Horn Drill Report

Move Name: Horn Drill
Battle Classification: Physical Attack
Type: Normal
Total number of affected targets: 1
Range: 1 adjacent target other than user
Direct contact needed to initiate attack: Yes
Base Power: OHKO
Accuracy Rate: (Level of user-Level of opponent) + 30% [0% when level difference is negative]
PP: 5 (maximum 8)

Though a shot in the dark might be more accurate than this move ever will be on a good day, the Horn Drill attack is an absolutely devastating move that throws all stats aside in the name of sheer destructive power. Much as its name suggests, the Horn Drill attack involves striking the opposition with a horn rotating at high speeds, ripping through flesh and armor alike without any favor towards defenses. While it might be the least common of the known moves that have the capacity to instantly knock out an opponent and is beyond difficult to pull off properly in any battle, the slightest sound of a hard, pointed object piercing through an opponent's side and the painful screams that accompany it can often be music to the ears of trainers willing to bet their battles on this wild card.

While the horns of most creatures are stationary and are incapable of rotational motion, there are a small number of Pokémon that can in fact rotate their horns (or their entire bodies as in the case of Excadrill) fast enough to make them exceptionally potent weapons. Unfortunately, such delicate manipulation means that quite a bit of time is needed to prepare the attack, in turn meaning that the attack is inaccurate through function alone. In practice, however, the attack's true accuracy is actually dependent upon the relative difference in combat experience between two sides. An opponent of a higher experience level will always be able to dodge the attack in close quarters, but as the experience level begins to swing more in more in the favor of the user, the chance of the attack actually hitting begin to climb dramatically. It is currently unknown why exactly this is the case, but it is hypothesized that intimidation may be the primary factor behind this phenomenon. Regardless, the damage capabilities of the Horn Drill attack are beyond calculation. The moment the Horn Drill attack connects, the sheer vibrational forces generated by the rotating drill are enough to overload nerves in the immediate and surrounding areas, in turn overloading the brain and sending it into a state very similar to shock; it isn't long after this that the opponent loses complete consciousness. Thankfully, the actual damage done by the Horn Drill attack can be fairly small or even negligible when striking hard armor, but the attack will nonetheless have the exact same impact and will knock out the opposition every single time it hits. Not even items or Abilities that protect against knockout blows can prevent cataclysmic damage from this move nor can changes in the Accuracy or Evasion stat of either side; with the Horn Drill attack, every target is fair game. Not surprisingly, Silph Co. saw massive potential with this move and joyfully included it within their 1st generation line of TMs as TM07, but they quickly pulled it from their line afterwards when they realized how unfair the attack's capabilities actually were.

Countering Horn Drill: Due to its exceptionally low Accuracy Rate, dodging the Horn Drill attack should be fairly easy, even for smaller Pokémon, and should be the only logical measure taken to avoid the attack; as long as the opposition isn't at the same level of experience as your own Pokémon or higher, there should be nothing to worry about. If this is not the case, however, the only useful strategy that can be used is to run like heck and hope that the attack misses; otherwise, there is absolutely nothing capable of preventing the attack from knocking out your Pokémon instantly.

Professor Wormwood