Burn (status condition)
- Burn redirects here. For the Field Move, see Field Move (Ranger).
Burn (BRN) (Japanese: やけど Burn) is one of the five major status conditions in the Pokémon games. Generally, if a Pokémon is burned, it will lose a set amount of HP every turn, and its damage dealt by physical moves will be halved. The burn status is evidently associated closely with the Fire type, since most moves which can burn belong to this type, Pokémon of this type are immune to burns, and the Fire-type Pokémon exclusive Ability Flame Body has a chance to burn on contact.
Effect
In general, a burned Pokémon will take damage every turn, and the damage it deals with physical moves will be halved. The specifics work differently between generations.
Generation I
Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow
In Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow (and their Japanese counterparts, Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow), a Pokémon takes damage equal to 1/16 of its maximum HP every turn, after it attacks, or at the end of the turn if it did not attack. Its Attack stat is also halved, subject to the stat modifications glitch.
There are also some other irregularities:
- A Pokémon will not lose HP on a turn it knocked out its opponent.
- If a Pokémon that had previously been badly poisoned by Toxic and cured itself with Rest is burned, burn damage will draw upon (and increase) Toxic's N value to calculate how many multiples of 1/16 of the Pokémon's HP is taken as damage.
Pokémon Stadium
In Pokémon Stadium (and the Japan-exclusive Pokémon Stadium), burn is the same as the handheld games, but the irregularities from said handheld games (including the stat modifications glitch) are fixed.
Pokémon Stadium also contains two irregularities:
- If an already-burned Pokémon is switched in, it will not lose HP in that same turn.
- Haze will remove its user's Attack decrease even while still burned.
Generation II
Same as Generation I, but a burned Pokémon now takes damage equal to 1/8 of its maximum HP every turn, after it attacks, or at the end of the turn if it did not attack. All irregularities from Generation I were fixed.
Generations III to V
Instead of modifying the Attack stat, a burn now technically halves the damage a burned Pokémon does with physical moves; it still does not reduce damage done by moves that deal direct damage.
Burn now inflicts damage at the end of its turn. If a burned Pokémon knocks out an opponent, it will now take burn damage.
If a burned Pokémon has the Ability Guts, burn's damage reduction is ignored (and its Attack is boosted by Guts).
Generation VI
If a burned Pokémon uses Facade, burn's damage reduction is now ignored.
Generation VII
Same as Generation VI, but a burned Pokémon once again takes damage equal 1/16 of its maximum HP each turn at the end of each turn.
Appearance
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Gen VI image |
Causes
Moves
A Pokémon can be burned when struck by any of the following moves.
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Other causes
A Pokémon has a 30% chance of being burned after making contact with another Pokémon with the Flame Body Ability. If a Pokémon holds the Flame Orb, it will be burned at the end of the turn. It can also be burned if it directly burns a Pokémon with Synchronize.
Curing
A burn can be cured with the use of a Burn Heal, Yago Berry (Generation III only), or a Rawst Berry (Ice Berry in Generation II). In addition, like all other major status conditions, it can be cured by the items Full Heal, Rage Candy Bar, Lava Cookie, Old Gateau, Casteliacone, Lumiose Galette, Shalour Sable, Big Malasada, Full Restore, Heal Powder, Lum Berry (MiracleBerry in Generation II), and Sacred Ash.
The moves Refresh and Rest remove the burn status condition from the user, while Heal Bell (unless the Pokémon has Soundproof as their Ability in Generation III and IV) and Aromatherapy removes it from all Pokémon in the user's party. In addition, the move Psycho Shift shifts the burn onto its target (thereby healing the user). In Generation I only, using Haze cures the opponent from a burn.
Pokémon with Natural Cure will be cured upon switching out, those with the Hydration Ability will be cured whilst it is raining. Pokémon with Shed Skin have a 30% chance of being cured every turn, and Pokémon with Healer have a 30% chance of curing their allies.
Prevention
Fire-type Pokémon cannot become burned, except in Generation II by Tri Attack. However, if a Pokémon is burned while not Fire-type (e.g. due to a type-changing move like Soak), it remains burned even if it becomes Fire-type later (e.g. due to switching out and in again after its type is changed). If a Fire-type move has a secondary effect to burn, that move burns the target before its Color Change activates.
Pokémon with the Water Veil, Water Bubble, or Comatose Abilities are completely immune to being burned. Pokémon with the Ability Heatproof will only lose half the HP each turn, Pokémon with Leaf Guard will be protected from status conditions in harsh sunlight. Pokémon with Guts are immune to the damage-reducing side effect (in addition to the regular attack increase the Ability grants), while Pokémon with Magic Guard are immune to the HP loss (but still suffer from the attack drop).
