Credits to Hack_Guy for the original Linked metagame, and to Ivy and dhelmise for leading the Gen 8 Linked metagame.
Approved by Giagantic
LINKED
Premise:
Selecting a Pokemon's first or second move will cause it to use both of those moves in a row on that same turn.
Introduction:
Fans of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon spin-off series will likely appreciate this OM based on a special mechanic from those games. An Electivire NPC was able to combine up to four of your Pokemon's moves in a sequence, which caused them to all be used in succession but impossible to use individually. The other caveat was that the link became broken upon PP depletion, which was a common occurrence in those games. While four moves in a row would be pure insanity, this metagame does give you the option of linking moveslots one and two.
Clauses & Playability:
The current version of the metagame is not yet playable, but it will be coded soon.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Banlist:
Espathra is legal, as Speed Boost is banned.
Regieleki and Terapagos are legal, as Terastallization is banned.
Raichu-Alola is banned, as Surge Surfer (its only ability) is banned.
Common Strats:
Watchlist:
Booster Energy
As expected, Booster Energy continues to wreak havoc in the tier. Most notably, super fast wallbreakers like Iron Boulder with SD + Attack, Iron Moth with Acid Spray/Charge Beam + Fiery Dance, and Iron Valiant with a variety of BS, have been incredibly strong in the meta, thanks to their extremely high Speed and their ability to snowball through opposing teams.
Drought
Another Paradox mon activator. Walking Wake and Sandy Shocks, in particular, abuse Sun for the Speed boost, launching powerful attacks at their foes. The council is almost certain that Booster Energy's days are numbered, so we would also like to address Drought, which may attempt to take over after a potential Booster Energy ban.
Electric Surge
The same applies to Electric Surge as Drought. However, as mentioned earlier, Pincurchin is simply not that good. Electric Terrain teams lack the variety that Drought teams have, and Pincurchin itself is not particularly strong. Nonetheless, it will remain on our radar if players find it problematic.
Dragapult
Please welcome our new additions to the Watchlist, starting with Dragapult. Another extremely fast threat with a million different moves to abuse. Whether it is WoW + Hex, Physical Attacker, Special Attacker, Mixed Attacker, Fast pivot, Dragon Dance, or even Night Shade sets, this mon offers incredible variety. Predicting the set is already difficult, and handling it can be even more challenging.
Weavile
A fast Swords Dance + Attack abuser. While it may not have the same level of variety, what it does, it does exceptionally well. Perhaps a bit too well. I have seen several Focus Sash Weavile sets, and they genuinely work.
Regieleki
We definitely did not expect Regieleki to perform this well after its unban. However, the Charge + Volt Switch set deals a tremendous amount of damage, has proven to be surprisingly effective.
Manaphy
I am surprised that nobody has mentioned Manaphy. While it has not received much attention from players yet, and rightfully so is probably not as strong as the remaining mons mentioned here, are we all forgetting that it gets Tail Glow?
Ogerpon-Wellspring
Swords Dance + Ivy Cudgel deals so much damage. There is not much more to say here.
Ogerpon-Cornerstone
See Ogerpon-Wellspring.
Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Shell Smash, Tail Glow, Growth
Merging these five moves into one category. Have you noticed how many times Swords Dance has been mentioned in this post? The council firmly believes these setup moves are quite overpowered. Any mon with access to them almost always uses them to wreak havoc. Manaphy has already been mentioned, and Tail Glow is an alternative option for restriction. Growth is included because Drought still exists, although there are not many strong abusers, and it is only good when the Sun is up.
Encore
Many players were concerned about Encore + Disable. However, after testing, we realized it does not function as expected. If you use Encore + Disable when a foe has used a Linked move, instead of forcing them to Struggle, you force them to use the second component of the Linked move. Less broken than anticipated, but still quite annoying. We chose to target Encore rather than Disable because Encore + Torment can achieve a similar effect.
