Hyper Beam

The peak

Tauros

- Body Slam

- Hyper Beam

- Earthquake

- Blizzard

In Gen 1, Hyper Beam had the distinct honor of being the highest-powered move outside of Explosion, which obviously has an unsavory side effect. Of course, Hyper Beam has a side effect too: after it hits, the user will be unable to take action the next turn. However, whether through developer intention or classic RBY glitchiness, in Hyper Beam's first incarnation this recharge turn is canceled in several scenarios, like when breaking a Substitute, getting hit by a trapping move, falling asleep, or, most importantly, causing the target to faint. Because of this last exception, the original Hyper Beam was a menacing "finishing move" of sorts, doing immense damage to an already-weakened target. Its most famous user is Tauros, which softens slower foes up with Body Slam before blowing them away with a 150-Base Power STAB move coming off a respectable base 100 Attack. Nearly every fully evolved Normal-type in RBY used Hyper Beam, and it's not hard to see why.

What happened?

Through either a bug fix or balance change, Gen 2 cracked down on Hyper Beam's recharge turn. Now, unless the move missed, you'd be a sitting duck for one turn. This would be bad enough for Hyper Beam's viability, but the same generation increased Double Edge's base power from 100 to 120, closing the gap and making it a much more attractive option. Subsequent generations continued to be unkind towards Hyper Beam. While Gengar was the only Ghost-type in RBY, we now have a full cemetery of Ghosts that are immune to the move. Gen 4 changed Hyper Beam's damage type to special, and given that few Normal types have high Special Attack, the move's traditional users lost all reason to use it. To rub salt in the wound, Gen 6 introduced Boomburst, which is nearly identical to Hyper Beam except it trades a measly 10 Base Power for perfect accuracy, double the PP, and, most importantly, no recharge turn.

Where is it now?

Pidgeot @ Pidgeotite

Ability: Big Pecks

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Hurricane

- Heat Wave

- Hyper Beam

- U-turn

Who better to represent Hyper Beam in the current generation than a Gen 1 icon? While Mega Pidgeot is a niche pick in ORAS OU, and Hyper Beam is a niche pick for its moveset, the Route 1 bird is still the best user of the move in today's metagame. Unlike most Normal-types, Mega Pidgeot has great Special Attack, and unlike similar cases like Porygon-Z and Meloetta, Pidgeot lacks special Normal moves like Hyper Voice and Tri-Attack. Hyper Beam is used to eliminate Electric types that commonly switch into Mega Pidgeot, like Thundurus and Rotom-W, so that fellow birds like Talonflame or Staraptor can have an easier time sweeping. Of course, using this move makes Pidgeot very vulnerable to revenge killing or being set up on, so you should never click it without considering the consequences, but Hyper Beam is a usable method of eliminating common checks to bird-spam teams.

Blizzard

The peak

Lapras

- Blizzard

- Thunderbolt

- Body Slam

- Confuse Ray

Several of the moves on this list were so strong that they were heavily nerfed in subsequent generations, but Blizzard was such a strong move that it was nerfed within the same generation it debuted. In the original Japanese release, Blizzard was a 120-Base Power, 90% accurate Ice move with wide distribution and a 30% chance to freeze. That freeze chance was reduced to 10% for the international release, but everything else remained unchanged. As such, Blizzard in RBY was a move that could be spammed with very little drawback. Ice was one of the best types in the game, and because freeze in Gen 1 was effectively a permanent lock-down, fishing for hax could be highly profitable. This Lapras set, for instance, uses multiple methods of status infliction to overwhelm foes, and a STAB 120-Base Power move isn't to be taken lightly even if it never gets the freeze.

What happened?

Because Game Freak has gradually developed a vendetta against moves that are both strong and reliable, Blizzard's accuracy was reduced to a shaky 70% in Gen 2. In addition, the freeze status was made much more forgiving, with the frozen Pokemon now having a 10% chance to thaw every turn and a 100% chance to thaw when using certain Fire-type moves. In Gen 3, that chance was doubled and Pokemon could actually use a move immediately after thawing. Gen 4 rocked the competitive world with Stealth Rock, which combined with other factors would cause Ice's downfall as a Pokemon type to snowball further and further, meaning the Pokemon that use Blizzard the best became less and less common. As a whole, Ice Beam utterly eclipsed Blizzard as a move due to its greater reliability, and Gen 6 reducing Blizzard's Base Power from 120 to 110 was the final nail in the coffin.

Where is it now?

Abomasnow @ Abomasite

Ability: Soundproof

EVs: 8 HP / 68 Atk / 252 SpA / 180 Spe

Mild Nature

- Blizzard

- Wood Hammer

- Ice Shard

- Earthquake

In the midst of all these nerfs to Blizzard, Gen 4 brought one minor buff: the move gained perfect accuracy while hail was active. Because hail is the undisputed worst weather condition, this effect seldom comes into play, but one Pokemon that makes good use of it is Abomasnow and its Mega forme, both of which utilize Snow Warning to set up hail on every switch. STAB Blizzard coming from base 92 or 132 Special Attack is bound to do a hefty chunk to any foes that try to brave the storm, especially after hail's chip damage. The move is so spammable that sets like the one above use it as their sole special attack despite heavy Special Attack investment.

