In the Pokemon games, every move has its purpose. Some are meant to cause incredible amounts of damage, some give an opponent a status ailment, and others give the user a buff. False Swipe is a fairly powerful attack that always leaves an opponent with at least one hit point.
The chances of catching a wild Pokemon are greatly increased the weaker they are — and having only one hit point is as weak as it gets. As such, False Swipe is indispensable. This list will identify every Pokemon that will learn False Swipe by leveling-up.
False Swipe is now also a TM (#54 or #94 — depending on the generation), and there are many Pokemon that can learn this valuable move via the TM.
Updated on February 9, 2023, by Jeff Drake: Each new generation of Pokemon has a handful of Pokemon that have False Swipe in their move pool. Sometimes this seems randomly assigned. However, there are also instances of Pokemon having access to this move, like Weavile, that can use it to its fullest potential.
This update will add five additional Pokemon to the list — Pokemon that stand out from the crowd of those that can learn False Swipe. This doesn't complete the list of Pokemon capable of learning False Swipe, but any left off the list are probably Pokemon that will never leave storage after being caught.
22 Tapu Bulu
Tapu Bulu is an odd-looking Pokemon. It certainly doesn't look like it should be a Grass-type Pokemon, and even less like how most people would imagine a Fairy-type Pokemon should look. Regardless, this Pokemon is perfectly suited for hunting and capturing wild Pokemon.
One of Tapu Bulu's abilities is Grassy Surge, which causes grounded Pokemon to heal a little each turn. Hunting wild Pokemon can be a practice in attrition, and weakening a wild Pokemon so that a Poke Ball has a higher chance of containing it will invariably result in your Pokemon taking damage. Grassy Surge will help keep Tapu Bulu's hit points from dropping too low while hunting.
21 Drednaw
Some of the Pokemon on this list are here because they learn False Swipe when leveling-up. Some are here just to highlight how well False Swipe works in conjunction with its other moves and abilities. Drednaw learns Jaw Lock level 39, a move that prevents an opposing Pokemon from being switched out by its owner.
The combination of these two moves, False Swipe and Jaw Lock, will keep the opponent in the battle with only one hit point. There are a few reasons this might be useful, one being if you want to steal an item held by the opponent.
20 Weavile
Weavile is Dark/Ice-type Pokemon; which is one of the rarer type combinations. This Pokemon can be set up with moves that make it one of the best at stealing an opponent's held item. This is helped by having Pick Pocket as one of its abilities.
This ability lets the user steal the opponent's held item automatically if the opponent hits with an attack. By using False Swipe, you can be guaranteed to keep the opponent from fainting long enough to ensure it hits with an attack — while weakening it for a finishing attack after the item is stolen.
19 Kommo-o
This is another fantastic Pokemon to use when trying to capture wild Pokemon. Kommo-o is a Dragon/Fighting-type Pokemon with some of the best abilities in the series. Its two primary ones are Soundproof and Bulletproof, which grant immunity to a huge list of other abilities. The most notable among these moves is Roar, meaning you won't have to worry about the opponent forcing your Pokemon to flee.
The immunities granted by Soundproof and Bulletproof help Kommo-o survive long enough to weaken a wild Pokemon for easier capture, without accidentally making the opponent faint. Kommo-o is possibly the best Pokemon to teach False Swipe.
18 Zeraora
Zeraora can use False Swipe to help it regain some hit points — if facing an Electric-type Pokemon. This is because of the ability Volt Absorb, which heals the user when hit by an Electric attack.
With False Swipe, an opposing Pokemon can be kept at one hit point for as long as you need the opponent to keep using healing Electric attacks on Zeraora. Then, when your health is topped up, you can finish the enemy Pokemon off pretty easily.
17 Mew
Mew is a Psychic-type Pokemon that was introduced in Gen One — the original Legendary Pokemon, alongside Mewtwo. Mew's fantastic stats make it an excellent choice for the lead Pokemon when out hunting for new Pokemon, as it can learn the move Life Dew — one which heals the user. This increases the time you can spend out in the Wild Zones trying to catch new Pokemon.
