Data ASB Players' Handbook (ALL IMPORTANT NOT 100% OBVIOUS RULES ARE IN HERE)

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Stratos

Banned deucer.
Introduction

This is the ASB Players' Handbook, a thread which contains every bit of ASB-pertinent information not found in the new Data Audit Spreadsheet. In addition, we encourage users to make full use of other internet Pokemon accessories, especially http://www.veekun.com. Some of the information from the old Data Audit Thread MkII will be found here—the new Data Audit contains only that, raw data. The rules and mechanics which were previously found across the Data Audit Thread, Ref Resource Thread, Prize Claim Thread, Registration Tower, and Battle Tower have been condensed into this one-stop shop.

Table of Contents

Battle Mechanics
  • Damage Formula
    • Descriptions of Each Field
      • Critical Hits
      • Type Effectiveness
    • Rounding
    • Random Number Generation
  • Energy
    • Consecutive Energy Cost
    • Chill
  • Status Effects
    • Status Stacking
    • List of Statuses
  • Stat Boosts/Drops
    • Speed scaling
    • Evasion/Accuracy scaling
  • Targeting
  • Combinations
    • Combo statistics
      • Same-move combos
      • Different-move combos
    • Combo Priority
    • Physical/Special Mix Combos
    • Combination Types / Type Priority
  • Effects of Certain Moves
    • Sluggish
    • Trapping and Partial Trapping
    • Spread Moves
    • Fog
    • Multi-Hit Hit % / Spillover Damage
  • Move Restriction
    • Working with effects that prevent Move Selection
    • Working with effects that prevent Move Execution
  • Item Mechanics
    • Consumables and Encumberment
    • Choice item mechanics
  • Effect Timing
    • Start of Round
    • Start of Action
    • Start of Turn
    • End of Turn
    • End of Action
    • End of Round
  • Capture Mechanics
Battling Basics
  • Posting Challenges/Acceptances
    • Queue
    • Recovery Moves
  • Flow of Battle
    • Actions and Rounds
    • Switch = OK vs Switch = KO
      • Trapping Moves and Switch = OK
      • Switch-Forcing Moves
      • Consecutive Switches
      • Mid-Battle Evolution
    • After a KO
    • End of a match
  • What's in an order
    • In case of Illegal orders/subs
  • WHAT IS SUB? (Baby don't hurt me)
    • Substitution Classes
      • Frequency Clauses
      • Attack Clauses
      • Chance Clauses
      • KO Clauses
      • Action Clauses
      • Substitution Interaction
      • Pushing Back Substitutions
    • Legal/Illegal subs
    • KO Subs
Registering/Claiming
  • What a Pokemon looks like
    • Types
    • Abilities
      • Ability Categories
    • Normalized Base Stats
      • Natures
    • Size Class and Weight Class
      • Rules about Bodyblock/Take Cover and Dodge
    • Counters
      • What all the different counters do
    • Attacks
    • How to claim a new Pokemon
      • Starting moves
    • Special Case Pokemon
      • Unown
      • Smeargle and Necturine/Necturna
      • Shedinja
      • Rotom
      • Tynamo
    • Example profiles
  • How do counters work?
    • How counters are awarded
      • CC awards for battles
      • UC awards for reffing
    • Maxed out Pokemon CC bonus
  • How to format a registration
  • How to format a claim on existing Pokemon
FAQ / Obscure Rulings

Appendix 1: Type Chart

Changelog

04/06/2014: Updated critical hit chances to match those in 6th generation cartridge.

04/02/2014: Corrected the Capture Mechanics—which contained erroneous information—according to word of god.

01/24/2014: UC Cap rise to 50, Substitution classes update.

11/22/2013: Added the exact awards for player CC and ref UC.

11/17/2013: New capture mechanics added.

11/15/2013: Added a type chart to the bottom of the handbook for your convenience.

11/13/2013: Combinations are now only considered one attack for the purposes of effects, based on a ruling. They retain their spillover effect if a multi-hit move is involved, and Pokemon with Parental Bond using a move with a single target will still check for effects twice.

11/09/2013: Sentence added about in the event that all Pokemon on one side has fainted and Pokemon on the other side have still not acted.
 
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Stratos

Banned deucer.
Battle Mechanics

Table of Contents for this post:
  • Damage Formula
    • Descriptions of Each Field
      • Critical Hits
      • Type Effectiveness
    • Type Chart
    • Rounding
    • Random Number Generation
  • Energy
    • Consecutive Energy Cost
    • Chill
  • Status Effects
    • Status Stacking
    • List of Statuses
  • Stat Boosts/Drops
    • Speed scaling
    • Evasion/Accuracy scaling
  • Targeting
  • Combinations
    • Combo statistics
      • Same-move combos
      • Different-move combos
    • Combo Priority
    • Physical/Special Mix Combos
    • Combination Types / Type Priority
  • Effects of Certain Moves
    • Sluggish
    • Trapping and Partial Trapping
    • Spread Moves
      • Synchronised Moves
    • Fog
    • Multi-Hit Hit % / Spillover Damage
  • Move Restriction
    • Working with effects that prevent Move Selection
    • Working with effects that prevent Move Execution
  • Item Mechanics
    • Consumables and Encumberment
    • Choice item mechanics
    • Training Items
  • Effect Timing
    • Start of Round
    • Start of Action
    • Start of Turn
    • End of Turn
    • End of Action
    • End of Round
  • Capture Mechanics
The ASB Damage Formula

All attack damage, unless otherwise stated in a move or arena effect, is calculated using the following formula:

Final Damage = [(Base Attack Power + STAB + Critical Hit + Attack Rank Bonus + Ability Effects + Field Effects + Item Effects 1 - Defense Rank Bonus - Burn Effect) * Type Effectiveness] + (Stage Boost Difference * 2) + Item Effects 2
Descriptions of Each Field

Base Attack Power: This is the inherent power of the Pokemon's move.

STAB: Its full name is Same Type Attack Bonus. If the Pokemon's type (or one of its types) is the same as that of the move being used, STAB is 3. Otherwise, it is 0.

Critical Hits: Critical hits normally have a 1/16 chance of occurring. Certain items, abilities, moves, and arena effects boost the likelihood of critical hits by "stages." Each stage boost is akin to moving down one line on the following chart:
Code:
0 Boosts:    6.25% or 1 in 16
1 Boost      12.5% or 1 in 8
2 Boosts:    50%   or 1 in 2
3 Boosts:    100%  or 1 in 1
Critical hit stage boosts past the third do not increase the chance of a critical hit.

Critical Hit's normal value is 0. When a critical hit is scored on a single-target move, Critical Hit is increased by 3. Every attack in a 2-hit, 3-hit, or multi-hit move has a chance of scoring a critical hit. Every time a 2-hit or 3-hit move scores a critical hit, Critical Hit is increased by 2; every time a multi-hit move scores a critical hit, Critical Hit is increased by 1. Furthermore, Light Screen and Reflect's damage reduction is ignored, and any defensive stage boosts on the target are ignored. If any hit in a 2-hit, 3-hit, or multi-hit move scores a critical hit, all hits ignore Light Screen, Reflect, and defensive stage boosts.

Attack Rank Bonus: calculated using the attacker's relevant stat (Attack or Special Attack). Physical moves are affected by the Attack Stat, while Special moves are affected by the Special Attack stat. Each Attack Rank up to and including 6 adds 1.5 to the Attack Rank Bonus (thus 1 rank adds 1.5, 2 ranks adds 3, etc. up to 6 ranks adds 9), and each Attack Rank past 6 adds 1 to the Attack Rank Bonus (thus 7 ranks adds 10, 8 ranks adds 11, etc.).

Ability Effects: Certain abilities, such as Iron Fist, affect the damage of certain moves. If the ability in question adds to or subtracts from the damage of the move being performed, the damage modifier is included here.
Field Effects: Certain field effects, such as rain, affect the damage of certain moves. If the active field effect in question does affect the damage of the move being performed, the damage modifier is included here.
Item Effects: Certain items, such as Expert Belt and Mystic Water, affect the damage of certain moves. If the item in question adds to or subtracts from the move's Base Attack Power, the damage modifier applies at Item Effects 1. If the item in question adds to or subtracts from the move's damage, the damage modifier applies at Item Effects 2.

Defense Rank Bonus: This is calculated using the attacker's relevant stat (Defense or Special Defense). Physical moves are affected by the Defense Stat, while Special moves are affected by the Special Defense stat. Each Defense Rank up to and including 6 adds 1.5 to the Defense Rank Bonus (thus 1 rank adds 1.5, 2 ranks adds 3, etc. up to 6 ranks adds 9), and each Defense Rank past 6 adds 1 to the Defense Rank Bonus (thus 7 ranks adds 10, 8 ranks adds 11, etc.).

Burn Effect: If a physical attack is being used and the user is Burned, then Burn Effect is set to 3. Otherwise it is 0.

Type Effectiveness: Type Effectiveness can be found in the type chart in appendix 1 of the handbook. The type of the attack being used is compared to the type of the defending Pokemon to get an effectiveness of either Doubly Super Effective (4x SE), Super Effective (2x SE), Normally Effective (1x), Not Very Effective (1/2x NVE), Doubly Not Very Effective (1/4x NVE), or Ineffective (0x). These can furthermore be boosted to Triply Super Effective (8x SE) and Triply Not Very Effective (8x NVE) through ability, move, or arena effects. However, ASB does not use the in-game damage multipliers for type effectiveness. Instead, we use the following chart:
Code:
8x SE:      x27/8   (3.375)
4x SE:      x9/4    (2.25)
2x SE:      x3/2    (1.5)
1x:         x1
1/2x NVE:   ÷3/2    (1.5)
1/4x NVE:   ÷9/4    (2.25)
1/8x NVE:   ÷27/8   (3,375)
0x:         x0
The general rule for the Type Effectiveness multiplier is 1.5 ^ (number of weaknesses - number of resistances), or 0 if the target is immune.

Stage Boost Difference: This is the difference between the attacker's relevant Attack Stage Boosts and the defender's Defense Stage Boosts. This difference is multiplied by 2 as shown in the formula to calculate the effect on damage. Stage Boosts are different to ranks and are covered in greater detail later in the post.

Final Damage: The damage deducted from the defending Pokemon's HP after the attack is executed. Note that if the Type Effectiveness multiplier is 0 (ie, the target is immune to the attack), Final Damage will always be 0. Otherwise, Final Damage will always be at least 1.

Rounding

Damage and Energy consumption are both treated with the same rounding rules in ASB. Neither are rounded as soon as an attack is completed. At the end of the round, Damage and Energy are each summed, and the final result of these is then rounded normally (ie ≥.5 rounds up, <.5 rounds down). It is important to note that it is the damage and energy consumption which are rounded, not the remaining HP and Energy (so in the case of an even .5, the remaining HP and Energy will go with the lower of the two values!) An important exception is that if a Pokemon is left at the end of an attack with .5 HP or less, they faint instantly instead of waiting until the end of the round to round to 0 HP.

Random Number Generation

Many effects in ASB have a percent chance of occurring that is not 0 or 100, such as a miss, a burn, or a critical hit. Under no circumstances is a referee to eyeball it. Instead, they should use a random number generator, such as the one offered at http://www.random.org, to generate all random numbers for percent chances. The ref may roll out of whatever number they like as long as the probabilities of the outcomes of the random roll match the probabilities of the effect being rolled. For example, when rolling for a critical hit at the usual 1/16 chance, the ref may generate a number between 1 and 10,000 and treat results of 625 and below as a critical hit, or they may generate a number between 1 and 16 and treat a result of 1 as a critical hit.

If in doubt, you can hardly ever go wrong with a roll out of 10,000.
Energy

Every Pokemon in ASB enters battle with 100 energy. Energy is depleted by every attack and some abilities or arena effects. In this way, energy is like PP from the cartridges, except instead of each move having a limited number of uses, each Pokemon can use its energy for whichever combination of moves it likes. Additionally, if a Pokemon's type (or one of its types) matches the type of the move being used, the energy cost of that move is reduced by 1. As with Damage, all moves used with the exception of moves such as Chill consume a minimum of 1 Energy and any cost that equates to less than 1 Energy will be scaled up to 1 Energy.

Usually a Pokemon doesn't need to have enough energy to pay the energy cost of an attack and it can, for example, use a move that costs 10 energy even if it only has 7. In this way, a Pokemon's energy can drop to 0 and below. If this happens, the Pokemon is Knocked Out, just as if its HP had been reduced to 0.

There are some moves that are so powerful that they will fail if the Pokemon does not have enough energy to use them. In such cases, the Pokemon uses up the last of its energy and is Knocked Out without using the move to any effect. Combination attacks or combos have rules governing how much energy a Pokemon needs to successfully execute the attack. These rules are given in the section on Combinations.

Damaging Evasive moves consume half of the energy cost on the evasive part and half on the damaging part, unless otherwise stated in the move description. Charge moves consume all of the energy cost on the damaging part. Focus Punch consumes all of its energy on the charge part.

Some moves, such as Protect, Bide, and Snatch, have an EN cost that can't be fully determined on use. When these moves are used, you pay the base EN cost, and then additional EN is paid as other variables are calculated or change.

For instance, Bide you pay 6 EN on the first action of Bide, and the remaining EN when you release Bide. Protect you pay 7 EN when you first use it, and then as you take damage that is protected more EN is shaved off . For the purpose of combination EN feasability, simply assume no additonal EN costs (For example, Reflect + Protect needs at least 10 + 7 = 17 EN to successfully use)

Consecutive Energy Cost

As tempting as it may be to find your Pokemon's most powerful move and use it every action, doing so is a surefire way to drain your Pokemon's energy. When a Pokemon uses the same move on consecutive actions, the energy cost of that move increases by 4. This energy cost increase is cumulative and carries over from one round to the next. Outside of switching, the only way to reset this penalty is to use a different move or somehow fail to act. However, Combination cooldowns do not reset the consecutive use penalty, nor does using a combination of two different moves.

For example, if a move normally costs 6 energy and a Pokemon uses it 4 actions in a row, it will cost 6 energy the first time, 10 energy the second time, 14 energy the third time and 18 energy the fourth time. That's 48 energy expended in just 4 actions. If the Pokemon alternates between that move and a different move that costs 5 energy, it may deal a little less damage to its opponent but, by not incurring the increased energy cost for consecutive use of the same move, it will not expend even half the energy it otherwise would have.

Chill

Other than possible arena effects, the Chill command is the only way to restore energy. A successful Chill restores 12 energy. Battles usually have a limit to how many Chills each Pokemon can use to prevent them from getting too drawn out.

Note that a Pokemon's energy can never exceed 100.​

Status Effects

Just like in the cartridges, status effects can be quite debilitating in ASB. Generally, status effects either deal damage to the Pokemon over the course of the battle or prevent it from acting. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent and cure status effects such as Safeguard, Substitute, Aromatherapy and Natural Cure, and most status effects decay naturally.

Status Stacking

Unlike in the cartridges, a Pokemon can have multiple status effects on it at the same time. This means, for example, that a Pokemon can be poisoned, burned, paralyzed and asleep at the same time. Being inflicted with multiple status effects just means the Pokemon suffers the effects of each one; any effects that are keyed to status in general such as Hex's power and the effects of Poke Balls do not become more potent against a Pokemon with multiple status effects. Furthermore, multiple instances of the same status effect do not stack.​

List of Statuses

Burn: Usually (but not always) inflicted by Fire-type moves, this status effect reduces the power of the Pokemon's physical attacks by 3 and causes it to take 2 damage at the end of each action. Unless cured by a suitable move, ability or item, burn will linger for the entire battle, but it will deal no damage to the Pokemon while it is benched.

Poison: Usually (but not always) inflicted by Poison-type moves, this status effect comes in two varieties. Regular poison causes the Pokemon to take 2 damage at the end of each action, while bad poison (also known as Toxic poison) deals 1 damage per action in the round it is inflicted and its damage per action then increases by 1 at the end of each round. If a Pokemon inflicted with regular poison becomes badly poisoned, the damage per action will remain at 2 for the rest of the round, and then increase as normal. Unless cured by a suitable move, ability or item, poison will linger for the entire battle, but it will deal no damage to the Pokemon while it is benched. Additionally, if a Pokemon inflicted with bad poison is benched, the Toxic poison's damage will start over at 1 per action when the Pokemon returns to play.

Paralysis: Often (but not always) inflicted by Electric-type moves, this status effect reduces a Pokemon's speed to 1/4 of its current speed and may cause the Pokemon to fail to act. On each action when the Pokemon tries to use a move, there is a chance that the Pokemon will be fully paralyzed and unable to move. The different stages of paralysis are typically referred to by this chance and are given in the chart below along with all moves that inflict that level of paralysis.
Code:
25% (Bolt Strike, Freeze Shock, all moves with 100% chance of paralyzing)
20% (Static, all other moves with 30% chance of paralyzing)
15% (Effect Spore, Tri Attack, all moves with 10% chance of paralyzing)
10%
5%
0%
If not cured by a suitable move, ability or item, paralysis decays by 1 stage at the end of each round, starting with the round the status is first inflicted, as long as the paralyzed Pokemon is not benched. Paralysis also decays by 2 stages every time the Pokemon is fully paralyzed. Once the paralysis decays to 0%, the Pokemon is cured.

Sleep: Usually (but not always) inflicted by Normal- and Grass-type moves, this status effect prevents a Pokemon from doing almost anything until it wakes up. When a Pokemon is put to sleep, its sleep counter has a 2/3 chance of starting at 1 and a 1/3 chance of starting at 2. If the Pokemon has Early Bird, however, its sleep counter has a 1/3 chance of starting at 0 and a 2/3 chance of starting at 1.

A Pokemon will remain asleep until its turn comes around, and then its sleep counter is checked. If, at this point, the Pokemon's sleep counter is 0, the Pokemon will wake up. Otherwise, its sleep counter will decrease by 1 but it won't wake up yet. The sleep counter will also decrease by 1 any time the Pokemon takes at least 16 damage from one attack. If the Pokemon's sleep counter is at 0 when it takes this amount of damage, the Pokemon wakes up immediately. Sleep can also be cured by the right move, ability or item, but if a Pokemon switches out before it wakes up, its sleep counter will stay at it's current level, and will not decrease until the Pokemon returns to play.

Sleep induced by Rest works slightly differently. The Pokemon goes to sleep on the action it uses Rest and its sleep counter starts at 3 but decays on the same action. The Pokemon's sleep counter will not be reduced by attacks that deal at least 16 damage, but if the Pokemon takes more than 18 damage from a single attack, it will wake up immediately. A Pokemon that switches out while resting will not receive Rest's healing benefits upon switching back in.

