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Accuracy Vs. Power

Kevin

Original PD
Site Staff
Joined
Oct 2, 2011
Location
NY
Do you go for the trade-off between these two factors? I like to play it safe and choose Thunderbolt over Thunder, and Ice Beam over Blizzard. In todays competitive game one miss can end the game for you. I find that playing it safe with a few Pokemon on your team rather than going with an "all or nothing" approach is better in the long run. Let me know what you think. I'm open to ideas, and other opinions. Do you go with more power over Accuracy? Or an assured hit, but less power.
 

Kybyrian

Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Location
Amherst, MA
Gender
Didn't I already answer this one?
It really depends on the array of moves available. Accuracy is typically better to have than power. An example where it would be bad to choose accuracy over power is with a move like Focus Blast. Focus Blast really boosts your type coverage, but is a fairly low accuracy move with high power. There really is no 90 power equivalent to it like there is a lot of other moves such as flamethrower and thunderbolt, which means going with another move would be nonsensical. Ice Beam > Blizzard, Thunderbolt > Thunder, Flamethrower > Fire Blast is typically the norm with a lot of Pokemon that have good Special Attack. If you're dealing with a mixed moveset or a Pokemon with a low stat, it's typically better to take that extra risk and go with the more powerful move because most of the time it will turn out for the better.
 

MW7

Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Location
Ohio
Statistically speaking, go with the accuracy moves. Thunder's base power is 120 with an accuracy of 70%. Thunderbolt's base power is 95 with an accuracy of 100%. Ignoring other variables such as critical hits, this means that the long-term expected value of damage dealt by the two moves is 95 for thunderbolt as opposed to 84 (120 X .70) for thunder. So in the long-term thunderbolt will deal more damage than thunder. However, keep in mind that for a single battle long-term expected values don't apply. But in the long-run your pokemon would deal more damage over all battles by going with the accuracy move.
 

Dabombster

Do the thing
Site Staff
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
Location
Probably somewhere
Most of the time I lean towards accuracy except in the case of Focus Blast obviously for Sp. Atk pokes (Hydreigon or Gengar for example). There are some situations where I'll take raw power over the accuracy. When I did my playthrough of Black I used a Galvantula that had Compound Eyes and took Thunder over Thunderbolt. In the case of Flamethrower > Fire Blast though, to me it depends on the poke. My Chandelure for example uses Fire Blast over Flamethrower due to its massive 145 base Sp. Atk and STAB it gets from it. 95 * 1.5 = 142 from a Flamethrower whereas a STABbed Fire Blast is 120 * 1.5 = 180 and with 85% accuracy, it doesn't really miss. Factor in Effectiveness and Fire Blast makes a lot more sense over Flamethrower in my opinion. I do tend to agree with the Thunderbolt > Thunder, Ice Beam > Blizzard though, as 70% accuracy isn't that appealing and I've lost a couple battles due to Focus Blast missing, but there's not much I can do for that.
 
B

Blaze Hero

Guest
Agreeing with the above poster in saying that of the three "elemental beams" (Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt), Fire Blast is the only one that is worth using over the accurate option, since 15% isn't too big a deal, and the power helps turn some 2HKOs into OHKOs, and some 3 to 2. Other times, when there aren't better options, it's acceptable. Blaziken's Hi Jump Kick is an example; the only passable replacement would be Superpower, which doesn't perform nearly as well, due to the Attack drop.

Thunder and Blizzard can also be used in Rain and Hail, respectively, so Thunderbolt and Ice Beam aren't always more favorable.
 

Kevin

Original PD
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Oct 2, 2011
Location
NY
I also go with the less powerful moves because they all tend to have higher PP values which can break a stall or wall down easier.
 
D

Deleted member 6224

Guest
Well i use hail ten blizzard for 100 percent accuracy and 20 percent more power. For thunder, you can do rain dance or thunder, or your pokemon can have compound eyes and make those two 100 percent accuracy. If yhe pokemon cant lean hail or rain dance then i would gofor thunderbolt and ice beam
 

Musicfan

the shadow mage
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Mar 6, 2011
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insanity
well i used to in emerald catch kyoge rise it to lv 75 and bring down my friends team of the three birds at lv 100 (with ice beam for zapdos)(i brought this up for a reason) If a pokemon has an ability that would raise the accuracy (or look on for some rare cases ) go for the power. But if ther is a move with only a slight down grade in power go for the less powerful move. (I'm no pro i just play for fun)
 

Zen

Guardian of Courage
Joined
Oct 28, 2011
Location
Hyrule
Yeah...Everyone's basically already summed it up. Besides, what's the point in power if you can't hit your opponent?
The right weather (rain/hail) can always be helpful to improve thunder and blizzard.

Personally, I rather choose accuracy when I'm don't have weather on my side. Thunderbolt is pretty strong itself, especially when it's used as STAB and super-effective against the enemy. Ice beam is pretty good on it's own. There's one strategy where if you Calm mind a lot and use Ice-beam, it can sweep a whole team. There's a moveset on specific pokemon that are allowed to learn both Ice beam and Thunderbolt. This strategy is known as the bolt-beam combo. It covers a whole variety of types.
 

toonlink

Most Active Inactive User
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Jan 16, 2012
Location
Los Angeles
I like power alot,but I prefer accuracy because it really helps on Wifi Battles where you are almost down. I also was beaten by Cynthia because my Hydro Pump missed. Also, typically moves with greater power have less PP overall.
 

Shikenshu

Hero of CEGEP
Joined
Oct 10, 2011
Location
Hyrule
Remember that even at 50% accuracy, a move is supposed (we dont control luck) to it once on 2 strikes, so, if you can finish the opposing pokemon with one lower accuracy but two 100% accuracy, go with the lower accuracy if it's higher than like 75% (3/4 hits will hits). Howewer, if your pokemon is frail, you cant afford to miss, so go for the 100% accuracy.

@Zen At +6 (calm mind, tail glow, sword dance, etc), even HP (base 70 power) can kill. Also, if you can afford a lot of CM, you are bulky enough, so, 70% acc is not that bad because you can afford a miss.
 
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Really depends on the situation. I agree with the OP that gambling on a less accurate move can be costly, however, when the more powerful is the only viable option for victory, I often go with that one. Some of my favorite moves, however, are moves that are powerful and accurate such as Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Fire Blast, and Leaf Storm. Nevertheless, these moves have their downside in that they force the Pokemon to recharge during the next turn before another attack can be executed.

Overall, accuracy is a greater friend than power in Pokemon, however, if the situation arises, powerful moves should definitely be utilized.
 

Shikenshu

Hero of CEGEP
Joined
Oct 10, 2011
Location
Hyrule
@A_LINK: A move that need a recharge turn is far worst then a 70% acc because the recharge turn is a free setup or switch for you opponent while the 70% acc move might not result in a miss.
 

Kevin

Original PD
Site Staff
Joined
Oct 2, 2011
Location
NY
I've found that I miss every Fire Blast and Hydro Pump. If I make a Special Attacker then I'll go with Flamethrower and Surf as opposed to using Fire Blast and Hydro Pump.
 

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