Top 10 Best Pokemon Moves of All Time
What makes a Pokémon move truly great? Is it raw power, versatility, or the ability to turn the tide of battle with perfect timing? Some moves hit like a truck, dealing massive damage in a single blow, while others shape the battlefield by setting up hazards or disrupting your opponent's strategy. The best moves stand out for their reliability, impact, and how well they fit into different battle styles.
This list brings together some of the most effective and iconic moves in Pokémon history, covering everything from heavy-hitting attacks to strategic game-changers. These moves have been tested and praised by countless trainers, and now it's your turn to weigh in. Which ones do you think belong at the top? Cast your votes and help decide which Pokémon moves truly deserve to be called the best.
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Roar of Time
This Dragon-type move delivers a powerful blast against the opponent, causing significant damage.
This move is so powerful! It has a 150 base power and 95% accuracy. The only drawback is you can't do anything on the next turn, but Dialga, being a Dragon/Steel-type Pokémon, is so tanky that your opponent won't be able to do much against you.
Although, moves like Fly or Dig might ruin you. It can do super effective damage (eat your heart out, Hyper Beam!). Some may say it sucks because you have to rest the next turn, but nothing is going to take out a Dialga in one hit. Roar of Time is my favorite move and by far the most powerful. Well, V-Create has 180 base power, but you're not going to have a Pokémon that knows it.
A Dragon version of Hyper Beam. Slightly better because of its Dragon typing, so it can at least do super effective damage. But other than that, it's as bad as Hyper Beam.
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Scald
A Water-type move that blasts the target with boiling water, possibly causing a burn.
Best attack in the current meta, Scald gets a lot of power when used by the likes of Keldeo. The fact that it burns is the icing on the cake since a lot of physical attackers are prominent in the meta as of now.
Knock Off and Thunder Wave give this move competition though.
One of the only Water-type moves that Emboar can learn, and it should be far higher on the list. You have a 30% chance of burning your foes!
Speaking of Emboar, give it the Waterium Z-Crystal and watch hilarity unfold right before you!
Great attack, can be used well with bulky Water types for STAB bonus, and also has a chance to debilitate physical attackers with burn.
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Explosion
A Normal-type move that causes the user to faint but inflicts massive damage to the target.
This move is basically Self-Destruct, apart from being much stronger. I used to have it on my Golem but replaced it with Double-Edge as I didn't really find this move helpful, as it also KOs your Pokémon. But, if you're against someone really strong and they have one Pokémon left and you have two, then use it so you win.
Not great on Fighting-type Pokémon.
READ THIS IF YOU DON'T GET WHY TO USE IT.
It does the same amount of damage regardless of how much health you have. Great to use against an opponent with full HP when you only have a few HP. Also, prior to Generation 5, it halved the target's Defense when calculating damage. In some generations, the user won't faint if it doesn't hit (i.e., against a Ghost-type).
The main disadvantage, other than it doesn't work on Ghost-types, is that only two Normal types can learn it, Silvally and Lickilicky (for the same-type attack bonus).
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Boomburst
A Normal-type move that unleashes a destructive sound wave, affecting all Pokémon around the user.
Boomburst is arguably the most powerful move in the game. All of the moves that have more than 140 power have a significant drawback, like Hyper Beam's recharge, Overheat's Special Attack reduction (Overheat is actually only 140 power), Eruption's variable damage, and the suicidal Explosion.
Boomburst's only drawback is that it is not super effective against anything. Its area-of-effect ability is actually advantageous if your partner Pokémon are either Ghost-types or their abilities are either Soundproof or Telepathy.
Boomburst is by far the most powerful move for a Pokémon to use. The only drawback is that, as a Normal-type move, it can't be super effective against anything (although you can obtain STAB damage if you train Exploud to use it).
I believe the reason it isn't higher on this list is 1) it's not widely known, and 2) only five Pokémon can be taught how to use this move.
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Aura Sphere
A Fighting-type move that never misses. It launches a sphere of energy at the target.
In Generations 4 and 5, this attack has 90 base power and still never misses. How the hell would I believe until I saw there was actually a Special Attack for Fighting types which is actually this cool!
Great move because it is fairly powerful, never misses, has great PP for its power, and is a Fighting-type move.
Fighting-types can do super-effective damage to five types, most of which are common.
Fairly strong Fighting-type attack that never misses, doesn't activate contact-related abilities like Effect Spore, and messes up those Double Team/Minimize spamming NPC opponents.
What's not to like?
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Geomancy
A Fairy-type move that greatly boosts the user's Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed on the next turn.
Geomancy honestly is completely overpowered, and with Power Herb, it's a double Quiver Dance in one turn.
You can defeat many opponents with it.
Simply great. Power up three essential stats, and with a Power Herb, it's unstoppable. Only one Pokémon can learn it, though.
It's really good. I charge up Xerneas with this and then spam Moonblast.
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Stealth Rock
This Rock-type move sets a trap of floating stones around the opponent that causes damage upon switching in.
