Substitute (move)

Substitute (Japanese: みがわり Scapegoat) is a non-damaging move introduced in Generation I. It was TM50 in Generation I before losing its TM status in Generation II. It regained its TM status, albeit as TM90, in Generation IV onwards. It was 's signature move in Generation II.

Generation I
Decreasing its by 25% (rounded down) of its maximum HP, the user creates a substitute with 1 HP more than the amount of HP lost by the user. If the user's current HP is less than 25% (rounded down) of its maximum HP, Substitute fails. If the user's current HP is exactly equal to 25% (rounded down) of its maximum HP, it will faint upon creating the substitute. If the user's maximum HP is 3 or less, it will not lose any HP when the substitute is made. The substitute always has the same type and stats as the Pokémon that created it currently has.

If a Pokémon has a substitute, any damage the Pokémon would take from an opponent's moves, except and, is taken by the substitute instead. If the substitute runs out of HP or is hit by a one-hit KO move, it breaks. Other damage (except self-inflicted damage), such as recoil damage or damage from status conditions, is not affected by a substitute.

Due to a glitch, if a Pokémon behind a substitute takes self-inflicted confusion damage, the damage is applied to the opponent's substitute instead. If the opponent does not have a substitute, no Pokémon or substitute takes damage.

While behind a substitute, its opponent's moves cannot lower its stat stages, it,  it,  it, or cause it to. A Pokémon behind a substitute can be inflicted with or  by status moves (such as  and ), but not by damaging moves (such as ). Conversely, a Pokémon behind a substitute cannot be by status moves (such as ), but can be confused by damaging moves (such as ) as long as they do not break the substitute. Even if a move breaks a substitute, it cannot inflict any effects it would not be able to inflict to a Pokémon behind a substitute.

Additionally, substitute does not affect the opponent's, , , , or ; the user's , , or ; nor either Pokémon's.

In the Japanese games, always miss if the target is behind a substitute. In the Western games, they can hit and drain HP, but will not drain any HP if they hit.

If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with, it will not need to recharge. If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with or, it will not faint, although its sprite will still disappear until it switches out (or uses Substitute). If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with a recoil move, it will not take any recoil damage. If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with, that use of Pay Day will not count toward the money its Trainer picks up at the end of the battle. If a Pokémon attacks a substitute with a multi-strike move, the hits will automatically end if the substitute breaks.

In Stadium, several oddities and glitches listed above were fixed:
 * If the user's current HP is exactly equal to 25% (rounded down) of its maximum HP, it will be too weak to create a substitute.
 * A Pokémon behind a substitute cannot be inflicted with any status condition or by an opponent's move.
 * If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with or, it will faint as usual.
 * always miss if used on a Pokémon behind a substitute.

Generation II
In general, the fixed effects from Stadium in Generation I are retained. For example:
 * If the user's current HP is equal to or lower than 25% (rounded down) of its maximum HP, it will be too weak to create a substitute.
 * A Pokémon behind a substitute cannot be inflicted with any status condition or caused to  by an opponent's move.
 * affects the substitute rather than the Pokémon behind it.
 * works as normal.
 * always miss if used on a Pokémon behind a substitute.
 * If a Pokémon breaks a substitute with or, it will faint as usual.

Mechanics changed between Stadium and Generation II include:
 * The substitute's HP is now exactly equal to the HP lost to create the substitute, instead of being 1 + the HP lost.
 * now fails if the target is behind a substitute.
 * If a Pokémon behind a substitute hurts itself in confusion, it takes the damage itself.
 * can be successfully used by a Pokémon behind a substitute, but damage dealt to a substitute is not considered for the damage Bide deals.
 * Because recoil damage is calculated from how much HP the target has actually lost, if a Pokémon hits a substitute with a recoil move, that attacker will only take 1 HP of recoil damage. ( and crash damage is calculated normally.) Breaking a substitute with a recoil move no longer prevents recoil damage.
 * A multi-strike move can now continue hitting even after a substitute has been broken, then dealing damage directly to the targeted Pokémon. ( can poison a target with the second strike if the first strike broke the substitute.)
 * now works as normal.

