G-Max Move

A G-Max Move (Japanese: キョダイマックスわざ Kyodaimax Move) is a special type of move introduced in Generation VIII. G-Max Moves are special Max Moves that are exclusive to Gigantamax Pokémon.

Effects

For Gigantamax Pokémon, damaging moves of a certain type become its exclusive G-Max Move instead of the normal corresponding Max Move. Each species of Gigantamax Pokémon has its own unique G-Max Move and vice versa. Like Max Moves, the damage category and base power of most G-Max Moves are taken from that of the compatible base move (G-Max Drum Solo, G-Max Fireball, and G-Max Hydrosnipe being exceptions, with a 160 fixed base power whatever the base move is), and cannot be fully protected against by protection moves (such as Protect and Detect), except by the Max Move Max Guard. Most G-Max Moves use the same power as their Max Move counterparts (except the aforementioned three); thus, the only difference between most G-Max Moves and Max Moves of the same type is their secondary effects.

See more: Max Move → Power

List of G-Max Moves

Max Move	Gigantamax Pokémon		Type	Additional effect	Image
G-Max Vine Lash		Venusaur	Grass	Inflicts damage for four turns on non-Grass-type opponents
G-Max Wildfire		Charizard	Fire	Inflicts damage for four turns on non-Fire-type opponents
G-Max Cannonade		Blastoise	Water	Inflicts damage for four turns on non-Water-type opponents
G-Max Befuddle		Butterfree	Bug	Inflicts poison, paralysis, or sleep on all opponents Equivalent to Dire Claw's additional effect
G-Max Volt Crash		Pikachu	Electric	Paralyzes all opponents
G-Max Gold Rush		Meowth	Normal	Scatters coins on the ground that are picked up afterwards and confuses all opponents Value is equal to 100 × the user's level (200 × user's level with an Amulet Coin)
G-Max Chi Strike		Machamp	Fighting	Pumps up the user and its allies, raising the chance of critical hits by one stage. Stacks with itself and moves like Focus Energy, unlike other critical hit sources
G-Max Terror		Gengar	Ghost	Prevents the opponent from being recalled Same effect as Mean Look
G-Max Foam Burst		Kingler	Water	Lowers the Speed of all opponents by two stages
G-Max Resonance		Lapras	Ice	Lowers damage from both Physical and Special moves for five turns Same effect as Aurora Veil, though it does not require hail
G-Max Cuddle		Eevee	Normal	Opponents of the opposite gender of the user become infatuated
G-Max Replenish		Snorlax	Normal	50% chance of restoring user or ally's used Berries Similar effect to Recycle when it works
G-Max Malodor		Garbodor	Poison	Poisons all opponents
G-Max Meltdown		Melmetal	Steel	Makes opponents incapable of using the same move twice in a row Same effect as Torment
G-Max Drum Solo		Rillaboom	Grass	Moves can be used regardless of abilities. Power is always 160, regardless of base move. Works like Mold Breaker
G-Max Fireball		Cinderace	Fire	Moves can be used regardless of abilities. Power is always 160, regardless of base move. Works like Mold Breaker
G-Max Hydrosnipe		Inteleon	Water	Moves can be used regardless of abilities. Power is always 160, regardless of base move. Works like Mold Breaker
G-Max Wind Rage		Corviknight	Flying	Removes the effects of moves like Reflect, Light Screen, Spikes, and terrain from the opponents' side of the field. Works like Defog, but does not lower evasiveness
G-Max Gravitas		Orbeetle	Psychic	Intensifies gravity for five turns Same effect as Gravity
G-Max Stonesurge		Drednaw	Water	Creates Stealth Rock on the opponents' side of the field
G-Max Volcalith		Coalossal	Rock	Inflicts damage for four turns on non-Rock-type opponents
G-Max Tartness		Flapple	Grass	Lowers the evasion of all opponents by one stage
G-Max Sweetness		Appletun	Grass	Cures the user and its allies of their status conditions Only affects allies on the field
G-Max Sandblast		Sandaconda	Ground	Traps the target in Sand Tomb for four to five turns
G-Max Stun Shock		Toxtricity	Electric	Inflicts poison or paralysis on all opponents
G-Max Centiferno		Centiskorch	Fire	Traps the target in Fire Spin for four to five turns
G-Max Smite		Hatterene	Fairy	Inflicts confusion on all opponents
G-Max Snooze		Grimmsnarl	Dark	50% chance of making the target drowsy, causing it to fall asleep at the end of the next turn Same effect as Yawn when it works
G-Max Finale		Alcremie	Fairy	Heals the user and its allies by 1/6 their maximum HP
G-Max Steelsurge		Copperajah	Steel	Scatters sharp spikes around the field Works like Stealth Rock, though it checks the effectiveness of Steel against the target instead of Rock
G-Max Depletion		Duraludon	Dragon	Takes 2 PP away from the last move the target used Less potent version of Spite's effect.
G-Max One Blow		Urshifu (Single Strike)	Dark	Hits the target even if it is protected by a protection move, including Max Guard Works like Feint
G-Max Rapid Flow		Urshifu (Rapid Strike)	Water	Hits the target even if it is protected by a protection move, including Max Guard. Works like Feint

