Damage: Difference between revisions

Since each move has an [[elemental types|elemental type]], its ''effectiveness'' is largely determined by the targeted Pokémon's type.  Moves can have regular effectiveness or be super effective, not very effective, or not effective at all. The effectiveness of types against one another has varied among generations, see [[Type chart (Generation I)|this page]] for its [[Generation I]] iteration and [[Type chart (Generation II-present)|this page]] for the current model.

Starting in [[Generation II]], the chance of a critical hit is no longer based on the Pokémon's speed, but rather the chance is the same for each Pokémon. Similar to [[stat]]s, there are temporary in-battle stages used to calculate the probability a particular move will be a critical hit. The stages are as follows:

|Holding a [[Scope Lens]]

|Holding a [[Razor Claw]]

|Holding a [[Stick]] (if the Pokémon is {{p|Farfetch'd}})

|Using [[Dire Hit]] on it

|Using [[Dire Hit 2]] on it ([[Wonder Launcher]] only)

|Using [[Dire Hit 3]] on it (Wonder Launcher only)

Even if enough additions are obtained, there is no way for a move to be in a stage higher than 5; if the sum is greater, it will still only have a 50% chance of landing in a critical hit. The effects of {{m|Focus Energy}}, the [[Lansat Berry]], and the several versions of [[Dire Hit]] cannot stack with themselves or each other. Additionally, if the target Pokémon has the ability {{a|Battle Armor}} or {{a|Shell Armor}}, or is under the effect of {{m|Lucky Chant}}, a move will never be a critical hit, no matter the stage. On the other hand, if the move used is {{m|Storm Throw}} or {{m|Frost Breath}}, it will always result in a critical hit<!--except when the target has Battle/Shell Armor or Lucky Chant (TBD)-->.

When a move scores a critical hit, damage is calculated based on either the modified or unmodified attack and defense stats, whichever is more advantageous to the attacker.  For example, an attacker who has used {{m|Swords Dance}} and then makes a critical hit will get the benefit of the increased Attack, while one affected by {{m|Charm}} will use its normal Attack score. Another example would be if a team had {{m|Light Screen}} or {{m|Reflect}} on it and the attacker scored a critical on the team with the certain wall; the defense added by the wall would then be ignored, and the attacker would do double damage. However, it does not ignore modifiers caused by items or abilities such as [[Eviolite]], {{a|Defeatist}}, or {{a|Slow Start}}.

Abilities come in a wide variety, and have various effects on damage modification. These affects range from increasing and decreasing the power of moves of a specific [[type]], granting immunities, and even changing the power of moves affected by other damage modifiers. These abilities include:  

*{{a|Dry Skin}} works in part like Water Absorb, healing the user when hit with a {{type2|Water}} move, but it also heals the user by 6.25% each turn during [[Weather conditions#Heavy rain|rain]].  However, it also causes the Pokémon to receive additional damage from {{type2|Fire}} attacks and receive 6.25% (of its HP stat) damage during [[Weather conditions#Intense sunlight|sunshine]].

Some [[held item]]s increase the power of an attack by a small percentage.  Most of these items boost attacks [[type-enhancing item|only of a certain type]] by 20%. Some [[stat-enhancing item|items]] can also modify damage by boosting the attacker's offensive stats or the victim's defensive stats. Some [[Berry#Generation IV|berries]] also weaken an opponent's super effective move.

* If the attacker is {{status|Burn|burned}} and their ability is not {{a|Guts}}, their [[physical move|physical damage]] will be decreased by half.

In [[Generation I]] and [[Generation II]], there was no percentage. There was only a random number generated from 217 to 255, which was divided by 255 to get the final multiplier.

*''Critical'' is 2 for a critical hit, 1 otherwise. For Pokémon with [[Sniper (ability)|Sniper]], it is 3 for a critical hit.