Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Gotta Review 'Em All - Moves [Generation VII], Part 2

The second part of my coverage of Generation VII's moves! Again, there's a lot of new named moves here, even though a fair amount of them do just utilize similar animations with each other. As a refresher, this generation has a bunch of 'series' of moves, particularly the Z-Moves introduced in the Sun/Moon games -- each type has a Z-Move that corresponds whenever a Pokemon holding the requisite item decides to use a Z-Move to attack. There's also the partner Pikachu/Eevee moves, which are cute little special moves that's only given to the partnr Pikachu and Eevee in the Let's Go games, which admittedly does bloat up this list a fair bit.

Also at some point in this article I got a bit frustrated talking about a signature move followed by a signature Z-Move, and I kind of lump some of them together. 
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Dragon-type Moves:
  • Devastating Drake (Arutimetto Doragon Ban/Ultimate Dragon Burn) After sitting out the previous generation and getting no new moves, Dragon returns with a vengeance! Which is... very interesting! Devastating Drake, or Ultimate Dragon Burn, is an interesting one. Dragon as a type has always been rather nebulous as far as being an 'element' or a type, but usually moves like Dragon Pulse or Dragon Claw can contend with just being purple-white glowing displays of power, draconic power. What is draconic power defined as, though? Well, the Generation VII team decides to literally make the beam created by the Dragon-type Z-move... as just pink-white energy in the form of a wyvern that swoops in and creates a big fuck-off anime explosion on the enemy! Pretty neat, it's been a while since we've seen a move that creates a construct that resembles a creature or something. 
  • Dragon Hammer (Doragon Hamma/Dragon Hammer) This one is Alolan Exeggutor's signature move. The coconut tree that also happens to be a dragon. It's basically just Alolan Exeggutor using it's long-ass body as a makeshift warhammer, slamming down at the enemy and that's considered a hammer. Okay. Later generations give this move to Tropius of all Pokemon, which is not a dragon.
  • Clanging Scales (Sukeru Noizu/Scale Noise) and Clangarous Soulblaze (Bureijingu Sorubito/Blazing Soulbeat) These are pseudo-legendary Kommo-o's signature move, as well as the associated Z-Move it transofrms into. Since Kommo-o is all about interlocking pieces of armour that clang around and make noises, his signature move is this, where it uses that noise to attack the enemy by rubbing his scales together. It has the bonus effect of lowering the enemy's Defense. The associated Z-Move, Clangarous Soulblaze, however, is a bit of a letdown compared to the base version of the move because... well, it's just exactly the same thing, but Kommo-o jumps into the air before unleashing the sonic boom. Not much to say here. 
  • Core Enforcer (Koa Panissha/Core Punisher) Core Enforce is Zygarde's signature move, and... it's a beam! It's a multi-coloured beam, coming forth from the core of mighty Zygarde since it's Generation VII that finally gave Zygarde some attention and some brand-new forms. Because Zygarde has style, though, it carves a Z-shape on the ground with that beam. This alone is a pretty damn cool little detail that I do think separates it from the many, many 'legendary shoots a DBZ beam' attacks. 
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Poison-type Moves:

