Reading a stat card
The six base stats, what each one does, and what a base stat total really tells you.
The six base stats
Every Pokémon page shows six base stats:
- HP: how much damage it can take.
- Attack: the power of its physical moves.
- Defense: how well it takes physical hits.
- Sp. Atk: the power of its special moves.
- Sp. Def: how well it takes special hits.
- Speed: who moves first.
Pikachu has 35 HP, 55 Attack, 40 Defense, 50 Sp. Atk, 50 Sp. Def and 90 Speed. Its best stat is clearly Speed.
Try it: Find the best stat
Guess each Pokémon’s highest stat, then watch the bars fill in. (interactive on pokee.si)
The base stat total
Add all six numbers and you get the base stat total. Pikachu’s is 320, Charizard’s is 534 and Mewtwo’s is 680.
The highest of every species is Arceus, with 120 in every stat for a total of 720. The lowest is Wishiwashi at 175.
Nearly nine in ten fully evolved Pokémon have a total between 450 and 600.
Quick check
Which stat decides who moves first in a turn?
Answer: Speed. Speed. When two Pokémon use ordinary moves, the faster one goes first. (Priority moves like Quick Attack can jump the queue.)
The total is not the whole story
A total tells you how much a Pokémon has, not how it uses it.
Shuckle’s total is 505, exactly the same as Machamp’s. But Shuckle puts 230 into Defense and 230 into Sp. Def, with just 10 Attack. It is a wall, not a hitter.
Base stats are the same for every Pokémon of a species. Each one’s real stats also depend on its level, IVs, EVs and Nature.
Quiz
The lesson ends with a five-question quiz built from the Pokédex data, and earns the Stat Reader badge.
Sources
- pokee.si Pokédex data (index.json base stats, from PokeAPI)
- pokee.si guide: Stats, IVs, EVs and Natures
- Bulbapedia: Base stats
Related
Next lesson: How evolution works