Sword & Shield Battle Mechanics Research

[Champion Leon]

I didn't have the means to test your final request since I only have one Switch and you can't target an ally with Core Enforcer, so sorry about that. But Regieleki was putting in some work today otherwise.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353187562903412738

Drain Punch heals -> Gulp Missile triggers -> Rocky Helmet damage -> Shell Bell heals

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353192018189541376

Gulp Missile damage happens before recoil damage. You heal whenever you drop below 50% (Above Escavalier healed after Gulp Missile, here:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353194866776313862

Regieleki heals after Rocky Helmet.)

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353196122609618946

Heals at the end like Life Orb damage.



No.

Mold Breaker:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353194213630828544

Photon Geyser:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353196921192472583

Sorry about the last request, hopefully someone better equipped can answer. Hope this helped!

This was more than helpful. Thank you!

You deserve an award. I used this for the BH thread, so that’s why there were so many random hypotheticals... so this is very useful!

 

[urkerab]

Does Core Enforcer negate its ability effect? I.e. It triggers when hit, but does the Core Enforcer negate it when you use Surf / Dive to try and get it back?

My understanding is that Gulp Missile is in the same category as As One, Battle Bond, Comatose, Disguise, Ice Face, Multitype, Power Construct, RKS System, Schooling, Shields Down, Stance Change and Zen Mode, so they can't be negated in any way, whether via Neutralising Gas, Gastro Acid or Mold Breaker or their equivalents.

 

[Lunos]

This isn't mentioned in the main post, so I figured I should go ahead and ask over here to clear things up.
How do Neutralizing Gas and Flower Gift interact in SwSh?
I'm guessing it disables the In Battle buffs to Atk and SpDef without negating Cherrim's ability to change its form, but I wanted to make fully sure.

 

[LatiosRider]

This isn't mentioned in the main post, so I figured I should go ahead and ask over here to clear things up.
How do Neutralizing Gas and Flower Gift interact in SwSh?
I'm guessing it disables the In Battle buffs to Atk and SpDef without negating Cherrim's ability to change its form, but I wanted to make fully sure.

I tried setting the sun alongside Cherrim and then switched in G-Weezing. Not only did Cherrim lose its Attack buff, it also changed back to its Overcast form.

 

[doipy hooves]

If a hacked-in Cramorant-Gorging/Gulping activates Gulp Missile and then dynamaxes, does it reset to its gorging/gulping form again or remain in base forme?

 

[kjnjkmjk1]

Does Revelation Dance have an actually programmed effect in the game? I know it's unclickable, but is there a way to set "CanBeUsed" to True and check if it does anything? If this is possible, does it still operate as it did in Gen 7, or does it have some other placeholder effect?

 

[Champion Leon]

I didn't have the means to test your final request since I only have one Switch and you can't target an ally with Core Enforcer, so sorry about that. But Regieleki was putting in some work today otherwise.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353187562903412738

Drain Punch heals -> Gulp Missile triggers -> Rocky Helmet damage -> Shell Bell heals

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353192018189541376

Gulp Missile damage happens before recoil damage. You heal whenever you drop below 50% (Above Escavalier healed after Gulp Missile, here:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353194866776313862

Regieleki heals after Rocky Helmet.)

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353196122609618946

Heals at the end like Life Orb damage.



No.

Mold Breaker:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353194213630828544

Photon Geyser:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1353196921192472583

Sorry about the last request, hopefully someone better equipped can answer. Hope this helped!

In a battle I had recently —
Just FYI: Protective Pads bypass Gulp Missile.

HuhShrug used it with Bolt Beak and it made it bypass it. I don’t know why since it works vs Special Moves, and non contact physical ones but it did.

Protective Pads > Gulp Missile.

Can someone test this on cartridge? Both contact and non-contact moves? Just so I can confirm it is working right with PS!
Thanks.

 

[Theia]

Can someone test this on cartridge? Both contact and non-contact moves? Just so I can confirm it is working right with PS!

I thought I sensed a disturbance in the force but it was just someone saying the words "Gulp Missile".

I wasn't sure exactly what you meant here, so I just tested Pheromosa holding pads vs Gulp Missile, if you wanted something else, please let me know. (I also had to read the effects of Protective Pads like three times before I understood what it meant so there's a good chance you meant something else. )

In the case of both contact and non-contact moves, Gulp Missile still activated while Pheromosa was holding Protective Pads.

Contact:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1358193073738555392

Non-contact:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1358192600100995074

 

[Champion Leon]

I thought I sensed a disturbance in the force but it was just someone saying the words "Gulp Missile".

I wasn't sure exactly what you meant here, so I just tested Pheromosa holding pads vs Gulp Missile, if you wanted something else, please let me know. (I also had to read the effects of Protective Pads like three times before I understood what it meant so there's a good chance you meant something else. )

In the case of both contact and non-contact moves, Gulp Missile still activated while Pheromosa was holding Protective Pads.

