Movedex, Part 2: Barrier - Bullet Seed

Barrier
A magical barrier is formed to raise Defense by two levels.
Distribution: Pretty limited.
Utility: While not the best move in the game, it has some utility. Mr. Mime can Baton Pass the move, and Cradily likes not being able to be blown away by Roar or Whirlwind enough to use it as a way to wall up.

Baton Pass
Switches with a teammate. Avoids the fleeing effect of Pursuit and works even when trapped. The following effects are also passed to the teammate:
- All stat changes
- Substitutes (keeps the HP of the sub)
- Aqua Ring
- Block, Mean Look, Spider Web (whether used on you or the opponent)
- Confusion
- A ghost's Curse on you
- Embargo, Gastro Acid, Leech Seed used on you
- Focus Energy/Lansat Berry
- Ingrain
- Lock-On/Mind Reader
- Magnet Rise
- Perish Song count
- Power Trick
Distribution: Not huge, but not bad, either. A wide variety of Pokemon can learn this move. Probably its most famous users are Ninjask, Smeargle, Mr. Mime, Drifblim, and the entire Eevee family, as well as Mew, who can pass a +2 boost in any stat.
Utility: One of the potentially most powerful utility moves in the game. Used well, it can be nearly unstoppable. Entire teams have been built around Baton Pass. It's also a great move to put on one or two Pokemon to support the team. Use it, and use it well.

Beat Up
This esoteric move takes all your remaining unstatused Pokemon on the team for a typeless attack on the opponent. The attacks themselves are weak, but they are based on base Attack and Defense, ignoring IVs, EVs, and natures. It also somehow ignores Wonder Guard.

Belly Drum
Get down to the beat of this drum! Your attack is fully maximized, allowing your attacks to hit ridiculously hard... at the cost of half your HP.
Distribution: Limited. The Poliwag, Snorlax, Zigzagoon, Makuhita, Charmander, Slowpoke, Cubone, Lickitung, Cleffa, Marill, Teddiursa, and Magby families are the only ones that can learn this move.
Utility: When used with proper planning, this move can be devastating. Bellyzard is a well-known threat, while in the metagame, Belly Drum+Gluttony+ExtremeSpeed is such a force to be reckoned with that a Linoone can sweep an entire team unprepared for it.

Bide
This move (which gained priority in D/P) makes the Pokemon sit out two turns' worth of attacks before unleashing double the damage done to it on the opponent.

Bind
A weak attack that nevertheless traps the opponent for 2-5 turns, dealing 1/16-HP damage each of those turns.

Bite
The Pokemon... bites its foe. Not much else to it, other than the bite having a 30% chance to flinch the opponent. It is also one of the moves to have changed types from Gen I to Gen II, somehow becoming a Dark-type move.
Dark, Physical, 60 BP, 25 PP
Power: Not much, unless boosted by Technician.
Distribution: Has a large learnbase that can learn it by leveling up, plus a few more who can have it as an Egg Move.
Reliability: Accurate and has plenty of PP. Definitely reliable.
Utility: That 30% flinch rate is really what differentiates this from Crunch. Bite will usually be found either on Pokemon who can't learn Crunch but need some kind of a Dark-type attack, on Technicians for whom the move is more powerful than Crunch, or on Pokemon designed to abuse the flinch rate, like Stantler.

Blast Burn
The user charges up a fiery explosion that tears through opponents. However, it must recharge afterwards.
Fire, Special, 150 BP, 90 AC, 5 PP, 135 EP
Power: Absolutely destructive.
Distribution: This move is limited to the final forms of any Fire starter.
Reliability: This is where the move gets shot down. While powerful and fairly accurate, that recharge turn can mess you up, especially if the opponent decides to set up on that turn.
Utility: This move should only be used in-game, where if you can knock out the opponent, you can use Shift rules to switch to someone else and ignore the recharge turn (and this move will probably knock out an opponent).

Blaze Kick
A fiery kick is launched at the opponent. The kick has an increased critical hit rate, and also has a 10% chance of burning the opponent.
Fire, Physical, 85 BP, 90 AC, 10 PP, 76.5 EP
Power: Pretty good. Flare Blitz aside, it's the most powerful physical Fire attack there is, which says something. The extra critical hit chance is also good.
Distribution: Extremely limited. In fact, it used to be Blaziken's signature move. Since then, it's migrated to Hitmonlee and the Chimchar and Riolu families. Hitmonlee and Lucario, thus, like using the move to hit Bugs and some of the Fighting-resistant Steels.
Reliability: The 90% accuracy can bite you sometimes, but otherwise it is solid on reliability.
Utility: Lying somewhere between the reliable-but-weak Fire Punch and the powerful, accurate, yet recoil-inducing Flare Blitz, Blaze Kick is a decent option in the hands of the Pokemon who can get it.

