Status in Black and White [GP 2/2]

Status in Black and White
By mien and Arseus.

  • [JUMP=#introduction]Introduction[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#inducing_preventing]Inducing and Preventing Status[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#primary_status]Primary Status[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#burn]Burn (BRN)[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#freeze]Freeze (FRZ)[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#paralysis]Paralysis (PAR)[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#poison]Poison (PSN)[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#sleep]Sleep (SLP)[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#removing_effects]Removing Primary Status Effects[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#pseudo_status]Pseudo Status Effects[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#confusion]Confusion[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#flinch]Flinch[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#infatuation]Infatuation[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#trapped]Trapped[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#veto]Vetoing Effects[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#credits]Credits[/JUMP]

[A]#introduction[/A]
Introduction

Like many RPGs, Pokemon plays host to a number of different conditions that may affect your team. Unlike many RPGs, however, Pokemon's status effects are equally usable by both you and your opponent, and therefore, the infliction of status is an incredibly viable tactic. These status effects are found in a respectable quantity, and may be organized into two broad categories.

The first category is made up of the afflictions that appear next to a Pokemon's HP bar in battle, subtly altering its idle animation. Each of these status effects has been given an official three-letter abbreviation set in a specially-colored box; as these afflictions have been officially identified by GameFreak as status effects, they are here termed "Primary Status." Only one of these status effects can be given to a Pokemon at any time; a Pokemon must be relieved of one Primary Status effect before it can be given another. The category of Primary Status encompasses such familiar afflictions as sleep and burn, typically encountered by a trainer on his or her adventures.

However, this official set of effects excludes other conditions that resemble status, such as confusion or infatuation. These would-be status effects, or "Pseudo Statuses," as they shall be called from this point forth, deserve a mention in spite of their unofficial status. These effects, like Primary Status effects, are distinct afflictions induced in a number of ways. Thus, we may separate a unique condition, such as Leech Seed, from an effect like confusion. The mentioned Pseudo Statuses also exclude phenomena contained within pre-existing categories, such as Field Effects, and are not mentioned here. Pseudo Status effects are also notable for stacking both with other Pseudo Status effects and Primary Status effects, and are almost always relieved when a Pokemon exits battle by means other than Baton Pass.

That said, the only way to truly define status is to look at each effect individually—what causes it, how it functions, and ultimately, how it is removed.

[A]#inducing_preventing[/A]
Inducing and Preventing Status

Before examining each status effect and how it is induced, some general observations may be made about status effects as a category. First, the vast majority of moves that induce status bring it about through a secondary effect; there are comparatively few moves dedicated to inducing status. For attacks with a secondary chance to induce a status effect, the ability Serene Grace doubles the general effect rate. For example, a Pokemon with Serene Grace will have a 20% chance of freezing its foe with Ice Beam, as opposed to the regular 10%; naturally, this chance will never exceed 100%. Note that the effects of items such as King's Rock do not stack with Serene Grace. That said, the ability Shield Dust negates any secondary effects, so its users will be immune from chance status.

Status effects that are not brought about as a secondary effect will be the result of a non-attacking move. Thus, they will be blocked if the foe's Pokemon uses Taunt—an established strategy of keeping harmful status effects at bay. However, they may also benefit from the ability Prankster, which boosts the priority of all non-attacking moves by one. This benefit extends to many of the moves designed to purge status effects as well. On the other hand, the ability Wonder Skin reduces the success rate of a status-inducing move by 50%; this does not apply to moves that induce status as a secondary effect.

While all status effects can be removed, as shall be explored in detail later on, some Pokemon can deflect or reflect a status effect onto the attacker. The former is achieved through the ability Magic Bounce and its equivalent move, Magic Coat. Magic Bounce sends dedicated status-inflicting moves, including many Pseudo Statuses (except for Teeter Dance's confusion) back at the user, and Magic Coat is a +4 priority move that achieves the same effect. As for the second category, when a Pokemon with the ability Synchronize is given a status effect, the same effect is given to the attacker. As of the fifth generation, bad poison will be passed on if it is inflicted, instead of its regular counterpart.

Two other general conditions prevent Primary Status effects from being given to affected Pokemon. The move Safeguard creates a veil around the user's side of the field, preventing any Pokemon from being given a Primary Status for five turns. The ability Leaf Guard also prevents any Primary Status from affecting its bearer while the sunlight is strong; this will also prevent the use of Rest, since it must put the user to sleep to work. Many other abilities prevent specific status effects, and shall be addressed in the section of their relevant status.

Finally, as mentioned above, a Pokemon already afflicted by a Primary Status is unable to receive another one. This may be used to your (or your opponent's) advantage by allowing one Pokemon to take a status effect and using it to "absorb" any further effects directed at your team. Alternatively, you can simply let a Pokemon take a status effect that will not detract too much from its role, while preventing it from being subjected to a less desirable affliction.

Without further ado, let us look at each of the different status effects:

[A]#primary_status[/A]
Primary Status

[A]#burn[/A]
Burn (BRN)

The burn status is among the best lines of defense against physical attackers, short of knocking them out altogether. In addition to decreasing the affected Pokemon's HP by 12.5% of its maximum at the end of each turn, the burn status invokes a special modifier in the damage formula, reducing the Pokemon's physical damage output by half. For that reason, the burn status is frequently utilized—a burned physical attacker is a lamed one.

However, the burn status is not universally effective; a burned special attacker is unfazed by a loss of physical power, and is now unaffected by a more debilitating Primary Status such as paralysis or sleep. In the same vein, Pokemon with the ability Guts actually benefit from a burn, as said ability ignores the attack drop and instead causes a 50% increase in physical power. Flare Boost operates in much the same manner on the special side. All three of these Pokemon will still suffer the HP reduction caused by a burn.

Conversely, Fire-type Pokemon and Pokemon with the ability Water Veil are entirely immune to burns. That said, if a Fire-type Pokemon is given another type (such as through Soak), it will not be relieved of its burn if it regains its old typing. On the other hand, Water Veil grants an immunity to the burn condition itself; if a burned Pokemon somehow gains Water Veil (such as through Trace), it will be relieved of its affliction. The final abilities which decrease the effectiveness of a burn are Heatproof and Magic Guard; the former reduces the damage taken from a burn to 6.25% each turn, whereas the latter negates the HP loss entirely. However, neither ability counteracts the Attack reduction burn gives.

The following moves can burn their target(s):

Move Accuracy Chance to Burn
Blaze Kick 90% 10%
Blue Flare 85% 20%
Ember 100% 10%
Fire Blast 85% 10%
Fire Fang 95% 10%
Fire Punch 100% 10%
Flame Wheel 100% 10%
Flamethrower 100% 10%
Flare Blitz 100% 10%
Heat Wave 90% 10%
Ice Burn 90% 30%
Inferno 50% 100%
Lava Plume 100% 30%
Sacred Fire 95% 50%
Scald 100% 30%
Searing Shot 100% 30%
Tri Attack 100% 6.67%
Will-O-Wisp 75% 100%


Finally, a burn may be induced by an item or ability. If an attacker uses a contact move against a Pokemon with the ability Flame Body, there is a 30% chance for the attacker to be inflicted with a burn. The item Flame Orb will also inflict a burn; it burns its holder at the end of the turn, or any Pokemon that is hit with the Flame Orb by the move Fling.

It is important to remember that the burn status is designed to counter physical attackers; special attackers and walls are best badly poisoned if their HP is to be reduced, or put to sleep if their offense must be stopped. An attempt to induce a burn is also a potential benefit to Pokemon with the ability Flash Fire; because the vast majority of burn-inducing moves are Fire-type, including the often-used Will-O-Wisp, the Flash Fire user can switch in on a predicted burn for a boost in firepower. As such, the burn status must be employed wisely.

[A]#freeze[/A]
Freeze (FRZ)

What may be the most potent of status effects is fortunately the most difficult to inflict. A frozen Pokemon is unable to attack until it thaws—each turn it tries to attack, it has a 20% chance of thawing out. While a Pokemon can theoretically thaw before it loses a turn to being frozen, it may also remain encased in ice indefinitely. This unpredictability, combined with potential length of immobility, is what makes the freeze status so deadly.

Ice-types are immune to being frozen, as are Pokemon with the ability Magma Armor. A frozen Pokemon that acquires Magma Armor will instantly thaw out, similarly to the situation of burned Pokemon acquiring Water Veil. In addition, because there is no dedicated freezing move, the ability Shield Dust effectively prevents a Pokemon from being frozen, thanks to its immunity to secondary effects. Finally, strong sunlight prevents all Pokemon on the field from being frozen.

The following moves can potentially freeze their target(s):

Move Accuracy Chance to Freeze
Blizzard 70% (-- in hail) 10%
Ice Beam 100% 10%
Ice Fang 95% 10%
Ice Punch 100% 10%
Powder Snow 100% 10%
Tri Attack 100% 6.67%

The prevalence of Ice Beam, and to a lesser extent, Ice Punch, dictates that you will probably encounter a freeze sooner or later. However, it is rarely seen, and should be neither relied upon nor forgotten about completely in the midst of battle.

[A]#paralysis[/A]
Paralysis (PAR)

Although paralysis, like freeze, is a very useful status effect, it is considerably more common. Paralysis reduces the affected Pokemon's Speed to 25% of its former number, accounting for all boosts and drops. It also gives a 25% chance each turn for the victim to be fully paralyzed—unable to attack that turn. Thus, attackers that would not mind a Speed reduction, such as Trick Room sweepers, are still faced with the prospect of giving the foe a free turn when they succumb to paralysis. For this reason, paralysis is a useful status to inflict upon many Pokemon.

Naturally, you cannot paralyze Pokemon that are immune to such a status, such as those with the ability Limber. Limber grants total immunity to its status effect, meaning that if a paralyzed Pokemon is given the ability Limber (such as through Skill Swap), it will recover from paralysis. The ability Quick Feet overrides the Speed drop from paralysis, boosting its users speed instead; however, it does not prevent a Pokemon from being fully paralyzed.

The following moves may inflict paralysis:

Move Accuracy Chance to Paralyze
Body Slam 100% 30%
Bolt Strike 85% 20%
Bounce 85% 30%
Discharge 100% 30%
DragonBreath 100% 30%
Force Palm 100% 30%
Freeze Shock 90% 30%
Glare 90% 100%
Lick 100% 30%
Spark 100% 30%
Stun Spore 75% 100%
Thunder 70% (-- in rain, 50% in sun) 30%
Thunderbolt 100% 10%
ThunderPunch 100% 10%
Thundershock 100% 10%
Thunder Fang 95% 10%
Thunder Wave 100% 100%
Tri Attack 100% 6.67%
Volt Tackle 100% 10%
Zap Cannon 50% 100%

Most of the paralyzing moves are Electric-type, and accordingly, Pokemon with the ability LightningRod or Motor Drive can acquire a boost to their Special Attack or Speed, respectively, by switching in at the right moment. This also means that Ground-types are immune to many paralysis-inducing moves. Pokemon with the ability Normalize can avoid this immunity, but are subsequently walled by Ghost-types.

Paralysis may also be inflicted through certain abilities and an item. Effect Spore and Static have a 10% and 30% chance, respectively, to paralyze the opponent when contact is made with a Pokemon with one of those abilities; however, the former has a 20% chance of inflicting sleep or poison instead. Finally, a Pokemon hit with a Light Ball thrown by Fling will become paralyzed.

Paralysis is a condition best inflicted against swift sweepers, in order to strip them of their Speed advantage. However, the one-in-four chance of gaining a free turn makes paralysis a helpful tool, especially in longer battles.

[A]#poison[/A]
Poison (PSN)

One status effect that has the chance to truly shine in drawn-out battles is poison. There are two types of poison—normal poison and bad poison. Normal poison reduces the victim's HP by 12.5% of its maximum each turn, with no added effects (essentially making it a lesser burn.) The second variety, bad poison—also named "toxic poisoning," after the move that typically induces it—is the useful addition to a stall team's arsenal. Bad poison gradually increases its end-of-turn damage in accordance with the following formula:

Damage = max(floor(max HP ÷ 16), 1) × min(# of turns Pokemon has taken bad poison damage, 15)

In other words, bad poison begins at 6.25% damage, increasing by 6.25% each turn until eventually capping at 93.75%, or 15/16 of the victim's maximum HP. The counter will reset to one whenever the badly poisoned Pokemon leaves the field.

As with any status, many Pokemon have immunities to, or benefit from poison (of either variety). Both Poison- and Steel-type Pokemon are unaffected by poison; that said, if their type is somehow altered, they are vulnerable, and will not be cured if the original type is regained. Pokemon with the ability Immunity are also unaffected by poison, and unlike the case with typing, acquiring Immunity will relieve the victim of its poison status.

On another note, a Pokemon with Magic Guard may be poisoned, but it will not lose any HP as a result. The ability Poison Heal actually turns poison into an advantageous condition, healing the user by 12.5% of its maximum HP each turn. However, the bad poison counter will still run in the background for Pokemon with either of these abilities, meaning if Magic Guard or Poison Heal is lost, the Pokemon will immediately start taking the appropriate amount of damage.

Finally, the ability Toxic Boost will increase a Pokemon's Attack by 50% when poisoned, albeit without preventing damage. Despite the ability's name, the poisoning in question does not have to be induced by Toxic.

With that said, the following moves induce regular poison:

Move Accuracy Chance to Poison
Cross Poison 100% 10%
Gunk Shot 70% 30%
Poison Gas 80% 100%
Poison Jab 100% 30%
Poison Sting 100% 30%
Poison Tail 100% 10%
PoisonPowder 75% 100%
Sludge 100% 30%
Sludge Bomb 100% 30%
Sludge Wave 100% 10%
Smog 70% 40%
Toxic Spikes* -- (Field effect) 100%
Twineedle 100% 20% (On both hits)

*After one layer.

Hitting a Pokemon with Black Sludge or Poison Barb thrown with Fling will also cause poison. Typical immunities still apply, despite the fact that Fling is a Dark-type move.

The ability Effect Spore also has a 10% chance to poison any Pokemon that makes contact with its bearer, but there is a 20% chance paralysis or sleep will be randomly chosen instead. The ability Poison Touch gives all the ability bearer's contact moves a 30% chance of poisoning, even if the move in question already has a secondary effect; the added chance to poison from Poison Touch stacks with any existing move effects.

These moves can induce bad poison:

Move Accuracy Chance to Badly Poison
Poison Fang 100% 30%
Toxic 90% 100%
Toxic Spikes* -- (Field effect) 100%

*After two layers.

Holding a Toxic Orb will also result in bad poison at the end of the turn; getting hit by the same item by Fling is also a cause of bad poison. Immunities to Poison still apply even though Fling is Dark-type. The move Venoshock will deal double damage against a poisoned target, but it is otherwise situational.

Though there are many Pokemon immune to poison, it is not a status to be overlooked—the bad variety can be quite potent. Putting a bad poison counter on a Pokemon provides an extra incentive to switch frequently—a fact the poison user can use to his or her advantage.

[A]#sleep[/A]
Sleep (SLP)

Last—but by no means the least—of Primary Statuses is sleep. The existence of sleep clause—a common competitive rule effectively stating that only one Pokemon on each team may be asleep at a time—might suggest that sleep is a very dangerous status effect. As logic may suggest, a sleeping Pokemon is unable to use any moves, save Sleep Talk and Snore; the former is situational, while the latter is useless.

The amount of turns a Pokemon will be asleep is set randomly—with the exception of Rest, which lasts two turns—when the Pokemon initially succumbs to slumber. As with bad poison, a counter is put into effect, this time assigning a number between two and four inclusive (one fewer than the previous generation). Each time the "fast asleep" message is displayed, the counter decreases by one, until the counter reaches zero and the Pokemon wakes up. In other words, a Pokemon will be asleep for one to three turns, with an equal chance (33.3% or 1/3) for each result. Like bad poison, the sleep counter also resets upon switching out to whatever number was initially chosen; for example, Rest, lasting two turns, will always have its counter reset to three.

The ability Early Bird reduces the duration of sleep—for Pokemon with the ability, the "fast asleep" message decreases the sleep counter by two rather than one. As the counter can be set to two, three, or four, an initial counter of two will lead to an immediate awakening, while a counter of three or four results in a single turn of sleep. Therefore, an Early Bird Pokemon has a 33.3% chance of waking up immediately, and a 66.7% chance of sleeping only a single turn.

Furthermore, the abilities Insomnia and Vital Spirit prevent sleep entirely; acquisition of these abilities will also permit a snoozing Pokemon to awaken. The move Uproar also awakens all Pokemon on the field, keeping them awake for the move's three-turn duration. This holds true even if the move is used against a Ghost-type Pokemon, doing no damage.

The following moves can induce sleep:

Move Accuracy Chance to Sleep
Dark Void 80% 100%
GrassWhistle 55% 100%
Hypnosis 60% 100%
Lovely Kiss 75% 100%
Relic Song 100% 10%
Rest -- (Self-induced) 100%
Sing 55% 100%
Sleep Powder 75% 100%
Spore 100% 100%
Yawn -- 100% (Targeted Pokemon falls asleep the turn after the move is used)

Making contact with a Pokemon that has the ability Effect Spore has a 10% chance of causing sleep, but paralysis and poison together have a 20% chance of occurring instead. Darkrai's ability Bad Dreams increases a sleeping Pokemon's misery by causing it to lose 12.5% of its maximum HP for every turn it is asleep. The move Nightmare has a similar effect, taking away 25% of the target's maximum HP each turn.

An interesting note about this status that it prevents confusion from Outrage, Petal Dance, or Thrash if the move ends while the user is asleep.

[A]#removing_effects[/A]
Removing Primary Status Effects

Now that each of the Primary Status effects has been covered, you should learn how to remove them from your Pokemon. However, keep in mind that status effects may actually be beneficial to certain members of your team. Many abilities have been mentioned as giving some benefit to a Pokemon suffering from a status effect; Guts, Marvel Scale, and Quick Feet are examples of abilities that boost a certain stat when their bearer is given a status effect. While Marvel Scale boosts Defense, a stat which no status threatens to drop, Guts will negate the attack-deducting effect of a burn, and Quick Feet the speed drop from paralysis, making their benefits more apparent. Statused Pokemon or Pokemon with such abilities can function as "status absorbers," which can take the status-inducing moves directed at other members of your team, thus alleviating the need for status to be removed.

However, there are many cases in which a Pokemon will be dealt a detrimental status effect, such as if your physical sweeper contracts a burn. In such instances, you may use the following moves to relieve some or all types of Primary Status effects:

Aromatherapy
Removes all Primary Status effects from your team, including the user.

Heal Bell
Removes all Primary Status effects from your team, including the user (Soundproof does not block Heal Bell in the fifth generation).

Healing Wish
Instantly KOs the user and relieves any status effect from the Pokemon switching in.

Lunar Dance
Instantly KOs the user and relieves any status effect from the Pokemon switching in.

Psycho Shift
Shifts any Primary Status from the user to the target.

Refresh
Removes a burn, paralysis, or poison from the user.

Rest
Removes any Primary Status from the user, at the cost of inducing two-turn sleep.

SmellingSalt
Has 120 base power on a paralyzed target, while relieving the target of paralysis.

Uproar
Awakens all sleeping Pokemon on the field, and prevents any Pokemon from falling asleep for three turns.

Wake-Up Slap
Instantly awakens a sleeping target, while taking on 120 base power.

