Start Here! Battle-By-Post Player Handbook - Generation 9

LouisCyphre · Aug 25, 2023

It's that time again!

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, except for in competitive matches.

This might be the largest BBP patch so far. If anyone wants to rank them by size, I'd be curious to see, but I'm tired so I'm not going to bother checking.

I hope it's everyone's preference for there to be rounds of follow-up work on prior work. Is it preferred that follow-ups be always at least a certain amount of time after the first change? Is it preferred that they be made quickly after the initial work? Feel free to sound off in the usual venues.

Our radar, following this patch:

Real-Time Support:

Once Raid and Safari are open and churning out rewards, DQ work is our largest priority. Many BBP players take breaks or otherwise experience schedule disruption over the summer, leaving ~~the League Circuit very lonely~~ the remaining players with fewer opponents to play with and ref for. Give our radar post here here a look, and then think back to those interruptions and picture how such features would have best helped you.

Also, we'll have to think on game-wide systems to prorate rewards for players who are DQ'd because of sudden life occurrences. Currently, it can be very punishing to lose out on weeks of progress and a JC investment for any reason, from environmental collapse to plain old fatigue.

Z-Moves

Also once these two facilities are open and pumping out EXP, we'll be free to reward players for chasing non-EXP rewards in Realgam Tower, which means that Z-Moves as a whole will need a look-over. I expect each use of a Z-Move will cost 1 Tech, and that the contents of those moves will be balanced around that, but we'll see. Feel free to sound off in the usual venues.

Levels 0 and 1

When the DLC drops, we'll likely have a large wave of re-approvals for Pokemon affected by the changes. This is the kind of opportunity required for us to talk about changing the Level of one or more moves, so don't miss your window! If you have any thoughts on moves that could be de-Leveled into Level 0 (especially, we'd like easy-to-understand moves that aren't just attacks or Major Status), you know what to do: Sound off in the usual venues.

There's also a broader conversation that could be had on the necessity of Level 1 at all, compared to 0's place as a "tutorial" battle format, and Levels 2 through 4 offering meaningfully different gameplay improvements (giving them a more "real" sense of progression). I'm not dumb enough to imagine that anyone would be in favor of keeping a Level if I asked, (who wants their shiny toys later, after all) but pulling out an entire Level from the system has pretty dramatic reverberations through the entire rest of the game — facility content to rebalance for other levels, an entire Level's worth of moves to re-home, several game pieces having Level-scaling effects, and more besides.

If we decided we wanted this, it could significantly delay other content, up to and including DLC implementation and facility releases, so with that in mind: Please sound off in the usual venues.

Boasting and Bravado Rewards

These are on our radar!

Minor Adjustments Log
Quite a few of these have piled up. I'll have to find a better way to get these from point A to point B, so that everyone's on the same page.

Within, find a deluge of minor changes.

Handbook Changes

[2.2] Structure of a Phase
Added the following definition:

Once this phase-beginning checklist has been completed, and all relevant effects that have triggered are finished resolving, that phase is said to be "underway", and remains so until that phase ends.

The term "underway" is used in a few places, so this appropriates it as a game term for phases that have "finished beginning", as it were.

[2.5f] Switch Declaration Resolution
Clarified when the items are equipped when sending out Pokemon.

[2.7] Battling Phase Specified a place between "check start of turn subs" and "make the turn order", for medicines to be used. Earlier-ordered medicines go first

[2.7a] The Action Phase
Adding a line clarifying that "the last step of the round" refers to the last step of the full round, even if the round is doomed to end early. (that is, the game doesn't know that you won't reach that last step.)

"In addition, the highest-numbered step in a round is referred to as the "last" step of the round, regardless of whether or not the battle actually reaches that step. (Such as if the round ends early.)"

[2.7b] Pokemon with Multiple Actions
Added. Describes the rules logic for Pokemon who can act more than once in a single step.

The main takeaway is that they trigger "start of turn" effects only at the start of their first turn in a step, and "end of turn" effects only at the end of their last scheduled turn. This can result in end-of-turn effects being missed if they leave play before taking their last scheduled turn.

Otherwise, this should behave mostly as would be expected.

[2.9] Post-Event Checks
Added the following check as step 9, pushing down the last two and making them steps 10 and 11.

If any triggered effects that mentions "Faint" would trigger; they do so, and are resolved in the usual order.

This is so an effect that triggers "when the user Faints" can trigger before you lose the game for being out of Pokemon, should it ever be relevant.
(If that effect faints your last opponent, though, you'll still lose first by timestamp order.)

[3.3] Effect Instructions
Now specifies the following:

"Mentions of Pokemon (such as "Each Pokemon" or "opposing Pokemon") in effects refer to only Pokemon in play, unless they specify otherwise (such as " including inactive Pokemon")."

As above; now specifies the following

"In the same way, mentions of Pokemon in effects refer only to Pokemon that aren't Fainted, unless they specify otherwise (such as "target a Fainted Pokemon in reserve")."

Further clarification has been added to Fainting, to ignore the effects of Fainted Pokemon that aren't in play
(An important distinction, so that they can finish their move and leave play.)

[3.3a] Effect Shorthand Phrases
Clarified once more that "On round start" and similar effect triggers (in effect text only) is shorthand for "At the start of the Battling Phase".

[6.3a] Immutable Items
Updated to include Adamant Orb, Adamant Crystal, Lustrous Orb, and Lustrous Globe when held by their respective associated holders.

[7.1a] Modifying Durations
Added. Describes rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing durations.

[7.6b] Stat Stage Conversion
Added a new rule that describes what happens when a stage is converted to a different stage, such as by the effect of Contrary.

Simple example:

You use Feather Dance on a Contrary mon
Contrary would say "Convert it into a positive stage"
You raise that stage by the specified amount instead of lowering, for the same duration.

This should match most player's intuition, but it's important to have written. (So that no one incorrectly says, "You're subtracting a negative number so I get a boost, actually")

7.6b "Ongoing Stage Changes" and further rules are pushed down by one letter.

[8.3] Legality Checks
Added tech for forcing a mon to use an action. this is mainly for raids.

"An effect can cause a Pokemon to "freely execute" an action. Freely-executed actions are executed regardless of the action's legality, and the user pays no costs for that action."

(this is basically super-calling a move.)

[8.3c] Target Legality Check
Clarified a contradiction. This formerly said "if the action has no legal targets, the move fails to execute".

8.3c comes after the execution check (after paying costs). The line now says that the move "is executed, but does nothing" if it somehow has no legal targets.

[8.10] Damage Calculation
Added a specific mention of Fixed Damage, causing such attacks to skip most of the steps of calculation.

[9.4] Combination Moves
Removed "the user must be able to execute each component to execute the combination." The user must still be able to attempt those components. (e.g. Taunt now correctly doesn't prevent damaging combos with nondamaging components. Disable still correctly prevents the sealed move from being a legal component.)

[10.6] The Trigger Component
Added a fairly important returning action clause:

"Has executed [observed behavior] previously this [step/round/since they last entered play]."

This is what most matchup control tools are balanced around, so it's important to have it.

[10.6b] Action Clause Observed Behavior
You can now observe for a specified medicine, any medicine, or (specified or any) medicine targeting a specific Pokemon

[11.3] Pokemon Fusion
Cleaned up the cost text. The effect allowing the fusion (typically a key item) will specify if the fusion costs Tech. This is to clean up cases where one or more of the component Pokemon, themselves, cost Tech. (being most such cases)

DAT Changes

Pokemon
Added data for Dialga-Origin, Palkia-Origin, their related held items, Walking Wake, and Iron Leaves.

Note: Adamant Crystal and Lustrous Globe are implemented, but are not purchasable or obtainable at this time. Their damage effects are clones of in-game, pending later review.

Moves
Added the "Standby" command. This is what your Pokemon does, when you use their turn to use a medicine. (or take other trainer actions, so that they don't Struggle) It's not legal for use in order sets directly.

Move Levels
Added a page dedicated to listing the Level of each move, as well as listing moves in groups by Level.

Restriction Text
Manually revised restriction texts of actions, to say whether:

The move can't be attempted (most actions dependent on variable factors/on your own actions)
The move can't be executed (most actions dependent on others' actions)
Removed mention of move failure for not paying alternate costs. (The rules for paying costs already handle this.)

Ember
Now lasts 3 steps, rather than three of the subject's turns.

Encore
Now correctly has this line:

"● When this condition is created: The move in the subject's current order becomes the noted move."

Fillet Away
Now costs 20% remaining HP.

Grounded
Now causes subjects to fail to attempt (rather than execute) the listed moves

Ice Ball
No longer mentions Rollout.

Infernal Parade
Infernal Parade's BAP is equal to 6, plus 6 more for each Major Status on the defender. (from 6, or 12 with major status)

Poison Heal
Capped healing at 8.

Sketch
Added "Furthermore, if the user's original species is Smeargle, Necturine, or Necturna, and defender knows that Borrowed move as part of their movepool, the user Paints that move." to the effect that borrows moves. Clarified in 5.10 that Sketch species can permanently learn only moves that they can Paint.

Trapping and Partial Trapping
Now correctly ends when their creator leaves play.

Truant
Now triples Energy costs instead of reducing max Energy. The user's chills now restore 40 En.

Wild Charge
To work correctly with substitutions, the condition for this effect will be adjusted:

"Major Status can't prevent the user from receiving an order to use this move, or from attempting this move.

When the user attempts this move: Remove Sleep, Confusion, and Paralysis from the user."

Screens Work
Throughout most of their tenure in BBP, damage-mitigating Screens have... Sucked, sometimes terribly.

Some history: In ASB's inception, they reduced the BAP of incoming attacks of the specified category by half for 6 actions (steps), which was a fairly respectable way to make your opponent type Earth Power instead of Earthquake. Then they were adjusted to reduce BAP by 5, and then by 3, making a fairly pitiful way to pass time in a substitution for Protect for the rest of time, up until the end of Generation 8.

When making their Generation 9 incarnation, I fell prey to the same fallacy that plagued all work on Screens previously. We settled on halving damage for 3 steps, focusing on keeping the maximum theoretical mitigation in check. Heaven forbid someone get more than a turn and a half of value, from a utility move that only affects half of the foe's attacks. That is, in fear of offering too much theoretical value, the moves were greatly reined in.

Every version of Screens has been balanced around feast-or-famine interactions with the various users' defenses. Frankly, it seemed impossible to balance Screens around both types of users: The huge walls that best abuse additional mitigation, and the frail supporters and attackers that badly need help surviving large hits. However, large groups of Pokemon in the game are pining for some sort of defensive assistance in order to tangle with the biggest bodies of the current metagame — the exact kind of design space that Screens are intended to fill.

Changes to Screens and their ecosystem can be found within.

The answer to the question, "Should Screens be for the Pokemon that need them, or the Pokemon that can actually set them", should be "yes".

Reflect
The user raises a barrier of light that protects their team from Physical moves.

Creates a Screen field condition named Reflect on the user's team, for a number of steps equal to the user's Defense rank, with the following effect: ● While a member of the affected team is being attacked with a Physical attack: That member's Defense rank is always at least 14, minus twice (x2) the number of that team's members in play.
(12 for one member in play, 10 for two members in play, and so on.)

(Light Screen mirrors this change, of course.)

The decision-making around designing Light Screen and Reflect has always been driven by two questions. Whenever we asked ourselves, "Who are these for," the answer was always the frailest members of a team. Whenever we asked ourselves, "Who is supposed to be setting these," the best setters always seemed to be Pokemon who could afford the turn to set them. The obvious-in-hindsight solution to this apparent contradiction was to encourage the use of the main interesting use case: Passing defensive Screens from bulky teammates to frail ones.

The reminder text exists to ensure that the numeral "12" (the intended "default" value) appears somewhere in the text field, to aid in memorization. We thought it might be too easy to skim and think, "Yep, 14. That's the Number."

The numbers balance on this rework were up in the air for while. Eventually, with the power of charts, we were able to settle on a version worth using. First, a few examples of selfish screen use:

Users with 7 Defense, such as neutral Dragonite and Hydreigon, or +Def Gallade and Snorlax:, mitigate 5 power from physical hits, over 7 steps (if they're faster than their attacker), saving themselves 35 HP if they're hit with seven consecutive physical attacks, or 52-ish if they're seven consecutive super-effective physical attacks. Hopefully, this example illustrates how unlikely these "ideal" scenarios of maximum mitigation truly are.
Users with 4 Defense, such as exactly neutral Alakazam (and a bunch of NFEs), mitigate 8 power from physical hits over 4 steps, saving themselves about 32 or 48 HP if they're hit physically on each step.
Users with 10 Defense, such as neutral Forretress or Aegislash-Shield, mitigate only 2 power from physical hits over 10 steps, saving themselves 20 to 30 HP if they're hit physically on each step.

So, in a vacuum, these versions of Screens would be compared to correct-weather (30 HP) Shore Up or Synthesis, netting seemingly outsized amounts of HP when used raw.

But how likely is it that the opponent will attack into Light Screen or Reflect, over multiple rounds, for the entirety of its duration? Slim to none, as experience shows. Screens have to pass Taunt, Snatch, and more to even make it to the field, and they only mitigate as much damage as forcing the opponent to hit the other Defense would save in most cases. This is before opponents spend Screen duration setting hazards, using fixed-damage or effect damage actions, boosting their stats, or even just attacking with high-critical-rate moves. This is why prior balance passes (for both Screens and for certain other game elements) have failed in the past: Focusing overmuch on ideal cases can leave a game piece ineffective in practice. Who'd have known?

Even with the reduction to 10, or 8, Defense in multi-battles, they're probably much stronger in those formats than in Singles. In a Doubles battle, the bulkier Pokemon in play can set a Screen and the frailer teammate will benefit immediately. :mr-rime:

Mr. Rime's stocks are rising!

The most potent selfish users of Reflect will be the ones who get the majority of the value upfront (e.g. those with low Defenses). It remains a usable trick for messing with time-to-KO for midrange users, and it's a remarkable form of team support for bulky users looking to back up their frail allies.

Brick Break and Psychic Fangs
Another problem plaguing the viability of Screens was the ease with which they were removed. Several times, Screens were made both more potent and shorter-duration in order to design around this obstacle; which undercut their niche as defensive team-support and diluted them into being "just another short-term mitigation".

These attacks weren't escaping the "invalidates Screens" allegations this time, I'm afraid. The rule "7.1a Modifying Durations" was, in fact, added specifically so that we could make this change to these moves.

Brick Break
The user swings an appendage or weapon with stone-cracking force.

While the user is attacking with this move: Ignore the effects of Screens affecting the defender's team.

After the user attacks with this move: Halve the duration of each Screen affecting the defender's team, rounded down.

(Psychic Fangs reflects this change, but Defog is unchanged.)

The new line of text is for preserving the current Screen-bypassing functionality. (For users from the future, Brick Break currently discards Screens when a Pokemon starts attacking with it.) This also gives these moves an added bit of utility in combos, to make up for their weakened Screen-removing effect.

Halving Screen duration, rather than subtracting, counters screen-passing the hardest, by design. We expect passing Screens to be a viable archetype of team going forward, at minimum, so having a common answer to this strategy within reach of most opponents is important for safety.

Aurora Veil
Being bound to Snow makes this move so much more safer to balance, compared to the other (very widely distributed) Screens, that it could have essentially any duration.

Aurora Veil
The user cloaks their team with a shroud of luminescent snowfall.

(If the weather isn't Snow, this move fails.)

Create a Screen field condition named Aurora Veil on the user's team until Snow ends with the following effects:
● While a member of the affected team is being attacked: That member's Defense and Special Defense ranks are each always at least 14, minus twice (x2) the number of that team's members in play.
(12 for one member in play, 10 for two members in play, and so on.)

Tying the move's duration to the Weather is a way of avoiding having to tie it to any of the user's properties. The effect to ignore the veiled team's Reflect and Light Screen can safely be discarded, now that they're redundant with each other in effect.

Light Clay
Even though the most endowed setters can create Screens for more steps than some battles last, this item likely doesn't need immediate changes. Under our current assumptions, this can now the thought of as a screen-passing item for frail, fast Pokemon. Prior frail examples like Alakazam can selfishly gain 8 (or 12!) turns of personal mitigation by foregoing a damage-boosting item for Light Clay.

It remains to be seen if this item will prove to be problematic with particular users, so we'll wait and see.

Stage-Adjusting Move Work
The broader metagame is rife with successful strategies focused on adjusting the stat stages of Pokemon. Belly Drum, Contrary, automatic effects such as Intimidate, and stage-modifying items such as Berserk Gene all see common and relevant success in Gen 9 battles.

That's a pretty solid list of all of the types of stage-changing effects that were already good in Gen 8, however.

One of Generation 9's goals was to highlight the appeal of Pokemon who can gain offensive presence through the use of setup. The myriad of ways built into the game to fight back against stage changes; such as Phazing, Hazing, copying, snatching, Taunting, newly Attracting, and even just outright attacking are missing their shared prey: The humble, turn-investing Swords Dance and its ilk. This isn't to say that any of these elements are unused, but rather that stage-adjusting has a vast amount of counterplay, while presenting nothing much to counter.

Classically, these moves were thought to be sources of "flat damage" to help Pokemon break through foes that resist their moves. In almost every such matchup, however, a vastly better form of counterplay exists, called "switching". The idea that a Pokemon would be happy to boost up in the face of a type disadvantage, in hopes of eventually doing damage that could be called adequate, should never have been taken seriously.

The purpose of these boosting moves (except as mediocre sub-ins for Protect) is called into question by this work. The answer, as posited by the changes below, is that setting up should be higher risk and higher reward than the alternatives. The choice between assured immediate damage from simply attacking (safe), and possible greater damage later from setting up (unsafe), should be interesting; and the answer should vary from matchup to matchup and from battle to battle. This assumption much resembles the purpose of setting up in cart, further proving that game design is a circular path.

There's always been concerns that strong stat-up moves would simply be abused by Pokemon that already excel without them, such as Swords Dance from :garchomp:

Garchomp or :ursaluna:

Ursaluna, with reasonable arguments suggesting that they would either be overwhelming in this role, or useless compared to immediately attacking. Our thinking at this moment is that Pokemon with strong immediate offense are less incentivized to set up further offense, and that Pokemon with strong immediate defense are more incentivized to set up further defenses (due to the accelerating returns on subtracting damage), so we'll be closely monitoring users great and small to see if any troubling trends emerge.

Find changes to "pure" stage-adjusting moves, within.

First, to define the scope of this work. This work will, first, center around the following "root" moves:

+2 Moves: Swords Dance, Iron Defense, Nasty Plot, Amnesia, Agility, and their clones.
+1 Moves: Meditate, Harden, Charge, and their clones.
+1/+1 Moves: Bulk Up, Calm Mind, Dragon Dance, Work Up, Cosmic Power, Hone Claws, and their clones.
-2 Moves: Feather Dance, Screech, Eerie Impulse, Fake Tears, Scary Fance, and their clones.

Second, the work will carry through to "relatives" of the root moves. These are moves that should remain (mostly) strict upgrades of their root moves:

Moves adding a stat or a stage. (Bulk Up -> Coil and Victory Dance; Nasty Plot -> Tail Glow.)
Moves adding an additional utility effect. (Dragon Dance -> Tidy Up, Bulk Up -> Coaching.)

The intent is that any move that can be roughly described as "like X root move, but with Y" (Quiver Dance is like Calm Mind, but also boosts Speed) should improve in lock-step with their root version, so that the duration details are easy to memorize. As their lower distribution suggests, these moves are already designed to be rarer, more powerful versions of their root moves. The rest of this section will address these root moves only.

+2 Moves: These are core group most needing help, with the exception of Agility and its clones. Speed stage changes are most important for the round they're applied, to get the jump on a foe's substitution or make strong orders into the coming round's first step. Thus, they're already both powerful and specific in their application — an excellent place for any game piece's balance to be.

