Is Defog a legal move competitively?

Question

I've heard evasion moves like Minimize and Double Team aren't legal, but Defog has so much potential if you're not running any hazards of your own. It clears hazards, screens (which is excellent), Safeguard/Mist, and lowers the opponents evasion. Imo, its better than Rapid Spin. But is it a legal move?

Answer 1

Yes, it is a legal move.

This is because Smogons evasion clause only pertains to those moves which raise evasion, those being the two you just mentioned, as well as banning Sand Veil and Snow Cloak in 5th generation (apart from the Ubers tier) to prevent weather + evasion ability abuse.

Sources:
> Evasion Clause - A Pokemon may not have the moves Double Team or
> Minimize in its moveset. ~Smogon

And here on Smogon

And experience in using the Defog move on Pokemon Showdown.

Comments

Oh cool! Thanks!

Answer 2

No, it isn't banned, it's a legal move!

I looked at Smogons website, and there was nothing bad about using Defog from what I could read. It's probably not banned because it also gets rid of the hazards you set up too.

Source

Hope this helped!