Revival Blessing
No, Revival Blessing is not broken. In fact, even if we restrict the move, nothing truly changes. Apparently, Revival Blessing fails when used as a Linked move. Restricting it would simply prevent players from falling into the trap of attempting to use it that way.
Trapping Moves
A few players have discussed Phazing + Trapping move combinations, which essentially force your opponent to switch into a random mon and then become trapped. This gamble can sometimes lead to very unpleasant experiences for the opponents. Heatran is likely the best user of this strategy, with access to Roar + Magma Storm.
Honourable Mentions (I'm not writing descriptions for all of these :pensive:):
Jirachi, 
Iron Moth, Iron Boulder, 
Iron Valiant
Council:
Anchor9
dhelmise
Ivy
Solosis
VannAccessible
Tiering History:
Approved by Giagantic
LINKED
Premise:
Selecting a Pokemon's first or second move will cause it to use both of those moves in a row on that same turn.
Introduction:
Fans of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon spin-off series will likely appreciate this OM based on a special mechanic from those games. An Electivire NPC was able to combine up to four of your Pokemon's moves in a sequence, which caused them to all be used in succession but impossible to use individually. The other caveat was that the link became broken upon PP depletion, which was a common occurrence in those games. While four moves in a row would be pure insanity, this metagame does give you the option of linking moveslots one and two.
Clauses & Playability:
The current version of the metagame is not yet playable, but it will be coded soon.
Standard Clauses:
- Species Clause: Limit one of each Pokemon (you cannot use Rotom-Wash & Rotom-Heat in the same team).
- OHKO Clause: OHKO moves are banned (i.e. Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, Sheer Cold).
- Sleep Moves Clause: Sleep-inducing moves are banned. This excludes self-inflicted sleep.
- Endless Battle Clause: Forcing endless battles is banned.
- Evasion Clause: Evasion abilities, items, and moves are banned (e.g. Sand Veil, Bright Powder, Double Team).
- Terastal Clause: Terastallization is banned.
- HP Percentage Mod: HP is shown in percentages.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: How do I create and use linked moves?
A: In the teambuilder, the first and second moveslots (the top one and the one under it) are automatically linked; in the battle screen, this displays as the leftmost move and its neighbor. To use the linked pair, click one of these moves. Note that whether you click the first or second move does not matter; it will still execute both moves in the link in descending order. You won't be able to use either move individually. Please make sure the order of your moves is correct in the teambuilder if that's important to your combo, because you can't change the order in battle.
Q: How do some held items interact with linked moves?
A: Yes, certain held items have interactions/limitations with linked moves. Some items are better, and others become nearly useless.
Choice Items: Due to an interaction in Gen 7, 8, and 9 mechanics, one cannot physically use another move while Choice is locked into the first. For example, a Choice Band user locked into Metronome calls a two-turn move like Dig: trying to actually use Dig on the next turn results in a failure, because the game expects only another Metronome. So, for simplicity's sake, Choice items disable the linking mechanic.
Rocky Helmet: Each contact-based attack against the holder inflicts recoil damage. Think Mega Kangaskhan counterplay.
Assault Vest: Don't try to be cheeky and link a status move with an attacking move; it won't work! Only attacking moves can be used.
Life Orb: Both moves give the usual 10% recoil. Somewhat less useful due to this.
Focus Sash: Because almost every Pokemon has access to multi-hit attacks, this becomes practically useless.
Metronome: Only works on non-linked moves. Sorry!
Q: How does priority work?
A: Priority of a linked pair is equal to that of the lowest-priority move in the link. So, if, for example, Roar and Crunch are in a link, you will use both Roar and Crunch at the -6 priority bracket. On the other hand, Fake Out and Mach Punch would possess a +1 priority. Note that if there are speed ties, the turn order will be completely random for both parties!
Q: How do status effects such as Paralysis and Sleep interact with linked moves?
A: If you get paralyzed, each move is checked individually. The same goes for confusion and infatuation. Even freeze will do this, so it's quite nerfed, as the effective chance to unfreeze is raised to 36%.