Blizzard
A massive blizzard blasts the foe. It has a 10% chance of freezing the opponent solid. In Hail, it will never miss. Hits both enemies in a Double Battle.
Ice, Special, 120 BP, 70 AC, 5 PP, 84 EP
Power: As the most powerful Ice attack in the game, it is certainly not lacking in raw power.
Distribution: Great distribution, with many possible learners.
Reliability: Under normal circumstances, the move falls flat right around here. 70 accuracy is just too low for the move, especially considering that the effective power of the move is less than Ice Beam. However, under Hail, the move becomes something deadly, with perfect reliability and only a low PP as its drawback.
Utility: Chances are, if you're using this move, you're in a hailstorm. The poor accuracy and low effective power of the move just otherwise keeps this move from being anything good. However, in a hailstorm, the move becomes a devastatingly-powerful move that can sweep through an entire team.

Block
The user spreads its arms wide and essentially manages to keep the opponent from escaping simply by not letting them pass, Gandalf-style. More on the use of trapping moves like this when we reach Mean Look, as Block itself is not used much.

Body Slam
The user launches its entire body weight onto the opponent. It has a 30% chance of paralysis.
Normal, Physical, 85 BP, 15 PP
Power: While not as powerful as Return, it is certainly acceptable. It's a bit stronger than Strength, at any rate.
Distribution: It has a fair number of users within 4th-gen alone. Its learnbase is much bigger when you account for 3rd-gen Pokemon, who can learn the move via Move Tutor, Pal Parked over to 4th-gen.
Reliability: It has 100% accuracy, so no problems there.
Utility: The big draw of this move, particularly over Return, is that 30% paralysis rate. Defensive Pokemon love this move for spreading paralysis, especially since it does work against Ground-types (though Ghost-types will give trouble).

Bone Club

Exclusively the Cubone family's move, it is a basic move that serves well in early levels but should be ditched when more powerful options are available.

Bone Rush

The bone move not exclusive to Cubone's family, as Lucario can also learn it. However, in no case is it worth more than Earthquake or Bonemerang.

Bonemerang
The user launches its bone at the opponent in such a way that it later loops back and strikes the opponent again.

Ground, Physical, 50 BP, 90 AC, 10 PP, 90 EP

Power: It has the exact same power as Earthquake when it hits. That certainly can't be a bad thing.

Distribution: Cubone and Marowak's signature move, and no one else's.

Reliability: With a 10% chance of missing, in most cases it is inferior to Earthquake in this manner, albeit it's still not bad.

Utility: Two things make this move attractive over Earthquake. For one, it's a level-up move, meaning those hard-to-get Earthquake TMs can be saved for other Pokemon. Also, it can break a Substitute on the first hit, and deal decent damage on the second. The latter gives it 16-20% usage over Earthquake on simulators, while the former makes it an excellent in-game move.

Bounce
The opponent bounces high on the first turn, and drops on the foe on the second. It has a 30% chance of paralyzing the foe, much like Body Slam.

Flying, Physical, 85 BP, 85 AC, 5 PP, 72.25 EP

Power: Same as Body Slam, slightly more than Drill Peck, although, oddly enough, slightly less than Fly.

Distribution: An otherwise niche move exploded in distribution in the latest generation, especially with the Platinum tutor. However, most Pokemon have little use for the move.

Reliability: The move has a couple of problems. It's somewhat inaccurate, and the charge turn means someone can set up or switch in a resist. However, that 30% paralysis rate does mean that switch-ins (and, to a lesser extent, set-ups) are not necessarily safe.

Utility: All-in-all, this move mostly remains the fun move that suffers from bad reliability with its accuracy and charge-turn problems. This means that the move ultimately only really has one notable user. However, do not underestimate said user in any way... not that Gyarados will ever be underestimated. It gets STAB off the move, gets a free turn of Leftovers recovery, and is its most powerful attack aside from Aqua Tail, and again, switch-ins aren't completely safe with the paralysis chance. Try it out on the game's resident sea monster.

Brave Bird
A powerful charge attack: the user tucks in wings and makes a low-altitude charge. The impact inflicts 1/3 of the damage done back to the user as recoil.

Flying, Physical, 120 BP, 100 AC, 15 PP

Power: Double-Edge-level, and good thing too, because the Flying-type has been clamoring for a good powerful move not named Sky Attack.

Distribution: The Starly family can breed the move onto the Pidgey, Zubat, Doduo, Murkrow, Skarmory, and Taillow families. Ho-oh can also learn the move, as can... Blaziken? Basically, a fair amount of Pokemon who could use the move get it.

Reliability: No problems with the power, accuracy, or PP count, for sure; it's just the recoil damage that can bite you if you're not careful. Hint: Roost is a great move for restoring HP lost to recoil.

