Battle status

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A Pokémon's battle status describes a set of conditions that affect its capabilities in battles. Battle statuses are generally temporary, except changes to held items, and can be either volatile or non-volatile. Volatile battle statuses wear off when the affected Pokémon exits battle; non-volatile battle statuses persist after switching out or exiting battle, but can be restored at Pokémon Centers.

Types of battle status

Status conditions

Main article: Status condition

Status conditions are non-volatile effects meant to hinder a Pokémon's capabilities. The effects also persist after battle. The five main status conditions are:

Confusion is a volatile effect that in-game descriptions often but inconsistently include under "status conditions".

  • For items such as a Full Heal or Lum Berry, confusion "status condition" that can be cured
  • For the moves Aromatherapy and Heal Bell, confusion is not a "status condition" that is healed
  • The move Safeguard does include confusion as a "status condition" that allies are protected from

Stat modifiers

Main article: Stat modifier

When a stat is used in a calculation in battle, a number of stat modifiers may be applied during the calculation. During a battle, a Pokémon's effective stats may be raised or lowered by certain moves, Abilities, and held items. Some attacks may only have a chance of raising or lowering stats, while certain Abilities and held items may require a triggering event to activate any stat modifications. Stat modifiers always reset when the affected Pokémon exits the battlefield.

Type

Changes to a Pokémon's type are volatile effects that remove or replace one or both of a Pokémon's types. They can be caused by moves such as Soak or Abilities such as Protean. If a Pokémon's type has been altered, then its original type icons will be replaced when viewing its battle status. A Pokémon's original type is restored once it exits battle.

Having a type added, rather than being replaced, by moves like Trick-or-Treat or Forest's Curse are not displayed the same way. Instead, these effects are listed under a list of miscellaneous battle states.

Type changes as a result of form changes, including from Mega Evolution and Terastallization, are also not counted here.

Ability

Changes to a Pokémon's Ability are volatile effects that replace a Pokémon's Ability with a different one. They can be caused by moves such as Skill Swap and Role Play, or by Abilities such as Trace and Mummy. If a Pokémon's Ability has been changed, the new Ability will be displayed in its place when viewing its battle status. A Pokémon's original Ability is restored once it exits battle.

Ability changes as a result of form changes, such as from Mega Evolution, are not counted here.

Held item

There are several ways that a Pokémon's held item may be affected during battle:

  • Moves like Thief or Abilities like Pickpocket transfers the held item from one Pokémon to another, provided that the latter is not already holding one.
  • Moves like Trick and Switcheroo swaps the held items of the user and a target.
  • Moves like Knock Off and Incinerate may eliminate the target's held item
  • Items like the Focus Sash and many Berries are automatically consumed once an in-battle criteria is met
    • The Booster Energy is automatically consumed in battle, but is restored after the battle ends.
  • Moves like Fling and Natural Gift may cause the user to consume its held item

Held items are not restored if the Pokémon switches out of battle, and in many cases, they are not restored after the battle ends:

  • Held items that are automatically consumed or consumed via the user's own move are generally not restored

Battle states

Battle states is a miscellaneous category for any other in-battle effect that generally last beyond the turn it was activated. They are usually listed together when viewing the battle status.

There are two kinds of battle states:

  • Effects that target one or both sides of the battlefield
  • Effects that target Pokémon
    • Battle states, such as confusion and infatuation, may have effects comparable to status conditions, but are volatile
    • Battle states, such as Aqua Ring and Critical-Hit Boost, may be self-targeting effects that benefit the user

Viewing battle status

Since Generation VII, a Pokémon's battle status can be viewed through the in-battle interface.

Generation VII

050Diglett.png This Gen VII screenshots is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this Gen VII screenshots to add missing information and complete it.

In Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon, the 3DS's bottom screen displays an icon and background animation of the current weather, along with + buttons to check each Pokémon's battle status.


Generation VIII

Sword and Shield

In Pokémon Sword and Shield, battle status can be seen in-battle by pressing Y for Info.

Status Info SwSh.png
The "Info" view in Pokémon Sword and Shield

Legends: Arceus

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, battle status can be seen in-battle by pressing + to open the "Status Info" view.

Status Info LA.png
The "Status Info" view in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Generation IX

In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, battle status can be seen in-battle by pressing Y for Check Status.

Check Status SV.png
The "Check Status" view in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet


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