Pokemon Black/White Save Structure
Pokémon in the games Pokémon Black and White are stored in a 136 byte or 220 byte structures. All unencrypted values are stored in little-endian format. The game encrypts the data when it is stored in the save file. Party Pokémon have additional values to hold current battle stats and conditions. The information below describes the Pokémon data format.
Checksum / Block Shuffling / Encryption
Same as before, see Pokemon NDS Structure.
Unencrypted bytes
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x00-0x03 | Personality value (Also known as the PID) |
| 0x04-0x05 | Unused |
| 0x06-0x07 | Checksum |
Encrypted bytes
Block A
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x08-0x09 | National Pokédex ID |
| 0x0A-0x0B | Held Item |
| 0x0C-0x0D | OT ID |
| 0x0E-0x0F | OT Secret ID |
| 0x10-0x13 | Experience points |
| 0x14 | Friendship (Steps to Hatch if an egg) |
| 0x15 | Ability |
| 0x16 | Markings |
| 0x17 | Original Language |
| 0x18 | HP Effort Value |
| 0x19 | Attack Effort Value |
| 0x1A | Defense Effort Value |
| 0x1B | Speed Effort Value |
| 0x1C | SP Attack Effort Value |
| 0x1D | SP Defense Effort Value |
| 0x1E | Cool Contest Value |
| 0x1F | Beauty Contest Value |
| 0x20 | Cute Contest Value |
| 0x21 | Smart Contest Value |
| 0x22 | Tough Contest Value |
| 0x23 | Sheen Contest Value |
| 0x24-0x25 | Sinnoh Ribbon Set 1 |
| 0x26-0x27 | Sinnoh Ribbon Set 2 |
Block B
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x28-0x29 | Move 1 ID |
| 0x2A-0x2B | Move 2 ID |
| 0x2C-0x2D | Move 3 ID |
| 0x2E-0x2F | Move 4 ID |
| 0x30 | Move 1 Current PP |
| 0x31 | Move 2 Current PP |
| 0x32 | Move 3 Current PP |
| 0x33 | Move 4 Current PP |
| 0x34-0x37 | Move PP Ups |
| 0x38-0x3B | Bits 0-29 - Individual Values HP ( [0-31] << 0 ) |
| 0x3C-0x3D | Hoenn Ribbon Set 1 |
| 0x3E-0x3F | Hoenn Ribbon Set 2 |
| 0x40 | Bit 0 - Fateful Encounter Flag Bit 1 - Female Bit 2 - Genderless Bit 3-7 - Alternate Forms |
| 0x41 | Nature |
| 0x42 | 0x1 - HasDreamWorldAbility flag, 0x2 - N's pokemon flag |
| 0x43 | Unused |
| 0x44-0x45 | Deleted / Unused |
| 0x46-0x47 | Deleted / Unused |
Block C
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x48-0x5D | Nickname |
| 0x5E | Unused |
| 0x5F | Hometown |
| 0x60-0x61 | Sinnoh Ribbon Set 3 |
| 0x62-0x63 | Sinnoh Ribbon Set 4 |
| 0x64-0x67 | Unused |
Block D
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x68-0x77 | OT Name |
| 0x78-0x7A | Date Egg Received |
| 0x7B-0x7D | Date Met |
| 0x7E-0x7F | Egg Location (Diamond/Pearl) |
| 0x80-0x81 | Met At Location (Diamond/Pearl) |
| 0x82 | Pokérus |
| 0x83 | Poké Ball |
| 0x84 | Bit 0-6 - Met At Level Bit 7 - Female OT Gender |
| 0x85 | Encounter Type |
| 0x86 | Unused |
| 0x87 | Unused |
Battle Stats
The battle stats are encrypted in the same manner, however the seed is not the checksum, it is the PID, and the bytes are not shuffled.
