When Pokemon 'faint' is it about losing the will to keep fighting or getting KO'ed?

So Pokemon don't die in a battle. They just 'faint'. Does this mean that they actually faint(and if so how) or just take enough damage that they lose the will to keep fighting?

If you watch the anime you can clearly see them going X_X which indicates that they are knocked out.
In the games though, when you choose to battle with a fainted Pokemon the console says that 'There is no will to battle'. Besides that, the Pokemon that got out of battle and has 0 HP can still use HMs like Fly which means that it didn't faint. This would mean HP is willpower.

Also, the anime shows that the Pokemon that get knocked out, instantly stand up and are just okay. They just can't get in battle again. Like, Pikachu gets knocked out and goes X_X but when Ash takes him in his arms he instantly 'wakes up'. So, he couldn't have passed out if he recovered after 30 seconds.

In addition, fainting wouldn't be very logical to happen. Fainting could happen if you got hit on the head so your brain hit your skull or due to extreme exhaustion. Most Pokemon attacks hit the body as a whole, not only the head to cause a knock out. It's not boxing. So, how can they get knocked out if they aren't hit on the head? It can't be pain. Pain rarely ever causes someone to faint. Exhaustion is kinda logical but Pokemon can get knocked out after only 2 hits so how exhausting would it be to fight for 2 turns? It's not like they are running a marathon. Even if it was exhaustion, this would mean HP is stamina which would come in contrast with the willpower theory above.

Even if HP was willpower though it still wouldn't make much sense as willpower isn't something stable. Pokemon may be more willing to fight a fight over another due to many factors. Since HP is a stable numerical amount, it can't be willpower because willpower often changes. Like, I will have more willpower to win a fight if I know I am saving someone's life instead of if I know I am going to get a chocolate.

Anyway, what do you think?

1. What happens to Pokemon in a battle? Do they lose the will to fight or do they get knocked out flat?

2. What's HP? Is it the inherent toughness of the Pokemon? Is it the ability to quickly recover from a hit and bounce back? Is it stamina? Is it willpower? Is it the strength to lift yourself from the ground after you got hit?

These are excellent questions. Like really. I've never really thought about the deep, intense part of pokemon fainting. But here's my take on it...
1. I think that when a pokemon faints, it is unable to fight, meaning it's not completely knocked out, but just not able to fight anymore. My reasoning is this because a pokemon may still use HM's out of battle, they just can't battle anymore. And in the show, they aren't completely knocked out I think. Kind of just weak and mopey.
2. Honestly I don't think there is a real-life equivalent of HP. It represents everything that would keep a pokemon standing: will to fight, stamina, etc., but numerically. I wish we had a way to determine a pokemon's HP that incorporated its nature (unless it does that already. In which case, woohoo!) because, of course, your willpower is greatly affected by nature.

So that's what I think. But it's way up for debate.

★Hoenn★ said:

Pokémon have special genetic coding, and this genetic content attract them to Pokéballs

Click to expand...

This is pretty cool. If you find out where you read it, tell me! If you made it up then you're cool and I think it should be truth.

It's leaning towards getting KOed for me. It's been like that in both the anime and games.

In the original Japanese they call fainting "Near Death" so... I'm guessing more of the former.

I don't know if it means anything in this discussion, but in the French versions, the "Fainted" status was explicitly translated as "Knocked Out".

OreoMaster said:

What happens to Pokemon in a battle? Do they lose the will to fight or do they get knocked out flat?

Click to expand...

I think it's a bit of both. My theory is: the moment their HP hit zero, they are actually knocked out (which is a sign for the trainer that it's time to withdraw the Pokémon) . Even though they regain consciousness almost instantly, until they are cured they remain in a terrible shape, with little to no strength or will to fight. They remain capable of using CS techniques with the little strength they have left, but are unable to do anything besides that.

EDIT: basically, the difference between what I think and what ★Hoenn★ described is that I justify the behavior not with the energy contained in a Pokéball, but by comparing a "fainted" Pokémon to a person who got a beating to the point of getting knocked out. Upon waking up, even if there's no permanent consequences from the beating, the person will most likely be woozy, weak, possibly hurting in a lot of places, and not willing to fight again, but able to walk home or call for help if necessary.

OreoMaster said:

What's HP? Is it the inherent toughness of the Pokemon? Is it the ability to quickly recover from a hit and bounce back? Is it stamina? Is it willpower? Is it the strength to lift yourself from the ground after you got hit?

Click to expand...

Well, it's first and foremost a game mechanic :) . But in universe, I'd say it is the combination of the two latter options: strength to lift yourself from the ground and willpower.

I took the initiative to do it on a piece of paper.

After several hours of tweaking and twisting, the only sort of 'formula' I could think of was this:



I must be crazy.

I think they get knocked out, like the last speck of energy they have left got knocked out to them, and they fall down due to exhaustion or just not being able to take more damage, like any human would.

I don't think they lose the will to fight. I figure they literally have a black out.

Plus in the anime they get swirly eyes when they faint, that seems a little more than just losing the will to fight.

I'm also with the people who say they get knocked out.

Obviously, they wake up eventually, but they're unable to fight until they've had their injuries healed.

Makes sense to me…

i think they lose their will to fight because otherwise they couldnt use hms

I think the Pokemon gets KO'ed when it faints. Also, I think HP is stamina. (But i can't explain how they can still use HMs when fainted)

It is... that.... they faint.

They faint because if they died they couldn't be used again and the history would end.

Fainting means that it has no energy left to battle. It has still energy to use HM's, to breath, to eat, to poop etc.