Burn (status condition)

Burn redirects here. For the Field Move, see Field Move (Ranger).

Burn (BRN) (Japanese: やけど Burn) is one of the five major status conditions in the Pokémon games. Generally, if a Pokémon is burned, it will lose a set amount of HP every turn, and its damage dealt by physical moves will be halved. The burn status is evidently associated closely with the Fire type, since most moves which can burn belong to this type, Pokémon of this type are immune to burns, and the Fire-type Pokémon exclusive Ability Flame Body has a chance to burn on contact.

Paul's Ursaring burned in the anime

Effect

In general, a burned Pokémon will take damage every turn, and the damage it deals with physical moves will be halved. The specifics work differently between generations.

Generation I

Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow

In Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow (and their Japanese counterparts, Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow), a Pokémon takes damage equal to 1/16 of its maximum HP every turn, after it attacks, or at the end of the turn if it did not attack. Its Attack stat is also halved, subject to the stat modifications glitch. This Attack drop also affects confusion damage.

Every time a Pokémon takes damage from the burn, it is shown as if it were poisoned.

There are also some other irregularities:

  • A Pokémon will not lose HP on a turn it knocked out its opponent.
  • If a Pokémon that had previously been badly poisoned by Toxic and cured itself with Rest is burned, burn damage will draw upon (and increase) Toxic's N value to calculate how many multiples of 1/16 of the Pokémon's HP is taken as damage.
  • Using Swords Dance would return the halved Attack to normal and double it.
  • The attack drop stays even if the Pokémon's burn was cured due to an item or Rest

Fire-type Pokémon cannot be burned by Fire-type moves.

Pokémon Stadium

In Pokémon Stadium (and the Japan-exclusive Pokémon Stadium), burn is the same as the handheld games, but the irregularities from said handheld games (including the stat modifications glitch) are fixed.

Pokémon Stadium also contains two irregularities:

  • If an already-burned Pokémon is switched in, it will not lose HP in that same turn.
  • Haze will remove its user's Attack decrease even while still burned.

Generation II

Same as Generation I, but a burned Pokémon now takes damage equal to 1/8 of its maximum HP every turn, after it attacks, or at the end of the turn if it did not attack. All irregularities from Generation I were fixed.

Every time a Pokémon takes damage from the burn, it now has a unique animation, separate from the poison damage animation. In Generation II only, Tri Attack can burn Fire-types.

Generations III and IV

Instead of modifying the Attack stat, a burn now technically halves the damage a burned Pokémon does with physical moves; it still does not reduce damage done by moves that deal direct damage.

Burn now inflicts damage at the end of its turn. If a burned Pokémon knocks out an opponent, it will now take burn damage.

If a burned Pokémon has the Ability Guts, burn's damage reduction is ignored (and its Attack is boosted by Guts).

Fire-type Pokémon can no longer be burned by any method.

Generation V

The Attack drop from burn no longer lowers confusion damage.

Generation VI

If a burned Pokémon uses Facade, burn's damage reduction is now ignored.

Generation VII

A burned Pokémon once again takes damage equal to 1/16 of its maximum HP at the end of each turn.

Appearance

Core series games

Side series games

Spin-off series games

Icons

  This section is incomplete.
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Reason: missing LGPE icon
            File:BurnedIC PE.png        
Icon from
Generation III
Icon from
Diamond, Pearl and Platinum
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Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
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Generation V
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Generation VI
Icon from
Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon
Icon from
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!
Icon from
Pokémon Sword and Shield
Icon from
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
Icon from
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Icon from
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Causes

Moves

A Pokémon can be burned when struck by any of the following moves:

Move Type Category Probability Power Accuracy Notes
Beak Blast Flying Physical 100% —% If a Pokémon makes contact with the user during the move's charging phase
Blaze Kick Fire Physical 10% 85 90%
Blazing Torque Fire Physical 30% 80 100% Can only be used by the Revavroom in Schedar Squad's Starmobile
Blue Flare Fire Special 20% 130 85%
Burning Bulwark Fire Status 100% —% If a Pokémon makes contact with the user
Burning Jealousy Fire Special 100% 70 100% If a Pokémon has increased its stats during that turn
Ember Fire Special 10% 40 100%
Fire Blast Fire Special 10% 110 85% Had a 30% chance of burning in Generation I
Fire Fang Fire Physical 10% 65 95% May also cause flinching (10% chance)
Fire Punch Fire Physical 10% 75 100%
Flame Wheel Fire Physical 10% 60 100%
Flamethrower Fire Special 10% 90 100%
Flare Blitz Fire Physical 10% 120 100%
Fling Dark Physical 100% 30 100% If the user is holding a Flame Orb
Heat Wave Fire Special 10% 95 90%
Ice Burn Ice Special 30% 140 90%
Infernal Parade Ghost Special 30% 60 100%
Inferno Fire Special 100% 100 50%
Matcha Gotcha Grass Special 20% 80 90%
Lava Plume Fire Special 30% 80 100%
Psycho Shift Psychic Status 100% 100% If the user is burned
Pyro Ball Fire Physical 10% 120 90%
Sacred Fire Fire Physical 50% 100 95%
Sandsear Storm Ground Special 30% 95 80% Has a 50% chance of burning if used in strong style
Scald Water Special 30% 80 100%
Scorching Sands Ground Special 30% 70 100%
Searing Shot Fire Special 30% 100 100%
Secret Power Normal Physical 30% 70 100% May cause burn only when used on a volcano (Generations VI and VII)
Shadow Fire Shadow Special 10% 75 100%
Sizzly Slide Fire Physical 100% 90 100%
Steam Eruption Water Special 30% 110 95%
Tri Attack Normal Special 6.7% 80 100% May also freeze or cause paralyze (6.7% chance of each)*
Will-O-Wisp Fire Status 100% 85%

Moves that can cause a burn also usually have the effect of thawing frozen targets.

Other causes

A Pokémon has a 30% chance of being burned after making contact with another Pokémon with the Flame Body Ability. If a Pokémon holds the Flame Orb, it will be burned at the end of the turn. It can also be burned if it directly burns a Pokémon with Synchronize.

Curing

A burn can be cured with the use of a Burn Heal, Yago Berry (Generation III only), or a Rawst Berry (Ice Berry in Generation II). In addition, like all other major status conditions, it can be cured by the items Full Heal, Rage Candy Bar, Lava Cookie, Old Gateau, Casteliacone, Lumiose Galette, Shalour Sable, Big Malasada, Full Restore, Heal Powder, Lum Berry (MiracleBerry in Generation II), and Sacred Ash.

The moves Refresh and Rest remove the burn status condition from the user, Heal Bell (unless the Pokémon has Soundproof as their Ability in Generation III and IV) and Aromatherapy remove it from all Pokémon in the user's party, and Sparkling Aria removes it from every Pokémon it hits (unless the Pokémon takes no damage from the move). In addition, the move Psycho Shift shifts the burn onto its target (thereby healing the user). In Generation I only, using Haze cures the opponent from a burn.

Pokémon with Natural Cure will be cured upon switching out, those with the Hydration Ability will be cured whilst it is raining. Pokémon with Shed Skin have a 30% chance of being cured every turn, and Pokémon with Healer have a 1/3 chance of curing their allies.

Prevention

A Pokémon that is currently Fire-type cannot become burned, except in Generation II by Tri Attack. However, a burned Pokémon retains this status condition even if it gains this type in battle (or regains this lost type once it is switched out or the battle ends).

A Pokémon with Color Change can become burned by a Fire-type move, because the Pokémon changes into the same type of the move after the status condition is inflicted.

Pokémon with the Water Veil, Water Bubble, Comatose, or Purifying Salt Abilities are completely immune to being burned. Pokémon with the Ability Heatproof will only lose half the HP each turn, Pokémon with Leaf Guard will be protected from status conditions in harsh sunlight. Pokémon with Guts are immune to the damage-reducing side effect (in addition to the regular attack increase the Ability grants), while Pokémon with Magic Guard are immune to the HP loss (but still suffer from the attack drop).

