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The Oaths of Battle

Linkachu

Hero of Pizza
Staff member
Administrator
I love those things. I love them, and I love that Pokemon has finally created combination attacks. Mind you, they're quite limited at the moment but I could see that changing for future generations. Either way, let's discuss the ones we have now. :)

For those who've forgotten or just never knew the combos, Bulbapedia describes the three elemental Oath combinations as this:
Water Oath + Fire Oath: If Water Oath is followed on the same turn by Fire Oath, it will double the probability of secondary effects taking place for four turns. This effect does not stack with Serene Grace.
Water Oath + Grass Oath: If Water Oath follows Grass Oath on the same turn, it will decrease the speed of all foes by half for four turns.
Fire Oath + Grass Oath: If Fire Oath is followed on the same turn by Grass Oath, it will cause all foes to take damage equal to 1/8 of their maximum HP at the end of each turn for four turns.

Pretty snazzy. The only downside I see for these attacks is their base power (50), which makes me wonder if I'd use them as secondary STAB and not my main STAB'd attack of those types. I might even go far as raising a starter Pokemon for Physical attacking yet stick its respective Oath element onto it simply for the combination potential. As I see it, the fact that the Oaths do damage is just an additive and not their major usage.

Would you use any of them on your doubles or triples teams? If so, would you attempt having all three Oaths for maximum combination potential, or only focus on one specific combination that stands out to you?

I personally think they're all useful in certain cases, but I think the one that interests me most is the Speed reducing Oath. It's kinda like reserve Tail Wind, only it lasts an extra turn. That said... I think the Water + Fire combination could be fun, especially since you could easily team Charizard and Swampert and still make use of Swampert's EQ.

Just some of my thoughts on 'em. What do you guys think about the Oaths?
 

KoL

Expert FPS Player
Staff member
Moderator
The Water + Fire combination is the only one I can see being used ever in VGC11, and that's only because Jaroda in doubles is about as useful as repeated kicks to the face for one thing, and with Gen V being so heavily Trick Room-oriented the Water + Grass combination may end up helping your opponent instead of hindering them.

I honestly cannot see these Oaths becoming popular simply because the effects they grant aren't good enough to offset the fact that the moves themselves are weak. Although Water + Fire would be awesome if you pulled it off successfully, I don't really know if it is worth the setup time. I've already mentioned that Water + Grass isn't very good at all, and Fire + Grass is OK but again, not worth the setup in my view.

As for the other starters, Infernape has better things he can be doing really and so does Blastoise, Charizard could pull it off but it's debatable whether his partner would care to do the same in most situations. The Oath combinations force both team members to use very weak moves in a very unflexible combination while your opponent face-rapes you with their strongest moves, and the overall payoff for the setup is poor except for Water + Fire really.

They're an interesting and unique idea, but not really a useful one.
 

Linkachu

Hero of Pizza
Staff member
Administrator
King of Lucario said:
with Gen V being so heavily Trick Room-oriented the Water + Grass combination may end up helping your opponent instead of hindering them.

I'd say it would depend on the situation. Trick Room might see increased usage in Gen V, but it's not going to be used on every team. I'm sure there will still be many cases where dropping all opponents speed stats will come in handy.

So, I dunno. I still think it could be worth the set-up time, just not in all cases. :X
 

KoL

Expert FPS Player
Staff member
Moderator
I wouldn't underestimate just how overused Trick Room is in doubles. Even then, Tailwind and Icy Wind provide more-or-less the same end result as Water + Grass Oath except without the excessively restrictive setup (especially since it has to go Water and then Grass - I don't think they work backwards.)

...come to think of it, Water + Fire practically demands Emboar is the Fire Oath user since he's the only Fire-type starter who is naturally slower than any of the Water-type starters - I can only hope everywhere has got it completely wrong (again) and that you can go Fire Oath + Water Oath and still get the same end result.
 

Linkachu

Hero of Pizza
Staff member
Administrator
Oh... I figured the ordering wouldn't matter. That definitely WOULD change their usefulness in my eyes, too. I hope it's not that restrictive... =/
 

Doctor Oak

Staff member
Overlord
It's such a waste that there are only three of these attacks. They could at the very least have come up with another trio of similar attacks to mirror these ones.
 
DoctorOak said:
It's such a waste that there are only three of these attacks. They could at the very least have come up with another trio of similar attacks to mirror these ones.

My thoughts exactly. Hopefully it's a mechanic that they will build on and expand in later generations. What annoys me is how the moves are designed specifically for the combinations, and aren't really that useful on their own.
 
It's an opening that's for sure, but a pretty poor opening, I think they should have AT LEAST gave us an Electric oath to deal 3x damage if Electricity strikes after water and paralysis is even greater, this would make sense considering they're going to abuse it in the show to advertise it. This would be a lot cheaper and expect a lot more of that kind of combo, I better cut myself off of this before I start raving on with all kinds of possible combos.

Still annoys me that there's a 3-on-3 now... >:\
 
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