Pokémon data structure (Generation IV)
Boxed Pokémon in the games Diamond and Pearl are stored in a 136-byte structure. All unencrypted values are stored in little-endian format. The game encrypts the data when it is stored into the save data. In-party Pokémon have additional values appended to them to hold calculated stats. The information below describes the boxed Pokémon data format.
Checksum
The checksum serves two purposes:
- It validates the data after decryption, and
- It serves as the encryption key for the data.
The checksum is calculated in three steps:
- Split the unencrypted data from offsets 0x08 to 0x87 into two-byte words,
- Take the sum of the words, and
- Truncate the sum to sixteen bits.
Block shuffling
The 128 bytes of Pokémon data are split into four 32-byte blocks for shuffling. The blocks are shuffled according to a shift value derived from the personality value. Given the personality value pv, the expression yielding the shift value is:
((pv & 0x3E000) >> 0xD) % 24
The right shifting (>> 0xD) is equivalent to a division of 8192.
To shuffle the blocks, take the four blocks of unencrypted data, A, B, C, and D. The blocks shall be rearranged in the encrypted data according to the Block Order column of the following table. (To unshuffle, use the Inverse column.)
| Shift Value (decimal) | Block Order | Inverse |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | ABCD | ABCD |
| 01 | ABDC | ABDC |
| 02 | ACBD | ACBD |
| 03 | ACDB | ADBC |
| 04 | ADBC | ACDB |
| 05 | ADCB | ADCB |
| 06 | BACD | BACD |
| 07 | BADC | BADC |
| 08 | BCAD | CABD |
| 09 | BCDA | DABC |
| 10 | BDAC | CADB |
| 11 | BDCA | DACB |
| 12 | CABD | BCAD |
| 13 | CADB | BDAC |
| 14 | CBAD | CBAD |
| 15 | CBDA | DBAC |
| 16 | CDAB | CDAB |
| 17 | CDBA | DCAB |
| 18 | DABC | BCDA |
| 19 | DACB | BDCA |
| 20 | DBAC | CBDA |
| 21 | DBCA | DBCA |
| 22 | DCAB | CDBA |
| 23 | DCBA | DCBA |
Encryption
The encryption uses a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG), a 32-bit linear congruential generator to be exact.
The order of the ABCD blocks is irrelevant when encrypting or decrypting, because the data is treated as a bit stream, so the algorithm is the same in both cases.
First, the PRNG is seeded with the checksum of the Pokémon:
X[0] = checksum
Then, we loop over the 64 2-byte words of ABCD block data by advancing the PRNG and XORing the top 16 bits of each new state with each 16 bits of data:
X[n+1] = 0x41C64E6D * X[n] + 0x6073
D[n] = D[n] XOR (X[n+1] >> 16)
To read from or write to an encrypted Pokémon's ABCD block data, the game first decrypts the data as a whole, then determines what the block order is from the personality value and figures out the offset it needs to use to read from or write to either block.
Unencrypted bytes
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x00-0x03 | Personality value |
| 0x04-0x05 | Bit 0-1: If set, skip checksum checks Bit 2: Bad egg flag Bit 3-7: Unused |
| 0x06-0x07 | Checksum |
Encrypted bytes
Block A
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x08-0x09 | Species ID |
| 0x0A-0x0B | Held Item |
| 0x0C-0x0D | OT ID |
| 0x0E-0x0F | OT Secret ID |
| 0x10-0x13 | Experience points |
| 0x14 | Friendship/Egg Steps to Hatch |
| 0x15 | Ability |
| 0x16 | Markings |
| 0x17 | Language of origin |
| 0x18 | HP EVs |
| 0x19 | Attack EVs |
| 0x1A | Defense EVs |
| 0x1B | Speed EVs |
| 0x1C | Sp. Atk EVs |
| 0x1D | Sp. Def. EVs |
| 0x1E | Cool Contest stat |
| 0x1F | Beauty Contest stat |
| 0x20 | Cute Contest stat |
| 0x21 | Smart Contest stat |
| 0x22 | Tough Contest stat |
| 0x23 | Sheen |
| 0x24-0x27 | Sinnoh Ribbons Set 1 |
Block B
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x28-0x2F | Moveset |
| 0x30-0x33 | Move PP |
| 0x34-0x37 | Move PP Ups |
| 0x38-0x3B | Bits 0-29 - Individual values HP ( [0-31] << 0 ) Attack ( [0-31] << 5 ) Defense ( [0-31] << 10 ) Speed ( [0-31] << 15 ) Sp. Atk. ( [0-31] << 20 ) Sp. Def. ( [0-31] << 25 ) Bit 30 - IsEgg Flag Bit 31 - IsNicknamed Flag |
| 0x3C-0x3F | Hoenn Ribbon Set |
| 0x40 | Bit 0 - Fateful encounter Flag Bit 1 - Female Bit 2 - Gender unknown Bit 3-7 - Alternate Forms (Form Index << 3) |
| 0x41 | Shiny Leaves (HGSS) Bit 5 - Leaf Crown Bits 0–4 - Leaves A–E (bit 0 is leftmost) |
| 0x42-0x43 | Unused |
| 0x44-0x45 | Platinum Egg Location |
| 0x46-0x47 | Platinum Met at Location |
Block C
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x48-0x5D | Nickname |
| 0x5E | Unused |
| 0x5F | Game of origin |
| 0x60-0x63 | Sinnoh Ribbons Set 2 |
| 0x64-0x67 | Unused |
Block D
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x68-0x77 | OT Name |
| 0x78-0x7A | Date Egg Received |
| 0x7B-0x7D | Date Met |
| 0x7E-0x7F | Diamond/Pearl Egg Location |
| 0x80-0x81 | Diamond/Pearl Met At Location |
| 0x82 | Pokérus |
| 0x83 | Poké Ball |
| 0x84 | Bit 0-6 - Met At Level Bit 7 - Female OT Gender |
| 0x85 | Encounter Type |
| 0x86 | HG/SS Poké Ball |
| 0x87 | Walking Pokémon Mood (unused in DPPt) |
Battle stats
The battle stats are encrypted in the same manner, however the seed is not the checksum, it is the personality value, and the bytes are not shuffled.
