Obedience

Obedience (Japanese: 言(い)うことを聞(き)く obey) is a Pokémon's willingness to listen to its Trainer's commands. While Pokémon usually obey their Trainers, a Pokémon may disobey if it does not respect its Trainer.

In the core series games

A Pokémon will often not obey the player's commands if its level is too high and the player does not have the appropriate Badge, Stamp, or number of Badges. Having all eight Badges or the Island Challenge Completion stamp always makes all Pokémon obey the player. This mechanic exists to prevent players from trading in a high-leveled Pokémon from another game and easily beating the game.

From Generations I to VII and in Pokémon Sword, Shield, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, only outsider Pokémon (i.e. traded Pokémon) can disobey the player due to their level being too high. In Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, this applies even to non-outsider Pokémon, but is based on the level the Pokémon was met at when caught (as displayed on the Summary screen) rather than its current level. This prevents a Pokémon from suddenly becoming disobedient once it exceeds a player's current obedience level, as long as it was caught at or below that level. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, if a Pokémon was received in a trade, the level at which it was traded instead is treated as the met level for obedience purposes. Prior to version 1.2.0 of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, due to a bug, this would apply even if traded back to its Original Trainer.^[1]

In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Emerald, Colosseum, and XD: Gale of Darkness, Mew and Deoxys that were not met in a fateful encounter will always disobey the player, regardless of Badges or being outsider Pokémon. This exists to hinder players who cheat to obtain them.

From Generation V onward, a disobedient Pokémon will rarely ever attack. It appears that the closer the Pokémon's level is to the Trainer's maximum level, the more likely it is to listen. For example, prior to defeating the first Gym Leader, a level 100 Pokémon will almost always ignore its Trainer; however, attempting to control a level 36 Pokémon while the highest level controllable is 30 will result in the Pokémon listening more often, but still occasionally loafing around.

In Generations III and IV, ignoring orders in a Double Battle will allow it to select a different target.

In Pokémon Sword and Shield and Scarlet and Violet, obedience does not apply to a Max Raid Battle and Tera Raid Battle respectively.^[2][3] In Scarlet and Violet, Auto Battles run an obedience check as well. If this is failed, a blue broken heart appears near the Pokémon and it wanders away from the Pokémon it was about to battle. However, using the Synchro Machine does not run an obedience check. In all generations, obedience does not apply to link battles or battle facilities either.

Badges

The Badges or number of Badges that the player has affects their Pokémon's behavior. From Generation I to IV, usually the maximum level at which outsider Pokémon will obey the player is increased every second Badge (in Badge case order); from Generation V onward (except in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl), this increase occurs for every Badge instead of every other Badge. In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet obedience is determined by the number of Badges, not which specific Badges the player has. This can be attributed to the non-linear way the player can obtain badges in those games; the Cobble and Fen Badges in Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, the Thunder, Rainbow, Soul, Marsh, and Volcano Badges in Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, and all of them in Scarlet and Violet.

Stamps

In the Alola region, the number of Stamps the player has earned by completing grand trials in the island challenge affect their Pokémon's behavior.

Rank

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Galaxy Team rank achieved by the player affects their Pokémon's behavior. Unlike previous games, this applies even to non-outsider Pokémon, but is based on met level instead of current level.

Disobedience quotes

The following table may be sorted by generation by clicking on the appropriate header.

Mechanics

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Mechanics in Generation V onward

Generation I and II

In battles in which experience can be earned, an outsider Pokémon may disobey the player if its level is greater than the maximum controllable level M granted by the player's Badges.

When using a move, if it is possible for the Pokémon to disobey, a random integer ${\displaystyle R_{1}}$ from 0 to ${\displaystyle T}$ is generated, where ${\displaystyle T=PokemonLevel+ObedienceCap-1}$. If ${\displaystyle R_{1}}$ is greater than or equal to ${\displaystyle ObedienceCap}$, the Pokémon disobeys. If a Pokémon disobeys, the effect of Encore immediately ends.

If the disobedient Pokémon was trying to use Snore or Sleep Talk while asleep, the Pokémon will ignore orders and do nothing. Otherwise, ${\displaystyle R_{2}}$, a second random integer from 0 to ${\displaystyle T}$, is independently generated. If ${\displaystyle R_{2}}$ is less than ${\displaystyle ObedienceCap}$, the Pokémon uses another possible move instead (if any move is disabled, or if no other move has PP remaining, the Pokémon will simply not attack). Otherwise, another random integer ${\displaystyle R_{3}}$ is generated, but this time ranging from 0 to 255.

