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.

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.

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.

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.

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.