Pokémon game features
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Several game features have been introduced throughout the Pokémon video games' history. These features, or Easter eggs have played roles not only in the video games, but also the globally televised anime. They differ from the mechanics of the games in that they do not actually affect gameplay, but instead augment the mechanics or provide a diversion.
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[edit] Pokémon mini-games
[edit] Pokérus
Pokérus (a portmanteau of Pokémon and virus) is a rare virus introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. It is extremely infectious in nature, being able to spread between Pokémon of different species. There is no cure for the Pokérus, but a Pokémon can be cured of it over a period of 24 hours. Because of this, Pokérus cannot be contracted or spread in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, although infected Pokémon can be traded to the game, and the effects of the Pokérus are applied normally. Similarly, a Pokémon with the Pokérus cannot be cured of it while in these two games. Despite being a virus, Pokérus is beneficial to its hosts.
Pokérus accelerates the hidden statistical development of Pokémon (that is, its training), making it gain effort values at twice the speed. This effect is cumulative with the Macho Brace, and an infected Pokémon with such an item effectively trains at four times faster than normal. In the third generation games, where training is capped to a maximum, the Pokérus does not raise this maximum limit. The overall effect on a Pokémon's strength is thus negligable, as a Pokémon can be fully trained with or without Pokérus. It is, however, easier to fully develop a Pokémon's skills with Pokérus, reducing the number of battles needed to fully train the Pokémon.
Pokérus is mainly contracted from battles; there is a 2 in 65535 chance of contracting Pokérus in battle. If a Pokémon on the active party has Pokérus, there is a one-in-two chance (one-in-three in the third generation) that an adjacent Pokémon on the team will contract the Pokérus in every round of battle. The active Pokémon can also contract Pokérus in this manner if the first "bench member" has the Pokérus.
Pokérus is cured after 24 hours on the party from the time of infection–Pokémon cannot be cured of Pokérus if left in a Pokémon box, traded to Pokémon Stadium 2, or to Pokémon Box. Once Pokérus' effects end, the host develops an immunity to it and it can no longer be transmitted.