Additionally, all Fire-type moves—except for Will-O-Wisp—will thaw a frozen target.

The moves Flame Wheel, Flare Blitz, Fusion Flare, Sacred Fire, and Scald will all cause the user to thaw if it is frozen. A sleeping Pokemon may awaken itself if it has a status-healing move such as Heal Bell, and selects this move using Sleep Talk. With these exceptions aside, there is no way for a frozen or sleeping Pokemon to remove its own status.

Aromatherapy and Heal Bell are arguably the most effective status-relieving moves. They will alleviate the status effects of an entire team, and can be used well on a Pokemon such as Blissey, whose ability Natural Cure can also relieve her of status effects when she switches out. However, these moves relieve status effects indiscriminately; any status effects that benefit a Pokemon, such as one with Guts, will be removed as well. You must therefore plan your status-removing strategy such that it does not interfere with your other teammates. Individual Pokemon can use Rest or Psycho Shift to remove any status effect they are given, but Rest induces sleep, and Psycho Shift must be used with the same consideration as any status-inducing move.

However, moves are not the only means by which a Pokemon can be relieved of a status effect. The following abilities can remove status as well:

Healer
Has a 30% chance at the end of each turn to relieve an ally of Primary Status if it is directly adjacent to the Pokemon (Doubles and Triples only).

Hydration
Removes any Primary Status at the end of the turn if it is raining.

Natural Cure
Removes any Primary Status when the Pokemon leaves the field.

Shed Skin
Has a 30% chance to relive Primary Status at the end of each turn.

Finally, the following items will relieve their holder of certain status effects:

Aspear Berry
Thaws a frozen Pokemon.

Cheri Berry
Cures a paralyzed Pokemon.

Chesto Berry
Awakens a sleeping Pokemon.

Lum Berry
Relieves a Pokemon of any Primary Status.

Pecha Berry
Cures a Pokemon of poison or bad poison.

Rawst Berry
Cures a burned Pokemon.

A Lum Berry is effective against all Primary Status effects, but you may wish to guard a Pokemon against a more specific status. For example, a Pokemon with Rest might be equipped with a Chesto Berry, which, unlike Lum Berry, would not activate if the Pokemon was burned or poisoned. Lum Berry is best used as a catch-all guard against status, from paralysis to a random freeze, while the other berries must be more deliberately used. Furthermore, in metagames without Sleep Clause, such as VGC, Chesto Berry may be more useful than Lum. When Item Clause is in effect, berries must be distributed with even more care.

That said, note that in the majority of cases, berries can only be used once. The ability Harvest allows its bearer to reuse berries indefinitely, and each use of the move Recycle will restore a consumed berry to its holder. In many cases, it is more beneficial to give a Pokemon a hold item such as a Choice Band or Leftovers, or even a different damage-reducing berry, meaning that status-healing berries are not seen on most Pokemon.

[A]#pseudo_status[/A]
Pseudo Status

We now arrive at the different Pseudo Status effects, much fewer in number than their Primary counterparts. For the most part, Pseudo Status effects are relieved if the affected Pokemon leaves the field by means other than Baton Pass; because they are unofficially related, as opposed to Primary Status effects, each Pseudo Status has both its induction and removal covered in its own section.

[A]#confusion[/A]
Confusion

A confused Pokemon has a 50% chance of attacking itself on its turn; the self-harming attack is a typeless physical attack with 40 base power. Some specially-based Pokemon may use an Attack IV of 0 in order to keep confusion damage to a minimum, but confusion's rarity makes this practice similarly scarce. Confusion lasts for two to five turns, with the counter being decreased each time the message "[Pokemon] is confused!" is displayed. Confusion is cured when a Pokemon switches out, so unlike bad poison or sleep, the confusion counter is never restored.

Pokemon with the ability Own Tempo are completely immune to confusion; if a confused Pokemon is given Own Tempo, it will find its confusion removed. Additionally, the ability Tangled Feet will grant a Pokemon a 50% boost in evasion for every turn during which it is confused.

The following moves can induce confusion:

Move Accuracy Chance to Confuse
Chatter 100% (Unconfirmed)
Confuse Ray 100% 100%
Confusion 100% 10%
Dizzy Punch 100% 20%
DynamicPunch 50% 100%
Flatter 100% 100%
Hurricane 70% (-- in rain, 50% in sun) 30%
Outrage -- (Self-induced) 100% (After 2-3 turns)
Petal Dance -- (Self-induced) 100% (After 2-3 turns)
Psybeam 100% 10%
Rock Climb 85% 20%
Signal Beam 100% 10%
Supersonic 55% 100%
Swagger 90% 100%
Sweet Kiss 75% 100%
Teeter Dance 100% 100%
Thrash -- (Self-induced) 100% (After 2-3 turns)
Water Pulse 100% 20%

Certain berries can also confuse their users if they are consumed by certain Pokemon. Each of the following berries will activate when their holder is at 25% or less, or 50% if the holder has the ability Gluttony.

Aguav Berry
Confuses a holder with a Special Defense-hindering or Quirky nature.

Figy Berry
Confuses a holder with an Attack-hindering or Hardy nature.

Iapapa Berry
Confuses a holder with a Defense-hindering or Docile nature.

Mago Berry
Confuses a holder with a Speed-hindering or Serious nature.

Wiki Berry
Confuses a holder with a Special Attack-hindering or Bashful nature.

While a Pokemon with the applicable natures will still recover health, they will also become confused upon consuming the corresponding berries. However, these berries are not useful items, either for consumption or Tricking onto another Pokemon, and are all but unseen in competitive play.

Confusion can be relieved in a number of ways, the most obvious of which are letting it run its natural course or switching out. Without leaving the field, a Persim Berry or, oddly enough, a Lum Berry will cure its holder of confusion. Confusion is not terribly common, mostly seen from a No Guard DynamicPunch or the self-induced variety that comes with Outrage.

[A]#flinch[/A]
Flinch

When a Pokemon flinches, it is unable to move for the duration of the turn. For this reason, flinching cannot be "cured," only prevented. A Pokemon can only flinch if it is struck by a flinch-inducing move before it can carry out an attack in that turn; flinching does not carry over across multiple turns. Additionally, Pokemon that have the ability Inner Focus are immune to flinching. Pokemon with the ability Steadfast may still flinch, but their Speed is boosted by one stage each time they do so.

The following moves may cause the target to flinch:

Move Accuracy Chance to Flinch
Air Slash 95% 30%
Astonish 100% 30%
Bite 100% 30%
Bone Club 85% 10%
Dark Pulse 100% 20%
Dragon Rush 75% 20%
Extrasensory 100% 10%
Fake Out 100% 100%
Fire Fang 95% 10%
Headbutt 100% 30%
Heart Stamp 100% 30%
Hyper Fang 90% 10%
Ice Fang 95% 10%
Icicle Crash 90% 30%
Iron Head 100% 30%
Needle Arm 100% 30%
Rock Slide 90% 30%
Rolling Kick 85% 30%
Sky Attack 90% 30%
Snore 100% 30%
Steamroller 100% 30%
Stomp 100% 30%
Thunder Fang 95% 10%
Twister 100% 20%
Waterfall 100% 20%
Zen Headbutt 90% 20%

If a Pokemon is hit by a King's Rock or Razor Fang thrown by Fling, it will also flinch; since Fake Out is a Normal-type move, Fling is only way—short of Foresight or Odor Sleuth—to score a guaranteed flinch on a Ghost-type.

Pokemon with the ability Stench now have a 10% chance of causing a flinch with any of their damage-dealing moves. Additionally, the items King's Rock and Razor Fang will add a 10% chance of flinching to most damaging moves. However, neither item stacks with Stench, nor will they combine with Serene Grace to give a boosted chance of flinching. However, King's Rock, Razor Fang, and Stench each provide a 10% chance of making the target flinch on each hit of a multi-hit move. For instance, if Fury Swipes hits three times, there is a 27.1% chance of the target flinching.

[A]#infatuation[/A]
Infatuation

Infatuation is the least common Pseudo Status, dependent on the target being the opposite gender of the attacker. Given the abundance of genderless Pokemon, as well as the unpredictable genders of most others, this is not an easy feat in and of itself. An infatuated Pokemon has a 50% chance of being too lovestruck to move for every turn that both it and the Pokemon with which it is infatuated remain on the field.

Infatuation is induced by one of two ways: either by the move Attract, or by a 30% chance when contact is made with a Pokemon that has the ability Cute Charm. However, Pokemon with the ability Oblivious are completely immune to infatuation, as is any genderless Pokemon or one that is not the opposite gender of its foe.

Holding the item Destiny Knot will cause an infatuated Pokemon to give the Pseudo Status to its attractor as well, and Mental Herb is a one-time use item that relieves a Pokemon of its infatuation. However, this affliction is too uncommon to make either of these items worth holding; the conditions required to induce infatuation are far too uncommon to make this Pseudo Status useful.

[A]#trapped[/A]
Trapped

When a Pokemon is trapped, it is unable to switch out except by special means. The moves Baton Pass, U-turn, and Volt Switch allow the user to switch to another Pokemon. Holding a Shed Shell will always allow the Pokemon to switch out, and an Escape Button makes the holder switch out as soon as it is hit.

The moves Block, Mean Look, and Spider Web all trap the target, whereas the move Ingrain traps the user while restoring health. A number of binding moves will also trap the target for a set duration of time—four to five turns, dealing damage at the end of each turn. These temporary trapping moves are Bind, Clamp, Fire Spin, Magma Storm, Sand Tomb, Whirlpool, and Wrap. Holding a Grip Claw will make all of these temporary trapping moves last for the maximum of five turns.

The ability Shadow Tag will trap all Pokemon on the other side of the field; Magnet Pull and Arena Trap work in the same manner. However, Shadow Tag does not work on Pokemon with the same ability, and Arena Trap cannot trap Flying-type Pokemon or Pokemon with the ability Levitate. Holding the item Air Balloon will also allow a Pokemon to escape from Arena Trap if the Air Balloon has not been popped. Finally, Magnet Pull will only trap Steel-type Pokemon.

Lock-in moves provide a trapping effect, but also prevent the user from choosing a move entirely; holding a Shed Shell will not save a Pokemon from their effects. There are two categories of "lock-in" moves: recharge moves, and multi-turn moves. Recharge moves prevent the user from making a move selection after they are used; Blast Burn, Frenzy Plant, Giga Impact, Hydro Cannon, Hyper Beam, and Roar of Time are all classified as recharge moves. Multi-turn moves, on the other hand, last for a set duration, during which the user automatically uses the same move for one PP. Petal Dance, Outrage, and Thrash all last for two to three turns, while Ice Ball and Rollout last five.

[A]#veto[/A]
Vetoing Effects

Thanks to the separation of Primary Status and Pseudo Status, a Pokemon can contract more than one "status condition" at a time. For this reason, the game has an internal "veto" list, which indicates the order in which it will perform a check to see if a particular effect takes hold of a Pokemon. That is, the effect at the top of the list is checked, and if it prevents a Pokemon from making a move, the effects below are effectively vetoed. This list contains a number of non-status effects as well, but for now, let us look at the list as it pertains to status:

Freeze/Sleep
Confuse
Flinch
Infatuation
Paralysis

This means that the game will first check for a thaw or awakening, then perform a confusion check, and so on. Familiarity with this list allows you to determine the chances of specific outcomes when more than one status effect is in effect. For instance, if a confused Pokemon with Steadfast is hit by Dark Pulse, there will be a 50% chance of the Pokemon hurting itself in its confusion, followed by a 20% chance of the Pokemon flinching. Because the check for confusion occurs before the flinch, the Pokemon will not receive a Speed boost if either confusion takes effect or Dark Pulse fails to make the Pokemon flinch. Disregarding the duration of confusion, there would therefore be a 10% chance that the Pokemon will flinch and receive the Speed boost.

[A]#credits[/A]
Credits

There are a number of users whose work helped contribute to this guide as you read it today, but to isolate them all would be nearly impossible. Before it was updated for fifth generation mechanics, this guide had a fourth generation predecessor, co-written by obi; many users performed the research necessary to list the correct mechanics for myriad moves and abilities. As for the fifth generation mechanics found herein, we owe many thanks to the researchers in the B&W Research Thread, who helped to find and test any mechanics not made readily apparent in the game.
 
For those who are interested here is the list of changes

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Update sections

These are parts of the article that are meant to be updated to generation V mechanics. Also delete all references to pokemon battle revolution.

Burn section
- New ability: Heat Rampage, raises SpAttk 1.5x, when the Pokemon is burned. Does not prevent damage from burn.
- The fellowing moves now have a chance to burn: Blaze Judgement/Kaendan, Cold Flare, Blue Flame, Boiling Water/Boil over and Purgatory
- Mention that the ability Guts ignores the attack drop given by burn(it's mentioned in the removing 'true' status effects section however i feel that it fits better here)

Freeze section
- Mention that Ice types are immune to this status(I have tested this in-game and Jirachi didn't freeze Abomasnow in 25 turns)

Paralyze section
- A Pokemon with the ability Magic Guard can be fully paralyzed now
- The fellowing moves now have a chance to Paralyse: Freeze Bolt, Lightning Strike
- Secret Power no longer causes Paralyze on Wi-Fi but drops accuracy by one stage. It may cause Paralyze in-game on building terrain(Untested)
- Mention that the ability Quick Feet ignores the speed drop from Paralyse
- In Thunder's accuracy section add (50% in Sun) next to (-- in Rain).
- Glare: accuracy 75% -> 90%

Poison Section
- New abilities: Poison Hand grants the Pokemon the ability to cause (normal) poison with its contact moves. The chance of causing poison is 20% even if the contact move already has a side effect and Poison Rampage which increases attack by 1.5x damage when poisoned, but does not prevent damage from Poison.
- Mention that Synchronize now passes 'bad' poison when induced by Toxic or Poison Fang and normal poison in all other cases(in the past it was always normal poison)
- Mention the fellowing: If a Magic Guard/Poison Heal Pokemon is under the effects of Toxic poison, their Toxic counter still increases normally, even though they aren't taking damage. This means that if the Pokemon loses Magic Guard/Poison Heal, the Toxic damage it receives is the same as it would be getting on that turn if it hadn't had Magic Guard/Poison Heal
- Sludge Wave is the only new move that induces normal poison, no new moves induce bad poison upon the target
- The move Venom Shock, which does twice as much damage when the target is poisoned.
- Toxic: accuracy 85% -> 90%
- Poison Gas: accuracy 55% -> 80%(confirmed this in-game, veekun is wrong)

Sleep Section
- Sleep now lasts from one to three turns, the Sleep counter resets when the pokemon switches out.
- This also means that a pokemon with the Ability Early Bird will only sleep 0 or 1 turns now(33% chance for 0 turns, 66% for 1 turn) refering to the fast asleep messages.
- Uproar always lasts 3 turns now
- The move Ancient Song has 10% chance to cause Sleep.
- It has been decided in this topic that we'll be using catridge Sleep Clause, which is the fellowing: At the end of every turn, if more than one pokemon is asleep on one side, and if at least two of those pokemon were put asleep by enemy moves, excluding Magic Coat, but including Yawn, then that side automatically wins. If both sides qualify, the game ends as a draw.
- Delete the 70% accuracy part of D/P, Hypnosis has 60% accuracy in B/W(found in game-data)

Removing "True" Status Effects
- Heal Bell now cures pokemon with Soundproof
- The fellowing moves have a self-unthawing effect: Boiling Water/Boil Over, Cross Flame, Flamewheel, Flare Blitz, Sacred Fire
- Healing Heart works only in Double\Triple battles, and has a 30% chance every turn of healing an ally of status conditions if they are directly adjacent to the Pokemon on the field
- the ability Harvest just like Recycle allows the pokemon to use a berry again
- According to Smogon's description of Healing Wish of Gen IV the move immediatly KO's the user, which is different from the description given in the article. Status wise this move is identical to Lunar Dance.

Confusion Section
- The move Hurricane/Gale/Wind Storm is the only new move that causes confusion. This move has -- accuracy in Rain and 50% accuracy in Sun.
- The move Rock Climb causes confusion but wasn't included into the original guide, according to the game data this has remained the same.
- Chatter, according to the game data, now has a 100% chance to cause confusion.(Untested)

Flinch Section
- The fellowing moves now have a chance to cause flinching Hard Roller, Heart Stamp and Icicle Drop
- The ability Stench now has a chance to cause flinching. It does not stack with King's Rock
- The move Sky Attack causes flinching but wasn't included into the original guide, according to the game data this has remained the same.
- Each hit of a Multi-hit move has a chance to flinch with King's Rock/Stench

Infatuation section
I have done several tests, but it appears that infatuation hasn't changed.




'New' sections

When comparing the guide on site with the original i see a significant part of the guide left out. I do not know what the reason was behind this, however some of it will be included in the article of Generation V.
I have made a definition of status below which decides what will be included, however i leave this open to debate. If you feel that you know a better definition by all means speak up and say so.

Status in general(this could use a fancier name, perhaps introduction like in the old article?)

The last few days i've been trying to 'define' status, what are the characteristics of an effect that we call status?
Reading through old posts from the original topic i can't find any foolproof definition. I see Great Sage contradicting himself saying that 'Aqua Ring is pseudo status' but later he says that Destiny Bond is not because it's self-exclusive even though Aqua Ring is self-exclusive as well.

After doing a lot of thinking, these are the fellowing characteristics of status i came up with.
- Status may contain but is not limited to a stats change
- Status extends beyond the effect of one move, It's something that can be induced by 2 or more none-equivalent moves, ability's or items without a difference in characteristics.
- The status' characteristics are limited to the pokemon itself, the effects do not extend to all other pokemon on the field.

About the second characteristic, i believe that the description of a status effect should never equal to that of a move, ability or item. Status i believe is an added effect that goes beyond those of one of those but always keeps it's characteristics.

I suggest if someone needs to know the mechanics of one that does not extend beyond one move, ability or item (like Leech Seed),he or she goes to the move specific article instead of the status guide.


True' status or Primary status are those who are listed next to the pokemon's name in-game: Burn, Freeze, Paralyze, Poison and Sleep.
'Pseudo' status or Secondary status are those who still fall under the characteristics of status listed above but are not listed next to the pokemon's name, which are the fellowing: Confusion, Flinch, Infatuation and Trapped.

- Add a list of vetoing effects, which is the fellowing when excluding all non-status relating effects:(highest comes first, lowest last)
Freeze/Sleep
Confusion
Flinch
Attract
Paralyze
These are usefull when calculating the odds of attacking in case a pokemon if suffering from 2 or more of these status.
For example when Jirachi uses Iron Head on a paralyzed pokemon, it will check flinch first then paralyze. Giving the target 30% chance to attack.
- Mention the fellowing: When a Steel\Poison\Fire's type is changed to something that makes them vulnerable to poison\burn respectively, the status remains when they switch out and regain their typing.
- Miracle Skin reduces the chance of a status effect move working by 50%. Does not reduce the chance of a status effect occurring as a damaging move's side effect (like Thunder's paralysis)

Trapped Section
<h3>Trapped</h3>

A Pokémon that is trapped on the field is unable to switch out by normal means, although it can still switch out via Baton Pass, Roar, U-Turn, or Whirlwind. With the moves Block, Mean Look, and Spider Web, the target is unable to normally switch until the Pokémon that trapped them has left the field. The Ability Shadow Tag works the same way, except other Pokémon with Shadow Tag are unaffected. With the Ability Arena Trap, Pokémon that have the Flying type or the Ability Levitate are unaffected. A Pokémon can also become trapped from the moves Bind, Clamp, Fire Spin, Magma Storm, Sand Tomb, Whirlpool, or Wrap. These moves trap the Pokémon affected in battle for 2-5 turns, and they also receive a small amount of damage at the end of each turn for the duration of the trap. Lastly, a Pokémon with the Ability Magnet Pull has the ability to trap Pokémon with the Steel type in battle. Pokémon that are holding the item Shed Shell can switch out of any trapping effects regardless, however this is only really viable on Skarmory.

