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Dex · Competitive essentials

Pokémon moves

The moves you'll see in 95% of competitive games. Hazards, pivots, setup moves, recovery, status, and the Gen 9 signature attacks that define the metagame.

Move Type Cat BP Acc Effect
Earthquake Ground Physical 100 100 Hits both opponents in doubles (0.75× spread).
Stealth Rock Rock Status — — Sets rock hazards. Hits switch-ins for 12.5%-50% based on Rock weakness.
Spikes Ground Status — — Hazard. Up to 3 layers. Hurts grounded switch-ins for 12.5/16.7/25%.
Toxic Spikes Poison Status — — Hazard. Up to 2 layers. Poisons / badly poisons grounded switch-ins.
Knock Off Dark Physical 65 100 Removes target's held item. 1.5× damage if the target had an item.
U-turn / Volt Switch Bug/Electric Physical/Special 70 100 Damages then switches user out.
Flip Turn Water Physical 60 100 Damages then switches user out (Water version).
Protect Normal Status — — Blocks all moves for one turn. Fails if used consecutively.
Substitute Normal Status — — Costs 25% HP. Creates a decoy that absorbs damage and blocks status.
Recover / Roost / Slack Off / Soft-Boiled Normal/Flying Status — — Heals 50% max HP. Roost removes Flying typing for the turn.
Will-O-Wisp Fire Status — 85 Burns target — halves Attack and chips 1/16 HP per turn.
Thunder Wave Electric Status — 90 Paralyzes target. Halves Speed, 25% chance to skip turn.
Toxic Poison Status — 90 Badly poisons target. Damage increases each turn.
Dragon Dance Dragon Status — — +1 Atk, +1 Spe. Premier setup move.
Swords Dance Normal Status — — +2 Atk. Doubles physical damage on next hit.
Nasty Plot Dark Status — — +2 SpA. Doubles special damage on next hit.
Calm Mind Psychic Status — — +1 SpA, +1 SpD. Defensive setup for special attackers.
Bulk Up Fighting Status — — +1 Atk, +1 Def. Defensive setup for physical attackers.
Tera Blast Normal Phys/Spec 80 100 Becomes the user's Tera type when Terastallized. Uses higher offensive stat.
Gigaton Hammer Steel Physical 160 100 Cannot be used twice in a row. Tinkaton signature move.
Make It Rain Steel Special 120 100 Hits all opponents. Lowers user's SpA by 1. Gholdengo signature.
Wicked Blow Dark Physical 75 100 Always critical hit. Bypasses defensive boosts. Urshifu-Single signature.
Surging Strikes Water Physical 25 100 Hits 3 times, always critical. Urshifu-Rapid signature.

What makes a competitive move

Most of the 900+ moves in Pokémon are flavor or unused at the top level. Competitive moves cluster into a few archetypes:

  • STAB attacks — your Pokémon's primary damage move, matching one of its types for 1.5× damage.
  • Coverage attacks — secondary moves that hit the types your STAB resists. Use our coverage calc to find gaps.
  • Setup moves — Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Calm Mind. Trade a turn of damage for compounding future damage.
  • Pivot moves — U-turn, Volt Switch, Flip Turn, Parting Shot, Teleport. Damage then switch out, preserving momentum.
  • Recovery — Recover, Roost, Slack Off, Soft-Boiled, Synthesis (weather-dependent). Heal 50% to extend longevity.
  • Status — Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Sleep Powder. Wear down or disable threats over multiple turns.
  • Hazards — Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Sticky Web. Chip damage / status / Speed control on switch-in.

Hazards control: the meta within the meta

Stealth Rock is in 80%+ of Gen 9 OU teams because it hits switch-ins for 12.5% (neutral) to 50% (4× weak — Volcarona, Charizard, Yanmega). Spikes adds another 12.5%-25% to grounded switch-ins. Combined, hazards create a "must-clear" pressure that anchors team building around hazard setters (Glimmora, Ting-Lu, Garchomp) and hazard removers (Mandibuzz Defog, Great Tusk Rapid Spin, Cinderace Court Change).

Move category quick math

Physical moves use Attack vs. Defense; Special moves use Sp. Atk vs. Sp. Def. A few exceptions: Psyshock (Special move, uses physical Defense), Body Press (Physical, uses user's Defense as offense stat), Foul Play (Physical, uses defender's Attack). Use the damage calculator when in doubt about which math applies.