Multistrike move
Multi-hit moves, also called swipe moves, are moves that strike an opponent more than one time in the same turn. Most multi-hit moves will hit the opponent 2-5 times in a turn, but some work differently. Multi-hit moves generally have low base power and imperfect accuracy to compensate for the fact that they hit multiple times. Bide and Counter only take the final hit of a multi-hit move into consideration.
Generation I
Multi-hit moves stop instantly upon breaking an enemy Substitute. If an opponent is knocked out by a multi-hit move, the game does not state how many times the attack hit. Only the first hit of a multi-hit move could be a critical hit, but in such an event, all subsequent hits would also do double damage.
Generation II
The game now states how many times a multi-hit move hit if it knocked out an enemy. If a Pokémon's Focus Band activates against a hit of a multi-hit move, all subsequent hits will not knock it out. The King's Rock will take each hit into consideration when determining whether or not the opponent will flinch. Each individual hit of a multi-hit move has its own chance of being a critical hit, and if the first hit is a critical hit, it no longer makes subsequent hits deal that much damage.
Generation III
Pokémon with abilities that rely on the opponent making physical contact can activate on each hit of a multi-hit move that makes contact. If such an ability causes the Pokémon to fall asleep or freeze, the attack will immediately end without being fully executed.
Generation IV
If a multi-hit move breaks a Substitute (and didn't use the last hit to break it), the move continues, striking the Pokémon that was behind the Substitute. A Focus Sash activated by a multi-hit move will protect the holder from the rest of the attack. Pokémon with the Skill Link ability are guaranteed that any 2-5 hit multi-hit move they use will hit the full five times. The Razor Fang and the King's Rock will take each hit into consideration when determining whether or not the opponent will flinch.
Generation V
The Focus Sash and Focus Band no longer protect the holder against multiple hits of a multi-hit move (unless the Focus Band activates multiple times). The newly upgraded Sturdy only activates against one single hit of a multi-hit move (provided said hit would have knocked out the target and that said target was at full HP to begin with). The abilities Weak Armor, Sap Sipper, and Justified are activated by each hit of a multi-hit move. Motor Drive, Lightningrod, and Storm Drain would also activate on each hit, but there are no Water- or Electric-type multi-hit moves. The newly upgraded ability Stench will take each hit into consideration when determining whether or not the opponent will flinch.
List of multi-hit moves
2-5 hits per turn
Most multi-hit moves have a chance to hit an opponent two, three, four, or five times in one turn. These moves have better odds of hitting fewer times, but will always have the maximum of five hits when used by a Pokémon with Skill Link.
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2 hits per turn
Several multi-hit moves hit an opponent exactly twice in one turn. For the most part, these moves are found on fewer Pokémon, several of them being signature moves, and generally have higher power than other multi-hit moves, as they only hit twice.
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3 hit per turn
Triple Kick works differently from other multi-hit moves. It will hit an opponent three times in one turn, but its base power (10 originally) will increase by 10 with each hit. However, unlike other multi-hit moves, each hit has its own accuracy check, and once one hit misses, the entire move is ended.
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Trivia
- DoubleSlap is the only multi-hit move with "double" in its name that can hit 2-5 times.
- Triple Kick is the only multi-hit move that powers up on each consecutive hit, and the only one where hits after the first one can miss.
- While multi-hit moves cannot usually cause a foe to flinch, if the user is holding a King's Rock or a Razor Fang each hit is taken into account, so it is higher than most moves. Taking into account the probability of each number of hits to occur, 2-5 hit moves have a 27% chance of causing flinching (41% with Skill Link), 2 hit moves have a 19% chance, and 3 hit moves have a 27% chance.
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This article is part of Project Moves and Abilities, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on two related aspects of the Pokémon games. |