The moves Safeguard and Misty Terrain (for grounded Pokémon) will protect the party from status conditions for five turns. A Pokémon behind a substitute cannot be burned, except due to Synchronize or a held Flame Orb.

Advantages

While a burn, like all major status conditions, has primarily negative effects, it can be advantageous to have it in certain conditions. Pokémon with Guts, Marvel Scale, Quick Feet, and Flare Boost will have their Attack, Defense, Speed, and Special Attack increased, respectively, when burned (or poisoned or paralyzed for the former three). In addition, the base power of Facade is doubled (from 70 to 140) when inflicted with any of these three status conditions, and the Attack drop caused by burn is ignored.

The burn status also adds a 1.5× multiplier to the catch rate of any given Pokémon.

In Generation I-IV, the burn status also halves confusion damage

Other game effects

If a burnt Pokémon with the Ability Trace or Role Play gains the Ability Water Veil, the burn will be removed, but once the Ability is lost, the burn will return.

In Pokémon Emerald, when the player is inside the Battle Pyramid, the types of Pokémon encountered on each floor follow a set of categories; one of these categories is Pokémon with moves that burn.

In the Generation IV games, Pokémon Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver, at the Battle Arcade, one of the effects caused by the roulette is the burn status (does not affect Fire-type Pokémon and Pokémon with Water Veil). This will last for a single battle.

In the spin-off games

Mystery Dungeon series

The Mystery Dungeon series introduces a new way for Pokémon to be burned, as well as a new way for it to be avoided. The Pokémon will lose 5 HP at the end of its next turn, and every 20 turns after that. Pokémon on water tiles cannot be burned. Burns can be healed by stepping on water tiles (even by Pokémon for which this would normally cause a warp). Conversely, lava tiles will cause a burn if the Pokémon stepping on them is not Fire-type.

The effect of Guts also differs slightly, giving a 100% bonus to physical attack, provided that the Pokémon has a major status affliction. Pokémon with Natural Cure or Shed Skin will suffer the effects of a burn for up to five turns before being cured.

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, certain trade items can also cause the burn status to be passed onto an attacking Pokémon, this includes the Fire Collar when held by a Flareon, and the Ember Cap when held by any member of the Chimchar evolution line.

In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky special mission Today's "Oh My Gosh", Sunflora is tasked with the capture of a Haunter who has the Ability to get back up after fainting. The mission is close to the Hot Spring, so there are many Fire-type Pokémon who could burn Sunflora around. During the mission, Sunflora does get burned by two Slugma, as well as by some fire and magma in the cave. Despite this, she beats the three Haunter and is given a Sun Scarf by Officer Magnezone to help with her Fire weakness.

My Pokémon Ranch

In My Pokémon Ranch, one of the toys the player can place in their Ranch is called the Bonfire. Pokémon, as well as Miis, that get too close to it are at risk of being burned. Fire-type Pokémon cannot be burned.

Rumble series

Burn (Burned when inflicted in-game) is a negative status in the Rumble series. When a Pokémon is affected by a burn, its HP will gradually drain at a rate determined by the Power of the Pokémon that inflicted it for ten seconds. However, if the affected Pokémon is controlled by a player, moving around will make the condition wear off faster, with the minimum duration depending roughly on the Pokémon's Speed. Additionally, while burned, most of the Pokémon's attacks will have their damage reduced to about 60% of their normal values. While Burned, red smoke emanates from the affected Pokémon's head.

No types are immune to burn, but Pokémon with the Fire Boost or Steady Special Traits cannot be burned, and those with the Reflector Trait will cause the user of the burn-inflicting move to become burned instead if hit by one.

Pokémon Conquest

As in the main series, burned Pokémon in Pokémon Conquest suffer a penalty to their Attack, and take damage equal to 1/8 of their maximum HP at the end of their army's turn, rounded down. This occurs even if the Pokémon took no action that turn. Pokémon can be burned by attacks, abilities, or the Pyro Nodes in Dragnor. Enemy Warriors who have their Pokémon defeated by burn damage are not treated as being defeated by the player and so cannot be recruited. Burned Pokémon can be cured through certain Warrior Skills, items, or by ending a Pokémon's turn in a hot spring or a water bucket.

