In the Pokémon world, Flying-types are often under-appreciated. When it comes to the question of favorites, they tend to be overshadowed in favor of more popular, traditional elemental types, like Water and the suprisingly memeworthy Fire.
Flying struggles in that sense, because it doesn’t really offer anything to the defensive synergy of a team. Flying-type tanks and walls succeed despite being Flying, not as a result of it (though they can switch in and laugh off Earthquakes). On the other hand, the Flying-type does offer some nice offensive utility. As a result, the best moves of this type are mostly straightforward powerful attacks, with some handy status options to pick from too. Let’s take a look!
Update by Chris Littlechild, December 16th 2020: With the release of Pokémon Sword & Shield’s Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLC, Generation VIII has proven to be full of surprises. Between the Max Mushrooms of the former, the Dynamax Adventures of the latter, and everything else in between, there are more new items, modes of play, and (of course) moves than ever before.
The now-seemingly-complete package that is Sword & Shield added a couple of pivotal new Flying-type moves to the mix, and there were a few more that just didn’t fit into this rundown the first time around. As a result, here’s an updated take on the best Flying moves in the history of the series!
15 Feather Dance
This move’s an easy one to overlook. It might seem like one of those feeble early-game status moves like Tail Whip or Growl. Its effect? It reduces the target’s Attack by two stages.
Generally, yes, most Flying-types will have something much more potent up their feathery sleeves than this. However, it’s surprising how quickly tricky picks like Eviolite Murkrow (which has priority on this move thanks to the Prankster ability) can ruin your entire week with this one. It’s niche, but it’s very, very troublesome when played correctly.
14 Sky Drop
Official Pokémon tournaments tend to revolve around doubles matches. In this format, strategies and moves that wouldn’t really be seen in single battles can really come alive. Sky Drop, with a meager base power of 60, isn’t going to dazzle anybody with its damage output alone. What it does do, however, is really mess with your opponent in the right situation. It’s a neat trick for those curious and mysterious Flying-types to have in their arsenal.
This physical attack sees the user pick up the target and carry them into the air on the turn it’s used. Both Pokémon remain up there, unable to be targeted, until the second turn, on which the user slams the other Pokémon to the ground and the move actually hits. In doubles there are a lot of handy implications of this, in terms of both protecting the attacker and removing a key target from the equation for a turn. Still, the move is at its best in certain situations only and some foes are too heavy to be targeted by Sky Drop at all.
13 Aeroblast
Super powerful moves usually have drawbacks. The Normal-type attack Skull Bash, for instance, takes two turns to execute before the opposing critter feels its 130 base power wrath. Aeroblast, by contrast, seems to have (almost) everything.
This special Flying move has 100 power and almost perfect accuracy (95%). It even has the added boon of an increased critical hit chance. What’s holding it back? It has a low maximum PP of 8, for one thing, and it’s also exclusive to Lugia. Being the signature move of an Uber tier Pokémon means that it’s never really usable at all in standard battles.
12 Dual Wingbeat
Of course, some held items in the games are more commonly used and more valuable than others (don’t spend your hard-earned BP on the wrong ones). One very popular pick in competitive battles is the Focus Sash, which allows a Pokémon to withstand any single hit with 1HP remaining, providing their HP was full when said hit landed.
Veteran Generation VIII battlers will understand that, generally, this means frail support Pokémon like Whimsicott can use this to buy a turn for more of their Prankster (priority Status move) shenanigans. Dual Wingbeat is a Flying-type move that was added with the Isle of Armor, exclusive to the new Move Tutor at the Master Dojo. It’s a physical move with a seemingly low base power of 40, but it hits twice, circumventing pesky Focus Sashes and the like nicely. It can be incredibly useful, but it’s a bit niche compared to pure raw power Flying moves seen elsewhere on this list (though to a lesser extent than Sky Drop or Aeroblast).
11 Floaty Fall
In Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee, the central concept was that the two starter Pokémon could not be evolved (although others of their species could). The dilemma, then, was how to keep these unevolved Pokémon relevant in the late game.
Game Freak’s solution was to give partner Pikachu and partner Eevee buffed stats and a range of very strong, goofily named signature moves from across the typing chart. The Flying-type move, Floaty Fall, is exclusive to partner Pikachu. It’s a physical move with 90 power, 95% accuracy, 15 default PP and a high chance to flinch the foe. Like Aeroblast, this move has almost everything going for it (the adorable fan favorite Pikachu gets everything as always), but is held back by the fact that access to it is just so limited. In this case, the move doesn’t exist in the core games at all!
10 Acrobatics
Acrobatics is another niche pick that definitely shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s a physical move with 60 base power, which is totally lacking. The good news is that its power is doubled if the user isn’t holding an item.
The snag there, of course, is that absolutely every Pokémon ever holds an item in battle. To get the best out of this move, creative strategies are the only way to do so, generally involving a one-use item and Hawlucha’s Unburden ability.