• If ${\displaystyle R_{3}<(PokemonLevel-ObedienceCap)}$, the Pokémon takes a nap and goes to sleep (potentially overriding other status conditions).
• Otherwise, if ${\displaystyle R_{3}<2\cdot (PokemonLevel-ObedienceCap)}$, the Pokémon inflicts confusion damage to itself.
• Otherwise, the Pokémon does not attack.

The obedience check is not performed during the second turn of a move with a charging turn, or while locked into Bide or a consecutively executed move.

Generation III and IV

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: In Gen IV, check circumstances that skip the obedience check in Gen III

In battles in which experience can be earned, in the Trainer Tower, and on the Trainer Hill, an outsider Pokémon may disobey the player if its level is greater than the maximum controllable level ${\displaystyle ObedienceCap}$ granted by the player's Badges. In Pokémon FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald, this value is treated as 0 for the obedience check of a Deoxys or Mew that is not met in a fateful encounter, regardless of the player's Badges.

If it is possible for the Pokémon to disobey, when using a move, the following value is calculated. (${\displaystyle R_{1}}$ is a random integer between 0 and 255.)

${\displaystyle ObedienceCheck={(PokemonLevel+ObedienceCap)\times R_{1} \over 256}}$

If ${\displaystyle ObedienceCheck}$ is greater than or equal to ${\displaystyle ObedienceCap}$, the Pokémon disobeys. If a Pokémon is determined to be disobedient and was commanded to use Rage, the effect of Rage immediately ends.

If the disobedient Pokémon was trying to use Snore or Sleep Talk while asleep, the Pokémon will ignore orders and do nothing. Otherwise, a second value is calculated to determine what disobedience action the Pokémon should take. (${\displaystyle R_{2}}$ is a random integer between 0 and 255, independent of the previous random integer.)

${\displaystyle DisobedienceAction={(PokemonLevel+ObedienceCap)\times R_{2} \over 256}}$

If ${\displaystyle DisobedienceAction}$ is less than ${\displaystyle ObedienceCap}$, the Pokémon uses another possible move instead. Otherwise, ${\displaystyle R_{3}}$, another independent random integer between 0 and 255, is generated.

• If ${\displaystyle R_{3}<(PokemonLevel-ObedienceCap)}$, the Pokémon takes a nap and goes to sleep, unless it already has a major status condition, an uproar is occurring, or it has the Ability Vital Spirit or Insomnia.
• Otherwise, if ${\displaystyle R_{3}<2\cdot (PokemonLevel-ObedienceCap)}$, the Pokémon inflicts confusion damage to itself.
• Otherwise, the Pokémon does not attack.

In Generation III, the obedience check is not performed when using Pursuit on a Pokémon about to switch out, during the second turn of a move with a charging turn, or while locked into Bide or a consecutively executed move. In Generation IV, the obedience check is not performed while locked into Bide (other moves skipped in Generation III are unconfirmed in Generation IV).

In Pokémon Colosseum, Shadow Pokémon may disobey commands to use any moves but Shadow moves if they are in Hyper Mode.

Gallery

This article is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Needs screenshot from Let's Go, Pikachu!, Let's Go, Eevee!

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  Disobedience in Gen I

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  Disobedience in Gen II

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  Disobedience in Gen III

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  Disobedience in Gen IV

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  Disobedience in Gen V

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  Disobedience in Gen VI

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  Disobedience in Gen VII

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  Disobedience in Gen VIII

In animation

In The Problem with Paras, Cassandra's grandmother mentioned that Pokémon will only obey Trainers if they respect them. This respect can be earned by obtaining more Badges. As shown in Bad to the Bone, this respect can be lost by losing the Badges. Unlike the games, however, in the anime, this is often overcome through emotional appeals or selflessness. On the other hand, Pokémon obtained by trade or being given orders by another individual that is not their trainer may result in disobedience.

Original series

Ash's Charizard refusing to battle

In Pokémon - I Choose You!, Ash's Pikachu was initially very hostile towards him due to having no respect for a beginning Trainer. It wasn't until Ash protected Pikachu from a flock of Spearow that he finally respected and listened to Ash.

In Island of the Giant Pokémon, Jessie's Ekans and James's Koffing refused to obey Meowth as he was not their trainer.

Ash's Primeape was incredibly violent and virtually uncontrollable, and thus, Ash rarely used it. However, during the P1 Grand Prix, Ash saved Primeape from a dangerous fall, and it began to respect and listen to Ash.

