Herbal medicine: Difference between revisions

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

All medicine listed here lowers the friendship of the Pokémon it is used on by an amount proportional to its current value.

	Name	Cost	Effect
	Heal Powder	$300	Heals all status problems on a Pokémon.
	Energy Powder	$500	Restores a Pokémon by 60 HP.
	Energy Root	$1,200	Restores a Pokémon by 120 HP.
	Revival Herb	$2,800	Revives a fainted Pokémon and restores it to full HP.

Artwork

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

Heal Powder	Energy Powder	Energy Root	Revival Herb

In the anime

A bottle of Heal Powder in the anime

A Revival Herb in the anime

An Energy Root pill 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 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.

Multiple Revival Herbs appeared in Currying Favor and Flavor!, where Ash and Mallow collected them so they could be used as ingredients for the "Akala Curry". Later, they used a couple of the herbs to heal Totem Lurantis and its ally Castform after Ash's trial against it. Out of curiosity, Litten also took a taste of the herbs and, like Castform, found its bitter taste unpleasant.

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 green 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		104/105	Darkness, and to Light...
Life Herb	T	EX Hidden Legends		90/101	Undone Seal		073/083
					Metagross Constructed Starter Deck		014/019
		EX FireRed & LeafGreen		93/112	Venusaur/Charizard/Blastoise Random Constructed Starter Decks		047/052
					Deoxys Half Deck		012/019
					Rayquaza Half Deck		011/019
		Platinum		108/127	Giratina Half Deck		009/013
		Unleashed		79/95	Torterra Starter Deck		008/010
Energy Root	T [PT]	EX Unseen Forces		83/115	Golden Sky, Silvery Ocean		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.

This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items.