Encrypted bytes
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x88 | Bits 0-2 - Asleep (0-7 rounds) Bit 3 - Poisoned Bit 4 - Burned Bit 5 - Frozen Bit 6 - Paralyzed Bit 7 - Toxic |
| 0x89 | Unknown - Flags - Max Value 0xF0 |
| 0x8A-0x8B | Unknown |
| 0x8C | Level |
| 0x8D | Capsule Index (Seals) |
| 0x8E-0x8F | Current HP |
| 0x90-0x91 | Max HP |
| 0x92-0x93 | Attack |
| 0x94-0x95 | Defense |
| 0x96-0x97 | Speed |
| 0x98-0x99 | Special Attack |
| 0x9A-0x9B | Special Defense |
| 0x9C-0xD3 | Mail data |
| 0xD4-0xEB | Seal Coordinates |
Language of origin
- Main article: Language of origin
| Value | Language |
|---|---|
| 0x1 | 日本語 (Japanese) |
| 0x2 | English |
| 0x3 | Français (French) |
| 0x4 | Italiano (Italian) |
| 0x5 | Deutsch (German) |
| 0x7 | Español (Spanish) |
| 0x8 | 한국어 (Korean) |
Markings
| Bit | Marking |
|---|---|
| 0x01 | Circle |
| 0x02 | Triangle |
| 0x04 | Square |
| 0x08 | Heart |
| 0x10 | Star |
| 0x20 | Diamond |
Alternate forms
Alternate forms are stored at offset 0x40 of the Pokémon structure. Each form follows the pattern of index << 3 where index starts at zero for the main form.
Rotom's alternate forms, Giratina's Origin Forme, and Shaymin's Sky Forme will only be displayed in Pokémon Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver. Rotom may be traded among Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum without losing its alternate form.
| Byte | Unown | Deoxys | Burmy/Wormadam | Shellos/Gastrodon | Rotom | Giratina | Shaymin | Arceus | Pichu (HGSS only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | A | Normal | Plant | West | Normal | Altered | Land | Normal | Normal |
| 0x08 | B | Attack | Sandy | East | Heat | Origin | Sky | Fighting | Spiky-eared |
| 0x10 | C | Defense | Trash | Wash | Flying | ||||
| 0x18 | D | Speed | Frost | Poison | |||||
| 0x20 | E | Fan | Ground | ||||||
| 0x28 | F | Mow | Rock | ||||||
| 0x30 | G | Bug | |||||||
| 0x38 | H | Ghost | |||||||
| 0x40 | I | Steel | |||||||
| 0x48 | J | ??? | |||||||
| 0x50 | K | Fire | |||||||
| 0x58 | L | Water | |||||||
| 0x60 | M | Grass | |||||||
| 0x68 | N | Electric | |||||||
| 0x70 | O | Psychic | |||||||
| 0x78 | P | Ice | |||||||
| 0x80 | Q | Dragon | |||||||
| 0x88 | R | Dark | |||||||
| 0x90 | S | ||||||||
| 0x98 | T | ||||||||
| 0xA0 | U | ||||||||
| 0xA8 | V | ||||||||
| 0xB0 | W | ||||||||
| 0xB8 | X | ||||||||
| 0xC0 | Y | ||||||||
| 0xC8 | Z | ||||||||
| 0xD0 | ! | ||||||||
| 0xD8 | ? |
Encounter types
| Value | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 0x0 | Pal Park, Egg, Hatched, Special Event |
| 0x2 | Tall Grass |
| 0x4 | Dialga/Palkia In-Game Event |
| 0x5 | Cave, Hall of Origin |
| 0x7 | Surfing, Fishing |
| 0x9 | Building |
| 0xA | Great Marsh (Safari Zone) |
| 0xC | Starter, Fossil, Gift (Eevee) (D/P) |
| 0x18 | Starter, Fossil, Gift (Eevee) (HGSS/Pt) |
Ribbons
Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum store the Ribbon data as bitfields in 16-bit words. Given below are the bytewise representations of the ribbon bitfields:
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 1
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x24 & 0x01 | Sinnoh Champ Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x02 | Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x04 | Great Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x08 | Double Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x10 | Multi Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x20 | Pair Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x40 | World Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x80 | Alert Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x01 | Shock Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x02 | Downcast Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x04 | Careless Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x08 | Relax Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x10 | Snooze Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x20 | Smile Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x40 | Gorgeous Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x80 | Royal Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x01 | Gorgeous Royal Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x02 | Footprint Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x04 | Record Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x08 | History Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x10 | Legend Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x20 | Red Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x40 | Green Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x80 | Blue Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x01 | Festival Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x02 | Carnival Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x04 | Classic Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x08 | Premier Ribbon |