Freeze: Usually inflicted by Ice-type moves, this status effect prevents a Pokemon from doing almost anything until it thaws out. When a Pokemon is frozen, its freeze counter will start at either 0, 1, or 2, with a 33.333% chance of each. As with sleep, the Pokemon's freeze counter is checked at the start of its turn and the Pokemon thaws out and acts as normal if its freeze counter is 0 or its freeze counter decreases by 1 otherwise.

As well as the usual means of curing a status move, the Pokemon's freeze status can be cured immediately with certain heat-based moves. Another Pokemon can thaw out the frozen Pokemon by hitting it with a Fire-type move or Scald, or the frozen Pokemon can thaw itself out by using Blast Burn, Blue Flare, Eruption, Flame Charge, Flame Wheel, Flare Blitz, Fusion Flare, Inferno, Lava Plume, Magma Storm, Overheat, Sacred Fire, Scald, Searing Shot or V-Create. Additionally, it is impossible for a Pokemon to be frozen in strong sunlight as caused by Sunny Day, and any Pokemon that are frozen when this effect comes into play are thawed immediately.

Confusion: This status effect causes a Pokemon to become disoriented for a while. When a Pokemon becomes confused, its confusion counter will start at either 2, 3 or 4, with a 1/3 chance of each. As with sleep and freeze, the Pokemon's confusion counter is checked at the start of its turn and the Pokemon snaps out of confusion if its confusion counter is 0. If it is not 0, however, then there is a 50% chance that the Pokemon will not perform its intended action, but will instead hit itself in confusion. If it does, the Pokemon's confusion counter decreases by 2. If it acts as normal, the Pokemon's confusion counter decreases by 1. Additionally, if the Pokemon takes at least 16 damage from a single attack, its confusion counter drops to 0 immediately. The Pokemon's confusion counter never goes below 0.

When a Pokemon hits itself in confusion, the damage is calculated as a physical attack with 4 Base Attack Power using the confused Pokemon's attack and defense ranks and stage boosts. This self-harming attack costs 3 energy, never lands a critical hit and is not affected by STAB, type effectiveness or the increased energy cost for using a move on consecutive actions.

Confusion can be cured by switching out as well as with the appropriate move, ability or item.

Infatuation: Also known as attraction, this status effect causes works almost the same as confusion. The only differences are that, instead of hurting itself, an infatuated Pokemon has a 50% chance of simply not doing anything for no energy - this causes the Pokemon's attraction counter to decrease by 2 instead of 1 that action - and attraction can only be inflicted by a male Pokemon on a female Pokemon or vice versa. Additionally, if the Pokemon takes at least 16 damage from a single attack, the attraction counter decreases by 1. Infatuation has 1/3 chance of lasting 2 (Slight), 3 (Severe) or 4 (Intense) actions.

Other status-like effects: Other moves can inflict unique effects that function in a similar manner to status effects, such as Taunt, Leech Seed and Encore. Generally speaking, these effects cannot be prevented or cured by the usual methods of preventing and curing status effects, but they are temporary and can be removed by switching out. For more information on such effects, check the descriptions of the moves that inflict these effects.

Stat Boosts/Drops

Stat boosts and drops from moves such as Swords Dance and Screech and abilities like Intimidate affect a Pokemon's stage in its stats. Each positive Attack or Special Attack stage effectively increases damage from the Pokemon's attacks by 2 while each positive Defense or Special Defense stage effectively reduces damage from incoming attacks by 2. Negative stages have the opposite effect. A Pokemon's stage in any stat typically starts at 0 and can go as low as -6 or as high as +6.

Each Pokemon also has natural stat stages for each of its stats; these start at 0. At the end of each round, all Pokemon's stat stages decrease by 1 if they are higher than the Pokemon's natural stage in that stat, and increase by 1 if they are lower. In this way, stat stages converge towards their natural stages over the course of the battle. This is typically referred to as decay. Decay occurs when a stat stage not at its natural stage is not altered in any way during a round, which makes the stat reset towards the natural stage. Basically, if a stat boosting/reducing move is used in a round, that stat will not decay. Otherwise, it will decay.

There are some stat boosts and drops in ASB that alter the natural stage as well. These mostly come from abilities such as Intimidate. In this way, a Pokemon that has been hit by Intimidate will not only have its Attack stage lowered by 1, but its natural Attack stage will also be lowered by 1. This means that, from that point on, its Attack stage will decay towards -1 instead of 0. Changes to the natural stat stage will not go away on their own.

In addition to their natural decay, stat boosts and drops and natural stat stages can be reset to 0 by switching out and by certain moves such as Haze.

Speed Scaling

The Speed stage of a Pokemon multiplies or divides the Pokemon's speed by a certain amount rather than affecting the Pokemon's damage output or damage taken. A Speed stage of 0 multiplies the Pokemon's speed by 1. If the Pokemon's Speed stage is greater than 0, this multiplier is increased by 0.75 per Speed boost (+1 Speed becomes * 1.75, +2 Speed becomes * 2.5, etc.). If it is less than 0, the multiplier is still increased by 0.75 per Speed drop, but the Pokemon's speed is divided by this number instead of multiplied by it (-1 Speed becomes / 1.75, -2 Speed becomes / 2.5, etc.). This adjustment to the Pokemon's Speed stat is applied after all other effects, and then the Pokemon's new Speed is rounded down to the nearest whole number.

The Speed stage is otherwise identical to other stat stages, so it follows the same rules for decay, it is always between -6 and +6, it can be reset by switching out and by moves like Haze, etc.

Evasion/Accuracy Scaling

Accuracy and Evasion stages affect the chance of a move hitting the target. If the Accuracy stage of the Pokemon using the move and the Evasion stage of the move's target are the same, the move's chance to hit is not affected. If the Accuracy stage of the user of the move is greater than the Evasion stage of the target, the move's accuracy is multiplied by ((3 + Accuracy stage - Evasion stage) / 3). If the Accuracy stage of the attacker is less than the defender's Evasion stage, the move's accuracy is multiplied by (3 / (3 + Evasion stage - Accuracy stage)). Thus, a Pokemon with +2 accuracy attempting to hit a Pokemon with no Evasion boosts or drops is roughly 67% more likely to hit, while a Pokemon with -2 accuracy would be only 60% as likely to hit. Moves whose accuracy is 100% are affected by Accuracy and Evasion stages, but moves whose accuracy is perfect or -- (such as Aerial Ace) are not.

An additional bonus for a high Accuracy stage is more hits on multi-hit moves. Every Accuracy boost increases the number of hits on a multi-hit move by 1, while every Accuracy drop decreases it by 1. This only applies to Beat Up and to moves that hit 2-5 times, and it stacks with the bonus hit granted by Bug STAB. The number of hits can be increased to a maximum of 5 or decreased to a minimum of 1 in this way.

The Accuracy and Evasion stages are otherwise identical to other stat stages, in that they follow the same decay rules, can go as low as -6 or as high as +6, are reset by switching out and by moves like Haze, etc.​

Stat Changing Reference Table
Code:
Stage  Boost     Speed (100 Base)    Accuracy / Evasion (100% Base Accuracy)
+6     +12.00    0550                300% / 033%
+5     +10.00    0475                267% / 038%
+4     +08.00    0400                233% / 043%
+3     +06.00    0325                200% / 050%
+2     +04.00    0250                167% / 060%
+1     +02.00    0175                133% / 075%
+0     +00.00    0100                100% / 100%
-1     -02.00    0057                075% / 133%
-2     -04.00    0040                060% / 167%
-3     -06.00    0030                050% / 200%
-4     -08.00    0025                043% / 233%
-5     -10.00    0021                038% / 267%
-6     -12.00    0018                033% / 300%
Targeting

Different moves can have different targeting capabilities. In a singles battle, this doesn't come into play very often, but in doubles and larger formats, it is important that you understand how move targeting works. The moves with the simplest targeting are those that target the user like Bulk Up and ones that target the entire field like Sunny Day.

Most moves like Flamethrower are capable of targeting one adjacent Pokemon, whether that Pokemon is an ally or an enemy. If the match is one in which positioning is on (which can only apply to triples and larger formats), a Pokemon is considered adjacent to the user of the move if one of the following is true:
  • The Pokemon is in one of the ally positions next to the user of the move
  • The Pokemon is in an opponent position directly opposite the user or one of the adjacent ally positions
Thus, in a triples match, the Pokemon in the middle are adjacent to everyone, while the Pokemon on the left are adjacent to everyone except the Pokemon on the right, and vice versa. Attempting to use a move that targets one adjacent Pokemon on a Pokemon that isn't adjacent will result in the move targeting the nearest opponent or the nearest ally, depending on who the intended target was.

More often, however, positioning is off, in which case all Pokemon are adjacent to each other. Some moves like Water Pulse can even target any one Pokemon, adjacent or otherwise. Either way, if there is more than one target to choose from, you must specify which Pokemon you are aiming the move at, otherwise the ref will have to use a random number generator to determine which Pokemon out of all the available targets (including allies but not the user) will be the target of the move. The first exception to this rule is if the only available targets are the user of the move and one other Pokemon, in which case it is assumed that the target is the other Pokemon unless specified otherwise. The second exception is with moves that force the user to use them on three consecutive actions like Thrash. Those moves' targets are always decided randomly from all available opponents. If you are targeting a fainted Pokemon, you still attack them—yes, this is a waste, so you can cover for it using a free KO sub, covered later.

Some moves like Heat Wave and Reflect target up to 3 adjacent allies or enemies. These moves will always try to target three allies (possibly including the user) or three opponents and you cannot order the Pokemon to use the move on fewer Pokemon. The only way the move can target fewer Pokemon is if there are fewer available Pokemon on the targeted side, whether the remaining ones are too far away or have fainted. If there are more than three available targets, however, then you must designate which three are the intended ones. If not enough targets are named, the ref must determine randomly from the remaining allies or opponents. A Pokemon can never be designated as more than one target.

All other moves will target either all opponents, all allies (possibly including benched allies), all adjacent opponents and allies, all opponents and allies, or all Pokemon including the user. The targets for these moves never need to be specified.

Moves always follow in-game targeting rules. This means that you cannot use Heat Wave to hit your side of the field, nor can you use Telekinesis against yourself in order to act as a self-induced Magnet Rise.

Combinations

While some ASBs allow players to create special signature moves for their Pokemon, such things do not exist in this ASB (and don't count on that changing). Instead, we have combinations, or combos for short. This is when a Pokemon combines two similar or identical moves (such as Flamethrower + Fire Blast, Giga Impact + Flare Blitz, Focus Punch + Ice Punch or Shadow Ball + Shadow Ball) into a single action. Whether two moves can actually be combined or not depends mainly on whether or not the ref believes the combo to be feasible and it is worth checking a move's description to see how the move manifests. Examples of infeasible combos include Head Smash + Hyper Beam, Night Slash + Earthquake and Psychic + Thunderbolt. If a combo is determined infeasible, the Pokemon will simply use the first move in the combo on its current turn and the second move on its next turn. Combinations that are deemed unfeasible by ref discretion are not considered to be illegal under normal circumstances. If the combo is considered feasible, however, then the Pokemon will use the combined attack on its current turn. Combos are generally more powerful than regular moves.

On the turn after the combo is performed, though, the Pokemon will need to cool down, much like after using Hyper Beam in the cartridges. This cooldown period can be delayed if the Pokemon is frozen, but otherwise takes precedence above all else and does not count towards the duration of a temporary status such as sleep or confusion. Additionally, moves used in the combo are subject to the consecutive use energy penalty if used on the action after the cooldown; this is applied twice if the combo is of the same move twice, so using Ice Beam immediately after cooling down from a combo of Ice Beam + Ice Beam costs 15 energy. If the Pokemon uses a combo on the last action of a round, it is forced to cool down on the first action of the next round and cannot be switched out to prevent this, even negating the switch-inducing effect of moves like Roar and U-TUrn.

Note that, even if a combo is feasible, it can still be interrupted by effects like flinch and full paralysis, so always order something on the cooldown action in the form Cooldown (Alternative action).

Combo statistics

Of course, you're probably wondering how exactly the strength and effects of a combo are calculated. Combos generally have the same attributes as moves, like Base Attack Power, energy cost, accuracy and secondary effects. There are two ways of calculating these attributes: one way for a combo of the same move twice (also known as a same-move combo) and one way for a combo of two different moves (also known as a different-move combo).

Same Move Combinations
  • The combo's Base Attack Power is 2.25 * the move's Base Attack Power (that is, the amount in the Attack Power part of the move's data).
    • The exception is if the move deals fixed damage, in which case the combo's damage is double the move's damage. If there is a cap on the move, this cap is doubled in the combo.
  • The combo's energy cost is equal to the move's energy cost * 2 + 4, all multiplied by 1.75. This can be calculated more simply as the move's energy cost + 2, all multiplied by 3.5.
    • Modifiers such as STAB and abilities are factored in after this calculation, but the consecutive use penalty is calculated in the move's energy cost. Thus a combo of Flamethrower + Flamethrower on the action right after Flamethrower treats the move's energy cost as 11, not 7.
  • The combo's accuracy is equal to the move's accuracy squared.
    • Note that the accuracies of moves are in percentage form and 90% squared is 81%, not 8100%. Also, if the move has perfect accuracy, so does the combo.
  • If the move has a secondary effect such as burning the opponent or lowering their Defense, the chance of the combo having that effect is double that of the move's chance.
  • If the move causes stat boosts or drops, these are doubled in the combo.
  • If the move deals damage equal to the amount of damage sustained multiplied by a certain number (such as Counter), the multiplier is squared in the combo.
  • If the move causes the Pokemon to take recoil damage, the recoil percentage is multiplied by 1.5 in the combo.
Different Move Combinations
  • The combo's Base Attack Power or Fixed Damage is the sum of the Base Attack Powers or Fixed Damages of the two moves.
    • If one move deals Fixed Damage and the other doesn't, the combo deals damage as though it were the move with the Base Attack Power, and then the Fixed Damage is added at the end.
    • If one move is a multi-hit move, calculate that move's Base Attack Power by determining the number of hits, then add it to the Base Attack Power of the other move. If both moves are multi-hit, add the two powers per hit together and then the number of hits is that of whichever move hits more times.
    • If one move has a priority greater than 0, that move's Base Attack Power is halved. If both moves have a priority greater than 0, the move with the lower Base Attack Power has its power halved, or if both moves also have the same power, just pick one to halve.
  • The combo's energy cost is equal to 1.5 * the sum of the energy costs of the two moves.
  • The combo has the same critical hit chance as the move - there is no bonus for combining a high critical hit chance move with itself.
    • Modifiers such as STAB and abilities are factored in after this calculation, but the consecutive use penalty is calculated in the move's energy cost. Thus a combo of Crunch + Fire Fang on the action right after Crunch or Fire Fang treats that move's energy cost as 4 higher.
  • The combo's accuracy is the average of the accuracies of the two moves, so a combo of a 100% accurate move and an 80% accurate move has 90% accuracy.
    • If either move in the combo has perfect accuracy, the whole combo has perfect accuracy.
  • The combo has all the secondary effects of the two moves. If the moves share a secondary effect, add the effect chances of that particular effect for the two moves together.
  • The combo inflicts the stat boosts and drops of both moves. If both moves cause the same stat to be raised or lowered, add the boosts/drops together.
  • If both moves deal damage equal to the amount of damage sustained multiplied by a certain number (such as Counter), add the two damage results together.
  • If one move causes the Pokemon to take recoil damage, the recoil percentage is halved in the combo. If both moves inflict recoil damage, the recoil percentages are added together.
  • If the moves hit different numbers of targets, go with the higher number to determine how many targets the combo hits.
    • If the moves do not share a target (such as the self-targeting Iron Defense and the opponent-targeting Ice Punch), they usually cannot be combined.
  • If either move deals direct damage, the entire combo can be used while taunted. If either move would be impossible to perform because of any other effect, such as Torment, Disable, Imprison or lack of the right external source, the combo cannot be used.
  • If either move has a high chance of a critical hit (such as Night Slash), the whole combo has a high chance of a critical hit. Combining two high critical hit chance moves does not provide an additional bonus.
  • If either move makes contact, the whole combo makes contact, although most (but not all) non-contact moves don't feasibly combine with contact moves.
Generally speaking, the attributes of a same-move combo are equal to the attributes of the move multiplied by a certain amount, while the attributes of a different-move combo are equal to the attributes of one move added to the attributes of the other.

One other attribute a combo has is base energy cost. This is the minimum amount of energy the Pokemon needs to execute the combo. If it has less, the combo fails and the Pokemon faints from exhaustion. If the combo is a same-move combo, the base energy cost is the cost of using the move on that action and the following action, with all modifiers like STAB and consecutive use penalty factored in. If the combo is a different-move combo, the base energy cost is the cost of using one move on that action and the other move on the following action, with all modifiers like STAB and applying consecutive use penalty to whichever move (if either) was used on the action prior to the combo. The exception is if either move in the combo states that it requires the full amount of energy to use, like Explosion. In this case, the base energy cost is equal to the combo's total energy cost.

Combo Priority

Combo priority is one of the slightly more complex attributes to calculate, although you follow very similar rules for same-move and different-move combos. Firstly, if the combo is a same-move combo, double its priority, whereas if it's a different-move combo, add together the two move priorities. Then, if both moves in the combo have a priority of 0 or less, subtract 2 from the result. Finally, priorities can never go below -7 or above +6, so if the result is outside that range, raise or lower it to the appropriate end.

The above rules are for calculating the hit priority or strike priority of the combo and use the strike priority of the move(s) in the calculation. If either move in the combo has a charge priority, the combo has the same charge priority. Combos whose strike priority is equal to the charge priority will charge up and then immediately strike. Combos whose strike priority somehow exceeds the charge priority are automatically infeasible.

If the combo is a same-move combo of a damaging evasive move such as Dig, calculate the combo's strike priority as normal, then whatever the difference between the evade priority and strike priority of the move is, add that to the combo's strike priority to get the combo's evade priority. Thus, Dig + Dig, with its strike priority of -6, has an evade priority of -4. If the combo is a different-move combo where one of the moves is a damaging evasive one, apply the same rule using the damaging evasive move's two priorities. Thus, Dig + Crunch, with its strike priority of -4, has an evade priority of -2. If the combo is a different-move combo where one of the moves is a damaging evasive one and the other move is a priority attack, apply the same rule using the damaging evasive move's two priorities, but do not apply the -2 priority because priority moves maintain priority. Thus, Dig + Quick Attack, with its strike priority of -1, has an evade priority of 1.

In the event of a different-move combo of two damaging evasive moves, add the two differences together, so Fly + Sky Drop, with a strike priority of -5, will have an evade priority of -2. A combo of a damaging evasive move and a charge-up move will have three priorities; for example, Sky Attack + Fly will have a charge priority of +1, an evade priority of -3 and a strike priority of -5. Generally, however, combos of two different damaging evasive moves, two different charge-up moves, or a charge-up move and a damaging evasive move are not feasible.

