Environment Change!

Approved by The Eevee General

Hi Everybody!
I had an idea for a new metagame to implement in Showdown, that's...

Environment Change!
In this metagame, each match takes place in a different environment (just like during the in-game adventure) and the environment influences moves, weather and Pokemons. The environment is chosen randomly before the match, and it remains the same until the end.
I considered the method of the Plates (or items in general) to summon environments, and I thought about how they would work. They can work in two ways:
1) Each time a Pokemon with a Plate (or with an item that summons an environment) is sent out, the momentaneous environment changes in base of the item he has. So environments would change continuously.
2) The environments is chosen at the beginning of a match by the item the first Pokemon sent out has, and stays the same for the entire match. So environments would be chosen at the beginning of the match and they would be permanent.

There are problems with both of this "environment-summoning" methods by using Plates (or items in general):
1) In this way, if a player summons an environment with a Plate (or another item given to the Pokemon), environments would work just like weather, the only difference would be that weather conditions are summoned by abilities or moves (even if they last 5-8 turns), environments would be summoned by items and they would work as Delta Stream, Primordial Sea and Desolate Land, or like Drought, Drizzle, Sand Stream and Snow Warning in 3,4,5 generations, so this metagame would turn into something that, first of all, does already exists (link), second, it wouldn't be what I want it to be*, third, it would be surreal because I cannot teleport from place to place while I'm battling just using a Plate.
2) An environment (as you said) can make a player win just because he has the right team to fight in that environment, so if one player chooses the environment at the beginning of a match by using a Plate, and he has the right team, he would certainly win, wouldn't he? In addition which player would be the one who chooses the environment of the match?

*the main aim of this metagame is to bring in battling something from the Pokemon games' adventures (in particular, I had this idea while playing Pokemon AS, in Route 120, where it always rain), and to change the metagame making it more difficult, and even more fun and interesting.
Here are some examples (environments may be balanced during the discussion phase):
- Rose Field: Grounded Pokémon recover 1/16th of their HP each turn. All Pokémon have their Evasion decreased by 1 stage; if any Pokémon uses the move Defog, the Evasion nerf goes away for the rest of the battle. The move Tailwind also removes the Evasion nerf for the user's side while it is in effect. Synthesis restores 75% of HP and Ingrain and Leech Seed have their effects doubled. Grass-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Energy Ball, Secret Power has the animation of Vine Whip and may inflict Sleep, and Camouflage makes the user Grass-type.

- Volcano: Grounded Pokémon become Burned at the end of each turn. Moves with a Burn chance have their secondary effect rate doubled. Fire-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Lava Plume, Secret Power has the animation of Ember and may inflict Burn, and Camouflage makes the user Fire-type.

- Sea: Grounded Pokémon cannot be Burned. Water-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Hydro Pump, Secret Power has the animation of Water Gun and may lower Attack by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Water-type.

- Dark Cave: All Pokémon have their Accuracy and Evasion decreased by 1 stage, except for Dark-type Pokémon, Bat-like Pokémon (Zubat, Golbat, Crobat, Woobat, Swoobat, Noibat, Noivern), and Pokémon with the ability Keen Eye; if a Pokémon uses Flash or a Pokémon with the ability Illuminate enters the field, the Evasion and Accuracy modifiers are removed for the rest of the battle. Rock-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Power Gem, Secret Power has the animation of Rock Throw and may cause flinching, and Camouflage makes the user Rock-type.

- Power Plant: Steel- and Electric-type Pokémon have the effect of Motor Drive in addition to their regular ability. Electric-type moves acquire a 20% Paralysis chance; if they already had a Paralysis chance, it increases by 20% (so Discharge has a 50% Paralysis chance instead of 30%, for example). Electric-type moves can hit Ground-types. Nature Power becomes Discharge, Secret Power has the animation of Shock Wave and may cause Paralysis (50% chance instead of 30%), and Camouflage makes the user Electric-type.

- Swamp: Every grounded Pokémon has its Speed decreased by 1 stage, except for Poison and Water-type Pokémon. Water-type moves become Poison-type, but Water-type Pokémon still have STAB on them. Poison-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Sludge Wave, Secret Power has the animation of Sludge and may inflict Poison, and Camouflage makes the user Poison-type.

- Windy Canyon: Tailwind lasts for 7 turns instead of 4. Hazards and Light Screen/Reflect are removed as if by Defog at the end of each turn. Flying-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Air Slash, Secret Power has the animation of Gust and may lower Evasion, and Camouflage makes the user Flying-type.

- Thunderstorm: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Rain for the entire match. Flying-type Pokémon lose 1/8 of their HP each turn. Nature Power becomes Thunderbolt, Secret Power has the animation of Hurricane and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Electric-type.

- Dry Plateau: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Harsh Sunlight (the kind summoned by Sunny Day or Drought, not Desolate Land) for the entire match. Ground-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Earth Power, Secret Power has the animation of Mud Slap and Camouflage makes the user Ground-type.

