan, Gardevoir, Delcatty, Latias, Togekiss and Gallade.
Fairy-types have always been held back by their lack of a fairy-type Fast Move, as moves get more powerful if they’re the same type as the Pokemon according to Pokemon GO Hub. So this is a much welcomed change.
The other move, Skull Bash, is a normal-type Charge Move that increases the Defense stat of the Pokemon. The Pokemon Blastoise, Raichu, Lapras, Snorlax and Rhyperior can learn the move.
The only Pokemon that can really take advantage of this move is Snorlax since it’s the only Pokemon that is normal-type that can learn the move, so the power of the move would be boosted.
But that’s not the only Pokemon getting new moves. A number of Pokemon will be able to learn moves that were already in the game but are new to their moveset.
Here’s the list of Pokemon with their new moves as well as an explanation from Niantic about why they received those moves:
026 Alolan Raichu: Grass Knot – Alolan Raichu currently can only learn Electric- and Psychic-type attacks. Grass Knot will give it more type coverage and help cover its weakness to Ground-type attacks.
045 Vileplume: Sludge Bomb – Sludge Bomb provides Vileplume with a strong Poison-type Charged Attack to take full advantage of its Grass and Poison types.
097 Hypno: Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch – These attacks provide Hypno with coverage to help it in the Great League.
101 Electrode: Foul Play – All the attacks Electrode can currently learn are Normal type or Electric type. Foul Play provides more type coverage for Electrode.
142 Aerodactyl: Rock Throw – Rock Throw allows Aerodactyl to compete in the Great League against other Flying-type Pokémon, such as Altaria.
144 Articuno: Ancient Power, Ice Shard – Ice Shard will help Articuno use its Charged Attacks more frequently in battle. Ancient Power offers additional type coverage.
145 Zapdos: Ancient Power, Drill Peck – Zapdos currently can only learn Electric-type Charged Attacks. Drill Peck gives another type option and is a natural fit for this Pokémon. Ancient Power provides Zapdos with additional type coverage.
146 Moltres: Ancient Power, Wing Attack – Wing Attack provides Moltres with a Fast Attack alternative to Fire Spin, and Ancient Power gives it a new type option for its Charged Attacks.
254 Sceptile: Dragon Claw – Dragon Claw gives Sceptile additional coverage to compete with Dragon-type Pokémon in the Great League and the Ultra League.
306 Aggron: Smack Down – The Fast Attack Smack Down should make Aggron a formidable choice to use in any league.
344 Claydol: Mud Slap – This Ground-type alternative to Claydol’s Psychic-type Fast Attacks provides it with additional type coverage, improving its capabilities against Pokémon resistant to Psychic-type attacks.
437 Bronzong: Bulldoze, Psyshock – Bulldoze and Psyshock are Charged Attacks that Bronzong can capitalize on to differentiate it from other Psychic-type or Steel-type Pokémon, like Metagross.
466 Electivire: Ice Punch – All the Charged Attacks Electivire can currently learn are Electric type. Ice Punch provides more type coverage for Electivire.
It looks like most of the moves added were done to give each of the Pokemon better options when it comes to type coverage. However, some seem to provide Pokemon with direct upgrades that may make them more viable in PvP and PvE, such as Bronzong getting Psyshock which is stronger than its other psychic-type Charge Move, Psychic, according to GamePress.
In addition to the new attacks, Niantic also announced some updates to PvP. Switching Pokemon will now briefly pause the battle, which prevents the enemy Pokemon from damaging yours while being withdrawn into Pokeballs and grants more time to choose which Pokemon to call out according to Niantic. Charge Moves will also be updated with new mechanics to build up charge that involve swiping and tapping.
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