Surf vs Ice Beam - Lapras defending question
So, Lapras gained Surf (which is a pretty poor move in my opinion, i tought it could have been something around 90 damage per bar, since it's a great move in the main series...) and lost the powerful and versatile Ice Beam.
I was wondering which of those charge moves would be better on defense paired with Ice Shard, also a legacy fast move. Lapras attackers are most likely Tyranitar, Machamp, Raikou and even Jolteon.
Answers
I'd vote for surf as on defense, two different types for fast and charge move are usually better.
However it's a toss up between hydro pump and surf IMO because Lapras can survive long enough to use at least 1 HP. They are practically the same move but surf allows for more consistent performance, whilst HP relies a bit more on luck to land and get used.
Exactly. I still can't understand why the nerf hammer keep hitting Lapras always haha. If they took away Ice Shard and Ice Beam, the very least they could have done is give Lapras a better water fast move - waterfall would do it (and Lapras learns it in the main series).
They could have given Avalanche in place of Surf. Or even maybe take away Hydro Pump.
Though Lapras usually isn't the first choice for offense, Surf is actually fun to use on the attack as well, with the same overall duration as Dragon Claw, which makes it easy to dodge. Though its overall duration is shorter than Ice Beam, Ice Beam actually hits 0.1 seconds faster than Surf, so I think it remains the best choice for defending (in addition to the obvious damage difference).
It's always been tricky. Before the move update, the flash happened while your Pokemon was encased in ice, so you either thought you missed the window and didn't dodge, or didn't see it, and didn't dodge.
Now the window is pretty early in the animation, so it's tricky for an altogether different reason. I don't like having to deal with Blizzard, that's for sure.
I always prefer two-bars for defending. Single-bar charge moves are pretty predictable, but two bars aren't always used immediately.
Because the energy difference between the first bar and the second bar are only a few quick moves, this leads to sometimes using two in a row (or more depending on damage taken), and sometimes not. Super unpredictable. After a single-bar charged move, you KNOW you have some time to hit it without risk.
