Just like the mega evolutions of Pokémon X & Y, and the Gigantimax forms of the recent Pokémon Sword & Shield, the newest way to battle in Pokémon Sun & Moon were Z-Moves. These powerful attacks, activated with unique one-of-a-kind Z-Crystals, were a power that any Pokemon could use once per-battle with a brief dramatic cutscene and massive power boost.
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With Z-Moves being a thing of the past due to their absence in Sword & Shield, one question remains of this now-retired way of battling: which of these numerous moves were the most powerful? These Z-Moves undoubtedly stand the strongest among their peers.
Updated July 5, 2021 by Paul DiSalvo: In addition to the over-the-top and cinematic Z-moves we know and love, the use of Z-Crystals also allows for non-damaging moves to be powered up. Depending on the move that is chosen when activating a Z-Crystal, the move’s effectiveness is increased, sometimes even providing an additional effect. While they don’t provide nearly as much instant gratification, these improved move variants that are enabled by Z-Crystals can provide some truly potent effects.
20 Z-Toxic And Z-Stealth Rock
Clefable Using Stealth Rock Klang Pokemon Sword Shield
Toxic and Stealth Rock are two of the best indirect damage moves in all of Pokemon. Inflicting an opposing Pokemon with poison and laying down hazardous rocks that damage entering Pokemon respectively, they can ease deal significant damage over the course of a battle. However, the Pokemon that use these moves are often sturdy walls that benefit from high defense. When powered up by Z-Crystals, in addition to providing these moves normal effect, these enhanced versions also provide a Pokemon with a defense buff, allowing them to more reliably take hits.
19 Z-Swords Dance And Z-Nasty Plot
swords dance pokemon
Swords Dance and Nasty Plot are already incredible moves in their own right, raising a Pokemon’s Attack and Special attack by two stages respectively. When powering up these moves via a Z-Crystal, they can provide a sweeper with additional insurance as they prepare their attack. While one way an opponent can deal with a potential sweeper is to nerf its stats as its offensive buffs are prepared, when using the Z variants of these moves, all lowered stats of the moves user are reset!
18 Z-Rain Dance And Z-Sunny Day
sunny day pokemon castform
Rain and Sun teams are quite popular due to their ability to rush an opponent with incredible speed of Pokemon with the Swift Swim and Chlorophyl abilities. While one downside of these types of teams is the necessity to set up a weather condition to get the ball rolling, using Z-Rain Dance or Z-Sunny Day can help to ensure a player gets the speed they need. This is because on top of the speed benefits from the aforementioned weather-based abilities these Z-moves cause their user’s speed to raise in addition to their weather generating effects.
17 Z-Conversion
Conversion is an incredibly unique move that is only learnable by the Porygon family, changing its user’s type to become that of the first move they know. This move can be used to create many interesting and unexpected builds that can catch an opponent off guard. Z-Conversion really provides incentive to make use of a Porygon-Z, as in addition to altering its users type, it raises every single one of its user’s stats, making it a much more notable threat for an opponent.
16 Z-Belly Drum
Since it was first introduced in Generation II, Belly Drum has always been a high risk, high reward move. At the cost of half of its user’s HP, the move raises the Pokemon’s attack to its maximum possible level. While this move is ideally used to set up sweeps, it can leave it’s user open to getting KO’s or even fail entirely if they don’t have enough HP. Z-Belly Drum mitigates a great deal of this risk, immediately healing its user to full HP before the traditional HP reduction. This helps make sweeping via Belly Drum as significantly more consistent gameplan with Pokemon like a Huge Power Azumarill.
15 Hydro Vortex
Hydro Vortex is the default Water-type Z-Move that powers up whatever water type move that is boosting it. This gives Hydro Vortex access to the Water-type Hyper Beam equivalent, Hydro Cannon. There is also the HP-tied Water-type move, Water Spout. To add to this, Water-type Pokemon are good offensive sweepers on average.
