Pokemonhas an interesting plethora of moves, all of which are unique in their own ways. Well, not exactly. While every move is unique by name and type and whatnot, and some are certainly not like any other, there are several that perform very similar functions to each other, so much so that they’re basically counterparts.
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This list goes through the ten best of those move archetypes; sets of moves that follow the same effective blueprint in terms of power and secondary effects, and only differing in name andeither type or category.
10The Hyper Beams
Starting this list off is perhaps the most recognizable set of moves that share the same qualities: Hyper Beam and all of its clones, namely Giga Impact,Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn, Hydro Cannon, Rock Wrecker, and Roar of Time.
All these moves have 150 base power, 90 percent accuracy, five PP, and, of course, the caveat where the user is forced to recharge for a turn. While these moves deserve to exist as epitomes of raw, unhinged power in playthroughs, they have no place in most competitive movesets because of that vulnerable turn.
9The Raging Sweepers
These four are what you could call go-big-or-go-home sweeping moves, as the caveat that comes with these high-power attacks could be outright dangerous for the user in certain situations.
Thrash, Petal Dance, Outrage, and Raging Fury all have120 base power, 100 percent accuracy, ten PP, and the secondary effect of locking the user into the move for two or three turns and leaving them confused afterward. Of the four, Outrage has perhaps been both the most viable and potentially hobbling the user, as while it was the best physical Dragon-type attack for a while, you now run the risk of walking into near-certain death when the opponent brings out a Fairy-type.
8The Weather Blasters
It’s hard to pin down the viability of Blizzard, Thunder, and Hurricane. They’re extremely useful in certain conditions, but in others, they’re either still very useful or really not, depending on how you build teams.
All three moves’ shared 110 base power is badly offset by the 70 percent accuracy, but in the case of Blizzard and Hurricane specifically, they’re the most plausible options for big special power within their respective types. Of course, the inaccuracy is thwarted by their bypassing accuracy altogether in their respective weathers (Blizzard in hail or snow, Thunder and Hurricane in rain). They’re go-tos for weather teams, and they’re still decent options otherwise, if a bit high-risk.
7The Defense-Dropping Damage Dealers
These four moves are hailed the most reliable special attacks for their respective types, thanks to very solid base power, no chance to miss without scummy evasion tactics, and a secondary effect that, while rare, can add quite a bit to the target’s detriment.
To be specific, Psychic, Bug Buzz, Earth Power, and Energy Ball share 90 base power, 100 percent accuracy, and a ten percent chance to drop the target’s Special Defense a stage. The former three in particular are considered premier special STAB attacks, and while Energy Ball isn’t quite there due to the presence of stronger special Grass-type moves, it nonetheless makes for a fantastic coverage option in an otherwise non-Grass-oriented learnset.
6The Double-Edged Swords
Ah, the recoil moves. The foremost of which is called Double-Edge for a reason, and it would later get several clones that give different STAB-typed Pokemon a chance to deal big damage at a somewhat unsettling cost.
Double-Edge, Volt Tackle, Brave Bird, Wood Hammer, Flare Blitz, and Wave Crash all have 120 base power and 100 percent accuracy, and inflict recoil worth a third of the damage dealt (all have 15 PP, with the exception of Wave Crash at 10). Brave Bird, Flare Blitz, andWave Crash in particularhave stood out as arguably the best physical moves of their respective types despite that caveat.
5The Secondary Effect Fishers
These interesting six may have relatively inferior base power (80) compared to other moves of their types, but aside from the 100 percent accuracy, they all have fantastic secondary effects and usually solid chances to proc.
The first four – namely Waterfall, Extrasensory, Dark Pulse, and Iron Head – all fit a subcategory of their own asmoves that can flinch the target. While Extrasensory only has a ten percent chance of doing so, the other three have 20 percent or higher, making them very viable attacking options. The remaining two – Scald and Poison Jab – are notable in their own rights; the former’s 30 percent burn chance makes it one of the best moves in the game, and the latter, while less essential, is still a great physical Poison-type attack.
4The Priority Strikes
Along with the Hyper Beam entry, this will be the densest entry on the list, as there areeightmoves that share 40 base power, 100 percent accuracy, and a level of priority: the Normal-type Quick Attack, Fighting-type Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave, Water-type Aqua Jet, Steel-type Bullet Punch, Ice-type Ice Shard, Ghost-type Shadow Sneak, andRock-type Accelerock.
While Quick Attack is a bit of a pushover (especially with Extreme Speed as a far superior alternative), adding a strong offensive type to a priority attack adds so much value; most of the Quick Attack clones get regular usage in competitive battling as go-to clean-up moves.
3The Heals
The only set of status moves listed here, Gen One’s Recover and Soft-Boiled would get essentially one-to-one clones in the next few generations. The widely-distributed Recover, Roost, and Slack Off, and signature Soft-Boiled, Milk Drink, and Heal Order are all functionally identical in that they have 5 PP and heal the user by half their max HP, aside from Roost’s quirk of removing the user’s Flying-type during the turn.
Deserving mentions alongside are moves that heal the user by half-max HP most of the time, but vary in effectiveness depending on certain weather: Moonlight, Morning Sun, Synthesis, and Shore Up. All of the above have been staples in competitive battling for persistent stall tactics or added longevity.
2The Diminishing Ultimates
All five of these moves are infamous for dealing exorbitant amounts of damage in a flash. As such, despite the caveats that come with them, three of the five here with wide distribution (and Psycho Boost and Fleur Cannon for Deoxys and Magearna, respectively) have been popular choices for special movesets.
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Overheat, Draco Meteor, Leaf Storm,and Fleur Cannonall have 130 base power, 90 percent accuracy, and 5 PP, and will drop theuser’sSpecial Attack two stages. Psycho Boost has the same accuracy, secondary effect, and PP, but has a slightly higher base power of 140.
1The Risky Ultimates
Arguably the best set of moves to be clones of each other, the Fighting-type Close Combat,Flying-type Dragon Ascent, Ground-type Headlong Rush, and Fire-type Armor Cannon all share the same properties of 120 base power, 100 percent accuracy, 5 PP, and dropping the user’s Defense and Special Defense with each use.
While the defensive stat drops aren’t great, they keep the offensive firepower intact and make this set of moves much more spammable than other high-base-power moves. A mention should also be given to Superpower, a Fighting-type move that shares the base power, accuracy, and PP, but swaps an Attack drop for the Special Defense drop.
