Multi-strike move: Difference between revisions

Fury Swipes, a multi-strike move

Multi-strike moves are moves that strike an opponent more than one time in the same turn. Most multi-strike moves will hit the opponent 2-5 times in a turn, but some work differently. Multi-strike moves generally have low base power and imperfect accuracy to compensate for the fact that they hit multiple times. Bide and Counter only take the final hit of a multi-strike move into consideration.

Effect

Generation I

Multi-strike moves stop instantly upon breaking an enemy substitute. If an opponent is knocked out by a multi-strike move, the game does not state how many times the attack hit. Only the first hit of a multi-strike move could be a critical hit, but in such an event, all subsequent hits would also do double damage.

Generation II

The game now states how many times a multi-strike move hit if it knocked out an enemy. If a Pokémon's Focus Band activates against a hit of a multi-strike move, all subsequent hits will not knock it out. The King's Rock will take each hit into consideration when determining whether or not the opponent will flinch. Each individual hit of a multi-strike move has its own chance of being a critical hit, and if the first hit is a critical hit, it no longer makes subsequent hits deal that much damage.

Generation III

If the target of a multi-strike move has an Ability that activates upon contact, each hit counts individually, enabling the Ability to activate multiple times. If such an Ability causes the Pokémon to fall asleep or freeze, the attack will immediately end without being fully executed. The number of hits is shown before the target faints.

Generation IV

If a multi-strike move breaks a substitute (and didn't use the last hit to break it), the move continues, striking the Pokémon that was behind the substitute. A Focus Sash activated by a multi-strike move will protect the holder from the rest of the attack. Pokémon with the Skill Link Ability are guaranteed that any 2-5 hit multi-strike move they use will hit the full five times. The Razor Fang will take each hit into consideration when determining whether or not the opponent will flinch.

Generation V

The Focus Sash and Focus Band no longer protect the holder against multiple hits of a multi-strike move (unless the Focus Band activates multiple times). The newly upgraded Sturdy only activates against one single hit of a multi-strike move (provided said hit would have knocked out the target and that said target was at full HP to begin with). The Abilities Weak Armor and Justified are activated by each hit of a multi-strike move, while Sap Sipper is activated only once. The item Rocky Helmet is activated by each hit. The newly upgraded Ability Stench will take each hit into consideration when determining whether or not the opponent will flinch, and does not stack with the Razor Fang or King's Rock. The number of hits is now shown after the target faints.

List of multi-strike moves

2-5 strikes per turn

Most multi-strike moves will hit an opponent two, three, four, or five times in one turn. These moves are more likely to hit two or three times, but will always hit five times when used by a Pokémon with Skill Link.

• Average power calculates the average total power from the move's power per hit and the average number of hits, ignoring the possibility of missing. Taking accuracy into account is as simple as multiplying average power by accuracy (modifiers to accuracy and evasion, including taking aim and No Guard, are not considered).

2 strikes per turn

Several multi-strike moves hit an opponent exactly twice in one turn. For the most part, these moves are found on fewer Pokémon, several of them being signature moves, and generally have higher power than other multi-strike moves, as they only hit twice.

3 strikes per turn

Triple Kick works differently than other multi-strike moves. It can hit an opponent up to three times per turn, but its base power of 10 will increase by 10 with each subsequent hit, so its first, second, and third hits have powers of 10, 20, and 30, respectively. Also unlike other multi-strike moves, each hit has its own accuracy check, and if one hit misses, the entire move ends.

• For Triple Kick, effective power is average power with all three accuracy checks taken into account (modifiers to accuracy and evasion, including taking aim and No Guard, are not considered).

Trivia

• Double Slap is the only multi-strike move with "double" in its name that can hit 2-5 times.
• Triple Kick is the only multi-strike move that powers up on each consecutive hit, and the only one in which subsequent hits can miss.
• From Generation IV onward, all multi-strike moves are physical moves.

This article is part of Project Moves and Abilities, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on two related aspects of the Pokémon games.