Pokémon battle glossary

What the words on DexDB mean, from STAB and priority to Stat Points and Mega Evolution. They’re underlined across the site: hover, tap or tab to one for its meaning.

Battle basics

Hazards: Traps set on the opposing side that hurt or slow Pokémon as they switch in: Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Sticky Web. Heavy-Duty Boots ignore them.
Pivot: A move that switches the user out after it hits, like U-turn, Volt Switch, Flip Turn and Parting Shot. More →
Priority: Decides who moves first before Speed does. A higher-priority move (Quick Attack is +1, Fake Out +3) always goes before a lower one, whatever the Speed. Most moves are 0; Speed only decides between moves of the same priority. More →
Protect: Blocks most moves aimed at the user for a turn. Using Protect-like moves in a row usually fails: each success makes the next one a third as likely.
Screens: Reflect, Light Screen and Aurora Veil: cut physical and/or special damage to your side for 5 turns (8 with Light Clay).
Semi-invulnerable: Out of reach for a turn while using Fly, Dig, Dive, Bounce or Phantom Force. Only certain moves can hit it.
Setup: Raising your own stats before attacking, with moves like Swords Dance, Dragon Dance or Nasty Plot.
Speed control: Ways to change who moves first: Tailwind, Trick Room, Icy Wind and other Speed-lowering moves, paralysis.
Speed tier: Where a Pokémon's final Speed falls compared with others. It decides who moves first among moves of the same priority.
Tailwind: Doubles the Speed of your side's Pokémon for 4 turns.
Trick Room: For 5 turns, slower Pokémon move first among moves of the same priority.

Damage

Critical hit: A hit that does 1.5× damage and ignores the target's stat boosts, the attacker's stat drops, and screens. Base chance 1 in 24; high-crit moves and items raise it.
Drain: Heals the user by part of the damage it deals. Big Root heals more; Liquid Ooze hurts the user instead.
Extremely effective Pokémon Champions: 4× damage: super effective against both of the target's types. Pokémon Champions calls it extremely effective.
Mostly ineffective Pokémon Champions: ¼× damage: resisted by both of the target's types. Pokémon Champions calls it mostly ineffective.
No effect: 0× damage: the target's type or ability makes it immune.
Not very effective: ½× damage because of type matchups.
OHKO: One-hit KO: knocks the target out in one hit. 2HKO and 3HKO mean it takes two or three hits.
Recoil: Damage the user takes from its own attack. Rock Head and Magic Guard prevent it; Reckless boosts recoil moves. More →
Secondary effect: An extra chance on a damaging move, like Flamethrower's 10% chance to burn. Sheer Force removes it for more power; Serene Grace doubles the chance; Shield Dust and Covert Cloak block it.
STAB: Same-Type Attack Bonus: a move that matches one of its user's types does 1.5× damage (2× with Adaptability).
Super effective: 2× damage because of type matchups.

Doubles

Fake Out: +3 priority attack that makes the target flinch. It only works on the user's first turn after entering battle.
Redirection: Pulling single-target attacks toward one Pokémon: Follow Me, Rage Powder, Lightning Rod, Storm Drain. Snipe Shot, Stalwart and Propeller Tail ignore it.
Spread move: Hits more than one Pokémon at once. In Doubles each target takes 0.75× damage. Moves like Earthquake also hit your own partner. More →

Status

Bad poison: Toxic's poison: damage grows each turn (1/16, then 2/16, 3/16…) and resets on switching out.
Burn: Loses 1/16 of max HP each turn and deals half damage with physical moves (not with Guts).
Confusion: For a few turns it may hit itself instead of moving. Switching out cures it.
Flinch: The target loses its turn. It only happens if the attacker moved first that turn.
Freeze Pokémon Champions: Can't move until it thaws. In Pokémon Champions it lasts at most 3 turns, with a 1 in 4 chance to thaw each turn; fire moves thaw it.
Paralysis Pokémon Champions: Speed is halved, and sometimes it can't move: 1 turn in 8 in Pokémon Champions (1 in 4 in the main games). Electric types are immune.
Poison: Loses 1/8 of max HP each turn. Poison and Steel types are immune.
Sleep Pokémon Champions: Can't move until it wakes up. In Pokémon Champions sleep lasts 2–3 turns.
Status condition: Burn, paralysis, poison, bad poison, sleep or freeze. A Pokémon can only have one at a time, and it stays after switching out.

