With The main games have never been particularly difficult for the in-game story, but battling friends and going competitive online demand more mix-ups in tactics and strategy.
Players won't be able to brute force their way to victory solely with hard-hitting offense if they're playing someone strategically competent, so taking stat-boosting moves into is a must. Though in-game at least has sporadic points that rise in challenge, meaning these still smooth over story gameplay. Different moves will benefit certain Pokémon in different ways depending on aspects like base stats and typing.
Dragon Dance
Likely one of the most obvious and popular stat-boosters is Dragon Dance. This move raises a Pokémon's Attack and Speed stat by one stage, and given the species/types that can typically learn this move, it can help players give a clean sweep offensively in both casual and more competitive gameplay. Dragon-types and the Dragon breeding group learn this move and greatly benefits physical heavy-hitters.
Back when Mega Evolution was prominent (or just existed), the likes of Mega Charizard X made deadly use of Dragon Dance due to it being the physical powerhouse counterpart to Charizard Y. Saddle it up with this and Flare Blitz/Fire Punch/Outrage/Dragon Claw and X could absolutely melt opposition with one boost.
Calm Mind
The Psychic-type equivalent of Dragon Dance is essentially Calm Mind, only it boosts Special Attack and Special Defense by one stage. It's a reliable, flexible stat-booster even with forgoing Speed, but some of the Pokémon that can use this won't need it in the first place. Alakazam is frightening enough as is with Speed, so Calm Mind would be more offensively focused here on making attacks like Psychic hit like two trucks instead of one, while also shoring up its Special Defense.
Gardevoir is another Psychic-type that benefits more so offensively from it, with defense as a nice bonus. The versatility of Calm Mind shows when using it defensively - as well as offensively - on the likes of Slowbro with lower Speed and needs to tank Special hits better.
Quiver Dance
Similar to the Psychic-type Calm Mind is the Bug-type Quiver Dance, which is great for that typing considering they're generally not sturdy Pokémon. It raises Special Attack and Special Defense by one stage but additionally provides a Speed boost. As such, it's an incredibly well-rounded move for several Bug-types as well as some Grass-types.
As long as the matchup is smart, this is a stat-booster that could turn Special-leaning Bugs and the like into fairly reliable heavy-hitters. Undoubtedly one of the most terrifying s of Quiver Dance could be Volcarona, with Special Attack/Defense and Speed already being its strongest stats.
Minimize
A stat that isn't focused on as much is evasion, and Minimize is among the best moves to boost that stat. Double Team is similar and good in casual playthroughs even with the added risk, but the potential rewards of Minimize are greater. The big risk attached is that aside from forgoing an offensive move for at least a tur, getting hit after Minimize with moves like Stomp that byes accuracy will hit hard.
But pulling off one boost will give the player effectively two Double Teams in a single turn. As long as the player is mindful of the opponent, this could make this move a great frustration tactic.
Geomancy
It's a bit of a cheat to include this given how overpowered it is, but Geomancy is an incredibly powerful stat-boosting move. It's typically banned in tournaments for meta gameplay and it's exclusive to the legendary Pokémon Xerneas from gen six. It's understandable to see why it would be banned in certain competitive formats since it boosts Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by two stages.
It includes a caveat at least by being forced to charge for a turn, but as long as it endures anything that may come its way in a potential one or two turns, Xerneas will be taking hits like a tank and hitting like one too.
Belly Drum
Belly Drum is another popular high-risk, high-reward stat move to run in the competitive scene. Its caveat is clear as it requires a sacrifice of half a Pokémon's HP but offers a whopping maximum boost to Attack. This move is definitely best used on those with sizable bulk in defenses and HP and can pay off as long as the can bide their time until firing off a strong physical STAB move.
Even still, the HP sacrifice can at least be used by equipping berries that are triggered automatically when losing a certain amount of health. Likewise, for the more patient, Rest is a great way to make that up.
Cotton Guard
Focusing purely on the defensive end is Cotton Guard that does a massive three-stage boost to physical defense. It'll make already solid defensive Pokémon into sturdy physical tanks. Something else that makes Cotton Guard an attractive strategic proposition is its low rate of risk.
Unlike Geomancy, for instance, there's no need to charge up for a turn before the boost nor is there any other kind of gimmick or caveat associated with using the move. This will surely make a Pokémon sponge and shrug off hits with fair ease in the right situations while just focusing on swatting away opponents.
Rock Polish
For the more sluggish, there's the Rock-type move Rock Polish to give an injection of speed into the . It's a fitting move for the type that mostly makes use of this move since Rock Pokémon generally lean to the slower side, so a two-stage boost to the Speed stat would weaponize them much better.
Rock/Steel/Ground-types alike benefit from this, and Steel is already one of the most battle-competent types, especially with Fairy needing a counter. For the move's native type , Golem is an example of a heavy-duty Rock-type that could become a real menace if the setup is successful, which Sturdy would help with, given its monstrous base 120 Attack and 130 Defense.
Swords Dance
A popular and classic stat-booster is Swords Dance, which is a Normal-type move all the way back from the first generation of mainline games. It can be seen as a weaker, but still effective alternative to Dragon Dance since the latter is a move learned from a more selective group of Pokémon.
Swords Dance raises the 's Attack stat by two stages, making it stackable for a total of three uses. It's a solid move to slot into a wide variety of Pokémon's move sets that focus on being physical fighters. Bulk Up might be better for certain species, but SD is a good choice for those who don't have access to the former or simply rather go all-out offense.
Shell Smash
The final move here is another gamble but rewards smart strategic planning with powerhouse offenses. It's learned by a pretty exclusive group of Pokémon, but Shell Smash could be a great gambit by sacrificing all of the 's defenses by a stage in return for a two-stage boost to both attack stats and speed by two.
Cloyster is one of the most popular s of the move as a Dragon counter and it's already-high Attack and Speed, and of course Ice-typing. It could even help Blastoise be more viable competitively, which is great since the starter Pokémon aren't renowned competitive powerhouses outside a few cases.
