Gender

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Gender is a concept introduced in Generation II, though touched upon in Generation I. In Gold and Silver Versions, most species were assigned a gender (male or female), and then, in Pokémon Crystal, a choice of male or female player characters became available for the first time. This feature allowed for Pokémon breeding, as well as introducing the concept of a Pokémon Egg to the series. Gender makes no difference in the stats of a Pokémon after Generation II, unless the two Pokémon are a different species entirely, such as Nidoran.

Pokémon

Related species

Nidoran

The Nidoran family is a special case in terms of gender. Introduced in Generation I, before gender was known for all Pokémon, Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ are considered separate species of Pokémon and indeed have many differences, from appearance to moveset. However, Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ Eggs have a 50/50 chance of hatching into either Nidoran♀ or Nidoran♂, confirming that they are related.

Male Female
032.png
Nidoran♂
029.png
Nidoran♀
033.png
Nidorino
030.png
Nidorina
034.png
Nidoking
031.png
Nidoqueen

Other

In a manner similar to Nidoran, Eggs produced by Illumise may hatch into Volbeat. While Latias and Latios are in the Undiscovered Group in the games, likely due to being legendary Pokémon, Latias have produced Eggs containing Latios in the anime, confirming that they are related. Mothim and Wormadam evolve from male- and female-gendered members of the same species.

Male Female
313.png
Volbeat
314.png
Illumise
381.png
Latios
380.png
Latias
414.png
Mothim
413.png
Wormadam

Unofficial counterparts

Gender also allowed for many Pokémon to have unofficial male and female counterparts, as demonstrated below.

Male Female
128.png
Tauros
241.png
Miltank
475.png
Gallade
282.png
Gardevoir*
362.png
Glalie*
478.png
Froslass
627.png
Rufflet
629.png
Vullaby
628.png
Braviary
630.png
Mandibuzz
*Can be either gender

Gender differences

Main article: List of Pokémon with gender differences

Generation IV premiered minimal differences in sprite between two Pokémon of the same species. For example, a male Raichu will have the full tail seen in previous games, while the female is missing the very tip of it.

Gender-based evolution

Some Pokémon evolutions can only be obtained if they are of a certain gender:

Single-gender Pokémon

Several Pokémon are also only of one gender, yet do not have an official or unofficial counterpart of the other, though Cresselia has a genderless counterpart.

Pokémon Gender Pokémon Gender Pokémon Gender Pokémon Gender
440.png
Happiny
238.png
Smoochum
236.png
Tyrogue
539.png
Sawk
113.png
Chansey
124.png
Jynx
106.png
Hitmonlee
641.png
Tornadus
242.png
Blissey
416.png
Vespiquen
107.png
Hitmonchan
642.png
Thundurus
548.png
Petilil
115.png
Kangaskhan
237.png
Hitmontop
645.png
Landorus
549.png
Lilligant
488.png
Cresselia
538.png
Throh

In battle

Moves

This is a list of moves that are dependent on gender:

Gen Move Category Contest Power Accuracy PP Target Description
II Attract Status Cute 100% 15 (max 24)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
If it is the opposite gender of the user, the target becomes infatuated and less likely to attack.
IV Captivate Status Beauty 100% 20 (max 32)
     
     
Any adjacent Pokémon
If it is the opposite gender of the user, the target is charmed into harshly lowering its Sp. Atk stat.
All details are accurate to Generation VII games. For details that have changed between generations, please see an individual move's page. Target data assumes user is in the lower left.

Abilities

This is a list of Abilities that are dependent on gender:

Gen Ability Description
III Cute Charm Contact with the Pokémon may cause infatuation.
IV Rivalry Deals more damage to a Pokémon of same gender.
All details are accurate to Generation V games. For details that have changed between generations, please see an individual Ability's page.

Trainers

Choosing to play as male or female in Pokémon Black and White

Starting in Pokémon Crystal, players were given the option of choosing to play as a boy or girl Trainer at the start of the game. Since then, every game in the main series has included that choice.

Game Male Female
C Spr C Ethan.png
Ethan
Spr C Kris.png
Kris
R Spr RS Brendan.png
Brendan
Spr RS May.png
May
S
FR Spr FRLG Red.png
Red
Spr FRLG Leaf.png
Leaf
LG
E Spr E Brendan.png
Brendan
Spr E May.png
May
D Spr DP Lucas.png
Lucas
Spr DP Dawn.png
Dawn
P
Pt Spr Pt Lucas.png
Lucas
Spr Pt Dawn.png
Dawn
HG Spr HGSS Ethan.png
Ethan
Spr HGSS Lyra.png
Lyra
SS
B Spr BW Hilbert.png
Hilbert
Spr BW Hilda.png
Hilda
W
B2 Spr B2W2 Nate.png
Nate
Spr B2W2 Rosa.png
Rosa
W2
X X Y Calem.png
Calem
X Y Serena.png
Serena
Y

In side games

Many side games in the Pokémon franchise allow the player to choose between a male or female player character as well.

Game Male Female
Pokémon
Card GB2
TCG1 Mark.png
Mark
TCG2 Mint.png
Mint
Pokémon
Ranger
Ra Lunick f.png
Lunick
Ra Solana f.png
Solana
Pokémon
Ranger:
Shadows of
Almia
Soa Kellyn ra f.png
Kellyn
Soa Kate ra f.png
Kate
Pokémon
Ranger:
Guardian
Signs
Gs Ben f.png
Ben
Gs Summer f.png
Summer
Pokémon
Conquest
Conquest Hero I icon.png
Hero
Conquest Heroine I icon.png
Heroine

Trivia

Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ show genders twice in Generation II, but only once in Generation III onward
  • In Generation II, a Pokémon's gender was determined through its Attack IV. Due to this, unless a Pokémon was a member of an all-female species, such as Nidoran♀ and Smoochum, it could never have a maximized Attack stat, as female Pokémon were given the lower half of the IV range. This also caused the inability for a female Pokémon of a species with a gender ratio of seven males to one female—like the starter Pokémon and Eevee—to be Shiny, due to that also running partly off of the Attack IV. In Generation III this was addressed, with IVs no longer determining either of these, allowing for Pokémon species with two genders to have females with maximized Attack and simultaneously retain its chances of being Shiny.
  • Although its English and French names suggest that it is exclusively male, Mr. Mime may be of either gender. This is due to the fact that it was given its name prior to the introduction of gender to the series.
    • There are other Pokémon that have a similar scenario to Mr. Mime. For example, the names of Seaking, Kingler, and Slaking suggests that they are exclusively male due to the King in their name. However, they can be of either gender.
    • Similarly, Gardevoir and Glalie can be either gender, even though each has a single-gender counterpart
  • Since Azurill has a different gender ratio than Marill and Azumarill, one in three female Azurill will be male after evolving into Marill, dependent on the personality value of the Azurill in question.
  • In the international versions of Generation II, due to how the battlefield display is programmed, Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ have their gender icon shown twice, once in their name, and once after the level. This does not occur in the Japanese and Korean games, however, as the gender icon was present after all Pokémon's names due to the shorter character limit there. This was addressed in all later generations, which prevent the gender icon from showing up when an un-nicknamed Nidoran of either gender is on the field.




Pokémon individuality
LevelStatsFriendshipGenderAbility (Hidden Ability) • NatureCharacteristic
Effort valuesIndividual valuesGo PowerEffort level
ConditionPerformanceAffectionMemory


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