Wrap / Clamp

The peak

Dragonite

- Agility

- Wrap

- Hyper Beam

- Surf

These moves (along with their less-popular cousins Fire Spin and Bind) were some of cheesiest, most busted moves ever devised by Game Freak. In RBY, using one of these moves prevents the target from taking action as if they were frozen. The attack will then continue to do damage over multiple turns, leaving the opponent no options other than switching or staying in and waiting for a miss. What's worse, switching isn't much help, because the move will then apply to the new target at the measly cost of 1PP out of 64. If the Wrap user switches, then the target will still be immobilized for that turn. The infamous Dragonite set listed above is designed to use Agility to become faster than every Pokemon in the game, then slowly Wrap foes to death. If that weren't enough, Gen 1 games based critical hit chance on Speed, and if one hit of Wrap crits, all of them do. The only saving grace of Wrap and its demonic brethren is low accuracy, but a lucky Dragonite can sweep through an entire team by clicking one move, with no counterplay possible.

What happened?

In a completely welcomed and necessary decision, Game Freak utterly gutted Wrap clones in Gen 2, making them into entirely different moves. Foes hit by Wrap now take a percentage of their HP in damage each turn and are prevented from switching as long as the Wrap user stays in, but trapped Pokemon can still click moves as usual. Known as "partial trapping" moves, these revived Wrap clones never gained much recognition despite Game Freak's best efforts, from introducing new versions like Whirlpool and Infestation, to giving them accuracy buffs in Gen 5, to adding two different items to boost their effectiveness. Preventing an opponent from switching just isn't the same as preventing them from playing the game entirely.

Where is it now?

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf

Ability: Serene Grace

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Iron Head

- U-turn

- Heart Stamp

- Healing Wish

A few Pokemon still use partial trapping moves, though Wrap and Clamp themselves have been utterly eclipsed by new options. The only one really worth mentioning is Magma Storm Heatran, as that move actually does good damage and can trap Pokemon like Chansey or Rotom-W, which are Taunt + Toxic stalled or Solar Beamed to death, respectively. However, to get at the true essence of Wrap and what it stood for, look no further than Serene Grace flinching. Like Dragonite before it, Jirachi boosts its Speed (with Choice Scarf over Agility) and relies on a >50% chance to prevent the foe from moving each turn. While five generations of new mechanics have provided much more counterplay to this type of strategy, it can still be a viable competitive decision to roll the dice and hope to immobilize a foe that could've beaten you.

Amnesia

The peak

Slowbro

- Amnesia

- Surf

- Thunder Wave

- Rest

Boosting moves in RBY were pretty basic, and Amnesia was no exception. Like similar moves such as Swords Dance, it boosts a single stat by two stages. The problem is that the stat it boosted was Special, a stat that pulled double duty, as both a boost to special attacks and a defense against them. As such, Amnesia could easily be seen as a +4 boosting move by today's standards, making its user both extremely powerful and very sturdy. Slowbro, with its solid base 95 HP and 110 Defense, was one of the most formidable users of Amnesia, as the +2 boost made up for its subpar base 80 Special stat.

What happened?

Perhaps after realizing that it was kind of weird to have Attack and Defense as two different stats but have Special as one stat, Game Freak split Special in two for GSC. Amnesia sat at a crossroads for which of these new stats it would boost, but sadly it ended up with Special Defense over Special Attack. Moves that exclusively boost defensive stats have never been popular, and Amnesia is no exception. Gen 3 introduced Calm Mind, a competitively dominant move despite being effectively half an RBY Amnesia. Then, Gen 4 introduced Nasty Plot, boosting the more relevant of the two special stats. The only move that's been able to beat RBY Amnesia at its own game is Gen 6's Geomancy, a legendary-exclusive move that normally takes two turns to activate.

Where is it now?

Swoobat @ Salac Berry

Ability: Simple

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Calm Mind

- Stored Power

- Signal Beam

- Substitute

Amnesia is sadly not considered competitively relevant on any Pokemon: most of them would rather just use Calm Mind, which has much better distribution and increases the user's offensive presence as well. For the true RBY Amnesia experience, you'll have to descend all the way to the C ranks of PU. With Simple, Swoobat's Calm Mind provides +2 to both Special stats, mirroring Amnesia's legacy. Swoobat is no Slowbro, however, as its bulk is downright terrible and nearly anything can threaten it as it sets up. Funnily enough, Swoobat also gets the actual Amnesia if you want an easy +4 in Special Defense... not that it can take special attacks very well even after a boost.

Mega Drain

The peak

Gengar

- Hypnosis

- Explosion

- Thunderbolt

- Mega Drain

It's not hard to see why Mega Drain was forgotten in later generations, but in RBY, it was depressingly the best move Grass had to offer. At 40 Base Power, Mega Drain is on par with modern priority moves like Bullet Punch, meaning it's only dealing with foes that are very frail or, more likely, 4x weak to Grass. Luckily for Mega Drain, Gen 1 was full of Pokemon with a Rock / Ground typing. Gengar uses Mega Drain to deal with common switch-ins like Rhydon and Golem, neither of which fear any of Gengar's other moves outside of Hypnosis. The health drain also helped from time to time. A few Grass-types like Exeggutor used the move on occasion as well, but it was so weak that non-STAB moves were often more effective.

What happened?

