Research Scarlet & Violet Battle Mechanics Research

A theory about how STAB multiplier is actually calculated
STAB multiplier = 3n/(n+1)
n=1 (standard STAB): (3*1)/(1+1)=1.5
n=2 (Adaptability or Tera STAB): (3*2)/(2+1)=2
n=3 (Tera+Adaptability STAB): (3*3)/(3+1)=2.25
Can anyone who can check the source code verify this?
 

Ace Emerald

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Questions about Body Press: last generation, Body Press was only boosted by Defense stage boosts, not any other passive Defensive boost (Evolite or Fluffy for example). Is this true of a Defense Protosynthesis/Quark Drive boost and Snow boost as well? If the Defense Protosynthesis/Quark Drive boost does not apply, does the Attack Protosynthesis/Quark Drive boost increase damage (similar to Choice Band interaction)?
 
Questions about Body Press: last generation, Body Press was only boosted by Defense stage boosts, not any other passive Defensive boost (Evolite or Fluffy for example). Is this true of a Defense Protosynthesis/Quark Drive boost and Snow boost as well? If the Defense Protosynthesis/Quark Drive boost does not apply, does the Attack Protosynthesis/Quark Drive boost increase damage (similar to Choice Band interaction)?
Yes.
 

Fragmented

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Questions about Body Press: last generation, Body Press was only boosted by Defense stage boosts, not any other passive Defensive boost (Evolite or Fluffy for example). Is this true of a Defense Protosynthesis/Quark Drive boost and Snow boost as well? If the Defense Protosynthesis/Quark Drive boost does not apply, does the Attack Protosynthesis/Quark Drive boost increase damage (similar to Choice Band interaction)?
Protosynthesis + Body Press

Level 45 Great Tusk (149 Def) vs Level 56 Raichu (67 Def)

With Protosynthesis-boosted Def

30/135 (105)
26/135 (109)
39/135 (96)
38/135 (97)
(damage in brackets)

Level 45 Great Tusk (149 Def) calc:

Lvl 45 0+ Def Great Tusk Body Press vs. Lvl 56 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu: 93-109 (66.4 - 77.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (93, 93, 94, 96, 96, 97, 99, 100, 100, 102, 103, 105, 105, 106, 108, 109)

Level 45 Great Tusk (149 Def x 1.3) calc:

Lvl 45 0+ Def Great Tusk Body Press vs. Lvl 56 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu: 118-141 (84.2 - 100.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
Possible damage amounts: (118, 120, 121, 123, 124, 126, 127, 129, 130, 132, 133, 135, 136, 138, 139, 141)

Snow + Eviolite + Body Press


I think this one has already been proven that snow does not provide a boost to Body Press, but just to confirm:

Level 36 Cubchoo (39 Def) vs Level 32 Bombirdier (60 Def)

Cubchoo with Eviolite in Snow

70/87 (17)
69/87 (18)
69/87 (18)
70/87 (17)
(damage in brackets)

No Snow, No Eviolite calc:

Lvl 36 0 Def Cubchoo Body Press vs. Lvl 32 0 HP / 0 Def Bombirdier: 15-18 (15.6 - 18.7%) -- possible 6HKO
Possible damage amounts: (15, 15, 15, 15, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 18)

Conclusion:
  • Protosynthesis-boosted Def DOES NOT boost Body Press damage
  • Snow does not boost Body Press damage
  • Eviolite does not boost Body Press damage

UPDATE: Body Press is NOT boosted by Protosynthesis Def boost.
 
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Protosynthesis + Body Press

Level 45 Great Tusk (149 Def) vs Level 56 Raichu (67 Def)

With Protosynthesis-boosted Def

30/135 (105)
26/135 (109)
39/135 (96)
38/135 (97)
(damage in brackets)

Level 45 Great Tusk (149 Def) calc:

Lvl 45 0+ Def Great Tusk Body Press vs. Lvl 56 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu: 75-88 (50 - 58.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (75, 75, 76, 76, 78, 79, 79, 81, 81, 82, 84, 84, 85, 85, 87, 88)

Level 45 Great Tusk (149 Def x 1.3) calc:

Lvl 45 0+ Def Great Tusk Body Press vs. Lvl 56 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu: 96-114 (64 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (96, 97, 99, 99, 100, 102, 103, 103, 105, 106, 108, 108, 109, 111, 112, 114)

Snow + Eviolite + Body Press


I think this one has already been proven that snow does not provide a boost to Body Press, but just to confirm:

Level 36 Cubchoo (39 Def) vs Level 32 Bombirdier (60 Def)

Cubchoo with Eviolite in Snow

70/87 (17)
69/87 (18)
69/87 (18)
70/87 (17)
(damage in brackets)

No Snow, No Eviolite calc:

Lvl 36 0 Def Cubchoo Body Press vs. Lvl 32 0 HP / 0 Def Bombirdier: 15-18 (15.6 - 18.7%) -- possible 6HKO
Possible damage amounts: (15, 15, 15, 15, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 18)

Conclusion:
  • Protosynthesis-boosted Def boosts Body Press damage
  • Snow does not boost Body Press damage
  • Eviolite does not boost Body Press damage
Protosynthesis affecting Body Press when set to Defense is very abnormal, nothing else that invisibility boosts Defense like that works with Body Press.

