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This page is in need of spading. See its section on the spading page for more information, and how you can help. Any messages that have priority over moves - basically, anything that was overlooked; verify Quick Claw's and Custap Berry messages' priority in Generation IV

Priority (Japanese: 先制 preemption) is a characteristic of moves, such that any move with a higher priority than another will always be performed first. When two moves have the same priority, the users' Speed statistics will determine which one is performed first in a battle.

Mechanics

Starting in Generation III, each move has a hidden priority value in the game data, with values ranging from +5 to -7. The vast majority of moves have the standard priority value of 0. A move with a positive priority is a priority move (Japanese: 先制攻撃 preemptive attack). Moves with a positive priority may also be referred to as having an increased priority^[1] and moves with a negative priority a decreased priority. In the fandom, moves that have the same priority are said to be in the same priority bracket.

Some Abilities increase the priority of certain moves. Some moves and Abilities can prevent priority moves from being used; Dark-type Pokémon are also immune to Prankster-promoted priority moves.

Move priority is not affected by Trick Room, which only reverses the Speed-resolved order of moves within a priority bracket; moves with higher priority are still performed before ones with lower priority. Some held items and Abilities also affect a move's resolution within its priority bracket (ignoring Trick Room), but not the priority itself.

Special priority

Certain events will always occur before any moves (besides Pursuit) can be performed. The messages for the activation of Quick Claw, Custap Berry, and O-Powers are always shown before anything else. Switching out, rotating, using items, escaping, and the charging messages for Focus Punch, Beak Blast, and Shell Trap are displayed or performed next. In Generation I only, NPC Trainers do not have priority when using items or switching, while in battles against other players, switching can be performed even if the other player hasn't made their move yet. In Generation II, a wild Pokémon fleeing does not have its own priority and will instead use the priority of the move the Pokémon would have used had it chosen not to flee. In Generations II and III, players always switch before NPCs do. In Generation III, if two players switch in the same turn, then 'player 1' will always switch before 'player 2' does. Mega Evolution and Dynamaxing generally occur at the beginning of a turn but after any switching has occurred; however, if a Pokémon is Mega Evolving or rotating in and then using Pursuit on a Pokémon that is switching out, the Mega Evolution or rotation always happens before the Pokémon uses Pursuit (and therefore before the other Pokémon's switch).

Pursuit is a special exception to the general rules of priority, due to its effect. Switching fundamentally happens before any moves can be performed, but when Pursuit is targeting a Pokémon that switches out, it will hit the Pokémon before it can switch, meaning that it will go before any other move, no matter its priority. If multiple Pursuits are targeting the same Pokémon and the Pokémon switches out, if the Pokémon faints before all of the Pursuits have executed, the remaining Pursuits will execute at their normal priority.

Additionally, a few moves and Abilities can cause a Pokémon to act outside of its normal priority.

Abilities that increase priority

These Abilities increase the priority of certain moves used by a Pokémon that has one of these Abilities.

Effects that block priority moves

These effects prevent the use of priority moves.

Effects that can break priority

These effects can make a Pokémon act at a different priority than it normally would.

Effects that dictate precedence within a priority bracket

These effects can force a move to go first or last within a priority bracket regardless of its user's Speed (unless multiple Pokémon are forced into the same "spot") or Trick Room.

Effects that depend on move order

These are effects that have conditions based on going before or after others.

Move priority

Generation IX

*: Grassy Glide has increased priority only if used in Grassy Terrain.

Generation VIII

*: Grassy Glide has increased priority only if used in Grassy Terrain.

Generation VII

Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon

Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!

Generation VI

Generation V

Generation IV

Generation III

Generation II

Generation I

In the anime

Glameow using Fake Out before Piplup is able to attack

In the anime, priority is rarely mentioned though priority moves such as Quick Attack are frequently used.

The concept of priority moves was first mentioned out loud in A Grand Fight for Winning!, where Brock commented on the subject while watching the Contest Battle between Dawn and Zoey in the final round of the Sinnoh Grand Festival, during which Zoey's Glameow used Fake Out and caused Dawn's Piplup to flinch, making him unable to use Hydro Pump.

In All Eyes on the Future!, Professor Sycamore explained how Olympia's male Meowstic's Prankster Ability allows his support moves like Light Screen to always go first.

Priority was demonstrated a couple of times during the Masters Eight Tournament. In Pride of a Champion!, Diantha's Gourgeist outsped Lance's Gyarados's Dragon Pulse with Shadow Sneak; in Battling as Hard as Stone!, Ash's Pikachu's Quick Attack went ahead of Steven's Cradily's Rock Blast; and in Bewitch, Battle, and Bewilder!, Cynthia used her Spiritomb's Sucker Punch to land hits on Ash's Pokémon before they could attack.

Trivia

• Since Focus Punch has a higher priority than Avalanche, Revenge, Dragon Tail, Circle Throw, and Counter, they are unable to break the focus of a Pokémon using Focus Punch. They and Focus Punch are therefore the only six attacks that can strike a Pokémon in the same turn as it successfully uses Focus Punch, without the use of Quash or After You.
• Hitmontop can learn more moves with non-zero priority than any other Pokémon, with 14 increased priority moves and 2 decreased priority moves.
• Since charging Focus Punch had a higher priority than switching in Generation III, in a Double Battle, if the player selected Focus Punch then cancelled the selection, then switched that Pokémon out, it would still begin charging Focus Punch before switching. Its high priority also gave it the odd effect of occurring before the opponent used their items or Pokémon were switched out.
• All moves that have ever had -7 priority have the word "Room" in their names.
• No move has ever been assigned -2 priority despite higher priorities having been assigned.
• In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, due to the inability to apply the concept of priority because the Speed stat did not exist prior to Super Mystery Dungeon and does not determine the attacking order, damaging moves with increased priority in the core series games become moves that have a range of 2 tiles.

In other languages

Priority move

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 先制招式 Sīnjai Zhāoshì Mandarin 先制招式 Xiānzhì Jīusīk Finnish Prioriteettiliike French Attaque prioritaire German Erstschlag-Attacke Italian Mosse che colpire per primi Korean 선제기술 Seonje Gisul Spanish Movimiento con prioridad

References

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.