New and spectacular signature moves in STABmons

By Slither Wing. Released: 2025/02/08.
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Art by Gaboswampert

Art by Gaboswampert.

Introduction

Signature moves have been a part of the Pokémon franchise for a long time now, and can in short be summarized as powerful moves only learned by a single Pokémon or evolution line. Notable examples of this are the Garganacl line's access to Salt Cure and Darkrai's access to Dark Void. Due to this restriction, a lot of these moves tend to be very powerful, only being held back by either being on a weak Pokémon or a rare legendary. Generation 9 has also notably introduced a lot of new and dominant signature moves, letting otherwise mediocre Pokémon shoot up in viability. But what would happen if this restriction was lifted, and now top metagame threats could suddenly have access to all these new and strong moves? Today we will be taking a deeper look into STABmons, an Other Metagame where Pokémon's movepools have been expanded to include all moves that share a typing with itself and any pre-evolutions. With this influx of new and strong moves, what impact have they had on the STABmons metagame?

Stone Axe

Starting off strong is the entry hazard-setting Rock-type move in Stone Axe! Having a decently powerful move combined with that excellent secondary effect of setting Stealth Rock is something both defensive and offensive Rock-types can appreciate, as it can often be difficult to slot regular Stealth Rock. In addition, being able to bypass moves and abilities such as Taunt and Magic Bounce makes Stone Axe sometimes an even more reliable option than Stealth Rock.

tyranitar

Both Stone Axe and Salt Cure have let Tyranitar excel as a wall, being able to both set up Stealth Rock and annoy entry hazard removers such as Corviknight and Toxapex, all while being backed up by a powerful base 134 Attack that limits the ability to set up on it. Shore Up in combination with Sand Stream gives Tyranitar great longevity, allowing it to actually function as a defensive answer. Knock Off lets it remove Covert Cloak to continue annoying foes with Salt Cure, while Parting Shot can instead help pivot in powerful allies such as Walking Wake and Rillaboom.

ogerpon-cornerstone

Ogerpon-C is a top threat in STABmons, as it gains access to all Fire, Water, and Rock-type moves in addition to Grass-type moves, giving it excellent offensive coverage and unique utility options. While Diamond Storm is an option with stronger Base Power, Stone Axe is often preferred thanks to being able to constantly keep Stealth Rock up while still being able to KO key targets such as Iron Moth and Thundurus-T. With Pyro Ball to hit Steel-types such as Gholdengo and Corviknight, Ogerpon-C is able to pressure virtually every physical wall in the meta, and thanks to Sturdy, it can be quite tricky to revenge kill reliably.

Torch Song

A setup move for Fire-types? Yes please! Torch Song gives special Fire-types a great boosting option, acting both as a solid STAB option while also being able to muscle past walls or Fire-resistant foes thanks to either repeated boosts or boosted coverage options, making it the go-to move for any special Fire-type Pokémon.

volcanion

Volcanion is one of the prime users of Torch Song, as thanks to its bulk and good typing, it is able to quickly ramp up Special Attack boosts, and with the combination of Loaded Dice + Water Shuriken, it's able to tear through both faster threats as well as walls. Substitute lets Volcanion avoid pesky chip damage from moves like Mortal Spin and Salt Cure, allowing Volcanion to safely set up with Torch Song and wreak havoc.

iron moth

Torch Song might just be the perfect move for Iron Moth, as it finally doesn't have to rely on Booster Energy to boost its Special Attack and can now instead use it to boost its Speed, making for an extremely scary sweeper that can snowball way too quickly. With additional coverage to blow through walls such as Toxapex and Ting-Lu, Iron Moth can now quite literally become unstoppable. Mortal Spin can be used as emergency entry hazard removal, while Substitute can help it avoid potential revenge killing from priority move users such as Raging Bolt and Urshifu-R.

Jet Punch

Despite being nothing more than an upgrade to Aqua Jet, Jet Punch has quickly proven itself to be that much better, being able to be used by virtually any physical Water-type to great effect. It's quite a simple move to understand; it hits hard and hits fast, and in such a fast-paced meta like STABmons, any form of priority is appreciated.

urshifu rapid strike

Urshifu-R is normally known for its immense wallbreaking capabilites, shredding through targets with Surging Strikes and Close Combat. This set however, aims to use common counters such as Toxapex as bait, setting up with Bulk Up and then sweeping through with quick Jet Punches, all while staying healthy with Drain Punch. Punching Glove not only boosts both of Urshifu-R's moves but also helps it bypass pesky Beak Blast users such as Landorus-T and Corviknight.

