---
title: "Pokémon Base Stats Explained: How to Read the Six Numbers | pokee.si"
url: "https://pokee.si/articles/pokemon-base-stats-explained"
description: "What Pokémon base stats mean, what counts as high or low, how the base stat total works, and how base stats turn into a Pokémon's real stats."
last_updated: "2026-10-21"
publisher: "pokee.si: a Pokédex for families (unofficial fan site)"
published: "2026-10-21"
---

# Pokémon Base Stats Explained: How to Read the Six Numbers

Base stats are six numbers that every Pokémon species has: HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense and Speed. They tell you what a species is naturally good and bad at. Add them up and you get the base stat total, a rough measure of overall strength.

Base stats are fixed for each species. Every [Garchomp](https://pokee.si/pokemon/garchomp) has the same six: 108, 130, 95, 80, 85 and 102. Your own Garchomp's actual stats are built from those numbers, plus its level, its IVs, its EVs and its Nature.

## The six stats

| Stat | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| HP | How much damage the Pokémon can take before it faints |
| Attack | How hard its physical moves hit, like [Earthquake](https://pokee.si/moves/earthquake) or [Close Combat](https://pokee.si/moves/close-combat) |
| Defense | How well it takes physical hits |
| Special Attack | How hard its special moves hit, like [Flamethrower](https://pokee.si/moves/flamethrower) or [Psychic](https://pokee.si/moves/psychic) |
| Special Defense | How well it takes special hits |
| Speed | Who moves first. The faster Pokémon acts first, unless a move has priority |

Every damaging move is either physical or special, and each move page on pokee.si shows which. The rule is simple: physical moves use Attack against the target's Defense, and special moves use Special Attack against Special Defense. That's why the split between a Pokémon's two attacking stats matters so much.

[Alakazam](https://pokee.si/pokemon/alakazam) shows it well. Its base Attack is 50 and its Special Attack is 135, so a special move like Psychic will hit much harder than a physical move of the same power.

## What counts as high or low?

Base stats can run from 1 to 255. These are the averages, the highest and the lowest across all 1,025 Pokémon in their standard forms (Mega Evolutions and other special forms aren't counted):

| Stat | Highest | Lowest | Average |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HP | [Blissey](https://pokee.si/pokemon/blissey) 255 | [Shedinja](https://pokee.si/pokemon/shedinja) 1 | 70 |
| Attack | [Kartana](https://pokee.si/pokemon/kartana) 181 | [Happiny](https://pokee.si/pokemon/happiny) and [Chansey](https://pokee.si/pokemon/chansey) 5 | 78 |
| Defense | [Shuckle](https://pokee.si/pokemon/shuckle) 230 | Happiny and Chansey 5 | 73 |
| Sp. Atk | [Xurkitree](https://pokee.si/pokemon/xurkitree) 173 | Shuckle, [Feebas](https://pokee.si/pokemon/feebas) and [Bonsly](https://pokee.si/pokemon/bonsly) 10 | 70 |
| Sp. Def | Shuckle 230 | 20, shared by six, including [Magikarp](https://pokee.si/pokemon/magikarp) and [Stonjourner](https://pokee.si/pokemon/stonjourner) | 70 |
| Speed | [Regieleki](https://pokee.si/pokemon/regieleki) 200 | Shuckle, [Munchlax](https://pokee.si/pokemon/munchlax) and [Pyukumuku](https://pokee.si/pokemon/pyukumuku) 5 | 67 |

So a rough scale for any single stat:

- Under 50 is low.
- 70 is about average.
- 100 or more is high.
- 130 or more is exceptional. Only 60 Pokémon have a base Attack that high, and only 23 have that much Speed.

## The base stat total

The base stat total, often shortened to BST, is all six added together. It's the quickest way to compare two Pokémon, though it hides a lot.

Across the Pokédex, the average total is 428 and the middle value is 450. Here is how the 1,025 spread out:

| Total | Pokémon |
| --- | --- |
| Under 300 | 146 |
| 300 to 399 | 240 |
| 400 to 499 | 329 |
| 500 to 599 | 250 |
| 600 to 699 | 59 |
| 700 or more | 1 ([Arceus](https://pokee.si/pokemon/arceus), 720) |

We checked the families too. 86% of first-stage Pokémon that can still evolve total under 350. 85% of fully evolved Pokémon that aren't Legendary or Mythical land between 450 and 550, and 85% of Legendaries have 570 or more. A total of exactly 600 is the fan definition of a [pseudo-legendary](https://pokee.si/articles/what-is-a-pseudo-legendary-pokemon) when it ends a three-stage family.

