Pokemon glossary
This is a dictionary of many Pokemon terms and phrases. The Pokemon games can get very complex so this page hopes to demystify game mechanics, competitive battling and hidden data in a simple, easy-to-understand way.
A
- Attack
- One of the six main Pokemon stats. The Attack stat controls how much damage Physical-category moves do. Prior to Generation IV, all moves of the types Normal, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Bug, Rock, Ghost and Steel were classed as Physical.
E
- Egg cycle
- Egg cycles determine how long an egg takes to hatch. For example, a Rattata takes 16 egg cycles to hatch. Each egg cycle is 255 steps, so a Rattata egg would need 4,080 steps in total to hatch.
Note: the current egg cycle is reset if you pick up another egg. If you walked 270 steps, that is 1 egg cycle (255 steps) plus 25 steps. If you picked up another egg, those extra 25 steps would be reset to 0 but you still have 1 egg cycle completed. Therefore, the egg steps
number shown in our Pokedex is a minimum only.
- Egg group
- A set of Pokemon in breeding. Pokemon can only breed with those in the same egg group. Some Pokemon are in two egg groups. The
Undiscovered
egg group cannot breed at all.
- Ecial Attack
- One of the six main Pokemon stats. The Special Attack stat controls how much damage Special-category moves do. Prior to Generation IV, all moves of the types Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Dragon and Dark were classed as Special.
H
- HP
- Hit Points (HP), one of the six main Pokemon stats. HP is your life force: when attacked in battle, your Pokemon will usually lose HP (though there are various exceptions). When your HP reaches zero, the Pokemon will faint. HP can be restored with certain items and moves or replenished at a Pokemon Center.
Note, HP is sometimes used to refer to the move Hidden Power.
O
- OU
- Over-Used, a Pokemon battling tier. OU is the second-highest tier and most popular.
S
- Special Attack
- One of the six main Pokemon stats. The Special Attack stat controls how much damage Special-category moves do. Prior to Generation IV, all moves of the types Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Dragon and Dark were classed as Special.
U
- Uber
- The top Pokemon tier, containing the very best Pokemon. Most Pokemon in the Uber tier are legendary
- UU
- Under-Used, a Pokemon battling tier. UU is the third-highest tier.