What is a move?
A move (also called an attack) is the action a Pokémon performs during battle. Through moves, a Pokémon deals damage, heals its HP, alters its stats, or inflicts a status condition on the opponent. A Pokémon can know a maximum of four moves at a time, which forces constant tactical choices: you can't carry everything, so you must assemble a coherent moveset.
The total number of existing moves passes 900 across the generations. Each one has an identity card: a name, a type, a category (physical, special or status), a power, an accuracy and an amount of PP. Together these parameters determine what the attack actually does when you press the button.
Some moves are purely offensive, others purely defensive or utility, and many combine both: an attack that deals damage and has a chance to paralyze, for instance. This richness makes moves the single most important strategic lever in the game.
A move's type
Every move has a single type among the eighteen that exist: Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Dark, Steel, Fairy, and so on. This type has nothing to do with the type of the Pokémon using it: a Charizard (Fire/Flying) can perfectly well learn Earthquake, a Ground-type move.
The move's type is what determines its effectiveness against the target, via the type chart. A Water attack will be super effective against a Fire-type (double damage), not very effective against a Grass-type (half damage), and have no effect at all against an immune type. This is why you want to diversify your attacking types: it's called coverage.
When a defending Pokémon has two types, the multipliers stack. An Ice attack against a Dragon/Flying like Dragonite reaches a multiplier of four, meaning quadruple damage. Conversely, some combinations cancel out or sharply reduce effectiveness.
The three categories: physical, special, status
Every move belongs to one of three categories, which decides the damage formula used.
- Physical: damage depends on the attacker's Attack stat and the defender's Defense. Examples: Close Combat, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Night Slash.
- Special: damage depends on the attacker's Special Attack and the defender's Special Defense. Examples: Flamethrower, Hyper Beam, Surf, Psychic.
- Status: these moves deal no direct damage. They change the battle in other ways: boosting your own stats, lowering the opponent's, healing, setting a trap or inflicting a condition. Examples: Swords Dance, Rest, String Shot, Cosmic Power.
This distinction is fundamental to strategy. A physical attacker will be stonewalled by a very defensive physical wall but can bypass a special wall, and vice versa. Many Pokémon specialize in a single offensive category so they don't waste both attacking stats.
The Generation 4 physical/special split
Here is one of the most important changes in the history of battle mechanics. Before the fourth generation (released with Diamond and Pearl), a move's category was not decided individually: it depended solely on its type.
Concretely, up to and including Generation 3, every type was automatically classed as physical or special. Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost and Steel were always physical. Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon and Dark were always special. This led to absurd results: Crabhammer (Water) used Special Attack even though a physical claw strike would have made more sense, and Crunch (Dark) was special.
From Generation 4 onward, each move gets its own category, independent of its type. This transformed the game: Pokémon previously held back suddenly gained viable sets, and team-building became far more refined. It's one of the most cited changes when comparing old and new generations.
Power, accuracy and PP
Three numbers define the raw profile of an offensive move.
- Power: the base value fed into the damage formula. Tackle (40) hits gently, Flamethrower (90) hits hard and reliably, Hyper Beam (150) is devastating but forces a recharge turn after use. The higher the power, the bigger the drawback usually is.
- Accuracy: expressed as a percentage, it tells you how likely the attack is to land. Most reliable attacks sit at 100%, but some very powerful strikes like Air Slash or Zap Cannon are less safe. OHKO moves (one-hit knockout) like Guillotine have only 30% base accuracy.
- PP (Power Points): the number of times the move can be used before running out. A powerful attack often has few PP (Hyper Beam: 5 PP), a basic attack has plenty (Tackle: 35 PP). Items like PP Up raise this ceiling.
The balance between these three values explains why you don't always run the strongest move: a reliable 90-power, 100%-accuracy attack is often preferred over a 120-power one that misses one turn in ten.
STAB: Same-Type Attack Bonus
STAB (Same-Type Attack Bonus) is a simple but central rule. When a Pokémon uses a move whose type matches one of its own types, the damage is multiplied by 1.5.
