>>47255463attack stat stages are pretty fucked in explorers. +2 attack's only a 1.3x boost. I ran a Drapion in the level 1 dungeons, got Acupressure at like lvl 17, and the occasional +2 attack really didn't reach any 1HKO/2HKO thresholds unless I got multiple boosts.
idk about the Howl Loudred, though. Maybe wild Loudred are weak enough to do only scratch damage (0-1), and the +1 attack from Howl lets it do like 20-30 damage, so percentage-wise it's a big increase compared to if you're already dealing good damage. Might also explain why Huge/Pure Power enemies suddenly inflict massive damage even though it's only a 50% attack boost in PMD.
