Best moves in PokéSurvivor: what to pick and when

The best moves to take first

You never press attack, and only your active move fires, so your early cards have two jobs: killing things and keeping you alive. The builds page calls it "one killer, one bodyguard". This is the order we'd take them in:

1. A move that aims itself. Meteors and chains like Rock Slide, Thunderbolt or Hex keep hitting while you run.
2. Something that protects you up close, either an aura (Discharge, Bulldoze) or an orbit (Fire Spin, Petal Blizzard).
3. The stat card your main move needs to evolve. Power is needed by 37 of the 97 evolutions, so an early Power card rarely goes to waste.

Since 19 October you can also buy the Starting move upgrade (400 coins, once per Pokémon) and choose which move each run opens with. It's under upgrades. Without it, starters open with their own starting move and other partners with a basic move of their first type. With it, you can pick any attack your partner can learn (buffs excluded), and the default move always stays on the list.

Best move for each type

Here's our pick for each of the 18 types, following the tier list. Category means physical or special.

Normal, Fighting, Psychic and Dragon don't have an A-tier attack yet. Your partner learns Normal moves plus its own types, so a partner of those types often does better leaning on its second type.

Move evolutions worth chasing

A move evolves once it reaches level 5 (four upgrade cards) and you've taken its stat card at least once that run. When both are true, a golden card shows up in your offers. These are the evolutions we'd plan a run around:

• Ember → Fire Blast (Power). Fire starters open with Ember, which makes this the quickest one to reach, and it brings +2 projectiles and +2 pierce.
• Rock Slide → Stealth Rock (Reflexes)
• Thunderbolt → Zap Cannon (Reflexes)
• Hex → Poltergeist (Magnet)
• Bulldoze → Earthquake (Power). Evolved auras deal ×1.8 damage with 35% more radius.
• Discharge → Electric Terrain (Armor)

All 97 evolutions and their cards are on move evolutions.

Physical or special? Matching moves to your Pokémon

Every Pokémon has a physical and a special multiplier. Physical moves run off Attack and special moves off Special Attack, and a move on the weaker side hits about one tier lower. So check which side your partner is stronger on before you pick moves. Buffs split the same way: Swords Dance raises only Attack, Nasty Plot only Special Attack. The full list is on physical vs special.

Moves added on 19 October: which are worth it

The 19 October update added 38 moves and eight new kinds of move, homing, bounce and vortex among them. Rock, Fighting, Dragon and Fairy partners got a real choice for the first time. Since that patch, pure single-type partners also deal 20% more damage with moves of their own type. The 19 Oct patch notes have the rest.

Our picks among them, all A tier on the tier list:

• Ominous Wind. Ghost, special vortex. Pulls enemies together and keeps damaging them, which sets up Hex. Evolves into Shadow Force with Magnet.
• Power Gem. Rock, special bounce. Rock Slide is physical, so this is the Rock pick for a partner stronger on Special Attack. Evolves into Meteor Beam with Power.
• Draining Kiss. Fairy, special homing. Chases enemies and heals you a little when it lands. Evolves into Moonlight with Synthesis.
• Sand Tomb. Ground, physical vortex. Traps enemies and drags them in. Evolves into High Horsepower with Vigor.
• Ice Shard. Ice, physical homing. Ice Beam is special, so this is the Ice pick for a physical partner. Evolves into Icicle Spear with Reflexes.

Moves to skip early

Hold off on melee moves, dashes and mines. Melee keeps you standing next to the horde, while dashes and mines only work if you're in the right spot. Buffs like Swords Dance deal no damage and never evolve, so they only earn a slot once a bond fuses them with an attack.

TMs from the Kecleon Shop

A TM permanently teaches a move from outside your partner's types, which can rescue a partner stuck with a weak pool. You can check the daily stock on Kecleon Shop.

Related guides

• PokéSurvivor tier list
• Move evolutions
• Physical vs special
• Builds
• Kecleon Shop
• Best Pokémon