In Emerald, every move starts with a base critical hit chance that can increase through crit stages. Your current stage sets the exact odds, and different effects add stages together up to a cap.
Crit stage table
- Stage 0: 1 in 16
- Stage 1: 1 in 8
- Stage 2: 1 in 4
- Stage 3: 1 in 3
- Stage 4 or higher: 1 in 2
Ways to raise your crit stage
- High critical-hit moves add +1 stage.
- Scope Lens adds +1 stage.
- Focus Energy or a Dire Hit adds +2 stages. These two do not stack with each other, but either one stacks with high-crit moves and Scope Lens.
- Species items: Stick on Farfetch’d and Lucky Punch on Chansey add +2 stages.
- Lansat Berry adds +2 stages at low HP.
Putting it together
- Example stage 3: Focus Energy (+2) plus a high-crit move (+1) gives 1 in 3 odds.
- Example stage 4: Focus Energy (+2) plus a high-crit move (+1) plus Scope Lens (+1) reaches the 1 in 2 cap.
What blocks critical hits
- Battle Armor and Shell Armor prevent critical hits regardless of stage.
What a crit does
- In Emerald, a critical hit deals double damage.
- It ignores your negative Attack or Special Attack drops, the foe’s positive Defense or Special Defense boosts, and Reflect or Light Screen.
In short, stack different sources to climb the crit ladder, remember the 50 percent cap at stage 4, and watch for abilities that stop crits entirely.