I've token your suggestions in consideration and came up with the fellowing proposal. Dividing this section into 2 subgroups(like poison) where Shed Shell is the line for the criteria.
Trapping moves(prevents switching not movement)
Permanent trapping moves: Block, Ingrain(self), Mean Look, Spider Web
Binding moves: Bind, Clamp, Fire Spin, Magma Storm, Sand Tomb, Whirlpool, Wrap

Lock-in moves:(prevents both the selection of a move and switching)
Recharge moves: Blast Burn(self), Frenzy Plant(self), Giga Impact(self), Hyper Beam(self), Hydro Cannon(self), Roar Of Time(self)
Multi-turn moves: Petal Dance(self), Ice Ball, Outrage(self), Rollout ,Thrash(self)

Shed Shell ignores the trapping effect of all the moves in the trapping section, however is unable to switch out from the 'locked-in' moves(confirmed this in-game)
- Binding moves such as Wrap and Whirlpool now last 4-5 turns
- Escape button switches out it's holder after being hit even when it's holder is trapped
- Mention that the item Balloon allows the holder to escape from Arena trap
 

eric the espeon

maybe I just misunderstood
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Familiarity with this list allows you to determine the chances of specific outcomes when more than one status effect is in effect. For instance, if a paralyzed Pokémon is hit by Dark Pulse, there will be a 20% chance of the Pokémon flinching, followed by a 25% chance of full paralysis. That equals a 40% chance of something happening to make the Pokémon completely immobile for the duration of the turn.
Could be understood to mean that the order of the veto checks has an impact on the final probability of making a move, when in fact the order of the checks is irrelevant.

In response to the power and availability of the sleep status, the community has adopted a rule known as Sleep Clause in order to keep sleep in check. Smogon's Sleep Clause states the following:

If, at the end of every turn, more than one Pokémon is asleep on one side, and if at least two of these Pokémon were put to sleep by enemy moves (excluding Magic Coat/[Magic Mirror], but including Yawn) then that side automatically wins. If both sides qualify, the match ends in a draw.
It has been decided that we will be using a cartage consistent sleep clause, but the version you have put in has not been adopted. There are several problems with it and there is another topic in which the specifics of the sleep clause have been discussed. I suggest that the sleep clause section is removed (or at least the part referring the the exact wording of the clause) until we decide, in order to avoid spreading misinformation or biasing any vote.


Very impressive thorough guide, good work.
 
Sleep Section: A sleeping Pokemon can theoretically choose a sleep healing move via Sleep Talk. And like Eric the Espeon said you don't automatically lose if you put a second Pokemon to sleep. Usually, you are just unable to do it. On Pokemon Online's Pokemon Online server, Magic Mirror can not put a second Pokemon to sleep. Rest doesn't work when the user has Insomnia or Vital Spirit (I think).

You may want to mention Freeze Clause.

Flinch section: King's Rock and Razor Claw have an 11.7% chance to flinch, according to Bulbapedia.

Infatuation:While Mew is the only genderless Pokemon capable of learning Attract due to its ability to learn all TM moves, genderless Pokemon are attracted to other genderless Pokemon.

Trapping moves section: You may want to include what happens when a Pokemon, as it is switching, suddenly become trapped. This can happen in 2 ways:A double switch in which the first switch is to a Pokemon with a trapping ability, or a Pokemon with Arena Trap uses Pursuit as the opponent switches and pops their Balloon. I think the former allows the second Pokemon to switch, but putting Pursuit on a Pokemon with Arena Trap is so pointless I haven't seen it. You also forgot to mention Magnet Pull altogether.

Leaf Guard was never mentioned, and remember it doesn't allow the use of Rest this generation.

@Eric the Espeon; Sometimes, order does matter, like when the opponent is confused, or in that example, if that paralyzed Pokemon who is the victim to Dark Pulse has Steadfast.

Otherwise, great guide.
 
Now that each of the Primary Status effects have been covered, you must now learn how to remove these status effects from your Pokémon. However, keep in mind that status effects may actually be beneficial to certain members of your team. Many abilities have been mentioned as giving some benefit to a Pokémon suffering from a status effect; Guts, Miracle Scale, and Quick Feet are examples of abilities that boost a certain stat when their bearer is given a status effect. While Miracle Scale boosts Defense, a stat which no status threatens to drop, Guts will even negate the attack-deducting effect of a burn, and Quick Feet the speed drop from paralysis, making their benefits more apparent. Statused Pokémon or Pokémon with such abilities can function as 'status absorbers,' which can take the status-inducing moves directed at other members of your team, thus alleviating the need for status to be removed.
Just a nitpick here, there is no such thing as Miracle Scale; you are thinking of Milotic's Marvel Scale in this case.
 
Could be understood to mean that the order of the veto checks has an impact on the final probability of making a move, when in fact the order of the checks is irrelevant.
This has been partially responded to by another user, unless you meant something different by it:

@Eric the Espeon; Sometimes, order does matter, like when the opponent is confused, or in that example, if that paralyzed Pokemon who is the victim to Dark Pulse has Steadfast.
While Steadfast has no impact on whether the Pokémon makes a move, the order of the checks does impact whether or not the Pokémon will receive a Speed boost. Should I maybe alter the wording of the section to address this?

As for your other point:

It has been decided that we will be using a cartage consistent sleep clause, but the version you have put in has not been adopted. There are several problems with it and there is another topic in which the specifics of the sleep clause have been discussed. I suggest that the sleep clause section is removed (or at least the part referring the the exact wording of the clause) until we decide, in order to avoid spreading misinformation or biasing any vote.
Roger that. I have temporarily removed the Sleep Clause section, as it was pretty heavily based on the definition that mien and I had previously thought was final. It can be reinstated and altered as necessary when the final clause is decided upon.

Sleep Section: A sleeping Pokemon can theoretically choose a sleep healing move via Sleep Talk. And like Eric the Espeon said you don't automatically lose if you put a second Pokemon to sleep. Usually, you are just unable to do it. On Pokemon Online's Pokemon Online server, Magic Mirror can not put a second Pokemon to sleep. Rest doesn't work when the user has Insomnia or Vital Spirit (I think).
I added a note on Sleep Talk, and will add one for Insomnia/Vital Spirit once we get confirmation. As for the rest of your comments, remember that, as eric the espeon points out, Smogon will be using a cartridge-compliant Sleep Clause—this seems to be different than what is in place right now. That said, the Sleep Clause section has been temporarily removed, so there's not much to say about it at the moment.

You may want to mention Freeze Clause.
I was under the impression that Freeze Clause has been largely abandoned, and is irrelevant to cartridge play regardless. That said, I can include it if it is considered notable.

Flinch section: King's Rock and Razor Claw have an 11.7% chance to flinch, according to Bulbapedia.
Smogon's pages for both those items state that they have a 10% chance to flinch, and I can't find the page on Bulbapedia which states otherwise—can someone maybe confirm this? Or is it a change new to the fifth generation? I only ask because I would think someone would have noticed by now if these pages had incorrect information (they even include formulae to find flinch chance based on the 10% figure).

Infatuation:While Mew is the only genderless Pokemon capable of learning Attract due to its ability to learn all TM moves, genderless Pokemon are attracted to other genderless Pokemon.
This is the first time I've heard of this—are you sure it's been tested? If it has, it'll go in as well, even if it is purely 'for your information' since nobody will run Attract on Mew.

Trapping moves section: You may want to include what happens when a Pokemon, as it is switching, suddenly become trapped. This can happen in 2 ways:A double switch in which the first switch is to a Pokemon with a trapping ability, or a Pokemon with Arena Trap uses Pursuit as the opponent switches and pops their Balloon. I think the former allows the second Pokemon to switch, but putting Pursuit on a Pokemon with Arena Trap is so pointless I haven't seen it. You also forgot to mention Magnet Pull altogether.
I can mention this if we get some hard data on what happens. However, I don't want to put anything at the moment if it's just conjecture; if someone does tests on what happens in this situation I'll incorporate the results into the section. I added Magnet Pull in there as well.

Overall, I'd just like confirmation on some of your points before I go ahead and incorporate them into the text, as I haven't seen documentation before that verifies them, or they have yet to be tested.

Leaf Guard was never mentioned, and remember it doesn't allow the use of Rest this generation.
Leaf Guard was mentioned in the "Inducing and Removing Status" section; I have added a note there about Rest.

Just a nitpick here, there is no such thing as Miracle Scale; you are thinking of Milotic's Marvel Scale in this case.
Fixed both instances in which "Miracle Scale" appears.

Thank all three of you for your comments and suggestions; if anyone is able to test or confirm the things mentioned in my post, that would be excellent!
 

eric the espeon

maybe I just misunderstood
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While Steadfast has no impact on whether the Pokémon makes a move, the order of the checks does impact whether or not the Pokémon will receive a Speed boost. Should I maybe alter the wording of the section to address this?
The order does sometimes matter, but it does not in the example you have given (chance of immobility is the same whether para or flinch check is first, whether it's due to para or flinch is usually competitively irrelevant). If you switch to an example where the order matters it'd be fine.
 
All right, I changed that example to a confused Pokémon with Steadfast getting flinched, as we were discussing. That way the Pokémon has a smaller chance of getting a Speed boost thanks to the confusion (10% if I did the math correctly).
 
Darkrai's ability Bad Dreams increases a sleeping Pokémon's misery by causing it to lose 12.5% of its maximum HP for every turn it is asleep, with the move Nightmare having the same effect.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Nightmare take 25% per turn? Or has that changed?
 
No, that would be poor wording on my part. To the best of my knowledge, the move Nightmare has remained the same in the fifth generation, as it was in the fourth, which states a 25% HP loss, so I shall amend the first post accordingly. Thank you for noticing that.
 
JT Swift, the "Non-volatile" statuses referred to on that Bulbapedia page are the same as our "Primary" statuses referenced in the guide. As for the "Volatile" status conditions, mien and I developed our definition of "Pseudo Status" in the guide, which I will provide here for reference:

These would-be status effects, or 'Pseudo Statuses,' as they shall be called from this point forth, deserve a mention in spite of their unofficial status; these effects are all induced by more than one move, and as such, are a distinct affliction induced in a number of ways, just like a Primary Status. By making this distinction, we may separate a unique condition, such as Leech Seed, from something like confusion; the mentioned Pseudo Statuses also exclude phenomena contained within such pre-existing categories as Field Effects are not mentioned here. 'Pseudo Status' effects are also notable in that they stack both with each other and with Primary Statuses, and are almost always relieved when a Pokémon exits battle by means other than Baton Pass.
Bulbapedia's complete list of "Volatile" status effects is actually much closer to what I had originally written in the fourth generation guide—a long list of battle conditions that weren't officially called status effects, but still had an effect on the target/user. mien and I developed the definition above to decide what would best fit the definition of our "Pseudo Status," which is more exclusive than Bulbapedia's list. In short, since the different "Pseudo," or as Bulbapedia terms them, "Volatile" status effects are not officially defined by the game like the "Primary" or "Non-Volatile" statuses like burn and sleep, different communities treat them differently. I hope that addresses your concern.
 
This is a really good article. Well-written, clear, and full of information that some people might not know, especially those new to competitive battling. Good job! I have one little thought, though.
Not unlike Water Veil to burns, Magma Armor to freeze is also a means of recovering from the status if the frozen Pokémon somehow acquires this ability.
I think you could shorten this to "Like Water Veil to burns..." In my opinion, it flows better and is more clear. Of course, it's your decision in the end, just thought I would bring it up.
 
6-Dimension, I don't really see any reason not to implement that change, so I put it in. Thanks for your feedback! I have also updated Poison Touch to reflect poccil's research.
 
Sorry for the delay. Changes in text encoding killed the cat, or in this case, my patience.

[A]#introduction[/A]

Introduction



Like many RPGs, PokémonPokemon plays host to a number of different conditions that may affect your team. Unlike many RPGs, Pokémon'sthough, Pokemon's status effects are equally usable by both you and your opponent, and thereforetherefore, the infliction of status is an incredibly viable tactic. These status effects are found in a respectable quality,quality [COMMENT: What do you mean by this?], and may be organized into two broad categories.



The first category is made up of the different afflictions whichthat appear next to a Pokémon'sPokemon's HP bar in battle, subtly altering its idle animation. Each of these status effects has been given an official three-letter abbreviation by which it is identified when set in a specially-colouredspecially-colored box; as these afflictions have been officially identified by GameFreak as status effects, they are here termed 'Primary Status.'"Primary Status." Only one of these status effects can be given to a PokémonPokemon at any time; a PokémonPokemon must be relieved of one Primary Status effect before it can be given another. The category of Primary Status encompasses such familiar afflictions as sleep and burn, typically encountered by a trainer on his or her adventures.



However, this official set of effects excludes other conditions that resemble status, such as confusion or infatuation. These would-be status effects, or 'Pseudo Statuses,'"Pseudo Statuses," as they shall be called from this point forth, deserve a mention in spite of their unofficial status; these effectsstatus. These effects, like Primary Status effects, are all induced by more than one move, and as such, are a distinct afflictionafflictions induced in a number of ways, just like a Primary Status. By making this distinction,ways. Thus, we may separate a unique condition, such as Leech Seed, from somethingan effect like confusion; theconfusion. The mentioned Pseudo Statuses also exclude phenomena contained within pre-existing categories, such pre-existing categories as Field EffectsEffects, and are not mentioned here. 'Pseudo Status'Pseudo Status effects are also notable in that they stackfor stacking both with each other Pseudo Status effects and with Primary Statuses,Status effects, and are almost always relieved when a PokémonPokemon exits battle by means other than Baton Pass.



That said, the only way to truly define status is to look at each effect individually—at whatindividually—what causes it, how it functions, and ultimately, how it is removed.



[A]#inducing_preventing[/A]

Inducing and Preventing Status



Before examining each status effect and how it is induced, some general observations may be made about status effects as a category. First of all,First, the vast majority of moves whichthat induce status are those which bring it about through a secondary effect; the number of dedicated moves which induce statusthere are comparatively few. Of thefew moves dedicated to inducing status. For attacks with a secondary status-inducingchance to induce a status effect, it may be said that the ability Serene Grace doubles the secondarygeneral effect rates found within this guide.rate. For example, a PokémonPokemon with Serene Grace will have a 20% chance of freezing its foe with Ice BeamBeam, as opposed to the regular 10;10%; naturally, this chance will never exceed 100%. Note that itemsthe effects of item such as King's Rock do not stack with Serene Grace. ThisThat said, the ability Shield Dust negates any secondary effects, so its users will be immune from chance status.



The statusStatus effects that are not brought about as a result of a secondary effect will be the result of a non-attacking move. As a result,Thus, they will be blocked if the foe's PokémonPokemon uses Taunt—an established strategy of keeping harmful status effects at bay. However, they may also benefit from the ability Prankster, which boosts the priority of all non-attacking moves by one bracket. [COMMENT: This should be either "by one" or "one bracket," whichever you're more comfortable with.] This benefit extends to many of the moves designed to purge status effects as well. On the other hand, the ability Wonder Skin reduces the success rate of a status-inducing move by 50%; note that this does not apply to moves whichthat induce status throughas a secondary effect.



While all status effects can be removed, as shall be explored in detail later on, there is also the chance thatsome Pokemon can deflect or reflect a status effect can be deflected or otherwise given toonto the attacker. The former is achieved through the ability Magic Bounce,Bounce and its equivalent move, Magic Coat. Magic Bounce sends dedicated status-inflicting moves, including many Pseudo Statuses (except for Teeter Dance's confusion) back at the user, and Magic Coat is a +4 priority move whichthat achieves the same effect. As for the second category, when a PokémonPokemon with the ability Synchronize is given a status effect, the same effect is given to the attacker. Note that asAs of the fifth generation, bad poisoningpoison will be passed on if it inis inflicted, instead of its regular counterpart.



Two other general conditions prevent all Primary statusStatus effects from being given to affected Pokémon.Pokemon. The move Safeguard creates a veil around the user's side of the field which preventsfield, preventing any PokémonPokemon from being given a Primary Status for five turns. The ability Leaf Guard also prevents any Primary Status from affecting its bearer while the sunlight is strong; this will also prevent the use of Rest, since it must put the user to sleep for it to work. Many other abilities prevent specific status effects, and shall be addressed in the section of theireach's relevant status.



Finally, as mentioned above, a PokémonPokemon already afflicted by a Primary Status is unable to receive another one. This may be used to your (or your opponent's) advantage by allowing one PokémonPokemon to take a status effect and proceedusing it to 'absorb'"absorb" any further effects directed at your team, orteam. Alternatively, you can simply lettinglet a PokémonPokemon take a status effect that will not detract too much from its role, while preventing it from being subjected to a less-than-desirableless desirable affliction.



Without further ado, let us look at each of the different status effects:



[A]#primary_status[/A]

Primary Status



[A]#burn[/A]

Burn (BRN)



The burn status is among the best lines of defense against physical attackers, short of knocking them out altogether. In addition to decreasing the affected Pokemon's HP by 12.5% of its maximum at the end of each turn, the burn status invokes a special modifier in the damage formula, reducing the Pokemon's physical damage output by half. For that reason, the burn status is frequently utilized—a burned physical attacker is a lamed one.



However, the burn status is not universally effective; a burned special attacker is unfazed by a loss of physical power, and is now unaffected by a more debilitating Primary Status, such as paralysis or sleep. In the same vein, Pokemon with Guts actually benefit from a burn, as said ability ignores the attack drop and instead causes a 50% increase in physical power. Flare Boost operates in much the same manner on the special side. Pokemon in these categories will still suffer the HP reduction caused by a burn.


Conversely, Fire-type Pokemon and Pokemon with the ability Water Veil are entirely immune to burns. That said, if a Fire-type Pokemon is given another type (such as through Soak), it will not be relieved of its burn if it regains its old typing. On the other hand, Water Veil grants an immunity to the burn condition itself; if a burned Pokemon somehow gains Water Veil (such as through Trace), it will be relieved of its affliction. The final abilities that decrease the effectiveness of a burn are Heatproof and Magic Guard; the former reduces the damage taken from a burn to 6.25% each turn, while the latter negates the HP loss entirely. However, neither ability counteracts the Attack reduction burn gives.



The following moves can burn their target (s): [COMMENT: I assume you meant to have the moves down here; not along at the top.]


Move Accuracy Chance to Burn

Blaze Kick 90% 10%

Blue Flare 85% 20%

Ember 100% 10%

Fire Blast 85% 10%

Fire Fang 95% 10%

Fire Punch 100% 10%

Flame Wheel 100% 10%

Flamethrower 100% 10%

Flare Blitz 100% 10%

Heat Wave 90% 10%

Ice Burn 90% 30%

Inferno 50% 100%

Lava Plume 100% 30%

Sacred Fire 95% 50%

Scald 100% 30%

Searing Shot 100% 30%

Tri Attack 100% 6.67%

Will-O-Wisp 75% 100%



The burn status is among the best lines of defense against physical attackers, short of knocking them out altogether. In addition to decreasing the affected Pokémon's HP by 12.5% of its maximum at the end of each turn, the burn status invokes a special modifier in the damage formula, reducing the Pokémon's physical damage output by half. It is for the latter reason that the burn status is frequently utilized; a burned physical attacker is a lamed one.