- Desert: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Sandstorm for the entire match. Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-type Pokémon on the ground recover 1/16th of their HP each turn. Ground-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Earth Power, Secret Power has the animation of Mud Bomb and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Ground-type.

- Cursed Mansion: All Pokémon have the effect of Cursed Body in addition to their regular ability. All Pokémon excluding Rattata, Raticate, Ghost-types, and Dark-types have their Accuracy and Evasion lowered by 1 stage. Ghost-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their priority increased by 1. Sleeping Pokémon are tormented as if by Bad Dreams. Nature Power becomes Shadow Ball, Secret Power has the animation of Ominous Wind and may inflict Curse, and Camouflage makes the user Ghost-type.

- Reflection Cave: Magic Coat's effects are always active. Psychic-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Psychic-type moves ignore Reflect and Light Screen, and can hit Dark-types. All Physical and Special moves have their priority set to 0. Nature Power becomes Extrasensory, Secret Power has the animation of Psybeam and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Psychic-type.

- Dojo: All Pokémon have the effects of Sturdy and Scrappy in addition to their regular ability. Fighting-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Aura Sphere, Secret Power has the animation of Focus Punch and may inflict Confusion, and Camouflage makes the user Fighting-type.

- Mountain Peak: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Hail for the entire match. Ice-type Pokemon have their Defense and Special Defense increased by 1 stage and have the effect of Filter in addition to their regular ability. Ice-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Freeze-Dry, Secret Power has the animation of Powder Snow and may inflict Freeze, and Camouflage makes the user Ice-type.

- Iron Cave: Grounded Rock-type and Steel-type Pokémon have the effect of Filter in addition to their regular ability. Steel-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Flash Cannon, Secret Power has the animation of Metal Claw, and Camouflage makes the user Steel-type.

- City: All Pokémon have the effect of Pickpocket in addition to their regular ability, and grounded Pokémon have the effect of Pickup in addition to their regular ability as well. Normal-type moves' power is increased by 70%, and Normal-type moves can hit Ghost-types. Nature Power becomes Tri Attack, Secret Power has the animation of Tackle and may inflict Paralysis, and Camouflage makes the user Normal-type.

- Newmoon Night: All Pokémon have the effect of Prankster in addition to their regular ability. Dark-type Pokémon ignore accuracy checks on all of their moves; this effect ends for the rest of the match if a non-Dark-type Pokémon uses Flash, or a Pokémon with the ability Illuminate enters the field. Dark-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. The move Moonlight, Morning Sun, Sunny Day, and Lunar Dance always fail, and Moonblast has its power halved. Nature Power becomes Dark Pulse, Secret Power has the animation of Sucker Punch and may lower Defense by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Dark-type.

- Fairy Woods: Fairy-type Pokémon have the effect of Filter in addition to their regular ability. Grounded Pokémon cannot be afflicted by non-volatile status conditions. Fairy-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Dragon-type moves' power is decreased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Moonblast, Secret Power has the animation of Fairy Wind and may lower Special Attack by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Fairy-type.

- Dragon Cave: All Pokémon have the effect of Mold Breaker in addition to their regular ability. Dragon-type moves have perfect accuracy and can hit Fairy-type Pokémon. Nature Power becomes Dragon Pulse, Secret Power has the animation of Dragon Rage and may cause flinching, and Camouflage makes the user Dragon-type.

How Environment is chosen:
Before either team is shown, both players make a blind pick for which environment their team would personally prefer for the sake of Gentleman's Clause. If they match, that's that. Then at team preview, both players ban a number of environments (say, 2 or 3, maybe more) that they would rather not deal with, and then it's chosen randomly after that. This encourages more interesting abuses of environments that will be less obvious so your opponent doesn't know what environments they ought to ban.
Format for the submission of a new Environment:
Environment name: the name of the new environment.
Weather effects: if in the environment there is always a weather condition. If not, leave empty.
Nature Power becomes: Nature Power becomes always a Special Attack with 65≤BP≤110.
Secret Power has the animation of: Secret Power doesn't change its type, but it changed its animation and his secondary effect (that must have always the 30% chance to be activated).
Camouflage changes the type in: Camouflage changes the type of the Pokemon depending on the environment.
Other effects: the effects can include statuses, statistics drops and boosts, transformation of the type of moves and Pokemon, etc.
Flavour: explain why all these things happen.


I would like to add 6 more Environments to this Pet Mod, to reach the number of 25 Environments. The selection of a new Environment is divided in 3 phases:

1) Submission phase: each user can submit any number of Environments, following the format (I will change each Environment's text to respect the format soon). I declare when it begins and it lasts for 3 days.

2) Poll phase: after 3 days from the beginning of the submission phase, I will open a poll (on strawpoll or somewhere else). This poll will last for 2 days and at the end, the new Environment will be added to the Environments' List in this OP.

3) Balancing phase: the just-implemented Environment is subjected to balancing, so if you don't like a feature of the Environment, you can say it and we will discuss it together without changing the original idea. This phase will last 2 days.

