There are plenty of fast moves in Pokémon GO, but the sad reality is there are only a handful that are viable in PvP. As a result of this, some Pokémon are left completely nonviable simply due to having terrible fast moves.
Counter, Shadow Claw, Snarl, Mud Shot and Volt Switch are some examples of excellent fast moves that may be familiar to fellow PvP enthusiasts. In this article, we will be looking at some of the not-so-excellent fast moves and exploring ways in which they can improve (but not be overpowered), so that they can be up to par with the top options.
Proposed fixes
Iron Tail, Rock Smash, Struggle Bug, Air Slash & Hidden Power: Increase energy gain to 10
This would turn these moves into Ice Shard/Dragon Tail/Fire Spin clones, which are decent moves that output good damage and have good energy gains. Iron Tail, Hidden Power, Struggle Bug and Rock Smash are currently terrible moves in PvP, so this would finally make them viable. Pokémon such as Steelix, Forretress, Poliwrath, Regigigas and Aggron would greatly appreciate updates to these moves.
Ice Shard, Dragon Tail & Fire Spin: Increase damage to 10
This would only require increasing the damage of each move by 1, which might not seem like much, but it would make them equal in both damage and energy gain. This would also make Ice Shard and Dragon Tail much more comparable to their stronger cousins: Powder Snow and Dragon Breath.
Metal Claw, Karate Chop, Quick Attack, Sucker Punch & Wing Attack: Increase energy gain to 8, Spark: Increase damage to 5
This would make these moves Vine Whip/Powder Snow clones, which dish out lower damage but generate high energy. Metal Claw in particular would benefit the most from an upgrade like this, since there are a very large amount of Pokémon that learn it, such as Empoleon, Perrserker, Ferrothorn, Alolan Sandslash, Excadrill, Registeel, Cobalion, Alolan Dugtrio, Durant, Bisharp, Genesect and Dialga.
Extrasensory: Increase energy gain to 11, Charge Beam: Increase damage to 8
This would make these moves Bubble clones, which I’m sure everyone is familiar with if they’ve ever faced or used Azumarill in Great League. Bubble generates energy fairly quickly, yet still outputs good damage. Lugia and Lanturn would benefit the most from an update to Extrasensory and Charge Beam, respectively.
Poison Sting: Increase energy gain to 9
This move already received an upgrade recently, but it is just short of being a move worth using. Increasing the energy gain to 9 would make it a Mud Shot/Thunder Shock/Psycho Cut clone, which are moves that output very little damage but generate energy extremely quickly.
Lick, Bug Bite, Tackle and Water Gun: Increase energy gain to 4
All 4 of these moves generate energy fairly quickly in PvE (Gym and Raid battles) but didn’t maintain that quality in PvP. Increasing the energy gain to 4 would fix that and make up for their lower damage compared to moves such as Dragon Breath, Charm and Razor Leaf.
Ember, Acid, Peck & Feint Attack: Increase energy gain to 7
This would turn these moves into Poison Jab/Bullet Punch clones, which output good damage and energy gains. Some notable Pokémon that would appreciate an update like this are Typhlosion, Sunny Castform, Lampent, Victreebel, Honchkrow, Altaria, Seaking, Fearow, Umbreon, Amoonguss, Spiritomb, Shiftry, Dodrio and Darkrai.
Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Rock Throw and Thunder Fang: Increase energy gain to 6, Bite: Increase energy gain to 3
This would make all of these moves Dragon Breath equivalents, which I’m sure every PvP enthusiast is familar with since it’s one of the strongest fast moves in the game. Most importantly however, this would finally make Bite viable. Currently, it’s just too slow and doesn’t have the damage to make up for it. So many Pokémon would shine with an improved Bite, the most notable ones being Mawile, Tyranitar, Hydreigon, Alolan Muk, Blastoise, Feraligatr, Dunsparce, Zweilous, Golbat, Crobat, Nidoqueen, Drapion, Skuntank, Hippowdon and Torterra.
Astonish: Increase energy gain to 13
This would turn Astonish into a Snarl clone, which is similar to Mud Shot/Thunder Shock/Psycho Cut in which it does very low damage but has very high energy gains. Runerigus, Amoonguss, Cofagrigus, Drifblim and Golurk would greatly benefit from an Astonish update.
Frost Breath & Steel Wing: Increase energy gain to 7
This would make these moves slightly weaker versions of Counter, which isn’t a bad thing at all since Counter is the best fast move in the game. Skarmory, Lapras, Dewgong, Glalie, Regice, Walrein, Cloyster, Articuno, Mew, Jynx and Glaceon would become much more viable with updates to these moves.
Parting Words
It really is such a shame that fast moves matter so much in PvP, often more so than stats and/or typing. These fast move updates would for sure ease the pressure of something not getting a particular move in the future and make so many current Pokémon much more viable. What do you guys think? Are there any other fast moves that deserve a buff?