In Gen 2, Giga Drain was introduced... and it was also pretty terrible. But it was still better than Mega Drain! At 60 Base Power, Giga Drain had slightly less pathetic damage output than its counterpart, although its low PP could be rather annoying for such a weak move. Gen 4 remedied this by buffing the PP of both moves, and then, Gen 5 increased the base power of Giga Drain from 60 to 75, making it much more usable. So what did Mega Drain get in Gen 5? Nothing! Now, in Gen 6, 40 Base Power is unreasonably low unless the move comes with some serious perks, like Aqua Jet or Power-Up Punch. Healing is nice... but when the amount healed is based on a percentage of damage done, doing next to no damage is a big issue.

Where is it now?

Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet

Ability: Regenerator

EVs: 244 HP / 216 Def / 48 SpD

Relaxed Nature

- Sleep Powder

- Giga Drain

- Knock Off

- Hidden Power Fire

Yeah, nothing uses Mega Drain anymore. Everything that learns it also learns Giga Drain, which is nearly twice as effective. Tangrowth is an especially solid user because it allows the tangled blob to stay healthy in combination with Regenerator, lessening the need for Leftovers recovery. As for Mega Drain's original competitive use of hitting Grass-weak Pokemon, Hidden Power Grass is available on nearly every Pokemon and has 20 more Base Power to boot, at the cost of that ever-so-underwhelming heal.

Psychic

The peak

Exeggutor

- Sleep Powder

- Psychic

- Explosion

- Stun Spore

Psychic, confusingly, is the name of both the best type in RBY as well as the best move of that type. With no Pokemon that resisted it outside of opposing Psychic-types, spamming Psychic was a game of fighting fire with fire. What's more, Psychic had a nasty 30% chance to drop the foe's Special. Not only did this make it harder for foes to retaliate with special attacks, but the next Psychic would then do increased damage. RBY Psychic is essentially a no-drawback move that was rarely a poor choice to click during a battle. While the above Exeggutor set is more famous for its utility, a solid STAB move in Psychic is what holds the set together by giving the player something to spam after the opponent's team is sufficiently status but before it's time to go boom.

What happened?

Unlike many moves on this list, Psychic wasn't eliminated from competitive play in a single generation, but instead it saw a gradual decline that culminated in its all-time lowest usage in Gen 6. However, Gen 2's changes were definitely the hardest hit to the move's usability. The Special drop became a Special Defense drop and happened only 1/3 of the time it used to. Psychic (the type) fell from grace pretty hard with the introduction of Dark- and Steel-types to shut it down, and so Psychic (the move) became less frequent as well. The second generation to shake up Psychic's usage was Gen 5, bringing a competitor in Psyshock, which had nearly the same distribution along with the ability to deal physical damage, allowing Psychic-types to become pseudo-mixed attackers. Psychic and Psyshock were arguably considered to be on equal ground in the BW metagame, but by Gen 6, Psyshock has become the more popular pick by far, mainly for its use on Calm Mind users to win Calm Mind wars without relying on crits.

Where is it now?

Manaphy @ Leftovers

Ability: Hydration

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Tail Glow

- Scald

- Ice Beam

- Psychic

When given the option, some players still prefer Psychic over Psyshock due to its ability to hit physically defensive Pokemon harder, but some of Psychic's most prominent users are non-Psychic-types that lack access to Psyshock. Manaphy is a notable example, which runs Psychic as coverage to break through Mega Venusaur. Landorus, when legal in OU, used the move for much the same purpose. In lower tiers, Choice Specs Meloetta uses Psychic for its synergy with Serene Grace, giving a 20% chance to drop Special Defense. Notably, this is still lower than RBY's chance to essentially drop two stats at once.

Body Slam

The peak

Snorlax

- Body Slam

- Hyper Beam

- Earthquake

- Self-Destruct

With a respectable 85 Base Power and 30% chance to paralyze foes, Body Slam is similar to Psychic in its lack of drawbacks. Even if you know it won't do much damage, there's no harm in fishing for paralysis. In this way, Body Slam is sort of a proto-Scald, but hax aside, it's still one of the strongest Normal-type moves in the game. Everything stronger has a downside, like Hyper Beam's potential recharge turn, so Body Slam was RBY's and GSC's go-to Normal STAB move. This Snorlax set appreciates Body Slam not only for providing reliable STAB, but also for paralyzing its common Rock / Ground switch-ins like Rhydon and Golem that are normally immune to paralysis.

What happened?

Unlike everything else on this list, Body Slam not only was never nerfed, but Gen 2 also actually gave it a direct buff: Normal-types could be paralyzed with the move, unlike in Gen 1, and the move was widely used as a strong, reliable attack that could also spread status. Pokemon such as GSC kingpin Snorlax continued using the move from RBY, but alternatives also showed up in Double-Edge and Return. Double-Edge was not a new addition to Gen 2, but GSC did raise its base power from 100 to 120, and the ubiquity of Leftovers mitigated its recoil damage. Return, a GSC newcomer, had a maximum of 17 more Base Power than Body Slam, making it the better choice of drawback-free damage. Because of its power jump and near-universal distribution, Return has taken Body Slam's place in later generations as reliable Normal STAB move, while Scald has taken its place as an aggravating hax machine. Body Slam itself fell out of favor as its main users became less viable—Tauros was only OU in RBY, Snorlax dropped to UU in DPP, Miltank was only OU in GSC—and many Pokemon that used to run it as a coverage move, such as RBY Golem, Rhydon, and Lapras, stopped doing so in later generations. Electric-types becoming immune to paralysis in Gen 6 didn't help either, and currently Body Slam is only seen in OU as a rare niche option on a few Pokemon like Jirachi and Altaria.

