- This article is about the type of item. For the feature in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, see Wonder Mail.
Mail (Japanese: メール Mail) is a type of item in the Pokémon games. It was introduced in Generation II and appeared until Generation V.
In the core series games
List of Mail
Generation II
Generation III
Generation IV
Generation V
Mechanics
The various kinds of Mail are held items given to Pokémon. Each Mail item is able to contain a message written by the Trainer. This message can be sent to other Trainers by trading Pokémon.
In the Generation IV games, the player's Bag has a separate pocket for Mail. In the Generation V games, Mail is stored in the general items pocket, but has a unique icon.
Pokémon that are holding Mail use a special Mail icon instead of the normal held item icon.
Pokémon holding Mail cannot be placed in the PC or released. When removing Mail from a Pokémon, the player has the option to store it in the PC's mailbox or placing it in the Bag; the Mail's message is lost if returned to the Bag, but preserved if sent to the mailbox.
Pokémon with Mail cannot be traded to Pokémon Colosseum or XD because Mail does not exist in those games.
Many item-manipulating effects cannot affect Mail, although which effects fail depends on the game.
Generation II
Mail cannot be stolen by Thief.
In the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console versions, when the player attempts to enter the Trade Center while one of the Pokémon in their party is holding Mail, they are given a warning on the touch screen not to include offensive material in Mail.
Generation III
In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire only, Mail can be stolen with Thief and Covet; in all other Generation III games, Mail cannot be stolen. In the Japanese version of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire only, Mail can be swapped by Trick; in the Western versions and all other Generation III games, Mail cannot be swapped with Trick. If Mail is moved in either of these ways, it can cause corruption.
Mail can be removed by Knock Off.
Generation IV
Mail cannot be stolen with Thief or Covet, swapped with Trick or Switcheroo, or thrown with Fling. Mail can be removed by Knock Off.
Generation V
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This move effect may be in need of research. Reason: Details on how the message of stolen Mail is changed in Gen 5 You can discuss this on the talk page. |
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Trick and Switcheroo fail if either Pokémon is holding Mail. Bestow fails if the user is holding Mail.
Thief, Covet, and Pickpocket can steal Mail from an ally Pokémon; however, if Mail is transferred this way, the slots in the message are changed, being blank or taking on values previously used by Mail given to a Pokémon in that party slot.
Mail can be removed by Knock Off.
Message
Generation II
The player can freely enter 32 characters across two 16-character rows of text. Mail uses a unique text entry interface, that has a wider selection of characters than other text entry interfaces in these games.
Each different type of Mail has a unique background image, which can be viewed in the games themselves or in Pokémon Stadium 2. The Mail includes the message entered by the sending player, as well as their Trainer name at the bottom. Uniquely, the Portrait Mail also includes the sprite of the Pokémon holding the message, but using the same color palette as the Mail background.
Mail can be printed using the Game Boy Printer accessory. As with all documents printed by the Game Boy Printer, the image is grayscale. This feature is disabled in the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console versions.
In the Western games, the language of the message is stored internally, so that if it is traded to a player in a different language game, the Mail can still be read using the correct character encoding; however, the English versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver ignore this value, instead trying to render the message using the English character encoding, which lacks several characters that can be typed in other Western languages.
Generation III
In Generation III, Mail is typed using the easy chat system, which restricts players to choosing from a pre-defined list of words and phrases. Mail has nine phrase slots, structured as four rows of two slots and a fifth row with one slot.
The player can unlock additional phrases from the Hipster in Mauville City.
Generation IV
In Generation IV, Mail consists of three sentence slots, which can each be filled with a sentence structure from several pre-defined structures. These sentence structures themselves have one or two gaps within them, that the player can fill using the easy chat system (which restricts players to choosing from a pre-defined list of words and phrases). This facilitates translating the message between game languages automatically.
The player can unlock additional phrases from the old man in Snowpoint CityDPPt or on Route 16HGSS.
Generation V
In Generation V, Mail consists of three sentence slots. For BridgeMail, the player can choose a sentence structure from several pre-defined structures for each of these slots, then fill gaps in those sentence structures using the easy chat system (which restricts players to choosing from a pre-defined list of words and phrases). For non-BridgeMail, all three sentence structures are fixed, depending on the specific type of Mail; the player can only fill the gaps inside the sentences, and cannot change which sentence structures are used.
