List of battle glitches in Generation V

For other glitches in this generation, see List of glitches in Generation V

This is a list of Pokémon battle glitches in Generation V games.

Pokémon Black, White, Black 2, and White 2

0 damage glitch

If a move's damage calculation yields 0 before applying the factor (which is automatically raised to 1), then is lower than 1, the move deals 0 damage.

This glitch exists because the routine to prevent 0 HP damage is erroneously performed before applying the factor.

Assist Egg glitch

When Assist is used, it can use the moves of unhatched Eggs in the party. This can be used to determine the Pokémon in Eggs obtained from trades.

By wtfhloser
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Baton Pass Own Tempo glitch

If a Pokémon with Own Tempo is confused due to obtaining it from Baton Pass, it will not be cured of confusion until after a Pokémon takes its turn (uses a move, switches out, etc.).

This glitch is present in the core series Generation V, VI, VII, and VIII games.

Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch

Main article: Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch

If the user has Serene Grace and uses Charge Beam while its side is under the effect of the rainbow from the combination of Fire Pledge and Water Pledge, the additional effect chance for Charge Beam will overflow and become 24%.[1]

This glitch is present in the core series Generation V, VI, VII, and VIII games.

By パデック
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Choice item lock glitch

Main article: Choice item lock glitch

If a Pokémon is already locked into a move due to a Choice item (the Choice Band, Choice Specs, or Choice Scarf), if the held Choice item is removed while the effect of the Pokémon's held item is negated (by Klutz, Embargo, or Magic Room), the Pokémon will remain locked into the move.

When the Pokémon's held item regains its effect (e.g. Magic Room wears off), regardless of the Pokémon's held item (even if it has none), it cannot select moves other than the one it is locked into; if it attempts to select another move, the message "The <HELD ITEM> allows the use of only <MOVE>!" will be displayed.

Confusion item activation glitch

If a Pokémon hurts itself in confusion, items that activate when its HP drops below a specific threshold will not activate. These items instead activate after the next time it loses HP (other than by hurting itself confused). Affected items include the Sitrus Berry, Figy Berry, Liechi Berry, and Berry Juice.

For example, if a Pokémon holding a Berry Juice hurts itself confused so that its HP drops below 50% of its maximum HP, its held Berry Juice will not be activated.

This glitch is present in the core series Generation V, VI, and VII games.

By GlitchyGarchomp
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


HP display glitch

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: check what would happen if False Swipe was used
The screens are desynchronized.

Sometimes, when the player's Pokémon has gained enough HP EVs during a battle to increase its HP stat, the battle and team summary screen may display different values. This can also occur when the game recalculates the HP of a Pokémon on the last Pokémon of a Trainer battle or at the conclusion of a Wild Battle.

Fainted Pokémon glitch

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: checking if it occurs in B2W2; confirm the Double Battle glitch Pokémon occurs; check if this can occur with 2 HP or more

This glitch can occur in Pokémon Black or White as a side effect of the HP display glitch. If a Pokémon gains enough HP EVs that would allow it survive a would-be one-hit KO with one HP left that it would not have be able to do prior to the gain, that Pokémon will still faint. This occurs more often with low-level Pokémon due to seemly being more likely to gain a level while benefiting from the EVs, in addition to having stats that would originally lead to a one-hit KO prior to leveling up.

In a Single Battle, this prevents the player from switching out Pokémon or attack. Due to this, the only way out is to reset the game.

In a Rotation Battle, the Pokémon can still be rotated out to a different Pokémon.

By Rentaline99
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Impossible move selection glitch

If a Triple Battle against an in-game trainer proceeds so that the opponent is down to two Pokémon left, both in opposite corners, while the player is down to one Pokémon left that's also in a corner, one of the opponent's Pokémon will be left without any adjacent targets. If that Pokémon doesn't have any available moves that can target non-adjacent opponents, its AI evaluation routine will assign scores to each of its moves which are so dismissive that they're on par with the signaling value that a move is never supposed to be selected, such as because it has no PP left. The Pokémon will then choose between its moves randomly for as long as it remains with no targets in range, and if some (but not all) of its moves are out of PP, it is still prone to its random selection choosing one of those moves, which will then fail with the message "But there was no PP left for the move!"

During the taping of a film at Pokéstar Studios, opponents select moves according to a predefined script, and can also invoke this glitch if the script orders them to use a move that's already out of PP.