Sleep is an exception, and the counter will only increment once per true turn. (Also, Truant will use a turn-based counter.)
Q: What if my switching or phazing move goes first?
A: A general rule of thumb to keep in mind is that all effects of move 1 will follow through before the next move activates. It ought to be pretty intuitive this way. If you U-turn first, you leave before finishing the link (not really useful).
If your phaze move is first, the foe gets switched out, and then your next move is used on the new Pokemon.
Q: How do those moves that do things across multiple turns work when linked (Hyper Beam cooldown, Charge boost, etc).?
A: If Hyper Beam, etc., is at the end of a link, your cooldown extends to the next turn. If it's at the front, it will cancel only your next Linked move, allowing you to spam a Hyper Beam every turn at the expense of your linkage. Semi-invulnerable moves like Dig are banned.
Moves like Charge and Laser Focus that affect the immediate following move do just that: they will work on your second linked move, or if at the back of the link, simply transfer to the next turn as usual.
Moves like Thrash, if linked, lock you into the pair. A link such as Outrage and Iron Head will only allow the use of these moves when trapped.
However, the Thrash trapping and Hyper Beam cooldowns are a bit inconsistent with how Choice items behave and original Mystery Dungeon design choices, so these are liable to change.
Q: What if a move is disabled or runs out of PP?
A: A move being disabled through Disable or Taunt simply halts the link with the move for that duration; you may still use the non-disabled move on its own. And, as in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, losing PP in any of the linked moves will also sever the link. All this means in these scenarios is that you can now use the remaining move as normal; you will not prematurely struggle in addition to it.
A: In the teambuilder, the first and second moveslots (the top one and the one under it) are automatically linked; in the battle screen, this displays as the leftmost move and its neighbor. To use the linked pair, click one of these moves. Note that whether you click the first or second move does not matter; it will still execute both moves in the link in descending order. You won't be able to use either move individually. Please make sure the order of your moves is correct in the teambuilder if that's important to your combo, because you can't change the order in battle.
Q: How do some held items interact with linked moves?
A: Yes, certain held items have interactions/limitations with linked moves. Some items are better, and others become nearly useless.
Choice Items: Due to an interaction in Gen 7, 8, and 9 mechanics, one cannot physically use another move while Choice is locked into the first. For example, a Choice Band user locked into Metronome calls a two-turn move like Dig: trying to actually use Dig on the next turn results in a failure, because the game expects only another Metronome. So, for simplicity's sake, Choice items disable the linking mechanic. Rocky Helmet: Each contact-based attack against the holder inflicts recoil damage. Think Mega Kangaskhan counterplay. Assault Vest: Don't try to be cheeky and link a status move with an attacking move; it won't work! Only attacking moves can be used. Life Orb: Both moves give the usual 10% recoil. Somewhat less useful due to this. Focus Sash: Because almost every Pokemon has access to multi-hit attacks, this becomes practically useless. Metronome: Only works on non-linked moves. Sorry!Q: How does priority work?
A: Priority of a linked pair is equal to that of the lowest-priority move in the link. So, if, for example, Roar and Crunch are in a link, you will use both Roar and Crunch at the -6 priority bracket. On the other hand, Fake Out and Mach Punch would possess a +1 priority. Note that if there are speed ties, the turn order will be completely random for both parties!
Q: How do status effects such as Paralysis and Sleep interact with linked moves?
A: If you get paralyzed, each move is checked individually. The same goes for confusion and infatuation. Even freeze will do this, so it's quite nerfed, as the effective chance to unfreeze is raised to 36%.
Sleep is an exception, and the counter will only increment once per true turn. (Also, Truant will use a turn-based counter.)
Q: What if my switching or phazing move goes first?
A: A general rule of thumb to keep in mind is that all effects of move 1 will follow through before the next move activates. It ought to be pretty intuitive this way. If you U-turn first, you leave before finishing the link (not really useful).