Even a powerful yet inaccurate move like Hydro Pump could benefit from a Z-Move glow-up. That said, it's hard to argue with reserving the Waterium Z for a Water starter like Swampert or Blastoise and unleashing a powered-up Hydro Cannon.
14 Continental Crush
Continental Crush is the Rock-type Z-Move, and it's quite powerful for the reason that many Rock-type moves are either inaccurate or come with a massive drawback.
Rock Wrecker is the Rock-type Giga Impact counterpart reserved for Rhyperior and Crustle, so it's strong but comes with a cooldown turn. Head Smash is another impressive Rock-type move available to a wide variety of Rock-type Pokemon but was originally the signature move of Rampardos. It hits hard but has massive recoil damage. Stone Edge is another good candidate for Continental Crush, but that high critical-hit ratio may discourage you from turning it into a Z-Move.
13 Inferno Overdrive
Inferno Overdrive is the default Fire-type Z-Move, and it's quite good for reasons similar to Continental Crush. Fire-type Pokemon are generally great offensive sweepers, and Inferno Overdrive only improves on their attacking capabilities.
Like Continental Crush, Inferno Overdrive has a large pool of powerful-yet-detrimental Fire-type moves to draw from such as Blast Burn, Flare Blitz, and Overheat. On top of that, the Fire-type has its own heavy-hitting HP-tied move in Eruption.
12 Catastropika
Catastropika is the Pikachu-specific power-up to the iconic Volt Tackle move which comes with heavy recoil damage. It's a powerhouse of a move that comes with a base power of 210, which is even stronger than 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt--though that move is a Special Attack move that plays to Pikachu's strengths.
That said, if you have a physical Attack-based Pikachu with the need of an additional bit of zip, Pikanium Z and Catastropika will give it another powerful weapon its arsenal.
11 Devastating Drake
Devastating Drake is the Z-Move that corresponds to the powerful Dragon-type, and like the Fire and Rock-types before it, Devastating Drake has plenty of powerful moves with drawbacks to turn into a turbo-charged draconic smackdown.
Outrage, Draco Meteor, and Dragon Rush make for a great Devastating Drake. If you have a Dialga at your disposal, Roar of Time could make for an extra spicy Z-Move in this instance. All of this is further supported by how generally powerful Dragon-type Pokemon are, so Devastating Drake gets a boost strictly from the type of Pokemon it corresponds with.
10 All-Out Pummeling
This attack is one of the more powerful Z-Moves you pick up through the game, with a flexible power level based around the strength of the move that your Pokemon uses to activate the Z-Move. Each type has one of these, with All-Out Pummeling being the token fighting-type of the list.
What makes this so powerful is that the best Fighting-type moves are incredibly risky. Ranged attacks like Focus Blast have dangerously low accuracy, while physical strikes like Close Combat and Superpower severely lower your stats. With All-Out Pummeling, you get a risk-free attack with strength that eclipses all of these, raising the power of your Fighting-type Pokemon further than ever.
9 Guardian Of Alola
While many Z-Moves are usable by all Pokemon, several are also specific to certain species with even rarer Z-Crystals. Rather than raw power, these moves have much more unique effects. This move for the four legendary Island Guardians is one of the most emblematic of their unusual effects, as it simply eliminates 75% of the target’s HP.
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Flat damage attacks in Pokemon are quite uncommon and are typically pretty weak. The closest one to this strength is Night Shade, which removes HP equal to the user’s level. In competitive battles, though, this will almost always just be a measly 50 or 100. Removing a percentage like this is a unique effect that’s significantly harder for an opponent to prepare for.
8 Clangorous Soulblaze
This move, exclusive to the muscular Alolan dragon Kommo-o, has its own unique effects. Alongside a massive amount of damage, Clangorous Soulblaze inspires the user to feel exceptionally empowered, raising all of its stats by one stage.
Having such a wide stat increase is usually left as a rare chance on moves like Ancient Power and Ominous Wind, so a guaranteed buff to every offensive and defensive stat is a huge power boost to Kommo-o. It turns a dragon whose stats are already competitive into an absolute monster and makes up for having just a Z-Crystal for an item afterward.
