Thief (move)
- If you were looking for the character in Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All, see Thief (GDZ47).
- Thief redirects here. For Thief status in Mystery Dungeon, see Kecleon Shop→Theft.
Thief どろぼう Thief | ||||||||||||
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Thief (Japanese: どろぼう Thief) is a damage-dealing Dark-type move introduced in Generation II.
It is:
- TM46 from Generation II to Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
- TM23 in Pokémon Sword and Shield.
- TM018 in Generation IX.
Effect
Generation II
Thief inflicts damage and has 99.6% chance to steal the target's held item (if it has one, and the user does not have one). Thief cannot steal an item if it hits a Pokémon's substitute. Held Mail cannot be stolen.
Wild Pokémon can steal the player's Pokémon's held items. However, as Thief was taught exclusively via TM in this generation, this is only legitimately possible with wild Ditto that used Transform on a player's Pokémon that knows Thief, or wild Smeargle that learned Thief via Sketch.
In Link Battles, the Battle Tower, and the Trainer House, stolen items are returned at the end of the battle.
Generation III
Thief inflicts damage and steals the target's held item (if it has one). An item cannot be stolen if the target has the Sticky Hold Ability. Held e-Reader Berries and Mail cannot be stolen. Even if the user faints when using Thief (such as due to the target's Rough Skin), it still steals the target's held item. If Focus Band would activate from the damage inflicted by Thief, it will activate first and then be stolen.
Wild Pokémon cannot steal the player's Pokémon's held items. In Link Battles, battle facilities (except the Battle Pyramid), and Secret Bases, stolen items are returned at the end of the battle (or the end of the challenge in the case of the Battle Pike). In Pokémon Colosseum and XD, Thief does not permanently steal items.
Thief is no longer affected by King's Rock.
Generation IV
Items cannot be stolen from Pokémon with the Ability Multitype. A held Griseous Orb cannot be stolen.
If the target's consumable held item is triggered by Thief (such as a Colbur Berry or Focus Sash), it will be consumed before it can be stolen.
Generation V
If the user faints when using Thief (such as due to the target's Rough Skin or Rocky Helmet), it cannot steal the target's held item. If Thief causes a Pokémon with the Sticky Hold Ability to faint, it can now steal its held item.
Thief no longer steals a Trainer's Pokémon's items permanently; however, a wild Pokémon's item is still permanently stolen by the player.
Thief can now steal a held Griseous Orb as long as neither the user nor the target is Giratina. Plates cannot be stolen if either the user or the target is Arceus (Multitype has no effect on Thief), and Drives cannot be stolen if either the user or the target is Genesect.
Thief is now affected by King's Rock.
Generation VI onwards
Thief's power was changed from 40 to 60 and its PP was changed from 10 to 25.
Thief cannot steal a Mega Stone or Orb if either the user or the target could use it to Mega Evolve or undergo Primal Reversion, a Z-Crystal from any Pokémon, a memory if either the user or the target is Silvally, the Rusted Sword if either the user or the target is Zacian, the Rusted Shield if either the user or the target is Zamazenta, or a Booster Energy if either the user or the target is a Paradox Pokémon (excluding Koraidon and Miraidon).
When used in a Max Raid Battle, no matter if the target is the raid boss or one of the player's own teammates, Thief fails entirely, without dealing damage.
Generation IX
Thief now deposits items stolen from wild Pokémon directly into the player's Bag.
Description
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Learnset
By leveling up
# | Pokémon | Types | Egg Groups | Level | |||||||||
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II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | ||||||
261 | ![]() |
Poochyena |
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Field | 45 | ||||||||
262 | ![]() |
Mightyena |
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Field | 52 | 57 | 57 | 57XY 1ORAS |
1 | 1BDSP | |||
271 | ![]() |
Lombre |
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Water 1 | Grass | 37 | |||||||
352 | ![]() |
Kecleon |
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Field | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1BDSP | |||
828 | ![]() |
Thievul |
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Field | 1, Evo. | ||||||||
962 | ![]() |
Bombirdier |
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Flying | 7 | ||||||||
Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move. Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move. |
By TM
By breeding
# | Pokémon | Types | Parent Egg Groups |
Egg Move | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | ||||||
707 | ![]() |
Klefki |
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Mineral | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||
Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move. Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move. |
In other games
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series
In Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team and Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky, Thief is a move with 2 base power, 100% accuracy, and 20 PP. The user attacks enemy in the front, stealing their held item if the user isn't holding one. If the target faints, the item will drop on the floor as normal.
Pokémon Rumble Rush
Description
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In the anime
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Gengar | |||
The user steals an item from the opponent. | |||
Pokémon | Method | ||
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User | First Used In | Notes | |
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Gengar steals an item from the opponent and hides it inside its body. | ||
Acerola's Greedy Rapooh | The Battlefield of Truth and Love! | Debut |
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
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Sneasel | Persian | ||
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The user steals an item the opponent is holding. | |||
Pokémon | Method | ||
User | First Chapter Used In | Notes | |
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Sneasel steals an item the opponent is holding. | ||
Silver's Sneasel | Heckled by Hitmontop | Debut | |
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Persian steals an item the opponent is holding. | ||
Sird's Persian | Start the Countdown, Starmie | None |
In other generations
Core series games
Side series games
Spin-off series games
Trivia
- In Pokémon Black and White, Minccino is able to learn Thief via TM while its evolution, Cinccino, is not. This is an error and is corrected in Black 2 and White 2.
In other languages
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Variations of the move Thief | ||
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Generation II TMs | |
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01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 | |
Generation II HMs | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 |
Generation III TMs | |
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01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 | |
Generation III HMs | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08RSE |
Generation IV TMs | |
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01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 | |
Generation IV HMs | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 (DPPt • HGSS) • 06 • 07 • 08 |
Generation V TMs | |
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01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 | |
Generation V HMs | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 |
Generation VI TMs | |
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01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 (XY • ORAS) • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 • 100 | |
Generation VI HMs | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06ORAS • 07ORAS |
Generation VII TMs | |
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SMUSUM | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 • 100 | |
PE | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 |
Generation VIII TMs | |
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SwSh | |
00 • 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 | |
BDSP | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 • 100 | |
Generation VIII TRs (SwSh) | |
00 • 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 |
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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. |