Sword & Shield Battle Mechanics Research

[doipy hooves]

What will happen if a max move hits Cursed Body? Thought of this since Gen 7 "disables" the Z-move.

Can you change forme while Dynamaxed? (Cherrim?)

Can you Dynamax/Gigantamax after Transforming/Imposting into a basic Pokemon?

What separates a Pokemon with the "Gigantamax Factor" from one without? (Separate forme or a bit in the data?)

Does the Stick affect Sirfetch'd?

 

[Rarycaris]

Does Dynamax Cannon also hit for double damage against Gigantamax and Eternamax Pokemon?

 

[SadisticMystic]

No Retreat (Falinks signature move): Since Gourgeist is in the game, we still have access to Trick-or-Treat. Does hitting Falinks with that after it used No Retreat still allow it to switch, the same way it does for Ingrain users?
Is the move repeatable for even more stat boosts, or does it make a check and fail if you're already "ingrained"?

"Ignore redirection" effects (the new Snipe Shot move and Stalwart ability): If the opponent used Ally Switch, do you get thwarted by that, or do you still hit the intended target even if it's in the other slot now?
If your teammate was faster and KO'd the target first, do you also ignore the automatic redirection from targeting what's now an empty slot?

 

[Rarycaris]

If your teammate was faster and KO'd the target first, do you also ignore the automatic redirection from targeting what's now an empty slot?

I doubt it. It stops redirection from moves and abilities -- the empty slot redirection is a game rule.

 

[Sectonia]

Probably a question worth asking: Does Sheer Force stop max move effects?

 

[drampa's grandpa]

Does No Retreat prevent phazing, or only manual switching?
Would No Retreat prevent a switch cause by an item such as Eject Button or Red Card?

Can Pokemon be hacked into local battles? AKA can BH be defined in the way it currently is?

Are Dynamaxxed or Gigantamaxxed formes usable within local battles without undergoing the usual process?
Can the Dynamax / Gigantmax moves be hacked into a moveset? If so are they similar to typed Z moves which are 1 BP, or otherwise?
What is the EV limit when hacked in local battles?
(If Pokemon cannot be hacked into local battles, replace that with whatever equivalent can be used for BH)

Does Eternatus' signature move, which doubles in BP against dynamaxxed Pokemon, gain the boost against Pokemon that were hacked in in that forme, assuming they can be, or only against Pokemon that were maxxed in battle? The same for the other moves with the same effect.

Do unobtainable Pokemon exist in the code? If so, is it all of them? If not which ones?
Do megas exist in the code? (I doubt it but still). Same question with Z moves / Crystals.
Do moves no Pokemon can get in-game exist in the code? Is it all of them? If not, which ones?
Do abilities no Pokemon can get exist in the code? If so is it all of them? If not, which ones?
Do Arceus' plates / unobtainable items exist in the code?
Which, if any, new abilities are hard-coded to the Pokemon the originated on?

^all of these except the first two are specifically relevant to Balanced Hackmons

 

[doipy hooves]

What moves can Metronome not call in Gen 8? I expect the usual weird targets and signature moves but moves removed could be interesting. ANSWERED(?) Flag 18 in that move data spreadsheet may be the answer?

If Dragon Darts is used when Follow Me is active, will it hit the target twice or attack both Pokemon?

Does Stalwart ignore all the effects of a redirection ability, or just the redirection? Can electric moves be used to hit a Lightningrod Pokemon? Likely just redirection but wondering about the wording just in case ("Ignore the effects of opposing Pokémon's Abilities and moves that draw in moves.")

Do Max moves and regular moves in the same slot count as the same move for Torment/Metronome (item) purposes?

When does the penguin's Ice Face restore itself/change forme in hail? (Every turn? Before damage/hail ending or after?) I assume this ability is like Disguise, where the penguin's default form is the icecube. ANSWERED: When hail goes up, right about.

Can Cramorant be edited to start battle in Gulping Form without issue (reverting to base?)? Does Gulping Form stay after battle if unused? Can Gulp Missile retaliate against ally attacks? How will Gulp Missile act against a Future Sight? When using Dive, will Cramorant change forme in the invulnerable turn or after a hit? If Surf/Dive fail/miss/get Storm Drained, will Cramorant still change to Gulping Form? Does Gulping Form have any effects without the Gulp Missile ability? Will a Gulp Missile be fired if the target is fainted (thru Explosion?) Can Gulp Missile fire when asleep/frozen/paralyzed? Can you have 2 Cramorants in a double battle both firing Gulp Missiles at a single target using a spread move? Will the scenario be different if Dragon Darts is used? ANSWERED: Dive changes when invulnerable.

-EDIT: Can you Gulp Missile when hit mid Dive (No Guard/Surf) or when invulnerable/locked in general? Does it affect/Will the animation still play if the enemy has Magic Guard?

Will Forewarn warn of Max Moves or the base moves?

What are the HP %s that the Dynamax levels will boost by? ANSWERED: A maximum of x2.

Can Ditto holding a Rusted Sword gain the complete form of the legendary/Does Transform let you change formes?

Can technical records be held, and if so can it be flung/knocked off/manipulated?

 

[Yung Dramps]

What happens to Shedinja's HP stat when it Dynamaxes? Does it go up to 2 HP at Level 10? At other levels does the HP boost get rounded up or down?

 

[urkerab]

What happens if a Pokémon with Clear Body/White Smoke/other relevant stat-preserving Ability tries to lower the stats of a Pokémon with Mirror Armo(u)r?

 

[CTNC]

If Eiscue has a Substitute up and is hit by a Psychical Move, does Ice Face or the Substitute break?