Where is it now?

Miltank @ Leftovers

Ability: Sap Sipper

EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe

Impish Nature

- Body Slam

- Milk Drink

- Toxic

- Stealth Rock

In Gen 6, Body Slam has settled into its niche as decently-powered STAB on defensive Pokemon that would rather a foe be paralyzed than at low health. NU's Miltank is one such Pokemon, and Body Slam is also used on some sets for Lickilicky and Mega Altaria. One way to take better advantage of Body Slam's paralysis chance is to pair it with an ability that increases that chance: Jirachi and Dunsparce increase this chance to 60% with Serene Grace, while Mega Kangaskhan increases it to 51% with Parental Bond.

Rest / Sleep Talk

The peak

Zapdos @ Leftovers

- Thunder

- Hidden Power Ice

- Rest

- Sleep Talk

In RBY, reliable recovery was rare. Unless your Pokemon was one of the lucky few to learn Recover or Soft-Boiled, the best it could do was use Rest and hope to avoid a 3HKO. GSC added Sleep Talk, instantly making Rest a whole lot better. Not only did Sleep Talk prevent a Resting Pokemon from being a sitting duck, but if Sleep Talk called Rest, the Pokemon's HP would be restored to full. Combined with the ubiquity of Leftovers, Rest + Sleep Talk kept Pokemon at consistently high HP, contributing to the perceived stalliness of the GSC metagame. This Zapdos set takes advantage of its near-perfect two-move coverage combined with consistent recovery to be an offensive and defensive force in the meta.

What happened?

Either Game Freak realized that falling asleep when you were already sleeping was dumb or that Rest + Sleep talk was too strong, because Gen 3 altered Rest to fail if called by Sleep Talk, causing the combination to give the user a 1/3 chance to do absolutely nothing. Rest would slowly fall out of favor in subsequent generations as more Pokemon received more reliable recovery moves such as Roost and Slack Off, lessening the need of Rest on defensive teams, and Sleep Talk's ability to let a Pokemon act as a sleep absorber became less useful with Grass-types becoming immune to Spore in Gen 6. While Sleep Talk did see reasonable use in BW on sleep absorbers, RestTalk was unviable during this generation because of the sleep counter resetting as a Pokemon switched out.

Where is it now?

Suicune @ Leftovers

Ability: Pressure

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

Bold Nature

- Roar

- Scald

- Rest

- Sleep Talk

One Pokemon that never gave up on Rest + Sleep Talk, through five different generations of competitive play, was Suicune. Because so few Pokemon can break through Suicune's titanic bulk, it can afford to waste a few turns doing nothing or, more ideally, hitting foes with Scald and Roar. Some Pokemon even use the two moves separately: Rotom-W and Gyarados can use Rest combined with Chesto Berry to instantly recover HP and get back in the fight, while some Choice item users run Sleep Talk to check Spore and Dark Void users. Choice Band Ho-Oh, for instance, is a solid switch-in to Darkrai because it can tank hits and circumvent sleep at the same time.

Curse

The peak

Snorlax @ Leftovers

- Double-Edge

- Curse

- Rest

- Sleep Talk

Curse is an odd move. Until recently, it had its own unique type (???), and to this day it remains the only move that has a completely unrelated effect depending on if the user is a Ghost-type or not. Curse never really gained steam on Ghost-types, as the recoil effect was too big a detriment in exchange for passive damage that could be easily negated through switching. The other version of the move, however, defined all of GSC. In competitive play, Snorlax is used on nearly every team, and the Curse boosting set is its trademark. At the cost of its already low Speed, Snorlax ups its already solid Attack and its mediocre Defense, making it significantly more powerful and difficult to take down. Other Pokemon like Skarmory and Steelix ran similar sets, and thanks to its insane distribution, Curse skyrocketed into becoming the number one boosting move, filling the shoes of RBY Amnesia before it.

What happened?

For one, Gen 3 added the move Bulk Up, which is very nearly a pure improvement over Curse. The same generation added Calm Mind, which would seem to be irrelevant since it boosts entirely different stats, but the role of the bulky setup sweeper gradually passed over to Calm Mind users like Suicune and eventually Reuniclus, simply because Special Attack/Special Defense synergizes with more bulky Pokemon than Attack/Defense, among other reasons. The Speed drop also became more problematic over time: GSC was the most passive generation at the competitive level, and every subsequent generation valued offense and Speed more heavily. None of this is helped by the fact after being TM03 in Gen 2, Curse was never again made into a TM or move tutor, ensuring that much fewer Pokemon learned the move in the first place.

Where is it now?

Gastrodon @ Leftovers

Ability: Storm Drain

EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD

Sassy Nature

- Curse

- Scald

- Earthquake

- Recover

One Pokemon that never gave up on Curse was, of course, Snorlax. While it remains the undisputed Curse master, a few new pupils have popped up to learn its ways. One such student is Gastrodon, which uses a Curse set in OU to capitalize on the lack of physical moves that can break it after a few boosts. One thing Gastrodon has over Snorlax is Recover, meaning it doesn't have to deal with the unreliability of Sleep Talk. Scald, while not boosted by Curse, frequently burns targets, making their physical attacks even less effective.

