Stats that dont make sense?

[OreoMaster]

Okay, at first glance, Attack seems like the physical strength of a Pokemon. Well, Machamp has muscles and so does Hariyama. Swampert does seem to have a robust and strong body so he has good attack too. But how does Scyther or Kingler or Weavile, among many other Pokemon, have a huge attack stat if their body is so thin/frail and they have skinny arms. They aren't muscular. Does it seem like Attack is actually how much damage a Pokemon can do with their body? Like, Machamp can do a lot of damage cause he is super muscly and strong thus a high attack. Weavile and Scyther on the other hand may lack muscle mass but they can do a lot of damage with their claws/scythes, thus their high attack. This and also that the attack stat is the power with which a Pokemon can hit due to both strength and also acceleration. Like, Scizor may not have much muscle mass but he can accelerate his pincers fast enough to hit like a train. It's not that I really don't understand this stat its just that l want to know if you agree with my theory.


The stat that is really confusing is Health Points. I mean, all good and nice with Defense. A Pokemon has high physical defense due to having a robust bone structure or a thick hide or tough skin or hard armor. However, a Pokemon that has high Hit Points has what? Don't tell me fat because thick layers of fat are counted as defense due to actually protecting from damage. Defense is how well protected your body is from injury. HP is how much injury it can handle once injury is actually inflicted. I know that HP is how much damage you can take. But what determines that? In simple terms, what makes a Pokemon have high HP?

 

[Aquacorde]

I agree with your interpretation of the Attack stat. And I think HP is more like a measure of pain tolerance. It's straight up "hit points"- how many hits can be taken before going down. Of course, the strength of said hits varies as does the individual's capability of defending against each hit, and that's where the points system and damage calculation come in. But it's just how much a Pokémon can tolerate before fainting from pain, pretty much.

 

[BadPokemon]

Maybe hit points shows lack of nerve endings? The less you have, the less you feel pain?

 

[Shhmew]

Maybe hit points shows lack of nerve endings? The less you have, the less you feel pain?

This makes sense to me. It seems Pokemon with higher HP tend to be more "derpy" or overly joyful/oblivious to their surroundings.

The Pokemon with highest HP is Blissey, who is one of the most caring and selfless pokemon out there. This could be why it takes so many hits to knock her down.

Legendaries could just have high HP because of their pride; They feel the pressure to stay in battle longer. (thinking way too far into this lol)

Some stats that really surprised me were Purugly and Scizor's speed. I never pictured the chubby and sassy kitty to be faster than Rapidash... and Scizor, who appeared so ninja-like and zippy in the anime, to be so darn slow...

Also, Snorlax's speed vs Munchlax's speed. I know Munchlax is a pre-evolution, but you'd think it would have a higher speed stat than Snorlax, who always seems to be just laying around, sleeping, munching foods and barely moving an inch. Munchlax at least seems to be full of a bit more energy, being smaller and running around a lot. Yet Munchlax's speed is only 5 while Snorlax's is 30. o.o

Yeeaah speed tends to surprise me a lot more than any other stats.

 

[mistersoft]

Why would Pokemon with high HP be hard to kill?

In real life,just like in the pokemon world, pokemon with high defensive stats like defense and health would be the hardest to kill/knock out. I get that pokemon with high defense would be hard cuz of their armor and protection against injury due to their tough hide, thick skin, strong bones and armor. So it would be hard to get through their armor.

The thing is about HP which is more confusing. What would make Pokemon with high HP hard to fight? I mean they may have bad defenses and high HP like wobbuffet and be very hard to take down. Why? Whats allows them to endure so much damage?

 

[Blueredemption]

hp (hit points) is literally just a way of saying how many hits a Pokemon can take until it faints.

Think of it this way, defense is a Pokemon's ability to block or decrease the amount of damage it does take. hp is how much it can take all together. Its durability. Some Pokemon are just better at withstanding more than others

 

[mistersoft]

Exactly. But l am looking more deeply at it. Like, what makes some Pokemon better at taking hits than others? What adds to their durability? I am quite clear.
Some Pokemon are hard to kill cause of their tough armor that protects them from damage. Some others that lack armor rely on their high HP to survive. Whats that HP that makes them tough to kill.

