Therange oreffective range^[1] (Japanese:範囲(はんい)range, also referred to as効果(こうか)の範囲(はんい)range of effect,^[1][2]有効範囲(ゆうこうはんい)effective range,^[3][1]効果範囲(こうかはんい)effect range,^[4] or効果対象(こうかたいしょう)effect target^[5]) of amove is the number and types of targets a given move can have an effect on. The mechanic was introduced inGeneration III along withDouble Battles.

Mechanics

In a Single Battle, most moves, such asTackle andGrowl, affect the opponent. Several moves, primarilystatus moves likeDefense Curl, affect the user. A few moves affect all Pokémon in battle, includingHaze andPerish Song. Some moves do not affect the Pokémon on the field directly, but instead affect the field itself, meaning that the effects of the move will still continue even if the user isswitched out of battle. These moves can affect the entire field (e.g.Rain Dance), the opponent's side of the field (e.g.Stealth Rock), or the user's side of the field (e.g.Light Screen). A few moves likeCurse have ranges that vary due to their particular effect.

In aDouble Battle and other battle formats featuring additional Pokémon, there can be one or more allies and/or one or more opponents. As such, the player will be asked to select which Pokémon to target after selecting a move. Most moves can target either a single opponent or ally, and the player can choose which of them to target. Some moves do not target a single Pokémon, but instead affect multiple Pokémon at the same time. These moves can target opponents and allies (e.g.Earthquake) or opponents only (e.g.Swift). A few moves such asThrash do not allow the player to choose which opponent to target, and will instead target a random opponent if multiple opponents are present. A few moves likeHelping Hand target an ally, and will fail if used in a Single Battle or when no ally is present.

In aTriple Battle, most moves can only hit Pokémon that are adjacent to the user. All five of the other Pokémon are adjacent if the user is in the middle position, and only the three surrounding Pokémon are adjacent if the user is in the left or right position.Long-range moves can affect faraway Pokémon on the opposite side of the field, even if they are not adjacent to the user.

In other battle formats:

• In aHorde Encounter, the other five Pokémon are treated as adjacent opponents to the player's Pokémon. Moves that target a single ally will fail, even if used by one of the five opponents.
• In aBattle Royal, moves that target multiple opponents or the opponent's side of the field will target all three opponents. Moves that target the user's side of the field will only affect the user's Pokémon, and moves that target an ally instead target a selected opponent.
• InSupport Play, moves that target a single ally or opponent cannot be used against the other ally Pokémon. Moves that target allies and multiple opponents will still affect the other ally Pokémon, however.
• In aMax Raid Battle orTera Raid Battle, the other Trainers' Pokémon are treated as adjacent allies and theDynamax/Terastallized Pokémon is treated as the opponent.

Thedamage of moves that have more than one target when the move is executed is reduced. SinceGeneration IV, it is reduced by 25%, except in Battle Royals, where it is reduced by 50% instead. In Generation III, only the damage of moves that target both opponents is reduced by 50% instead.

Long-range moves

Along-range move (Japanese:遠隔(えんかく)long-range) is a move that can hit any Pokémon on the battlefield, including the opponent or ally on the opposite side of the field in aTriple Battle. Internally, this is determined by a separate bit flag in the move data structure. In addition to moves that affect the field and moves that target all Pokémon in battle, all single-target damage-dealingFlying-type moves,Flying Press, and all single-targetaura and pulse moves are considered long-range moves as ofGeneration VI.

List of ranges

In the charts below, anorange cell indicates that the move can target any one of the highlighted cells by choice, while ared cell indicates that the move targets all of the highlighted cells.

List of moves by range

Generation V onwards

In the internal data of theGeneration V games onwards, moves can have one of 14 ranges depending on a byte value in the move data structure. InPokédex 3D,Pokédex 3D Pro, and the official guidebooks for these games, these are combined into a total of 12 categories. In the official guidebook forSword and Shield published byThe Pokémon Company International, the "Adjacent" category is split into "All Others" and "All", for a total of 13 categories. In the official guidebook forScarlet and VioletThe Hidden Treasure of Area Zero published by OVERLAP, a parenthetical note distinguishes moves that affect all allies and those that affect all allies except the user.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Moves that appear inPokémon Legends: Arceus can have one of three ranges; unusable moves retain the same values as previous games in the internal data and are not included below.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Further explanation on range

InPokémon Legends: Z-A moves have a minimum, maximum, and effective range.

The minimum and maximum range determines how far a Pokémon must be from its target before the move can initiate its wind-up frames. The effective range determines how far the move travels.

Generation IV

In the internal data of theGeneration IV games, moves can have one of 12 ranges depending on a two-byte value in the move data structure. In thePrima Games andMedia Factory guidebooks for these games, these are combined into a total of ten categories. In the Shogakukan, Mainichi Communications, and Enterbrain guidebooks for these games, the "All allies" category is split into "All allies" and "2 allies", for a total of 11 categories.

ThePokémon Diamond and Pearl: Official Nintendo Player's Guide byNintendo Power instead divides moves into six categories:

• 1: Move is effective on one foe or partner.
• 2: Move is effective against both foes at once.
• 3: Move is effective on both foes and partner at once.
• 4: Move is effective on all Pokémon at once.
• S: Move is effective on only the Pokémon that executes the move.
• R: Move affects random Pokémon chosen from both foes and partner.

