3rd Gen Hp?

In movesets, I see people saying to get "HP psychic" or "HP fire" or "HP Fighting". What exactly does this mean? Sorry i'm such a noob :P

HP means Hidden power, and the type after it is the Type that the hidden power is taking.

how does it take on a different power?

actually, I think the hidden power changes depending on the pokemon.. I once had a hidden power that used a bug type attack, from my Houndoom

HP changes depending on your IV. A pokemon can get any type of power ranging from an attack power from 31 to a maximum of 70. You'll need a specific calculator to find out what HP you got depending on what IV you have

Realistically, HP is impossible to use without a cheating device on a real gameboy. the chance fo getting the needed IV is so slim... It's more for online battling where you can adjust everything so that all that matters is your skill.

Do you know an existing way to find out exactly what kind of HP a pokemon has?

I believe Meowth has the IV calculator out. Use the calculator and match your IV. Then go take your IV and match a HP chart. Yes it is hideous work and we don't recommand you to use HP at all without cheating or if you are not going to online battle. Since the calculator only works after you fully EV trained at lvl 100

(calculator is most accurate at this stage. Though it works too if it's at the intial lvl you got the Pokemon at without battling, it is not as accurate as stats differences from EV/IV aren't that high yet when you're just lvl 5. In fact you can hardly tell your IVs at all when you're just lvl 5 because your stats are so similar regardless of whatever IV you have. Higher lvl and higher EV, the more accurate it is)

Online battling you can go to the HP section and choose a type, and the computer will adjust the IV required for you.

In game, I just use trial and error. I give a pokemon HP then do not save until I have seen the results and have figured out which type it is.....if I like the results, I save the game. If not, I turn it off and still have the TM.

Though it is not full proof, I find it fun and intriguing. My Umbreon (in crystal) had HP Water----which was very helpful with Ground/Rock types....until I figured out Umbreon is not an attacker by any stretch of the imagination.... :/

Hidden Power is a move that works differently for every pokemon.
even if they're the same pokemon i.e. you have 2 altaria's it's likely that
they'll have different hidden powers.

the type hidden power takes on depends on an invisible value every pokemon
has, which also determines the maximum point their stats can reach.
often called E.V. or I.V (effort value) (individual value)

Hidden power can take on any type
i.e.

Dragon
Psychich
Bug

basically any time NOT including normal

you will never have a pokemon with hidden power NORMAL

due to changes in ruby/sapphire HP works different than in GSC
it used to be that hidden power's type could tell you how high your
pokemon's stats would grow.
the better the hidden power type, the better your stats would be.
it's changed, it still has something to do with that invisible value
but no longer has an effect on the outcome of your stats
now it's all about proper training.

trial and error may work on finding types, but HP also varies power to power (31 to 70, and that's a BIG difference). You maybe able to guess the type, but can you achieve the attack power 70 one by guessing? Not exactly...

If you want to give someone HP and it doesnt matter what type it is,but you want to find out what type it is,use this:
Use it on an Oddish for example.Is it super effective,then ither Psychic,Fire,Flying.Find a water Pok?mon,is it not very effective,then its Fire.
Or use it on Pidgey.Is it Super effective,then its either Ice,Rock or Electric.If its not very effective,it is either Bug or Grass.If it has no effect at all,it is either Ghost or Ground.
Continue this process until you have found out its type.

but just like what i said before, you will want HP Ice with 70 power, not the HP Ice with 31 power. If I use it on an oddish, both of them will result in a super effective, but one of them is more than twice as weak as the other... x_x;

you can test out type, but can't test out power

There is more simple way: just use your HP on a Kecleon...

Thanks for the help guys!
Xilion_Sword90: That is a simple way... hmm.... I can try that on my ruby, but i'll probably just try Jari89's idea on crystal.

It's basically useless except for use on NetBattle, where its power is set to 70 and you can choose what type it is. Or, of course, on Pokemon that desperately need a second attack and can learn nothing better.

Ah, my good ol' HP Dragon Magcargo. ;)

I'm pretty sure hidden power depends on the enviornment around the pokemon .Example:if groudon used hidden power it would be fire because of the increased heat on the battle field.

no... hidden power is based on your IV numbers... only secretpower matters depending on the environment

Jirachi13 said:

I'm pretty sure hidden power depends on the enviornment around the pokemon .Example:if groudon used hidden power it would be fire because of the increased heat on the battle field.

Click to expand...

No, it was already explained before.

frostweaver said:

HP changes depending on your IV. A pokemon can get any type of power ranging from an attack power from 31 to a maximum of 70. You'll need a specific calculator to find out what HP you got depending on what IV you have

Realistically, HP is impossible to use without a cheating device on a real gameboy. the chance fo getting the needed IV is so slim... It's more for online battling where you can adjust everything so that all that matters is your skill.

Click to expand...

In simpler terms, the type HP has is constant in an individual Pokemon. It does NOT change depending on environment, Pokemon type, time of day, or anything else. It can be any type on any Pokemon.

not normal though ;p

Hidden Power is always a physical, indirect attack though regardless of types. Counter always work against HP even if it's HP Psychic, and mirror coat always fail against Hp even if it's HP Psychic

man, i got fighting type on my delibird...lol