54 moves · priority +5 to −7

Pokémon Priority Moves

In short: a move's priority decides who moves first before Speed is checked. The +1 attacks are Accelerock, Aqua Jet, Bullet Punch, Ice Shard, Jet Punch, Mach Punch, Quick Attack, Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch, Thunderclap, Vacuum Wave, Water Shuriken. Extreme Speed and First Impression are +2, Fake Out and Upper Hand +3, Protect and Detect +4, Helping Hand +5, and Trick Room is −7. Self-Destruct, Explosion and almost every other attack are priority 0.

+5 +4 +3 +2 +1 -1 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 Conditional priority

Priority +5 moves (1)

Goes before everything, including Protect.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Helping Hand	Normal	Status	—	—	✓	✓	—	One adjacent ally's move power is 1.5× this turn.

Priority +4 moves (11)

Protect and its variants: they must go first to block the turn's attacks.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Baneful Bunker	Poison	Status	—	—	✓	✓	—	Protects from moves. Contact: poison.
Burning Bulwark	Fire	Status	—	—	✓	—	—	Protects from damaging attacks. Contact: burn.
Detect	Fighting	Status	—	—	✓	✓	✓	Prevents moves from affecting the user this turn.
Endure	Normal	Status	—	—	✓	✓	✓	User survives attacks this turn with at least 1 HP.
Protect	Normal	Status	—	—	✓	✓	✓	Prevents moves from affecting the user this turn.
Silk Trap	Bug	Status	—	—	✓	—	—	Protects from damaging attacks. Contact: -1 Spe.
Spiky Shield	Grass	Status	—	—	✓	✓	✓	Protects from moves. Contact: loses 1/8 max HP.
King's Shield(Past)	Steel	Status	—	—	—	✓	✓	Protects from damaging attacks. Contact: -1 Atk.
Magic Coat(Past)	Psychic	Status	—	—	—	—	—	Bounces back certain non-damaging moves.
Obstruct(Past)	Dark	Status	—	100%	—	—	—	Protects from damaging attacks. Contact: -2 Def.
Snatch(Past)	Dark	Status	—	—	—	—	—	User steals certain support moves to use itself.

Priority +3 moves (6)

Fake Out (first turn only), the team guards and Upper Hand.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Fake Out	Normal	Physical	40	100%	✓	✓	✓	Hits first. First turn out only. 100% flinch chance.
Quick Guard	Fighting	Status	—	—	✓	✓	—	Protects allies from priority attacks this turn.
Upper Hand	Fighting	Physical	65	100%	✓	✓	—	100% flinch. Fails unless target using priority attack.
Wide Guard	Rock	Status	—	—	✓	✓	—	Protects allies from multi-target moves this turn.
Crafty Shield(Past)	Fairy	Status	—	—	—	—	—	Protects allies from Status moves this turn.
Spotlight(Past)	Normal	Status	—	—	—	—	—	Target's foes' moves are redirected to it this turn.

Priority +2 moves (6)

Extreme Speed, First Impression and the doubles redirection moves.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Ally Switch	Psychic	Status	—	—	✓	✓	—	User and ally swap positions; using again can fail.
Extreme Speed	Normal	Physical	80	100%	✓	✓	✓	Nearly always goes first.
Feint	Normal	Physical	30	100%	✓	✓	—	Nullifies Detect, Protect, and Quick/Wide Guard.
First Impression	Bug	Physical	90	100%	✓	✓	✓	Nearly always goes first. First turn out only.
Follow Me	Normal	Status	—	—	✓	✓	—	The foes' moves target the user on the turn used.
Rage Powder	Bug	Status	—	—	✓	✓	—	The foes' moves target the user on the turn used.

Priority +1 moves (16)

The classic priority attacks — the ones people mean by "priority moves".

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Accelerock	Rock	Physical	40	100%	✓	✓	—	Usually goes first.
Aqua Jet	Water	Physical	40	100%	✓	✓	✓	Usually goes first.
Baby-Doll Eyes	Fairy	Status	—	100%	✓	✓	—	Lowers the target's Attack by 1.
Bullet Punch	Steel	Physical	40	100%	✓	✓	✓	Usually goes first.
Ice Shard	Ice	Physical	40	100%	✓	✓	✓	Usually goes first.
Jet Punch	Water	Physical	60	100%	✓	✓	—	Usually goes first.
Mach Punch	Fighting	Physical	40	100%	✓	✓	✓	Usually goes first.
Quick Attack	Normal	Physical	40	100%	✓	✓	✓	Usually goes first.
Shadow Sneak	Ghost	Physical	40	100%	✓	✓	✓	Usually goes first.
Sucker Punch	Dark	Physical	70	100%	✓	✓	—	Usually goes first. Fails if target is not attacking.
Thunderclap	Electric	Special	70	100%	✓	—	—	Usually goes first. Fails if target is not attacking.
Vacuum Wave	Fighting	Special	40	100%	✓	✓	✓	Usually goes first.
Water Shuriken	Water	Special	15	100%	✓	✓	✓	Usually goes first. Hits 2-5 times in one turn.
Bide(Past)	Normal	Physical	—	—	—	—	—	Waits 2 turns; deals double the damage taken.
Ion Deluge(Past)	Electric	Status	—	—	—	—	—	Normal moves become Electric type this turn.
Powder(Past)	Bug	Status	—	100%	—	—	—	If using a Fire move, target loses 1/4 max HP.