Growth

The peak

Vaporeon @ Leftovers

- Surf

- Growth

- Rest

- Sleep Talk

With Amnesia losing its offensive capabilities in GSC, special attackers needed a move to fill the void, and Gen 1 reject Growth did just that! Admittedly, +1 to Special Attack is a far cry from Amnesia's ridiculous boosting capabilities, but it was better than nothing. This Vaporeon set used Growth alongside Rest and Sleep Talk to be able to boost its power and stick around throughout the battle while threatening the opposing team with boosted Surfs, while Espeon used Growth alongside Baton Pass to bolster a teammate's strength, threatening everything that tried to stop it with STAB Psychic coming off of base 130 Special Attack.

What happened?

The addition of Calm Mind in Gen 3 killed all chance of Growth being viable. Not only was Calm Mind more widely distributed, but the Special Defense boost meant it was strictly better. Later generations added more and more ways to boost Special Attack, from moves like Nasty Plot to items like Choice Specs, so Growth was left to wither.

Where is it now?

Venusaur @ Life Orb

Ability: Chlorophyll

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Modest Nature

- Growth

- Giga Drain

- Sludge Bomb

- Sleep Powder

Gen 5 introduced two fairly major buffs to Growth, both by adding a +1 Attack boost and by doubling both boosts while under sun. In Gen 6, sun has become a very niche playstyle, but RU's Venusaur can combine Growth with Chlorophyll to become fast and strong while working on its tan.

Charm

The peak

Umbreon @ Leftovers

- Charm

- Pursuit

- Rest

- Toxic

Charm is one of the only stat-dropping moves that have gained any sort of recognition. Acting as a pseudo-Defense boost, it can be used to deal with physical boosters like Snorlax, which only increases Attack one stage at a time, meaning that the Charm user will come out on top. GSC's Umbreon was the main user of the move, allowing it to stall out numerous threats thanks to its solid defensive stats alongside Charm.

What happened?

Back when Curse and Swords Dance were nearly the only relevant boosting moves, Charm was a solid countermeasure against boosting in general. Now, with ridiculous moves like Tail Glow in the mix, this is no longer the case. In general, passivity has become riskier and riskier in the generations following GSC, and as Charm is really only useful for pure, inactive stalling, it was quickly forgotten at the competitive level.

Where is it now?

Slowbro @ Slowbronite

Ability: Regenerator

EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD

Bold Nature

- Calm Mind

- Scald

- Iron Defense

- Slack Off

The big problem with Charm is that the opponent can just switch and negate the stat drops. Though it still has some viability in doubles formats on support Pokemon to aid partners that don't mind taking special hits, Charm is no longer seen in singles play; on the other hand, Iron Defense, while nearly as passive, at least has the benefit of sticking around while providing virtually the same effect. The only truly notable user of the move is Mega Slowbro, which runs it alongside Calm Mind to become an unstoppable wall that can't be breached from either damage type. Shell Armor is a major contributor to making this set work: once Mega Slowbro's stats are boosted, even critical hits can't save your opponent.

Thunder

The peak

Raikou @ Leftovers

- Thunder

- Roar

- Reflect

- Rest

Thunder, despite being introduced in Gen 1, never saw widespread use until Gen 2. There are a number of contributing factors for this, mostly revolving around the nature of the GSC competitive scene. With Leftovers and Rest recovery on pretty much any Pokemon, a missed attack wasn't as detrimental as before: any damage taken could be healed back later. A lot of winning strategies also hinged on fishing for random status effects, and Thunder's 30% paralysis chance was especially conducive towards this type of play. While Thunderbolt still saw use, Thunder was generally considered the move of choice on dominant Electric-types like the above Raikou set.

What happened?

By Gen 3, 70% accuracy was simply too risky to rely on. Combined with the Rest nerf and the heightened offensive presence of the ADV metagame, Thunderbolt regained its spot as the number one Electric move, while Thunder fell into disuse.

Where is it now?

Kyogre @ Blue Orb

Ability: Drizzle

EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe

Modest Nature

- Calm Mind

- Origin Pulse

- Ice Beam

- Thunder

Thunder's main problem is its frustrating accuracy. But what if it never missed? Thanks to Kyogre's ability to set rain, it rarely has to worry about whether the move will land or not. With massive Special Attack and good Electric-type partners in Water + Ice moves, Kyogre has continued to use Thunder since it was introduced. Otherwise, the move occasionally crops up on lure sets that want to take advantage of its extra power and hax potential, such as past generation Jirachi sets and modern Clefable sets.

Dynamic Punch

The peak

Tyranitar @ Leftovers

- Dynamic Punch

- Rock Slide

- Fire Blast

- Pursuit

Dynamic Punch worked in GSC for many of the same reasons as Thunder: it was difficult to hit, but if it did, you'd be in a very good position thanks to the high damage and confusion effect. What's more, Dynamic Punch was simply the best Fighting-type move past Pokemon had access to. Thanks to the utter dominance of Snorlax, even an inaccurate Fighting move was better than nothing. Therefore, even Pokemon like Gengar ran Dynamic Punch despite their low Attack, simply as a countermeasure against Snorlax sweeps, and it was the only way mixed attackers like Tyranitar and Dragonite coud threaten the king of GSC; Gengar also ran the move as the only way to threaten its archnemesis Tyranitar. Tyranitar's offensive sets heavily relied on Dynamic Punch to prevent Snorlax from walking all over it.

