Key Takeaways
- Legendary Pokemon often have signature moves, giving them advantages in battles.
- Some Box Art Legendary Pokemon, like Zekrom and Reshiram, have paired signature moves.
- Yveltal’s signature move, Oblivion Wing, is unique because it restores HP with its draining effect.
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 as signature moves.
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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.
10 Psystrike
Mewtwo’s Signature Move
- Base Power: 100
- Type: Psychic
- Category: Special
Giving Legendary Pokemon signature moves is a more recent tradition in the Pokemon franchise, 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, called Psystrike.
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.
9 Sacred Fire
Ho-oh’s Signature Move
- Base Power: 100
- Type: Fire
- Category: Physical
In Generation Four, the fighting mechanics of the Pokemon franchise 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 use Sacred Fire to 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.
8 Bolt Strike / Blue Flare
Zekrom And Reshiram’s Signature Moves
- Base Power: 130
- Type: Electric / Fire
- Category: Physical / Special
It is common for pairs of Box Art Legendary Pokemon to have signature moves that are variations of each other. Zekrom and Reshiram from Pokemon Black And White are no exception, seeing as they can learn two of the strongest and most impressive moves in the game: Bolt Strike and Blue 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.
7 Electro Drift
Miraidon’s Signature Move
- Base Power: 100
- Type: Electric
- Category: Special
The Box Art Legendaries of Pokemon 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.
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Electro Drift deals 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.
6 Oblivion Wing
Yveltal’s Signature Move
- Base Power: 80
- Type: Flying
- Category: Physical
Despite its intimidating name, Yveltal’s Oblivion Wing is actually 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.
5 Sunsteel Strike / Moongeist Beam
Solgaleo And Lunala’s Signature Moves
- Base Power: 100
- Type: Steel / Ghost
- Category: Physical / Special
In recent years, Game Freak began giving Legendary Pokemon stronger signature moves in order to encourage players to actually use them in battle. As a result, the Box Art mascots for Pokemon Sun and Moon, Solgaleo, and Lunala, can learn Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist 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 competitive Pokemon scene.
4 Aeroblast / Spacial Rend
Lugia And Palkia’s Signature Moves
- Base Power: 100
- Type: Flying / Dragon
- Category: Special
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 exactly what happened to Lugia from Johto and Palkia from Sinnoh, who can learn Aeroblast and Spacial Rend respectively.
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.
3 Glacial Lance / Astral Barrage
Calyrex’s Signature Moves
- Base Power: 120
- Type: Ice / Ghost
- Category: Special
Ever since it was introduced in The Crown Tundra DLC pack, Calyrex has made a huge impact on the competitive Pokemon scene. 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 use Glacial Lance, while Shadow Rider Calyrex can use Astral 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.
2 Geomancy
Xerneas’ Signature Move
- Base Power: –
- Type: Fairy
- Category: Status
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, because Geomancy actually 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.
1 Dragon Ascent
Rayquaza’s Signature Move
- Base Power: 120
- Type: Flying
- Category: Physical
Just like Groudon and Kyogre, Rayquaza didn’t have a signature move back in Generation Three but was eventually given one in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, where it can now learn Dragon 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 newer Pokemon games, the regular form of the Sky High Pokemon still terrorizes players, mostly due to its effective signature move.