Move groups

Ball and bomb move: Moves that throw balls or bombs, like Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb. Bulletproof blocks them. More →
Biting move: Moves that use the teeth, like Crunch. Strong Jaw boosts them ×1.5. More →
Contact: The move physically touches the target, which sets off Rough Skin, Rocky Helmet, Static and similar. Protective Pads and Long Reach prevent it. More →
Dance move: Dances, like Dragon Dance and Quiver Dance. Dancer copies them. More →
Powder move: Powders and spores, like Spore and Rage Powder. Grass types, Overcoat and Safety Goggles are immune. More →
Pulse move: Aura and pulse moves, like Dark Pulse and Aura Sphere. Mega Launcher boosts them ×1.5. More →
Punching move: Moves thrown with a fist, like Drain Punch. Iron Fist boosts them ×1.2; Punching Glove boosts them and stops them making contact. More →
Slicing move: Cutting moves, like Leaf Blade. Sharpness boosts them ×1.5. More →
Sound-based move: Moves made of sound, like Hyper Voice and Boomburst. Soundproof blocks them, they hit through Substitute, and Punk Rock boosts them. Sound isn't a type. More →
Wind move: Moves made of wind, like Tailwind and Hurricane. Wind Rider and Wind Power react to them. More →

Field

Grounded: Touching the ground: affected by terrain and by Ground-type moves. Flying types, Levitate and Air Balloon aren't grounded.
Terrain: Electric, Grassy, Misty or Psychic Terrain. Affects grounded Pokémon for 5 turns (8 with Terrain Extender).
Weather: Sun, rain, sandstorm or snow. Changes move power and some abilities for 5 turns (8 with a weather rock).

Stats

Base stats: A species' built-in stats, before levels, Stat Points and Stat Alignment.
BST: Base stat total: all six base stats added up. A rough measure of overall strength.
EVs: Effort values: extra stat points in the main games (up to 252 in a stat, 510 total). Pokémon Champions uses Stat Points instead.
Nature: In the main games: one stat +10% and another −10%, or neutral. Pokémon Champions calls this Stat Alignment.
Stat Alignment Pokémon Champions: Pokémon Champions' version of a nature: one stat +10%, another −10%, or neutral.
Stat Points Pokémon Champions: Pokémon Champions' replacement for EVs: up to 32 in one stat and 66 in all. Each point adds 1 to that stat.
Stat stages: Temporary boosts or drops from −6 to +6. +1 is ×1.5, +2 ×2, −1 ×⅔, −2 ×½. They reset when the Pokémon switches out. More →

Training and breeding

Base experience: The number the main games use to work out how much experience you earn for defeating it.
Base friendship: Its friendship toward you when first caught in the main games (usually 50, out of 255). Some evolutions need high friendship.
Catch rate: How easy it is to catch in the main games, from 3 (hardest, like most legendaries) to 255 (easiest). The % beside it is the chance with a Poké Ball at full HP and no status; lower HP, status and better balls raise it.
Egg cycles: How long its Egg takes to hatch in the main games. Each cycle is a set number of steps, which varies by game.
Egg groups: Pokémon that share an Egg Group can breed together in the main games. "Undiscovered" means it can't breed (most legendaries and baby Pokémon); Ditto breeds with almost anything.
EV yield: The effort values (EVs) you gain for defeating it in the main games: "3 HP" means +3 HP EVs. Pokémon Champions uses Stat Points instead, so it doesn't apply there.
Gender ratio: How often it's male or female. Some species are always one gender, and some are genderless.
Growth rate: How much experience it needs to reach level 100 in the main games: Erratic 600,000, Fast 800,000, Medium Fast 1,000,000, Medium Slow 1,059,860, Slow 1,250,000, Fluctuating 1,640,000.
Weight: Besides size, weight sets the power of Low Kick, Grass Knot, Heavy Slam and Heat Crash, and affects a few abilities like Heavy Metal.

Pokédex info

Category: Its title in the Pokédex, like "Seed Pokémon" for Bulbasaur or "Big Fish Pokémon" for Basculegion.
Color: Its main color in the Pokédex. The games' Pokédex search can filter by it.
Debut: The game, and its region, where this Pokémon first appeared.
Habitat: Where it usually lives, from the FireRed and LeafGreen Pokédex (grassland, cave, sea…). Only Pokémon from the first three generations have one.
Regional Pokédex: A region's own Pokédex numbering, like Hisui #167. The National Pokédex number is the one at the top of the page.
Shape: Its body-shape group in the Pokédex (fish, four legs, two legs with a tail…). The games' Pokédex search can filter by it.