Which implies that the Protosynthesis boost is applied directly to the Pokémon's Defense stat via an entirely separate process than how invisible boosts are normally done.

Does that mean the Attack boost from Protosynthesis doesn't affect Body Press then or do both? Does that mean if you use Foul Play on a Pokémon with Protosynthesis boosting its Attack that the user will also get the boost?
 

Fragmented

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Protosynthesis affecting Body Press when set to Defense is very abnormal, nothing else that invisibility boosts Defense like that works with Body Press.

Which implies that the Protosynthesis boost is applied directly to the Pokémon's Defense stat via an entirely separate process than how invisible boosts are normally done.

Does that mean the Attack boost from Protosynthesis doesn't affect Body Press then or do both? Does that mean if you use Foul Play on a Pokémon with Protosynthesis boosting its Attack that the user will also get the boost?
Ok so I went ahead and rechecked the calculations pertaining to Protosynthesis and Body Press, and realised I forgot to set the Raichu's Defense stat correctly (it was 31 IVs (83 Def) instead of 1 IV (67 Def)). I updated the calcs in the post above, but basically I was wrong about the Protosynthesis boosting Body Press damage.

For all those that can't be bothered reading,

Protosynthesis Def boost DOES NOT boost Body Press
 
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Fragmented

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Well, when set to Defense anyway, it probably works if set for Attack.
You would be right.

Protosynthesis Atk boost

Level 45 Great Tusk (136 Def) vs Level 55 Raichu (82 Def)

1.3x Def
Possible damage amounts: (90, 91, 91, 93, 94, 94, 96, 97, 99, 99, 100, 102, 102, 103, 105, 106)

Test Results:
29/131 (102)
37/131 (94)
31/131 (100)

1x Def
Possible damage amounts: (69, 70, 70, 72, 72, 73, 75, 75, 76, 76, 78, 78, 79, 79, 81, 82)

I suppose it works similarly to the Choice Band boost to attacks.

Does that mean if you use Foul Play on a Pokémon with Protosynthesis boosting its Attack that the user will also get the boost?
Level 74 Roaring Moon (308 Atk, 133 Def) vs Level 51 Houndoom

Foul Play w Protosynthesis Atk boost

266 to 194 (72)
254 to 157 (97) probably crit while I wasn't paying attention
217 to 153 (64)
273 to 209 (64)
251 to 187 (64)

Foul Play w/o Protosynthesis Atk boost

231 to 168 (63)
228 to 166 (62)
226 to 158 (68)
178 to 106 (72)
166 to 103 (63)
103 to 37 (66)
157 to 90 (67)

Normal damage
Lvl 51 252+ Atk Houndoom Foul Play vs. Lvl 74 0 HP / 0 Def Roaring Moon: 62-73 (23.6 - 27.8%) -- 88.8% chance to 4HKO
Possible damage amounts: (62, 63, 63, 64, 65, 66, 66, 67, 68, 69, 69, 70, 71, 72, 72, 73)

Yeah, Protosynthesis-boosted Atk does not affect Foul Play Damage
 
Can Megaton Hammer be called twice in a row with moves such as Sleep Talk, Copycat, or Metronome?

Are any of the new moves uncallable by those?

How does Tablets of Ruin interact with Foul Play?

Potential number of teammates that can faint in a 6v6 singles game is 9 (2 Revival Blessing users with Leppa Berry)
You should be able to get significantly more than 9 by calling Revival Blessing through moves such as Sleep Talk, Metronome, or Copycat, using Fling Leppa Berry strats, or using in game battle items like Revives and Ethers

Can we use this to push the limits of Last Respects?
 

Fragmented

procrastinating...
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Can Megaton Hammer be called twice in a row with moves such as Sleep Talk, Copycat, or Metronome?
Not sure if this is known, but Gigaton Hammer cannot be used twice in a row, which is to say that if you used it before being put to sleep, you can't use it immediately upon waking up, nor can you select to use while you are asleep.

edit: Sleep Talk will ignore the "cannot be used twice in a row" condition, but Gigaton Hammer cannot be selected if it was the last move used.
So basically, Comatose Sleep Talk Gigaton Hammer is a valid strat in hackmons.


