Terrain is a battlefield effect that lasts five turns and only touches Pokémon standing on the ground. There are four: Electric Terrain stops sleep and powers up Electric moves, Grassy Terrain heals and powers up Grass moves, Misty Terrain blocks status conditions and weakens Dragon moves, and Psychic Terrain blocks priority moves and powers up Psychic moves.
Terrain arrived in Generation 6 (X and Y), and Psychic Terrain followed in Generation 7. Only one terrain can be up at a time, so a new one replaces the old.
The four terrains
The boost was 50% before Generation 8. Since Sword and Shield it has been 30%. The species counts are from our Scarlet and Violet data.
| Terrain | Added | What it does (grounded Pokémon only) | Set by the move | Set by the Ability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric Terrain | Gen 6 | Electric moves +30%; grounded Pokémon can't fall asleep | Electric Terrain (75 species) | Electric Surge: Tapu Koko, Pincurchin, Mega Raichu X; Hadron Engine: Miraidon |
| Grassy Terrain | Gen 6 | Grass moves +30%; grounded Pokémon heal 1/16 HP a turn; Earthquake, Bulldoze and Magnitude do half damage | Grassy Terrain (113 species) | Grassy Surge: Tapu Bulu, Grookey, Thwackey, Rillaboom; Seed Sower: Arboliva |
| Misty Terrain | Gen 6 | Dragon moves do half damage to grounded Pokémon; no status conditions, and no confusion from Gen 7 | Misty Terrain (58 species) | Misty Surge: Tapu Fini, Galarian Weezing |
| Psychic Terrain | Gen 7 | Psychic moves +30%; grounded Pokémon can't be hit by priority moves | Psychic Terrain (68 species) | Psychic Surge: Tapu Lele, Indeedee |
Read the boost carefully: it is the attacker who has to be grounded. A Flying-type Zapdos using Thunderbolt on Electric Terrain gets no boost. A grounded Pikachu using the same move does.
The protective effects work the other way and protect the Pokémon on the ground. On Psychic Terrain, a grounded Pokémon can't be hit by Quick Attack or Sucker Punch, but a Flying type can.
Who counts as grounded
Most Pokémon are grounded. These are not:
- Flying types. There are 109 species with the Flying type in our data.
- Pokémon with Levitate, such as Weezing, Rotom and Unown. That is 35 species or forms in our data.
- Any Pokémon holding an Air Balloon, until the balloon pops.
- Pokémon in the middle of Fly or Bounce, which are in the air for that turn.
Some things force a Pokémon down again. Gravity, Smack Down, Thousand Arrows and an Iron Ball held item all ground a Flying type or a Levitate user. When that happens, terrain works on it as normal.
How long terrain lasts
Terrain from a move or an Ability lasts five turns. If the Pokémon that set it holds a Terrain Extender, it lasts eight. Terrain that happens naturally lasts until something replaces it, like Misty Terrain in a foggy place.
Terrain-setting Abilities trigger when the Pokémon enters battle. The four Tapu guardians from Alola were the first Pokémon to have them. Rillaboom has Grassy Surge as its Hidden Ability, and Miraidon's Hadron Engine sets Electric Terrain and boosts its Special Attack on it.
Arboliva's Seed Sower is different. It sets Grassy Terrain only when Arboliva is hit by an attack.
Moves that care about terrain
These moves change when a terrain is active. Most need the user to be grounded.
| Move | Type | Power | What terrain does to it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terrain Pulse | Normal | 50 | Doubles in power and takes the terrain's type |
| Rising Voltage | Electric | 70 | Doubles in power on Electric Terrain if the target is grounded |
| Grassy Glide | Grass | 55 | Gets +1 priority on Grassy Terrain |
| Expanding Force | Psychic | 80 | Power ×1.5 and hits both foes on Psychic Terrain |
| Misty Explosion | Fairy | 100 | Power ×1.5 on Misty Terrain |
| Steel Roller | Steel | 130 | Removes the terrain, and fails with no terrain |
| Ice Spinner | Ice | 80 | Removes the terrain after hitting |
Grassy Glide on Rillaboom is the best-known combination. With Grassy Surge, Rillaboom sets Grassy Terrain as it comes in, then moves first with a boosted Grass attack.
Three Abilities also react to terrain. Quark Drive, on ten of the Future Paradox Pokémon (all except Miraidon), raises the Pokémon's highest stat on Electric Terrain. Surge Surfer doubles Alolan Raichu's Speed on Electric Terrain, and Mimicry changes Galarian Stunfisk's type to match the terrain.
Terrain and status
Two terrains overlap with status conditions. Electric Terrain stops grounded Pokémon from falling asleep, and that includes sleep from Rest, so a grounded Pokémon can't use Rest to heal there. Misty Terrain goes further and blocks all five main conditions and confusion.
That makes Misty Terrain a good answer to a Spore or Will-O-Wisp user, as long as your Pokémon are on the ground. It also halves Dragon damage, which helps against a strong Dragon attacker.
Terrain or weather?
Both last five turns, both can be set by an Ability on entry, and only one of each can be active. You can have one weather and one terrain at the same time. Rain and Electric Terrain together, for example, boost both Water and Electric moves.
The big difference is reach. Weather affects every Pokémon on the field. Terrain only affects the grounded ones, so Flying types and Levitate users ignore it. For the weather side, read Pokémon weather effects, or the weather and terrain guide.