Do we know if this applies when switching as well? (My apologies if the vid answers this but im not in a position to watch to check myself atm)
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
-
Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Sword & Shield Battle Mechanics Research
- Thread starter Marty
- Start date
No idea. SSA never gets used against a switching target in the video.
Here's another thing to check out:
Does Bulletproof block Shell Side Arm? My first assumption was no, and that its just the gunplay theme that suggests it should. But I was watching the attack animations again on Youtube and it looks like the special variant of the attack, at the very least, might qualify to be blocked.
Does Bulletproof block Shell Side Arm? My first assumption was no, and that its just the gunplay theme that suggests it should. But I was watching the attack animations again on Youtube and it looks like the special variant of the attack, at the very least, might qualify to be blocked.
OK, forgive me, I'm still so confused about Shell Side Arm. Pokemon Showdown says the move is physical if the opponent's Defense is lower than its Special Defense. Does that mean that If I'm running Choice Specs Galarian Slowbro, I need to run a -speed nature instead of -attack becuse it's going to be coming off my Attack stat some of the time? That's what that description would indicate to me. I'm sorry if this has been established already.
That would explain why they decided to increase its Attack stat, I guess.
That would explain why they decided to increase its Attack stat, I guess.
That is correct, yes
Wow, so if I decided to use Nasty Plot on this thing, I'm +2 and I encounter a mon which has slightly higher spdef than def, Shell Side Arm will do significantly less than Sludge Bomb.
This move seems kind of terrible.
Its based on whatever would do more damage, so your own stat buffs would be accounted for before damage calculation. Of course, this should be tested out.
Lets say we have a Belly drum galarian slowbro vs avalugg. Can someone test this to see if it would attack physically or Specifically?
No no, not at all.
Say you use Nasty Plot. On probably most of your foes, you're going to be doing the special attack most of the time.
Then your opponent switches in an Assault Vest Blissey. Shell Side Arm will probably calculate that a physical attack will do a lot more damage, so the move will become physical against that Blissey.
It always chooses the move that will do the most damage at the point of selection. Just because an opponent might have a higher special defense doesn't mean it'll make you use the physical variant if you'd still be doing more damage with the special variant.
At least that's what the current testing results would suggest.
OK, I was basing it on this
But admittedly this is a shorthand description and Showdown's full dex hasn't been updated yet. If it actually calculates it based on raw damage dealt, the move is fine. And actually, the > should be flipped...
A good example was posted earlier, where a Slowbro was attacking a Gardevoir. The Gardevoir has naturally better special defense, so SSA calculated a physical move. That same turn however Gardevoir used Reflect. Reflect changed the move's calculus, even though Gardevoir's defenses hadn't actually changed, and the very next turn it went for a special attack.
OK, I think I get how it works now. I guess technically on any set if you're concerned about maximizing damage output you should still run a -speed nature, although in practice it may not be worth it since it's just a bonus against specific mons with pretty skewed defenses. That extra damage can be viewed as an additional bonus in certain niche situations which is never detrimental. Thanks for clearing that up.
I tried using having a Galarian Slowbro with 126 Attack and 147 Special Attack use Shell Side Arm on its ally Bulletproof Kommo-o with 169 Defense and 155 Special Defense. The move was not blocked and did 63 damage, which is only possible if it's treated as a special attack. So it seems the move is not block by Bulletproof, as least not the special attacking version.
Was this on cart or on Showdown? Just making sure.
Does anyone do 'mechanics' research on Showdown?
I'm automatically wary of accounts with super low post counts. Though their only other post was in this very thread about an in-game test, so my caution was probably unnecessary.
It was an in-game test. I just entered a double battle with the Cafe owner in Hammerlocke.
I see. Currently it can on Showdown, must be a bug.
It is a known bug and will be fixed upon next hotpatch.
From the move data, we know that Coaching works through Protect. But I tested against Morimoto in-game, and found that Coaching works through Max Guard as well, though it just uses the standard status animation rather than a special animation like Decorate gets.
PS isn’t updated so...
I just did raids in IoA, and can confirm Competitive Boltund and Stakeout Thievul are released. Purple Beams in IoA seem to guarantee HA, so it makes these possible to get. The same should extend to Gluttony Greedent and Bulletproof Dubwool as they also have encounter slots.
This makes mostly all Galar mons now have their HA legal! Just missing the fossils.
I just did raids in IoA, and can confirm Competitive Boltund and Stakeout Thievul are released. Purple Beams in IoA seem to guarantee HA, so it makes these possible to get. The same should extend to Gluttony Greedent and Bulletproof Dubwool as they also have encounter slots.
This makes mostly all Galar mons now have their HA legal! Just missing the fossils.
Does Terrain Pulse get boosted by Mega Launcher? I noticed Clawitzer does learn it via tutor.
I thought somebody already tested for this, but I don't see it in the thread.
Since Lash Out is one turn only, does it "remember" stat drops that occurred but are no longer present? In other words, does White Herb or Defiant (on an intimidate drop) prevent Lash Out from doubling that turn?
Since Lash Out is one turn only, does it "remember" stat drops that occurred but are no longer present? In other words, does White Herb or Defiant (on an intimidate drop) prevent Lash Out from doubling that turn?
I tested this in-game with Bulldoze on a White Herb Pokémon and Lash Out did boosted damage. Did not test with Defiant but I would assume it's the same.