All Gens Most Dominant Moves in History

[Aerodactyl Legend]

Man, haven't played a match in forever, but who cares.

Don't believe this has been posted here (or at least something similar in a long while), but how about compiling a top ten best moves ever existed in Pokemon. Just like the threads for the actual pokemon, all gens (1-5, until XY officially gets in RoA I guess) are considered in a move's placement. Significant moves that have been around longer naturally have a bigger case than others.

Offensive moves are each their own obviously. If anyone wants to make a case for an effect/utility (damaging or not) to be unique or whether different type moves are the same, go ahead. I personally think it varies between moves. For example, the 40 BP priority moves are all unique, U-Turn and Volt Switch are debatable, while Trick and Switcharoo are the same. Shall, say, Lovely Kiss and Sleep Powder be the same? Type, immunities, and distribution are key factors.

Not gonna set the early ten list just yet. Maybe get a few replies. I will jot down some shit that's pretty much automatically gonna be listed at least (or a majority of them), then make some actual effort. I mean, it's obvious what moves have been the best and we can get ten in no time, but ranking them should be more interesting. Especially moves not from the first two gens.

Oh yeah, this is based on standard, so no exclusives from Ubers.

Safe to say, effects/utility are the defining feature of the top moves. Can Thunderbolt or Ice Beam somehow sneak in?

-Dragon Dance
-Baton Pass
-Explosion
-Rapid Spin
-Substitute
-Spikes
-Spore
-Stealth Rock
-U-turn


Honestly, if ten seems dry, we could upgrade to 15 or 20. We'll see.

 

[Triangles]

Roar/WW
Rest
50% recovery moves
HIDDEN POWER

 

[boudouche]

thunder wave???????

 

[Asek]

Its pretty hard to not make a case for earthquake. 100 / 100 with no drawbacks and incredibly wide pool of users has made it ubiquitous throughout every generation of OU. I dont think any other physical move even comes close to the usage eq has seen throughout history... being immune to ground / having ground weak is pretty huge due to how widespread + good ti has historically been

I dont really get if we're looking at these moves in a vacuum or not tho.... if you look at spore on its own you see 100% acc sleep move, which is obviously amazing, one of the most powerful moves designed. But when you look wider how many mons realistically use spore? BW / xy i can only think of loom + amoong atm. I didn't play earlier than bw but I think loom is the only mon who had access to it before that point. Loom is obviously a huge thread and spore contributes to it but is spore itself really dominant / metagame shaping? I dont believe it is

 

[Asek]

oh forgot to say it but scald determined a large number of bw / xy matces on its 30% burn chance by itself, i know thats only 2 gens but its without a doubt extremely dominant in the metagames it appears in. Seen in pretty much every single game during that period as well. may be worth consideration

 

[Crestfall]

Boom, SR, EQ, Spin, Rest definitely stand out above a lot of others to me given how much they changed things. Though SR did only come out in DPP (later than every other move here) it's usage has certainly eclipsed everything else.

Agree with Triangles on adding Phazing moves. Thunder wave as well is worth adding.

I'd maybe even make a case for Protect; generally not as commonly used in OU as some lower tiers (especially stall teams in lower tiers in past gens) but it's still a move that's always been relevant or usable since post gen-2.

E: also Hidden Powers as Triangles mentioned, definitely major. I mean GF even ended up nerfing them

 

[Plancklength]

I feel that both body slam and sleep talk (in addition to rest) should be noted. Body slam is an essential part of the rby meta due to being the generally most favored normal type move (barring arguably hyper beam) due to it's accuracy, relatively high power, and it's role in spreading status, despite the discovery that normal types are immune to its effects. Body slam has largely been disfavored in more recent generations, although a handful of things still run it to better spread status, but it is vital to rby, and to a somewhat lesser extent gsc.

Sleep talk is arguably the move that made rest good, due to it partially eliminating the drawback of making a pokemon unable to do anything for two turns, and it has been used as an option for many choice item users due to its ability to allow them to function as sleep absorbers.

