Azure Heights Pokémon Laboratory
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Water
Bug Attacks
Dragon
Attack Type Base PP Pow Acc Avg Effects TM HM
Leech Life BUG Phys 15 20 99.6 19.9 attacker recovers 50% damage - -
Pin Missile BUG Phys 20 14 84.4 41.3 hit 2 to 5 times - -
Twineedle BUG Phys 20 25 99.6 49.8 hit twice/ poison (20% chance) - -
String Shot BUG NDA 40 - 94.5 - lower victim Speed - -

Analysis & Advice
General

Bug attacks are strongest against Grass, Psychic, and Poison Pokémon. They are weakest against Fire, Fighting, and Flying Pokémon.

Bug attacks are extremely weak. In terms of average Power, about the only type that makes Bug look good is Ghost.

They are the only attacks in the game which are strong against Psychic Pokémon. This isn't as great as it should be for at least three reasons: (a) Bug attacks suck, (b) they're learned by an extremely small selection of Pokémon, all of whom are either weak or not well-suited to Bug attacks, and (c) over half of those that learn offensive Bug attacks are half-Poison, and therefore weak to Psychic.

There is some cause for hope. Bug attacks are quadruply strong against the Grass/Poison combination (a total of nine Pokémon, who unfortunately you won't see often in link battles) and the Grass/Psychic combination (only two Pokémon, but including the powerful Exeggutor).

Also, of the eight Pokémon that learn offensive Bug attacks, three (Beedrill and the Paras series) can learn Swords Dance, while another (Golbat) learns Screech.

Leech Life

No Pokémon that learn Leech Life learn any other Bug attacks. Though it is accurate and has a pleasant healing side-effect, Leech Life is very weak: almost prohibitively so. Nevertheless, there are at least two combinations that may make it worthwhile.

The best of these is the Parasect moveset, Spore/Substitute/Swords Dance/Leech Life. Spore buys this Pokémon time to use Substitute and Swords Dance. Once it has powered up in this way, even Leech Life becomes a decent attack, and devastating against Psychics. Be warned that this combination is more difficult to employ in Pokémon Stadium, where maximum SLP duration is reduced to 4 rounds, and only one enemy may be put to sleep at a time.

Golbat is the other Pokémon that might manage to use Leech Life successfully, by combining it with Screech and perhaps Confuse Ray. While this combination would be a nightmare to nearly any Grass Pokémon, Golbat's Poison type makes it dangerous to use against Psychics.

In general the Venonat series should not bother with this move. For these Pokémon Mega Drain would be the superior choice: it is twice as powerful and takes advantage of their relatively high Special.

Pin Missile vs. Twineedle

Twineedle is the move for Beedrill: greater accuracy, greater Average Damage, and a chance to PSN. Don't be under the illusion that it makes her a Psychic-killer, however: even if she weren't half-Poison, Beedrill is far too fragile to stand up to the likes of Mewtwo, Mew, or Starmie long enough to do her job. A possible exception is Exeggutor, who takes quadruple damage from Bug attacks and is slower than Beedrill.

Similarly, Jolteon's mediocre Attack score and lack of the same-type advantage really make Pin Missile worthwhile only if you are concerned about running into Exeggutor or another powerful Grass type.

String Shot

This attack reduces the enemy's Speed. After the first use, the victim's Speed will be equal to the initial value divided by 1.5. After the second use, Speed will be equal to the initial value divided by 2. After the third use, Speed will be equal to the initial value divided by 2.5, and so on. This pattern continues for a maximum of 6 uses. At that point, the victim's Speed will be at one-quarter of its normal value, and further uses of String Shot will have no effect.

String Shot is learned only by the adorable but hopelessly weak Caterpie, and the much less cute but still hopelessly weak Weedle. Neither of these Pokémon can replace it with any other attack until they reach their final evolutions. Beedrills and Butterfrees wishing to effect a change in relative Speed should do so using more effective attacks: Agility and Stun Spore, respectively.

Ongoing Research

None.

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