Cave

If you were looking for the area in Pokémon Snap, see Pokémon Island Cave.

If you were looking for the area in PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure, see Cavern Zone.

If you were looking for the island in the Decolore Islands, see Cave Island.

A cave is an underground area. Caves tend to have Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon, although Pokémon based on cave-dwelling specimens such as Zubat may also be found.

The entrance to a cave in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

Ken Sugimori's concept sketch of Red exploring a cave.

Caves can be found in every region of the Pokémon world. They serve as roadblocks: travelers cannot reach their destination without passing through. Often, these caves are dark and it is impossible to see even a few feet ahead; this problem can be remedied through use of the move Flash. They are almost always winding and maze-like, making it easy to get lost. Villainous teams such as Team Magma and Team Aqua make their hideouts in isolated caves.

In the games, the encounter rate is typically quite high. All caves contain cave tiles, and often water tiles; caves may also contain ice tiles, sand tiles, cracked tiles, holes, ledges, and puddles. Often, rare Pokémon can be found in caves. Items can also be found within the depths of caves, presumably dropped in the darkness by other travelers. Some caves contain Legendary Pokémon at their deepest point.

In battle

In Generation III, cave terrain gives Secret Power a 30% chance of causing the target to flinch and gives it the appearance of Bite; it causes Nature Power to become Shadow Ball.

In Generation IV and Generation V, cave terrain gives Secret Power a 30% chance of causing the target to flinch and gives it the appearance of Rock Throw; it causes Nature Power to become Rock Slide.

In Generation VI and VII, cave terrain gives Secret Power a 30% chance of causing the target to flinch and gives it the appearance of Rock Throw; it causes Nature Power to become Power Gem.

Camouflage makes the user Rock-type when used in a cave.