From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
- This article is about the stat element of a species of Pokémon. For stat element of an individual Pokémon also officially known as base stats, see Effort values.
The base stats (Japanese: 種族値 values of the species' attributes), when referring to a Pokémon species as a whole, are the inherent stat values which allows it to be distinguished from other Pokémon species. It should not be confused with the individual base stats of a Pokémon from a given species.
For example, Umbreon is mainly a defensive Pokémon, therefore all Umbreon will have low Attack and Special Attack scores compared to their higher Defense and Special Defense scores (regardless of the individual's Nature, individual values, or effort values).
A species's base stats range from 1 to 255, and are most often the prime representation of the potential a Pokémon species has in battle. For example, Blissey has the highest possible HP base stat (255), but also has one of the lowest Attack and Defense base stats (of just 10).
Commonly, related Pokémon species (especially Pokémon with a split evolutionary line) will have similar base stats but with different distribution: For example, while Gardevoir's base stats for Attack and Special Attack are 65 and 125, respectively, its counterpart Gallade's Attack and Special Attack stats are reversed (125 and 65, respectively). Pokémon species that are exclusive to specific games, even when not related by evolution (such as Caterpie and Weedle), may also have base stats that are similar in total but with different distributions between each stat.
Pokémon of a higher evolutionary stage will also usually have higher base stats (both individually and in total) than their unevolved counterparts; the only exceptions are Shedinja (whose base stat total is lower than its pre-evolved form, Nincada, by 30), and Scizor (whose base stat total is the same as its pre-evolved form, Scyther).
Differences between generations
While these values generally do not change from one game generation to the next, they have changed in two generation gaps. In Generation II, the Special stat from the Generation I games was separated into Special Attack and Special Defense. In Generation VI, some Pokémon received a slight boost in stats, such as Pidgeot's base Speed being increased from 91 to 101.