This, small insignificant children, is what the boogeyman checks under his bed for, and what death is too afraid to tell it that it died 20 years ago.
If there was an ability such as Snow Warning with Stealth Rock, pray to Raptor Jesus.
Destroys sash, Flying types, Bug types, Fire types, and a lot of other stuff.
Magic Guard and Rapid Spin may ignore or remove it, but those are the only ways to not take damage.
Cripples lots of Pokémon, and really penalizes excessive switching, giving your opponent less flexibility.
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Dragon Ascent
A Flying-type move, the strongest of its kind, which lowers the user's Defense and Special Defense.
Although it only has 5 PP and reduces both Defense and Special Defense by one stage after use, Dragon Ascent has a fantastic 120 base power and 100% accuracy. This move is exclusive to Rayquaza, and Rayquaza Mega Evolves when it knows Dragon Ascent.
With a Flying-type move of 120 base power coming from a base 180 Attack stat with STAB, Mega Rayquaza can easily defeat most Pokémon with this move, whether in competitive battles or not. Furthermore, Mega Rayquaza's impressive defensive stats ensure its longevity in battle despite the stat drops.
Therefore, while a significant portion of its effectiveness may stem from the Pokémon using it, Dragon Ascent is undeniably a powerful attack and can be considered the best move.
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Earthquake
A Ground-type move that shakes the battlefield, damaging all adjacent Pokémon.
How is this worse than Earth Power? More Pokémon can learn it, it is 10 more powerful, and is physical, so it counters special targets such as Fire and Poison.
It can one-hit KO Heatran. My favorite move.
Incredible attack power of 100 and an accuracy of 100 easily make this one of the best Ground-type moves in Pokémon.
Many Pokémon can use this beast of a move to dismiss Electric, Steel, Poison, Fire, and Rock types.
Garchomp is unstoppable with it.
Probably the best offensive move due to its immense base power, good typing, incredibly diverse pool of Pokémon that can learn it, and decent PP.
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Extreme Speed
A Normal-type move that allows the user to attack with blinding speed, always striking first.
Arceus running this thing along with Substitute, Shadow Claw, and Swords Dance is known as Extreme Killer (AKA making everyone cry).
Rayquaza, you are overpowered in many ways, but man, this is the most OP thing about you.
Super overpowered when you have a Pokémon with high Attack. You just send it out and it immediately destroys everything.
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Spectral Thief
A Ghost-type move that steals the target's stat boosts before attacking.
Best move ever. It can steal an opponent's stat boosts and attack them at the same time.
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Foul Play
A Dark-type move that uses the target's Attack stat against them in dealing damage.
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Shell Smash
A Normal-type move that boosts the user's offensive stats while lowering defensive stats.
This is a +4 attack. It lowers your Defense and Special Defense, sure, but it sharply raises your Attack, Special Attack, and Speed.
On Pokémon like Cloyster, Crustle, Omastar, and Torkoal, it's deadly.
Especially with a White Herb, this move gives you a great stat boost and is one of the few moves on this list that is here due to strategy instead of raw power.
Along with Stealth Rock, this is the only move in this top 10 worthy of being here.
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Flamethrower
A Fire-type move that scorches the target with intense flames, potentially causing a burn.
The classic go-to move for any Fire-type or strong Special Attacking Pokémon, also Charizard's former signature move!
This is a great move with Charizard and many other Fire types. It can even one-shot Water types sometimes.
This is one of my favorite fire-type moves to use and is easy to get on Chimchar!
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Sheer Cold
An Ice-type move that instantly knocks out the target if it hits, but has low accuracy.
Obliterates your opponent in one hit. Awesome. The thing is, if its accuracy was 100%, Arceus would lay in front of Vanilluxe saying "I surrender!" and stuff. I just wonder why Avalanche wasn't up here. Avalanche is just as good as Sheer Cold.
The Japanese name for Sheer Cold, Absolute Zero, is so cool too!
What makes Sheer Cold better than Fissure, Guillotine, or Horn Drill? It's not like it matters if they're super effective or not. They all have the same accuracy. But then again, Fissure can't hit Flying-types and Guillotine and Horn Drill can't hit Ghosts...
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Destiny Bond
A Ghost-type move that causes the opponent to faint if the user faints immediately after using this move.
Great move if you are about to faint. You can use Endure and then use this move afterward.
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Draco Meteor
A Dragon-type move where comets are summoned to strike the target, reducing the user's Special Attack.
Sad story time.
First run through of my first Pokémon game, Platinum, I got a level 35 Jirachi with Draco Meteor. Mind blown. But most of my Pokémon were in the mid-40s to 50s, so I put it in the daycare. Came back and found that Draco Meteor was replaced by Swift.
SWIFT.
Draco Meteor is the strongest Dragon-type attack in the whole Pokémon franchise as of now. The only downside is the Special Attack lower, but hello! White Herb was invented for a reason!
The BEST dragon-type move with 130 base attack. The only downside is it lowers your Sp. Atk, but hey, even after that, it still is OP.
