History ThatOneAttack / Pokemon

* If there's one move that trainers dread seeing Zebstrika use, it's "Flame Charge". This is because not only is Flame Charge super-effective against Grass-type Pokémon (which normally have a resistance against Electric-type attacks), but it also boosts Zebstrika's already '''very high''' Speed stats. Oh, and it loves to spam this move several times. This means that now it is insanely fast and can easily strike with moves like Spark, Thunderbolt, and Charge Beam several times (and paralyze your Pokémon with said attacks) before you get a chance to do much damage.

* Several high-power [[CastFromHitPoints recoil moves]] fall under this category. A good number of them have 100% base accuracy,[[note]] meaning under normal circumstances, they don't miss[[/note]] meaning if you can't get the jump on your opponent and knock 'em out quick, you're in for a world of pain. Special mentions go to Brave Bird and [[UseYourHead Head Smash].]

* Several high-power [[CastFromHitPoints recoil moves]] fall under this category. A good number of them have 100% base accuracy,[[note]] meaning under normal circumstances, they don't miss[[/note]] meaning if you can't get the jump on your opponent and knock 'em out quick, you're in for a world of pain. Special mentions go to Brave Bird and [[UseYourHead Head Smash]]

* Skill Swap is a move that switches the abilities of the user and the target, potentially crippling anyone that relies on their abilities. In double battles, it's one of the few ways to remove any ability that cripples the user, such as Truant, Slow Start, or Defeatist.

* '''Stealth Rock.''' It creates an "entry hazard", which means that any further Pokémon who switch in will be affected. At least Spikes and [[StandardStatusEffects Toxic Spikes]] could be dodged with a Flying-type or somebody with Levitate... but not Stealth Rock. Unlike dealing a set amount of damage, like Spikes, it factors [[ElementalRockPaperScissors type matchups]] into the damage done. This means that someone who is weak to Rock loses a quarter of its health, and someone with a double weakness losing ''half'', just from being sent in. It's [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere absolutely everywhere.]] ''Entire teams'' have to be made just to survive (and use) it. It's the only reason anybody uses the otherwise pathetic move Rapid Spin (there are even specific Pokémon whose sole reason for usage is to use Rapid Spin). It's made many Pokémon that are weak to Rock seen as unusable (mostly). The metagame, when it doesn't centralize around weather, centralizes around this move. No other move is as infamous or game-changing as Stealth Rock.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' gained the [[SecretArt signature move]] of Necrozma, Prismatic Laser. Due to Necrozma's level when you encounter it and high special attack stat and its 160 power and 100% accuracy, anything that's not a Dark-type is going to faint pretty quickly, and it has 10 PP. While it does give you a chance to throw a Poké Ball thanks to it being a better Hyper Beam, due to the 3 catch rate, it's unlikely to catch it. This attack can quickly turn Necrozma into ThatOneBoss.
* Necrozma gains another signature move in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndMoon'' called Photon Geyser. It is a Psychic-type attack that has no drawbacks with 100 power and 100% accuracy, and can either be physical or special, meaning unless you know what [=EVs=] are in the Ultra Necrozma boss fight, you don't know where it will hit you from. In the boss fight itself, this move is considered a Nuzlocke Destroyer due to being able to one-shot almost all Pokémon in the game at that point. It's also partially what makes Ultra Necrozma a case of ThatOneBoss. That's not even getting into the fact that it ignores abilities such as Sturdy and Disguise.

* Whitney's [[ThatOneBoss Miltank]] used Rollout![[note]]Rollout attacks over 5 turns, starting out with 30 base power and doubling in power every turn. On the fifth turn, it has a whopping 480 attack power, a destructive force rivaled only by [[SuicideAttack Explosion]] in Gen II.[[/note]] And if you're playing ''[=HeartGold=]''/''[=SoulSilver=]''? Miltank used Stomp. ''*insert Pokémon you're using here*'' flinched. Even if it's a Ghost-type, due to its Scrappy ability.
* Destiny Bond is a move that, when used, [[TakingYouWithMe takes the opposing Pokémon down if the user is knocked out that turn]]. Mercifully nerfed in Generation VII by making it eventually fail, much like [[DefendCommand Protect]], if one tries to use it consecutively in a row. However, its Z-Move effect gives a Follow Me effect, luring any opponent to attack it and potentially taking anyone down along with the user.

* Swagger, while not 100% accurate, also causes confusion. It also doubles the target's attack. So, in the event that you hurt yourself, you'll do twice as much damage to yourself as normal. And the damage boost stacks. Oh, and anyone that can use [=TMs=] can use it! Fortunately, if your mon has the confusion-preventing Own Tempo ability, it simply gives them a free Attack doubling. If not? [[LuckBasedMission Good luck.]] It's even worse when combined with Foul Play, which uses the target's Attack stat instead of the user's to deal damage... and that includes any stat increases.
* Cotton Guard, for anybody who relies on physical attacks. It drastically boosts the user's defense, which essentially means that a mere two turns of use maximize Defense. Which means a 4× boost. This basically means that, unless you get lucky enough to get a CriticalHit, even super-effective attacks will do ScratchDamage. Oh, and guess who can learn it? That's right, [[DemonicSpiders Whimsicott!]]

* Protect, while not nearly as bad as the others, is still really annoying and makes you waste a turn and PP. If the AI at least used it strategically, it'd be one thing, but since it's purely AIRoulette, they end up using it just because, even when it's obvious that you've already won and it won't help them, thus they just delay the inevitable. Also, in multiplayer Single matches, it guarantees a turn a Pokémon can be on the field (making it common alongside Earthquake spammers, or in conjunction with things like Wish or Speed Boost, or even just stalling until a status condition [=KO's=] an opponent). There are a few moves that get around Protect and its variations, but all are either weak, require a charge turn, or are exclusive to Mythical Pokémon.

* [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Watchog used Retaliate!]] [[note]]Retaliate doubles in base power (from 70 to 140) if a Pokémon on the user's team fainted in the previous turn, and when you factor in STAB, that jumps up to 210. It would be one thing if it appeared late in the game, but instead, it appears in ''Black and White's'' second gym, and Lenora will plow through your team if you're not ready for it. Thought you could force away Herdier and take down Watchog first? Herdier has Retaliate, as well.[[/note]] Even worse: [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Norman's Slaking used Retaliate!]] [[note]]Thought Lenora's Watchog hurt? Slaking has almost twice as much attack. Thank goodness for that [[BlessedWithSuck Truant ability]].[[/note]]
* Encore forces the Pokémon that's affected by it to keep using the same move in a row for 3 turns. If the Encore user is faster or it has Prankster, [[HereWeGoAgain now do it all over again!]] Of course, this can backfire if the move that was Encored happens to be a super-effective move.
* If there's one move that trainers dread seeing Zebstrika use, it's "Flame Charge". This is because not only is Flame Charge super-effective against Grass-type Pokémon (which normally have a resistance against Electric-type attacks), but it also boosts Zebstrika's already '''very high''' Speed stats. Oh, and it loves to spam this move several times. This means that now it is insanely fast and can easily strike with moves like Spark, Thunderbolt, and Charge Beam several times (and paralyze your Pokémon with said attacks) before you get a chance to do much damage.
* Attract makes opposite gender Pokémon fall in love, which leads to a high chance of being immobilized by love! What's worse is that unlike moves that cause confusion, Attract doesn't wear off after a few turns. You have to switch out in order to cancel out its effects while in battle, or be holding a Mental Herb. This is one reason why [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Whitney's Miltank]] [[ThatOneBoss is so notorious]]. Luckily, it is negated by the fact that Attract doesn't work on genderless Pokémon or Pokémon with the [[ObliviousToLove Oblivious]] [[NotDistractedByTheSexy ability]], or Pokémon of the same gender as its user. If you're playing [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Ruby and Sapphire, Emerald, or the remakes]] or [[Videogame/PokemonGoldAndsilver Heartgold and Soulsilver]], however, you can get your hands on the Red Flute, which makes the attraction status effect nothing more than losing one turn.
* Roost. A Flying-type move introduced in Gen IV. It became ''especially'' annoying in ''Black 2/White 2''; where Tranquill just adores spamming it to no end. What would normally be a quick and easy battle turns frustratingly long since Tranquill will constantly use it whenever its HP starts running low. Plus, Roost eliminates the user's Flying-type until the end of that turn, so that super-effective move you were planning on using next could no longer deal super-effective damage.