Encrypted Bytes
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x88 | Bits 0-2 - Asleep (0-7 rounds) Bit 3 - Poisoned Bit 4 - Burned Bit 5 - Frozen Bit 6 - Paralyzed Bit 7 - Toxic |
| 0x89 | Unknown - Flags - Max Value 0xF0 |
| 0x8A-0x8B | Unknown |
| 0x8C | Level |
| 0x8D | Capsule Index (Seals) |
| 0x8E-0x8F | Current HP |
| 0x90-0x91 | Max HP |
| 0x92-0x93 | Attack |
| 0x94-0x95 | Defense |
| 0x96-0x97 | Speed |
| 0x98-0x99 | Special Attack |
| 0x9A-0x9B | Special Defense |
| 0x9C-0xD3 | Unknown - Contains Trash Data |
| 0xD4-0xDB | Unknown - all 0s? |
Original Language
| Value | Language |
|---|---|
| 0x1 | 日本語 (Japan) |
| 0x2 | English (US/UK/AU) |
| 0x3 | Français (France/Québec) |
| 0x4 | Italiano (Italy) |
| 0x5 | Deutsch (Germany) |
| 0x7 | Español (Spain/Latin Americas) |
| 0x8 | 한국어 (South Korea) |
Markings
| Bit | Marking |
|---|---|
| 0x01 | Circle |
| 0x02 | Triangle |
| 0x04 | Square |
| 0x08 | Heart |
| 0x10 | Star |
| 0x20 | Diamond |
Alternate Forms
Alternate forms are stored at offset 0x40 of the Pokemon structure. Each form follows the pattern of index << 3 where index starts at zero for the main form.
Unown's Forms
| Bit | Form | Bit | Form | Bit | Form | Bit | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | A | 0x38 | H | 0x70 | O | 0xA8 | V |
| 0x08 | B | 0x40 | I | 0x78 | P | 0xB0 | W |
| 0x10 | C | 0x48 | J | 0x80 | Q | 0xB8 | X |
| 0x18 | D | 0x50 | K | 0x88 | R | 0xC0 | Y |
| 0x20 | E | 0x58 | L | 0x90 | S | 0xC8 | Z |
| 0x28 | F | 0x60 | M | 0x98 | T | 0xD0 | ! |
| 0x30 | G | 0x68 | N | 0xA0 | U | 0xD8 | ? |
Deoxy's Forms
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Normal |
| 0x08 | Attack |
| 0x10 | Defense |
| 0x18 | Speed |
Burmy's & Wormadam's Forms
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Plant |
| 0x08 | Sandy |
| 0x10 | Trash |
Shellos' & Gastrodon's Forms
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | West |
| 0x08 | East |
Rotom's Forms
Rotom's alternate forms will only be displayed in Pokemon Platinum. Rotom may be traded between Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum without losing the alternate form.
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Normal |
| 0x08 | Heat |
| 0x10 | Wash |
| 0x18 | Frost |
| 0x20 | Fan |
| 0x28 | Cut |
Giratina's Forms
Giratina's Origin form will only be displayed in Pokemon Platinum.
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Altered |
| 0x08 | Origin |
Shaymin's Forms
Shaymin's Sky form will only be displayed in Pokemon Platinum.
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Land |
| 0x08 | Sky |
Arceus' Forms
| Bit | Form | Bit | Form | Bit | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | Normal | 0x30 | Insect | 0x60 | Zap |
| 0x08 | Fist | 0x38 | Spooky | 0x68 | Mind |
| 0x10 | Sky | 0x40 | Iron | 0x70 | Icicle |
| 0x18 | Toxic | 0x48 | Flame | 0x78 | Draco |
| 0x20 | Earth | 0x50 | Splash | 0x80 | Dread |
| 0x28 | Stone | 0x58 | Meadow | 0x4C | Curse |
Nickname and OT Name
Since generation 5, the nickname and OT name are encoded with Unicode instead of a game-specific character map. However, there are some exceptions, which are listed below. Note that unlike generation 4, the last two bytes of are always 0xFFFF, even if there already was a terminator before. Exceptions to this rule are the Roaming Pokémon, Starters, and various gifts and in game trades, in which the OT name does not have the escape sequence.
