FloodBadge said:
ok, if dive isn't necessary, then shouldn't that apply to moves like flash and waterfall?
i mean, there's few caves needing flash, and flash isn't mandatory for each cave in existence
and waterfall is only added for the waterfalls, which don't even need to be in the game.
Flash is already a TM, so it's not necessary.
Waterfall, though, should definitely be downgraded because it's so pointless, all you do is use it to go up and down waterfalls, simple as that. Hell, if they design it so you never have to go up a waterfall to return to the main path, then it can't trap you if you don't have something that knows it (as long as they enable you to descend waterfalls without it), making its HM status unnecessary.
Raptor9229 said:
You can't tell if there are any dive spots just by looking at that map.
Maybe not, but we can deduce that there are only two spots in the region which are really suitable for Dive spots, and that's not really enough for it to be useful. Dive only really shines in areas that have lots of water like Hoenn.
Raptor9229 said:
If we do have dive it might be a TM this time rather than HM, Dive is practically a water type version of dig. In gen three fly and dive were weak but in gen one dig was super powerful but got downgraded in gen two but but dive got released which has since always had the same stats (power and accuracy) as dig.
HM status is not determined by how powerful the moves are. Rock Smash and Flash are clear counterexamples of that. It's determined by how useful they are in the field. Flash was downgraded to TM because it's not required in order to progress through caves, it only makes them easier to navigate. Rock Smash was removed because it was an unnecessary obstacle.
Raptor9229 said:
The only difference between dive and dig was that in gen three you could literally go underwater and possibly coincidental that most of the pokemon that learn dive by level up are the ones you would expect to go deep under water. I would rather have dive not be an HM but rather a variation of dig and for anyone saying that HMs are worthless should remember that the ones that deal damage are good for the most part and a Slaking using Strength would be over 100 power not to mention its one hundred accuracy.
You mean like using Dig to go underground and stuff? That'd be neat. I had a better idea that incorporates that, where Dig can be used to dig through any loose soil, including walls (allowing you to create new paths through rock walls) or floors (creating pitfalls).