Poffin

A Poffin (Japanese: ポフィン Poffin) is a type of introduced in Generation IV. Its name is a of the words Pokémon and. However, despite the name, it seems to bear a closer resemblance to a or a.

Poffins are the successors of Pokéblocks in the sense that they raise either the, Beauty, , Smart, or condition of a  in a Pokémon Super Contest, when fed to the Pokémon. However, they are different in how they are created. As in the Generation III, Pokémon favor different types of flavor depending on their Nature. In order to create a Poffin, each player must have a Poffin Case and at least one Berry. To obtain the Poffin Case, the player must speak to the Pokémon Fan Club Chairman who appears in Hearthome City.

In, the only way to obtain Poffins was to make them at the Poffin House. However, in, some Poffins may also be purchased in the Veilstone Department Store. In all three versions, two to four players can also work over Wi-Fi together to make Poffins.

Making Poffins
When the player obtains the Poffin Case and Berry needed, they must go to Hearthome City, and then head to the Poffin House, which is west of the Poké Mart.

From there, the player must talk to the NPC standing by a pot to create Poffins. Poffins may be made by either the player alone or with up to four friends via the DS's built-in local wireless feature. After this, the player chooses a Berry, similar to how Pokéblocks are made. Using the stylus, the player must stir the Poffin's dough around until it turns brown and spotted. The player should note that only 100 Poffins can be stored in the Poffin Case.

Poffin levels
Poffin levels determine how much a Poffin will affect a Pokémon's condition. Every Berry has a base level, which is the level that would be received if the Poffin were created in 60 seconds.

Poffin levels can be improved by making the Poffin in earlier time, given by the formula:
 * [[File:Poffin Level Formula.png]], where B is the base level, T is the time taken, and M is the sum of burns and spills.

For example, an Aguav Berry has a base level of 14. This means completing in 60 seconds with 0 burns and 0 spills will yield a level 14 Poffin: 14 × 1 = 14. If, however, the Poffin was created in 40 seconds, it would be 14 × 3 ÷ 2 = 21. The level 21 Poffin then contributes 21 condition stat points upon consumption (assuming a neutral Nature).

Although logically this would imply that the higher level is better, this is only true for identical Poffins. This is because Poffins have smoothness which contributes to a Pokémon's sheen level. A Pokémon's sheen cannot exceed 255 and can never be reset. Thus, the choice of Poffins has a big influence on the development of a condition.

Overflows and burns
Players may notice that while making a Poffin, they have to stir it at a certain speed. Otherwise, it could overflow or burn. Spills are caused by stirring too fast, and burns are caused by stirring too slow.
 * In the first stage of the Poffin, it is doughy and easy to spill. The color of the flames around the edge of the Poffin Pot will be orange. It is wise to start slow to prevent spillage, but not too slow to prevent burning it.
 * At the second stage, the batter's "middle stage," the flames will turn red and the dough brown. A faster stir is to be used, though it is still possible to spill.
 * Once the flames around the edge of the Poffin Pot turn blue, it will be impossible to spill dough, so the player should stir as fast as possible until the Poffin is complete.

The faster the Poffin is made, the higher its level will be. The more players that worked together to cook the Poffin, the more Poffins they will each get: a player alone will cook only one Poffin, but four players working together will each get four Poffins.

Smoothness and sheen
A Pokémon's sheen determines how full the Pokémon is. The smoothness of a Poffin determines how much the Pokémon's fur (sheen) meter is affected. A lower smoothness means that the fur meter does not fill up as much when feeding a Poffin to a Pokémon. Smoothness of a Poffin can be seen in the Poffin Case, and varies depending on the Berry used.

Pokémon can have a maximum of 255 sheen and a Pokémon can no longer eat Poffins after their sheen is maxed. A Pokémon's sheen cannot be reset. Eating a Poffin that will cause the sheen to exceed 255 will round down to 255, but the effect of the Poffin on the Pokémon's condition will not be round down. For example, a Poffin created with a Wiki Berry will have a smoothness of 24, meaning that a Pokémon could consume a maximum of 11 Poffins made from Wiki Berries.

