caramba eu tinha me esquecido completamente do Pokérus, o covid de Pokémon
pokemon features that make everyone anxious.
back in 1999, pokemon gold and silver introduced a secret mechanic that was even rarer than catching a shiny pokémon. it was an “anomaly” that genuinely terrified players.
when you brought your pokemon to the pokemon center, nurse joy would sometimes give you worrying news that one of your pokemon had been infected with a mysterious virus. shortly after, professor elm would call you, warning that it was multiplying fast and could spread to other pokémon. this was the infamous “pokerus”.
because information traveled slowly back then, wild rumors spread that pokerus was a dangerous glitch that would delete your save file or kill your pokémon. thousands of scared players actually released their beloved pokemon into the wild just to stop the “infection” from spreading.
in reality, pokerus is an extremely rare hidden mechanic with odds of roughly 1 in 21,845, even rarer than a shiny. and despite being called a virus, it’s actually incredibly beneficial since it doubles the effort values (evs) your pokemon gains, making them grow much stronger.
the number of days before a pokemon gets cured from pokerus vary from 1 up to 4 days. the pokemon still gains double effort values after the cure.