In addition, the metagame shifts that occurred when both moves were discovered to work differently than expected in certain generations stand as further proof of their importance.

Also hyper beam is super important to rby, but it's absolute trash in any other gen so it's a weaker contender.

Would also second thunder wave making the list, it's been the most important paralysis inducer in basically any meta.

 

[Aerodactyl Legend]

Roar/WW
Rest
50% recovery moves
HIDDEN POWER

I see Roar/WW as possibly top ten, but likely 15/20.

Rest could maybe make top 20, but at the time, it's sitting on only one flawless generation (GSC). It got significantly weaker in DPP. RBY is good, as is RS (though the Sleep Talk change affects it).

Recover is definitely a strong one

Hidden Power is top tier.

thunder wave???????

Thunder Wave's an interesting one. I see it as a 15/20, though it's an amazing option in every generation, including being one of the pillars in RBY.


Earthquake is probably the best pure damage/coverage move period, next to Hidden Power.


Hyper Beam only has RBY to hold it up. Note that this is a ranking for the entirety of the series.

 

[Vinc2612]

Rest could maybe make top 20, but at the time, it's sitting on only one flawless generation (GSC). It got significantly weaker in DPP. RBY is good, as is RS (though the Sleep Talk change affects it).

Best move of second generation, great in gen 1/3, still good in gen 4, how would it be just "maybe" top 20? That's the definition of a top contender to me.

Also I disagree with "it got significantly weaker in DPP". Well, depends on what you mean by "significantly". Balanced and Bulky Offense does need it less than before due to the addition of Roost and the introduction of Slack Off Hippowdon (so more reliable defensive pivots), but stall still needs Rest a lot (Rotom-A, sometimes stuff like Gyarados or Roserade). Even offense used to benefit from it when Shaymin was more popular.
It's true that Rest in gen 5 was changed to "a move to keep alive your Politoed/Ninetales a bit longer", so I won't argue on this one.

Spikes was my first thought when I read the title, really good in GSC/ADV/[Current BW], and still good in DPP/[BW before we realized how good is Kazam with Spikes].

Baton Pass was nerfed so many times in the history of Smogon it can't miss the cut-off.

Scald is the only gen 5 I'd consider. Gen 5 is supposely too recent for this listing, but Scald is so Scald-esque I'd make an exception on this one.

I'd say my top 10 would be (no particular order, thanks for ideas in previous posts):

Spikes, Baton Pass, Scald, Rest, Stealth Rock, Earthquake, U-Turn, Explosion, Recover, Thunder Wave.

 

[Cowboy Dan]

I think toxic is worth a mention. It's bad in gen 1 but after that it's been either solid or metagame defining the way it is in gen 3. TSS is a well known archetype for a reason. Protect I think should also be a contender. The only other thing I can think of that hasn't been mentioned is Calm Mind. If Dragon Dance is up there, CM definitely should be.

Edit: I don't think spore should be really up there. It's obviously an incredibly good move but distribution is a very important factor to consider.

 

[Mirabel_]

Best way to do this is probably to go through every OU mon's standard set for all 6 generations, remove one move at a time, and think whether the mon is still OU after replacing it with another legal move. Then tally the results.

 

[Aerodactyl Legend]

Best move of second generation, great in gen 1/3, still good in gen 4, how would it be just "maybe" top 20? That's the definition of a top contender to me.

Also I disagree with "it got significantly weaker in DPP". Well, depends on what you mean by "significantly". Balanced and Bulky Offense does need it less than before due to the addition of Roost and the introduction of Slack Off Hippowdon (so more reliable defensive pivots), but stall still needs Rest a lot (Rotom-A, sometimes stuff like Gyarados or Roserade). Even offense used to benefit from it when Shaymin was more popular.
It's true that Rest in gen 5 was changed to "a move to keep alive your Politoed/Ninetales a bit longer", so I won't argue on this one.