However, the burn status is not universally effective; a burned special attacker is unfazed by a loss of physical power, and is now unaffected by of the more debilitating Primary Statuses such as paralysis or sleep. In the same vein, Pokémon with the ability Guts actually benefit from a burn, as said ability ignores the attack drop and instead causes a 1.5x increase in physical power. Flare Boost operates in much the same manner on the special side. All three of these Pokémon will still suffer the HP reduction caused by a burn.



Conversely, Fire-type Pokémon and Pokémon with the ability Water Veil are entirely immune to burns. That said, if a Fire-type Pokémon is given another type, it will not be relieved of its burn if it somehow gains its old typing again. On the other hand, Water Veil grants an immunity to the burn condition itself; if a burned Pokémon somehow gains Water Veil (such as through Trace), it will be relieved of its affliction. The final abilities which decrease the effectiveness of a burn are Heatproof and Magic Guard; the former reduces the damage taken from a burn to 6.25% each turn, whereas the latter negates the HP loss entirely. However, neither ability counteracts the Attack reduction burn puts into effect.



As for the moves which can induce a burn, they are as follows:



Finally,
Finally, a burn may be induced throughby an item or ability. The burn-inducingIf an attacker uses a contact move against a Pokemon with the ability is Flame Body, which hasthere is a 30% chance for the attacker to burn any attacker that hits the possessor of the abilitybe inflicted with a contact move.burn. The item Flame Orb will also inflict a burn; it burns its holder at the end of the turn, or any PokémonPokemon that is hit with the Flame Orb throughby the move Fling.



TheIt is important thing to remember aboutthat the burn status is that it it designed to counter physical attackers; special attackers and walls are best met with bad poisonbadly poisoned if their HP is to be reduced, or put to sleep if their offense must be put to a stop.stopped. An attempt to induce a burn is also a potential benefit to PokémonPokemon with the ability Flash Fire; sincebecause the vast majority of burn-inducing moves are of the Fire type,Fire-type, including the oft-used Will-O-Wisp ,often-used Will-O-Wisp, the Flash Fire user can switch in on a predicted burn for a boost in firepower. As such, the burn status must be employed wisely.



[A]#freeze[/A]

Freeze (FRZ)



What may be among the most potent of status effects is fortunately the most difficult to inflict. [COMMENT: Either use "is among" or "may be," not both.] A frozen Pokémon is one whichPokemon is unable to attack until it thaws—a thawthaws—each turn a frozen Pokemon tries to attack, it has a 20% chance of occurring each turn the Pokémon tries to attack.thawing out. While a PokémonPokemon can theoretically thaw before it loses a turn to being frozen, it may also remain encased in ice indefinitely. This unpredictabilityunpredictability, combined with potential length of immobilityimmobility, is what makes the freeze status so deadly.



Ice-types are immune to being frozen, as are PokémonPokemon with the ability Magma Armor. Not unlike Water Veil to burns,A frozen Pokemon that acquires Magma Armor to freeze is alsowill instantly thaw out, like the situation of a means of recovering from the status if the frozen Pokémon somehow acquires this ability.burned Pokemon acquiring Water Veil. In addition, sincebecause there is no dedicated freezing move, the ability Shield Dust effectively prevents a PokémonPokemon from being frozenfrozen, thanks to its immunity to secondary effects. Finally, strong sunlight prevents all PokémonPokemon on the field from being frozen.



The following moves which can potentially freeze their target(s) are as follows:target(s):



Move Accuracy Chance to Freeze

Blizzard 70% (-- in hail) 10%

Ice Beam 100% 10%

Ice Fang 95% 10%

Ice Punch 100% 10%

Powder Snow 100% 10%

Tri Attack 100% 6.67%



The prevalence of Ice Beam, and to a lesser extent, Ice Punch, dictates that it is probable you will probably encounter a freeze sooner or later. However, it is a status rarely seen, and should be neither relied upon nor forgotten about completely in the midst of battle.



[A]#paralysis[/A]

Paralysis (PAR)



Although paralysis isparalysis, like freeze in that itfreeze, is a very useful status effect, it is considerably more common. Paralysis reduces the affected Pokémon'sPokemon's Speed to 25% of its former number, accounting for all boosts and drops before and after it is inflicted.drops. It also gives a 25% chance each turn for the victim to be fully paralyzed—unable to attack that turn. ThusThus, attackers that would not mind a Speed reduction, such as Trick Room sweepers, are still faced with the prospect of giving the foe a free turn when they succumb to paralysis. For this reason, paralysis is a fittinguseful status to inflict upon many Pokémon.Pokemon.



Naturally, you cannot paralyze PokémonPokemon that are immune to such a status, such as those with the ability Limber. Limber is among the abilities that grantgrants total immunity to their respectiveits status effects, meaning that if a paralyzed PokémonPokemon is given the ability Limber (such as through Skill Swap), it will recover from paralysis. The ability Quick Feet overrides the Speed drop from paralysis, boosting its users speed instead; however, it does not prevent a PokémonPokemon from being fully paralyzed.



The following moves may inflict paralysis:



Move Accuracy Chance to Paralyze

Body Slam 100% 30%

Bolt Strike 85% 20%

Bounce 85% 30%

Discharge 100% 30%

DragonBreath 100% 30%

Force Palm 100% 30%

Freeze Shock 90% 30%

Glare 90% 100%

Lick 100% 30%

Spark 100% 30%

Stun Spore 75% 100%

Thunder 70% (-- in rain, 50% in sun) 30%

Thunderbolt 100% 10%

ThunderPunch 100% 10%

Thundershock 100% 10%

Thunder Fang 95% 10%

Thunder Wave 100% 100%

Tri Attack 100% 6.67%

Volt Tackle 100% 10%

Zap Cannon 50% 100%



Most of the paralyzing moves are of the Electric type,Electric-type, and accordingly, PokémonPokemon with the ability LightningRod or Motor Drive can acquire a boost to their Special Attack or Speed respectivelySpeed, respectively, by switching in at the right moment. This also means that Ground-types are immune to many paralysis-inducing moves; contrary to early rumors, Thunder Wave does not bypass Ground's immunity to Electric. PokémonElectric-type moves. Pokemon with the ability Normalize can avoid this immunity, but are subsequently walled by Ghost-types.



Additional means through which paralysisParalysis may also be inflicted arethrough certain abilities and a singlean item. Effect Spore and Static have a 10 and 30% chance respectivelychance, respectively, to paralyze the opponent when contact is made with the ability bearer;a Pokemon with one of those abilities; however, the former has a 20% chance of inflicting sleep or poison instead. Finally, a PokémonPokemon hit with a Light Ball thrown withby Fling will become paralyzed.



Paralysis is a condition best inflicted against swift sweepers, in order to strip them of their Speed advantage. However, the one-in-four chance of gaining a free turn makes paralysis a helpful tool, especially in longer battles.



[A]#poison[/A]

Poison (PSN)



One status effect that has the chance to truly shine in drawn-out battles is poison. There are two types of poisoning: the first variety is normal poisoning, whichpoison—normal poison and bad poison. Normal poison reduces the victim's HP by 12.5% of its maximum each turnturn, with no added effects, essentiallyeffects (essentially making it a lesser burn.burn). The second variety, bad poisoning—alsopoison—also named 'toxic poisoning,'"toxic poison," after the move by which it isthat typically induced—isinduces it—is the useful addition to a stall team's arsenal. Bad poisoningpoison gradually increases its end-of-turn damage in accordance with the following formula:



Damage = max(floor(max HP ÷ 16), 1) × min(# of turns PokémonPokemon has taken bad poison damage, 15)



In other words, bad poisoningpoison begins at 6.25% damage, increasing by 6.25% each turn until eventually capping at 93.75%, or 15/16 of the victim's maximum HP. The counter will reset to one whenever the badly poisoned PokémonPokemon leaves the field.



As with any status, many PokémonPokemon have immunities toto, or benefit fromfrom, poison (including its bad(of either variety). Form the outset, bothBoth Poison- and Steel-type PokémonPokemon are unaffected by poison; that said, if their type is somehow altered, they are vulnerable, will not be cured if the original type is regained. PokémonPokemon with the ability Immunity are also unaffected by poison, and unlike Poison- or Steel-typing,the case with typing, acquiring Immunity will relieve the victim of its poison status.



On another note, while a PokémonPokemon with Magic Guard may be poisoned, but it will not lose any HP as a result. The ability Poison Heal actually turns poisoningpoison into an advantageous condition, healing the user by 12.5% of its maximum HP each turn. However, the bad poison counter will still run in the background for PokémonPokemon with either of these abilities, meaning if Magic Guard or Poison Heal is lost, the PokémonPokemon will immediately start taking the appropriate amount of damage.



Finally, the ability Toxic Boost will increase a Pokémon'sPokemon's Attack by 50% when poisoned, albeit without preventing damage. Despite the ability's name, the poisoningpoison in question does not have to be induced throughby Toxic.



With that said, the following moves induce regular poison:



Move Accuracy Chance to Poison

Cross Poison 100% 10%

Gunk Shot 70% 30%

Poison Gas 80% 100%

Poison Jab 100% 30%

Poison Sting 100% 30%

Poison Tail 100% 10%

PoisonPowder 75% 100%

Sludge 100% 30%

Sludge Bomb 100% 30%

Sludge Wave 100% 10%

Smog 70% 40%

Toxic Spikes* -- (Field effect) 100%

Twineedle 100% 20% (On both hits)



*After one layer.



Hitting a PokémonPokemon with Black Sludge or Poison Barb thrown with Fling will also cause poisoning. Normalpoison. Typical immunities still apply, despite the fact that Fling is a Dark-type move. [COMMENT: I take it you mean the Steel- and Poison-type immunity to the status? I changed the word "normal" just to avoid confusion.]



The ability Effect Spore also has a 10% chance to poison any PokémonPokemon that makes contact with its bearer, but there is a 20% chance paralysis or sleep will be randomly chosen instead. The ability Poison Touch gives all the ability bearer's contact moves a 20% chance of poisoning, even if the move in question already has a secondary effect.



These moves can induce bad poisoning:poison:



Move Accuracy Chance to Badly Poison

Poison Fang 100% 30%

Toxic 90% 100%

Toxic Spikes* -- (Field effect) 100%



*After two layers.



Holding a Toxic Orb will also result in bad poisoningpoison at the end of the turn; getting hit by the same item throughby Fling is also a cause of bad poison. Immunities to Poison still apply even though Fling is Dark-type. The move Venoshock will deal double damage against a poisoned target, but it is otherwise situational.



Though there are many PokémonPokemon immune to poison, it is not a status to be overlooked—the bad variety iscan be quite potent on the desired target.potent. Putting a bad poison counter on a PokémonPokemon provides an extra incentive to frequently switch—aswitch frequently—a fact the poisoner can use to his or her advantage.



[A]#sleep[/A]

Sleep (SLP)



Last butLast—but by no means the least ofleast—of Primary Statuses is sleep. The existence of sleep clause—a common competitive rule effectively stating that only one PokémonPokemon on each team may be asleep at a time—may cause you to infertime—might suggest that sleep is a very dangerous status effect. As logic may suggest, a sleeping PokémonPokemon is unable to use any movesmoves, save Sleep Talk and Snore; the former is situational whereassituational, while the latter is useless.



The amount of turns for which a PokémonPokemon will be asleep is set randomly—with the exception of Rest, which lasts two turns—when the PokémonPokemon initially succumbs to its slumber. As with bad poisoning,poison, a counter is put into effect, this time assigning a number between two and four inclusive (one fewer than the previous generation). Each time the "fast asleep" message is displayed, the counter decreases by one, until the counter reaches zero and the PokémonPokemon wakes up. In other words, a PokémonPokemon will be asleep for one to three turns, with an equal chance (33.3% or 1/3) offor each result. Like bad poisoning,poison, the sleep counter also resets upon switching out to whatever number was initially chosen; for example, Rest, lasting two turns, will always have its counter reset to three.



The ability Early Bird serves to lessenreduces the duration of sleep; to this end,sleep—for Pokemon with the ability, the "fast asleep" message reduces an Early Bird bearer'sdecreases the sleep counter by two rather than one. Since[COMMENT: If you're wondering why I changed these, it's a vague style thing—reduce refers to a lowering in quality, while decrease refers to a reduction in number.] As the counter can be set to two, three, or four, an initial counter of two will lead to an immediate awakening, while a counter of three or four results in a single turn of sleep. Therefore, an Early Bird PokémonPokemon has a 33.3% chance of waking up immediately, and a 66.7% chance of sleeping only a single turn.



Furthermore, the abilities Insomnia and Vital Spirit prevent sleep entirely; acquisition of these abilities will also permit a snoozing PokémonPokemon to awaken. The move Uproar also awakens all PokémonPokemon on the field, keeping them awake for the move's three-turn duration. This holds true even if the move is used against a Ghost-type Pokémon,Pokemon, doing no damage.



The following moves can induce sleep:



Move Accuracy Chance to Sleep

Dark Void 80% 100%

GrassWhistle 55% 100%

Hypnosis 60% 100%

Lovely Kiss 75% 100%

Relic Song 100% 10%

Rest -- (Self-induced) 100%

Sing 55% 100%

Sleep Powder 75% 100%

Spore 100% 100%

Yawn -- 100% (Targeted PokémonPokemon falls asleep the turn after the move is used)



Making contact with a PokémonPokemon that has the ability Effect Spore has a 10% chance of causing sleep, but paralysis and poison together have a 20% chance of occurring instead. Darkrai's ability Bad Dreams increases a sleeping Pokémon'sPokemon's misery by causing it to lose 12.5% of its maximum HP for every turn it is asleep, with theasleep. The move Nightmare havinghas a similar effect, taking away 25% of the target's maximum HP each turn.



An interesting note about this status that it prevents confusion from Outrage, Petal Dance, or Thrash if their durationthe move ends while the user is asleep.



[A]#removing_effects[/A]

Removing Primary Status Effects



Now that each of the Primary Status effects havehas been covered, you must nowshould learn how to remove these status effects from your Pokémon.Pokemon. However, keep in mind that status effects may actually be beneficial to certain members of your team. Many abilities have been mentioned as giving some benefit to a PokémonPokemon suffering from a status effect; Guts, Marvel Scale, and Quick Feet are examples of abilities that boost a certain stat when their bearer is given a status effect. While Marvel Scale boosts Defense, a stat which no status threatens to drop, Guts will even negate the attack-deducting effect of a burn, and Quick Feet the speed drop from paralysis, making their benefits more apparent. Statused PokémonPokemon or PokémonPokemon with such abilities can function as 'status absorbers,'"status absorbers," which can take the status-inducing moves directed at other members of your team, thus alleviating the need for status to be removed.



However, there are many cases in which a PokémonPokemon will be dealt a detrimental status effect, such as if your physical sweeper contracts a burn. In such instances, you may use the following moves to relieve some or all types of Primary Status effects:



Aromatherapy

Removes all Primary Status effects from your team, including the user.



Heal Bell

Removes all Primary Status effects from your team, including the user (Soundproof does not block Heal Bell in the fifth generation).



Healing Wish

Instantly KOs the user and relieves any status effect from the PokémonPokemon switching in.



Lunar Dance

Instantly KOs the user and relieves any status effect from the PokémonPokemon switching in.



Psycho Shift

Shifts any Primary Status from the user to the target.



Refresh

Removes a burn, paralysis, or poison from the user.



Rest

Removes any Primary Status from the user, at the cost of inducing two-turn sleep.



SmellingSalt

Has 120 base power on a paralyzed target, while relieving the target of paralysis.



Uproar

Awakens all sleeping PokémonPokemon on the field, and prevents any PokémonPokemon from falling asleep for three turns.



Wake-Up Slap

Instantly awakens a sleeping target, while taking on 120 base power.



Additionally, all Fire-type moves exceptmoves—except for Will-O-Wisp willWill-O-Wisp—will thaw a frozen target.



The moves Flame Wheel, Flare Blitz, Fusion Flare, Sacred Fire, and Scald will all cause the user to thaw if it is frozen. A sleeping PokémonPokemon may awaken itself if it has a status-healing move such as Heal Bell, and selects this move using Sleep Talk. With these exceptions aside, there is no way for a frozen or sleeping PokémonPokemon to remove its own status.



Aromatherapy and Heal Bell are arguably the most effective status-relieving moves, as they willmoves. They alleviate the status effects of an entire team, and can be used well on a PokémonPokemon such as Blissey, whose ability Natural Cure can also relieve her of status effects when she switches out. However, these moves relieve status effects indiscriminately; any status effects whichthat benefit a Pokémon,Pokemon, such as one with Guts, will be removed as well. You must therefore plan your status-removing strategy such that it does not interfere with your other teammates. Individual PokémonPokemon can use Rest or Psycho Shift to remove any status effect they are given, but Rest induces sleep, and Psycho Shift must be used with the same consideration as any status-inducing move.



However, moves are not the only means by which a PokémonPokemon can be relieved of a status effect. The following abilities can remove status as well:



Healer

Has a 30% chance at the end of each turn to relieve an ally of Primary Status if it is directly adjacent to the PokémonPokemon (Doubles and Triples only).



Hydration

Removes any Primary Status at the end of the turn if it is raining.



Natural Cure

Removes any Primary Status when the PokémonPokemon leaves the field.



Shed Skin

Has a 30% chance to relive Primary Status at the end of each turn.



Finally, the following items will relieve their holder of certain status effects:



Aspear Berry

Thaws a frozen Pokémon.Pokemon.



Cheri Berry

Cures a paralyzed Pokémon.Pokemon.



Chesto Berry

Awakens a sleeping Pokémon.Pokemon.



Lum Berry

Relieves a PokémonPokemon of any Primary Status.



Pecha Berry

Cures a PokémonPokemon of poison or bad poison.



Rawst Berry

Cures a burned Pokémon.Pokemon.



A Lum Berry is effective against all Primary Status effects, but it you may wish to guard a PokémonPokemon against a more specific status. For example, a PokémonPokemon with Rest might be equipped with a Chesto Berry, which, unlike Lum Berry, would not activate if the PokémonPokemon was burned or poisoned. Lum Berry is best used as a catch-all guard against status, from paralysis to a random freeze, while the other Berries must be more deliberately used. Furthermore, in metagames without Sleep Clause, such as VGC, Chesto Berry may be more useful than Lum; Item Clause means that Berries must be distributed with even more care.



That said, it must be borne in mindnote that in the majority of cases, Berries can only be used once. The ability Harvest allows its bearer to reuse Berries indefinitely, and each use of the move Recycle will restore a consumed Berry to its holder. In many cases it is more beneficial to give a PokémonPokemon a hold item such as a Choice Band or Leftovers, or even a different, damage-reducing Berry, meaning that status-healing Berries are not seen on most Pokémon.Pokemon.



