Why would Growl and Tail Whip fail in Gen 2?

Question

I'm playing Gold on Virtual Console for my first time, and I notice that for some reason Growl and Tail Whip fail a lot when the opposing Pokemon uses it. Not miss, just fail. One time it happened when I was switching in, but the others were just normal turns.

Edit: A similar thing also happened where a Poliwag used Hypnosis on my Hoothoot immediately after it switched in. The move said it didn't affect Hoothoot, then the next turn Poliwag used Hypnosis again on the same Pokemon and it hit. I'm starting to think it might just be using different text boxes to represent the move missing. Hypnosis has 60% accuracy and according to many semi-reliable sources, there is a 1/4 chance for a status move used by an opponent in Gen 1 and 2 to miss.

Furthermore, this question is not a dupe, as the question that this may be a duplicate of has a questionable answer. Read comments below if you are confused.

Edit 2

Just in a battle Onix vs. Lickitung. Onix is my Pokemon. Onix attempted to use Screech twice. It failed both times. Third turn it works. There was nothing that would have prevented me from using Screech other than accuracy.

Becoming more convinced of the accuracy thing.

Comments

Read my comments above.

---

Yes they were not as low, one of the times it was immediately after I switched in

---

"Furthermore, this question is not a dupe, as the question that this may be a duplicate of has a questionable answer."
https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/meta/75536/repeat-questions-questions-that-unanswered-against-rules
You asked your question yourself. I believe this question still counts as a dupe, as the other are unresolved.

---

"Onix attempted to use Screech twice. It failed both times. Third turn it works."
Screech's accuracy is only 85. If it's saying it failed when, in reality, we've figured out why it's saying that failing and missing are the same thing in this instance, however, we still don't know *why* Growl and Tail Whip have missed.

---

I am aware. The text said the move failed and didnt say it missed. That's why I posted that. I know Screech doesn't have 100% accuracy.

I also asked that meta question after I made this one and before I was aware there was a similar yet incorrectly answered question

Answer 1

In Gen 2, moves selected by an AI have a 25% (64/256) chance to miss.

Source: Several websites like Twitter, gameFAQs which are normally unreliable sources but the answer seems to be the same each time

this, and this have the same answer as well

Comments

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/375087-pokemon-crystal-version/77202051
I think this is the gamefaqs thread the answer refers to. No numbers or source is mentioned, and the person who said it said "that's what I'm assuming," after somebody asked a further question about it, which tells me that they don't really have any proof of this. A post on this thread also claims that "it failed" it just alternative text for a move missing, so that may be why it says that it failed when it didn't really, however, without accuracy or evasion changes, it's strange that these moves are missing.

---

Another possibility is that your Pokemon's stats were already as low as they could go or that Mist was used, though I find that unlikely.

---

I'll give you a play by play of one of the turns this happened.

A wild Rattata appeared!
You sent out Buggy (Metapod.)
Turn 1
You switched to Hoothoot
The wild Rattata used Growl
But it failed!
Turn 2
Hoothoot used Tackle (takes damage)
The wild Rattata used Growl
But it failed!
Turn 3
Hoothoot used Tackle (takes damage)
The wild Rattata used Growl (lowers attack.)
???????

---

For anyone reading this in the future... this answer is (generally) correct. This mechanic was confirmed by looking through Gen II's source code, and it's now mentioned on Bulbapedia:

"In the Generation I and II core series games, when an in-game opponent outside of the Battle Tower uses a status move that would decrease one of the target's stats, that move has a 25% chance to fail in addition to its normal chance to miss. In the Generation II core series games, this condition also applies to status moves that would inflict a non-volatile status condition upon the target."

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Status_move
https://github.com/pret/pokered/blob/master/engine/battle/effects.asm

---

Haha thanks Amethyst. (This thread has an absurd amount of comments )