In general, Rest, on its own, lost its luster with the power creep and increased instant recovery options. It requires specific users/strategies. That said, Platinum did quite well with RestTalk. I'm more focused on the top ten, but I don't disagree on it being good in DPP (I love RestTalk). Just with all these other moves, other options would come to mind first. It's been around so long though, that it probably wouldn't have any trouble getting 20.

Scald is the only gen 5 I'd consider. Gen 5 is supposely too recent for this listing, but Scald is so Scald-esque I'd make an exception on this one.

Stealth Rock is probably the only move I would ever consider in breaking a list with one generation, but Scald would probably be the next. Good shot if XY becomes official? It's like, one of the several legitimate moves to be called to ban at any point, right (along with Spore, SR, BP)?

Spikes, Baton Pass, Scald, Rest, Stealth Rock, Earthquake, U-Turn, Explosion, Recover, Thunder Wave.

Thoughts on Substitute? I'd be shocked if no one had it on their list for 10.

I think toxic is worth a mention. It's bad in gen 1 but after that it's been either solid or metagame defining the way it is in gen 3. TSS is a well known archetype for a reason. Protect I think should also be a contender. The only other thing I can think of that hasn't been mentioned is Calm Mind. If Dragon Dance is up there, CM definitely should be.

Toxic has a shot probably at 20. It's old and everything ever lived gets it. Thunder Wave has a full, productive generation on it, but it has been good after RBY.

Dragon Dance is definitely faster, more dangerous, and better than Calm Mind. I used that as a cut-off for boosting moves. It would have to wait for us to sift through the others first.

Edit: I don't think spore should be really up there. It's obviously an incredibly good move but distribution is a very important factor to consider.

Spore's kinda in the same realm as Garchomp or Jirachi. Extremely high effectiveness, smaller window of availability. Let's see how things go, but at least Breloom in ADV helps in justifying it. Breloom alone legitimizes it in DPP and BW.

*Edit*

Thinking more about Thunder Wave, and it I think it should have a good shot at 10. Other moves come as more explosive, but you can't beat that longevity.

A little more on Calm Mind. Here's a good question. Would you put it above Thunderbolt (one of its beneficiaries)? I wouldn't. That's maybe like the next damage move after Earthquake and Hidden Power.

 

[Typhlito]

A move that comes to mind that hasnt been mentioned yet is pursuit. It has been quite a good move ever since it was introduced in gsc and plays a role in getting rid of spinblockers before defog became a thing in oras. In gsc, tar and houndoom used the move to remove troublesome mons like missy and gar to support mons like forretress and snorlax. In adv, tar and houndoom did a similar thing but with greater effect since gar was better in adv than gsc. It only got better in dpp when weavile was added which picks off starmie as well as its usual pursuit targets if given the chance as well as tar getting its sp def boost. In bw, latios, latias, and a couple other big hitters became prey to the move. And so on with the future gens. I dont know if its a top 10 but its probably comfortably in the top 20 imo.

speaking of dark moves, while its not a top 10 move, knock off deserves an honorable mention as a move that went from being useful from gen 3-5 to an excellent move ever since gen 6 and will continue to be a great move for the foreseeable future unless it gets re-nerfed.

 

[Billy the Uncle]

I think Earthquake is non-negotiable as the most dominant attacking move in history. Strong, reliable, wide diffusion, excellent offensive type, great coverage with just another move (Rock, Ice, Flying). It single-handedly made other Ground moves semi-useless for 7 generations, and still does except for a few moves (Earth Power for special attackers, and Precipice Blades and Thousand Arrows but those are exclusive moves).

Ice Beam and Thunderbolt, while not THAT dominant, I think are high on the list too.

Scald we all know how it is and it should be somewhere in the list despite being a fairly recent addition.

U-turn maybe, a bit more if we consider Volt Switch as its clone.

If we don't count Toxic since everything gets it then we shouldn't consider Hidden Power for the same reason. However I think Hidden Power deserves a spot high in the list.


Now onto status moves.