Physical/Special Mix Combos

Although generally infeasible, sometimes you can make a combo of a physical attack and a special attack (henceforth called a mixed combo). For the most part, this works like any ordinary attack, using the different-move combo rules to determine the combo's attributes. The advantage of a mixed combo is that the Pokemon uses the rank bonuses from both its Attack and Special Attack ranks, as well as any stage boosts on Attack and Special Attack. Of course, the opponent applies both its Defense and Special Defense ranks and boosts when taking damage from such a combo, so this works best if your Pokemon's attacking stats are both greater than the opponent's defensive stats.

When calculating the damage of a mixed combo, the Attack Rank Bonus is factored in twice: once for the Pokemon's Attack and once for its Special Attack. Similarly, the opponent's Defense Rank Bonus is factored in once for its Defense and once for its Special Defense. Do not add the ranks together and then convert the result into a bonus; this can give the wrong result. The Stage Boost Difference is also calculated twice: once for Attack versus Defense and once for Special Attack versus Special Defense. Finally, anything that specifically adjusts physical attacks is applied, as is anything that specifically adjusts special attacks. Thus, a burned Pokemon with Guts using a mixed combo on an opponent protected by Light Screen applies Light Screen's reduction to the combo's Base Attack Power, but it also applies the boost from Guts.

Combination Types / Type Priority

The type of a combo is the other slightly more complex attribute of a combo to calculate. Each move has a field called CT, which stands for Combination Type. This is an indicator of the dominance of a move's manifestation and, by extension, how likely it is for the move to retain its type when used in a combo. The type of a same-move combo is always the same as the type of the move, and the type of a different-move combo of two moves of the same type, the combo's type is the same as the type of the two moves. For different-move combos whose moves have different types, you must first compare the CTs of the individual moves. The CTs are as follows:
  1. Set: Typing is such a fixed part of this attack it will override all other types.
  2. Force: Typing defines the attack to such an extent it will override elements.
  3. Elemental: Typing defines the attack as imbued with an elemental property.
  4. Passive: Typing is part of the attack but is not definitive in its use.
  5. Deferring: This attack is easily redefined by the qualities of other attacks.
  6. None: This attack cannot be used in a combo.
Whichever move's CT is higher up in the ranking is the one whose type is used to determine the combo's type. If the CTs are identical, compare the Base Attack Powers of the two moves. Whichever move has the higher power is the one that the combo uses the type of. For this purpose, non-damaging moves defer to moves that deal direct damage. If both attacks have the same CT and the same Base Attack Power but the Pokemon gets STAB on one of them, then the combo uses the move that the Pokemon gets STAB on. If both attacks have the same CT and the same Base Attack Power and the Pokemon gets STAB on both or neither of them, the combo becomes typeless. Like a typeless attack, a typeless combo is never affected by STAB, weakness, resistance or any effect keyed to typing.​

Effects of Certain Moves

Some moves have effects that, while not unique to the specific move, are not as widespread as the main status effects. Some moves have attributes that are not covered in the above sections. These are some of the miscellaneous effects and attributes of moves:

Sluggish

In the cartridges, a Pokemon that uses Hyper Beam has to recharge on the following action. In ASB, a Pokemon that uses a combo has to recharge on the following action. Since even powerful moves like Hyper Beam are generally weaker than combos, it would be kinda lame if using Hyper Beam in ASB carried the same penalty as using a combo. Instead, a Pokemon that uses a move like Hyper Beam or Giga Impact in ASB becomes Sluggish.

While a Pokemon is Sluggish, it will be unable to use any move that deals direct damage if the energy cost of the move is more than 5. It also cannot use any non-damaging move with an energy cost of 9 or more, as well as Protect, Detect, evasive Agility, evasive Teleport, Dodge, Bodyblock or Take Cover, regardless of the energy cost of those moves. Modifiers to the energy cost such as STAB and the consecutive use penalty are not factored in when determining whether or not a move costs too much energy to use, with the exception of Technician and Skill Link due to how they interact with multi-hit moves.

Sluggishness lasts for one turn. If the Pokemon uses a combo that makes it Sluggish, the effect lasts for two turns, including the cooldown action.

Trapping and Partial Trapping

Some moves can prevent a Pokemon from switching out. The non-damaging ones like Mean Look are usually called trapping moves while the damaging ones like Fire Spin are usually called partial trapping moves. The former usually persist until the user of the move faints or is benched, while the latter have a finite duration that can be cut short when the user faints or is benched. A Pokemon that has been trapped by either of these moves cannot switch out unless a move forces it to switch out (such as its own U-turn or an opponent's Whirlwind). If the user of a trapping or partial trapping move faints, its trapping effect ends that round and the trapped Pokemon is free to switch out. If the user of a trapping or partial trapping move is benched without fainting, though, the trapping effect ends after the switch phase is over and the trapped Pokemon cannot switch out.

There are abilities that, against certain Pokemon, function as persistent trapping moves. The trapping effect of these abilities comes into play after all switching for the round is done and ends after all switching for the round in which the Pokemon switches out is done. Thus, a Pokemon that would be affected by a trapping ability may switch out in the round the opponent enters play, but not in the round the opponent is benched.

Spread Moves

Some moves can hit multiple targets at once. Some like Earthquake will target both opponents and allies, while others like Rock Slide will target opponents only. If there is only one target available, the move works as normal. If there is more than one, the move's Base Attack Power is multiplied by 0.75. Note that targets that are immune to the move or unable to be hit by the move still count as available targets - the only Pokemon that are never available targets are Pokemon that have fainted, the user of the move and allies of the user (unless the move targets both opponents and allies).

Spread moves also have their Base Attack Power reduced if the opponent has a Double Team effect up, although if the initial accuracy check of the move is successful, the attack will hit the real opponent and all of its clones. Spread moves can also hit an opponent using evasive Agility or evasive Teleport and, if the evading Pokemon is the only available target, the move will hit at full power.

Synchronised Moves

In ASB, when two or more different allied Pokemon use a move which targets "All Adjacent Pokemon" (e.g. Earthquake) in a row (With no Pokemon acting in between), these Pokemon are said to use these moves "In Sync", or as Synchronised Moves. These function as normal, but they do not damage any Pokemon using them in sync.​
Fog

ASB has five weather effects. Sun, Hail, Rain and Sandstorm work similarly to how they work in the cartridges, with any ASB-specific differences noted in the description of the appropriate move. Unlike these weathers, Fog can be brought about by a few different moves. While Fog is in effect, all Pokemon have their Accuracy lowered by 1 stage. This Accuracy drop is separate from the other stat boosts and drops and it doesn't decay like them. Instead, it remains until the Fog effect is cleared.

While most weather effects last for a number of rounds, Fog only lasts for a number of actions. Like the other weathers, Fog increases Weather Ball's strength and reduces the effectiveness of moves like Synthesis.

Multi-Hit Hit % / Spillover Damage

Multi-hit moves have been mentioned throughout this handbook. In-game, they do a certain amount of damage with each hit and the number of times they hit is determined randomly (or is a fixed number). Due to how damage is calculated in ASB, mirroring this would make multi-hit moves overpowered. Instead, multi-hit moves deal damage as though they were single-hit moves and their Base Attack Power is listed as "X per hit". To calculate the total Base Attack Power of a multi-hit move, check how many times it hits and multiply the result by X.

Some multi-hit moves always hit twice, and so are often referred to as two-hit moves. Triple Kick, despite hitting three times, falls into this category. Other multi-hit moves have a variable number of hits. These moves usually have a 1/3 chance of landing two hits, a 1/3 chance of landing three hits, a 1/6 chance of landing 4 hits and a 1/6 chance of landing 5 hits, so when rolling to determine the number of hits, it is often a good idea to roll out of 6, with 1-2 meaning 2 hits, 3-4 meaning 3 hits, 5 meaning 4 hits and 6 meaning 5 hits. Bug STAB increases this number by 1, while changes to the Accuracy stat change the number of hits landed by the Accuracy stage. The number of hits can be reduced to a minimum of 1 or increased to a maximum of 5 in this way.

Because of how their damage is calculated, the damage dealt by multi-hit moves is likely to be less than the damage dealt by the single-hit move of a Pokemon's choice. However, there are a couple of advantages multi-hit moves have. The first is that they disrupt the powerful charge-up attacks like Sky Attack, causing such moves to fail if they hit between the Charge and the Strike. The second is that, if the target has a Substitute up and a move does more than enough damage to break the Substitute, the remaining damage on a single-hit move would be wasted but any remaining damage on a multi-hit move is dealt to the target itself.​
Move Restriction

There are some moves in ASB that are, by their very nature, restricted. Grass Knot, for example, cannot be used unless the arena has a suitable source of grass. Sucker Punch will fail if the opponent doesn't use a move that deals direct damage. There are then some moves that limit which moves your Pokemon can use, like Taunt and Torment. What happens when a Pokemon tries to use a move when the move cannot work depends mainly on why the move cannot work.

Working with effects that prevent Move Selection

When a Pokemon is subject to a move like Taunt or Torment, the move prevents the Pokemon from selecting certain moves. If it tries to use any such prohibited moves on the action when they become prohibited, it fails but doesn't expend any energy. Any attempts on any other actions while the condition is in effect result in the Pokemon using Struggle.

Certain moves require a source of a certain material, such as water or rocks. Any attempt to use such a move when the appropriate source is not there will result in the Pokemon using Struggle.

Working with effects that prevent Move Execution

Sometimes, a Pokemon will be perfectly capable of attempting a move, but the conditions of the battle will make the move fail. Using Sucker Punch on an opponent that uses Swords Dance, for example, or Toxic on a Pokemon under the effects of Safeguard. In such cases, the Pokemon expends the energy required for the move, but the move's effect does not occur.

A Pokemon may attempt to use a move like Explosion that requires the Pokemon to have enough energy for the move's energy cost, but the Pokemon doesn't have enough energy. It might attempt to use a combo that it cannot afford the base energy cost of. In such cases, the Pokemon uses up the last of its energy and faints from exhaustion without executing the move or combo.​

Item Mechanics

In the cartridges, a Pokemon may be equipped with one of many items with all sorts of effects. This aspect of the cartridge games is retained in ASB, although many items have been reworked to better suit the battle style of ASB. Many items are on the Pokemon permanently short of being removed by a move like Knock Off or Trick and have a persistent effect while equipped. Both consumable items that have not yet been used once and non-consumable items that are Knocked Off or otherwise removed from the holder are returned at the end of the battle.

Some such items state in their description that they raise the Base Attack Power of a move. What they actually do is add to the damage before factoring in weakness and resistance - they do not affect the move's actual Base Attack Power. Some descriptions say that the item increases the damage of a move. These items apply their damage increase after weakness and resistance has been factored in.

Some items alter the ranks of the holder. These items usually either name the stats whose ranks are adjusted or specify the highest true base stat(s). In the case of the latter, you must check the Pokemon's base stats in-game to determine which ranks the item adjusts in ASB. Such items can often only be used by certain Pokemon. The Pokemon that can use it may be a broad category such as "all Pokemon that don't evolve into or from anything" or it might be only one or two Pokemon.

These are just some of the effects non-consumable items have. For more information, check the description of an individual item.

Consumables and Encumbrance

Some items are consumable items. These items take effect under certain circumstances such as when HP drops to a certain amount or the holder is hit by a certain kind of move. Consumable items can take effect up to a certain number of times in a single battle. Consumable items in ASB (Unless stated otherwise), unlike their in-game counterparts, do not leave your profile after usage - they stay with you forever. While non-consumable and unused consumable items encumber their holder, any consumable item that has been used at least once is considered light enough to not encumber the Pokemon any more.

Choice item mechanics

If Choice Band, Choice Scarf and Choice Specs duplicated their effects exactly in ASB, they would be terrible items. The boost to the stat would be nice, but being forced to use the same move throughout the entire battle (and incur the full consecutive use penalty) would not be worth the bonus. Instead, a Pokemon that holds a choice item is forced to use the same move on all actions of the round, but it can switch the move it uses each round.

Additionally, when a Pokemon holds a choice item, once it successfully performs its chosen move for the first time in a round, no effect can prevent it from using that move until the start of the next round. A Pokemon holding a choice item is also immune to the effects of Encore and, while it still incurs a penalty to its energy for using the same move on consecutive actions, this penalty is halved while the choice item is held.

Training Items

Training items in ASB are the Amulet Coin, the Lucky Egg, the EXP Share, and the Luck Incense. Many battles only use Training Items, which limits items to the four listed.

If an arena allows more than one item to be held per Pokémon, any training item held by a Pokémon that is holding an additional item other than a Mega Stone will have it's effect negated, with the exception of the Luck Incense SpA boost.

Attachments

Alongside the above, there are also items called Attachments. Attachments are special items that can be equipped to certain Pokémon that allows the Pokémon to transform into an alternative Forme. For example, equipping a Rotom Wash Washer to a Rotom allows them to transform into Rotom-W. These items work differently to other items in that they do not count as held items when equipped by the affected Pokémon. This allows the Pokémon to equip another item in addition to an attachment. This also renders the item immune to all forms of item removal and item negation, and moves that get a BAP increase against item holding targets do not get an increase against targets with these items provided they are not holding another item. Only one Attachment can be equipped to a Pokémon at a time. These items can be attached to a Pokémon, even in Items = Training and Items = Off matches.​

Effect Timing

With the numerous additional effects in ASB, you may have a situation in which many of these effects are present at once and the order in which they are resolved can make all the difference. Here are the many effects in ASB sorted into when in the action or round they occur. If multiple effects occur on the same line, resolve the one with the earliest start first.

Start of Round

The following effects occur before the first action of the round is even touched:
  1. Healing Wish and Lunar Dance restore HP.
  2. Entry hazards like Stealth Rock take effect in the order they were set up.
  3. Trigger abilities that automatically activate when the Pokemon enters play activate.
  4. Toggle abilities toggle. If Zen Mode is toggled to the default effect while Darmanitan has less than 50% of its HP left, Darmanitan reverts to its normal form.

Start of Action

The following effects occur before the current action is resolved:
  1. Turn order is decided.

Start of Turn

The following effects occur on a Pokemon at the start of its turn in the action:
  1. Check if the remaining duration of the Pokemon's sleep, freeze, confusion or infatuation is at 0, and end the status if it is.
  2. Roll for infatuation, paralysis and confusion (in that order), but only on the Pokemon's first turn in that action.

End of Turn

The following effects occur on a Pokemon after it has taken its turn in the action:
  1. If the Pokemon knocked out a Pokemon that used Destiny Bond, Destiny Bond deals damage.
  2. All ongoing effects on the Pokemon with a duration given in actions that are not specified elsewhere have their remaining duration lowered by 1.
  3. If the Pokemon hit itself in confusion, confusion duration is lowered by an additional 1.
  4. If the Pokemon failed to act due to infatuation, infatuation duration is lowered by an additional 1.
  5. If the Pokemon was fully paralyzed, paralysis stage drops to the next lowest level, and paralysis is cured if it reaches 0%.
  6. If the Pokemon used Reflect, Light Screen, regular Mist, Tailwind, Lucky Chant or the second of two different Pledge moves, the remaining duration of these effects is reduced by 1 on all affected Pokemon.
  7. If the Pokemon dealt sufficient damage to a sleeping Pokemon, the sleeping Pokemon's remaining sleep duration is reduced by 1 or the sleeping Pokemon wakes up.
  8. If the Pokemon dealt sufficient damage to a confused Pokemon, the confused Pokemon's remaining confusion duration drops to 0.
  9. If the Pokemon dealt sufficient damage to an infatuated Pokemon, the infatuated Pokemon's remaining infatuation duration is reduced by 1.
  10. If the Pokemon has Zen Mode toggled and a form change is warranted, the form change happens.

End of Action

The following effects occur after all Pokemon have taken their turns in the action:
  1. Rest's healing occurs and its remaining duration is lowered by 1.
  2. All weather-based damage and healing occurs.
  3. Future Sight and Doom Desire deal damage.
  4. Wish restores HP.
  5. Damage from the combination of Fire Pledge and Grass Pledge occurs.
  6. Leftovers and Black Sludge restore HP or deal damage.
  7. Aqua Ring and Ingrain restore HP.
  8. Leech Seed deals damage and restores HP and its remaining duration is lowered by 1.
  9. Poison and burn damage occurs as does Poison Heal's HP restoration.
  10. Nightmare deals damage and drains energy.
  11. Damage from Ghost Curse occurs.
  12. Damage from partial trapping moves like Wrap occurs.
  13. Yawn's drowsiness converts to sleep. Determine sleep duration at this point.
  14. Bad Dreams deals damage and drains energy.
  15. Sticky Barb's damage occurs.

End of Round

The following effects occur after the last action of the round:
  1. Weather duration (other than Fog) is lowered by 1.
  2. Status effect removal due to Shed Skin and Healer occurs.
  3. Perish Song counter decreases by 1 and any Pokemon with a Perish Song counter of 0 are knocked out.
  4. All ongoing effects with a duration given in rounds that are not specified elsewhere have their remaining duration lowered by 1.
  5. Paralysis stage on all Pokemon drops to the next lowest level, and paralysis is cured on all Pokemon whose paralysis stage drops to 0%.
  6. Stat boosts and drops that are due to decay do so.
  7. Speed Boost, Harvest and Moody activate.
  8. Toxic Orb and Flame Orb activate.

Capture Mechanics

For the most part, to obtain a Pokemon, you have to purchase it in its unevolved form and then evolve it later if necessary. However, some facilities may allow you to capture a Pokemon using Poke Balls instead. For some Pokemon, this is the only way to obtain them. If you are in such a facility and you wish to capture a Pokemon using a Poke Ball, you simply state which ball you are throwing and you will throw the Poke Ball at the target.

If a Pokemon can be captured, it will have an additional stat known as Capture HP or CHP. This number is based on the Pokemon's in-game capture rate - the higher their capture rate, the lower their CHP. Thus initial CHP values can range from 45 for something relatively weak and common like Zubat to 297 for legendary Pokemon like Landorus. Each Poke Ball, when thrown, deals damage to the Pokemon's CHP and is then consumed. When a Pokemon's CHP reaches 0 or less, the Pokemon is captured.