What happened?

Because Dynamic Punch is essentially a more extreme version of Thunder, it fell off in a similar manner, but even more dramatically. This drop in usage was also facilitated by Snorlax's decreased presence and a greater variety of more reliable Fighting-type moves, such as Brick Break and Focus Punch.

Where is it now?

Machamp @ Assault Vest

Ability: No Guard

EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Dynamic Punch

- Knock Off

- Heavy Slam

- Stone Edge

If the similarities to Thunder weren't striking enough, modern-day Dynamic Punch is also only used in cases where it can't miss. Thanks to No Guard, Machamp has remained the premier user of the move ever since it got the ability in Gen 4. Its pre-evolution, Machoke, was actually banned from PU due to the power and hax potential that Dynamic Punch provided. Golurk, which doesn't even get STAB on the move, also uses in NU to muscle past some of its checks.

Lovely Kiss

The peak

Nidoking @ Leftovers

- Earthquake

- Lovely Kiss

- Ice Beam

- Thunder

Sleep moves have had a troubled history in Pokemon. To compensate for how deadly sleep can be as a status, most sleep moves are highly inaccurate and widely unavailable. In GSC, strong Pokemon like Snorlax and Nidoking gained access to Lovely Kiss, which has an acceptable 75% accuracy. Even with the widespread use of Sleep Talk, Lovely Kiss was a highly influential move for the level of control it gave the user. Nidoking, for instance, was much less reliant on prediction, as it could open with Lovely Kiss before committing to an attack.

What happened?

Due to technological limitations at the time, Gen 2 Pokemon couldn't be transferred to Gen 3 games. No new Pokemon introduced since then have gained Lovely Kiss through events or natural leveling, so the move disappeared, not for a lack of competency, but for a lack of distribution.

Where is it now?

Jynx @ Focus Sash

Ability: Dry Skin

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Ice Beam

- Lovely Kiss

- Psyshock

- Focus Blast

No move has ever completely disappeared from the game, however. Jynx, Lovely Kiss's original user, continued to use the move in every generation. While it has descended into the lower tiers in recent generations, Lovely Kiss often makes Jynx a solid pick in the tier it resides in.

Hidden Power

The peak

Flygon @ Leftovers

EVs: 188 HP / 180 Atk / 140 Spe

Naughty Nature

- Earthquake

- Rock Slide

- Fire Blast

- Hidden Power Bug

Look at pretty much any offensive set in GSC or ADV, and there's a good chance it carries Hidden Power. With a respectable 70 Base Power and the ability to deal damage in any type, this move was the ultimate flex pick. Pokemon like Aerodactyl and Salamence could use Hidden Power Flying to make up for a lack of good Flying STAB move, while others, like Flygon, could run Hidden Power Bug to hit targets that they otherwise struggled with (Celebi, in this case). As the only move that could deal either special or physical damage, the versatility of Hidden Power ensured that it was a staple of the competitive scene.

What happened?

Like a few other cases in this article, Hidden Power's decline occurred in two major parts. The first hurdle came in Gen 4, when physical and special damage were divorced from type, leaving Hidden Power as a strictly special move. Accordingly, many of its popular users could no longer do notable damage using the move, as it used their lower offensive stat in damage calculation. Then, in Gen 6, the Base Power was normalized from 30-70 to a static 60. In-game, this made the move more usable, but at the competitive level, where perfect IVs are the baseline, it was a straight nerf to a move with already middling damage. Combine these changes with the fact that, over a decade of new move additions, Pokemon gained superior moves to use for coverage and STAB. Many Hidden Power Flying users have taken up Brave Bird, while Flygon is perfectly comfortable with U-turn.

Where is it now?

Diancie @ Diancite

Ability: Clear Body

EVs: 8 Atk / 248 SpA / 252 Spe

Naive Nature

- Moonblast

- Diamond Storm

- Hidden Power Fire

- Protect

Of course, anyone that has kept up with competitive play knows that Hidden Power never really left, it just became much less ubiquitous. Later generations added enough dangerous Pokemon with x4 weaknesses (Garchomp, Heatran, Ferrothorn, Landorus) that even a 60-Base Power move useful only on special attackers would be valuable on certain Pokemon. Mega Diancie, for instance, uses Hidden Power Fire to break Scizor and the aforementioned Ferrothorn. Others use Hidden Power types like Ice, Grass, and Ground to deal with targets that would otherwise wall them. A few rare Pokemon even use the move for STAB, like Thundurus sometimes opting for Hidden Power Flying, echoing the Salamence of generations past.

Rock Slide

The peak

Aerodactyl @ Choice Band

Ability: Rock Head

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Rock Slide

- Double-Edge

- Earthquake

- Hidden Power Flying

In RBY, Rock Slide was very much a no-frills move: 75 Base Power, 90% accuracy, no special effects. It also had fairly poor distribution, and one of Rock's primary target types (Flying) wasn't very viable. GSC added a 30% flinch chance and introduced some more viable users (Tyranitar), cementing Rock Slide's popularity as the gold standard for Rock moves as well as one half of the most famous physical type combo, Rock + Ground. Aerodactyl, confusingly, didn't get Rock Slide until ADV, but it took great advantage of it on Choice Band sets once it did.

