Attribute is a combat term used in the Robopon series: Each Robopon, and each move they can use, has exactly one attribute associated with it. These attributes determine the effectiveness of attacks in battle. This is not to be confused with a Robopon's Type (e.g. Arm, Move, or Boot), a different characteristic which governs a Robopon's stats (Attack, Defense, and Speed). The in-game text and the manual frequently use these terms interchangeably, adding to the confusion.
Attributes appear only in the first generation of games in the series (Sun/Star/Moon/Comic BomBom Special), so this article pertains only to them.
Overview
Offensively, Sky is the premiere attacking attribute, as nothing resists it and it is "Good" against two elements and "Great" against Land. Ice is notable for being resisted only by itself, but being "Good" against all three of Land, Sea, and Sky. Earth is the least desirable attribute for an attack, as 4 elements strongly resist it, and it is only "Good" against Fire and Wind, defensive attributes which have other weaknesses to more generally useful attacking attributes. Thunder is only slightly better than Earth, as it is strongly resisted by the two best defensive elements (Earth and Thunder), but it is the only element that has increased effectiveness against Water, one of the better mid-tier defensive attributes. Water would be an unremarkable attack attribute except that it is "Great" against Earth Robopon, a defensive type which strongly resists 4 other elements but has only two weaknesses (the other being Sky), and is therefore likely to be very durable otherwise.
Defensively, Thunder is the premiere attribute, as it has 3 strong resistances and no weaknesses whatsoever; this is one reason for GGTbot's exceptional power. Earth, as mentioned above, has 4 strong resistances, but a severe weakness to Water and another significant weakness to the irresistible Sky attribute. Evil and Sea are bad defensive attributes, as they both have 2 weaknesses and 1 severe weakness each, and only 1 unhelpful resistance to a subpar attacking element to make up for these vulnerabilities. Sky is the least desirable defensive attribute, as its two strong resistances are to mediocre attacking elements (Earth and Land), and it sports 4 weaknesses, the most of any attribute in the game. Normal is also undesirable, as it has no resistances and 3 weaknesses.
Note that Fire and Ice may be more significant defensive typings when facing opponents using the Alpha or Omega software: The moves provided by those two items have inordinately high power compared to other moves in the game, so having a strong resistance to Fire (for Alpha) and Ice (for Omega) is critical to winning these matchups. Additionally, many of the status-inducing moves in the game are of the Normal element. If these attacks deal damage while attempting to apply their status ailment, only Earth and Land attributes resist them, while Holy and Evil are both more vulnerable to them.
| D | e | f | e | n | d | e | r | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nor | Fir | Wat | Win | Ear | Thu | Ice | Hol | Evi | Lan | Sea | Sky | ||
| A | Normal | XX | O | O | X | ||||||||
| t | Fire | XX | X | O | OO | ||||||||
| t | Water | O | XX | OO | XX | ||||||||
| a | Wind | X | XX | XX | O | O | |||||||
| c | Earth | O | O | XX | XX | XX | XX | ||||||
| k | Thunder | O | XX | XX | X | O | OO | ||||||
| e | Ice | XX | O | O | O | ||||||||
| r | Holy | X | OO | ||||||||||
| Evil | OO | X | |||||||||||
| Land | O | OO | XX | ||||||||||
| Sea | O | XX | OO | ||||||||||
| Sky | O | O | OO | ||||||||||
Distribution
Of the 168 Robopon programmed into the first series of games, the frequency of defensive attributes is as follows:
| NORMAL: 15 | WIND: 15 | ICE: 14 | LAND: 13 |
| FIRE: 13 | EARTH: 13 | HOLY: 16 | SEA: 14 |
| WATER: 14 | THUNDER: 14 | EVIL: 13 | SKY: 14 |
The distribution appears roughly equal, but bear in mind that this represents all Robopon, not just the fully-evolved ones, which may be the most significant threats and/or the ones most desired for competitive use.
Perfect Neutral Coverage
Due to the above factors, it is possible for a single Robopon's moves to hit all Robopon in the game for at least neutral damage when equipping software of any two attributes together, with the following exceptions: Normal + Wind, Normal + Earth, Fire + Water, Fire + Wind, Wind + Earth, Thunder + Normal, Thunder + Water, Thunder + Wind, Thunder + Earth, Thunder + Sea, and finally Earth + Land. Combining any two other elements together will ensure perfect neutral coverage.