Pokémon data structure (Generation IV)

Boxed Pokémon in the games Diamond and Pearl are stored in a 136-byte structure. All unencrypted values are stored in little-endian format. The game encrypts the data when it is stored into the save data. In-party Pokémon have additional values appended to them to hold calculated stats. The information below describes the boxed Pokémon data format.

Checksum

The checksum serves two purposes:

  1. It validates the data after decryption, and
  2. It serves as the encryption key for the data.

The checksum is calculated in three steps:

  1. Split the unencrypted data from offsets 0x08 to 0x87 into two-byte words,
  2. Take the sum of the words, and
  3. Truncate the sum to sixteen bits.

Block shuffling

The 128 bytes of Pokémon data are split into four 32-byte blocks for shuffling. The blocks are shuffled according to a shift value derived from the personality value. Given the personality value pv, the expression yielding the shift value is:

((pv & 0x3E000) >> 0xD) % 24

The right shifting (>> 0xD) is equivalent to a division of 8192.

To shuffle the blocks, take the four blocks of unencrypted data, A, B, C, and D. The blocks shall be rearranged in the encrypted data according to the Block Order column of the following table. (To unshuffle, use the Inverse column.)

Shift Value (decimal) Block Order Inverse
00 ABCD ABCD
01 ABDC ABDC
02 ACBD ACBD
03 ACDB ADBC
04 ADBC ACDB
05 ADCB ADCB
06 BACD BACD
07 BADC BADC
08 BCAD CABD
09 BCDA DABC
10 BDAC CADB
11 BDCA DACB
12 CABD BCAD
13 CADB BDAC
14 CBAD CBAD
15 CBDA DBAC
16 CDAB CDAB
17 CDBA DCAB
18 DABC BCDA
19 DACB BDCA
20 DBAC CBDA
21 DBCA DBCA
22 DCAB CDBA
23 DCBA DCBA

Encryption

The encryption uses a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG), a 32-bit linear congruential generator to be exact.

The order of the ABCD blocks is irrelevant when encrypting or decrypting, because the data is treated as a bit stream, so the algorithm is the same in both cases.

First, the PRNG is seeded with the checksum of the Pokémon:

X[0] = checksum

Then, we loop over the 64 2-byte words of ABCD block data by advancing the PRNG and XORing the top 16 bits of each new state with each 16 bits of data:

X[n+1] = 0x41C64E6D * X[n] + 0x6073

D[n] = D[n] XOR (X[n+1] >> 16)

To read from or write to an encrypted Pokémon's ABCD block data, the game first decrypts the data as a whole, then determines what the block order is from the personality value and figures out the offset it needs to use to read from or write to either block.

Unencrypted bytes

Offset Contents
0x00-0x03 Personality value
0x04-0x05 Bit 0-1: If set, skip checksum checks
Bit 2: Bad egg flag
Bit 3-7: Unused
0x06-0x07 Checksum

Encrypted bytes

Block A

Offset Contents
0x08-0x09 Species ID
0x0A-0x0B Held Item
0x0C-0x0D OT ID
0x0E-0x0F OT Secret ID
0x10-0x13 Experience points
0x14 Friendship/Egg Steps to Hatch
0x15 Ability
0x16 Markings
0x17 Language of origin
0x18 HP EVs
0x19 Attack EVs
0x1A Defense EVs
0x1B Speed EVs
0x1C Sp. Atk EVs
0x1D Sp. Def. EVs
0x1E Cool Contest stat
0x1F Beauty Contest stat
0x20 Cute Contest stat
0x21 Smart Contest stat
0x22 Tough Contest stat
0x23 Sheen
0x24-0x27 Sinnoh Ribbons Set 1

Block B

Offset Contents
0x28-0x2F Moveset
0x30-0x33 Move PP
0x34-0x37 Move PP Ups
0x38-0x3B Bits 0-29 - Individual values
HP ( [0-31] << 0 )
Attack ( [0-31] << 5 )
Defense ( [0-31] << 10 )
Speed ( [0-31] << 15 )
Sp. Atk. ( [0-31] << 20 )
Sp. Def. ( [0-31] << 25 )
Bit 30 - IsEgg Flag
Bit 31 - IsNicknamed Flag
0x3C-0x3F Hoenn Ribbon Set
0x40 Bit 0 - Fateful encounter Flag
Bit 1 - Female
Bit 2 - Gender unknown
Bit 3-7 - Alternate Forms (Form Index << 3)
0x41 Shiny Leaves (HGSS)
Bit 5 - Leaf Crown
Bits 0–4 - Leaves A–E (bit 0 is leftmost)
0x42-0x43 Unused
0x44-0x45 Platinum Egg Location
0x46-0x47 Platinum Met at Location

