How to Counter Self Destruct in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Players are coming up with strategies on how to counter the move Self Destruct in battle. This move is one of the most painful to experience when you are desperately trying to obtain a wild Pokémon. I remember trying to catch myself a Golem in Pokémon Arceus and finding it the worst experience in the history of playing video games. At this time I was trying to catch it blindly, without using any special abilities which would have made catching this Pokémon a lot easier. For those who are like me, this guide will show you a strategy devised by Cloverinepixel via Reddit page, r/PokemonScarletViolet.

How to Counter the Move Self Destruct

Damp Ability

The method portrayed is to build a team centred around specific moves. Firstly you need a Pokémon with the ability Damp. Damp can specifically prevent the move Self Destruct. There is a small group of Pokémon which can use this as their ability. They are: Wooper, Quagsire, Psydusk and Golduck. Of course, those trying to obtain Quagsire can only be done through trading a Paldean Wooper with a specific NPC in Cascarrafa.

Related: How to Get a Shiny Wooper in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Skill Swap

The goal in this strategy however is to give the Damp ability to the wild Pokémon which will perform the Self Destruct move. To do this, your Pokémon is required to have the move Skill Swap. In this case, this move is only learnable through the use of TMs. In regard to who can learn this move of the 4 Pokémon with the Damp ability, only Golduck is teachable. TM 098 (Skill Swap) is located in multiple locations of Paldea. You can pick up Skill Swap at the playground in Artazon. Head to the upper level of the Jungle Gym area and you will find the TM there will a glowing beams as an indicator.

When versing a wild Pokémon with the move Self Destruct, you need to use the move Skill Swap with Golduck which will give the opposition the Damp ability, stopping it from using the Self Destruct Move. However, another key part of this strategy is to swap out Golduck after Skill Swap with a Pokémon who has False Swipe. This is key to catching the Pokémon after Self Destruct fails. After all, successfully stopping the move but knocking out the Pokémon is just as frustrating as seeing a Self Destruct go through.

False Swipe

The final part is to swap out Golduck for a Pokémon with False Swipe. This move is obtainable as a TM through speaking with Mr. Jacq in Biology Lab of the Academy. You are required to catch a minimum of 30 new Pokémon for the Pokédex entries. After doing so, you will be rewarded with False Swipe TM 057. This TM can be taught to many Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet however as the strategy shows, we recommend adding it to the Move Set of Gallade if you have this Pokémon in your Boxes. This Pokémon can naturally learn False Swipe through levelling-up. By using False Swipe, the opposition will not only be able to get off their Self Destruct but also cannot faint in battle, leaving it at 1 HP.

That is how to counter the move Self Destruct mid-battle in Pokémon. For more Scarlet and Violet guides, feel free to look at both How to Restore PP Without Items in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and How to Evolve Level 100 Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet. To stay updated on all of our latest content. With guides, walkthrough, opinions and a lot more, follow us on our Facebook if you are interested in seeing more from us.