The moves Safeguard and Misty Terrain (for grounded Pokémon) will protect the party from status conditions for five turns. A Pokémon behind a substitute cannot be burned, except due to Synchronize or a held Flame Orb.
Advantages
While a burn, like all major status conditions, has primarily negative effects, it can be advantageous to have it in certain conditions. Pokémon with Guts, Marvel Scale, Quick Feet, and Flare Boost will have their Attack, Defense, Speed, and Special Attack increased, respectively, when burned (or poisoned or paralyzed for the former three). In addition, the base power of Facade is doubled (from 70 to 140) when inflicted with any of these three status conditions, and the Attack drop caused by burn is ignored.
The burn status also adds a 1.5× multiplier to the catch rate of any given Pokémon.
Other game effects
If a burnt Pokémon with the Ability Trace or Role Play gains the Ability Water Veil the burn will be removed, but once the Ability is lost, the burn will return.
In Pokémon Emerald, when the player is inside the Battle Pyramid, the types of Pokémon encountered on each floor follow a set of categories; one of these categories is Pokémon with moves that burn.
In the Generation IV games, Pokémon Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver, at the Battle Arcade, one of the effects caused by the roulette is the burn status (does not affect Fire-type Pokémon and Pokémon with Water Veil). This will last for a single battle.
In the spin-off games
Mystery Dungeon series
The Mystery Dungeon series introduces a new way for Pokémon to be burned, as well as a new way for it to be avoided. The Pokémon will lose 5 HP at the end of its next turn, and every 20 turns after that. Pokémon on water tiles cannot be burned. Burns can be healed by stepping on water tiles (even by Pokémon for which this would normally cause a warp). Conversely, lava tiles will cause a burn if the Pokémon stepping on them is not Fire-type.
The effect of Guts also differs slightly, giving a 100% bonus to physical attack, provided that the Pokémon has a major status affliction. Pokémon with Natural Cure or Shed Skin will suffer the effects of a burn for up to five turns before being cured.
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, certain trade items can also cause the burn status to be passed onto an attacking Pokémon, this includes the Fire Collar when held by a Flareon, and the Ember Cap when held by any member of the Chimchar evolution line.
In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky special mission Today's "Oh My Gosh", Sunflora is tasked with the capture of a Haunter who has the Ability to get back up after fainting. The mission is close to the Hot Spring, so there are many Fire-type Pokémon who could burn Sunflora around. During the mission, Sunflora does get burned by two Slugma, as well as by some fire and magma in the cave. Despite this, she beats the three Haunter and is given a Sun Scarf by Officer Magnezone to help with her Fire weakness.
My Pokémon Ranch
In My Pokémon Ranch, one of the toys the player can place in their Ranch is called the Bonfire. Pokémon, as well as Miis, that get too close to it are at risk of being burned. Fire-type Pokémon cannot be burned.
Rumble series
Burn (Burned when inflicted in-game) is a negative status in the Rumble series. When a Pokémon is affected by a burn, its HP will gradually drain at a rate determined by the Power of the Pokémon that inflicted it for ten seconds. However, if the affected Pokémon is controlled by a player, moving around will make the condition wear off faster, with the minimum duration depending roughly on the Pokémon's Speed. Additionally, while burned, most of the Pokémon's attacks will have their damage reduced to about 60% of their normal values. While Burned, red smoke emanates from the affected Pokémon's head.
No types are immune to burn, but Pokémon with the Fire Boost or Steady Special Traits cannot be burned, and those with the Reflector Trait will cause the user of the burn-inflicting move to become burned instead if hit by one.
Pokémon Conquest
As in the main series, burned Pokémon in Pokémon Conquest suffer a penalty to their Attack, and take damage equal to 1/8 of their maximum HP at the end of their army's turn, rounded down. This occurs even if the Pokémon took no action that turn. Pokémon can be burned by attacks, abilities, or the Pyro Nodes in Dragnor. Enemy Warriors who have their Pokémon defeated by burn damage are not treated as being defeated by the player and so cannot be recruited. Burned Pokémon can be cured through certain Warrior Skills, items, or by ending a Pokémon's turn in a hot spring or a water bucket.
Pokémon Shuffle
In Pokémon Shuffle, a burned Pokémon takes 50% more damage from Fire-type Pokémon.
A burn can be inflicted by Pokémon with the Burn Skill.
Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost, Fire, Water, and Dragon-type Pokémon are immune to burns.
In the anime
The first instance of a Pokémon being burned in the anime was in Going, Going, Yawn, where Ash's Treecko was burned by Flannery's Slugma's Flamethrower during Ash's Lavaridge Gym battle.
In Evolving Strategies!, Ash's Pikachu was burned when his Quick Attack activated Paul's Magmortar's Flame Body Ability.
