WIP Watch The Clock: A Primer on Switch Generation Battle Timer Mechanics

[Theorymon]

People that helped that should be in the credits: DerpySuX , Pearl , DaWoblefet

Watch The Clock: A Primer on Battle Timer Mechanics (WIP Title lol)​

Compared to Pokemon Showdown, players on a Nintendo Switch have another win condition to consider: the battle timer. Under normal circumstances, battles online will have multiple timers in play. While it might seem minor at first, these timer mechanics can have a big impact on certain playstyles in VGC and Battle Stadium Singles, with some strategies even revolving around whittle down the timer to victory! Let's go over each of these mechanics, and how you can best optimize your playstyle around the many clocks of Pokemon!

The Team Preview Timer

Even before the battle begins, the clock starts ticking while you select your Pokemon at team preview! Believe it or not, there is still strategic value beyond picking the right Pokemon for the battle!
​

Team Preview Timers By Game and Format

Scarlet and Violet

Scarlet / Violet Battle Format	Team Preview Timer
Battle Stadium Singles	1:30 Minutes
VGC	????

Note: I THINK free battles might have different timers for stuff and SwSh had Battle Seasons that changed certain aspects of the timer but... I can't remember, I'll look it up / test if needed, because I do want to talk about say, what happens if you try to play 6v6 on a Switch, since the timer is TOTALLY different than what people are used to in Pokemon Showdown lol. This applies to Sword and Shield too, can't remember if BDSP and Lets Go have different approaches to timers in their game modes lol.

Sword and Shield

BSS Formats: ???

VGC: ???

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

??? (Might have notes on these somewhere, gotta look for em lol)

Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee

??? (Do not remember the timer mechanics at team preview for these at ALL, or if they even had them. It's been a while lol, probably gotta test!)

What Happens When The Team Preview Timer Runs Out?

If not all Pokemon are selected before the team preview timer runs out, the consequences will depend on the game being played!

Scarlet and Violet

If no Pokemon are selected: (I think it's just the first 3 mons in your party but I better double check lol,)

If 1-2 Pokemon are selected: (also can't remember what the game does with partial selections. I better double check that)

If 3 Pokemon are selected: Breathe a sight of relief, because even if you don't push the ready menu option, the game will let you go with the 3 Pokemon you've selected!

Sword and Shield

If no Pokemon are selected:

If 1-2 Pokemon are selected:

If 3 Pokemon are selected:

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

If no Pokemon are selected:

If 1-2 Pokemon are selected:

If 3 Pokemon are selected:


Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee

(I can not even begin to remember this, will test this again lol)

Strategizing Around The Team Preview Timer

The Game Timer​

This is amount of time a battle is allowed to last. If the Game Time reaches 0 before the match is over, there are 3 methods of tie-breakers done in this order.

Notes because I am a forgetful person: Need to bring up Dynamax, and how HP is calculated. Also I will likely make Game specific sections for this depending on what the differences between the 4 pairs of Switch games are. If it's just Dynamax, I will just mention that for the HP calculation stuff.

Also: I should probably include ANY formulas the game uses for determining these things! I figure if we're gonna get this inside the game, might as well show what goes on internally if possible!

Finally: I SWEAR Scarlet and Violet made some changes to this... but I can not even begin to remember what they are, for better or worse I have never gotten a draw in SV lol. So I'll have to double check on that stuff / test stuff if there's not any good sources!

1. When the timer reaches 0 before move selections are done, the game will determine a winner based off the health of both player's parties. The player with the most remaining Pokemon will win.

2. If both players have the same amount of Pokemon left, the team with the highest percentage of HP is declared the winner.

3. If both teams have the same percentage of team HP, then the team with the highest total HP will win.

4. If all of the above tie-breaker scenarios are still a tie, the game declares the battle a draw.

Scarlet and Violet Specific Mechanics

Sword and Shield Specific Mechanics

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Specific Mechanics

Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee Specific Mechanics

The Move Timer​

This is the amount of time a player has to select their move. If this reaches 0, the decisions made for you depend on the game and what type of actions the game is asking you to make.

