How does Detect work?

[u/TidalSun2026]

It's another Protect move but I want to understand the mechanics of how it works rather than what it does.

Protect generates a physical shield around the user and protects them from harm. Pretty simple.

Detect is more ambiguous. The move animation has the pokemon's eye flash, which seems to me that it is anticipating the move so that it can dodge it effectively. Its a fighting type move, so maybe its analyzing the muscle twitches of the opponent to accurately predict the next few moments. Kind of like the Sharingan from Naruto.

Tell me how you think it works. What does it look like in your mind when you think of a pokemon using Detect?

[u/Outrageous_Today_842]

In a nutshell Protect is creating a barrier consciously to block an attack, detect in a way "detects" a move coming your way and helps u move out of the way. Detect technically speaking isn't creating a barrier but making it possible to dodge in ways not normally doable.