Why are my Pokémon loafing around?
Hey friend! Have you ever had moments in battle where your Pokémon just won‘t attack when you want it to? Instead you get frustrating messages like "Pikachu is loafing around" or "Charizard is feeling very lazy". I‘ve been there too!
As a long-time Pokemon expert and data analyst, let me break down exactly why this loafing around happens, and some tips to deal with it. Stick with me, and you‘ll understand the hidden friendship mechanics and obedience limitations that cause Pokémon to ignore us when we need them most!
What triggers loafing around in battles?
Loafing around is connected to your Pokémon‘s friendship value, often called "happiness" in the games. Essentially, Pokémon who have grown to really like you have a chance of loafing around in battle rather than attacking.
The formulas get complex, but here‘s the gist:
- Every Pokémon has a base friendship starting at 70 for caught Pokémon, or 50 if acquired by trading. This can range from 0 to 255.
- Higher friendship gives a chance of loafing around in battles – roughly 1% per friendship point above 200.
- So a Pokémon at max friendship of 255 would have around a 55% loaf chance!
There are also other factors that can lead to skipping a turn in battle:
- Status conditions – being asleep, frozen, paralyzed, flinched etc.
- Using certain moves with a recovery period like Fly, Dig, Dive
- Effects of items like Smoke Ball making them flee
But plainly loafing around will only happen when friendship is very high. Let‘s get into the implications!
Why do Pokémon loaf around when they like you?
Game developer Game Freak has explained that Pokémon loafing around due to high friendship is intended to show the bond between Pokémon and trainer.
Like they‘re so comfortable with you and don‘t feel the need to battle their hardest. It‘s a unique game flavor that adds character to your Pokémon‘s personalities!
Of course, this can be inconvenient if you want them battling seriously. Here are some ways you can prevent loafing around:
- Use Pokémon with lower friendship values in your team
- Turn off affection bonuses that increase loafing chances
- Equip items like Mental Herb to stop loafing for one turn
- Get massages in Gen 3 to rapidly lower friendship
If you want your Pokémon to feel closer to you, but not loaf during important fights, you can give them bitter herbs to reset friendship pre-battle!
When do traded high-level Pokémon disobey you?
Apart from loafing around, you may also deal with outright disobedience from Pokémon traded to you at high levels. This stems from a different obedience mechanic in the games.
The level of traded Pokémon that will reliably obey you depends on the number of badges you have:
| Badges | Obeys up to Level |
|---|---|
| 0 | 10 |
| 2 | 30 |
| 4 | 50 |
| 7 | 70 |
| 8 | 100 |
So early in the game, traded Pokémon above Lv10 may ignore your commands! This requires gaining badges to incrementally raise the obedience level cap.
It‘s designed to make you work with Pokémon you personally caught and raised, rather than relying on trades alone. An interesting philosophy for an RPG!
There are some exceptions across generations though:
- Your starter always obeys you, having been received at Lv5
- Pokémon originally hatched from eggs obey regardless of level
- Obtained Pokémon like Eevee, Lapras, Type:Null also obey
The limit is generally up to Lv100 obedience after getting 8 badges in Kanto/Johto/Hoenn/Sinnoh/Unova. So with sufficient training, you can use those powerful trades against the Elite Four!
What about Pokemon Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet?
The recent Pokemon Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet games shake up the obedience mechanics to use star ranks and trials instead of gym badges.
In PLA, traded Pokémon up to Lv25 obey at zero stars, then every star gained raises the cap by 10 levels. At max rank 6, all levels will obey!
Scarlet/Violet obedience is based on trials completed:
- 1 trial done – Obeys up to Lv 25
- 2 trials – Obeys up to Lv 30
- 3 trials – Obeys up to Lv 35
So you need to progress the new storylines rather than collecting badges for full obedience. This freshens up the experience!
I‘m hopeful future Pokemon games continue playing with the obedience system formula to keep it novel. Personally I‘d love toggles to disable it entirely for a greater challenge!
Why do sufficiently high level trades disobey?
You might be wondering – why does the obedience mechanic exist at all? Why limit which Pokémon you can use through the adventure?
It stems from game balance and enforcing a sense of progression. Traded high-level Pokémon can enable you to "cheat" through early gyms and trivialize the difficulty curve. So it acts as a safeguard.
The experience and level pace of Pokémon is finely tuned. Say you trade a Lv50 Dragonite early on – you could breeze through all encounters and bosses without learning type matchups or tactics. That removes the rewarding feeling of growth!
So by incrementally raising the obedience cap, it ensures you depend on your own caught Pokémon and master fundamentals before utilizing powerful aids.
Do you agree with this philosophy? I see merits, but also feel the obedience system could be refined. Love to hear your thoughts!
Parting advice on handling disobedience
Hopefully this gives you insight into why your Pokémon may ignore commands through loafing around or outright disobedience. Here are some final tips to deal with it:
- Progress gyms/trials to incrementally raise the obedience level cap
- Only use Pokémon originally caught by you before trades
- Avoid having traded Pokémon gain levels too quickly
- Reset friendship with herbs/massages if it gets too high
That covers the main reasons your Pokémon may not listen in battle and how to mitigate it! Let me know if any other questions come up. Happy training!