Resource GSC Simple Question, Simple Answer Thread

Rezzo

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Quick one regarding sleep, hoping someone has some insight as I'm not able to find this info online.

For sleep status that is not induced by Rest, what is the chance of waking up on any given turn?

I'm aware that the 1st turn of sleep is understood to be a 0% chance, and turn 8th turn is understood to be 100% chance, but how about sleep turns 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7?

I'd imagine this is handled by a factor of 256 -- I'm hoping for this exact value rather than a rounded percentage.

Thanks in advance.

UPDATE: I asked over on the decomps Discord too and got a swift answer for anyone who's curious about this one:

There's no randomness [in the chances of waking up]. Sleep turns are determined upon the Sleep condition being created, meaning there is a 1/6 chance of each outcome being pre-determined.
Essentially, the "waking up" turn has a 1/6 chance of being one of turns 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
 
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Siatam

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What team would you put Golem on?
Golem's Rapid Spin, Explosion, and Normal resisting Rock typing make it an option worth considering on almost any GSC team. This niche virtually ensures Golem will have utility in every game that it features in. In my personal opinion, if Golem is able to permanently spin away Spikes and get its Explosion off, it is the best normal resist in the meta. So I think it is more useful to think about what team support is needed to help Golem perform.

On offense, teammates like Sleep Talk Snorlax or the occasional Raikou make good partners because they can switch into the ubiquitous Zapdos. Since Rapid Spin prevents Golem from learning Rock Slide, Zapdos has an easy time switching into Golem and forces either an Explosion or for one of Golem's teammates to take an attack.

On stall teams, Golem fits well on the common Snorlax/Raikou/Skarmory core but is not commonly see paired with mons like Starmie or Umbreon since their utilities overlap. Golem's overall typing is quite poor defensively and is only really effective at taking Normal and Fire type attacks consistently. As such, if one of Golem's roles of Rapid Spin or Fire-move-Snorlax (FireLax) check is shared with a teammate it is usually a good idea to replace Golem. I.e. using Starmie + Tyranitar or Forretress + Umbreon to split Golem's responsibilities. On the flipside this means that Golem is a good fit on teams that must compress the roles of Rapid Spinner + FireLax check into a single slot.

Unlike other Rapid Spinners, Golem matchups up poorly against the tier's Spikers: Cloyster and Forretress. So in a match it can be advantageous to weaken or cripple the opponent's Spiker. Some teammates that can accomplish this include Toxic Cloyster and Thunder/Flamethrower Snorlax. Admittedly this isn't much of a team-based requirement to use Golem, since most teams try to pressure the opponent's Spiker anyway. This is more of a deliberate tactic when using Golem teams.
 

FriendOfMrGolem120

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I want to put a Spike Setter and Spinner on my team in the same slot.

I wanted to ask what would make Cloyster or Forretress preferable over eachother?
Arguments for Forretress:
+ immune to Toxic, important for defensive teams without a Heal Bell user
+ can run Explosion alongside Rapid Spin
+/- has lots of options but sometimes struggles to fit all the coverage moves it wants onto the same set, Hidden Power Fire is its only way to deter an opposing Forretress, can't threaten Gengar without Hidden Power Ghost, appreciates having Giga Drain for hitting Cloyster and Golem, or Toxic for hitting the aforementioned two as well as Starmie
- double weakness to fire, could be caught off-guard by fire moves on pokemon that only occasiocally run them like Snorlax, Tyranitar, Exeggutor, Marowak, Machamp or Golem

Arguments for Cloyster:
+ overall more threatening offensively, better speed tier than Forretress and doing decent damage with Surf against targets that resist Explosion (e.g. Steelix, Golem, Gengar, Misdreavus, Tyranitar, Skarmory) as well as being able to hit ghosts without relying on Hidden Power Ghost
+ more defensive utility against slow ground attackers like Steelix or Marowak
- can't run Explosion alongside Rapid Spin

Usually I would recommend Forretress as Rapid Spin user, unless you also have a Heal Bell user in which case I'd be more likely to pick Cloyster. The Toxic immunity is extremely useful on defensive teams that rely on Spikes as one of their main ways to pressure the opponent. Explosion on offensive teams is hard to drop. This is just a general rule though and on some teams Rapid Spin Cloyster could be the better choice.
 
Hi there, once again coming here to ask a mechanics question, but this one is more... direct.

Does anyone have a full Gen 2 damage calculation formula? Wanted to run some calcs regarding in-game values, but I can't remove stat exp in Showdown's calculator and it's making me a little nervous about the results, despite me messing with the base stat values in the calculator to make them match the in-game values.
 

Rezzo

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is a Pre-Contributor
Hi there, once again coming here to ask a mechanics question, but this one is more... direct.