Moves that are blocked by any of Disable, Taunt, Imprison, Heal Block, or Gravity are prone to be chosen in this circumstance, and will be prevented with the appropriate message for the respective effect and without PP being deducted. Moves that should be blocked by Torment or a Choice item can also be chosen and, for self-targeting moves or other moves that aren't hampered by the lack of any targets in range, they can be used successfully.

If all of the Pokémon's moves are rendered inaccessible on the same turn due to any combination of these factors, the opponent will correctly acknowledge this and use Struggle as usual.

Low HP cry oversight

While Pokémon with a yellow HP bar have a distorted cry to match their low HP, Pokémon with a red HP bar have the same cry as Pokémon with a green HP bar.

Prize money display oversight

Receiving more than $99,999 in prize money. This example is with Challenge Mode ($17,280), Amulet Coin (×2) and Prize Money Power ↑↑↑ (×3). In total, $103,680 is shown as $?3680.

If the player wins a battle with an Amulet Coin and a Prize Money Power ↑, ↑↑ or ↑↑↑, so that the resulting prize money is an amount greater than $99,999, it will be displayed with a question mark before the last four digits. This happens because the game is only designed to display up to five digits of the prize money.

Shed Shell glitch

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Specifics on when it occurs

Sometimes in in-game battles, if the player's lead Pokémon holds a Shed Shell, it will be unable to switch out. This glitch does not occur in link battles.

By wtfhloser
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Sky Drop glitch

Main article: Sky Drop glitch

Due to this glitch, the move Sky Drop was banned in Wi-Fi Random Matches starting November 10, 2010.

This glitch can only occur in Double and Triple Battles. It is activated when Gravity is used while two Pokémon are in the semi-invulnerable state after Sky Drop is used. Gravity will bring the user of Sky Drop down, while the target will be stuck in the semi-invulnerable state, unable to move until it is knocked out.

Sprite clipping

Sandile's sprite with jaw being clipped by the terrain

When encountering a wild Sandile, its lower jaw will clip through the terrain it is standing on the first time it opens its mouth.

When zooming in on an enemy's Conkeldurr for any reason, the bottom portion of Conkeldurr's pillars will disappear underneath its platform. After zooming back into regular zoom though, the missing portion of Conkeldurr's pillars will return. This also happens when Conkeldurr faints while its cry is playing.

Trick Room oversight

If a Pokémon has an effective Speed stat of at least 1809, it will ignore the effects of Trick Room, and act before slower Pokémon. This glitch is also present in Generation VI, VII and VIII games.

By NaiJPC
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Pokémon Black and White

All languages

Gym Leader music oversight

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: checking if it occurs in B2W2

If the player is in the middle of a move that inflicts damage over several turns consecutively (such as Rollout), and the Gym Leader sends out their last Pokémon, the battle music will not change until after the duration of the move ends. This is because the Gym Leader does not come out to speak, which is what cues the music change.

By chicobo329
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Japanese language

Wellspring Cave all-fainted party

In Japanese versions of Black and White only, the Multi Battle with Cheren against Team Plasma grunts in Wellspring Cave does not automatically heal the player's team afterwards, as most Multi Battles do. If all of the player's Pokémon faint in that battle, but Cheren successfully finishes off the opponents, the player will thus be left with zero healthy Pokémon afterward. They can continue playing at that point, but if they engage in a battle (be it against a wild Pokémon or a Trainer) before either healing or withdrawing a healthy Pokémon from the PC, they will black out and lose money as soon as the battle begins. The Pokémon will then be healed and the game can continue as normal.

If the player had only one Pokémon in their party at the time and they manage to leave the cave with no further encounters, it is then possible to give that Pokémon to the nearby Day Care and be left with a completely empty party. At that point, rather than blacking out immediately at the start of a battle, the game will crash from doing so. It will also crash from attempting to view the Pokémon menu, or by selecting a Bag item and attempting to use it on, or give it to, one of the player's Pokémon (which likewise brings up that menu). However, if one side of the Pokémon status screens has been registered to the Y menu beforehand, that screen can be accessed that way, displaying a sequence of empty data and a nickname that appears as a string of at least fourteen question marks before it runs off the edge of the screen. Effectively this is the Generation V ----- glitch Pokémon, making this glitch the only known way to see one without external modification or a cheating device. Retrieving the Pokémon from Day Care, withdrawing one from the PC, or receiving the gift elemental monkey (if it had not already been received) will then return the game to normal.

If the player had also received an Egg via a trade (or theoretically Mystery Gift, such as one of the Wi-Fi Mystery Eggs, as these are the only two possible ways to obtain an Egg this early in the game), then like the Pomeg glitch from previous generations, it is possible to view the contents of the Egg, by swapping it into the first slot before a battle, or by depositing the fainted Pokémon into Day Care so the Egg becomes the only party member.