In other games

Pokémon GO

Gigantamax Pokémon replace their attacking Max Move with a G-Max Move based on the Pokémon species. Thus, a Pokémon's G-Max Move cannot be changed and may not be the same type as its Fast Attack. G-Max Moves have significantly increased power; a Level 1 G-Max Move has the same power as a Level 3 Max Move. G-Max Moves are otherwise identical to attacking Max Moves: they start unlocked at Level 1, can be upgraded up to Level 3 by spending Max Particles and Candy or Candy XL, and each upgrade awards experience. All G-Max Moves temporarily increase by one level when under the Adventure Effect of Dynamax Cannon; Max Level G-Max Moves become Level 4, which is normally inaccessible.

List of G-Max Moves

Pokémon	G-Max Move	Type	Costs
			Level 2	Level 3
	G-Max Vine Lash	Grass	600 100	800 40
	G-Max Wildfire	Fire	600 100	800 40
	G-Max Cannonade	Water	600 100	800 40
	G-Max Befuddle	Bug	600 100	800 40
	G-Max Chi Strike	Fighting	600 110	800 45
	G-Max Terror	Ghost	600 110	800 45
	G-Max Foam Burst	Water	600 110	800 45
	G-Max Resonance	Ice	600 120	800 50
	G-Max Replenish	Normal	600 120	800 50
	G-Max Malodor	Poison	600 110	800 45
	G-Max Drum Solo	Grass	600 100	800 40
	G-Max Fireball	Fire	600 100	800 40
	G-Max Hydrosnipe	Water	600 100	800 40
	G-Max Stun Shock	Electric	600 120	800 50
XP Reward			+6000	+8000

Pokémon Masters EX

Certain sync pairs are capable of Gigantamaxing their partner Pokémon, including some Trainers that do not have Dynamax Bands in the core series. G-Max Moves have either 400 or 450 base power, which can be increased up to a maximum power of 480 and 540, respectively.

G-Max Moves otherwise function identically to max moves. A sync pair can only use a max move once per battle, but it can be used at any time. If all three sync pairs on the player's team are capable of using max moves, the player can use up to three max moves in that battle - one for each sync pair. Similar to sync moves, using a max move does not advance the user's sync move countdown, but it always hits and ignores the target's Enduring effect, if applicable.

Although Eternabeam is a standard move in the core series games, in Pokémon Masters EX, it is treated as a max move that is exclusive to Eternatus. Because this is the same way G-Max Moves work, Eternabeam is included in the following list.

List of G-Max Moves

Max Move	Gigantamax Pokémon		Type	Base power	Max power	Additional effect	Image
Eternabeam		Leon's Eternatus	Dragon	400	480	Charges the user’s move gauge by three for each allied sync pair on the field. When used in a co-op battle, charges the move gauges of all allied players by three instead.
G-Max Replenish		Red's Snorlax Anabel's Snorlax	Normal	400	480	Restores one MP of the user's moves.
G-Max Terror		Allister's Gengar	Ghost	400	480	Applies the Restrain effect to all opposing sync pairs.
G-Max Smite		Bede's Hatterene	Fairy	400	480	Leaves all opposing sync pairs confused.
G-Max Rapid Flow		Gloria's Urshifu	Water	400	480	Except in certain circumstances, successful hits with this attack become critical hits. Ignores passive skills that would reduce the damage of this attack. Ignores passive skills that would protect the target against a critical hit. Ignores the target's Damage Guard Next effect.
G-Max Volt Crash		Red's Pikachu	Electric	400	480	Leaves all opposing sync pairs paralyzed
G-Max Volcalith		Gordie's Coalossal	Rock	400	480	Applies the Rock Damage Field effect to the opponents’ field of play. Rock Damage Field: The sync pairs will take Rock-type damage whenever they take an action.
G-Max Resonance		Melony's Lapras	Ice	400	480	Applies the Physical Damage Reduction effect to the allied field of play. Applies the Special Damage Reduction effect to the allied field of play.
G-Max Drum Solo		Victor's Rillaboom	Grass	450	540	Ignores passive skills that would reduce the damage of this attack. Ignores passive skills that would protect the target against a critical hit.
G-Max Wildfire		Leon's Charizard Arc Suit Leon's Charizard	Fire	400	480	Applies the Fire Damage Field effect to the opponents’ field of play. Fire Damage Field: The sync pairs will take Fire-type damage whenever they take an action.
G-Max Steelsurge		Rose's Copperajah	Steel	400	480	Applies the Steel Damage Field effect to the opponents' field of play. Steel Damage Field: The sync pairs will take Steel-type damage whenever they take an action.
G-Max Malodor		Oleana's Garbodor	Poison	400	480	Leaves all opposing sync pairs poisoned.
G-Max Fireball		Gloria's Cinderace	Fire	450	540	Ignores passive skills that would reduce the damage of this attack. Ignores passive skills that would protect the target against a critical hit.
G-Max Stun Shock		Roxie's Toxtricity	Electric	400	480	Leaves all opposing sync pairs poisoned or paralyzed.
G-Max Centiferno		Kabu's Centiskorch	Fire	400	480	Leaves all opposing sync pairs trapped.