Since there is a limit on a Pokémon's sheen, in order to maximize a Pokémon's condition, it is best to feed Pokémon Poffins with a low smoothness rating but a high level.

Types of Poffins
There are also "hybrid" Poffin flavors such as Bitter-Spicy and Sweet-Sour which increase two attributes at once. They are primarily the color of the first attribute, with small bits of the color of the second attribute on top, similar to sprinkles.

The Foul Poffin is a very low-level Poffin (Level 2 or 3) that is a result from a large amount of burns during the making of the Poffin. It may also result when, in multi-player mode, the same Berry is put in by both players. It is a dark gray color.

The Rich Poffin looks similar to the Foul Poffin, but is a lighter gray. It too, is often low-level. It raises three attributes.

The Overripe Poffin is often high-level, and is similar to Mild Poffins. It raises four or five attributes. It is very light gray.

The Mild Poffin is any Poffin with a level higher than fifty, taking precedence over all other Poffin types. It raises all five attributes. It has a golden color with yellow-white sprinkles on top.

In the anime
In the anime, Poffins were introduced in Oh Do You Know The Poffin Plan!, in which saw a poster for a Poffin cooking class and convinced  and  to take the class with her. She told them that Poffins are snacks made from and Ash quickly associated them with Hoenn's Pokéblocks. Dawn also mentioned that Poffins are given to to keep them healthy and looking good and revealed that she used to help her mother when she was making Poffins.

The class was taught by Forsythia, who explained that in order to make Poffins, one has to put the Berries in a pot of cold water and turn the heat up while stirring without interruptions, since the constant stirring is what gives Poffins their flavor. Brock wrote down these instructions on a notebook, which helped him when he and the others were making Poffins by themselves. Dawn used the on her Pokétch to time her cooking, explaining to Ash that Poffins may burn if kept on the heat too long.

Once Dawn's Poffin dough was fully cooked down, she poured it into the mold, with Brock watching closely and taking notes. Unlike Dawn and Brock, Ash had trouble stirring and ended up with a plate full of burnt Poffins. When the group brought their Pokémon out of their Poké Balls to eat the Poffins, seemed to like his Poffins, while  rejected his burnt Poffins to eat the ones Forsythia had made. did not like the Poffins she had prepared and she became confused since she had used the recipe Johanna always uses when making Poffins for her. Although her Pokémon disliked the snacks, from  loved it. Later, Dawn tried a different recipe she made especially for her Pokémon, and this time, , and all approved the taste of her Poffins.

Since then, Dawn has often been seen giving Poffins to her Pokémon, either to motivate them during sessions or to compensate them for their efforts in Pokémon Contests. Pachirisu is particularly fond of them and its love of Poffins has been featured in multiple episodes. In Settling a Not-So-Old Score!, Pachirisu came back to its senses after the scent of a Poffin Dawn had tossed in the air captured its attention. In Another One Gabites the Dust!, it started a rivalry with Ursula's Gabite after she stepped on its Poffin. Ursula offered one of her own Poffins to Pachirisu, but it refused, causing Ursula to take offense.

Dawn was also seen making Poffins in Hungry for the Good Life! during her stay at Mr. Backlot's. A gluttonous living in the Trophy Garden found her Poffins to be delicious and could not get enough of them. It was later by Dawn. Dawn's Poffins also appeared in Giratina and the Sky Warrior, where Dawn gave some of her Poffins, which Shaymin enjoyed. However, they seemed to cause Shaymin to need to release smoke through its mouth after swallowing.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In the Pokémon Adventures, is a natural at making high quality Poffins. He provided a batch for in Perturbed by Pachirisu when she was preparing to enter a Normal Rank Coolness Contest with her. The Poffins he made increased Prinplup's Cool condition, which was commented on by the judges. even noted that the mixture used to produce such good Poffins was very difficult and wondered who was the maker.

Trivia

 * If a Poffin is hacked to have a level over forty-nine, it will act as a Mild Poffin, raising all five attributes.
 * For Drifloon On the Wind!, Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia is about Poffin-making. He writers this about it: 「かきまぜろ　こがさずこぼさず　ポフィンづくり」 "Stirring without burning or spilling; that's Poffin-making."