RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

With the land of the rising sun having seen Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver release just this last week, the world of Pokemon is alight with the changes that have been made to the movepools of various critters. So for this week and next, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at exactly what HG/SS is changing, and who benefits the most. We begin with Pokemon who learn new moves by level up and breeding!

Perhaps the most significant change is one that most people expected; Dragonite now learns ExtremeSpeed. As with Pokemon Crystal, the player receives a special Dratini after answering some questions in the Dragon Cave near the end of the first half of the game. Answering all of the questions correctly gets you a Dratini with ExtremeSpeed, as well as a few other, less rare moves. In HG/SS, thanks to the wonder of the breeding system, if the player manages to pick up a male, this Dragonite can pass ExtremeSpeed on to other critters. As for usefulness, Dragonite can use ExtremeSpeed, along with Dragon Dance, to beat out other priority attack users. With OU full of Bullet Punching Scizors, a faster priority attack should help Dragonite stand out a bit more.

HG/SS has granted a couple Pokemon significant boosts in the form of Nasty Plot, perhaps Mr. Mime and Mismagius most significantly. With base stats that already point to a powerful special attacker, Missy loves the raw power it can get with a Nasty Plot. The use Mr. Mime gets out of the move, however, may be more significant. The creepy critter is famous for being a great Baton Passer, since it’s Soundproof ability makes it immune to Roar, and the ability to pass along a massive special attack boost makes Mr. Mime just that much more threatening.

Some of the new moves Pokemon get in HG/SS border on the bizarre. A number of Pokemon now learn Dragon Dance, including, for some reason, Whiscash, Tropius, and Crawdaunt. The inclusion of Tropius on that list at least makes some kind of sense — in the right light, a dinosaur can look vaguely dragon-like — and at least Crawdaunt is scary and aggressive, and can make good use of the move alongside Crabhammer. But Whiscash, the dopey little mudskipper, is just mystifying. Whiscash’s movepool does mean Dragon Dance can be put to some use, which should be quite a shock.

The addition of Weather Ball to a fairly large number of Pokemon’s movepools is a bit unusual as well. Weather Ball started off life as the signature move of Castform, and got added to Roserade’s repitoire in D/P, but HG/SS gives it to no fewer than five critters. Interestingly, both Lugia and Ho-oh are amongst this illustrious roll-call, but neither really find it particularly useful. Of the two, only Ho-oh has any real use in weather teams, and it already has an exceptionally powerful Fire-type attack to use in the form of Sacred Fire. In fact, of all the Pokemon who learn this unique move, only Victreebell and Cherubi will really find it useful, mainly as a replacement for Hidden Power Fire.

Finally, a fun little alteration to one of my favorite Pokemon; Quagsire gets Recover! Interestingly, this gives Quaggers a leg up on its main competition in UU, Gastrodon. It’s probably not enough to vault the dopey blue mudbug into OU, but it’s definitely a bonus.

At any rate, next week we’ll be looking at the new Move Tutors Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver will be throwing at us. Until then, happy salivating!