Partially Approved PP shows as -1 due to facing pressure pokemon

DaWoblefet

Demonstrably so
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The reason this isn't currently done is to provide a bit of support for side servers that change the PP values of moves, or create their own moves that the client wouldn't recognize. That way, players on those servers can at least keep track of how many times it's used. You can see discussion of negative PP in tooltips here.

This matters for Leppa Berry mechanically, so that's the only thing that will be changed.
 
The reason this isn't currently done is to provide a bit of support for side servers that change the PP values of moves, or create their own moves that the client wouldn't recognize. That way, players on those servers can at least keep track of how many times it's used. You can see discussion of negative PP in tooltips here.

This matters for Leppa Berry mechanically, so that's the only thing that will be changed.
This doesn't make sense to me. Can you explain it like I'm 5?
 

HoeenHero

The Misspelled Hero!
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This doesn't make sense to me. Can you explain it like I'm 5?
Your web browser gets confused when custom moves (like in Super Staff Bros) are used in battles, it also doesn't know how many PP that move has. Allowing negative PP at least allows the client to show how many times the move was used, hence why its supported in general.
 

DaWoblefet

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is a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Researcheris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Social Media Contributor Alumnus
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This doesn't make sense to me. Can you explain it like I'm 5?
In this context, the server is what controls how a battle on Pokemon Showdown works, while the client is what controls how a battle on Pokemon Showdown looks and feels.

In addition to the main server, https://play.pokemonshowdown.com, there are a variety of other servers that host their own copies of Pokemon Showdown. Because they're running their own server, they might opt to change things from how Showdown ordinarily works for fun. For example, you might create a format with Triple Battles, but allow Pokemon from Scarlet and Violet. Or you might create a new Pokemon or move that doesn't exist.

Here's the catch - although many people run their own server, it's quite common to not run your own client. That means the look and feel is based on he official Showdown client, rather than their own. But that look and feel includes things like tooltips, where PP shows up! Suppose you create a new move called "Metapod Gun". The custom server knows that "Metapod Gun" has 16 PP, has 80% accuracy, has a 30% chance to paralyze the opponent, and so on. But our client has never heard of that move, so it doesn't know any of those things! At least with negative PP, you can count how many times "Metapod Gun" was used, rather than just saying "0/0 PP" or not displaying anything at all.

Another way to look at it is to compare what the server is sending and how the client is displaying it. Here's a random game I picked from today:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9randombattle-1816682417

And here's what the server is actually sending:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9randombattle-1816682417.log

The client includes the battle interface, tooltips, sprites, chat log formatting, and everything else that makes up the game visually.

For a literal 5-year-old explanation: the server is a tub of Legos, and the client is an instruction booklet for how to build an awesome Lego dragon. Let's say you loan your booklet to a friend who has their own tub of Legos. It might be tricky for the friend to build the dragon the same way!
 

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