The gist
Confusion is a temporary status that makes a Pokémon sometimes hurt itself instead of using its selected move. In Emerald, each turn while confused there is a 50 percent chance to act normally and a 50 percent chance to hit itself.
How confusion starts
- Status moves that inflict confusion on hit: Confuse Ray, Supersonic.
- Damaging moves with a confusion side effect: Water Pulse has a 20 percent chance on hit, DynamicPunch always confuses on hit.
- Stat altering moves that also confuse: Swagger raises the target’s Attack by two stages and confuses, Flatter raises Special Attack by one stage and confuses.
- Rampage moves that cause self confusion afterward: Thrash, Petal Dance, Outrage confuse the user when the rampage ends.
Duration
- Lasts a random 2 to 5 turns.
- The counter drops at the end of each turn you remain in battle.
- Switching out removes confusion immediately.
What happens each turn
- Game checks whether confusion has ended. If not, proceed.
- A coin flip occurs.
- Heads: your move executes normally.
- Tails: your Pokémon hurts itself and the chosen move does not occur.
Self hit damage details
- Treated as a typeless physical hit with base power 40 that targets the user.
- Uses the user’s current Attack and Defense stats and includes normal damage variance.
- Not affected by type matchups or STAB.
- Attack stage changes apply, so Swagger makes self damage much higher.
- Burn halves Attack and reduces this damage.
- Reflect, Light Screen, Protect, and Substitute do not block it.
Immunity and cures
- Own Tempo prevents confusion entirely, including self confusion from rampage moves.
- Safeguard blocks confusion inflicted by opponents but not the self confusion from Thrash, Petal Dance, or Outrage.
- Persim Berry cures confusion once when it occurs. Lum Berry cures any one major or minor status, including confusion.
- Bag items like the Yellow Flute can clear confusion in battle.
- Shield Dust prevents confusion from the secondary effect of damaging moves such as Water Pulse.
Interactions and edge cases
- You can still switch out while confused.
- If you hit yourself, your chosen move does not happen that turn.
- Confusion can stack with other limitations like paralysis or attraction. Each has its own check, so multiple blockers make acting less likely.
Practical examples
Using Swagger safely
- Pair Swagger with a defensive wall or with Intimidate support. You want the target to hit itself while its Attack is inflated. Avoid using it on fast, accurate physical sweepers that can break through anyway.
Water Pulse on bulky users
- Milotic or Vaporeon can fish for confusion on switch ins. The chip from occasional self hits plus your own damage swings long fights.
Handling Outrage users
- If Salamence locks into Outrage, pivot to a physical wall, stall the turns, then punish the guaranteed confusion afterward unless it holds Lum Berry or has Own Tempo from Baton Pass shenanigans you should watch for.
How to play around confusion
- Switch to clear it immediately if the matchup allows.
- Use Persim or Lum on sweepers that cannot afford a lost turn.
- Avoid Swaggered targets attacking into you by using status moves, phazing, or switching to a special attacker.
- Keep pressure. Confusion is unreliable, so do not rely on it as your only plan and do not freeze when you get a bad roll.
Bottom line
In Emerald, confusion is a short term, coin flip status with real bite because self hits use your own Attack against your Defense. It lasts 2 to 5 turns, ends on switch, and is cleanly countered by Own Tempo, Safeguard in most cases, and curing berries. Use it to tip close exchanges, and respect it enough to carry a cure on key attackers.