Mew doesn't learn a lot of moves by leveling-up. It gets a few great moves like Psychic and Metronome, but trainers aren't missing out on anything if they use one of their Mew's move slots for False Swipe.
16 Zacian
Zacian is one of the Legendaries from Gen Eight. This wolf-like Fairy/Steel-type Pokemon has one of the highest Attack ratings in the series, and as such is probably the most powerful Pokemon overall that can learn False Swipe.
Using Zacian as the lead Pokemon in your party when trying to catch a legendary Pokemon is a great idea. It has high enough Stamina that it won't faint quickly, and its Speed stat means that it will probably go first in battle — even against other Legendary Pokemon.
15 Virizion
Virizion is a deer-like Grass/Fighting-type Pokemon introduced in Gen Five, with this type pairing being one of the rarest in the series. There are only two Pokemon with it — Virizion and Breloom — and Virizion is hands-down the better of the two in a fight. It has some good stats and a selection of great moves from which to make a moveset.
One of these moves is Giga Drain. This move both attacks and heals, and pairing it with False Swipe on Virizion is ideal for the same reason as Mew — healing makes hunting Pokemon a lot easier.
14 Urshifu
Urshifu is a Fighting/Dark-type Pokemon, with this Legendary Pokemon introduced in The Isle of Armor expansion for Pokemon Sword & Shield. Urshifu has an average Special Attack and Special Defense, but the rest of its stats are way above average.
This Pokemon has a lot of high-damage Physical attack moves to choose from when putting together a moveset. It can learn three with an attack power over 100 — Dynamic Punch, Close Combat, and Focus Punch. Using up a slot in the moveset for False Swipe isn't going to hinder Urishifu's ability to deal heavy damage when it's needed.
13 Venusaur, Charizard, And Blastoise
Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise are the final evolutions of the three starter Pokemon from Gen One, and among the most iconic and beloved in the entire series. They are also some of the toughest combatants in the series — all three are capable of defeating even the most powerful Legendary Pokemon, putting them among the best of the Pokemon who can learn False Swipe.
The toughness of these three makes them excellent choices for your lead Pokemon while trying to catch new Pokemon. Teaching them False Swipe makes them even better at this role. However, as they have a lot of great moves to choose from, it will be a bit of a sacrifice to include False Swipe in their moveset.
12 Nincada
Nincada is a Bug/Ground-type Pokemon that was introduced in Gen Three. Like most Bug-types, it has very low stats, except for an average Defense. This Pokemon's abilities aren’t very useful either — Compound Eyes raises Accuracy, and Run Away allows the Nincada to… well, run away better.
Fortunately, its evolution, Ninjask, is a little better as it is extremely fast. This makes the Ninjask an excellent Pokemon to use when hunting wild Pokemon. Its Speed ensures it will strike first, and False Swipe will allow the Nincada, or Ninjask, to efficiently weaken the opponent for capture.
11 Farfetch’d
Farfetch’d is a Flying/Normal-type Pokemon introduced in Gen One. This bird Pokemon is immediately recognizable due to the green onion stalk it carries to use as a sword. Despite having some useful abilities and a pretty good move-set, Farfetch’d’s low stats keep it out of most main parties.
This Pokemon does evolve in Sword & Shield, but not in the normal fashion. If Farfetch’d delivers three critical hits in one fight it will evolve into Sirfetch’d. This evolution doesn’t learn False Swipe, so if you want your Sirfetch’d to have this ability you need to get their Farfetch’d to level 35 before allowing it to evolve.
10 Cubone And Marowak
Cubone and Marowak are Ground-type Pokemon that were introduced in Gen One, although they didn’t learn False Swipe until Generation Two. They are both in the same evolutionary chain, with Cubone being stage one and Marowak being the evolved form.
