Pokemon Go Nerfs Smack Down Ahead of Community Day

Pokemon Go's newest move got a small nerf before its official "release" during this weekend's Community Day event.

Earlier this week, Pokemon Go announced that any Tyranitar evolved during this Saturday's Community Day would learn the move Smack Down. Smack Down is a new move to Pokemon Go, but its unlike any of the other special Community Day moves in that it's a fast move instead of a charge move.

Players were thrilled about Smack Down, as it would finally give Tyranitar a Rock-Type move and maximize its effectiveness as a Rock-Type attacker. Plus, Smack Down's stats were almost identical to that of Rock Throw, Pokemon Go's other Rock-Type fast move, which meant that Tyrantiar instantly became the strongest Rock-Type attacker in the game.

Earlier today, Pokemon Go developers nerfed Smack Down slightly by slowing down its rate of attack. While Smack Down got a damage upgrade (it now does 16 points of damage instead of 12 points of damage), the move is now 33% slower, with a rate of 1.2 seconds per use instead of 0.9 seconds. Although the slower move time doesn't affect Smack Down's damage per second rate, it does nerf Smack Down's energy per second stat, which determines how quickly a charge move can be used in battle.

That makes Smack Down's energy per second stat one of the worst of any fast move in Pokemon Go, and puts it at a clear disadvantage to Rock Throw. It also means that players will want to use Bite if they're most concerned with Tyranitar getting off a charge move as quickly as possible.

Luckily, Tyranitar will remain on the top of the Rock-Type attacker pile. A Tyranitar with Smack Down and Stone Edge is still 13% more powerful than a Golem with Rock Throw and Stone Edge.

Players will need to evolve their Tyranitar during this Saturday's Community Day in order to get Smack Down. The Community Day times are as follows:

Asia, Australia: 12pm to 3pm JST

Europe, Middle East, Africa, India: 10am to 1pm GMT

North America, South America and Greenland: 2pm to 5pm EST