The damage a Poke Ball deals to a Pokemon's CHP is equal to:
(Ball Strength - Target's Capture Resistance) * Major Status Modifier - Each Ally's Capture Resistance
Here is an explanation of each item in the above formula:
  • Ball Strength is a number determined by the kind of Poke Ball you are using, and possibly depending on other circumstances. Many kinds of Poke Ball have a standard Ball Strength of 15 which is boosted to 36 given the right location, right Pokemon or right effects.
  • A Pokemon's Capture Resistance is equal to 10% of its current normal HP, rounded down to the nearest whole number. If the Pokemon's energy is at the maximum of 100, the Pokemon's Capture Resistance is increased by 10. Pokemon that have been knocked out have no Capture Resistance.
  • Major Status Modifier is determined by which status effects the Pokemon to be captured is affected by:
    • If the Pokemon is frozen, Major Status Modifier = 2.5
    • If the Pokemon is not frozen but it is asleep, Major Status Modifier = 2
    • If the Pokemon is neither frozen nor asleep, but it is burned, poisoned or paralyzed, Major Status Modifier = 1.5
    • If the Pokemon is not affected by any of the above status effects, Major Status Modifier = 1
If the damage to a Pokemon's CHP is less than or equal to 0, the Poke Ball has no effect.

If the Pokemon has a low starting CHP and you reduce its normal HP by a lot and inflict a major status on it, you might capture it with your first Poke Ball. Often, however, your first Poke Ball will do some damage to the Pokemon's CHP but not enough to capture it outright. When this happens, the Pokemon regains 12 energy. No end-of action or end-of-round effects occur, nor does throwing a Poke Ball consume a round. If the Pokemon already had the maximum of 100 energy when the capture attempt was made, it instead performs a full round's worth of attacks while your own Pokemon do nothing, and the full amount of end-of-action and end-of-round effects occur.
 
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Stratos

Banned deucer.
Battling Basics

Table of Contents for this post:
  • Posting Challenges/Acceptances
    • Queue
    • Recovery Moves
  • Flow of Battle
    • Actions and Rounds
    • Switch = OK vs Switch = KO
      • Trapping Moves and Switch = OK
      • Switch-Forcing Moves
      • Consecutive Switches
    • Mid-Battle Evolution
      • Mega Evolution
    • After a KO
    • End of a match
  • What's in an order
    • In case of Illegal orders/subs
  • WHAT IS SUB? (Baby don't hurt me)
    • Substitution Classes
      • Frequency Clauses
      • Attack Clauses
      • Chance Clauses
      • KO Clauses
      • Action Clauses
      • Substitutions Interactions
      • Pushing Back Substitutions
    • Legal/Illegal subs
    • KO Subs

Posting and Accepting Challenges

Now that you know how the many different features of ASB battles work, you probably want to have one yourself. In the Network Center subforum, there is a thread known as the Battle Tower. This is the thread to go to when you are looking for a battle. There might be one or more open challenges in the Battle Tower that you like the look of, or you might prefer to make a challenge of your own. After you've had a couple or a few battles, you may even consider refereeing (or reffing) a battle that two other users have agreed to have, but for now, let's focus on how you enter a battle with someone else.

If you would prefer to make your own challenge, you can either make an open challenge that anyone can accept, or you can challenge a specific user. Either way, when you issue a new challenge, you need to specify the following:
  • The size of the match - in other words, how many Pokemon will each player use in the battle? This is formatted as 1v1, 3v3, 6v6, 20v20 or similar. You cannot have one player using a smaller number of Pokemon than the other.
  • The format of the match - in other words, how many Pokemon will each player have out at once? Singles means each player has one Pokemon out at a time, doubles means each player has two out at a time, triples means three, and so on, with brawls usually meaning all Pokemon are out at once.
  • Some indicator of the strength of Pokemon such as evolutionary stage and/or current moves learned. Unlike the other items in this list, this one is not compulsory, but it is good practice to specify this, especially earlier in your ASB career so that you don't get annihilated by someone using really powerful fully-evolved Pokemon when all you have are freshly-obtained unevolved Pokemon.
  • The DQ period - in other words, how much time does each person (both players and ref) have to post what they need to before they can be disqualified from the battle? The standard amount is 3 days. Note that this is a minimum and, if your opponent or ref doesn't post in this period for any reason, it is common courtesy to send them a reminder and give them one or two more days to post, unless they are consistently late. If a player is disqualified, the battle ends. If the ref is "disqualified", a post must be made in the Battle Tower containing a link to the battle and a request for a subref so the battle can continue.
  • The number of substitutions each player can make - substitutions are a major part of ASB that will be covered later in this post. The standard amount is 2 substitutions on each of the player's active Pokemon.
  • Any move restrictions not covered by the arena - usually players limit the amount of recovery a Pokemon can do to prevent the match from dragging on forever. The standard limits are 2 recovery moves (more on these in a bit) and 5 chills, although you are welcome to increase or decrease these limits. You may also add other restrictions of your own, although unless they are completely arbitrary, these are better covered by a good arena design.
  • If the match is triples or a larger format, you must specify whether positioning is on or off. Positioning off means all Pokemon are treated as being adjacent to each other, which makes targeting rules simpler, while positioning on means the teams are arranged in a line and adjacency is determined by the rules in the targeting section of the handbook in the previous post. Most players turn positioning off.
  • The arena - many battles take place on a standard ASB arena, in which everything is allowed and works as normal. You can choose to battle on a different arena, whether just for the hilarity of fighting in a toy store or the thrill of battling in the middle of the Second World War, or to try an interesting mechanic such as a new weather effect or the ability to temporarily use moves your Pokemon doesn't know. Note that effects that directly affect the prizes of the battle are not allowed.
  • The maximum number of Mega Evolutions - Mega Evolutions are quite powerful, and there's normally a limit in a match as to how many each player can have. The standard number for this is 1.
If, on the other hand, you see an open challenge that you wish to accept, you must decide the following when you accept the challenge:
  • The switch method - in other words, will switching be allowed (Switch = OK) or not (Switch = KO)? Some moves will have slightly different effects depending on which switch method is chosen. Particularly large battles and battles in which all Pokemon are out at once will automatically use Switch = KO.
  • The number of abilities - in other words, whether each Pokemon will have one, all or none of its abilities available to it. If none is chosen, all abilities of the Trait type will be active while all abilities not of that type will have no effect. If one is chosen, each time a Pokemon is sent out for the first time, the player must choose which of that Pokemon's abilities will be used (in addition to any Trait abilities). If all is chosen, each Pokemon will have all of its abilities active. Note that hidden abilities that are locked will not be active regardless of the chosen number of abilities.
  • The use of items - for the most part, this is a simple choice between on and off, or allowed and disallowed. However, there are a few items that have no in-battle effect but do give a bonus prize to the Pokemon. These are known as training items and it is possible to allow their use while disallowing the use of all other items.
Sometimes a challenger may specify some of these things, in which case the acceptor doesn't have to specify them. Sometimes a challenger will forget to specify something that they are supposed to, in which case the acceptor must specify. Either way, once you have an opponent, all that's left is to wait for someone to say in the Battle Tower that they will ref your battle. At this point, you send your chosen Pokemon to the ref via private message or conversation. If the battle is a 1v1 or 2v2, you can send up to 3 Pokemon to the ref. Otherwise, you must send the number of Pokemon required for the battle, no more, no less.

Once the ref has both teams, they will post a thread for your battle and you will be ready to fight.

Note: You may be in up to three different battles at a time, but no more. A Pokemon may be in multiple battles at the same time but prizes it gets in one battle will not apply to any other battles it was already in.

Queue

Each post in the Battle Tower, in addition to the battle rules or ref's acceptance, contains the Battle Tower queue. This is a list of battles that require a ref and/or another player. The purpose of the queue is to help keep track of the sheer number of challenges in the Battle Tower as well as prevent it from being congested. Regardless of why you are posting in the battle tower, you must post an up-to-date version of the queue, which should be the most recent version of the queue you can find with your battle either added at the bottom or modified or the battle you are reffing modified or removed.

Generally speaking, if you are looking to ref a battle, those battles that require a subref should take higher priority, as should battles that have been in the queue for a longer period of time.

Recovery Moves

Remember the part where the challenger specifies move restrictions and a restriction of 2 recovery moves and 5 chills is standard? Recovery moves are, generally speaking, moves that restore a Pokemon's HP. There are some moves that restore HP that do not count as recovery moves and do not count for the purposes of this limitation. The following are moves that are considered recovery moves:
  • Recover and its clones
  • Roost
  • Moonlight, Morning Sun and Synthesis
  • Swallow
  • Rest
  • Aqua Ring
  • Ingrain
  • Heal Pulse
  • Wish
These moves all count towards the recovery move limit of the user of the move, even if it is a different Pokemon receiving the benefits. Moves like Drain Punch, Leech Seed and Pain Split don't count, so a Pokemon can freely use those moves.

The limit is on the uses of any move from the above list, not the uses of each move in the above list. Thus a Pokemon that uses Roost and then Rest has used 2 recovery moves, meaning that, by the standard rule, it cannot use any move on the above list for the remainder of the battle. Any attempt to do so would be treated as an illegal order (more on this later).​

Flow of Battle

Once the referee has posted your battle, you should see, among other things, a summary of who posts what in what order for the first round or the first couple of rounds. In the first round, whoever issued the challenge chooses which Pokemon they send out first, then whoever accepted the challenge sends out their first Pokemon. When sending out a Pokemon for the first time, you may have to specify which ability your Pokemon is using or what item (if any) it is holding. If the battle is one with no items and either no abilities or all abilities and all Pokemon are sent out at once (like in a 1v1 singles or 2v2 doubles), this sending out phase is usually done automatically.

Either way, whoever accepted the challenge then gives orders for their Pokemon, and then the player who issued the challenge gives orders for theirs. Once that is done, the ref calculates what happens, using a random number generator to resolve any random chances such as an inaccurate move hitting and a secondary effect triggering, and posts a summary of the teams at the start of the round and at the end of the round as well as his calculations and usually some text to describe what just happened. This descriptive text should be based on what each Pokemon did in the round, but is otherwise up to the ref's imagination.

In each round after the first, whoever ordered second in the previous round orders first, and vice versa. Thus the player who issued the challenge orders first in round 2, the acceptor orders first in round 3, the challenge issuer in round 4, and so on. There are circumstances in which this can change and these will be covered later.

Actions and Rounds

A battle is split up into rounds. Each round must be completed before the next round can begin. Each round is split into either 2 or 3 actions, depending on the battle format. Singles and doubles matches have 3 actions per round, while larger formats have 2. During an action, each Pokemon may use a single move, command or combo. Each action is resolved by the Pokemon taking it in turns to use its chosen manoeuvre, or in some cases failing to do so. The turn order is first determined by the priority of the move each Pokemon is using, with higher priority moves taking precedence. When move priority is tied, the tied Pokemon are then ranked in order of highest Speed to lowest Speed. When both move priority and Speed are tied, the move that has the lower energy cost after all modifiers is performed first (Moves that call other moves like Sleep Talk and Metronome use the base cost minus the called attack for the purposes of speed ties), with any ties at this point being resolved by coin flip.

ASB has numerous non-instantaneous effects, such as stat boosts, confusion, Disable and weather. Sometimes these effects need to be checked just before the Pokemon takes its turn, while sometimes the effect happens after all Pokemon have taken their turn on an action. If the effect is a temporary one, its remaining duration will usually decrease after the affected Pokemon takes its turn if the duration is measured in actions, or at the end of the round after all other effects if the duration is measured in rounds. For example, a Pokemon that has been taunted will remain taunted for six of its turns, and then after it has taken its sixth taunted turn, the Taunt effect will wear off. If a move's duration is given in rounds like Rain Dance's duration, that duration includes the remainder of the round the move is used on, regardless of how many more actions are left in the round.

Switch = OK vs Switch = KO

One of the rules that needs to be specified for a battle is whether or not a Pokemon is allowed to switch out. Switch = OK means that switching out is allowed, while Switch = KO means it isn't. Switch = KO makes for a slightly simpler set of rules while Switch = OK allows for a more strategic battle without too much extra complexity. Because of this, most players prefer Switch = OK.

If Switch = OK is the chosen switch method, then whichever player is ordering first in the current round may choose to initiate a switch phase. They do this by benching one or more of their active Pokemon and choosing an equal number of Pokemon already on the bench to take their places. At this point, the opponent has the option of switching some of their Pokemon out. This is known as counterswitching as it is a switch meant to counter the first switch. If the opponent does counterswitch, however, they must then order first while the player who initiated the switching orders second. If the opponent chooses not to counterswitch or if they cannot counterswitch (possibly because all of their remaining benched Pokemon have fainted) then the player who did switch orders first as usual. If a Pokémon switches, takes damage from entry hazards, and falls, then a round will be advanced. If this was the result of a player initiating a Switch Phase, then the other player will still have the opportunity to counterswitch as normal before the round advances.

Note that a switch phase may not be initiated on the first round.

Trapping Moves and Switch = OK

Because switching in ASB works differently to how it works in the cartridges, trapping effects work differently as well. If your opponent initiates a switch phase but one of your Pokemon has been trapped by an effect like Mean Look, Fire Spin or Shadow Tag, you may not switch that Pokemon out when you counterswitch, even if the Pokemon that caused the trapping effect switches out. This may mean that you are unable to counterswitch. If your opponent initiates a switch phase and sends out a Pokemon with an ability like Shadow Tag, that ability doesn't take effect until after the end of the switch phase and, for that round only, you are free to counterswitch as if that ability were not there.

Switch Forcing Moves

In Switch = KO, a move that forces a switch like Roar or U-turn will have a different effect. The effect the move has will be in the move's description, but usually it is the equivalent of the Pokemon switching out and then switching back in again immediately, thereby removing stat boosts, temporary effects like Taunt and most things that switching out would remove.

If a switch-forcing move is used in a battle with the Switch = OK switch method, the move's switch effect doesn't happen until the end of the round. These moves can change who orders first in the next round and who orders second. Moves that force a Pokemon to switch out will specify who has to order first in the next round, but generally speaking, if the player has control over which Pokemon can be sent out as a replacement, they must order first in the next round, whereas if they don't, the opponent must order first in the next round.

Switch forcing moves do not cause a switch if the Pokemon which would be switched out is under the influence of cooldown (From a combo) at the end of a round.

Consecutive Switches

Sometimes a player may initiate a switch phase and their opponent will counterswitch, resulting in the opponent ordering first and the player who initiated the switch phase ordering second. Per standard battle flow rules, this means that the player who initiated the switch phase orders first in the next round, thus they would potentially be able to initiate another switch phase.

The practice of initiating a switch phase two rounds in a row has been outlawed in ASB. However, other methods of switching that don't initiate a switch phase such as using U-turn or replacing a fainted Pokemon may be done on as many consecutive rounds as you like. Note that using U-turn on multiple consecutive rounds results in ordering first on multiple consecutive rounds so this practice, while legal, is not considered very wise.

Mid-battle Evolution

The Evolution Counter (or EC) on a Pokemon is described in detail in the next post of this handbook. Suffice to say, there are certain EC thresholds that a Pokemon can evolve at. If a Pokemon is at the appropriate EC threshold at the start of a battle then it can potentially evolve in the middle of that battle, as long as doing so doesn't violate any rules on what evolutionary stage the Pokemon in the battle are allowed to be.

Evolving a Pokemon in the middle of a battle works in a similar manner to initiating a switch phase (and therefore can only be done by the player ordering first). Instead of switching out, however, the Pokemon evolves into its next stage, expending 40 energy to do so. The Pokemon loses the typing, abilities and stats of its old form and gains those of its new form. While a Pokemon evolving outside of battle may sometimes pick up new moves for free, a Pokemon that evolves during battle doesn't gain any such moves until after the battle. If the Pokemon's new max HP is less than its current HP, its current HP is reduced to this new value; otherwise, the Pokemon's current HP remains unchanged.

If your opponent chooses to evolve their Pokemon in this manner, you have the opportunity to counterswitch as if they had initiated a switch phase. Doing so forces you to order first as normal. However, you may not evolve your Pokemon as part of a counterswitch.

Mega Evolution

Mega Pokemon Clause is a new Clause in CAP ASB XY, and the battlers can set the number of Mega Pokemon they want to allow in a battle. (E.G. No Megas, 1 Mega, Unlimited Megas etc.) Mega Pokemon Stones are linked to the Pokemon specifically and, like in-game, are not subject to any item removal or suppression effects such as Trick, Switcheroo, Embargo, or Magic Room. Knock Off does not get the power boost on a Pokemon holding a Mega Stone. In ASB, Mega Evolved Pokemon retain all of their base form's Abilities, and several Mega Pokemon that duplicate base form abilities have associated effects noted on their Mega Stone's Item Description. In Single Ability Battles, Mega Evolutions will have the ability of the Mega Evolution after Mega Evolving, but will retain any effects from the base form's ability (ex. a Moxie Pinsir that got an attack boost before Mega Evolving.)

A Pokemon can Mega Evolve before the first action in a round under any condition, including Sleep, Freeze, or Taunt. Mega Evolution does not itself take up an action, and does not have an inherent Energy Cost (it may activate abilities that do, such as Drought or Sand Stream). Mega Evolution cannot occur in the middle of a round. Mega Evolution occurs before any other action takes place, regardless of priority (Pokemon will mega Evolve in the speed order of the Pokemon if multiple Pokemon are Mega Evolving). Mega Evolved Pokemon remain Mega Evolved for the duration of the battle once they have activated Mega Evolution. Mega Evolved Pokemon will act with their updated Speed in subsequent actions. Their ability will be in effect immediately (ex. Mega Charizard Y summoning Drought), as will the updated accuracy boost if they have a +Spe nature.

Said command isn't affected by substitutions unless stated so on the specific sub. Mega Evolution can be used as part of a Chance Substitution if the Pokemon has not yet Mega-Evolved. (ex. Charizard Mega Evolve if X uses Rain Dance A1)

After a KO

At some point during the battle, someone's going to lose a Pokemon. Sometimes this will mean someone runs out of active Pokemon and has to send in one of their reserve Pokemon. If this is the case, one lot of end-of-action and end-of-round effects like poison damage and Sandstorm damage occurs, and then it's time for anyone with a knocked out Pokemon to swap it out for one on the bench. If all Pokemon on one side has fainted and some Pokemon on the other side have not acted yet, then those Pokemon will still act as normal. If a move one of them uses exclusively targets the other side, then that Pokemon's attack fails and energy is expended.

If it's only one player who needs to replace a fainted Pokemon, that player does so and then normal battle flow is resumed. Replacing a fainted Pokemon does not alter who orders first and who orders second. If both players need to replace a Pokemon (either due to KO or because it was forced out or switched through U-turn and the like), then whichever player is ordering second in that round replaces their fallen Pokemon first, then the player due to order first replaces theirs and proceeds to order. Of course, this is assuming that there is a Pokemon available to replace the one that has been knocked out. If there isn't, then the battle simply continues as normal unless the KO has resulted in someone being out of usable Pokemon.

