Why do people use Body Slam > Return in competitive play?

Aug. 15, 2015

Been watching a few singles battles lately, and I noticed people use Body Slam over Return on Pokemon like Snorlax and Miltank. Why? return has higher base damage by a decent amount, and honestly does the 30% Paralyse chance really matter that much?

Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.

Paralysis not only randomly inhibits a move for a turn, butit also cuts downs the Speed of the Pokemonto almost about 25%!

This makes defeating it much, much easier, as Speed is a game-changer in the meta-game.

The maximum difference between Return and Body Slam is about 22, which, quite frankly can not be commented upon, because it is a border-line difference. It may mean the difference between a KO or not; it may not.

That said, common Body Slam-ers generally have an Ability like Serene Grace (Jirachi) to help out with the probability.