Recoil
- This article is about the damage caused by some moves. For the beta name of Magneton, seeMagneton (Pokémon).
- Not to be confused with theRecoil status condition inPokémon Mystery Dungeon.
Recoil (Japanese:反動recoil) is the damage taken by the attacking Pokémon when successfully using certain riskymoves. In most cases, recoil damage is proportional to thedamage dealt to the opponent, but some moves (most notablyStruggle) cause the user to take damage proportional to their ownHP.
Description
| Generation I | Generation II | Generation III | Generation IV | Generation V | Generation VI | Generation VII | Generation VIII | Generation IX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SwShBDSP | LA | ||||||||
| "(Enemy) <Pokémon>'s hit with recoil!" | "(Wild/Foe) <Pokémon> is hit with recoil!" | "(The wild/foe's) <Pokémon> is hit with recoil!" | "(The wild/foe's) <Pokémon> was damaged by recoil!" | "(The wild/opposing) <Pokémon> was damaged by the recoil!" | "(The wild/The opposing/Totem) <Pokémon> was damaged by the recoil!" | "(The wild/opposing/<Trainer name>'s) <Pokémon> was damaged by the recoil!" | "<Pokémon> was damaged by the recoil!" | "(The wild/opposing) <Pokémon> was damaged by the recoil!" | |
Mechanics
Moves that have recoil are damage-dealing moves that cause the user to take damage after being used.
For most recoil moves, the amount of recoil damage is proportional to the damage dealt (the exact proportion varying between moves); however, forStruggle (fromGeneration IV onward) andShadow Rush (inColosseum only), the recoil damage is proportional to the user's maximumHP, whileShadow End has recoil proportional to the user's current HP.
InPokémon Stadium only, if a recoil move knocks out the opponent, then the user will not take recoil damage.
Several Abilities affect recoil moves. None of them affect Struggle, Shadow RushColo, or Shadow End.
- The AbilityRock Head prevents the Pokémon that has it from taking recoil damage.
- The AbilityReckless increases thepower of moves with recoil by 20%, exceptStruggle. (Due to increasing the damage dealt, this also increases the recoil by the same proportion.)
- The AbilityMagic Guard prevents the Pokémon that has it from taking indirect damage (including recoil damage).
Recoil is not considered anadditional effect bySheer Force. Even if a recoil move does have a secondary effect that is suppressed by Sheer Force (such asFlare Blitz), Sheer Force does not prevent the user from taking recoil damage.
Recoil is mandatory to evolve White-stripedBasculin intoBasculegion, as White-striped Basculin must cumulatively lose 294HP to recoil damage withoutfainting to evolve.
Similar mechanics
Some moves havecrash damage, a similar concept where the user takes damage only if the move fails to affect its target. Though these moves are also affected byReckless, this damage is not recoil damage.
The itemLife Orb causes its holder to take damage whenever it uses a move, but this damage is not recoil damage. Additionally, unlike recoil damage, this damage can be prevented by Sheer Force (if the move used has an additional effect).
The movesMind Blown,Steel Beam, andChloroblast cause the user to take damage after use, but this damage is not recoil damage.Several other moves deal damage to the user that always causes it tofaint when used.