Block C

Offset Contents
0x48-0x5D Nickname
0x5E Unused
0x5F Game of origin
0x60-0x63 Sinnoh Ribbons Set 2
0x64-0x67 Unused

Block D

Offset Contents
0x68-0x77 OT Name
0x78-0x7A Date Egg Received
0x7B-0x7D Date Met
0x7E-0x7F Diamond/Pearl Egg Location
0x80-0x81 Diamond/Pearl Met At Location
0x82 Pokérus
0x83 Poké Ball
0x84 Bit 0-6 - Met At Level
Bit 7 - Female OT Gender
0x85 Encounter Type
0x86 HG/SS Poké Ball
0x87 Performance (unused in DPPt)

Battle stats

The battle stats are encrypted in the same manner, however the seed is not the checksum, it is the personality value, and the bytes are not shuffled.

Encrypted bytes

Offset Contents
0x88 Bits 0-2 - Asleep (0-7 rounds)
Bit 3 - Poisoned
Bit 4 - Burned
Bit 5 - Frozen
Bit 6 - Paralyzed
Bit 7 - Toxic
0x89 Unknown - Flags - Max Value 0xF0
0x8A-0x8B Unknown
0x8C Level
0x8D Capsule Index (Seals)
0x8E-0x8F Current HP
0x90-0x91 Max HP
0x92-0x93 Attack
0x94-0x95 Defense
0x96-0x97 Speed
0x98-0x99 Special Attack
0x9A-0x9B Special Defense
0x9C-0xD3 Mail data
0xD4-0xEB Seal Coordinates

Language of origin

Main article: Language of origin
Value Language
0x1 日本語 (Japanese)
0x2 English
0x3 Français (French)
0x4 Italiano (Italian)
0x5 Deutsch (German)
0x7 Español (Spanish)
0x8 한국어 (Korean)

Markings

Bit Marking
0x01 Circle
0x02 Triangle
0x04 Square
0x08 Heart
0x10 Star
0x20 Diamond

Alternate forms

Alternate forms are stored at offset 0x40 of the Pokémon structure. Each form follows the pattern of index << 3 where index starts at zero for the main form.

Rotom's alternate forms, Giratina's Origin Forme, and Shaymin's Sky Forme will only be displayed in Pokémon Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver. Rotom may be traded among Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum without losing its alternate form.

Byte Unown Deoxys Burmy/Wormadam Shellos/Gastrodon Rotom Giratina Shaymin Arceus Pichu (HGSS only)
0x00 A Normal Plant West Normal Altered Land Normal Normal
0x08 B Attack Sandy East Heat Origin Sky Fighting Spiky-eared
0x10 C Defense Trash Wash Flying
0x18 D Speed Frost Poison
0x20 E Fan Ground
0x28 F Mow Rock
0x30 G Bug
0x38 H Ghost
0x40 I Steel
0x48 J ???
0x50 K Fire
0x58 L Water
0x60 M Grass
0x68 N Electric
0x70 O Psychic
0x78 P Ice
0x80 Q Dragon
0x88 R Dark
0x90 S
0x98 T
0xA0 U
0xA8 V
0xB0 W
0xB8 X
0xC0 Y
0xC8 Z
0xD0 !
0xD8 ?

Encounter types

Value Encounter
0x0 Pal Park, Egg, Hatched, Special Event
0x2 Tall Grass
0x4 Dialga/Palkia In-Game Event
0x5 Cave, Hall of Origin
0x7 Surfing, Fishing
0x9 Building
0xA Great Marsh (Safari Zone)
0xC Starter, Fossil, Gift (Eevee) (D/P)
0x18 Starter, Fossil, Gift (Eevee) (HGSS/Pt)

Ribbons

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum store the Ribbon data as bitfields in 16-bit words. Given below are the bytewise representations of the ribbon bitfields:

Sinnoh Ribbon Set 1

Bit Ribbon
0x24 & 0x01 Sinnoh Champ Ribbon
0x24 & 0x02 Ability Ribbon
0x24 & 0x04 Great Ability Ribbon
0x24 & 0x08 Double Ability Ribbon
0x24 & 0x10 Multi Ability Ribbon
0x24 & 0x20 Pair Ability Ribbon
0x24 & 0x40 World Ability Ribbon
0x24 & 0x80 Alert Ribbon
0x25 & 0x01 Shock Ribbon
0x25 & 0x02 Downcast Ribbon
0x25 & 0x04 Careless Ribbon
0x25 & 0x08 Relax Ribbon
0x25 & 0x10 Snooze Ribbon
0x25 & 0x20 Smile Ribbon
0x25 & 0x40 Gorgeous Ribbon
0x25 & 0x80 Royal Ribbon
0x26 & 0x01 Gorgeous Royal Ribbon
0x26 & 0x02 Footprint Ribbon
0x26 & 0x04 Record Ribbon
0x26 & 0x08 History Ribbon
0x26 & 0x10 Legend Ribbon
0x26 & 0x20 Red Ribbon
0x26 & 0x40 Green Ribbon
0x26 & 0x80 Blue Ribbon
0x27 & 0x01 Festival Ribbon
0x27 & 0x02 Carnival Ribbon
0x27 & 0x04 Classic Ribbon
0x27 & 0x08 Premier Ribbon