Priority -1 moves (1)

Vital Throw moves late but never misses.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Vital Throw(Past)	Fighting	Physical	70	—	—	—	—	This move does not check accuracy. Goes last.

Priority -3 moves (3)

Charge moves that need the user to be hit (or not hit) first.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Beak Blast	Flying	Physical	100	100%	✓	✓	—	Burns on contact with the user before it moves.
Focus Punch	Fighting	Physical	150	100%	✓	✓	—	Fails if the user takes damage before it hits.
Shell Trap(Past)	Fire	Special	150	100%	—	—	—	User must take physical damage before moving.

Priority -4 moves (2)

Double power if the user was hit earlier in the turn.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Avalanche	Ice	Physical	60	100%	✓	✓	—	Power doubles if user is damaged by the target.
Revenge(Past)	Fighting	Physical	60	100%	—	—	—	Power doubles if user is damaged by the target.

Priority -5 moves (2)

Reflect damage back, so they have to wait.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Counter	Fighting	Physical	—	100%	✓	✓	—	If hit by physical attack, returns double damage.
Mirror Coat	Psychic	Special	—	100%	✓	✓	—	If hit by special attack, returns double damage.

Priority -6 moves (5)

Phazing and switching moves.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Circle Throw	Fighting	Physical	60	90%	✓	✓	✓	Forces the target to switch to a random ally.
Dragon Tail	Dragon	Physical	60	90%	✓	✓	—	Forces the target to switch to a random ally.
Roar	Normal	Status	—	—	✓	✓	✓	Forces the target to switch to a random ally.
Teleport	Psychic	Status	—	—	✓	—	✓	User switches out.
Whirlwind	Normal	Status	—	—	✓	✓	✓	Forces the target to switch to a random ally.

Priority -7 moves (1)

Trick Room always goes last.

Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	SV	Champ.	Z-A	Effect
Trick Room	Psychic	Status	—	—	✓	✓	—	Goes last. For 5 turns, turn order is reversed.

Conditional priority: abilities, items and terrain

Grassy Glide — +1 priority while Grassy Terrain is active and the user is grounded (Champions and SV).
Prankster (ability) — +1 to status moves — Tailwind, Thunder Wave, Spore-type moves. They fail against Dark-type targets.
Gale Wings (ability) — +1 to Flying-type moves while the user is at full HP (Gen 7+; any HP in Gen 6).
Triage (ability) — +3 to healing moves such as Draining Kiss, Drain Punch and Roost.
Quick Claw / Quick Draw — 20% (item) or 30% (ability) chance to move first within the same bracket. Does not change the bracket.
Stall, Lagging Tail, Full Incense, Mycelium Might — The user moves last within its bracket. Mycelium Might applies to status moves and also ignores abilities.

What blocks priority moves

Psychic Terrain — Grounded Pokémon can't be hit by priority moves from opponents.
Dazzling, Queenly Majesty, Armor Tail — The holder and its allies can't be targeted by the opponent's priority moves.
Quick Guard (+3) — Blocks priority moves aimed at your side for one turn (it blocks Prankster-boosted moves too).

Building a team? The team builder flags whether your six have a priority attack, and the damage calculator shows if it actually KOs.

Priority moves FAQ

What are priority moves in Pokémon?

Every move has a priority from +5 to −7. Moves with higher priority always go first, whatever the Speed; Speed only decides the order inside the same bracket. Most attacks have priority 0. The +1 attacks — Accelerock, Aqua Jet, Bullet Punch, Ice Shard, Jet Punch, Mach Punch, Quick Attack, Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch, Thunderclap, Vacuum Wave, Water Shuriken — let a slow or weakened Pokémon hit before a faster foe.

Does Self-Destruct have priority?

No. Self-Destruct and Explosion have normal priority (0), so they go in Speed order like most attacks. In doubles they also hit your ally, because they target every adjacent Pokémon.

What is the highest priority move?

Helping Hand at +5. The highest priority attacks are Fake Out and Upper Hand at +3 (both only work in specific situations), then Extreme Speed and First Impression at +2.

Does Trick Room affect priority moves?

No. Trick Room only reverses the Speed order inside each bracket. A +1 move still goes before every priority-0 move under Trick Room, and Trick Room itself is −7, so it always goes last on the turn it is set.

Why did my Sucker Punch fail?

Sucker Punch (+1) only works if the target has picked an attacking move and hasn't moved yet. It fails against status moves, switching, or a target that already moved.

Can priority moves be blocked?

Yes. Psychic Terrain protects grounded Pokémon from the opponent's priority moves, Dazzling, Queenly Majesty and Armor Tail protect the holder's side, and Quick Guard blocks them for a turn.

Priority values and effect text from Pokémon Showdown (MIT), latest main-series values. "Past" moves can't be used in Scarlet & Violet. See also moves that hit allies and the full moves list.