I will go into detail about these differences as soon as I read about them (because I forget stuff) / test them out lol

Scarlet and Violet Specific Mechanics

Sword and Shield Specific Mechanics

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Specific Mechanics

Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee Specific Mechanics

Your Time​

Your Time: The amount of time a player has to select their move for the entire match.

1. The first player to have this timer reach 0 will lose the match once the turn ends.

I remember this having some funky interactions with the battle timer in SV... I better check up on that lol. Anyways you know the drill I gotta add more stuff!

Scarlet and Violet Specific Mechanics

Sword and Shield Specific Mechanics

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Specific Mechanics

Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee Specific Mechanics

Battle Animation Mechanics​

The Game Timer constantly ticks down, even during battle animations. Because of this, longer animations can be taken advantage of for a timer stall win condition, or conversely, can make you more vulnerable to losing to timer stall.

Shiny Animations​

When switching in a shiny Pokemon, even the shiny animation will take up extra time compared to a regular Pokemon! The shiny animation times differ between each pair of Pokemon games.

Shiny Animation Times By Game

Pokemon Game	Shiny Animation Time
Scarlet / Violet	1.15 Seconds
Sword / Shield	1.94 Seconds
Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl	3.6 Seconds (will try more exact measurement)
Let's Go Pikachu / Let's Go Eevee	1.9 Seconds (will try more exact measurement)

Shiny Animation Strategy

uhh text goes here, I promise this won't be an under construction sign from 1999 lol

Move Animations​

The Game Timer does not stop for move animations. Because of this, moves that are otherwise incredibly similar, have a hidden difference: the amount of Game Time their animation takes up. Below are some comparisons to help you decide which identical moves fit your team's style.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Move Animation Times​

Recovery Moves

Move	Animation Time	Notes
Slack Off
Recover
Roost		Only identical on Pokemon without a Flying-type
Soft-Boiled
Shore Up		Recovers 3/4ths health in a sandstorm.
Milk Drink

Weather-based Recovery Moves

Move	Animation Time
Synthesis
Morning Sun
Moonlight

Item Switching Moves

Move	Animation Time
Trick
Switcheroo

Phazing Moves

Move	Animation Time	Notes
Whirlwind
Roar		Does not effect Pokemon with Soundproof.

+2 Defense Boosting Moves

Move	Max PP	Animation Time
Iron Defense	24
Acid Armor	32
Shelter	16

+2 Speed Boosting Moves

Move	Max PP	Animation Time
Agility	48
Rock Polish	32

Trapping Moves

Move	Animation Time
Mean Look
Block
Spider Web

Accuracy Moves

Move	Animation Time
Mind Reader
Lock-On

Normal Type OHKO Moves

Move	Animation Time
Guillotine
Horn Drill

Pokemon Sword and Shield Animation Times​

Recovery Moves

Move	Animation Time	Notes
Slack Off	2.16 Seconds
Recover	3.12 Seconds
Roost	3.19 Seconds	Only identical on Pokemon without a Flying-type
Soft-Boiled	3.28 Seconds
Shore Up	4.08 Seconds	Recovers 3/4ths health in a sandstorm.
Milk Drink	Needs Testing

Weather-based Recovery Moves

Move	Animation Time
Synthesis	3.27 Seconds
Morning Sun	4.01 Seconds
Moonlight	4.11 Seconds

Status Healing Moves

Move	Animation Time	Notes
Heal Bell		Does not affect Soundproof Pokemon
Aromatherapy		Absorbed by Sap Sipper teammates when on the field in doubles.

Item Switching Moves

Move	Animation Time
Trick
Switcheroo

Phazing Moves

Move	Animation Time	Notes
Whirlwind
Roar		Does not effect Pokemon with Soundproof.