* Acrobatics is a very widespread 55-base power Flying-type move that ''doubles'' in power if the user isn't holding anything. And if that user is a Flying-type, it gets a STAB as well, resulting in a move with an effective 165 power! Very few Trainer battles have their Pokémon holding items, meaning many, many birds can hit you with a doubled Acrobatics. It's also very accurate and has 15 PP. Oh, and if it holds a Flying Gem, the Gem boosts the move and vanishes ''before'' it checks for an item, bringing the effective power up to ''248''. That's a bigger punch than most Z-Moves, only 2 shy of ''Explosion'', and is likely a major contributor to all of the elemental Gems barring Normal Gem becoming unavailable in-game after Generation V.
* Dragon Dance boosts the user's Attack ''and'' Speed. If used by the right Pokémon, it can set them up to sweep entire parties.

* Outrage was this to the point that people think the Fairy-type exists to check it. As a Dragon-type move, it had great coverage and some very powerful users, and a base power of 120 — an absurdly good number — and the user is locked into that 120 base power attack for 2 or 3 turns. The only downside was that it confused them after use, but you could just switch them out and then put them back in whenever needed — and as mentioned, Outrage's coverage was so good that there was never any reason not to use it; even against Steel-types, it still usually hit hard enough to punch through them. Add in the common mixing of Outrage with a Choice Band or Choice Scarf (locks the user into a move, but drastically increases attack/speed) and you had what competitive players called "buttoning": simply sending in Salamence/Dragonite/Garchomp/Haxorus, selecting Outrage once, and then watching your grotesquely overpowered dragon rip the opponent's team apart, with no strategy beyond hammering the attack button. Since arrival of the Fairy-type, "buttoning" is no longer a luxury[[note]]it just leads to getting revenge killed at best or [[TotalPartyKill completely wiped out]] at worst by a fairy who gets a free turn or two to do whatever it wants while you're locked into using a completely ineffectual attack[[/note]], and players are forced to play smart with the (still very powerful) move.
* Scald. Not only is it an extremely widespread move (obtainable on most Water-types that aren't part-Ice) with acceptable power, but it has an annoyingly high chance to burn, which cripples physical attackers. As such, Scald is very commonly used on both Water-type attackers for its decent base power and on defensive Pokémon to fish for the burn chance.
* Generation VI introduced Steam Eruption, Volcanion's SecretArt. It's Scald, except it exchanges just a little bit of accuracy for an increase in power that makes it just as powerful as ''Hydro Pump''.
* Knock Off got a major buff in Generation VI. Before, it was a wimpy attack with 20 base power that just nullified the item of what it was used against. Afterwards, it not only got a decent power boost (to 65), but also inflicted 50% more damage against anything that has an item while still retaining the ability to remove items. In the competitive scene, ''everybody'' has an item, and some Pokémon are quite attached to theirs. Furthermore, you can't use your Steel-types to tank it, as they lost their resistance against Dark moves. And then it's also ridiculously widespread and can easily be run as a primary damaging move on Dark-type attackers, a coverage option on non-Dark-types, or even a utility move on tanks and walls. It quickly got a reputation as "Gen VI's Scald".
* Dark Void. It's a move that puts all opposing Pokémon to sleep if it connects. This means that it can completely incapacitate the enemy team in Doubles and possibly Triples. It's especially nasty when considering who can use it: Darkrai. Darkrai is incredibly fast, and most players will use Dark Void to put you to sleep before you move. However, Darkrai has an ability that causes damage to Pokémon that are asleep. This one move is what makes Darkrai such a major threat. Smeargle, who can use nearly any move in the game, can also learn this move (at least until Gen VII, where the move flat-out fails unless Darkrai is using it). If you get hit by Dark Void from Smeargle, prepare to be helpless as Smeargle buffs up its stats in front of ''both'' your Pokémon and Baton Pass those buffs to let an ally demolish your team. Dark Void was banned in past VGC tournaments for exactly this reason (and in Gen VII, got nerfed to 50% accuracy for good measure).
* [[ThatOneBoss Sla]][[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire king]] used Facade! Thought you'd wear it down by using a StatusEffect? [[DidntThinkThisThrough Too bad!]] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Now it's twice as powerful!]] Oh, and Generation VI made Facade ignore the burn penalty regardless of its user's Ability. There's also the fact that Ursaring and Zangoose, two Pokémon with abilities that boost their Attack when afflicted with a StatusEffect (though only with Poison in Zangoose's case), also learn Facade. That, combined with their normally high physical offense and STAB boost on said move, make these two become terrifying battlers.
* Psyshock. It's a special attack, but it targets the opponent's Defense rather than Special Defense. Add this to the moveset of a good special attacker to allow them to hit hard against a much wider range of opponents. Blissey runs scared from Psychic-types now. Mewtwo has Psystrike, an more powerful version of this.
* Bullet Punch, if used by Scizor that has Technician. Include the STAB as well and Scizor has a priority move with a power of 90 instead of 40 and a ''ton'' of PP.
* Dynamic Punch is a powerful Fighting-type move that always causes confusion. [[PowerfulButInaccurate Mercifully, it only has 50% accuracy]]... and that's where Machamp comes into play, with No Guard ensuring Dynamic Punch will always land.
* Focus Punch, assuming you can make sure your opponent won't hit you before the attack is complete. This can be ensured with smart use of Substitute, or worse, Spore.
--> Breloom used Spore! The opposing Pokémon fell asleep! Breloom is tightening it's focus! The opposing Pokémon is fast asleep. used Focus Punch!

* Generation VII added a new ice-type move called Aurora Veil, which acts like both screens at once, but only works in hail. One of the Pokémon that can learn it is Alolan Ninetales with Snow Warning, which starts hail automatically at the beginning of battle. Go figure.
* Trick Room. You've got a really powerful Pokémon. It can take hits really well and dish out huge amounts of damage in return. Their main weakness? They're pretty slow. But Trick Room takes care of that problem by enabling the slowest Pokémon on the field to always attack first (though it doesn't inverse priority, so moves like Quick Attack can go first), turning your MightyGlacier into a straight-up LightningBruiser. Entire teams have been created to center around this move — especially in doubles, where setting up Trick Room doesn't waste turns.
* Aegislash's [[SecretArt King's Shield]]. What King's Shield does is protect Aegislash from any attack, with a nasty effect being able to harshly lower the attacker's attack if they use a contact move on King's Shield. In addition, Aegislash using King's Shield also means it can switch from Blade Forme, which has daunting offences, into Shield Forme, which has massive defenses. Played right, King's Shield effectively makes Aegislash a '''720''' BST Pokémon.[[note]]For comparison, that is ''[[OlympusMons Arceus's]]'' BST. Aegislash's Blade form's base stats are 60 HP / 150 Atk / 50 Def / 150 [=SAtk=] / 50 [=SDef=] / 60 Speed, while its Shield form has 60 HP / 50 Atk / 150 Def / 50 [=SAtk=] / 150 [=SDef=] / 60 Speed. A well-played King's Shield Aegislash effectively switches between the highest stats of ''both forms at once'' — that is 60/150/150/150/150/60[[/note]]. On the other hand, King's Shield doesn't block Status moves. Aegislash's stats got nerfed in Gen VIII (bringing its 150 base stats down to 140) in an effort to make this more manageable.
* Quiver Dance. It boosts the user's Speed, Special Attack, ''and'' Special Defense. So not only does it work like a special version of Dragon Dance, it gives your Pokémon some special bulk as well. Quiver Dance is such a good move that it made otherwise mediocre and outclassed Pokémon like Lilligant, Venomoth, and Masquerain some much-needed utility and use.
* Geomancy, Xerneas's SecretArt. It's a two-turn move which gives ''double'' the StatusBuff as Quiver Dance after the charge-up turn. With the help of a Power Herb, Xerneas can skip the charge-up turn and boost instantly. Cue TotalPartyKill.
* Oblivion Wing, Yveltal's SecretArt, has a power of 80... and restores 75% of all damage dealt as health, allowing Yveltal to heal to nearly full HP within a few usages (even 1 if it's super-effective). It's particularly nasty when you're trying to capture it, as it will just heal itself to a reasonable amount with this move.