With regards to other parts of your post,
Are any of the new moves uncallable by those?
There should be flags which decide whether a move is callable or uncallable. Hematite's move spreadsheet


You should be able to get significantly more than 9 by calling Revival Blessing through moves such as Sleep Talk, Metronome, or Copycat, using Fling Leppa Berry strats, or using in game battle items like Revives and Ethers

Can we use this to push the limits of Last Respects?
9 fainted allies is already stretching the feasibility of the scenario, but you could definitely have more than 9 fainted allies. Also, from what I tested, there doesn't seem to be a hard cap to the BP increase for Last Respects.
Sorry for the clutter. Here's the conclusion I drew:
  • Last Respects BP increases by 50 for each Pokemon that faints on your team (expected)
  • Last Respects BP increases when your own Pokemon intentionally faints themselves
  • Last Respects BP increases when your own Pokemon faints to status (Toxic, Burn)
  • The user's own fainting count towards the Last Respects BP increase
  • There is no potential hard cap to Last Respects maximum BP
 
How does Raging Bull work? Is its type hardcoded based on Tauros' form or does it vary based on the Pokémon's type, similar to Revelation Dance (but based on secondary type I guess)? How does it interact with Terastal?
Raging Bull is not affected by Terastal. I tested Tera Poison Raging Bull with Water Tauros and it shows the Water-type animation, and it's 1x on Gastly.
And I think its move description is self-explanatory.
This move's type depends on the user's form.
 

Fragmented

procrastinating...
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Raging Bull is not affected by Terastal. I tested Tera Poison Raging Bull with Water Tauros and it shows the Water-type animation, and it's 1x on Gastly.
And I think its move description is self-explanatory.
Can confirm this as well, at least for the Tera interaction.

Also tested Tera with Revelation Dance, Revelation Dance does change to the new type since it's supposed to take the primary type of the Pokemon.
 

Fragmented

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How does Tablets of Ruin interact with Foul Play?
Level 60 Wo-Chien vs Level 53 Dondozo (114 Atk, 139 Def)

Lvl 60 0 Atk Wo-Chien Foul Play vs. Lvl 53 0 HP / 0 Def Dondozo: 52-63 (21.8 - 26.4%) -- 9.1% chance to 4HKO
Possible damage amounts: (52, 54, 54, 54, 55, 55, 57, 57, 58, 58, 58, 60, 60, 61, 61, 63)

174/226 (52)
169/226 (57)
168/226 (58)
169/226 (57)

Level 60 Wo-Chien vs Level 54 Tatsugiri (66 Atk, 81 Def)

Lvl 60 0- Atk Wo-Chien Foul Play vs. Lvl 54 0 HP / 0 Def Tatsugiri: 52-63 (33.7 - 40.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Possible damage amounts: (52, 54, 54, 54, 55, 55, 57, 57, 58, 58, 58, 60, 60, 61, 61, 63)

91/143 (52)
86/143 (57)
82/143 (61)
85/143 (58)


Level 51 Houndoom vs Level 60 Wo-Chien (114 Atk, 128 Def)

Lvl 51 0 Atk Houndoom Foul Play vs. Lvl 60 0 HP / 0- Def Wo-Chien: 24-29 (12.6 - 15.2%) -- possible 7HKO
Possible damage amounts: (24, 24, 24, 25, 25, 26, 26, 26, 27, 27, 27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 29)

Lvl 51 0 Atk Houndoom Foul Play vs. Lvl 60 0 HP / 0- Def Wo-Chien: 18-21 (9.4 - 11%) -- possibly the worst move ever
Possible damage amounts: (18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 19, 19, 19, 19, 20, 20, 20, 21, 21, 21, 21)

190 to 169 (21)
169 to 148 (21)
168 to 147 (21)
183 to 165 (18)
167 to 149 (18)

Burned Wo-Chien

160 to 141 (19)
157 to 138 (19)
164 to 144 (20)
133 to 114 (19)

FYI: burnt target does not affect foul play damage received, but burnt attacker will have their damage reduced

This is kind of hard to summarise.
  • Target affected by Tablets of Ruin (ToR), Foul Play damage is unaffected.
  • Target affected by ToR, has unaware, Foul Play damage is unaffected.
  • Attacker affected by ToR, Foul Play damage is affected (reduced by 25%)
 
How do the -ate abilities interact with Terastallization? (I'll use Pixilate/Sylveon for simplicity)
  • Does a Normal move receive the Pixilate boost in Terastallization?
  • Can a Pixilate Sylveon receive 2x STAB on Normal moves when Terastallized to either Normal or Fairy?
  • If the above does not happen, does a Normal-type with Pixilate (via Skill Swap) receive 2x STAB when Terastallized to Normal?