Sinnoh Ribbon Set 2

Bit Ribbon
0x60 & 0x01 Cool Ribbon
0x60 & 0x02 Cool Ribbon Great
0x60 & 0x04 Cool Ribbon Ultra
0x60 & 0x08 Cool Ribbon Master
0x60 & 0x10 Beauty Ribbon
0x60 & 0x20 Beauty Ribbon Great
0x60 & 0x40 Beauty Ribbon Ultra
0x60 & 0x80 Beauty Ribbon Master
0x61 & 0x01 Cute Ribbon
0x61 & 0x02 Cute Ribbon Great
0x61 & 0x04 Cute Ribbon Ultra
0x61 & 0x08 Cute Ribbon Master
0x61 & 0x10 Smart Ribbon
0x61 & 0x20 Smart Ribbon Great
0x61 & 0x40 Smart Ribbon Ultra
0x61 & 0x80 Smart Ribbon Master
0x62 & 0x01 Tough Ribbon
0x62 & 0x02 Tough Ribbon Great
0x62 & 0x04 Tough Ribbon Ultra
0x62 & 0x08 Tough Ribbon Master

Hoenn Ribbon Set

Bit Ribbon
0x3C & 0x01 Cool Ribbon
0x3C & 0x02 Cool Ribbon Super
0x3C & 0x04 Cool Ribbon Hyper
0x3C & 0x08 Cool Ribbon Master
0x3C & 0x10 Beauty Ribbon
0x3C & 0x20 Beauty Ribbon Super
0x3C & 0x40 Beauty Ribbon Hyper
0x3C & 0x80 Beauty Ribbon Master
0x3D & 0x01 Cute Ribbon
0x3D & 0x02 Cute Ribbon Super
0x3D & 0x04 Cute Ribbon Hyper
0x3D & 0x08 Cute Ribbon Master
0x3D & 0x10 Smart Ribbon
0x3D & 0x20 Smart Ribbon Super
0x3D & 0x40 Smart Ribbon Hyper
0x3D & 0x80 Smart Ribbon Master
0x3E & 0x01 Tough Ribbon
0x3E & 0x02 Tough Ribbon Super
0x3E & 0x04 Tough Ribbon Hyper
0x3E & 0x08 Tough Ribbon Master
0x3E & 0x10 Champion Ribbon
0x3E & 0x20 Winning Ribbon
0x3E & 0x40 Victory Ribbon
0x3E & 0x80 Artist Ribbon
0x3F & 0x01 Effort Ribbon
0x3F & 0x02 Marine Ribbon
0x3F & 0x04 Land Ribbon
0x3F & 0x08 Sky Ribbon
0x3F & 0x10 Country Ribbon
0x3F & 0x20 National Ribbon
0x3F & 0x40 Earth Ribbon
0x3F & 0x80 World Ribbon

Technical Details

In Memory, the Player and Enemy Party Pokémon can be accessed using different pointers depending on the game. These pointers are stored as 32-bit addresses in little endian format.

Game Pointer
Diamond & Pearl 0x02106FAC
Platinum 0x02101D2C
Heartgold & Soulsilver 0x0211186C

In addition to this pointer, the order in which they store the Pokémon changes slightly. The following addresses when added to the pointer result in their respective locations

Game Player Party Enemy Party
Diamond & Pearl 0xD2AC 0x364C8
Platinum 0xD088 0x37970
Heartgold & Soulsilver 0xD094 0x352F4

Location

The party Pokémon are stored in the save file beginning at offset 0x00098 for the first block pair, and 0x40098 for the second block pair. Each party Pokémon is 236 bytes in size.

The PC storage Pokémon are stored in the save file from Box 1 to Box 18. They start at 0x0C104 in the first block pair, and at 0x4C104 in the second block pair. Each PC stored Pokémon is 136 bytes in size.


Data structure in the Pokémon games
Generation I Pokémon speciesPokémonPoké MartCharacter encodingSave
Generation II Pokémon speciesPokémonTrainerCharacter encoding (Korean) • Save
Generation III Pokémon species (Pokémon evolutionPokédexType chart)
Pokémon (substructures) • MoveContestContest moveItem
Trainer TowerBattle FrontierCharacter encodingSave
Generation IV Pokémon species (Pokémon evolutionLearnsets)
PokémonSaveCharacter encoding
Generation V-present Character encoding
TCG GB and GB2 Character encoding


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