While doing max raid battles, I will occasionally get a message that says, or something similar to:
“[X] move has failed; [Boss] protected itself”
This message has appeared for both my Pokémon and the boss itself.
So far, these are the ones I know do not work
- Explosion (used by boss, failed)
- Grass Knot (probably due to damage calculation)
- Destiny Bond (don’t judge me)
What are all the moves that can’t be used in raid battles?
Best Answer
The OHKO moves (such as Horn Drill) won't have any affect on a Dynamax Pokemon,
except when they have a shield.
The move removes 2 shield points (rather than the usual 1),
but it does no damage if they do not have a shield.
The Weight Moves (such as Heavy Slam and the Grass Knot you mentioned) will also not have any affect, your Pokemon will not use those moves against Dynamax Pokemon as Dynamax have a weight of ??? as shown in the Pokedex.
It seems that moves that affect the held item, such as Knock Off and Bug Bite don't work as well.
Also moves that affect the Pokemon's ability, such as Skill Swap will not work.
Lastly moves that send the pokemon away, such as Whirlwind do not work.
Paul's answer is certainly great with that list, however Serebii actually has a second list on a different page that includes the weight moves and others.
As mentioned in Pyrite's comment, Curse (when used by a Ghost type) does actually work.
Here is proof I recorded.
So in total it seems the list of moves are as follows: