Despite only having a handful of moves to the type’s name, there are some seriously powerful fairy maneuvers. And this makes me wonder if Game Freak is trying to compensate for the type’s lack of development, given that it came out literal decades after the original roster. But either way, I wanted to highlight just how strong some of these moves are. So I’ve put together this list of the absolute best fairy moves in all of Pokémon.
15. Light of Ruin
Light of Ruin technically shouldn’t be on this list. It’s an unreleased move that was exclusive to Eternal Flower Floette back in Gen VI. Given that we haven’t seen it by now, I think it’s safe to say that it has been canceled. That being said, it still exists in the games data files, so I’m including it here. Had this move made it into circulation, Light of Ruin would have been a special move that had a power of 140 and an accuracy of 90. It would have also recoiled for 50% of the damage that’s done, which is a pretty big drawback. I honestly don’t know if taking a 50% hit would have been worth the 140 power that’s behind the move. But I guess we’ll (for now) never know.
14. Misty Terrain
I’ve never been a fan of the terrain moves. But there’s no denying that they can be seriously powerful if used right. This archetype of move tends to have a bunch of different benefits, depending on what kind of terrain you’re dealing with. In the case of Misty Terrain, you get to halve the damage done by dragon type attacks, and prevent status conditions from being inflicted on any of your grounded Pokémon. Given that you can get Misty Terrain active by using a fairy type Dynamax move, there’s no real reason to use this move itself. However, its effect is still one that’s actively pursued in battle.
13. Misty Explosion
Misty Explosion is a funny move. Although maybe I just have some issues I need to get sorted out… I say that because your Pokémon kamikazes itself to deal a 100 power special attack to the rest of the Pokémon on the field. The damage that it does is also boosted if Misty Terrain is active on the field. I’ll be honest, I have no idea why you would ever use this move compared to some of the options out there – but it’s still a funny mental image, nonetheless. And certainly worth a mention.
12. Strange Steam
Strange Steam is a signature move belonging to Galarian Weezing. When you think about the context there, things start getting a bit weird. Obviously, it’s an attack involving whatever pollution the Pokémon is pumping out of its head… but what’s in it that makes it so strange? Either way, the move is simple: It has a 20% chance to cause confusion, which is probably where the move’s namesake comes from. And it’s a 90 power/95 accuracy special attack. Strange Steam is a powerful and reliable option that comes with a bonus effect, even if it’s exclusive to an otherwise under-used Pokémon. Well, I say that… but since Regigigas has come out, Galarian Weezing has become one of the most powerful and widely-used Pokémon in existence. That’s just a 15 minutes of fame type deal, though.
11. Spirit Break
Spirit Break belongs to the ugliest Pokémon ever designed, making it the ugliest move ever designed. I’m talking about Grimmsnarl, of course. That monstrosity isn’t even “funny bad” or “depressing bad”. It’s just bad. I don’t know who at Game Freak thought it was a good-looking Pokémon, but they need to be shipped off to Konami to develop Yu-Gi-Oh! cards or something. But this isn’t a list about ugly Pokémon, though. We’ve been there and done that. This is about fairy moves, and Spirit Break is a good one. It’s a physical move with 75 power and 100 accuracy, which isn’t all that great on its own. However, it also guarantees your opponent loses one stage of special attack, which turns it from being mediocre to a move you can justifiably use. If only you could say the same for the Pokémon that learns it.
10. Fleur Cannon
Unlike Light of Ruin, this is a legendary signature move that’s actually available in-game. It belongs to Magearna, which is one of the new mythical Pokémon that Game Freak, for whatever misguided reason, decided to release as an event Pokémon. Given that I’m from Ireland, I struggle to get access to these event Pokémon, so this one is no different. That means I also don’t get access to Fleur Cannon. It’s a special move with 130 power and 90 accuracy, making it one of the stronger fairy type moves in the series. It does lower the user’s special attack by two stages, though. Which is a drawback that can’t really be overlooked.
9. Floral Healing
What is it with non-legendary fairies having their own signature moves? This one belongs to Comfey, and is remarkably powerful considering the Pokémon that wields it. All the move does is heal up to half of the target’s HP. It’s simple. But an on-demand heal like that doesn’t need anything fancy to make it effective.
8. Play Rough
Worrying name aside, Play Rough is one of the most common fairy type moves you see used universally. Almost every singly fairy can learn it, which adds an extra bit of credence to its spot on this list, rather than simply being an extraordinarily strong move. It’s a physical attack with both 90 power and accuracy, as well as a 10% chance to lower the target’s attack. This move falls into the 90 power competitive meta that so many other moves do, which is why you sometimes see it at the top level of competitive play.
7. Nature’s Madness
Nature’s Madness is a signature of the Tapus, and it’s just as well because it’s ridiculous – especially in doubles. The move is remarkably simple. It just halves your opponent’s HP. You can’t KO anything with it. But it’s going to eat through any walls your opponent tries to throw at you, especially in doubles where you can complement it with another attacker.
6. Decorate
I didn’t even know this move existed until making this list. That’s probably because only Alcremie can learn it. That being said, it’s a move that is both powerful and hilarious in equal measure. Decorate sharply raises the target’s attack and special attack. How does it do that, you ask? According to the game, Alcremie decorates the Pokémon. I don’t know what that entails. But I can only imagine a Garchomp being covered in Icing and cake decorations before mauling a Happiny.
5. Charm
Charm has been around since the GSC days, making it one of the oldest moves to get the fairy makeover treatment. It’s a simple move that is, more or less, the opposite of Decorate. Rather than raising the stats of the target, it lowers its attack by two stages. According to the flavor text for the move, the Pokémon stares at the opponent rather charmingly to make it less weary. That’s pretty suggestive… but all’s fair in love and war, I guess.
4. Sparkly Swirl
I’m not going into too much detail here because I’m sick of seeing so many moves from the Let’s Go games fit perfectly into my “best moves” lists. So let’s see, Sparkly Swirl. It’s a fairy move. Eevee learns it. It’s special and has 90 power with 100 accuracy. It deals damage and heals all the status conditions of your party Pokémon. Really helpful, obviously. Think of it like aromatherapy on steroids, and that’s all you need to know.
3. Dazzling Gleam
I don’t think there’s a fairy move in competitive that’s used more than Dazzling Gleam. That’s almost entirely because the competitive format is doubles, and this move hits all of your opponents. Aside from that, it’s a special move with 80 power and 100 accuracy. You essentially trade-off 10 power for the ability to hit both of your opponent’s Pokémon, which is more than worth it for 99% of trainers.
2. Moonblast
Moonblast goes the other way and has a power of 95 and accuracy of 100, which is higher than most other special type attacking moves you see in the meta. It also has a 30% chance of lowering your target’s special attack by one stage. Deciding between this move and Dazzling Gleam was a challenge. So you could justifiably have either of them in the second and third slot for this ranking. It’s just the chance of the Sp. Atk debuff that pushed this one over the edge for me.
1. Moonlight
Moonlight, much like Charm, has been around since the GSC days – and is actually a favorite of mine. The effect is remarkably simple: It’s just an HP regen move. However, the HP you get is influenced by the weather. And it’s often a considerable amount compared to a lot of other healing moves in the games. If you don’t think it deserves number one, I get that. But I think powerful heal-on-demand moves are massively undervalued in the Pokémon VGC. So hopefully this list ages like fine wine and they become the standard in the future.