* Dragon Ascent, the SecretArt of Rayquaza. It's a very powerful 120 Power move that comes off of Rayquaza's great Attack stats and STAB, with the drawback being lowering its Defense and Special Defense by one stage with each use, much like Close Combat. But what ''really" makes it terrifying is that having it being the requirement for Rayquaza to Mega Evolve rather than a Mega Stone, and Mega Rayquaza brings a [[GameBreaker whole other set of problems to the table]].
* Z-Moves can give some status moves a new lease on life by bestowing additional effects. Some of them become much more powerful than others, though, and most ''cannot'' be blocked by Taunt.
** Extreme Evoboost, the [[SecretArt exclusive Z-Move]] of Eevee. It sharply boosts all the user's stats (other than accuracy and evasion). To make matters worse, Eevee can use Baton Pass to transfer these boosts onto a more potent sweeper, causing the recipient to become a LightningBruiser to the extreme. In double battles, it can be combined with a Follow Me or Wide Guard user to protect Eevee from damage, before passing the boosts onto a Stored Power user such as Necrozma to go on a rampage. [[note]]Because of how Stored Power works, this causes the move to have 220 Power, enough to peel the face off of anything not Dark-type, and then they'll usually have coverage for those.[[/note]]
** Amusingly enough, [[JokeWeapon Splash]] of all things becomes this because a Normalium Z will drastically increases the user's Attack stat.
** Z-Conversion. Normal Conversion, a SecretArt of the Porygon line, simply changes the user's type to match that of the move in its first moveslot and [[AwesomeButImpractical really isn't worth the effort]]. When powered up by a Normalium Z, however, Conversion also raises ''all'' of the user's stats, turning Porygon-Z from a GlassCannon into a LightningBruiser and allowing it to gain STAB (which, with Adaptability, translates into a 2x damage boost) on any one of its attacking moves, potentially making it ''very'' dangerous.
* Spectral Thief, Marshadow's SecretArt, is a decently powerful physical Ghost-type move... that also ''steals any stat boosts''. All those efforts pulling off StatusBuff belongs to Marshadow now, and it's about to destroy your entire team with these. To add insult to injury, the damage takes place after the stealing, meaning Spectral Thief will deal massive damage if Marshadow steals any attack boosts. This single move, among many other factors, is the main reason why Marshadow was promoted to Smogon's to Ubers within a week of its release.
* Several high-power [[CastFromHitPoints recoil moves]] fall under this category. A good number of them have 100% base accuracy,[[note]] meaning under normal circumstances, they don't miss[[/note]] meaning if you can't get the jump on your opponent and knock 'em out quick, you're in for a world of pain. Special mentions go to Brave Bird, [[UseYourHead Head Smash]] and [[DeathOrGloryAttack Belly Drum]].
** Brave Bird's users are usually [[GlassCannon pretty quick]], including the infamous [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Talonflame]] and nothing is immune to the Flying type. It still hits like a truck in ''VideoGame/PokemonGO'', and is one of the fastest special moves in the entire game,[[note]] it's about 2 seconds long compared with a rough average of 3.5 for other special moves[[/note]] leaving almost no window to dodge between your attacks. Even your Golem/Rhydon/Tyranitar/whatever will suddenly have a huge chunk of health missing, especially if the user has good Attack, such as [[spoiler: Raid Ho-Oh]].
** Head Smash is the strongest recoil move in the entire game, having the same power as '''Hyper Beam'''.[[note]] 150[[/note]] It's also [[DishingOutDirt Rock type]], giving it excellent coverage and again, nothing is immune to it. Thankfully, the recoil damage is very severe, and it is also one of the more inaccurate ones, with 80% accuracy. Though Tyrantrum has Rock Head to patch the former issue.
** Belly Drum cuts your HP in half in exchange for maxing out your Attack. If you can take it out before it gets to do anything afterwards, great. However, it often gets paired with a Sitrus Berry to restore some of the lost HP. Paired with an ActionInitiative move or Unburden, it makes for a TotalPartyKill. Additionally, Z-Belly Drum gives a full health refill to the user before its effects take place.

* Supersonic, a move with only 55% accuracy but guaranteed to confuse the target and one of the most annoying moves you'll ever encounter in the main stories. It's common as dirt, with games across all generations having at least one early-game Mon packing the move (usually Zubat) to irritate you to no end with "[Pokémon] is confused! It hurt itself in its confusion!" And like most low-accuracy moves, the AI seems to connect with it way more than it should.

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness'', if you aren't using Shadow Pokémon against [[spoiler:Ardos]]...."Snorlax used Shadow End!" It's the Shadow equivalent of Double-Edge, and since Shadow is super-effective against everything else, anything that's non-Shadow will take a lot of damage. Also, there's Shadow Sky. It's the Shadow version of weather and pummels every non-Shadow Pokémon for five turns.

* Skill Swap is a move that switches the abilities of the user and the target, potentially crippling anyone that relies on their abilities. In double battle, it's one of the few ways to remove any ability that cripples the user, such as Truant and Slow Start.

* Psychic (the move), especially in Gen I. A 90-base power attack with no drawbacks, 10 PP, wide availability as a TM, and a chance to lower the Special Defense of the target make it a popular and powerful move. Psychic was even more feared in Gen I thanks to the aforementioned Special stat, no Dark-types, and being the STAB move of resident [[GameBreaker Game Breakers]] Alakazam and Mewtwo meant that there was next to no Pokémon in the game that could withstand more than two shots of it.

On the other hand, Wrap (as well as HM Whirlpool and Heatran's Magma Storm) continues to be That One Attack in a different sense in later games. While it no longer prevents the opponent from acting, it does trap the opponent on the field, preventing them from swapping out[[note]]it notably did ''not'' do this in Gen I[[/note]], while providing constant damage between turns. With a properly bulky user, the victim can do little but watch their health get [[DeathOfAThousandCuts whittled away.]]

* Any attack that causes confusion, particularly Confuse Ray. Since TheComputerIsACheatingBastard, the next 5 turns will have your Pokémon "hurting itself in its confusion". This happens ''instead of'' using whatever move you wanted to use. Naturally, that's only true for ''you'', as the computer will snap out of it in 2 turns and won't hurt itself once. Confuse Ray makes it worse: it's 100% accurate, and pretty much every trainer with a Zubat, Golbat, or Crobat has this attack on it, and will be more than happy to use it on their first turn. Confusion finally got nerfed in Generation 7 with its chances of causing a Pokémon to hit itself being reduced to 33%.

* Attract makes Pokémon fall in love, which leads to a high chance of being immobilized by love! What's worse is that unlike moves that cause confusion, Attract doesn't wear off after a few turns. You have to switch out in order to cancel out its effects while in battle, or be holding Mental Herb. This is one reason why [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Whitney's Miltank]] [[ThatOneBoss is so notorious]]. Luckily, it is negated by the fact that Attract doesn't work on genderless Pokémon, Pokémon with the [[ObliviousToLove Oblivious]] [[NotDistractedByTheSexy ability]], or Pokémon of the same gender as its user. If you're playing [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Ruby and Sapphire, Emerald, or the remakes]] or [[Videogame/PokemonGoldAndsilver Heartgold and Soulsilver]], however, you can get your hands on the Red Flute, which makes the attraction status effect nothing more than losing one turn.