Cubone learns False Swipe at level 33, and Marowak learns it at level 39. There isn’t really a reason to delay Cubone’s evolution into Marowak. They both learn the same moves, and the Marowak’s increased stats are worth waiting for a few more levels to gain False Swipe.
9 Grovyle And Sceptile
Grovyle and Sceptile are Grass-type Pokemon that were introduced in Gen Three, and are evolutions of Treecko (which doesn’t learn False Swipe). While Sceptile is obviously the most powerful of the three, it is only about average when compared to other Pokemon.
This family of Pokemon does learn some powerful moves though, such as Night Slash and Leaf Storm. Their Overgrow ability makes Grass-type moves more powerful. Their stats overall, however, are a bit lacking.
8 Scyther, Scizor, And Kleavor
Scyther is a Bug/Flying type Pokemon introduced in Gen One. Scizor, a Bug/Steel-type, was introduced in Generation Two and evolves from Scyther when you trade it while it's holding a Metal Coat. Kleavor is an alternate evolution of Scyther, achieved using Black Augurite as the held item instead of a Metal Coat.
Scyther was one of the better Bug-types from Generation One, and even though Scizor is the evolved version its stats are not that much better. Its move-set is a lot better, though. Scyther’s Speed is much better, making it better for hunting wild Pokemon. Scizor actually learns False Swipe at a lower level (13) than Scyther (18) — at least prior to Generation Eight, after which it can start with False Swipe. Kleavor learns False Swipe at level eight.
7 Zangoose
This cat/ferret hybrid Pokemon is a Normal-type and was introduced in Gen Three. Zangoose is not part of an evolutionary chain, and has average stats. What Zangoose does have though is a good move pool — which includes powerful moves such as Slash and Close Combat.
Being based on two animals that are known for their quickness, Zangoose has many moves with a high priority (battle speed), including Quick Attack and Pursuit. Using Quick Attack one or two times followed by a False Swipe is usually enough to reduce the opposing Pokemon to one hit point, giving you the best chance of catching it.
6 Gallade
Gallade is a Psychic/Fighting-type Pokemon introduced in Gen Four. The pairing of these two types is not very common as these are opposing types, which typically makes them super-effective against the other. Gallade is the third stage of Ralts’ evolutionary chain, with Kirlia between the two.
Gallade learns False Swipe at level 32. This makes evolving the Kirlia a bit of a dilemma, because they get some very powerful Psychic moves after level 23 that are not available to Gallade. For this reason, many Gallades have moves like Psychic and Charm instead of False Swipe.
5 Leavanny
Leavanny is a Grass/Bug-type Pokemon first introduced in Gen Five, and is the third and final stage of Sewaddle’s evolutionary chain. It can be tricky getting a Leavanny with False Swipe, as neither Sewaddle nor Swadloon learn this move normally.
This Pokemon has average stats and abilities, but its move pool has a handful of powerful attacks. Leavanny learns False Swipe at level one, but evolves from Swadloon after level 20 and when it has a sufficiently high happiness level. To get False Swipe, a Leavanny requires the use of the Move Relearner, or hatching it from an egg.
4 Karrablast And Escavalier
Karrablast is a Bug-type Pokemon that evolves into the Bug/Steel-type Escavalier when trading it for a Shelmet. Both Pokemon learn False Swipe at level 12, so you're not forced to delay evolving.
Karrablast's stats aren't great, while the Escavalier has fairly high Attack, Defense, and Special Defense values. The Escavalier’s optimized moveset also contains more powerful attacks than Karrablast, and also has more varied types of attacks.
3 Axew, Fraxure, And Haxorus
Axew, Fraxure, and Haxorus are all Dragon-type Pokemon, and all learn False Swipe — Axew at level six, with Fraxure and Haxorus having to learn it via the Move Relearner or by hatching from an egg.
All three have the same moveset — the only difference is the level at which they learn new moves. It's best to evolve Axew and Fraxure as soon as possible since Haxorus’ stats are quite a bit better. Haxorus’ Attack is especially high, and is the stat False Swipe uses to determine the amount of damage dealt.