9 Defog
Here’s a move that’s skyrocketed in use in recent years, thanks to a handy buff it was given at the start of Generation VI.
It seems like nothing special at all at first, simply lowering the opponent’s evasion by one stage. Not worth using? Well, how about the fact that it also removes the effects of Light Screen, Reflect and all entry hazards (among other things) from both sides of the field with a single use? Some kind of hazard removal is essential in most competitive play (doubles aside), and there aren’t many singles teams that don’t pack this move (or Rapid Spin).
8 Air Slash
As a rule, powerful Flying-type moves tend to be physical. Air Slash is a rare exception, and… well, it’s not powerful, per se. What it does happen to be, however, is super, super annoying.
It might only boast 75 base power, but it comes with a high chance to flinch the opponent. It’s often used by Togekiss, which means a 60% chance to flinch thanks to its ability Serene Grace. There’s no such thing as honor on the Pokémon battlefield, so players are free to go ahead and take their opponent to Flinch Town if they feel so inclined.
7 Oblivion Wing
Here’s another of those rare Flying moves that isn’t physical. This one, as the dramatic-sounding name suggests, comes with a theatrical animation attached and is exclusive to Yveltal, the legendary powerhouse of the excellent Pokémon Y.
Its 80 base power and perfect accuracy would be more than enough, but there’s much more to Oblivion Wing. The attack also heals Yveltal for a whopping 75% of the damage it deals! Other HP-siphoning moves can’t really touch this. Once again, though, it’s an issue of the move’s rarity.
6 Dragon Ascent
Oblivion Wing is a flashy, Legendary-exclusive move, and Dragon Ascent follows that theme. This formidable Flying-type move was added with Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Only Rayquaza had access to it, and it was the key to transforming the beast into Mega Rayquaza (it simply needed to know the move to change, not requiring a Mega Stone).
It functions just like a Flying-type Close Combat: 120 base power, perfect accuracy, the user’s Defense and Special Defense drops after it hits. If this attack were more accessible, it would be a sight to behold. Sadly, it seems to have disappeared entirely, along with Mega Evolutions themselves.
5 Roost
Flying, as experienced team builders can attest, doesn’t do a lot for a team’s defensive synergy by itself. Being weak to three very common types (the much-maligned Ice, plus Rock and Electric) really doesn’t help there.
What’s more useful than reliable healing? Reliable healing that actually removes those Flying-type weaknesses for the remainder of the turn. Tanky Pokémon aren’t often faster than their opponents, but that secondary effect is always nice to have if you do get a chance to make use of it. Roost has also been a TM (though sadly it isn’t in Generation VIII), accessible by a surprising amount of Pokémon.
4 Hurricane
Hurricane is another incredibly strong Flying-type special attack. It’s that familiar Pokémon trade-off: battlers must decide whether they want a weaker-yet-reliable move, or one that can usually be counted on to miss at the most crucial moment (just ask any player).
Those who insist on using the 110 base power, 70% accurate Hurricane would do well to bear in mind that it will never miss while rain is in effect. It’s just like Thunder in that respect, only much gustier.
3 Tailwind
Another fantastic Flying-type status move, Tailwind plays into the type’s tendency to hit hard and fast very well. It’s a simple move, setting up high winds that double the Speed of the user’s team for four turns.
As any competitive player will tell you, speed control is a huge deal in Pokémon. Slowing opponents with the Paralyze status and pulling Trick Room shenanigans are great ways of accomplishing this, but battlers can also go in the opposite direction and buff their own team. Tailwind is super easy to pull off and fits incredibly well into all sorts of teams.
2 Brave Bird
Brave Bird is just as powerful and accurate as Dragon Ascent, but it also comes with a drawback: in this case, the user takes heavy recoil damage.
Those who were were playing competitively around the release of Pokémon X and Y will remember just how formidable this move is. Around that time, Talonflame was a veritable Brave Bird machine. This was all due to the deceptively deadly critter’s Hidden Ability, Gale Wings, which gives priority to all of its Flying moves. Base 120 is far too strong to be a priority move, of course, but justice was served and Gale Wings was nerfed (it now only kicks in when the user’s HP is full).
1 Max Airstream
Perhaps the most useful Flying-type move of all didn’t exist prior to Pokémon Sword & Shield. The contentious Dynamax/Gigantamax mechanic brought players a Max Move for each type, and nary a competitive match goes by without a Max Airstream or two being thrown around.
As with all Max Moves, the power of this attack varies with the Flying move it’s based on, and it has a secondary effect. In this case, a +1 speed boost to the user (and its ally on the field in doubles). Speed is a crucial stat to grasp and manage throughout a match, and Max Airstream is a quick, convenient way to do so and deal major damage in the process. Many Pokémon now run seemingly impractical moves like Bounce and Fly simply for access to it.
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