Misty yelling at Psyduck for not listening

Although not purposefully disobedient, Misty's Psyduck rarely does what she commands it to do, usually because it simply does not understand. It comes out of its Poké Ball at its own will when Misty wants to call out another Pokémon on her team (mostly for comedic relief).

In Dig Those Diglett!, all of the Trainers' Pokémon proceeded to disobey their respective Trainers when they attempted to fight the Diglett, to the point where they even refused to come out of their Poké Balls. However, it was later revealed that the various Pokémon had a very good reason for their disobedience, as the Gaiva Dam's completion would have resulted in the immediate vicinity being wiped out from the flooding.

Jessie's Lickitung, while generally obedient to Jessie, was shown in its debut episode to disobey Jessie once just prior to being defeated, with it being strongly implied in the Japanese version and to a far lesser extent the English dub that the primary reason for the disobedience was due to feeling hungry.

Ash's Charmander refused to obey him after evolving into Charmeleon, and continued to disobey as a Charizard. When Ash commanded him, he would either ignore Ash's orders and use a different move, go to sleep, leave the battlefield, or attack Ash. In one case, he even attacked a Pokémon without Ash telling him to do so. The rare instances where Charizard does express any obedience towards Ash is when fighting against another Pokémon that he sees as a worthy opponent, namely other Fire-type Pokémon such as Zippo, a cloned Charizard, or Blaine's Magmar. Charizard's disobedience ultimately cost Ash the Indigo Plateau Conference when he deemed Sparky an unworthy opponent and refused to battle, causing the Mouse Pokémon and its Trainer, Ritchie, to win by default. In addition, his lack of respect for Ash during that time was such that even after Ash won his Earth Badge, he still refused to obey. After Ash stayed up all night to look after Charizard when he had become frozen in Charizard Chills, Charizard regained his respect for Ash and from then on obeyed him without question. This character trait was severely downplayed in the remake to Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution, only really being showcased twice in the film: when attacking Mewtwo like in the original film and when he attacked Dragonite when it appeared.

In Bad to the Bone, Otoshi's Marowak left its Trainer after he lost and failed to recover his Badges, as Marowak had lost respect for him. Marowak later returned when it saw how happy a group of Trainers and their Pokémon were together.

In Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid, James's first Victreebel who was traded to the Magikarp salesman refused to obey him.

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

In Candid Camerupt!, Ash's Corphish attacked Vivi's Marill at full force even though Max, who borrowed Corphish, had explicitly told him to go easy on the Aqua Mouse Pokémon.

In Exploud and Clear!, Guy's Loudred stopped obeying him after it evolved into Exploud, and ran off. However, after Guy jumped in front of Team Rocket's cork gun to protect it, it came to respect him.

In Showdown At Linoone, Kimmy Shoney had a Linoone that went around stealing round objects and wouldn't listen to him.

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

In An Elite Meet and Greet!, Dawn's Buizel refused to obey her commands during his battle against Lucian's Bronzong, resulting in his defeat. Later, after Lucian commanded Buizel during his battle against Team Rocket, Lucian showed Dawn how Buizel conducts himself in battles, and Dawn adjusted her battling style to fit Buizel's, giving him commands more suitable to the way he used to behave when he was in the wild. As a result, Buizel obeyed Dawn during the rematch. Buizel continued to obey her afterwards, and always obeyed Ash after Dawn traded Buizel to him.

In Luxray Vision!, Marble had trouble getting her Luxray to obey her due to it having trouble with its Electric-type attacks since evolving from Luxio. Once Luxray was able to utilize its Electric-type attacks again, it had no trouble obeying Marble.

Dawn's Piloswine frequently disobeyed her after evolving from Swinub, and continued to disobey as a Mamoswine. In Trials and Adulations!, Mamoswine was injured during a battle against a wild Aggron; Dawn and her Pokémon used the first aid skills Brock taught her in Doc Brock! to help Mamoswine recover, and later attempted to protect Mamoswine from Team Rocket. As a result, Mamoswine regained its respect for Dawn, and under her instructions, it was able to defeat Aggron. After that, although Mamoswine was still a little rebellious, it did not hesitate to help Dawn when she was in danger.