Generation III

In the internal data of theGeneration III games, moves can have one of eight ranges depending on a byte value in themove data structure. In theGame Boy Advance games, value 0x02 would allow for moves that can target either the user, an ally, or an opponent, but the value is not used by any move; inPokémon XD, it is instead used forShadow Half, which targets all Pokémon in battle. In theMedia Factory guidebooks for these games, these are further divided into a total of 10^RSColo or 11^FRLGEXD categories. In the Shogakukan guidebooks for these games, the "Depends" category is further split into "Self" and "Not fixed", for a total of 11 categories. In the Enterbrain guidebooks for these games, moves are further distinguished by whether they affect the field or whether they haverecoil, for a total of 15 categories.

Pokémon Emerald: Prima's Official Strategy Guide andPokémon 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition Complete Pokédex byPrima Games instead divide moves into 11 different categories:

• 1E: 1 Enemy
• 2E: 2 Enemies
• RE: Random Enemy
• 1A/2E: 1 Ally and 2 Enemies (i.e., everyone but the caster)
• S/E: Self and Enemy
• Self
• All
• Allies
• All Allies
• AE
• —

Generations I and II

In the internal data of and in the official guidebooks for theGeneration I andII games, moves do not have ranges as a distinct property. Instead, whether it affects the user, the opponent, or both is considered part of the move's effect.

Trivia

• Struggle is categorized under "1 Random" inPokédex 3D andPokédex 3D Pro, despite it being classified as "Normal" in the move data structure and official guidebooks untilPokémon X and Y.
• Bleakwind Storm is marked as a long-range move in the move data structure ofPokémon Legends: Arceus, but is not marked as one inPokémon Scarlet and Violet. AsTriple Battles do not appear in these games, this has no actual effect, however.

In other languages

Long-range

Specific move ranges^{[6][25][26][27]}

English	Kana	Rōmaji	French	German	Italian	Spanish	Hangul	Romanized	Hànzì	Romanized
Normal	通常(つうじょう)	Tsūjō	Normale	Normal	Normale	Normal	통상	Tongsang	普通	Pǔtōng / Póutūng
Self	自分(じぶん)	Jibun	Soi	Anwender	Se stesso	Usuario	자신	Jasin	自己	Zìjǐ / Jihgéi
1 Ally	味方(みかた)１匹(ぴき)	Mikata ippiki	1 allié	1 Mitstreiter	Un alleato	1 aliado	같은편1마리	Gateunpyeon hanmari	我方一隻	Wǒfāng yīzhī / Ngóhfōng yātjek
Self/Ally	自分(じぶん)か味方(みかた)１匹(ぴき)	Jibun ka mikata ippiki	Soi ou 1 allié	Anwender oder 1 Mitsreiter	Se stesso o un alleato	Usuario o 1 aliado	자신또는같은편1마리	Jasin ttoneun gateunpyeon hanmari	自己或我方一隻	Zìjǐ huò wǒfāng yīzhī / Jihgéi waahk ngóhfōng yātjek
Your Party[12][13]	味方全(みかたすべ)て[14]	Mikata subete	Tous alliés	Alle Mitstrieter	Tutti gli alleati	Todos los aliados	같은편모두	Gateunpyeon modu	我方全員	Wǒfāng quányuán / Ngóhfōng chyùhnyùhn
1 Random	相手(あいて)ランダム１匹(ぴき)	Aite randamu ippiki	1 adv. au hasard	1 beliebiger Gegner	Un nemico a caso	1 rival aleatorio	상대랜덤1마리	Sangdae raendeom hanmari	對手隨機一隻	Duìshǒu suíjī yīzhī / Deuisáu chèuihgēi yātjek
Many Others	相手複数(あいてふくすう)	Aite fukusū	Adv. proches	Mehrere Gegner	Più nemici	Rivales cercanos	상대복수	Sangdae boksu	對手複數	Duìshǒu fùshù / Deuisáu fūksou
Adjacent[10][11][15]	相手(あいて)・味方複数(みかたふくすう)	Aite/mikata fukusū	PKMN proches	PKMN im Umkreis	Più alleati/nemici	Pokémon cercanos	상대·같은편복수	Sangdae/gateunpyeon boksu	對手·我方複數	Duìshǒu/wǒfāng fùshù / Deuisáu/ngóhfōng fūksou
Your Side	味方場(みかたば)	Mikata-ba	Côté allié	Eigene Seite	Tuo campo	Aliados de combate	같은편장소	Gateunpyeon jangso	我方場上	Wǒfāng chǎngshàng / Ngóhfōng chèuhngseuhng
Other Side	相手場(あいてば)	Aite-ba	Côté adv.	Gegnerseite	Campo nemico	Rivales de combate	상대장소	Sangdae jangso	對手場上	Duìshǒu chǎngshàng / Deuisáu chèuhngseuhng
Both Sides	相手(あいて)・味方場(みかたば)	Aite/mikata-ba	Tous côtés	Beide Seiten	Entrambi i campi	Todos	상대·같으편장소	Sangdae/gateunpyeon jangso	對手·我方場上	Duìshǒu/wǒfāng chǎngshàng / Deuisáu/ngóhfōng chèuhngseuhng
Varies	特殊(とくしゅ)	Tokushu	Spéciale	Spezial	Speciale	Especial	특수	Teuksu	特殊	Tèshū / Dahksyùh

Related articles

• Moves by range
• List of moves by range in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series

References

This game-related article is part ofProject Games, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on thePokémon games.

• Articles needing more information
• Game mechanics
• Terminology
• Moves by range