* Acrobatics is a very widespread 55-base power Flying-type move that ''doubles'' in power if the user isn't holding anything. And if that user is a Flying-type, it gets a STAB as well, resulting in a move with an effective 165 power! Very few Trainer battles have their Pokémon holding items, meaning many, many birds can hit you with a doubled Acrobatics. It's also very accurate and has a ton of PP. Oh, and if it holds a Flying Gem, the Gem boosts the move and vanishes ''before'' it checks for an item, bringing the effective power up to ''248''. That's a bigger punch than most Z-Moves, only 2 shy of ''Explosion'', and is likely a major contributor to all of the elemental Gems barring Normal Gem becoming unavailable in-game after Generation V.

* Outrage was this to the point that people think the Fairy-type exists to check it. As a Dragon-type move, it had great coverage and some very powerful users, and a base power of 120 — an absurdly good number — and the user is locked into that 120 base power attack for 2 or 3 turns. The only downside was that it confused them after use, but you could just switch them out and then put them back in whenever needed — and as mentioned, Outrage's coverage was so good that there was never any reason not to use it; even against Steel-types, it still usually hit hard enough to punch through type advantage. Add in the common mixing of Outrage with a Choice Band or Choice Scarf (locks the user into a move, but drastically increases attack/speed) and you had what competitive players called "buttoning": simply sending in Salamence/Dragonite/Garchomp/Haxorus, selecting Outrage once, and then watching your grotesquely overpowered dragon rip the opponent's team apart, with no strategy beyond hammering the attack button. Since arrival of the Fairy-type, "buttoning" is no longer a luxury[[note]]it just leads to getting revenge killed at best or [[TotalPartyKill completely wiped out]] at worst by a fairy who gets a free turn or two to do whatever it wants while you're locked into using a completely ineffectual attack[[/note]], and players are forced to play smart with the (still very powerful) move.

* Knock Off got a major buff in Generation VI. Before, it was a wimpy attack with 20 base power that just nullified the item of what it was used against. Afterwards, it not only got a decent power boost (to 65), but also inflicted 50% more damage against anything that has an item while still retaining the ability to remove items. In the competitive scene, ''everybody'' has an item, and some Pokémon are quite attached to theirs. Furthermore, you can't use your Steel-types to tank it, as they lost their resistance against Dark moves. Furthermore, it's also ridiculously widespread and can easily be run as a primary damaging move on Dark-type attackers, a coverage option on non-Dark-types, or even a utility move on tanks and walls. It quickly got a reputation as "Gen VI's Scald".

* [[ThatOneBoss Sla]][[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire king]] used Facade! Thought you'd wear it down by using a StatusEffect? [[DidntThinkThisThrough Too bad!]] [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard Now it's twice as powerful!]] Oh, and Generation VI made Facade ignore the burn penalty regardless of its user's Ability. There's also the fact that Ursaring and Zangoose, two Pokémon with abilities that boost their Attack when afflicted with a StatusEffect (though only with Poison in Zangoose's case), also learn Facade. That, combined with their normally high physical offense and STAB boost on said move, make these two become terrifying battlers.
* Psyshock. It's a special attack, but it targets the opponent's Defense rather than Special Defense. Add this to the moveset of a good special attacker to allow them to hit hard against a much wider range of opponents. Blissey runs scared from Psychic-types now.

--> Breloom used Spore! The opponent's Pokémon fell asleep! Breloom used Focus Punch!
* Reflect and Light Screen. They halve damage from opponents' physical and special attacks, respectively, and, while they are not permanent, they won't fade just because you switch Pokémon. If used by a Pokémon holding Light Clay, they last even longer. Setting up both of these moves is called dual-screening. Thankfully, this is another thing that Defog dispels. Brick Break and Psychic Fangs can also shatter screens.

* Aegislash's [[SecretArt King's Shield]]. What King's Shield does is protect Aegislash from any attack, with a nasty effect being able to harshly lower the attacker's attack if they use a contact move on King's Shield. In addition, Aegislash using King's Shield also means it can switch from Sword Forme, which has daunting offences, into Shield Forme, which has massive defenses. Played right, King's Shield effectively makes Aegislash a '''720''' BST Pokémon.[[note]]For comparison, that is ''[[OlympusMons Arceus's]]'' BST. Aegislash's Blade form's base stats are 60 HP / 150 Atk / 50 Def / 150 [=SAtk=] / 50 [=SDef=] / 60 Speed, while its Shield form has 60 HP / 50 Atk / 150 Def / 50 [=SAtk=] / 150 [=SDef=] / 60 Speed. A well-played King's Shield Aegislash effectively switches between the highest stats of ''both forms at once'' — that is 60/150/150/150/150/60[[/note]]. On the other hand, King's Shield doesn't block Status moves. Aegislash's stats got nerfed in Gen VIII (bringing its 150 base stats down to 140) in an effort to make this more manageable.

* Spectral Thief, Marshadow's SecretArt, is a decently powerful physical Ghost-type move... that also ''steals any stat boosts''. All those efforts pulling off StatusBuff belongs to Marshadow now, and it's about to destroy your entire team with these. To add insult to injury, the damage takes place after the stealing, meaning Spectral Thief will deal massive damage if Marshadow steals any attack boosts. This single move, among many other factors, is the main reason why Marshadow was banished to Ubers within a week of its release.

* Supersonic, a move with a 55% chance to confuse the target and one of the most annoying moves you'll ever encounter in the main stories. It's common as dirt, with games across all generations having at least one early-game Mon packing the move (usually Zubat) to irritate you to no end with "[Pokémon] is confused! It hurt itself in its confusion!" And like most low-accuracy moves, the AI seems to connect with it way more than it should.
* Fishious Rend, a physical 85 power, 100 accuracy Water-type move that ''doubles'' in power if the user attacks first, used by Dracovish and Arctovish. What the description doesn't tell you is that it's a biting move (the Japanese name is "Gill Bite") and is thus boosted by Dracovish's Strong Jaw. With Dracovish attacking first it gets an insane 255 power before factoring in STAB, becoming one of the strongest, if not the strongest Water-type move in the game. And with rain, Sticky Web support and a Choice Band, the abomination of nature can easily sweep enemies lacking Water Absorb, even if they are 4x resistant to Water.

* [[SuicideAttack Self-Destruct]] and its stronger counterpart, Explosion, do tons of damage thanks to their high Power. They also cause the user to faint, making capturing some wild Pokémon harder than necessary if they happen to have these moves. Also, prior to Gen V, these moves did even more damage because the move's power was calculated to do damage as if the opponent had half of their actual defence. Though a Ghost-type Pokémon (immune to Normal-type moves) or a Pokémon with the Damp ability (prevents these moves from activating) will solve this.

* Skill Swap is a move that switches the abilities of the user and the target, potentially crippling anyone that relies on their abilities. In double battle, it's one of the few ways that remove any ability that cripples the user such as Truant and Slow Start.

* Gen I Amnesia is this, since there is only one Special stat, covering both Special Attack and Defense. This means sharply increasing the Special stat back then is like using two Calm Minds in one turn. Note that the [[GameBreaker Psychic-type of Gen I]] is assigned to the Special stat. Trying to counter them with a physical attacker is difficult, since they usually have poor Special stat to hold out in battle.

* In Gen. I, Wrap, especially if your Pokémon is slow enough. It does ScratchDamage every turn while preventing you from attacking. If the opponent is faster they will use Wrap once again as soon as it wears off. [[CycleOfHurting Over and over again]]. This made Mons such as Dratini, which could cause Paralysis (which all but guaranteed that Pokémon to go second) even deadlier than their level would have you believe. The moves Bind, Clamp, and Fire Spin behave the same way as Wrap, with Clamp and Fire Spin adding the potential for each attack to be super effective against certain opponents. This was fixed in the later games. Wrap no longer holds your Pokémon to keep it from attacking.\\

On the other hand, Wrap (as well as HM Whirlpool and Heatran's Magma Storm) continues to be That One Attack in a different sense in later games. While it no longer prevents the opponent from acting, it does trap the opponent on the field, preventing them from swapping out, while providing constant damage between turns. With a properly bulky user, the victim can do little but watch their health get [[DeathOfAThousandCuts whittled away.]]