Mortal Spin

Debatably one of the best utility moves ever introduced, Mortal Spin is the new and much-needed entry hazard removal option to counter pesky Spikes and Stone Axe users. On top of removing hazards, it also has a guaranteed chance to poison the foe, giving more passive Pokémon an excellent tool to annoy the foe with. Unfortunately, despite seeming like a superior Rapid Spin, it is able to be spinblocked by Steel-types.

toxapex

When it comes to defensive Pokémon available, Toxapex is a prime choice, as its newfound access to both Mortal Spin and Flip Turn makes it an excellent defensive pivot and entry hazard remover. Regaining Scald is also much appreciated, as it forces physical attackers to think twice before staying in. Overall, with its enormous bulk, access to Regenerator and these newfound utility moves, Toxapex is something all attackers have to prepare facing.

Thunderclap

Electric-types have always been fast, but sometimes, you need them to be even faster, and thanks to Thunderclap, that's now a reality! Functioning as a special counterpart to Sucker Punch, frail Electric-types now have a tool to finally handle priority moves, while slower Electric-types gain the ability to become fast.

thundurus-therian

Thundurus-T functions as a very threatening wallbreaker thanks to not only being able to handle revenge killing attempts with Thunderclap, but also gaining access to actual Flying-type moves. Few things are able to withstand the power of Nasty Plot + Aeroblast, and the few that do get swiftly knocked out by Grass Knot.

raging bolt

Despite Thunderclap not actually being anything new for Raging Bolt, it still finds itself as a top threat. New tools such as Parabolic Charge allow Raging Bolt to make use of its solid bulk and great defensive typing to become a late-game sweeping monster, being able to take down even the tankiest of walls after a Calm Mind boost while staying healthy. Thunderclap is still an excellent tool, as it allows Raging Bolt to handle foes that could potentially OHKO it such as Weavile and Iron Valiant.

Magical Torque

Normally not a move that's available to standard play, Magical Torque is the long-awaited physical Fairy-type move with 100% accuracy.

Boasting a solid 100 Base Power with a 30% chance of confusion, this move is quite powerful, as there is now nothing stopping all the physical Fairy-types from finally getting revenge after having missed Play Rough.

iron valiant

Normally being refined as a special attacker, Iron Valiant is finally able to be brought to its full potential thanks to Magical Torque. With Fairy being such a strong offensive typing and having access to some powerful tools in Swords Dance and Speed Booster Energy, it's able to work as an excellent wallbreaker and revenge killer, blitzing past anything that isn't a priority move user. Additional coverage in Combat Torque and Zen Headbutt lets it handle any pesky Steel- or Poison-types that could otherwise shrug off a Magical Torque.

Lumina Crash / Take Heart / Esper Wing

As one maybe noticed, Generation 9 was quite generous when it came to introducing powerful Psychic-moves, and as a result, there has been a major uprising for Psychic-types. Lumina Crash is an excellent wallbreaking tool thanks to its guaranteed chance to drop the foe's Special Defense by an entire 2 stages; Esper Wing is a great option for setup sweepers with a 100% chance to raise the user's Speed; and Take Heart is an improved Calm Mind, granting the same stat boosts on top of curing the user of any status conditions.

meloetta

Meloetta is a prime example of a Pokémon that can take advantage of STABmons mechanics, as is it able to find itself as a premier setup sweeper with an entirely new moveset. The combination of Take Heart + Esper Wing allows Meloetta to quickly snowball out of control, as few things will be able to keep up with it. Couple that with a ludicrously strong STAB move in Boomburst as well as reliable recovery in Recover, and you got yourself an extremely potent setup sweeper that can quickly take over games if given the opportunity.

latios

Despite having been banned twice before, Latios is back, and it is able to serve as a great speed control option. New STAB move options in Clanging Scales and Lumina Crash allow Latios to actually pressure defensive answers, as any non-Dark-type dislikes having their Special Defense lowered, and Clanging Scales serves as a weaker but more spammable alternative to Draco Meteor. Additional utility moves like Flip Turn to regain momentum, Trick to cripple defensive answers even further, and Lunar Dance to potentially help a weakened teammate all make Latios a great option.