Clauses:
- Sleep Clause
- Baton Pass Clause
- Item Clause
- Species Clause
- Endless Battle Clause

Banlist:
just like OU Tier (bans may be added during the discussion phase)

An idea is to implement some new items that are influenced by the environment in which the match takes place.

Let me know your thoughts about it:
- if you think an environment would make any Pokemon too powerful, say how would you change it.
- if you would like to implement a new environment, you can propose it (I'd like to reach the number of 25 different environment, now they are only one for each type, and some others for weather conditions).
 
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yeah let's make dragons more op it would be a cool idea
You should think that each environment has the 5% of possibility to be chosen, so not always Dragons would be op. Instead of doing only criticism why don't you try to suggest how to nerf this boost?
 

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This is an interesting meta, but it will be too random, and the team matchup issue becomes even worse.
 
I had a similar idea a while back but never posted it. How about you keep it starting on a random environment, but using teleport picks a new random environment
 
I like the idea of proper environments, not sure I'm a fan of this set-up per se. It's very random, but more than that, it's very swingy. The Fighting environment, for instance, more than doubles the offense of a Fighting type using a Fighting move, so a Fighting-heavy team that rolls up that environment will dominate against anything except Ghosts, no questions asked. Ineffective? Still hitting harder than neutral hits in Standard. Doubly ineffective? OK, fine, you actually need to use a different move. And they're all like that, which would actually be pretty cool in a non-randomized environment -teams trying to maneuver for advantage could be interesting- but is actually almost as bad as, say, Challenge Cup about pure randomness controlling who wins without presenting the intriguing challenge of trying to wring some quality out of the bizarre team you've been given. (And without the uncertainty of Challenge Cup -in Challenge Cup it actually makes sense to keep going even if you think you're dead, because maybe you aren't. Here your mono-Dragon meets a mono-Flying in Windy Canyon, and it's time to just give up)

On the other hand, you have a legitimate point about player control presenting issues.

The only idea I've had for how to address both ends is to have players somehow signal -nicknames, held plates, mono-typing their team- an environment, and then when the two teams meet a combo-environment running both sets of rules is created. (So that mono-Dragon meeting that mono-Flying would get Windy Canyon mixed with Dragon's Cave) It's not perfect, but it's all I've come up with thus far.
 
I like the idea of proper environments, not sure I'm a fan of this set-up per se. It's very random, but more than that, it's very swingy. The Fighting environment, for instance, more than doubles the offense of a Fighting type using a Fighting move, so a Fighting-heavy team that rolls up that environment will dominate against anything except Ghosts, no questions asked. Ineffective? Still hitting harder than neutral hits in Standard. Doubly ineffective? OK, fine, you actually need to use a different move. And they're all like that, which would actually be pretty cool in a non-randomized environment -teams trying to maneuver for advantage could be interesting- but is actually almost as bad as, say, Challenge Cup about pure randomness controlling who wins without presenting the intriguing challenge of trying to wring some quality out of the bizarre team you've been given. (And without the uncertainty of Challenge Cup -in Challenge Cup it actually makes sense to keep going even if you think you're dead, because maybe you aren't. Here your mono-Dragon meets a mono-Flying in Windy Canyon, and it's time to just give up)

On the other hand, you have a legitimate point about player control presenting issues.

The only idea I've had for how to address both ends is to have players somehow signal -nicknames, held plates, mono-typing their team- an environment, and then when the two teams meet a combo-environment running both sets of rules is created. (So that mono-Dragon meeting that mono-Flying would get Windy Canyon mixed with Dragon's Cave) It's not perfect, but it's all I've come up with thus far.
Interesting, really interesting. Well, exactly for the randomness of the environments, I think that monotype teams are actually unviable.

Yes, for what concerns move boosts, I think we can lower them, because maybe they're exaggerated.

I like your summoning method, but it would be too chaotic imo: because in this way it would become a boosted monotype, with Pokemons that faint immediately, don't you think so?
 
What if you use a stage striking system to determine the environment before the battle starts? Before either team is shown, both players make a blind pick for which environment their team would personally prefer for the sake of Gentleman's Clause. If they match, that's that. Then at team preview, both players ban a number of environments (say, 2 or 3, maybe more) that they would rather not deal with, and then it's chosen randomly after that. This encourages more interesting abuses of environments that will be less obvious so your opponent doesn't know what environments they ought to ban.

Another idea would be to make teams that benefit from multiple environments. For example, you could make a team that consists entirely of Fire, Flying, and Levitate Pokémon, probably including Latios, Latias, or Hydreigon for good measure. Windy Canyon? Your Talonflame is perfectly happy to smite everyone with +2 Priority Brave Birds. Dragon's Cave? Latios is happy about that. Volcano? Everything on your team is immune to burn. Power Plant? Heatran sweep GOOO! Also, every team loves Whimsicott because of its Prankster Nature Power.
 