Pokémon Shuffle

 
Winking Turtwig is Burned.

In Pokémon Shuffle, a burned Pokémon takes 50% more damage from Fire-type Pokémon.

A burn can be inflicted by Pokémon with the Burn(+) Skill.

Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost, Fire, Water, and Dragon-type Pokémon are immune to burns.

Status condition effectiveness
Condition Defender's type
                                   
Burned


In the anime

 
Swanna being burned

The first instance of a Pokémon being burned in the anime was in Going, Going, Yawn, where Ash's Treecko got its leg burned by a Flamethrower attack from Flannery's Slugma, Meg, during Ash's Lavaridge Gym battle. This led to Treecko's defeat at the hands of Flannery's final Pokémon, Torkoal.

In Evolving Strategies!, Ash's Pikachu was burned when his Quick Attack caused Paul's Magmortar to trigger its Flame Body Ability, contributing to his loss at the hands of Paul's Ursaring.

In Casting a Paul on Barry!, Barry's Hitmonlee burned Paul's Ursaring with Blaze Kick during their battle at the Lily of the Valley Conference. However, this activated Ursaring's Guts Ability, allowing it to swiftly defeat Hitmonlee.

In Familiarity Breeds Strategy!, during the Full Battle between Ash and Paul at the Lily of the Valley Conference, Ash's Infernape managed to burn Paul's Aggron using Flare Blitz.

In Battling a Thaw in Relations!, during the conclusion of Ash and Paul's Full Battle at the Lily of the Valley Conference, Ash's Gliscor managed to burn Paul's Drapion with its Fire Fang. This subsequently caused it to faint due to the previous damage it had already sustained.

In Cilan Takes Flight!, Skyla's Swanna was burned after being drenched by a Scald attack from Cilan's Stunfisk, causing its entire body to glow with a red hue. Its burn subsided when it used Aqua Ring, even though the move doesn't cure burns in the core series games.

In Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit!, Ash's Gengar used its newly learned Will-O-Wisp to burn Paul's Metagross, weakening it enough for Gengar to survive its Meteor Mash and defeat it afterward.

In Battling as Hard as Stone!, Ash's Gengar burned Steven's Aggron with Will-O-Wisp during Ash and Steven's Masters Eight Tournament battle. The additional damage inflicted by the burn enabled Gengar to defeat Aggron soon after.

In Bewitch, Battle, and Bewilder!, Ash's Gengar burned Cynthia's Roserade with Will-O-Wisp during Ash and Cynthia's Masters Eight Tournament semifinals battle. In the next episode, Roserade's Natural Cure Ability was revealed to have healed the burn when it was switched out.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Ruby & Sapphire arc

In The Beginning of the End with Kyogre & Groudon IX, Brawly's Machoke was burned by the illusions created by Blaise's Slugma during their battle in Lilycove City. Although this allowed Machoke to activate its Guts Ability, it wasn't enough to defeat the Magma Admin.

Emerald arc

In Sneaky Like Shedinja, Greta's Umbreon was burned by a Will-O-Wisp from Emerald's Dusclops, leading to its defeat soon after.

In Cunning Kirlia, Emerald's Dusclops burned Ruby's Kirlia, Rara, with Fire Punch. This, however, triggered Rara's Synchronize Ability, causing Dusclops to get burned as well.

Black & White arc

In The Tournament Continues, the Hood Man's Beheeyem got burned by a Scald attack from Marlon's Jellicent. It managed to overcome the burn damage by using Recover.

X & Y arc

In Heracross Transforms, Korrina's Lucario was burned by a Will-O-Wisp from Essentia's Trevenant.

Sword & Shield arc

In Chomp!! Defeat Drednaw, Casey's Scorbunny used the heat pads on its feet to burn a wild Drednaw.

In Zap!! A Rising Beam of Light, Casey's Scorbunny used the heat pads on its feet to burn a Team Yell Grunt's Galarian Linoone. However, this ended up activating Linoone's Quick Feet Ability. Later in the same chapter, another Team Yell Grunt's Thievul burned a Dynamax Gurdurr with Fire Fang. This, however, activated Gurdurr's Guts Ability, leading to Thievul being quickly defeated.

