Playing Around Protect & Substitute — Winning a Turn for Yourself
When to use Protect and Substitute, how to play the mind games against Choice-item users, and how to combine them with residual damage. (updated: 2026-07-22)
The value of "buying a turn"
Protect and Substitute don't deal direct damage, but they can swing a match's mind games heavily in your favor. They let you dodge an attack for a turn while gathering information, racking up residual damage, or preparing to switch. They look unglamorous, but the best players use them constantly.
When to use Protect
- Scouting the opponent's switch: using Protect lets you see what the opponent does before committing to your own next move, reducing the risk of a bad read.
- Racking up residual damage: while the opponent is being worn down by poison, burn, or sandstorm (see status conditions), Protect lets you advance the turn safely.
- Getting a free Leftovers heal: combined with Leftovers, Protect gives you a turn of healing without taking a hit.
- Dodging a specific dangerous move: Protect through the opponent's big attack for that turn and use the breathing room to reposition.
Its success rate drops with repeated use, though, so spamming it once the opponent has caught on is risky. Get the information you need, then go back to normal play.
When to use Substitute
Substitute costs 1/4 of your HP to create a decoy. Unlike Protect, its strength is that it blocks attacks and status conditions for multiple turns.
- Preventing status conditions: if you expect Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp, putting up a Substitute blocks the status entirely.
- Shielding a setup turn: a classic way to safely use a stat-boosting move behind the decoy.
- Playing around Choice items: if the opponent is locked into a move by a Choice item and it hits your Substitute, you get a free, safe turn to reposition afterward.
Mind games against Choice-item users
Choice items (like Choice Scarf) come with the restriction that the user can only use one move at a time. If you correctly read that the opponent is locked in, using Protect or Substitute nets you a completely free turn. On the flip side, if you're the one holding a Choice item, expect the opponent to read your lock-in and switch around your Protect.
Don't overuse them
Powerful as they are, Protect and Substitute are also turns where nothing progresses on your side. They're useless against an opponent who's already set up with stat boosts, or one using Taunt. Use them as one tool among many to steer the match in your favor, not a default action. For overall play patterns, see also common beginner mistakes.