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Environments, weathers and terrains can all be active at the same time, right?
Aside from environments that specify otherwise (that is, the ones that modify weather themselves), I presume this would be the case.

Also, most of these environments seem to benefit their own type far too much, or just be generally haxy. Some environments that seem particularly bad design-wise:

Dark Cave, Cursed Mansion, Newmoon Night.

Personal changes I would make to all of them (long list that's just their new effects):

- Rose Field: Grounded Pokémon recover 1/16th of their HP each turn. All Pokémon have their Evasion decreased by 1 stage; if any Pokémon uses the move Defog, the Evasion nerf goes away for the rest of the battle. The move Tailwind also removes the Evasion nerf for the user's side while it is in effect. Synthesis restores 75% of HP and Ingrain and Leech Seed have their effects doubled. Grass-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Energy Ball, Secret Power has the animation of Vine Whip and may inflict Sleep, and Camouflage makes the user Grass-type.

- Volcano: Grounded Pokémon become Burned at the end of each turn. Moves with a Burn chance have their secondary effect rate doubled. Fire-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Lava Plume, Secret Power has the animation of Ember and may inflict Burn, and Camouflage makes the user Fire-type.

- Sea: Grounded Pokémon cannot be Burned. Water-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Hydro Pump, Secret Power has the animation of Water Gun and may lower Attack by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Water-type.

- Dark Cave: All Pokémon have their Accuracy and Evasion decreased by 1 stage, except for Dark-type Pokémon, Bat-like Pokémon (Zubat, Golbat, Crobat, Woobat, Swoobat, Noibat, Noivern), and Pokémon with the ability Keen Eye; if a Pokémon uses Flash or a Pokémon with the ability Illuminate enters the field, the Evasion and Accuracy modifiers are removed for the rest of the battle. Rock-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Power Gem, Secret Power has the animation of Rock Throw and may cause flinching, and Camouflage makes the user Rock-type.

- Power Plant: Steel- and Electric-type Pokémon have the effect of Motor Drive in addition to their regular ability. Electric-type moves acquire a 20% Paralysis chance; if they already had a Paralysis chance, it increases by 20% (so Discharge has a 50% Paralysis chance instead of 30%, for example). Electric-type moves can hit Ground-types. Nature Power becomes Discharge, Secret Power has the animation of Shock Wave and may cause Paralysis (50% chance instead of 30%), and Camouflage makes the user Electric-type.

- Swamp: Every grounded Pokémon has its Speed decreased by 1 stage, except for Poison and Water-type Pokémon. Water-type moves become Poison-type, but Water-type Pokémon still have STAB on them. Poison-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Sludge Wave, Secret Power has the animation of Sludge and may inflict Poison, and Camouflage makes the user Poison-type.

- Windy Canyon: Tailwind lasts for 7 turns instead of 4. Hazards and Light Screen/Reflect are removed as if by Defog at the end of each turn. Flying-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Air Slash, Secret Power has the animation of Gust and may lower Evasion, and Camouflage makes the user Flying-type.

- Thunderstorm: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Rain for the entire match. Flying-type Pokémon lose 1/8 of their HP each turn. Nature Power becomes Thunderbolt, Secret Power has the animation of Hurricane and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Electric-type.

- Dry Plateau: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Harsh Sunlight (the kind summoned by Sunny Day or Drought, not Desolate Land) for the entire match. Ground-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Earth Power, Secret Power has the animation of Mud Slap and Camouflage makes the user Ground-type.

- Desert: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Sandstorm for the entire match. Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-type Pokémon on the ground recover 1/16th of their HP each turn. Ground-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Earth Power, Secret Power has the animation of Mud Bomb and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Ground-type.

- Cursed Mansion: All Pokémon have the effect of Cursed Body in addition to their regular ability. All Pokémon excluding Rattata, Raticate, Ghost-types, and Dark-types have their Accuracy and Evasion lowered by 1 stage. Ghost-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their priority increased by 1. Sleeping Pokémon are tormented as if by Bad Dreams. Nature Power becomes Shadow Ball, Secret Power has the animation of Ominous Wind and may inflict Curse, and Camouflage makes the user Ghost-type.

- Reflection Cave: Reflect, Light Screen and Magic Coat effects are always active. Psychic-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Psychic-type moves ignore Reflect and Light Screen, and can hit Dark-types. All Physical and Special moves have their priority set to 0. Nature Power becomes Extrasensory, Secret Power has the animation of Psybeam and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Psychic-type.

- Dojo: All Pokémon have the effects of Sturdy and Scrappy in addition to their regular ability. Fighting-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Aura Sphere, Secret Power has the animation of Focus Punch and may inflict Confusion, and Camouflage makes the user Fighting-type.

- Mountain Peak: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Hail for the entire match. Ice-type Pokemon have their Defense and Special Defense increased by 1 stage and have the effect of Filter in addition to their regular ability. Ice-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Freeze-Dry, Secret Power has the animation of Powder Snow and may inflict Freeze, and Camouflage makes the user Ice-type.

