Skull Bash: Difference between revisions

[[File:SkullBashGen6.png|thumb|left|250px|Skull Bash in Generation VI ''Pokémon'' games.]]

Skull Bash is based on a move with the same name in the {{uv|Pokémon}} games. It is a physical Normal-type attack introduced in Generation I. In the games, Skull Bash is a two-turn attack. On the first turn, the Pokémon using the move tucks its head in to prepare the attack and raise its Defense stat by one stage. On the second turn, the Pokémon launches forward to ram the foe with its head. The attack is very powerful, however, its two-turn nature makes it somewhat inefficient. The move's Defense-boosting capability on its first turn was not introduced in the ''Pokémon'' games until Generation II. This effect has never been present in its ''Smash'' appearances.

Although Skull Bash was never an Electric-type attack, in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' however, both Pichu's and Pikachu's Skull Bashes have electrical properties. This was fixed in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', in which Pikachu's Skull Bash has a neutral effect. It also produces a small explosion behind Pikachu when used, similar to the explosive animation used for Skull Bash in the ''Pokémon'' games.

The move was available to Pikachu only by using {{s|bulbapedia|TM40}} in Generation I. It can, however, still have the move in Generation II games (the generation ''Melee'' was closest to), as they allow to trade Pokémon from Generation I games. Between Generation III and Generation VI, the move is unavailable for Pikachu to learn; as of Generation VII, however, Pikachu can have Skull Bash if it is transferred from one of the Generation I games on the Virtual Console. Pichu, on the other hand, has never been able to learn Skull Bash in the games.