Contact:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1358193073738555392

Non-contact:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1358192600100995074

Thank you. I am quoting you for the BH thread as evidence.

 

[DaWoblefet]

If a hacked-in Cramorant-Gorging/Gulping activates Gulp Missile and then dynamaxes, does it reset to its gorging/gulping form again or remain in base forme?

• Dynamaxing hacked Cramorant-Gorging/Gulping instantly returns it to base Cramorant. After the Dynamax ends, you don't get the form back (unless you switch it out and back in).
• Activating Gulp Missile naturally on hacked Cramorant-Gorging/Gulping, then Dynamaxing still sets you to base Cramorant. Same behavior as above afterwards.

Does Revelation Dance have an actually programmed effect in the game? I know it's unclickable, but is there a way to set "CanBeUsed" to True and check if it does anything? If this is possible, does it still operate as it did in Gen 7, or does it have some other placeholder effect?

This can only be done with ROM hacking so far as I understand, and that isn't done when testing mechanics generally speaking, as you want to understand what the game itself is doing. Typically, custom moves will crash because there's no animation assigned to them (i.e. impossible to use in PvP), but even if you disable animations, most moves don't have correct functionality assigned to them. For example, Sky Drop is just a regular 2-turn Flying type move, without any special properties. National Dex formats have disregarded these unfinished or disabled implementations, and Pure Hackmons doesn't consider ROM hacks, so there's little value in actually checking.

In a battle I had recently —
Just FYI: Protective Pads bypass Gulp Missile.

HuhShrug used it with Bolt Beak and it made it bypass it. I don’t know why since it works vs Special Moves, and non contact physical ones but it did.

Protective Pads > Gulp Missile.

Can someone test this on cartridge? Both contact and non-contact moves? Just so I can confirm it is working right with PS!
Thanks.

Gulp Missile activates on damage, not on contact. Protective Pads wouldn't interact because it has nothing to do with contact.

 

[Champion Leon]

Can someone test the *item* Metronome?

“Boosts the power of a move used consecutively by the holder.”

I tried testing Prankster Copycat with Shadow Force and Lagging Tail.

It should gain the boost during the Charging turn, then hit hard on the Attack turn.

This means Prankster allows you to call Copycat first next turn and continue the cycle, supposedly getting a boost in the process (stacking each turn), but Copycat seems to reset and doesn’t follow the suggested mechanics according to Bulbapedia —

https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Metronome_(item)

“If a Pokémon uses a move that calls another move, the move that it turns into is what's taken into account when determining whether the bonus should accumulate or reset.

If a Pokémon uses a move with a charging turn, that move is considered to be successfully used during the charging turn, and will accumulate a boost that applies to the attacking turn.”

 

[DaWoblefet]

Can someone test the *item* Metronome?

“Boosts the power of a move used consecutively by the holder.”

I tried testing Prankster Copycat with Shadow Force and Lagging Tail.

It should gain the boost during the Charging turn, then hit hard on the Attack turn.

This means Prankster allows you to call Copycat first next turn and continue the cycle, supposedly getting a boost in the process (stacking each turn), but Copycat seems to reset and doesn’t follow the suggested mechanics according to Bulbapedia —

https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Metronome_(item)

“If a Pokémon uses a move that calls another move, the move that it turns into is what's taken into account when determining whether the bonus should accumulate or reset.

If a Pokémon uses a move with a charging turn, that move is considered to be successfully used during the charging turn, and will accumulate a boost that applies to the attacking turn.”

Confirming that Copycat calling a charge move like Dive will cause the Dive to execute with Metronome 1 power (4915/4096).

**********************
Haven't cross-posted to this thread yet: Xerneas, Zacian, and Zamazenta all have different forms at Team Preview compared to their in-battle forms, which causes an information leak. If you did not bring the Xerneas / Zacian / Zamazenta, then it will appear as its Standard / Hero of Many Battles form, but if you did bring them, their dimmed sprite would reveal their Active / Crowned forms, thus leaking that they were brought to the game. This is relevant for formats that don't bring all 6 Pokemon to the battle (VGC).

• Zacian footage
• Xerneas screenshots

So far as I can tell, no other Pokemon do this. Keldeo doesn't do this (an Ordinary Keldeo transferred from BW1 -> Bank -> Home -> SwSh will come to Team Preview and battle as Ordinary Keldeo with Secret Sword), Silvally doesn't do this, and it doesn't impact ambiguous forms like Urshifu. If anyone can find any other Pokemon that behave this way, let me know!

 

[bwburke94]

Keldeo doesn't do this (an Ordinary Keldeo transferred from BW1 -> Bank -> Home -> SwSh will come to Team Preview and battle as Ordinary Keldeo with Secret Sword)

And on that note, what exactly triggers Keldeo's change to Resolute Form in SwSh? Is it as simple as "have Secret Sword and complete a battle"?