## Why the total isn't everything

Two Pokémon can have similar totals and play nothing alike. Compare these:

| Pokémon | HP / Atk / Def / SpA / SpD / Spe | Total |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Shuckle](https://pokee.si/pokemon/shuckle) | 20 / 10 / 230 / 10 / 230 / 5 | 505 |
| [Alakazam](https://pokee.si/pokemon/alakazam) | 55 / 50 / 45 / 135 / 95 / 120 | 500 |
| [Blissey](https://pokee.si/pokemon/blissey) | 255 / 10 / 10 / 75 / 135 / 55 | 540 |
| [Snorlax](https://pokee.si/pokemon/snorlax) | 160 / 110 / 65 / 65 / 110 / 30 | 540 |
| [Ninjask](https://pokee.si/pokemon/ninjask) | 61 / 90 / 45 / 50 / 50 / 160 | 456 |
| [Garchomp](https://pokee.si/pokemon/garchomp) | 108 / 130 / 95 / 80 / 85 / 102 | 600 |
| [Deoxys](https://pokee.si/pokemon/deoxys) | 50 / 150 / 50 / 150 / 50 / 150 | 600 |

Shuckle and Alakazam are five points apart. Shuckle is a wall that barely hurts anything. Alakazam is fast and hits hard but breaks easily. Blissey and Snorlax have the same total, but Blissey shrugs off special attacks and Snorlax hits back physically. Deoxys and Garchomp both total 600, yet Deoxys pours everything into three stats and leaves the other three at 50.

When you read a stat line, look for the shape. Which stat is highest? Which is lowest? Do its attacking stats match the moves it learns?

## How base stats become real stats

Your Pokémon's actual numbers come from a formula that games since Generation 3 use. In words, for every stat except HP:

1. Double the base stat.
2. Add the IV (a hidden 0 to 31 value each Pokémon is born with) and a quarter of its EVs (points earned from battling, up to 252 in one stat).
3. Scale it by level: multiply by the level and divide by 100.
4. Add 5, then multiply by the Nature: 1.1 if the Nature boosts that stat, 0.9 if it lowers it.

HP works slightly differently and adds the level plus 10 instead of 5. Our [stats, IVs, EVs and Natures guide](https://pokee.si/guide/mechanics/stats-ivs-evs-natures) has the exact formulas.

Here is what that does at level 50, the level most competitive battles use:

| Pokémon | Stat | Base | Lv 50, 0 IV, 0 EV | 31 IV, 0 EV | 31 IV, 252 EV | + boosting Nature |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Garchomp](https://pokee.si/pokemon/garchomp) | Speed | 102 | 107 | 122 | 154 | 169 |
| [Regieleki](https://pokee.si/pokemon/regieleki) | Speed | 200 | 205 | 220 | 252 | 277 |
| [Shuckle](https://pokee.si/pokemon/shuckle) | Defense | 230 | 235 | 250 | 282 | 310 |
| [Blissey](https://pokee.si/pokemon/blissey) | HP | 255 | 315 | 330 | 362 | n/a |
| [Pikachu](https://pokee.si/pokemon/pikachu) | Speed | 90 | 95 | 110 | 142 | 156 |
| [Snorlax](https://pokee.si/pokemon/snorlax) | HP | 160 | 220 | 235 | 267 | n/a |
| [Shedinja](https://pokee.si/pokemon/shedinja) | HP | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | n/a |

Training matters a lot. A fully trained Garchomp is 62 points faster at level 50 than an untrained one. But base stats set the ceiling. No amount of training gets Pikachu's Speed up to Garchomp's.

Shedinja is the odd one out. Its HP is always exactly 1, whatever its level or training, so any hit that lands knocks it out. Its Ability, Wonder Guard, blocks every attack that isn't super effective.

## Reading stats on pokee.si

Each Pokémon page shows its six base stats as bars, with a rank against all 1,025 so you can see at a glance where it stands. The [Compare tool](https://pokee.si/compare) puts up to three Pokémon side by side on a radar chart, which makes the "shape" easy to see. You can also sort the whole [Pokédex](https://pokee.si/pokedex) by any stat.

Base stats are only half of a matchup, though. Types decide whether a hit does 4× damage or nothing at all, so read this alongside our guide to [dual-type weaknesses](https://pokee.si/articles/dual-type-weaknesses-explained).

## Questions people ask

### What are base stats in Pokémon?

Six fixed numbers for each species: HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense and Speed. Every Garchomp has the same base stats. They are the starting point for the real stats your own Pokémon has.

### What is a good base stat?

The average for each stat is around 70. Anything over 100 is strong, and 130 or more is exceptional: only 23 Pokémon have a base Speed of 130 or higher.

### What is a base stat total?

The six base stats added together. The average across all 1,025 Pokémon is 428. Fully evolved non-Legendary Pokémon usually land between about 450 and 550, and most Legendaries have 570 or more.

### Which Pokémon has the highest base stat total?

Arceus, with 720, not counting Mega Evolutions and other special forms. Eternatus has 690, and Mewtwo and Lugia have 680.

### Do base stats change when a Pokémon levels up?

No. Base stats never change for a species. Your Pokémon's real stats grow with level, and also depend on its IVs, EVs and Nature.

## Sources

- [Bulbapedia: Base stats](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Base_stats)
- [Bulbapedia: Stat (formulas from Generation III on)](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Stat)
- [Bulbapedia: Blissey (Pokémon)](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Blissey_(Pok%C3%A9mon))
- [Bulbapedia: Shuckle (Pokémon)](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Shuckle_(Pok%C3%A9mon))
- [Marriland: glossary, base stats](https://marriland.com/glossary/base-stats/)

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Source: https://pokee.si/articles/pokemon-base-stats-explained (HTML page). pokee.si is an unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company. Pokémon and all related names and images are © their respective owners.