In animation

Pokémon the Series

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

G-Max Moves were introduced in Flash of the Titans!. In The Climb to Be the Very Best!, Leon further explained how Gigantamax Pokémon have their own signature G-Max Moves, as opposed to just regular Max Moves.

List of G-Max Moves used

Pokémon		G-Max Move	Image	Debut
	Leon's Charizard	G-Max Wildfire		Flash of the Titans!
	Drednaw	G-Max Stonesurge		The Climb to Be the Very Best!
	Ash's Pikachu	G-Max Volt Crash		The Climb to Be the Very Best!
	Doug's Centy	G-Max Centiferno		Sword and Shield, Slumbering Weald!
	Coalossal	G-Max Volcalith		Sword and Shield: The Darkest Day!
	Subordinate's Garbodor	G-Max Malodor		Sword and Shield: The Darkest Day!
	Meowth of Team Rocket	G-Max Gold Rush		Sword and Shield... The Legends Awaken!
	Opal's Alcremie	G-Max Finale		The Sweet Taste of Battle!
	Bea's Machamp	G-Max Chi Strike		A Battle of Mega Versus Max!
	Marnie's Grimmsnarl	G-Max Snooze		Battling Turned Up to Eleven!
	Ash's Gengar	G-Max Terror		Battling Turned Up to Eleven!
	Raihan's Duraludon	G-Max Depletion		Aim For The Eight!
	Leon's Rillaboom	G-Max Drum Solo		Curtain Up! Fight the Fights!
	Leon's Cinderace	G-Max Fireball		Partners in Time!

Pokémon: Twilight Wings

List of G-Max Moves used

Pokémon		G-Max Move	Image	Debut
	Leon's Charizard	G-Max Wildfire		Sky

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

List of G-Max Moves used

Pokémon		Max Move	Image	Debut
	Nessa's Drednaw	G-Max Stonesurge		Splish Splash!! Gigantamax Battle
	Allister's Gengar	G-Max Terror		Glittering!! The Tapestry in the Vault
	Opal's Alcremie	G-Max Finale		Rising!! Opal of Ballonlea
	Casey's Tera	G-Max Stun Shock		Chomp!! It's Dracovish
	Corviknight	G-Max Wind Rage		Rumble!! The Darkest Day Returns
	Pikachu	G-Max Volt Crash		PASS41
	Meowth	G-Max Gold Rush		PASS41
	Bede's Hatterene	G-Max Smite		PASS42
	Casey's Bit	G-Max Fireball		PASS42
	Marvin's Sniffler	G-Max Hydrosnipe		PASS42

Pokémon Journeys

In the TCG

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, every Pokémon VMAX card depicting a Gigantamax Pokémon has one attack whose name starts with the phrase "G-Max". This may allude to the concept of G-Max Moves, although these attacks have no special qualities. If the Pokemon has two attacks, this attack is always the second of the attacks, and as such always has more Energy in its attack cost compared to the other attack. Some of these attack share names with a G-Max Move, such as the G-Max Gold Rush attack on Meowth VMAX, and G-Max Smite on Hatterene VMAX. Still others share the name of a regular move, but with "G-Max" appended to the start. Examples include G-Max Volt Tackle from Pikachu VMAX and G-Max Headbutt from Drednaw VMAX. And plenty are entirely original, with names like G-Max Drill used on Grimmsnarl VMAX and G-Max Spiral with Inteleon VMAX. These possibly imply some flexibility in how Max Moves and G-Max Moves are represented in the TCG.

For Dynamax Pokémon, a similar pattern occurs where their most expensive attack starts with the phrase "Max", alluding to Max Moves.

Trivia

• There is at least one G-Max Move of every type. This was the case even before the release of the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass.
• The Water type has the most G-Max Moves out of any type, with five.
  • Before the release of the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass, Normal had the most G-Max Moves out of any type, with three.
• Urshifu is the only Legendary Pokémon with a G-Max Move.
• Melmetal is the only Mythical Pokémon with a G-Max Move.
• Alcremie and Toxtricity can each learn only one G-Max Move, despite having multiple alternate forms.
  • Urshifu is the only Pokémon with more than one G-Max Move.

In other languages

Related articles

• Z-Move

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.