For the likes of Swords Dance, such moves only outperform mediocre attacks, and only in theory. This leaves their proactive use laughably bad in practice. For example, using Swords Dance, and then hitting foes with physical attacks until the duration expires, currently gains the Swords Dance user +24 (+8 per attack * 3 attacks) damage for their trouble. It's not uncommon for an item-boosted super-effective attack to deal 24 or more damage upfront, which makes that ideal usage of Swords Dance numerically worse than one of the most common interactions in all of BBP.

The imagined greater returns of consecutive Swords Dances turned out to be even less practical. The battle situation that would lead to a Pokemon getting multiple uninterrupted Swords Dances (such as repeated faulty substitution abuse) would be game-ending with any other move as payoff, and the odds of proactively boosting up twice and then landing three successful physical hits are even slimmer than the single-boost example.

Thus, the simplest solution is to widen the window in which the users may "cash in":

Swords Dance
En Cost: 7 -> 14 (x2)
The user performs a graceful but ferocious spinning war dance.

Raise the user's Attack stage by two (2) for their next five (5) turns.

Decorate, Nasty Plot, Swords Dance: 14 En, stage +2, next 5 turns.

Growth: 14 En, stage +variable amount, next 5 turns. (It is considered to be equivalent to Swords Dance.)

Fake Tears, Metal Sound, Screech: 10 En, stage -2, next 5 turns.

Tail Glow: 14 En, stage +3, next 4 turns.

The stage-reducing variants have more available counterplay, such as Psych Up, or even just switching out; so their cost is reduced to match.

The higher-stage boosting moves are positioned as even higher risk and higher average reward than the standard root move. Landing 3 out of 4 hits under Tail Glow should be both harder, and more rewarding, than landing 3 out of 5 hits under Nasty Plot. Their theoretical maximum payoff (In this case, 48 from Tail Glow vs. 40 from Nasty Plot) is slightly higher as well, but that's less relevant than the practical case.

Under ideal conditions, this improved version of Swords Dance gives +40 whole physical damage... If you can secure it all, by attacking five times successfully and consecutively. 5 turns is almost the entire duration of a typical matchup, but an opponent looking to suffer less damage from the Swords Dance user is encouraged to try to fight over this duration, by stalling, forcing the user out, or by KOing them.

Our expectation is to start balancing set-up moves assuming that "roughly 1/3" of the value will be lost or missed out on, as a result of counter-moves, Fainting, switching out of a sour match-up, or other reasons. We assume that moves with longer durations will suffer more average loss, and shorter durations will typically suffer less.

Following this logic, the other groups of moves will get similar treatment:

Iron Defense, Amnesia, and relatives:

These moves stack multiplicatively with themselves — If 24 damage a turn KOs you in four turns, then 18 damage a turn KOs in six turns, 12 KOs in eight turns, and so on. These moves "buy back" some of the time spent setting them up, resulting in a very different situation than offensive boosts. Thus, we're giving them slightly less juice than their offensive counterparts. These moves were simply closer to being strong already.

Acid Armor, Amnesia, Barrier, Iron Defense, Stuff Cheeks: 14 En, stage +2, next 4 turns.

Captivate, Charm, Eerie Impulse, Feather Dance: 10 En, stage -2, next 4 turns.

Cotton Guard, Shelter: 14 En, stage +3, next 3 turns.

Agility and relatives:

The most important turn of a Speed change is the first one, when it's used to gain an immediate advantage, such as by thwarding a substitution. Each additional turn matters less than the next, so there's not much reason to mess with what isn't broken. Moves hat also raise Speed (such as Dragon Dance) maybe be buffed in this section, but their distribution is carefully curated, so this isn't a huge issue.

Their En will be changed to match other such moves for memory reasons, which is technically a nerf; but they rarely come up more than once in the same matchup, so we don't expect this to impact too many battles in the long run.

Agility, Autotomize, Shift Gear, Rock Polish: 14 En. Otherwise unchanged.

Bulk Up, Calm Mind, and relatives:

These moves are numerically quite close to being already good, providing up to +20 maximum damage. Also, providing -15 damage mitigation over the duration makes it slightly more realistic to actually deal more of that theoretically damage. This is still riskier than just attacking outright, so these moves are being lifted up to widen their payoff window as well.

These also make good extenders for any of the above larger boosts, just like before. An indefinite buff duration would break effects like Baton Pass and Costar even harder, but eight turns is essentially the same thing for most selfish applications.

Bulk Up, Calm Mind, Coaching, Curse (non-Ghost): 14 En, stage +1/+1, next 8 turns.

Tickle: 10 En, stage -1/-1, next 8 turns.

Coil, Quiver Dance, Victory Dance: 18 En, stage +1/+1/+1, next 8 turns.

The following are moves that are tagged for follow-up work, due to needing special attention to get right.

Cosmic Power and Defend Order:

Cosmic Power and Defend Order have proven somewhat difficult to place when compared to other boosting moves. The Iron Defense family are most useful for shutting down poorly-built opposing teams, or for helping to close a match when only opponents of a certain attacking category remain. That is, although they extend the match (often bad), they do so with purpose and counter play (net good).

Stockpile itself has match progress built in to it: Swallow and Spit Up are both strong ways to move the game towards a favorable conclusion. Cosmic Power and Defend Order, on the other hand, only exist to extend the match for extension's sake. Amidst all of the other ways to do that, from debilitating status to protective moves, where do these moves sit? Pending an answer to that question, they'll be left at its current duration.

Unique Teambuilding Moves:

In Generation 6 especially, we got a slew of moves that boost the stats of all Pokemon sharing a particular quality, such as "All grounded Grass-type Pokemon in play". These are pretty niche and outside of the scope of this work. Such moves are listed below for easy reference at a later date.

This group includes Flower Shield, Gear Up, Magnetic Flux, and Rototiller.

Dragon Dance, Hone Claws, Meditate, Howl, Work Up, and relatives:

This group is a pile of the various stage-increasing moves that amount to one offensive or defensive boost, with only "icing" otherwise. That is, moves that raise only one damage-calculation stat. Work Up and its relatives are in this group because you'll only ever use one of your offensive stats a time. Frankly, it's uncertain what should be done with these for the time being. These will be left alone as well.

This group includes Aromatic Mist, Charge, Confide, Defense Curl, Dragon Dance, Growl, Harden, Leer, Meditate, Noble Roar, Tail Whip, Tearful Look, Tidy Up, Sharpen, and Work Up.

The moves Howl and Withdraw have already been spun off into their own niche functions, but they are technically examples of this as well.

Status Polishing Work
I don't want to oversell any of the work in this section — This is the follow-up promised in this patch note. (Goodness, it took us a while to find a reasonable mod voice.) The groundwork set by the linked post allow us to more easily balance the affected statuses below. These should be better to play with and easier to understand at a glance.

That said, this still leaves us with three different Major Statuses tracking an internal property with a quantity of named markers, each of them having a different purpose in relation to their parent status. It might be time for a conversation about streamlining that, too. After all, if Poison can simply "know" if it's regular or bad Poison, maybe these other statuses should just "know" their own numeric values. A conversation for another time, perhaps.

Within, find mostly numeric and phrasing adjustments for the affected named Statuses.

Freeze
When first revising Freeze for Generation 9, it was intended to be an method of slowing down and thereby damage-racing the biggest, meanest bruisers that plagued the prior metagame. It proved to be effective in too many various settings, especially at setting up checkmate situations against opponents who are about to order second, to maintain round control.

With time, Pokemon that were once overshadowed have found many tools in Generation 9 to leverage against the old guard, and more tools have been added as well. Which is a long-winded way of saying, we had to decide who Freeze was supposed to be for, and why.

Find the changes to Freeze and its related pieces, below.

Freeze
By default, this status lasts until subject lasts until the subject has no Frost markers. (See "Frost" below.)

The subject is Ice-type.

The effects of the subject's Ice typing are ignored.

When the subject attempts, or becomes the defender of, a Fire-type move, Hydro Steam, Scald, Scorching Sands, Steam Eruption, or Brick Break: Remove seven (7) Frost markers from the subject.

If the subject would execute an action; instead, remove seven (7) Frost markers from the subject.

Frost Marker
By default, this marker lasts until the subject leaves play.

When this marker is created, if the subject has 10 or more Frost markers and the subject isn't Frozen: Inflict Freeze on the subject.

Snow
The Defense rank of each Ice-type Pokemon in play is raised by three (3).

If an effect would put Frost markers on a Pokemon that hasn't had any placed on them during this battle; instead, put that many Frost markers plus three (+3) on that Pokemon.

Weather Ball becomes Ice-type.

Water Gun
The user sprays their target with a stream of pressurized water.

Inflict a unique condition named "Drenched" on the defender for their next three (3) turns, with the following effect:
● The subject has an additional weakness to Electric.

(Water Gun's interaction with Frost markers is removed.)

Freeze is being positioned first as a feature of Snow teams, intended to help bridge the Ice-type setters (especially Snow Warning users) with variously-typed allies. Pokemon with powerful STABs that are super-effective on Ice enjoy the additional damage, and other Pokemon with powerful Frost-applying attacks can contribute to the threat of Freezing. As may be obvious, allies of all kinds appreciate the ability of Snow-setting allies to create free turns, be it to provide chances for safe setup or just to skew the overall damage race.

Second, Freeze is being positioned as a threat posed by Pokemon with certain rare spammable STABs. This covers users of Freeze-Dry, such as :lapras:

Lapras and :iron-bundle:

Iron Bundle, as well as :articuno-galar:

Articuno-Galar's Freezing Glare.

The overlap of these features in :vanilluxe:

Vanilluxe, :aurorus:

Aurorus, and :ninetales-alola:

Ninetales-Alola allows them to threaten the fastest Freeze in the game. :abomasnow:

Abomasnow's Mega Evolution and :slowking:

Slowking's ability to set and pivot would have placed them head-and-shoulders above other setters, otherwise. Of these three; Vanilluxe deals most damage with its Frost-stacking Ice spam, Aurorus can take advantage of the Ice typing of Frozen victims, and Ninetales brings the most team utility; leaving Snow with a buffet of setters to choose from.

Frost-placing moves are as follows:

3 Frost: Freezing Glare, Freeze-Dry, Powder Snow, Tri Attack
2 Frost: Blizzard, Ice Beam, Ice Fang, Ice Punch

It may seem strange to have no moves placing only 1 Frost marker. When balancing how long it should take to inflict Freeze, we decided it wasn't desirable for some moves to inflict twice as much, or more, Frost as other moves.

Paralysis
While no one fondly misses the former dice-rolling version of Paralysis, it's currently too easy to "top off" Paralysis Counters and secure a backbreaking step 1 in the coming round. With these numeric adjustments, Paralysis is now more punishing to switch under, and less punishing to stay in on, making it a "soft" form of trapping available to most Pokemon.

Paralysis
By default, this status lasts until the subject faints or the battle ends.
Furthermore, any Paralysis Counters on the subject persist while Paralysis does, even if the subject leaves play. (See "Paralysis Counter" below.)

Effects can create this effect "with X counters."; in that case, that many Paralysis Counters are placed on the subject. Otherwise, the default number of counters is zero.

The subject's Speed is halved (x0.5).

At the end of each round, and when the subject leaves or enters play: Place a Paralysis Counter on the subject.

If the subject would execute an action, while it is the last step of the round and they have four (4) or more Paralysis Counters; instead, remove all Paralysis Counters from the subject.

The threshold for action loss is now 4 counters, making it harder to Inflict and fully stack Paralysis in the same round. It's doable, but involves giving up a large amount of damage, or landing very specific Paralysis-inflicting effects. In addition, Paralysis now prevents your action on the last step of a round — a label that we had to amend 2.7a "The Action Phase" to create! This eases counterplay for Paralysis victims and prevents many potential checkmate situations.

In addition, the amount of counters given by various actions have been revised. The highest amount is given by Legendary signature moves and Paralysis-focused Techs, a moderate amount is given by reliable sources of Paralysis, and the lowest amount is given by moves where Paralysis is a secondary benefit.

3 Counters: Bolt Strike, Freeze Shock, G-Max Stun Shock, G-Max Volt Crash, Tri Attack, Stoked Sparksurfer, Wildbolt Storm, Gulp Missile
2 Counters: Body Slam, Discharge, Dragon Breath, Fling, Force Palm, G-Max Befuddle, Glare, Lick, Nuzzle, Stun Spore, Thunder Wave, Zap Cannon, Static
1 Counter: Dire Claw, Bounce, Spark, Thunder, Thunder Fang, Thunder Punch, Thunder Shock, Thunderbolt, Volt Tackle, Effect Spore
Add 1 Counter: Thunder Shock

Confusion
People are confused about confusion. Rather than changing how strong it is, this revision mostly targets the condition's word count. ~~The functionality is (almost) entirely the same:~~

edit: everyone say thank you to city. 0 days since someone has done something fucked up to Maxim with a new patch note.

Confusion
By default, this status lasts until three (3) of the subject's turns end or until the subject leaves play.

When the subject hits another Pokemon with an attack: The user takes damage, equal to half (x0.5) of the damage dealt by the hit.

Magic Guard
The Pokemon is veiled with a barrier that is proof against any sort of trickery, magic, or the like.

The user can't take damage, except from hits and from Confusion status.

Returning damage is a function that's helpful in every match-up, which will help Pokemon like Machamp and Golurk find a unique niche in the metagame as Pokemon that win slugfests by default, but are vulnerable to set-up.

If you can manage to catch an opponent using three attacks in a row, the use of a Confusing move is better than simply attacking back. This improves compared to your attacks in matchups where you expect to be badly hurt.

The sources of Confusion are as follows:

3 turns: Chatter, Confuse Ray, Flatter, Supersonic, Sweet Kiss, Teeter Dance
2 turns: G-Max Smite, Magical Torque
1 turn: Axe Kick, Confusion, Dizzy Punch, Dynamic Punch, Hurricane, Psybeam, Rock Climb, Signal Beam, Strange Steam, Swagger, Water Pulse
Indefinite: Own Tempo + Tangled Feet

As an added bit of fun, we're adding the following effect to Confusion and Dizzy Punch (totaling 101 unique FE users):

Confusion
The user projects a wave of psychic force directly at their target.

Transfer the user's Confusion status, if any, to the defender.

Effect Check: Inflict Confusion.

(Dizzy Punch mirrors this change.)

This allows a certain subset of Pokemon more freedom when attacking through Confusion.

Low-Hanging Fruit Adjustments

It just wouldn't be a monthly-ish BBP patch without a couple of riders-on for Pokemon that have come up in conversation. At the present rate, we'll have a whole two more (or so) ready by the time the SV DLC drops and throws a bunch of work in our laps all at once!

Within, find changes to various down-and-out Pokemon.

Spicy Extract
This change came about as a result of Stage-adjusting work, further above.

Spicy Extract
En Cost: 7 -> 10
The user spits a spicy oil at the target, energizing them into an attacking frenzy.

While performing this move: Accuracy checks for this move automatically succeed.

Raise the target's Attack stage by two (2), for their next five (5) turns if they are the user's ally, or their next two (2) turns otherwise.

Lower the target's Defense stage by two (2) for their next five (5) turns if they are the user's opponent, or their next two (2) turns otherwise.

Rather than choose between this move's offensive and support functionality when balancing it, the move will adjust itself to suit the situation.

Wonder Guard
Shedinja has long languished on players' list of favorite gimmick Pokemon in theory only. In reality, every Pokemon in the game already spends the majority of their time hitting their opponents super-effectively, leaving Shedinja mostly dead in the water with wretched stats, typing, and moves.

Frankly, this effect is driven by work on the Raid Frontier: When drafting one of the test raids, we realized that this Pokemon is so dreadful, that we could likely get away with simply giving it this Raid Boss-intended effect. After all of that was drafted, the Raid didn't end up using this effect after all. So here it is for your enjoyment!

Wonder Guard
The Pokemon exists in a phantasmal state and is unaffected by most material action.

While an attack is being performed, if the user is the defender and the attack isn't super-effective on the user: Treat the user as having an immunity to that attack.

(Tally the user's type effectiveness just like any other Pokemon. Then, any result other than a weakness is treated as immunity.)

When the user Faints, if their original species is Shedinja: Set the user's HP and Energy to maximum; then, discard Fainting from the user; then, place a marker on the user for the rest of the battle, with the following effect:
● The effects of the subject's Wonder Guard are ignored.

This essentially makes Shedinja's statline 130/7/4/3/3/40, which is... somewhat passable! Given their somewhat weak main STABs, Shedinja will be using their newfound longevity to support their team with utility moves. In addition to typical Ghost tricks such as Will-o-Wisp and Heal Block, Shedinja enjoys access to excellent pivoting utility in Baton Pass to make up for its own lacking damage. Their expanded HP pool, with what is effectively an HP gate halfway through, buys them much-needed time to chip away at burlier foes with their humble attacks.

The real stars of its movepool, post-revision, involve its new capacity to Faint twice. Shedinja is now the only Pokemon able to afflict two opponents in the same battle with Grudge without assistance, and likewise the only Pokemon that can be expected to use Final Gambit multiple times on a routine basis. These traits position Shedinja as a unique and adaptable utility threat who must be taken more seriously than mere setup fodder.

Dire Claw
Sneasler, the only natural user of Dire Claw, also already features the recently-buffed Poison Touch. This move is getting a brush-up to better synergize with its intended user.

Dire Claw
The user viciously slashes at the target with a claw coated in a potent poison.

While performing this move: The user's critical stage is increased by one (1).

Effect Check: Select and apply one of the following effects, that hasn't been selected this round, at random with equal odds:
● Inflict regular Poison on the defender with one (1) counter. Then (whether they were already Poisoned or not), double the number of Poison Counters on the defender.
● Inflict Paralysis on the defender with one (1) counter. Then (whether they were already Paralyzed or not), double the number of Paralysis Counters on the defender.
● Inflict Sleep on the defender for their next turn.
(If no effects remain to be selected, do nothing.)

The initial amounts of counters have each been toned down. The move has also been given a component to double counters on the defender on subsequent occurrences of the same effect, so that successful effect checks aren't put to waste.

Lastly, the move has been disallowed from rolling the same effect more than once per round, improving its utility when used as a main spammable STAB (It inflicts a variety of useful status more often), and worsening its utility in multi-hit combos or when used by multiple users. Be the first to pair Sneasler with :typhlosion-hisui:

Typhlosion-Hisui!

Hustle
This ability has proven difficult to utilize in its new form, for a relatively low payoff. Thus, it will receive a plain numeric buff. The non-Truant users will appreciate being able to more realistically access a large boost, and Durant in particular will live fast and kill faster.

Hustle
The Pokemon's preferred method of attack is to start swinging first and ask questions never.

When the user attacks with a Physical attack: The user loses Energy equal to their own original Attack rank.

The user's Attack rank is increased by three (3) for every fifth (x0.2) of their maximum Energy they are missing.
(Don't round the one-fifth portion when comparing it to missing Energy.)

The change to the energy loss is to make the ability easier for users to calc around when ordering. It also makes it harder to access lower end of the user's Energy pool, and easier for the user to stay afloat at low Energy values to leverage the boost. Durant will likely struggle to float at lower Energy values without Chilling too many times in front of opponents, but should hopefully gain enough damage for trouble for it to be worthwhile.

Fainting-triggered Abilities
This suite of abilities has been left in the dust by other abilities better-adapted to BBP. Fainting an opponent directly with the user's own hit is a much rarer occurrence in BBP than it is in cart, leaving these abilities to be rather situational, and their users who rely on them as their "main" ability rather adrift.

With abilities such as Justified or Lightning Rod simply awarding their users a free stage boost, it seems within reason for these abilities to offer similar power, with similar consistency, so long as there's a reasonable hoop to jump through.

Moxie
The Pokemon swells with confidence after an opponent is defeated.

When an opponent Faints, even while the user is inactive: Raises the user's Attack stage by one (1) for their next three (3) turns.

Beast Boost
The Pokemon is from another dimension, and grows stronger in ours with every victory.

When an opponent Faints, even while the user is inactive: Raise the user's stat stage, that corresponds to the highest of their four core stat ranks, by one (1) for their next three (3) turns.

(If multiple stat ranks are tied, prefer stats in the order "Attack > Defense > Sp. Atk > Sp. Def".)