End of a match

Once someone has run out of usable Pokemon, one final batch of end-of-action and end-of-round effects like poison damage and Sandstorm damage occur and then the battle is over. Whichever player has a Pokemon that hasn't been knocked out is the winner. If all Pokemon in the battle have been knocked out, the match ends in a tie. More official battles such as tournaments, gym battles and facility battles have tiebreaker rules, but friendly matches do not.

Once a battle ends, the referee states what prizes each player and Pokemon gets, as well as the prizes for themselves. Prizes will be covered in detail in the next post.​

What's in an order

So how exactly do you issue orders for your Pokemon? The standard format in a singles match is simply to list the three moves being used and then however many substitutions you are allowed to. Substitutions will be covered in further detail further down this post. If the format is doubles or larger, the Pokemon's species or nickname precedes the set of moves the Pokemon is using, and don't forget to specify targets for the move when necessary. Either way, when you list the moves to be used, you need to make sure all of them are bolded and have some character other than a space separating them, such as a dash. For example:
Lotad: Leech Seed - Rain Dance - Surf
In this set of orders, Lotad will use Leech Seed on action 1, Rain Dance on action 2 and Surf on action 3. In a singles match, this is perfectly fine as long as the Lotad can actually use those moves, although specifying Lotad wouldn't be necessary because it is obvious who you are ordering for. If Lotad doesn't know some of those moves, for example, then any time it attempts to use a move it doesn't yet know, it will use Struggle instead. Similarly, if Lotad was already taunted, Leech Seed and Rain Dance would be replaced with Struggle.

In formats larger than singles, those orders would be OK for the most part, since Rain Dance is a field-affecting move while Surf automatically targets everyone adjacent to Lotad. However, a target would need to be specified for Leech Seed, otherwise the ref will determine randomly out of all Pokemon Leech Seed could potentially target, including Lotad's allies but not Lotad itself.

Additionally, make sure you give the right number of actions' worth of orders. For triples and larger formats, the example order would also not be OK because those formats only have 2 actions per round. In such a case, Lotad would use Leech Seed on action 1 and then Rain Dance on action 2, but would not use Surf unless told to in the next round. If the Lotad was only told to use Leech Seed, it would use Leech Seed on action 1 and Struggle on all remaining actions of the round.

Once you have your orders in that format, you may add whatever you like to them, including some text detailing what you say to the Pokemon or a sprite for your trainer.

In case of Illegal orders/subs

Any time a Pokemon is told to do something it cannot (such as using Toxic while taunted, using Rock Slide when there are no rocks, or using Electro Ball when it doesn't have the move in its movepool), what happens depends on where it occurs in the orders. If it is in the main set of orders, the Pokemon will use Struggle on that action instead of the ordered move, unless the effect that prevents the move from being used starts on that action, in which case it simply fails without expending energy. If the move is the result of a substitution, the substitution is ignored and the Pokemon uses whatever it was going to use in the first place.

Note that this does not apply if the Pokemon is affected by Encore. Instead, the Pokemon will always use the move that the Encore effect forces it to, unless that move is prevented by another effect such as Torment, in which case it is replaced with Struggle.

Note that it also does not apply to moves that the Pokemon can use but will not have the intended effect, such as Protect being used for the second time in a row. In such cases, the Pokemon uses the move and pays the energy cost, but it fails.​

WHAT IS SUB? (Baby don't hurt me)

Substitutions are, in short, the only thing preventing the player ordering second from having a total advantage against the player ordering first. Players can use substitutions to change the moves their Pokemon use if certain conditions are met. While not all imaginable conditions are legal, enough are that the player ordering first is not completely doomed against their opponent and both players can recover fairly quickly from a spot of bad luck.

Usually, both players may use two substitutions on each of their active Pokemon. This means, for example, if the player ordering first has a Timburr and a Snivy active, they may add two substitutions to the Timburr's set of orders and two to the Snivy's, but not three to one and one to the other. If a Pokemon has multiple substitutions in its orders, they may result in the Pokemon being ordered to do two different things. For example, substitution 1 says "If Rain Dance is used, use Sunny Day", substitution 2 says "if Hydro Pump is used, use Protect", and both Rain Dance and Hydro Pump are used in the same action. In such cases, the substitution that is listed first takes precedence.

The general rules are as follows:
  1. A substitution is made of a "Trigger" and a "Result"
  2. Substitutions either activate, or they don't.
    1. The result of a Substitute's "activation" can be changed by instance, but the trigger never changes.
  3. A pokémon's substitutions activate whenever the trigger's conditions are met, a substitution with a higher priority has not already activated for that Pokemon, and the result of that activation is legally usable.
    1. The priority of substitutions is set by the user - unless the user otherwise states, whichever sub is first in the list of substitutions they make activates first
  4. All clauses of a substitution's trigger must narrow it's scope.
  5. Substitutions based on knowing something can only trigger after that thing is known. (e.g if the opponent crits a2 then counter that action is legal if you were already going to move second a2, but illegal otherwise). (If you know something, your Pokemon knows it). Attack clauses activate based on what would currently be used according to the main order set.
  6. Players can use Attack, Chance, and KO clauses, detailed below
    1. All clauses can be appended by 'NOT'. Note that KO Clauses appended with 'NOT' become Chance clauses.
    2. You can make a substitution trigger on the 'successful' usage of a move. Such a clause is treated as both a Chance Clause and Move Clause, obeying rules for both
    3. Substitutions for effects which last either for only the action the move is used, or require constant use of a move(s) to maintain (Such as 'Under the effect of a P/E move' and 'In the evasive stage of a D/E move') are treated as both a Chance Clause and Move Clause, obeying rules for both.
  7. If a substitution causes an infinite loop, then it is ignored. If two or more substitutions would cause an infinite loop, ignore the substitution made by the player who ordered later. If the substitutions were ordered at the same time (Either a single player ordering, or in brawl orders where all player orders are treated as simultaneous), then both are deemed illegal.
  8. If, ordering second, your substitution would cause the Trigger of an opponent's substitution which has already legally activated to no longer have it's unknown conditions met (Such as 'AND NOT Encore next action), then it is ignored.
  9. In each sub, each action (Action 1, Action 2, Prior action, This action, etc.) can only have one attack clause per Pokémon.
    • To clarify, let's say you're using Gigalith vs your opponent's Mantine.

      The substitution "IF Wide Guard AND you are to use Rock Slide THEN Stone Edge" would be legal, since it has one attack clause for Mantine, and one attack clause for Gigalith.

      The substitution "IF Damaging Flying Attack AND NOT Air Slash THEN Iron Defense" would be illegal, since it has two attack clauses for Mantine, both of which are being used to cover the same action (In this case, "This action")

      The substitution "IF Endure AND NOT Rest on the following action THEN Toxic" would be legal, since although it has two attack clauses on one mon, each of these clauses is on a seperate action (In this case, "This Action" and "The Following Action").

      In larger formats, if a Pokémon is not specified as the user of a move, then the move is counted as that sub's attack clause for that action for all opponents. As such, in the matchup of A and B vs C and D "IF NOT Protective/Evasive AND C does not use Wide Guard THEN..." would be illegal, since it subs for C using both "Not Protective/Evasive" and "Not Wide Guard" at the same time. However, "IF D does not use a Protective/Evasive action AND C does not use Wide Guard THEN..." would be legal, since the above issue does not occur.

It should be noted that expressions like "If X used Y", "If X uses Y", "If X is to use Y", "If X is ordered to use Y", "If Y from X" all should be treated the same way as "If X is to use Y". Every player tends to use slightly different verbs and tenses and it does not influence the end result. If the player actually intends to use a substitution with a different meaning, they ought to specify it through more than just verb tenses. So "If X is used" will be read as "IF X is ordered". But on "If X was used on the prior action" or "If Y used X before Z is to act" or "If X was the last move used by Y when Z is to act" the meaning will be different. Aside from that, the substitution is interpreted based on what it is written on it, and not the intentions, so the player must specify, through the necessary means, what they intend, or suffer the consequences.

In terms of attack clauses, you can replace an attack with any of the following substitution classes:
  • Protective Moves: Protect, Detect, King's Shield, Spiky Shield, Mat Block
  • Evasive Moves: Agility [Evasive], Teleport [Evasive]
  • Protective / Evasive Move: Protect, Detect, King's Shield, Spiky Shield, Mat Block, Agility [Evasive], Teleport [Evasive]
  • Damaging Evasive Moves: Dig, Fly, Dive, Bounce, Shadow Force, Phantom Force
  • Damaging Priority Moves: Aqua Jet, Bullet Punch, Extremespeed, Fake Out, Feint, Ice Shard, Mach Punch, Quick Attack, Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch, Vacuum Wave, Water Shuriken
  • Multi-Hit Moves: Arm Thrust, Barrage, Bone Rush, Bullet Seed, Comet Punch, Double Slap, Fury Attack, Fury Swipes, Icicle Spear, Pin Missile, Rock Blast, Spike Cannon, Tail Slap, Bonemerang, Double Hit, Double Kick, Dual Chop, Gear Grind, Twineedle, Triple Kick, Water Shuriken
  • Damaging [Type] Moves: Covers all of Flamethrower, Lava Plume, Fire Blast, Ember, etc. under the umbrella of "Damaging Fire-type Move." Covers all of Psychic, Psyshock, Confusion, Dream Eater, etc. under the umbrella of "Damaging Psychic-type Move." This also applies to moves which deal Fixed Damage, such as Mirror Coat, Seismic Toss and Night Shade. NOTE: This Substitution applies to all attacks of a certain type that have a BAP, so moves like Rapid Spin and Knock off will trigger "Damaging Normal-type Move" and "Damaging Dark-type Move," respectively.
  • Damaging [Type] Combinations: All combinations that are of [Type] will activate the substitution. NOTE: A damaging [Type] combination activates a substitution for damaging [Type] moves.
  • Burn-Inflicting Moves: Will-O-Wisp, Inferno
  • Paralysis-Inflicting Moves: Thunder Wave, Glare, Stun Spore, Nuzzle, Zap Cannon
  • Poison-Inflicting Moves: Poison Gas, Poisonpowder, Toxic
  • Sleep-Inflicting Moves: Spore, Hypnosis, Sleep Powder, Sing, Grasswhistle, Lovely Kiss, Dark Void, Yawn
  • Confusion-Inflicting Moves: Confuse Ray, Supersonic, Sweet Kiss, Teeter Dance, Swagger, Flatter
  • Switch-Preventing Moves: Block, Mean Look, Spider Web, Fairy Lock
  • Trapping Moves: Fire Spin, Sand Tomb, Whirlpool, Magma Storm, Bind, Wrap, Clamp, Infestation
  • Switch-Forcing Moves: Whirlwind, Roar, Circle Throw, Dragon Tail
  • Self-Switching Moves: U-Turn, Volt Switch, Teleport (Switch), Parting Shot, Baton Pass (Switch)
  • Healing Moves: Roost, Slack Off, Recover, Moonlight, Synthesis, Morning Sun, Softboiled, Heal Order, Milk Drink, Swallow
  • Status-Healing Moves: Aromatherapy, Heal Bell, Refresh
  • Lock-On Moves: Lock-On, Mind Reader
  • Attack-Reducing Moves: Growl, Charm, Feather Dance, Memento, Baby-Doll Eyes, Noble Roar, Parting Shot, Play Nice, Venom Drench, Tickle
  • Defense-Reducing Moves: Leer, Tail Whip, Screech, Tickle
  • Special Attack-Reducing Moves: Captivate, Memento, Confide, Eerie Impulse, Mystical Fire, Snarl, Struggle Bug, Noble Roar, Parting Shot, Venom Drench
  • Special Defense-Reducing Moves: Acid Spray, Fake Tears, Metal Sound
  • Speed-Reducing Moves: String Shot, Cotton Spore, Scary Face, Bulldoze, Icy Wind, Mud Shot, Rock Tomb, Electroweb, Glaciate, Low Sweep, Venom Drench
  • Accuracy-Reducing Moves: Flash, Kinesis, Sand-Attack, Smokescreen, Mud-Slap
  • Evasion-Reducing Moves: Sweet Scent
  • Attack-Increasing Moves: Bulk Up, Coil, Dragon Dance, Growth, Hone Claws, Howl, Meditate, Power-Up Punch, Rototiller, Sharpen, Shift Gear, Swords Dance, Work Up
  • Defense-Increasing Moves: Acid Armour, Barrier, Bulk Up, Coil, Cosmic Power, Cotton Guard, Defend Order, Defense Curl, Flower Shield, Harden, Iron Defense, Magnetic Flux, Withdraw
  • Special Attack-Increasing Moves: Calm Mind, Geomancy, Growth, Nasty Plot, Quiver Dance, Rototiller, Tail Glow, Work Up
  • Special Defense-Increasing Moves: Amnesia, Aromatic Mist, Calm Mind, Charge, Cosmic Power, Defend Order, Geomancy, Magnetic Flux, Quiver Dance
  • Speed-Increasing Moves: Agility, Autotomize, Dragon Dance, Flame Charge, Geomancy, Quiver Dance, Rock Polish, Shift Gear
  • Accuracy-Increasing Moves: Coil, Hone Claws
  • Evasion-Increasing Moves: Minimize
  • Self-KOing moves: Explosion, Final Gambit, Healing Wish, Lunar Dance, Memento, Self-Destruct
  • Hazard-Setting moves: Spikes, Stealth Rock, Sticky Web, Toxic Spikes
In some cases, an arena effect may modify do something like changing Surf to a Ground-type move, causing the move to be a better fit for a different substitution class. Treat the move as being in the move class(es) that it fits best as long as the arena effect persists.

Players are also allowed to substitute for a Pokémon being of a specific type.

KO Clauses

A KO clause is simply the condition "if Pokemon X is KO'd". The main purpose of this is to prevent your Pokemon from continuing to attack an opponent even after it has fainted.

Action Clauses

These are what is used to actually change what your Pokemon will do. Your Pokemon has a set of two or three actions that make its main orders, and all clauses of this kind specify how those orders are to be altered. These are the legal ways of doing so:
  • Change all actions to moves X - Y - Z
  • Change action X to move Y
  • Replace all instances of move X with move Y
  • Replace the first/second/third instance of move X with move Y
  • Push actions back (this shifts each move in the order list one action to the right)
  • Push actions forward (this shifts each move in the order list one action to the left)
  • Keep move X on action Y (this prevents the move on action Y from changing regardless of all other action clauses used)
  • Swap actions X and Y
Whenever an action number is given in one of the above clauses, you may specify an absolute action number (action 1, action 2 or action 3) or a relative action (the current action, the following action). Any number of action clauses may be used, although you should probably not use more than three in one substitution.

Substitutions Interaction

It is possible for a Substitution to interact with other substitutions, whether as a kind of chance clause, or as the Action Clause. So clauses like the below are acceptable:

If Magmortar's second substitution is to be activated THEN ...
If Chansey's first substitution activates for the second time THEN ...
If Rain Dance AND Eelektross's first substitution doesn't activate THEN ...'
If (...) THEN Disregard Aipom's first sub
If (...) THEN Rain Dance AND Replace Thunderbolt on the first sub with Thunder
If (...) THEN (...) AND Replace all instances of Hyper Voice with Surf, including on substitutions

Pushing back Substitutions

It is also possible to push back substitutions, but only those set to trigger on specific actions. It works strictly the same way as with usual actions. "Push back" will push subs meant to trigger on an action to the action immediately after it (A1->A2 and A2->A3).

Example:

Poison Tail - Sludge Bomb - Poison Tail
IF Substitute A1 THEN Snatch and push back actions and substitutions.
IF Protect A1 then Swords Dance

If the opponent uses substitute A1, the substitution activates and our pokemon uses Snatch A1. Since actions were pushed back, A1 becomes A2 and A2 becomes A3, so the following actions are Poison Tail - Sludge Bomb. Same will happen with the second sub, which will be triggered if Protect happens A2 instead of A1.

About the matter pay attention to these points:
- If the player says only "push back" or "push back actions" only actions are pushed back. If is said "push back substitutions" only substitutions are pushed back. To activate both actions and substitutions, you must specify both.
- The action clause of a substitution (second half) is not affected by "push back". Write your substitutions with that in mind.

Legal/Illegal Subs

As long as a substitution follows the rules given above, it is legal. Something like "If he uses Venoshock and you are poisoned, change that action to Protect, push actions back and replace Swords Dance with Earthquake", while a little complex, is perfectly legal. However, any attempt to use a clause not given in the above rules can make the substitution's legality ambiguous.

If a substitution is illegal, it is simply ignored, although it will still count towards any substitution limit unless it is a KO sub. This applies regardless of whether the illegality is in the condition or the result of the substitution.

The substitution will also be considered illegal and then ignored even if, at the beginning of the round, it was legal, but then it was made illegal by some move that happened that round. So, for example, if you have a "IF Endure THEN Encore" substitution and your opponent taunts you, if it uses Endure later that round, the substitution will be considered illegal (as it calls for an illegal move, since you can't encore while taunted) and will be disregarded.

If a substitution from a player ordering second creates an infinite loop (An example of this: A chance substitution that allows you to use a move that triggers a sub of a player ordering first to do something else instead that would make said chance sub not activate in the first place.), that substitution is considered illegal and is ignored.

The Anti-Pedant Clause

If a substitution looks to be traditionally illegal due to an improper syntax, but can be reworded to be a legal substitution without the logic of the substitution changing, then the substitution is considered to be legal. If it cannot, then the substitution is considered to be illegal. This includes substitutions that are considered to be two substitutions but worded on one line.

Example 1:
Illegal Form
IF Will-O-Wisp is used, AND you did not use Protect the previous action, THEN use Protect that action.

Legal Form
IF Will-O-Wisp is used, THEN use Protect that action. Do not activate this substitution on consecutive actions.
Example 2:
Illegal Form
IF Will-O-Wisp is used, AND Gardevoir is not taunted, THEN use Protect that action, UNLESS Gardevoir uses Encore the next action, in which case, use Taunt instead.