[A]#pseudo_status[/A]

Pseudo Status



We now arrive at an investigation of the different Pseudo Status effects, much fewer in number than their Primary counterparts. For the most part, Pseudo Status effects are relieved if the affected PokémonPokemon leaves the field by means other than Baton Pass; sincebecause they are unofficially related, as opposed to Primary Status effects, each Pseudo Status is fully detailed in its own section. [COMMENT: Each Primary Status had its own section too, so what do you mean?]



[A]#confusion[/A]

Confusion



A confused PokémonPokemon has a 50% chance of attacking itself whenon its turn comes around;turn; the self-harming attack is a typeless physical attack with 40 base power. Some specially-based PokémonPokemon may assumeuse an Attack IV of 0 in order to keep confusion damage to a minimum, but confusion's rarity makes this practice similarly scarce. Confusion lasts for two to five turns, with the counter being reduceddecreased each time the message "[Pokémon]"[Pokemon] is confused!" is displayed. Confusion is cured when a PokémonPokemon switches out, so unlike bad poison or sleep, the confusion counter is never restored.



PokémonPokemon with the ability Own Tempo are completely immune to confusion; if a confused PokémonPokemon is given Own Tempo, it will find its confusion removed. Additionally, the ability Tangled Feet will grant a PokémonPokemon a 50% boost in evasion for every turn during which it is confused.



The following moves can induce confusion:



Move Accuracy Chance to Confuse

Chatter 100% (Unconfirmed)

Confuse Ray 100% 100%

Confusion 100% 10%

Dizzy Punch 100% 20%

DynamicPunch 50% 100%

Flatter 100% 100%

Hurricane 70% (-- in rain, 50% in sun) 30%

Outrage -- (Self-induced) 100% (After 2-3 turns)

Petal Dance -- (Self-induced) 100% (After 2-3 turns)

Psybeam 100% 10%

Rock Climb 85% 20%

Signal Beam 100% 10%

Supersonic 55% 100%

Swagger 90% 100%

Sweet Kiss 75% 100%

Teeter Dance 100% 100%

Thrash -- (Self-induced) 100% (After 2-3 turns)

Water Pulse 100% 20%



Certain Berries can also causeconfuse their users to be confused if they are consumed by certain Pokémon.Pokemon. Each of the following Berries will activate when their holder is at 25% of their maximum HP or less; the previous figure becomesless, or 50% if the holder has the ability Gluttony.



Aguav Berry

Confuses a holder with a Special Defense-hindering or Quirky nature.



Figy Berry

Confuses a holder with an Attack-hindering or Hardy nature.



Iapapa Berry

Confuses a holder with a Defense-hindering or Docile nature.



Mago Berry

Confuses a holder with a Speed-hindering or Serious nature.



Wiki Berry

Confuses a holder with a Special Attack-hindering or Bashful nature.



While a PokémonPokemon with the applicable natures will still recover health, they will also become confused upon consuming theirthe corresponding Berries. However, these Berries are not useful items, either for consumption or Tricking onto another Pokémon,Pokemon, and are all but unseen in competitive play.



Confusion can be relieved in a number of different ways, the most obvious of which are letting it run its natural course or switching out. Without leaving the field, a Persim Berry or, oddly enough, a Lum Berry will cure its holder of its confusion. Confusion is not terribly common, mostly seen from a No Guard DynamicPunch or the self-induced variety that comes with Outrage.



[A]#flinch[/A]

Flinch



When a PokémonPokemon flinches, it is unable to move for the duration of the turn. For this reason, flinching cannot be 'cured,'"cured," only prevented. A PokémonPokemon can only flinch if it is struck by a flinch-inducing move before it can carry out an attack in that turn; flinching does not carry over across multiple turns. Additionally PokémonAdditionally, Pokemon that hashave the ability Inner Focus isare immune to flinching. PokémonPokemon with the ability Steadfast may still flinch, but have their Speed is boosted by one stage each time they do so.



The following moves may cause the target to flinch:



Move Accuracy Chance to Flinch

Air Slash 95% 30%

Astonish 100% 30%

Bite 100% 30%

Bone Club 85% 10%

Dark Pulse 100% 20%

Dragon Rush 75% 20%

Extrasensory 100% 10%

Fake Out 100% 100%

Fire Fang 95% 10%

Headbutt 100% 30%

Heart Stamp 100% 30%

Hyper Fang 90% 10%

Ice Fang 95% 10%

Icicle Crash 90% 30%

Iron Head 100% 30%

Needle Arm 100% 30%

Rock Slide 90% 30%

Rolling Kick 85% 30%

Sky Attack 90% 30%

Snore 100% 30%

Steamroller 100% 30%

Stomp 100% 30%

Thunder Fang 95% 10%

Twister 100% 20%

Waterfall 100% 20%

Zen Headbutt 90% 20%



If a PokémonPokemon is hit by a King's Rock or Razor Fang thrown by Fling, it will also flinch; sincebecause Fake Out is a Normal-type move, Fling is only way shortway—short of Foresight or Odor Sleuth toSleuth—to score a guaranteed flinch on a Ghost-type.



PokémonPokemon with the ability Stench now have a 10% chance of causing a flinch with any of their damage-dealing moves. Additionally, the items King's Rock and Razor Fang will add a 10% chance of flinching to most damaging moves. However, neither item stacks with Stench, nor will they combine with Serene Grace to give a boosted chance of flinching. However, King's Rock, Razor Fang, and Stench each provide a 10% chance of flinchingmaking the target flinch on each hit of a multi-hit move. For instance, if Fury Swipes hits three times, there is a 27.1% chance of the target flinching.



[A]#infatuation[/A]

Infatuation



Infatuation is the least common Pseudo Status, dependent uponon the target being the opposite gender of the attacker. Given the abundance of genderless Pokémon,Pokemon, as well as the unpredictable genders of most others, this is not an easy feat in and of itself. An infatuated PokémonPokemon has a 50% chance of being too lovestruck to move for every turn that both it and the PokémonPokemon with which it is infatuated remain on the field.



Infatuation is induced throughby one of two ways: either by the move Attract, or throughby a 30% chance when contact is made with a PokémonPokemon that has the ability Cute Charm. However, PokémonPokemon with the ability Oblivious are completely immune to infatuation, as is any Pokémongenderless Pokemon or one that is not the opposite gender of its foe.



Holding the item Destiny Knot will cause an infatuated PokémonPokemon to give the Pseudo Status to its attractor as well, and Mental Herb is a one-useone-time use item whichthat relieves a PokémonPokemon of its infatuation. However, this affliction is too uncommon to make either of these items worth holding; the conditions required to induce infatuation are far too uncommon to make this Pseudo Status attractive.useful.



[A]#trapped[/A]

Trapped



When a PokémonPokemon is trapped, it is unable to switch out except by special means. The moves Baton Pass, U-turn, and Volt Switch allow the user to switch to another Pokémon on the team.Pokemon. Holding a Shed Shell will always allow the PokémonPokemon to switch out, and an Escape Button allowsmakes the holder to switch out as soon as it is hit.



The moves Block, Mean Look, and Spider Web all trap the target, whereas the move Ingrain traps the user while restoring health. A number of binding moves will also trap the target for a set duration of time—four to five turns, dealing damage at the end of each turn. These temporary trapping moves are Bind, Clamp, Fire Spin, Magma Storm, Sand Tomb, Whirlpool, and Wrap. Holding a Grip Claw will make all of these temporary trapping moves last for theirthe maximum of five turns.



The ability Shadow Tag will trap all PokémonPokemon on the other side of the field; Magnet Pull and Arena Trap work in the same manner. However, Shadow Tag does not work on PokémonPokemon with the same ability, and Arena Trap cannot trap Flying-type PokémonPokemon or PokémonPokemon with the ability Levitate. Holding the item Balloon will also allow a PokémonPokemon to escape from Arena Trap if the Balloon has not been popped. Finally, Magnet Pull will only trap Steel-type Pokémon.Pokemon.



Lock-in moves also provide a trapping effect, but also prevent the user from choosing a move entirely; holding a Shed Shell will not save a PokémonPokemon from their effects. There are two categories of these 'lock-in'"lock-in" moves: recharge moves,moves and multi-turn moves. Recharge moves are those which prevent the user from making a move selection after they are used; Blast Burn, Frenzy Plant, Giga Impact, Hydro Cannon, Hyper Beam, and Roar of Time are all classified as recharge moves. Multi-turn moves, on the other hand, all last for a set duration, during which the user automatically uses the same move for one PP. Petal Dance, Outrage, and Thrash all last for two to three turns, while Ice Ball and Rollout last five.



[A]#veto[/A]

Vetoing Effects



Thanks to the separation of Primary Status and Pseudo Status, a PokémonPokemon can contract more than one 'status condition'"status condition" at onea time. For this reason, the game has an internal 'veto' listlist, which indicates the order in which it will perform a check to see if a particular effect takes hold of a Pokémon.Pokemon. That is, the effect at the top of the list is checked, and if it prevents a PokémonPokemon from making a move, the effects below are effectively vetoed. This list contains a number of non-status effects as well, but for now, let us look at the list as it pertains to status:



Freeze/Sleep

Confuse

Flinch

Infatuation

Paralysis



This means that the game will first check for a thaw or awakening, then perform a confusion check, and so on. Familiarity with this list allows you to determine the chances of specific outcomes when more than one status effect is in effect. For instance, if a confused PokémonPokemon with Steadfast is hit by Dark Pulse, there will be a 50% chance of the PokémonPokemon hurting itself in its confusion, followed by a 20% chance of the PokémonPokemon flinching. SinceBecause the check for confusion occurs before the flinch, the PokémonPokemon will not receive a Speed boost if either confusion takes effect or Dark Pulse fails to make the PokémonPokemon flinch. Disregarding the duration of confusion, there would therefore be a 10% chance that the PokémonPokemon will flinch and receive the Speed boost.



[A]#credits[/A]

Credits



There are a number of users whose work helped contribute to this guide as you read it today, but to isolate them all would be nearly impossible. Before it was updated for fifth generation mechanics, this guide had a fourth generation predecessor, co-written by obi; many users performed the research necessary to list the correct mechanics for myriad moves and abilities. As for the fifth generation mechanics found herein, we owe muchmany thanks to the researchers in the B&W Research Thread, who helped to find and test any mechanics not made readily apparent in the game.


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Thank you, TelamonianAjax. I made all the changes you suggested, and hopefully addressed any areas where you had specific comments about content or clarity.
 

Nix_Hex

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Status in Black and White
By mien and Arseus.

  • [JUMP=#introduction]Introduction[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#inducing_preventing]Inducing and Preventing Status[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#primary_status]Primary Status[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#burn]Burn (BRN)[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#freeze]Freeze (FRZ)[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#paralysis]Paralysis (PAR)[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#poison]Poison (PSN)[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#sleep]Sleep (SLP)[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#removing_effects]Removing Primary Status Effects[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#pseudo_status]Pseudo Status Effects[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#confusion]Confusion[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#flinch]Flinch[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#infatuation]Infatuation[/JUMP]
    • [JUMP=#trapped]Trapped[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#veto]Vetoing Effects[/JUMP]
  • [JUMP=#credits]Credits[/JUMP]

[A]#introduction[/A]
Introduction

Like many RPGs, Pokemon plays host to a number of different conditions that may affect your team. Unlike many RPGs, however, a Pokemon's status effects are equally usable by both you and your opponent, and therefore, the infliction of status is an incredibly viable tactic. These status effects are found in a respectable quantity, and may be organized into two broad categories.

The first category is made up of the afflictions that appear next to a Pokemon's HP bar in battle, subtly altering its idle animation. Each of these status effects has been given an official three-letter abbreviation set in a specially-colored box; as these afflictions have been officially identified by GameFreak as status effects, they are here termed "Primary Status." Only one of these status effects can be given to a Pokemon at any time; a Pokemon must be relieved of one Primary Status effect before it can be given another. The category of Primary Status encompasses such familiar afflictions as sleep and burn, typically encountered by a trainer on his or her adventures.

However, this official set of effects excludes other conditions that resemble status, such as confusion or infatuation. These would-be status effects, or "Pseudo Statuses," as they shall be called from this point forth, deserve a mention in spite of their unofficial status. These effects, like Primary Status effects, are distinct afflictions induced in a number of ways. Thus, we may separate a unique condition, such as Leech Seed, from an effect like confusion. The mentioned Pseudo Statuses also exclude phenomena contained within pre-existing categories, such as Field Effects, and are not mentioned here. Pseudo Status effects are also notable for stacking both with other Pseudo Status effects and Primary Status effects, and are almost always relieved when a Pokemon exits battle by means other than Baton Pass.

That said, the only way to truly define status is to look at each effect individually—what causes it, how it functions, and ultimately, how it is removed.

[A]#inducing_preventing[/A]
Inducing and Preventing Status

Before examining each status effect and how it is induced, some general observations may be made about status effects as a category. First, the vast majority of moves that induce status bring it about through a secondary effect; there are comparatively few moves dedicated to inducing status. For attacks with a secondary chance to induce a status effect, the ability Serene Grace doubles the general effect rate. For example, a Pokemon with Serene Grace will have a 20% chance of freezing its foe with Ice Beam,(comma) as opposed to the regular 10%; naturally, this chance will never exceed 100%. Note that the effects of items such as King's Rock do not stack with Serene Grace. That said, the ability Shield Dust negates any secondary effects, so its users will be immune from chance status.

Status effects that are not brought about as a secondary effect will be the result of a non-attacking move. Thus, they will be blocked if the foe's Pokemon uses Taunt—an established strategy of keeping harmful status effects at bay. However, they may also benefit from the ability Prankster, which boosts the priority of all non-attacking moves by one. This benefit extends to many of the moves designed to purge status effects as well. On the other hand, the ability Wonder Skin reduces the success rate of a status-inducing move by 50%; this does not apply to moves that induce status as a secondary effect.

While all status effects can be removed, as shall be explored in detail later on, some Pokemon can deflect or reflect a status effect onto the attacker. The former is achieved through the ability Magic Bounce and its equivalent move, Magic Coat. Magic Bounce sends dedicated status-inflicting moves, including many Pseudo Statuses (except for Teeter Dance's confusion) back at the user, and Magic Coat is a +4 priority move that achieves the same effect. As for the second category, when a Pokemon with the ability Synchronize is given a status effect, the same effect is given to the attacker.(no paragraph break)As of the fifth generation, bad poison will be passed on if it is inflicted, instead of its regular counterpart.

Two other general conditions prevent Primary Status effects from being given to affected Pokemon. The move Safeguard creates a veil around the user's side of the field, preventing any Pokemon from being given a Primary Status for five turns. The ability Leaf Guard also prevents any Primary Status from affecting its bearer while the sunlight is strong; this will also prevent the use of Rest, since it must put the user to sleep to work. Many other abilities prevent specific status effects, and shall be addressed in the section of their relevant status.

Finally, as mentioned above, a Pokemon already afflicted by a Primary Status is unable to receive another one. This may be used to your (or your opponent's) advantage by allowing one Pokemon to take a status effect and using it to "absorb" any further effects directed at your team. Alternately, Alternatively, you can simply let a Pokemon take a status effect that will not detract too much from its role, while preventing it from being subjected to a less desirable affliction.

Without further ado, let us look at each of the different status effects:

[A]#primary_status[/A]
Primary Status

[A]#burn[/A]
Burn (BRN)

The burn status is among the best lines of defense against physical attackers, short of knocking them out altogether. In addition to decreasing the affected Pokemon's HP by 12.5% of its maximum at the end of each turn, the burn status invokes a special modifier in the damage formula, reducing the Pokemon's physical damage output by half. For that reason, the burn status is frequently utilized—a burned physical attacker is a lamed one.

However, the burn status is not universally effective; a burned special attacker is unfazed by a loss of physical power, and is now unaffected by a more debilitating Primary Status such as paralysis or sleep. In the same vein, Pokemon with the ability Guts actually benefit from a burn, as said ability ignores the attack drop and instead causes a 50% increase in physical power. Flare Boost operates in much the same manner on the special side. All three of these Pokemon will still suffer the HP reduction caused by a burn.

Conversely, Fire-type Pokemon and Pokemon with the ability Water Veil are entirely immune to burns. That said, if a Fire-type Pokemon is given another type (such as through Soak), it will not be relieved of its burn if it regains its old typing. On the other hand, Water Veil grants an immunity to the burn condition itself; if a burned Pokemon somehow gains Water Veil (such as through Trace), it will be relieved of its affliction. The final abilities which decrease the effectiveness of a burn are Heatproof and Magic Guard; the former reduces the damage taken from a burn to 6.25% each turn, whereas the latter negates the HP loss entirely. However, neither ability counteracts the Attack reduction burn gives.

The following moves can burn their target(s):

Move Accuracy Chance to Burn
Blaze Kick 90% 10%
Blue Flare 85% 20%
Ember 100% 10%
Fire Blast 85% 10%
Fire Fang 95% 10%
Fire Punch 100% 10%
Flame Wheel 100% 10%
Flamethrower 100% 10%
Flare Blitz 100% 10%
Heat Wave 90% 10%
Ice Burn 90% 30%
Inferno 50% 100%
Lava Plume 100% 30%
Sacred Fire 95% 50%
Scald 100% 30%
Searing Shot 100% 30%
Tri Attack 100% 6.67%
Will-O-Wisp 75% 100%


Finally, a burn may be induced by an item or ability. If an attacker uses a contact move against a Pokemon with the ability Flame Body, there is a 30% chance for the attacker to be inflicted with a burn. The item Flame Orb will also inflict a burn; it burns its holder at the end of the turn, or any Pokemon that is hit with the Flame Orb by the move Fling.

It is important to remember that the burn status is designed to counter physical attackers; special attackers and walls are best badly poisoned if their HP is to be reduced, or put to sleep if their offense must be stopped. An attempt to induce a burn is also a potential benefit to Pokemon with the ability Flash Fire; because the vast majority of burn-inducing moves are Fire-type, including the often-used Will-O-Wisp, the Flash Fire user can switch in on a predicted burn for a boost in firepower. As such, the burn status must be employed wisely.

[A]#freeze[/A]
Freeze (FRZ)

What may be the most potent of status effects is fortunately the most difficult to inflict. A frozen Pokemon is unable to attack until it thaws—each turn it tries to attack, it has a 20% chance of thawing out. While a Pokemon can theoretically thaw before it loses a turn to being frozen, it may also remain encased in ice indefinitely. This unpredictability, combined with potential length of immobility, is what makes the freeze status so deadly.

Ice-types are immune to being frozen, as are Pokemon with the ability Magma Armor. A frozen Pokemon that acquires Magma Armor will instantly thaw out, like similarly to the situation of burned Pokemon acquiring Water Veil. In addition, because there is no dedicated freezing move, the ability Shield Dust effectively prevents a Pokemon from being frozen, thanks to its immunity to secondary effects. Finally, strong sunlight prevents all Pokemon on the field from being frozen.

The following moves can potentially freeze their target(s):

Move Accuracy Chance to Freeze
Blizzard 70% (-- in hail) 10%
Ice Beam 100% 10%
Ice Fang 95% 10%
Ice Punch 100% 10%
Powder Snow 100% 10%
Tri Attack 100% 6.67%

The prevalence of Ice Beam, and to a lesser extent, Ice Punch, dictates that you will probably encounter a freeze sooner or later. However, it is rarely seen, and should be neither relied upon nor forgotten about completely in the midst of battle.

