How Damage Works in Pokémon Champions

Bringing to all fans a competitive experience, Pokémon Champions‘ PVP focus makes it one of the most intricate games to excel in recent memory. After all, here, winning a battle will demand way more than having a type advantage.

But as no one can start at level 100, mastering the basics should be your first step. To help you excel and bring forth your team’s true potential, here’s a quick overview of how damage works in Pokémon Champions.

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How Damage Works in Pokémon Champions & Typing Chart

Starting with the obvious, Pokémon can deal two categories of DMG in Pokémon Champions: Physical (affected by Atk) and Special (affected by Sp. Atk). You will know which category a move is part of by its icon, with a star-like one representing the former and a triple circle the latter. Each move will then have its own Power level and can be either Effective, Not Very Effective, or Super Effective depending on its typing and matchup. You can check out an overview of what each label represents below:

• Super Effective: The move deals twice as much damage per type it has an advantage over. For example, Electric moves performed against Water + Flying types will deal 4x DMG, while Water moves performed against Fire Pokémon will deal the standard 2x.
• Not Very Effective: The move deals half DMG.
• Has No Effect: The target is immune to the move.

Your Pokémon’s Atk stats and the move’s typing/Power are not the only things behind DMG, though, as your opponents’ defense stats, and the presence of external forces, such as Terrains, will also play a role. Stat changes also affect the numbers massively. For example, each Atk+ or Sp. Atk+ stack will boost a matching move’s damage by 0.5x (going from 1.5x at +1 to a maximum of 4x at +6).

Moves performed by a Pokémon matching their type also get an independent Same-Type Attack Bonus (or STAB), which further boosts their final DMG by 50%. Critical hits get the same bonus while also ignoring certain status changes. So you can have a better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of each type, here’s the typing chart used on both Pokémon Z-A and Champions, with each triangle meaning Not Very Effective and the Double Circles representing Super Effective move/Pokémon matchups.

But What About Status Moves?

Represented by a Yin-Yang-like symbol, Status Moves work independently from your stats and, in most cases, are focused on only applying status conditions or setting up hazards. However, many regular moves are also capable of applying them, with Flare Blitz being one of the biggest examples.

How Status And Hazard DMG Are Calculated In Pokémon Champions

To add to the above, you can deal damage to opponents by applying either status conditions (Poisoned, Badly Poisoned, and Burned) or hazard effects. Their DMG, however, does not depend on your stats. Here’s an overview of the effects of all damaging status conditions and hazards in Pokémon Champions:

• Poisoned: Deals 1/8 Max HP DMG to the affected Pokémon at the end of each turn.
• Badly Poisoned: Deals 1/16 Max HP DMG to the affected Pokémon at the end of each turn. Unlike the above, the damage will be increased by 1 per turn until it maxes out at 16/16. The count will be reset if the target is switched out.
• Burned: Deal 1/16 Max HP DMG to the affected Pokémon at the end of each turn. The target will also deal 50% less Physical Move DMG while affected.
• Stealth Rock (Hazard): Deals 1/8 Max HP DMG to any Pokémon switching in. The damage can increase or decrease based on the target’s resistance against Ground moves.
• Spikes (Hazard): Deals 1/8 Max HP DMG to the Pokémon switching in. A maximum of three layers of spikes can be applied by stacking the move, each boosting its effect by 1/8. Flying types or Levitate users are immune.
• Toxic Spikes (Hazard): Combining Spikes and Poisoned, this hazard poisons any Pokémon switched in. Can be stacked to apply Badly Poisoned. Flying types or Levitate users are immune.

Now that you know the basics behind damage dealing, make sure to also check out All Pokémon Champions Mega Stones And How To Get Them.