Soul-Heart
The Pokemon's artificial heart dwells upon the residual emotions of opponents, drawing upon their strength.

When another Pokemon in play faints: Reset the user's Special Attack stage to 0 if it is negative. Then, increase the user's Special Attack stage by one (1) for their next three (3) turns.

Chilling Neigh
The user proclaims the victories of their team with a howling and frightening bellow.

When an opponent Faints, even while the user is inactive: Raises the user's Attack stage by one (1) for their next six (6) turns.

(Grim Neigh and As One reflect this change as well.)

Each of the abilities in this "set" will be given their own riff on the same general design:

Moxie and Beast Boost now respond to the success of their teammates, even before they enter play. This makes preserving teammates and playing around trapping more important when such a Pokemon is waiting in the wings.

Given their relative status as one-trick ponies, without any way to contribute to a match besides damage, Glastrier and Spectrier saw little use among players. Chilling Neigh and its variants now work like Moxie above, but grant an even longer boost. This allows the legendary steeds in particular to now hit the ground running when they face down the last surviving foe on a team, and to excel at doing the one thing they're built to do. Even with only one enemy KO, up to 24 free damage is quite a lot. Now their lack of matchup control reinforces their function as late-game cleaners, discouraging them further from entering play prematurely.

Soul-Heart has been revised to better cement Magearna's design as a revenge-killer. "Refunding" the Special Attack drop from Fleur Cannon upon defeating an enemy makes the Pokemon more threatening when they're used for this particular job. The duration of the boost is adjusted downward because, frankly, Magearna is expected to be a very good Pokemon regardless of its ability once it's available. (which is probably soon tm, rather than actually soon.)

The Safari Zone is moving into a second phase of testing!

The singup thread can be found here!
( Art by Pissog )

The Safari Zone has had a rather successful (e.g. informative) first round of testing. Based on players' efforts, our findings are roughly as follows:

There's not enough Backpack space to both catch 6 Pokemon (the intended goal) and survive battle with them. We're increasing the Backpack Size of the test Habitats to 15.
It's not likely for a player to halve a wild Pokemon's HP, status it, and meet two extra Capture Method conditions, all in one round. This is supposed to be the main way that the player saves HP — Safari is balanced around battling six half-Pokemon, using Capture to "skip" the rest of each Pokemon encountered. So, we're dropping one unique Capture Method from each wild Pokemon. With four different wild Pokemon per Trek in most cases, there should still be enough variety that you'll have to build a versatile team to meet them all.
A few Balls have been adjusted in strength, and the Standard Supplier has been improved. We worry that players may have too much healing to possibly lose now — maybe strong referees can prove us wrong?
We've added two new Habitats: One is Level 1, and one is Pinnacle!

For players with ongoing Safari tests:
They're dead. Round completed battles up when determining (tower-based) test rewards, and refund 1/3 of the JC paid for entry for each Trek not started. You can sign up for second-wave testing the same way as the first (and you could spend your JC refund on it ).

The less finished rounds you got to test (as a challenger) in the first round of testing, the earlier in queue you get to cut. If you got to test zero rounds (either because you had just started, or because you never signed up), congrats! You get to cut to the front. Everyone, please include your first-wave round count when signing up for second-wave testing.

Limit one second-round test per player, please.

The Raid Frontier is opening for tests!

The signup thread can be found here!

The Raid Frontier is a facility! You should test it!

LouisCyphre · Sep 29, 2023

October Update — The Masked Harvest Raid!

Should we name these updates? Do we name it after new Pokemon, or new content? Should we name it for the month we're leaving, or the month we're entering? Let's not dwell on any of that. We have new things!

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, except for in competitive matches.

Major Update - The Teal Mask
Now that the spoiler embargo has ended on the latest DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, please enjoy this newest patch!

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, except for in competitive matches.

:sv/ogerpon:

New Content
The Teal Mask update brings many newly-obtainable Pokemon, moves, abilities, and items to BBP!

You may find them within!

New purchasable Pokemon:

Dipplin
Poltchageist
Sinistcha

New reward-only Pokemon:

Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
Okidogi
Munkidori
Fezandipiti
Ogerpon

/!\ New moves and abilities are introduced with their users.

New purchasable items:

Fresh-Start Mochi

New reward-only items:

Wellspring Mask
Hearthflame Mask
Cornerstone Mask
Lo-EXP Record
EXP Record
Hi-EXP Record

/!\ Mask items are introduced with their intended wielder.

Fresh-Start Mochi
A round, soft mochi patty with berries mixed in. The perfect refreshing snack after exercise.

When the user gains a Condition or marker, or when any of the user's stages change: The holder consumes this item.

On consume: Remove all Conditions and all markers from the holder, and reset each of the holder's stat stages to 0.

Lo-EXP Record
A compact disc containing an hour or so of footage of trainer battles, with commentary.

Consume to give a Level 1 Pokemon 10 EXP.

EXP Record
A compact disc containing hours of footage of Gym Challenge battles, with helpful commentary.

Consume to give a Level 2 or lower Pokemon 10 EXP.

Hi-EXP Record
A compact disc stuffed to the brim with days of footage of Elite 4 and Champion battles, with detailed commentary.

Consume to give a Level 3 or lower Pokemon 10 EXP.

Dipplin
Typing: Grass / Dragon
Stats: 90 HP / 6 Atk / 8 Def / 7 SpA / 6 SpD / 40 Spe
1 Size / 1 Weight
Abilities: Supersweet Syrup / Gluttony / Sticky Hold (HA)

Evolves from :applin:

Applin.

In-game, Dipplin responds to Eviolite! That's cool. We won't be replicating that until Dipplin gets an evolution, if and when.

New Features:

Supersweet Syrup (Ability)
The Pokemon entices foes with a cloyingly sweet syrup that they produce themselves.

When the user enters play or gains this ability: Lower the Evasion stage of each opponent to the minimum for their next six (6) turns, without extension.

Syrup Bomb (Move)
Grass | Special | Any One Target | 6 BAP | 85% Acc | 5 En | -- Eff% | 0 Prio | Non-Contact
Combo Level: Set (4) | Material / Pelleting
The user brutally barrages the target with blistering, sickly sweet syrup.

On hit: Inflict a unique status on the defender named "Syrup!!!" until they leave play, with the following effect:
● At the end of each step: Lower the subject's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stages by one (1) for their next three (3) turns.

Poltchageist
Typing: Grass / Ghost
Stats: 75 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 5 SpA / 4 SpD / 50 Spe
1 Size / 1 Weight
Abilities: Hospitality / Heatproof (HA)

:sv/sinistcha:

Sinistcha
Typing: Grass / Ghost
Stats: 85 HP / 5 Atk / 8 Def / 9 SpA / 6 SpD / 70 Spe
1 Size / 1 Weight
Abilities: Hospitality / Heatproof (HA)

Evolves from :poltchageist:

Poltchageist.

New Features:

Hospitality (Ability)
The Pokemon offers their teammates tea to keep their spirits up in battle.

When the user enters play: The user heals each of their teammates in play, as well as the Pokemon they replaced in play (unless that Pokemon is fainted), by 10 HP each.

Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
Typing: Normal / Ground
Stats: 100 HP / 5 Atk / 9 Def / 10 SpA / 5 SpD / 52 Spe
5 Size / 7 Weight
Ability: Mind's Eye / — (No HA)

This Pokemon doesn't evolve from Ursaring.
This Pokemon isn't purchasable. Maybe they can be found while exploring...?

New Features:

Mind's Eye (Ability)
The Pokemon has long since abandoned their physical eyesight, relying instead on their predatory intuition.

While tallying type effectiveness for the user's attack: Immunities can't be tallied from the Ghost type.

While it is the user's turn: Opponents in play are Identified.

The "Loyal Three"

:sv/okidogi:

Okidogi
Typing: Poison / Fighting
Stats: 90 HP / 9 Atk / 8 Def / 4 SpA / 6 SpD / 80 Spe
3 Size / 4 Weight
Ability: Toxic Chain / Guard Dog (HA)

:sv/munkidori:

Munkidori
Typing: Poison / Psychic
Stats: 90 HP / 6 Atk / 5 Def / 9 SpA / 7 SpD / 106 Spe
2 Size / 2 Weight
Ability: Toxic Chain / Frisk (HA)

:sv/fezandipiti:

Fezandipiti
Typing: Poison / Fairy
Stats: 90 HP / 7 Atk / 6 Def / 5 SpA / 9 SpD / 99 Spe
3 Size / 3 Weight
Ability: Toxic Chain / Technician (HA)

These Pokemon aren't purchasable. However, you can challenge them in the Raid Frontier right now!
Their signature ability, Toxic Chain, doesn't specify contact attacks. Contrast with Poison Touch.

Toxic Chain (Ability)
The Pokemon wears a toxic garment as proof of their bond with their scoundrel brethren.

When the user hits a defender with an attack: Inflict bad Poison also named "Chain Poison" on that defender with one (1) counter, and the following additional effect:
● The subject's Substitution limit is reduced by two (2).

Ogerpon
Typing: Grass
Stats: 90 HP / 9 Atk / 6 Def / 5 SpA / 7 SpD / 110 Spe
2 Size / 3 Weight
Abilties: Defiant / Embody Aspect (HA)
Trait: Tera Type is always Grass.

In the source games, the singular Ogerpon has specific alternate Formes when she Terastallizes while holding a mask, which have the "Embody Aspect" ability specific to that mask.

For our players' Ogerpon in BBP, we'll simply distill that mechanic into a single Embody Aspect ability, which will be their Hidden Ability.

Forme Changes:

Ogerpon-Wellspring
Typing: Grass / Water
Stats: Same as base Forme.
Abilities: Water Absorb / Embody Aspect
Trait: Tera Type is always Water.

Ogerpon-Hearthflame
Typing: Grass / Fire
Stats: Same as base Forme.
Abilities: Mold Breaker / Embody Aspect
Trait: Tera Type is always Fire.

Ogerpon-Cornerstone
Typing: Grass / Rock
Stats: Same as base Forme.
Abilities: Sturdy / Embody Aspect
Trait: Tera Type is always Rock.

Ogerpon and their Masks are not purchasable. Where could they be found...?
Masks held by Ogerpon are immutible.

New Features:

Ivy Cudgel
Grass | Physicial | Any One Target | 10 BAP | 100% Acc | 7 En | -- Eff% | 0 Prio | Non-Contact
Combo Level: Set (4) | Body / Weapon
The user brandishes their favorite evil-smashing kanabo and delivers their target a crushing blow.

Ivy Cudgel's typing is equal to the user's last type. (If the user has no types, Ivy Cudgel has no types.)

While attacking with this move: The user's critical hit stage is increased by one (1).

Wellspring Mask (Item)
A sorrowful mask that depicts a morose, pensive ogre. The craftsmanship is unparalleled.

The holder can't hold other "Mask" items.

While the holder is Ogerpon: The holder becomes Ogerpon-Wellspring, and their Attack and Special Defense ranks are increased by two (2).

When the user leaves play: Return this item to its owner.
(See 6.3a "Immutable Items")

Heartflame Mask (Item)
A frightening mask that depicts a violent, angry ogre. The craftsmanship is unparalleled.

The holder can't hold other "Mask" items.

While the holder is Ogerpon: The holder becomes Ogerpon-Hearthflame and their Attack rank is increased by three (3).

When the user leaves play: Return this item to its owner.
(See 6.3a "Immutable Items")3

Cornerstone Mask (item)
A reassuring mask that depicts a stoic, stern ogre. The craftsmanship is unparalleled.

The holder can't hold other "Mask" items.

While the holder is Ogerpon: The holder becomes Ogerpon-Cornerstone, and their Attack and Defense ranks are increased by two (2).

When the user leaves play: Return this item to its owner.
(See 6.3a "Immutable Items")

Embody Aspect (Ability)
The holder draws upon all of the loving, sad, angering, and comforting memories in their mask, finding greater strength within.

When the user Terastallizes, or when the user enters play while Terastallized: Raise the user's stat, corresponding with their currently held "Mask" item, for their next six (6) turns without extension.
● No Masks: Attack and Speed by one (1) each.
● Wellspring Mask: Attack and Special Defense by one (1) each.
● Hearthflame Mask: Attack by two (2).
● Cornerstone Mask: Attack and Defense by one (1) each.

What a doozy of a Pokemon! Fitting for the DLC's mascot.

Updated Pokemon
Many Pokemon have received new moves, due to their appearance in the Teal Mask DLC. Such Pokemon need re-approval before they can be used in battle, so they can enjoy their new moves! (In some cases, new abilities as well!)

Shifty's second ability is now Wind Rider, rather than Early Bird.
Empoleon's hidden ability is now Competitive, rather than Defiant.

In accordance with this change, we're fixing a long-standing issue with Wind Rider:

Old	New
The Pokémon is particularly adept at finding harmless currents in the wind. The user is unaffected by attacks tagged #Wind. After an attack tagged #Wind is executed: Raise the user's Attack stage by one (1) for their next six (6) turns.	The Pokémon is particularly adept at finding harmless currents in the wind. The user is unaffected by attacks tagged #Wind. After an action tagged #Wind is executed: Raise the user's Attack stage by one (1) for their next six (6) turns.

With this change, Tailwind to your heart's content!

Move Level Revision, and Re-Approval
With the release of the DLC, comes new moves for about a third of the Pokedex. This means those Pokemon need to be re-approved in the Profile Update Thread. Thank you in advance for your patience! That said...

...Because Pokemon are being re-approved, this is the best chance we'll get to adjust the levels of moves for a while. So we're doing so!

Find details on move Levels within!

To improve the experience of battling at Levels 0 or 1, quite a few moves have been banished to higher Levels. To replace them, more straightforward or effective moves have been brought down from above.

The philosophy for move levels going forward will be, roughly, as follows:

Levels 2, 3, and 4 will be filled with moves roughly from lowest complexity (2) to highest (4), rather that power. This matches how moves are given Levels currently, so don't expect these to change very much.
Levels 0 and 1 will be more intentionally curated — a "condensed" version of BBP in microcosm, focusing on essential effects rather than merely simple ones. Moves deemed to provide a poor play experience will be banished to higher Levels, even if they're very niche or weak.
Niche or weak moves with flashy effects (Last Resort) or legacy (Hyper Beam) will trend towards higher Levels.

As an example, new players adore typing almost exactly "Double Team, Harden, Toxic" for their first BBP order set. With no frame of reference for how much HP they save for walling up, or how effective residual damage even is, players go with their gut and play with the cooler, seemingly more "clever" options.

Some easy changes include replacing niche tools with tools that actually perform as advertised. Harden in BBP is a way of extending Defense buffs from other sources, or a way of fouling certain KO thresholds. Reflect is a defensive buffer with an immediate and dramatic impact on the damage you're receiving. Which one will better deliver what a new player expects from it?

These clarifications are to help guide player suggestions as to later Move Level work, if it should ever be necessary. Feedback is welcome in all the usual places.

The Gist
Level 0 has changed:

Banished stalling stage moves. (Harden, Growl, etc.)
Added "essential" aggressive stage moves. (Bulk Up, Calm Mind, Hone Claws, Nasty Plot, Swords Dance, etc.)
Added Reflect and Light Screen.
- Added Defog.
Banished Accuracy- and Evasion-changing moves. (Sand-Attack, Double Team, etc.)
Added Phazing. (Roar, etc.)
Added basic Priority Attacks. (Quick Attack, Bullet Punch, etc.)
Added Substitute. (see below)
Addedmost remaining "basic" Major Status moves. (Grass Whistle, Sleep Powder, etc.)
- Added Rest, Uproar, Sleep Talk, Snore. (see below)
- Added direct Major Status cleansing. (Refresh, Heal Bell, etc.)
- Added most remaining "basic" Major Status moves. (Grass Whistle, Sleep Powder, etc.)
Added Power Gem, Wild Charge.
- Banished Ancient Power.
- Facade remains the "essential" Lv0 Normal STAB due to Return and Frustration being dexited for newer Pokemon, but only barely.
Banishedmost Legendary signature moves.
- (They still have their signatures at low Levels, but the moves themselves should be higher for move calling/copying reasons.)

In addition to the above, Level 1 has changed:

Added Hazards. (Spikes, etc.)
- Added Hazard removal. (Court Change, etc.)
- Rapid Spin is already here.
Added Terrain-changing moves. (Grassy Terrain, etc.)
- Added Terrain-destroying moves. (Ice Spinner, etc.)
Added Partial Trapping. (Whirlpool, etc.)
Added direct Recoveries. (Recover, Synthesis, etc.)
Added strong stage-modifying moves. (Feather Dance, etc.)
Added "essential" Doubles+ moves. (Helping Hand, etc.)
- Follow Me, etc., will remain higher-Level.
Banished Magic Coat. (You get Substitute now.)
Added Pain Split. (Substitute beats this.)
Added Encore. (This beats Substitute.)
- The "generic" disruption Level curve is now, in part: Encore -> Disable -> Torment -> Imprison.
Added most moves banished from Level 0. (Except Legendary singature moves.)
Banished certain gimmick attacks. (Trump Card, etc.)

Full Changes

Upshifts
To 4:

Magic Coat from Lv1 to Lv4
Trump Card from Lv1 to Lv4
Dark Void from Lv0 to Lv4

To 3:

Take Heart from Lv1 to Lv3
Attract from Lv0 to Lv3
Freezing Glare from Lv0 to Lv3
Land's Wrath from Lv0 to Lv3
Relic Song from Lv0 to Lv3
Revelation Dance from Lv0 to Lv3
Secret Sword from Lv0 to Lv3

To 2:

Comeuppance from Lv0 to Lv2
Metal Burst from Lv0 to Lv2

To 1:

Ancient Power from Lv0 to Lv1
Confide from Lv0 to Lv1
Counter from Lv0 to Lv1
Defense Curl from Lv0 to Lv1
Double Team from Lv0 to Lv1
Flash from Lv0 to Lv1
Flower Shield from Lv0 to Lv1
Growl from Lv0 to Lv1
Harden from Lv0 to Lv1
Howl from Lv0 to Lv1
Kinesis from Lv0 to Lv1
Mirror Coat from Lv0 to Lv1
Mud-Slap from Lv0 to Lv1
Play Nice from Lv0 to Lv1
Sand Attack from Lv0 to Lv1

Downshifts
To 2:

Conversion 2 from Lv4 to Lv2

To 1:

Conversion from Lv4 to Lv1
Decorate from Lv4 to Lv1
Helping Hand from Lv4 to Lv1
Pain Split from Lv4 to Lv1
Encore from Lv3 to Lv1
Tailwind from Lv3 to Lv1
Acid Armor from Lv2 to Lv1
Agility from Lv2 to Lv1
Amnesia from Lv2 to Lv1
Barrier from Lv2 to Lv1
Captivate from Lv2 to Lv1
Charm from Lv2 to Lv1
Cotton Spore from Lv2 to Lv1
Court Change from Lv2 to Lv1
Eerie Impulse from Lv2 to Lv1
Electric Terrain from Lv2 to Lv1
Feather Dance from Lv2 to Lv1
Fire Spin from Lv2 to Lv1
Grassy Terrain from Lv2 to Lv1
Heal Order from Lv2 to Lv1
Heal Pulse from Lv2 to Lv1
Ice Spinner from Lv2 to Lv1
Infestation from Lv2 to Lv1
Iron Defense from Lv2 to Lv1
Life Dew from Lv2 to Lv1
Milk Drink from Lv2 to Lv1
Misty Terrain from Lv2 to Lv1
Moonlight from Lv2 to Lv1
Morning Sun from Lv2 to Lv1
Pollen Puff from Lv2 to Lv1
Psychic Terrain from Lv2 to Lv1
Recover from Lv2 to Lv1
Roost from Lv2 to Lv1
Sand Tomb from Lv2 to Lv1
Scary Face from Lv2 to Lv1
Shore Up from Lv2 to Lv1
Simple Beam from Lv2 to Lv1
Slack Off from Lv2 to Lv1
Soft-Boiled from Lv2 to Lv1
Spikes from Lv2 to Lv1
Stealth Rock from Lv2 to Lv1
Steel Roller from Lv2 to Lv1
Sticky Web from Lv2 to Lv1
Sweet Scent from Lv2 to Lv1
Synthesis from Lv2 to Lv1
Toxic Spikes from Lv2 to Lv1
Whirlpool from Lv2 to Lv1
Wrap from Lv2 to Lv1

To 0:

Sleep Talk from Lv4 to Lv0
Substitute from Lv4 to Lv0
Combat Torque from Lv3 to Lv0
Light Screen from Lv3 to Lv0
Magical Torque from Lv3 to Lv0
Noxious Torque from Lv3 to Lv0
Power Gem from Lv3 to Lv0
Reflect from Lv3 to Lv0
Uproar from Lv3 to Lv0
Autotomize from Lv2 to Lv0
Fake Tears from Lv2 to Lv0
Heal Block from Lv2 to Lv0
Metal Sound from Lv2 to Lv0
Nasty Plot from Lv2 to Lv0
Rest from Lv2 to Lv0
Rock Polish from Lv2 to Lv0
Screech from Lv2 to Lv0
Swords Dance from Lv2 to Lv0
Wild Charge from Lv2 to Lv0
Accelerock from Lv1 to Lv0
Aqua Jet from Lv1 to Lv0
Aromatherapy from Lv1 to Lv0
Bulk Up from Lv1 to Lv0
Bullet Punch from Lv1 to Lv0
Calm Mind from Lv1 to Lv0
Circle Throw from Lv1 to Lv0
Defog from Lv1 to Lv0
Dragon Tail from Lv1 to Lv0
Grass Whistle from Lv1 to Lv0
Heal Bell from Lv1 to Lv0
Hone Claws from Lv1 to Lv0
Ice Shard from Lv1 to Lv0
Mach Punch from Lv1 to Lv0
Quick Attack from Lv1 to Lv0
Refresh from Lv1 to Lv0
Roar from Lv1 to Lv0
Shadow Sneak from Lv1 to Lv0
Sleep Powder from Lv1 to Lv0
Snore from Lv1 to Lv0
Vacuum Wave from Lv1 to Lv0
Whirlwind from Lv1 to Lv0
Will-O-Wisp from Lv1 to Lv0
Work Up from Lv1 to Lv0

To see lots of words on moves that were simplified (to varying degrees) for early Levels, look within!

