4 Move Limit in Fiction - Discussion

So as someone who writes and reads Pokémon fanfiction a lot, I have seen a great variance of opinions of this topic. Should the four move limit be observed in fiction/writing? Some say it is a dumb game mechanic, others stick to it.

Below I present my argument in favor of it, and why I observe it in my stories.

Edit: This is mainly for the purpose of explaining why I believe its so important, but in the end, its about what works for your story. But I do believe you should consider the impact it could have on your story, if you're a writer.

Spoiler: In Defense of the 4 Move Limit

I want to begin with a disclaimer. This is not in any way a tirade or a jab at people who choose to ignore the four move limit in their stories. It's your story and I won't tell anyone what to do with it. If you like it, that's FINE. I don't have anything against you. The following is simply my opinion on the matter.

A popular area of contention in Pokémon fiction is the four move limit. Some fanfics choose to ignore it, while others choose to obey it. After all, it has been present in almost every form of Pokémon media. Manga, Games, and even the anime (especially later episodes) stick by the four move limit.

Many fanfics, however, choose to simply allow a Pokémon to learn as many moves as they want. Why not, after all? A four move limit seems like a game mechanic that is unnecessary in fiction. By allowing a Pokémon to learn as many moves as they want, you open the door to all kinds of combo attacks, counters, and training opportunities. On the surface, all of this seems like a great idea. But only on the surface.

Allow me to explain. With the four move rule in play in my story, I have a limit. This 'limit' forces me to strategize, to think of the most creative ways to utilize the four moves given to me. Otherwise, I could simply use the strongest move of every type at my disposal.

I could literally teach my Pikachu Quick Attack, Grass Knot, Play Rough, Discharge, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Iron Tail, Thunder, Brick Break, Dig, Light Screen, Reflect, Thunder Wave, Protect, Attract, Double Team. Now it can easily defeat almost every threat. Just block everything with light screen and reflect. Dodge with Double Team. Block with Protect. Rain Dance all the time and combo into Thunder. All the other moves for anything else.

For me, the four move limit creates narrative tension. In the above example, I can just use the most powerful/best move in any situation. Because I have an ideal move for any situation. But with only four moves, I am forced to be much more creative and strategic, instead of relying only on the 'ideal' move. I have to create strategies and clever new tactics. It allows me to make battles that go DEEPER, not just wider.

Without the limit, I have access to any move I need at any moment I need it. It's too easy. All my MC would have to do is call the easiest, most powerful move in any situation.

The anime battles are so enjoyable for me to watch because the viewer wonders how the trainer will be able to win even if they lack an obvious advantage. There would be no need for a clever tactic like Hitmonchan using Brick Break on the ground to block if he just knew Protect, in addition to Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, and oh.... Detect, Earthquake, Substitute, Endure, Rest, Sleep Talk, Snore, Counter, Agility... Fake Out... Hitmonchan has a long moveset so I won't finish but... The list goes on.

Or the times when Pikachu in the anime pulls off a crazy tactic like launching himself off his own Electroweb, or climbing up his own lightning with Quick Attack to escape a Hurricane.

Battles no longer rely on tactics, but on blase justifications like 'Well learning new moves takes "time" ', in which case I could literally timeskip my Main Character into god status by just saying 'well he trained for two years and taught his Pokémon every move in their move list.' Now he has the perfect move for any and every situation.

Plus, to me, it would bog down a story with training sequence after training sequences or just time skipping some new moves onto his Pokémon. I prefer to write more character/plot-driven moments, supported by the occasional training sequence.

And while one could certainly say that the battles could still be interesting because the opponent also knows 30 moves for each of their Pokémon, it still isn't interesting to me. Some moves will simply become useless, others overused, and once again, battles lack tension. It would ultimately become a slugfest of super moves until one Pokémon collapses. I don't find this very impressive.

Superman fighting an enemy isn't very tense. Superman fighting an enemy who has Kryptonite though is much more tense.

Not to mention... the 4 move limit makes things way easier to keep track of lol.

And the end of the day, you would only need one or two Pokémon on your team because they have 40 moves each that cover all the types. For me, observing the limit also makes my story unique. There are a great many wonderful stories that ignore the four move limit. But for me, I like to be accurate to the source material.


TL;DR The 4 move limit creates a sense of narrative tension because it forces the trainer to be clever with their tactics, as opposed to relying on a pool of 30 moves and simply picking the 'ideal' one. Trainers are forced to work harder for their wins. And I as a writer have to think harder. This is all, of course, just my opinion on the matter.

This same principle can also be seen if you read Brandon Sanderson's Three Laws of Magic of Magic, where he discusses how Limitations > Power. It's a fascinating read. The condensed gist of his rules is to say a story is made more interesting when the characters can't just solve everything in the snap of a finger with 'magic' because the magic is limitless.