+2 Defense Boosting Moves

Move	Max PP	Animation Time
Iron Defense	24
Acid Armor	32

+1 Defense Boosting Moves

Move	Max PP	Animation Time	Notes
Defense Curl	64		Boosts the damage of Rollout
Withdraw	64
Harden	48

+2 Speed Boosting Moves

Move	Max PP	Animation Time
Agility	48
Rock Polish	32

Trapping Moves

Move	Animation Time
Mean Look
Block

Accuracy Moves

Move	Animation Time
Mind Reader
Lock-On

Normal Type OHKO Moves

Move	Animation Time
Guillotine
Horn Drill

 

[DerpySuX]

I frame counted every recovery move (I forgot about milk drink oof) so here’s that data

in case it’s relevant, these were timed in Adobe Premier on a 120FPS monitor, though pokemon swsh runs at 30FPS

Morning Sun - 4.01 Sec
Moonlight - 4.11 Sec
Recover - 3.12 Sec
Roost - 3.19 Sec
Slack Off - 2.16 Sec
Soft Boiled - 3.28 Sec
Synthesis - 3.27 Sec
Shore Up - 4.08 Sec

My timing window started at the first frame of the moves animation (whether this is a camera shift or the Pokémon itself actually moving differently from its standard idle animation) to the first frame of the default recovery animation (where the little particles appear around the Mon as the health bar increases), due to the nature of the game being 30 FPS, I didn’t trust myself to get accurate measurements past the hundredth of a second. Anyway, hope this helps, and let me know if you need anything else frame counted! :)

 

[DaWoblefet]

I didn't actually get tagged for this, but I happened upon it so here's some notes from a once-over:

One more thing: At least for Battle Spot, I remember Pokemon Sun and Moon being entirely based on Your Time. If that's the case for all Sun and Moon stuff, there probably won't be much of a mention for gen 7!

Japan used what you call game time at its International events during Gen 7, but all other events (minimally all Western events, including Worlds) used exclusively your time during Gen 7.

2. If both players have the same amount of Pokemon left, the team with the highest percentage of HP is declared the winner.

3. If both teams have the same percentage of team HP, then the team with the highest total HP will win.

I know this is WIP but you'll want to discuss things like how percentage of HP is actually calculated, how Dynamax is factored into game time running out, etc.

Move Time: The amount of time a player has to select their move. If this reaches 0, then the first move in a Pokemon's move list will be selected.

Similarly, this is WIP but there's lots more edge cases than just timing out into first moveslot (e.g. switching Pokemon in, Team Preview timeouts work differently between gens, etc.). Might also mention summary screen timeouts.

1. The first player to have this timer reach 0 will lose the match once all moves are selected.

2. Game Time takes priority over Your Time. So if the Game Time reaches 0 after Your Time reaches 0, the game will determine the winner based off of Game Time rather than Your Time once all moves are selected.

This is wrong; your time loses at the end of the turn, not after move selection. There's no "priority" because your time won't cause you to lose until the end of the current turn.

Battle Animation

The Game Timer constantly ticks down, even during battle animations. Because of this, longer animations can be taken advantage of for a timer stall win condition.

The opposite is true too; if your team can potentially lose on timer it can be worth doing the other way around (e.g. Chansey teams shouldn't use Shiny mons).


Here's a few videos that may help you in your writing:

 

[DerpySuX]

Got some data for the shiny animations in Generation 9, thanks to Pearl for helping me get the footage to time.
I tested these animations by switching from full HP Flutter Mane to Full HP Dondozo, both Dondozo had the same nickname and were set to level 50. Pearl used shell smash with cloyster the entire time. I started timing on the first frame of the text fade of the switch, and stopped as soon as cloysters turn began (first frame of the text fade in for shell smash).

The times are as follows
Shiny - 10.165 seconds
Not shiny - 9.02 seconds

While not as notable as Sword and Shield, the shiny animation does still take up a somewhat tangible amount of time, which can make a difference in stally games.

also lol

 

[Lumari]

Theorymon hi are you still working on this

 

[Theorymon]

Theorymon hi are you still working on this

Not actively because of the BSS dex upkeep, but I do actually want to get back to this! A big thing holding this back in the past was move animation data for the 3DS games (its painful to record a 3DS game on native hardware lol...) but since those are shutting down in 2 months, I could potentially cut those and get this done MUCH faster, like during this weekend! I got a capture card recently so I can feasibly do this for SV myself now unlike previous times.

Also gonna highlight DerpySuX they had the process for this nailed down, I wanna make sure I do this right. You don't have to post the method though you can just DM me lol

EDIT AS OF 2/18/24: Putting the old article formatting in hide tags here in case I need something from it, Im restructuring this article's formatting right now!