If an Egg is sent out in battle, it will play the cry of the Pokémon inside, and the player will not black out immediately; instead, they may select one of the Egg's moves, or use an item, and will only black out after that action, or an opponent's move, has occurred. Even if the player's lone action in this case is to throw a Poké Ball, and it successfully catches the Pokémon, they will still black out and not be able to keep the caught Pokémon, as the blackout check happens before the new Pokémon can be added to the player's party as a healthy team member. However, if a Revive is used on that first action to heal one of the player's fainted Pokémon, that will prevent blacking out, and the Egg can remain in battle until it's switched out or brought to 0 HP. The Egg can gain experience this way, level up, and learn new moves, as in the Pomeg glitch. Unlike that glitch, though, Eggs will not attempt to evolve no matter how often they level up, and when they hatch, they will retain any experience and levels already received, instead of reverting to the usual hatching level.

By ChickasaurusGL Evie
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

Multi Battle victory jingle oversight

Defeating a pair of wild Pokémon while the player has a partner will play the Trainer defeated jingle, rather than the wild Pokémon defeated jingle.

By chicobo329
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Pokéstar Studios trainer name oversight

When watching a movie at Pokéstar Studios, if the player's Pokémon uses Volt Switch or U-turn with at least one healthy Pokémon to switch to, no trainer name will be displayed. Instead it will say that the Pokémon "went back to !"

Rough Skin Substitute glitch

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Further research (experiments with Iron Barbs and using Substitute while behind the fake one); checking if it occurs in BW

If a Pokémon behind a substitute faints from Rough Skin or Rocky Helmet, the sprite of the Pokémon that was attacked will be replaced by a substitute. This does not confer the effects of a substitute and the Pokémon can act as normal.

By TrainerOfDistinction
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


References


Multiple
generations
Transform glitchesGlitch TrainersCloning glitchesError messagesArbitrary code execution
Generation I GlitchesBattle glitchesOverworld glitches
--0 ERRORBroken hidden itemsCable Club escape glitchDual-type damage misinformation
Experience underflow glitchFight Safari Zone Pokémon trickGlitch CityItem duplication glitchItem underflow
Mew glitchOld man glitchPewter Gym skip glitchPokémon merge glitchRhydon glitchRival twins glitch
Select glitches (dokokashira door glitch, second type glitch) • Super Glitch
Time Capsule exploitWalking through wallsZZAZZ glitch
Generation II GlitchesBattle glitches
Bug-Catching Contest glitchCelebi Egg glitchCoin Case glitchesExperience underflow glitch
Glitch dimensionGlitch EggTeru-samaTime Capsule exploitTrainer House glitchesGS Ball mail glitch
Generation III GlitchesBattle glitchesOverworld glitches
Berry glitchDive glitchPomeg glitchGlitzer Popping
Generation IV GlitchesBattle glitchesOverworld glitches
Acid rainGTS glitchesPomeg glitchRage glitch
Surf glitchTweakingPal Park Retire glitch
Generation V GlitchesBattle glitchesOverworld glitches
Charge Beam additional effect chance glitchCharge move replacement glitchChoice item lock glitch
Frozen Zoroark glitchSky Drop glitch
Generation VI GlitchesBattle glitchesOverworld glitches
Charge Beam additional effect chance glitchCharge move replacement glitchChoice item lock glitch
Lumiose City save glitchSymbiosis Eject Button glitchToxic sure-hit glitch
Generation VII GlitchesBattle glitchesOverworld glitches
Charge Beam additional effect chance glitchCharge move replacement glitchChoice item lock glitch
Toxic sure-hit glitchRollout storage glitch
Generation VIII Glitches
Charge Beam additional effect chance glitchCharge move replacement glitchChoice item lock glitch
Toxic sure-hit glitchRollout storage glitchParty item offset glitch
Generation IX Glitches
Glitch effects Game freezeGlitch battleGlitch song
Gen I only: Glitch screenTMTRAINER effectInverted sprite
Gen II only: Glitch dimension
Lists Glitches (GOMystery DungeonTCG GBSpin-off)
Glitch Pokémon (Gen IGen IIGen IIIGen IVGen VGen VIGen VIIGen VIII)
Glitch moves (Gen I) • Glitch types (Gen IGen II)


Project GlitchDex logo.png This glitch Pokémon article is part of Project GlitchDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on glitches in the Pokémon games.