Pokemon Diamond and Pearl - Notes on Attacks

This page is intended as a supplement to the Attack List.

Plates and Types

Plate	Type
Flame Plate	Fire
Splash Plate	Water
Zap Plate	Electric
Meadow Plate	Grass
Icicle Plate	Ice
Fist Plate	Fighting
Toxic Plate	Poison
Earth Plate	Ground
Sky Plate	Flying
Mind Plate	Psychic
Insect Plate	Bug
Stone Plate	Rock
Spooky Plate	Ghost
Draco Plate	Dragon
Dread Plate	Dark
Iron Plate	Steel

Two-turn attacks

In a two-turn attack, the user prepares for the attack on the first turn, and hits the opponent on the second turn. If there is no Pokemon at the opponent's position by then, the attack will target one of the opposing Pokemon selected at random.

A two-turn attack is not a multi-turn attack, and vice versa.

Weather

The weather moves can be used at any time, even during weather. A weather move fails if the weather condition associated with that move is already in effect. For example, Rain Dance fails while the weather is rainy.

In some wild battles, a particular weather condition already comes in effect before the first round of the battle. This condition lasts indefinitely. If a Pokemon has an ability that makes the weather change to a different condition, it then takes effect.

Moves that use other moves

In the fourth generation games, the moves Mirror Move, Nature Power, Assist, Metronome, Copycat, Me First, and Sleep Talk can use other moves.

For the purpose of Trump Card, moves used by other moves are considered to have the same PP as that other move.

Descriptions of Common Effects

Common effects of attacks include status problems, confusion, and flinch. These effects are described below. A status problem is one of burn, poison, paralysis, sleep, or freeze. Status problems do not go away by replacing Pokemon, and they linger after battle. The status monitor also indicates fainting (FNT), when a Pokemon runs out of HP. Because of this, fainting overwrites other status problems. A status problem cannot be inflicted on a Pokemon if it already has a status problem.

Burn (BRN)

{If a Pokemon is burned, the effectiveness of physical attacks it uses is halved, and it loses 1/8 of total HP at the end of every round. Fire types cannot be burned.}

Poison (PSN)

If a Pokemon is poisoned, it loses 1/8 of total HP at the end of every round. Poison and steel types cannot be poisoned. Outside of battle, a poisoned Pokemon loses 1 HP every four steps the player walks. (The effect of Toxic is in all respects the same as poison, except for the HP loss method during battle, see "Toxic".)

Paralysis (PAR)

If a Pokemon is paralyzed, its Speed is multiplied by 1/4 (see Priority) and there is a 1/4 chance that it will be unable to attack during its turn. Ground types can be paralyzed by non-electric type attacks and by abilities.

Sleep (SLP)

When a Pokemon falls asleep, it receives a sleep count of [2 to 7]. At the beginning of the Pokemon's turn, its sleep count declines by 1, and then it wakes up if the sleep count equals 0. The game stores the current duration of a Pokemon who is asleep, in case the Pokemon leaves battle and becomes active in another one.

Freeze (FRZ)

If a Pokemon is frozen, it cannot attack during its turn. Ice types cannot be frozen. At the beginning of the Pokemon's turn, it may be defrosted at a 10% chance. If the Pokemon loses HP due to a Fire-type attack, it becomes defrosted.

Confusion

When a Pokemon becomes confused, it receives a count of [2 to 5]. At the beginning of the Pokemon's turn, this count declines by 1, then if it is greater than 0, there is a 50% chance that the Pokemon will deal damage to itself rather than use an attack. {The self-inflicted confusion attack is a physical attack, has a base damage of 40, has no type, cannot be a critical hit, and ignores the effects of Reflect and Helping Hand.} Confusion is removed from the Pokemon when it is switched.

Flinch

After another Pokemon uses a move that causes a Pokemon to flinch in the same round, the opponent can flinch and thus skip its attack this round.

Substitute

Substitute creates a decoy of the user; to make a decoy, the user loses 1/4 of its total HP. This attack fails if the HP reduced would faint the user or if the user already has a decoy. The decoy has life points equal to the HP lost this way. (The term "life points" is used here to differentiate it from HP, to avoid confusion when describing Substitute's effect.)

These are the main effects that happen while the user has a decoy:

• Attacks by non-users can't inflict status problems, confusion, or flinching against the user, and Yawn will fail against the user.
• Attacks and abilities by non-users can't reduce the user's stat stages.
• If a non-user would hit the user with an attack, instead the user's decoy loses life points equal to the HP the user would have lost due to that attack.