[A]#paralysis[/A]
Paralysis (PAR)

Although paralysis, like freeze, is a very useful status effect, it is considerably more common. Paralysis reduces the affected Pokemon's Speed to 25% of its former number, accounting for all boosts and drops. It also gives a 25% chance each turn for the victim to be fully paralyzed—unable to attack that turn. Thus, attackers that would not mind a Speed reduction, such as Trick Room sweepers, are still faced with the prospect of giving the foe a free turn when they succumb to paralysis. For this reason, paralysis is a useful status to inflict upon many Pokemon.

Naturally, you cannot paralyze Pokemon that are immune to such a status, such as those with the ability Limber. Limber grants total immunity to its status effect, meaning that if a paralyzed Pokemon is given the ability Limber (such as through Skill Swap), it will recover from paralysis. The ability Quick Feet overrides the Speed drop from paralysis, boosting its users speed instead; however, it does not prevent a Pokemon from being fully paralyzed.

The following moves may inflict paralysis:

Move Accuracy Chance to Paralyze
Body Slam 100% 30%
Bolt Strike 85% 20%
Bounce 85% 30%
Discharge 100% 30%
DragonBreath 100% 30%
Force Palm 100% 30%
Freeze Shock 90% 30%
Glare 90% 100%
Lick 100% 30%
Spark 100% 30%
Stun Spore 75% 100%
Thunder 70% (-- in rain, 50% in sun) 30%
Thunderbolt 100% 10%
ThunderPunch 100% 10%
Thundershock 100% 10%
Thunder Fang 95% 10%
Thunder Wave 100% 100%
Tri Attack 100% 6.67%
Volt Tackle 100% 10%
Zap Cannon 50% 100%

Most of the paralyzing moves are Electric-type, and accordingly, Pokemon with the ability LightningRod or Motor Drive can acquire a boost to their Special Attack or Speed, respectively, by switching in at the right moment. This also means that Ground-types are immune to many paralysis-inducing moves;.(period, no semicolon) contrary to early rumors, Thunder Wave does not bypass Ground's immunity to Electric-type moves. (since the many false rumors surrounding BW mechanics are so old and almost forgotten about, there really isn't a reason to bring it up here.) Pokemon with the ability Normalize can avoid this immunity, but are subsequently walled by Ghost-types.

Paralysis may also be inflicted through certain abilities and an item. Effect Spore and Static have a 10% and 30% chance, respectively, to paralyze the opponent when contact is made with a Pokemon with one of those abilities; however, the former has a 20% chance of inflicting sleep or poison instead. Finally, a Pokemon hit with a Light Ball thrown by Fling will become paralyzed.

Paralysis is a condition best inflicted against swift sweepers, in order to strip them of their Speed advantage. However, the one-in-four chance of gaining a free turn makes paralysis a helpful tool, especially in longer battles.

[A]#poison[/A]
Poison (PSN)

One status effect that has the chance to truly shine in drawn-out battles is poison. There are two types of poison—normal poison and bad poison. Normal poison reduces the victim's HP by 12.5% of its maximum each turn, with no added effects (essentially making it a lesser burn.) The second variety, bad poison—also named "toxic poisoning," after the move that typically induces it—is the useful addition to a stall team's arsenal. Bad poison gradually increases its end-of-turn damage in accordance with the following formula:

Damage = max(floor(max HP ÷ 16), 1) × min(# of turns Pokemon has taken bad poison damage, 15)

In other words, bad poison begins at 6.25% damage, increasing by 6.25% each turn until eventually capping at 93.75%, or 15/16 of the victim's maximum HP. The counter will reset to one whenever the badly poisoned Pokemon leaves the field.

As with any status, many Pokemon have immunities to, or benefit from poison (of either variety). Both Poison- and Steel-type Pokemon are unaffected by poison; that said, if their type is somehow altered, they are vulnerable, and will not be cured if the original type is regained. Pokemon with the ability Immunity are also unaffected by poison, and unlike the case with typing, acquiring Immunity will relieve the victim of its poison status.

On another note, a Pokemon with Magic Guard may be poisoned, but it will not lose any HP as a result. The ability Poison Heal actually turns poison into an advantageous condition, healing the user by 12.5% of its maximum HP each turn. However, the bad poison counter will still run in the background for Pokemon with either of these abilities, meaning if Magic Guard or Poison Heal is lost, the Pokemon will immediately start taking the appropriate amount of damage.

Finally, the ability Toxic Boost will increase a Pokemon's Attack by 50% when poisoned, albeit without preventing damage. Despite the ability's name, the poisoning in question does not have to be induced by Toxic.

With that said, the following moves induce regular poison:

Move Accuracy Chance to Poison
Cross Poison 100% 10%
Gunk Shot 70% 30%
Poison Gas 80% 100%
Poison Jab 100% 30%
Poison Sting 100% 30%
Poison Tail 100% 10%
PoisonPowder 75% 100%
Sludge 100% 30%
Sludge Bomb 100% 30%
Sludge Wave 100% 10%
Smog 70% 40%
Toxic Spikes* -- (Field effect) 100%
Twineedle 100% 20% (On both hits)

*After one layer.

Hitting a Pokemon with Black Sludge or Poison Barb thrown with Fling will also cause poison. Typical immunities still apply, despite the fact that Fling is a Dark-type move.

The ability Effect Spore also has a 10% chance to poison any Pokemon that makes contact with its bearer, but there is a 20% chance paralysis or sleep will be randomly chosen instead. The ability Poison Touch gives all the ability bearer's contact moves a 30% chance of poisoning, even if the move in question already has a secondary effect; the added chance to poison from Poison Touch stacks with any existing move effects.

These moves can induce bad poison:

Move Accuracy Chance to Badly Poison
Poison Fang 100% 30%
Toxic 90% 100%
Toxic Spikes* -- (Field effect) 100%

*After two layers.

Holding a Toxic Orb will also result in bad poison at the end of the turn; getting hit by the same item by Fling is also a cause of bad poison. Immunities to Poison still apply even though Fling is Dark-type. The move Venoshock will deal double damage against a poisoned target, but it is otherwise situational.

Though there are many Pokemon immune to poison, it is not a status to be overlooked—the bad variety can be quite potent . Putting a bad poison counter on a Pokemon provides an extra incentive to switch frequently—a fact the poisoner user can use to his or her advantage.

[A]#sleep[/A]
Sleep (SLP)

Last—but by no means the least—of Primary Statuses is sleep. The existence of sleep clause—a common competitive rule effectively stating that only one Pokemon on each team may be asleep at a time—might suggest that sleep is a very dangerous status effect. As logic may suggest, a sleeping Pokemon is unable to use any moves, save Sleep Talk and Snore; the former is situational, while the latter is useless.

The amount of turns a Pokemon will be asleep is set randomly—with the exception of Rest, which lasts two turns—when the Pokemon initially succumbs to slumber. As with bad poison, a counter is put into effect, this time assigning a number between two and four inclusive (one fewer than the previous generation). Each time the "fast asleep" message is displayed, the counter decreases by one, until the counter reaches zero and the Pokemon wakes up. In other words, a Pokemon will be asleep for one to three turns, with an equal chance (33.3% or 1/3) for each result. Like bad poison, the sleep counter also resets upon switching out to whatever number was initially chosen; for example, Rest, lasting two turns, will always have its counter reset to three.

The ability Early Bird reduces the duration of sleep—for Pokemon with the ability, the "fast asleep" message decreases the sleep counter by two rather than one. As the counter can be set to two, three, or four, an initial counter of two will lead to an immediate awakening, while a counter of three or four results in a single turn of sleep. Therefore, an Early Bird Pokemon has a 33.3% chance of waking up immediately, and a 66.7% chance of sleeping only a single turn.

Furthermore, the abilities Insomnia and Vital Spirit prevent sleep entirely; acquisition of these abilities will also permit a snoozing Pokemon to awaken. The move Uproar also awakens all Pokemon on the field, keeping them awake for the move's three-turn duration. This holds true even if the move is used against a Ghost-type Pokemon, doing no damage.

The following moves can induce sleep:

Move Accuracy Chance to Sleep
Dark Void 80% 100%
GrassWhistle 55% 100%
Hypnosis 60% 100%
Lovely Kiss 75% 100%
Relic Song 100% 10%
Rest -- (Self-induced) 100%
Sing 55% 100%
Sleep Powder 75% 100%
Spore 100% 100%
Yawn -- 100% (Targeted Pokemon falls asleep the turn after the move is used)

Making contact with a Pokemon that has the ability Effect Spore has a 10% chance of causing sleep, but paralysis and poison together have a 20% chance of occurring instead. Darkrai's ability Bad Dreams increases a sleeping Pokemon's misery by causing it to lose 12.5% of its maximum HP for every turn it is asleep. The move Nightmare has a similar effect, taking away 25% of the target's maximum HP each turn.

An interesting note about this status that it prevents confusion from Outrage, Petal Dance, or Thrash if the move ends while the user is asleep.

[A]#removing_effects[/A]
Removing Primary Status Effects

Now that each of the Primary Status effects has been covered, you should learn how to remove them from your Pokemon. However, keep in mind that status effects may actually be beneficial to certain members of your team. Many abilities have been mentioned as giving some benefit to a Pokemon suffering from a status effect; Guts, Marvel Scale, and Quick Feet are examples of abilities that boost a certain stat when their bearer is given a status effect. While Marvel Scale boosts Defense, a stat which no status threatens to drop, Guts will negate the attack-deducting effect of a burn, and Quick Feet the speed drop from paralysis, making their benefits more apparent. Statused Pokemon or Pokemon with such abilities can function as "status absorbers," which can take the status-inducing moves directed at other members of your team, thus alleviating the need for status to be removed.

However, there are many cases in which a Pokemon will be dealt a detrimental status effect, such as if your physical sweeper contracts a burn. In such instances, you may use the following moves to relieve some or all types of Primary Status effects:

Aromatherapy
Removes all Primary Status effects from your team, including the user.

Heal Bell
Removes all Primary Status effects from your team, including the user (Soundproof does not block Heal Bell in the fifth generation).

Healing Wish
Instantly KOs the user and relieves any status effect from the Pokemon switching in.

Lunar Dance
Instantly KOs the user and relieves any status effect from the Pokemon switching in.

Psycho Shift
Shifts any Primary Status from the user to the target.

Refresh
Removes a burn, paralysis, or poison from the user.

Rest
Removes any Primary Status from the user, at the cost of inducing two-turn sleep.

SmellingSalt
Has 120 base power on a paralyzed target, while relieving the target of paralysis.

Uproar
Awakens all sleeping Pokemon on the field, and prevents any Pokemon from falling asleep for three turns.

Wake-Up Slap
Instantly awakens a sleeping target, while taking on 120 base power.

Additionally, all Fire-type moves—except for Will-O-Wisp—will thaw a frozen target.

The moves Flame Wheel, Flare Blitz, Fusion Flare, Sacred Fire, and Scald will all cause the user to thaw if it is frozen. A sleeping Pokemon may awaken itself if it has a status-healing move such as Heal Bell, and selects this move using Sleep Talk. With these exceptions aside, there is no way for a frozen or sleeping Pokemon to remove its own status.

Aromatherapy and Heal Bell are arguably the most effective status-relieving moves. They will alleviate the status effects of an entire team, and can be used well on a Pokemon such as Blissey, whose ability Natural Cure can also relieve her of status effects when she switches out. However, these moves relieve status effects indiscriminately; any status effects that benefit a Pokemon, such as one with Guts, will be removed as well. You must therefore plan your status-removing strategy such that it does not interfere with your other teammates. Individual Pokemon can use Rest or Psycho Shift to remove any status effect they are given, but Rest induces sleep, and Psycho Shift must be used with the same consideration as any status-inducing move.

However, moves are not the only means by which a Pokemon can be relieved of a status effect. The following abilities can remove status as well:

Healer
Has a 30% chance at the end of each turn to relieve an ally of Primary Status if it is directly adjacent to the Pokemon (Doubles and Triples only).

Hydration
Removes any Primary Status at the end of the turn if it is raining.

Natural Cure
Removes any Primary Status when the Pokemon leaves the field.

Shed Skin
Has a 30% chance to relive Primary Status at the end of each turn.

Finally, the following items will relieve their holder of certain status effects:

Aspear Berry
Thaws a frozen Pokemon.

Cheri Berry
Cures a paralyzed Pokemon.

Chesto Berry
Awakens a sleeping Pokemon.

Lum Berry
Relieves a Pokemon of any Primary Status.

Pecha Berry
Cures a Pokemon of poison or bad poison.

Rawst Berry
Cures a burned Pokemon.

A Lum Berry is effective against all Primary Status effects, but you may wish to guard a Pokemon against a more specific status. For example, a Pokemon with Rest might be equipped with a Chesto Berry, which, unlike Lum Berry, would not activate if the Pokemon was burned or poisoned. Lum Berry is best used as a catch-all guard against status, from paralysis to a random freeze, while the other Berries must be more deliberately used. Furthermore, in metagames without Sleep Clause, such as VGC, Chesto Berry may be more useful than Lum;.(period, no semicolon) When Item Clause is in effect, means that berries must be distributed with even more care.

That said, note that in the majority of cases, berries can only be used once. The ability Harvest allows its bearer to reuse berries indefinitely, and each use of the move Recycle will restore a consumed Berry to its holder. In many cases,(comma) it is more beneficial to give a Pokemon a hold item such as a Choice Band or Leftovers, or even a different,(no comma) damage-reducing berry, meaning that status-healing berries are not seen on most Pokemon.

[A]#pseudo_status[/A]
Pseudo Status

We now arrive at the different Pseudo Status effects, much fewer in number than their Primary counterparts. For the most part, Pseudo Status effects are relieved if the affected Pokemon leaves the field by means other than Baton Pass; because they are unofficially related, as opposed to Primary Status effects, each Pseudo Status has both its induction and removal covered in its own section.

[A]#confusion[/A]
Confusion

A confused Pokemon has a 50% chance of attacking itself on its turn; the self-harming attack is a typeless physical attack with 40 base power. Some specially-based Pokemon may use an Attack IV of 0 in order to keep confusion damage to a minimum, but confusion's rarity makes this practice similarly scarce. Confusion lasts for two to five turns, with the counter being decreased each time the message "[Pokemon] is confused!" is displayed. Confusion is cured when a Pokemon switches out, so unlike bad poison or sleep, the confusion counter is never restored.

Pokemon with the ability Own Tempo are completely immune to confusion; if a confused Pokemon is given Own Tempo, it will find its confusion removed. Additionally, the ability Tangled Feet will grant a Pokemon a 50% boost in evasion for every turn during which it is confused.

The following moves can induce confusion:

Move Accuracy Chance to Confuse
Chatter 100% (Unconfirmed)
Confuse Ray 100% 100%
Confusion 100% 10%
Dizzy Punch 100% 20%
DynamicPunch 50% 100%
Flatter 100% 100%
Hurricane 70% (-- in rain, 50% in sun) 30%
Outrage -- (Self-induced) 100% (After 2-3 turns)
Petal Dance -- (Self-induced) 100% (After 2-3 turns)
Psybeam 100% 10%
Rock Climb 85% 20%
Signal Beam 100% 10%
Supersonic 55% 100%
Swagger 90% 100%
Sweet Kiss 75% 100%
Teeter Dance 100% 100%
Thrash -- (Self-induced) 100% (After 2-3 turns)
Water Pulse 100% 20%

Certain berries can also confuse their users if they are consumed by certain Pokemon. Each of the following berries will activate when their holder is at 25% or less, or 50% if the holder has the ability Gluttony.

Aguav Berry
Confuses a holder with a Special Defense-hindering or Quirky nature.

Figy Berry
Confuses a holder with an Attack-hindering or Hardy nature.

Iapapa Berry
Confuses a holder with a Defense-hindering or Docile nature.

Mago Berry
Confuses a holder with a Speed-hindering or Serious nature.

Wiki Berry
Confuses a holder with a Special Attack-hindering or Bashful nature.

While a Pokemon with the applicable natures will still recover health, they will also become confused upon consuming the corresponding berries. However, these berries are not useful items, either for consumption or Tricking onto another Pokemon, and are all but unseen in competitive play.

Confusion can be relieved in a number of different ways, the most obvious of which are letting it run its natural course or switching out. Without leaving the field, a Persim Berry or, oddly enough, a Lum Berry will cure its holder of confusion. Confusion is not terribly common, mostly seen from a No Guard DynamicPunch or the self-induced variety that comes with Outrage.

[A]#flinch[/A]
Flinch

When a Pokemon flinches, it is unable to move for the duration of the turn. For this reason, flinching cannot be "cured," only prevented. A Pokemon can only flinch if it is struck by a flinch-inducing move before it can carry out an attack in that turn; flinching does not carry over across multiple turns. Additionally, Pokemon that have the ability Inner Focus are immune to flinching. Pokemon with the ability Steadfast may still flinch, but their Speed is boosted by one stage each time they do so.

The following moves may cause the target to flinch:

Move Accuracy Chance to Flinch
Air Slash 95% 30%
Astonish 100% 30%
Bite 100% 30%
Bone Club 85% 10%
Dark Pulse 100% 20%
Dragon Rush 75% 20%
Extrasensory 100% 10%
Fake Out 100% 100%
Fire Fang 95% 10%
Headbutt 100% 30%
Heart Stamp 100% 30%
Hyper Fang 90% 10%
Ice Fang 95% 10%
Icicle Crash 90% 30%
Iron Head 100% 30%
Needle Arm 100% 30%
Rock Slide 90% 30%
Rolling Kick 85% 30%
Sky Attack 90% 30%
Snore 100% 30%
Steamroller 100% 30%
Stomp 100% 30%
Thunder Fang 95% 10%
Twister 100% 20%
Waterfall 100% 20%
Zen Headbutt 90% 20%

If a Pokemon is hit by a King's Rock or Razor Fang thrown by Fling, it will also flinch; since Fake Out is a Normal-type move, Fling is only way—short of Foresight or Odor Sleuth—to score a guaranteed flinch on a Ghost-type.

Pokemon with the ability Stench now have a 10% chance of causing a flinch with any of their damage-dealing moves. Additionally, the items King's Rock and Razor Fang will add a 10% chance of flinching to most damaging moves. However, neither item stacks with Stench, nor will they combine with Serene Grace to give a boosted chance of flinching. However, King's Rock, Razor Fang, and Stench each provide a 10% chance of making the target flinch on each hit of a multi-hit move. For instance, if Fury Swipes hits three times, there is a 27.1% chance of the target flinching.

[A]#infatuation[/A]
Infatuation

Infatuation is the least common Pseudo Status, dependent on the target being the opposite gender of the attacker. Given the abundance of genderless Pokemon, as well as the unpredictable genders of most others, this is not an easy feat in and of itself. An infatuated Pokemon has a 50% chance of being too lovestruck to move for every turn that both it and the Pokemon with which it is infatuated remain on the field.

Infatuation is induced by one of two ways: either by the move Attract, or by a 30% chance when contact is made with a Pokemon that has the ability Cute Charm. However, Pokemon with the ability Oblivious are completely immune to infatuation, as is any genderless Pokemon or one that is not the opposite gender of its foe.

Holding the item Destiny Knot will cause an infatuated Pokemon to give the Pseudo Status to its attractor as well, and Mental Herb is a one-time use item that relieves a Pokemon of its infatuation. However, this affliction is too uncommon to make either of these items worth holding; the conditions required to induce infatuation are far too uncommon to make this Pseudo Status useful.

