In Gen 2 what is the point of detect?

Question

Alright, so Detect is almost an exact duplicate of Protect. The only difference is that it’s a Fighting-type move and has less PP. Now, I know this can be an Imprison counter, but here’s the thing Detect came out in Gen 2, while Imprison came out in Gen 3. That means there was a brief period where Detect was absolutely useless. So, was there any purpose for Detect in Gen 2?

Comments

https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/7584/what-is-the-point-of-detect

Answer 1

As far as I can tell, no. The only possible point is that different Pokémon learn them.
For example, Blastoise learns Protect by level up and Hitmonchan learns Detect by level up. If you don't want to waste your 1 Protect TM or have already used it, Hitmonchan must learn Detect instead. But Blastoise can always just remember the move.
Additionally, Protect will fail if used in succession, same with Detect. (in Gen 2-5) But using Protect then Detect lets you basically use Protect twice.
Is this a reason to give both to the same Pokémon? No. Is it useful? No. But it definitely is a point to Detect, even if a very, very dull one.