Gold and Silver took the number of moves from 165 to 251. The 86 new additions profoundly changed battles: the Dark and Steel types make their debut, weather appears with Rain Dance, Sunny Day and Sandstorm, and moves like Protect, Baton Pass and Spikes gave birth to modern strategy.

What these moves changed

Dark and Steel

Two new types

Crunch, Feint Attack, Pursuit, Thief and Beat Up usher in the Dark type, which at last counters Psychic Pokémon. Iron Tail, Metal Claw and Steel Wing pave the way for the Steel type.

New

Weather

Rain Dance, Sunny Day and Sandstorm alter the battlefield for five turns and the power of certain types. Thunder no longer misses in the rain, and Solar Beam fires without delay in the sun.

New

Strategy

Protect and Detect, Baton Pass, Spikes, Rapid Spin, Mean Look, Perish Song or Safeguard: these non-damaging moves gave the game its strategic depth.

The 86 moves

MoveTypePowerAccuracyPPEffect
ProtectNormal——10Protects the user from all attacks this turn; less and less likely to work if used in succession.
AeroblastFlying10095%5High critical-hit ratio. Exclusive to Lugia.
Steel WingSteel7090%25May raise the user’s Defense (10%).
MagnitudeGroundVaries100%30Power is random, from 10 to 150.
AttractNormal—100%15Infatuates a Pokémon of the opposite gender: it only attacks half the time.
Morning SunNormal——5Restores HP, more in the morning and in sunshine.
Pain SplitNormal—100%20Adds up both Pokémon’s HP and shares it equally between them.
Shadow BallGhost80100%15May lower the target’s Special Defense (20%).
Beat UpDark10100%10Every healthy Pokémon in your party lands a hit.
Sleep TalkNormal——10Usable while asleep: randomly uses another of the Pokémon’s moves.
Sludge BombPoison90100%10May poison (30%).
Psych UpNormal——10Copies the target’s stat changes.
PresentNormalVaries90%15Deals 40, 80 or 120 power… or heals the target.
NightmareGhost—100%15A sleeping target loses a quarter of its HP every turn.
Bone RushGround2580%10Hits 2 to 5 times.
CharmNormal—100%20Sharply lowers the target’s Attack.
ForesightNormal—100%40Negates the target’s evasiveness and lets Normal and Fighting moves hit a Ghost.
Belly DrumNormal——10Sacrifices half the user’s HP to raise its Attack to the maximum.
OutrageDragon90100%15Attacks for 2 to 3 turns, then confuses the user.
ReversalFightingVaries100%15The lower the user’s HP, the stronger the attack.
Conversion 2Normal—100%30The user changes to a type that resists the last attack it took.
Vital ThrowFighting70—10Strikes last but never misses.
Mud-SlapGround20100%10Lowers the target’s accuracy.
Cross ChopFighting10080%5High critical-hit ratio.
Rain DanceWater——5Rain for 5 turns: Water is boosted, Fire is weakened, Thunder never misses.
SpiteGhost—100%10Reduces the PP of the target’s last move.
DetectFighting——5Like Protect: protects the user from all attacks this turn.
Sweet KissNormal—75%10Confuses the target.
Sweet ScentNormal—100%20Lowers evasiveness; lures a wild Pokémon out of battle.
Dragon BreathDragon60100%20May paralyze (30%).
DynamicPunchFighting10050%5Always confuses the target if it hits.
Rock SmashFighting20100%15May lower Defense; smashes cracked rocks outside of battle.
Zap CannonElectric10050%5Always paralyzes the target if it hits.
EncoreNormal—100%5Forces the target to repeat its last move for several turns.
SparkElectric65100%20May paralyze (30%).
False SwipeNormal40100%40Always leaves the target with at least 1 HP: ideal for catching.
Feint AttackDark60—20Never misses.
Sacred FireFire10095%5May burn (50%) and thaws out the user. Exclusive to Ho-Oh.
FlailNormalVaries100%15The lower the user’s HP, the stronger the attack.
FrustrationNormalVaries100%20The more the Pokémon dislikes you, the stronger the attack.
Giga DrainGrass60100%5Restores half the damage dealt to the user.
Heal BellNormal——5Cures the status problems of the whole party.
SketchNormal——1Permanently copies the target’s last move. Exclusive to Smeargle.
Metal ClawSteel5095%35May raise the user’s Attack (10%).
Scary FaceNormal—90%10Sharply lowers the target’s Speed.
Milk DrinkNormal——10Restores half of max HP; outside of battle, transfers HP to an ally.
ThiefDark40100%10Steals the target’s held item.
Mind ReaderNormal—100%5The user’s next attack is sure to hit.
Mach PunchFighting40100%30Always strikes first.
CrunchDark80100%15May lower Special Defense (20%).
Curse???——10Ghost: loses half its HP to curse the target. Other types: Attack and Defense go up, Speed goes down.
MegahornBug12085%10The most powerful Bug-type attack of the generation.
OctazookaWater6585%10May lower the target’s accuracy (50%).
TwisterDragon40100%20May make the target flinch (20%); double power against a Pokémon in mid-air.
SpikesGround——20Hurts every opposing Pokémon that enters battle (except Flying).
Powder SnowIce40100%25May freeze (10%).
PursuitDark40100%20Power is doubled if the target switches out this turn.
Ancient PowerRock60100%5May raise all of the user’s stats (10%).
Destiny BondGhost——5If the user is K.O.’d before its next action, the target is too.
Future SightPsychic8090%15Strikes two turns later.
Hidden PowerNormalVaries100%15Type and power (31 to 70) depend on the user’s DVs.
Iron TailSteel10075%15May lower the target’s Defense (30%).
MoonlightNormal——5Restores HP, more at night.
Mean LookNormal—100%5Prevents the target from fleeing or being switched out.
Baton PassNormal——40The user switches out and passes its stat boosts to the replacement.
Perish SongNormal——5All Pokémon on the field are K.O.’d after three turns unless they switch out.
ReturnNormalVaries100%20The more the Pokémon loves you, the stronger the attack (up to 102).
SnoreNormal40100%15Usable while asleep; may make the target flinch (30%).
Flame WheelFire60100%25May burn (10%) and thaws out the user.
RolloutRock3090%20Hits for 5 turns in a row, doubling in power with each hit.
SafeguardNormal——25Protects the party from status problems for 5 turns.
WhirlpoolWater1570%15Traps and hurts the target for 2 to 5 turns; crosses whirlpools outside of battle.
Cotton SporeGrass—85%40Sharply lowers the target’s Speed.
SynthesisGrass——5Restores HP, more during the day and in sunshine.
Fury CutterBug1095%20Power doubles with each consecutive successful use.
SandstormRock——10Sandstorm for 5 turns: hurts all Pokémon except Rock, Ground and Steel.
EndureNormal——10The user survives this turn with at least 1 HP.
Spider WebBug—100%10Prevents the target from fleeing or being switched out.
Rapid SpinNormal20100%40Frees the user from Spikes, Leech Seed and trapping moves.
Triple KickFighting1090%10Three kicks of increasing power (10, 20, 30).
SwaggerNormal—90%15Confuses the target but sharply raises its Attack.
Icy WindIce5595%15Lowers the target’s Speed.
Lock-OnNormal—100%5The user’s next attack is sure to hit.
ExtremeSpeedNormal80100%5Always strikes first.
Mirror CoatPsychic—100%20Returns double the special damage taken this turn.
Sunny DayFire——5Sunshine for 5 turns: Fire is boosted, Water is weakened, Solar Beam needs no charge.