Mechanics newly introduced in Generation II include:
 * A substitute can be passed by, and it will keep whatever HP it has remaining.
 * The moves, , , , and will fail if used by a Pokémon behind a substitute.
 * The moves, , , , and  cannot affect a Pokémon behind a substitute. (If a Pokémon affected by one of these moves later gains a substitute, their effects remain.)
 * A substitute takes the damage from.
 * A substitute takes the damage from as the user switches out.
 * will not trap the target if it is behind a substitute. In addition, creating a substitute will cause the user to escape a binding move.
 * If a Pokémon behind a substitute is targeted by, its Attack is sharply increased as normal, but it does not become.
 * cannot steal an item from a Pokémon behind a substitute.
 * fails if the target is behind a substitute.

The following moves are not blocked by the substitute:

Generation III
The following effects are carried over/expanded from Generation II:
 * A Pokémon behind a substitute cannot have its stat stages lowered by an opponent's.
 * A Pokémon behind a substitute cannot have its item stolen by or knocked off by .  fails if its target is behind a substitute.
 * A substitute takes the damage from.
 * is blocked by the substitute, but if a Pokémon behind a substitute is already drowsy due to Yawn it can still fall asleep.

The following effects are changed between Generations II and III:
 * 's effect will now no longer activate if its user's substitute is hit.
 * and will now fail if used on a Pokémon behind a substitute.
 * now does not cause its Trainer to gain money if it hits a substitute.
 * ,, and now behave as normal.
 * Damaging (except ) can now hit a substitute as normal, and the user of the move will gain HP depending on the HP the substitute lost. ( is still blocked by the substitute.)
 * Recoil moves now inflict recoil damage to the user depending on the damage dealt to the substitute.
 * are now blocked by the substitute.
 * is now blocked by the substitute.

The following effects are newly introduced in Generation III:
 * , having a maximum of only 1 HP, cannot make a substitute.
 * Substitute can be stolen by.
 * will not have any of its additional effects applied if it hits a substitute, even if the Pokémon behind it is.

The following moves are not blocked by the substitute:

Generation IV
The following effects are carried over/expanded from Generation III:
 * A Pokémon behind a substitute cannot have its item eaten by or .  fails if its target is behind a substitute.
 * Like and,  also does not count damage taken by its user's substitute.
 * Similar to SmellingSalt, will not have any of its additional effects applied if it hits a substitute, even if the Pokémon behind it is.

The following effects changed between Generations III and IV:
 * (such as the Figy Berry) no longer Pokémon behind a substitute.
 * will now fail if used on a Pokémon behind a substitute.

The following effects are newly introduced in Generation IV:
 * The Enigma Berry will not activate if the substitute takes the move.
 * If an opponent's breaks the user's substitute, and the opponent then switches in a Pokémon with, the substitute will not fade until after it has successfully blocked the new Intimidate.
 * If a Pokémon behind a substitute uses, the Pokémon switched in cannot be ed by , but if it is a grounded Pokémon it will still remove the Toxic Spikes.
 * A Pokémon behind a substitute is unaffected by the effects of items thrown by if the substitute takes the move.
 * An opponent's will not lower the  of a Pokémon behind a substitute, but it will still remove fog as well as team effects (,, etc.) and entry hazards on the target's side of the field.
 * A substitute blocks, , , , , and . A substitute blocks regardless of whether it was used by an ally or the user itself.

The following moves are not blocked by the substitute:

Generation V
A Pokémon behind a substitute cannot have its item destroyed by or be given an item by. The Ability and the Item Drop from Wonder Launcher can steal or remove a Pokémon's held item, respectively.

If, , , or target a substitute, their secondary effects will not trigger. The move will fail if the target is behind a substitute.

can now successfully be used by a Pokémon behind a substitute on itself, but it will still fail if it targets an ally behind a substitute.

