Pokémon Red and Blue / GAME HISTORY

Why Can Confusion Damage the Opponent’s Substitute in Pokémon Red and Blue?

A self-hit can be charged to a Substitute on the other side of the battle.

By Patchlo Editorial Desk · Published October 27, 2026 · Sources checked October 27, 2026

Scope: Original Game Boy Red and Blue; community-documented behavior.

Check both sides of the field

The Pokémon suffering the self-hit must have its own Substitute active. The result then depends on whether its opponent also has one. With two Substitutes, the opponent’s doll takes the hit. Without an opposing Substitute, the documented damage goes nowhere.

1. Establish a Substitute on the Pokémon that will suffer the self-hit.
2. Check whether the opponent has a Substitute too.
3. When confusion produces a self-hit, observe the opposing Substitute rather than assuming the user’s HP must fall.

The same account includes missed kicks

The community record lists Jump Kick and Hi Jump Kick’s self-damage alongside confusion. That is a specific shared result, not permission to describe Substitute as protection against every source of damage or every status condition.

The version limit matters

This explanation concerns the original Generation I battle behavior. The source leaves Stadium checks incomplete. It therefore supports neither a guaranteed Stadium reproduction nor a precise official repair date. No pointer or memory-address diagnosis is needed to state which target loses HP.