diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ab7ceda5..59022aa0 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ __pycache__/
 .*
 !.github/
 !.gitignore
+!.luacheckrc
 
 # Android build outputs / local SDK path / packaged payload (keep love-android sources)
 mobile/android/app/build/
diff --git a/.luacheckrc b/.luacheckrc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3d7f91a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.luacheckrc
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+-- Static-analysis config for `luacheck` (https://luacheck.readthedocs.io).
+--
+-- Run it over the engine with:  luacheck src   (or scripts/lint.sh)
+--
+-- The point is a high-signal baseline: the categories left on are the ones
+-- that catch real defects -- undefined globals/locals (the class that hid a
+-- `music.volume` crash: applyVolume read a `state` that was still the nil
+-- global), unused values, unreachable code, redefinitions. The cosmetic
+-- categories the codebase deliberately lives with (a `self`/`dt` an
+-- interface requires but a given method ignores, documented empty
+-- fall-through branches, the odd long line) are muted so they don't drown
+-- the signal.
+
+std = "luajit"
+
+-- LÖVE exposes `love` as a mutable table: games assign their callbacks onto
+-- it (love.wheelmoved, love.run, ...), so it is a regular global, not
+-- read-only -- otherwise every callback registration reads as a violation.
+globals = { "love" }
+
+read_globals = {
+  "jit",
+  -- LuaJIT 2.1 ships table.unpack even though the bare 5.1 `table` std lacks
+  -- it; without this, every `table.unpack` reads as an undefined field.
+  table = { fields = { "unpack" } },
+}
+
+-- Vendored/native trees and the test suites have their own conventions.
+exclude_files = {
+  "mobile/",
+  "tests/",
+  "tools/save-editor/",
+}
+
+ignore = {
+  "212",  -- unused argument -- self/dt kept for a shared method signature
+  "213",  -- unused loop variable -- `for _, v in` where only v is wanted
+  "421",  -- shadowing a local -- deliberate re-use in a few tight scopes
+  "431",  -- shadowing an upvalue
+  "432",  -- shadowing an argument
+  "542",  -- empty if branch -- documented fall-throughs, not gaps
+  "631",  -- line is too long
+}
diff --git a/scripts/lint.sh b/scripts/lint.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..bf2ece34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/lint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Static analysis for the engine Lua (config: .luacheckrc).
+#
+# Complements scripts/test.sh: the tests prove behavior, luacheck catches the
+# defects that never run in a green test -- undefined globals/locals (the
+# class that hid a music.volume crash: a hook read a `state` that was still
+# the nil global), unused values, unreachable code. The .luacheckrc mutes the
+# cosmetic categories the codebase lives with, so what prints is worth a look.
+#
+#   scripts/lint.sh            lint src/
+#   scripts/lint.sh src tools  lint specific paths
+#
+# Install once with:  luarocks install luacheck
+
+set -uo pipefail
+cd "$(dirname "$0")/.."
+
+if ! command -v luacheck >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "luacheck not found on PATH (install: luarocks install luacheck)" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+luacheck "${@:-src}"
diff --git a/src/inventory/ItemEffects.lua b/src/inventory/ItemEffects.lua
index 50d40b71..a7bb8588 100644
--- a/src/inventory/ItemEffects.lua
+++ b/src/inventory/ItemEffects.lua
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@
 --   "ball"                          caller must throw it (battle only)
 --   "learn", moveId                 caller must run the learn-move flow
 
-local Pokemon = require("src.pokemon.Pokemon")
 local Flags = require("src.script.Flags")
 local Strings = require("src.core.Strings")