In Try For the Family Stone!, Mitchell's Murkrow stopped obeying and ran away from him when he, out of both desperation to beat his sister Rhyanna and her Misdreavus and frustration out of his and Murkrow's previous failures to beat them, pushed Murkrow too hard in training it to learn Wing Attack by continuously pelting it with stones and denying it the chance to recover when it got hit; this also resulted in Murkrow starting to use its hypnosis power on unsuspecting travelers in its anger, which Rhyanna believed Mitchell to be responsible for. Murkrow started listening to Mitchell again after he apologized to it.

Pokémon the Series: Black & White

Excadrill refusing to battle

In Pokémon the Series: Black & White, Iris had recurring problems with disobedient Pokémon. Prior to her introduction, her Excadrill had closed himself off from her, as he was ashamed of when he lost to Drayden's Haxorus and distrustful of her guidance in battle (due to her having pushed him to keep battling even though he knew he couldn't win). When sent out of his Poké Ball, he would simply stay curled up as a drill. Following Cilan's advice in Iris and Excadrill Against the Dragon Buster!, Iris apologized to him; as a result, he regained his respect for Iris and began to obey her again.

Later, she caught an Emolga who disliked battling, and would use Volt Switch to force another Pokémon into her place when sent into battle. She was also fond of using Attract to infatuate the opponent, and avoid actually battling. Since in the Club Battle, only one Pokémon could be used, Emolga could not use Volt Switch without being disqualified; as a result, she actually listened to Iris's commands, and she continued to in later battles.

Luke's Zorua ran off and refused to listen to him after Luke continued to make Zorua play male characters when as a female, she only wanted to play female characters. Zorua listened to Luke again after he apologized.

Bianca's new Escavalier, which had just evolved from a Karrablast by trading her Shelmet for it with Professor Juniper, attacked her when she tried to greet it. Professor Juniper recommended that it have a Double Battle with her new Accelgor, which also evolved during the trade, against Ash's Boldore and Cilan's Crustle. Through half the battle, Escavalier refused to listen to Bianca, which resulted in Accelgor being injured while trying to protect it. Seeing what Accelgor was willing to do for it, Escavalier started to listen to Bianca's commands so it could protect Accelgor as well.

Iris's Dragonite initially refused to listen to her, particularly during the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup. He attacked with the moves he wanted to use, rather than the ones Iris commanded, which eventually resulted in Iris's loss against Ash in the semifinals. Slowly but surely, Dragonite started trusting his Trainer, and by Unova's Survival Crisis!, he started to obey Iris.

Pokémon the Series: XY

Froakie abandoning one of its previous Trainers

Ash's Froakie, prior to joining Ash's team, was notorious for being troublesome, going through several Trainers that it proved unsuitable for. Either the Trainer would end up returning it to Professor Sycamore for being disobedient, or it would abandon its new Trainer and return to Professor Sycamore itself; the latter had happened when it met Ash in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!. Even willingly joining Ash's party didn't automatically ensure its obedience; in A Battle of Aerial Mobility!, when a wild Fletchling upset Bonnie by stealing a Berry that she was trying to feed to a Dedenne, Froakie attacked the Tiny Robin Pokémon and refused to obey Ash's instructions to back down and leave it to Pikachu. However, Ash realized that the Bubble Frog Pokémon was only trying to stick up for Bonnie and the two came up with a strategy that ultimately resulted in Froakie's payback and Fletchling's capture. This confirmed to Froakie that it had found the right Trainer and it subsequently obeyed Ash without question.

In Grooming Furfrou!, Jessica had trouble getting her Furfrou to obey her. This stemmed from the fact Furfrou didn't approve of her due to her not being confident in her skills.

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

In Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, Jessie's Mimikyu sometimes refused to listen to its Trainer unless Ash's Pikachu is around for it to fight; although sometimes Mimikyu will target Pikachu instead if told to attack something else. While their relationship improved over time, Mimikyu continued to prioritize attacking any Pikachu it saw. This habit almost cost Jessie in the preliminary round of the Manalo Conference, as Mimikyu continued to try to attack Ash's Pikachu even after the Battle Royal ended.