For example, some suggest that Pokemon that are large and chubby have more health. Yet thats kinda vague cause some big, bulky Pokemon have low hp like steelix, camerupt, dewgong, miltank, mantine etc while some other smaller pokemon have higher hp like gastrodon, wigglytuff, skuntank etc.

 

[Blueredemption]

on a deeper level, (heheh punny :P) Pokemon level affects hp, their training has increased there ability to take hits. to get even more complicated then you want to talk about the Pokemon themselves. a Makuhita has a high hp because that breed of Pokemon has traits that add to its ability to take hits. and that is the same with any other Pokemon weather they hinder it or not.

and don't forget the type of Pokemon can affect this as well, size and make don't affect everything to the greatest degree ;p

i hope this helps :)

 

[moon]

This is like a part of the discussion from another existing thread, so I will merge the two since this here discussion can go on just as well over there. Which is now here. Since I just merged them. Hm. 8) Carry on, friends!

 

[Puddle]

I actually understand most of the attack stats and stuff. My question is Speed. How the hell is an Electrode so fast? It's just a reverse Pokeball.

 

[mistersoft]

Not deep enough. Okay l will put it simply. Everything has an analytic explanation as to why it is that way, even to an atomic level. For example, why does water evaporate when the temperature goes over 100 celsius. Because it is too hot for it to remain liquid? Yeah but why is it too hot? Because the bonds between the water molecules loosen up and it turns to gas. Thats it. Give some detailed analytical explanation. Dont just tell me Makuhita line has high HP cause their breed has traits that add to their durability. What are those traits? What exactly makes them durable?

Why does Blissey or Vaporeon have so much HP ? Oh, dont tell me about energy levels. Physical hardiness( how much damage your body can handle) isnt related with energy.

I would say that some very large, bulky Pokemon like Wailord, Snorlax and Regigigas or Slaking have high HP cause they have a lot of body mass, bigger muscles and bones to absorb the damage. Its harder to kill an elephant than a cat.

However, there are pokemon with high hp that arent that big like vappy and chansey and wobbuffet.... What makes them so durable?

Wobbuffet has to be pretty squishy as he has low defenses yet he can survive the worst injuries that would be fatal to other pokemon, that even have stronger armor, only due to his monstrous hp. Why??

 

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

>Goodra has 154 special defense
>Ferrothorn has 116 special defense
>Terrakion has 108 speed
>Mienshao has 95 special attack

What?

 

[Sopheria]

Not deep enough. Okay l will put it simply. Everything has an analytic explanation as to why it is that way, even to an atomic level. For example, why does water evaporate when the temperature goes over 100 celsius. Because it is too hot for it to remain liquid? Yeah but why is it too hot? Because the bonds between the water molecules loosen up and it turns to gas. Thats it. Give some detailed analytical explanation. Dont just tell me Makuhita line has high HP cause their breed has traits that add to their durability. What are those traits? What exactly makes them durable?

Why does Blissey or Vaporeon have so much HP ? Oh, dont tell me about energy levels. Physical hardiness( how much damage your body can handle) isnt related with energy.

I would say that some very large, bulky Pokemon like Wailord, Snorlax and Regigigas or Slaking have high HP cause they have a lot of body mass, bigger muscles and bones to absorb the damage. Its harder to kill an elephant than a cat.

However, there are pokemon with high hp that arent that big like vappy and chansey and wobbuffet.... What makes them so durable?

Wobbuffet has to be pretty squishy as he has low defenses yet he can survive the worst injuries that would be fatal to other pokemon, that even have stronger armor, only due to his monstrous hp. Why??

Well, keep in mind that since it's only fictional creatures we can only speculate. Not trying to be meta or anything, it's just that you would have to ask GameFreak to get any real answers.

But, I do have a theory with Wobbuffet. It's probably just a matter of evolution by natural selection. Since Wobbuffet can't attack without taking damage himself, it's evolutionary advantageous for him to be able to endure a lot of hits.