* Sheer Cold and other OHKO attacks, like Fissure, only have 30% accuracy, though its accuracy can scale up depending on how high the user is compared to the opponent. [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard Though, that apparently only applies to you.]] Articuno can get around this, however, with Mind Reader, a move that [[{{Combo}} makes the next move used]] an AlwaysAccurateAttack. ''Especially'' Sheer Cold, since no Pokémon are immune to Ice type moves, unlike the other three OHKO attacks which are Normal type (Guillotine and Horn Drill) or Ground type (Fissure) and have no effect on Ghost types or Flying types, respectively.

* '''Stealth Rock.''' It creates an "entry hazard", which means that any further Pokémon who switch in will be affected. At least Spikes and [[StandardStatusEffects Toxic Spikes]] could be dodged with a Flying-type or somebody with Levitate... but not Stealth Rock. Unlike dealing a set amount of damage, like Spikes, it factors [[ElementalRockPaperScissors type matchups]] into the damage done. This means that someone who is weak to Rock loses a quarter of its health, and someone with a double weakness losing ''half'', just from being sent in. It's [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere absolutely everywhere.]] ''Entire teams'' have to be made just to survive (and use) it. It's the only reason anybody uses the otherwise pathetic move Rapid Spin (there are even specific Pokémon whose sole reason for usage is to use Rapid Spin). It's made many Pokémon weak to Rock seen as unusable (mostly). The metagame, when it doesn't centralize around weather, centralizes around this move. No other move is as infamous or game-changing as Stealth Rock.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' gained the [[SecretArt signature move]] of Necrozma, Prismatic Laser. Due to Necrozma's level when you encounter it and high special attack stat and its 160 power and 100% accuracy, anything that's not a Dark type is going to faint pretty quickly, and it has 10 PP. While it does give you a chance to throw a Poke Ball thanks to it being a better Hyper Beam, due to the 3 catch rate, it's unlikely to catch it. This attack can quickly turn Necrozma into ThatOneBoss.

* Earthquake, is a move with 100 power, a strong offensive type, and 100% accuracy with no drawbacks whatsoever (aside from also hitting the user's partner(s) in Double and Triple Battles). With an immense amount of Pokémon being able to learn the move, it is pretty much everywhere. The chances of a high-skilled team not having the move are slim.
* [[SuicideAttack Self-destruct]] and its stronger counterpart, Explosion, do tons of damage thanks to their high Power. They also cause the user to faint, making capturing some wild Pokémon harder than necessary if they happen to have these moves. Also, prior to Gen V, these moves did even more damage because the move's power was calculated to do damage as if the opponent had half of their actual defence. Though a Ghost-type Pokémon (immune to Normal-type moves) or a Pokémon with the Damp ability (prevents these moves from activating) will solve this.

* Destiny Bond is a move that, when used, [[TakingYouWithMe takes the opposing Pokémon down if the user is knocked out that turn]]. Mercifully nerfed in Generation VII by making it eventually fail, much like [[DefendCommand Protect]], if one tries to use it consecutively in a row. However, its Z-move effect gives a Follow Me effect, luring any opponent to attack it and potentially taking anyone down along with the user.

* Cotton Guard, for anybody who relies on physical attacks. It drastically boosts its defense, which essentially means that a mere two turns of use maximize Defense. Which means a 4 times boost. This basically means that, unless you get lucky enough to get a CriticalHit, even super-effective attacks will do ScratchDamage. Oh, and guess who can learn it? That's right, [[DemonicSpiders Whimsicott!]]

* Roost. A Flying-type move introduced in Gen IV. It became ''especially'' annoying in ''Black 2/White 2'' where Tranquill just adores spamming it to no end. What would normally be a quick and easy battle turns frustratingly long since Tranquill will constantly use it whenever its HP starts running low. Plus, Roost eliminates the user's Flying-type until the end of that turn, so that super-effective move you were planning on using next could no longer deal super-effective damage.

* Scald. Not only is it an extremely widespread move (obtainable on most Water-types that aren't part Ice) with acceptable power, but it has an annoyingly high chance to burn, which cripples physical attackers. As such, Scald is very commonly used on both Water-type attackers for its decent base power and on defensive Pokémon to fish for the burn chance.

* Aegislash's [[SecretArt King's Shield]]. What King's Shield does is protect Aegislash from any attack, with a nasty effect being able to harshly lower the attacker's attack if they use a contact move on King's Shield. In addition, Aegislash using King's Shield also means it can switch from Sword Forme, which has daunting offences, into Shield Forme, which has massive defenses. Played right, King's Shield effectively makes Aegislash a '''720''' BST Pokémon.[[note]]For comparison, that is ''[[OlympusMons Arceus's]]'' BST. Aegislash's Blade form's base stats are 60 HP / 150 Atk / 50 Def / 150 [=SAtk=] / 50 [=SDef=] / 60 Speed, while its Shield form has 60 HP / 50 Atk / 150 Def / 50 [=SAtk=] / 150 [=SDef=] / 60 Speed. A well-played King's Shield Aegislash effectively switches between the highest stats of ''both forms at once'' — that is 60/150/150/150/150/60[[/note]]. On the other hand, King's Shield doesn't block Status moves.

* In Gen. I, Wrap, especially if your Pokémon is slow enough. It does ScratchDamage every turn while preventing you from attacking. If the opponent is faster they will use Wrap once again as soon as it wears off. [[CycleOfHurting Over and over again]]. This made Mons such as Dratini, which could cause Paralysis (which all but guaranteed that Pokémon to go second) even deadlier than their level would have you believe. This was fixed in the later games. Wrap no longer holds your Pokémon to keep it from attacking.\\

On the other hand, Wrap continues to be That One Attack in a different sense in later games. While it no longer prevents the opponent from acting, it does trap the opponent on the field, preventing them from swapping out, while providing constant damage between turns. With a properly bulky user, the victim can do little but watch their health get [[DeathOfAThousandCuts whittled away.]]

* Fishious Rend, a physical 85 power, 100 accuracy Water-type move that ''doubles'' in power if the user attacks first, used by Dracovish and Arctovish. What the description doesn't tell you is that it's a biting move (the Japanese name is "Gill Bite") and is thus boosted by Dracovish's Strong Jaw. With Dracovish's Strong Jaw and the user attacking first it has an insane 255 power before factoring in STAB, becoming one of the strongest, if not the strongest Water-type move in the game. And with rain, Sticky Web support and a Choice Band, the abomination of nature can easily sweep enemies lacking Water Absorb, even if they are 4x resistant to Water.

* Fishious Rend, a physical 85 power, 100 accuracy Water-type move that ''doubles'' in power if the user attacks first, used by Dracovish and Arctovish. What it doesn't say is that it's a biting move (the Japanese name is "Gill Bite") and is thus boosted by Dracovish's Strong Jaw. With Strong Jaw and the user attacking first it has an insane 255 power before factoring in STAB, becoming one of the strongest, if not the strongest Water-type move in the game. With rain, Sticky Web support and a Choice Band, the abomination of nature can easily sweep enemies lacking Water Absorb, even if they are 4x resistant to Water.

* Fishious Rend, a physical 85 power, 100 accuracy Water-type move that ''doubles'' in power if the user attacks first, used by Dracovish and Arctovish. What it doesn't say is that it's a biting move (the Japanese name is "Gill Bite") and is thus boosted by Dracovish's Strong Jaw. With Strong Jaw and the user attacking first it has an insane 255 power before factoring in STAB and rain, becoming one of the strongest, if not the strongest Water-type move in the game, allowing the abomination of nature to easily sweep enemies lacking Water Absorb with great ease provided it gets Sticky Web support.

