Illusion (Ability)
| Illusion | イリュージョン | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Illusion | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Illusion (Japanese: イリュージョン Illusion) is an Ability introduced in Generation V. It is the signature Ability of Zorua, Zoroark, and their Hisuian forms.
Effect
In battle
When a Trainer's Pokémon with Illusion enters battle, Illusion changes the appearance of the Pokémon to that of the last conscious, non-Egg Pokémon in its Trainer's party. If the Pokémon with Illusion was the last conscious non-Egg Pokémon in the party before being switched in, Illusion does not change its appearance.
Illusion replicates the appearance (including species, form, and Shininess), nickname (or species name if none), Poké Ball, and gender of the Pokémon it is masquerading as; however, it does not replicate the level of the masqueraded Pokémon. The effect is only aesthetic—effects such as Attract still use the Pokémon's actual gender. On the user interface, an opponent's Pokémon disguised by Illusion will appear to be the type of the Pokémon it is disguised as (even if it is affected by a move such as Soak).
The illusion disappears if the Pokémon has its Ability changed or suppressed or if it takes damage from a damaging move. Indirect damage (such as from a Life Orb, weather, status conditions, recoil, etc.) will not break the illusion. If the Pokémon with Illusion is hit by a multistrike move, the illusion will be broken after the first hit. If a Pokémon with Illusion uses a Z-Move, the illusion wears off immediately before using the Z-Move.
Role Play fails if the target has the Ability Illusion. Skill Swap fails if either Pokémon has Illusion. Illusion cannot be copied by Trace, Power of Alchemy, or Receiver. If a Pokémon obtains this Ability with Imposter or Transform, it will not disguise itself. Pokémon cannot transform if disguised by Illusion, nor can it transform into a Pokémon that is disguised by Illusion.
Additionally, wild Pokémon can disguise themselves with Illusion under certain circumstances.
- In Pokémon Black and White, in the special event encounter with a wild Zoroark in Lostlorn Forest, the wild Zoroark will be disguised as Entei, Raikou, or Suicune (depending on the Pokémon that triggered the event).
- If a wild Pokémon with Illusion successfully calls an ally for help in an SOS Battle, it will disguise itself as the summoned ally.
Generation V
If Illusion would disguise the Pokémon as another Pokémon of the same species, it fails to disguise the Pokémon at all.
Generation VI
Illusion can now disguise itself as another Pokémon with Illusion of the same species.
Generation VIII
If the Pokémon Dynamaxes while disguised as a Pokémon with the Gigantamax Factor, it will Dynamax into the standard form of the Pokémon, not the Gigantamax form. If disguised as Zacian, Zamazenta, or Eternatus, the Pokémon will not be able to Dynamax.
Generation IX
In most circumstances, if the Pokémon Terastallizes while disguised, it will not lose its illusion. However, it will Terastallize into its Tera Type rather than the disguised Pokémon's Tera Type. If disguised as Ogerpon or Terapagos, the Pokémon's illusion will fade before it Terastallizes.
If the last conscious non-Egg Pokémon in the party is a Terastallized Ogerpon or Terapagos, Illusion will not activate when the Pokémon is switched in. Illusion will also not activate if the Pokémon with Illusion is Terastallized and the last Pokémon in the party is Ogerpon or Terapagos.
If the Pokémon is out of its Poké Ball and the player starts a battle with a wild Pokémon, Illusion will not activate at the beginning of the match.
Illusion will now always be used by Wild Zorua and Zoroark to disguise themselves as another Wild Pokémon in the area, unless the game is reloaded when one has already been spawned. However, it wears off as soon as the battle starts, with the standard Ability activation message popping up.
Outside of battle
Illusion has no effect outside of battle.
Pokémon with Illusion
| # | Pokémon | Types | First Ability | Second Ability | Hidden Ability | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0570 | 
|
Zorua |
Dark | Illusion | None | None | |
| 0570 | 
|
Zorua Hisuian Form |
Normal | Ghost | Illusion | None | None |
| 0571 | 
|
Zoroark |
Dark | Illusion | None | None | |
| 0571 | 
|
Zoroark Hisuian Form |
Normal | Ghost | Illusion | None | None |
Please note that Abilities marked with a superscript are only available in the stated generation or later.
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In other games
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, the Ability functions similar to the main series games for foe Pokémon. A Pokémon with this Ability can transform into another Pokémon that can be found on the same floor of a Mystery Dungeon. For partner Pokémon, this Ability becomes nonexistent.
In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, leader or ally Pokémon with this Ability transform into Kecleon. An enemy Pokémon with this Ability disguises as another enemy Pokémon that can be found on the same floor. As long as the illusion stays up, the Pokémon receives a 40% increase in the power of its moves.
The illusion wears off when the Pokémon with this Ability is directly damaged by a damaging move or when Illusion is negated or replaced, causing the Pokémon with this Ability to appear as its true self. Indirect damage or loss of HP (such as through Substitute, weather, status conditions, traps and so on) will not break Illusion.
Description
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In animation
Pokémon animated series
| The Pokémon can either change its shape into a human or Pokémon, or it creates illusions for everyone to see. | |||
| Pokémon | Method | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User | First Used In | Notes | |
|
Zoroark's eyes glow light blue and its outlines start to glow pink. Then, a magenta wave of energy appears by its face and moves down to its feet. As the wave moves down, its body changes its shape into the opponent, or Zoroark causes the opponent to see illusions of its choosing (sometimes with its eyes glowing red), or Zoroark glows purple and it transforms into another Pokémon. If Zoroark takes damage, it returns to normal. | ||
| Zoroark (M13) | Zoroark: Master of Illusions | Debut | |
| A wild Zoroark | The Island of Illusions! | None | |
| Gladion's Zoroark | Chasing Memories, Creating Dreams! | None | |
| Raifort's Zoroark | HZ057 | None | |
|
Zorua jumps up high into the air and spins its body while in the air. As it spins, its body starts to glow pink and it changes its shape into the opponent. Sometimes, Zorua's eyes glow light blue before it transforms. | ||
| Zorua (M13) | Zoroark: Master of Illusions | As a human, its tail is visible, and when the tail is touched, Zorua returns to its normal form. | |
| Luke's Zorua | Movie Time! Zorua in "The Legend of the Pokémon Knight"! | None | |
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
 Zorua  Transformed | |||
| The Pokémon makes itself appear as something else. | |||
| Pokémon | Method | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User | First Chapter Used In | Notes | |
|
|
Zorua changes its appearance into something else, occasionally retaining its eyes, eyebrows, and eyelids when it does so. If Zorua takes damage, it takes a wisp-like appearance as it is forced out of its transformation. | ||
| N's Zorua | Lost in the Big City | Debut | |
Pokémon Pocket Monsters
 Zorua
| |||
| The Pokémon becomes a copy of something or someone else. | |||
| Pokémon | Method | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User | First Chapter Used In | Notes | |
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Zorua changes its appearance into something else, but leaves out the tail. | ||
| A wild Zorua | Who's the Real Villain!? | Debut | |
Trivia
- In Generation V, if Entrainment is used on a Pokémon with Illusion while it is disguised as another Pokémon, when its Ability activates the banner will state that the Ability belongs to the Pokémon that was used as the disguise. If the Pokémon's Ability is changed again, these messages will correctly state the Pokémon who the Ability belongs to when it activates.
- Although Abilities do not occur in Pokémon GO, wild Zorua will appear in the game disguised as the player's Buddy Pokémon, alluding to this Ability.
In other languages
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This article is part of Project Moves and Abilities, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on two related aspects of the Pokémon games. |