  • Acid Downpour (Ashiddo Poizun Derito/Acid Poison Delete) Okay, 'Acid Downpour' is pretty cool sounding, but there's just something particularly badass about 'Acid Poison Delete'. No, the grammar syntax doesn't exactly work, but it's just one of those attack names that sound cool, y'know? It... it really does kind of feel very basic, though. It's basically what you'd expect from a Poison-type Z-move, and doesn't do anything particularly over-the-top with it. It's just a bunch of purple, noxious goop surrounding the terrain and then slamming onto the target. I really do like the Poison-type, so this one being kind of a letdown is, well, a bit disappointing. 
  • Baneful Bunker (Tochika/Pillbox) Again, this is the generation of signature moves being basically tailor-made to certain Pokemon, and for Toxapex we've got Baneful Bunker, where Toxapex closes up its dome-like starfish hands and points all the spikes outwards. This essentially acts not just as a variation of the 'Protect' move, but also causes anyone that makes contact with Toxapex to suffer from the poisoned status, which is extremely flavourful for a dome/shield-based poisonous starfish Pokemon!
  • Toxic Thread (Doku no Ito/Poison Thread) Of all Pokemon, Spinarak gets a signature move in Generation VII, and it is Toxic Thread. And at the time of writing, Spinarak and Ariados are still the only Pokemon able of using Toxic Thread! It's not the most novel move, basically reducing the enemy's speed and poisoning them, but I definitely appreciate it whenever an older Pokemon gets a brand-new signature ability or move! 
  • Purify (Joka/Purify) Pyukumuku's signature move, and... this is an interesting one? It only works if the allied Pokemon has a status condition, but Pyukumuku will cure that condition and heal 50% of their HP. It's cute, but ultimately it's so situational even in double battle. I'm also not particularly sure what the idea of this attack is supposed to be, though. 
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Fighting-type Moves:
  • All-Out Pummeling (Zenryoku Muso Gekiretsu Ken/Full Force Unrivaled Fierce Fist) Fighting only gets the single Z-Move, and after so many new Fighting-type moves in the past couple of generations, I do like it that it's taking a bit of a breather. All-Out Pummeling (or "FULL FORCE UNRIVALED FIERCE FIST") is probably one of my faovurite Z-Moves in just how over the top it is. They could've just settled with a big punch, or a simple ora-ora-ora animation... but no. The Pokemon punches/kicks so rapidly that a stream of giant palm thrusts, punches and kicks burst out of the force of their punches and slam onto the enemy like the bullets of a machinegun. Glorious. This is the Z-Move that you're likely to first experience, which I thought was particularly fun. 
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Fairy-type Moves:
  • Twinkle Tackle (Raburi Suta Inpakuto/Lovely Star Impact) "Twinkle Tackle", or its funner Japanese name "Lovely Star Impact", isn't particularly impressive. The enemy is just tossed into a realm of weird gumball and cotton candy colours, and the Fairy-type just slams onto them and creates a whole lot of twinkle-twinkle little stars. Basically what you'd expect from a Fairy-type Z-Move, honestly, and while the animation is itself pretty, I don't find this particularly interesting.
  • Let's Snuggle Forever (Poka-Boka Furendo Taimu/Bip-Bop Friend Time) Mimikyu gets a signature Z-move, and what a move! I recommend you guys check it out. First up, Mimikyu just... darts around in the landscape around the opponent, scaring the shit out of them... and then jumps up above them with the glowing eyes of its unknowable true form glowing creepily. This plays into Mimikyu's own lore as a creature with its original form unable to be comprehended by normal beings. Mimikyu then engulfs the enemy like a demonic blanket, actually becoming deformed and large... and then begins to beat the shit out of the enemy before spitting them out. Absolutely fun, and easily one of the best Z-Moves out there. It doesn't just have to be a beam, people!
  • Floral Healing (Furawa Hiru/Flower Heal) Floral Healing is Comfey's signature move. It heals half of an ally's HP, and is increased if the terrain is Grass. Cute, and it fits with Comfey's whole "grass-themed healer that's not actually a grass-type", but otherwise not too unremarkable.
  • Natrure's Madness (Shizen no Ikari/Nature's Wrath) This is the Tapu quartet's signature move, basically being the move Super Fang where the Tapus will cut down half of the enemy's current HP. It's animated as being... a bunch of purple light explosions? Boring, but then with the right item, you can upgrade it into:
  • Guardian of Alola (Gadian De Arora/Guardian de Alola) Hell yeah. Another contender for the best Z-Move in the game, Guardian of Alola causes the Tapu to fold back into their 'mask' form... and then summon a gigantic humanoid construct of energy from the power of the earth. This is just so over-the-top, the Guardian of Alola is never really explained... and yet it really does fit them as being Tiki mask guardians that protect and reside over their island. You can just totally see the Tapus summon this gigantic body to fight against the Ultra Beast invasion, right? Very cool.
  • Fleur Cannon (Fururu Kanon/Fleur Cannon) Speaking of being 'just a beam', Fleur Cannon is Magearna's signature move. It's a pink beam that decreases Magearna's Special Attack stat after being used. The idea is that it's a super-powerful cannon that can be fired once, I guess? Magearna has this whole vibe that it's a soul/death-powered wepaon, but while her ability Soul-Heart (buffs Sp. Atk when a Pokemon falls) and Fleur Cannon (a super-powerful weapon that cripples Magearna's Sp. Atk) on paper are flavourful, the way they're actually interact with each other with in-game mechanics isn't the best.
  • Sparkly Swirl (Kirakira Sutom/Sparkle-Sparkle Storm) Let's Go Eevee's Sylveon-inspired move. It sure summons a pink tornado. I don't have anything else to say.
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Psychic-type Moves:

  • Shattered Psyche (Makishimamu Sai-Bureika/Maximum Psy-Breaker) Oh, I actually really like Shattered Psyche (or Maximum Psy-breaker)! What initially just seems like a generic 'giant psychic field' attack has the user summon a giant psychic field, and then launch the opponent into the air, at which point they get tossed around like a pinball across a bunch of hexagonal invisible forcefields, and then they slam into the psychic background itself which shatters. Was it all a genjutsu all along? Pretty cool. 
  • Glitzy Glow (Dobadoba Ora/Glitzy-Glitzy Aura) Right, the Let's Go Eevee move. This is sure an Espeon-inspired move with glowing purple Psychic effects. I don't have much to say here. 
  • Psychic Terrain (Saiko Firudo/Psycho Field) All the other 'terrain' moves were introduced in the previous generation, and VII adds in Psychic Terrain... not much to say here. It increases Psychic-type damage and it disables priority moves. Never been the biggest fan of the Terrain moves, but Psychic Terrain felt one of the more forced ones. 
  • Speed Swap (Supido Suwappu/Speed Swap) Tying up the trinity of moves with Power and Guard Swap, Speed Swap just swaps the speed stat with the target. I really don't have much to say here.
  • Genesis Supernova (Orijinzu Supanova/Origins Supernova) Mew gets a signature Z-Move, which is meant to recall both its status as the 'original' primordial Pokemon and it using giant psychic bubble-shields in the first anime movie. Mew summons a bunch of bubbles, causes them to rise up in the form of a DNA double-helix, then combines it all into a gigantic psychic ball that it drops at the enemy. Pretty neat animation. 
  • Psychic Fangs (Saiko Fangu/Psycho Fang) And this is just Fire Fang but Psychic. Yes, the act of biting someone with your fangs, a very physical attack... is psychic, which by definition is the act of using your mind over your body to do stuff. This one made sense in Generation VII where it's the signature move of the Water/Psychic biting fish Bruxish, but not so much when later generations made it much more available. I felt like, legendary signature moves aside, keeping Psychic as a mostly-Special-category type honestly works well. 
  • Instruct (Saihai/Command) Instruct is Oranguru's signature move, where it uses the badass gravitas of a strategist or a guru or a teacher to force whoever it targets to use the move again. Okay. It's cute, and there are some niche uses for this one, I guess.
  • Prismatic Laser (Purizumu Reza/Prism Laser) Necrozma gets three signature moves, thanks to being the star of the sequel games. The first of these is Necrozma's signature move in Sun and Moon, where it launches multi-coloured light by using its body as a giant prism, with a pretty badass animation. It's effectively a Psychic-type Hyper Beam, forcing Necrozma to recharge the next turn. 
  • Photon Geyser (Foton Geiza/Photon Geyser) This one is available only in the Ultra games, where Necrozma or one of his forms creates what looks like a break in reality, and it becomes a ball of light that gets launched at the enemy. Not very impressive, if we're being honest... legendaries and Generation VII have so many giant balls of energy beams that this one really does fall by the wayside. 
  • Light That Burns The Sky (Ten Kogasu Metsubo no Hikari/Heaven Scorching Light of Destruction) However, use Photon Geyser with the Necrozma from the Ultra games, in his full light-dragon mode, and it turns into "Light That Burns the Sky", which is the over-the-top final finisher move for Necrozma. It's basically a Spirit Bomb or something from Dragon Ball Z, where Necrozma gathers energy on the tip of his beak, with energy rising all over the surroundings of the battlefield... and then Necrozma creates an energy ball on the tip of his mouth. And as he points the energy ball upwards, it expands, doubles, triples, all done with sharp cuts that I felt was really damn cool! Again, while it's rather simple in the realm of anime over-the-top moves, the execution is cool enough and a boss fight against something like Ultra Necrozma does need a finisher like this. 
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Ground-type Moves:

  • Tectonic Rage (Raijingu Rando Oba/Rising Land Over) The Z-Move for the Ground-type is Tectonic Rage, or "Rising Land Over". This is another one that I felt is particularly cool! The user splits the earth and drops the enemy into a gigantic fissure in the ground. That sounds like enough of an over-the-top move to count as a Z-Move... but then the user leaps up and charges in like a javelin, pushing the enemy so deep through the ground that they fall into a magma pocket, before a gigantic eruption appears. Very creative, and absolutely fun! I do really feel like half the fun of talking of Generation VII's moves is its insane Z-Moves. Man, I miss Gen VII. 
  • High Horsepower (Juman Bariki/100,000 Horsepower) Despite its name, High Horsepower isn't actually the Mudbray line's signature move. It's given to a bunch of other Ground-types even in its debut generation, and it's been a recurring TM ever since. It's basically a physical category Ground-type move with no real secondary effect... and it's a bit special because it's so late into the franchise's life that we're getting such a vanilla move. I guess they wanted to give out a simple physical Ground-type single-target move that's not Dig? Eh. 
  • Stomping Tantrum (Jidanda/Stomping Tantrum) Another basic single-target Ground-type move, this one has the flavour of the Pokemon stomping the ground in frustration... and we get the interesting flavour that the power doubles if the previous move failed. Cute effect, but I really don't see either 'High Horsepower' or 'Stomping Tantrum' being particularly flavoured as a Ground-type or involving anything with the earth or sand or mud. 
  • Shore Up (Suna Atsume/Sand Gathering) Oh, this one is cool. This is the Sandygast line's signature move, where they heal by absorbing and gathering sand from their surroundings. It's a very 'elemental creature' thing, and I honestly am surprised that we haven't gotten something like this for other 'elemental'-esque like Grimer or Koffing... though I suppose Pokemon does actually shy away from straight up just making elementals? In a cute move, Shore Up heals even more HP if there's a Sandstorm brewing. 
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Steel-type Moves:
  • Corkscrew Crash (Chozetsu Rasen Rengeki/Super Spiral Combo) The Z-move for Steel-types is "Corkscrew Crash", where the Steel-type will... spin around in place until it becomes a gigantic anime drill made up of nothing but force, and it just... zips towards the enemy and explodes. It sure is interesting, but not my favourite out of the generic Z-moves. 
  • Sunsteel Strike (Meteo Doraibu/Meteor Drive) and Searing Sunraze Smash (Sanshain Sumassha/Sunshine Smasher) These are Solgaleo's signature move, as well as Dusk-Mane Necrozma. A lot of these legendary Z-Moves do more or less the same thing with their non-Z counterparts, so I'll really just lump them together. Sunsteel Strike or Meteor Drive is much cooler, I feel, with Solgaleo jumping into the sky, creating a miniature sun and then rushing down with the force of a fucking meteor that rams and explodes on the enemy. "Meteor Drive" indeed! Searing Sunraze Smash does the same thing but with a bit more fanfare. Solgaleo creates a portal into the Ultra Dimension, and instead of just charging down as a meteor, we get to see Solgaleo spin around into a ball (like Flame Wheel) before smashing into the enemy. Despite all of the fiery sun effects, however, this is still considered as a Steel-type move mostly for Solgaleo's STAB bonus, I guess.
  • Smart Strike (Sumato Hon/Smart Horn) A bit of a random move that is originally TM-exclusive, Smart Strike (or "Smart Horn") is basically a Steel-type attack that never misses. I really do feel like they could've given this a much better or flavourful-sounding name like 'Heat-Seeking Strike' or 'Target-Hunting Strike' or something. As it is, it really does sound generic.


  • Anchor Shot (Anka Shotto/Anchor Shot) This one is Dhelmise's signature move. Newer generations have changed the animation into a generic silvery, metally chain and anchor, but the original Generation VII animation includes a mossy-green chain and a golden anchor which fits with Dhelmise himself much better! In addition to the damage, Anchor Shot 'anchors' the enemy in place, preventing them to flee. Flavourful!
  • Gear Up (Ashisuto Gia/Assist Gear) A rather bizarre move, this one is unique to Klinklang and Magearna. Man, they really like giving Klinklang gear-themed signature moves, huh? Gear Up increases the attacking stats of all Pokemon... with the Plus or Minus ability? Yeah. That's very niche, I'm not sure what having plus and minus have anything to do with gearing up, and honestly it really does feel redundant with Klinklang's other gear-themed moves.
  • Double Iron Bash (Daburu Pantsa/Double Panzer) I like the Japanese name of 'Double Panzer', but it's basically just a multi-hit move. This is Melmetal's signature move, and it's... two punches? Really? That's honestly pretty disappointing. Melmetal is like this legendary Pokemon made up of liquid metal, comprised of several hundred Meltan melting into a single giant monstrosity, and its signature move is... punching the enemy twice? Really?
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Bug-type Moves:

  • Savage Spin-Out (Zettai Hoshoku Kaitenzan/Absolute Predatory Spin-Out) This is another one that's a bit difficult to do, since there is such a wide variety of Bug-types in terms of how they look and how they attack, similiar to the dragons. So they decided to take one of the earliest and more iconic Bug-type moves, String Shot, and make it into an over-the-top attack. The Bug-type launches a whole lot of web that wraps the enemy up in a cocoon... and then spins around and slams it into the ground, does the titular 'spin-out' as they drag the cocoon across the terrain, before charging in and slashing the cocoon for one last move. Pretty cool, and it's a way that screams 'bug' while still looking relatively creative!
    • There's also a running gag back in the day about Incineroar being able to use this move, and thanks to Incineroar's attack animation it looks like he's pelvic-thrusting and unleashing a gigantic white pillar from his crotch region. 
  • Lunge (Tobikakaru/Lunge) A rather simple attack that feels is just added to pad out move variations, Lunge is a simple physical attack that has the chance to lower the enemy's Attack stat. I do feel like this does fit the Bug flavour in a way, since a lot of bugs either use jumping/lunging as a predatory or escape strategy. 
  • First Impression (Deai Gashira/Head-On Collision) Originating as Golisopod's signature move, this would be given to a bunch of other Pokemon as well later on. I really do feel like this is a very flavourful move, though! Golisopod's whole deal is that it's a very imposing-looking giant isopod-monster that looks like it can tear you apart... which is its very powerful 'first impression'. This move is basically a more powerful Bug-type Fake Out, in that it can only be used in the first turn Golisopod enters the battlefield, but later on he'll have to rely on weaker Bug moves. 
  • Pollen Puff (Kafun Dango/Pollen Ball) Originally Ribombee's signature move (and it's still the only Pokemon that learns this move naturally), this one is pretty simple and a typical usage of video-game healing mechanics. Pollen Puffs damages the enemy, but can heal the target. It really is similar to how in Pokemon you could handwave pollen or water or whatnot to heal or harm with the same breath, yeah? It's just how you flavour it.
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Ghost-type Moves:
  • Shadow Bone (Shado Bon/Shadow Bone) This one is Alolan Marowak's signature move. It sure is bashing your enemy with a bone empowered with ghostly powers! I really can't muster much excitement for this. Some of the signature moves can be really fun, but some is just basically repeating what the original concept of the pokemon already is.
  • Never-Ending Nightmare (Mugen Anya e no Izanai/Invitation to the Endless Night) This is the base Ghost-type Z-Move, and it's a simple but cool one. The Pokemon creates an illusory field of a spooky forest or something, and a dozen purple-black tentacle-hands rise up from the ground and start enveloping the enemy. This becomes a dome that then explodes. Pretty fun, but... as you'll see from the moves below, there are a lot of Ghost-type Z-Moves that kind of play a lot more with the theme of 'ghostly super move'.
  • Moongeist Beam (Shado Rei/Shadow Ray) and Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom (Munraito Burasuta/Moonlight Blaster) Let's start off with these two. These are the signature moves of Lunala and Dawn-Wings Necrozma, by extension. Moongeist Beam is pretty simple, Lunala creates a bunch of little pinpoints of light, which combines into a big glowing beam that unleashes moonlight down onto the enemy. Empowered with the Z-Move power, it becomes Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom (much cooler than "Moonlight Blaster"). Lunala summons an Ultra Dimension portal, knocks the enemy inside, then creates six beams that converge into one to blast them apart. I'm... I'm really not sure why these moon and dimension-themed attacks are 'Ghost' type other than to give Lunala STAB.

 