Legal Form
IF Will-O-Wisp is used, AND Gardevoir is not taunted, AND Gardevoir uses Encore the next action, THEN use Taunt that action.
IF Will-O-Wisp is used, AND Gardevoir is not taunted, THEN use Protect that action.
KO Subs

KO substitutions are substitutions whose only clauses in the condition part are KO clauses and frequency clauses, like "if Gengar is KO'd on action 3". These substitutions do not count towards the substitution limit and you can have as many as you like. Lack of a KO substitution will result in your Pokemon continuing to attack the fainted Pokemon, so make sure you use these. If a KO Sub has a "NOT" in it, then it is treated as a chance sub, and counts towards your substitution limit.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Stratos

Banned deucer.
Registering / Claiming

Table of Contents for this post:
  • What a Pokemon looks like
    • Types
    • Abilities
      • Ability Categories
    • Normalized Base Stats
      • Natures
    • Size Class and Weight Class
      • Rules about Bodyblock/Take Cover and Dodge
    • Counters
      • What all the different counters do
    • Attacks
    • How to claim a new Pokemon
      • Starting moves
    • Special Case Pokemon
      • Unown
      • Smeargle and Necturine/Necturna
      • Shedinja
      • Rotom
      • Tynamo
    • Example profiles
  • How do counters work?
    • How counters are awarded
      • CC awards for battles
      • UC awards for reffing
    • Maxed out Pokemon CC bonus
  • How to format a registration
  • How to format a claim on existing Pokemon

What a Pokemon looks like

Whether you're picking your first Pokemon or purchasing your umpteenth Pokemon, it's important to know how a Pokemon's profile is supposed to look. Firstly, every Pokemon's data should be placed between hide tags, like [hide=Jerry the Meditite]*Insert Meditite data*[/hide]. The opening hide tag should contain the Pokemon's species and nickname if you gave it one, and then the first thing to put in between the hide tags is a sprite of the Pokemon. The sprite takes the form of a link to an online image placed between image tags like [img]http://veekun.com/dex/media/pokemon/main-sprites/black-white/307.png[/img].

Veekun is a good place to get standard, static Pokemon sprites from. Other websites may have animated ones, or you may make a sprite of your own and upload that onto an image-hosting site and then use that sprite. If you choose to use a custom sprite, make sure the sprite is recognizable as the Pokemon it's supposed to be and that it isn't too big.

After putting in the sprite, repeat the Pokemon's species and nickname, and then specify its gender. Most Pokemon can be male or female, but some can only be male, only be female or are always genderless. For some Pokemon like Kirlia and Combee, gender dictates what they can evolve into.

Then we get to the main data of the Pokemon.

Types

Every Pokemon has either one or two types. You need to state the Pokemon's full typing and, although you do not have to post the summary of the benefits of the typing, you should pay attention to them. As well as improving the power of certain moves and reducing their energy cost at the same time, each type brings other benefits with it such as resistance to a certain kind of move or effect, the ability to use a particular move without losing focus, or access to a special type-based command. Of course, each type brings with it weaknesses and resistances that can sharply increase or decrease the amount of damage the Pokemon takes from certain attacks.

For example, Paras is both Bug-type and Grass-type, so it gets an extra hit when it uses a multi-hit attack, it is immune to the effects of non-damaging seed-based moves like Leech Seed and spore-based and powder-based moves like Stun Spore, and it can use a command that improves the accuracy of its non-damaging grass-based, powder-based and seed-based moves. It also takes less damage from Electric, Fighting and Water attacks (and that's before factoring in abilities) and much less from Grass and Ground attacks, but it takes more damage from Bug, Ice, Poison and Rock attacks and a huge amount from Fire and Flying attacks.

Abilities

All Pokemon have at least one ability and can potentially have up to four, although most Pokemon have two or three. The effects of abilities range from powering up certain moves in certain circumstances to reducing damage from certain kinds of moves to raising or lowering stat stages with all sorts of effects in between. As with types, you need to state what each ability is. On most Pokemon, one of the abilities will be a hidden one. This needs to be denoted by putting a (H) after the ability's name. This ability cannot be used until the Pokemon's Ability Counter (or AC - more on this later) is full, at which point the (H) should change to (UNLOCKED), unless you wish to leave the ability locked for any reason.

Ability Categories

In between an ability's name and description, the ability's category needs to be stated. There are four different ability categories:
  • Passive - these abilities are always on unless it's a no abilities match or it's a one ability match and a different ability was chosen. Some Passive abilities' effects only kick in under certain circumstances while others are always active. Most abilities in ASB are Passive.
  • Trait - these abilities are like Passive ones except they are on even in no ability matches or if a different ability is chosen in a one ability match. Trait abilities tend to be ones with huge drawbacks and, given the option, most players would eschew their use.
  • Trigger - these abilities have to be manually activated by ordering the right command. Most Trigger abilities also activate immediately when the Pokemon enters play. Using the command to activate these abilities costs energy, and sometimes the automatic activation when the Pokemon enters play costs energy too.
  • Toggle - these abilities either have one effect that can be turned on or off or two effects that can be toggled between. The default effect of a Toggle ability is always the effect correspondent to the ingame effect, while the other effect, accessible when you "toggle" the ability can be either a different effect or no effect at all. Toggling a Toggle ability doesn't require an action or any energy, but it can only be done when the Pokemon is sent out or when the player is ordering first (after any switch phases and the like). If a Pokémon switches out with a Toggle ability toggled, then it will reset to its default state. If a Toggle ability is disabled by something like Gastro Acid while toggled on, it will be toggled on when it returns. If a player says "Ability ON", it should be read as "Revert a toggle ability to the effect correspondent to their ingame effect", with the opposite happening with "Ability OFF". Finally, the player can use a "Assume ability is toggled" command, and the ref will consider that assumption for that run until the player says otherwise.

Normalized Base Stats

In an attempt to reduce the disparity between Pokemon that exists in the cartridges, ASB uses a condensed stat system based on the Pokemon's in-game base stats. As of Generation VI, converting from in-game base stats to ASB stats works like this:
Code:
Base Stat Range    Rank    HP
1   -  25          1       80
26  -  60          2       90
61  -  95          3       100
96  - 115          4       110
116 - 140          5       120
141 - 153          6       125
154 - 173          7       130
174 - 189          8       135
190 - 209          9       140
210 - 255          10      145
Use the Rank column when converting from base stat to Attack, Defense, Special Attack or Special Defense rank. Use the HP column when converting from base stat to HP. The Pokemon's Speed stat in ASB is identical to its base Speed in the cartridges.

A Pokemon's stats are one measure of its strength (though by no means the only one) and this measure can be summarized by the Pokemon's Base Rank Total or BRT. This is calculated by converting all of the Pokemon's base stats in the cartridges (including HP and Speed) into the rank given in the Rank column in the table above and then adding these ranks together. For example, Machamp in ASB has 100 HP, rank 5 Attack, rank 3 Defense, Special Attack and Special Defense, and 55 Speed. Since 100 HP is the equivalent of rank 3 in ASB and 55 Speed the equivalent of rank 2, Machamp's BRT is therefore 3+5+3+3+3+2=19. If you can't be bothered to work it out, each Pokemon has its BRT listed along with the rest of its stats in the Data Audit Tables. BRT is important for determining the effects of Rare Candy and Everstone.

Natures

There are 25 different natures in ASB that correspond to the natures available in the cartridges. Natures that raise or lower Attack, Defense, Special Attack or Special Defense adjust the relevant rank on that Pokemon by 1. A Pokemon's rank in a stat can potentially drop to 0 or rise to 11 from a nature change. Natures that adjust Speed are a little trickier.

If the nature is one that boosts Speed, the Pokemon's Speed is multiplied by 1.15 and then rounded up to the nearest whole number. Additionally, the Pokemon gains an accuracy boost on its attacks. This accuracy boost is equal to the Pokemon's new speed squared, divided by (870 * current evolutionary stage / total evolutionary stages). In other words, after squaring the Pokemon's new speed, divide the result by 870 if the Pokemon is fully evolved (such as Charizard, Mightyena or Emolga), 580 if it is the second in a three-stage line (such as Zweilous), 435 if it is the first in a two-stage line (such as Meditite) or 290 if it is the first in a three-stage line (such as Abra). After this division, round the result to the nearest whole number using standard rounding rules, but if the result is below 5 or above 30, adjust the result to 5 or 30 respectively. This accuracy boost is a flat addition to the accuracy of that Pokemon's moves after all other modifiers to accuracy are calculated.

If the nature is one that lowers Speed, the Pokemon's Speed is divided by 1.15 and then rounded down to the nearest whole number. Additionally, the Pokemon's evasion is lowered by 10, meaning that all attacks used against that Pokemon have their accuracy increased by 10 after all other modifiers to accuracy are calculated.

Here is a list of all the natures and their effects:
Code:
Nature     Boosts             Reduces
Hardy      Attack             Attack
Lonely     Attack             Defense
Adamant    Attack             Special Attack
Naughty    Attack             Special Defense
Brave      Attack             Speed
Bold       Defense            Attack
Docile     Defense            Defense
Impish     Defense            Special Attack
Lax        Defense            Special Defense
Relaxed    Defense            Speed
Modest     Special Attack     Attack
Mild       Special Attack     Defense
Bashful    Special Attack     Special Attack
Rash       Special Attack     Special Defense
Quiet      Special Attack     Speed
Calm       Special Defense    Attack
Gentle     Special Defense    Defense
Careful    Special Defense    Special Attack
Quirky     Special Defense    Special Defense
Sassy      Special Defense    Speed
Timid      Speed              Attack
Hasty      Speed              Defense
Jolly      Speed              Special Attack
Naive      Speed              Special Defense
Serious    Speed              Speed
Note that Hardy, Docile, Bashful, Quirky and Serious do not have any effect. In particular, Serious does not provide both the accuracy boost and the evasion drop while leaving the Speed stat alone. Additionally, the Pokemon's BRT is always calculated as if the Pokemon had one of the natures that does not have any effect. Finally, once a Pokemon's nature has been decided, it can only be changed outside of battle, and even then it will cost you. See further down in this post for details.

Size Class and Weight Class

Pokemon come in all different shapes and sizes (and weights), and while these statistics have a small impact in the cartridges, they are quite significant in ASB. Of course, having to keep track of exact heights and weights would be very time-consuming and complex, so these statistics are converted into some simpler stats called Size Class and Weight Class. Size Class and Weight Class for each Pokemon is listed along with the rest of the Pokemon's stats so you don't need to work it out most of the time. Generally, the way to convert height to Size Class varies by the Pokemon's body type like so:
Code:
Size Class    Height Range (Quadruped)    Height Range (Serpentine)    Height Range (Other)
1             0.0m - 0.8m                 0.0m - 0.8m                  0.0m - 0.8m
2             0.8m - 1.2m                 0.8m - 2.0m                  0.8m - 1.2m
3             1.0m - 1.5m                 2.1m - 3.5m                  1.2m - 2.0m
4             1.5m - 2.5m                 3.6m - 5.0m                  2.0m - 2.3m
5             2.6m - 3.0m                 5.1m - 6.4m                  2.4m - 3.4m
6             3.1m - 5.9m                 6.5m - 7.9m                  3.5m - 5.9m
7             6.0m +                      8.0m +                       6.0m +
Pokemon whose height corresponds to two different Size Classes (such as 1.1m quadrupeds or 2.0m non-quadrupedal, non-serpentine Pokemon) could be in either Size Class.

Converting from weight to Weight Class works like this:
Code:
Weight Class    Weight Range
1               0.0kg   -   9.9kg
2               10.0kg  -  25.0kg
3               25.1kg  -  50.0kg
4               50.1kg  - 100.0kg
5               100.1kg - 200.0kg
6               200.1kg - 274.9kg
7               275.0kg - 349.9kg
8               350.0kg - 449.9kg
9               450.0kg - 599.9kg
10              600.0kg - 749.9kg
11              750.0kg - 949.9kg
12              950.0kg +
Rules about Bodyblock/Take Cover and Dodge

Bodyblock, Dodge and Take Cover are some of the ASB-specific commands that all Pokemon may use. Their effect is heavily determined by the Size Class of the user of the command and in some cases that of the target, although Weight Class can also factor into Bodyblock and Take Cover.

Dodge: The Dodge command allows a Pokemon to reduce the accuracy of any incoming attacks that action by a flat number equal to the result of the dodge formula. The dodge formula is as follows:
Base Dodge + (Dodger's Speed - Attacker's Speed) / 5 + Accuracy boost from Dodger's +Speed nature - 10 if Dodger has -Speed nature​
If Trick Room is active, the formula changes to:
Base Dodge + (Attacker's Speed - Dodger's Speed) / 5 - Accuracy boost from Dodger's +Speed nature + 10 if Dodger has -Speed nature​
If the result would actually increase the move's accuracy, Dodge has no effect.

Most of the items in that formula are fairly self-evident, but what about Base Dodge? That is determined by the Size Class of the Pokemon doing the dodging:
Code:
Size Class    Base Dodge
1             40
2             20
3             10
4             5
5             2.5
6             1
7             0
The value of Dodge is always capped at 75.

Bodyblock: The Bodyblock command allows a Pokemon to intercept attacks directed at its ally. If the Bodyblock is successful, any further attacks directed at the protege will automatically hit the Bodyblocker instead and the Bodyblocker will suffer as if the attack had been aimed at it in the first place. For Bodyblock to work, the Bodyblocker's Size Class must be greater than or equal to the protege's Size Class, or the Bodyblocker's actual height must be greater than or equal to the protege's actual height, or the Bodyblocker must be no more than 0.3m shorter than the protege. Attacks that can strike non-adjacent opponents or that hit multiple Pokemon cannot be affected by Bodyblock, nor can moves like Earth Power and Thunder whose manifestation makes blocking them implausible - to block Earth Power, the Pokemon would have to somehow get underneath its ally.

There are also some attacks that have a chance of breaking through a Bodyblocker. If a Pokemon uses a contact move that forces it to use the move for three actions in a row such as Outrage and another Pokemon is Bodyblocking the target, the attack may strike both the intended target and the Bodyblocker, dealing full damage to each of them. This will happen if the attacker's Weight Class is greater than the sum of the target's Weight Class and the Bodyblocker's Weight Class. The same thing can happen if the Pokemon uses a move that inflicts recoil damage such as Wood Hammer on a Pokemon that another Pokemon is Bodyblocking, although then the recoil damage is based on the total damage dealt to both Pokemon.

The attacks Giga Impact, Hi Jump Kick and Jump Kick may break through a Bodyblock in the same circumstances, as can Gyro Ball if the attacker has the Heavy Metal ability. However, if such an attack does break a Bodyblock as described in the above paragraph, the Base Attack Power of the move is halved when calculating the damage the original target of the move takes.

Regardless of the move, deliberately targeting the Bodyblocker does not break through a Bodyblock.

Take Cover: This command allows a Pokemon to hide behind an ally in an attempt to avoid an attack. Because the ally is not trying to make itself as big as possible to shield the Pokemon taking cover, Take Cover only works if the Pokemon's Size Class is at least two less than the Size Class of the unwitting shield. Multiple Pokemon can Take Cover behind the same ally as long as the sum of their Size Classes is at least two less than the ally's Size Class. If a Pokemon attempting to Take Cover behind an ally would end up going over this threshold, its attempt to Take Cover fails.

Take Cover otherwise functions as if the chosen ally had used Bodyblock on the Pokemon.

Counters

One of the main features of ASB is the sense of progression. Instead of your Pokemon starting out fully evolved with all of their abilities and moves, they start out completely unevolved, usually with one of their abilities locked and almost always with only a fraction of their moves. By participating in battles, the Pokemon can eventually learn all of their moves, unlock all of their abilities and evolve. Their progress is measured by three counters: Evolution Counter (EC), Move Counter (MC) and Ability Counter (AC).

What all the different counters do

Evolution Counter (EC):
This counter measures a Pokemon's progress in evolution. It almost always starts at 0/X where X is the number the EC must hit before the Pokemon can fully evolve. Most Pokemon in two-stage lines need an EC of 6 to evolve into their final form, whereas most Pokemon in three-stage lines need an EC of 4 to evolve for the first time and an EC of 9 to evolve a second time. Pokemon that don't evolve into or from anything do not have an EC. The main exceptions are the Caterpie, Weedle, Wurmple, Scatterbug, Burmy, and Kricketot evolutionary lines. The first four evolve once when their EC hits 3 and then again when it hits 5, while the latter two require an EC of 4 to evolve into their final forms.

The only exception to the rule of EC starting at 0 is if the Pokemon is one that was captured using a Poke Ball and it is either fully evolved or the second stage in a three-stage line. In such cases, the Pokemon's EC starts at the minimum needed for it to have evolved into its current form. For example, a Pikachu captured with a Poke Ball starts with an EC of 4/9, while a Bronzong captured with a Poke Ball has an EC of 6/6.

Some notes on EC and evolution:
  • A Pokemon must battle at least once in one of its evolutionary stages before it can evolve into the next one, regardless of how high its EC is. It cannot skip any stages.
  • Just because a Pokemon has enough EC to evolve does not mean it has to. In some cases, it is advantageous not to evolve the Pokemon.

Move Counter (MC): This counter is what a Pokemon needs to learn new moves. Unlike the other two counters, MC is used up when your Pokemon learns a new move. For the most part, a Pokemon may only learn moves that it can somehow learn in any of the cartridge games from any generation. Some Pokemon do get access to moves that they only ever used in the anime or manga, but other than that, a Pokemon may not learn a move that it never had any way of learning in the cartridges.

The amount of MC it costs for a Pokemon to learn a move depends on how that Pokemon is able to learn the move:
  • Moves in the Pokemon's level-up moves list that the Pokemon can learn at or below level 25 are free. The Pokemon may learn the move at or below level 25 in any generation to qualify for this, so Ralts can learn Calm Mind for free for example because it learns the move at level 23 in Generation IV.
  • Moves in the Pokemon's level-up moves list that the Pokemon learns at level 26 or higher cost 1 MC. As long as the Pokemon learns the move at a certain level in any generation but never at or below level 25 (such as Bulbasaur's Solar Beam), it costs 1 MC. Additionally, the moves Fire Pledge, Grass Pledge and Water Pledge always cost 1 MC to learn, regardless of how the Pokemon learns them.
  • Moves that the Pokemon can learn by all methods not including level up (TM/HM's, Tutors, Egg Moves, Anime/Manga Errors, and Events from all generations) excluding the Pledge Moves as noted above always cost 2 MC to learn.
  • Moves that the Pokemon only learns by a method not covered above (such as in-game error or trading card game) cannot be learned by any means in ASB.
A Pokemon may learn a move if it is a move that a previous stage of the Pokemon could learn. The Pokemon may even use the method the previous stage uses if that method is cheaper. However, a Pokemon may not learn moves from a future evolutionary stage's movepool or use the methods the future stage uses until it reaches that stage.

A Pokemon may learn its moves in whatever order you like as long as it has a high enough MC. There is no restriction to which moves in the Pokemon's movepool the Pokemon may have access to.

Ability Counter (AC): This counter measures how close a Pokemon is to unlocking its hidden ability. If the Pokemon doesn't have a hidden ability, it doesn't have an AC. Otherwise, its AC starts at 0/5 and the Pokemon's hidden ability is unlocked and available to use once the AC hits 5/5.

As with evolution, a Pokemon does not have to unlock its hidden ability once its AC is full, but it is very rare for a Pokemon not to want access to its hidden ability.

