Important Terms & Definitions

Master Pokemon Sun and Moon's technical terms! This guide defines key concepts like HKO, Abilities, Accuracy, Affection, Attack, Base Stats, and more for trainers.

Pokémon is a technical game. While we will get deeper into these technicalities in other sections of this conglomerate of "basics" and in the various appendices, it would be first be most prudent to give you, the readers, a quick list of what will be referred to throughout the guide. Those familiar with the competitive scene of Pokémon need no real introduction to most of these terms, and most having played Pokémon in general will only need to give this a quick glance at times; however, everyone else should give this section at least a decent read-over, especially those of you who are new to Pokémon. There are several definitions here some of you may find surprising and in themselves immensely helpful to understanding Pokémon in general, and by far much more in-depth than what the game will likely ever yield unto you. >_>

In any case, if you think something else should be added here, feel free to e-mail me.

MAINSTREAM GAME NAME ABBREVIATIONS & REGIONS

Important Terms & Definitions

• #HKO: Indicates a KO (defeat) in # hits. For example, 1HKO (sometimes OHKO) implies a one-hit win.
• Ability: Every Pokémon has 1 to 3 Abilities it may have, although only one is active at any given time. They are normally set-in from the time of encounter or hatching, although you can use Ability Capsules to change the non-Hidden Abilities of a Pokémon so long as it has two such Abilities. An Ability is a trait that a Pokémon has that gives it some kind of advantage or disadvantage in battle: some allow for extra damage, some reduce damage, some allow avoidance of attacks... The list goes on. Pokémon may also have a Hidden Ability (sometimes "HA") that can be brought about only in certain situations, most often specialized breeding. The Pokémon Abilities section has details on every Ability, and the Pokémon Breeding section can tell you how to breed Pokémon for their Hidden Abilities.
• Accuracy: The preset hit rate each move has for itself that determines how likely it is to hit. In general, this can be seen as a percentage: for example, Stone Edge has 80 Accuracy so it could be seen as having an 80% hit rate. A move with a 100% hit rate is generally always going to hit. However, this is only when you assume that your accuracy has not been changed by certain moves or your foe's evasion. Certain moves - usually status moves, but a niche few others - will ignore accuracy and evasion entirely, and always hit.
• Affection: Affection is a statistic given to Pokémon during the usage of Pokémon Refresh (in X/Y/OR/AS, Pokémon-Amie). For the most part I wouldn't include it here, but there is one special confusion most people seem to have about this stat: AFFECTION IS NOT EQUIVALENT TO A POKÉMON'S HAPPINESS. End of story. Affection denotes how affectionate they are towards you in regards to Pokémon Refresh, and Pokémon Refresh alone. This would normally seem insignificant to note here, but misconceptions have occurred regarding it. If you mix up the definitions of Affection and Happiness, you'll notice a number of Pokémon evolutions not happening, a Footprint Ribbon never being earned as it should, and the damage of Return or Frustration being unusually low in either regard. Do not mix the two up. The only Pokémon that truly benefits from Pokémon Refresh in terms of evolution is Eevee when it is evolving into Sylveon.
• Attack (Atk.): Attack is one of the stats a Pokémon can have. Attack will affect the damage dealt by certain moves: that is, physical moves. Physical moves are those that are designated as such by the game: you can use the Move List - Battle Details section to check whether a move is Physical, Special, or Status in Class. Physical moves will use the user's Attack and the target's Defense in most cases to calculate damage.
• Base Stat (sometimes "BS" or "base"): Base stats are used to indicate the general prowess of a Pokémon in a particular stat. Base stats can range from 1 to 255 in a given stat. For most people, a base value of 110+ indicates that the Pokémon is good in that stat, though it all relates back to the Trainer's own strategy. In any case, the higher a base stat, the better for the user.
• Base Stat Total (BST): The total of a Pokémon's base stats, used to communicate its general prowess. Depending on the Pokémon, however, its actual strategic value may be skewed because of certain high base stats. For example, Shuckle's base 230 in Defense and Sp. Def. really skews it BST up somewhat higher than its actual strategic value would indicate (almost no one really uses it).
• Battle Royal: A