>>50823831>>50823964Another disingenuous retard, and on /vp/ no less. Why am I not surprised?
Strength is a solid base power Normal-type move that gets STAB. Rock Climb is even stronger than strength, and in addition to STAB, it has a slight chance of confusing the enemy if it hits. Cut is less powerful than Strength, but you hardly ever need it after you get it. Waterfall and Surf are amazing moves. Rock Smash is a coin toss that has a 50/50 chance of lowering the opponent’s defenses, making up for its relatively low base power. Put it on a Pokémon with a high attack stat, especially a fighting type, and profit. Whirlpool does chip damage and traps Pokémon, which, combined with its low base power, makes it great for engaging roamers. Flash lowers accuracy, the benefits of which should be self-explanatory to anyone that actually remembers playing a Pokémon game when they were a kid.
Every HM in the game has a practical use and some of them (Surf, Waterfall) are really fucking good. Put Waterfall on your Red Gyarados and you’ll tear through the latter half of HGSS. People don’t like HMs because they’re generic and that can make them come off as flavorless, but they’re not burdensome. Maybe the idea of a move you can’t get rid of without a special NPC makes them come off as burdensome or something that you don’t want, but the only reason they’re “locked” into your move set without the Move Deleter is so that you don’t overwrite a traveling HM while you’re in a place you can only access or leave with that HM and end up soft locking yourself.
At a glance, these eight+ generic attacks narrow the uniquity, the novelty of a Pokémon’s move sets, but this is an illusion. In truth, Hidden Machines broaden the player’s repertoire of fighting strategies, opening new doors with which to approach battles with. At the same time, they embolden the aspect of the game that suggests players are traveling alongside their select team of creatures. Hidden Machines are excellent.
