Pokémon Stats

Every Pokémon has 6 stats: HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. A Pokémon's final stats come from 5 inputs: its species base stats, its hidden IVs and earned EVs (bonus values explained below), its level, and its nature.

Stats decide how much damage a Pokémon deals, how much it can take, and how fast it acts each turn.

Last updated August 23, 2026

Number of stats: 6
Offensive stats: Attack, Sp. Atk
Defensive stats: Defense, Sp. Def
Turn order: Set by Speed
Stat inputs: 5 (base, IV, EV, level, nature)
Highest base total: 720

The 6 stats, in plain English

The six Pokémon stats and what each one does in battle.
Stat	What it does
HP	Hit Points: how much damage a Pokémon can take before it faints.
Attack	The power behind physical moves, the ones that make contact like tackles and punches.
Defense	How well a Pokémon withstands incoming physical moves.
Special Attack	The power behind special moves, the ranged ones like beams and elemental blasts.
Special Defense	How well a Pokémon withstands incoming special moves.
Speed	Decides which Pokémon acts first each turn. The faster one moves before the slower one.

Attack and Defense pair up for physical moves, while Special Attack and Special Defense pair up for special moves. Whether a move is physical or special is set per move, a system in place since Generation 4 (2006), so it no longer depends only on the move's type.

What are base stats?

Base stats are fixed numbers set for each species, the same for every Pokémon of that kind. They are the starting point that the other inputs build on, so a species with high base stats has more raw potential than one with low base stats. A single Pokémon's actual stats then rise from there based on its level and hidden values.

Base stats are rarely spread evenly. Shuckle, for example, pours almost everything into Defense and Special Defense while barely investing in anything else, making it a famous wall. Blissey, by contrast, has enormous HP but very low Defense, so it soaks up special hits yet folds to physical ones.

What is base stat total (BST)?

A base stat total, or BST, is simply the six base stats added together. It is a rough one-number measure of a species' overall power: higher usually means stronger. It says nothing about how the points are spread, though, so two Pokémon with the same total can feel completely different in battle.

For scale, Charizard has a base stat total of 534, a solid all-rounder. As of August 2026, the highest base stat total in the National Pokédex belongs to Arceus at 720, while an early-game Pokémon like Sunkern sits near the bottom at 180. You can compare totals for any Pokémon in the Pokédex.

What affects a Pokémon's stats?

Five inputs combine to produce the numbers you see on a Pokémon's summary screen:

Base stats: the species-wide starting values described above.
IVs: hidden values from 0 to 31 per stat, set when you get the Pokémon. See IVs and EVs explained.
EVs: hidden training points earned from battling, up to 252 per stat and 510 in total, also covered on the IVs and EVs page.
Level: a higher level scales every stat up.
Nature: raises one stat by 10% and lowers another by 10%. See the full nature chart.

Which stat matters most?

There is no single most important stat, because the answer depends on what a Pokémon is meant to do. Speed is often the most prized, since moving first lets you land a hit, or even faint the opponent, before it gets a turn. A fast attacker with Speed100+ can control the pace of a battle.

But a defensive Pokémon built to soak up damage cares more about HP and its two defenses than about Speed, and a pure attacker wants a high Attack or Special Attack to match its moves. The strongest teams mix these roles rather than chasing one stat on every member.

Frequently asked questions

What are the six Pokémon stats?

Every Pokémon has six stats: HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. HP is how much damage it can take, Attack and Special Attack decide how hard its moves hit, Defense and Special Defense decide how well it takes hits, and Speed decides who moves first. Together they describe how a Pokémon performs in battle.

What is a base stat total?

A base stat total, or BST, is the sum of a Pokémon's six base stats. It is a quick, rough measure of overall power, so a species with a high total is generally stronger than one with a low total. It does not account for how those points are spread, so two Pokémon with the same total can play very differently.

What decides a Pokémon’s stats?

Five things combine to set a Pokémon's final stats: its species base stats, its hidden IVs, its earned EVs, its level, and its nature. Base stats set the starting point for the species, IVs and EVs add hidden bonuses, level scales everything up, and nature nudges two stats up and down.

Which Pokémon stat is the most important?

There is no single most important stat, because it depends on the Pokémon’s role. Speed is often the most valuable because moving first lets you strike before the opponent, but a defensive Pokémon leans on HP and its defenses instead. The best teams mix roles rather than maxing one stat everywhere.

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