Substitute (move)
Substitute みがわり Scapegoat | ||||||||||||
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Range
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Availability
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Substitute (Japanese: みがわり Scapegoat) is a non-damaging Normal-type move introduced in Generation I. It was TM50 in Generation I before losing its TM status in Generation II. It regained its TM status, albeit as TM90, in Generation IV onwards.
Effect
Generation I
Using 25% of its maximum HP, the user creates a substitute with 1 HP more than the amount of HP lost by the user. If the user's maximum HP is 3 or less, it will not lose any HP when the substitute is made. A substitute will have the same current type(s) and current stats of the Pokémon that created it.
Once created, all stat modifying attacks and side effects of attacks used by the opponent against the user will fail, though all current stat modifiers will remain in effect and any stat modifiers used by the user will also be applied to the substitute. The substitute will break when the damage the substitute has taken is greater than the HP used to make it. Until it breaks, a substitute will absorb all damage done by the opponent (even if the damage done exceeds the remaining HP of the substitute), but will not reduce the actual amount of damage that the opponent's attacks do. A one-hit KO move, if it hits, will always break a substitute.
Substitute will not protect the user from self-inflicted status ailments, but it will protect it from any status ailment generated by an opponent move and damage due to those status ailments.
Substitute will not alter the execution of Bide, Counter, Disable, Haze, Leech Seed, Super Fang, Transform, or partial trapping moves, and it will not absorb crash damage, recoil damage, or recurrent damage. However, a substitute will absorb self-inflicted confusion damage and prevent the user from flinching.
If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with Hyper Beam, it will not need to recharge. If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with Explosion or Selfdestruct, it will not faint, though its picture will no longer be visible until it switches out or uses Substitute. If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with a recoil move, it will not take any recoil damage. If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with a draining move, no HP will be restored to it. Note that in each of these cases, the substitute has to be broken, not merely damaged, by the referenced attack.
If the user's current HP is less than 25% (rounded down) of its maximum HP, it will be too weak to make a substitute. If the user's current HP is exactly equal to 25% (rounded down) of its maximum HP, it will faint upon creating the Substitute.
In Stadium, Substitute will protect the user from Absorb, Dream Eater, Leech Life, Leech Seed, Mega Drain, and all status ailments inflicted by the opponent. If the user's current HP is exactly equal to 25% (rounded down) of its maximum HP, it will be too weak to create a substitute. If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with Explosion or Selfdestruct, it will faint.
Generation II, III and IV
The effects of Substitute are the same as the previous generation; however, if the user has a status ailment, they will still take any damage from that status ailment after they have used Substitute.
If the substitute is broken by a target's Selfdestruct or Explosion, the user of that move will faint.
If Perish Song has been used, the substitute will not protect the user from Perish Song's effect.
If the user of Substitute has 25% or less of its max HP (rounded down), or it only has a maximum of 1 HP, such as Shedinja, it will be unable to make a substitute.
A substitute can be Baton Passed, and can absorb damage due to partial-trapping moves. A substitute will not block the evasion decrease caused by Defog.
Intimidate is blocked by Substitute, but is the only Ability affected by Substitute.
Generation V
Substitute now blocks the stat lowering effect of Defog, and Transform and Sky Drop will fail if used against a Pokémon behind a substitute. The only status moves that target the user of Substitute that aren't blocked are: Attract, Curse, Destiny Bond, Disable, Encore, Foresight, Grudge, Guard Swap, Haze, Heart Swap, Imprison, Miracle Eye, Odor Sleuth, Perish Song, Psych Up, Roar, Role Play, Skill Swap, Spite, Taunt, Torment, Transform* and Whirlwind.