Substitute
This move is being re-positioned as a buffer against brutal attacks for frail Pokemon, and as a safeguard against status or disruption.

As of this revision, the user pays more HP than the decoy gets, making the move net-negative in a vacuum. The upshot of the move is in beating troublesome on-hits from applicable moves (such as Bulldoze), and for walling up against status. The user is sacrificing HP efficiency in hopes of pulling ahead in action efficiency.

Because decoys only care about BAP now, they punish weak utility attacks like Rapid Spin more severely, and synergize with old standbys such as Focus Punch again. They also protect frail Pokemon just as well as they protect bulkier Pokemon — and weak attackers can break them just as easily as strong ones can.

The multi-hit interaction is simplified, too: The decoy pops on the first hit, and all remaining hits go to the defender.

Substitute (Move)

Old	New
The user weaves a decoy doll using some of their own life, to take hits in their place. (This move costs HP, equal to 20% of the user's maximum HP rounded down.) The user creates a Decoy, with HP equal to the amount of HP paid to use this move.	The user weaves a decoy doll using some of their own life, to take hits in their place. (This move costs HP, equal to 20% of the user's maximum HP rounded down.) The user creates a Decoy, with 10 HP.

Decoy (Condition)

Old

New

This condition is created with an HP value. It lasts until the condition's HP is depleted or the subject leaves play.

If another Pokemon's action would hit or affect the subject, and that action doesn't bypass Decoys; instead, specifically those hits and effects are applied to the Decoy.

Actions affect the Decoy the same way they would affect the subject (type effectiveness), with the following exceptions:
● Decoys can't have their stages changed.
● Decoys can't gain conditions or markers.
● Decoys don't have held items to drop or destroy.
● Decoys don't have abilities or types.

Calculate damage done to the decoy by attacks as if those attacks were hitting the subject.

If a multi-hit action deals more damage to a Decoy than the Decoy has HP, the remaining damage is dealt to the subject; and if they do so, they will apply on-hit effects to the subject. (Only once. Don't bother trying to calculate "how many times" the subject was hit.)

Attackers suffer no recoil from their attacks that hit only Decoys.

This condition is created with an HP value. It lasts until the condition's HP is depleted or the subject leaves play.

While a Pokemon is using an action that bypasses Decoys: The other effects of this status are ignored.

The subject is unaffected by the non-attack actions of other Pokemon.

If a single-hit attack would hit the subject; instead, ignore that hit and subtract the attack's BAP from the Decoy's HP.

If a multi-hit attack would hit the subject, instead, ignore that hit and discard this condition.
(The remaining hits' damage will be dealt to the subject normally.)

Wild Charge
This move is being brought to Level 0 for reasons other than simplicity: There are physical Electric-type attackers who sorely need a usable STAB at early Levels.

As Rest supplants its current shaky role as "the move you use to drop Status and also make match progress", Wild Charge will need a new job. Frankly, it was never that good of a status cleanse, either: Few Pokemon are excited to use a non-STAB move of middling BAP, with recoil.

Now, Wild Charge's place is to recklessly chase damage at cost to the user. As the markers accumulate, so too will the recoil.

For the Electric-type users, look forward to "cashing in" the Charge markers on a big attack at the end of the matchup!

Old

New

The user charges themselves with static and tackles their target. The lingering electricity energizes the user.

Major Status can't prevent the user from receiving an order to use this move, or from attempting this move.
When the user attempts this move: Remove Sleep, Confusion, and Paralysis from the user.

On hit: The user takes damage, equal to one-tenth (x1/10) of the damage dealt by the hit.

The user charges themselves with static and tackles their target. The lingering electricity energizes the user.

While performing this move: The user is Penalty-Proof.

After executing this move, if the user has less than three (3) Charge markers: Put a Charge marker on the user.

While attacking with this move, while the user is Electric-type: Charge markers can't be discarded.

On hit: The user takes damage, equal to one-tenth (x1/10) of the damage dealt by the hit.

Defog
This move is being simplified to just remove Field Conditions and Battle Conditions.

This is a powerful effect, but Defog already acted in this way in many scenarios. Taking a turn off or burning a combo token is a reasonable cost to reset the field.

This change should save people many trips to the DAT in the future.

Old	New
The user sends a wind across the battlefield to blow away field effects. Lower the defender's Evasion stage by one (1) for their next three (3) turns. Discard all Screens from the defender's team; then, discard all Field Hazards from all teams; then furthermore, discard all Weather in play.	The user sends a wind across the battlefield to blow away field effects. Lower the defender's Evasion stage by one (1) for their next three (3) turns. Discard all Field Conditions from all teams, and discard all Battle Conditions from the battlefield.

Rest (and relatives)
To fight the high concentration of Major Status in early Levels, a move with high distribution that strongly punishes them must be brought down to Level 0. What moves suits the bill, other than Rest?

The current version's weird healing-over-time doesn't mesh well with any effect players expect to interact with it, such as Early Bird or Hydration. This necessitated weird stapled-on healing effects for those abilities — we're removing those, since they're no longer needed.

As far as recovery goes, a full Rest is 30 HP, but it's very Energy-intensive. Sleep Talk allows the user to function somewhat under Sleep, but it is still a rather heavy restriction for most Pokemon.

I'm also taking this moment to juice Early Bird more. Rest will heal Early Bird users for 40 HP, but the best user is :houndoom:

Houndoom, so I don't think that rocks the boat very much even for :houndoom-mega:

Mega Houndoom, relative to other Megas. Hopefully CAP doesn't make me regret this any time soon!

Old

New

The user bunkers down to sleep and rest, rejuvenating themselves in the midst of battle.

(If the user's HP is full, this move can't execute.)

Inflict Sleep on the user for three (3) steps (not turns); then, if the user has Recoveries remaining, they spend one Recovery to grant themselves a unique status until they are not Asleep with the following effects:
● If the subject would heal HP with the effect of Sleep; instead, they heal twice (x2) that much HP.
● At the end of the step: Remove all non-Sleep Major Status from the subject.

(If the user has no Recoveries remaining, they don't get the unique status. They can still use Rest to self-inflict Sleep.)

The user bunkers down to sleep and rest, rejuvenating themselves in the midst of battle.

(If the user's HP is full, this move can't execute.)

Inflict Sleep on the user for their next two (2) turns, with the following additional effects:
● When this condition is created: The subject heals 20 HP, as a recovery.
● Restless markers can't be placed on the subject.
● The subject is unaffected by non-Sleep Major Status.

(Sleep typically can't be created on a Pokemon that is already Asleep.)

Hydration (Ability)

Old

New

The Pokemon thrives in rainy weather and can rejuvenate themselves in it.

While the Weather is Rain: The triggered effects of the user's Rest condition don't trigger.

At the end of each step, if the Weather is Rain and the user has Rest status: Heal the user for 10 HP for each remaining step of Sleep on the user.

At the end of each step, if the Weather is Rain: Remove all Major Status from the user.

Early Bird (Ability)

Old	New
The Pokemon requires very little sleep, allowing them to hunt or forage nocturnally. At the end of the step: Discard Sleep from the user~~; then, if the user had the Rest condition, the user heals 20 HP~~.	The Pokemon requires very little sleep, allowing them to hunt or forage nocturnally. At the end of the step, if the user is Asleep: Discard Sleep from the user; then, if the user is not Asleep, the user heals 20 HP.

Shed Skin (Ability)
This ability is being lightly adjusted to better synergize with Rest.

Old	New
The Pokemon can shed their outer layers if they become contaminated, restoring themselves. At the end of each step: Remove all Major Status from the user, except those that were inflicted this step.	The Pokemon can shed their outer layers if they become contaminated, restoring themselves. At the end of each step: Remove the oldest Major Status from the user.

We'll allow you to use un-updated Pokemon until The October 2023 League Circuit matches start. Those matches will allow un-updated Pokemon — because they are played at Level 4, the Pokemon used within won't gain or lose any moves from this work.

After that date (October 4th 2023), you'll only be allowed to use updated Pokemon in your matches. Until then, you can use updated or un-updated Pokemon. (Which should be taken as an experiment that we're trying out.)

We don't foresee any insurmountable issues mixing updated and un-updated Pokemon, except that updated Pokemon will have better movepools for Levels 0 and 1. If any issues do arise, reach out to moderation.

Also, this does mean that, whenever CAP Movepool Pages are completed, we'll have to have another round of re-approvals just for them. It's never been a better time to be an approver if you like JC! Ask TheEver about becoming an approver. ~~we could really use the help~~

New Conditions (And Balance Radar!)
We're adding some game pieces that will help in a future, upcoming balance pass. We also want to share some thoughts as to where the game could use some balancing.

This is a very big update already, so you'll understand if the balance updates aren't coming this patch, but next patch instead.

The Data Audit will be updated to contain the following named conditions:

Status	Description
HP Aid	The subject's maximum HP is increased by 10 or increased to 100; whichever is greater.
Attack Aid	When the subject attacks a defender: Give that attack a power bonus, equal to the defender's relevant Defense rank, minus the subject's relevant Attack rank, with a minimum of one (1) and a maximum of four (4). (The relevant stats are the stats the attack uses for damage calculation.)
Defense Aid	When the subject is attacked: Give that attack a power penalty, equal to the attacker's relevant Attack rank, minus the defender's relevant Defense rank, with a minimum of one (1) and a maximum of four (4). (The relevant stats are the stats the attack uses for damage calculation.)
Bonus-Proof	While the subject is being attacked: Power bonuses are ignored.
Penalty-Proof	While the subject is attacking: Power penalties are ignored.

Keen-eyed observers will notice that Attack Aid resembles the current fanfiction effect of Keen Eye, which lets the user overcome enemy defenses when attacking with specific attacks. To help proliferate that effect and others like it throughout the game, we're looking to grant these Conditions to Pokemon "while attacking with specific attacks" or "while being attacked by specific Pokemon", rather than writing out the full text every time.

This resembles how we currently use the fanfiction conditions Hovering and Sealed — as keywords for certain common and similar effects. There's a lot of pieces in the game currently slated to receive this treatment. So, while no pieces are gaining these Conditions this patch, we'd like to introduce them to you now to show a slice of what we have planned.

Here's some additional balance targets we'd like to hit:

We have work planned to focus the "Big Three" on their specific functions.
- We'd like them to remain powerful meta contenders (a moving target is bad for player progression goals), but even we're a little tired of them.
We're looking at the damage creep in over-performing offensive items: Choice Items and Shell Bell in particular.
- We believe these items are contributing to a volatile metagame where Pokemon are too often KO'd in a single round.
We're looking at denial items, like Ring Target, Mirror Herb, and Sticky Barb, not doing their intended jobs in all cases.
- We're also looking for healthy spaces for further denial options, to act as release valves against particular strategies.
We're looking at support that helps convert disruption into KOs, without stalling the game overlong.
We're looking to convert some of the fanfiction conditional "power penalty of one (1)" Abilities, like Pressure and Oblivious, into more interesting defensive effects, such as Bonus-Proof.
- The perpetual-penalty Abilities, such as Sturdy, are unlikely to be revised in the same way.
We have support coming for a large swath of under-performing Pokemon.

Disqualification Work
In order for disqualification to be a realistic option for our accommodating, understanding, and frankly rather hug-box community; players need to be assured that no one's time is going to waste when they pull the disqualification trigger. Otherwise, the current climate of permanently-hanging matches will continue indefinitely.

We've clarified the rules around DQing and payment, and added new tools to help players and referees to manage their availability.

Battles will now measure their own "Progress" to determine how many counters, and other rewards, to play players and referees.
Rules for DQing and requesting Subreffing are now better defined. DQ'd players are paid partial rewards, based on the Progress.
Two new features, Iceboxing and Referee Support, should help users avoid becoming tardy in their matches.

Battle Progress

Every battle now has a parameter called "Progress", and a maximum amount of Progress called a "Progress Quota". The fraction of Progress / Progress Quota is used when awarding players partial rewards for battles that end prematurely.

Example: If a battle ends prematurely, and that battle's Progress is 3/7, each player and referee is paid 3/7 of the battle's Progress rewards, rounded down.

The default Progress value is "number of Pokemon fainted", and the default Quota is "number of Pokemon all teams can send, in total." (In a standard two-player 3v3, that's 6 Pokemon.) Many battles (especially in facilities) will state what their Progress is based on. Here are some examples of Progress and Quota pairs you might see:

A Boss team's remaining HP / their maximum HP.
Number of Pokemon captured / maximum possible captures.
Number of rounds of battle / a maximum number of rounds.

In some battles, it may be possible to exceed the Progress Quota. This results in full rewards, not extra rewards. These battles might have lower Quotas than normal to make them more lenient to losing players.

Reward Types

Battles, in facilities and elsewhere, already pay three kinds of reward. Now, we've named those types:

Progress Rewards: These rewards are paid regardless of victory or defeat. The amount paid is multiplied by the battle's Progress Fraction, and then rounded down at the end.
- Examples: Training Counters and Retail Counters.
Milestone Rewards: These rewards are paid in full if a certain amount of progress is made, and not paid at all otherwise. Milestone Rewards may be available to only some teams in a battle.
- Examples: Academy Credits and Advanced Techniques.
Victory Rewards: These rewards are paid to whichever team wins the battle. These rewards are paid only if half of the battle's Progress Quota is met, and only if there is a winning team at all. These are exclusive to competitive battles.
- Examples: Legendary Pokemon from The Legend Gauntlet.

Disqualification ("DQ")

A player is considered tardy if it has been their turn to post in the battle, for more than the battle's DQ time for players. While a player is tardy, their opponents may move to disqualify, or "DQ", that player by posting their motion in the battle. If half or more of the player's opponents move to DQ them, the player is disqualified and loses the battle.

When a player loses to disqualification, they will be paid any rewards they have earned so far, based on the battle's current Progress, in the next referee post in the battle. This may result in the player being paid early for an ongoing battle, which then goes on without them. The disqualified player isn't eligible for further rewards for that battle. (Their rewards are "locked in" at the moment of their loss.) This differs from other players that lose battles: Those players can still win further rewards if their team fights on without them.

Substitute Reffing ("Subreffing")

A referee is considered tardy if it has been their turn to post in the battle, for more than the battle's DQ time for referees. While a referee is tardy, the players may move to request a substitute referee, or "subref", by posting their motion in the battle. If half or more of the players agree to seek a substitute referee, one of the players in the battle will post in the battle's venue (wherever the match was originally arranged) with a link to the battle to be subreffed, as well as placing their battle thread in the venue's queue, below new players and above non-subreffed challenges.

Once a subreffing request is posted, the previous referee is relieved from reffing that battle, even if they return to activity.

When a new referee takes a match from a queue, they should post the current battle status (Pokemon, HP, status conditions, special arena effects, and so on) for all players to inspect for accuracy. The new referee should also pay the relieved referee in this post, based on the amount of Progress the relieved referee presided over. The relieved referee's rewards are rounded down.

When the battle finishes, the battle's current referee should be paid based on the amount of Progress they presided over, rounded up.

It's possible for a scenario to exist where a battle is subreffed multiple times, with each referee being paid for a segment of their battle.

Example: A battle is put up for subreffing at 2/7 Progress. The first referee is paid 2/7 of the progress rewards for referees, rounded down.

The second referee becomes tardy at 5/7 Progress, and is put up for subreffing again. The third referee pays the second referee 3/7 of the progress rewards for referees, rounded down. When the battle finishes, the third referee will pay themselves 2/7 of the progress rewards for referees, rounded up.

Iceboxing

For players who know they are going to be tardy for a coming post, and who know when they'll be available again, we will now offer Iceboxing — the ability for players to put a match on hold, or "Icebox" that match.

Competitive matches can't be iceboxed, but all other match types can be.

Players may start a motion to icebox a match by posting in the thread when it's their turn to post, indicating a motion to icebox and their expected date (and optionally, time and/or time zone) of return, called the "thawing time". Other players may post out of sequence to accept or decline the motion. Players may also post to negotiate a different thawing time. If more than half of players accept a single thawing time, the match becomes iceboxed until that specified time, at which point it "thaws". While a motion is being proposed, players are still expected to observe the DQ time. This may result in gameplay posts and motion posts being interwoven in the same thread, while players play the battle and negotiate iceboxing at the same time.

If a motion to icebox is declined by enough players, the match does not freeze. Members of the same team (including the moving player) may not start another motion to icebox consecutively. They will be expected to play within the DQ time to the best of their ability. Once another team's motion to icebox is accepted (and the specified time arrives) or rejected, then that first moving team may start motions again if they would like.

If a motion to icebox is accepted by enough players, the match freezes, resulting in the following:

The moving player can't be disqualified from the match before the specified thawing time.
Players other than the moving player can't be disqualified before the specified thawing time plus the DQ time for players.
The referee is relieved from refereeing the match until the specified thawing time plus the DQ time. If they like, they may put the match up for subreffing, or seek a "Referee Assist" below, if they expect to be unavailable when the match thaws.

The moving player may find themselves disqualified if they planned to post right after the match thaws — there's no period of DQ grace. Moving players should specify a thawing time that arrives after they expect to be available.

Referees can't start a motion to freeze a match, even if they're also playing a team in the battle. Referees who know they're going to be absent during or after the specified time should use "Referee Assist" below, instead.

Your opponents aren't obligated to accept your motion to icebox the match. If they're in a clearly winning position, they may wish to get their prize and get out, as is their right.

Referee Assist

Similar to iceboxing, referees have a tool at their disposal called "Referee Assist", for seeking coverage from a subreferee on their own terms.

To seek a Referee Assist, the referee should post in the match's venue (wherever the match was originally arranged), just like how a player would seek a subref; except that the referee should include their expected return time in both their post, and in their queue entry. The Assist request should be inserted into the queue below new players and above non-subreffed challenges. (Just like other subref requests.)

The seeking referee is agreeing to resume control of the match at that specified time. The referee should also post in the match that they are seeking an Assist, and their expected return time.

Also, don't seek Assists from specific referees without their permission.

