Summary
Legendary Pokemon have their own set of characteristics that differentiate them from regular Pokemon: they are usually stronger, have some relation to the lore of the world and most of them have their own unique move that no other creature can learn, which are known assignature moves.
After 9 generations, Game Freak has created over 70 different Legendaries, and almost every single one has their own signature move that gives them a major advantage in battle. But what is the best in the entire franchise? Keep in mind that this list is exclusively about Legendary Pokemon and will not take Mythicals into account.
10Psystrike
Mewtwo’s Signature Move
Giving Legendary Pokemon signature moves is a more recent tradition in thePokemonfranchise, and thus, many classic Legendaries don’t have a unique move of their own.Mewtwo was a perfect example of this, until Generation Five, when Game Freak gave it the signature move it always deserved, calledPsystrike.
This is basically a stronger version of Psyshock, which was introduced in the same game since it inflicts a lot of damage, but it uses the target’s defense in order to calculate the total amount. Psystrike is an impressive attack that plays to Mewtwo’s strengths, and it has a small unexpected twist that can take any opponent by surprise.
9Sacred Fire
Ho-oh’s Signature Move
In Generation Four, the fighting mechanics of thePokemonfranchise were completely altered, since now the category of a move doesn’t depend on its type anymore.Ho-oh greatly benefited from this change, as this Legendary Pokemon always had a higher physical Attack stat, and now it could finally useSacred Fireto its full potential.
This is just a very solid Fire-type move with great power and accuracy, but the thing that makes it truly special is its 50% chance of burning an opponent. This status condition always reduces the enemy’s Attack stat by half, so Ho-oh will always gain an advantage from using its signature move multiple times. Weirdly enough, Entei can also learn Scared Fire from Generation Seven onwards.
8Bolt Strike / Blue Flare
Zekrom And Reshiram’s Signature Moves
It is common for pairs of Box Art Legendary Pokemon to have signature moves that are variations of each other.Zekrom and Reshiram fromPokemon Black And Whiteare no exception, seeing as they can learn two of the strongest and most impressive moves in the game:Bolt StrikeandBlue Flare,respectively.
Zekrom is a Dragon and Electric Type with a higher physical Attack stat, while Reshiram is a Dragon and Fire Type with a higher Special Attack stat, so their respective signature moves are designed around these specifications. As a result, they are incredibly powerful and useful, although their accuracy of 85% is a minor drawback.
7Electro Drift
Miraidon’s Signature Move
The Box Art Legendaries ofPokemon Scarlet And Violet, Koraidon, and Miraidon, have a lot of small differences and which one is better depends mostly on the player’s preferences. However, there’s one aspect in which Miraidon is definitely superior to its prehistoric counterpart: its signature move.
Electro Driftdeals a lot of damage that is increased if it’s super effective against its target, but it has one major advantage over Collision Course: it benefits from its user’s signature ability, Hadron Engine, which creates an Electric Terrain that boosts its power even further. Whereas Collision Course is not affected by the sunlight that is summoned by Koraidon’s Orichalcum Pulse.
6Oblivion Wing
Yveltal’s Signature Move
Despite its intimidating name, Yveltal’sOblivion Wingisactually quite a deceitful move. At first glance, it may seem odd that it’s a Flying Type move instead of a Dark Type move, but it also has a base power of 80, which is somewhat disappointing when compared to other signature moves of Legendary Pokemon.
However,like the mischievous Pokemon it is, Yveltal has an ace up its sleeve: Oblivion Wing restores its HP every time it uses it on an opponent, and it’s even the most powerful HP-draining move in the entire franchise. Not to mention that its typing is also quite beneficial, since Yveltal’s main rival, Xerneas, can resist Dark Type attacks, but receives neutral damage from Flying Type ones.
5Sunsteel Strike / Moongeist Beam
Solgaleo And Lunala’s Signature Moves
In recent years, Game Freak began giving Legendary Pokemon stronger signature moves to encourage players to actually use them in battle. As a result, the Box Art mascots forPokemon Sun and Moon, Solgaleo, and Lunala, can learnSunsteel StrikeandMoongeist Beam, which are two of the most interesting and practical attacks in the Generation Seven games.
While a base power of 100 is undoubtedly quite good, it’s not as powerful as the signature moves of other Legendaries. However, these two attacks more than make up for their lack of power with their secondary effect, since they can also completely ignore their target’s ability. Because of this,Solgaleo, Lunala, and Necrozma are already quite useful in regular playthroughs, but they really stand out in the competitivePokemonscene.
4Aeroblast / Spacial Rend
Lugia And Palkia’s Signature Moves
It’s very uncommon for two Legendary Pokemon from two completely different generations to have similar signature moves that are variations of each other. But, oddly enough, this is exactlywhat happened to Lugia from Johto and Palkia from Sinnoh, who can learnAeroblastandSpacial Rendrespectively.
Both of these moves are not only very strong, but they also have an increased critical hit ratio that makes them even deadlier. It would be expected for both of them to have at least one drawback in order to create some balance, but, aside from having an accuracy of 95% (which barely makes a difference), Aeroblast and Spacial Rend are just solid signature moves that Lugia and Palkia should always have at their disposal.
3Glacial Lance / Astral Barrage
Calyrex’s Signature Moves
Ever since it was introduced inThe Crown TundraDLC pack, Calyrex has made a huge impact on the competitivePokemonscene. Its regular form may not seem all that impressive, but its Ice Rider and Shadow Rider forms give it an incredible boost in stats and useful secondary types. But the biggest advantages of these two forms are their respective signature moves.
Ice Rider Calyrex can useGlacial Lance, while Shadow Rider Calyrex can useAstral Barrage.Aside from their category and typing, these two moves are almost identical. They are not only efficient because of their immense base power, but also because they can deal damage to all the targets on the opposite side of the field, which is extremely important in most competitive formats, in which Double Battles are preferred.
2Geomancy
Xerneas’ Signature Move
Xerneas is the only Box Art Legendary Pokemon who learns a signature move that doesn’t deal any damage. But this is far from disappointing, becauseGeomancyactually ended up being one of the most influential moves in the entire franchise, and it helped Xerneas become a major threat among competitive players.
Geomancy raises its user’s Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by two stages, which transforms the Life Pokemon into a dangerous special sweeper. Of course, it normally takes two whole turns to execute this move, which may seem like a disadvantage at first. But skilled trainers like to give Xerneas a Power Herb, an item that negates this effect. Geomancy’s popularity is a sign that Game Freak should make more status moves for future Legendary Pokemon.
1Dragon Ascent
Rayquaza’s Signature Move
Just like Groudon and Kyogre, Rayquaza didn’t have a signature move back in Generation Three but was eventually given one inOmega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, where it can now learnDragon Ascent, the best signature move that a Legendary Pokemon can ask for. This attack is incredibly strong and, while it lowers both of its user’s defensive stats after it’s used, Rayquaza is so fast and powerful that this drawback doesn’t really make a difference.
But the best aspect about Dragon Ascent is that it allows Rayquaza to Mega Evolve, instead of having to hold a Mega Stone.For years, Mega Rayquaza was infamous for being the most overpowered Pokemon in the franchise, and it made good use of Dragon Ascent. But even if Mega Evolution is not available in newerPokemongames, the regular form of the Sky High Pokemon still terrorizes players, mostly due to its effective signature move.
