>>45529705>>45529797Fundamentally,
>your HP is your damage threshold, how much damage you can take, and your Def/SpD stats dictate how strong an enemy's attack/special attack will be on you. I highlighted in the formula where defenses apply, they are compared to the ratio of the enemy's relevant attack power with your relevant defense stat. Essentially if your opponent has 100 attack and you have 100 defense, that ratio will output as 1. If they have 100 attack and you have 200 defense, the output will be a .5x modifier. Ergo it's safe to say
>your defense stat is almost indirectly proportional to the damage you take ("almost" meaning that +2 damage taken into account in the parentheses). What
>>45529837 >>45529790 say are pretty much spot on,
>HP boosting is GENERALLY half as effective at reducing attacks of both types, while def/spD raising focuses that defense. HOWEVER it is worth mentioning if your Pokemon has very skewed stats, such as Eviolite Dusclops (huge defenses, low HP) or Pokemon like Wailord, Hariyama, and Regidrago (massive HP, low defenses) you will 9 times out of ten gain more from raising the weaker stats than you would otherwise when there's a massive stat difference .