- Iron Cave: Grounded Pokémon have the effect of Filter in addition to their regular ability. Steel-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Flash Cannon, Secret Power has the animation of Metal Claw, and Camouflage makes the user Steel-type.

- City: All Pokémon have the effect of Pickpocket in addition to their regular ability, and grounded Pokémon have the effect of Pickup in addition to their regular ability as well. Normal-type moves' power is increased by 70%, and Normal-type moves can hit Ghost-types. Nature Power becomes Tri Attack, Secret Power has the animation of Tackle and may inflict Paralysis, and Camouflage makes the user Normal-type.

- Newmoon Night: All Pokémon have the effect of Prankster in addition to their regular ability. Dark-type Pokémon ignore accuracy checks on all of their moves; this effect ends for the rest of the match if a non-Dark-type Pokémon uses Flash, or a Pokémon with the ability Illuminate enters the field. Dark-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. The move Moonlight, Morning Sun, Sunny Day, and Lunar Dance always fail, and Moonblast has its power halved. Nature Power becomes Dark Pulse, Secret Power has the animation of Sucker Punch and may lower Defense by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Dark-type.

- Fairy Woods: Fairy-type Pokémon have the effect of Filter in addition to their regular ability. Grounded Pokémon cannot be afflicted by non-volatile status conditions. Fairy-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Moonblast, Secret Power has the animation of Fairy Wind and may lower Special Attack by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Fairy-type.

- Dragon Cave: All Pokémon have the effect of Mold Breaker in addition to their regular ability. Dragon-type moves have perfect accuracy and can hit Fairy-type Pokémon. Nature Power becomes Dragon Pulse, Secret Power has the animation of Dragon Rage and may cause flinching, and Camouflage makes the user Dragon-type.

Also just flavour, but you could change Dragon Cave's name to something like Imperial Palace if you wanted to. Still seems fitting for Dragons, in my opinion. "Dragons' Den" would also work as a name.

And a few more environments I think could be fun:

Another Dimension: Trick Room, Magic Room, and Wonder Room are always active; using any of these moves instead deactivates the effects for the duration the move would normally be active. Psychic-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power turns into Hyperspace Hole, Secret Power has the animation of Confusion and may Disable the foe's last-used move, and Camouflage makes the user typeless. (Being "typeless" behaves the same as the old ??? type, taking neutral damage from everything and not getting STAB on anything. If that whole "typeless" thing is just not gonna fly, so to speak, Camouflage can just make the user Psychic-type.)

Crystal Cave: Grounded Pokémon cannot have their stats lowered by any means other than Clear Smog or Haze. Rock-type Pokémon have the effect of Serene Grace in addition to their regular ability. Rock-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their priority increased by 1. The move Flash reduces the target's Accuracy by 2 stages instead of 1 (though of course it doesn't affect Pokémon on the ground). Nature Power becomes Power Gem, Secret Power has the animation of Dazzling Gleam and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Rock-type.

Graveyard: Grounded Pokémon have a Life Orb effect in addition to their item; this effect stacks with an actual Life Orb if the Pokémon is holding one, including double recoil. The effect of Heal Block is always active for both sides of the field. Ghost-type Pokémon are vulnerable to trapping moves and abilities. Nature Power becomes Shadow Ball, Secret Power has the animation of Ominous Wind and may inflict Curse, and Camouflage makes the user Ghost-type.
 
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What if you use a stage striking system to determine the environment before the battle starts? Before either team is shown, both players make a blind pick for which environment their team would personally prefer for the sake of Gentleman's Clause. If they match, that's that. Then at team preview, both players ban a number of environments (say, 2 or 3, maybe more) that they would rather not deal with, and then it's chosen randomly after that. This encourages more interesting abuses of environments that will be less obvious so your opponent doesn't know what environments they ought to ban.

Another idea would be to make teams that benefit from multiple environments. For example, you could make a team that consists entirely of Fire, Flying, and Levitate Pokémon, probably including Latios, Latias, or Hydreigon for good measure. Windy Canyon? Your Talonflame is perfectly happy to smite everyone with +2 Priority Brave Birds. Dragon's Cave? Latios is happy about that. Volcano? Everything on your team is immune to burn. Power Plant? Heatran sweep GOOO! Also, every team loves Whimsicott because of its Prankster Nature Power.
That's exactly what random environments would guarantee.

Aside from environments that specify otherwise (that is, the ones that modify weather themselves), I presume this would be the case.

Also, most of these environments seem to benefit their own type far too much, or just be generally haxy. Some environments that seem particularly bad design-wise:

Dark Cave, Cursed Mansion, Newmoon Night.