 

[classiccartoonsftw]

Pyroar's Attack stat is way too low. Lions mostly use their physical strength to fight.

 

[Elaitenstile]

The interpretation of base stats as a definition of real capabilities of a Pokémon can be confusing and often misleading. These stats are basically just to define the battling capabilities of a Pokémon. You wouldn't say Machamp is "low on hit points" in the anime, just that he is "badly hurt".

- The hit points are more like 'energy levels', that a Pokémon needs to (obviously) fight. You see, most Pokémon attacks, even the low base power ones, are in reality quite dangerous and harmful moves, so it does take quite some energy to defend from them. A direct hit requires inert force to bear, and this will get depleted after multiple deflections.

- There are three factors that decide stats for a Pokémon : Type, Design and Evolution.

• Type - Certain types give Pokémon certain abilities, such as the inert high defence of steel types.
• Design - Certain Pokémon are large and strong, thus giving them good attack. This doesn't mean strength itself is the factor determining attack, the capacity to deal physical damage is closer to the truth. Take Scyther. He doesn't look like he works out, but his blade is sharp enough to cut a nastier wound than that of the most powerful punches.
• Evolution - The more obvious one. Pokémon that have evolved have (mostly) more power that is reflected in the base stat, and this is the more binding factor than the two above.

 

[Mirari]

Regarding HP and defense, can we think something among the lines of hardness and toughness? For example, diamonds can't bend or be scratched, but they can be broken; while iron can bend easily, but it can't be broken.

 

[PlatinumDude]

>Goodra has 154 special defense
>Ferrothorn has 116 special defense
>Terrakion has 108 speed
>Mienshao has 95 special attack

What?

1. For the record, Goodra has 150 Special Defense. It may have something to do with its gooey body.
2. Ferrothorn may have a body durable enough to take both physical and special hits.
3. Terrakion was given 108 Speed to match up with the other base Speeds of the legendary musketeers.
4. Mienshao may have a better state of mental focus compared to most other Fighting Pokemon.

One thing I don't understand is why Onix, a large rock snake, only has 45 Attack.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

Polar Bears are suppose to be the largest and most powerful bear species in the world, yet Beartic's attack stat is lower than Ursaring's.

Pyroar's Attack stat is way too low. Lions mostly use their physical strength to fight.

^ Also this.

 

[mistersoft]

PlatinumDude , your explanations are very good. Goodra has enormous sp.def because its body is covered in thick layers of goo. While that gooey substance doesnt offer protection against physical damage like cuts and strikes it can absorb and diffuse the energy from special attacks.

Ferrothorn has a very durable body. The steel it is made from is much denser than other metallic armors and thus it can deflect the energy from sp.attacks.

Terrakion may have a rocky hide but speed is about movement speed and reflexes. Well he may be rocky but he can also be swift. Why not? Just like aerodactyl. His muscles are strong enough so as not only to support his weight but also to allow him to move fast.

Mienshao may have good mental abilities. He can focus and concentrate his energy. Besides, he is based on a monk and monks have good mental state.

As for Onix, he may be large but he doesnt have the muscle mass to strike with power. This is also reflected to his speed, since he lacks the muscle to move his body fast ( unlike terrakion).


Now some more things l dont understand :

1. If HP is based on body mass then why does Mamoswine have lower hp than the much smaller wigglytuff or even jiggglypuff or chansey or munchlax..... WHYY??? I mean it starts to make sense when you see large pokes having high hp like wailord and snorlax and then it gets messed up again when small things have more hp.


2. How can people claim that hp is energy levels. Okay you do need stamina to keep fighting but the act of incuring physical damage is irrelevant to energy. I mean what kind of enegy do you need to take a hit?

3. How frail is chansey if she has 5 base defense ?? I mean some extremely fragile pokemon like shellos or tentacool or drifloon or purrloin or caterpie or a luvdisc have higher defense than chansey.

 

[PumpJack]

I actually understand most of the attack stats and stuff. My question is Speed. How the hell is an Electrode so fast? It's just a reverse Pokeball.

That's just how he rolls.