There's an understandable allure to Dark-type Pokemon. Of all 18 varieties, Dark is the shadiest, the most devious, perhaps the most ambiguous. Are Dark-type Pokemon inherently evil? It doesn't appear that way, though there's no mistaking a Cleffa for a Krookodile. Even so, their attacks often feel more visceral, even brutal.

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Naturally, not all Dark-type moves are equal in quality. Should you be in the market for the best possible picks to suit your team's strengths and shore up their weaknesses, consider this bunch above all else.

Update by Quinton O'Connor on February 9th, 2022: Pokemon Legends: Arceus is here, and while it has established its own expansive ruleset for how moves work in-game, players who have a good time in Hisui may well consider a return (or first trip!) to Sword & Shield's Galar or Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's Sinnoh. If you're just now catching up on the eighth-generation games, or even if you're replaying some of the earlier entries, take a look at our list for all your dubious Dark-type needs.

15 Dark Void

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Dark Void

Puts all adjacent foes to sleep

50

10

Being able to put an opponent to sleep can often make or break a crucial battle. When opponents are asleep, they won't be able to attack for a few turns, giving you an overpowered edge in battle. The problem with sleep moves is that they often have fairly low accuracy, due to their power.

This is part of what makes Dark Void so good. Prior to Generation VII, this move had an accuracy of 80 percent. Sadly, it was reduced in Pokemon Sun and Moon to 50 percent, which is very lacking. The other major downside is that this move is exclusive to Darkrai.

14 Hone Claws

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Hone Claws

Raises the user's Attack and Accuracy by one stage.

100

15

Boosting your own stats and reducing your opponents' can also make or break an important fight. Moves like Swords Dance are widely used due to their usefulness at raising your attack power. Hone Claws is a stat-boosting attack as well, raising attack and accuracy by one stage each.

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This is a fantastic move because it raises more than one stat at a time. An increase in accuracy makes powerful moves with low accuracy much more reliable, and boosting accuracy can counter evasion moves used by the opponent.

13 Beat Up

Pokémon Sword Shield find Beat Up TM

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Beat Up

Damage is calculated using user's Attack stat; increases with allies.

100

10

Beat Up is another physical Dark-type move that has sneaky uses (and a big drawback). It deals a low-powered hit for each healthy Pokemon in the user’s party, meaning it can be great to open up a battle with (especially where a Focus Sash is expected).

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More recently, however, the classic Beat Up/Justified strategy has been making a resurgence. The key to this is using Beat Up on your own partner in doubles matches when they have the Justified Ability (most commonly the Swords of Justice). This gives them a separate Attack boost for each hit, going from proverbial "zero to 60" frighteningly fast. Still, it’s quite situational.

12 False Surrender

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

False Surrender

80

100

10

Dark-type Pokemon don't tend to play by the rules, and that's clear in the move False Surrender, which lulls the opponent into thinking you've given up, just to strike when they're vulnerable. It's a signature move of the Grimmsnarl line, introduced in Generation 8.

It has a power of 80, which is already great, but it also never misses. Having a move with perfect accuracy is nothing new, but this one has more power than similar moves like Swift or Disarming Voice. Discard honor and a fair fight in exchange for a guaranteed hit.

11 Taunt

Pokémon Zangoose use Dark move Taunt

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Taunt

Prevents the target from using status moves.

100

20

While base power is, naturally, a great way to determine the strength of moves, there’s much more to the equation than that. The most powerful moves sometimes don’t deal damage at all but have a huge effect on the state of the match.

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Taunt is a perfect example. This status move simply prevents its target from using any status moves of their own for a few turns. This effect can be utterly devastating against supporting Pokemon, preventing them from healing or using the likes of Trick Room. Properly used, this Dark-type move is phenomenally strong, though there will be times when it has no effect against purely offensive Pokemon.

10 Night Daze

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Night Daze

85; 40 percent chance of lowering target's Accuracy one stage.

95

10

Staying on the accuracy theme, this move affects accuracy stats as well. However, instead of raising the user's accuracy, it has a 40 percent chance of lowering the target's accuracy by a stage. That's a decent percentage for a bonus on a move that already does damage. This move has a power of 85, which is respectable on its own terms.

This move was once the signature move of Zorua and Zoroark, but it is now learned by Lunala in Generations 7 and 8.

9 Embargo

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Embargo

Items cannot be used on either team for several turns.

100

15

Do you grow weary of gym leaders and other tough trainers using Hyper Potions and other items on their Pokemon right as you're about to win? Embargo might be the move for you. This Dark-type move, introduced in Generation 4, prevents the opponent and its trainer from using items, including held items.

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The effects last for five turns and can be the difference between a victory or a defeat in many cases, especially against Pokemon that heal with a held berry. Unfortunately, the move did not make it into Generation 8.

8 Foul Play

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Foul Play

95; uses target's Attack stat rather than user's.