[A]#trapped[/A]
Trapped

When a Pokemon is trapped, it is unable to switch out except by special means. The moves Baton Pass, U-turn, and Volt Switch allow the user to switch to another Pokemon. Holding a Shed Shell will always allow the Pokemon to switch out, and an Escape Button makes the holder switch out as soon as it is hit.

The moves Block, Mean Look, and Spider Web all trap the target, whereas the move Ingrain traps the user while restoring health. A number of binding moves will also trap the target for a set duration of time—four to five turns, dealing damage at the end of each turn. These temporary trapping moves are Bind, Clamp, Fire Spin, Magma Storm, Sand Tomb, Whirlpool, and Wrap. Holding a Grip Claw will make all of these temporary trapping moves last for the maximum of five turns.

The ability Shadow Tag will trap all Pokemon on the other side of the field; Magnet Pull and Arena Trap work in the same manner. However, Shadow Tag does not work on Pokemon with the same ability, and Arena Trap cannot trap Flying-type Pokemon or Pokemon with the ability Levitate. Holding the item Air Balloon will also allow a Pokemon to escape from Arena Trap if the Air Balloon has not been popped. Finally, Magnet Pull will only trap Steel-type Pokemon.

Lock-in moves provide a trapping effect, but also prevent the user from choosing a move entirely; holding a Shed Shell will not save a Pokemon from their effects. There are two categories of "lock-in" moves: recharge moves, and multi-turn moves. Recharge moves prevent the user from making a move selection after they are used; Blast Burn, Frenzy Plant, Giga Impact, Hydro Cannon, Hyper Beam, and Roar of Time are all classified as recharge moves. Multi-turn moves, on the other hand, last for a set duration, during which the user automatically uses the same move for one PP. Petal Dance, Outrage, and Thrash all last for two to three turns, while Ice Ball and Rollout last five.

[A]#veto[/A]
Vetoing Effects

Thanks to the separation of Primary Status and Pseudo Status, a Pokemon can contract more than one "status condition" at a time. For this reason, the game has an internal "veto" list, which indicates the order in which it will perform a check to see if a particular effect takes hold of a Pokemon. That is, the effect at the top of the list is checked, and if it prevents a Pokemon from making a move, the effects below are effectively vetoed. This list contains a number of non-status effects as well, but for now, let us look at the list as it pertains to status:

Freeze/Sleep
Confuse
Flinch
Infatuation
Paralysis

This means that the game will first check for a thaw or awakening, then perform a confusion check, and so on. Familiarity with this list allows you to determine the chances of specific outcomes when more than one status effect is in effect. For instance, if a confused Pokemon with Steadfast is hit by Dark Pulse, there will be a 50% chance of the Pokemon hurting itself in its confusion, followed by a 20% chance of the Pokemon flinching. Because the check for confusion occurs before the flinch, the Pokemon will not receive a Speed boost if either confusion takes effect or Dark Pulse fails to make the Pokemon flinch. Disregarding the duration of confusion, there would therefore be a 10% chance that the Pokemon will flinch and receive the Speed boost.

[A]#credits[/A]
Credits

There are a number of users whose work helped contribute to this guide as you read it today, but to isolate them all would be nearly impossible. Before it was updated for fifth generation mechanics, this guide had a fourth generation predecessor, co-written by obi; many users performed the research necessary to list the correct mechanics for myriad moves and abilities. As for the fifth generation mechanics found herein, we owe many thanks to the researchers in the B&W Research Thread, who helped to find and test any mechanics not made readily apparent in the game.

Any instance of the word "Berry" or "Berries" when not part of an item name must be decapitalized. I may have missed some so please go through this carefully. You may also want to consider decapitalizing "Primary Status" and "Pseudo Status," but it's up to you; just keep it consistent, which you did. Otherwise, a fantastic write up, and...



[GP 2/2]
 
Thanks, NixHex; I didn't know you were doing GP now! Anyway, I opted to leave Primary Status and Pseudo Status capitalized as long as it's not an issue. I will PM a mod and we can hopefully get this article put into HTML.
 

Nix_Hex

Uangaana kasuttortunga!
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
That's my profession, and this might be my new one. The character count on this was rather high, exceeding 41,000.
ps. Nexus said this was okay for me to do and I trust his judgment.
Some convincing screen shots...




Everything is W3C XHTML 1.0 Strict.
HTML:
[title]
Status in Black and White
[head]
<meta name="description" content="A guide to status effects in Black and White, thanks to mien and Arseus"/>
[page]
<div class="author">By <a href="/forums/member.php?u=22481">mien</a> and <a href="/forums/member.php?u=5962">Arseus</a>.</div>
<ol class="toc">
<li><a href="#introduction">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="#inducing_preventing">Inducing and Preventing Status</a></li>
<li><a href="#primary_status">Primary Status</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#burn">Burn (BRN)</a></li>
<li><a href="#freeze">Freeze (FRZ)</a></li>
<li><a href="#paralysis">Paralysis (PAR)</a></li>
<li><a href="#poison">Poison (PSN)</a></li>
<li><a href="#sleep">Sleep (SLP)</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#removing_effects">Removing Primary Status Effects</a></li>
<li><a href="#pseudo_status">Pseudo Status Effects</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#confusion">Confusion</a></li>
<li><a href="#flinch">Flinch</a></li>
<li><a href="#infatuation">Infatuation</a></li>
<li><a href="#trapped">Trapped</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#veto">Vetoing Effects</a></li>
</ol>
<h2><a name="introduction">Introduction</a></h2>
<p>Like many RPGs, Pokemon plays host to a number of different conditions that may affect your team. Unlike many RPGs, however, Pokemon's status effects are equally usable by both you and your opponent, and therefore, the infliction of status is an incredibly viable tactic. These status effects are found in a respectable quantity, and may be organized into two broad categories.</p>
<p>The first category is made up of the afflictions that appear next to a Pokemon's HP bar in battle, subtly altering its idle animation. Each of these status effects has been given an official three-letter abbreviation set in a specially-colored box; as these afflictions have been officially identified by GameFreak as status effects, they are here termed "Primary Status." Only one of these status effects can be given to a Pokemon at any time; a Pokemon must be relieved of one Primary Status effect before it can be given another. The category of Primary Status encompasses such familiar afflictions as sleep and burn, typically encountered by a trainer on his or her adventures.</p>
<p>However, this official set of effects excludes other conditions that resemble status, such as confusion or infatuation. These would-be status effects, or "Pseudo Statuses," as they shall be called from this point forth, deserve a mention in spite of their unofficial status. These effects, like Primary Status effects, are distinct afflictions induced in a number of ways. Thus, we may separate a unique condition, such as Leech Seed, from an effect like confusion. The mentioned Pseudo Statuses also exclude phenomena contained within pre-existing categories, such as Field Effects, and are not mentioned here. Pseudo Status effects are also notable for stacking both with other Pseudo Status effects and Primary Status effects, and are almost always relieved when a Pokemon exits battle by means other than Baton Pass.</p>
<p>That said, the only way to truly define status is to look at each effect individually&mdash;what causes it, how it functions, and ultimately, how it is removed.</p>

<h2><a name="inducing_preventing">Inducing and Preventing Status</a></h2>
<p>Before examining each status effect and how it is induced, some general observations may be made about status effects as a category. First, the vast majority of moves that induce status bring it about through a secondary effect; there are comparatively few moves dedicated to inducing status. For attacks with a secondary chance to induce a status effect, the ability Serene Grace doubles the general effect rate. For example, a Pokemon with Serene Grace will have a 20% chance of freezing its foe with Ice Beam, as opposed to the regular 10%; naturally, this chance will never exceed 100%. Note that the effects of items such as King's Rock do not stack with Serene Grace. That said, the ability Shield Dust negates any secondary effects, so its users will be immune from chance status.</p>
<p>Status effects that are not brought about as a secondary effect will be the result of a non-attacking move. Thus, they will be blocked if the foe's Pokemon uses Taunt&mdash;an established strategy of keeping harmful status effects at bay. However, they may also benefit from the ability Prankster, which boosts the priority of all non-attacking moves by one. This benefit extends to many of the moves designed to purge status effects as well. On the other hand, the ability Wonder Skin reduces the success rate of a status-inducing move by 50%; this does not apply to moves that induce status as a secondary effect.</p>
<p>While all status effects can be removed, as shall be explored in detail later on, some Pokemon can deflect or reflect a status effect onto the attacker. The former is achieved through the ability Magic Bounce and its equivalent move, Magic Coat. Magic Bounce sends dedicated status-inflicting moves, including many Pseudo Statuses (except for Teeter Dance's confusion) back at the user, and Magic Coat is a +4 priority move that achieves the same effect. As for the second category, when a Pokemon with the ability Synchronize is given a status effect, the same effect is given to the attacker. As of the fifth generation, bad poison will be passed on if it is inflicted, instead of its regular counterpart.</p>
<p>Two other general conditions prevent Primary Status effects from being given to affected Pokemon. The move Safeguard creates a veil around the user's side of the field, preventing any Pokemon from being given a Primary Status for five turns. The ability Leaf Guard also prevents any Primary Status from affecting its bearer while the sunlight is strong; this will also prevent the use of Rest, since it must put the user to sleep to work. Many other abilities prevent specific status effects, and shall be addressed in the section of their relevant status.</p>
<p>Finally, as mentioned above, a Pokemon already afflicted by a Primary Status is unable to receive another one. This may be used to your (or your opponent's) advantage by allowing one Pokemon to take a status effect and using it to "absorb" any further effects directed at your team. Alternatively, you can simply let a Pokemon take a status effect that will not detract too much from its role, while preventing it from being subjected to a less desirable affliction.</p>
<p>Without further ado, let us look at each of the different status effects:</p>

<h2><a name="primary_status">Primary Status</a></h2>
<h3><a name="burn">Burn (BRN)</a></h3>
<p>The burn status is among the best lines of defense against physical attackers, short of knocking them out altogether. In addition to decreasing the affected Pokemon's HP by 12.5% of its maximum at the end of each turn, the burn status invokes a special modifier in the damage formula, reducing the Pokemon's physical damage output by half. For that reason, the burn status is frequently utilized&mdash;a burned physical attacker is a lamed one.</p>
<p>However, the burn status is not universally effective; a burned special attacker is unfazed by a loss of physical power, and is now unaffected by a more debilitating Primary Status such as paralysis or sleep. In the same vein, Pokemon with the ability Guts actually benefit from a burn, as said ability ignores the attack drop and instead causes a 50% increase in physical power. Flare Boost operates in much the same manner on the special side. All three of these Pokemon will still suffer the HP reduction caused by a burn.</p>
<p>Conversely, Fire-type Pokemon and Pokemon with the ability Water Veil are entirely immune to burns. That said, if a Fire-type Pokemon is given another type (such as through Soak), it will not be relieved of its burn if it regains its old typing. On the other hand, Water Veil grants an immunity to the burn condition itself; if a burned Pokemon somehow gains Water Veil (such as through Trace), it will be relieved of its affliction. The final abilities which decrease the effectiveness of a burn are Heatproof and Magic Guard; the former reduces the damage taken from a burn to 6.25% each turn, whereas the latter negates the HP loss entirely. However, neither ability counteracts the Attack reduction burn gives.</p>
<p>The following moves can burn their target(s):</p>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Move</th> <th>Accuracy</th> <th>Chance to Burn</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="a">
<td>Blaze Kick</td> <td>90%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Blue Flare</td> <td>85%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Ember</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fire Blast</td> <td>85%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Fire Fang</td> <td>95%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fire Punch</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Flame Wheel</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Flamethrower</td> <td>100%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Flare Blitz</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<td>Heat Wave</td> <td>90%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Ice Burn</td> <td>90%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Inferno</td> <td>50%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Lava Plume</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sacred Fire</td> <td>95%</td> <td>50%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Scald</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Searing Shot</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Tri Attack</td> <td>100%</td> <td>6.67%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Will-O-Wisp</td> <td>75%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Finally, a burn may be induced by an item or ability. If an attacker uses a contact move against a Pokemon with the ability Flame Body, there is a 30% chance for the attacker to be inflicted with a burn. The item Flame Orb will also inflict a burn; it burns its holder at the end of the turn, or any Pokemon that is hit with the Flame Orb by the move Fling.</p>
<p>It is important to remember that the burn status is designed to counter physical attackers; special attackers and walls are best badly poisoned if their HP is to be reduced, or put to sleep if their offense must be stopped. An attempt to induce a burn is also a potential benefit to Pokemon with the ability Flash Fire; because the vast majority of burn-inducing moves are Fire-type, including the often-used Will-O-Wisp, the Flash Fire user can switch in on a predicted burn for a boost in firepower. As such, the burn status must be employed wisely.</p>
<h3><a name="freeze">Freeze (FRZ)</a></h3>
<p>What may be the most potent of status effects is fortunately the most difficult to inflict. A frozen Pokemon is unable to attack until it thaws&mdash;each turn it tries to attack, it has a 20% chance of thawing out. While a Pokemon can theoretically thaw before it loses a turn to being frozen, it may also remain encased in ice indefinitely. This unpredictability, combined with potential length of immobility, is what makes the freeze status so deadly.</p>
<p>Ice-types are immune to being frozen, as are Pokemon with the ability Magma Armor. A frozen Pokemon that acquires Magma Armor will instantly thaw out, similarly to the situation of burned Pokemon acquiring Water Veil. In addition, because there is no dedicated freezing move, the ability Shield Dust effectively prevents a Pokemon from being frozen, thanks to its immunity to secondary effects. Finally, strong sunlight prevents all Pokemon on the field from being frozen.</p>
<p>The following moves can potentially freeze their target(s):</p>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Move</th> <th>Accuracy</th> <th>Chance to Freeze</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="a">
<td>Blizzard</td> <td>70% (-- in hail)</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ice Beam</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Ice Fang</td> <td>95%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ice Punch</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Powder Snow</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tri Attack</td> <td>100%</td> <td>6.67%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The prevalence of Ice Beam, and to a lesser extent, Ice Punch, dictates that you will probably encounter a freeze sooner or later. However, it is rarely seen, and should be neither relied upon nor forgotten about completely in the midst of battle.</p>
<h3><a name="paralysis">Paralysis (PAR)</a></h3>
<p>Although paralysis, like freeze, is a very useful status effect, it is considerably more common. Paralysis reduces the affected Pokemon's Speed to 25% of its former number, accounting for all boosts and drops. It also gives a 25% chance each turn for the victim to be fully paralyzed&mdash;unable to attack that turn. Thus, attackers that would not mind a Speed reduction, such as Trick Room sweepers, are still faced with the prospect of giving the foe a free turn when they succumb to paralysis. For this reason, paralysis is a useful status to inflict upon many Pokemon.</p>
<p>Naturally, you cannot paralyze Pokemon that are immune to such a status, such as those with the ability Limber. Limber grants total immunity to its status effect, meaning that if a paralyzed Pokemon is given the ability Limber (such as through Skill Swap), it will recover from paralysis. The ability Quick Feet overrides the Speed drop from paralysis, boosting its users speed instead; however, it does not prevent a Pokemon from being fully paralyzed.</p>
<p>The following moves may inflict paralysis:</p>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Move</th> <th>Accuracy</th> <th>Chance to Paralyze</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="a">
<td>Body Slam</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Bolt Strike</td> <td>85%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Bounce</td> <td>85%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Discharge</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Dragon Breath</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Force Palm</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Freeze Shock</td> <td>90%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Glare</td> <td>90%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Lick</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Spark</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Stun Spore</td> <td>75%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Thunder</td> <td>70% (-- in rain, 50% in sun)</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Thunderbolt</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ThunderPunch</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Thundershock</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Thunder Fang</td> <td>95%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Thunder Wave</td> <td>100%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tri Attack</td> <td>100%</td> <td>6.67%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Volt Tackle</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zap Cannon</td> <td>50%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Most of the paralyzing moves are Electric-type, and accordingly, Pokemon with the ability LightningRod or Motor Drive can acquire a boost to their Special Attack or Speed, respectively, by switching in at the right moment. This also means that Ground-types are immune to many paralysis-inducing moves. Pokemon with the ability Normalize can avoid this immunity, but are subsequently walled by Ghost-types.</p>
<p>Paralysis may also be inflicted through certain abilities and an item. Effect Spore and Static have a 10% and 30% chance, respectively, to paralyze the opponent when contact is made with a Pokemon with one of those abilities; however, the former has a 20% chance of inflicting sleep or poison instead. Finally, a Pokemon hit with a Light Ball thrown by Fling will become paralyzed.</p>
<p>Paralysis is a condition best inflicted against swift sweepers, in order to strip them of their Speed advantage. However, the one-in-four chance of gaining a free turn makes paralysis a helpful tool, especially in longer battles.</p>

<h3><a name="poison">Poison (PSN)</a></h3>
<p>One status effect that has the chance to truly shine in drawn-out battles is poison. There are two types of poison&mdash;normal poison and bad poison. Normal poison reduces the victim's HP by 12.5% of its maximum each turn, with no added effects (essentially making it a lesser burn.) The second variety, bad poison&mdash;also named "toxic poisoning," after the move that typically induces it&mdash;is the useful addition to a stall team's arsenal. Bad poison gradually increases its end-of-turn damage in accordance with the following formula:</p>
<pre>Damage = max(floor(max HP ÷ 16), 1) × min(# of turns Pokemon has taken bad poison damage, 15)</pre>
<p>In other words, bad poison begins at 6.25% damage, increasing by 6.25% each turn until eventually capping at 93.75%, or 15/16 of the victim's maximum HP. The counter will reset to one whenever the badly poisoned Pokemon leaves the field.</p>
<p>As with any status, many Pokemon have immunities to, or benefit from poison (of either variety). Both Poison- and Steel-type Pokemon are unaffected by poison; that said, if their type is somehow altered, they are vulnerable, and will not be cured if the original type is regained. Pokemon with the ability Immunity are also unaffected by poison, and unlike the case with typing, acquiring Immunity will relieve the victim of its poison status.</p>
<p>On another note, a Pokemon with Magic Guard may be poisoned, but it will not lose any HP as a result. The ability Poison Heal actually turns poison into an advantageous condition, healing the user by 12.5% of its maximum HP each turn. However, the bad poison counter will still run in the background for Pokemon with either of these abilities, meaning if Magic Guard or Poison Heal is lost, the Pokemon will immediately start taking the appropriate amount of damage.</p>
<p>Finally, the ability Toxic Boost will increase a Pokemon's Attack by 50% when poisoned, albeit without preventing damage. Despite the ability's name, the poisoning in question does not have to be induced by Toxic.</p>
<p>With that said, the following moves induce regular poison:</p>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Move</th> <th>Accuracy</th> <th>Chance to Poison</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="a">
<td>Cross Poison</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gunk Shot</td> <td>70%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Poison Gas</td> <td>80%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Poison Sting</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Poison Tail</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PoisonPowder</td> <td>75%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Sludge</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sludge Bomb</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Sludge Wave</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Smog</td> <td>70%</td> <td>40%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Toxic Spikes*</td> <td>--(field effect)</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Twineedle</td> <td>100%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>*After one layer.</p>
<p>Hitting a Pokemon with Black Sludge or Poison Barb thrown with Fling will also cause poison. Typical immunities still apply, despite the fact that Fling is a Dark-type move.</p>
<p>The ability Effect Spore also has a 10% chance to poison any Pokemon that makes contact with its bearer, but there is a 20% chance paralysis or sleep will be randomly chosen instead. The ability Poison Touch gives all the ability bearer's contact moves a 30% chance of poisoning, even if the move in question already has a secondary effect; the added chance to poison from Poison Touch stacks with any existing move effects.</p>
<p>These moves can induce bad poison:</p>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Move</th> <th>Accuracy</th> <th>Chance to Badly Poison</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="a">
<td>Poison Fang</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Toxic</td> <td>90%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Toxic Spikes*</td> <td>-- (field effect)</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>*After two layers.</p>
<p>Holding a Toxic Orb will also result in bad poison at the end of the turn; getting hit by the same item by Fling is also a cause of bad poison. Immunities to Poison still apply even though Fling is Dark-type. The move Venoshock will deal double damage against a poisoned target, but it is otherwise situational.</p>
<p>Though there are many Pokemon immune to poison, it is not a status to be overlooked&mdash;the bad variety can be quite potent. Putting a bad poison counter on a Pokemon provides an extra incentive to switch frequently&mdash;a fact the poison user can use to his or her advantage.</p>