Personal changes I would make to all of them (long list that's just their new effects):

- Rose Field: Grounded Pokémon recover 1/16th of their HP each turn. All Pokémon have their Evasion decreased by 1 stage; if any Pokémon uses the move Defog, the Evasion nerf goes away for the rest of the battle. The move Tailwind also removes the Evasion nerf for the user's side while it is in effect. Synthesis restores 75% of HP and Ingrain and Leech Seed have their effects doubled. Grass-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1 power increased by 50% (I don't think they need priority more than BP). Nature Power becomes Energy Ball, Secret Power has the animation of Vine Whip and may inflict Sleep, and Camouflage makes the user Grass-type.

- Volcano: Grounded Pokémon become Burned at the end of each turn. Moves with a Burn chance have their secondary effect rate doubled. Fire-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Lava Plume, Secret Power has the animation of Ember and may inflict Burn, and Camouflage makes the user Fire-type.

- Sea: Grounded Pokémon cannot be Burned. Water-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Hydro Pump, Secret Power has the animation of Water Gun and may lower Attack by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Water-type.

- Dark Cave: All Pokémon have their Accuracy and Evasion decreased by 1 stage, except for Dark-type Pokémon, Bat-like Pokémon (Zubat, Golbat, Crobat, Woobat, Swoobat, Noibat, Noivern), and Pokémon with the ability Keen Eye; if a Pokémon uses Flash or a Pokémon with the ability Illuminate enters the field, the Evasion and Accuracy modifiers are removed for the rest of the battle. Rock-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Power Gem, Secret Power has the animation of Rock Throw and may cause flinching, and Camouflage makes the user Rock-type.

- Power Plant: Steel- and Electric-type Pokémon have the effect of Motor Drive in addition to their regular ability. Electric-type moves acquire a 20% Paralysis chance; if they already had a Paralysis chance, it increases by 20% (so Discharge has a 50% Paralysis chance instead of 30%, for example). Electric-type moves can hit Ground-types. Nature Power becomes Discharge, Secret Power has the animation of Shock Wave and may cause Paralysis (50% chance instead of 30%), and Camouflage makes the user Electric-type.

- Swamp: Every grounded Pokémon has its Speed decreased by 1 stage, except for Poison and Water-type Pokémon. Water-type moves become Poison-type, but Water-type Pokémon still have STAB on them. Poison-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Sludge Wave, Secret Power has the animation of Sludge and may inflict Poison, and Camouflage makes the user Poison-type.

- Windy Canyon: Tailwind lasts for 7 turns instead of 4. Hazards and Light Screen/Reflect are removed as if by Defog at the end of each turn. Flying-type moves, Secret Power, and Nature Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power becomes Air Slash, Secret Power has the animation of Gust and may lower Evasion, and Camouflage makes the user Flying-type.

- Thunderstorm: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Rain for the entire match. Flying-type Pokémon lose 1/8 of their HP each turn. Nature Power becomes Thunderbolt, Secret Power has the animation of Hurricane and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Electric-type.

- Dry Plateau: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Harsh Sunlight (the kind summoned by Sunny Day or Drought, not Desolate Land) for the entire match. Ground-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Earth Power, Secret Power has the animation of Mud Slap and Camouflage makes the user Ground-type.

- Desert: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Sandstorm for the entire match. Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-type Pokémon on the ground recover 1/16th of their HP each turn. Ground-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their priority increased by 1 power increased by 50% (priority Eartquake? Is even worse than 150 BP Earthquake imho!). Nature Power becomes Earth Power, Secret Power has the animation of Mud Bomb and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Ground-type.

- Cursed Mansion: All Pokémon have the effect of Cursed Body in addition to their regular ability. All Pokémon excluding Rattata, Raticate, Ghost-types, and Dark-types have their Accuracy and Evasion lowered by 1 stage. Ghost-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their priority increased by 1. Sleeping Pokémon are tormented as if by Bad Dreams. Nature Power becomes Shadow Ball, Secret Power has the animation of Ominous Wind and may inflict Curse, and Camouflage makes the user Ghost-type.

- Reflection Cave: Reflect, Light Screen and Magic Coat effects are always active (I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but wouldn't it slow a lot the battle?). Psychic-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Psychic-type moves ignore Reflect and Light Screen, and can hit Dark-types. All Physical and Special moves have their priority set to 0. Nature Power becomes Extrasensory, Secret Power has the animation of Psybeam and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Psychic-type.

- Dojo: All Pokémon have the effects of Sturdy and Scrappy in addition to their regular ability. Fighting-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Aura Sphere, Secret Power has the animation of Focus Punch and may inflict Confusion, and Camouflage makes the user Fighting-type.

- Mountain Peak: the abilities Drizzle, Drought, Snow Warning, Sand Stream don't activate and the moves Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Hail and Sandstorm always fail. The weather is Hail for the entire match. Ice-type Pokemon have their Defense and Special Defense increased by 1 stage and have the effect of Filter in addition to their regular ability. Ice-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Freeze-Dry, Secret Power has the animation of Powder Snow and may inflict Freeze, and Camouflage makes the user Ice-type.

- Iron Cave: Grounded Iron-type Pokémon have the effect of Filter in addition to their regular ability. Steel-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Flash Cannon, Secret Power has the animation of Metal Claw, and Camouflage makes the user Steel-type.