There are no normally occurring trash bytes for generation 5 Pokémon, but the Poké Transfer will keep existing trash bytes (except the last two) even if the Pokémon evolves in generation 5. In the advent of a different language Pokémon evolving in another language game, characters not overwritten are left as trash bytes.
Characters that can be replaced in Unicode
In the game, those are half-width versions of existing Unicode characters used in non-japanese versions with long name support.
| Original character | Unicode index | Replace with | Unicode index |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⑽ | 0x247d | ☂ | 0x2602 |
| ⑻ | 0x247b | ☁ | 0x2601 |
| ⑺ | 0x247a | ☀ | 0x2600 |
| ⑹ | 0x2479 | ♪ | 0x266a |
| ⑸ | 0x2478 | ◇ | 0x25c7 |
| ⑷ | 0x2477 | △ | 0x25b3 |
| ⑶ | 0x2476 | □ | 0x25a1 |
| ⑵ | 0x2475 | ○ | 0x25cb |
| ⑴ | 0x2474 | ◎ | 0x25ce |
| ⑳ | 0x2473 | ★ | 0x2605 |
| ⑲ | 0x2472 | ♦ | 0x2666 |
| ⑱ | 0x2471 | ♥ | 0x2665 |
| ⑰ | 0x2470 | ♣ | 0x2663 |
| ⑯ | 0x246f | ♠ | 0x2660 |
| ⑮ | 0x246e | ♀ | 0x2640 |
| ⑭ | 0x246d | ♂ | 0x2642 |
| ⑬ | 0x246c | … | 0x2026 |
| ⑨ | 0x2468 | ÷ | 0xf7 |
| ⑧ | 0x2467 | × | 0xd7 |
Pokémon exclusive characters
Some game-exclusive characters do not exist in Unicode and should be replaced with bitmaps.
| Original character | Unicode index | Pokémon exclusive |
|---|---|---|
| $ | 0x24 | 
|
| ⇒ | 0x21d2 | 
|
| ⇔ | 0x21d4 | 
|
| ∀ | 0x2200 | 
|
| ∃ | 0x2203 | 
|
| ∧ | 0x2227 | 
|
| ∨ | 0x2228 | 
|
| ① | 0x2460 | 
|
| ② | 0x2461 |
|
| ③ | 0x2462 | 
|
| ④ | 0x2463 |
|
| ⑤ | 0x2464 |
|
| ⑥ | 0x2465 |
|
| ⑦ | 0x2466 |
|
| ⑩ | 0x2469 | 
|
| ⑪ | 0x246a | 
|
| ⑫ | 0x246b | 
|
| ⑾ | 0x247e |
|
| ⑿ | 0x247f | 
|
| ⒀ | 0x2480 | 
|
| ⒁ | 0x2481 | 
|
| ⒂ | 0x2482 | 
|
| ⒃ | 0x2483 | 
|
| ⒄ | 0x2484 | 
|
| ⒅ | 0x2485 | 
|
| ⒆ | 0x2486 | 
|
| ⒇ | 0x2487 | 
|
| ￢ | 0xffe2 |
|
Encounter Types
Encounter types are not used in Black and White. Pokeshifted Pokemon keep their Encounter Type hex.
| Value | Country |
|---|---|
| 0x0 | Pal Park, Egg, Hatched, Special Event |
| 0x2 | Tall Grass |
| 0x4 | Dialga/Palkia In-Game Event |
| 0x5 | Cave, Hall of Origin |
| 0x7 | Surfing, Fishing |
| 0x9 | Building |
| 0xA | Great Marsh (Safari Zone) |
| 0xC | Starter, Fossil, Gift (Eevee) |
Ribbons
Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum store the ribbon information as bitfields in 1-byte words. Given below are the bytewise representation of the ribbon bitfields.