If your phaze move is first, the foe gets switched out, and then your next move is used on the new Pokemon.
Q: How do those moves that do things across multiple turns work when linked (Hyper Beam cooldown, Charge boost, etc).?
A: If Hyper Beam, etc., is at the end of a link, your cooldown extends to the next turn. If it's at the front, it will cancel only your next Linked move, allowing you to spam a Hyper Beam every turn at the expense of your linkage. Semi-invulnerable moves like Dig are banned.
Moves like Charge and Laser Focus that affect the immediate following move do just that: they will work on your second linked move, or if at the back of the link, simply transfer to the next turn as usual.
Moves like Thrash, if linked, lock you into the pair. A link such as Outrage and Iron Head will only allow the use of these moves when trapped.
However, the Thrash trapping and Hyper Beam cooldowns are a bit inconsistent with how Choice items behave and original Mystery Dungeon design choices, so these are liable to change.
Q: What if a move is disabled or runs out of PP?
A: A move being disabled through Disable or Taunt simply halts the link with the move for that duration; you may still use the non-disabled move on its own. And, as in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, losing PP in any of the linked moves will also sever the link. All this means in these scenarios is that you can now use the remaining move as normal; you will not prematurely struggle in addition to it.
Banlist:
Annihilape
Arceus (all formes)
Archaludon
Baxcalibur
Calyrex-Ice
Calyrex-Shadow
Chien-Pao
Chi-Yu
Deoxys
Deoxys-Attack
Dialga (all formes)
Eternatus
Flutter Mane
Giratina (all formes)
Gouging Fire
Groudon
Ho-Oh
Iron Bundle
Koraidon
Kyogre
Kyurem-Black
Kyurem-White
Landorus
Lugia
Lunala
Magearna
Mewtwo
Miraidon
Necrozma-Dawn Wings
Necrozma-Dusk Mane
Ogerpon-Hearthflame
Palafin
Palkia (all formes)- Raichu-Alola
Rayquaza
Reshiram
Roaring Moon
Shaymin-Sky
Sneasler
Solgaleo
Spectrier
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
Urshifu (all formes)
Volcarona
Zacian (all formes)
Zamazenta-Crowned
Zekrom
Espathra is legal, as Speed Boost is banned. Regieleki and Terapagos are legal, as Terastallization is banned. Raichu-Alola is banned, as Surge Surfer (its only ability) is banned.
Chlorophyll, Sand Rush, Slush Rush, Swift Swim
Arena Trap, Shadow Tag
Moody
Speed Boost- Surge Surfer
Unburden
Baton Pass
Last Respects
Shed Tail
These moves are not allowed in slots 1 or 2.
Baneful Bunker, Burning Bulwark, Detect, Protect, Silk Trap, Spiky Shield
Bounce, Dig, Dive, Fly, Phantom Force, Shadow Force
Ruination, Super Fang
Imprison
Taunt
Trick Room
King's Rock
Razor Fang
Common Strats:
Thanks largely to urkerab from the Gen 6 Thread.
Momentum:
Priority (Needs both moves to have priority):
Two status moves:
Status move + Attack:
Attack + Status move:
Two Attacks (pseudo Parental Bond; break Substitute and Focus Sash/Sturdy):
And that’s just the beginning… can’t wait to see the wild combinations you come up with!
Momentum:
- Stat-lowering attack + Switching move. Gets rid of your stat drops.
- Fake Out + Switching move. Particularly annoying when using two of them, but they need to outspeed and not get worn down.
- Phazing + Switching move. Force your opponent to switch and get a free switch.
- Tailwind + Switching move. Gives one extra turn of Tailwind.
- Regenerator + Switching move. Can now be paired with a STAB move.
- Rapid Spin + Switching move. Get that safe switch-in.
- Recharge move + Filler. Can be used to spam moves like Hyper Beam every turn.
Priority (Needs both moves to have priority):
- Prankster + two Status/Priority moves. e.g. SubSeed.
