Problem with pokemon: its sick with Poke'itis

[Requiem]

i started a new...just a simple new game. when i went to the stats of my starting pokemon, torchic, i saw a weird status condition that was purple and read: "PKRS"

i was like, 'ok maybe all pokemon have that and i didnt see it before'

but when i went to the pokemon center and healed my pkmn, the nurse said somthing about a virus/bacteria in my pokemon's system that effects it's abillities.

WHAT?!?!

here's the next worse thing. i got more pokemon... and it spread... it is contagious obviously.

so here's the deal: what is this 'poke'itis', can i get rid of it? more importantly, is it a good thing or a bad thing.

the condition only shows up in the stats page, not in battle. the pokemon can still get psn, brn, prz and stuff liek that... but it is ALWAYS THERE, even after consecuative pokecenter treatments.

true story, no lie.

[mr_pikachu]

1. The condition is called "Pokerus," and it is good. Very, very good. And extremely rare.

2. Deposit at least one of the Pokemon in your team that still has the virus active into one of the PC boxes (it doesn't matter which) immediately. If you do not, the beneficial virus will leave in somewhere around a day - whether the game is turned on or off.

3. Okay, now that that's out of the way... do you know anything about EVs? If not, they're basically points that Pokemon accumulate in each stat which increase their abilities in those respective stats. Sort of like experience points, but with each individual stat. I'm not going to take the time to explain them here; you can find that info in other threads.

4. Did I mention that you should deposit one of your infected Pokemon in the PC? If you do that, it will effectively "freeze" the virus, thus preventing it from wearing off for that particular Pokemon. I'd recommend depositing more than just one if you can.

5. Once again, you are very, very lucky to have caught this virus. So make sure you don't lose it! Make haste and deposit!


EDIT: If you want more information about Pokerus, you can find it in this thread. For now, I'd recommend storing a Pokemon to make sure you don't lose the virus, then reading up on all the details.

[Poryhedron]

By the way, here's what mr_pikachu never quite got around to explaining: Pokérus makes a pokémon get EVs twice as fast as normal, so your stats will go up slightly faster. Once a pokémon has contracted the Pokérus, it will always get double EVs from that point on, but the virus is only contagious for a short while. Keeping an infected pokémon in your PC will enable you to infect any other pokémon you get whenever you want.

[Dark Dragonite]

Question...
Is it more likely to find a shiny, or an infected Pokemon?

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Question...
Is it more likely to find a shiny, or an infected Pokemon?

[color=magenta]Well, I don't know the exact odds off finding a wild Pokémon with the PokéRus, but I believe that it is much harder to find than a shiny Pokémon, which have a 1 in 8,192 chance of appearing. On the other hand, you only need to catch the PokéRus once, and then you can spread it to your other Pokémon, and keep an infected Pokémon in the box so that is retains the "active form" of the PokéRus. Now, unlike in the G/S/C games, using a shiny Pokémon for breeding will not improve your chances of obtaining a shiny, there will always be a 1 in 8,192 chance of getting a shiny, no matter what you do.

[Requiem]

yeah.... i did the "put in box thing" and by "freeze" i thought you ment i could take it out and it would stay contagious. but they didnt.... but luckly enuf for me i did keep one in the box, and that pokmn is frozen. so i will always have a catagious pokmn. thanks for all the help. i did alittle research and i now know what IV's and EV's are, so this is most-deff a good thing.

thanks