Does anyone have a full Gen 2 damage calculation formula? Wanted to run some calcs regarding in-game values, but I can't remove stat exp in Showdown's calculator and it's making me a little nervous about the results, despite me messing with the base stat values in the calculator to make them match the in-game values.
Hiya,

This post, as well as a few preceding it, go into detail about the damage formula currently used in PS and (to the best of our knowledge) the cartridge games. The final damage formula at the end of the post is what you may be looking for.

There's also another great post here, which, while quite old now and potentially not as accurate as current knowledge, goes into the gritty math and sequencing of what actually happens during a turn. There is a detailed section under "Damage Calculation Mechanics" that may be of use for you.
 
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gumnas

formerly .Maguss.
Hi there, once again coming here to ask a mechanics question, but this one is more... direct.

Does anyone have a full Gen 2 damage calculation formula? Wanted to run some calcs regarding in-game values, but I can't remove stat exp in Showdown's calculator and it's making me a little nervous about the results, despite me messing with the base stat values in the calculator to make them match the in-game values.
This is the damage calculation process for the second generation. The game performs each step in the following order.

  • In battles in which Exp. Points can be gained, the badges have the appropriate stat multiplied by 9 and divided by 8 for Pokémon controlled by the player (the Zephyr Badge raises Attack, the Plain Badge raises Speed, the Mineral Badge raises Defense, and the Glacier Badge raises Special Attack).* (This calculation is done in advance rather than during damage calculation.)
  • Stat stage modifying attacks modify the appropriate stat (Attack or Defense).* (This calculation is done in advance rather than during damage calculation.)
  • If the attacker is burned, halve the Attack value.* (This calculation is done in advance rather than during damage calculation.)
  • If the attack is Selfdestruct or Explosion, divide the opposing Pokémon's Defense by 2.
  • If Reflect is in effect for the opposing Pokémon, double the Defense value.*
  • If Light Screen is in effect for the opposing Pokémon, double the Special Defense value.*
  • If the attacker's original species is Pikachu and the attacker is holding Light Ball, Special Attack is doubled.
  • If the attacker's original species is Cubone or Marowak and the attacker is holding Thick Club, Attack is doubled.
  • If the Attack or Special Attack stat, the Defense or Special Defense stat, or both exceeds 255, divide both stats by 4 (In Gold/Silver/Crystal, the result is then truncated to an 8-bit integer; for example, 0x0123 in hexadecimal becomes 0x0023).
  • If the opposing Pokémon's original species is Ditto and the opposing Pokémon is holding Metal Powder, both Defense and Special Defense are multiplied by 1.5.
  • If the Attack or Special Attack stat, the Defense or Special Defense stat, or both is 0, it becomes 1.
  • The damage is equal to:
int(int(int(2×L ÷ 5+2)×A×P ÷ D)/50)

where L is the attacker's level, A is the attacker's Attack or Special Attack value, P is the attack's power, and D is the opposing Pokémon's Attack or Special Defense value. For physical attack types (Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost, Steel), use the Attack and Defense values. For special attack types (Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Dragon, Dark), use the Special Attack and Special Defense values.

  • When the attack does a critical hit, the calculated damage is doubled.
  • If the attacker is holding certain items like Pink Bow and Charcoal, multiply the calculated damage by 1.1 (multiply by 110, divide by 100) if the attacker is using an attack of the appropriate type.
  • If the damage calculated is greater than 997, it becomes 997.
  • Add 2 to the calculated damage.
  • Weather. Sunny Day raises the damage of Fire-type attacks by 50% and lowers the damage of Water-type attacks by 50%. Rain Dance raises the damage of Water-type attacks by 50%, lowers the damage of Fire-type attacks by 50%, and halves the damage done by Solarbeam.
  • Badges. In the Gold/Silver/Crystal version, in battles in which Exp. Points can be gained, the Johto and Kanto badges multiply damage of the appropriate attack type by 9/8 for Pokémon controlled by the player, as shown here: Zephyr Badge: Flying; Hive Badge: Bug; Plain Badge: Normal; Mineral Badge: Steel; Glacier Badge: Ice; Fog Badge: Ghost; Storm Badge: Fighting; Rising Badge: Dragon; Soul Badge: Poison; Volcano Badge: Fire; Boulder Badge: Rock; Rainbow Badge: Grass; Marsh Badge: Psychic; Earth Badge: Ground; Thunder Badge: Electric; Cascade Badge: Water.
  • Same Type Attack Bonus. If the attack type shares a type with one of the user's types, the damage is multiplied by 1.5.
  • Types of attacker and defender. The damage calculated is multiplied by a multiplier that depends on the attacker's and the opposing Pokémon's types. As an exception, after Foresight is used against the opposing Pokémon, normal and fighting attacks against the opposing Pokémon are normally effective against the Ghost type.
  • Finally, in a process called "damage variance", a random number from 217 through 255 is multiplied in the currently calculated damage, and divided by 255.
* This effect is ignored if the attack does a critical hit and the attacker's Attack or Special Attack stat stage is less than or equal to the opposing Pokémon's Attack or Special Defense stat stage.
 