Moves with recoil damage
| Name | Type | Category | Power | Accuracy | Recoil | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brave Bird | Flying | Physical | 120 | 100% | ⅓ of damage dealt | |
| Double-Edge | Normal | Physical | 100(Gen. I) 120(Gen. II+) | 100% | ⅓ of damage dealt(Gen. III+) ¼ of damage dealt(Gen. I-II) | |
| Flare Blitz | Fire | Physical | 120 | 100% | ⅓ of damage dealt | 10% chance ofburning the target. |
| Head Charge | Normal | Physical | 120 | 100% | ¼ of damage dealt | |
| Head Smash | Rock | Physical | 150 | 80% | ½ of damage dealt | |
| Light of Ruin | Fairy | Special | 140 | 90% | ½ of damage dealt | This move is exclusive to a Pokémon that has never been legitimately available. |
| Self-DestructLA | Normal | Physical | 150 | 100% | ⅘ of user's maximum HP | |
| Shadow End | Shadow | Physical | 120 | 60% | ½ of user's current HP | |
| Shadow RushColo | Shadow | Physical | 90 | 100% | ¹⁄₁₆ of user's maximum HP | 95% chance to land acritical hit when the Pokémon is inHyper Mode |
| Struggle | Normal | Physical | 50 | 100%(Gen. I-III) —%(Gen. IV+) | ¼ of user's maximum HP(Gen. IV+) ¼ of damage dealt(Gen. II-III) ½ of damage dealt(Gen. I) | HitsGhost-type Pokémon inPokémon Stadium and from Generation II onward |
| Submission | Fighting | Physical | 80 | 80% | ¼ of damage dealt | |
| Take Down | Normal | Physical | 90 | 85% | ¼ of damage dealt | |
| Volt Tackle | Electric | Physical | 120 | 100% | ⅓ of damage dealt | 10% chance ofparalyzing the target |
| Wave Crash | Water | Physical | 75(Gen. VIII) 120(Gen. IX+) | 100% | ⅓ of damage dealt | Also raises the user's action speed in Legends: Arceus |
| Wild Charge | Electric | Physical | 90 | 100% | ¼ of damage dealt | |
| Wood Hammer | Grass | Physical | 120 | 100% | ⅓ of damage dealt |
In animation
Pokémon the Series
Recoil has been noted multiple times inPokémon the Series, most notably afterPikachu usesVolt Tackle.Brock has stated many times that Volt Tackle causes recoil and is very risky.
Ash'sStaraptor andReggie'sStaraptor both knowBrave Bird, which was stated to do recoil damage, making it a very risky move. The same goes forFlint'sInfernape andAsh's Infernape, who both knowFlare Blitz, andRoark'sRampardos, who knowsHead Smash.
Take Down is referred to as a risky move numerous times in the animated series, along withDouble-Edge. However, in some earlyPokémon the Series: The Beginning episodes, such asThe Battle of the Badge, whereAsh's Pidgeotto used Double-Edge, it apparently took no recoil damage.
InThe Moment of Lumiose Truth!,Clemont's Bunnelby was revealed to have learnedWild Charge. However, immediately after using Wild Charge, Bunnelby usedDig to cut down on the effects of recoil damage.
Gallery
Brave Bird being used byAsh's Talonflame
Flare Blitz being used byAsh's Infernape
Head Smash being used byRoark's Cranidos
Take Down being used byDawn's Piloswine
Pokémon Horizons: The Series
Gallery
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
Gallery
Submission being used byBlue's Machamp
In the TCG
ThePokémon Trading Card Game does not officially recognize recoil damage. Regardless, certainattacks cause aPokémon to inflictdamage "to itself", and damage dealt to itself is distinguished from damage dealt to opponents. (The cardProtection Cube protects a Pokémon from damage inflicted by its own attacks.) Some common variations on attacks that inflict damage to their users are attacks that only do so if acoin flip has a "Tails" result, and attacks that only cause self damage if the player chooses to deal more damage to theDefending Pokémon.
Attacks named after attacks from thecore series that cause recoil damage, such asTake Down andDouble-Edge, often cause the Pokémon to deal damage to itself. The movesSelf-Destruct andExplosion, which cause the user tofaint in the games, usually only cause self damage equal to the card's maximumHP in the Trading Card Game. This means that HP increasing effects or damage reducing effects can allow a Pokémon to survive dealing damage to itself that is intended to cause it to beKnocked Out. (Some effects, such asMinior's Cosmicsplosion, do specifically Knock Out the user.)
In other languages
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Related articles
 | This game mechanic article is part ofProject Games, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on thePokémon games. |
