Struggle (move)

Struggle わるあがき Vain Struggle

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Battles Type  Normal Category  Physical PP  ∞ (max. N/A) Power  50 Accuracy  —% Priority  {{{priority}}} Makes contact Affected by Protect Not affected by Magic Coat Not affected by Snatch Affected by King's Rock

Target Foe Foe Foe Self Ally Ally May affect anyone adjacent to the user

Availability Introduced  Generation I Not a TM, TR, HM, or Move Tutor move.

Contests Condition  Cool Appeal  4 ♥♥♥♥ Jam  0   A highly appealing move.

Super Contests Condition  Cool Appeal  3 ♥♥♥ A basic performance using a move known by the Pokémon.

Contest Spectaculars Condition  Cool Appeal  0   Jamming  0

On Smogon's Movedex: Generation I Generation II Generation III Generation IV Generation V Generation VI Generation VII Generation VIII Generation IX

Struggle (Japanese: わるあがき Vain Struggle) is a move that cannot be learned naturally by any Pokémon. However, every Pokémon can use it, but only if all of their moves cannot be used, usually due to a lack of PP.

Effect

Generation I

Struggle deals damage to the opponent and the user receives recoil damage. The user takes recoil damage equal to 50% of the damage the attack did to the opponent. Struggle will automatically be used by a Pokémon that has no usable moves but is ordered to attack, and has infinite PP in such a situation.

If the user of Struggle attacks first and faints itself due to recoil damage, the opponent will not attack or be subjected to recurrent damage during that round. If Struggle breaks a Substitute, the user will take no recoil damage.

Struggle has 10 base PP, though no PP would ever be deducted from it. Self-inflicted recoil damage from Struggle from the previous turn can be countered if the opponent did not make a move on the following turn.

In Stadium, no recoil damage is taken if Struggle knocks out an opponent.

Generation II

Same as before, but with a maximum of 1 PP instead of 10-16. Struggle now inflicts normal damage to Template:Type2 Pokémon as well as Template:Type2, and hits Template:Type2 Pokémon even if the user has not previously used Foresight.

Generation III

In addition to what was said before, Pokémon with the Wonder Guard ability are not immune to Struggle. Rock Head does not prevent Struggle's recoil damage.

Generation IV - V

Same as Generation III; however, the user takes ¼ of its maximum HP as recoil damage. Also, if the user is holding a Choice item and is triggered by Disable, Taunt, Torment, or Imprison it will always use Struggle as long as the item and the move both remain active; if the move is Torment, the Pokémon will only use Struggle every second turn.

Learnset

All Pokémon can use Struggle when the PP for all moves they know are at 0 or the moves are somehow incapacitated such as through Disable, Taunt, Torment, Imprison, or Choice items.

Trivia

• Even though Struggle can only be accessed by the loss of all PP, it is somehow able to have contest stats. This is most likely to prevent the game from crashing if it is hacked in since, through normal gameplay, it would be impossible to use Struggle within normal contest rounds. The contest stats seem to be the defaults.
• Struggle is the highest index number move of all Generation I moves.
• Struggle is one of two moves that cannot be Sketched. The other is Chatter.
• Struggle takes "typeless damage" - no Pokémon can gain STAB from it and it is unaffected by type matchups.
  • This also makes Struggle the only Normal-type move which can hit a Ghost-type opponent without the aid of Odor Sleuth, Foresight, or Scrappy.

In other generations

Generation I	RBY	Generation I (Japanese)	Generation I (international)	Generation II	Generation II (Japanese)	Generation II (international)	Crystal	Generation III	Generation III (Japanese)	Generation III (international)	RS	FRLG	FRLGE	Generation IV	Generation IV (Japanese)	Generation IV (international)	PtHGSS	HGSS	Generation V	BW	B2W2	Generation V (Japanese)	Generation V (international)	Generation VI	XY	ORAS	Generation VII	SMUSUM	LGPE	Generation VIII	SwSh	BDSP	Legends: Arceus	Generation IX	Stadium (JP)	Stadium	Stadium 2	Colosseum	XD	Battle Revolution	Battrio	MD: Red and Blue	MD:Time, Darkness, andSky	MD: Blazing, Stormy, & Light Adventure Squad	MD: GTI	SMD	MD: RTDX	Rumble	Rumble Blast	Masters EX

In other languages

Language Title Dutch Spartel European French Lutte German Verzweifler Greek Αγώνας Italian Scontro Korean 발버둥 Balbeodung Serbian Opstanak European Spanish Combate

This article is part of Project Moves and Abilities, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on two related aspects of the Pokémon games.