Poison Touch (Ability)

Poison Touch	どくしゅ
	Underhanded Trick
Flavor text Generation V May poison targets when a Pokémon makes contact. Generation VI May poison a target when the Pokémon makes contact. Generation VII May poison a target when the Pokémon makes contact. Generation VIII May poison a target when the Pokémon makes contact. Generation IX May poison a target when the Pokémon makes contact.

Poison Touch (Japanese: どくしゅ Underhanded Trick) is an Ability introduced in Generation V.

Effect

In battle

If a Pokémon with this Ability uses a move that makes contact, there is a 30% chance the target will become poisoned. In Japanese versions of Pokémon Black and White, this is a 20% chance instead.

This chance applies independently of any moves that may have a chance to poison the target with their own effect. If the attack's target holds a status condition-curing Berry, it is possible for a move's natural effect to inflict a status condition which the target's held item will then cure, only for the target to then be poisoned by Poison Touch. Poison Touch's chances also apply independently for each hit of a multistrike move.

Poison Touch can poison a target hit by Dragon Tail or Circle Throw. Poison Touch can poison a target with Mummy before Mummy overwrites Poison Touch. Pokémon with Immunity, Shield Dust, or (during harsh sunlight) Leaf Guard cannot be poisoned by Poison Touch, unless the contact-making move is Sunsteel Strike.

In a link battle including a Japanese version of Pokémon Black or White and a non-Japanese version or Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, the chance to poison is determined by the game of the player with the Pokémon with the Ability Poison Touch. As such, a Pokémon with Poison Touch owned by the player of a Japanese version of Pokémon Black or White will have a 20% chance to poison, whereas players of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 and non-Japanese versions of Pokémon Black and White will have a 30% chance.

Outside of battle

Poison Touch has no effect outside of battle.

Pokémon with Poison Touch

#	Pokémon		Types		First Ability	Second Ability	Hidden Ability
0088		Grimer	Poison		Poison	Stench	Sticky Hold	Poison Touch
0088		Grimer Alolan Form	Poison	Dark	Poison Touch	Gluttony	Power of Alchemy
0089		Muk	Poison		Poison	Stench	Sticky Hold	Poison Touch
0089		Muk Alolan Form	Poison	Dark	Poison Touch	Gluttony	Power of Alchemy
0453		Croagunk	Poison	Fighting	Anticipation	Dry Skin	Poison Touch
0454		Toxicroak	Poison	Fighting	Anticipation	Dry Skin	Poison Touch
0537		Seismitoad	Water	Ground	Swift Swim	Poison Touch	Water Absorb
0690		Skrelp	Poison	Water	Poison Point	Poison Touch	Adaptability
0691		Dragalge	Poison	Dragon	Poison Point	Poison Touch	Adaptability
0903		Sneasler	Fighting	Poison	Pressure	UnburdenGen IX+	Poison Touch
0945		Grafaiai	Poison	Normal	Unburden	Poison Touch	Prankster
Please note that Abilities marked with a superscript are only available in the stated generation or later. For Generation III and IV games, ignore Hidden Abilities.

Pokémon that formerly had Poison Touch

#	Pokémon		Types		First Ability	Second Ability	Hidden Ability
0215		Sneasel Hisuian Form	Fighting	Poison	Inner Focus	Keen Eye	Poison TouchGen VIII
Please note that Abilities marked with a superscript are only available in the stated generation or later. For Generation III and IV games, ignore Hidden Abilities.

• In Pokémon Legends: Arceus's internal code, Hisuian Sneasel's Hidden Ability is Poison Touch instead of Pickpocket.

In other games

Description

Games Description MDGtI May inflict the Poisoned status on the attacker who hits it with a direct attack.* When the Pokémon lands a direct attack like Tackle or Scratch, the target is sometimes afflicted with the Poisoned status condition!* SMD When the Pokémon damages a target with a contact move like Tackle or Scratch, the target sometimes gets poisoned!

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

• Moon's Alolan Grimer was revealed to have Poison Touch as his Ability in the PokéSPedia data-book.

Trivia

• This Ability's Japanese, Korean, and Chinese names are a pun; 毒手 Dokushu is a figure of speech meaning treachery or an underhanded scheme, but the individual characters 毒 and 手 literally mean "poison" and "hand/touch", respectively.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 毒手 Duhksáu Mandarin 毒手 Dúshǒu French Toxitouche German Giftgriff Italian Velentocco Korean 독수 Doksu Russian Дуновение Пыльцы Dunoveniye Pyl'tsy Spanish Toque Tóxico

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.