Pokémon: The 10 Most Useless TMs | Game Rant
For Pokémon trainers around the globe, many important decisions go into becoming a master trainer. After you have picked your team of six, it comes time to solidify what moves they all should have to create the strongest and most tactical fighting force. While many moves come from leveling up and involving, Pokémon can also learn new moves from TMs (Technical Machines) that look like CDs. These can either be found around the region, won in battle or purchased from a shopping center. However, not all of these TMs contain the gaming changing move you were hoping for.
10 Frustration
Originally introduced in the second generation frustration is a normal type move that deals damage based on your friendship with your Pokémon. Specifically how much they don't like you. The lower your friendship level is with your Pokémon the more damage the move does. This is the opposite of the move return, which does more damage with a higher friendship level. Unless you're some sadistic person that doesn't want a beautiful friendship with the animals you force to fight, teaching frustration to any permeant members of your team is a waste of a move slot.
9 Sleep Talk
Sleep talk was also introduced in the second generation and is a move that only works if the Pokémon is sleeping. If they are sleeping it picks a move randomly from the other three spots and uses it. The issue with this is it needs to be paired with rest so that it has a way to force the Pokémon to sleep. This is only okay if the random selection of what move to use doesn't bother you and you don't want that particular Pokémon to know any two-turn moves since those don't work.
8 Snatch
Introduced in generation three snatch is a dark type move that steals the next beneficial status effect the opponents Pokémon uses. This move requires some participation on the opponent's half since they both need to have a beneficial status move and use it. While the game's AI would very much do this for you, another person would just not use the move, if you don't catch them by surprise with the move. Overall this move requires too many pieces to fall in place to really accomplish anything and even then it might just be better to have a positive status effect move in its place.
7 Double Team
Double team is an old classic from the first generation. The move raises the evasion stat of a Pokémon by one stage. This move at the end of the day is pretty lame. The evasion stat doesn't make much of a difference in combat unless it's raised by several stages, meaning that this move would need to be used for several turns for most Pokémon to be beneficial in combat. It really doesn't justify taking up one of the four move slots, especially late game.
6 Skill Swap
This psychic move introduced in generation 3 has the amazing ability to swap skills with the opposing Pokémon until that Pokémon is swapped out. There is also a not so shortlist of abilities that cannot be swapped out. This move is really just a gamble since there is not an easy way to know what ability the opposing Pokémon has and if swapping skills will even be beneficial. This is another gambling move that doesn't pose a strong enough reward.
5 Explosion
Explosion is exactly what it sounds like. It causes the Pokémon using it to explode, dealing damage but also causing the user to faint in the process which is counterproductive since you want the opponent to faint. While there are certainly some scenarios where this move can be useful, overall there are too many limitations to bother taking up a move slot with it. Leave this move to the wild Pokémon that are uninterested in being captured.
4 Recycle
Speaking of moves with super-specific requirements to use recycle allows the user to regain any held items used during the battle. This could useful for Pokémon holding some berries or other healing items but it would require those to be used and leave enough time for the move to be used during the same battle. This is neat, but not good enough to be taking up a move slot, especially when the time it takes to use an item from the bag isn't that detrimental.
3 Trick Room
Trick room rotates the priority bracket of each Pokémon for five turns. So in a scenario where you have a psychic-type Pokémon that moves slower than the opponent, you could rotate the priority and maybe attack first. It's a maybe because it doesn't effect move priority, so a faster opponent could still go first depending on what moves it has. This move requires some intense game knowledge for the possibility to go first on some turns, which isn't worth it.
2 Quash
Quash causes the Pokémon it was used on to go last on that turn. Meaning the user gets to attack first. But they have to use quash to go first. Meaning that this move doesn't actually do anything. At best in a battle that isn't one-on-one, your other Pokémon could get the drop on the opponent. However, most battles are 0ne-on-one so the use case here is tiny. This move is a real waste to have any really just doesn't accomplish anything. No Pokémon deserves to know such a useless move unless you have strict two-on-two battles only.
1 Nature Power
This normal type move channels the environment that the battle is taking place to determine the type of move used. This seems cool on paper, but the tendency in Pokémon games is that the environment determines the type of Pokémon that are there. So in a grass environment, a grass-type move would be used, but the odds of being against a grass-type Pokémon are higher than other types, so it most likely wouldn't be very effective. It would make much more sense to switch to a type advantaged Pokémon instead.
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