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 1
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x24 & 0x01 | Sinnoh Champ Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x02 | Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x04 | Great Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x08 | Double Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x10 | Multi Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x20 | Pair Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x40 | World Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x80 | Alert Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x01 | Shock Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x02 | Downcast Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x04 | Careless Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x08 | Relax Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x10 | Snooze Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x20 | Smile Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x40 | Gorgeous Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x80 | Royal Ribbon |
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 2
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x26 & 0x01 | Gorgeous Royal Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x02 | Footprint Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x04 | Record Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x08 | History Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x10 | Legend Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x20 | Red Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x40 | Green Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x80 | Blue Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x01 | Festival Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x02 | Carnival Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x04 | Classic Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x08 | Premier Ribbon |
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 3
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x60 & 0x01 | Cool Ribbon |
| 0x60 & 0x02 | Cool Ribbon Great |
| 0x60 & 0x04 | Cool Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x60 & 0x08 | Cool Ribbon Master |
| 0x60 & 0x10 | Beauty Ribbon |
| 0x60 & 0x20 | Beauty Ribbon Great |
| 0x60 & 0x40 | Beauty Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x60 & 0x80 | Beauty Ribbon Master |
| 0x61 & 0x01 | Cute Ribbon |
| 0x61 & 0x02 | Cute Ribbon Great |
| 0x61 & 0x04 | Cute Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x61 & 0x08 | Cute Ribbon Master |
| 0x61 & 0x10 | Smart Ribbon |
| 0x61 & 0x20 | Smart Ribbon Great |
| 0x61 & 0x40 | Smart Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x61 & 0x80 | Smart Ribbon Master |
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 4
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x62 & 0x01 | Tough Ribbon |
| 0x62 & 0x02 | Tough Ribbon Great |
| 0x62 & 0x04 | Tough Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x62 & 0x08 | Tough Ribbon Master |
Hoenn Ribbon Set 1
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x3C & 0x01 | Cool Ribbon |
| 0x3C & 0x02 | Cool Ribbon Super |
| 0x3C & 0x04 | Cool Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3C & 0x08 | Cool Ribbon Master |
| 0x3C & 0x10 | Beauty Ribbon |
| 0x3C & 0x20 | Beauty Ribbon Super |
| 0x3C & 0x40 | Beauty Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3C & 0x80 | Beauty Ribbon Master |
| 0x3D & 0x01 | Cute Ribbon |
| 0x3D & 0x02 | Cute Ribbon Super |
| 0x3D & 0x04 | Cute Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3D & 0x08 | Cute Ribbon Master |
| 0x3D & 0x10 | Smart Ribbon |
| 0x3D & 0x20 | Smart Ribbon Super |
| 0x3D & 0x40 | Smart Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3D & 0x80 | Smart Ribbon Master |
Hoenn Ribbon Set 2
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x3F & 0x01 | Tough Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x02 | Tough Ribbon Super |
| 0x3F & 0x04 | Tough Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3F & 0x08 | Tough Ribbon Master |
| 0x3F & 0x10 | Champion Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x20 | Winning Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x40 | Victory Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x80 | Artist Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x01 | Effort Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x02 | Marine Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x04 | Land Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x08 | Sky Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x10 | Country Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x20 | National Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x40 | Earth Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x80 | World Ribbon |
Save File Location
The party Pokémon are stored in the save file beginning at offset 0x18e08.
In the first small save block, the first Daycare Pokémon is located at 0x0141C, and the second is located at 0x01508. In the second small block, the first Daycare Pokémon is located at 0x4141C, and the second is located at 0x41508.
In the first small save block, the Pal Park Pokémon are stored beginning at 0x0BA28. In the second small save block, the Pal Park Pokémon are stored beginning at 0x4BA28.
Each party and Daycare Pokémon is 220 bytes in size.
The PC storage Pokémon are stored in the save file from Box 1 to Box 24. The offset starts at 0x24400. Each Pokémon stored in the PC is 136 bytes in size.