I'm sure you already have some ideas for the currently unanimated Z-moves, but I just thought I'd do a bit of brainstorming too! Tried to minimize super-elaborate animations and new particles with these:
All: Someone provided a Z-move particle, right? It would be cool if that appeared above the users head like Nasty Plot/etc. when a Z-move animation plays, including status Z-moves like Splash/Conversion. Does a good job of differentiated regular moves from Z-moves.
I don't like this idea. People know they're going to use a Z-Move from the info they get when they're waiting for the opponent and before it uses a Z-Move. That's plenty of info.
Breakneck Blitz: Use the Agility animation of building up speed alongside some sort of existing self-buff particle (Growth? Work Up? Bulk Up?). When the Agility animation ends, the attacker slams forward in a similar manner to Giga Impact, causing noticeable knockback on the foe. Maybe accelerate/shorten the Agility portion so the animation isn't too long.
Just the growth + charge animation work for the start;
Quick attack + dust particles for when the attacker charges into the opponent;
Opponent gets squishes in the process;
Add a gradient background;
Subzero Slammer: The user is quickly propelled upward via a pillar of ice, using the particles from Ice Shard/etc, as if they had just used Ice Beam downward (rough mockup below). Once in the air, the user unleashes a Blizzard-like flurry of ice particles as the foe shakes from the impact. Perhaps you can even concentrate them over the foe's sprite as if they're freezing. The user then drops back to the ground after the move finishes.
Ascending + "upwards Ice Beam" animation;
Not sure if I'd go with the Blizzard idea or the Ice Beam again;
Sheer Cold finish?
Bloom Doom: The opponent is covered by a translucent flower that grows in size as the foe's sprite shakes in impact. The particle I used is easily recreatable with nine copies of the existing "ball" particle (Shadow Ball/etc.) so I don't think a new particle is needed, but I included it anyway. Around the foe is a flurry of the petal particle used in the most recent Petal Dance animation. The in-game animation also initiates the attack with a beam of light similar to Solar Beam, but I'm not sure the animation needs it.
Petals and leaves gathering on the attacker + a white wisp increasing in size + another one shooting upwards;
Same beam shooting downards + a white wisp increasing in size on the defender + explosion + flower;
Acid Downpour: The opponent is pelted with with the "rain" effect used in Thousand Arrows/Sinister Arrow raid (colored purple like Toxic) while a repeated pulse effect similar to Dark Pulse (also colored purple) emanates from their body.
Sludge Wave + Dark Pulse + Rain & Puple background;
Part of Dark Void animation
Savage Spin-Out: The opponent is covered in the Sticky Web particle while the user jumps into the air (playing the animation from Brave Bird/etc) and is slashed with the scratch particle (Solar Blade/etc).
Hydro Vortex: After a Surf-like wave animation, add a blue gradient to the background (as if the battlefield is now underwater). Then, have the user charge the opponent, maybe adding a Hydro Cannon-esque stream as well.
Twinkle Tackle: The user sparkles with the "shine" particle (Rock Polish/etc) as the space background (Draco Meteor/etc) appears in the background. The user then charges at the foe like Giga Impact, but instead of the "pow" particles, the "shine" particles are used during the collision. If you can use background gradients over the space background, maybe put a bit of a pink filter over everything.
Space background + Poison Jab animation;
Impact leave shine particles;
Opponent goes shooting to the sky upwards, , to the left, decreasing in size until it dissapears, leaving a shine particle
Shattered Psyche: A pink aura emanates from the user is if they're displaying psychic energy. The opponent's sprite rapidly blinks to different places on the screen (as if the user is levitating their body) and then their sprite is slammed into the original position with a psychic burst similar to the impact of Psycho Boost.
Works
All-Out Pummeling: Hard to differentiate from Close Combat. Maybe add an orange gradient to the background and increase the density/intensity of the fist/pow particles.
What do you mean by density?
Also, the opponent goes shooting out of the screen on the last punch
Devastating Drake: Tricky without a new particle. Maybe chain a Dragon Dance-like animation into the Dragon Pulse-like animation, with a bit of extra flair?
Yeah that works I guess
Tectonic Rage: Begins with a very similar animation to Precipice Blades, with spikes of earth striking the foe, maybe even having the user's sprite charge forward as this is happening. Then, the foe's sprite drops downward off the screen as if it's falling into the earth's core before falling back from the sky an ending with a fire/explosion particle as it hits the ground again. This one's a little more out there but the in-game animation is very over the top and elaborate, and it's hard to represent being dug into the earth's core...
We don't need to be too elaborate on the middle part. Just making the attacker charge to the opponent while the defender's going down is enough
Continental Crush: Like Pulverizing Pancake, the user leaps up into the air, accompanied by by rock particles (Stealth Rock/Rock Slide) gathering behind it as it jumps. Then, a boulder (Rock Wrecker particle) appears above the foe and crushes it, using the flattening animation (Heavy Slam/etc.).
Works
Corkscrew Crash: Using a similar animation to Coil, the user is surrounding in gray oblong particles (again, like Coil) that make them look like a drill (mockup below). The user then leaps offscreen and reappears under the opponent, jumping vertically and hit the foe's sprite from the underside, maybe causing some sort of impact particle in the process. The user continues this vertical jump until it's off-screen again, and then it returns to its original position without the drill particles.
This one's going to be a pain in the ass, but yeah I guess that's the best option
Malicious Moonsault: I think you can keep it very similar to the Pulverizing Pancake animation, but I'd also add the user surrounded by the "dark flame" particle (Hex/etc.) before/during the impact.
10k Volt Thunderbolt: The user leaps in the air, maybe with some electricity particles. Then, seven colored "ball" particles appear above the foe in the order of the rainbow (mockup below), in rapid succession, the Thunderbolt particle fires out of all of them from left to right, ending in a flash explosion (like Pulverizing Pancake).
Ascend;
Charge + a bit of lightning exploding + Rainbow particle decreasing in size on the attacker;
Shoot particles in a curve it possible;
Explosion on the defender followed by lightning constantly exploding on the defender
Genesis Supernova: The existing "ball" particles snakes upward along the user's sprite, twisting in a double helix shape (VERY rough mockup below). If this is too difficult to animate, having a circle of the "ball" particles rotating around them would work too. Then, the user unleashes a blast of psychic energy like Psycho Boost (in fact you could probably just use most of that animation).
I can probably pull the "DNA" animation
Soul-stealing 7 Star Strike: The user slightly lunges forward seven times as seven copies of the "shine" particle hit the opponent in the order that Marshadow uses (mockup below). This is also the shape of the Z-move icon, so maybe you could use that once all seven shines hit? Then the user jumps forward and hits the foe with a blast of shadow energy -- what this part looks like depends on what you do for the Spectral Thief animation.
I'll answer to this later
Temporary replacements: While the animations are unfinished, maybe use the pre-existing animations below in the meantime?
- Hydro Vortex: Origin Pulse
- Acid Downpour: Gunk Shot
- Devastating Drake: Dragon Pulse
- Corkscrew Crash: Flash Cannon
- Tectonic Rage: Precipice Blades
- Genesis Supernova: Psycho Boost
- Savage Spin-out: Sticky Web (weird as an attack but nothing else fits)
Also, unrelated, but I found someone that ripped the terrains from XY if you wanted to use those as backgrounds. Sadly they're XY rips so Psychic Terrain is absent, but I think the other three remain unchanged visually from their original appearance. Ripper is Phoenixoflight92 on Deviantart.
Have a great day!