Self-Destruct (move)

Selfdestruct
じばく Suicide Bombing
[[File:|center]]
Type  Normal
Category  Physical
PP  5 (max. 8)
Power  200
Accuracy  100%
Priority  {{{priority}}}
Target
Foe Foe Foe
Self Ally Ally
Affects all Pokémon adjacent to the user
Availability
Introduced  Generation I
Condition  Beauty
Appeal  8 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Jam  0  
Makes a great appeal, but allows no more to the end.
Condition  Beauty
Appeal  0  
Earn +15 if all the Pokémon choose the same Judge.
Condition  Beauty
Appeal  0  
Jamming  0  

Selfdestruct (Japanese: じばく Suicide Bombing) is a damage-dealing Normal-type move introduced in Generation I. It was TM36 in Generation I.

Effect

Generation I

Resembling a weaker version of Explosion, Selfdestruct inflicts damage, and causes the user to faint. Though its power is listed as 130, the target's Defense will be halved when damage from this attack is calculated, giving it an effective power of 260. The game will bump 0 up to 1 to avoid infinite damage, so Selfdestruct would have an effective power of 130 if it could be used against a target with a Defense value of 1 (although such circumstances would almost never happen in normal play).

If Selfdestruct breaks a target's substitute, the user will not faint, though its image will be replaced by a blank image. Additionally, if the user of Selfdestruct had a substitute at the time of such a situation, uses Substitute later, or switches out, its regular image will once again become visible.

If the user of Selfdestruct attacks first and faints itself, the target will not attack or be subjected to recurrent damage during that round.

In Stadium, if Selfdestruct breaks a target's substitute, the user will faint. The base power listed in Stadium is the one after halving Defense, ie. 260.

Generation II

The move's power is increased to 200 instead. The target's Defense is still halved, giving it an effective power of 400.

If Selfdestruct is used against a substitute, a Ghost type, or a Pokémon that has used Protect or Detect, it will still faint.

Unlike the previous game, Stadium 2 lists Selfdestruct's base power before halving Defense.

The Focus Band won't prevent the user of Selfdestruct from fainting.

Generations III and IV

Selfdestruct cannot be used when a Pokémon with the Ability Damp is on the field.

The Focus Sash won't prevent the user of Selfdestruct from fainting.

Generation V

Selfdestruct no longer halves the target's Defense. The user faints before dealing damage, unlike previous generations.

Sturdy won't prevent the user of Selfdestruct from fainting.

Mystery Dungeon

Selfdestruct does not cause the user to faint, but instead cuts its HP in half, and affects all Pokémon, items, and walls within one tile of the user, reducing HP by half on teammates, by 50 on hostile Pokémon, and destroying all walls, items, and special tiles. Selfdestruct cannot be used in rain or on any floor with a Pokémon with the Ability Damp. Additionally, Fire-type Pokémon take only 50% of usual damage.

Description

Games Description
The user explodes, inflicting damage on the enemy, then faints. Useless against Ghost-type.
The user explodes, damaging the enemy, then faints. Useless against the Ghost-type.
Powerful but makes the user faint.
RSE Inflicts severe damage but makes the user faint.
FRLG The user blows up to inflict severe damage, even making itself faint.
The user blows up to inflict damage on all Pokémon in battle. The user faints upon using this move.
The user attacks everything around it by causing an explosion. The user faints upon using this move.


Learnset

By leveling up

# Pokémon Type Level
I II III IV V VI
074   Geodude Rock Ground 21 21 21 18 29 '
075   Graveler Rock Ground --, 21 --, 21 21 18 31 '
076   Golem Rock Ground --, 21 --, 21 21 18 31 '
100   Voltorb Electric Electric 22 23 27 29 33 '
101   Electrode Electric Electric --, 22 --, 23 27 29 35 '
109   Koffing Poison Poison 40 17 17 19 24 23 '
110   Weezing Poison Poison 43 --, 17 --, 17 19 24 23 '
204   Pineco Bug Bug   8 8 6 6 '
205   Forretress Bug Steel   --, 8 --, 8 --, 6 --, 6 '
343   Baltoy Ground Psychic     19 19 21 25 '
344   Claydol Ground Psychic     19 19 21 25 '
597   Ferroseed Grass Steel         38 '
598   Ferrothorn Grass Steel         38 '
649   Genesect Bug Steel         77 '
Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move.
Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move.
A dash (−) indicates a Pokémon cannot learn the move by the designated method.
An empty cell indicates a Pokémon that is unavailable in that game/generation.


By breeding

# Pokémon Type Father
II III IV V VI
143   Snorlax Normal Normal        
185   Sudowoodo Rock Rock                  
438   Bonsly Rock Rock              
446   Munchlax Normal Normal        
568   Trubbish Poison Poison            
Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move.
Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move.
A dash (−) indicates a Pokémon cannot learn the move by the designated method.
An empty cell indicates a Pokémon that is unavailable in that game/generation.