Description
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Learnset
By leveling up
# | Pokémon | Type | Level | |||||||||||||
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I | II | III | IV | V | VI | |||||||||||
122 | Mr. Mime | Psychic | 47 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 29 | 29 | ' | |||||||
352 | Kecleon | Normal | 40 | 37 | 39 | 37 | ' | |||||||||
439 | Mime Jr. | Psychic | 29 | 29 | ' | |||||||||||
479 | Rotom | Electric | Ghost | 36 | 36 | ' | ||||||||||
Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move. Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move. A dash (−) indicates a Pokémon cannot learn the move by the designated method. An empty cell indicates a Pokémon that is unavailable in that game/generation. |
By breeding
# | Pokémon | Type | Father | |||||||||||
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II | III | IV | V | VI | ||||||||||
108 | Lickitung | Normal | ||||||||||||
113 | Chansey | Normal | ||||||||||||
115 | Kangaskhan | Normal | ||||||||||||
131 | Lapras | Water | Ice | |||||||||||
143 | Snorlax | Normal | ||||||||||||
161 | Sentret | Normal | ||||||||||||
173 | Cleffa | Normal | ||||||||||||
175 | Togepi | Normal | ||||||||||||
183 | Marill | Water | ||||||||||||
263 | Zigzagoon | Normal | ||||||||||||
300 | Skitty | Normal | ||||||||||||
311 | Plusle | Electric | ||||||||||||
312 | Minun | Electric | ||||||||||||
325 | Spoink | Psychic | ||||||||||||
359 | Absol | Dark | ||||||||||||
Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move. Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move. A dash (−) indicates a Pokémon cannot learn the move by the designated method. An empty cell indicates a Pokémon that is unavailable in that game/generation. |
By TM
# | Pokémon | Type | Machine | |||||||||||||
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I TM50 |
II -- |
III -- |
IV TM90 |
V TM90 |
VI TM08 | |||||||||||
All Pokémon who can learn TMs can learn Substitute. | ||||||||||||||||
Bold indicates a Pokémon gains STAB from this move. Italics indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form receives STAB from this move. A dash (−) indicates a Pokémon cannot learn the move by the designated method. An empty cell indicates a Pokémon that is unavailable in that game/generation. |
By Move Tutor
By event
Generation II
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Sprites
A substitute from Generations I and II |
A substitute from Stadium 2 |
A substitute from Generation III |
A substitute from Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team |
A substitute from Generation IV |
A substitute from Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky |
A substitute from Battle Revolution |
A substitute from Generation V |
In the anime
The user creates a substitute that resembles it. The substitute fades away soon after. | |||
Pokémon | Method | ||
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User | First Used In | Notes | |
Shaymin creates a clone that looks exactly like itself. It then fades soon after. | |||
Shaymin (M11) | Giratina and the Sky Warrior | Debut | |
Delcatty creates an exact copy of itself. When it gets hit, it disappears in a puff of smoke. | |||
Lila's Delcatty | Battling the Generation Gap! | None | |
Togepi moves quickly when the opponent is about to attack and creates an afterimage of itself. When the afterimage gets hit, it disappears. | |||
A wild Togepi | Where No Togepi Has Gone Before! | None | |
Accelgor's body flashes white, and a double that looks exactly like Accelgor dashes out of its body and at the opponent. When the afterimage is hit by an attack, it disappears in a puff of smoke. | |||
Professor Juniper's Accelgor | Evolution Exchange Excitement! | None |
In the manga
In the Phantom Thief Pokémon 7 manga
The user creates a copy of itself. | |||
Pokémon | Method | ||
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User | First Chapter Used In | Notes | |
Leafeon creates a copy of itself that disappears after taking a certain amount of damage. | |||
Lily's Leafeon | Into The Hands Of Evil?! | Debut |
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
The user creates a substitute that resembles it. The substitute fades away soon after. | |||
Pokémon | Method | ||
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User | First Chapter Used In | Notes | |
Pikachu creates a see-through after image of itself by cutting a quarter of its health. Pikachu can form the substitute to any form it wants. Once the after image gets hit, however, it disappears. | |||
Red's Pika | Meanwhile... Vileplume! | Debut |
In other generations
Trivia
- In most games, the decoy and the Pokémon will switch places when the Pokémon is attacking. The only exception is in Pokémon Battle Revolution, where the battle animations play out as if the substitute was the one performing the attack. It generally remains stationary, except for when using moves like Fly or Bounce.
- In the Generation I and II games, the substitute resembles the Pokémon Rhydon. In subsequent generations, the plush does not resemble any Pokémon.
- Shedinja is capable of learning Substitute by both FireRed and LeafGreen Move Tutor as well as by TM90 in Generation IV and V (as well as inheriting it from its pre-evolution). Despite this, it cannot use it, as its HP is too low to make a substitute; however, a Pokémon that has Transformed into Shedinja would be able to use it.
- Substitutes are interpreted differently throughout all forms of Pokémon canon. In the games, substitutes are seen as a plush-like decoy which simply replaces the Pokémon. In the anime, substitutes are seen to be exact clones of the user. In the manga, substitutes are like the anime representation, but more spectral and transparent, as shown by Red's Pikachu in Peace of Mime.
- In the Mystery Dungeon series, if the player eats an X-Eye Seed, all other Pokémon appear as a substitute.
- The Substitute doll in Pokémon Stadium bears a resemblence to a baby Kangaskhan.
- The Plush Toy enemy in Mystery Doors of the Magical Land Series is similar to Substitute doll.
- In Pokemon Stadium, glitch pokemon will appear as the substitute doll. The color will vary however due to the player's ID and the glitch pokemon's name. This is because the game treats the glitch pokemon's name as a nickname. (which will cause pokemon to change colors in the stadium series.)
In other languages
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Generation I TMs | |
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01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 | |
Generation I HMs | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 |
Generation IV TMs | |
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01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 | |
Generation IV HMs | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 (DPPt • HGSS) • 06 • 07 • 08 |
Generation V TMs | |
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01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 • 09 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 | |
Generation V HMs | |
01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 |
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. |