Although Niantic did not release a new update to Pokemon GO, it did make some server-side changes that have changed the movesets that many Pokemon GO players were familiar with. These are discovered and confirmed by Pokemon GO players who can compare changes made to the Game_Master file. What changes were made on August 19 and how will it affect your game?

Here’s what you need to know.

The Following Moves Were Removed or Changed

According to Pokemon GO players from Reddit reading recent Game_Master file changes, and PokemonGo GamePress, the following changes were made on August 19:

Moves Removed:

Gyarados: Dragon Breath removed

Weezing: Acid removed

Koffing: Acid removed

Mew: Moonblast removed

Moves Changed:

Chansey: Psybeam to Hyper Beam

Gengar: Sludge Wave to Sludge Bomb

Grimer: Acid to Poison Jab

Hitmonlee: Stomp to Brick Break

Jigglypuff: Play Rough to Dazzling Gleam

Mew: Hurricane to Blizzard

Muk: Acid to Lick

Omastar: Rock Throw changed to Mud Shot

Seel: Water Gun to Lick

Starmie: Psybeam changed to Psychic

The following Quick Attacks were changed: Porygon: Quick Attack to Zen Headbutt Starmie: Quick Attack to Tackle Staryu: Quick Attack to Tackle



The following Mud Shots were changed to Mud Slap: Diglett, Dugtrio, Golem, Graveler



Here’s How the 8/19 Moveset Changes Might Change Your Game

Pokemon GO players aren’t in complete agreement about how these moves may or may not change your game. These new or removed movesets won’t alter the Pokemon you already have, but they will change the Pokemon you get in the future. It also appears that eggs you obtained before the patch was made will still have pre-patch moves when they hatch.

The following is a general consensus about the moveset changes so far and how they might affect your game play, according to a thread on Reddit:

Players are having mixed reactions to Mud Shots being changed to Mud Slaps. According to Redditor to_metrion, the main difference is that Mud Shots attacked fast with less damage, and now Mud Slaps have a slower attack with more damage over time. Mud Shot was more practical, but Mud Slap is better when defending. For Dugtrio in particular, Mud Shot was likely a better move. The change has also resulted in Golem being a better defender.

Gyarados’ best quick move was not affected when Dragon Breath was removed. However, Redditor to_metrion points out that Gyarados is no longer a strong Dragonite counter after the change.

Starmie’s Quick Attack was changed to Tackle and its Psybeam to Psychic. Psychic is an upgrade for Starmie, but its best moveset is still the same. Hydro Pump is still ahead of both, and Water Gun is the best quick move.

Omastar’s Rock Throw was changed to Mud Shot. Redditor to_metrion is not happy with this change, pointing out that Omastar has lost one of its most important weapons. It had become a good counter for Lapras due to its Rock Throw moveset, which is now gone. Redditor conspire_pokemon_go agrees, noting that the ground move should at least have included STAB.

Muk’s Acid was Changed to Lick. Redditor kaitoyuuki argues that this doesn’t ultimately change too much for Muk. Lick has the same charge power with less than half the attack time, meaning the speed you can charge moves is now doubled. The ideal moveset for Muk hasn’t changed since Muk already has Poison Jab.

One thing that’s pretty clear, Pokemon GO trainers who have Pokemon with the old movesets may have some valuable Pokemon on their hands when the game opens up trading.

What do you think of the changes to Pokemon movesets? Do you agree with the assessments above? Let us know in the comments below.