TO DO LIST

- Explain battle timer mechanics

- Have a table for shiny animation times

- Include Move Animation comparisons for similar, at least somewhat viable moves.

TO DO LIST

Generally, if a move totally sucks and is not shared by mons (like Sharpen / Meditiate / Howl), then I won't include it. However, I'm being pretty liberal about this: for example, I bring up +1 Defense moves because Defense Curl Porygon2 saw some use in BSS SwSh.

Address these things DaWoblefet mentioned:

Similarly, this is WIP but there's lots more edge cases than just timing out into first moveslot (e.g. switching Pokemon in, Team Preview timeouts work differently between gens, etc.). Might also mention summary screen timeouts.

- Test out move animation stuff

-Talk about Dynamax and more indepth HP calculation stuff for Game Time

Old Article Stuff JUST IN CASE

Apologies for the highlights, but in the VGC Discord it was suggested I highlight you 3 in case you had more info on timer stuff before I start testing move animation stuff: DaWoblefet Anubis SadisticMystic . I'm sorry if I annoyed you three with this. If you don't have any extra info, me and DerpySuX are perfectly fine compiling the data for the similar move animation stuff!

Hey everyone, here's that timer article I brought up a while ago, got time to do this now! This article is mainly aimed at Battle Stadium Singles and VGC, but I'd also like it to be applicable for anyone who plays on their Switch or 3DS. When Scarlet and Violet come out, I'd like to add their specific intricacies to this article as an expansion. The current goals for this are:

- Explain battle timer mechanics

- Have a table for shiny animation times

- Include Move Animation comparisons for similar, at least somewhat viable moves. Generally, if a move totally sucks and is not shared by mons (like Sharpen / Meditiate / Howl), then I won't include it. However, I'm being pretty liberal about this: for example, I bring up +1 Defense moves because Defense Curl Porygon2 sees some use in Battle Stadium Singles.

One more thing: At least for Battle Spot, I remember Pokemon Sun and Moon being entirely based on Your Time. If that's the case for all Sun and Moon stuff, there probably won't be much of a mention for gen 7! I don't have any data on gen 5 or Pokemon Battle Revolution either, and I'm not sure if they'll make the article because they're both officially online (I realize there are ways to at least gen 5 back online though), and they would likely be difficult to test on my part. Still, I don't mind either including the info if anyone already has it, or including it later.

People that helped that should be in the credits: DerpySuX , Pearl , DaWoblefet

TO DO LIST

Address these things DaWoblefet mentioned:

Similarly, this is WIP but there's lots more edge cases than just timing out into first moveslot (e.g. switching Pokemon in, Team Preview timeouts work differently between gens, etc.). Might also mention summary screen timeouts.

- Test out move animation stuff

-Talk about Dynamax and more indepth HP calculation stuff for Game Time


Watch The Clock: A Primer on Battle Timer Mechanics (WIP Title lol)

Compared to Pokemon Showdown, players on a Nintendo Switch or 3DS have another win condition to consider: the battle timer. Under normal circumstances, battles online will have multiple timers in play.

Game Time: The amount of time a battle is allowed to last. If the Game Time reaches 0 before the match is over, there are 3 methods of tie-breakers done in this order.

Need to bring up Dynamax, and how HP is calculated.

1. When the timer reaches 0 before move selections are , the game will determine a winner based off the health of both player's parties. The player with the most remaining Pokemon will win.

2. If both players have the same amount of Pokemon left, the team with the highest percentage of HP is declared the winner.

3. If both teams have the same percentage of team HP, then the team with the highest total HP will win.

4. If all of the above tie-breaker scenarios are still a tie, the game declares the battle a draw.

Move Time: The amount of time a player has to select their move. If this reaches 0, then the first move in a Pokemon's move list will be selected.

Your Time: The amount of time a player has to select their move for the entire match. This mechanic is only present in Pokemon Sword / Shield, Pokemon Sun / Moon, and Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon.

1. The first player to have this timer reach 0 will lose the match once the turn ends.


Battle Animation

The Game Timer constantly ticks down, even during battle animations. Because of this, longer animations can be taken advantage of for a timer stall win condition, or conversely, can make you more vulnerable to losing to timer stall.

Shiny Animations

When switching in a shiny Pokemon, even the shiny animation will take up Game Time, making them useful for teams that may attempt to win via timer stall.

