Most Pokemon moves follow an involved but easy to understand formula. You have your base power, you have your same-type attack-bonus (STAB), you have your enemy's super-effective weakness, and so on. There are a few moves that don't follow the standard formulae, but i✅nstead follow a rather unusual set of rules to calculate damage. This week's Pokemusings takes a look at some of these moves: Grass Knot, Punishment and Trump Card. If you don't understand these moves and use them poorly🌸, you might think they suck. However, if you take some time to learn their mechanics, they can be devastating.

Above: Wailord fears Grass Knot

Grass Knot (TM86) has become one of our favorite Grass moves this generation. A lot of people bought into the hype of Energy Ball (TM53) and it's easy to understand why. Energy ✨Ball sounds cool and powerful. People can envision a wicked ball of energy blasting their opponent. Grass Knot sounds goofy, especially if you read its description - "The user snares the foe with grass and trips it." It doesn't exactly sound like the most menacing attack.

Goofy description aside, Grass Knot is a potentially more powerful Special Attack than Energy Ball. The latter has a base power of 80, while the former's base power depends on the target's weight. Any opponent that weighs over 220 pounds (100 kilos) gets🤪 whacked with base power 100, while any opponent over 440 pounds (200 kilos) gets smacked with base power 120. On the downside, Grass Knot isn't very good against smaller Pokemon - its base power is a measly 20 against Pokemon less than 22 pounds (10 kilos). Againstဣ heavies like Groudon, Wailord, and Kyogre, Grass Knot totally owns. As a rule, Grass Knot is as good or better than Energy Ball when used against targets that weigh over 110 pounds (50 kilos).