What it does
Whenever the Moxie holder directly KOs an opposing Pokémon, its Attack rises by one stage (+1.5×). No turn cost, no cooldown — the boost is immediate and permanent until the holder switches out or faints.
Some details:
- The holder must land the KO with its own move. KOs from weather, burn, recoil, or other indirect damage do not trigger it.
- Boosts stack. Three KOs means +3 stages (×2.0 Attack). The cap is +6, though getting there in a real match is unlikely — +2 or +3 is already near-unmanageable.
- Special Attack is unaffected. Moxie is a pure physical offensive tool.
In doubles, two Pokémon are on the field simultaneously, so there are more KO opportunities per game compared to singles. One KO early in the match can create a cascade: the Attack boost makes the next KO more likely, which triggers another boost, which puts the holder into territory where conventional checks can no longer reliably remove it.
Who runs it
Quaquaval at 99% adoption is the primary Moxie carrier in Champions. High Speed, solid Attack, STAB Close Combat and Aqua Step — it has both the offensive firepower to hit KO thresholds and the Speed to move first and execute. The combination of fast + strong + snowballing is what makes it dangerous.
Heracross at 66%. 125 base Attack with STAB Close Combat and Megahorn hits hard enough to KO most targets in one or two hits. Heracross is slower, so it tends to appear in Trick Room or Tailwind teams where speed control handles the timing problem for it.
Krookodile (29%) uses its coverage — Earthquake, Crunch, Rock Slide — to chain KOs across a wide type spread.
Gyarados (1%) historically runs Moxie but sees minimal Champions play currently.
How to use it
The team's job is to get the holder its first KO. That is the single most important setup task:
- Chip damage: a partner softens targets into KO range, then the Moxie holder lands the finishing hit.
- Speed control: Tailwind or Icy Wind ensures your attacker moves first.
- Fake Out support: Fake Out freezes one opposing Pokémon for a turn, leaving the other exposed. Quaquaval hits the exposed one for the KO, immediately gains the +1, and the next turn starts at boosted Attack.
The Attack boost triggers immediately at the end of the KO turn, so the very next move the holder makes is already at the raised stage.
Tips & strategy
Moxie holders attract immediate focus once opponents recognize the boost is active. After a +1, expect the opposing team to prioritize removing the Moxie user before it adds another KO. Your partner's job in that scenario is to absorb the incoming damage or redirect the threat.
Fake Out + Moxie sweeper is one of the cleanest doubles patterns. Turn 1: Fake Out one opponent, partner KOs the other → Moxie triggers at +1. Turn 2: one opponent left plus their switch-in, but now your sweeper is stronger. The asymmetry compounds.
Check your coverage before committing to a Moxie attacker. If the opponent's team is heavy on physical-resistant types (Steel, Rock with high Defense), the KO threshold becomes hard to reach and the snowball stalls. Moxie works best when the holder can reliably remove at least one type of common threat in your meta.