My goal is to have a discussion/chat with other members about your opinion on the matter. It doesn't particularly matter if you aren't a fanfic writer, or whatever, I just want to hear peoples thoughts on the topic. (Also I know my argument is kinda long, but I'd love if you read it as well, so you can understand this side).
I'm sure it goes without saying to keep the discussions/chat respectful

SO without further ado, lets hear it! Why or why not should the 4 move limit be observed in writing?

 

@DoctorAlakazam
That's definitely an interesting thought, and I see your point. For me, I've always thought of the move Flamethrower being different than breathing actual fire. Like, Pokémon like a Charmander can breathe fire, or Squirtle can shoot some water, but the move Water Gun is a specific technique they can utilize. Same thing with birds and Fly. A Pidgeot can fly in the air, but the Technique Fly is a different thing entirely
But ultimately, its true that its fiction so it doesn't matter too much. I tend to feel like a person should have a purpose for why they choose something, and stick to it. But again, that's my opinion, as 'writer' type person. I always feel like people should have a reason for their creative choices, lol.


@BZRich64
I actually considered that last one, and its something I was considering for another fanfic I had. I think being able to learn all the moves while only being allowed to choose 4 per battle is a fascinating thought. Especially since you could add things like villains trying to secretly use an extra move in an official match or something.
I can see the logic there though, especially with moves like Thundershock, Thunderbolt, and Thunder.
Maybe its my game-logic kicking in but I always think of them as different. Almost like the kind of electricity used for Thundershock is different than Thunderbolt. or Even Thunder. In my head, it goes beyond just strength levels.
And yes, you really do need to get back to that fanfic, I was really enjoying it!

 

@WavePearl Thats an interesting way of looking at it. I do something similar in my own story, allowing a Pokémon to learn any move they technically have access to. For example, my story features a Tyrunt revived from a fossil that eventually learns Ice Fang, an egg move.

The only things I really stick to is certain tutor moves, Like Draco meteor and such.

For fiction purposes, I usually ignore the barrier of egg moves, only because breeding isn't really an 'anime' mechanic. And yeah, Bulbapedia is definitely my greatest resource, I reference it all the time for movesets.

There's definitely a few moves here and there that some Pokémon can't learn that they should be able to, by all rights. Like if I recall, Rhyhorn can't learn Tackle I think? There's some weird stuff in Pokémon lol

 

I ultimately agree. What I usually can't stand is people who have told me I HAVE to get rid of the four move limit in MY story, haha. (Which is why I ended up writing a whole mini-essay lol) I've had some people tell me what to do with my own story.

I have no problem with people suggesting or offering their opinion, but people who demand are something else

But yeah, I really think people should do whatever works best for their story.

 

@Gazi I tend to do the same when writing fanfiction. For me, I like when a fanfiction accurately represents the world its based in. I read FANfiction because I want something that reminds me of the show/product that I love. Something emulates the same feel and spirit of the original product.
Often when a fanfic starts breaking or ignoring established rules of the world, it breaks my immersion. For me, the four move limit is one of those things, though its also a bit of a pet peeve, lol

I usually feel accuracy is best, but deviation is good too, when done with purpose. Like, if I was writing a historical fiction about the Victorian Era, I would want to research everything I can, so that if I do deviate, its intentional and with purpose.

Of course, there's occasionally things in the anime/games that are just plain stupid to me, so I sometimes ignore it, although its almost always on purpose

 

Honestly thats one of my favorite explanations, and the one I'd go with if I ever wrote another fanfic and wanted more moves.

For me personally, it boils down to placing some kind of limit, whether it be four moves proper, four moves per match, or something. Even if a writer said 'well in my story Pokémon can know 8 moves' I think it would make more sense to me than no limits at all.

I guess whenever I read stories with no limits I just think 'Well hurry up and teach them every move in the book just in case'. Especially for stories where Pokémon can use as many moves as they want in official matches.

A rather well known fanfic I read allowed Pokémon to use all kinds of crazy moves, and at some point 20 something chapters went by where a character kept talking about teaching a Pokémon a particular move, but never did. It became ridiculous and unbelievable, imo.

Part of the reason I am observing the 4 move limit in my story also has a lot to do with plot, as there are some crucial plot stuffs that will come into play later about it.

But yeah, ultimately there's a lot of interesting ways to handle it, and I really do enjoy the idea of the '4 move per match' because it opens up so many interesting writing things with how characters select movesets for matches.