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 2
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x60 & 0x01 | Cool Ribbon |
| 0x60 & 0x02 | Cool Ribbon Great |
| 0x60 & 0x04 | Cool Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x60 & 0x08 | Cool Ribbon Master |
| 0x60 & 0x10 | Beauty Ribbon |
| 0x60 & 0x20 | Beauty Ribbon Great |
| 0x60 & 0x40 | Beauty Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x60 & 0x80 | Beauty Ribbon Master |
| 0x61 & 0x01 | Cute Ribbon |
| 0x61 & 0x02 | Cute Ribbon Great |
| 0x61 & 0x04 | Cute Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x61 & 0x08 | Cute Ribbon Master |
| 0x61 & 0x10 | Smart Ribbon |
| 0x61 & 0x20 | Smart Ribbon Great |
| 0x61 & 0x40 | Smart Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x61 & 0x80 | Smart Ribbon Master |
| 0x62 & 0x01 | Tough Ribbon |
| 0x62 & 0x02 | Tough Ribbon Great |
| 0x62 & 0x04 | Tough Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x62 & 0x08 | Tough Ribbon Master |
Hoenn Ribbon Set
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x3C & 0x01 | Cool Ribbon |
| 0x3C & 0x02 | Cool Ribbon Super |
| 0x3C & 0x04 | Cool Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3C & 0x08 | Cool Ribbon Master |
| 0x3C & 0x10 | Beauty Ribbon |
| 0x3C & 0x20 | Beauty Ribbon Super |
| 0x3C & 0x40 | Beauty Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3C & 0x80 | Beauty Ribbon Master |
| 0x3D & 0x01 | Cute Ribbon |
| 0x3D & 0x02 | Cute Ribbon Super |
| 0x3D & 0x04 | Cute Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3D & 0x08 | Cute Ribbon Master |
| 0x3D & 0x10 | Smart Ribbon |
| 0x3D & 0x20 | Smart Ribbon Super |
| 0x3D & 0x40 | Smart Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3D & 0x80 | Smart Ribbon Master |
| 0x3E & 0x01 | Tough Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x02 | Tough Ribbon Super |
| 0x3E & 0x04 | Tough Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3E & 0x08 | Tough Ribbon Master |
| 0x3E & 0x10 | Champion Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x20 | Winning Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x40 | Victory Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x80 | Artist Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x01 | Effort Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x02 | Marine Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x04 | Land Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x08 | Sky Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x10 | Country Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x20 | National Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x40 | Earth Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x80 | World Ribbon |
Technical Details
In Memory, the Player and Enemy Party Pokémon can be accessed using different pointers depending on the game. These pointers are stored as 32-bit addresses in little endian format.
| Game | Pointer |
|---|---|
| Diamond & Pearl | 0x02106FAC |
| Platinum | 0x02101D2C |
| Heartgold & Soulsilver | 0x0211186C |
In addition to this pointer, the order in which they store the Pokémon changes slightly. The following addresses when added to the pointer result in their respective locations
| Game | Player Party | Enemy Party |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond & Pearl | 0xD2AC | 0x364C8 |
| Platinum | 0xD088 | 0x37970 |
| Heartgold & Soulsilver | 0xD094 | 0x352F4 |
Location
The party Pokémon are stored in the save file beginning at offset 0x00098 for the first block pair, and 0x40098 for the second block pair. Each party Pokémon is 236 bytes in size.
The PC storage Pokémon are stored in the save file from Box 1 to Box 18. They start at 0x0C104 in the first block pair, and at 0x4C104 in the second block pair. Each PC stored Pokémon is 136 bytes in size.
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This data structure article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |
