Hey everyone!
Pokemon Insider here, and looking back at
one of my favorite videos on my channel, calculating
the least damaging move in Pokemon.
It got me thinking about odd situations in
battle, particularly entry hazards.
We already know that it’s possible to inflict
massive damage, but is it possible to KO a
Pokemon in one turn, just by setting up a
bunch of hazards?
Let’s find out!
To figure out this question, I want to break
down how each entry hazard works.
First, we’ve got stealth rocks.
This move inflicts damage based on the rock
type and the opposing Pokemon’s type.
If your opponent sends out a Pokemon that
takes normal damage to rock, it will take
one eighth of its HP when it enters the battlefield.
It’ll double the damage for each weakness,
so if you’re times 4 weak to rock, you’ll
lose half HP right off the bat.
Spikes is our next main hazard for this situation.
When a Pokemon uses spikes, it’ll inflict
a base damage no matter what the opponent’s
type.
The catch is you can build up multiple layers
of spikes by using it multiple times.
One layer will deal one eighth HP on entry.
Two layers will deal a sixth HP, and three
layers will cut a quarter HP upon entry.
The third and final entry hazard that deals
damage is the brand new, G-Max Steelsurge.
This one acts exactly the same as stealth
rocks, but instead of dealing damage based
on the rock type, this one is steel type.
It’s exclusive to Gigantamax Copperajah,
so it’s not the easiest to get ahold of.
It also deals damage to your opponent before
setting up the hazard, so that’s cool too.
Toxic spikes and Sticky web are the other
two entry hazards, but since neither deal
damage, I won’t be getting into them for
this video.
So now that we know how all these entry hazards
work, let’s get to business.
Can these all combine in a way that takes
out a full 100% HP?
In theory, it should all work.
It comes down to type combinations.
You’ll need to find a Pokemon type that’s
weak to both rock and steel at the same time,
and fortunately, we’ve got ice types that
fit the bill perfectly.
Since we don’t have another type that’s
times 4 weak to both, what we’ll do is pick
one that’s just weak to one of them.
That way, the Pokemon is times 4 weak to either
rock or steel, but only times 2 weak against
the other.
There are several Pokemon available in Sword
and Shield that match this description, but
for the purposes of this video, let’s go
with Frosmoth.
It’s times 4 weak to rock, and times 2 weak
to steel, since it’s an ice/bug type.
What we’ll have to do is set up Stealth
Rocks, G-Max Steelsurge, and three layers
of spikes.
The stealth rocks should cut Frosmoth’s
HP in half, then G-Max Steelsurge will take
out another quarter.
Spikes should clean up the rest, leaving you
with a knocked out Pokemon just by sending
it in.
Of course, I had to test this calculation
on my own, just to make sure it’s actually
the case.
But as you can see by this footage I took
while battling WitchAngelNekora, it left Frosmoth
with one HP.
And that’s with Frosmoth having an even
HP stat, so the game must have something programmed
in to make sure entry hazards do NOT faint
a Pokemon in one turn.
I also want to shout out Reddit user DeltaChar
for posting about this concept.
I thought, just like you, it would all work
out.
Thank you so much for watching this video.
If you want to try out this experiment yourself,
it’s actually really cool to see that health
bar just drop all the way to one HP from entry
hazards alone.
I highly recommend it for a good laugh.
I’ll drop a list of all the Pokemon this
works on in the description.
If you enjoyed, be sure to leave a like, subscribe
for more content like this.
I’ve been Pokemon Insider, and I hope to
see you again soon.