 

[Rarycaris]

And on that note, what exactly triggers Keldeo's change to Resolute Form in SwSh? Is it as simple as "have Secret Sword and complete a battle"?

I'm pretty sure it's just learning the move that does it; the reason it doesn't happen with a BW1 Keldeo is that form doesn't exist in that game, and the game doesn't perform any check to alter the form if transferred with Secret Sword already learned.

 

[DaWoblefet]

Two neat discoveries!

The "Pokemon will flinch" flag and the "Focus Punch will lose focus" flag are dichotomous. The "lost focus" flag will always be set before the "flinch" flag, and the game never removes the "pending Focus Punch" flag. The "lost focus" flag preventing a move from executing also only works if the currently used move is actually Focus Punch. By combining this with ways of calling other moves during the turn, such as Dancer, a Pokemon can dodge a flinch. Consider these short clips:

1. Dancer vs. flinch (no Focus Punch)
2. Dancer vs. flinch (with Focus Punch)

In the first video, the Salamence flinches twice - once when trying to use Sleep Talk, and the other when trying to use FeatherDance via Dancer. In the second video, Salamence does not flinch and is able to successfully use FeatherDance, though it of course loses focus and cannot use Focus Punch like normal.

Note that this does NOT work with Shell Trap or Beak Blast, as they don't use the same flag as Focus Punch. Thanks to Nol and Gardevoir Gallade for helping me get started with testing!

*******************

When the game's match timer reaches 0, the game determines the winner by the following criteria, in this order:

1. Whoever has more Pokemon wins. If tied,
2. Whoever has a greater percentage of HP across all Pokemon brought to the match wins (including fainted Pokemon). If tied,
3. Whoever has the greatest total amount of HP across all Pokemon wins. If tied,
4. The match is a draw.

To expand on 2) the "greater percentage of HP" is calculated as follows:
floor[(sum of all current HP * 100) / sum of all total HP]

Effectively, this means that the percentage must be a whole number and is limited to "2 decimal places". For example, a Pokemon team with 392 / 400 HP (naively 98.0%, but really 98) is identical to a Pokemon team with 392 / 396 HP (naively 98.98%, but really 98).

In related timeout research, only the base HP is considered if one or more Pokemon are Dynamaxed. For a trivial example, compare two teams, both at full HP, but one player Dynamaxes. The % of HP is the same (100), but the total HP is not the same if Dynamaxed HP is considered. But the match is a draw. This indicates that for total HP, the extra HP from Dynamax isn't considered. For a more nuanced example, consider two identical teams with the following board state:

147/220 HP Amoonguss
199/199 HP Zacian-Crowned
197/197 HP Zapdos

This is typically floor[(147+199+197) * 100 / (220+199+197)] = 88. If the opposing Amoonguss Dynamaxes, and if Dynamaxed HP counted for timeouts, it would have floor[(294+199+197) * 100 / (440+199+197)] = 82, a lower percentage. So the non-Dynamaxed Amoonguss side should win. But in fact the match ties once again. So base HP is considered for timeouts, not Dynamaxed HP.

Video evidence can be reviewed in this video. With thanks to LightCore for helping test the VGC timeouts!

 

[Champion Leon]

In cart, would Mega Launcher boost Aura Wheel?
Since it boosts Aura Sphere?

According to Bulbapedia:
Mega Launcher boosts the strength of aura and pulse moves used by a Pokémon with this Ability.

It lists Gen 8 move Terrain Pulse, but skips Aura Wheel.

 

[Anubis]

Does Revelation Dance have an actually programmed effect in the game? I know it's unclickable, but is there a way to set "CanBeUsed" to True and check if it does anything? If this is possible, does it still operate as it did in Gen 7, or does it have some other placeholder effect?

If the question is whether CanBeUsed can be toggled to True, yes it can with rom edits. You have to disable animations and test locally to avoid crashes.

I've actually tested Revelation Dance in SwSh and it has the same effects as last generation, where the type follows the first type of the Pokemon using it. It's a bit hit-and-miss whether a move is fully implemented though. While Sky Drop doesn't have any of the behavior where it stops the target from moving, other moves like Hidden Power and Judgment have the correct type and power when used normally and turn into Max Strike as Max Moves.

Here is Max Judgment + Pixie Plate:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1285345984482967552

I don't have the videos anymore for all the other moves, but here were my comments from when I tested them last year. I didn't bother continuing to test other moves since nobody wants to implement them, and they would be purely idle curiosity:

Techno Blast and Revelation Dance have the same behavior as Judgment and Hidden Power.
- Revelation Dance on Charizard is 90 BP Fire Type, turns into 130 BP Max Strike
- Techno Blast + Douse Drive on Charizard is 120 BP Water Type, turns into 140 BP Max Strike

Revelation Dance is fire type because it's NVE Stonjourner, neutral Cursola, SE Corviknight.
Techno Blast is water type because it's SE Stonjourner, neutral Cursola and Corviknight.

