As the Pokemon franchise continues to grow, so does the list of usable moves and battle combos available to players. Because of this roster of over 800 known moves, countless abilities have become either underrepresented or completely forgotten throughout the generations of installments to the Pokemon world. With limited space for moves for each Pokemon, some players can commit to multiple playthroughs without ever encountering these forms of attacks.
With new adventures and Pokemon being released on a regular basis from Nintendo, the list of available combat options is larger than ever. Nearly every Pokemon is gifted with unusual moves that can easily give your team a competitive edge. Here's a list of attacks that will give your team the upper hand in any fight.
10 Attract
Many fans of both the games and television series of Pokemon can recall a time in which their team was wiped out by this move. Attract works as a status condition on the field of battle, and can be used by a Pokemon of the opposite gender to cause their opponent to become infatuated with them. Status conditions can often be overlooked for their potential, but with Attract negating around 50% of all attacks against the Pokemon due to infatuation, it's a formidable move to keep around.
Not only does this attack protect the user 50% of the time from attacks, but also protects the rest of the user's team as well, should the trainer decide to swap out for another Pokemon during the fight. While Attract is limited by only being effective against foes of the opposite gender, this is still an attack that can give a player a competitive edge.
9 Skill Swap
As a psychic-type move, Skill Swap can often be overlooked by other more flashy moves like Psyshock or Prismatic Laser. However, this ability can be used to completely debilitate an opposing Pokemon during battle. True to the name, Skill Swap switches all of the abilities of both the user and target with one another. This move always hits the opponent unless otherwise obstructed by Dig or Fly. This yield results best when the user only has one or two usable moves, like Truant.
All but a handful of moves can be traded using this move, and it can be learned at the earliest without a TM Skill Swap at level 25. Both Sylveon and Hoopa can learn Skill Swap organically, but most Psychic-type Pokemon can learn the ability.
8 U-Turn
Another move lacking in damage but making up for it through sheer mobility, U-Turn is one of the most useful Bug-type moves in any Pokemon battle. With base stats of 70 power and boasting a 100% accuracy, U-Turn gives players a double ability. Not only does this attack do damage to an opponent, but it also then gives the trainer the ability to immediately switch out to another Pokemon.
In most cases, a trainer that needs to switch out their Pokémon during the round will have to give up the ability to attack with said Pokémon. Instead, U-Turn lets a move that is done regularly have the added benefit of a Bug-type attack during the same round, which is a skill that shouldn't be underestimated.
7 Hex
Hex is a move that not only does damage, but creates an added benefit to preexisting conditions that the target may be suffering from. Even with a good base power of 65, Hex then doubles its own damage if there is another non-volatile condition already afflicting the target. These conditions can include Freeze, Burn, and Poison. This Ghost-type ability is especially useful in long, drawn-out fights where the trainer has to chip away at an opponent's health. Because of this, Hex can be very useful in high-level fights against Gym Leaders or the Elite Four to name a few.
Hex can also be learned organically from particular Pokemon to make the leveling process easier. Chandelure can be found to have this move from Level 1 onward in every generation of Pokemon. It also has access to Smog and Poison, which can be used prior to Hex for maximum damage output.
6 Fury Cutter
With one of the lowest base power levels for any attack, Fury Cutter is not an obvious champion of Bug-type moves from the start, but it holds a surprising amount of potential. Starting from a base power of 10 and an accuracy of 95%, Fury Cutter is a stackable move that quickly generates a lot of damage.
Rising consecutively for each hit, this move can escalate up to 160 power per attack. Although the power resets if the user's attack is evaded, the near-perfect score of accuracy makes Fury Cutter a worthy addition to any fight. An initially bug-type only move, TM Fury Cutter can be taught to any number of slashing Pokemon, with the Alolan Sandslash and Sirfetch'd organically have the move from level 1.
5 Metal Burst
Steel-type moves are notorious for their power and strength during a Pokemon battle, and Metal Burst is a worthy addition to that list. Similar to the moves Counter and Mirror Coat, Metal Burst is reactive to the opponent's last attack and deals out 1.5 times the damage received. Unlike those moves, there aren't any special conditions that have to be met by the user or trainer in order to properly utilize the attack.
Metal Burst is a great way to deal damage after a heavy hit from moves that require a build-up like Skull Bash or Razor Wind without the necessary round of charging up the attack. It creates a great window of opportunity to make the target re-strategize in the middle of a battle. Alolan Sandslash, Perrserka, Zamazenta, and Wormadom all get the move Metal Burst at level 1.
4 Leech Seed
A veteran in the Pokemon games, Leech Seed is one of the most practical moves to keep on a Grass-type Pokemon no matter the level. Leech Seed works by user tossing seeds across the battlefield to land on an opposing Pokemon, which slowly takes away health points each round.
Like many status conditions, it slowly adds up in damage throughout the battle and slowly drains away from the life of the target. Unlike most status conditions, each round the health lost from the target gains health for the user, which can be used to wear down strong opponents or stall a fight for as long as possible.
3 Encore
Known as one of the most frustrating moves in the game, nothing can hurt an opponent's chance of success more than a well-timed encore. Encore locks the target into a cycle of repeating their most recent attack over and over again. It can also be used into forcing a Pokemon to use a status condition move repeatedly and more times than necessary, using up the PP for that move and wasting turns. For instance, a Pokemon could be locked into a move that has no effect on the opponent, and therefore be at the user's mercy for several rounds.
Pokemon that know this move without having to use a TM are Clefairy, Psyduck, Polywhirl, and the Alolan Vulpix. The TM Encore is a Normal-type move that can be taught to most Normal-type Pokemon and has a 100% accuracy in battle.
2 Ally Switch
A highly specialized but unavoidable move, Ally Switch is the perfect move for double battles. This Psychic-type move is one of the hardest moves to counter during a fight because of its speed a defensive ability. Ally Switch works by swapping the user with its neighboring Pokemon ally, which can be used to either nullify or render any incoming attacks useless. By changing intended targets, both Pokemon also switch the attacks intended for them.
While not an aggressive or powerful move in terms of damage, the secret strength of Ally Switch comes from its speed. It is a priority attack, which means that this will always strike first during the round, saving the user and their ally from a possibly devastating attack. This move requires a high level of insight into type effectiveness and the skillsets of opponents within a fight but can be used to turn the tide of a battle almost immediately.
1 Dragon Tail
An issue in many drawn-out fights is the constant increase or enhancement of the opponent's stats and status conditions. Pokemon like Metapod can constantly increase their defensive ability until being virtually invincible in battle and can pose a real headache to trainers. In other cases, more attack-based Pokemon can use moves like Sword Dance to raise their attack stat and take out opponents in a single hit.
One quick way to level out the playing field so as to force the target to swap out with another Pokémon in their team, canceling their stat boosts. Most Pokémon with a tail can use Dragon Tail as an effective method to level the playing field and ruin any attempt for the target Pokemon to buff themselves.