 

[SadisticMystic]

What happens if a Pokémon with Clear Body/White Smoke/other relevant stat-preserving Ability tries to lower the stats of a Pokémon with Mirror Armo(u)r?

Building on this, if Intimidate Arcanine leads against Mirror Armor Corviknight and both are holding Adrenaline Orbs, who all gets a speed boost?

 

[Rarycaris]

If a Pokemon has a substitute up and Dynamaxes, will Dynamax Cannon and Behemoth Bash hit the substitute for double damage?

 

[Count Bleck]

What happens when Topsy Turvy is used on a pokemon with White Smoke or Mirror Armor? Does Ripen affect all berries on the field or just the user?

 

[Rarycaris]

What happens when Topsy Turvy is used on a pokemon with White Smoke or Mirror Armor? Does Ripen affect all berries on the field or just the user?

It doesn't count as lowering stats, so White Smoke at least is completely ignored.

 

[HoeenHero]

Is Ice face like a built-in substitute or like disguise but only blocks phsyical moves?
How is Ice Face regenerated by hail (when hail starts? End of a turn with hail up?)
- If its a sub, maybe it heals HP to the sub?
- If not when is it re-added?

Will gulp missile trigger on self inflicted damage? (Probably not but good to check)

If a pokemon that's already poisoned gains the Pastel Veil ability, will it cure its posion?
The above question, but assume its the pokemon that got pastel veil's ally that is poisoned. Are they cured, or do they need to swap out and back in first?

 

[Pyritie]

Do the pinch berries (figy etc) still work the same as they did in gen 7? Nope, they heal 33% now instead of 50%

Does dynamaxing affecting HP affect when berries are eaten? Does the 50%/25% trigger use the dynamaxed HP or the "normal" HP?

Ripen questions:
Does a pokemon holding a super-effective-move-reducing berry (occa etc) reduce incoming move damage twice, down to 1/4?
If it eats a pinch berry (figy etc) does it recover 66%? (33% + 33%?)
If it eats a stat boosting berry (liechi etc), does the stat boost double from 1 stage to 2?
If it eats a starf berry (which sharply boosts a random stat normally), does it gain +4 to one stat or +2 to two stats?
If it eats a leppa berry does it restore 20 PP to that move?
If it eats a jaboca/rowap berry (if the holder gets attacked, the attacker takes 1/8 damage), does the attacker take 1/4 damage?
If it eats a kee/maranga berry, is the stat boost two stages instead?
If it eats a lansat berry (raises crit hit ratio by +2, to 50% crit rate), does it raise it to its maximum (+3 and above are 100%) instead?
Do the EV reducing berries (pomeg etc) have their effect doubled, reducing EVs by 20 instead and doubling friendship gained?

 

[Rarycaris]

Does dynamaxing affecting HP affect when berries are eaten? Does the 50%/25% trigger use the dynamaxed HP or the "normal" HP?

I assume it makes no difference -- Dynamax preserves percentage of HP when you activate it. It doesn't work like, say, Complete Zygarde. If you have 25% of your normal max when you Dynmax, you'll have 25% of your Dynamax max afterwards.

 

[Pyritie]

I assume it makes no difference -- Dynamax preserves percentage of HP when you activate it. It doesn't work like, say, Complete Zygarde. If you have 25% of your normal max when you Dynmax, you'll have 25% of your Dynamax max afterwards.

Yeah, but 75/200 of your HP jumps to 150/400 -- would a pinch berry trigger at 100 or 50 HP?

 

[HoeenHero]

Do the pinch berries (figy etc) still work the same as they did in gen 7?

Building on this, if a pokemon's nature effects are changed by a mint, will pinch berries confuse for the original nature or the mint's nature?

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Building on this, if a pokemon's nature effects are changed by a mint, will pinch berries confuse for the original nature or the mint's nature?

If it's based on the original nature, then Showdown would need to be changed to reflect this. Currently, Figy and Wiki are optimal to mess with item stealing, since most Pokemon have either a -Att or -SpA nature. But if natures and stat boosts are unlinked, then berry choice is arbitrary.

 

[HoeenHero]

If it's based on the original nature, then Showdown would need to be changed to reflect this. Currently, Figy and Wiki are optimal to mess with item stealing, since most Pokemon have either a -Att or -SpA nature. But if natures and stat boosts are unlinked, then berry choice is arbitrary.

Can you specify what exactly needs to be changed here? Recommendations of items?

 

[SadisticMystic]

If confusion is based on the original printed nature, then you get a tiny edge by running masked neutral natures on absolutely everything, so you can't get confused by Trick or Fling no matter which type of berry they try to pick. This assumes those berries even remain in the game with the same function 7->8; it's possible that they overhaul them back to their pre-7 state of irrelevance, or remove all five of them, or at least remove four and leave one of them as a placeholder that doesn't cause confusion to anything.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Can you specify what exactly needs to be changed here? Recommendations of items?

Oh, right. Forgot to mention that part.

I think all that needs to be done is decouple the + and - in the EV boxes from the nature, sort of like how IVs and Hidden Power type were decoupled at the start of Gen 7. Except this time, no further work needs to be done, since we already have a box to manually select the nature.

 

[Rarycaris]

then you get a tiny edge by running masked neutral natures on absolutely everything

I never imagined a day when neutral natures were the optimised Synchronise choice and Hardy 6IV Dittos were in high demand.

 

[DHR-107]

Does Charizard's Gmax Move get blocked by Magic Guard?

Can Falinks be forced out by Whirlwind/Roar after using No Retreat?

Can an opposing Pokemon force Grapploct out after it has used Octolock?