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Items, cards and upgrades

Three systems decide how far a build scales: the item (one per run), the cards you pick at each level and the upgrades you buy between runs. Every number below comes from the game code.

Items

You carry at most one item per run. When you pick up another one, the game lets you choose which to keep.

How to get them

  • Every boss drops 1 item, drawn uniformly from the 11 (there are 5 bosses per run, at minutes 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15).
  • Locked chest: 50% chance to drop an item.
  • Regular chest: 8% chance.

  1. Leftovers

    In-game description: You recover 1.5% of your HP per second.

    How it works
    Regenerates 1.5% of max HP per second. The value is computed at the moment you equip it and does not follow Vigor picked up later. Example: 160 HP → +2.4 HP/s.
    Build advice
    Because the value is frozen, it is worth more when your HP is already high when you pick it up. Adds to Synthesis (card and upgrade).

  2. Choice Band

    In-game description: +40% damage, but you can't switch moves.

    How it works
    Damage ×1.4 (multiplies with Power and Strength), but locks the active slot.
    Build advice
    Only makes sense once the active slot is fused: the Band keeps the active slot and the whole group fires. Without bonds it pins you to 1 move and the cards for moves in inactive slots are wasted. Take it after the group of 4 is built.

  3. Quick Claw

    In-game description: -20% cooldown on all your moves.

    How it works
    Cooldown ×0.8 on all moves, multiplying with Reflexes (card and upgrade). A move's minimum cooldown is 0.05 s; orbs and turret fire rate do not scale with cooldown.
    Build advice
    With everything stacked, the lowest practical cooldown multiplier is 0.264 (0.76 upgrade × 0.434 cards × 0.8 Claw). It does not help orb or turret builds.

  4. Focus Sash

    In-game description: A hit that would knock you out leaves you at 1 HP (every 60 s).

    How it works
    If a hit would take you to 0 HP and more than 60 s of real clock time (pauses included) have passed since the last trigger, you are left at 1 HP and get 1.2 s of invulnerability. It starts ready. It also works against the Judgment's pure damage.
    Build advice
    It is the only real protection against Arceus' pure damage (the Judgment, from minute 30): defense and max HP do not reduce it. Once every 60 s.

  5. Shell Bell

    In-game description: You heal from the damage you deal.

    How it works
    Heals 4% of the damage you deal (direct hits and projectiles), capped at 4 HP per second with a 4 HP maximum reserve. Burn, poison and Rocky Helmet damage do not count.
    Build advice
    The 4 HP/s cap is already reached at 100 damage per second (4% of 100), so it only pays off on high-DPS, low-HP builds.

  6. Amulet Coin

    In-game description: +50% PokéCoins at the end of the run.

    How it works
    Final coins ×1.5, multiplying with the Fortune upgrade. It only counts in the payout at the end of the run.
    Build advice
    It does not help you survive: it just earns coins faster to buy upgrades.

  7. Lucky Egg

    In-game description: +30% experience.

    How it works
    Experience ×1.3, multiplying with Learning (card) and Wisdom (upgrade).
    Build advice
    More experience means more cards per minute. The real gain depends on your kill rate, since the game caps how many enemies exist at once.

  8. Life Orb

    In-game description: +30% damage, but each attack costs a little HP.

    How it works
    Damage ×1.3. Every move cast costs 1% of max HP (minimum 1 HP) and never kills you: you stay at 1 HP. Orbit and trail moves do not pay the cost; buff moves do. In a fused group the cost is charged per move cast.
    Build advice
    Scales poorly with groups: 4 moves with about 0.4 s cooldown cost roughly 10% of your HP per second. Works better with slow moves (beam, charge, meteor) or with orbit and trail, which do not pay.

  9. Choice Scarf

    In-game description: +35% speed.

    How it works
    Movement speed ×1.35, multiplying with Sprint (card) and Stride (upgrade).
    Build advice
    Against Arceus what counts is dodging the warnings, not HP or defense. The mechanics reference recommends speed up to 130; beyond that each point yields only 25%.

  10. Rocky Helmet

    In-game description: Foes that hit you in melee take damage.

    How it works
    Anything that touches you in melee takes 15 + 4 × your level in damage (each enemy at most every 0.55 s). Example: level 30 → 135; level 60 → 255. It triggers even while you are invulnerable and ignores type, defense, crits and attack.
    Build advice
    Grows by itself with your levels. Pairs well with Harden and a melee move in the fused group (−25% damage taken).

  11. Assault Vest

    In-game description: +20% damage reduction.

    How it works
    Damage reduction +0.2, added to Armor (card and upgrade). The overall reduction cap is 0.8.
    Build advice
    With the 0.8 cap, extra Armor cards are wasted: the card already clamps the sum to 0.7. It does not reduce Arceus' pure damage.

Level-up cards

At each level you are offered 3 different cards, drawn by weight. Stat cards apply to every move and take no slot.

What enters the offer, and with what weight

Card typeWhen it appearsWeight
New moveOnly while a slot is free (max 4). 6 moves from your pool are drawn, with double weight for those on your Pokémon's strong side. Moves you already have and moves blocked by Veto are excluded.10
Evolution (gold)When a level 5 move meets its condition. Always included in the offer.40
Upgrade moveOne per move you have that is not yet level 5, including inactive slots and buff moves.8 each
StatAlways present. 5 stats are drawn from those that have not hit their cap.4 (free slots) · 7 (4 slots full) · 14 (if it unlocks an evolution)

In practice: with all 4 slots full, about half of the cards are stats; with no moves left to upgrade, every offer is stats. Rerolling the cards (R key): 1 free reroll per run, plus the ones bought with the upgrade (max 5), up to 6 in total.