Moves that were proven too powerful

However, not all moves are created equally, and while signature moves are supposed to be stronger, sometimes they end up too strong if given to the right Pokémon. As a result, STABmons chooses to restrict said moves that are too powerful, allowing only the original user to have access to it, and in rare cases, the move is outright banned. With Generation 9's massive influx of new signature moves, some were naturally bound to be too powerful to be let loose, even in a metagame with a naturally higher power level.

Shed Tail

Starting off, we have the only move on the list that is outright banned, even for native users such as Cyclizar and Orthworm, Shed Tail. Shed Tail is seen as a fundamentally broken move, as being able to pass on a Substitute to a teammate has proven to be extremely problematic, enabling all sorts of setup sweepers to easily take over games thanks to the added protection. Additionally, in a metagame like STABmons, users with high HP such as Blissey and Chansey were able to pass Substitutes with absurd HP, making them extremely hard to break, which further facilitated said setup sweepers.

Victory Dance

Being the equivalent of a Quiver Dance for physical attackers, Victory Dance proved quickly that it wasn't just similar; it was superior. Powerful Fighting-types such as Iron Valiant and Great Tusk were quickly able to prove such, as they both hit hard while still being difficult to revenge kill reliably. With the average physical Fighting-type being a lot more powerful than the average special Bug-type, Victory Dance proved itself to be far too strong and, as a result, was quickly restricted.

Fillet Away

Oh look, it's yet another setup move that is way too strong! Fillet Away is terrifying on anything not named Veluza, as a +2 boost to both Attack, Special Attack, and Speed meant that any decent Normal-type could quickly turn into a massive threat. Notable users early on included Sylveon and Farigiraf, but the list of candidates has only increased since its early restriction, and as a result, it is unlikely to ever see the light of day again.

Gigaton Hammer

As it turns out, when you give out a 160-Base Power move to Pokémon that have more than Tinkaton's measly base 75 Attack, it quickly turns into a bloodbath. Steel-types such as Kingambit and Scizor turned into extremely powerful wallbreakers in combination with Swords Dance, being able to KO even Steel-resistant foes in one fell swoop. As a result, it was restricted, ending their reign.

Triple Arrows

Being the pinnacle of random effects, Triple Arrows was nothing short of controversial during its legality. Having access to a move with an increased critical hit rate, a 50% chance of lowering Defense, and on top of that a 30% flinch chance meant that already powerful Fighting-types were often able to simply brute force through their supposed checks, which basically mandated all defensive answers to carry Covert Cloak in order to stand a chance. With too many ways of simply beating intended counterplay, it was deemed uncompetitive and too restrictive, leading to its restriction.

Ceaseless Edge

Being one of the few moves here that got restricted via a suspect test, Ceaseless Edge was still a little too consistent with what it did. Giving virtually any Dark-type access to a decently powerful move that also set Spikes made them frustrating to play against. Notably, defensive Dark-types like Ting-Lu and Tyranitar had an easy time clicking Ceaseless Edge, and even offensive Dark-types such as Kingambit and Weavile had the freedom to run it thanks to their high base Attack stats, meaning they could still reliably threaten the foe. On top of that, it could also put up 3 layers of Spikes unlike Stone Axe, making it a lot easier for teams to get up entry hazards, which in turn put too much pressure on defensive walls.

Flower Trick

Joining this list as the most recent addition, Flower Trick has been quite problematic during all of its time in STABmons, granting already strong Grass-types like the Ogerpon formes and Rillaboom a STAB move that always deals a critical hit on top of being non-contact. Additional users such as Hisuian Lilligant could also take advantage of Flower Trick's perfect accuracy with Hustle, making all of the aformentioned Grass-types a pain to check reliably. Finally, it was decided that enough was enough, and Flower Trick was finally restricted.

Summary

STABmons is a metagame filled with unique ideas and combinations of moves thanks to the increased distribution, letting both metagame staples continue to shine and letting otherwise weak Pokémon suddenly gain a power boost. While signature moves are often the most interesting aspect, it's important to remember that there're a lot of other great moves available, and even a small addition could make a huge difference. Do you think you there is a specific Pokémon brimming with potential here? Be sure to check out the STABmons resources page to see what the metagame looks like, and if you're interested in discussing STABmons with other players, you should join the Other Metagames Discord for discussions and teambuilding ideas!

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