I'm pretty sure the first bullet is a dumb question, since Normal moves get changed to Fairy as usual in Terastallization.
The UI does not highlight Normal moves on a Sylveon Terastallized to Fairy, so it seems to be indicating that Fairy Tera Type does not grant Pixilated Normal moves 2x STAB.
 
How do the -ate abilities interact with Terastallization? (I'll use Pixilate/Sylveon for simplicity)
  • Does a Normal move receive the Pixilate boost in Terastallization?
  • Can a Pixilate Sylveon receive 2x STAB on Normal moves when Terastallized to either Normal or Fairy?
  • If the above does not happen, does a Normal-type with Pixilate (via Skill Swap) receive 2x STAB when Terastallized to Normal?

I'm pretty sure the first bullet is a dumb question, since Normal moves get changed to Fairy as usual in Terastallization.
The UI does not highlight Normal moves on a Sylveon Terastallized to Fairy, so it seems to be indicating that Fairy Tera Type does not grant Pixilated Normal moves 2x STAB.
Pretty sure the normal moves not getting highlighted is just the UI not taking abilities into account.
 
Do Covert Cloak/Shield Dust/Substitute prevent Ceaseless Edge from setting spikes? (They currently do on PS.) It seems worth testing since as far as I know, we haven’t had a move where they secondary effect affects the opponent’s side of the field instead of directly affecting the opponent.
 

Kalalokki

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Do Covert Cloak/Shield Dust/Substitute prevent Ceaseless Edge from setting spikes? (They currently do on PS.) It seems worth testing since as far as I know, we haven’t had a move where they secondary effect affects the opponent’s side of the field instead of directly affecting the opponent.
Tested it and they don't, as it's not a secondary effect at all really. It just always set a layer of spikes on to the opposing side, even if attacking one's teammate.
2. does urshifu's unseen fist ability still do 100% damage through protect or has it been nerfed in any way?
Also tested this and nothing has changed.

Tested some Greninja and Battle Bond stuff as well: the stat boosts is a once per battle thing, the ability still can't be Skill Swapped, and Water Shuriken doesn't transform to the 3-hit 20 BP variant anymore.
 
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The UI does not highlight Normal moves on a Sylveon Terastallized to Fairy, so it seems to be indicating that Fairy Tera Type does not grant Pixilated Normal moves 2x STAB.
I remembered that there's an extra animation flourish when the move type matches the Tera type, and that does play for Fairy Tera type Sylveon. So aside from actually checking damage numbers, it seems that Pixilate Sylveon Terastallized to Fairy does receive 2x STAB on Normal moves.
 
I remembered that there's an extra animation flourish when the move type matches the Tera type, and that does play for Fairy Tera type Sylveon. So aside from actually checking damage numbers, it seems that Pixilate Sylveon Terastallized to Fairy does receive 2x STAB on Normal moves.
To add to this, in raids once the raid uses the "negate ability pulse", Hyper Voice goes back to be a normal move (and supereffective tag disappears if applicable otherwise), to further show how the ability is still fully in effect despite Teralyzing.
 
That’s not really a bug, that’s the move working as intended. You target yourself with curse while you’re not a ghost type, then you become ghost type before using the move, so you target yourself with ghost-type curse. Cutting your hp to inflict yourself w curse is just what happens when you use ghost curse on yourself. Really the only way to “fix” this would be to have the move fail if you become ghost type mid-turn which would be lame af. Also in the link they’re just saying that the Pokémon killed itself with the cost of ghost curse, which all ghost types can do. This only really can happen in-game where wild tera Pokémon lose their tera at low hp. It could also happen by choosing to use curse on the turn you tera ghost, but if you do that it’s your own fault lol.
This might be a weird question, but following on the Curse with Type-Change interaction before, does the opposite happen if you LOSE your Ghost Typing before it executes? Like if I click Ghost-Curse with Banette, but then change to a Water Type because of Soak, will he apply the Curse Boost to himself, or to whoever was targeted by the Ghost version?

Also, given the weird interactions Body Press has with "invisible" Defense Boosts, has it been documented how moves like Gyro Ball or Psyshock interact as well with them? Like is Psyshock reduced in damage by "invisible" DEF boosts, or does it look at SpD for that as a Special move despite its mechanic?
 

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