CardEffect per cardCapTotal at capMoves that need it
Vigor +20 max HP (and heals it). no cap —
6 see the moves

Grass Knot, Heat Wave, Outrage, Rock Tomb, Sand Tomb, Tackle

Power +10% damage with every move. 40 times ×45.26
37 see the moves

Bite, Body Slam, Bonemerang, Bubble Beam, Bug Bite, Bulldoze, Dragon Breath, Dragon Claw, Dragon Rage, Dynamic Punch, Ember, Fairy Wind, Freeze-Dry, Hydro Pump, Hyper Beam, Ice Beam, Karate Chop, Lick, Magnitude, Metal Claw, Meteor Mash, Mirror Shot, Mud Shot, Play Rough, Power Gem, Psybeam, Rock Throw, Seed Bomb, Signal Beam, Sludge, Spikes, Sucker Punch, Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave, Vine Whip, Water Gun, Wing Attack

Sprint +7% movement speed. 8 times ×1.718
14 see the moves

Aerial Ace, Bubble, Dark Pulse, Electro Ball, Flame Charge, Flame Wheel, Gust, Night Slash, Poison Sting, Powder Snow, Quick Attack, Rapid Spin, Rolling Kick, Whirlwind

Reflexes -8% cooldown on every move. 10 times ×0.434 (2.30× fire rate)
17 see the moves

Air Slash, Aura Sphere, Confusion, Flamethrower, Hail, Hyper Voice, Ice Shard, Mist Ball, Psycho Cut, Razor Leaf, Rock Slide, Shadow Ball, Shadow Sneak, Solar Beam, String Shot, Thunderbolt, Will-O-Wisp

Armor +6% damage reduction. 12 times +0.72 (the sum is clamped to 0.7)
8 see the moves

Ancient Power, Disarming Voice, Discharge, Extrasensory, Flash Cannon, Gyro Ball, Substitute, Vacuum Wave

Synthesis +0.9 HP regenerated per second. no cap —
12 see the moves

Acid Spray, Bug Buzz, Dazzling Gleam, Draining Kiss, Energy Ball, Fire Spin, Night Shade, Petal Blizzard, Toxic, Toxic Spikes, U-turn, Whirlpool

Magnet +30% experience pickup radius. 6 times ×4.83
3 see the moves

Hex, Ominous Wind, Psychic

Learning +12% experience gained. 8 times ×2.48 none
Sitrus Berry Restores 45% of your HP right now. no cap — does not stack

The evolution card rule

A move evolves when it is at level 5 and you have already picked, in this run, the stat card for its condition at least once. It does not need to be capped or the most recent. Items, upgrades and powers do not count.

When a move reaches level 5 without its condition met, that stat card is forced into the offer with weight 14 and the label "Evoluciona X". Once the condition is met, the gold evolution card always shows up.

Cost in cards: 4 upgrades + 1 evolution = 5 per move (plus 1 stat card if you did not have it yet). 97 of the 103 moves evolve; the 6 buff moves do not.

Permanent upgrades

Upgrades are bought per Pokémon, with coins earned at the end of each run. The cost grows with each level; the total below covers every level up to the maximum.

UpgradeEffect per levelMaxAt maxTotal costHow it combines with cards
Vitality +8 HP 10 +80 HP 3,270
60 → 890		 Adds to Vigor: max HP = Pokémon base + 8 × level + 20 × cards.
Strength +4% damage 10 ×1.40 5,050
80 → 1,450		 Multiplies with Power and items (the damage multiplier is a product).
Stride +3% speed 8 ×1.24 2,420
70 → 740		 Multiplies with Sprint and Choice Scarf.
Reflexes -3% cooldown 8 ×0.76 3,340
90 → 1,050		 Multiplies with Reflexes (card) and Quick Claw.
Armor +2% defense 8 0.16 2,750
80 → 840		 Adds to Armor (card) and Assault Vest; the card clamps the sum to 0.7 and the overall cap is 0.8.
Synthesis +0.2 HP/s 5 +1.0 HP/s 1,590
120 → 610		 Adds to Synthesis (card) and Leftovers.
Magnet +12% pickup 6 ×1.72 820
50 → 270		 Multiplies with the Magnet card.
Wisdom +5% experience 8 ×1.40 3,700
100 → 1,160		 Multiplies with Learning and Lucky Egg.
Fortune +8% PokéCoins 8 ×1.64 4,950
120 → 1,620		 Multiplies with Amulet Coin.
Repertoire Start with 2 moves 1 2 moves 1,500
1,500 → 1,500		 You start with 2 moves; the second is a random attack move from your pool.
Critical Hit +3% critical chance (x1.5 damage) 10 30% crit chance 6,300
90 → 1,860		 The only source of crits in the game; every hit rolls for a crit (×1.5).
Card reroll +1 level-up card reroll per run 5 6 rerolls 2,360
150 → 980		 Adds to the free reroll: 1 + level rerolls per run in total.
Ban Ban 1 move: it never shows up in your cards 3 3 moves 1,950
300 → 1,080		 Blocked moves never show up on new-move cards; with full slots you get more stat cards.
Starting move Choose which move you start the run with 1 — 400
400 → 400		 Chooses the move you start with.

Buying every upgrade for one Pokémon costs 40,400 PokéCoins.

Payout at the end of a run: (time ÷ 5 + kills × 0.25 + 80 per boss + coins collected) × coin bonus (Fortune upgrade and Amulet Coin).