* Acrobatics is a very widespread 55-base power Flying-type move that ''doubles'' in power if the user isn't holding anything. And if that user is a Flying-type, it gets a STAB as well, resulting in a move with an effective 165 power! Very few Trainer battles have their Pokémon holding items, meaning many, many birds can hit you with a doubled Acrobatics. It's also very accurate and has a ton of PP. Oh, and if it holds a Flying Gem, the Gem boosts the move and vanishes ''before'' it checks for an item, bringing the effective power up to ''248''. That's a bigger punch than most Z-Moves, only 2 shy of ''Explosion'', and is likely a major contributor to all of the elemental Gems becoming unavailable in-game after Generation V.

* Trick Room. Next to nobody uses that move in the main story, but in facilities such as the PWT or the Battle Tree, it's a whole different story. It is a move that reverses the order that all active Pokémon move in for five turns, effectively making it so that slower Mons attack first, and faster Mons attack last. Since your strategy for the main game has very likely been [[CurbStompBattle "Knock out the other Pokémon with a super-effective attack before they have a chance to move"]], Trick Room lets the opposition's [[LightningBruiser slower Pokémon give you a heaping helping of your own medicine.]] The only way to shut down Trick Room once it's been used is to have one of your Pokémon use Trick Room as well, but unless you happen to have that move on hand, you just have wait out the five turns and pray that your team doesn't get brutalized by the enemy's ruthless AI, perfect IV's, and optimized EV'd Pokémon.

* Agility in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'', especially in Monster Houses. Doubles the speed of every enemy in the room (they all get to go twice per turn), giving them more than enough time to wreck your party without you being able to counterattack. Even worse, the user of Agility is also granted a second turn, letting them ''use Agility again''. And if it's used twice? Quadruple speed.

* Teleport is a bane of existence for capturing a Pokémon, as it will make the wild Pokémon escape. It doesn't help that the main user of this move, Abra, is very fast, so it will get the chance to use Teleport.

* In Gen. I, if your Pokémon is slow enough, "Ekans used Wrap! Ekans's attack continues!" Again and again and again. This made Mons such as Dratini, which could cause Paralysis (which all but guaranteed that Pokémon to go second) even deadlier than their level would have you believe. This was fixed in the later games. Wrap no longer holds your Pokémon to keep it from attacking.\\

* The foe's Articuno used [[OneHitKill Sheer Cold!]] Sheer Cold and other OHKO attacks, like Fissure, only have 30% accuracy, though its accuracy can scale up depending on how high the user is compared to the opponent. [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard Though, that apparently only applies to you.]] Articuno can get around this, however, with Mind Reader, a move that [[{{Combo}} makes the next move used]] an AlwaysAccurateAttack.

* Acrobatics is a very widespread 55-base power Flying-type move that ''doubles'' in power if the user isn't holding anything. And if that user is a Flying-type, it gets a STAB as well, resulting in a move with an effective 165 power! Very few Trainer battles have their Pokémon holding items, meaning many, many birds can hit you with a doubled Acrobatics. It's also very accurate and has a ton of PP. Oh, and if it holds a Flying Gem, the Gem boosts the move and vanishes ''before'' it checks for an item.

* Scald. Not only is it an extremely widespread move (obtainable on most Water-types that aren't part Ice) with acceptable power, but it has an annoyingly high chance to burn, which cripples physical attackers.

* Knock Off got a major buff in Generation VI. Before, it was a wimpy attack with 20 base power that just nullified the item of what it was used against. Afterwards, it not only got a decent power boost (to 65), but also inflicted 50% more damage against anything that has an item. In the competitive scheme, ''everybody'' has an item. Furthermore, you can't use your Steel-types to tank it, as they lost their resistance against Dark moves. It quickly got a reputation as "Gen VI's Scald".

* Generation VII added a new ice-type move called Aurora Veil, which acts like both screens at once, but only works in hail. One of the Pokémon that can learn it is Alolan Ninetails with Snow Warning, which starts hail automatically at the beginning of battle. Go figure.

* Oblivion Wing, Yveltal's SecretArt, has a power of 80 ...and restores 75% of all damage dealt as health, allowing Yveltal to heal to nearly full HP within a few usages (even 1 if it's super-effective). It's particularly nasty when you're trying to capture it, as it will just heal itself to a reasonable amount with this move.

* Close Combat, a 120 Power Fighting-type move that is very accurate and only has the drawback of lowering your Pokémon's Defense and Special Defense each time it is used? Check.

* Z-Moves can give some status moves a new life, some of them might be a little bit too extensive. Generally speaking, Taunt doesn't prevent them from activation.:
** Extreme Evoboost, the [[SecretArt exclusive Z-Move]] of Eevee. It sharply boosts all the user's stats (other than accuracy and evasion). To make matters worse, Eevee can use Baton Pass to transfer these boosts onto a more potent sweeper, causing the recipient to become a LightningBruiser to the extreme. In double battles, it can be combined with a Follow Me or Wide Guard user to protect Eevee from damage, before passing the boosts onto a Stored Power user such as Necrozma to go on a rampage. [[note]]Because of how Stored Power works, this causes the move to have 220 Power, enough to peel the face off of anything not Dark-type, and then they'll usually have coverage for those.[[/note]]

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonRumble World'', any move that causes the Reprisal status is this. Reprisal causes 100% of the damage dealt to the Pokémon with the status to be returned back to the Pokémon that caused the damage. In a game where the basic format consists of {{Multi Mook Melee}}s that play HealthDamageAsymmetry very much straight. Against mobs that have moves like Bide, Counter, or Mirror Coat, a single spread attack from the player can wind up {{One Hit Kill}}ing ''themselves'' from full health. It's telling that [[JokeCharacter Kricketot]] is considered a high-order DemonicSpider in this game, just because its primary move is Bide.

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness'', if you aren't using Shadow Pokémon against [[spoiler:Ardos]]...."Snorlax used Shadow End!" It's the shadow equivalent of Double-Edge, and since Shadow is super effective against everything else, anything that's non-shadow will take a lot of damage. Also there's Shadow Sky. It's the shadow version of weather and pummels everyone for five turns.

* Dark Void. It's a move that puts all opposing Pokémon to sleep if it connects. This means that it can completely incapacitate the enemy team in Doubles and possibly Triples. It's especially nasty when considering who can use it: Darkrai. Darkrai is incredibly fast, and most players will use Dark Void to put you to sleep before you move. However, Darkrai has an ability that causes damage to Pokémon that are asleep. This one move is what makes Darkrai such a major threat. Smeargle, who can use nearly any move in the game, can also learn this move (at least until Gen VII). If you get hit by Dark Void from Smeargle, prepare to be helpless as Smeargle buffs up its stats in front of ''both'' your Pokémon and Baton Pass those buffs to let an ally demolish your team. Dark Void was banned in past VGC tournaments for exactly this reason (and in Gen VII, got nerfed to 50% accuracy).
* [[ThatOneBoss Sla]][[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire king]] used Facade! Thought you'd wear it down by using a StatusEffect? [[DidntThinkThisThrough Too bad!]] [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard Now it's twice as powerful!]] Oh, and Generation VI made Facade ignore the burn penalty regardless of user's Ability. There's also the fact that Ursaring and Zangoose, two Pokémon with abilities that boost their Attack when inflicted with a StatusEffect (Though only with Poison in Zangoose's case), also learn Facade. That, combined with their normally high physical offense and STAB boost on said move, make these two become terrifying battlers.
* Psyshock. It's a special attack, but it targets the opponent's Defense rather than Special Defense. Add this to the moveset of a good special attacker to allow them to hit hard against a much wider range of opponents.

* Dynamic Punch is a powerful Fighting-type move that always causes confusion. [[PowerfulButInaccurate Mercifully, it only has 50% accuracy]]... and that's where Machamp come into play with No Guard ensuring Dynamic Punch will always land.

* Reflect and Light Screen. They halve damage from opponents' physical and special attacks, respectively, and, while they are not permanent, they won't fade just because you switch Pokémon. If used by a Pokémon holding Light Clay, they last even longer. Setting up both of these moves is called dual-screening. Thankfully, this is another thing that Defog dispels. Brick Break can also shatter screens.