I'll be out of town until the 29th. Coverage would be appreciated!

<example link to match>

Queue

Example Match (returning on the 29th)

While waiting for another referee to accept the assist, the match continues, and the seeking referee is expected to observe the DQ time for referees to the best of their ability.

Once a referee accepts the Assist request, the assisting referee will post in the match just like subreffing any other match. The seeking referee is relieved by the assisting referee, and the assisting referee controls the match until they either choose to return control or until the specified time. The seeking referee is not entitled to control of the match until the specified time.

Just like other instances of subreffing, referees are paid for the amount of progress they presided over, in the order that they presided over the match.

Referee Assist need not be used only for periods of absence. A referee at a critical juncture in a battle might seek an Assist from an experienced referee for gameplay reasons, to decipher a very complicated round, or simply to better challenge the player. However, just like any other subreffing, the assisting referee will take a cut of the referee pay.

To be more blunt: Referees aren't required to justify their reasons for seeking an Assist, if they do not wish to. They're already undertaking labor to make the hobby function.

Experienced referees assisting newer referees are encouraged, but not required, to explain the rules interaction or battle situation they're called to help with. This helps the newer referee know what they should do in later reffings!

We recommend using the Leaves of Absence thread in conjunction with these features. You could link to your post that seeks a Referee Assist, for example. We'll let players decide what the best etiquette is for using these new functions.

The Raid Frontier Releases!
Following several harrowing rounds of testing, and many feedback-driven adjustments, we've judged The Raid Frontier ready for operation!

Find the Raid Frontier here!

With three new Raids added, Pinnacle Raids in the pipeline, and a current total of 18 unique Vocations to earn for your Pokemon, we hope you enjoy everything The Raid Frontier has to offer!

Your ongoing Raid Test, if any, doesn't count as your actual Raid, so feel free to get Raiding worry-free!

The Realgam Tower Welcomes Your Challenge!
To go with the release of Raids, Realgam Towers are spicing up their rewards!

The following is now true of all Realgam Tower trainers:

Those that offered EXP, now offer up to 15 EXP to each Pokemon you send in.
- You'll get EXP for a number of Pokemon equal to the Selection Size (so, 3 for singles and 4 for doubles).
- The Pokemon you send into battle will get EXP first. If you somehow manage to win without sending on a full set of Pokemon, you get to pick which bench-sitter gets EXP!
Those that offer EXP now have a Team Size that is one Pokemon larger than their Selection Size.
- That is to say, they're now Bring 4 Pick 3, or Bring 5 Pick 4.
They are now the only facility that may over-Level you, awarding up to 9 EXPinto your next level based on your performance!
- There may be titanic Raid Bosses and wild Safari Treks out there, but nothing sharpens you like battling a powerful Rival!

These changes apply to any current Realgam challenges that have yet to finish, as well as any future ones! How fortunate!

Boast your Brave Little Heart Out!
BBP's newest difficulty-chasing feature, Boasting, is now available!

Find the BBP Boasting Hall here!

With this new feature, you can make any standard Battle Facility both harder and more rewarding! Among the spoils on offer, you can find EXP Records or out-of-season TLG Legendaries... If you're up to snuff!

In addition, there are special one-time achievements waiting within, for BBP's most prepared players... Happy Boasting!

Events Triumphantly Return!
BBP's favorite relic of the past has finally come back to haunt us all!

Find the BBP Seasonal Hub here!

Long-maligned as part glorified giveaway, part balance nightmare, Seasonal Events now return to BBP as modifiers to existing facilities! For example, the new Harvest Usurper's Arrogance event turns The Raid Frontier into a co-op game mode!

Look forward to both major and minor events to pass the time, each month henceforth! And everyone thank Mowtom very much for helping tie this together!

For the few Harvest Usurper's Arrogance 2023 challenges that continue to haunt our forum, know that they will be considered concluded when October 2023 ends. Participants can claim their Global Rewards from the prior version at the same as time as new players can claim rewards from the new version. We're doing it this way so that we don't have a period where only some qualifying players have a shiny new Spectrier.

We encourage you to ~~carry~~ partner up with new players through the new version of the event, even if you already have the old prizes coming your way. There are alternative rewards available, but you could have two ghost horses instead, if you like!

LouisCyphre · Oct 4, 2023

Minor Adjustment Round-Up

Realizing I had forgotten to do one of these for our non-Discord players.

Within, find date-marked changes since August 25th (our last round-up):

2023-Aug-26:
Profile Generator
The "Combo Finder" page was imported added.

You should be able to copy the contents of this page from the "stock" profile generator to a page in your own.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KuqXxwczBg_1X__K4z0uG5nImm2l5Q3VM0PPVcAsjKM/

2023-Aug-26:
11.6 Dynamax
This currently only affects F's Lapras, but it should be mentioned since we're now testing Raids (for which it's the pinnacle reward)

Only attack orders prefixed with "Max" or "G-Max" (e.g. Max Liquidation or G-Max Dazzling Gleam) become max moves. This allows Dynamaxed Pokemon to mix Max and regular actions in their orders and their substitutions.
Max attacks have to be ordered this way because they get their damage category from their source move still.
Max Guard can be ordered directly while Dynamaxed.

You can still only order Dynamax going first (that is, only if your post is before any opponents' posts this round). This is because having passive sub pressure that doesn't come from your item or species (but instead just from having Dyna=Yes) is a little too free. (edited)

(this is more of a summary of tinkering we've done over the last couple months while working on content adjacent to dyna)

2023-Aug-31
1.1e The "At Most" Rule
Not often that we get a new golden rule! This rule states that "at most" (ceiling) beats "at least", when two effects are trying to limit the same number.

The "You Know What They Meant" Rule is pushed down to 1.1f.

2023-Aug-31
8.10k The Hit
Added clarifying text to the end of this rule.

"If the attack is a contact attack, the attacker makes contact with the defender a number of times equal to the number of hits."

turns out this wasn't anywhere in the handbook

2023-Aug-31
Confusion (in the patch note)
Everyone thank city for making me throw out Confusion's action-denial role. We've updated the patch note on
Confusion with a more thorough piece of work, that should hopefully stick this time

The patch note is here. Happy scrolling! https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/3708940/page-2#post-9753364

2023-Sep-01
5.3 Types, Effectiveness, and Abilities
Split into 5.3a Types, 5.3b Effectiveness and Affinities, and 5.3c Abilities.

5.3b, describing how to refer to a Pokemon's relationship to types ("weak to", "resistant to" etc) is now properly written.

2023-Sep-02
8.3c Target Legality Check
Added text that defines what each Targeting Scope means, as well as how actions (like Dragon Darts) may alter their own targeting scope

2023-Sep-02
8.x Performing an Action
finally cleaned up the rest of this. @ me if anything looks weird

2023-Sep-04
Move Levels
Hydro Steam and Psyblade now have a Level. (It's 3.)
Movepools
Walking Wake and Iron Leaves now have movepools.

2023-Sep-05
Spotlight
has text again

2023-Sep-06
Magnetic Repulsion (Magnet Pull Command 2)
Changed the status to have this effect:

"Defenders with Magnet Pull have an additional resistance to contact actions performed by the subject."

(it had essentially old Spider Web)

2023-Sep-10
Libero
Now mentions Protean twice (good!) rather than once (bad.)

2023-Sep-12
Beedrill
No longer absent from the DAT.

2023-Sep-14
Fling
Now no longer flings Immutable items.

2023-Sep-14
Team Targeting
there's no #medium-adjustments channel, so this will have to do.

Targeting scopes that target Teams, rather than Pokemon, are now possible.
Rebranded the "All Allies" targeting scope as "User's Team".
Added the targeting scope "Any Other Team", for the moves Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Stealth Rock, Sticky Web, and Court Change.
Combinations treat scopes that target a single team, as targeting all Pokemon on that team, when determining scope. This can still "turn" team-targeting moves into Pokemon-targeting ones if you mix scope types. (you should probably check 9.4 for full details)
Life Dew and similar effects now say "as one (1) of the user's Recoveries." to show that they don't spend a number of recoveries equal to the number of Pokemon healed.
Effects may now refer to "the user and their teammates".
- Teammates: Pokemon on their own team.
- Allies: Teammates, plus Pokemon on any team allied with the user's team.
- (Remember that a team can have multiple trainers on it. this distinction won't often come up in practice)
When searching for default targets, an action will only fail if it doesn't find a target of the correct type (Pokemon or Teams)
8.4 "User-Defender Loop" now loops only if there are Pokemon targets. Actions targeting teams are passed directly through 8.6 and 8.9.
- 8.6 "Validity Check" has handling for defending teams now.
- 8.9 "Execution Effects" works just the same with actions targeting teams.

2023-Sep-14
Gear Up and Magnetic Flux
Used "teammate" to clean up these moves' messy wording. Also, they now check the user for Plus or Minus as well (as they should have)

Gear Up now mirrors the stage gain and Energy Cost of Magnetic Flux (+1, or +2 with +/-)

2023-Sep-14
Sheer Force
Now gives attacks the following (in part):

Triggered effects of other moves, items, and abilities can't trigger as a result of Hits dealt by this attack.

Did you know this was bugged to function as, essentially, giga Rock Head (recoil is an on-hit), but only for Flare Blitz and Wild Charge? Now it's not.

2023-Sep-20
Torque Moves
Blazing, Combat, Magical, Noxious, and Wicked Torque have been standardized to 10 BAP and combo level 3. Also, they have been standardized at 7 EN.

2023-Sep-24
Profile Generator
(The Profile Generator has appeared several times in the minor adjustments. You may find it convenient to obtain a fresh copy with the corrected source tables.)

2023-Sep-24
7.2 Conditions
Defined "transferring" a condition.

In short, the condition is moved to the specified Pokemon if that Pokemon could have the condition inflicted on or granted to them; else the condition stays put. (exactly as you'd expect)

2023-Sep-26
Locking in Errors
[2.7] The Battling Phase now contains the text:

"If an error in the reffing is pointed out before a player from each team has made a post in the switching or ordering phase for the next round, that error should be corrected and any player who has posted should be given a reorder. Otherwise, that error is locked in and should not be fixed."

(Lou note: This will have to be given a new home elsewhere with other "etiquette of posting" and "ensuring reffing accuracy" rules, eventually.)

2023-Sep-26
League Circuit
The EXP rewards at 1+ and 2+ Victories have been remade into items. If you won September Circuit, you may be entitled to compensation:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...circuit-circuit-3.3718555/page-3#post-9799318

2023-Sep-29
Profile Generator
(Updating for DLC took many many fixes. The first profile generator was not future proof.)

Corrected import call:

=SORT(IMPORTRANGE("https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Hr_MgLLd2UrZL5LPCvhgz6mgyV9XeMssPdPKIuax-iM/edit", "MovepoolExportTable"))

Feel free to reach out to the mentioned users for assistance with your Profile Generator on Smogon, if you don't use Discord.

2023-Sep-30
Approvals and Updates
We'd like users to adopt the queue system going forward. It has massively improved the timeliness and ease of approving.

2023-Oct-01
DAT, especially Conditions
All of the patch features should be in the DAT now.

For conditions, we've cleaned up Poison and Paralysis. They are now inflicted "with X markers" (instead of "with x counters"), and the markers go on the condition (not the Pokemon). No more tracking "which counters are associated with" each condition, and no more messages asking, "what's a counter?"

Effects like Poison Point now count "the number of Poison markers on conditons the defender is subject to." This ends up being the same as before, but will matter if a Pokemon ever ends up Poisoned more than once. (what could this be for?)

"Poison markers", etc, no longer have or need any text, so they've been removed from the DAT. Poison, Paralysis, and Doom were already making these markers from scratch anyway.

None of this work affects Frost markers, which exist without Freeze and thus need their own text.

2023-Oct-01
Cleanse Tag
The wording now matches Magic Guard instead of being inspired by gen 8.

2023-Oct-02
Pokemon
Teal Mask Pokemon in general now have types, and Ogerpon's formes are in the Formes DAT tab.
Gimmighoul-Roaming now exists, if for some reason you aren't skipping directly to Gholdengo. I guess this could be relevant for a new player at some point?
Zoroark-Hisui has now gained 5 speed and lost 5 HP and 1 Attack rank.
Wattrel and Kilowattrel now are Electric/Flying rather than Flying/Electric.
Hemogoblin is now Fairy/Fire rather than Fire/Fairy.

2023-Oct-02
Fixed Damage Moves
All of the fixed damage moves (should) now specify their BAP, instead of just saying "this deals x fixed damage"

Life Orb should now correctly exclude fixed damage moves from its effects.

2023-Oct-02
Light Stone
Now has effect text that isn't "(like dark stone)"

2023-Oct-02
8.3 Legality Checks
Clarified that "readying" an action is global to all instances of that action in the same step. This is brought to you by Encore. "Charging" for an action mirrors this change. (Because charging is a type of readying.)

This is in service of bringing some more "#medium-adjustments" from today's new game-rules nightmares.

This rest of this patch (except where specified) will be effective in all future rounds, except for in competitive matches.

8.3d (new!) Target Replacement Check

Created this rule to house Reflect (magic coat, magic bounce) and Redirect (follow me, rage powder, spotlight, storm drain, and lightning rod) effects. This is so they work without needing word-of-god.

Previously, they affected the targets of orders, which meant that 8.3c Target Legality Checks would promptly remove the (illegal) reflected or redirected targets; sometimes then replacing them with the original target!

This should codify the behavior everyone had already assumed, rather than relying on said assumption. If a bug is found with 8.3d, feel free to let us know in the usual places.

Multiple-Turns Interactions

We also have a couple further adjustments for Raids: People have found the rule 2.7b "Pokemon with Multiple Actions" mostly... entirely counter-intuitive. Rather than pulling against people's inclination, we're going to align these rules with players' assumptions.

We're removing this line from 2.7b...

"Effects that trigger "At the start of" or "At the end of" a Pokemon's turn will trigger at the start of their first turn in the turn sequence, and at the end of their last turn in the turn sequence. In some cases, this can result in the Pokemon's "end of turn" effects being missed out on, such as if the Pokemon leaves play before they take their last turn in a step."

...Mainly because has little to no impact on the performance of such things in a raid setting. Out of hundreds or thousands of Boss HP, taking 2 Poison damage six times a round won't make much of a difference.

The Raid Frontier

Meanwhile, we're changing specifically stage durations of Raid opponents (the only multiple-turn Pokemon in the game currently) to work... How everyone had assumed they would work!

We're adding this line to the "Stage Filter" Raid Modifier:

Stage changes on Raid opponents, that would last an amount of turns, instead last that many steps.

This applies just to the Raid's Pokemon, and not to stages of raiders changed by them. So this doesn't have any impact on, say, a Raid Boss' Screech used on a raider.

This rule was assumed or not assumed at different points while developing raids, so this rule would cause some Raids to be very strong or weak. Mostly, this change will result in stage-lowering moves being more valuable in raids.

Within, find some action adjustments for Raids starting after this message. (Ongoing Raids should use the Raid profiles in their opening post.)

Vs. The Greater Masticator Invader!
Fleeting Feast

Adding "The Raid's Berries can't be restored."

This raid had an exploit with Recycle that could result in the raid running far, far longer than intended.

Otherwise, this Raid has been well-received, and will be left alone.

:ss/shedinja:

Vs. The Shadow-Wielding Master and Students!
Shedinja

Rand:	Rand:
Will-o-Wisp Toxic Confuse Ray ~~Defog~~ Swords Dance	Skitter Smack Poltergeist ~~Hex~~ Dig ~~Solar Beam~~ Sucker Punch

Players said this raid was hostile to entry hazards, which was its intended solution. So I tried it. It's hostile to entry hazards.

Weezing and Ninjask will retain Defog, but Shedinja will instead apply more damage pressure to the raiders with this change.

:sv/okidogi:

Vs. The "Loyal" Lousy Lackabouts!
Okidogi HP: 888 -> 333
Munkidori HP: 888 -> 333
Fezandipiti HP: 888 -> 333

Blessing of Fortune

Removed "While exactly one Boss is fainted: Bosses take double (x2) damage."

Removed "While exactly two Bosses are fainted: Bosses take triple (x3) damage." (They're still Dynamaxed while alone.)

Added "At the end of each round: Place a Fortune marker on each fainted Boss. Then, do the following for each Boss with eight or more Fortune counters:

Remove Fainting and all Fortune markers from them.
Raise their four core stages to the maximum."

This raid made a lot of concessions to try to fit 8's in. This contorted the amount of damage raiders needed to deal very badly — even with the assorted multipliers, most average teams would need around 16-18 rounds to chew through 888 HP three times in a row. Reducing their HP should make the raid more attainable while also easing the pressure applied by Fezandipiti's Duelist vocation. The raid already attacks every slot often enough.

:sv/tinkaton:

Vs. The Cold-Iron Tink-tacular Turf War!
This one needs a lot of revision. It was the last Raid to be written before launch, and is definitely not performing as designed.

The conceit is that you should be managing your allegience to the Scourge Invaders and the Korvid Kingdom. In practice, you currently pick a side and beat them to death, while the referee runs an asinine amount of calculations for meaningless minions.

This raid has been wholly re-imagined. You'll find the new version, where you are caught in a crossfire and must be the last surviving team, in its place, with the old version in a hide.

:sv/silvally:

Vs. The Self-Perfecting Beast-Slaying Machine!
Normal "Memory" Order Behavior:

Normal "Memory" Order Behavior
Swords Dance Bulk Up Nasty Plot Calm Mind ~~Agility~~ Shift Gear

This change breaks the nice +2 boost symmetry, but also patches up an otherwise mostly dead slot in the first round of the Raid. High- and Low-rolling can become a factor later on, as the Raid becomes more volatile.

LouisCyphre · Oct 5, 2023

As a result of the playerbase's collective ongoing quest to grey my hair, we have some Substitution clarifications to make.

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, including in competitive matches.

Sorry in advance for any inconvenience, but these exploits probably shouldn't be allowed in Circuit, once known!

10.6f Special Substitution Triggers
We're clarifying how to legally order a substitution that triggers "if able".

The relevant text will now read, in part:

A substitution can be created with an empty Trigger Component; that is to say, without any Action Clauses or State Clauses at all. This is sometimes called a "True Clause" or an "If-Able Clause". Such a substitution will trigger every time its timing component is met, if its result component is fully possible.

To write a substitution with no trigger component, you must indicate that the trigger component is empty. Phrasings such as "IF you are able" or "IF possible" are acceptable ways to issue such a substitution. Unlike with the timing component, simply writing no trigger component at all renders the substitution illegal.

Example: A substitution using a True Clause may read, "At the start of your turn, if possible, use Phantom Force." The same substitution may also be written, "At the start of your turn, if you are able, use Phantom Force."

It may not legally be written, "At the start of your turn, use Phantom Force."

This fixes a possible exploit where a player could write orders such as the following:

Earthquake ~ Earthquake ~ Earthquake

Endure

Protect

Headlong Rush

This is a cute novelty trick, but ultimately the only utility is to annoy or confuse opponents, so it can safely go.

10.7b Result Clause Affixes
This section is being clarified and expanded upon.

The text of this section will now read as follows:

[10.7b] Result Affixes
Each Result Clause may have up to one of the following affixes appended to it, if desired.

...on Nth instance

The affixed Result Clause will be ignored, except for the Nth time the substitution triggers.

...on other instances

The affixed Result Clause will be ignored during instances mentioned on another Result Clause's affix in the same substitution.

(Writings similar to "on later instances" are understood to be this affix.)

...if it is step N

The affixed Result Clause will be ignored, except during the specified step.

...in other steps

The affixed Result Clause will be ignored during steps mentioned on another Result Clause's affix in the same substitution.

(Writings similar to "on later/prior steps" are understood to be this affix.)

...otherwise

The affixed Result Clause will be ignored during instances mentioned on a clause affixed "on Nth instance", and it will also be ignored during steps mentioned on a clause affixed with "if it is step N".

If a substitution would trigger, but all of the substitution's Result Clauses would be ignored, then the substitution is illegal and does not trigger.