- Feint/Fake Out + Extreme Speed. Still has +2 priority.
- Triage + two Draining attacks.
Two status moves:
- Substitute + Recovery/Draining move.
- Boosting move + Recovery, for stall types.
- Boosting move + Boosting move, e.g. Swords Dance + Rock Polish. Double Dance in one slot.
- Defog + Stealth Rock. Have the last laugh when it comes to hazards!
- Hazards + Hazards, e.g. Spikes + Toxic Spikes. Get those hazards up more quickly.
- Hazards + Phazing. Make immediate use of those hazards.
- Recovery + Recovery. Like Rest but without the sleep.
- Trick (Choice item) + Disable/Torment. Removing your own Scarf will force them to struggle, and also cripple the enemy's link afterwards.
- Trick (Choice item) + Hazards/Field Condition. Great anti-lead.
- Encore + Disable/Torment. Incredibly nasty for your opponent.
- Phazing + Recovery.
- Reflect + Light Screen. Works well with Prankster.
- Belly Drum + Recovery. Can also be used if you're down to under 50%, as the Belly Drum will fail, but the recovery will still work.
- Rest + Sleep Talk. Can be annoying if you have a phazing move in the back. Works well with Prankster and Guts.
- Fling + Recycle.
Status move + Attack:
- Setup move + Attack. Scale Shot is a good finisher here.
- Lock On/Mind Reader + Dynamic Punch/Inferno/Zap Cannon.
- Charge + Electric attack.
- Laser Focus + Strong attack.
- Focus Energy + Snipe Shot.
- Sunny Day + Solar Beam, Rain Dance + Thunder/Hurricane, Hail + Blizzard.
- Terrain + Nature Power, Expanding Force, etc.
- Iron Defense + Body Press. Classic IronPress but more spammable.
- Field setting move (Hazards, Terrain, Weather) + Self-Sacrificing move. Basically, Suicide Lead.
- Soak + Electric/Grass-type Attack. Guarantees super effective hit in most situations.
Attack + Status move:
- Recoil move + Recovery (like Brave Bird + Roost)
- Life Orb attack + Recovery
- Fling + Recycle. Works decent with Toxic Orb or Flame Orb.
Two Attacks (pseudo Parental Bond; break Substitute and Focus Sash/Sturdy):
- Stat-Raising attack (Rapid Spin, Power-Up Punch) + Attack
- Stat-Lowering attack (Close Combat, Scale Shot) + Lash Out
- Attack + Assurance. Doubles the power of Assurance.
- Smack Down + Ground-type move.
- Attack + Last Resort.
- 30% Flinch chance + 30% Flinch chance. Nastier with Paralysis and Serene Grace.
- Endeavor + Attack (+Salac Berry + Endure). Endeavor at low HP -> another attack almost always guarantees KO.
And that’s just the beginning… can’t wait to see the wild combinations you come up with!
Watchlist:
Booster EnergyAs expected, Booster Energy continues to wreak havoc in the tier. Most notably, super fast wallbreakers like Iron Boulder with SD + Attack, Iron Moth with Acid Spray/Charge Beam + Fiery Dance, and Iron Valiant with a variety of BS, have been incredibly strong in the meta, thanks to their extremely high Speed and their ability to snowball through opposing teams.
DroughtAnother Paradox mon activator. Walking Wake and Sandy Shocks, in particular, abuse Sun for the Speed boost, launching powerful attacks at their foes. The council is almost certain that Booster Energy's days are numbered, so we would also like to address Drought, which may attempt to take over after a potential Booster Energy ban.
Electric SurgeThe same applies to Electric Surge as Drought. However, as mentioned earlier, Pincurchin is simply not that good. Electric Terrain teams lack the variety that Drought teams have, and Pincurchin itself is not particularly strong. Nonetheless, it will remain on our radar if players find it problematic.