Example: a Charizard (Fire/Flying) using Flamethrower benefits from STAB, its Fire damage climbs by 50%. The same Flamethrower used by a non-Fire Pokémon gets no such bonus. This is why a well-built moveset almost always includes one or two STAB attacks: it's free damage.
STAB also drives interesting trade-offs. A modestly powered STAB attack can outdamage a stronger non-STAB attack. And certain Abilities or items (such as the Adaptability Ability) push this bonus even higher, raising it to a multiplier of two instead of 1.5.
Priority and speed
Normally, the Pokémon with the higher Speed stat acts first in the turn. But some moves break this rule through a priority system.
A priority move strikes before normal attacks, regardless of Speed. Extreme Speed (priority +2) and Fake Out (priority +2 or +3 depending on the generation) let you surprise a faster opponent. Mach Punch, Aqua Jet and Dragon Breath alternatives (all priority +1) are used to finish off a weakened target before it can retaliate.
On the other side, moves like Avalanche or Vital Throw strike last (negative priority). The priority system adds a major tactical layer: a slow attacker with a priority move can flip a duel it would have lost on pure speed. Understanding priority is essential to anticipating the order of actions.
Secondary effects
Many offensive moves have, on top of their damage, a chance of a secondary effect. This effect triggers according to a defined percentage after the attack lands.
- Status conditions: Thunderbolt has a chance to paralyze (reduced speed, risk of not acting), Flamethrower can burn (damage each turn and physical attack halved), Bite can make the target flinch.
- Stat drops: Overheat lowers the user's own Special Attack, Crunch can lower the target's Defense, certain moves reduce the opponent's Special Attack.
- Increased critical hits: some attacks like Air Cutter have a raised critical-hit rate.
These effects, even unlikely ones, shift the balance of a battle. A burn inflicted by chance can neutralize a physical attacker for the rest of the game. This is also why moves like Thunderbolt are so prized: the paralysis risk makes them a constant threat.
Status moves
Status moves deal no direct damage, but they are often what decides a high-level battle. They fall into several families.
- Stat boosts: Swords Dance doubles Attack, Calm Mind raises Special Attack and Special Defense, Cosmic Power raises both defenses. A Pokémon that manages to chain these boosts becomes a threat the opponent must handle urgently.
- Healing: Rest restores all HP but puts the user to sleep for two turns, Soft-Boiled or Leech Seed recover HP in other ways.
- Traps and hindrances: String Shot lowers the opponent's speed, Spikes and Stealth Rock injure Pokémon as they switch in.
- Direct conditions: Stun Spore paralyzes, Toxic badly poisons, Hypnosis puts to sleep.
Used well, these moves turn a fragile Pokémon into a centerpiece. A classic combo is to immobilize the opponent with a status condition, then chain boosts to become unstoppable.
Signature moves
A signature move is an attack that only one Pokémon (or a single evolutionary line) can learn. It's part of the Pokémon's identity and is often powerful or unique in its effect.
Pikachu and Raichu, for example, have iconic Electric attacks, some Legendaries possess devastating strikes reserved for them alone, and many recent Pokémon receive a signature move to set them apart. These attacks are regularly among the most memorable in the game, because they define a role or a battle style specific to one creature.
Signature moves are an ideal playground for testing your knowledge of the roster. Knowing which attack belongs to which Pokémon is a quiz classic: it's exactly the kind of challenge waiting for you in the Moves quiz.
How a Pokémon learns a move
There are several ways for a Pokémon to acquire a new attack, and each has its own rules.
- Level up: the most natural method. At certain levels, a Pokémon automatically learns a move set by its learnset. It's the foundation of any early moveset.
- TMs and TRs: Technical Machines (TMs) and Technical Records (TRs) let you teach specific moves. Modern TMs are sometimes single-use and require materials to craft, while TRs work differently depending on the game.
- Egg moves: passed down through breeding. A compatible parent can hand down an attack the baby could not otherwise learn, via a shared egg group. This is essential for competitive sets.
- Move Tutor: a character who can reteach a Pokémon a forgotten move, or teach it special moves for a fee (items or currency depending on the game).
Mastering these learning channels is essential to building the ideal moveset. Most competitive sets rely on a combination of level-up moves, TMs and egg moves carefully planned through breeding.