The Attack stat is one of the most vital in the Pokemon series. It determines how much damage your partners deal with physical moves, and raising it in battle can make certain Pokemon unstoppable. One of the best ways to do this is through the game's wide variety of stat-raising moves.

RELATED: Galari🥃an Pokemon With The Highest Attack Stat, Ranked

Many moves related to the Attack stat returned in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon Sword & Shield, each with additio🌱nal and unusual effects that set them apart from one another. Whether you’re a casual trainer or a competitive battler, nearly every Pokemon has tons of options for raising theirꦓ Attack.

Updated on February 18, 2023, by David W. Duffy: Pokemon Sword & Shield continue to be enjoyed by many of you, whether for its fun setting of Galar or its established competitive scene. As such, if you're looking to min-max your team for the best effect, you're going to need the best Attack-raising Pokemon moves, such as Work Up and Curse. While everything has been covered, we felt that Acupressure was a move that raises Attack that needed inclusion, however luck-based it can be.

16 ꦜ🦄 Acupressure

Drapion using Acupressure in Pokemon Sword and Shield against a Galarian Zigzagoon

Acupressure is a bit of a coin flip. It can raise a Pokemon's Attack, but it's never guaranteed that it will do so. That's because it relies on random selection, raising any one of the recipient's stats by two stages. It's a great increase that can turn the tide of battle if it lands, but it's incredibly unreliable. Still, any stat increase by two stages can be useful.

There is only a handful of Pokemon that can learn this nat💜urally through leveling in Sword & Shield: Quilfish, Maractus, Skorupi, Drapion, and Pinchurchin. Additionally, six Pokemon across a host of varied types can learn it through breeding: Tentacool, Goldeen, Shuckle, Inkay, Bounsw♏eet, and Arrokuda.

15 ಞHowl And Meditate

lucario in sword and shield

Two of the earliest and simplest moves you can use to raise your Attack are esse𓄧ntially identical, being Howl and Meditate. These moves each raise the stat by one stage, essentially granting future physical moves 50 percent more power.

These moves will do a mildly sufficient job on the battlefield, but are far from vital tools for competitive play. Howl is usually learned by Normal and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dark-type Pokemon throuꦅgh leveling up, while Meditate is quite common among 🦩Fighting and Psychic-types.

14 Work Up And Growth 🔜 💃

Conkeldurr using Work Up to increase its strength in the Pokémon anime

Another pair of identical stat moves are Growth and Work Up, but these moves are infinitely more useful than Howl and Meditate. These will not only raise the user's Attack by one stage, but will also raise Sp. Atk by just as much.

It's rare for both stat increases to be helpful in the same battle, but their versatility makes it a great budget option when stronger status moves aren't available. Many Grass-types learn Growth through leveling up, while Work Up can be learned by nearly any Pokemon 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:through a TR sold for 1,000W by Watt Traders.

13 𓆏 Ancient Power

Mamoswine throwing an Ancient Power in the Pokémon anime

Attack stats are rarely raised alone, but Ancient Power takes this one step further. This special move will deal non-physical damage with normal accuracy, and has a ten percent chance of increasing all the user's stats by one stage.

RELATED: Pokemon: The Mosꦦt Powerful Rock-Type Moves, Ranked

This effect may seem powerful for being attached to damage, but the odds of this stat boost are low enough that it's rarely worth using it over other moves. If you need your stats raised, if usually better to go for a more guaranteed status move.

12 Clangorous Soul And 🌠No Retreat

Kommo-o using Clangorous Soul in the Pokémon anime

Rather than leaving it up to chance, Clangorous Soul and No Retreat both raise all the user’s stats for a much flatter cost. Clangorous Soul, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:exclusive to the Dragon-type Kommo-o, grants this by sacrificing a third of its 🍨overall health.

Falinks, meanwhile, can also get this wide boost from its exclusive move No Retreat, which prevents it from being switched out of battle until it faints. Since it would lose the stat boosts upon switching out anyway, this isn't nearly as large a setback as it sounds.

11 Curse

Gengar following a cursed human in its shadow in the Pokémon anime

This awkward health-costing move might put a damaging curse on opponents when used by Ghost-types, but it's often overlooked that it can be learned by Pokemon of all sorts. When 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the user isn't a Ghost-type, this move will decrease the user🔯’s Speed, while also raising its Attack and Defense stats.

The loss of Speed might seem like a downside, but Pokemon that are already quite slow will hardly notice this setback, as the one-stage increase to Attack and Defense is usually worth it. The usual method for other types to get this attack is through bree𒅌ding with Ghost-types, as it’s a very common Egg Move.

10 ♔ C♛oil And Hone Claws

Centiskorch using the move Coil in Pokémon Sword & Shield

Much rarer than many other moves on this list, Coil is reserved mostly for snake and serpent Pokemon like Milotic and Sandaconda — although Furret is an offbeat inclusion🧜 here. This will raise three stats at no cost, in an odd combination — Attack, Defense, and Accuracy.

Similar to this is the more common Hone Claws, which simply raises Attack and Accuracy without the defensive boost. Very few moves can increase Accuracy in Pokemon Sword & Shield, so these moves are a great way to make attacks ✤like Stone Edge and Hypnosis more usable.

9 🍎 🏅 Swords Dance

A Zacian Using Swords Dance in Pokemon Sword And Shield

Swords Dance is likely the most powerful and efficient way to increase your Attack stat. This 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:classic status move raises the user's stat by two stages, essentially doubling it with its first use.

This move is learnable by all sorts of Pokemon, but works 🎃greatest with physicaꦐl attackers that can survive a hit. The TR can drop from Max Raid Battles against many Normal-types in the Wild Area, or you can purchase it from Watt Traders for a mighty 2,000W.

8 Sh💟ell Smash

Crustle without its shell after using Shell Smash in the Pokémon anime

The last of the mass stat moves, Shell Smash, is another incredibly powerful utility. This will raise the user’s Speed, Attack, and Sp. Atk by two stages, w꧟꧃hile decreasing Defense and Sp. Def in return.

This rare move can be weakening, but defensive Pokemon like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Cloyster and Blastoise ♛can often survive hits thanks to their naturally high stats. Using a White Herb hꦆeld item will also reset decreased stats, fully eliminating this downside.

7 Power-Up Punch And Fell Stinger ♓

Lucario using Power-up Punch in the Pokémon anime

Most༺ of the typical ways to raise stats consistently are through status moves, but some damage attacks do the job just as well. One of these is the uncommon Fighting-type move Power-Up Punc💯h, which deals minor physical damage before raising the stat by one stage.

RELATED: Pokemon: The Strongest Fighting-type Moves, 🌠Ranked

The other is Fell Stinger, a Bug-type move that’s much harder to use. Defeating an opponent with it will raise the user’s stat by two stages, b💯ut because of its low base power, it’s often quite hard for Pokemon to trigger this ability without prior stat boosts.