DragapultPlease welcome our new additions to the Watchlist, starting with Dragapult. Another extremely fast threat with a million different moves to abuse. Whether it is WoW + Hex, Physical Attacker, Special Attacker, Mixed Attacker, Fast pivot, Dragon Dance, or even Night Shade sets, this mon offers incredible variety. Predicting the set is already difficult, and handling it can be even more challenging.
WeavileA fast Swords Dance + Attack abuser. While it may not have the same level of variety, what it does, it does exceptionally well. Perhaps a bit too well. I have seen several Focus Sash Weavile sets, and they genuinely work.
RegielekiWe definitely did not expect Regieleki to perform this well after its unban. However, the Charge + Volt Switch set deals a tremendous amount of damage, has proven to be surprisingly effective.
ManaphyI am surprised that nobody has mentioned Manaphy. While it has not received much attention from players yet, and rightfully so is probably not as strong as the remaining mons mentioned here, are we all forgetting that it gets Tail Glow?
Ogerpon-WellspringSwords Dance + Ivy Cudgel deals so much damage. There is not much more to say here.
Ogerpon-CornerstoneSee Ogerpon-Wellspring.
Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Shell Smash, Tail Glow, GrowthMerging these five moves into one category. Have you noticed how many times Swords Dance has been mentioned in this post? The council firmly believes these setup moves are quite overpowered. Any mon with access to them almost always uses them to wreak havoc. Manaphy has already been mentioned, and Tail Glow is an alternative option for restriction. Growth is included because Drought still exists, although there are not many strong abusers, and it is only good when the Sun is up.
EncoreMany players were concerned about Encore + Disable. However, after testing, we realized it does not function as expected. If you use Encore + Disable when a foe has used a Linked move, instead of forcing them to Struggle, you force them to use the second component of the Linked move. Less broken than anticipated, but still quite annoying. We chose to target Encore rather than Disable because Encore + Torment can achieve a similar effect.
Revival BlessingNo, Revival Blessing is not broken. In fact, even if we restrict the move, nothing truly changes. Apparently, Revival Blessing fails when used as a Linked move. Restricting it would simply prevent players from falling into the trap of attempting to use it that way.
Trapping MovesA few players have discussed Phazing + Trapping move combinations, which essentially force your opponent to switch into a random mon and then become trapped. This gamble can sometimes lead to very unpleasant experiences for the opponents. Heatran is likely the best user of this strategy, with access to Roar + Magma Storm.
Honourable Mentions (I'm not writing descriptions for all of these :pensive:):
Jirachi, Iron Moth, Iron Boulder, Iron ValiantCouncil:
Anchor9 dhelmise Ivy Solosis VannAccessibleTiering History:
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| February 22, 2026 | Terastallization banned. Imprison, Taunt restricted. Regieleki, Terapagos unbanned. |
| January 27, 2026 | Metagame created with the initial banlist. |
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by locking them into one move or just getting up sticky webs reliably
and protective pads instead for anti rocky helmet but then you lose scrappy)
has a wide box of tricks it can use as well, from setup sets to pivot healing-wish sets, 
, 
, 
, 
s, etc, while Unaware mons will struggle to tank attackers that choose to use double attacks, especially combos like Special Attack + Psyshock or just mixed attacks in general(*cough cough, 
outspeeding/outprioritying everyone and likely being a bit of annoying cheese. I would probably add +2 status moves and either Valiant or Booster Energy to the watchlist, but tbh thats probably just scratching the surface of whats broken
is legitimetly ass and having more moves won't change that much, unironically electric terrain + pivoting moves on like 
would probably be better. They'll definetly be an issue, but I don't think it'll be too problematic with a Booster Energy ban, potential Heat Rock ban, and maybe a Terrain extender ban.
@ Heavy-Duty Boots
@ Silk Scarf
(M) @ Rocky Helmet
@ Rocky Helmet
@ Assault Vest
@ Rocky Helmet
@ Colbur Berry
@ Black Glasses
@ Custap Berry