7 Extreme Evoboost
Speaking of stat increases, it’s important to mention the Z-Move exclusive to Eevee, whose adorable fluffy self is unfortunately quite weak before evolving into one of its beautiful forms. With this move, Eevee deals no damage to its opponent but doubles each of its stats until it’s swapped out.
A Pokemon should never be forced to evolve to unlock its true potential. With the release of Pokemon Let’s Go, Eevee, there were tons of new damage moves of various types given to your partner Pokemon, but its body still can be lacking compared to the competitive fighters that its evolutions tend to be. With this move, Eevee can stand among its friends stronger than ever.
6 Oceanic Operetta
On the surface, this move exclusive to the final form of Alola’s Water-type starter, Primarina, is quite plain. It deals a huge amount of damage with its beautiful singing voice but otherwise has no additional effects.
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The reason it deserves a mention, though, is that it’s somehow stronger than any of the other Alolan starters’ Z-Moves by 15 additional points. What makes Oceanic Operetta stronger is a mystery, but it’s clear that Primarina has an objective advantage over Decidueye and Incineroar that shouldn’t be ignored.
5 Z-Splash
In addition to turning attack moves into powerful assaults, using a Z-Move on a non-damaging move will give additional unique effects. Moves like Nasty Plot will reset your Pokemon’s other stat changes, while moves like Belly Drum will heal you in addition to its effect.
None of these stat moves top the signature move of the iconic Magikarp, Splash, which will raise the user’s Attack stat by three stages. To compare, Swords Dance will raise a Pokemon’s attack by two, giving Splash a huge edge to make your fighter into a powerhouse. Your Magikarp might be lacking moves, but this is a wonderful utility for other Pokémon that can learn to flail around the battlefield.
4 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt
Being the mascot of the Pokemon series, it’s no surprise that Pikachu has multiple Z-Moves that it can learn, but 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt is certainly the strongest, dealing a massive amount of damage with a 50% chance of getting a critical hit, raising the potential damage even higher.
Critical hits are usually luck, outside of using certain items and lucky Pokemon like Farfetch’d, but this gives an already-strong Pokemon the chance to annihilate its opponent. It might just be damage if you lose the coin flip, but that worst-case scenario is far from the end of the world.
3 Pulverizing Pancake
While strength can’t always be mathematically proved, Snorlax’s exclusive Z-Move does win the award for the objectively strongest Z-Move. Pulverizing Pancake has no additional effects, but has a base power of 210, while most other Z-Moves range around the area of 180.
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But this move does have the unfortunate downside of being attached to a Pokemon who, while powerful in its own right, is far from the greatest normal-type attacker. It’s wonderful that Snorlax can now use its weight to its fullest ability with this move, but its downside is that it’s held back by not being an ideal user.
2 Breakneck Blitz
Breakneck Blitz, the normal-type Z-Move that any Pokemon can learn, is significantly stronger than it seems. While normal-type Pokemon are usually brushed off as plain and weak, this proves that attitude wrong as it allows several Pokemon moves to deal an obscene amount of damage without being super-effective.
Much like All-Out Pummeling, this also gets around the downsides of several normal-type attacks that normally are impossible to use, namely Giga Impact and Hyper Beam. These moves force the user to wait a turn before being able to battle again, but by using them to power a Z-Move your fighter can hit with massive power and keep going afterward.
1 Stoked Sparksurfer
The adorable Psychic-type Alolan Raichu tops the list of Z-Moves without question, as its damage is high and its utility is guaranteed. Alongside hitting its opponent, Stoked Sparksurfer will also cause paralysis, a status effect that halves their speed and can potentially stop them from attacking.
This status effect can be inflicted from several Pokemon through moves like Thunder Wave and Nuzzle, but damaging moves that can cause paralysis can only do so with a bit of luck. While Stoked Sparksurfer can take down many opponents, the ones it fails on will struggle to catch up with this status ailment, making Stoked Sparksurfer a success regardless of how much damage it does.
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