This is the damage calculation process for the second generation. The game performs each step in the following order.

  • In battles in which Exp. Points can be gained, the badges have the appropriate stat multiplied by 9 and divided by 8 for Pokémon controlled by the player (the Zephyr Badge raises Attack, the Plain Badge raises Speed, the Mineral Badge raises Defense, and the Glacier Badge raises Special Attack).* (This calculation is done in advance rather than during damage calculation.)
  • Stat stage modifying attacks modify the appropriate stat (Attack or Defense).* (This calculation is done in advance rather than during damage calculation.)
  • If the attacker is burned, halve the Attack value.* (This calculation is done in advance rather than during damage calculation.)
  • If the attack is Selfdestruct or Explosion, divide the opposing Pokémon's Defense by 2.
  • If Reflect is in effect for the opposing Pokémon, double the Defense value.*
  • If Light Screen is in effect for the opposing Pokémon, double the Special Defense value.*
  • If the attacker's original species is Pikachu and the attacker is holding Light Ball, Special Attack is doubled.
  • If the attacker's original species is Cubone or Marowak and the attacker is holding Thick Club, Attack is doubled.
  • If the Attack or Special Attack stat, the Defense or Special Defense stat, or both exceeds 255, divide both stats by 4 (In Gold/Silver/Crystal, the result is then truncated to an 8-bit integer; for example, 0x0123 in hexadecimal becomes 0x0023).
  • If the opposing Pokémon's original species is Ditto and the opposing Pokémon is holding Metal Powder, both Defense and Special Defense are multiplied by 1.5.
  • If the Attack or Special Attack stat, the Defense or Special Defense stat, or both is 0, it becomes 1.
  • The damage is equal to:
int(int(int(2×L ÷ 5+2)×A×P ÷ D)/50)

where L is the attacker's level, A is the attacker's Attack or Special Attack value, P is the attack's power, and D is the opposing Pokémon's Attack or Special Defense value. For physical attack types (Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost, Steel), use the Attack and Defense values. For special attack types (Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Dragon, Dark), use the Special Attack and Special Defense values.

  • When the attack does a critical hit, the calculated damage is doubled.
  • If the attacker is holding certain items like Pink Bow and Charcoal, multiply the calculated damage by 1.1 (multiply by 110, divide by 100) if the attacker is using an attack of the appropriate type.
  • If the damage calculated is greater than 997, it becomes 997.
  • Add 2 to the calculated damage.
  • Weather. Sunny Day raises the damage of Fire-type attacks by 50% and lowers the damage of Water-type attacks by 50%. Rain Dance raises the damage of Water-type attacks by 50%, lowers the damage of Fire-type attacks by 50%, and halves the damage done by Solarbeam.
  • Badges. In the Gold/Silver/Crystal version, in battles in which Exp. Points can be gained, the Johto and Kanto badges multiply damage of the appropriate attack type by 9/8 for Pokémon controlled by the player, as shown here: Zephyr Badge: Flying; Hive Badge: Bug; Plain Badge: Normal; Mineral Badge: Steel; Glacier Badge: Ice; Fog Badge: Ghost; Storm Badge: Fighting; Rising Badge: Dragon; Soul Badge: Poison; Volcano Badge: Fire; Boulder Badge: Rock; Rainbow Badge: Grass; Marsh Badge: Psychic; Earth Badge: Ground; Thunder Badge: Electric; Cascade Badge: Water.
  • Same Type Attack Bonus. If the attack type shares a type with one of the user's types, the damage is multiplied by 1.5.
  • Types of attacker and defender. The damage calculated is multiplied by a multiplier that depends on the attacker's and the opposing Pokémon's types. As an exception, after Foresight is used against the opposing Pokémon, normal and fighting attacks against the opposing Pokémon are normally effective against the Ghost type.
  • Finally, in a process called "damage variance", a random number from 217 through 255 is multiplied in the currently calculated damage, and divided by 255.
* This effect is ignored if the attack does a critical hit and the attacker's Attack or Special Attack stat stage is less than or equal to the opposing Pokémon's Attack or Special Defense stat stage.
Thanks! Surprised that crits ignore burn's attack drops and, apparently, the stat badge boosts (but not the type ones).
 

gumnas

formerly .Maguss.
Thanks! Surprised that crits ignore burn's attack drops and, apparently, the stat badge boosts (but not the type ones).
Yes. This can led to strange things like a critical hit from a burned Pokémon at +1 doing less damage than if it didn't had any boost in attack.
 
