The various kinds of mail are held items given to Pokémon. Each mail item is able to contain a message written by the Trainer. This message can be sent to other Trainers by trading Pokémon.
Pokémon that are holding Mail use a special Mail icon instead of the normal held item icon.
Pokémon holding mail cannot be placed in the PC or released. When removing Mail from a Pokémon, the player has the option to store it in the PC's mailbox or placing it in the Bag; the Mail's message is lost if returned to the Bag, but preserved if sent to the mailbox.
In battle, having a Pokémon hold a Mail item prevents both the foe and the user from successfully using Trick or Switcheroo. Mail cannot be thrown with Fling, given with Bestow, or stolen with Thief or Covet.
Generation II
In Generation II, the player can freely enter 32 characters across two 16-character rows of text. Mail uses a unique text entry interface, that has a wider selection of characters than other text entry interfaces in these games.
In the Western games, the language of the message is stored internally, so that if it is traded to a player in a different language game, the Mail can still be read using the correct character encoding; however, the English version of Pokémon Gold and Silver ignore this value, instead trying to render the message using the English character encoding, which lacks several characters that can be typed in other languages. (Trading is not supported between Japanese, Korean, and Western language games, so this is only relevant when trading between Western languages.)
In the Nintendo 3DSVirtual Console versions of the Generation II games, when the player attempts to enter the Trade Center while one of the Pokémon in their party is holding Mail, they are given a warning on the touch screen not to include offensive material in Mail.
Generation III
In Generation III, Mail is typed using the easy chat system, which restricts players to choosing from a pre-defined list of words and phrases. Mail has nine phrase slots, structured as four rows of two slots and a fifth row with one slot.
Pokémon with Mail cannot be traded to Pokémon Colosseum or XD because Mail does not exist in those games.
Generation IV
In Generation IV, Mail consists of three sentence slots, which can each be filled with a sentence structure from several pre-defined structures. These sentence structures themselves have one or two gaps within them, that the player can fill using the easy chat system (which restricts players to choosing from a pre-defined list of words and phrases). This facilitates translating the message between game languages automatically.
In the Generation IV games, the player's Bag has a separate pocket for Mail.
Generation V
In Generation V, Mail consists of three sentence slots. For BridgeMail, the player can choose a sentence structure from several pre-defined structures for each of these slots, then fill gaps in those sentence structures using the easy chat system (which restricts players to choosing from a pre-defined list of words and phrases). For non-BridgeMail, all three sentence structures are fixed, depending on the specific type of Mail; the player can only fill the gaps inside the sentences, and cannot change which sentence structures are used.
Mail has now been moved back into the general items pocket of the Bag rather than having its own pocket.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Stationery featuring a print of dimly lit coal mine. Let a Pokémon hold it for delivery.
Generation V
Mail from previous generations is not present in the Generation V games, making Generation IV Mail the only holdable items from Generation IV to no longer exist in the data of the Generation V games.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.
Causes the secondary effect of Thief and Covet to fail when used on holder. Causes Trick and Switcheroo to fail when used by or on the holder. Causes Fling and Bestow to fail when used by holder. Pokémon holding this cannot be placed in the PC.