There are five main status conditions in Pokémon: burn, poison, paralysis, sleep and freeze. Burn and poison take HP every turn, paralysis slows a Pokémon and sometimes stops it moving, and sleep and freeze stop it acting until it recovers. A Pokémon can have only one of them at a time, and unlike confusion, they stay after it switches out or the battle ends.
These rules are for the current main games (Scarlet and Violet), with the main changes from older games noted. Our status conditions guide also covers the short-lived conditions like confusion and flinching.
The five at a glance
| Condition | What it does | Ends on its own? | Immune type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burn | Loses 1/16 max HP a turn; physical moves do half damage | No | Fire |
| Poison | Loses 1/8 max HP a turn | No | Poison, Steel |
| Bad poison | 1/16, then 2/16, 3/16 and so on | No | Poison, Steel |
| Paralysis | Speed halved; 25% chance to lose each turn | No | Electric (from Gen 6) |
| Sleep | Can't move for 1 to 3 turns | Yes | None |
| Freeze | Can't move; 20% chance to thaw each turn | Yes | Ice |
Burn
A burned Pokémon loses 1/16 of its maximum HP at the end of every turn. That was 1/8 from Generation 2 to Generation 6, and went back to 1/16 in Generation 7. Burn also halves the damage of the Pokémon's physical moves, which makes it the go-to condition for stopping a physical attacker. It has no effect on special moves.
Fire types can't be burned. Water Veil, Water Bubble and Thermal Exchange also prevent it. Two exceptions turn a burn into a plus: Guts raises Attack by half when the Pokémon has a status condition and ignores the damage cut, and Facade doubles in power when the user is burned, paralyzed or poisoned.
Poison and bad poison
Regular poison takes 1/8 of the Pokémon's maximum HP each turn (from Generation 2 on). Bad poison, usually from Toxic, starts at 1/16 and grows by another 1/16 every turn: 2/16 on the second turn, 3/16 on the third, and so on. If the Pokémon switches out, the counter resets to 1/16 when it comes back in.
Poison and Steel types can't be poisoned, unless the attacker has Corrosion. Immunity blocks poison, and Poison Heal makes Breloom and Gliscor heal 1/8 of their HP each turn instead of losing it.
Paralysis
A paralyzed Pokémon has a 25% chance to be "fully paralyzed" and lose its turn. Its Speed is halved. Before Generation 7 it dropped to a quarter, which made paralysis much harsher. Electric types have been immune since Generation 6.
Ground types are a special case. They can be paralyzed, but not by an Electric move, because Electric moves don't affect Ground. So Thunder Wave fails on a Ground type, while Glare, a Normal move, works. Limber prevents paralysis.
One newer game changes the numbers: in Pokémon Champions, the chance of being fully paralyzed is 12.5% instead of 25%.
Sleep
A sleeping Pokémon can't use moves, apart from Sleep Talk and Snore. From Generation 5 on, sleep lasts 2 to 4 turns, so the Pokémon misses 1 to 3 turns before it wakes. In Generation 1 it could last up to 7. Rest is the exception: the user heals all its HP and sleeps for exactly two turns.
Insomnia and Vital Spirit stop sleep, and grounded Pokémon can't fall asleep on Electric Terrain or Misty Terrain. The most reliable sleep move is Spore, which never misses and is learned by only 10 species in our data.
Freeze
A frozen Pokémon can't move, but each turn it has a 20% chance to thaw out (10% in Generation 2, and none at all in Generation 1). Getting hit by a damaging Fire move thaws it at once. A few moves, such as Flame Wheel, Sacred Fire, Flare Blitz and Scald, thaw the user when it uses them.
Ice types can't be frozen, and nothing can be frozen in harsh sunlight. Freezing usually comes from a small extra chance on Ice moves like Ice Beam and Blizzard. No common move freezes for certain.
In Legends: Arceus, freeze was replaced by frostbite, which works like a burn but halves special damage instead of physical. Sleep was replaced by "drowsy" in both Legends: Arceus and Legends: Z-A.
Who can't get which condition
Four type immunities cover a big share of the Pokédex. These counts are species in our data that have the type, alone or as one of two.
| Condition | Type that can't get it | Species with that type |
|---|---|---|
| Burn | Fire | 81 |
| Paralysis | Electric (from Generation 6) | 69 |
| Freeze | Ice | 48 |
| Poison and bad poison | Poison and Steel | 146 |
Moves that cause status
Most status comes from a handful of moves. The learner counts are for Scarlet and Violet.
| Move | Type | Accuracy | What it does | Species that learn it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will-O-Wisp | Fire | 85% | Burns the target | 129 |
| Thunder Wave | Electric | 90% | Paralyzes the target | 268 |
| Toxic | Poison | 90% | Badly poisons the target | 150 |
| Spore | Grass | 100% | Puts the target to sleep | 10 |
| Sleep Powder | Grass | 75% | Puts the target to sleep | 31 |
| Hypnosis | Psychic | 60% | Puts the target to sleep | 75 |
| Yawn | Normal | never misses | Target falls asleep at the end of the next turn | 101 |
| Nuzzle | Electric | 100% | Damage, plus a chance to paralyze | 19 |
| Scald | Water | 100% | Damage, plus a chance to burn | 70 |
Some Abilities spread status on contact: Flame Body burns and Static paralyzes, each with a 30% chance. Synchronize passes a burn, paralysis or poison back to the Pokémon that caused it.
Curing status
Each condition has a matching item: a Burn Heal, Antidote, Paralyze Heal, Awakening or Ice Heal. A Full Heal or a visit to a Pokémon Center cures everything. In battle, a Rawst Berry cures burn, Pecha poison, Cheri paralysis, Chesto sleep and Aspear freeze, and a Lum Berry cures any of them once.
Some Abilities cure status by themselves. Natural Cure heals the Pokémon when it switches out, Shed Skin has a one-in-three chance each turn, and Hydration cures it at the end of each turn in rain.
Status helps you catch Pokémon
Status is useful outside battles too. From Generation 5 on, the catch formula gives a 2.5× bonus to a sleeping or frozen wild Pokémon, and a 1.5× bonus to a paralyzed, poisoned or burned one. So a Pokémon with Spore, Sleep Powder or Thunder Wave is handy on a Legendary hunt. Sleep wears off, so paralysis is the safer pick if the hunt is going to take a while.
For how Fire-type moves get stronger in sunshine and how terrains block status, read Pokémon weather effects and terrain moves explained.