Footprint

Footprints (Japanese: 足跡 footprint) are the tracks left by a Pokémon. Each Pokémon with visible legs has a unique footprint that is displayed in the Pokédex of every game from Generation II through Generation V. Out of the 649 Pokémon in Generation V, 241 do not have a footprint.

In the games

When a Pokémon is caught, its footprint is included in the data added to its entry and can be found on the first page. For those without a footprint, the area footprints are displayed on remains blank.

At the start of Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, a Scientist initially blocks the entrance to Route 102 as he thinks he has found the footprints of a rare Pokémon there. It later turns out that they were his own.

In the Altering Cave of FireRed and LeafGreen, footprints may be found as well.

Footprint Ribbon

Dr. Footstep on Route 213 in Sinnoh is a footprint expert, and can evaluate a Pokémon's friendship simply by looking at its tracks. He will hand out a Footprint Ribbon to Pokémon with a high friendship value. Even Pokémon who do not have a footprint can be tested to get the Ribbon. Dr. Footstep has four different ratings on Pokémon friendship. These reflect the amount and size of hearts shown on the Friendship Pokétch application. The quotes vary depending on which Pokémon is being examined. Different Pokémon have different sets of responses, such as Ghost-type Pokémon saying that they are scary and shunned, and inorganic Pokémon such as Magnemite only make the noise "Sssshhnnn". If a Pokémon receives a Level 4 rating, Dr. Footstep will award it a Footprint Ribbon.

In Pokémon X and Y, the Ribbon is given out by a Rising Star in Shalour City, and by a Collector at the Battle Resort in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. In these games, the Footprint Ribbon is given to Pokémon who have gained at least 30 levels since they were caught or received.

Wigglytuff's Guild

Footprint testing

Wigglytuff's Guild in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness judges a Pokémon's worth by its footprint. Before being allowed to enter, a Pokémon must stand on a grate in front of the guild entrance and have their footprint identified. Visitors or Guild members have to step on the grate to let the sentry (usually Diglett) verify whether they are wanted Pokémon. At a couple of points during the storyline and at any time after graduating, the player takes part in this sentry duty. It plays out as a mini-game where a series of Pokémon must be identified by their footprints, though more clues are provided over time. The game also notes the Pokémon who lack footprints in the scene where Dusknoir visits the guild.

Wi-Fi Plaza

In the Wi-Fi Plaza, there are two long boards that several people can get access to. On these boards, the player has the ability to select one of six footprint types. Once the type has been selected, touching the canvas with the stylus can place footprints at will. The other people will also be doing this. The footprints will quickly go and walk off the canvas after the player has placed them.

Pokémon Dream World

In the Pokémon Dream World, when a player visits another's home, they leave the footprint of their Pokémon on the Footprint Mat. Clicking these footprints provides information about the visitor. They will flash when the visitor has made a Dream Pal request.

In the anime

The poster Ash received with footprints of his Pokémon

Footprints have been seen in the anime. In Hello, Pummelo!, Ash and his friends visited the Palace of Victory on Pummelo Island, where footprints of the Pokémon used by the Champions of the Orange League are kept along with photos of them with their Trainers. As of Enter The Dragonite, the footprints of the Pokémon that Ash used in his Full Battle against the Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader Drake can be seen there as well.

In The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!, when Ash was feeling down after his loss against Pyramid King Brandon, Professor Oak handed him a poster Tracey had made with the footprints of his Pokémon residing at Professor Oak's Laboratory.

In Mega Revelations!, Korrina was shown having collected footprints of the Pokémon she and her Lucario had defeated together. After defeating Ash and his Pikachu, she also had Pikachu add his paw print to her collection.

In the manga

Footprint Ribbon in Pokémon Adventures

Dr. Footstep also appears in the Pokémon Adventures manga series. He first appears in Bombastic Bibarel & Heroic Hippopotas where he gives Platinum and Diamond a Footprint Ribbon for defeating a pair of Scientists. He is seen again in Double Trouble with Dialga and Palkia V, in the Platinum arc, and lastly in The Final Dimensional Duel XI .

Gallery

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  Venusaur's footprint

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  Charizard's footprint

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  Blastoise's footprint

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  Pikachu's footprint

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  Suicune's footprint

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  Lugia's footprint

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  Ho-Oh's footprint

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  Kyogre's footprint

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  Groudon's footprint

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  Rayquaza's footprint

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  Dialga's footprint

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  Palkia's footprint

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  Giratina's footprint

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  Reshiram's footprint

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  Zekrom's footprint

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  Kyurem's footprint

Trivia

• All Generation II glitch Pokémon have footprints with their index numbers embedded into them.
• Mawile's footprint is different between the Generation III games () and the Generation IV games ().
• Despite footprints no longer being present in the game data of Pokémon Sun and Moon, several stickers featuring Pikachu's footprint are on the wall in Mimikyu's room in the abandoned Thrifty Megamart.

In other languages

Language Title Danish Fodaftryk Dutch Voetafdruk Finnish Tassunjälki French Empreinte German Fußabdruck Italian Impronte Korean 발자국 Baljaguk Norwegian Fotavtrykk Portuguese Brazil Pegada Portugal Pegada* Russian Отпечаток ног Otpechatok nog Spanish Huella Swedish Fotavtryck Vietnamese Dấu chân

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.