Herbal medicine

From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
Jump to navigationJump to search
Herb redirects here. For the character whose Japanese name is Herb, see Wendy (Ranger).

Herbal medicine is a type of item in the Pokémon games. They can be used during or outside of a battle to restore a Pokémon's HP, remove status conditions, or revive a Pokémon, all with a side effect of lowering a Pokémon's friendship due to their bitter taste. They can be found on the ground, whether readily visible or hidden from sight and requiring an Itemfinder to locate; however, herbal medicine is usually bought from special Herb Shops. It should be noted that other than the Revival Herb, the items are cheaper than their more-common counterparts (such as Super Potion). Even the Revival Herb has a benefit, as Max Revives cannot be bought in Poké Marts.

Types of herbal medicine

Artwork

These are artwork of the items as seen in the Pokémon Dream World.

Dream Heal Powder Sprite.png Dream Energy Powder Sprite.png Dream Energy Root Sprite.png Dream Revival Herb Sprite.png
Heal Powder Energy Powder Energy Root Revival Herb


In the anime

A Revival Herb in the anime
A bottle of Heal Powder in the anime

Many herbs not found in the games, such as Salveyo weed and Remeyo weed, have been featured in the anime. Characters like Brock and Iris specialize in using herbs to help sick Pokémon.

A bottle of Heal Powder appeared in The Brockster Is In! as one of the items gathered from the passengers of a cruise ship to help cure the poisoned Pokémon Normajean was taking care of.

Revival Herbs were first featured in White—Victini and Zekrom and Black—Victini and Reshiram. In Black—Victini and Reshiram, Luis was seen finding some with his Lillipup, while in White—Victini and Zekrom, he was seen giving Damon a small bottle of Revival Herb potion in a flashback.

Revival Herbs played a major role in Stopping the Rage of Legends! Part 1 and Part 2. Clay offered to accept Ash's challenge for a Gym battle in case he brought him some Revival Herbs. First, Ash and his friends searched for them from the Driftveil Market, but were able to find only a single, already preordered Herb, forcing them to go to Milos Island in order to get new ones. Unfortunately, when they arrived there, they found out that all the Herbs on the island had died out due to the lack of rain. Ash and his friends met a young man named Lewis, who told them about a legend of a Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus. The first two had almost destroyed the island with their fight once, only to be stopped by Landorus, who had been healed from its battle injuries by a shrine maiden and her Gothorita with a Revival Herb. As a sign of gratitude, Landorus had turned the island into a fertile paradise, blooming with Revival Herbs.

After Ash and his friends had saved the Forces of Nature from being caught by Team Rocket, effectively repeating the story of the legend in the process, the three Legendary Pokémon restored the island back to its fertile state, allowing Ash to get plenty of Revival Herbs for Clay. They were delivered to the Driftveil City Gym Leader at the beginning of Battling the King of the Mines!, where Clay kept his promise and agreed to have a Gym battle with Ash in exchange for bringing him the Herbs.

In Mewtwo — Prologue to Awakening, Anna gave Oscar's Stoutland a small bottle of Revival Herb potion to be taken to Mewtwo. However, once Stoutland found Mewtwo, the Genetic Pokémon refused to take the medicine, saying it didn't want any help from people.

In A Rush of Ninja Wisdom!, Sanpei offered a pill made out of Energy Root to Ash after his Froakie had lost to him in battle. The remedy proved instantly effective, though Froakie greatly disliked the bitter taste.

In the TCG

The following is a list of cards featuring herbal medicine in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The English language release of the Revival Herb uses an alternate translation of its Japanese name, Life Herb.

Related cards
Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.
Cards listed with a silver background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Heal Powder T Neo Destiny Common 104/105 Darkness, and to Light... Common  
Life Herb T EX Hidden Legends Uncommon 90/101 Undone Seal Uncommon 073/083
      Metagross Constructed Starter Deck   014/019
EX FireRed & LeafGreen Uncommon 93/112 Venusaur/Charizard/Blastoise Random Constructed Starter Decks   047/052
      Deoxys Half Deck   012/019
      Rayquaza Half Deck   011/019
Platinum Uncommon 108/127 Giratina Half Deck   009/013
Unleashed Uncommon 79/95 Torterra Starter Deck   008/010
Energy Root T [PT] EX Unseen Forces Uncommon 83/115 Golden Sky, Silvery Ocean Uncommon 101/106
 


Trivia

  • The effect of lowering a Pokémon's friendship due to its bitter taste applies even to those with a Calm, Gentle, Sassy, or Careful nature, which are supposed to prefer bitter taste.
  • A man in Lavaridge Town states that Charcoal is used for making herbal medicine. In game, however, it serves no medicinal purposes.
  • The Energy Root and Fresh Water are the two most cost-effective HP recovery items, both recovering 1 HP per $4 spent. However, the Max Potion (as well as Full Restore and Revives in some cases) can potentially be more cost-effective if used under certain circumstances; the ideal situation for a Max Potion is a Blissey with maximum EVs and IVs in HP with 1 HP remaining, which would recover around 1 HP per $3.5 spent.
Items
Items Evolution stonesFossilsFlutesShardsHeld items
Evolution itemsEscape itemsExchangeable itemsValuable items
Battle itemsScentsNectarsCandyIngredients
Medicine Status condition healing itemsVitaminsFeathers
MintsMochiDrinksHerbal medicine
Berries and Apricorns Poké BallsBerriesMulchApricorns
Aesthetic DecorationsAccessories (NormalGreatUltraMaster)
BackdropsPropsDécor
Clothing (XYSMUSUMLGPESwShBDSPLASV)
Others MailKey ItemsEvent items
Wonder Launcher itemsRotom Powers
Project ItemDex logo.png This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items.