* Generation VII added new ice-type move called Aurora Veil, which acts like both screens at once, but only works in hail. One of Pokemon that can learn it is Alolan Ninetails with Snow Warning, that starts hail automatically at the beginning of battle. Go figure.
* Trick Room. You've got a really powerful Pokémon. It can take hits really well and dish out huge amounts of damage in return. Their main weakness? They're pretty slow. But Trick Room takes care of that problem by enabling the slowest Pokémon on the field to always attack first (though it doesn't inverse priority; so moves like Quick Attack can go first), turning your MightyGlacier into a straight-up LightningBruiser. Entire teams have been created to center around this move -- especially in doubles, where setting up Trick Room doesn't waste turns.
* Aegislash's [[SecretArt King's Shield]]. What King's Shield does is protect Aegislash from any attack, with a nasty effect being able to harshly lower the attacker's attack if they use a contact move on King's Shield. In addition, Aegislash using King's Shield also means it can switch from Sword Forme, which has daunting offences, into Shield Forme, which has massive defenses. Played right, King's Shield effectively makes Aegislash a '''720''' BST Pokémon.[[note]]For comparison, that is ''[[OlympusMons Arceus's]]'' BST. Aegislash's Blade form's base stats are 60 HP / 150 Atk / 50 Def / 150 [=SAtk=] / 50 [=SDef=] / 60 Speed, while its Shield form has 60 HP / 50 Atk / 150 Def / 50 [=SAtk=] / 150 [=SDef=] / 60 Speed. A well-played King's Shield Aegislash effectively switches between the highest stats of ''both forms at once'' -- that is 60/150/150/150/150/60[[/note]]. On the other hand, King's Shield doesn't block Status moves.
* Quiver Dance. It boosts the user's Speed, Special Attack, ''and'' Special Defense. So not only does it work like a special version of Dragon Dance, it gives your Pokémon some special bulk as well. Quiver Dance is such a good move that it made otherwise mediocre and outclassed Pokémon like Lilligant, Venomoth, and Masquerain some much needed utility and use.

* Oblivion Wing, Yveltal's Signature Move, has a power of 80 ...and restores 75% of all damage dealt as health, allowing Yveltal to heal to nearly full HP within a few usages (even 1 if it's super-effective). It's particularly nasty when you're trying to capture it, as it will just heal itself to a reasonable amount with this move.
* Thunder Wave, a popular status move even after over 20 years, and for good reason. It inflicts paralysis, which halves your Pokémon's speed and keeps it from acting 25% of the time, severely crippling most attackers. It's even worse prior to Generation VII, where paralysis ''quartered'' your speed instead. Thankfully, nerfs to the Paralysis condition over the generations plus having its accuracy nerfed to 90% have toned down its abusiveness, although it's still rather annoying.

* Dragon Ascent, the SecretArt of Rayquaza. It's a very powerful 120 Power move that comes off of Rayquaza's great Attack stats and STAB, with the drawback being lowering its Defense and Special Defense by one stage with each use, much like Close Combat. But what ''really" makes it terrifying is that having it being the requirement for Rayquaza to Mega Evolve rather than a Mega Stone and Mega Rayquaza brings a [[GameBreaker whole other set of problems to the table]].

** Extreme Evoboost, the [[SecretArt exclusive Z-Move]] of Eevee. It sharply boosts all the user's stats (other than accuracy and evasion). To make matters worse, Eevee can use Baton Pass to transfer these boosts onto a more potent sweeper, causing the recipient to become a LightningBruiser to the extreme. In double battles, it can be combined with a Follow Me or Wide Guard user to protect Eevee from damage, before passing the boosts onto a Stored Power user such as Necrozma to go on a rampage. [[note]]Because of how Stored Power works, this causes the move to have 220 Power, enough to peel the face off anything not Dark-type, and then they'll usually have coverage for those.[[/note]]

* Teleport is a bane of existence for capturing a Pokemon as it will make the wild Pokemon escape. It doesn't help that the main user of this move, Abra is very fast, so it will get the chance to use Teleport.
* Gen I Amnesia is this, since there is only one Special stat, covering both Special Attack and Defense. This means sharply increasing the Special stat back then is like using two Calm Minds in one turn. Note that the [[GameBreaker Psychic-type of Gen I]] is assigned to the Special stat. Trying to counter them with a physical attacker is difficult since they usually have poor Special stat to hold out in battle.

* In Gen. I, if your Pokémon is slow enough, "Ekans used Wrap! Ekans's attack continues!" Again and again and again. This made Mons such as Dratini, which could cause Paralysis (which guaranteed that pokémon to go second) even deadlier than their level would have you believe. This was fixed in the later games. Wrap no longer holds your Pokémon to keep it from attacking.\\

* [[RandomEffectSpell Metronome]] enable the Pokemon to pick almost any move in the game with it. Unleashing powerful moves such as Volt Tackle or Sacred Fire. On the other hand, it could also select useless moves or even moves that would KO itself.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' gained the [[SecretArt signature move]] of Necrozma as being Prismatic Laser. Due to Necrozma's level when you encounter it and high special attack stat and it's 160 power and 100% accuracy anything that's not a Dark type is going to faint pretty quickly and it has 10 PP. While it does give you a chance to throw a Poke Ball thanks to it being a better Hyper Beam due to the 3 catch rate it's unlikely to catch it. This attack can quickly turn Necrozma into ThatOneBoss.
* Necrozma gains another signature move in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndMoon'' called Photon Geyser. It is a Psychic-type attack that has no drawbacks with 100 power and 100% accuracy, and can either be physical or special, meaning unless you know what [=EVs=] are in the Ultra Necrozma boss fight, you don't know where it will hit you from. In the boss fight itself this move is considered a Nuzlocke Destroyer due to being able to one-shot almost all Pokemon in the game at that point. It's also partially what makes Ultra Necrozma a case of ThatOneBoss. That's not even getting into the fact that it ignores abilities such as Sturdy and Disguise.
* Earthquake, it's a move with 100 power, a strong offensive type, and 100% accuracy with no drawbacks whatsoever. With an immense amount of Pokemon being able to learn the move, it is pretty much everywhere. The chances of a high-skilled team not having the move are slim.
* [[SuicideAttack Selfdestruct]] and its stronger counterpart, Explosion, they do tons of damage thanks to their high Power and these moves will cause the user to faint, making it capturing some wild Pokémon harder than necessary if they happen to have these moves. Also, prior to Gen V, these moves did even more damage because the move's power was calculated to do damage as if the opponent had half of their actual defence. Though a Ghost-type Pokémon (immune to Normal-type moves) or a Pokémon with the Damp ability (prevents these moves from activating) will solve this.
* Whitney's [[ThatOneBoss Miltank]] used Rollout![[note]]Rollout attacks over 5 turns, starting out with 30 base power and doubling in power every turn. On the fifth turn, it has a whopping 480 attack power, a destructive force rivaled only by [[SuicideAttack Explosion]] in Gen II.[[/note]] And if you're playing ''[=HeartGold=]''/''[=SoulSilver=]''? Miltank used Stomp. ''*insert Pokémon you're using here*'' flinched. Even if it's a Ghost-type, due to Scrappy ability.
* Destiny Bond, a move that, when used, [[TakingYouWithMe takes the opposing Pokémon down if the user is knocked out]]. Mercifully nerfed in Generation VII by making it always fail if one try to use it consecutively in a row. However, its Z-move effect gives a Follow Me effect, luring any opponent to attack it and potentially taking anyone down along with the user.
* Any attack that causes confusion, particularly Confuse Ray. Since TheComputerIsACheatingBastard, the next 5 turns will have your Pokémon "hurting itself in its confusion". Naturally, that's only true for YOU, as the computer will snap out of it in 2 turns and won't hurt itself once. Confuse Ray makes it worse: it's 100% accurate, and pretty much every trainer with a Zubat, Golbat, or Crobat has this attack on it, and will be more than happy to use it on their first turn. Confusion finally got nerfed in Generation 7 with its chances of hitting itself being reduce to 33%.

* In Gen. I, anything with Poison Sting. It has an irritatingly high chance of poisoning Pokemon if you don't KO the opposing 'mon within a couple turns, sending you straight back to the nearest Pokémon Center if there's no Antidote.

* Minimize, since Generation 5, ''doubles'' the Evasion Stat. Chansey is the most notorious purveyor of the move, as it has boundless bulk with the Eviolite item[[note]]raises defensive stats by 50% if a Pokémon is not fully evolved[[/note]] and reliable recovery in Softboiled. Generation VI nerf it somewhat by allowing moves such as Stomp, Steamroller, Body Slam, Dragon Rush, Flying Press, and Heavy Slam (From Generation VII onwards) to not only do double the usual damage to a Pokémon using Minimize but ''also'' never miss when said moves are used.
* Protect, while not nearly as bad as the others, is still really annoying and makes you waste a turn and PP. If the AI at least used it strategically it'd be one thing, but since it's purely AIRoulette they end up using it just because, even when it's obvious that you've already won and it won't help them thus they just delay the inevitable. Also, in multiplayer Single matches, it guarantees a turn a Pokémon can be on the field (making it common alongside Earthquake spammers, or in conjunction with things like Wish or Speed Boost, or even just stalling until a status condition [=KO's=] an opponent). There are a few moves that get around Protect and its variations, but all are either weak, require a charge turn, or are exclusive to Mythical Pokemon.
* Substitute, at the cost of a few HP, the Pokemon throws out a decoy to shield them from incoming attacks, significantly cutting the damage they would potentially take instead. Entire strategies and movesets have been built around Substitute. Most commonly Subseeding (Substitute+Leech Seed), Subpunching (Substitute+Focus Punch), abusing status buffs freely under protection, or using Substitute to [[BatmanGambit deliberately cut down your HP]] to abuse pinch berries (Berries that provide a quick StatusBuff when HP is low). If an opponent has a substitute, you'd better act fast, or be in for a world of pain. Fans rejoiced when new mechanics introduced in Gen VI allowed sound-based moves to [[ArmorPiercingAttack bypass substitutes]] and hit opponents directly.
* [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Watchog used Retaliate!]] [[note]]Retaliate doubles in base power (from 70 to 140) if a Pokémon on the user's team fainted in the previous turn, and when you factor in STAB, that jumps up to 210. It would be one thing if it appeared late in the game, but instead, it appears in ''Black and White's'' second gym, and Lenora will plow through your team if you're not ready for it. Thought you will force away Herdier and take down Watchog first? Herdier has Retaliate, as well.[[/note]] Even worse: [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Norman's Slaking used Retaliate!]] [[note]]Thought Lenora's Watchog hurt? Slaking has almost twice as much attack. Thank goodness for that [[BlessedWithSuck Truant ability]].[[/note]]
* Encore forced the Pokemon that's affected by it to keep using the same move in a row for 3 turns. If the Encore user is faster or it has Prankster, [[HereWeGoAgain now do it all over again!]] Of course, this can backfire if the move that was Encored happens to be a super-effective move.

* Attract makes Pokémon is in love and has a high chance of being immobilized by love! What's worse is that unlike moves that cause confusion, Attract doesn't wear off after a few turns. You have to switch out in order to cancel out its effects while in battle, or holding Mental Herb. This is one reason why [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Whitney's Miltank]] [[ThatOneBoss is so notorious]]. Luckily, it is negated by the fact that Attract doesn't work on genderless Pokémon, Pokémon with the [[ObliviousToLove Oblivious]] [[NotDistractedByTheSexy ability]], or Pokémon of the same gender as its opponent. If you're playing [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Ruby and Sapphire, Emerald, or the remakes]] or [[Videogame/PokemonGoldAndsilver Heartgold and Soulsilver]], however, you can get your hands on the Red Flute, which makes the attraction status effect nothing more than losing one turn.

* Body Slam. It packs a punch and has a whopping ''30%'' chance to cause [[StandardStatusEffects paralysis]]. Paralysis is annoying because it reduces you to a crawl on top of having a 25% chance of not being able to attack. On top of that, a ton of mons could learn it in the [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue first generation]], and there it was the equivalent of Stealth Rock- hard to deal with and very widespread.
* Acrobatics is a very widespread 55-base power Flying-type move that ''doubles'' in power if the user isn't holding anything. And if that user is a Flying-type, it gets a STAB as well, resulting in a move with an effective 165 power! Very few Trainer battles have their Pokémon holding items, meaning many, many birds can hit you with a doubled Acrobatics. It's also very accurate and has a ton of PP. Oh, and if it holds Flying Gem, the Gem boosts move ''before'' it checks for an item.

* Any sleep inducing move, ''especially'' in Gen I when waking up used up an entire turn. Cue your enemy putting you right back to sleep. Doubly so if the user is a Psychic or Ghost-type.[[note]]Nearly all Psychic and Ghost-types learn the immensely powerful Dream Eater, which also heals the user but requires the opponent to be asleep.[[/note]] Unless your Pokémon knows Snore or Sleep Talk, they will be completely defenseless. Thankfully, in Generation VI, Grass-type Pokémon gained an immunity to Spore, as well as any Pokémon holding the Safety Goggles item. In addition, the abilities Insomnia, Vital Spirit, Magic Bounce and Comatose made Pokémon immune to sleep-inducing moves.
* Outrage was this to the point that people think the Fairy-type existed to check it. As a Dragon-type move, it had great coverage and some very powerful users, and a base power of 120 - an absurdly good number - and the user is locked into that 120 base power attack for 2 or 3 turns. The only downside was that it confused them after use, but you could just switch them out and then put them back in whenever needed - and as mentioned, Outrage's coverage was so good that there was never any reason not to use it; even against Steel-types, it still usually hit hard enough to punch through type advantage. Add in the common mixing of Outrage with a Choice Band or Choice Scarf (locks the user into a move, but drastically increases attack/speed) and you had what competitive players called "buttoning": simply sending in Salamence/Dragonite/Garchomp/Haxorus, selecting Outrage once, and then watching your grotesquely overpowered dragon rip the opponent's team apart, with no strategy beyond hammering the attack button. Since arrival of the Fairy-type, "buttoning" is no longer a luxury, and players are forced to play smart with the (still very powerful) move.

* Think Discharge is bad? How about Earth Power where it can hit you anywhere in the dungeon. Yes, where the enemy is off-screen - meaning they can use this move anytime from ''endless range in the dungeon''.

* [[SwitchOutMove Volt Swtich]] is an attack with a decent power that causes the user to switch out after it hits. With a majority of Pokemon being able to learn Volt Switch are fast Electric-type Pokemon, they typically will switch out and safely avoid the intended attack. It is also one of the few times where the AI would switch out their Pokemon.

* Dragon Ascent, the SecretArt of Rayquaza. It's a very powerful 120 Power move that comes off of Rayquaza's great Attack stats and STAB, with the drawback being lowering its Defense and Special Defense by one stage with each use, much like Close Combat. But what ''really" makes it terrifying is that having it being the requirement for Rayquaza to Mega Evolve rather than a Mega Stone and Mega Rayqyaza brings a [[GameBreaker whole other set of problems to the table]].

* Dynamic Punch is a powerful Fighting-type move that always causes confusion. [[PowerfulButInaccurateMercifully, it only has 50% accuracy]]... and that's where Machamp come into play with No Guard ensuring Dynamic Punch will always land.

* Necrozma gains another signature move in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndMoon'' called Photon Geyser. It is a Psychic-type attack that has no drawbacks with 100 power and 100% accuracy, and can either be physical or special, meaning unless you know what [=EVs=] are in the Ultra Necrozma boss fight, you don't know where it will hit you from. In the boss fight itself this move is considered a Nuzlocke Destroyer due to being able to one-shot almost all Pokemon in the game at that point. It's also partially what makes Ultra Necrozma a case of ThatOneBoss.