This may seem out of the blue, so let's go over the reasoning:

First change: Adding "on step N" and "on other steps" as legal affixes.

It has been discovered that players can currently order a substitution such as the following:

IF Charizard is to use Flamethrower THEN use Rain Dance, then lock step 3 for the rest of this substitution, then use Substitute.

This results in one move when it's triggered step 3 (Rain Dance), and another move otherwise. Rather than doing anything to the (admittedly rather problematic) locking function, we decided to add support for reserving certain results for certain steps. After all, we're in a going-second metagame, so there's little reason to further weaken first order's subs at this time.

Frankly, locking an order is of dubious utility overall. We'd like to hear about productive uses of the locking clause (in the usual feedback venues); there's a chance that we might just codify those use cases as their own clauses — much as we've done here — and then dispose of the locking function.

Second change: Disallowing substitutions with empty results from triggering.

Players could previously order substitutions like this:

IF Grimmsnarl is to use Power Whip THEN use Counter on first instance.

IF Grimmsnarl is to use Power Whip THEN use Memento.

Do forgive the blunt example. This is a form of bait, using the "empty" result of the first substitution to prevent the second substitution from triggering. The first sub would, formerly, always trigger regardless of having a result; and only one of a Pokemon's subs can trigger each step. In this way, players could pretend to have an exploitable second sub, but in reality have it never trigger.

An unwary opponent could be caught trying to exploit this sub with Power Whip ~ Power Whip, only to then be rules sharked by having it explained that the first sub "triggers anyway but does nothing." This has been corrected — subs can't trigger if all of their result clauses would be ignored.

If you want to block your own later substitutions from triggering, you can use the "Ignore substitution N" result clause.

In general, it our preference that substitutions don't require access to social channels or clique chats in order to be used effectively. When new functionality is discovered, that relies on obtuse layering of different clauses, we're likely to try to clarify and better support such functionality.

However, substitutions also house the lion's share of BBP's strategic depth and skill expression, so we're not likely to greatly reduce the possible complexity of the substitution system. Whenever possible, we would instead rather include more readable phrasings of existing functionality.

LouisCyphre · Oct 12, 2023

Congratulations to this future balance adjustment, promoted to "right the fuck now" because people were about to buy negative-Attack-natured Linoone to abuse this ability.

Quick Feet
Another quick pit stop for some unusable, awful Pokemon, intended to give them a function in the metagame. This effect will become a clone of another reworked ability in the future patch, but with a status- and speed-based criteria instead.

With this version of the ability, the fully evolved users will have the ability to impersonate Pokemon with real stats. The second fastest user is Linoone, the third fastest user is Mightyena, and the fourth fastest user is Zigzagoon. There's not much to worry about in terms of users "gatekeeping" this ability.

And with this change, the best user of the ability is no longer Eviolite Shroomish. Attack Aid and Defense Aid can already be found in the Conditions tab of the DAT, and in the Teal Mask update, above.

Old

New

Adversity inspires paranoia and vigilance in this Pokemon.

While the user has one or more Major Status: The user's Speed is increased by half (x1.5).

While the user is being attacked by an attacker whose Speed is less than
the user's: The attacker's Attack and Special Attack ranks are each, at most,
the higher of the user's Attack or Special Attack ranks. (The attacker's rank is limited to no more than the user's higher Attack rank.)

Adversity inspires paranoia and vigilance in this Pokemon.

While the user has a Major Status: This ability has the following effects:
● The user's Speed is doubled (x2).
● The user is unaffected by all other Major Status.
● While attacking a Pokemon with half (x1/2) or less of the user's Speed: The user has Attack Aid.
● While being attacked by a Pokemon with half (x1/2) or less of the user's Speed: The user has Defense Aid.

Rest
To pair with the above (and other future changes), Rest will now attempt to cleanse Major Status before inflicting Sleep.

It will also force itself to fail in situations where Pokemon can't fall Asleep, such as during Electric Terrain for standing users.

The move is already too expensive to be used under Sleep Talk, and can't be executed while Asleep anyway, so we aren't too concerned about that line anymore.

The user bunkers down to sleep and rest, rejuvenating themselves in the midst of battle.

(If the user's HP is full, this move can't execute.)

Inflict Sleep on the user for their next two (2) turns, with the following additional effects:
● When this condition is created: The subject heals 20 HP, as a recovery.
● Restless markers can't be placed on the subject.
● The subject is unaffected by non-Sleep Major Status.

(Sleep typically can't be created on a Pokemon that is already Asleep.)

The user bunkers down to sleep and rest, rejuvenating themselves in the midst of battle.

(If the user's HP is full, or if the user is unaffected by Sleep, this move can't execute.)

Remove all Major Status from the user; then, inflict Sleep on the user for their next two (2) turns, with the following additional effects:
● When this condition is created: The subject heals 20 HP, as a recovery.
● Restless markers can't be placed on the subject.
● The subject is unaffected by non-Sleep Major Status.

To cope, I'll tell myself that this can act as an appetizer for the balance patch proper. Expect work like this, some time around the 1-year anniversary of Generation 9 BBP.

LouisCyphre · Oct 22, 2023

I think thrice in two weeks (maybe four times?) I've logged on to find the Discord divided over whether Conditions and Markers fade upon switching out.

Problem
The confusion stemmed from some effects creating conditions "until the subject leaves play." Players were assuming the absence of this text to mean "if we don't say this every time, the conditions persists after switching", which was just swell.

Solution
I've modified 7.2 "Conditions" to insist that all Conditions and Markers on Pokemon are discarded from inactive Pokemon, unless:

They are Fundamental Conditions (like Fainting),
They are Major Status (like Burn),
They are stated to "persist after leaving play" (like Forecast's Atmosphere markers), or
They were created on an inactive Pokemon, who hasn't since entered play. (So that we can give inactive Pokemon conditions or markers "for later", and still have them fall of if the Pokemon subsequently leaves play.)

I've also modified 2.9 "Post-Event Checks", step 5, to actually do the discarding. Conditions and Markers will cease existing on inactive Pokemon in this check, just like stranded Conditions and Markers (ones that aren't placed on anything) do, except where noted above.

This isn't relevant to objects placed on objects placed on Pokemon, such as Poison markers on a Poison condition on a Pokemon. (This is why we moved those markers onto the Condition, instead of leaving them on the Pokemon, a couple patches ago.)

Most effects in the DAT no longer mention that they create a Condition or Marker "until the subject leaves play," to avoid this confusion. It should be assumed unless stated otherwise.

Some effects that inflict conditions for multiple durations, such as those of Glaive Rush, still say that they "Inflict a unique condition on the user until their next turn, and on the defender until they leave play". This is for clarity, that the defender gets a copy with no turn duration. The user's copy of the condition still is discarded if they leave play, even though it has a turn duration, and even though one copy of the condition mentions leaving play and the other doesn't.

The above work should result in no functional changes. Instead, it should simply clarify the existing rules.

The line about "They were created on an inactive Pokemon, who hasn't since entered play." is a change from previous rules, but there aren't currently any effects that do such a thing to my knowledge, so that doesn't change anything currently.

LouisCyphre · Dec 1, 2023

This has been recently brought to my attention, and I'd hate to make people suffer through another Circuit without this fixed.

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, including in competitive matches.

Substitutions and Move-Calling Moves
Problem

As written, substitutions can't see moves called by "calling moves" like Sleep Talk, and thus can't respond to them.

When Gen 9 was being written, the point of narrowing these calling moves down to a single, non-random option was to allow substitutions to respond to the move being called. This new rule causes substitutions to function against valid move-calling parameters.

Solution

In 10.6b "Action Clause Observed Behavior", the following text will be added:

If the observed Pokemon's order is to use an action that will call a move (at the time the substitution is checked), and that called move fits the criteria of the Action Clause, then the order as whole fits the criteria.

We'll be closely monitoring this change to follow-up if it results in unintended abuse cases.

Substitutions and Normal-Replacing Abilities
Problem

Due to how abilities such as Aerilate are phrased were phrased as a triggered effect, they didn't convert the user's attack types until the user was about to attack. This means that substitutions for "IF Flying-type attack" don't trigger on converted attacks, which has proven rather unintuitive.

Solution

The user's Normal-type moves are now always converted to the new type. By checking the move's original type (its type in the DAT), we can contain the power bonus to moves that were converted, as intended.

This has the side-effect of making these Pokemon better at using Hidden Power and Natural Gift, if it converts to the correct type, but that's not really useful when you have Aerilate Double-Edge or similar available.

Old	New
The Pokemon is most at home in the sky, and can infuse their attacks with the winds. When the user performs a Normal-type move: The move becomes Flying-type, and if it does and it has a BAP, give it a power bonus of two (2).	The Pokemon is most at home in the sky, and can infuse their attacks with the winds. The user's Normal-type moves are Flying-type. When the user performs a Flying-type attack that was originally Normal-type: Give it a power bonus of two (2).

Pixilate, Refrigerate, Galvanize, and the custom ability Ignite (Found in the event "Dragon Master Lance") will reflect this change.

Exclusive Items

A new category of unpurchaseable items is being added to the DAT. Under the "Exclusive Held Items" header, items that are given out as prizing that aren't associated with an unpurchaseable Pokemon will be listed.

For the time being, only :meteorite:

Sovereign Magnificence and :azure flute:

Sovereign Malevolence are in this category. These items can be obtained from the "Conquering Northern King! 2023" event.

The ability to purchase or not to purchase other items isn't impacted at this time. Unpurchaseable held items, that aren't associated with an unpurchaseable Pokemon, are candidates for relocation to this category.

(As an aside, an item's canon or non-canon status has no bearing on whether or not it is purchaseable. Given that BBP has always struggled to find new things to give out as rewards, we reserve the right to stuff new items into event or Facility rewards as needed.)

LouisCyphre · Dec 28, 2023

/!\ cw: reading, alternate KO effects, dragonite /!\

(Feel free to direct any typo reports or clarifying questions to the usual venues.)

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, except for in competitive matches and events.

CAP BBP Season 2
a.k.a. That Big Anniversary Balance Patch I've Been Talking About

Hello, everyone! It's me, the guy that writes these, writing another one of these just for you.

The generation is a year old, now! Over the course of the first year of Generation 9 BBP, we've never really experienced a settled version of the game. Roughly every month or so, some major section of the game has seen patches, hotfixes, or outright overhauls. We've built this train while riding it in motion. While I'd like to imagine that most players have enjoyed the ride so far, we do understand that there's a need to stop at a destination and rest every once in a while. After all, for some players, monthly patches are more frequent than battles are!

That said, the overall shape of the game has become clearer, to mods and to players alike, as the generation has matured. To hear players tell it, Pokemon now threaten teams with varying degrees of offense, defense, and utility that would bring a tear to the eye of any player transported directly from Gen 7 or 8 BBP, and the game has shed much of the annoying, sometimes clique-driven rulings jank that plagued early ASB. We've chosen to take the game's current surge of new users and activity as a sign that it is in one of its best states so far, and we have no wish to squander that momentum.

It's time to knock out the majority of the balance hit-list, all at once, so that we can enjoy a fresh iteration of the game.

Progression Updates
We're revising a couple of features, as well as adding a new battle ruleset, to help smooth out the beginning of the game for newer players.

:bulbasaur:

Beginner Battles
Without clear guidelines, the first thing a new BBP player tends to do is throw themselves directly into the deepest end of the pool, to disastrous effect. It's not ideal that a new player's first battles take up to a month. We're offering this new, premade battle ruleset in the Battle Tower to provide some structure; and we're making battles free if they're played under these rules.

Rulesets labelled as being "for beginners" have been a part of BBP since its inception, but this time we're (have you heard this before?) giving them a job to do.

If your Battle Tower challenge uses the following rules, and all other rules are left as default, then the battle is said to be a "Beginner Battle" and costs players no JC. The referee still earns JC from the match.

Bring 3, Pick 1 Singles
Level 0
Backpack: 6
Each player may bring only the following items, in the following amounts:
- 1xOran Berry, 1xPecha Berry, 1xCheri Berry,1xRawst Berry, 1xMuscle Band, 1xWise Glasses

You may ask for a battle in this format simply by saying that you're seeking a "Beginner Battle". (Even if you aren't a beginner.)

Starting JC
New players will no longer start with 12 JC after this patch. Instead, prizing for Beginner Battles will award players 20 JC once per player. This is to ensure players don't run their JC stock dry (by challenging facilities they've yet to play) before they've played through a Beginner Battle.

This bonus isn't being offered to players who joined BBP before this patch, who started with a (then-comparable) amount of JC instead.

Judge Counter Overhaul
As promised, JC costs and payouts across the game are being adjusted.

There's two different scoring systems we drew up, for the purpose of this work: Cost and Pay.

JC Costs are being determined by the rewards a player can expect from the battle. We're tallying up the value of a venue's rewards, and then pricing the battle at its closest pricing "tier". The chosen tiers are 4, 7, 10, 12, 16, 20, and 25.

We've chosen the tiered prices to be co-prime with one another, so that an individual JCs matter more. If every price was a multiple of, say, 3; then 3 JC is the "real" unit, and any JC left over is a wasted annoyance until the "set" is completed.

JC Pay is being driven mainly by expected round count — or more directly, number of expected reffing posts. We started with a fixed amount of pay for a 2v2, a 3v3, or a 4v4, based on how long we expect matches of that size to take on average. We then wrote modifiers to raise or lower this, such as whether or not the battle is automated, or whether the match is Singles or a larger format.

The tables below are excerpts from full JC Tables, kept in the moderator lair. We'd rather not spoil upcoming content by way of its pricing.

Battle Tower

Type	Rewards	Raw Value	JC Cost	JC Pay
Ordinary Battle	TC, RC	N/A	2	6
Beginner Battle*	Promotion to Level 1	N/A	0	6

* See onboarding changes, above.

Realgam Tower
Having the most ordinary battle format, Realgam serves well as a template that other facilities can be measured against.

Type	Rewards	Raw Value	JC Cost	JC Pay
8-EXP "Fast" Single Sims (2v2)	16 EXP	3.2	4	8
12-EXP "Normal" Single Sims (3v3)	36 EXP	7.2	7	11
15-EXP "Hard" Single Sims (3v3)	45 EXP	9	10	11
8-EXP "Fast" Doubles Sims (2v2)	16 EXP	3.2	4	9
12-EXP "Normal" Doubles Sims (4v4)	48 EXP	9.6	10	15
15-EXP "Hard" Doubles Sims (4v4)	60 EXP	12	12	15
Colress	Legend (6+2), AC (4+2), Voucher (2)	16	16	14
Barry and Palmer	Legend (6+2), AC (4+2), Voucher (2)	16	16	18
Ghetsis	Uber key item (8), AC (4+2), Voucher (2)	16	16	14
N	Lv3 Uber (8+2), AC (4+2), Voucher (2)	18	16	14
3v3 Z-Move Source	3xZ-Move (12), AC (4+2), Voucher (2)	20	20	14
4v4 Z-Move Source	4xZ-Move (16), AC (4+2), Voucher (2)	24	25	18

Raid Frontier
The Loyal Three have a strange reward structure, but we're going to allow them to be outliers. The Pokemon on offer aren't likely to warp the game around themselves any time soon.

Type	Rewards	Raw Value	JC Cost	JC Pay
6-EXP "Normal" Raids	18 EXP	3.6	4	8
10-EXP "Hard" Raids	30 EXP	6	7	8
Loyal Three if you take a Legend	Legend (4+1) and 18 EXP	8.6	7	8

Safari Zone
These rewards are subject to adjustment as the Safari rewards are shifted around. For example, it's possible we'll detach rewards from the Pokemon in the habitat and score them differently, which would change the expected reward of a typical challenge.

Type	Rewards	Raw Value	JC Cost	JC Pay
Standard Habitats	30 EXP on average	6	7	14
Legend Habitats ()	30 EXP on average, Lv1 Legend (4+0)	10	10	14
Ground Zero Anomaly Expedition	0-2xTerastal (4), 0-2xLv1-3 Legend (6+1), 0-2xAC (2+1), 0-2 Vouchers (2)	25	25	17

Alternative Labor
Despite many players' expectations, we don't want to delete approval rewards. It's okay for users to gain JC from sources other than month- or months-long scheduling commitments, and approvals are a vital chokepoint in BBP at large. It's important to keep the queue moving!

Approvals	Profile Updates
1 per Battle verified. 1 per 2 Pokemon profiles, rounded up.	1 per 2 Pokemon profiles, rounded up.

Player Progress and Referee Progress
The rules for Player Progress and Referee Progress had a lot of ground to cover. Because they left some key ideas undefined, players have found a lot of friction with them that we're clearing up within.

The two types of Progress every piece of content must define will be as follows:

Player Progress is a measure of how "much" of the content a player has completed. It is used to scale player rewards when matches end early (such as by losing).
Referee Progress is a measure of how much work a given referee has done for a battle, match, or challenge.

Sub-Referee Pay
Subrefs will be paid on match or challenge completion again, as they were before the progress update. Paying them during the content created too many issues. Tagging subrefs when they are paid will be required, as always. It should be considered polite to remind other players to collect their partial rewards when they're paid in this way, if you notice that they've forgotten.

Originally, we had planned to largely overhaul how referees are paid, and whose shares are rounded up or down, but that will probably not be necessary. With the JC inflation work, above, shares can be more finely divided.

In addition, we're putting a minimum of 1 on TC, RC, and JC for each rounded-down referee share. If this work creates a problem where players are sub-reffing each other every round or similar nonsense, we'll simply stamp out that behavior separately.

Several pieces of content have Player Progress or Referee Progress that result in strange divisions of rewards, but we've found this to be an issue with those pieces of content, rather than with the progress rules.

Lastly, we'll be taking the placeholder post in the Handbook to create a section numbered "12" to house progression rules as a whole, including progress and EXP rewards. This section will start as a paste-over of the Progress patch note (with these changes), and we'll organize it into more proper rules text at a later time.

League Circuit Rewards
We're changing the way League Circuit rewards players to be more leniant overall.

Currently, League Circuit reward structure encourages players to give up if they don't hit a hot streak right away. For example, if a player wins three matches and then loses two, their three wins no longer matter at for the purpose of obtaining the 4+ Wins rewards. By luck of the draw, or bad beats in-match, the player has lost five months of progress.

As players have gathered around League Circuit as BBP's primary "serious" format, our priority has shifted from ensuring exclusivity of the rewards, to ensuring that players always have an incentive to sign up for another round. To that end, we're making the following changes, starting with this January's Circuit:

Battle Records only accumulate wins now, up to four (4), before resetting to zero. Losses are no longer tracked. This means that any participant has a chance at the 4+ wins reward bracket... Eventually.
For pairings, we'll now first pair players who won their last Circuit match (if any) with other such players; then we'll pair the rest together. This increases randomness a little (meaning that matchup luck is a bigger factor in victory); but, it also increases randomness a little (meaning it's harder to know who exactly you'll be paired against).
For Hall of Fame entry, we'd like to be able to induct at least one player each year. We'll now feature the players with the best winrate, from among the players with the most wins that year. (That is, most wins first, with a winrate tiebreaker.) This is retroactive, so look forward to the crowning of a 2023 Hall of Famer as well! If we end up with multiple entries for a year, so be it.

CAP Data Progress
This work was steadily eclipsed as the patch approached. I'll resume implementing these pages after the January Circuit launches and the patch settles. As before, we the mods expect to spend the first week or two of the patch putting out fires.

We'd have liked to update canon and CAP Pokemon in the same go, just as we had wished with the Teal Mask update, but it is what it is. Thank you for your continuing patience!

Major Update - The Indigo Disk
Timing nicely enough with the one-year anniversary of Gen 9, please enjoy these new additions to the game!

New Content!
The Indigo Disk update brings a new slew of evolutions, moves, and abilities to BBP!

New purchasable Pokemon:

Archaludon
Hydrapple

(Yes, we'll be tuning Syrup Bomb to behave more sanely now that its primary user is good on their own merit.)

New reward-only Pokemon:

Gouging Fire
Raging Bolt
Iron Boulder
Iron Crown
Terapagos
Terapagos-Terastal
Terapagos-Stellar
Pecharunt

/!\ New exclusive moves and abilities are introduced with their users.

