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In the world of Pokemon, new, strange, and wonderful creatures are introduced in each Generation. Some of these Pokemon have much better Stats and Abilities than others, but in many cases, it's their Moves that make all the difference. A strong Move can mean the difference between success and failure in a battle. Even some of the weakest Pokemon become viable with better moves.
Rock-types have always been a fan favorite in the Pokemon community. While they do have a few drawbacks, a good Rock-type can make a strong addition to any team, and they can be found easily, even in the early game. Let's take a look at the best Rock-Type Move of each generation, and determine which is the best of them all.
8 Rock Tomb
Rock Tomb is a Physical Move with 60 base Power and 95 Accuracy, introduced in Generation 3. It always decreases the opponent's Speed by one stage (-50%). While the Speed drop effect is extremely helpful, the thing that holds this Move back is its Accuracy. The 95% Accuracy isn't terrible, but it's enough to be irritating. Especially when you consider there are Moves like Bulldoze and Low Sweep that do the exact same thing but have 100% Accuracy. Overall, it's a good early/mid-game Move.
7 Accelerock
This is a Physical Move, with 40 base Power, 100 Accuracy, and always has priority. So, essentially, Accelerock is the Rock-type equivalent of Quick Attack. This makes it useful for when players need to KO something at very low health. The biggest issue with Accelerock is not actually the Move's fault. It's the accessibility of the Move.
The only Pokemon capable of learning Accelerock are Lycanroc Midday Form and Lycanroc Dusk Form, heavily limiting the Move's viability. This Move also somewhat suffers from being relatively new, as it was introduced in Generation 7.
6 Power Gem
Power Gem is a Gen 4 Special Move with 80 base Power, 100 Accuracy, and no secondary effect. This is a good, damage-dealing Move. Like Accelerock, however, it doesn't rank near the top because the accessibility hurts it. There simply aren't very many Pokemon can learn this move. Further, the ones that can learn it don't tend to be Rock-type Pokemon. More than half of the Pokemon who can learn Power Gem either aren't Rock-types, or aren't naturally Special Attackers. This is an easy fix that Game Freak could make in a future Generation, and it would move Power Gem up the list.
5 Meteor Beam
Meteor Beam is a Special 2 turn Move with 120 base Power, 90 Accuracy, introduced in Generation 8. Meteor Beam has a very powerful secondary effect. On the first turn it's used, it will increase the user's Special Attack stat by one stage (+50%), and then the second move will actually hit the opponent. Assuming you don't switch out or the opponent does something to negate it, you will keep the increased Special Attack for the rest of the battle.
This move combines extremely well with the item Power Herb, making it take only one turn for a single usage. However, for a third time on this list, this move is damaged by limited accessibility, due to the move being so young and the Rock-type's extremely low quantity of Special Attackers.
4 Diamond Storm
Diamond Storm is a Special Move with 100 base Power and 95 Accuracy. On top of that, it also has an incredible secondary effect. Every time this Move is used, there is a 50% chance it will double the Pokemon's Defense stat. Unfortunately, this Move has a big problem that we have seen a couple of times before, the accessibility. The only Pokemon that can learn the move Diamond Storm is the Gen 6 Mythical Pokemon Diancie. Limiting a great Move like Diamond Storm to just one Legendary is a complete waste.
3 Wide Guard
Wide Guard is a Status move introduced in Generation 5. It protects the user's side of the field from moves that hit multiple Pokemon (such as Surf or Earthquake), and it lasts the remainder of that turn. While this move is good in Single Battles, when it is used in Double Battles it quickly becomes excellent. Judicious use by a player at the appropriate time during a Double Battle, will protect that player and their ally Pokemon from some rather devastating attacks.
2 Sandstorm
Sandstorm is a Status move introduced in Generation 2 that damages all non-Rock, Ground, and Steel-type Pokemon for 1/16th of their maximum HP at the end of every turn for 5 turns (8 if you
hold the Smooth Rock item). This effect is not that helpful, but that's not the only thing Sandstorm does.
While Sandstorm is up, all Rock-type Pokemon gain a 50% Special Defense boost, raising the viability of the type as a whole. This effect is immensely helpful, as Rock-types tend to have pretty bad Special Defense stats. With Sandstorm, however, Rock-types can take many Special hits they couldn't before.
1 Rock Slide
Here it is, the Rock-type move that is so good it's actually kind of unfair. Introduced in Generation 1, Rock Slide has 75 base Power and 90 Accuracy, with a secondary chance to Flinch (Pokemon loses their current turn) 30% of the time. That Flinch chance is already quite good, but it gets better upon taking a closer look. In Double Battles, Rock Slide hits both Pokemon. Due to this, it rolls the Flinch effect twice, meaning you have a massive 46.7% (factoring in Accuracy) chance to Flinch at least one Pokemon. It is entirely possible to have an opponent's entire team shut down in a Doubles Battle because of this Move.
In a Doubles Battle, this Move is too good. The series should honestly consider changing Rock Slide, so that it has 80 base Power, 100 Accuracy, and a 10% chance to lower the opponent's Defense stat or something along those lines. This would make the Move a bit fairer.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now for Nintendo Switch.