 

@ShinigamiMiroku

Agreed, no limit is too unbelievable, bogged down and honestly, hard to keep track of (I can barely keep track of four lol)
And yeah, it definitely depends on what the story is trying to achieve, what kind of limit the author chooses to impose. But I (personally) adamantly say a story needs one

I think I mostly agree with your move theory. To me, Pokémon moves are entirely different from what a Pokémon can biologically do. Pikachu can generate electricity, but that's not the same as Thunderbolt. A Rhydon can learn Thunderbolt, so to me its a different thing. But moves are still semi-progressive, because working up from Ember to Flamethrower would be easier than nothing. But I still see them as distinct moves.

If I were to go in depth, I would theorize moves/techniques are actually methods of channeling aura, since we know all Pokémon possess aura. This would explain why
Pokémon can learn moves that don't make biological sense, like Nidoking and Rhyhorn learning Flamethrower/Thunderbolt.

As for TM's, I'm not sure. My current theory is that they store information like a disc, in the form of light, which contains the 'knowledge" of how to channel aura in the specific method to create a Thunderbolt. We don't see it, but most likely there is some kind of device you can place a TM in and then place a Pokémon's Pokéball into and transfer the move. Either that or they can absorb through skin contact? It's definitely ambiguous.

 

@Skittle

Yes yes yes!!!!!
I can see you and I pretty much think exactly alike on this matter!
That Sceptile example is literally exactly what I mean - Without a 4 move limit its too ridiculously easy. There's a lot of Pokémon with very very wide movepools where it gets insane if they know it all.
The battles become contrived because the MC SHOULD theoretically be able to win everything. And there's some insanely OP combos you could pull off.

As for the move vs biology thing, I agree as well. A Machamp can physically grab you, or Arbok could wrap around you, but that's not the same as using Wrap/Bind or something. A 'move' for me is literally anything that's in the games basically.

As for anime stuff, I think half the fun is how the recent anime has gotten very clever with certain fights, using the same four moves in unique ways.
For example, in the Sun/Moon anime, Ash had to fight the ground type leader. He used Pikachu, which left me wondering - how on earth will this crazy boy win when he only knows Thunderbolt, Electroweb, Iron Tail and Quick Attack? Sure enough, he did, with some insane tactics. (The SM anime had few battles, but they were GOOD)

That for me, is the true joy of watching/reading a good story. Those moments won't hold any meaning without the limit. The limit doesn't really limit someone, it actually makes a story deeper, imo

Even though a writer can technically do whatever they want, since it is there story, doesn't mean they should. To me, it can really harm the integrity of a story long run, especially if the decision is made recklessly.

But hey, to each their own I guess.

It does make me happy to know other people agree though

 

@Skittle Lol, I actually made myself watch the entirety of the Black and White anime arc (which was agony btw) because it was 'research' for my fanfic about a Unova league rewrite.
I recently did the same with DP and much of the original series, as well as XYZ.

Long story short, I've been rewatching a lot of the anime recently because its 'research'. (Also because I'm obsessed but shh...)

It's quite fun though, seeing and analyzing the different battles. What works, what doesn't, and etc. Having written a lot of battles for my own fanfic, I sympathize with the writers of the show. Writing battles is hard.

It only gets harder imo when Pokémon can have beyond 4 moves, because it would be nearly impossible to keep track. A fanfic I read did something similar and sometimes I just found myself skimming battle scenes because it was just a mishmash of shooting super-moves at each other.

Honestly, I'd rather read a short creative battle than a longer one where Pokémon just blast each other with a variety of super moves for 15 paragraphs. But that's me.

my going theory for anime logic seems to be that how you use the move is just as important as what move you use. Like, an Iron Tail or something seems to be able to do extra damage if you can strike when an opponent's "guard" is down. Especially because the anime can do stuff like 'block' a move. This explains why some anime battles can end quickly if a solid blow is landed. (That and the animation budget, haha)

Pokémon battles are just so much fun

 

@BZRich64 That first idea is actually one I've never thought of. Hmm... I rather like it, that's a different way to look at it for sure. It reminds me of my personal theory on Pokédex entries. Take Cubone for instance. It's Pokédex entries talk about how it wears the skull of its mother. But obviously every Cubone doesn't wear its mothers skull. I think just one did, and an urban myth started. (That's my meta theory at least)
Like the black cat myth or walking under ladders.

The second part, about not being good at it, is something I occasionally like to incorporate in tandem with my 4 move limit. It's satisfying, imo, to see a Pokémon struggle with a difficult move and finally succeed. Like Scorbunny's Ember or Turtwig's energy ball. I am SUCH a sucker for those moments no matter how many times they happen.

Although I might still argue that the restraint of 'training to get good' might be too loose because one can just eventually overcome it. But that's really just me. I know as a writer my style is to have everything figured out, and know exactly what I can and cant do.

It is still a great writing device for sure