First off, the title of this week's Pokemusings was ripped from a Living Colour song. If you don't know it, do yourself a favor and check out this album. It's excellent and should be part of your musical education. Now, getting back to the matter at hand, this week's column is about the mysterious attack known as Hidden Power. While some players understand this arcane attack, many do not. Hidden Power can be extremely useful in terms of rounding out your Pokemon's attacks and surprising your opponents. It basically makes it possible for any Pokemon to learn a Special Attack of any type... if the numbers add up.

Above: Porygon-Z can take Rock and Steel Pokemon by surprise with Hidden Power Fighting

Hidden Power is a level-up attack for a few Pokemon, but it can also be purchased at the Veilstone Game Corner (TM10) in Diamond/Pearl. The properties of this attack are randomly determined by a Pokemon's Individual Values (IVs). One set of IVs determines the type of attack, while another determines its power. Boardie member, superb battler, and all around swell guy jimbo42292 wrote up a brief guide on Hidden Power that explains how this attack is calculated.