What happened?

Often, competitive players will value reliability over raw damage. Stone Edge is not one of those cases. With 100 Base Power and 80% accuracy, Stone Edge is a riskier but more rewarding move than Rock Slide, and the distribution is nearly as high. Even taking the accuracy drop into account, Stone Edge will outdamage Rock Slide on average over the course of the battle, especially with increased critical hit rate.

Where is it now?

Excadrill @ Life Orb

Ability: Sand Rush

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Earthquake

- Iron Head

- Rock Slide

- Swords Dance

Some players still prefer Rock Slide because they are a) playing a Doubles format, where it hits both foes, b) being a scumbag and going for the flinch, or c) salty about missing Stone Edge so often. There are also Pokemon that, for one reason or another, value Rock coverage but don't get Stone Edge. Excadrill is one such Pokemon, as Ground + Steel misses out on a lot of key targets, particularly Talonflame.

Brick Break / Cross Chop / Focus Punch

The peak

Salamence @ Choice Band

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Hidden Power Flying

- Rock Slide

- Earthquake

- Brick Break

Fighting moves have had a rough history. In RBY, all of them had low power and/or were inaccurate, with few good Pokemon to use them on. In GSC, Dynamic Punch was powerful but wholly unreliable, and Cross Chop was solid but poorly distributed. Finally, Gen 3 provided decent options that were widely available through TMs. Brick Break was reliable and moderately powered, allowing Pokemon like Salamence to break through certain Rock- and Steel-types and OHKO the ever-threatening Tyranitar. Focus Punch, meanwhile, had double the power but was very risky to use: you had to either be behind a Substitute or predict the opponent to switch, heal, or not attack in general. Fighting still lacked a truly flammable high-power move akin to Earthquake or Ice Beam, but these moves did their job well enough.

What happened?

It took four generations, but DPP finally introduced several high-powered Fighting moves that basically eclipsed these three overnight. Close Combat was widely available on many Fighting-types, and with 120 Base Power and no charge time, it became the predominant STAB choice on anything that learned it. Superpower, previously limited to the Regis and Nidoqueen, became a tutor move and could be used on several key threats like Tyranitar (which, funnily enough, did not appreciate the uptick in Fighting moves). Drain Punch is another popular Fighting move, buffed to the same power as Brick Break in Gen 5 with a much more beneficial side effect.

Where is it now?

Arceus-Ghost @ Spooky Plate

Ability: Multitype

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Swords Dance

- Shadow Force

- Brick Break

- Extreme Speed

Like many moves on this list, traces of these moves can still be seen on those that lack the upgraded alternatives. Electivire has made use of Cross Chop in Generations 4 and 5, Mega Mawile (pre-ban) ran Focus Punch to deal with Heatran, and Arceus-Ghost currently uses Brick Break on its Swords Dance set to gain perfect coverage alongside Shadow Force. For a Pokemon with such a wide movepool, it's strange that Arceus doesn't have better Fighting type options, but it makes good use of Brick Break even if its mainstream popularity has waned.

Explosion / Self-Destruct

The peak

Metagross @ Lum Berry

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Stealth Rock

- Meteor Mash

- Bullet Punch

- Explosion

Explosion and Self-Destruct have had a huge impact on competitive play ever since the very first generation, when its most famous users, Exeggutor and Gengar, could nuke opposing Pokemon despite their pathetic Attack stats. The secret to this power was the unstated effect of the moves to halve the foe's Defense stat before dealing damage. At 170 Base Power, Explosion was RBY's strongest move by far, and in GSC, its Base Power was increased to an absurd 250, effectively 500 when accounting for the Defense-piercing effect. Even Pokemon that resisted the move took heavy damage, and anything that didn't resist was almost certainly OHKOed. While using the move meant taking the user's own life, the benefits often outweighed the cost. The above DPP Metagross set reliably set Stealth Rock on the majority of the metagame and then immensely pressured whatever dared take its attack.

What happened?

After four generations of dominance, Gen 5 finally brought down the hammer and heavily nerfed these sacrificial moves by removing their ability to halve Defense. Essentially, this made them half as effective and generally not worth using. Also, in the years since RBY, the cast of Ghost-type Pokemon expanded from exclusively Gengar to an entire cemetery full of spooks. Today, there are simply too many switch-ins to Explosion. For such a risky move, that isn't ideal.

Where is it now?

Glalie @ Glalitite

Ability: Ice Body

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

Naive Nature

- Double-Edge

- Explosion

- Super Fang

- Freeze-Dry

A few old standbys continue to use the move. Suicide lead Azelf almost always runs it to prevent Defog and Rapid Spin, while Trick Room Bronzong uses it to maximize Trick Room turns for its allies. Choice Scarf Landorus-T can use the move to annihilate common switch-ins or push a panic button in dire situations. One of the moves newest users, however, is Mega Glalie. With Refrigerate, Explosion becomes STAB and gains an additional 30% damage boost. This admittedly isn't quite as good as halving the foe's Defense, but it still leads to some frosty faintings, even OHKOing some offensive Pokemon that resist it like Keldeo after a bit of prior damage.