Note: I realize a certain contest ribbon (either for mastering a contest or getting them all, can't remember) causes a shiny-like effect in ORAS. I need to test if it takes up the same animation time or not, but it will be noted somehow![/S]

Pokemon Game	Shiny Animation Time
Scarlet / Violet	1.15 Seconds
Sword / Shield	1.94 Seconds
Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl	3.6 Seconds (will try more exact measurement)
Let's Go Pikachu / Let's Go Eevee	1.9 Seconds (will try more exact measurement)
X / Y / Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire	Needs Testing

Move Animations

The Game Timer does not stop for move animations. Because of this, moves that are otherwise incredibily similar, have a hidden difference: the amount of Game Time their animation takes up. Below are some comparisons to help you decide which identical moves fit your team's style.

Recovery Moves

Move	Animation Time	Notes
Slack Off	2.16 Seconds
Recover	3.12 Seconds
Roost	3.19 Seconds	Only identical on Pokemon without a Flying-type
Soft-Boiled	3.28 Seconds
Shore Up	4.08 Seconds	Recovers 3/4ths health in a sandstorm.
Milk Drink	Needs Testing

Weather-based Recovery Moves

Move	Animation Time
Synthesis	3.27 Seconds
Morning Sun	4.01 Seconds
Moonlight	4.11 Seconds

Status Healing Moves

Move	Animation Time	Notes
Heal Bell		Does not affect Soundproof Pokemon
Aromatherapy		Absorbed by Sap Sipper teammates when on the field in doubles.

Item Switching Moves

Move	Animation Time
Trick
Switcheroo

Phazing Moves

Move	Animation Time	Notes
Whirlwind
Roar

+2 Defense Boosting Moves

Move	Max PP	Animation Time
Iron Defense	24
Acid Armor	32

+1 Defense Boosting Moves

Move	Max PP	Animation Time	Notes
Defense Curl	64		Boosts the damage of Rollout
Withdraw	64
Harden	48

+2 Speed Boosting Moves

Move	Max PP	Animation Time
Agility	48
Rock Polish	32

Trapping Moves

Move	Animation Time
Mean Look
Block

Accuracy Moves

Move	Animation Time
Mind Reader
Lock-On

Other Gens (not organized yet, each pair of games featured will have their own section)

Guillotine / Horn Drill

Heal Bell / Aromatherapy (Soundproof)

Recover / Roost / Softboiled / Milk Drink / Slack Off / Heal Order

Morning Sun / Synthesis / Moonlight

Trick / Switcheroo

Roar / Whrilwind

Meanlook / Block / Spider Web

Cosmic Power / Defend Order

Barrier / Acid Armor / Iron Defense

Mind Reader / Lock-On

Defense Curl / Withdraw / Harden

Agility / Rock Polish

 

[Lumari]

Not actively because of the BSS dex upkeep, but I do actually want to get back to this! A big thing holding this back in the past was move animation data for the 3DS games (its painful to record a 3DS game on native hardware lol...) but since those are shutting down in 2 months, I could potentially cut those and get this done MUCH faster, like during this weekend! I got a capture card recently so I can feasibly do this for SV myself now unlike previous times.

Also gonna highlight DerpySuX they had the process for this nailed down, I wanna make sure I do this right. You don't have to post the method though you can just DM me lol

yes keeping it to switch games is totally fine, as would keeping it to gen 9 and adding gen 8 separately later ftr if you wanna do that. don't want a potential current gen resource to get pushed back bc we feel past gens must be done as well before it can be finished

 

[DerpySuX]

Not actively because of the BSS dex upkeep, but I do actually want to get back to this! A big thing holding this back in the past was move animation data for the 3DS games (its painful to record a 3DS game on native hardware lol...) but since those are shutting down in 2 months, I could potentially cut those and get this done MUCH faster, like during this weekend! I got a capture card recently so I can feasibly do this for SV myself now unlike previous times.

Also gonna highlight DerpySuX they had the process for this nailed down, I wanna make sure I do this right. You don't have to post the method though you can just DM me lol

I don’t have a 3DS capture card but someone else does and they send me clips of what you need measured I can toss it into premier and frame count