:sv/archaludon:

Archaludon
Typing: Steel/Dragon
Stats: 95 HP / 8 Atk / 9 Def / 9 SpA / 5 SpD / 85 Spe
Size: 3 / Weight: 4
Abilities: Stamina / Sturdy / Stalwart (HA)

Evolves from :duraludon:

Duraludon.

New Features:

Electro Shot (Move)
Electric | Special | Any One Target | 13 BAP | 100% Acc | 8 En | -- Eff% | -1 Prio | Non-Contact
Combo Level: Elemental (2) | Luminous / Beam

The user gathers space power to empower themselves, then fires a glimmering ray of that energy.

(The user begins charging this move at priority +1, and executes this move at priority -1.)

While the Weather is Rain: The user executes this move at priority 0 instead.

When the user begins to charge this move: Raise the user's Special Attack stage by one (1) for their next two (2) turns, without extension.

Hydrapple
Typing: Grass/Dragon
Stats: 100 HP / 6 Atk / 8 Def / 9 SpA / 6 SpD / 44 Spe
Size: 2 / Weight: 4
Abilities: Supersweet Syrup / Regenerator / Sticky Hold (HA)

Evolves from :dipplin:

Dipplin.

Syrup Bomb has been adjusted below, in Move Changes.

New Features:

Gouging Fire
Typing: Fire/Dragon
Stats: 100 HP / 8 Atk / 9 Def / 5 SpA / 7 SpD / 91 Spe
Size: 6 / Weight: 9
Ability: Protosynthesis

This Pokemon is not purchasable.

New Features:

Burning Bulwark (Move)
Fire | Other | User | -- BAP | -- Acc | 10 En | -- Eff% | +3 Prio | Non-Contact | #Protective (the tag formerly known as #P/E)
Combo Level: Passive (1) | Bracing, Luminous / Blockading, Aetherial

The user wreathes their horns in a crown of flame, scorching any would-be assailants.

Grants the user Protection from damaging actions until the end of the step, with the additional following effect:
● After a contact attack is executed, if that attack targeted the subject: Inflict Burn on the attacker.

Raging Bolt
Typing: Electric/Dragon
Stats: 105 HP / 5 Atk / 7 Def / 10 SpA / 6 SpD / 75 Spe
Size: 7 / Weight: 9
Ability: Protosynthesis

This Pokemon is not purchasable.

New Features:

Thunderclap (Move)
Electric | Special | Any One Target | 7 BAP | 100% Acc | 5 En | -- Eff% | +1 Prio | Non-Contact
Combo Level: Set (4) | Luminous / Aetherial, Beam

With the blinding light and earth-cracking force of a bolt of lightning, the user smites their target.

(If any of the targets of this move have taken their turn this step, or if any of the targets of this move have an order to use a non-damaging action, this move can't execute.)

(Notice this move's priority.)

Iron Boulder
Typing: Rock/Psychic
Stats: 95 HP / 9 Atk / 6 Def / 5 SpA / 8 SpD / 124 Spe
Size: 3 / Weight: 5
Ability: Quark Drive

This Pokemon is not purchasable.

New Features:

Iron Crown
Typing: Steel/Psychic
Stats: 95 HP / 5 Atk / 7 Def / 9 SpA / 8 SpD / 98 Spe
Size: 4 / Weight: 5
Ability: Quark Drive

This Pokemon is not purchasable.

New Features:

Tachyon Cutter (Move)
Steel | Special | Any One Target | 5 BAP | --- Acc | 7 En | -- Eff% | 0 Prio | Non-Contact | #Slicing
Combo Level: Elemental (2) | Luminous / Pelleting

Moving faster than light, the user projects blades that slash their target in both the past and the present.

This attack hits twice.

While performing this move: Accuracy checks for this move automatically succeed.

On hit: Reset the defender's Evasion stage to 0 if it is positive; then, reset the user's Accuracy stage to 0 if it is negative.

(Due to their complexity, Terapagos has been moved out of Pokedex order, to the end of this section.)

:sv/pecharunt:

Pecharunt
Typing: Poison/Ghost
Stats: 90 HP / 6 Atk / 11 Def / 6 SpA / 6 SpD / 88 Spe
Size: 1 / Weight: 1
Ability: Poison Puppeteer

This Pokemon is not purchasable.

New Features:

Poison Puppeteer (Ability)
The Pokemon is as bewildering as their scoundrel brethren are venomous.

Poison conditions inflicted by the user, or by teammates with Toxic Chain (even while the user is Benched), have the following additional effects:
● The subject is Confused.
● Damage the subject takes from the Confusion condition is halved.

Terapagos
Typing: Normal
Size and Weight: Vary by Forme.
Abilties: Varies by Forme.
Trait: Tera Type is always Stellar.

Arriving in the Indigo Disk is one of the most unique Pokemon in the series: Terapagos, who has the capacity to leave the type chart behind entirely. Surely, this Pokemon will make a splash in any format it appears in, with its remarkable stat spread and perfect one-move coverage.

In the source games, the base form of Terapagos is purely cosmetic, and the middle "-Terastal" forme is the default while battling. Here in BBP, we'll be mostly but not entirely preserving that functionality.

Forme Changes:

Terapagos
Typing: Normal
Stats: 90 HP / 5 Atk / 6 Def / 5 SpA / 6 Def / 60 Spe
Size: 1 / Weight: 1
Ability: Tera Shift
Trait: Tera Type is always Stellar.

Terapagos-Terastal
Typing: Normal
Stats: 95 HP / 7 Atk / 8 Def / 8 SpA / 8 SpD / 85 Spe
Size: 1 / Weight: 2
Ability: Tera Shell
Trait: Tera Type is always Stellar. Upon
Terastallizing, transforms to Stellar Forme.

Terapagos-Stellar
Typing: Normal
Stats: 115 HP / 8 Atk / 8 Def / 9 SpA / 8 SpD / 85 Spe
Size: 4 / Weight: 4
Ability: Teraform Zero
Trait: Tera Type is always Stellar.

New Features:

Tera Starstorm (Move)
Normal | Special | Any One Target | 12 BAP | -- Acc | 9 En | -- Eff% | 0 Prio | Non-Contact
Combo Level: Elemental (2) | Material, Luminous / Aetherial, Beam

The user radiates Terastal energy into the atmosphere. The energy falls gently at first, then fiercely, eradicating what it hits.

While the user's Attack rank is higher than their Special Attack rank: Tera Starstorm is Physical.

While the user is Terastallized: Tera Starstorm's target scope is All Opponents. Additionally, Tera Starstorm's typing is equal to the user's Tera Type.

(Pokemon that are Mega Evolved, Dynamaxed, or Terastallized; or who are holding a Z-Crystal; have an additional weakness to Stellar. Pokemon that are Stellar Terastallized have an additional immunity to Stellar on top of that.)

Tera Shift (Ability)
The user is physically composed of Terastal Energy; and perhaps may even be the source of it.

As soon as possible, once per battle per user: The user transforms into their Terastal Forme, unless ordered otherwise. (This refers to a Forme named "-Terastal", not to Terastallization.)

Terastallizing costs the user no Technique Control.

Other Terastallized Pokemon in play have Dread.

Tera Shell (Ability)
The user wreathes themselves in a protective shell, crystallized from energy of each and every type.

When the user takes damage from an attack: Note that attack's types on this ability until the end of the round.

The user has an additional resistance to each type noted on this ability, for each time that type is noted.

Teraform Zero (Ability)
Perhaps by inherent nature, or perhaps by willful intent, the user draws in any and all available energy upon entering play.

As soon as possible, once per send-out per user: Discard all Battle Conditions.

Other Pokemon in play can't perform Advanced Techniques.

This is a lot to take in, so to summarize:

The first time you send out Terapagos each battle, the triggered effect of Tera Shift will either transform them into Terapagos-Terastal, or not.
Terapagos-Terastal is not Terastallized; their -Stellar Forme is.
Only Terapagos-Terastal can transform into Terapagos-Stellar by Terastallizing. (Much like how non-fused Necrozma can't Ultra Burst.)
Base Terapagos can be Terastallized to take advantage of the Stellar typing without spending a tech.
Terapagos-Terastal is the Forme they're "intended" to be used in. Tera Shell means most of the attacks they take will be neutral, on average.
Terapagos-Stellar is closer in function to a Mega Evolution than they are to other Terastal users. They trade Tera Shell away for very high HP.
The mechanics of the Stellar-type are detailed below, in their own section.

Battle Mechanics

:grafaiai:

Effect Text Updates
To help keep effect text clear, we're adding a couple of new hooks to the main rules:

Action "Completion"

8.12 "Action Cleanup" will now state that a Pokemon "completes" an action at the end. This will let us phrase end-of-action triggers as "When the user completes [action]" instead of "After the user executes [action]".

Affected text:

"After executing this move" -> "When the user completes this move" in Close Combat, Overheat, Hyper Beam, Burn Up, Brick Break, Chloroblast, Fire Pledge, Glaive Rush, and their clones; among many others.
"After a contact is executed" -> "When a Pokemon completes a contact attack" in Baneful Bunker and its clones.
"After another Pokemon executes a move tagged #Dance" -> "When another Pokemon completes a move tagged #Dance" in Dancer.
"After a [type] attack is executed" -> "When another Pokemon completes a [type] attack" in Dry Skin, Earth Eater, Flash Fire, Lightning Rod, Motor Drive, Rattled, Sap Sipper, Steam Engine, Storm Drain, Volt Absorb, Water Absorb, and Well-Baked Body.
"After an attack tagged [tag] is executed" -> "When an attack tagged [tag] is completed" in Wind Power and Wind Rider.
"After a Physical action is executed" -> "When another Pokemon completes a Physical attack" in Ice Face.
"After the user executes a contact attack" -> "When the user completes a contact attack" in Poison Touch, Stench.
"After this item is thrown by Fling" -> "When the user completes Fling, throwing this item" in Smoke Ball.

Other items that have been adjusted or reworked, far below, also reflect this templating.

"Enters Play" Abilities

A short list of abilities have an effect that triggers "When the user enters play or gains this ability". This is meant to ensure these abilities work properly when copied with Trace or Role Play, or when the user transforms into a Forme with those abilities. However, this templating isn't applied consistently across abilities, leading to memory issues even among abilities that are functionally clones.

The following abilities, that have effects that trigger "When the user enters play" will switch to the "enter or gain" templating:

Costar
Curious Medicine
Dauntless Shield
Download
Hadron Engine
Hospitality
Intrepid Sword
Justified
Lightning Rod
Orichalcum Pulse
Storm Drain

Ability effects with a posting component, or those that alter the user's Forme, were left out of this pass.

Trace will need special handling due to Mega Alakazam, but that's not quite the same as the above changes.

New Battle Rule - "Half-Start"
Starting with this patch, battles will have an additional toggle-able rule: Half-Start.

When this rule is enabled, the first round of the battle will have half as many steps as usual, rounded up. (2 in singles, 1 in doubles and triples by default.)

Admittedly, this rule was drawn up after the third League Circuit, when it seemed that the trainer who sent first and ordered second in the first round had an overwhelming advantage. In the fourth and fifth League Circuits, trainers who sent first have managed to somehow lose, making the statistics much less stark.

The fact remains, though, that the outcome of the first round has massive reprocussions for the rest of a typical 3v3 battle. Second order has a chance to secure team knowledge through phazing, set up for a momentum-seizing switch, or even simply secure a 4HKO on the opposing lead going into the coming round. Though we always want leading and planning well to be a skill that BBP rewards; we'd like later rounds to be decided slightly less in advance. Thus, we hope the Half-Step rule slightly eases the impact of a first round gone wrong.

Terastal Updates
The Indigo Disk DLC introduces a new option for a Pokemon's Tera Type: Stellar!

Debuting in this update, the "Stellar-type" may now be selected as a Pokemon's Tera Type for most Pokemon.

Note that "Stellar" is not a proper type, and does not exist in the Type Chart. Instead, it indicates that the Pokemon has an "Anti-Tech" Terastal. Stellar Terastal is said to be "untyped", and non-Stellar Terastal is said to be "typed".

Stellar Terastal differs from typed Terastal in the following ways:

Type does not change: Rather than changing Types to match their Tera Type, Pokemon who undergo Stellar Terastal will always have their original types.
- Effects will fail to change the Stellar Terastal user's types, just as with typed Terastal.
STAB Enhancement: Unlike typed Terastal, and unlike its in-game counterpart, Stellar Terastal simply boosts attacks of all types in BBP.
- When a Stellar Terastallized Pokemon attacks, their attack will gain STAB whether it shares a type with them or not.
- This can be said to be the "Stellar-Type Attack Bonus".
- (Note that Adaptability and similar effects only mention "attacks that share a type with the user and not "STAB", which means they have no interaction with this rule.)
Tera Blast:Tera Blast has no types when used by a Stellar Terastallized user. Instead, Pokemon who have spent one or more Technique Control this battle have an additional weakness to Stellar Tera Blast.
- Additionally, Pokemon who are Stellar Terastallized have an additional immunity to Stellar Tera Blast and Stellar Tera Starstorm.
Tera Starstorm, a signature variant of Tera Blast learned by Terapagos, shares these typing interactions.

Z-Move Updates
With the arrival of more ways to gain EXP, players are finally free to use their Realgam Tower for other pursuits. Now, the facility's technique-on-offer is being made worth pursuing!

Before getting in to the changes, I'd like to ramble for a moment about versions of Z-Moves we decided not to go with.

Z-Move work found itself on and off the back-burner, and has been scheduled for several patches before this one. Each time, though, I hit a snag in the design I found personally dissatisfying. Not wanting to release a half-baked version of Z-Moves that would need revision or further reworking later (like we did with Major Status), I made the call to kick the work down the road as later-Lou's problem.

The first versions we tinkered with were adjustments to the existing Z-Effects, and to Z-Mechanics as they existed in cart: One per battle, or later, one per tech. Use the in-game Z-Effects for any moves that had any. Some versions of this work added fanfiction Z-Effects for newer moves, while some decided against the extra workload. For a long while, it wasn't clear exactly what was so difficult about working with the in-cart version of Z-Moves; and we as a team didn't get a better grasp of their issues until early Gen 9.

The issues with canon Z-Moves were twofold. First, they're only formerly canon. Only moves that existed as of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon even have canon Z-Effects, leaving every new addition in the dust unless we do additional work. And whenever new restricting effects or other interactions (such as Tera Starstorm's pseudo-typelessness) are added to the game; we have to decide how those mechanics will interact with formerly-canon elements, because there's no in-game interaction for us to imitate.

Second, the burden of memory was immense. Every non-damaging move in the game had its own specifically-assigned Z-Effect that needed remembering. Try this: Can you remember, without checking, what the Z-Effect of Lucky Chant is? Worse, many such moves' typings aren't relevant until Z-Crystals become involved. Can you remember, without checking, if Morning Sun is Normal-, Grass-, Fire-, or Fairy-type? Many users can't!

After identifying these issues, we made the call to start pursuing alternative designs. Z-Moves would have to become a more self-explanitory, easier-to-remember system in order to remain a part of the game. This was easy to say, but I in particular found myself left in decision paralysis when trying to lay down a place for Z-Moves in the game.

Even as we left the canon implementation behind, we knew we'd be working within the shadow they formerly cast. In order to continue calling our eventual replacement "Z-Moves", any work done to them has to leave them as "enhanced" regular moves, and it needs to be associated with held Z-Crystals. That is to say, the implementation needed to resemble in Z-Moves in feel, regardless of how closely related the mechanics actually were. Guided by these requirements, we began to consider our available options.

There was a version we threw out pretty early, where each Z-Crystal had its own move modifer. For example, there would be a "Doublium-Z" that duplicated conditions creased by the base move, or a "Prioritiumi-Z" that caused the base move to have a very high priority. Some of these modifiers would later become Z-Powers, below. These were essentially just glorified held items.

Another version we passed over was one where players would have a certain amount of "points" (which never got named) to spend on upgrading the base move they were elevating. They would buy more BAP, Accuracy, added effects, and modifiers to the type and category. The versatiliy of this type was quickly identified as a frustration point for opponents, and the idea was scrapped when I found no reasonable or elegant restriction for mitigating this.

The two versions we most considered were the one you're about to read (further below), and a version where Pokemon could rotate through various Z-Crystals in a consumable-like fashion, accessing more weakly-boosted Z-Moves for the cost of a single tech. The introduction of the Stellar-type Terastal, above, helped tip this decision away from this "carousel" design towards the version we're implementing.

At the end of this long and rocky design journey, we're happy to present to you the newly-reworked Z-Moves:

Z-Move Usage
To elevate a move into a Z-Move, a Pokemon must have Z-Moves unlocked, they must hold an appropriately-typed Z-Crystal, and they must spend 1 Technique Control.

Pokemon can't attempt Z-Moves if any member of their team has attempted a Z-Move in the same round. Combinations and their components can't be elevated into Z-Moves.

To elevate a base move into a generic Z-Move, append one of the following Z-Prefixes to the base move's name:

Z-Force: Modifies attacking moves. The move's effect text is ignored, but its BAP becomes 24 and its Accuracy increases.
Z-Harm: Modifies non-attack moves. The move becomes a single-target 12 BAP attack, that retains its effect.
Z-Pierce: The move ignores effects, other than its own.
Z-Twin: The move creates duplicate conditions, and changes stat stages twice as much.
Z-Wide: The move's target scope is widened, based on its original target scope.

The Z-Prefixes available to a Pokemon depend on the Z-Crystal they're holding. Z-Force is offered by all Z-Crystals. Generally, Z-Crystals whose types have fewer moves will offer more Z-Prefixes as a balance factor.

Each Z-Prefix modifies the base move, in the following ways respectively:

Z-Force
(Example: Z-Force Overheat, Z-Force Sheer Cold)
This prefix transforms attacks into powerful nukes, removing their other text. This closely resembles the prior version of Z-Attacks.

This prefix only modifies moves that already have a BAP.
The Z-Move's restriction text, effect text, and tags are ignored.
The Z-Move no longer belongs to any of the base move's Action Groups.
The Z-Move's base BAP becomes 24. (This can result in certain moves becoming weaker when elevated with Z-Force.)
The Z-Move's base Accuracy (if any) is increased by 50, to a maximum of 100.

Z-Harm
(Example: Z-Harm Moonlight, Z-Harm Sunny Day)
This prefix transforms non-attacks into respectably powerful attacks.

This prefix only modifies moves with no BAP.
The Z-Move's BAP becomes 12.
The Z-Move is Physical if the user's Attack rank is higher than their Special Attack; otherwise, the Z-Move is Special.
The base move's target scope becomes "Any One Target".

Z-Pierce
(Example: Z-Pierce Taunt, Z-Pierce Dragon Tail)
The move is performed with no regard for any other effects, for better or worse.

While the Z-Move is being performed; the effects of abilities, held items, conditions, markers, and other moves are all ignored.
The effects of arenas are not ignored.

Z-Twin
(Example: Z-Twin Leech Seed, Z-Twin Cotton Guard)
The created conditions and stage changes of the move are duplicated.

If the move would create a condition; instead, it creates two of that condition, and the second copy of that condition is also named "Duplicate".
If the move would change a stage by an amount; instead, it changes that stage by twice that amount.

Z-Wide
(Example: Z-Wide Moonlight, Z-Wide Detect)
The move is widened to target more Pokemon than it normally would.

If the base move's target scope is "Any One Target"; the Z-Move's target scope is "All Opponents".
If the base move's target scope is "Any One Ally", "Any Other Ally", or "User"; the Z-Move's target scope is "All Allies".
If the base move's target scope isn't any of the above, elevating it with this prefix changes nothing.

Standard Z-Crystals
For each type, there will be a standard Z-Crystal that offers the holder a specific suite of Z-Powers. Z-Crystals associated with types that have fewer moves will offer stronger and more varied Z-Powers.

Here's an example of a standard Z-Crystal:

Normalium-Z
An octahedral crystal made of solidified Normal-type power. Holders find themselves filled with confidence.

