Since your team has been completed, you are probably eager to jump into battles, but hold on! Before you start to participate (or ref) matches, you need to understand the terminologies and mechanics in ASB. This can become very long and confusing, so this guide will only give a basic overview of the mechanics. You can always refer to the
CAP ASB Data Thread for more in-depth information. Also, keep in mind that the mechanics can change from time to time since ASB is relatively new and there are things that need to be balanced.
Special Pokemon
There are some Pokemon that are so bizzare that they have special conditions. These Pokemon are
the Rotom formes,
Shedinja,
SmeargleUnown. In order to switch formes, Rotom needs to be near appliances, which would depend on the arena that it is fighting in. Appliances are most likely to be found in arenas like junkyards and cities. Unown is a special case because it can use all types of Hidden Power freely, unlike other Pokemon. In addition, Unown's Hidden Power acts a lot differently, which you can see
near the bottom of this post. Shedinja is unique due to it's ability, Wonder Guard. Activating Wonder Guard enables Shedinja to be immune to NVE or neutral attacks in exchange for reducing its HP by 20. Shedinja can also use level-up moves from Nincada and Ninjask as well.
and
Smeargle is the last special case and is completely different from any Pokemon you will use/encounter in CAPASB. First of all, Smeargle cannot be chosen as a starting Pokemon. Second of all, Smeargle can Sketch and use any level-up (to Lv 25), egg and B/W TM moves that your starter Pokemon knows (this is why we need you to mark those moves with an asterik.) Finally, Smeargle has 3 "Permanent Sketch Slots." It can use these slots to permanently sketch and copy a move that it has seen in a battle. Smeargle can also convert its Move Counters into Permanent Sketch Slots.
Tokens and Counters
As you start to battle and participate in the ASB forum, you will eventually earn "counters" (also refered to as "tokens".) Counters are a form of currency with which you can purchase stuff, and different counters allow you to obtain different things.
Pokemon : Most Pokemon have these counters: Evolution Counters, Dream World Counters, and Move Counters. Evolution Counters allow a two-stage Pokemon to evolve when they have 6 counters, and three-stage Pokemon to evolve into their second and third forms when they acquire 4 and 9 counters, respectively. Dream World counters allow a Pokemon to unlock their Dream World ability, if any, once they have 5 of those. Finally, Move counters allows a Pokemon to learn new moves. (nb: what is the new list pertaining to the cost of moves?) Also, Pokemon earn a KO counter every time they KO another Pokemon in battle. This counter can be converted to any one of the three counters mentioned above or Trainer Counters.
Trainer : Trainers can have a variety of counters. The most common ones out there are Trainer counters and Referee counters. Trainer counters enable you to purchase new Pokemon and Berries. Referee counters can be converted into Trainer, Move, Evolution or DreamWorld counters. There are also other counters there as well, which usually deal with Role Playing threads (eg. if you participate in the Dojo, you will earn Dojo counters).
Moves, STABS and Abilities
Moves ,
abilities and
STAB effects are fairly easy to comprehend. The "energy cost" of moves basically acts like a Pokemon's PP. When Pokemon start to battle, they start out with 100% energy, and that decreases as they start to use moves. You can use three moves during a round. Each move will take up 1 action (you get three actions every round). Some abilities need to, or can be ,activated or deactivated, while other abilities are always active and cannot be shut down. The Data Thread tells you which ability has these properties. Natures add or take away a star from a Pokemon's original stat (natures that affect speed increase or decrease it by 15%). For example, go back to the Togepi example above. Normally, Togepi's ASB stats are 90 / * / *** / ** / *** / 20. However, it has a Quiet nature, so its Special Attack increases by one star, and its speed decreases by 15%. Its stats are now 90 / * / *** / *** / *** / 17.
Stat Boosts and Drops
Stat Boosts and drops can become confusing, especially for new referees. All stat boosts and drops last for at least two actions. If a stat is boosted/dropped on the first action of a round, it will remain that way and slowly move back to zero at the end of every round, until it becomes neutral. Any boost/drops used in the second action will slowly revert to zero on the end of the next round. Finally, boost/drops on the third action will be applied on the next round and revert to zero at the end.
For example, say that I have an Absol. If I use Swords Dance on the first action of a round, Absol will have +2 Attack until the end of the third action, where it will drop to +1. Then, on the third action of the next round (a.k.a. the end of the round), it will drop to 0. If Swords Dance is used on the second action, Absol remains at +2 until end of the next round, where it becomes +1 (and then 0 at the end of the next next round). Now, if I use Swords Dance on the third action, Absol will not immediately get to +2. On the beginning of the next round, however, it will, and this boost lasts until the end of said round.
This post has more examples.
Status Conditions
Status effects (more information can be found in the middle of
this post play a major role in ASB battles. Unlike the cartridge games, Pokemon can have multiple status conditions at once, so take note of this! The only permanent status effects are Burn, Poison and Toxic Poison. There are several degrees of burn, which are inflicted by different moves. All burns deal 2 - 3 damage per action and lower the power of physical moves. Poison deals 2 damage every turn flat, whereas Toxic Poison starts out with 1 damage per action, and increases every round by 1 until it reaches 5 damage per action. Other effects are temporarily. Paralysis, Sleep, Confusion and Attraction also have various stages of severity. Torment, Taunt, and Leech Seed all last for 6 actions flat. Freeze is very unique in ASB. It is almost impossible to completely freeze a Pokemon, but individual body parts can be frozen. For example, I may wish to freeze the legs of a Scolipede so that it slows down, or the wings of a Crobat so it cannot fly anymore.