100

15

Introduced in Generation 5, this move is titled appropriately for how Dark-type moves typically function. With a power of 95 and an accuracy of 100 percent, it's pretty great right out of the gate. But if you're going up against an opponent with a much higher Attack stat, that 95 can blossom into something borderline ridiculous.

On the other hand, Foul Play can suffer the weaknesses of all those Level 2 Rattatas in the Pokemon world. Use wisely.

7 Throat Chop

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Throat Chop

80; prevents the target from using sound-based moves for two turns.

100

15

With such an aggressive name, it's fitting that this move be pretty powerful. Surprisingly not a Fighting-type move, Throat Chop was once the signature move of Incineroar, but is now available for several other Pokemon as well. It has a power of 80 and an accuracy rating of 100 percent.

Throat Chop's got a nice bonus. It prevents the target Pokemon from using any sound-based moves for two turns. Moves like Boomburst, Overdrive, Metal Sound and Snore will not be useable, along with several others.

6 Sucker Punch

Pokémon Sword Shield Gossifleur Sucker Punch

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Sucker Punch

70; high priority.

100

5

Typically, priority moves (Mach Punch, Ice Shard, Aqua Jet, and so on) have a low base power of 40. This is to balance their ability to bypass opposing critters’ higher Speed. Sucker Punch also has +1 priority, but it actually has twice the power of your average priority move at base 80.

In exchange, there’s a downside to this underhanded Dark attack: if the target hasn’t selected a direct attacking move of their own that turn, Sucker Punch will fail. While it can be tricky to use (canny foes will take advantage of it and use a boosting move if you aren’t careful), Sucker Punch does an excellent job of ‘pinning’ weakened opponents.

5 Hyperspace Fury

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Hyperspace Fury

100; lowers user's Defense one stage.

100

5

A signature move of Hoopa Unbound, and the sort of name that feels more at home in Babylon 5 than Hoenn, Hyperspace Fury's base 100 power with strong accuracy is just lovely.

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Better still, Hyperspace fury will hit through Protect, Detect, and other variations of these moves. There are very ways to shatter such walls, making it excellent against stallers like Snorlax. Unfortunately, it does lower the user's defense by a stage.

4 Dark Pulse

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Dark Pulse

80; 20 percent chance of flinching the target.

100

15

A classic and popular move, Dark Pulse is straightforwardly deadly. 80 base power is decent, but 15 PP ensures its place in regular campaign usage. Like many Dark-type moves, though, it comes with a high flinch chance bonus.

It's also a special move, meaning it won't make contact with other Pokemon who might have nasty traps waiting, like certain abilities that hurt your Pokemon on physical contact. Keep your distance; they'll always flinch first.

3 Crunch

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Crunch

80; 20 percent chance of lowering target's Defense one stage.

100

15

Crunch is somewhat of a physical counterpart to Dark Pulse. It also has 80 power, 100 percent accuracy, and a bonus effect. This one doesn't increase flinch chance, though. Rather, it lowers the target's Special Defense stat by a stage in Generations 2 and 3. From the original Sinnoh games onward, it now has a chance of lowering defense instead.

This move and Dark Pulse could probably make a nice tie, but Crunch takes the edge for two reasons. First, Dark-type Pokemon have higher Attack than Special Attack on average. Second, lowering Defense lasts longer and further destabilizes the opponent.

2 Fiery Wrath

Pokémon Sword Shield Crown Tundra Galarian Moltres

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Fiery Wrath

90

100

10

Fiery Wrath was a brilliant addition to Sword & Shield that arrived with the Crown Tundra expansion. It’s the signature move of Galarian Moltres, now reimagined as a Dark/Flying Pokemon.

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This special move has it all: 90 base power, perfect accuracy, and a chance to flinch the target. In that sense, it’s a direct upgrade to Dark Pulse. Few common Pokemon in the metagame can presently resist it, letting you cry havoc and unleash this bird of war.

1 Wicked Blow/G-Max One Blow

Pokémon Sword Shield Gigantamax Urshifu Single Strike G-Max One Blow

Name

Damage or Effect

Accuracy

PP

Wicked Blow

80

100

5

Urshifu, as fans will know, has a bit of a trick up its sleeve. Not only does it have two separate forms (the Dark/Fighting Single Strike Style and the Water/Fighting Rapid Strike Style), but both boast Unseen Fist, a fantastic Pokemon Ability that allows Urshifu to land its attacks even against Protect and Detect.

Single Strike Style Urshifu has the signature move Wicked Blow, which has a solid but rather average base power of 80. It has the advantage of always landing a critical hit, though, meaning attack drops or opposing defense boosts are rendered moot. The enormous Gigantamax Urshifu, meanwhile, gains access to G-Max One Blow, which has 130 base power if based on Wicked Blow and can even strike through Max Guard. Quite possibly the most powerful Dark-type move in series history.

NEXT: Pokemon: The 5 Tallest (& 5 Shortest) Dark-Types, Ranked