IQ

IQ (Japanese: かしこさ smartness) is a skill system in, and. By gaining IQ points, various benefits are received. It is increased by feeding Gummis to individual Pokémon. Also, occasionally, one may experience a stat raise of Attack, Defense, Special Attack, or Special Defense by 1 to 3.

As a Pokémon's IQ increases, they learn a number of skills to help traveling in dungeons. IQ also takes on some of the effects that friendship has in the main series meaning that certain Pokémon require an increased IQ to evolve.

While this game mechanic is named after the, there is a difference between the two. When speaking to or  in dungeons, they will mention their high IQ, regardless of how many points they have in this mechanic.

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, the mechanic was replaced by Team Skills. In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, most of the IQ skills can be found on Looplets and Emeras.

IQ points
While the actual IQ points of a Pokémon is a hidden number, their level of IQ is represented through the number of stars in their summary. From this, it is possible to find out the approximate range of a Pokémon's IQ number.

IQ points may be raised from the use of Gummis. The number of IQ points a Pokémon gains from each Gummi depends on the type of Gummi. Each Gummi is said to be preferred by a particular type. The relation of that type to the type of the Pokémon being given the Gummi can be used to work out the amount of IQ points the Pokémon will gain:

In Red and Blue Rescue Teams, Gold (Psychic) Gummis are considered strong against the Ghost type as opposed to neutral.

In the case of dual types, this is first calculated for both types individually. In Red and Blue Rescue Teams, the two are then added together. Because of this, Pokémon with two types will increase their IQ at a faster rate than Pokémon with just one type. For an example, take a dual-type Pokémon such as. A Blue (Water) Gummi will add 11 IQ points as it is a Water type (+7) and Water attacks are strong against Ground Pokémon (+4). A Yellow (Electric) Gummi will add 5 IQ points as Electric attacks are strong against Water Pokémon (+4) and ineffective against Ground Pokémon (+1).

In Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky, the higher of the two values is taken. Thus, Gummis matching the Pokémon's type are always preferred over other types of Gummis. Furthermore, IQ can be raised with other items: Wonder Gummis raise IQ by 15 points. Nectar raises IQ by 10 points. The lookalike item Gravelyrock raises IQ by 10 points for and. Drinks mixed in Spinda's Café may also raise IQ. All Gummi drinks act identically to regular Gummis. A good Gummi drink raises IQ by 2 additional points. A good Max Elixir drink raises IQ by 2 points, while a good Eyedrop Seed drink raises IQ by 3 points. Good drinks from lookalike items (exceptions: Gone Pebble, Wander Gummi, No-Slip Cap, Gaggle Specs, and Y-Ray Specs) raise IQ by 3 points (2 for Gravelyrocks). Miracle drinks will raise IQ by a random amount.

IQ can also be raised by holding an IQ Booster which occasionally boosts the Pokémon's IQ as it moves between floors. The item raises IQ by one point on certain floors of dungeons. Because the amount of IQ gained depends on the dungeon difficulty, easy dungeons with low-level Pokémon, like Beach Cave, will give the holder a small trickle while harder dungeons with dangerous, high-level Pokémon, like Zero Isle North, will give significant spurts.

Red and Blue Rescue Team
In Red and Blue Rescue Teams, a Pokémon's IQ skills can be checked in the menu under each individual team member at any time in dungeons or Friend Areas. While there are a total of 23 skills, it is only possible to have twelve active at a time. While the five skills without a group can be active simultaneously, there can only be one active skill from groups 1-7 at any time.

Enemies with IQ
IQ affects both the player, the team, and enemies alike. In Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky, most enemies prior to the end of the story will have the minimum amount of IQ, while most enemies after the end of the story will have roughly 300-330 IQ and all associated IQ skills. Pokémon encountered at Southeastern Islands (23-24F) and Inferno Cave (23-29F) and Zero Isle North (50-74F) have 600 IQ. Pokémon encountered at Zero Isle North (past 70F) and Zero Isle Center (all floors) have 850 IQ.

All Pokémon recruited onto a team start off with the minimum amount of IQ.

Evolution
All Pokémon that evolve by friendship in the main series require an increased IQ to evolve in Mystery Dungeon. The number of IQ stars required varies between species.

Moves
The moves and  deal set damage depending on the IQ level. With no IQ points, Return does 5HP damage while Frustration does 45HP damage. At maximum IQ, these values are reversed. While they are weak attacks in Mystery Dungeon, Frustration is useful in Wish Cave, Joyous Tower and Purity Forest where the Pokémon's IQ level is temporarily reduced to 0 along with their level being temporarily reduced 1.

A select few Pokémon can learn special moves if their IQ is high enough:

Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky

 * All fully-evolved starter Pokémon may learn  at level 72 with 300 IQ.
 * All fully-evolved starter Pokémon may learn  at level 72 with 300 IQ.
 * All fully-evolved starter Pokémon may learn  at level 72 with 300 IQ.
 * All Pokémon may learn  at level 72 with 300 IQ.

IQ groups
In Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky, Pokémon are split into 10 IQ groups (from A to J), which affects what types of IQ skills they will learn. What follows is a list of skills and which Group they belong to. Note that some IQ skills appear in more than one group, especially those which are learnt at the start. Also, unlike in the first games, every IQ skill can be turned on.

In other languages
IQ-Fähigkeit (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon) CI Q.I. QI かしこさ 聪慧度（不可思议的迷宫）