  • Spectral Thief (Shado Suchiru/Shadow Steal) and Soul-Stealing 7-Star Strike (Shichisei Dakkontai/Seven Star Soul Stealing Kick) These are Marshadow's moves. Spectral Thief has a pretty cool animation where Marshadow punches the enemy and a bunch of ghosts rise up after the punch hits. The idea is that Marshadow hides in the shadow and steals the enemy's power, or rather, the buffs they have, before the attack lands. Z-Moved up, it becomes "Soul-Stealing 7-Star Strike", which... it's basically a Kamen Rider kick combined with a Rurouni Kenshin strike. Marshadow punches in quick succession to create a seven-pointed seal, then does a Kamen Rider kick, and lands away from the enemy. A couple seconds later, the seal explodes. Neat!
  • Spirit Shackle (Kagenui/Shadow-Stitch) and Sinister Arrow Raid (Shado Arozu Sutoraiku/Shadow Arrows Strike) My favourite starter signature move is Spirit Shackle, Decidueye's signature move. As a ghostly archer, Decidueye shoots a ghostly arrow... at the opponent's shadow! This basically 'pins' the shadow to the ground, causing the effect of them not being able to escape or switch out, which is way move flavourful than many of the signature moves given out in Generations VI and VII. Naruto fans would even recognize the Japanese name as "kagenui", or shadow stitch, the Nara Clan's signature ability! Powered up by the Z-Moves, it becomes 'Sinister Arrow Raid' which is another one that really does feel like a fighting game finisher. Decidueye flies up, summons a fan of like 20 arrows, and then divebombs down while the arrows fly behind him. Decidueye pulls up, but the arrows just impale the enemy like a goddamn air raid. Pretty badass!
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Dark-type Moves:
  • Black Hole Eclipse (Burakku Horu Ikuripusu/Black Hole Eclipse) And we close this Generation VII move coverage with the Dark-type. Other than a couple select moves like Dark Pulse, the Dark-type has never really been all about using the powers of darkness or shadows or whatever, and has mostly been about fighting dirty. But Black Hole Eclipse just has the Pokemon unleash their inner Blackbeard and summon a gigantic black hole that sucks in the enemy, which then proceeds to shrink into a much smaller size then explode. Pretty cool move, very anime-esque.
  • Baddy Bad (Waruwaru Zon/Bad-Bad Zone) The last Let's Go move, this one represents the power of Umbreon. It is a bit more interesting than the others, creating a blast of light and then darkness, but I've really ran out of anything to say about these uncreative Let's Go signature moves.
  • Power Trip (Tsukeagaru/Be Audacious) Krookodile of all Pokemon gets a signature move for just a single generation. Krookodile doesn't even do anything in Alola! Power Trip (which doesn't include actually tripping the opponent) has Krookodile deal even more damage based on how many stat increases he has. Pretty... interesting move! I do find that this is totally a 'Dark-type' thing to do, just to get all high and mighty thanks to all of the energy and stat increases that the Pokemon has.

 Darkest Lariat VII.png

  • Throat Chop (Jigoku Zuki/Hell Thrust) Called "Hell Thrust" in Japanese, this move has, I think, shown up a lot in the post-Alola games in the learn-sets of a lot of Dark-type Pokemon. The English name is very descriptive, though. Throat Chop has the user, well, do a karate-chop onto the opponent's throat, which deals damage and prevents them from using voice-based attacks for 2 turns. It's rather fun flavour, and it totally does fit with the idea of Dark-types being pragmatic and hitting them where it hurts.
  • Brutal Swing (Bunmawasu/Brutal Swing) This was a bit more generic, basically just swinging around your arms wildly regardless of who you hit. Brutal Swing also damages allies. I do like the name, but it's otherwise a pretty generic physical Dark-type move. I guess you can't just Bite and Crunch all the time, huh?
  • Darkest Lariat (DD Rariatto/DD Lariat) And we'll close this off with one of the best moves out there. Incineroar's two signature moves. Darkest Lariat, or DD Lariat, seems to just be a generic lariat move. But no. Incineroar T-poses and then spins around like a goddamn Tazmanian Devil before slamming into the enemy! I really am slightly sad that in modern-day games Darkest Lariat is no longer exclusive to Incineroar, but it's also hilarious that a bunch more Pokemon apparently are now able to unleash their inner wrestler upon their foes.
  • Malicious Moonsault (Haipa Daku Kurassha/Hyper Dark Crusher) And empowered by the Z-move, Darkest Lariat transforms into Malicious Moonsault or "Hyper Dark Crusher", where Incineroar... summons a fucking wrestling ring and does the awesome wrestling smackdown on the enemy. Every adaptation of this move has a bit of a field day with hamming this up. The Super Smash Bros version even has Incineroar pummel the enemy upwards and upwards before doing the meteoric smashdown. 

Pretty cool, and I love that they really do play into the Z-Moves being spectacular for... well, for at least Incineroar, Decidueye, Mimikyu and Primarina. Not all of the Z-Moves really work, though, and I am actually a bit flummoxed that there's very few signature moves given to the Ultra Beasts. Only Blancephalon and Necrozma has them! And... I can kind of understand why this generation did cause a bunch of the moves to be axed come Generation VIII, with the sheer amount of Z-Moves and Let's Go Eevee and Pikachu's nonsensical attacks. I still find that it's a huge loss, though, particularly with how well-crafted a lot of the Generation VI-onwards signature moves are, and how many of them are tied to the identities of these Pokemon.

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