Ranking the Top Moves in ORAS

[Ironbound]

So, let's have your thoughts on the top moves in the ORAS tier. These need not be only the best of moves, or only the most used of moves, but rather the best moves that can be the most used. So I'm attempting to rank moves based on their impact on the metagame as well as their distribution as a whole. (Note that these may or may not be what one likes the most; I may like Bullet Punch, and it is certainly a great move, but it has tiny distribution and is famous mostly on Scizor as a precise, almost tailor-made move.) Well, without further ado, here is my opinion:

1. Stealth Rock

This has to be the biggest influencer of almost 90% of matches; according type-scaling chip damage of a fantastic offensive type on all switches is humongous, and in my view laying, maintaining and removing rocks can often decide the outvome of a match. I give it tops for such a fundamental impact that every team worth its salt will carry Rocks and (unless it is blatant HO or similar exceptional team) some form of their removal, as well as for having a large, generous distribution across tiers (though the viability of Rocks on the moveslots of many in lower tiers is diminished.)

2. Knock Off

Gen6 has been inordinately kind to this move; making it usably powerful while giving it the added effect of increasing in power by 50% when Knocking Off an item made it one of the most spammable moves of all time, with a critical impact on most Pokémon, for losing an item can decide matches. It's another of those moves that is commonly seen on teams across tiers; while not on absolutely every Pokémon, it has a generous distribution that affords both utility and powerful coverage. Props to it for almost completely usurping Night Slash, the erstwhile most reliable physical Dark type move.

3. Scald

This is one of THE prime moves of the game. A Water type move of good power that every Water type (that is not part Ice) can learn, with a 30% chance to Burn that procs conveniently. What's there to even explain? This move is among the most spammable, with great distribution and an often game-shattering impact if it burns the right (or wrong) things. The only reason it's lower on the scale than Knock Off is because it doesn't have an effect that can be 100% taken for granted under normal situations, though unlike Knock Off it can be spammed again and again, typically by a fat water type. Similar to Knock Off, this move has mostly usurped a previous staple, Surf.

4. Defog

This move was another one buffed by Gen6 to remove all hazards from the game, yours as well as the opponent's. It's one of the best moves in the game because Stealth Rock is the most impactful move, and this move can remove them, along with other honourable mentions like Spikes and Toxic Spikes and even Screens. It is obtained by almost every flying type across tiers, as well as many non-flying types that can use it well, like the Latis, Empoleon, Skuntank, and so on. The effect of dropping evasion is also handy at times, for a subsequent move will usually avoid some of the miss hax that Pokémon loves (I'm looking at your Dracos, Latios...)

5. Toxic and Thunder Wave

This is a tie between two moves, at least one of which is carried by almost half of all teams across tiers. One doesn't immediately think of them when one tries to imagine the most potent moves in the meta...unless one plays the meta enough to come to HATE parahax. (It's honestly a stupid mechanic, I think that paralysis should just cut the speed, and remove that completely skill-less and random chance of immobility.) But, much as I dislike it, I too am guilty of using these moves on several of my teams, and I have to admit their impactfulness. There's no need to explain their significance in the game; Toxic puts a timer on almost anything that can take a few knocks, while TWave cuts the speed and cripples anything that can be threatening with speed. The moves are good to the point where one loses nothing from clicking them (if there isn't a steel, poison or electric type or anything that can benefit or abuse them); there's no reason not to TWave a mon in a situation where you lose nothing from doing so; it's simply better to have poisoned and paralysed foes than to not. They're an integral part of what makes things like stall work as a playstyle, and find a place on all kinds of teams. The moves also have a very generous distribution across tiers, especially Toxic. Almost every Pokémon can seemingly produce noxious Poison (think about that the next time you pat that cute Jigglypuff...)

6. Volt Switch and U-turn

While not having that excellent a distribution as one could wish for, every tier has its fair share of reliable users of these moves, which can abuse them to great effect. The ability to switch after use is of huge impact in games; it's what is termed 'gaining momentum' when one can switch at no cost to a more favourable outcome. A slower switch allows a Pivot like Rotom-W or Lando-T to take a hit and then safely bring in a more apt teammate for the punish, while a rapid one from Mega Manectric or Mienshao allows a quick escape into a Pokémon that can better absorb the expected move. The famous VoltTurn combination exists in every tier with at least one pair of Pokémon that can abuse them. They're quite definitely a very important part of several playstyles.

7. Taunt

There are a lot of shenanigans in battles that don't involve yelling and beating things up. A look at the rest of this list proves that the most impactful moves often aren't damaging ones at all. Taunt is an anti-meta move of paramount importance because it prevents the foe from using anything that doesn't deal damage. Rocks? TWave? Defog? Protect? Recover? Swords Dance? Even other, slower Taunts? Nope. This one single move can be enough to shut down Stall as a playstyle, if used correctly, and can severely hinder many Pokémon across tiers, forcing them to either switch or allow the user to do as they please with only suboptimal retaliation. Taunt is also widely distributed, with several well-established users of it in every tier.

