MOTW: Wood Hammer
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Hehe... Wood Hammer... Get it? Sorry, I had to.
So this week we're a little bit short on articles, BUT, your favorite co-host is still here pumping them out, just for you guys! So let's get into it. This week were talking about another move that's not widely able to be used, first because it's not a TM, and second, only 5 pokemans can learn it by leveling up, Exeggutor, Sudowoodo, Torterra, Snover, and Abomasnow. No one else, that's it. So again, why would I talk about a move that's so rarely used?...
First, it has an awesome name. I don't think anybody's going to deny that. Second, it is the most powerful physical grass type move in the game, tied with Power Whip which is also Physical, but has a pitiful 85% accuracy. Wood Hammer (hehe) is sitting at the top with 120 power and 100% accuracy. Not to mention, 4 of the 5 that can actually learn it have a grass typing, (the only one that isn't is Sudowoodo, which is a straight rock type), so Exeggutor, Torterra, Snover, and Abomasnow (who is totally a bamf) all get the STAB (same-type attack bonus) for an extra 50% boost in power. So for the 80% of pokemon that can learn it you're sitting pretty with a move that is 180 power when it's STAB powered.
Probably the most common of the 5 you will see this move on is Torterra. Torterra is the most physical based group with it's attack stat sitting at a 109. With the STAB Torterra is probably the best choice to have this on so I'm going to focus mostly as if it's being used by him/her. Torterra is a particularly good choice to put Wood
Hammer on because of it's ability Overgrow. Overgrow boosts the power of grass type moves by 1.5x if the user's HP is >33% of it's original amount, making Wood Hammer super powerful, but in some cases a last resort move...
In dire situations when you have a low HP count you really have to watch out for super powered moves like this because all of the stacking you've been doing of the STAB, Overgrow, and possibly a grass boosting item, like a Miracle Seed that boosts the power of a grass type move by 20% all stack against you if you have low HP. This is because Wood Hammer has SIGNIFICANT recoil damage. 1/3rd of all damage dealt by a move you take as well. Ouch. In a dire situation if you have low HP, with Overgrow in effect you could kill yourself off with a move that's pumping out over 200 power if a 3rd of that comes back to bite you.
There are a couple of ways you can combat recoil. Probably one of the best ways that I think works is having a move that deals damage while giving you health back. A really good idea for a Torterra would be for it to have Giga Drain. Giga Drain has a 75 power rating with 100% Acc, but in Torterra's case it would automatically get a STAB, which really works in conjunction with it's side effect. Giga Drain gives the user half of the HP dealt, a higher ratio than the recoil. AND with either the choice of a Big Root, which boosts how much you get back by 30%, or still using a Miracle Seed, by combining that extra 20% power with the STAB bonus you have a really good special type grass move that gives a huge amount of HP back, paired with a good physical type. You could gain back all, if not even more, HP that you're loosing if you alternate between the two moves.
With most moves that deal recoil I would try and use a move set like this, or at least with something similar, because you are really losing a lot with the more powerful moves that have recoil. This is especially bad if you're combining STABs with type enhancing items because you start to loose a LOT of HP. Some other ways to counter recoil might be an item like Leftovers. Pretty basic and boring I know, but if you use a move with recoil every other turn, ideally leftovers would be able to recover that in 2 moves. I don't like doing it this way because you lose a lot of strategical value with filling your item slot with such a basic item, as items can really make or break teams nowadays.
Again, this MOTW wasn't so much about the move it's self, but more-so about the concepts behind them, and things you have to watch out for. With such a powerful move as Wood Hammer, you really have to watch out for it's biggest downfall, which in this case is it's recoil. If you superpower a team with items, EV training, and natures that all aid towards a move that does recoil you could easily take away a 3rd or even one half of your HP. Don't go too offensive with your teams. The best offense is a good defense, because even if you use Wood Hammer right away, a 3rd of your HP could be gone, and then all your opponent has to do is one move to finish you off in most cases. Congrats you did all the work for them!
So I guess this article went all over the place, but what I want you to take from it is this: enticingly powerful moves like Wood Hammer can come back to bite you if you don't think it through first. Combat move weaknesses with, ideally, other moves that do damage and heal so you can keep on the offensive while defending. Think through your item choice, it makes a huge difference. I had this move combination on a Torterra that I made and didn't end up breeding it, but it could be a great asset to any team.
Take it and roll with the punches! This is just my take on what I think to be a great move if utilized correctly. If you have any comments or anything you can either comment below or send us an email at pokemonpodcast@me.com.
Thanks for reading!
Aaron Spriggs
It's Super Effective
