5 moves that are as good as cheating in Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go has its fair share of ultra-powerful moves, and some of them are so good they’re almost cheating. So, which are the five most over-powered moves in the mobile game?

Ok, cheating is an overstatement – after all they are legitimate moves. However, some are head and shoulders above others.

In the competitive format of GO Battle League you’ll come across these moves time and time again. The reason for this is obvious: they are super-effective (pun intended).

5. Charm

Charm is the second-hardest hitting Fast Move in all of Pokemon Go. It is only bettered by Razor Leaf which deals 5.5 damage per turn compared to 5.33.

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The Fairy-type move comes out on top though, because it is that – a Fairy-type move. The Grass-type Razor Leaf is weak against seven different types whereas Charm is super effective against three (and weak against three). The three it is strong against include key types in Dark and Dragon, which are frequently seen in PvP and high-tier Raid Battles.

If you start a battle with the likes of Darkrai, Giratina, or Palkia and your opponent has Charm, get it out of there quickly! It won’t last long at all.

4. Draco Meteor

When it comes to damage per energy Draco Meteor is only surpassed by Overheat (more on that below). The Dragon-type move is only one of six Charge Moves in Pokemon Go that deals 150 damage.

The others require energy of 75 or 80. When you compare this to the 65 Draco Meteor needs then it becomes obvious why it has made this list.

We’re looking at moves only here and not taking into account the Pokemon themselves. However, with dragon-types being a regular sighting in PvP due to their impressive stats, when you add Draco Meteor into the equation there are many trainers on the opposing side that will quickly get frustrated with it.

Trainers often ask which is better out of Draco Meteor and Outrage. Well the latter may require 5 less energy but deals 40 damage less at 110. Unlike Draco Meteor though, using the move doesn’t have any negative effect on your stats. Some would argue this is next to irrelevant though, as it is often difficult to get two or more Charge Moves off in a competitive scenario.

3. Counter

Counter is the only Fast Move with more than 3.5 DPT then generates more than 3 energy per turn (EPT). This alone should tell you how effective it is.

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Being a Fighting-type move, it is unsurprisingly found mostly among Fighting Pokemon. It was recently included as a Community Day Exclusive Move for Alakazam when Abra headlined.

As a Fighting-type Fast Move it is unrivalled, so if your Pokemon has it, do not change it. We can’t think of a single example of a Fighting-type Pokemon having it where you should change it, but then again with stats like that, why would you?

2. Overheat

Overheat has the best damage per energy of all moves in Pokemon Go. It requires only 55 energy yet it will cause a massive 130 damage. That’s a DPE of 2.36!

Interestingly there is one Fire-type move that does hit harder – Fire Blast. However, this requires 25 more energy at 80. So of the two, Overheat is certainly preferable.

It should be noted that it does significantly reduce your attack stat upon using it. This makes no difference if you’re using it when your Pokemon is close to fainting, though.

The 130 damage it offers is so large that you don’t even need to worry about type effectiveness. Even against Dragon, Fire, Rock and Water-types it will still hit for 93 damage.

1. Rock Wrecker

Rock Wrecker is only usable by one Pokemon – Rhyperior. It’s a good job too as the rock-type move does 110 damage for just 50 energy!

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Unsurprisingly it is by far the most powerful rock-type Charge Move. Fortunately it is only available as a Community Day Exclusive Move, but no doubt it will return somewhere at some point.

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Other moves worthy of an honorable mention are Flying Press, Frenzy Plant and Blast Burn.

These didn’t quite make the top 5 because Flying Press is only usable by Pikachu Libre, Frenzy Plant has a lot of types it’s weak against, and Blast Burn can be considered similar to Overheat. Some would argue Blast Burn is superior because it doesn’t lessen any stats, though.