Substitute now blocks and.

Another Pokémon's can now affect a Pokémon's substitute and acts the same way as other damaging draining moves. can now affect a Pokémon's substitute.

The following moves are not blocked by the substitute:

Generation VI onwards
Substitute no longer blocks (such as ) or moves used by Pokémon with the Ability. The moves, , , and can also bypass a substitute.

If powered up by a Normalium Z into Z-Substitute, all of the user's lowered stats are reset.

As of Generation VII, the following moves are not blocked by the substitute:

Description

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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series
In Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky, and the Mystery Dungeon (WiiWare) games, Substitute turns the foe in front into a decoy, causing other foes to attack it.

From Gates to Infinity, Substitute instead causes the Substitute status by cutting the user's HP in half. The user will not be targeted by enemies, but the user cannot use moves or items, and cannot restore its HP naturally. If the user is attacked by a move (such as which affects the whole room), Substitute will not protect the user from damage. The status lasts 11 turns.

Super Smash Bros. Series
is 's down special. The substitute doll it summons resembles those from the main games, though it can also summon a log. The move functions as a counter, attacking opponents who hit Greninja while it is posing.

There is a trophy of the substitute doll in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Trophy information
''If it looks like a Pokémon and it gets attacked like a Pokémon, it's probably a- Oh, no, it could also be a Substitute Doll. This cute plush figure appears out of nowhere when a Pokémon uses the move Substitute. Is that a smile on its face or a grimace of determination? Only the doll knows, and it's not telling.''

Pokkén Tournament
Substitute is the move used by when called as a Support Pokémon. It conjures up a set of three dolls that rotate around the Battle Pokémon, blocking incoming ranged attacks. It also restores a little of the Battle Pokémon's HP.

Description

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Trivia

 * In most games, the decoy and the Pokémon will switch places when the Pokémon executes a move. The only exception is in Pokémon Battle Revolution, where the battle animations play out as if the substitute was the one performing the move. It generally remains stationary, except when using moves like or.
 * In the Generation I and games, the substitute resembles the.
 * can learn Substitute despite being incapable of using it, as its HP is too low to create a substitute.
 * Substitutes are interpreted differently throughout all forms of Pokémon canon. In the games, a substitute is seen as an inanimate decoy which simply stands in for the Pokémon. In the anime, substitutes are seen to be clones of the user. In the manga, substitutes are like the anime representation, but more spectral and transparent, as shown by Red's Pikachu in Peace of Mime.
 * In the Mystery Dungeon series, if the player eats an X-Eye Seed, all other Pokémon appear as substitutes.
 * The Plush Toy enemy in the Mystery Doors of the Magical Land Series movie in Pokéstar Studios is similar to a substitute.
 * In Pokémon Stadium, will appear as the substitutes. The color will vary, however, due to the player's ID and the glitch Pokémon's name. This is because the game treats the glitch Pokémon's name as a nickname, which cause Pokémon to change colors in the Stadium series.
 * In Generation VI, the size of the substitute depends on the size of the Pokémon using it. For example, a substitute made by a will be bigger than that of a.
 * During Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Direct on April 8, 2014, a substitute plushie is seen in place of as he goes to showcase some of the Pokémon available from the Poké Ball and Master Ball items.
 * Substitute dolls have been featured in several episodes of the anime:
 * In the Pokémon Origins episode File 4: Charizard, a can be seen playing with a Substitute plushie in Mr. Fuji's.
 * In Under the Pledging Tree!, a Substitute doll was one of the items offered to by a market vendor in Coumarine City.
 * A Substitute doll owned by appeared in Rocking Clawmark Hill!.
 * In addition, a Substitute doll appeared in 's room in I Choose You!.
 * A Substitute doll appeared in Omega Alpha Adventure 21 as one the many items that pulled out of its ring while searching for a Diancite for.
 * This move plays its animation, even when the battle animations are off.