What is the point of Detect?

Question

Since you can just teach your Pokemon Protect.

Comments

The main reason is actually to avoid getting imprisoned...

Answer 1

It's Fighting-type, learned by fewer Pokemon, and has 5 PP, rather than 10. So in other words, it's a crappier version of Protect.

My guess would be that, early in development, Game Freak planned to make attacks like, Feint and Shadow Force, which could hit through Protect. The original purpose for Detect might've been for it to not to be hit by these attacks, and be the "Ultimate Protection."

Purely a guess, but it seems like the only logical reason behind the existence of such an attack.

Maybe it was also added to make it seem like Fighting-types also had some tactical/Defense options as well.

Answer 2

I never got the point of it either. Protect and Detect do exactly the same. All pokemon that learn TMs can learn Protect.

The only difference between them is that different pokemon learn them by level up. They could just have easily given those pokemon Protect instead.

Answer 3

Detect is the same as Protect. and if 1 pokemon have both of them, it can protect itself 10x (Detect:PP 5/5, Protect: PP 5/5). it's give you enough time to win a battle against pokemon with status problem like badly poison...

Comments

The fail rate for Endure, Protect, and Detect are all relative to one another, as Pokemaster mentioned in an old question.

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Protect has 10 base PP

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Narwhals is right, see http://pokemondb.net/pokebase/1046/does-using-protect-and-then-detect-work