Have you ever noticed the amount of damage your Pokemon deals in battle? The damage may vary at times, especially when your Pokemon uses a STAB move.
What is a STAB move in Pokemon, you ask? Let us uncover every information related to this term, so you can understand how such a move works in Pokemon battles.
If you’ve been playing Pokemon for a while, then you already know how important every move is in a battle.
Understanding how STAB moves work and utilizing them to your advantage will take you from a youngster to an ace trainer.
Specifically, I’ll show you what a STAB move is, how it works, and how you can use it to your advantage
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Table of Contents
What Is a STAB Move in Pokemon?
STAB stands for Same-Type Attack Bonus. As the name suggests, it’s the extra damage given when the move used is the same type as the Pokemon that used it.
For example, Flamethrower, a fire-type move, will deal more damage if a fire-type like Charizard uses it compared to when Gyarados (water-type) uses it.
Pretty basic, right? But there’s actually more to STAB moves than this bit of surface information.
How STAB Moves Works
STAB boosts an attacking move’s damage by 50%.
If we take Flamethrower from the previous example and teach it to both Charizard and Gyarados, here’s how STAB will affect them both.
Flamethrower is a fire-type move that has a base power of 90.
If any Pokemon that isn’t a fire type uses it, it will retain its base power. But if a fire-type uses the move, it will be boosted by 50%, which will take us to a total of 135 base damage.
Keep in mind that STAB moves can still be affected by certain factors.
STAB Only Works on Attacking Moves
Flamethrower, Surf, Thunderbolt, and Earthquake are all popular attacking moves that can benefit a lot when used as STAB.
However, this doesn’t include power-up moves or status moves, such as Swords Dance and Toxic.
Swords Dance is a normal move that raises the attack of the by two stages. Even if a normal type uses it, you won’t get a X4 attack raise or any boosts from STAB.
The same goes for Toxic as it won’t deal double poison damage even if a poison type Pokemon uses it. STAB only works for attacking moves or those that directly inflict damage.
Some Attacking Moves Don’t Get STAB
Not all attacking moves get STAB. This includes moves that deal a set amount of damage or those that deal damage depending on some external factors.
For example, Dragon Rage. Dragon Rage always deals exactly 40 HP of damage, regardless of the ’s stats, level, or the opponent’s resistance.
So, whether it is used by a Dragon-type or normal-type, it will constantly deal 40 damage and will be unaffected by STAB.
Another example is Counter and Mirror Coat. These moves deal damage based on the amount of damage dealt to you by your opponent.
Even if they are used by Pokemon of the same type, their return damage won’t be affected by STAB.
Other moves include Seismic Toss and Night Shade, which deal damage depending on the ’s level, and Super Fang, which deals half of the opponent’s HP as damage all the time.
Abilities that Affect STAB in Pokemon Games
Certain abilities in Pokemon can affect STAB moves. Let’s take a look at the most relevant ones:
- Adaptability: Instead of the default 1.5x STAB multiplier, Adaptability increases the multiplier to 2x. This means that if a Pokemon has this ability, a STAB move will deal double damage.
- Protean/Libero: These moves change the ’s type to the type of the move it will use. This means that every move turns into a STAB move. Also, this is one of the reasons why Greninja is in the Uber tier in Gen 6.
- Aerilate/Pixilate/Refrigerate/Galvanize: Turns normal type moves into Flying, Fairy, Ice, or Electric type, respectively. It also gives it a 1.2x increase in damage. If the move’s new type matches with the ’s, it will get STAB.
How to Use Stab Moves to Your Advantage
Whether you’re a casual or competitive Pokemon player, utilizing STAB moves is essential. Here’s how you can use STAB moves to your advantage:
1. Combine STAB with Super Effective Moves
STAB boosts your move’s base power by 50% and if it’s super effective against the opposing Pokemon, it will deal 2 to 4 times (200% to 400%) more damage.
Combining these two will result in a devastating turn against your opponent, or perhaps even a one-hit KO.
For example, if Greninja uses Water Pulse against a fire, ground, or rock-type Pokemon, he will get both STAB and Super Effective damage boosts. A grand total of 250% damage increase.
2. Leverage Dual Typings
Some Pokemon have dual typings. This gives them twice the amount of weaknesses, but also gives them two STAB types to abuse.
For example, Lucario is a Steel and Fighting type. So whether he uses steel or fighting-type moves, he will get STAB for both.
Using these dual-type Pokemon you can cover more opponents and be a diverse offensive threat.
3. Balance STAB moves and coverage moves
STAB moves are really strong, so I should teach my Pokemon pure STAB moves, right? Well, it’s actually not a good idea.
, super effective moves are still more powerful than STAB moves. That’s why you should balance them out with coverage moves.
These are moves that cover other types, letting you deal significant damage to them. Coverage moves also let you make up for your Pokemon’s counters or weaknesses.
For example, Gyarados is 4x weak against electric types. Great coverage moves against these Pokemon would be Earthquake.
It will also let you cover grass, poison, steel, fire, and rock types.
By adding one or two STAB moves and balancing your Pokemon’s moveset with great coverage moves, you will become a more versatile Pokemon Trainer who is ready to face any challenge he comes across.
Conclusion
Now you know how STAB moves work in Pokemon. STAB moves are crucial in winning more battles and making the most out of your Pokemon’s strengths.
Combine them with super effective moves, abilities, and coverage moves to be a lethal Pokemon Trainer.
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