8. Protect and Substitute

I've placed these together not because they are similar but because they're equally important and prevalent. Protect is a crucial move on many archetypes and for many specific Pokémon. Being able to shield oneself from (almost) any move targeted at them, while racking up passive damage, lefties healing, and in general scouting for danger makes Protect and its variants a definite part of every tier. Substitute is equally impactful, providing a screen for the user to hide behind at the cost of a quarter of their health, which shields them from statuses and acts as a buffer against the next blow, buying time for them to set up or act in a favourable manner. As for coverage, almost every single Pokémon gets these moves, though only a small number of them typically use them. They do lose momentum, after all.

9. Pursuit

With switching being such an important aspect of battles, Pursuit gains great importance in punishing it. Doubling in power when a foe retreats, coupled with a great offensive typing in Dark, Pursuit, though rather limited in distribution, has excellent users in every tier that can work well to eliminate or weaken pivots and put key threats in a 'checkmate' position, nullifying the dangers they pose. I view it to be one of the defining moves of the meta.

10. Recover and its variants

Recover, Roost, Soft-boiled, Milk Drink, Slack Off, Heal Order, Synthesis, Moonlight, Morning Sun, Wish and suchlike are a defining part of the metagame. Quite simply put, they are what is called 'reliable recovery' (though Synthesis and its variants are less reliable due to being weather-dependent and having lesser PP) healing back upto half of the user's (or, in case of wish, the user's slot's) health at no cost. These moves are what let fat things live. All teams which use typical fat mons will be packing one of these moves. Although none of them has excellent distribution, they're all basically the same move, and when put together, a very wide range of mons can have access to them.

And there you have it. Honorable mentions include Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Encore (which is as similarly useful as Taunt, but has a limited disttibution), Rapid Spin, Swords Dance/Bulk Up/Calm Mind/Nasty Plot/Agility etc, Rest (and sleep talk), Baton Pass, several Priority moves, Sleep Powder, Earthquake, Draco Meteor, Will-O-Wisp and Trick Room among others, but for some or other reason, they don't quite make the top 10 in my view (though if it were to happen, EQ would be no.11 because it is common, devastating and impactful enough to warrant the Air Balloon existing almost solely for insurance against it). It's rather anticlimactic in a way, to see that most of these moves aren't cool, high-powered, hard-hitting ones, but oh well, that's the way the game goes.

So there we are. My thoughts, of course. I await everyone else's.

[TimTim]

i would say Trick Room is up there among good moves albeit not in the 15-20 top due to predictability of TR team nowadays, but it allows for slow mons to shine especially turning tides against fast mons. Most priority moves like Fake Out and Bullet Punch work pretty well in lower tiers such as RU and NU especially when backed by abilities namely Technician etc. Quiver Dance has to be among the best boosting moves out there, it makes otherwise unimpressive mons like Vivillon beasts.

[Lugruf]

I would probably place will-o-wisp above toxic and t-wave. Although it can be learned by less pokemon, the reduction of 50% physical damage cripples too much special attackers.

[Ironbound]

i would say Trick Room is up there among good moves albeit not in the 15-20 top due to predictability of TR team nowadays, but it allows for slow mons to shine especially turning tides against fast mons. Most priority moves like Fake Out and Bullet Punch work pretty well in lower tiers such as RU and NU especially when backed by abilities namely Technician etc. Quiver Dance has to be among the best boosting moves out there, it makes otherwise unimpressive mons like Vivillon beasts.

Ah, yeah, I forgot to place TR there. It had occurred to me, but by the time I finished the list I forgot about it. O still don't think it'd be above any of the moves listed, but I can see it sitting in top 15. It is an instrumental playstyle and fairly widespread, though as aove in and of itself it has a somewhat limited number of good users across tiers. Added as an Honourable Mention!

And QD is an excellent boosting move, but like the reason I gave for Bullet Punch, it doesn't feature in this list because it is tailor-made for specific Pokémon. It's a move exclusive to the butterflies and moths and a few others; it may be devastating in the hands of tier-specific Pokémon like Volcarona or Lilligant, but it isn't widespread or omni-impactful like the listed moves (yes, I coined that hyphenated word. Problem?)

I would probably place will-o-wisp above toxic and t-wave. Although it can be learned by less pokemon, the reduction of 50% physical damage cripples too much special attackers.

I disagree. WoW, as both of us concur, is less distributed than Toxic and TWave, and has fewer dedicated users across tiers. I don't dispute the impact of Burn as a status, however; that's one reason why I accord Scald a higher place than Toxic and TWave.

[AuthorReborn]

Taunt should be moved up the list a bit, if only looking at the other entires of the list. 1, 4, 5, 8, and 10 (also 9 if you're faster) are all completely useless if you are Taunted. That means 50-60% of the best moves in the current metagame are rendered a pracitcally worthless moveslot because of Taunt. And that's not even taking into account the honorable mentions/runners up, which includes Boosting moves, both Spike variants, Rest/Sleep Talk, other status moves, and even Trick Room. For these reasons, I kinda feel like Taunt should be at slot 6 or 7, simply because it obliterates most of these top-tier strategies.