Note that the last effect listed above is a replacement effect. If damage is intercepted to the decoy, Counter, Mirror Coat, Metal Burst, Bide, and Rage are not affected by it.

When the decoy has no life points left, it breaks and Substitute's effect ends.

Any other effects that affect the user's HP do not involve the decoy in any way. This applies to reductions of the user's HP from poison, Leech Seed, Sandstorm, recoil, etc.; to effects that recover the user's HP; and to effects that need to know the user's HP (Super Fang, False Swipe, Reversal, Flail, Eruption, etc.). (This is why "life points" is used instead of HP to describe the decoy's vitality.)

The decoy will be removed when the user is switched or if the user faints before the decoy breaks. If the user uses Baton Pass, the decoy retains its current life points.

• Berries that can confuse (Figy Berry, etc.) do not cause confusion to the user while the user has a decoy.
• Effects that prevent the user from fainting (False Swipe, Endure, Focus Band) are ignored while the user has a decoy.
• If the user uses Baton Pass, the effect of Toxic Spikes does nothing to the new Pokemon.
• The game checks whether a decoy breaks after every hit of a multi-hit attack. The multi-hit attack will continue even after the decoy breaks.
• Damage due to the user's confusion is given to the user.
• The user's held item cannot be removed from it by non-users. (The user may use Trick and Switcheroo normally.)
• If an opponent misses when using Jump Kick or Hi Jump Kick, it loses HP as normal.
• Pain Split and Dream Eater will fail against the user. The user may use these attacks normally.
• The attack from Future Sight and Doom Desire is passed to the decoy instead of the user.
• Block, Mean Look, and Spider Web will fail against the user.
• Swagger and Flatter will miss against the user.
• Pay Day will not cause the opponent to gain money if it hits the user's decoy.
• While user has a decoy, non-users' use of SmellingSalt against the user will have normal effectiveness, even if the user is paralyzed, and will not heal the user's paralysis if the attack hits the decoy.
• While user has a decoy, non-users' use of Wake-Up Slap against the user will have normal effectiveness, even if the user is asleep, and will not make the user wake up if the attack hits the decoy.
• Protect, Detect, and Endure work as normal for the user and non-users.
• If the user has a decoy when a non-user begins to use a multi-turn attack, the secondary effect of that attack will not occur. The effect of multi-turn attacks will end when the user creates a decoy.
• Trick and Switcheroo will fail against the user. The user may use these attacks normally.
• When an opponent uses a recoil attack or a life-draining move (other than Dream Eater) against the user, it loses or recovers HP according to the number of life points lost by the decoy. (For example, if the opponent uses Absorb on the user and the decoy loses 10 life points, the opponent gains 5 HP.)
• Lock-on and Mind Reader will fail against the user. The user can use these attacks normally.
• If a non-user is of Ghost type, Curse will fail for that non-user when used against the user.
• Nightmare and Leech Seed will fail against the user.
• Mimic and Sketch will fail against the user.
• Copycat, Embargo, Psycho Shift, Worry Seed, and Gastro Acid will fail against the user.
• Transform will work as normal for the user and non-users.
• The decoy will absorb damage from Pursuit if the user attempts to switch.

Low Kick/Grass Knot

The base damage for Low Kick and Grass Knot depends on the weight of the opponent's species:

Weight (kg)	Base damage
0.1-10.0 kg	20
10.1-25.0 kg	40
25.1-50.0 kg	60
50.1-100.0 kg	80
100.1-200.0 kg	100
Greater than 200.0 kg	120

Snatch

If an attack affected by Snatch targets an opponent (the only such attack is Psych Up), the attack's new target becomes the attack's original user when the attack is taken due to Snatch. (Follow Me can't affect this.)

If more than one Pokemon uses Snatch in a round, the effect will create a chain if an attack affected by Snatch is then used: A Pokemon uses, e.g. Psych Up. Then the first user of Snatch takes the attack, then the second user of Snatch takes it, and finally the third user of Snatch, which will be the true user of Psych Up, targeting the second user of Snatch.

Magnitude

Magnitude's base damage is randomly determined according to the table below.

Magnitude	Probability	Base damage
4	5%	10
5	10%	30
6	20%	50
7	30%	70
8	20%	90
9	10%	110
10	5%	150

Reversal/Flail

N = int(User's current HP * 64 / User's total HP)

Value of N	Base damage
0-1	200
2-5	150
6-12	100
13-21	80
22-42	40
43-64	20