Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Exploring all new moves introduced

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have introduced a plethora of unique moves that will impact the competitive scene for these two games. It's too early to tell which ones will get the most usage, but there are certainly some contenders for the best moves.

It is worth mentioning that this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet guide will primarily look at new moves from a Singles perspective rather than Doubles. Even with that note in mind, some moves will still be excellent in the VGC format. Also, the following analysis is about the move first and foremost, rather than the actual Pocket Monsters that get it.

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Diving into new moves in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet might be the best competitive game in the series yet (Image via Game Freak)

The following is a list of all new moves introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and their effects:

• Aqua Cutter
• Aqua Step
• Armor Cannon
• Axe Kick
• Blazing Torque
• Bitter Blade
• Chilling Water
• Chilly Reception
• Collision Course
• Combat Torque
• Comeuppance
• Doodle
• Double Shock
• Electro Drift
• Ice Spinner
• Fillet Away
• Flower Trick
• Gigaton Hammer
• Glaive Rush
• Hyper Drill
• Jet Punch
• Kowtow Cleave
• Last Resorts
• Lumina Crash
• Make It Rain
• Magical Torque
• Moral Spin
• Order Up
• Population Bomb
• Pounce
• Rage Fist
• Raging Bull
• Revival Blessing
• Ruination
• Salt Cure
• Shed Tail
• Silk Trap
• Snowscape
• Spicy Extract
• Spin Out
• Tera Blast
• Tidy Up
• Torch Song
• Trailblaze
• Triple Dive
• Twin Beam
• Wicked Torque

That's 47 new moves, so let's cover the best ones introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in the following section.

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The best new moves from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Tera Blast is perfect for how wide its distribution is (Image via Game Freak)

Some of these moves are good if you're into competitive battles. The following are some of the best ones that debuted in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet:

• Last Respects: 50 BP 100 Physical Accuracy Ghost, this attack gets +50 BP per defeated ally in your party, going up to 300 BP
• Population Bomb: 20 BP 90 Accuracy Physical Normal that hits one to ten times
• Revival Blessing: Normal Status that resurrects a party member to half HP
• Shed Tail: Normal Status that creates a substitute with 50% of the user's HP before immediately swapping it to an ally
• Tera Blast: 80 BP 100 Accuracy Special Normal attack that uses the user's higher attacking stat and their Tera Type for the element

Practically every Pokémon gets Tera Blast, giving them extra coverage when they Terastallize. It's pretty intense and always uses the user's better attacking stat, so it's not just limited to Special Attackers, even if it attacks the target's Special Defense.

Last Respects can easily KO most neutral targets (Image via QtheCostaRican)

Other entries on that list are limited to a small selection of mons. Last Respects is learned by Houndstone, and although Houndstone's stats aren't impressive, the potential to have a 300 BP Ghost attack is excellent.

Likewise, Population Bomb is used by Tandemaus and Maushold. If either of those two Pocket Monsters has a Technician, then this move also has the potential to go up to 300 BP. Since it hits multiple times, substitutes won't help the target much.

Shed Tail has a lot of potentials to be broken (Image via Lord Emvee)

Revival Blessing comes from Rabsca and Pawmot. It is a 1-PP move that revives any fainted ally on your team. The potential of Revival Blessing is absurdly powerful when you use broken teammates like Flutter Mane.

The final move discussed here is Shed Tail, which Orthworm and Cyclizar learn. It takes half of their HP to create a substitute and immediately swaps with one of their allies. Remember that Cyclizar has Regenerator, meaning it can quickly regain health when it switches out.

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Quick rundown on other good moves in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have other good moves worth highlighting, but this section will be briefer in the analysis, so it's not too lengthy. The following are some other notable attacks from these two games:

• Armor Cannon: 120 BP 100 Accuracy Special Fire that lowers the user's Defense and Special Defense
• Chilly Reception: Swaps the user with an ally and summons Snowstorm
• Collision Course: 100 BP 100 Accuracy Physical Fighting that deals 30% extra damage if super effective
• Double Shock: 120 BP 100 Accuracy Physical Electric that removes the Electric type from the user
• Electro Drift: 100 BP 100 Accuracy Special Electric that deals 30% extra damage if super effective
• Fillet Away: A status move that gives the user +2 Attack, +2 Special Attack, and +2 Speed at the cost of 50% HP
• Flower Trick: 70 BP 100 Accuracy Physical Grass that never misses and always crits
• Gigaton Hammer: 160 BP 100 Accuracy Physical Steel that can't be used twice in a row
• Hyper Drill: 100 BP 100 Accuracy Physical Normal that hits through Protect and Detects
• Jet Punch: 60 BP 100 Accuracy Physical Water with +1 Priority
• Lumina Crash: 80 BP 100 Accuracy Special Psychic that sharply reduces the target's Special Defense
• Salt Cure: 40 BP 100 Accuracy Physical Rock that does damage every turn and affects Steel and Water types more strongly than usual
• Snowscape: Hail is gone, so Snowscape summons Snowstorm instead
• Spicy Extract: A status move that gives the user +2 Attack and the target -2 Defense
• Tidy Up: A status move that removes hazards and boosts the user's Attack and Speed

That's it for first glance at all the new attacks in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

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NPC-only moves

The following list is just for the Starmobile (Image via Game Freak)

There isn't much point in exploring NPC-only attacks since you cannot use them usually. That said, here is a list of what they do:

• Blazing Torque: 80 BP 100 Accuracy Fire Physical, can burn the target
• Combat Torque: 100 BP 100 Accuracy Fighting Physical can reduce the target's Defense
• Magical Torque: 100 BP 100 Accuracy Fairy Physical can confuse the target
• Noxious Torque: 100 BP 100 Accuracy Poison Physical, can poison the target
• Wicked Torque: 80 BP 100 Accuracy Dark Physical, no additional effect

That's it for the new moves in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.