#Introduction

As everyone knows, Singles formats and Doubles formats are completely different, with different Pokemon, abilities, moves, items, etc. being used more often in each one. Moves such as Helping Hand, Follow Me, and Ally Switch are only used in Doubles formats, due to being completely useless in Singles formats. Some moves, like Protect, Fake Out, and Trick Room, can still be used in Singles formats, but are more commonly used in Doubles formats. Pokemon in Doubles formats, particularly VGC formats, tend to prefer more accurate moves such as Flamethrower over Fire Blast, as well as opting to use spread moves such as Heat Wave or Dazzling Gleam.

This article will focus on one of the most notorious and somewhat frequently used moves in the VGC 2018 format: Rock Slide.

#Why use Rock Slide?

Rock Slide is a physical Rock move with 75 base power and 90 accuracy. It hits both opponents in a Double battle, and if it connects, it has a 30% chance to flinch each target.

While Rock Slide was a reliable Rock-type attack with better distribution than Ancient Power in Generations 1 through 3, it was eclipsed by Stone ~~Miss~~ Edge in Generation 4, with a base power of 100 and an accuracy of 80, which has a higher expected damage value even before factoring in the increased critical hit rate, leaving Rock Slide behind to rot in Singles for the most part.

Due to the mechanics of a Double battle, Rock Slide has an effective 56.25 base power when used against multiple targets. Much like other spread moves, Rock Slide does not have the same raw killing power as single-target moves, and tends to only OHKO an opponent if they are 4x weak to Rock. Rock Slide only becomes weaker when not boosted by STAB or Attack boosts, as well as being weakened by Attack drops from the omnipresent Intimidate. So, what makes it more than just some chip damage?

Factoring in the possibility of missing, Rock Slide has an effective 27% chance to flinch an individual target. However, since it hits both opponents, it has a 46.71% chance to flinch at least one target, and a 7.29% chance to flinch both targets, factoring in misses for both probabilities.