Acquisition
Purchasable Mail
In all games from Generation III to V, several Mail items can be bought in Poké Marts, department stores, and shops.
In Generations II, IV, and V, all games of the same generation have the same purchasable Mail items. However, in Generation III, the purchasable Mail items are completely different between the Kanto-based games and the Hoenn-based games.
Trick House Mail
In Generation III, some Mail items are found in the Trick House. There is only one of each Mail item available in this place and they are permanently missable if the player finishes the current puzzle without obtaining them. Most of those Mail items are purchasable in Poké Marts, except the 
Glitter Mail.
In this generation, the puzzle 5 is the only one without a Mail item.
| RSE |
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Mail held by non-player character's Pokémon
There are several Mail items held by non-player character's Pokémon, including those received from in-game trades. However, no Mail is received by this method in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum and in the Generation V games.
| II | GSC |
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|---|---|---|
| III | RS |
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| E |
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| FRLG |
| |
| IV | HGSS |
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Mail from other in-game methods
| III | RS | |
|---|---|---|
| E |
| |
| V | BW |
|
| B2W2 |
Version-exclusive Mail
These Mail items are only available by trading from other games in the same generation. There is no version-exclusive Mail in Generation II.
| III | RSE | |
|---|---|---|
| FRLG | ||
| IV | PtHGSS |
Mail from events and Mystery Gifts
| II | GSC |
|
|---|---|---|
| IV | DP |
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Unobtainable Mail
- The
Mosaic Mail is not obtainable in any game.
In the side series games
Pokémon Stadium 2
- Main article: PC (Stadium) → Mail
In Pokémon Stadium 2, Mail can be transferred from and to the Generation II core series games connected via Transfer Pak. The message can be edited using the C-buttons to control the cursor.
In Pokémon Stadium 2, it is possible to store 30 Pokémon with Mail in the Pokémon Storage System. There is also the N64 Mailbox with 50 slots for written messages.
Bluesky Mail
Eon Mail
Flower Mail
Litebluemail
Lovely Mail
Mirage Mail
Morph Mail
Music Mail
Portrait Mail
Surf Mail
Other games
In Pokémon Colosseum, XD: Gale of Darkness, Box: Ruby & Sapphire, Battle Revolution, and Ranch, there is no Mail feature. Even though they connect with core series games and feature held items, they are not compatible with any Mail items.
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
Gold, Silver & Crystal arc
In The Last Battle VIII, Silver revealed that as Green had used her Abra to teleport him away earlier, his Sneasel had used Thief to steal the Flower Mail held by Abra. The Mail contained a map that told Silver of Green's plan to go to Ilex Forest.
Ruby & Sapphire arc
In The Beginning of the End with Kyogre & Groudon VI, Ruby left Wallace a Tropic Mail, informing his teacher of his decision to fight against Team Magma.
HeartGold & SoulSilver arc
In Weavile Wobbles But It Won't Fall Down, Mail was seen being sold at the Safari Zone Gate.
Gallery
A Flower Mail
A Tropic Mail
In other languages
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References
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| Held items |
|---|
| In-battle effect items Berries • Colored orbs • Drives • Power items Experience-affecting items • Gems • Incense • Mega Stones • Memories • Plates Stat-enhancing items • Type-enhancing items • Z-Crystals |
| Out-of-battle effect items Power items • Incense • Mail • Scarves |
| Types of items | |
|---|---|
| General | Evolution stones • Fossils • Flutes • Shards • Held items Evolution items • Escape items • Exchangeable items • Valuable items Battle items • Scents • Nectars • Candy • Ingredients |
| Medicine | Status condition healing items • Vitamins • Feathers Mints • Mochi • Drinks • Herbal medicine |
| Berry and Apricorn | Poké Balls • Apricorns • Berries • Mulch |
| Aesthetic | Decorations • Accessories (Normal • Great • Ultra • Master) Backdrops • Props • Décor Clothing (XY • SMUSUM • LGPE • SwSh • BDSP • LA • SV) |
| Other | Mail • Key Items • Event items Wonder Launcher items • Rotom Powers |
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This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items. |