In A Masked Warning!, Ash discovered that his Lycanroc would become enraged whenever its fur is dirtied. Later, during a battle with Gladion, Lycanroc landed in a puddle and became enraged by its muddied fur, causing it to attack Gladion's Type: Null, Silvally, without listening to Ash's commands. The same thing occurred again in Tough Guy Trials!, during Ash's battle with Nanu's Krookodile; Lycanroc was hit by Mud-Slap from Krookodile, causing it to get dirty and enraged once more, leading to its defeat soon after. This happened yet again in the next episode, after Tapu Bulu intentionally hit Lycanroc into the puddle along with Ash's other Pokémon, driving it mad once more. However, Ash was able to calm it down by having it remember everything that they went through together when it was still a Rockruff. Eventually, Lycanroc overcame its rage during the battle with Tapu Bulu, when it got hit by a tree trunk and landed into the puddle again.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

In Everybody's Doing the Underground Shuffle!, Goh and Ash's Pikachu battled a wild Seismitoad underneath Driftveil City while separated from Ash, Chloe, and the others. Goh tried to catch it, but Pikachu kept taking the initative before Goh could command him, causing Seismitoad to flee.

In side story episodes

Misty's Gyarados was incredibly hostile to her and everyone else when she returned to the Cerulean Gym and was almost the cause of the Gym being closed down in Cerulean Blues. It nearly drowned her in the pool while she was trying to tame it. Gyarados started to obey her when she protected it against the attacks of the Invincible Pokémon Brothers.

In the manga

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Missing Enta's Zangoose from the Pokémon Battle Frontier manga

The Electric Tale of Pikachu

In Pikachu, I See You!, similar to the anime, Ash's Pikachu started off as hostile towards Ash. It was not until Ash protected it from a Fearow and a flock of Spearow that Pikachu began to respect Ash.

In The Indigo Finals, Ash's Charizard was revealed to have disobeyed Ash sometime before the 88th Pokémon League. During the League, Ash would have to hold a special flare with the fire of a Moltres to get Charizard to listen. When Ash used Charizard against Ritchie's Charley, it became a brutal battle to the point that Ash had to get his Charizard to stop, but failed. With no other choice, Ash recalled Charizard to its Poké Ball and then forfeited the match.

How I Became a Pokémon Card

In PW05, Tsubasa trains a Pidgeot which does not obey him as it belonged to his grandfather.

Movie adaptations

In I Choose You!, Ash's Pikachu started off as disobedient towards Ash when he and Ash first met. After an encounter with a flock of Spearow, Pikachu began to respect Ash when Ash selflessly protected him from that flock of Spearow.

Pokémon Adventures

Pearl's Buizel, Zeller, attacking his Trainer

There have been some instances where Pokémon don't obey their Trainers. Most commonly, this has been the case for traded Pokémon. There have also been some instances where Pokémon do not obey their original Trainers.

Red, Green & Blue arc

In Onix is On!, Red's Pikachu, Pika, refused to listen to Red due to Red being an inexperienced Trainer. Only after Red saved Pika from an attack did he begin to listen.

In Gyarados Splashes In!, Misty's Gyarados, now owned by Red and nicknamed Gyara, did not obey her. This was a result from Team Rocket's experiments involving Pokémon in which the Pokémon in question had been used, causing his rage.

In A Tale of Ninetales, Blue's new Porygon refuses to listen to him. This is stated to be due to the fact that Pokémon exchanged at the Game Corner tend to be harder to control. Additionally, Red and Blue's Pokémon get accidentally traded between them. Blue's Pokémon do not obey Red because they do not respect him.

Gold, Silver & Crystal arc

In Ampharos Amore, Silver and Gold trade their Pokémon. In the next chapter, the Pokémon Gold traded to Silver, Polibo, does not react to his commands.

Diamond & Pearl arc

Pearl's Buizel, Zeller, does not obey him, having turned hostile towards humans after Team Galactic detonated the Galactic Bomb and his home is destroyed.

Black & White arc

Black's Carracosta, Costa, is a stubborn and unresponsive Pokémon. Due to this nature, his original Trainer, Marshal, released him. He displayed the same attitude with Black and only began to listen to him shortly before he evolved.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!

In In Search of the Legendary Pokémon Dialga!!, when Hareta first met Piplup, it refused to listen to him. It wasn't until when Hareta attempted to calm down a wild Onix, Piplup began to respect Hareta.

Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys

In The Legendary Pokémon Appears!, Gold received a Pikachu from the future. It didn't listen to Gold when they first met as its level was too high.

Pokémon Newspaper Strip

In the Pokémon Newspaper Strip, Ash's Pokémon often disobey him and attack him. In particular, Ash repeatedly ordered his Pikachu to enter its Poké Ball, but Pikachu ignored him.

In other languages

Obey

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 聽話 Tēngwah Mandarin 聽話 / 听话 Tīnghuà French Obéir German Gehorchen Italian Obbedire Korean 말을 듣다 Mareul deutda Spanish Obedecer

References

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.