- City: All Pokémon have the effect of Pickpocket in addition to their regular ability, and grounded Pokémon have the effect of Pickup in addition to their regular ability as well. Normal-type moves' power is increased by 70%, and Normal-type moves can hit Ghost-types. Nature Power becomes Tri Attack, Secret Power has the animation of Tackle and may inflict Paralysis, and Camouflage makes the user Normal-type.

- Newmoon Night: All Pokémon have the effect of Prankster in addition to their regular ability. Dark-type Pokémon ignore accuracy checks on all of their moves; this effect ends for the rest of the match if a non-Dark-type Pokémon uses Flash, or a Pokémon with the ability Illuminate enters the field. Dark-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. The move Moonlight, Morning Sun, Sunny Day, and Lunar Dance always fail, and Moonblast has its power halved. Nature Power becomes Dark Pulse, Secret Power has the animation of Sucker Punch and may lower Defense by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Dark-type.

- Fairy Woods: Fairy-type Pokémon have the effect of Filter in addition to their regular ability. Grounded Pokémon cannot be afflicted by non-volatile status conditions. Fairy-type moves and Secret Power have their power increased by 50%. Dragon-type moves' power is decreased by 50%. Nature Power becomes Moonblast, Secret Power has the animation of Fairy Wind and may lower Special Attack by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Fairy-type.

- Dragon Cave: All Pokémon have the effect of Mold Breaker in addition to their regular ability. Dragon-type moves have perfect accuracy and can hit Fairy-type Pokémon. Nature Power becomes Dragon Pulse, Secret Power has the animation of Dragon Rage and may cause flinching, and Camouflage makes the user Dragon-type.

Also just flavour, but you could change Dragon Cave's name to something like Imperial Palace if you wanted to. Still seems fitting for Dragons, in my opinion. "Dragons' Den" would also work as a name.

And a few more environments I think could be fun:

Another Dimension: Trick Room, Magic Room, and Wonder Room are always active; using any of these moves instead deactivates the effects for the duration the move would normally be active. Psychic-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their priority increased by 1. Nature Power turns into Hyperspace Hole, Secret Power has the animation of Confusion and may Disable the foe's last-used move, and Camouflage makes the user typeless. (Being "typeless" behaves the same as the old ??? type, taking neutral damage from everything and not getting STAB on anything. If that whole "typeless" thing is just not gonna fly, so to speak, Camouflage can just make the user Psychic-type. No, it's perfect! I like it, that's exacty what I wanted to do! ;))

Crystal Cave: Grounded Pokémon cannot have their stats lowered by any means other than Clear Smog or Haze. Rock-type Pokémon have the effect of Serene Grace in addition to their regular ability. Rock-type moves, Nature Power, and Secret Power have their priority increased by 1. The move Flash reduces the target's Accuracy by 2 stages instead of 1 (though of course it doesn't affect Pokémon on the ground). Nature Power becomes Power Gem, Secret Power has the animation of Dazzling Gleam and may lower Accuracy by 1 stage, and Camouflage makes the user Rock-type.

Graveyard: Grounded Pokémon have a Life Orb effect in addition to their item; this effect stacks with an actual Life Orb if the Pokémon is holding one, including double recoil. The effect of Heal Block is always active for both sides of the field. Ghost-type Pokémon are vulnerable to trapping moves and abilities. Nature Power becomes Shadow Ball, Secret Power has the animation of Ominous Wind and may inflict Curse, and Camouflage makes the user Ghost-type.
As you can see, I've written my comments and my thoughts in the quote of your message (a: is what I don't like, a: is what I've written and a: is something I'm not sure of). Generally I like your ideas ^^

I would say that randomly chosen environments is actually the best method.
 
That's exactly what random environments would guarantee.


As you can see, I've written my comments and my thoughts in the quote of your message (a: is what I don't like, a: is what I've written and a: is something I'm not sure of). Generally I like your ideas ^^

I would say that randomly chosen environments is actually the best method.
Rose Field gives Grass-type moves priority rather than extra base power to avoid damage boost stacking with Grassy Terrain. (Also everyone tremble in fear at Whimsicott's +2 priority STAB Nature Power.) That's the same reason why I changed Volcano's effect on Fire-type moves to priority rather than damage boost (to avoid stacking with Sun).

Desert gives Ground priority because Dry Plateau already has 50% boost to Ground. It was primarily done to make the environments more distinct from each other more than anything else. Still, I do see your point.

Reflection Cave's "permanent screens and Magic Coat" effect was already present in the original. That much was just copy-pasted. That's also why I gave Psychic-type moves the ability to bypass it. That said, I think it really needs to be looked at again since the combination of no status and drastically decreased damage turns it into a super-slow slugfest that ends with either Scald/Lava Plume/Poison Fang spam or just Struggling to death.