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Jorgen

World's Strongest Fairy
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https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/gsc-uu-viability-ranking-thread.3636234/

It's A rank in the current UU viability rankings for what that's worth.

There isn't really much place for it in OU, though. Put simply, OU viability radiates outward from Snorlax, Zapdos, and Cloyster. Slowking not only doesn't match up well against these three, it doesn't even match up well against the things that check or threaten to kill them. Slowking would need access to Explosion, Baton Pass, or some way to play the Spikes game to stand out despite this shortcoming, but alas, it gets none of these things.
 
all pokemon with belly drum and curse viable?
Considering Curse is a Move that almost every Mon learns, no, not all of them are viable.

Belly Drum is better: Lax, Zard, Quag, Clefable and Poliwrath are all viable Mons that can use the move. Slowbro, Slowking, Polite, Azumarill and Marowak are viable Mons, but for one reason or other, not with Belly Drum. Meanwhile Lickitung is fully unviable due to being outclassed by both Snorlax and Clefable.
 
Hello, I have not been on smogon much since 2019, and recently came back, and I am very surprised to see Raikou has fallen off from the no.3 spot of the tier. Is there any reason for Raikou being lower in the ranks?
 
cloyster is just better i think
Hello, I have not been on smogon much since 2019, and recently came back, and I am very surprised to see Raikou has fallen off from the no.3 spot of the tier. Is there any reason for Raikou being lower in the ranks?
cloyster is just better as it can setup spikes and check snorlax with explosion making it good in offensive teams
 
The good thing Gengar has is movepool. Apart from the infinite coverage it has, it also posesses as much as 4 "OHKO" Moves: Explosion, Counter, Perish Song ( + Mean Look) and Destiny Bond. In hands of a competent player, it almost always will take at least one Mon, only Exeggutor and boom Snorlax (well, maybe Muk, but he is too hard to use) have this quality in GSC, the rest of GSC have definite answers, even electrics and other boomers like Golem, Cloy and Steelix.
 
Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Serious Nature
- Hypnosis
- Curse
- Dream Eater
- Thunderbolt
So I'm building a team for a casual Gold play-through, maybe even something to take into stadium and play with mates, and I had this weird idea for a stall Gengar build. I could set up with hypnosis and curse and then regain lost heath with dream eater and leftovers. I don't really do this competitve pokemon stuff all that often so I could use pointers for how to improve it and get the most out of it beyond "just use the elemental punches with explosion, dingus!"
 

FriendOfMrGolem120

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So I'm building a team for a casual Gold play-through, maybe even something to take into stadium and play with mates, and I had this weird idea for a stall Gengar build. I could set up with hypnosis and curse and then regain lost heath with dream eater and leftovers. I don't really do this competitve pokemon stuff all that often so I could use pointers for how to improve it and get the most out of it beyond "just use the elemental punches with explosion, dingus!"
Unlike what you have been told in the Rate My Team forum, Ruins of Alph is not the right place to ask about in game stuff which should be the Orange Islands forum who have threads like this one for GSC Ingame Discussion. I'll keep your question for now in this forum though, but will move it to the GSC Simple Question, Simple Answer Thread.

In game pretty much anything can work. I expect Curse to be helpful for trying to take out difficult opponents but for beating easier ones quickly, there are more efficient methods. And yeah, Ice Punch would be more useful in my opinion.
 
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In game pretty much anything can work. I expect Curse to be helpful for trying to take out difficult opponents but for beating easier ones quickly, there are more efficient methods. And yeah, Ice Punch would be more useful in my opinion.
Yeah, I only had thunderbolt there to cover for dark types' immunity to physic. Interesting you suggest ice punch though, care to elaborate?
 
Yeah, I only had thunderbolt there to cover for dark types' immunity to physic. Interesting you suggest ice punch though, care to elaborate?
Ice Punch OHKOs (or comes close) all 3 Dragonites of Lance. Also works vs Karen's Vileplume, Will's Exeggutor and Claire's Dragonites. If you plan playing Kanto, Ice Punch destroys Erica quickly and also can work vs half of Blue's team. Red's Venusaur gets hit too, though by then you will have Psychic (which is a one time TM though, unless you know to use the clonning glitch) or the Hypnosis + Dream Eater strat. I don't recommend Hypnosis in general, 60 accuracy sucks.

This is not the right place to discuss these kind of things though, I suggest going to Orange Islands or even the in-game Tier Lists (though I personally disagree A LOT with the criteria of those, but they can still help you to optimize the moveset if your goal is to beat the game quickly).
 

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