[Ironbound]

I'm inclined to agree, in hindsight. While I stated as much in Taunt's description, I guess I didn't particularly place it in any order after number 6. Beats Pursuit, anyway. I'll switch their places.

[Exalted]

i agree with most of them mostly top 3 but i do find pursuit should be lowest on this if at all as well taunt or recovery moves higher being higher mainly because how prevalent they are in their respective usage due to i find the ability to heal up a low health mon as well as nullify any and all status moves something quite prevalent in each and every tier as for pursuit is very situation and most teams would not even consider this move as sometimes pursuit traping a psychic or ghost type is nice but some pokemon may not frankly not care it has its usability but overall taunt and recovery are much better with recovery moves bieng something i belive deserves higher than both of them

[Ironbound]

I agree, and I've already placed Pursuit lower on the list. Taunt is indeed more potent. I just didn't place numbers 6 through 10 in any particular order; they're all important in their own way.

But yes, Pursuit is now no.9. The only reason Recover and its variants are placed lower than Pursuit is because they're all technically different moves and therefore each have less-than-ideal distribution. I agree that recovery is more important, but although Pursuit is precision move, with only a relatively few good users, it plays a vital role in the meta in my opinion.

[Exalted]

well this is your opinion i do find pursuit having a few good users the main problem in its self and in general and thus making it a move i feel shouldn't be on this list over priority moves as priority has a higher use range with or without stab as well if you dont want to define the main examples being aqua jet bullet punch quick attk extreme speed sucker punch mach moves that create a threat for any and all fast attacking foes with usually slower but harder hitting foes

[Ironbound]

You have a good point. However, 'Priority' is too wide a class, almost as if saying 'status' or 'debuff' should merit a spot on the list. I do not find any individual priority move common, impactful and widespread enough to put there. Putting all of Recovery itself was a stretch, and I did so only because they're all variants of the same move which have almost exactly the same effect.

But this is not true for priority moves,which vary in power, effectiveness, and type. So I can't put any or all of them on that list. They deserve an honourable mention, though; that had been added.

[NickCrash]

I believe Encore should be standing side-by-side it's first cousin, Taunt. Both moves obliterate stall, Taunt stops all support moves, while Encore may stop sweepers and wallbreakers at their tracks, since it also stops momentum from the enemy team. A pink fat blob forced on Taunt or Encore is equally worthless. The difference is that with Taunt the opponent may lose a turn, while with Encore, they may keep on wasting their recovery moves or be forced to attack something they cannot damage, effectively giving away free turns.

[Ironbound]

I would agree with you about Encore, but the issue here is that few Pokemon get it and fewer still can make competitively viable use of it on their sets. Taunt is much more widespread, being a TM move, and also achieves a similar purpose, though I do not dispute that Encore is better in specific situations. I'll add it as an honourable mention and specify it.

Encore should be a TM move, to be frank. Even Torment is a TM, and Encore could certainly be a better TM than dumb ol' Confide.

[Durken]

I don't think protect is that important, not at least in ORAS OU but maybe in VGC 2016 is a predominant thing.

And also it seems to me that you are missing some priorities like sucker punch or the standard ones that threatens so bad HO and Sand Rush Excadrill.

Last bot not least, I think you should consider adding rapid spin near defog, it allows a different game style based on hazzards and its the reason why Starmie has so much usage.

Edited June 24, 2016 by Durken

[Ironbound]

I don't deny that Priority and Rapid Spin are important, however, as I have already stated above, I cannot include priority moves since they are too wide a bracket with too different a range of effects (typings, power, etc etc. Unlike the recovery moves that I bunched together, these things do not all have nearly the exact same effect to include in one slot, and none of them are individually so common AND widespread across tiers to fetch a spot.)

And I do not add Rapid Spin primarily because the second condition is not fulfilled by it: distribution. Unlike Defog, which is available to nearly every flying type and a large range of non-flying types across tiers, Rapid Spin is exclusive to only a small number of users throughout the tiers. It's the same logic as, say, Bullet Punch. No doubt that BP is the reason why Scizor has so much usage, just as RS is a key factor behind Starmie's, but simply because a move is greatly abused by one or a few Pokemon (no matter how common that Pokemon, and consequently that move, is in any given tier) it cannot sit in this list, since it is not widespread. Rapid Do N certainly does get an honourable mention, though.

And I think protect is very important, across tiers.

[Cobalt996]

Out of curiosity, how do you think the list changes in the Doubles environment, if at all?

[Debojit97]

I agree with most of them..but still think that mighty EQ deserves a position in the top 10.

And how can you forget Reflect or Light Screen?These moves can ruin a match and also win a match.

[Ironbound]

I don't have much doubles experience, but I do know that protect is everywhere and spread moves are preferred. Redirection with Rage Powder and Follow Me are also used.

I did say that EQ would be no.11, since it is omnipresent and imoactful on every tier (impactful enough to warrant the ability Levitate and the item Air Balloon solely to check it). However, is still no. 11, and therefore gets a (very) honourable mention.

Light Screen and Reflect should get a mention too, I suppose, though they're not common enough to feature in this list. This is a list of the most prevalent and widespread moves across tiers, not a list of every single strategy used.