<h3><a name="sleep">Sleep (SLP)</a></h3>
<p>Last&mdash;but by no means the least&mdash;of Primary Statuses is sleep. The existence of sleep clause&mdash;a common competitive rule effectively stating that only one Pokemon on each team may be asleep at a time&mdash;might suggest that sleep is a very dangerous status effect. As logic may suggest, a sleeping Pokemon is unable to use any moves, save Sleep Talk and Snore; the former is situational, while the latter is useless.</p>
<p>The amount of turns a Pokemon will be asleep is set randomly&mdash;with the exception of Rest, which lasts two turns&mdash;when the Pokemon initially succumbs to slumber. As with bad poison, a counter is put into effect, this time assigning a number between two and four inclusive (one fewer than the previous generation). Each time the "fast asleep" message is displayed, the counter decreases by one, until the counter reaches zero and the Pokemon wakes up. In other words, a Pokemon will be asleep for one to three turns, with an equal chance (33.3% or 1/3) for each result. Like bad poison, the sleep counter also resets upon switching out to whatever number was initially chosen; for example, Rest, lasting two turns, will always have its counter reset to three.</p>
<p>The ability Early Bird reduces the duration of sleep&mdash;for Pokemon with the ability, the "fast asleep" message decreases the sleep counter by two rather than one. As the counter can be set to two, three, or four, an initial counter of two will lead to an immediate awakening, while a counter of three or four results in a single turn of sleep. Therefore, an Early Bird Pokemon has a 33.3% chance of waking up immediately, and a 66.7% chance of sleeping only a single turn.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the abilities Insomnia and Vital Spirit prevent sleep entirely; acquisition of these abilities will also permit a snoozing Pokemon to awaken. The move Uproar also awakens all Pokemon on the field, keeping them awake for the move's three-turn duration. This holds true even if the move is used against a Ghost-type Pokemon, doing no damage.</p>
<p>The following moves can induce sleep:</p>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Move</th> <th>Accuracy</th> <th>Chance to Sleep</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="a">
<td>Dark Void</td> <td>80%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GrassWhistle</td> <td>55%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Hypnosis</td> <td>60%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Lovely Kiss</td> <td>75%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Relic Song</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rest</td> <td>-- (Self-induced)</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Sing</td> <td>55%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sleep Powder</td> <td>75%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Spore</td> <td>100%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Yawn*</td> <td>--</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>*Targeted Pokemon falls asleep the turn after the move is used.</p>
<p>Making contact with a Pokemon that has the ability Effect Spore has a 10% chance of causing sleep, but paralysis and poison together have a 20% chance of occurring instead. Darkrai's ability Bad Dreams increases a sleeping Pokemon's misery by causing it to lose 12.5% of its maximum HP for every turn it is asleep. The move Nightmare has a similar effect, taking away 25% of the target's maximum HP each turn.</p>
<p>An interesting note about this status that it prevents confusion from Outrage, Petal Dance, or Thrash if the move ends while the user is asleep.</p>

<h2><a name="removing_effects">Removing Primary Status Effects</a></h2>
<p>Now that each of the Primary Status effects has been covered, you should learn how to remove them from your Pokemon. However, keep in mind that status effects may actually be beneficial to certain members of your team. Many abilities have been mentioned as giving some benefit to a Pokemon suffering from a status effect; Guts, Marvel Scale, and Quick Feet are examples of abilities that boost a certain stat when their bearer is given a status effect. While Marvel Scale boosts Defense, a stat which no status threatens to drop, Guts will negate the attack-deducting effect of a burn, and Quick Feet the speed drop from paralysis, making their benefits more apparent. Statused Pokemon or Pokemon with such abilities can function as "status absorbers," which can take the status-inducing moves directed at other members of your team, thus alleviating the need for status to be removed.</p>
<p>However, there are many cases in which a Pokemon will be dealt a detrimental status effect, such as if your physical sweeper contracts a burn. In such instances, you may use the following moves to relieve some or all types of Primary Status effects:</p>
<dl>
<dt>Aromatherapy</dt>
<dd>Removes all Primary Status effects from your team, including the user.</dd>
<dt>Heal Bell</dt>
<dd>Removes all Primary Status effects from your team, including the user (Soundproof does not block Heal Bell in the fifth generation).</dd>
<dt>Healing Wish</dt>
<dd>Instantly KOs the user and relieves any status effect from the Pokemon switching in.</dd>
<dt>Lunar Dance</dt>
<dd>Instantly KOs the user and relieves any status effect from the Pokemon switching in.</dd>
<dt>Psycho Shift</dt>
<dd>Shifts any Primary Status from the user to the target.</dd>
<dt>Refresh</dt>
<dd>Removes a burn, paralysis, or poison from the user.</dd>
<dt>Rest</dt>
<dd>Removes any Primary Status from the user, at the cost of inducing two-turn sleep.</dd>
<dt>SmellingSalt</dt>
<dd>Has 120 base power on a paralyzed target, while relieving the target of paralysis.</dd>
<dt>Uproar</dt>
<dd>Awakens all sleeping Pokemon on the field, and prevents any Pokemon from falling asleep for three turns.</dd>
<dt>Wake-Up Slap</dt>
<dd>Instantly awakens a sleeping target, while taking on 120 base power.</dd>
</dl>
<p>Additionally, all Fire-type moves&mdash;except for Will-O-Wisp&mdash;will thaw a frozen target.</p>
<p>The moves Flame Wheel, Flare Blitz, Fusion Flare, Sacred Fire, and Scald will all cause the user to thaw if it is frozen. A sleeping Pokemon may awaken itself if it has a status-healing move such as Heal Bell, and selects this move using Sleep Talk. With these exceptions aside, there is no way for a frozen or sleeping Pokemon to remove its own status.</p>
<p>Aromatherapy and Heal Bell are arguably the most effective status-relieving moves. They will alleviate the status effects of an entire team, and can be used well on a Pokemon such as Blissey, whose ability Natural Cure can also relieve her of status effects when she switches out. However, these moves relieve status effects indiscriminately; any status effects that benefit a Pokemon, such as one with Guts, will be removed as well. You must therefore plan your status-removing strategy such that it does not interfere with your other teammates. Individual Pokemon can use Rest or Psycho Shift to remove any status effect they are given, but Rest induces sleep, and Psycho Shift must be used with the same consideration as any status-inducing move.</p>
<p>However, moves are not the only means by which a Pokemon can be relieved of a status effect. The following abilities can remove status as well:</p>
<dl>
<dt>Healer</dt>
<dd>Has a 30% chance at the end of each turn to relieve an ally of Primary Status if it is directly adjacent to the Pokemon (Doubles and Triples only).</dd>
<dt>Hydration</dt>
<dd>Removes any Primary Status at the end of the turn if it is raining.</dd>
<dt>Natural Cure</dt>
<dd>Removes any Primary Status when the Pokemon leaves the field.</dd>
<dt>Shed Skin</dt>
<dd>Has a 30% chance to relive Primary Status at the end of each turn.</dd>
</dl>
<p>Finally, the following items will relieve their holder of certain status effects:</p>
<dl>
<dt>Aspear Berry</dt>
<dd>Thaws a frozen Pokemon.</dd>
<dt>Cheri Berry</dt>
<dd>Cures a paralyzed Pokemon.</dd>
<dt>Chesto Berry</dt>
<dd>Awakens a sleeping Pokemon.</dd>
<dt>Lum Berry</dt>
<dd>Relieves a Pokemon of any Primary Status.</dd>
<dt>Pecha Berry</dt>
<dd>Cures a Pokemon of poison or bad poison.</dd>
<dt>Rawst Berry</dt>
<dd>Cures a burned Pokemon.</dd>
</dl>
<p>A Lum Berry is effective against all Primary Status effects, but you may wish to guard a Pokemon against a more specific status. For example, a Pokemon with Rest might be equipped with a Chesto Berry, which, unlike Lum Berry, would not activate if the Pokemon was burned or poisoned. Lum Berry is best used as a catch-all guard against status, from paralysis to a random freeze, while the other berries must be more deliberately used. Furthermore, in metagames without Sleep Clause, such as VGC, Chesto Berry may be more useful than Lum. When Item Clause is in effect, berries must be distributed with even more care.</p>
<p>That said, note that in the majority of cases, berries can only be used once. The ability Harvest allows its bearer to reuse berries indefinitely, and each use of the move Recycle will restore a consumed berry to its holder. In many cases, it is more beneficial to give a Pokemon a hold item such as a Choice Band or Leftovers, or even a different damage-reducing berry, meaning that status-healing berries are not seen on most Pokemon.</p>

<h2><a name="pseudo_status">Pseudo Status</a></h2>
<p>We now arrive at the different Pseudo Status effects, much fewer in number than their Primary counterparts. For the most part, Pseudo Status effects are relieved if the affected Pokemon leaves the field by means other than Baton Pass; because they are unofficially related, as opposed to Primary Status effects, each Pseudo Status has both its induction and removal covered in its own section.</p>
<h3><a name="confusion">Confusion</a></h3>
<p>A confused Pokemon has a 50% chance of attacking itself on its turn; the self-harming attack is a typeless physical attack with 40 base power. Some specially-based Pokemon may use an Attack IV of 0 in order to keep confusion damage to a minimum, but confusion's rarity makes this practice similarly scarce. Confusion lasts for two to five turns, with the counter being decreased each time the message "[Pokemon] is confused!" is displayed. Confusion is cured when a Pokemon switches out, so unlike bad poison or sleep, the confusion counter is never restored.</p>
<p>Pokemon with the ability Own Tempo are completely immune to confusion; if a confused Pokemon is given Own Tempo, it will find its confusion removed. Additionally, the ability Tangled Feet will grant a Pokemon a 50% boost in evasion for every turn during which it is confused.</p>
<p>The following moves can induce confusion:</p>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Move</th> <th>Accuracy</th> <th>Chance to Confuse</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="a">
<td>Chatter</td> <td>100%</td> <td>(Unconfirmed)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Confuse Ray</td> <td>100%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Confusion</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dizzy Punch</td> <td>100%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>DynamicPunch</td> <td>50%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Flatter</td> <td>100%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Hurricane</td> <td>70% (-- in rain, 50% in sun)</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Outrage</td> <td>-- (Self-induced)</td> <td>100% (After 2-3 turns)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Petal Dance</td> <td>-- (Self-induced)</td> <td>100% (After 2-3 turns)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Psybeam</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Rock Climb</td> <td>85%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Signal Beam</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Supersonic</td> <td>55%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Swagger</td> <td>90%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Sweet Kiss</td> <td>75%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Teeter Dance</td> <td>100%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Thrash</td> <td>-- (Self-induced)</td> <td>100% (After 2-3 turns)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Water Pulse</td> <td>100%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Certain berries can also confuse their users if they are consumed by certain Pokemon. Each of the following berries will activate when their holder is at 25% or less, or 50% if the holder has the ability Gluttony.</p>
<dl>
<dt>Aguav Berry</dt>
<dd>Confuses a holder with a Special Defense-hindering or Quirky nature.</dd>
<dt>Figy Berry</dt>
<dd>Confuses a holder with a Attack-hindering or Hardy nature.</dd>
<dt>Iapapa Berry</dt>
<dd>Confuses a holder with a Defense-hindering or Docile nature.</dd>
<dt>Mago Berry</dt>
<dd>Confuses a holder with a Speed-hindering or Serious nature.</dd>
<dt>Wiki Berry</dt>
<dd>Confuses a holder with a Special Attack-hindering or Bashful nature.</dd>
</dl>
<p>While a Pokemon with the applicable natures will still recover health, they will also become confused upon consuming the corresponding berries. However, these berries are not useful items, either for consumption or Tricking onto another Pokemon, and are all but unseen in competitive play.</p>
<p>Confusion can be relieved in a number of ways, the most obvious of which are letting it run its natural course or switching out. Without leaving the field, a Persim Berry or, oddly enough, a Lum Berry will cure its holder of confusion. Confusion is not terribly common, mostly seen from a No Guard DynamicPunch or the self-induced variety that comes with Outrage.</p>

<h3><a name="flinch">Flinch</a></h3>
<p>When a Pokemon flinches, it is unable to move for the duration of the turn. For this reason, flinching cannot be "cured," only prevented. A Pokemon can only flinch if it is struck by a flinch-inducing move before it can carry out an attack in that turn; flinching does not carry over across multiple turns. Additionally, Pokemon that have the ability Inner Focus are immune to flinching. Pokemon with the ability Steadfast may still flinch, but their Speed is boosted by one stage each time they do so.</p>
<p>The following moves may cause the target to flinch:</p>
<table class="sortable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Move</th> <th>Accuracy</th> <th>Chance to Flinch</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="a">
<td>Air Slash</td> <td>95%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Astonish</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Bite</td> <td>100</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Bone Club</td> <td>85%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Dark Pulse</td> <td>100%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dragon Rush</td> <td>75%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Extrasensory</td> <td>100%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fake Out</td> <td>100%</td> <td>100%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Fire Fang</td> <td>95%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Headbutt</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Heart Stamp</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hyper Fang</td> <td>90%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Ice Fang</td> <td>95%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Icicle Crash</td> <td>90%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Iron Head</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Needle Arm</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Rock Slide</td> <td>90%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rolling Kick</td> <td>85%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Sky Attack</td> <td>90%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Snore</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Steamroller</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Stomp</td> <td>100%</td> <td>30%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Thunder Fang</td> <td>95%</td> <td>10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Twister</td> <td>100%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="a">
<td>Waterfall</td> <td>100%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zen Headbutt</td> <td>90%</td> <td>20%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>If a Pokemon is hit by a King's Rock or Razor Fang thrown by Fling, it will also flinch; since Fake Out is a Normal-type move, Fling is only way&mdash;short of Foresight or Odor Sleuth&mdash;to score a guaranteed flinch on a Ghost-type.</p>
<p>Pokemon with the ability Stench now have a 10% chance of causing a flinch with any of their damage-dealing moves. Additionally, the items King's Rock and Razor Fang will add a 10% chance of flinching to most damaging moves. However, neither item stacks with Stench, nor will they combine with Serene Grace to give a boosted chance of flinching. However, King's Rock, Razor Fang, and Stench each provide a 10% chance of making the target flinch on each hit of a multi-hit move. For instance, if Fury Swipes hits three times, there is a 27.1% chance of the target flinching.</p>

<h3><a name="infatuation">Infatuation</a></h3>
<p>Infatuation is the least common Pseudo Status, dependent on the target being the opposite gender of the attacker. Given the abundance of genderless Pokemon, as well as the unpredictable genders of most others, this is not an easy feat in and of itself. An infatuated Pokemon has a 50% chance of being too lovestruck to move for every turn that both it and the Pokemon with which it is infatuated remain on the field.</p>
<p>Infatuation is induced by one of two ways: either by the move Attract, or by a 30% chance when contact is made with a Pokemon that has the ability Cute Charm. However, Pokemon with the ability Oblivious are completely immune to infatuation, as is any genderless Pokemon or one that is not the opposite gender of its foe.</p>
<p>Holding the item Destiny Knot will cause an infatuated Pokemon to give the Pseudo Status to its attractor as well, and Mental Herb is a one-time use item that relieves a Pokemon of its infatuation. However, this affliction is too uncommon to make either of these items worth holding; the conditions required to induce infatuation are far too uncommon to make this Pseudo Status useful.</p>

<h3><a name="trapped">Trapped</a></h3>
<p>When a Pokemon is trapped, it is unable to switch out except by special means. The moves Baton Pass, U-turn, and Volt Switch allow the user to switch to another Pokemon. Holding a Shed Shell will always allow the Pokemon to switch out, and an Escape Button makes the holder switch out as soon as it is hit.</p>
<p>The moves Block, Mean Look, and Spider Web all trap the target, whereas the move Ingrain traps the user while restoring health. A number of binding moves will also trap the target for a set duration of time&mdash;four to five turns, dealing damage at the end of each turn. These temporary trapping moves are Bind, Clamp, Fire Spin, Magma Storm, Sand Tomb, Whirlpool, and Wrap. Holding a Grip Claw will make all of these temporary trapping moves last for the maximum of five turns.</p>
<p>The ability Shadow Tag will trap all Pokemon on the other side of the field; Magnet Pull and Arena Trap work in the same manner. However, Shadow Tag does not work on Pokemon with the same ability, and Arena Trap cannot trap Flying-type Pokemon or Pokemon with the ability Levitate. Holding the item Air Balloon will also allow a Pokemon to escape from Arena Trap if the Air Balloon has not been popped. Finally, Magnet Pull will only trap Steel-type Pokemon.</p>
<p>Lock-in moves provide a trapping effect, but also prevent the user from choosing a move entirely; holding a Shed Shell will not save a Pokemon from their effects. There are two categories of "lock-in" moves: recharge moves, and multi-turn moves. Recharge moves prevent the user from making a move selection after they are used; Blast Burn, Frenzy Plant, Giga Impact, Hydro Cannon, Hyper Beam, and Roar of Time are all classified as recharge moves. Multi-turn moves, on the other hand, last for a set duration, during which the user automatically uses the same move for one PP. Petal Dance, Outrage, and Thrash all last for two to three turns, while Ice Ball and Rollout last five.</p>

<h2><a name="veto">Vetoing Effects</a></h2>
<p>Thanks to the separation of Primary Status and Pseudo Status, a Pokemon can contract more than one "status condition" at a time. For this reason, the game has an internal "veto" list, which indicates the order in which it will perform a check to see if a particular effect takes hold of a Pokemon. That is, the effect at the top of the list is checked, and if it prevents a Pokemon from making a move, the effects below are effectively vetoed. This list contains a number of non-status effects as well, but for now, let us look at the list as it pertains to status:</p>
<p>Freeze / Sleep - Confuse - Flinch - Infatuation - Paralysis</p>
<p>This means that the game will first check for a thaw or awakening, then perform a confusion check, and so on. Familiarity with this list allows you to determine the chances of specific outcomes when more than one status effect is in effect. For instance, if a confused Pokemon with Steadfast is hit by Dark Pulse, there will be a 50% chance of the Pokemon hurting itself in its confusion, followed by a 20% chance of the Pokemon flinching. Because the check for confusion occurs before the flinch, the Pokemon will not receive a Speed boost if either confusion takes effect or Dark Pulse fails to make the Pokemon flinch. Disregarding the duration of confusion, there would therefore be a 10% chance that the Pokemon will flinch and receive the Speed boost.</p>
 

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