Attacks

After all of that, we finally come to the meat of the Pokemon: its moves. Regardless of how you order the other aspects of a Pokemon described above, the attacks should always be the last thing in a Pokemon's profile. As with types and abilities, you should not include descriptions of each attack as otherwise your Pokemon's move list will be unreadable. Instead, simply list the attacks your Pokemon currently has. Feel free to arrange them in whatever order you like in your profile. If you want, you may choose to list all of your Pokemon's attacks and then use formatting to indicate which attacks your Pokemon actually has, although this is not recommended until your Pokemon has learned almost all of its available moves. In fact, in the early stages of a Pokemon's time in ASB, it is usually best to initially arrange moves in the following order:
  • Level-up moves in approximate ascending order of level learned
  • Egg moves in alphabetical order
  • TM moves in approximate ascending order of TM number
  • Tutor moves in alphabetical order (if applicable)
  • Other moves in alphabetical order (if applicable)
If in doubt, the Veekun page for any non-CAP Pokemon is a good indicator of what order moves should appear in to begin with. New moves are best added to the end of the applicable section, regardless of the order of the other moves in that section.

During battle, the attacks listed (or denoted as in the Pokemon's current movepool) are the attacks the Pokemon may use, along with the universal commands like Chill and Dodge, and possibly some Pokemon-specific, type-specific or ability-specific commands. A Pokemon with more attacks in its current movepool has more options when facing the opponent, although it is all but guaranteed that some of those options will be largely (and sometimes entirely) useless in a particular match.

It is a good idea to include somewhere in your Pokemon's profile the number of moves the Pokemon currently has. This may be placed just above the attack list, just below the attack list or just below the Pokemon's stats for example.

How to claim a new Pokemon

This is a template for a Pokemon profile:
Code:
[HIDE=Nickname the Pokemon]
[IMG]A sprite of the Pokemon that should be no larger than 96 x 96 pixels[/IMG]
Pokemon [Nickname] (Gender)
[B]Types:[/B] Type 1/Type 2

[B]Abilities:[/B]:
Ability 1 / Ability 2 / Ability (H or UNLOCKED)

[B]Nature:[/B] Nature (+Boosted stat, -Reduced stat)

[B]Stats:[/B]
HP: Value
Atk: Rank
Def: Rank
SpA: Rank
SpD: Rank
Spe: Value (Accuracy boost or evasion drop if Speed-adjusting nature)
Size Class: #
Weight Class: #
Base Rank Total: HP Rank + ATK Rank + DEF Rank + SPA Rank + SPD Rank + SPE Rank

[B]EC:[/B] 0/X
[B]MC:[/B] 0
[B]AC:[/B] 0/5

[B]Attacks (Current move total):[/B]

[B]Level Up[/B]
All moves it learns up to and including level 25 in any generation

[B]Egg[/B]
Any Gen Egg Move
Any Gen Egg Move
Any Gen Egg Move
Any Gen Egg Move
Any Gen Egg Move

[B]TM/HM[/B]
Current Gen TM/HM Move
Current Gen TM/HM Move
Current Gen TM/HM Move
Current Gen TM/HM Move
Current Gen TM/HM Move

[B]Tutor[/B]

[B]Other[/B][/HIDE]
In addition to what is in this template, you need to put a (+) just after the stat that has been raised by your Pokemon's nature and a (-) by the one that has been lowered, unless the nature is one that raises and lowers the same stat like Hardy. If you wish, you may make small rearrangements such as putting nature before type and abilities, moving the current move total to just below the stats, and putting the accuracy boost or evasion drop from a +Speed or -Speed nature in with the nature's effects. You may also add extra formatting like bold, underline and font size changes. However, this template is a good one to follow.

Note: when writing the total number of moves the Pokemon learns, do not include ASB-specific commands, regardless of whether the commands are universal or something only that Pokemon or Pokemon with that type or ability can learn. You may list them in the "Other" section of attacks but they do not count towards the Pokemon's move total.

Starting moves

Notice the moves that a new Pokemon starts with: all moves the Pokemon learns at or below level 25 in any generation, five egg moves of the player's choice from any generation, five TM or HM moves of the player's choice from the current generation only, and no tutor moves or moves learned via other methods. As long as the Pokemon has enough egg moves and current generation TM/HM moves to choose from, it must start with exactly those amounts of those moves.

Some Pokemon, however, will not have enough such moves to choose from, particularly if they are genderless or have a small movepool. In the event that a Pokemon does not have enough egg moves to choose from, it starts with all the egg moves it has and then any spare egg move slots are filled with moves the Pokemon learns via move tutor in any generation. For example, Staryu only has access to three egg moves, so a newly-bought Staryu will start with the three egg moves it learns and two tutor moves of the player's choice from any generation. The same applies if the Pokemon does not have access to enough current generation TM/HM moves.

In the event that, even after tutor moves have been added, the Pokemon still has spare egg move or TM/HM move slots to fill, these are filled with event moves, and then if there are still egg move slots remaining, those can be filled with TM and HM moves from any generation. That is, of course, assuming the Pokemon actually has enough moves available to fill all the empty slots. Some Pokemon like Caterpie and Magikarp have such small movepools that not all slots can be filled.

Special Case Pokemon

There are some Pokemon in ASB that work a bit differently to what has been described above.

Unown

While most Pokemon can only have one Hidden Power and its Base Attack Power is always 6 and its energy cost is always 4, Unown starts with a Hidden Power of every type other than Normal and can set the Base Attack Power of each Hidden Power to any number between 4 and 7, with the energy cost of the attack being 2 less than the Base Attack Power. Additionally, unlike most Pokemon, Unown may change the strength of its Hidden Powers on the fly and each one has an additional effect as described below:
Code:
Hidden Power Type    Additional Effect
Bug                  Restores HP equal to 50% of the damage dealt
Dark                 Taunts the target for 6 actions
Dragon               Forces the target to switch out (or equivalent if Switch = KO)
Electric             30% chance of inflicting paralysis, targets all adjacent Pokemon
Fairy                20% chance of lowering Attack by 1 stage
Fighting             Calculates damage using Defense, 20% chance of lowering Defense by 1 stage
Fire                 30% chance of inflicting burn, targets all Pokemon except Unown
Flying               High critical hit chance, hits 3 adjacent opponents
Ghost                20% chance of lowering Special Defense by 1 stage
Grass                20% chance of inflicting sleep
Ground               20% chance of lowering Accuracy by 1 stage
Ice                  20% chance of inflicting freeze, hits 3 adjacent opponents
Poison               30% chance of inflicting bad poison
Psychic              20% chance of inflicting confusion
Rock                 20% chance of inflicting flinch, hits 3 adjacent opponents
Steel                20% chance of lowering Special Attack by 1 stage
Water                20% chance of lowering Speed by 1 stage, douses the target for 3 actions
Each Hidden Power counts as a separate attack for the purposes of moves like Disable, Torment and Imprison, and the consecutive use energy penalty. Unown is treated as having STAB on all Hidden Powers for the purposes of calculating energy cost, but only gets the STAB-based increase to Base Attack Power on Hidden Power Psychic.

Unown may use a combo of two different Hidden Powers. If it does, the Base Attack Power of the combo is calculated as though it were a same-move combo using the stronger Hidden Power's Base Attack Power, the energy cost of the combo is treated as though it were a different-move combo, and the energy cost reduction for STAB applies once to the whole combo if the combo is not Psychic-type or twice if it is Psychic-type. The type of the combo is the same as the type of the stronger Hidden Power, but since Unown can change the strength of its Hidden Powers at will, the owner of the Unown can always decide what type the combo should be. Finally, the additional effects of both Hidden Powers apply to the combo.

For example, a combo of Hidden Power Water 4 and Hidden Power Electric 7 will have a Base Attack Power of (7*2.25)=15.75, an energy cost of (2+5)*1.5-1=10.5, be Electric-type and will hit all adjacent Pokemon, dousing them all for 3 actions and having a 20% chance to lower their Speed and a 30% chance of paralyzing them. If it had been Hidden Power Psychic 7 instead of Hidden Power Electric 7, the combo would have the same Base Attack Power, but it would have cost only 9.5 energy, would only have hit one Pokemon and would have a 20% chance of confusing the target instead of a 30% chance of paralyzing the target.
Smeargle and Necturine/Necturna

Smeargle, Necturine and Necturna are Pokemon that have access to the move Sketch. Sketch may be used during a battle to temporarily copy the last move used by the target into the Pokemon's movepool. Doing this, however, overwrites that instance of Sketch from the Pokemon's movepool until the end of the battle. If Sketch tries to copy a move called by another move, such as a Flamethrower called by Sleep Talk, it will instead copy the move that did the calling - in this case, Sleep Talk. If Sketch tries to copy a move that is only available due to an arena effect or a move from an "AI"-controlled Pokemon such as an opponent in the Battle Hall, Sketch will fail.

At the end of the battle, if the Pokemon successfully copied any moves using Sketch, the owner chooses up to three Sketched moves to permanently replace that many overwritten instances of Sketch, while any additional Sketched moves are forgotten and those instances of Sketch are restored. Alternatively, a Pokemon may use Sketch outside of battle to permanently learn a move from one of its allies. This costs one instance of Sketch and 2 MC.

Smeargle starts with 17 instances of Sketch in its movepool and 26 MC. Because Sketch is a level-up move for Smeargle, it can buy new instances of Sketch for 1 MC apiece with no limit to the total number of instances of Sketch or Sketched moves in its movepool.

Necturine and Necturna learn Sketch as an egg move only, so they may only ever have one instance of Sketch or one Sketched move in their movepool at a time. Like all egg moves, a new Necturine may start with Sketch in its egg moves list or a Necturine or Necturna may purchase the move for 3 MC. If a Necturine or Necturna does not like the move it has Sketched, it can forfeit the Sketched move to relearn Sketch for 3 MC.

Shedinja

When a Nincada's EC hits 6, it evolves into Ninjask and the player gets a free Shedinja. The Shedinja starts with the same moves, nature and counters as the player's Nincada, but has its own typing, abilities and stats and gains its own moves and counters. For the purposes of determining what moves Shedinja can learn, treat it as if it evolves from Ninjask, but for all other purposes, it counts as evolving from Nincada.

If a Nincada evolves in the middle of a battle, it evolves into Ninjask and the player gets the Shedinja at the end of the battle.

Rotom

The standard Rotom may be purchased just like any other single-stage Pokemon. To obtain Rotom's different forms, the player must have access to the right appliance. If a Rotom is in a battle in an arena with the right appliance, it may use a command to possess an appliance for 8 energy and, upon doing so, transform into the appropriate new form. This transformation remains until the end of the battle and is retained even if Rotom switches out. However, if Rotom wishes to possess a different appliance, it must first use a command to leave its current one for 8 energy (reverting to its normal form in the process), and then possess the new appliance as previously described.

Alternatively, the player may purchase an appliance and bring it to the battle with them. In this case, Rotom may possess the purchased appliance immediately when it is sent out or possess it at some other point during the battle on command.

While possessing an appliance, Rotom's Ghost typing is replaced by the typing fitting the appliance and Rotom gains access to an appliance-specific move. Its other stats may change too.

Pokemon that do not get TMs or Egg Moves:

The Pokemon receives 3 MC for each Egg Move and 2MC for each TM it cannot access upon startup, nor replace with a Tutor Move. They may fill out their movepool with tutor moves, and will then have an MC amount leftover to be used.

The amounts:

Caterpie: Learns Two Unique Tutors: 9MC + 10MC = 19 MC
Weedle: Learns One Unique Tutor: 12MC + 10MC = 22 MC
Wurmple: Learns Two Unique Tutors: 9MC + 10MC = 19 MC
Kricketot: Learns Five Unique Tutors: 0MC + 10MC = 12 MC
Burmy: Learns Three Unique Tutors: 6MC + 10MC = 16 MC
Combee: Learns Eight Unique Tutors: 0MC + 4MC = 4 MC
Scatterbug: Learns Two Unique Egg Moves: 9MC + 10 MC = 19 MC
Magikarp: Learns Seven Unique Tutor/Event Moves: 0MC + 6 MC = 6 MC
Tynamo: Learns One Unique Tutor: 12MC + 10MC = 22 MC.
Beldum: Learns Five Unique Tutor/Event Moves: 0MC + 10MC = 10MC.​
Example Profiles

Here are two examples of Pokemon profiles. The first is an example of a brand new Minccino:

Minccino [Mona] (F)
Type: Normal

Abilities: Cute Charm / Technician / Skill Link (H)

Nature: Naive (+Speed, -Special Defence)

Stats:
HP: 90
Atk: Rank 2
Def: Rank 2
SpA: Rank 2
SpD: Rank 1 (-)
Spe: 87 (+) (Accuracy boost: 17%)
Size Class: 1
Weight Class: 1
Base Rank Total: 13

EC: 0/6
MC: 0
AC: 0/5

Attacks (19):

Level Up
Pound
Growl
Helping Hand
Tickle
DoubleSlap
Encore
Swift
Sing
Tail Slap

Egg
Aqua Tail
Endure
Flail
Iron Tail
Knock Off

TM/HM
Protect
Thunderbolt
Dig
U-turn
Substitute

Tutor:

Other

The second is a Rhydon that has clearly been in a few battles:

Rhydon [Clayton] (M)
Type: Ground/Rock

Abilities: Lightningrod / Rock Head / Reckless (UNLOCKED)

Nature: Careful (+Special Defence, -Special Attack)

Stats:
HP: 110
Atk: Rank 5
Def: Rank 5
SpA: Rank 1 (-)
SpD: Rank 3 (+)
Spe: 40
Size Class: 4
Weight Class: 5
Base Rank Total: 20

EC: 7/9
MC: 0
AC: 5/5

Attacks (27):

Level Up
Horn Attack
Stomp
Tail Whip
Fury Attack
Scary Face
Rock Blast
Earthquake
Drill Run
Stone Edge
Megahorn
Bulldoze
Hammer Arm

Egg
Counter
Magnitude
Pursuit
Crunch
Curse

TM/HM
Dig
Payback
Rock Slide
Protect
Smack Down
Payback

Tutor
Aqua Tail
Fire Punch
Ice Punch
ThunderPunch

Other

How do counters work?

The Evolution, Move and Ability Counters have been described further up in this post, but those aren't the only counters that are awarded at the end of battles. As the player, you will get Currency Counters or CC, and your Pokemon might earn KO Counters or KOC. The ref, meanwhile, will be awarded Universal Counters or UC. Of course, it's no good just saying what the counters are called, so here are the descriptions of those three kinds of counter:

Currency Counters (CC): These counters are used to purchase new Pokemon and items. New players begin with 6 CC to spend on Pokemon. Only completely unevolved Pokemon may be purchased at any time. The cost of a new Pokemon is typically 2 CC, although some particularly weak ones may only cost 1 CC, while ones that are fairly strong from the start may cost 3 or 4 CC.

Item costs can range from 2 CC for a batch of five of the same item to 20 CC for a batch of one. If an item can be purchased in a batch, you must buy that many of the item at once. So if an item's cost is 5 CC for a batch of five, you cannot choose to buy one of that item for 1 CC. Alternatively, for 4 CC, you can change one of your Pokemon's natures or you can exchange 8 CC for 1 UC (but not the other way around - see further down).

You may store any earned CC if you aren't sure about what to spend it on or if you wish to save up for something with a high CC cost.

KO Counters (KOC): These counters are earned when a Pokemon successfully knocks out one of its opponents. You can exchange 1 KOC for 1 CC, or you can use 1 KOC to increase the Pokemon's EC, MC or AC by 1. In some cases, KOC may be awarded for achieving a different goal, although this is limited to facilities like the Battle Hall and this practice is not adopted in most areas.

Most Pokemon will get 1 or 2 KOC in a battle, although there will almost certainly be at least one that doesn't get any. Pokemon getting 3 or more KOC in one battle is not something that happens often. If a Pokemon does earn multiple KOC in a battle, it may use each one as it wishes. For example, a Pokemon that earns 2 KOC may add both of them to its MC, or add one to its MC and the other to its EC.

If you're not sure how best to allocate a Pokemon's KOC, you may choose to leave them as KOC on the Pokemon to be used at a later date.

Universal Counters (UC): These counters are the most versatile counters in ASB. As described above, you can exchange 8 CC for 1 UC. If you wish to convert UC into CC though, then each UC will be converted into just 1 CC. 1 UC can also add 1 to the EC, MC or AC of any of your Pokemon. As with CC and KOC, you are not required to spend UC the instant you get them. Additionally, you can change your Pokemon's Hidden Power type for 2 UC.

How counters are awarded

CC are usually awarded to players for completing a battle, whether they win or lose. The amount of CC a player gets at the end of a battle usually ranges from 1 to 5, depending on the size and format of the battle, with larger battles and more complex formats resulting in more CC. There are ways to increase this such as Amulet Coin, Pay Day and using a maxed out Pokemon (see further down).

CC awards for battles

This first table is for battles between two players.
Code:
Battle size    Singles    Doubles    Triples    Larger
1v1            1          N/A        N/A        N/A
2v2            2          1          N/A        N/A
3v3            2          2          1          N/A
4v4            3          3          2          2
5v5            4          4          3          3
6v6            4          4          4          3
7v7            5          5          5          3
8v8            5          5          5          3
9v9            5          5          5          3
Larger         5          5          5          5
This second table is for battles between more than two players.
Code:
Total Pokemon in battle    CC award
7 or less                  2
8 - 14                     3
15 - 23                    4
24 or more                 5
EC, MC and AC are awarded at the end of a battle to all Pokemon that participated in that battle. Normally the Pokemon's EC increases by 1, its MC increases by 2 and its AC increases by 1. If a Pokemon's EC is full, its EC will not increase. The same applies to AC. In the event that a Pokemon's EC and AC are both full, its MC increases by an additional 1. For this purpose, a Pokemon that doesn't have an EC is treated as having a full EC, and the same applies to AC. Items like Lucky Egg and Exp. Share can be used to increase these counters even further.

When a Pokemon is knocked out, a KOC is given to the opponent that inflicted the final damage. If this is a direct attack, the attacker gets the KOC. If it is a status or field effect such as burn, hail, or Spikes, the Pokemon that set the effect is the one to get the KOC. If a Pokemon is in any way knocked out by damage the opponent did not inflict, the last opponent to damage it in any way, directly or indirectly, gets the KOC. A Pokemon never gets KOC for knocking itself or an ally out.

UC is typically awarded to referees for reffing a match once the match is over, and to approvers at a rate of 0.3 UC per for each prize claim checked, with each new player's profile and large prize claims may count as +0.5 UC. Occasionally, other significant services can also reward UC.

UC awards for reffing

Because most battles are 6v6 or smaller, here is a table for the UC payouts to refs of those battles:
Code:
Battle size    UC payout
1v1            3
2v2            6
3v3            10
4v4            15
5v5            21
6v6            28
The formula to determine how much UC the ref gets is:
(Pokemon per side + 1) * (Pokemon per side + 2) / 2​
Also, if the battle is longer than expected, the ref is rewarded bonus UC for the extra work. For this purpose, it is assumed that a match is supposed to last 3 rounds per pokemon facing each other. So a 1vs1 singles is supposed to last 3 rounds, a 2vs2 singles 6 rounds, a 2vs2 doubles 3 rounds, a 3vs3 triples 3 rounds, a 5vs5 triples 5 rounds and a 9vs9 brawl (or all brawls for that matter) 3 rounds. The ref gets 1 UC for each extra round reffed, regardless of format, as it pays out for time commitment.

If the match involves more than two players, then Pokemon per side is equal to the total number of Pokemon in the match divided by two (2), so a 1vs1vs1 is treated as a 1.5vs1.5 for example.

Refs can apply the formula [Number of Rounds]-(3*[Pokemon per team]/[Pokemon per side out]) [Round Normally] to calculate bonus UC for the commitment to a longer battle. For example, if the battle was a 3vs3 doubles and lasted for 7 rounds, we would have:

Number of Rounds=7
Pokemon per team = 3
Pokemon per side out = 2

Formula: 7-(3*3/2)= 2.5 bonus UC for the ref. Rounded to 3.​
The Formula for bonus UC can only be used to increase the reward, and not decrease. If the match happens to have lasted less than the expected, then you should consider yourself lucky.

For singles, doubles and triples battles between two players, the amount of UC the ref can get is capped at 100. For battles whose format is larger than triples or battles involving more than two players, this amount is capped at 50, and the total amount of pay docked from these larger formats is 2 UC per Pokémon in one side (for example, 12 UC is docked from a 6v6 Brawl for 16 UC total). This penalty is applied after the 50 UC cap and its maximum value is 18, so all brawls with 9 or more pokemon per side will pay 32 UC. This does not include the Bonus UC.

If a battle ends with one player being disqualified, the ref gets UC based on the formula above. Pokemon per side in this case equals half the total number of Pokemon sent out. If the resulting UC reward is not a whole number, round it down to the nearest whole number. The same line of thought applied for Bonus UC.

If the battle had to be subreffed at any point, each person who reffed the battle gets UC proportionate to how much of the battle they reffed. First, determine using the above formula the total UC to be distributed amongst the refs (applying the method for battles ending in disqualification if necessary), and then each ref gets UC equal to:

Total UC payout (Included Bonus UC) * (Rounds this ref reffed / Rounds in the entire battle)​
The person who reffed the last round rounds this result up to the nearest whole number. All other refs round their results down to the nearest whole number.

If a referee is subreffed at request of the battlers, the incoming subref will be entitled to full UC payment for the match and the original referee will not get any credit for the match. In cases where a referee either a) calls for their own subref or b) posts a temporary leave of absence necessitating a subref, they will then be entitled to compensation as per standard subref compensation rules.

Maxed out Pokemon CC bonus

Eventually you will have a Pokemon with a full EC, a full AC and all of its available moves in its movepool. At this point, if the Pokemon participates in battle, it doesn't benefit from an increase to EC, MC or AC, so instead using it allows the player to earn even more CC. The amount of CC earned from using such a Pokemon is equal to the number of moves in its movepool divided by 15, rounded down to the nearest whole number. Commands do not count towards this, nor do duplicate moves. Thus, Pokemon with a movepool containing less than 15 moves will not provide any CC bonus, Pokemon with 15-29 moves will provide 1 extra CC when they are used in battle, Pokemon with 30-44 moves will provide 2 bonus CC, and so on.

A Pokemon that knows all of its available moves but does not have both a full EC and a full AC is not eligible for this as it can still benefit from an increase to EC and/or AC. For this purpose, a Pokemon that doesn't have an EC is treated as having a full EC, and the same applies to AC.​
How to format a registration

Registration used to be done by making a single post in a large thread called the Registration Tower. Because the profiles eventually became too big, registration is now done by creating a new thread for your profile in the Registration and Prize Claiming subforum. The title of this thread should be "Profile:" followed by your username. For example, Profile: Coldclaw would be the thread title for the profile of the player Coldclaw.

The first post of this thread should look like this:
Code:
[B]Trainer Name:[/B] Name. This can be your username, your name in real life, or some fancy name like Trogdor the Burninator.
[B]Pokemon Team:[/B] The species of each of your Pokemon.
[B]W/L/T:[/B] Wins/Losses/Ties. This is optional.

[B]Currency Counters:[/B] Number of CC you currently have. You start with 6 to get your first two or three Pokemon with.
[B]Universal Counters:[/B] Number of UC you currently have. This will always start at 0.

[B]Current Battles:[/B]
A list of all the battles you are currently in, which will obviously be none when you start.
You can only be in up to three friendly matches at a time.

[B]Battle History:[/B]
A list of all the battles you have won, lost and tied in. You may arrange these however you like.

[B]Items:[/B]
A list of all the items you have. You start with 1 Lucky Egg, 1 Amulet Coin and 1 Exp. Share.
As you battle more and earn more counters, you can obtain even more items.
When this happens, you may want to separate items into categories like Berries, Other Consumables and Training Items.

[B]Key Items:[/B]
A list of special items like gym badges, raid glyphs and artifacts, and any other item that one does not simply purchase whenever they like.

[B]Prize Claims:[/B]
Links to all approved prize claims since the opening of the Registration and Prize Claiming forum.
All subsequent posts should contain nothing but the profiles of your Pokemon. To start with, you should put all of your Pokemon in one post, but as you get more and more, it is advised that you split your team over multiple posts. As a guideline, one post should contain no more than 15 Pokemon profiles, and it is not worth making a new post unless each of your other posts (besides the first post) has at least 8 Pokemon profiles.

How to format a claim on existing Pokemon

When claiming rewards from a battle, you must provide a link to the battle in question so that the approver knows you're not just making prizes up. Then you should state how many CC you get from the battle and how many CC you have in total as a result. You then do the same for the EC, MC and AC of each of your Pokemon that participated in that battle. If you wish for one of your Pokemon to learn new moves, this is the time to say so, and you should state how the Pokemon learns each move and then finish up by stating the MC the Pokemon has left.

If the Pokemon's AC is at 5/5, you may state that you wish to unlock its hidden ability. If you do not state this, it is assumed that you are leaving the ability locked.

If the Pokemon's EC is high enough for it to evolve, you may choose to evolve it at this point. When you do, you must post the entire profile of the Pokemon after it has had the evolution and any new moves or ability unlocks applied to it. Post the profile as if you were claiming it as a new Pokemon, except that the counters of the Pokemon will most likely be greater than 0, the Pokemon retains the nature and moves it had in its previous form and does not learn any new ones except those you have used MC to get and those that the evolved form learns at or below level 25 (and even then, only if it doesn't already know the move).

Example Claim

From this battle (note: link to battle should go here), I get 2 CC, bringing my total CC to 8.

Freddie the Croagunk gets:
  • +1 to EC, bringing EC to 4/6, then 1 KOC added to EC, bringing EC to 5/6
  • +2 to MC, bringing MC to 2, then learns Taunt as a current generation TM, bringing MC to 0
  • +1 to AC, bringing AC to 4/5

Jamie the Lairon gets:
  • +1 to EC, bringing EC to 5/9, then 1 KOC added to EC, bringing EC to 6/9
  • +2 to MC, bringing MC to 3, then learns Endeavor as an egg move, bringing MC to 0
  • +1 to AC, bringing AC to 5/5, then unlocks Heavy Metal

Suzy the Deino gets:
  • +1 to EC, bringing EC to 4/9, then evolves into Zweilous and learns Double Hit for free
  • +2 to MC, bringing MC to 2, then learns Dragon Pulse and Outrage as level-up moves, bringing MC to 0

Zweilous [Suzy] (F)

Types: Dragon / Dark

Abilities: Hustle

Nature: Lonely (+Atk, -Def)

Stats:
HP: 100
Atk: 4 (+)
Def: 2 (-)
SpA: 3
SpD: 3
Spe: 58
Size Class: 3
Weight Class: 3
Base Rank Total: 17

EC: 4/9
MC: 0
AC: N/A

Attacks (21):

Level Up
Tackle
Dragon Rage
Focus Energy
Bite
Headbutt
DragonBreath
Roar
Crunch
Double Hit
Dragon Pulse
Outrage

Egg
Assurance
Fire Fang
Head Smash
Ice Fang
Thunder Fang

TM/HM
Taunt
Torment
Protect
Thunder Wave
Substitute

Tutor

Other
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Stratos

Banned deucer.
FAQ / Obscure Rulings

Q: Is there an IRC channel for this game?
A: Yes. If you don't have an IRC client, use that link. If you do, the channel is called #capasb and it is on the SynIRC server. Either way, you would do well to get acquainted with it.

Q: Do Poison-types get the reduced energy cost on Toxic?
A: Yes. The reduced energy cost for getting STAB on a move applies to non-damaging moves as well as those that deal direct damage.

Q: Can I change my Pokemon's nickname/gender?
A: Yes, and doing so is completely free, although it must be done outside of battle. Also, if you change gender, the new gender must be one that the Pokemon can legally be (so no female Gallade or male Vespiquen for example).

Q: I regret spending my CC on this Pokemon/item. Can I sell it?
A: In the case of Pokemon, no. You can trade the Pokemon for something else, although try to ensure it's a fair trade and not something ludicrous like Weedle for Tyranitar. If you wish to sell an item, you will get back half the CC you spent to buy the item. Items that are bought in batches must be sold in equally-sized batches. If the total CC gained from selling items is not a whole number, round it down to the nearest whole number.

Q: Can I change my Pokemon's nickname/gender/nature even if it's one I got in a trade?
A: To all intents and purposes, a Pokemon you receive in a trade is your own Pokemon.

Q: So my Scizor used U-turn and I've sent in Carracosta. Since it's my turn to order first, can I initiate a switch phase and switch back to Scizor or to something else?
A: Yes. However, if any entry hazards are up on your side, both Carracosta and whatever you send in during the switch phase will be affected by them. Also, unless your opponent counterswitches, you still have to order first.

Q: How do Basculin's abilities work?
A: Basculin starts with Reckless, Rock Head and Adaptability and has Mold Breaker as a hidden ability, regardless of what color stripe the Basculin has.

Q: Can Chill be snatched?
A: Yes, but you will only gain 8 energy (12 regained for the Chill - 4 for the cost of Snatch) and this will count against your Chill limit, not your opponent's.

Q: If I use U-turn in a Switch = OK match while taunted, will the taunt effect go away like in Switch = KO matches?
A: No. In Switch = KO matches, using U-turn effectively means you switch out and back in again during your turn. In Switch = OK matches, any switch effects are delayed until the end of the round.

Q: I'm using a combo of Bite and Fire Fang, which both have a CT of Elemental. Normally Fire Fang has the higher BAP but my Pokemon's held item makes Bite have the higher BAP. What type is the combo?
A: When determining the type of a combo of two different moves, use the move's listed Base Attack Power, such as 6 or 10 + User Weight Class. Do not apply STAB, items, abilities or any other effects. So the combo of Bite + Fire Fang is always Fire-type.

Q: My Beedrill uses Pin Missile and rolls 5 hits, but that's before the Bug-type bonus applies. Does Pin Missile get 6 hits?
A: No. The number of hits is capped at 5. Beedrill's Pin Missile will hit 3-5 times instead of the usual 2-5.

Q: If my opponent uses Yawn on me and then I use Safeguard, will I still go to sleep?
A: Yes. If you wanted to prevent Yawn from putting you to sleep, you needed to use Safeguard or Substitute before Yawn was used. Furthermore, drowsiness from Yawn can only be cured by switching (or the equivalent in Switch = KO).

Q: I just beat someone in a 4v4 and I only used three of my Pokemon. Does the fourth one not get any prizes?
A: Even if a Pokemon is not actually used in battle, simply bringing it to the battle means it is eligible for prizes, although it will obviously not be able to get any KOC. The exception is if you brought three Pokemon to a 1v1 or 2v2, in which case only Pokemon that are actually used in battle can get prizes. However, if it is a 2v2 singles match and only one Pokemon out of three is used, you may choose which of the other two can get prizes.

Q: This Gliscor doesn't have any KO subs in its orders in this doubles match, but the Heracross it was targeting with all of its actions has already fainted. What happens?
A: The Gliscor continues attacking the fainted Heracross. If it is using single-target moves, then this will have no real effect on the battle short of draining Gliscor's energy, so don't bother calculating damage or anything. If any of its moves were multi-target moves, Heracross won't count as an available target for them, which may affect whether or not the BAP penalty for multi-target moves applies.

Q: My Magnezone uses Discharge against two opponents. One goes before Magnezone and the other goes after. How does Analytic work in this case?
A: The Discharge gets the Analytic boost against the Pokemon that goes before Magnezone, but not against the one that goes after.

Q: My Electrode uses a combo of Selfdestruct and Explosion. Does Aftermath's BAP boost apply to each move individually or to the whole combo?
A: It applies to the whole combo for a total BAP of 20+25+10=55. The energy cost increase also applies to the whole combo.

Q: What happens if I Encore a Pokemon on action 2 that used Protect on action 1 and I go before that Pokemon on action 2?
A: The Pokemon is forced to use Protect on actions 2 and 3. Since it successfully used Protect on action 1, the attempt on action 2 fails. Because that attempt fails, the one on action 3 succeeds. The Pokemon then cannot be affected by Encore on action 1 of the next round.

Q: If I use a combo and my opponent uses Protect to block it, do I still have to cool down?
A: Yes. You successfully performed the combo. It just didn't have the intended effect.

Q: If multiple Pokemon hit me with attacks on the action I use a move like Counter, who do I hit?
A: Moves like Counter deal damage to the last Pokemon to deal direct damage to the user. Unless the move was Bide, the damage dealt is based solely on that Pokemon's attack.

Q: If I have a Substitute up and I use Counter, how much damage do I deal to the opponent?
A: Unless they use a move that either bypasses the Substitute or breaks it and deals spillover damage, none whatsoever. In the latter scenario, the damage Counter deals is based on the spillover damage only.

Q: How do I calculate the effects of Moody on my Brave Octillery?
A: The effects of Octillery's usual nature and its Moody nature stack, so Brave + Moody Adamant will provide a total increase of 3 to Octillery's Attack rank, a decrease of 1 to its Special Attack Rank and its Speed will follow the rules for a regular Speed-lowering nature.

Q: I can only be in three battles at a time. Do facility matches, gym matches or tournament matches count towards this?
A: No. Only battles arranged in the Battle Tower count towards this limit.

Q: If I use Acrobatics but I'm holding a Flying Gem that hasn't been used yet, does the gem encumber me if I use it on that action?
A: No. Any item consumption is done before calculating the Base Attack Power of Acrobatics, so the item's remaining uses decreases by 1 and then Acrobatics' damage is calculated.

Q: Does Protect block Perish Song?
A: No. Protect won't save you. Evasive Agility won't save you. Dig won't save you. Unless you have the Soundproof ability, you will be affected by Perish Song. This is why Perish Song has -1 priority in ASB even though its priority in the cartridges is 0 - it allows opponents to use a move like Taunt before the Perish Song can be performed.

Q: So Mandibuzz has Weak Armor turned on, and it has Big Pecks. What happens if I use Ice Punch on it?
A: Mandibuzz will get the boost to Speed from Weak Armor, while Big Pecks prevents the Defense drop. It's why I recommend using Rock Slide instead.

Q: In the bit on combos involving damaging evasive moves, what does evade priority mean?
A: That's the priority of the part where the Pokemon burrows underground, dives underwater, flies or bounces up high, or fades from existence, depending on how the move causes the Pokemon to avoid incoming attacks.

Q: I sent my Ludicolo to the ref before its new moves got approved. Can I use the new moves?
A: No. What you send to the ref is what you battle with.

Q: If I use Endure, does that mean I can freely use moves that say they fail unless I have enough energy, even if I don't have enough energy?
A: No. Endure does not mean you have an infinite amount of energy.

Q: If I want to send out Zoroark, how does its Illusion ability work?
A: You state in the battle that you are sending out a different Pokemon (the one you want Zoroark to disguise itself as) but you privately send a message to the ref stating that you are actually using Zoroark. When you order, you order using Zoroark's moves, type, stats, abilities and item, although if you order a Zoroark disguised as a Mandibuzz to use a move Mandibuzz does not know, the jig is probably up. If you're ordering second and Zoroark is going to take damage anyway, the jig will be up by the end of the round either way.

Q: So, I have Light Screen active for 2 actions now. Can I use Light Screen again to increase that back to 6 actions?
A: No. Statuses such as Light Screen and Reflect in ASB cannot be reset whilst they are still active. The only exception to this is Paralysis, which can be moved to a higher level (Such as Paralysis [5%] having a Thunderbolt Roll Paralysis, which would increase it to Paralysis [15%])

Q: I want to max a Pokemon's movepool, is there any easy way to see what moves I'm missing?
A: First of all, you'll want to go to Veekun, onto this page. At the bottom, under "Pokemon", plug in the Pokemon who you want to max, as well as any pre-evolutions that Pokemon has. Then, change Display to "Custom List", and click search. This will give 99% of the moves you need - you'll then want to take a trip to the NDA to check for any Event, Anime, and Manga moves you may lack. Once you've got this listed, go to this website, place your Pokemon's movepool in list 1, and the full movepool in list 2. Click "Compare Lists", and your remaining moves will appear in the column "2 Only". Note that Hidden Power may be erroneously listed, owing to the fact that your Pokemon's movepool doesn't ever include "Hidden Power", instead it contains "Hidden Power ###" or similar.
 
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Appendix 1: Type Chart

To use the type chart, find the row that corresponds to the attack's type, then find the column pertaining to the target Pokemon's type, and then see which symbol (if any) appears in the square where the relevant row and column intersect:
  • A blank means that attack type is neutral against that target type
  • A sword means that attack type is super effective against that target type
  • A shield means that attack type is not very effective against that target type
  • A cross means that attack type is completely ineffective against that target type
If the target Pokemon has two types, repeat the process for each of its types, combining the results of each type interaction. Thus two swords equates to doubly super effective, two shields equates to doubly not very effective, a sword and a shield cancel each other out for neutral damage, etc. If one target type is immune to the attack, the result of the other target type does not matter.

If, for some reason, an attack has the ability to bypass a type immunity, such as a Normal-type attack being used on a Ghost-type Pokemon that has been hit by Foresight, simply treat the relevant type immunity as a neutrality when determining the effectiveness of the attack.

 
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