By TM

# Pokémon Type Machine
I
TM36
II
--
III
--
IV
--
V
--
VI
TM08
074   Geodude Rock Ground
075   Graveler Rock Ground
076   Golem Rock Ground
088   Grimer Poison Poison
089   Muk Poison Poison
090   Shellder Water Water
091   Cloyster Water Ice
092   Gastly Ghost Poison
093   Haunter Ghost Poison
094   Gengar Ghost Poison
095   Onix Rock Ground
100   Voltorb Electric Electric
101   Electrode Electric Electric
102   Exeggcute Grass Psychic
103   Exeggutor Grass Psychic
109   Koffing Poison Poison
110   Weezing Poison Poison
143   Snorlax Normal Normal
150   Mewtwo Psychic Psychic
151   Mew Psychic Psychic
Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move.
Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move.
A dash (−) indicates a Pokémon cannot learn the move by the designated method.
An empty cell indicates a Pokémon that is unavailable in that game/generation.


By Move Tutor

# Pokémon Type Game
FRLG E XD
074   Geodude Rock Ground
075   Graveler Rock Ground
076   Golem Rock Ground
088   Grimer Poison Poison
089   Muk Poison Poison
090   Shellder Water Water
091   Cloyster Water Ice
092   Gastly Ghost Poison
093   Haunter Ghost Poison
094   Gengar Ghost Poison
095   Onix Rock Ground
100   Voltorb Electric Electric
101   Electrode Electric Electric
102   Exeggcute Grass Psychic
103   Exeggutor Grass Psychic
109   Koffing Poison Poison
110   Weezing Poison Poison
143   Snorlax Normal Normal
150   Mewtwo Psychic Psychic
151   Mew Psychic Psychic
185   Sudowoodo Rock Rock
204   Pineco Bug Bug
205   Forretress Bug Steel
208   Steelix Steel Ground
211   Qwilfish Water Poison
218   Slugma Fire Fire
219   Magcargo Fire Rock
222   Corsola Water Rock
273   Seedot Grass Grass
274   Nuzleaf Grass Dark
275   Shiftry Grass Dark
299   Nosepass Rock Rock
316   Gulpin Poison Poison
317   Swalot Poison Poison
320   Wailmer Water Water
321   Wailord Water Water
323   Camerupt Fire Ground
324   Torkoal Fire Fire
337   Lunatone Rock Psychic
338   Solrock Rock Psychic
343   Baltoy Ground Psychic
344   Claydol Ground Psychic
362   Glalie Ice Ice
375   Metang Steel Psychic
376   Metagross Steel Psychic
377   Regirock Rock Rock
378   Regice Ice Ice
379   Registeel Steel Steel
Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move.
Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move.

Special move

Generation IV

#   Pokémon Type Obtained with
0109   Koffing Lv.13 Poison Pokéwalker - Town Outskirts
0446   Munchlax Normal Pokéwalker - Winner's Path
Bold indicates a Pokémon which gets STAB from this move.
Italic indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form gets STAB
from this move.


In the anime

 
Ditto transformed as Voltorb
 
Pineco
The Pokémon becomes angry and white and then explodes.
Pokémon Method
User First Used In Notes
  Voltorb's body glows white and yellow sparks appear around its body. It then explodes violently.
Koga's Voltorb The Ninja Poké-Showdown Debut
Duplica's Ditto in the form of Voltorb Ditto's Mysterious Mansion Used via Transform
Keith's Voltorb So Near, Yet So Farfetch'd None
Multiple wild Voltorb Showdown at the Po-ké Corral None
Unknown Trainer's Voltorb Pikachu Re-Volts None
Unknown Trainer's Voltorb Arceus and the Jewel of Life None
Multiple wild Voltorb Bucking the Treasure Trend! None
  Pineco's body glows blue or white. It then suddenly explodes.
Multiple wild Pineco Going Apricorn! None
Brock's Pineco Going Apricorn! None
Multiple wild Pineco Bucking the Treasure Trend! None


In the manga

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga


In the Pokémon Adventures manga


In other generations

Trivia

  • In Generation I, if Selfdestruct or Explosion causes the player to win and lose at the same time, the player blacks out as normal, but the victory music plays.

In other languages

Language Title
Mandarin Chinese 自爆 Zìbào
  Dutch Zelfvernietiging
  Finnish Itsetuho
  French Destruction
  German Finale
  Greek Αυτοκαταστροφή
  Italian Autodistruz.
  Korean 자폭 Japok
  Polish Samo-Zniszczenie
  Brazilian Portuguese Autodestruição
  Serbian Samouništenje
  Spanish Autodestruc


Generation I TMs
01020304050607080910111213141516171819202122232425
26272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950
Generation I HMs
0102030405
  This article is part of Project Moves and Abilities, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on two related aspects of the Pokémon games.