How viable is muddy water competitively?

Question

I would like to know about other accurancy decreasing moves too.

Comments

What format?

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Nat dex, vgc, and gen 8ou

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Yeah no one uses muddy water much in competitive except in VGC.  I always see people using scald, hydro pump, and water spout (on Kyogre!).

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converted to a comment because it doesn't really explain anything

Answer 1

Singles: In natdex, it's pretty bad. Surf, Scald, and Hydro Pump are much better options due to 100% accuracy, chance to burn, and higher BP. Same goes for OU. It's even in the list of 'usually useless moves'

Doubles: In Doubles, Muddy Water is a good move. It hits both adjacent opponents, unlike Surf and Earthquake which hits all adjacent Pokemon, and it is stronger than Rock Slide at the cost of being less accurate. Also, lowering accuracy of (potentially) both opponents is always a good thing.

Answer 2

Never seen anyone use Muddy Water in competitive play, probably for good reason. Basically the only Water moves used in competition are Surf, Hydro Pump, and Scald. On attackers, use Hydro Pump or Surf, depending on whether you want 100% accuracy or more damage. On walls, use Scald for the chance of burn.

Comments

Just because a move isn’t used in competitive play doesn’t mean you can assume it is unviable or trash.

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If you've never seen muddy water in competitive, then that probably means you've never played VGC.