 

[LatiosRider]

In cart, would Mega Launcher boost Aura Wheel?
Since it boosts Aura Sphere?

According to Bulbapedia:
Mega Launcher boosts the strength of aura and pulse moves used by a Pokémon with this Ability.

It lists Gen 8 move Terrain Pulse, but skips Aura Wheel.

I actually tested this a while back by using Entrianment on Morpeko. I didn't bother making a post because the move was not boosted. It's not too surprising a result since all of the moves boosted by Mega Launcher end with はどう (hadō) in Japanese, and Aura Wheel does not. Terrain Pulse, on the other hand, does.

 

[pyuk]

If the question is whether CanBeUsed can be toggled to True, yes it can with rom edits. You have to disable animations and test locally to avoid crashes.

I've actually tested Revelation Dance in SwSh and it has the same effects as last generation, where the type follows the first type of the Pokemon using it. It's a bit hit-and-miss whether a move is fully implemented though. While Sky Drop doesn't have any of the behavior where it stops the target from moving, other moves like Hidden Power and Judgment have the correct type and power when used normally and turn into Max Strike as Max Moves.

Here is Max Judgment + Pixie Plate:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1285345984482967552

I don't have the videos anymore for all the other moves, but here were my comments from when I tested them last year. I didn't bother continuing to test other moves since nobody wants to implement them, and they would be purely idle curiosity:

Interesting to note that since Techno Blast was added back with Crown Tundra, it now turns into the max move that corresponds with the drive. It might be worth testing this again to see if whatever Game Freak did to fix Techno Blast may have also applied to other, similar moves.

 

[Anubis]

Interesting to note that since Techno Blast was added back with Crown Tundra, it now turns into the max move that corresponds with the drive. It might be worth testing this again to see if whatever Game Freak did to fix Techno Blast may have also applied to other, similar moves.

Could you clarify which "similar moves" would be worth testing? NatDex opted to use assumed mechanics, and most of the standard metas don't use Dexited moves, so I dropped this last year thinking it wasn't worth my time editing flatbuffers if it wasn't going to affect anything on the sim.

 

[pyuk]

Could you clarify which "similar moves" would be worth testing? NatDex opted to use assumed mechanics, and most of the standard metas don't use Dexited moves, so I dropped this last year thinking it wasn't worth my time editing flatbuffers if it wasn't going to affect anything on the sim.

Well, when I say “worth testing”, I mean for curiosity’s sake. Now that you mention it, it’s hard to imagine an outcome that would actually have any impact on the sim.

 

[TheHuntBegins]

Does selecting Max Flutterby based on Fury Cutter add to the consecutive counter once Dynamax is finished?

 

[Martin]

Hey, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this. It’s probably documented somewhere really obvious but I’m utterly atrocious at researching things.

How does the RNG on Tri Attack work? Is a random number from (e.g.) 0–255 generated with each status assigned to a range of those values (e.g. paralysis from 0–16, burn from 17–33, and freeze from 34–50) or is a series of rolls performed? If the latter is the case, is it two independent rolls of 1/5 for activation and 1/3 determining the status or is it three 1/15 rolls (one for each status) with a set priority (meaning some statuses are marginally more likely than others) or a reroll in the event of two or more positive outcomes?

 

[SadisticMystic]

Assuming nothing's changed about it from last generation, upon using Tri Attack, the game first rolls for a random status with the equivalent of a 3-sided die (0 = paralysis, 1 = burn, 2 = freeze) and treats the move as having a 20% chance to inflict that status and no other. If it turns out the opponent is immune to that particular status by type or ability, tough break; in that case it becomes something similar to its incarnation from the RBY days (no side effect). It doesn't keep rerolling in search of a status that can successfully be inflicted, so having an immunity to one or two of the possible statuses can reduce the effective chance of getting inflicted with one down to 2/15 or 1/15.

 

[Talpr0ne]

Assuming nothing's changed about it from last generation, upon using Tri Attack, the game first rolls for a random status with the equivalent of a 3-sided die (0 = paralysis, 1 = burn, 2 = freeze) and treats the move as having a 20% chance to inflict that status and no other. If it turns out the opponent is immune to that particular status by type or ability, tough break; in that case it becomes something similar to its incarnation from the RBY days (no side effect). It doesn't keep rerolling in search of a status that can successfully be inflicted, so having an immunity to one or two of the possible statuses can reduce the effective chance of getting inflicted with one down to 2/15 or 1/15.

Does Effect Spore behave in a similar way?