Phantom Thief Pokémon 7

In Challenge From A Rival, during a battle between Rocco's Magmortar and Hiori's Lucario, Lucario got burned by Magmortar's Flame Body Ability. After several strategies to defeat the difficult opponent, Lucario used the burn it received to its advantage. Using its ability to sense the Aura to see through Magmortar's Smokescreen, Lucario was able to defeat Magmortar with a powered-up Facade, surprising his opponent.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team

In I Want to be Human Again!, Ginji and Mudkip encountered Xatu at the Hill of the Ancients. When they first approached him, however, he was in the process of viewing the future, and didn't respond to their calls. In an attempt to get his attention, Ginji launched a Flamethrower at Xatu, burning him. When Xatu's vision soon stopped, he finally felt the burn, yelling in pain.

Gallery

In the TCG

Main article: Special Conditions (TCG)
 
A burn marker from the TCG.

Burned is one of the five special conditions recognized in the TCG. The other ones are Asleep, Poisoned, Confused, and Paralyzed. Burned was officially recognized as a status condition during the 2002 release of the Expedition Base Set. It can be argued that the Burned condition started in the Neo Genesis set, where Quilava's Char attack caused exactly the same condition; however, it was not officially recognized as a special condition. A rule change taking effect with the release of Sun & Moon altered the procedure for a burn.

When a Pokémon is burned, a burn marker is placed on the Pokemon as a memory aid. Unlike in the games, special conditions are not necessarily mutually exclusive, allowing Pokémon to experience several special conditions all at once. Burning can also prevent Poké-Powers from working, but leaves most Poké-Bodies unaffected. The clause that causes some Pokémon Powers to be disabled by Burned is not included on the replacement of Pokemon Powers, Abilities.

Prior to Sun & Moon, while a player's Pokémon is burned, that player flips a coin between each player's turn, as part of Pokémon Checkup. If it lands on heads, no damage occurs to the Pokémon, but if tails, two damage counters are placed on the card.

With the release of Sun & Moon, if a Pokémon is burned, two damage counters are always placed on it between turns. After the damage is added, the player with the burned Pokémon flips a coin: on a heads, the afflicted Pokémon is cured of the burn, while on a tails it remains burned.

In the TCG there are a few ways to remove a burn. These include evolving a Pokémon, returning a Pokémon to the player's Bench, using specific attacks, using selected Trainer cards on the affected Pokémon, or getting a heads result on a coin flip following the Sun & Moon rule change.

There are effects that modify the properties of the Burned condition. Some effects cause more damage counters to be placed on a Pokémon with Burned if it is receiving damage at all. These effects are worded such that they do not stack, as seen with Infernape's Flaming Fighter Ability. ("Put 6 damage counters instead of 2 on your opponent’s Burned Pokémon between turns.") Some effects released after Sun & Moon, such as Wela Volcano Park prevent Burned from being cured via its coin flip during Pokémon Checkup.

In the TFG

Burning was never officially introduced in the Trading Figure Game as a status condition due to the cancellation of the project. However, there are references to its future introduction in the Corsola figure and the X Accuracy card from the Riptide Starter Set. The card implies that burn would have had something to do with the miss value.

In information discovered after the cancellation of the Unnamed Third Set, it was heavily implied that the burn status was planned for an official release in this set, as evidenced by three of the unreleased figurines.

Trivia

In other languages

Language Title
Chinese Cantonese 灼傷 Jeuksēung
Mandarin 灼傷 / 灼伤 Zhuóshāng
  Finnish Polte
  French Brûlure
  German Verbrennung
  Italian Scottato
  Korean 화상 Hwasang
  Polish Oparzenie
Portuguese   Brazil Queimado
  Portugal Queimadura*
  Russian Подожжённый Podozhzhyonnyy
  Spanish Quemado
  Thai ไหม้ Burn
  Vietnamese Bỏng


Status conditions
BURNED FROZEN PARALYSIS POISONED
ASLEEP CONFUSION FLINCHING FAINTED


  This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.