RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Following up on our coverage of new Pokemon moves, this week we’ll be taking a look at the move tutors of Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver. Though the new moves Pokemon learn by level up and breeding in HG/SS are undoubtedly significant, they pale in comparison to the move tutors this remake throws our way. HG/SS has no fewer than 52 tutors available for use, but only 14 are new, the others being repeats taught by the move tutors of Pokemon Platinum. The new tutors are Super Fang, Pain Split, String Shot, Tail Wind, Gravity, Worry Seed, Role Play, Magic Coat, Heal Bell, Low Kick, Sky Attack, Block, Bug Bite, and Headbutt. We’ll be taking a look at the most useful of these in this week’s Strategy Session.

Perhaps the biggest news amongst all the new move tutors is Super Fang. Possibly the most unbalancing move in Pokemon, in previous games it was only available to a scant few critters, none of whom had any particular use in competitive play. However, HG/SS gives it to no fewer than a dozen Pokemon, many of whom are quite capable of using its instant 50% HP drop to stunning effect. Perhaps the most notable recipients of Super Fang are Crobat and Walrein. Crobat’s wide movepool and amazing speed combine to give it a huge number of viable combinations for Super Fang, including U-Turn, Taunt, and Whirlwind. Walrein, on the other hand, makes use of Super Fang to supplement its defensive prowess; without having to waste EVs making Waterfall or Surf a viable attack, Walrein can now stick to pumping EVs into its defenses. Super Fang makes Walrein’s favorite set, Hail Stall, even more dangerous. Hiding behind a Substitute, with Hail and Leftovers recovering a quarter of its max HP every turn, Super Fang becomes exceptionally difficult to stop.

One of my favorite tactics got a noticeable boost with these new move tutors. Gravity, a move that nullifies Ground immunities and reduces enemy evasion by about 33% for five turns, is a great way to increase the effect of high-power, low-accuracy moves like Megahorn, Blizzard, and Focus Blast. But, since it also makes Flying and Levitating Pokemon weak to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, it’s also an exceptionally useful move for stall teams. HG/SS gives Gravity to a variety of critters both defensive and offensively focused, effectively making Gravity teams a much more viable strategy overall. On the offensive side, Metagross, Magnezone, and perhaps most notably, Starmie all now learn Gravity, allowing them to blast away with highly powerful attacks that they had trouble using before. Metagross gets a more accurate Meteor Mash and an Earthquake that can’t be absorbed, while Magnezone gets to cause havoc with a highly accurate and devistatingly powerful Zap Cannon. Starmie, on the other hand, gets not only a boost to its STAB attack, Hydro Pump, but it can now use its inexplicably wide movepool of low-accuracy attacks, from Fire Blast to Thunder, without worrying about missing. On the defensive side of Gravity, all four of the Regi Legendaries get Gravity, any one of which would make an excellent and long-lived way to get the Gravity party started. Exeggutor also learns it, and would make a solid user of Gravity in either an offensive or defensive capacity. But perhaps the most significant new Gravity-user is Forretress. With his absolutely huge defenses, movepool of Spikes and other entry hazards, and neutrality to opposing Earthquakes, Forry can come in easily, get Gravity set up, and start to make life unpleasant for the enemy.

Forretress also gets access to a move he’s been looking forward to for a very long time; Pain Split. While Pain Split isn’t the best recovery move on the planet, it does allow Forry a mode of instant recovery that it hadn’t had before. The space Pain Split frees up in Forretress’s moveset now that Rest and Sleep Talk aren’t required is extremely useful, as the metal bagworm has a serious case of 4 Slot Syndrome. Giratina, who suffers much of the same problem, is pretty much the only other notable Pokemon who learns Pain Split through move tutors; most of the other critters that get it either have a more reliable means of recovery, or already learned it through breeding or level up.

A major problem I’ve had for a while now while constructing defensive teams is that no one Pokemon could both heal status effects and recover a teammate’s HP. HG/SS changes this rather shockingly, giving Heal Bell to a wide variety of Pokemon who also get Wish, as well as to a number of other useful critters. Clefable, Gardevoir, Togekiss and all of the Eevee evolutions can now be regarded as fully-fledged Clerics, complete with the defenses and ability necessary to jump in and out of play as needed. Vaporeon is perhaps the best user of this newfound defensive prowess, as his Water Absorb ability and base 130 HP let him get into and out of play with a minimum of fuss.

Although it isn’t a terribly amazing move, the fact that Block is now available as a move tutor does bear mention for one specific Pokemon; Lapras. By giving Lapras a reliable trapping move, HG/SS effectively makes our favorite blue Nessie clone the best Perish Song user in the game. Both of its abilities, Water Absorb and Shell Armor, help keep it afloat while Perish Song’s counter drops towards 0, while its defenses are more than enough to outlast its nearest competition, Mismagius. Although Lapras lacks Pain Split, which is pretty much the only advantage Perish Song Mismagius has over Lapras now, its much higher durability should help it bust out of the lower tiers just a little.

Now, all these move tutors are fine and swell, but there is one major issue that they all share. All of these move tutors are on a game most of us won’t have access to for another six months. Release dates, they are a cruel mistress.