Pokémon

Hidden ability: A rarer extra ability some Pokémon can have.
Signature: A move or ability that only one Pokémon (or its family) has.

Gimmicks

Gigantamax: Sword and Shield's gimmick: for 3 turns a Pokémon grows huge, gains HP and uses Max Moves; Gigantamax forms get a special G-Max Move. Not in current games. More →
Gimmick: A once-per-battle power that changes a game's battles: Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, Terastallization. More →
Mega Evolution: Once per battle, a Pokémon holding its own Mega Stone transforms: higher stats, sometimes a new type and ability. More →
Terastallization: Scarlet and Violet's gimmick: once per battle a Pokémon changes to its Tera Type. Not in Pokémon Champions. More →
Z-Move: Sun and Moon's gimmick: once per battle, a very strong move powered by a Z-Crystal. Not in current games. More →

Rules

Item Clause: Team rule: no two Pokémon on a team may hold the same item.
Ranked tiers Pokémon Champions: Pokémon Champions' ranked ladder: Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball and Master Ball tiers (ranks 4 down to 1), then Champion.
Regulation Pokémon Champions: Pokémon Champions' current rule set (e.g. Regulation M-C): which Pokémon, items and moves are allowed. It changes every few months.
Replica Team code Pokémon Champions: A 10-character code from Pokémon Champions (Train → Replica Teams) that lets someone copy your team in the game. Only the game can create one; you need the Pokémon and items.
Species Clause: Team rule: no two Pokémon on a team may be the same species.
VP Pokémon Champions: Pokémon Champions' in-game currency, earned from battles and ranks and spent on training Pokémon and getting items.

Formats

BSS: Battle Stadium Singles: Showdown's version of the in-game Singles ranked format (bring 6, choose 3).
Doubles: Two Pokémon on each side at once. The official competitive format.
LC / NFE: Little Cup: first-stage Pokémon at level 5. NFE: Not Fully Evolved, a Pokémon that can still evolve.
Singles: One Pokémon on each side at a time.
Smogon tiers: Smogon's singles tiers, set by usage on Pokémon Showdown: Ubers (strongest) > OU > UU > RU > NU > PU. A Pokémon plays in its own tier or any higher one.
VGC: Video Game Championships: the official Doubles format. Bring 6, choose 4 for each battle.

Data

Ladder rank Pokémon Champions: A Pokémon's place in Pokémon Champions' own usage ranking for Ranked Battles, updated daily. It's one overall ranking, not split by Ball tier.
Pokémon Showdown: A free online battle simulator. Smogon's usage stats and tiers come from battles played there, not from the official games.
Rating cutoff: Smogon can limit its stats to battles by higher-rated Showdown players, for example 1760+ for Champions VGC.
Smogon: The fan community that runs competitive formats on Pokémon Showdown and publishes its monthly usage stats.
Usage %: How many teams in Smogon's stats bring a Pokémon (or run an item, move or ability). It counts Showdown battles, not the in-game ladder.

Teams

Archetype: A team's game plan: Trick Room, Tailwind, Rain, Sun, Sand, Snow, a terrain, Hyper Offense, Balance.
Core: Two or three Pokémon that work especially well together and often appear on the same team.

Stat changes in move and ability text

Words	Stages	What it does
maximizes · maximized · maxed	+6	Raised all the way to +6 (×4).
drastically raises · drastically raised · rose drastically	+3	+3 stages: ×2.5 until it switches out.
sharply raises · sharply raised · rose sharply	+2	+2 stages: doubled (×2) until it switches out.
raises · raised · rose	+1	+1 stage: ×1.5 until it switches out.
severely lowers · severely lowered · severely fell	−-3	−3 stages: ×0.4 (two-fifths) until it switches out.
harshly lowers · harshly lowered · harshly fell	−-2	−2 stages: halved (×½) until it switches out.
lowers · lowered · fell	−-1	−1 stage: ×⅔ until it switches out.

Accuracy and evasion use different steps: +1 ×4/3, +2 ×5/3, +3 ×2 … +6 ×3; −1 ×3/4, −2 ×3/5, −3 ×½ … −6 ×⅓.

What each stat does

HP: how much damage it can take before fainting.
Attack: power of its physical moves.
Defense: cuts damage from physical moves.
Sp. Atk: power of its special moves.
Sp. Def: cuts damage from special moves.
Speed: who moves first among moves of the same priority.
Accuracy: how likely its moves are to hit.
Evasion: how likely it is to dodge moves.