The reason I changed Iron Cave's effect to be Filter for all grounded Pokémon as opposed to Filter for only Steel-types is to globalize the effectiveness of the environment to a degree. Filter on only Steel-types works as well, but has less impact overall while only serving to buff a single type.

Fairy Woods lacks the decrease in power for Dragon-type moves because it no longer counts as having a permanent Misty Terrain. Misty Terrain in Fairy Woods remains exceedingly redundant, but this change allows other Terrain moves to be activated in Fairy Woods.

Whimsicott gets even more terrifying in places with priority modifications of any kind, because Prankster Nature Power ends up having +2 priority. Unless it's in Reflection Cave, in which case it's the only attacking move to have +1 priority while everything else has 0, and it also bypasses the residual screens effect while having 120 base power.
 
Rose Field gives Grass-type moves priority rather than extra base power to avoid damage boost stacking with Grassy Terrain. (Also everyone tremble in fear at Whimsicott's +2 priority STAB Nature Power.) That's the same reason why I changed Volcano's effect on Fire-type moves to priority rather than damage boost (to avoid stacking with Sun).
You're right, but Grassy Terrain isn't a really competitive move, currently nobody uses it :/ So, I don't like priority on Grass moves, I think boosting them is still better.
Desert gives Ground priority because Dry Plateau already has 50% boost to Ground. It was primarily done to make the environments more distinct from each other more than anything else. Still, I do see your point.
So, let's leave 50% boost.
Reflection Cave's "permanent screens and Magic Coat" effect was already present in the original. That much was just copy-pasted. That's also why I gave Psychic-type moves the ability to bypass it. That said, I think it really needs to be looked at again since the combination of no status and drastically decreased damage turns it into a super-slow slugfest that ends with either Scald/Lava Plume/Poison Fang spam or just Struggling to death.
Oh, I didn't see it xD I will remove this effect, the battle would be too slow, let's leave only Magic Coat.
The reason I changed Iron Cave's effect to be Filter for all grounded Pokémon as opposed to Filter for only Steel-types is to globalize the effectiveness of the environment to a degree. Filter on only Steel-types works as well, but has less impact overall while only serving to buff a single type.
I want to keep the defensive boost only on Steel-type Pokemons, because the idea is that each pokemon gets boosts in its own habitat, so I wouldn't spread boosts to all Pokemons, unless they have a reason
Fairy Woods lacks the decrease in power for Dragon-type moves because it no longer counts as having a permanent Misty Terrain. Misty Terrain in Fairy Woods remains exceedingly redundant, but this change allows other Terrain moves to be activated in Fairy Woods.
Look answer #1
Whimsicott gets even more terrifying in places with priority modifications of any kind, because Prankster Nature Power ends up having +2 priority. Unless it's in Reflection Cave, in which case it's the only attacking move to have +1 priority while everything else has 0, and it also bypasses the residual screens effect while having 120 base power.
We may ban Whimsicott, but it's hilarious xD We'll see when we'll test it.
 
What if you use a stage striking system to determine the environment before the battle starts? Before either team is shown, both players make a blind pick for which environment their team would personally prefer for the sake of Gentleman's Clause. If they match, that's that. Then at team preview, both players ban a number of environments (say, 2 or 3, maybe more) that they would rather not deal with, and then it's chosen randomly after that. This encourages more interesting abuses of environments that will be less obvious so your opponent doesn't know what environments they ought to ban.
I was thinking that this one is the best choosing method.
 
You're right, but Grassy Terrain isn't a really competitive move, currently nobody uses it :/ So, I don't like priority on Grass moves, I think boosting them is still better.

So, let's leave 50% boost.

Oh, I didn't see it xD I will remove this effect, the battle would be too slow, let's leave only Magic Coat.

I want to keep the defensive boost only on Steel-type Pokemons, because the idea is that each pokemon gets boosts in its own habitat, so I wouldn't spread boosts to all Pokemons, unless they have a reason

Look answer #1

We may ban Whimsicott, but it's hilarious xD We'll see when we'll test it.
Eh, I guess you do have a point on Rose Field. I just thought Celebi might be really, really happy about priority Giga Drain after a Nasty Plot, while Mega Sceptile might appreciate priority Leaf Storm. Then again, everything that learns Synthesis is absurdly good with priority Synthesis that restores 75% of their HP, so perhaps that might not be such a good plan….

I suppose giving only Steel-types Filter in Iron Cave makes sense. After all, there are other types (Rock, Psychic, Ice) that benefit from Filter far more than Steel does due to having a ton more weaknesses.

As for Fairy Woods, Fairy-types are already immune to Dragon, so they don't benefit from the nerf to Dragon moves at all. If anything, Dragons themselves benefit most as Dragon is already only used due to being STAB and they appreciate losing the weakness to it.

While I feel Whimsicott will be very powerful in this meta, that won't be due to its stat line. Think of it like Talonflame if Talonflame were special-based with an even worse attacking stat, a worse offensive typing, and less-powerful STAB, but weren't weak to Stealth Rock.
 

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