Thunder Wave definitely deserves a spot, and so does Toxic in my opinion.

Spore is one hell of a move, but it simply doesn't have the diffusion needed to be dominant too.

Stealth Rock is a no-brainer.

Seconding Dragon Dance and Calm Mind because of the impact they've had since Gen 3.

I'd like to throw in Recover and its clones. They've never gone out of style and having reliable recovery is still a big fat pro for tanks and walls.

 

[Knuckstrike]

Stealth Rock
Substitute
Toxic
Recover
Hidden Power
Earthquake
Scald
Spikes
Knock Off
Thunder Wave

I like Calm Mind, U-turn, Roar and Sucker Punch too.

 

[FNH]

Swords dance
dragon dance
calm mind
etc
those boosting moves are all bad ass

 

[Aerodactyl Legend]

Forgot about Heal Bell. Pretty big one. And Taunt for consolidation?

Don't know what others think, but being Special, having immunities makes Volt Switch distinctive enough from U-turn.


With the mentions so far, I think we can hone in on these for top ten.


Baton Pass
Dragon Dance
Earthquake
Explosion
Heal Bell
Hidden Power
Protect
Rapid Spin
Recover
Roar/Whirlwind
Rest
Scald
Substitute
Spikes
Spore
Stealth Rock
Swords Dance
Toxic
U-turn

If there was to be a second boosting move, I'd put Swords Dance over Calm Mind. It's got Marowak in GSC, a big user. Calm Mind gives it good competition throughout the rest of the game. I'd still only consider Dragon Dance as a potential top ten though.

 

[Isa]

spore is not top 10. it is never seen in gen 1-3 and is only infrequently seen in gen 4 and gen 6 ("infrequently" might be harsh but you get my point). yeah it's super strong in gen 5 but that's all. poor distribution stops this from being top 10.

explosion, earthquake, ice beam, spikes, rapid spin, stealth rock, toxic, thunder wave, rest, softboiled/recover/roost etc. with hidden power as a wild card would make my top 10.

 

[froggy25]

spore is not top 10. it is never seen in gen 1-3

1-2*
There's Breloom in ADV, even if it is not a widely played mon.

(but I agree with the fact it's not top 10)

 

[Isa]

1-2*
There's Breloom in ADV, even if it is not a widely played mon.

(but I agree with the fact it's not top 10)

breloom hasnt been used in spl 6, spl 7 and not in week 1 of spl 8, i'd check usage stats for adv cup if i could but nevertheless over the 101 games checked breloom was used zero times. i think it's fair to say that breloom and thus spore is never seen in gen 3.

 

[Cowboy Dan]

I would definitely put CM over swords dance. personally I'd put it over dragon dance but that may just be because I'm biased towards a gen 3 perspective. CM was around for a shorter amount of time but it wasn't everywhere in gens 1-2. CM in gen 3 was easily one of the best moves in that gen and it's been one of the top boosting moves ever since.

 

[Aerodactyl Legend]

breloom hasnt been used in spl 6, spl 7 and not in week 1 of spl 8, i'd check usage stats for adv cup if i could but nevertheless over the 101 games checked breloom was used zero times. i think it's fair to say that breloom and thus spore is never seen in gen 3.

I thought as much. It's more of an old school thing. Like Netbattle days. So if you take out the retrospect view, DPP and BW's not enough to support it for top ten?

Also, you have Ice Beam for you. What you think of it vs Thunderbolt?

 

[Karxrida]

Parroting that Spore shouldn't be listed. It's a good move but also way too limited in distribution to have made a huge impact.

Outrage and maybe Draco Meteor should be listed. They defined Dragons in DP and BW.

If we have U-turn on the initial list we might as well have Volt Switch.

 

[Isa]

ice beam is one of the best offensive moves in every gen except gen 2, where 50%+ of things that gets it for coverage uses it. that's a sign of how great it is, it should absolutely be included in top 10

 

[george182]

If you recorded the stats for an SPL season, ice beam would probably be the most used move in the tournament.