Mean Look / Spider Web

The peak

Misdreavus @ Leftovers

- Mean Look

- Perish Song

- Protect

- Confuse Ray

These two trapping moves had two devious uses in Gens 2-4. The first was "Perish trapping," where a Pokemon would use Mean Look on a foe and then stall out enough Perish Song turns to the point where it could switch out on the last turn, OHKOing the target while preserving its own life. The most famous users of this combo were Misdreavus and Mismagius, but sometimes Gengar used it as well. The second used a trapping move in tandem with Baton Pass to pass the trapping effect to another Pokemon. For example, an Umbreon could trap a Pokemon that Snorlax could set up on and then Baton Pass into Snorlax, allowing it to set up to +6 with no hope of escape. Some consider these strategies gimmicky and easy to counter, but when played well, they could easily decide an entire game.

What happened?

The traditional incarnation of Perish trapping was mostly dead by DPP, as its primary users had become too frail to handle most offensive Pokemon and the strategy could be easily exploited by things like Taunt. Spider Web/Mean Look + Baton Pass was still used until Gen 5 dismantled the strategy by canceling trapping moves once Baton Pass was activated. Add in an increasing amount of counterplay with moves like U-turn and the Ghost-type trapping immunity in Gen 6, and trapping moves became too inconsistent for regular use.

Where is it now?

Klefki @ Light Clay

Ability: Prankster

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

Calm Nature

- Reflect

- Light Screen

- Fairy Lock

- Foul Play

A few niche sets still utilize traditional trapping moves, like Block + Geomancy Xerneas, but for the most part, these moves are never seen in competitive play. Klefki will occasionally use its exclusive move Fairy Lock, as it can be used on the turn it faints to give a teammate one free turn to set up or attack. As for Perish trapping, it has migrated up to Ubers where Mega Gengar can achieve the strategy while forgoing Mean Look altogether, as its Shadow Tag does the job much more efficiently.

Surf

The peak

Empoleon @ Petaya Berry

EVs: 12 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 240 Spe

Modest Nature

- Agility

- Substitute

- Surf

- Ice Beam

Each generation has a multitude of HM moves that are essential for in-game movesets. These range from "usable" (Strength) to "embarrassing" (Cut). Only very few ever gained widespread competitive recognition, however, and one of them was Surf. Hydro Pump, despite being more powerful, suffered from middling accuracy and low PP. For Water-types that didn't need immediate power or lacked access to Hydro Pump altogether, Surf was the gold standard of Water moves for generations. Empoleon, with Petaya Berry and Agility, could wash away its foes with repeated high-power Surfs in DPP.

What happened?

Countless moves on this list became outclassed by moves that simply did more damage. Surf was different. Scald, the move's de facto replacement, is a full 10 Base Power weaker, trading damage output for a 30% burn chance. Surely some Water-types would prefer damage over utility, right? Unfortunately for Surf, the relatively high chance of crippling switch-ins to Water-type moves more than made up for the loss in damage, and Surf was left to be taken by the tides. Nearly every Water-type learned Scald, and most of them added it to their movesets. Thus began the age of fire, where the water was always hot.

Where is it now?

Latios @ Life Orb

Ability: Levitate

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Draco Meteor

- Psyshock

- Recover

- Surf

Of course, all the non-Water types that used Surf have nothing better to use. Latios, admittedly, might prefer to use Scald as its Water coverage, but it doesn't learn it, so it's out of luck. Water provides solid coverage alongside Dragon and Psychic, giving Latios an answer for Pokemon like Heatran and Tyranitar.

Crunch / Night Slash

The peak

Krookodile @ Choice Scarf

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Earthquake

- Crunch

- Pursuit

- Stone Edge

Without Crunch and Night Slash, physical Dark moves would have been in a strange place prior to Gen 6. Sucker Punch and Pursuit are powerful, but only conditionally so, as both are weakened or canceled completely if the opponent takes care to avoid them. This is why having a reliable Dark move that did max damage in any situation was ideal, particularly for Pursuit trappers, as a player could predict their opponent to stay in and hit them hard without using Pursuit at all. Krookodile was one such trapper, and it benefited greatly from having one of the strongest moves the Dark type had to offer.

What happened?

Comparatively, one of the weakest moves Dark had to offer was Knock Off, a pathetic 20-Base Power move that could be easily outdamaged by Scratch. Then, in a truly bizarre decision by Game Freak, Knock Off received the most drastic buff any move has ever seen, jumping from 20 to 65 Base Power and receiving a 1.5x damage modifier if the foe was holding an item. Understandably, Knock Off became a competitive darling that was viably used on pretty much everything that had access to it. Crunch, with its no-frills 80 Base Power and minor chance to drop Defense, was largely abandoned.

Where is it now?

Sharpedo @ Sharpedonite

Ability: Speed Boost

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Protect

- Crunch

- Waterfall

- Ice Fang

Of course, some of Crunch's long-time users like Tyranitar continued to use the move simply because they lacked access to Knock Off. Occasionally Crawdaunt will run the move alongside Knock Off to deal with Mega Slowbro and other foes that can recover after losing their item, but generally the moves don't coexist. One Crunch user that probably wouldn't use Knock Off even if it could is Mega Sharpedo, as Strong Jaw amplifies its power to an effective 120 Base Power, outdamaging Knock Off even at its maximum power. Sometimes moves that were left behind find homes in unexpected places.

But nothing uses Night Slash.