In Casting a Paul on Barry!, Barry's Hitmonlee burned Paul's Ursaring with Blaze Kick during their battle at the Lily of the Valley Conference. However, this activated Ursaring's Guts Ability, allowing it to swiftly defeat Hitmonlee.
In Familiarity Breeds Strategy!, during the Full Battle between Ash and Paul at the Lily of the Valley Conference, Ash's Infernape managed to burn Paul's Aggron using Flare Blitz.
In Battling a Thaw in Relations!, during the conclusion of Ash and Paul's Full Battle at the Lily of the Valley Conference, Ash's Gliscor managed to burn Paul's Drapion with its Fire Fang, causing it to faint due to the previous damage it had already sustained.
In Cilan Takes Flight!, Skyla's Swanna was burned after being drenched by Cilan's Stunfisk's Scald, causing its entire body to glow with a red hue. Its burn subsided when it used Aqua Ring, even though the move doesn't cure burn in the core series games.
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In The Beginning of the End with Kyogre & Groudon IX, Brawly's Machoke was burned by the illusions created by Blaise's Slugma during their battle in Lilycove City.
In Sneaky Like Shedinja, Greta's Umbreon was burned by Emerald's Dusclops's Will-O-Wisp.
In Cunning Kirlia, Emerald's Dusclops burned Ruby's Rara with Fire Punch. This, however, triggered Rara's Synchronize Ability, causing Dusclops to get burned as well.
In The Tournament Continues, the Hood Man's Beheeyem got burned by Marlon's Jellicent's Scald.
In the Phantom Thief Pokémon 7 manga
During a battle between Rocco's Magmortar and Hiori's Lucario in Challenge From A Rival, Lucario got burned by Magmortar's Flame Body Ability. After several strategies to defeat the difficult opponent, Lucario used the burn it received to its advantage. Using its ability to sense the Aura to see through Magmortar's Smokescreen, Lucario was able to defeat Magmortar with a powered-up Facade, surprising his opponent.
In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team manga
In I Want to be Human Again!, Ginji and Mudkip encountered Xatu at the Hill of the Ancients. When they first approached him, however, he was in the process of viewing the future, and didn't respond to their calls. In an attempt to get his attention, Ginji launched a Flamethrower at Xatu, burning him. When Xatu's vision soon stopped, he finally felt the burn, yelling in pain.
Gallery
Brawly's Machoke burned in Pokémon Adventures
Hiori's Lucario burned in Phantom Thief Pokémon 7
In the TCG
- Main article: Special Conditions (TCG)
Burning is one of the five special conditions recognized in the TCG. It was officially recognized as a status condition during the 2002 release of the Expedition Base Set. It can be argued that the burning condition started in the Neo Genesis set, where Quilava's Char attack caused exactly the same condition; however, it was not officially recognized as a special condition. A rule change taking effect with the release of Sun & Moon altered the procedure for a burn.
Prior to Sun & Moon, once burned, a burn marker needs to be placed on the Pokémon and a coin must be flipped between turns. If it lands on heads, no damage occurs to the Pokémon, but if tails, two damage counters are placed on the card. Unlike in the games, special conditions are not necessarily mutually exclusive, allowing Pokémon to experience several special conditions all at once. Burning can also prevent Poké-Powers from working, but leaves most Poké-Bodies unaffected.
With the release of Sun & Moon, if a Pokémon is burned, two damage counters are placed on it between turns. After the damage is added, the player with the burned Pokémon must flip a coin: on a heads, the afflicted Pokémon is cured, while on a tails it remains burned.
In the TCG there are a few ways to remove a burn. These include evolving a Pokémon, returning a Pokémon to the player's Bench, using specific attacks or using selected Trainer cards on the affected Pokémon.
In the TFG
Burning was never officially introduced in the Trading Figure Game as a status condition due to the cancellation of the project. However, there are references to its future introduction in the Corsola figure and the X Accuracy card from the Riptide Starter Set. The card implies that burn would have had something to do with the miss value.
In information discovered after the cancellation of the Unnamed Third Set, it was heavily implied that the burn status was planned for an official release in this set, as evidenced by three of the unreleased figurines.
Trivia
- In Generation I, the blackboard detailing status conditions in Viridian's Pokémon academy implies that burns cut both power (Attack) and Speed, which is false. This was changed in Generation II (as well as the remakes), in which the blackboard no longer mentions Speed reduction.
- Ember's secondary animation is the same as the burn animation from Generation III onwards.
In other languages
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| Status conditions | |||
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| BURN | FREEZE | PARALYSIS | POISON |
| SLEEP | CONFUSION | FLINCH | FAINTING |
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This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |
