Approved by goldmason
In Showdown’s Generation 3, and no other generation, the effects of the ability Pressure do not display accurately when spectating a game or watching a replay. For example, if Swampert clicks earthquake against Suicune, both of the players can see that earthquake has been deducted 2 pp, but spectators will only see 1 pp deducted. This is purportedly done because unlike in later generations, Pressure does not announce itself in game, therefore, it is argued, it is impossible for a spectator to know whether it is active or not.
In this post I will make the case that this implementation is fundamentally console inaccurate, irrelevant the vast majority of the time, and makes the quality of commentated ADV matches with Pressure considerably worse.
1. Console Accuracy
Smogon ADV OU is based on GBA to GBA link battles, specifically Emerald version. It is not based on Colosseum or XD, where Sleep Talk operates without its glitched GBA mechanics, where the exact hp stats of both Pokemon are visible to both players, and where team preview is present.
Why does this matter here?
In order to spectate a GBA to GBA link battle on console, which is what we simulate, a viewer *must* be looking at one of the two players’ GBA screens. There is no other officially supported way to spectate a game on console. As this is the case, a spectator will *always* be able to see if Pressure has deducted two pp. If we were simulating XD or Colosseum, where a spectator could be watching the television screen instead of one of the players’ GBAs, that would be one thing, but that is not the basis for Showdown ADV!
There is only one hypothetical on-console situation in which a spectator couldn’t see the effects of Pressure: if the spectator is exclusively watching the GBA of the player using the Pressure mon, i.e. not the player under the effects of Pressure. Since a spectator can always switch between both players’ perspectives (and could easily do so on console as well, revealing the information), this is, in my opinion, not worth emulating. However, in this case, we discover another inaccuracy: on console, there is no way whatsoever for a player to look at their opponent’s remaining pp, in any situation. The ability to see both players’ pp is a core feature of Showdown in all generations. I personally love this feature, as it is a great quality of life improvement and typically leads to more deliberate, thoughtful play. Displaying HP bars with percentages functions similarly, and is good for similar reasons. If we are willing to make fundamental exceptions to what the players can see, why are we bending over backwards to obscure something for spectators, something that an on console spectator would always be able to know?
2. When are the effects of Pressure ambiguous?
Out of the nine Pokemon who can have Pressure as an ability, only one has the option to run an ability that is not Pressure: Aerodactyl. As Rock Head is mandatory on its most common set, Choice Band, Pressure is not a factor in most games where Aero is used.
Here are the high ladder usage stats for January 2025:
And here are the low ladder stats for that same period:
We can see that at all skill levels, Pressure Aerodactyl is quite rare. As the damage calc will always reveal whether Aero is CB or not, this information becomes immediately apparent to players and spectators alike the first turn Aero clicks a move. Sub Liechi 3A, the second most common set, will sometimes drop Double Edge in favor of Hidden Power, but on those sets, Aero can only substitute 3-4 times, making it unlikely that PP stalling will come into play to a significant degree. HClat’s Geneva Convention is, to my knowledge, the only noteworthy team ever used in high level tournament that has made effective use of an Aero set that directly aims to pp stall the opponent (Leftovers Slide/EQ/Sub/Tect).
As it stands, the current implementation exists only to camouflage one Pokemon’s ability, on less than 10% of that Pokemon, and only for spectators. With the other 8 Pressure mons, Pressure will always be in effect every time these Pokemon hit the field. This means that in the overwhelming majority of cases where Pressure is present, the UI is misleading spectators for no reason.
3. Who does the current implementation hurt?
The current implementation (not displaying the effects of Pressure, even when a Pokemon has no other possible ability) is a nuisance for all spectators of ADV games, but is a nightmare for commentators.
I feel qualified to speak on this as I have done ADV commentary for Callous Invitational, Revival Tournaments, Replay of the Week and other significant tournaments. These matches are typically commentated as replays, at normal speed, without pausing (the Youtube commenters HATE when we pause, so it is discouraged). This means that the commentator is expected to rapidly track every time an attack or field move (e.g. rain dance) is clicked against, or not against, a Pressure Pokemon, across 6 different Pokemon and 24 moves; 12 Pokemon and 48 moves if there is a Pressure mon on both sides of the field. This is an unreasonable mental burden for commentators to have to shoulder, and attempting to do so (believe me, I’ve seriously considered it) would result in drastically worse commentary, as the amount of things a commentator has to keep track of and speak on in a game is already extremely high. The current implementation results in clumsy, ambiguous commentary in every mid or endgame where Pressure is present, as the commentator has to more or less guess at the resources both players are carefully and deliberately playing around, and cannot pause to go back and check manually. This leads to longer games being even less engaging for spectators, as resource management is often one of the most exciting elements of long games, and due to the current console inaccurate implementation, commentators straight up cannot talk about them accurately much of the time. This is a very common problem and came up in the most recent set I commentated! I found myself guessing and loosely speculating instead of accurately tracking how both players were managing their resources in a tight Pressure endgame, which was a complete waste of everyone’s time instead of a learning experience.
I know that spectators are generally an afterthought, but this issue only affects the viewers, and would not negatively impact the players in any way. It’s been like this for a long time, but please consider displaying Pressure console accurately for spectators and in replays. Thank you for reading.
Note: please read the post directly after this one for goldmason's thoughts, as they are relevant to implementation of this PR.
In Showdown’s Generation 3, and no other generation, the effects of the ability Pressure do not display accurately when spectating a game or watching a replay. For example, if Swampert clicks earthquake against Suicune, both of the players can see that earthquake has been deducted 2 pp, but spectators will only see 1 pp deducted. This is purportedly done because unlike in later generations, Pressure does not announce itself in game, therefore, it is argued, it is impossible for a spectator to know whether it is active or not.
In this post I will make the case that this implementation is fundamentally console inaccurate, irrelevant the vast majority of the time, and makes the quality of commentated ADV matches with Pressure considerably worse.
1. Console Accuracy
Smogon ADV OU is based on GBA to GBA link battles, specifically Emerald version. It is not based on Colosseum or XD, where Sleep Talk operates without its glitched GBA mechanics, where the exact hp stats of both Pokemon are visible to both players, and where team preview is present.
Why does this matter here?
In order to spectate a GBA to GBA link battle on console, which is what we simulate, a viewer *must* be looking at one of the two players’ GBA screens. There is no other officially supported way to spectate a game on console. As this is the case, a spectator will *always* be able to see if Pressure has deducted two pp. If we were simulating XD or Colosseum, where a spectator could be watching the television screen instead of one of the players’ GBAs, that would be one thing, but that is not the basis for Showdown ADV!
There is only one hypothetical on-console situation in which a spectator couldn’t see the effects of Pressure: if the spectator is exclusively watching the GBA of the player using the Pressure mon, i.e. not the player under the effects of Pressure. Since a spectator can always switch between both players’ perspectives (and could easily do so on console as well, revealing the information), this is, in my opinion, not worth emulating. However, in this case, we discover another inaccuracy: on console, there is no way whatsoever for a player to look at their opponent’s remaining pp, in any situation. The ability to see both players’ pp is a core feature of Showdown in all generations. I personally love this feature, as it is a great quality of life improvement and typically leads to more deliberate, thoughtful play. Displaying HP bars with percentages functions similarly, and is good for similar reasons. If we are willing to make fundamental exceptions to what the players can see, why are we bending over backwards to obscure something for spectators, something that an on console spectator would always be able to know?
2. When are the effects of Pressure ambiguous?
Out of the nine Pokemon who can have Pressure as an ability, only one has the option to run an ability that is not Pressure: Aerodactyl. As Rock Head is mandatory on its most common set, Choice Band, Pressure is not a factor in most games where Aero is used.
Here are the high ladder usage stats for January 2025:
And here are the low ladder stats for that same period:
We can see that at all skill levels, Pressure Aerodactyl is quite rare. As the damage calc will always reveal whether Aero is CB or not, this information becomes immediately apparent to players and spectators alike the first turn Aero clicks a move. Sub Liechi 3A, the second most common set, will sometimes drop Double Edge in favor of Hidden Power, but on those sets, Aero can only substitute 3-4 times, making it unlikely that PP stalling will come into play to a significant degree. HClat’s Geneva Convention is, to my knowledge, the only noteworthy team ever used in high level tournament that has made effective use of an Aero set that directly aims to pp stall the opponent (Leftovers Slide/EQ/Sub/Tect).
As it stands, the current implementation exists only to camouflage one Pokemon’s ability, on less than 10% of that Pokemon, and only for spectators. With the other 8 Pressure mons, Pressure will always be in effect every time these Pokemon hit the field. This means that in the overwhelming majority of cases where Pressure is present, the UI is misleading spectators for no reason.
3. Who does the current implementation hurt?
The current implementation (not displaying the effects of Pressure, even when a Pokemon has no other possible ability) is a nuisance for all spectators of ADV games, but is a nightmare for commentators.
I feel qualified to speak on this as I have done ADV commentary for Callous Invitational, Revival Tournaments, Replay of the Week and other significant tournaments. These matches are typically commentated as replays, at normal speed, without pausing (the Youtube commenters HATE when we pause, so it is discouraged). This means that the commentator is expected to rapidly track every time an attack or field move (e.g. rain dance) is clicked against, or not against, a Pressure Pokemon, across 6 different Pokemon and 24 moves; 12 Pokemon and 48 moves if there is a Pressure mon on both sides of the field. This is an unreasonable mental burden for commentators to have to shoulder, and attempting to do so (believe me, I’ve seriously considered it) would result in drastically worse commentary, as the amount of things a commentator has to keep track of and speak on in a game is already extremely high. The current implementation results in clumsy, ambiguous commentary in every mid or endgame where Pressure is present, as the commentator has to more or less guess at the resources both players are carefully and deliberately playing around, and cannot pause to go back and check manually. This leads to longer games being even less engaging for spectators, as resource management is often one of the most exciting elements of long games, and due to the current console inaccurate implementation, commentators straight up cannot talk about them accurately much of the time. This is a very common problem and came up in the most recent set I commentated! I found myself guessing and loosely speculating instead of accurately tracking how both players were managing their resources in a tight Pressure endgame, which was a complete waste of everyone’s time instead of a learning experience.
I know that spectators are generally an afterthought, but this issue only affects the viewers, and would not negatively impact the players in any way. It’s been like this for a long time, but please consider displaying Pressure console accurately for spectators and in replays. Thank you for reading.
Note: please read the post directly after this one for goldmason's thoughts, as they are relevant to implementation of this PR.
