"Colored" Moves in Pokémon Games

This month's Community Day in Pokémon Go featured something unique, in that there are both Fast and Charged Moves as the special moves for a Pokémon species. What's even more unique is the latter move, which as I've stated, comes with a specific type. This constitutes a neat phenomenon in Pokémon games in that a move may have effects of different types depending on different circumstances, which can be said to give a move its "color". It's a phenomenon that started and is definitively present in the main series games, but it also really comes into its own in Pokémon Go.

In the main series games, the move of Hidden Power, despite being assigned as a Normal-type move, has an effect (and thus "color") of a certain type that is different from species to species, and even individual Pokémon of that species; the type can be determined through specific means in different games. It is the "classical" instance of this phenomenon. In Pokémon Go, Hidden Power works the same way, except that the assigned type of the move is explicitly shown beside the move, for Pokémon that possess the move. In this way, it makes it possible and convenient for one to be able to collect Pokémon that possess all 18 possible types of Hidden Power, which for a fact some people have attempted to do. It is a niche move, but the quality is special regardless.

The move of Weather Ball in the main series games is assigned a Normal type, but its type actually changes according to weather. It is Fire when sunny, Water when raining, Ice when there is hail, Rock when there is a sandstorm, and Normal otherwise. In Pokémon Go, the move is typed or "colored" in the same way as Hidden Power above, and its types correspond to any of the possible types above. The previous case of Weather Ball-Fire for Roserade is one example; other cases are Castform with Weather Ball-Normal and Abomasnow with Weather Ball-Ice. Water and Rock types for Weather Ball may also be expected. Castform notably possessed this move as its "signature move", but in all cases, now the case is no longer apparent.

While nothing has been explicitly said and not much has been revealed, the move of Techno Blast as the "signature move" of Genesect in Pokémon Go is indicated to be able to possess "color" by different types as well. If in the main series games the type of the move is determined by the Drive that Genesect holds (Electric for Shock, Water for Douse, Fire for Burn, Ice for Chill, and Normal without), in Pokémon Go the move is typed or "colored" accordingly and becomes a special move of Genesect in possession of certain Drives. So far, only Genesect with Techno Blast-Fire has been unleashed thanks to the Unova Celebration, but it doesn't seem hard to expect that later on there will be more Genesect possessing their corresponding Drives with other "colors" of Techno Blast. That much can already be expected.

It is amazing that some Pokémon moves can have type or "color" effects beyond their assigned types. The main series games demonstrate this quite well with the effects that relate to three moves above, and yet, Pokémon Go also provides a unique take on the phenomenon by actually assigning types to the same move, varying it for different Pokémon as above. While the action of the two games can be regarded as different as night and day, it is nice that the latter maintains some reference points to the former, especially in regard to moves and the "colors" of types associated with them.

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Four years ago: Time