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Metronome
This unpredictable Normal-type move randomly selects and executes any other move.
Sure, it's risky, but this move is the best because... when I am writing this, Hyper Beam is #1 on this list. The thing is, Metronome can even use better moves than that.
I prefer Solar Beam over Hyper Beam, but it holds the same truth. Metronome is the best because it can use all the moves on this list and more.
I LOVE this move! Sure, there are chances of Self-Destruct, Explosion, and Memento, but Metronome still has chances to become a Legendary's signature move! This happened to me twice. My Togepi completely owned Morty's Gengar when Metronome suddenly became Psycho Boost (sorry if I'm wrong with the name)!
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Toxic Spikes
A Poison-type move that scatters spikes, poisoning opposing Pokémon upon switching in.
Do you know in the anime when Paul's third Pokémon was Drapion and it used Toxic Spikes to poison five of Ash's Pokémon? That's why I prefer Toxic Spikes over Spikes.
This is such a fun move, as long as your opponent can't absorb the spikes.
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Sticky Web
A Bug-type move that sets a trap to lower the Speed of opposing Pokémon entering the battle.
Well, in-game it might be rubbish, but competitively, it's kind of neat.
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Blast Burn
A Fire-type move with immense power, requiring the user to rest the next turn.
Just a Fire-type version of Hyper Beam! Along with Roar of Time and Hyper Beam, this should be in the bottom barrel of the listing.
Never ever use this (unless you want to nuke the last Pokémon you're facing). The same goes for other bad signature moves with the same effect: Hydro Cannon (Water variant), Frenzy Plant (Grass variant), Prismatic Laser (Psychic variant, which is 160 base power and only Necrozma can learn it), and then, of course, Roar of Time (Dragon variant, and only Dialga can learn it).
Never use moves with horrible side effects. They will kill you.
In the show, Blast Burn is an earthquake with fire. It's actually effective against water types despite being a fire-type move. Definitely should be higher on the list.
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Hyper Beam
A Normal-type move where the user attacks with a powerful beam, requiring recharge time afterward.
Hyper Beam is much better than Roar of Time. Hyper Beam covers three types. It is a Normal-type move, but it can become Ice or Fairy type because of the abilities Refrigerate and Pixilate. The result is that Hyper Beam is a valuable STAB move.
Moreover, a variety of Pokémon can learn Hyper Beam, whereas only one Pokémon can learn Roar of Time. Finally, Roar of Time is simply a Dragon-type version of Hyper Beam.
Why does everyone hate Hyper Beam so much? It's not that bad at all! I mean, it's no Roar of Time or Aura Sphere, but it's not all that bad.
Sure, it's not effective against some Pokémon, but it's better than it's given credit for!
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Ice Beam
An Ice-type move that fires a chilling beam, potentially freezing the target.
Not that great of a move on its own. However, add the fact that this is super effective against Grass types to the fact that so many Water types use it, and you have the answer to why Water type is so overpowered.
Awesome move, in my opinion. If you use it on Quagsire, it's deadly!
Great move against dragon and grass types. It is effective and deals good damage.
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Hydro Cannon
A Water-type move that unleashes a powerful jet of water, requiring recharge time afterward.
Hydro Cannon is a great move with high power.
It's good for early game for Blastoise. It will be a really good move, especially against Fire types.
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Knock Off
A Dark-type move that slaps down the target's held item, preventing its use during the battle.
Easily the best competitive move in the game. It rids the opponent of an often precious and advantageous item, and has almost 98 base power in doing so (that's Earthquake status). It seems like every Pokémon can learn it, and it hits any Pokémon, which makes trainers nervous about switching out. It is a staple in nearly every competitive team, and that forces you to develop a strategy for it. Any move you have to plan around deserves a spot in the top 10 at least.
The terror of Eviolite teams. The nightmare of specially defensive Chanseys.
Most useful move in the game, especially in competitive play. Many Fighting-types learn this move and can cripple Psychic Pokémon on the switch. It also gets rid of many hindrances like items. It would be broken if it removed Mega Stones, but it still wrecks teams any day, anytime.
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Thunder
An Electric-type move with high power and the potential to paralyze, more effective in rain.
Pair this up with a Pokémon that has Drizzle (Kyogre, especially Primal Kyogre), Compound Eyes (Galvantula), or No Guard, and your accuracy problems will disappear!
The same with Hurricane, Blizzard (if you're using Snow Warning), Fire Blast (don't use it with Drizzle), and Focus Blast!
The strongest electric-type move (way stronger than Thunderbolt).
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Giga Impact
A Normal-type move where the user charges with immense force, requiring recharge time afterward.
I hate this move. It isn't a good Grass move and it hardly hurts the enemy. It is so bad and I hate it even more when most Pokémon learn it at a high level!
Back in the old days, Hyper Beam was a physical attack, so Giga Impact was made to replace Hyper Beam after it became a special attack.
Giga Impact is a very heavy attack, and what I mean by that is that it can do tons of damage.
But sometimes it goes second.