Is there any benefit to attacking your allies in Double Battles?

Question

I decided to do a Multi Battle at the Battle Tree today and decided to troll the AI by attacking my partner. That got me thinking of this question. Whether it be moves, abilities, etc. Also, was there ever an explanation given by Game Freak for why you could do this?

Comments

What do you mean by "reason for why you could do this"?

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Like had Game Freak ever explained why this was an option for moves that only attack one target like Stone Edge.  My bad.  I worded it poorly.

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going to add some other (gimmicky) strategies since I don't want to add another answer :P
rattled + u-turn
sand spit + earthquake from a sand rush user
anger point + frost breath (or any guaranteed crit move)
berserk + super fang
contrary + stat lowering move
defiant + stat lowering move
dry skin/water absorb/storm drain + surf (or just a water move into the dry skin/water absorb target)
lightning rod/motor drive/volt absorb + discharge
stamina + multi-hit move (beat up, etc.)
steadfast + fake out
steam engine + surf
tangled feet + dynamic punch
water compaction + surf
weak armor + beat up

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Nebby, would you mind if I put those in my answer?

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don't mind, you can put them in your answer

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Thanks, Nebby

Answer 1

Yes, there are actual strategies to do with attacking your allies!

• Using Beat Up on an ally with Justified to raise their stats.
• Activating Weakness Policy with a super-effective attack.
• If you want to take an ally's item for any reason, using a move that can do that will work.
• Using stat-lowering moves on a Pokemon with Contrary to boost those stat(s).
• If Skill Swap counts, taking Abilities from your ally.
• If for any reason you don't want to risk your Golisopod in battle, using a decently powerful attack on it will activate Emergency Exit.
  -If you want to change Greninja's type, and say the move you want to use would not work well on both opposing Pokemon, Greninja could attack its partner to change its type.
• Using a guaranteed crit move, such as Frost Breath, on an ally with Anger Point. (Credit to NebbyY)
• Do healing moves count? Heal Pulse is pretty good for your allies in Double Battles.
• Sand Spit and Earthquake (credit to NebbyY)
• Berserk and Super Fang (Credit to NebbyY)
• Rattled and U-turn (Again, credit to NebbyY)
• Using a Water-type move on an ally with Dry Skin or Water Absorb. (Credit to NebbyY)
• Using an Electric-type move on an ally with Lightning Rod or Motor Drive. (Wow, a lot of these are from NebbyY)
• Using a Grass-type move on an ally with Sap Sipper.
• Attacking an ally with Stamina with a multi-hit move (Okay, just look at Nebby's comment. There's no need to post the rest of what he's already said.)

Comments

Of course!  Feel free to stop though anytime you want.  I don't want you to spend half an hour getting every possible one.

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I'll do my best, but you'll have to excuse me if I overlook some obvious ones. :)

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Don't worry if you miss some.  I can't believe I forgot about Terracotta.  Beat Up and Justified.

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Using an electric move on an ally with volt absorb, using a fire move on an ally with flash fire, using a fire/water move on a Pokémon with steam engine.

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i think you mean keckleon, nt  greninja. protean activates before attacking.

Answer 2

There are some abilities (such as Berserk and Competitive) that boost a Pokémon’s stats and moves when hit with various kinds of attacks. Using an attack on your ally with the intent of activating their ability at just the right time can be helpful.

Additionally, moves like Conversion and Conversion 2 can change a Pokémon’s type to resist the attacks or type of the target. If you know for sure the effect your ally would have on the move, this can be an advantage.

I’m sure there are many more, but this was all I could find for now.

Source: the database