Utility: The sheer power of this move cannot be denied, nor can the fact that most of its learners need a good STAB Flying move anyways, and 120 BP + STAB is killer. Take a chance with Brave Bird; the recoil damage might hurt, but the sheer amount of destruction it can cause will likely be worth it.

Brick Break
The user concentrates his power to break a stack of bricks. And then the opponent. Along with any protective screens around the opponent, namely Reflect and Light Screen.

Fighting, Physical, 75 BP, 15 PP

Power: Fairly weak; this used to be the strongest Fighting move readily available to most Pokemon, but has since been mostly outclassed by various other moves. It's still many Pokemon's strongest Fighting option, though.

Distribution: Ridiculous. If it has arms, it likely can learn this move.

Reliability: All things considered, this is still the strongest drawback-free 100%-accurate Fighting move, not counting Technician-boosted moves.

Utility: While moves like Close Combat and Superpower have mostly taken the limelight, this move still sees use here and there, either for its reliability, or for the fact that it's the only Fighting move available on that Pokemon. The screen-breaking effect is a nice bonus, though.

Brine
Salty water is washed over the opponent, supposedly to rub in the opponents' wounds. Particularly, their wounds past 50% health, as the move does double damage to a target below that point.

Water, Special, 65 BP, 20 PP

Power: Weak, unless used on its intended targets: weakened Pokemon.

Distribution: Pretty much any Water-type can learn this move. And Hariyama. Why Hariyama? Must have mixed some water with those SmellingSalts.

Reliability: While no problem with the accuracy, the low power of the move outside its intended targets drops this move's reliability.

Utility: This move is only really used seriously on one Pokemon: Walrein. Super Fang + hail is pretty much a guaranteed under-50% for that Pokemon and Brine makes a great follow-up then.

Bubble

A seriously weak move whose only purpose is to allow you to smack around Geodudes until you learn Water Gun.

Bubblebeam

Slightly powerful and with a 10% chance of a Speed reduction, this move is still only used to tide you over until you get Surf.

Bug Bite
The Pokemon bites at the opponent, inflicting damage while acquiring the effect of its held Berry if it has one.

Bug, Physical, 60 BP, 20 PP

Power: Weak, unless the user has Technician, at which point it becomes the strongest 100%-accurate physical Bug move available.

Distribution: Took a leap with Platinum, and then a major leap with HGSS and the move tutor. Pretty much any Bug-type can learn this move now, and then some (Heatran?!)

Reliability: 100% accuracy? No problem!

Utility: This move is usually used with the Technicians, Scyther and Scizor. The move is a great move in their hands, providing reliable, strong Bug-type damage, and the secondary effect can be useful if it kicks in.

Bug Buzz
By flapping its wings, the Pokemon generates horribly jarring sound waves that rend the opponent, with an additional 10% chance of dropping Special Defense one level.

Bug, Special, 90 BP, 10 PP

Power: It's the Bug equivalent of Psychic, and packs plenty of punch for what it does.

Distribution: Anyone who could use it (read: Specially-oriented bugs) learns it, pretty much.

Reliability: 100% accuracy is never a bad thing.

Utility: The forefront of special Bug damage, the various Pokemon that get this move love this move. Watch out in particular for Tinted Lens wielders, like Yanmega and Venomoth, who can hit you with this move at full power even if you resist Bug.

Bulk Up
The user tenses up its muscles to build up strength and constitution, increasing Attack and Defense by one level each.

Distribution: The physical counterpart to Calm Mind, this move sees less use only because its distribution is more limited. The primary users of this move are Blaziken, Floatzel, Gallade, Hariyama, the Hitmon-family, Machamp, Medicham, Poliwrath... mostly Fighting-types.

Utility: There is certainly nothing wrong with this move; its a great way to be both bulky and powerful, much like Calm Mind does with Special attacks. If only it could be distributed more widely... As a bonus, Blaziken and Floatzel can both Baton Pass Bulk Up boosts.

Bullet Punch
The user punches faster than a speeding bullet. It has increased priority.

Steel, Physical, 40 BP, 30 PP

Power: Kind of weak? Well, priority attacks are normally that way... but what about on a Pokemon with base 130 attack, STAB, and an ability that increases its base power to 60? Yeah...

Distribution: The Hitmons, Metagross, the Machop, Makuhita, Meditite, Riolu, and Croagunk families... and of course, Scizor.

Reliability: 100% accuracy + priority!

Utility: Priority attacks are always good, but it is this attack that made Scizor the beast it is now. Talk about a bullet with butterfly... er, mantis wings.

Bullet Seed

A weak multi-hit move that is somehow a TM, presumably to give certain Pokemon something resembling a Grass attack. Now, if it was as blatantly overpowered as it was in Mystery Dungeon (multi-hit + each hit as powerful as a normal attack + ranged = KO multiple Pokemon in a row!)...