The holder can elevate their Normal-type moves into Z-Moves, with the following Z-Powers:
● Z-Force, Z-Wide

(See x.x "Z-Moves")

The effect of Z-Crystals that changes :arceus:

Arceus' type will be moved to the ability Multitype.

The standard Z-Crystals, typal move counts, and Z-Powers are found below.

Z-Crystal	Move Count	Z-Powers
Normalium Z	198	Z-Force, Z-Wide
Psychium Z	76	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Wide
Grassium Z	58	Z-Force, Z-Pierce, Z-Twin
Fightinium Z	56	Z-Force, Z-Twin, Z-Wide
Darkinium Z	52	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Wide
Waterium Z	50	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Twin
Firium Z	46	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Twin
Electrium Z	44	Z-Force, Z-Pierce, Z-Wide
Steelium Z	37	Z-Force, Z-Twin, Z-Wide
Ghostium Z	35	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Twin
Poisonium Z	35	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Twin
Buginium Z	34	Z-Force, Z-Pierce, Z-Twin, Z-Wide
Fairium Z	32	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Twin, Z-Wide
Icium Z	32	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Pierce, Z-Twin
Groundium Z	31	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Pierce, Z-Wide
Flyinium Z	30	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Pierce, Z-Twin, Z-Wide
Dragonium Z	29	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Pierce, Z-Twin, Z-Wide
Rockium Z	26	Z-Force, Z-Harm, Z-Pierce, Z-Twin, Z-Wide

(Note that the move counts are current as of Indigo Disk. I haven't updated the DAT at the time of writing, okay?)

Signature Z-Moves
With this revision, Signature Z-Moves are also being reworked. These are unique "base moves" specific to certain Pokemon, that may be used only as Z-Moves. Signature Z-Crystals provide these unique moves when held by their associated Pokemon, and allow their associated holders to use any of the five Z-Powers with that base move specifically.

Here's an example of a signature Z-Move:

Incinium-Z
An octahedral crystal made for Incineroar. The holder feels like putting on a show, and craves the cheering of their onlookers.

While the holder is Incineroar: The holder knows Malicious Moonsault. (A signature move intended for use as a Z-Move only.)

The holder can elevate Malicious Moonsault into a Z-Move, with the following Z-Powers:
● Z-Force, Z-Pierce, Z-Twin, Z-Wide

(Because Eeveenium-Z provides a non-attack signature move, it offers Z-Harm instead of Z-Force.)

Signature Z-Crystals offer Z-Powers for use only with their provided base move. Trainers will have to choose between a versatile generic Z-Crystal or a powerful, but more linear signature Z-Crystal when filling their backpacks and equipping their Pokemon.

These unique signature moves are designed to be useful with a variety of Z-Powers: They usually feature good BAP and typing, and now feature useful effects worth spreading or duplicating, like so:

Malicious Moonsault
Dark | Physical | Any One Target | 14 BAP | -- Acc | 10 En | -- Eff% | 0 Prio | Non-Contact
By linking Darkest Lariat with their trainer's wishes, Incineroar can perform this high-flying showstopper.

(This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Incineroar, or if the user can't attempt Darkest Lariat; this move can't be attempted.)

On hit: Lower the defender's Speed stage by one (1) for their next six (6) turns.

While performing this move, if the defender has Minimize status: Malicious Moonsault's BAP is 24.

These signature moves all share a restriction that prevents them from being attempted, except as a Z-Move.

Additionally, they share a restriction that requires the user to be able to execute their in-game "base" move, in order to execute the provided move. This is intended to resemble the prior functionality, where signature Z-Moves were once elevated versions of specific ordinary moves.

Here's a lightning roundup of the extant signature Z-Moves:

Signature Z-Move	BAP	En	Effect
10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt	14	10	By linking Thunderbolt with their trainer's wishes, Pikachu can perform this high-voltage attack. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Pikachu, or if the user can't attempt Thunderbolt, this move can't be attempted.) Raise the user's Attack and Speed stages by two (2) each for their next nine (9) turns.
Catastropika	14	10	By linking Volt Tackle with their trainer's wishes, Pikachu can perform this electrifying tackle. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Pikachu, or if the user can't attempt Volt Tackle, this move can't be attempted.) Raise the user's Special Attack and Speed stages by two (2) each for their next nine (9) turns.
Clangorous Soulblaze	14	10	By linking Clanging Scales with their trainer's wishes, Kommo-O can perform this invigorating war dance. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Kommo-o, or if the user can't attempt Clanging Scales, this move can't be attempted.) This move bypasses Decoys. When the user complete this move: Raise the user's five core stat stages by one (1) for their next four (4) turns.
Extreme Evoboost	--	20	By linking Last Resort with their trainer's wishes, Eevee can perform this family-gathering show. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Eevee, or if the user can't attempt Last Resort, this move can't be attempted.) Raise the user's five core stat stages by one (1) each for their next nine (9) turns.
Genesis Supernova	14	10	By linking Psychic with their trainer's wishes, Mew can perform this cosmic assault. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Mew, or if the user can't attempt Psychic, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Discard any Terrain in play; then, create Psychic Terrain for three (3) rounds.
Guardian of Alola	--	10	By linking Nature's Madness with their trainer's wishes, Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, or Tapu Fini can perform this realm-defending transformation. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Tapu Koko, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini, or Tapu Lele; or if the user can't attempt Nature's Madness; this move can't be attempted.) The defender takes damage equal to one-third (x1/3) of their current HP.
Let's Snuggle Forever	14	10	By linking Play Rough with their trainer's wishes, Mimikyu can perform this heart-stopping hug. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Mimikyu, or if the user can't attempt Play Rough, this move can't be attempted.) The user creates a Decoy with 10 HP. (If a Pokemon with multiple Decoys would be hit, the older Decoy's replacement effect replaces that hit before any other Decoys can.)
Light That Burns the Sky	14	30	By linking Photon Geyser with their trainer's wishes, Ultra Necrozma can perform this all-powerful destructive lightray. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Necrozma-Ultra, or if the user can't attempt Photon Geyser, this move can't be attempted.) Inflict Fainting on the Defender, no more than once per battle per user. While performing this move: The abilities of other Pokemon are ignored.
Malicious Moonsault	14	10	By linking Darkest Lariat with their trainer's wishes, Incineroar can perform this high-flying showstopper. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Incineroar, or if the user can't attempt Darkest Lariat, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Lower the defender's Speed stage by one (1) for their next six (6) turns. While performing this move, if the defender has Minimize status: Malicious Moonsault's BAP is doubled (x2), also accuracy checks for this move automatically succeed.
Menacing Moonraze Maelstrom	14	10	By linking Moongeist Beam with their trainer's wishes, Lunala or Necrozma-Dawn-Wings can perform this luminescent lunar laser. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Lunala or Necrozma-Dawn-Wings, or if the user can't attempt Moongeist Beam, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Grant the user Attack Aid for their next four (4) turns. While performing this move: The abilities of other Pokemon are ignored.
Oceanic Operetta	14	10	By linking Sparkling Aria with their trainer's wishes, Primarina can perform this maritime ballad. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Primarina, or the user can't attempt Sparkling Aria, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Lower the defender's Speed stage by one (1) for their next six (6) turns.
Pulverizing Pancake	14	10	By linking Giga Impact with their trainer's wishes, Snorlax can perform this massively crushing slam. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Snorlax, or the user can't attempt Giga Impact, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Inflict Confusion on the defender for their next two (2) turns.
Searing Sunraze Smash	14	10	By linking Sunsteel Strike with their trainer's wishes, Solgaleo or Necrozma-Dusk Mane can perform this celestial solar smash. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Solgaleo or Necrozma-Dusk Mane, or the user can't attempt Sunsteel Strike, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Grant the user Defense Aid for their next four (4) turns. While performing this move: The abilities of other Pokemon are ignored.
Sinister Arrow Raid	14	10	By linking Spirit Shackle with their trainer's wishes, Decidueye can perform this silent fullisade. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Decidueye, or the user can't attempt Spirit Shackle, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Lower the defender's Speed stage by one (1) for their next six (6) turns.
Soul-Stealing 7-Star Strike	14	10	By linking Spectral Thief with their trainer's wishes, Marshadow can perform this forbidden fist technique. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Marshadow, or the user can't attempt Spectral Thief, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Lower the defender's five core stat stages by one (1) each for their next four (4) turns.
Splintered Stormshards	14	10	By linking Stone Edge with their trainer's wishes, Lycanroc can perform this shattering barrage. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Lycanroc, or the user can't attempt Stone Edge, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Discard any Terrain in play; also create Stealth Rock on the defender's team.
Stoked Sparksurfer	14	10	By linking Thunderbolt with their trainer's wishes, Raichu-Alola can perform this swaying, surfing rush. (This move can't be attempted, except as a Z-Move. Additionally, if the user isn't Raichu-Alola, or the user can't attempt Thunderbolt, this move can't be attempted.) On hit: Inflict Paralysis on the defender with three (3) markers. (Only one copy of Paralysis can replace an action.)

Watch out for Z-Twin Clangorous Soul!

Substitutions
It wouldn't be a patch without a sub-rules change, but I promise this will be a quick one.

We're re-introducing this legacy Result Clause:

[Added] Use a new action on the next step or on a specified step number.

Replace a later order in the round with a new one. Either a step number to be replaced, or "the next step", must be specified.

("Use Protect next step" or "Use U-turn on step 3")

This is the number one source of illegal substitutions currently, and we don't see a pressing need to disallow it. In addition, the following clause will be removed.

[Removed] Lock one or more pending orders.

Disallow the movement or replacement of the receiving Pokemon's pending orders that are on one or more specified step numbers or that are a single specified action; for a specified duration or for the rest of the round, whichever is shorter.

("Lock each Brick Break order until Step 3." or "Lock Step 2 during this substitution.")

This clause was one of the worst offenders in terms of substitution complexity, while offering next to no value. The returning "specified step number" clause handles just about any healthy use that locking actions may have had.

Accuracy Stages
Long-maligned as a source of pointless action stall with little upside, we're positioning Accuracy manipulation throughout the game as a punish for, or a tool for supporting, specifically low-accuracy moves.

We're adjusting the Accuracy modifiers for negative values.

Acc Diff	-4 or less*	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3	+4 or more*
Modifier	Auto Miss	-50% and Unlucky	-25% and Unlucky	Hit Roll is Unlucky	---	+25%	+50%	+75%	Auto Hit

Just like before, these Accuracy modifiers are additive to action Accuracy.

When acting at an Accuracy disadvantage, Pokemon will now find their Accuracy Checks to be Unlucky — their check will be rolled twice, and failing either roll will result in a miss. This has no impact on their moves with 100% Accuracy, but their moves that were already unreliable will become even more precarious. Hydro Pump has an 80% chance to hit under normal conditions, but only a 64% chance at -1 Acc Diff, a 30.25% chance at -2, and a mere 9% at -3.

In these situations, you'll have little choice but to spend precious time establishing the Aim command, or finding a different way to fight the Evasion user!

Multi-Hit Moves
The legacy mechanics of Multi-Hit moves have been a thorn in our side for the entire Generation, not to mention for every Generation prior. Time to clean them up.

New players, one after another, have each become stuck on a very particular set of rules around processing moves with multiple-hits. We can't continue to pretend that allowing "BAP per hit" and "damage per hit" to be calculated separately, with differing results, is in any way intuitive.

So, we're moving all of the additive steps of damage calculation to the first hit only. This will result in the same damage as before in almost all cases, except when the defender's Defense and penalties are very high.

First Hits and Subsequent Hits
Attacks that deliver multiple hits will now undergo damage calculation (See 8.x "Damage Calculation) once per hit. However, some steps of calculation will be skipped for each hit after the first.

An attack is said to make a "first hit" against each of its defenders, and one or more "subsequent hits" against any defenders it hits more than once. Obviously, an attack that makes only one hit on a defender makes only a first hit.

For an attack with two or more hits, the following steps of damage calculation will be performed only for the first hit against each defender, and are skipped for all subsequent hits on that defender.

8.10c "Same-Type Attack Bonus"
8.10e "Stat Rank Modifier"
8.10f "Power Bonuses and Power Penalties"
8.10h "Stat Stage Difference"
8.10i "Additional Damage"

Example: A Garchomp holds a Dragon Fang and uses Swords Dance, then Scale Shot on a Skarmory.

The first hit of Scale Shot will deal (3 BAP + 3 STAB - 1 Sturdy + 9 Atk - 10 Def) * 0.75 Type + 8 Stage + 4 Item = 15 damage. Each subsequent hit after the first will deal (3 BAP) * 0.75 Type = 2.25 ~ 2 damage.

Using the previous method, a two-hit Scale Shot would have dealt (3*2 BAP + 3 STAB - 1 Sturdy + 9 Atk - 10 Def) * 0.75 Type + 8 Stage + 4 Item = 17.25 ~ 17 damage. So this does not change how much damage multi-hit moves do, except possibly for rounding.

Multi-Hit Combinations
When determining the BAP of a combination, the BAP of the component move with the most possible hits is prioritized. This check is the new first check for determining the BAP of a combination.

Examples: Double Hit + Superpower would use Double Hit's BAP.

Population Bomb + Arm Thrust would use Population Bomb's BAP.

Triple Axel + Double Kick would use Triple Axel's BAP. (And, due to having Triple Axel's text, the BAP of the second and third hits would be increased.)

On Hit effects, including Effect Checks, continue to apply once per hit.

"Bypassing"
Players, especially those whose primary language isn't English, have expressed difficulty determining which parts of a move's text is inheritable in a combo, and which isn't.

Moves that bypass Protection or bypass Decoys will now specify "While this non-combination move is being performed" if the effect is meant to exclude combination usage. If the move is meant to bypass even as a combination component, it will simply state that "this move" bypasses.

Data-Setting Effect
Effects that determine a move's (or other game piece's) data, such as the BAP of variable-BAP moves, will still refer to the move by name. This type of effect will be called a "data-setting effect". (Because it sets the game piece's data.)

By using the move's name only for data-setting effects, we hope players will be more easily able to spot them.

Example: Facade will still say, in part, "Facade's BAP is 14." When using Facade in a combination, this "data-setting effect" determines the BAP of the component Facade.

Effects that say that something is true about a specific game piece by name, on that game piece only, are data-setting effects.

Stage-Changing Move Changes
These changes were lifted from the individual Move Changes, below, due to their sweeping and inter-related nature.

In this patch post, common stage-changing moves were stratified into three "tiers" of Energy cost, based on their perceived potency: 10, 14, and 18. Prior to that patch, they tended to cost 7 or 9 Energy.

We likely overshot the necessary cost when we buffed these moves. We're splitting the difference, as follows:

10 Energy stat stage moves (Charm, Tickle, Eerie Impulse, etc.) will cost 8 Energy.
14 Energy stat stage moves (Swords Dance, Agility, Bulk Up, etc.) will cost 10 Energy.
18 Energy stat stage moves (Coil, Victory Dance, etc.) will cost 12 Energy.

These changes are a revision of a revision: Only the moves whose costs were increased in the linked patch are being re-revised. "Unique" stage-modifying oves, such as Belly Drum or Venom Drench, are outside of the scope of this work.

Furthermore, now that the Accuracy ecosystem has had changes to both the value of stages (above), and to the effects that change them (below), we can finally unshackle Accuracy-changing effects from non-extension jail.

The following moves now modify Accuracy or Evasion stages for the following durations, and cost the following amounts of Energy:

Next 6 turns, for 8 Energy: Double Team, Sand-Attack, Mud-Slap, Flash
Next 8 turns, for 10 Energy: Kinesis
Next 3 turns, for 12 Energy: Minimize
Next 4 turns, for their current cost: Leaf Tornado, Octozooka, Night Daze, and other Accuracy-lowering attacks.

(I'm sure there's something I'll have to edit in later.)

LouisCyphre · Dec 28, 2023

New Conditions and Condition Changes
In addition to the the Conditions previewed in the last large patch, the following Conditions are now introduced or changed to facilitate the work being done in this patch.

:absol:

Dread
This condition is being introduced as a keyword condition, much like Attack Aid or Bonus-Proof. It's intended to be used in fanfiction buffs for fighting stat-block Pokemon.

Dread
Default duration: Until the end of the round.

The Pokemon is struck with an acute, perhaps unnatural, fear.

The subject's four core stat ranks are reduced by half (x0.5).

This effect, intended for specific low-stated Pokemon, brings opponents down to the Dread user's level. It also acts as support for allies of the Dread user. Conversely, effects available to stronger Pokemon might inflict Dread for only a short duration.

This condition appears on a couple of the buffs mentioned in this patch note, so read on!

Sluggish
In our continuing crusade against "lookup fatigue", we're changing how Sluggish affects the user to require less Energy Cost memorization.

Right now, figuring out what moves a Pokemon may attempt while Sluggish requires new players to refer to an incomplete list of valid moves in the DAT's Reference tab, or to painstakingly look up every move their Pokemon knows. This makes moves like Hyper Beam so much of a bother to use that many players simply forego them.

Frankly, if moves are being overlooked for labor reasons outside of the game state, it's time to make a change.

Old	New
The Pokemon is momentarily overexerted, and must rest for a moment whether they wish it or no. The subject can't attempt damaging actions with a base Energy cost greater five (5). The subject can't attempt any actions with a base Energy cost greater than eight (8).	The Pokemon is momentarily overexerted, and must rest for a moment whether they wish it or no. The subject can't attempt combinations. The BAP of the subject's attacks are at most six (6). The subject's actions can't heal HP or Energy, create Conditions, or hit the same defender more than once. The subject's actions can't raise or lower a stage by more than one (1) each.

This set of rules should be less difficult to remember than specific Energy Cost thresholds. With this change, moves like U-turn and Roar remain valid "Sluggish filler", but they're now joined by new options such as Bulk Up.

Players should exercise caution so that they don't let substitutions to use Protect, Taunt, or similar trigger while their Pokemon are Sluggish.

Fog
These revisions embrace Fog's status as a ret-conned element, removing it from the Weather ecosystem and instead positioning it as pure Evasion support.

Fog has been remade into a regular Battle Condition (rather than a Weather), and its Weather-based interactions have been removed.

Additionally, Fog now steadily lowers Accuracy over time, rather than acting simply as Sand-Attack with extra steps.

Old	New
The battlefield is filled with a dense fog that hides battlers from one another. Each Pokemon's Accuracy stage is reduced by one (1). Weather Ball becomes Flying-type.	The battlefield is filled with a dense fog that hides battlers from one another. At the end of the round: Lower each active Pokemon's Accuracy stage by one (1).

- the following sources induce Fog:

This change in condition category is mainly due to Fog's status as a removed game piece in the main games. As we're unlikely to ever see official Fog-activated abilities or moves from Game Freak, we would either have to create our own fanfiction ecosystem around Fog, or accept that it would always be an inferior Weather. Additionally, some key players in the Evasion space are Weather-dependent, and it seemed self-defeating to have Fog lift their Weather when trying to support their Evasion plan.

Mixed Aid
This condition aims to help Pokemon occasionally leverage the "other side" of their movepool, as was often done in the ASB days.

This is generally weaker, in practice, than Attack Aid, but its applications do differ. You can imagine a Choice Band user's Fire Blast, backed by Mixed Aid — so it has uses besides simply attacking an opponents' weaker Defense!

Mixed Aid
Default duration: Until the subject leaves play.

The Pokemon has a moment of cleverness or insight, allowing them to attack in an unexpected way.

While the subject's Attack rank is higher than their Special Attack rank: The subject's attacks are Physical.

While the subject's Special Attack rank is higher than their Attack rank: The subject's attacks are Special.

There's not much to say about this one. It lets us relive the heyday of Quiet Machamp, Brave Reuniclus, or Naughty Alakazam for a moment.

Burn
With the proliferation of sources of healing, and especially of large Recoveries, we wanted to find a well-distributed answer to them.

Out of our options, we chose Burn because it's distributed to a long list of utility Pokemon, and especially Ghost- and Psychic-types.

Old	New
The Pokemon is subject to painful burns that make it difficult to act physically. While the subject is attacking with a physical action: The subject's Attack rank is halved (x0.5). At the end of the step: The subject takes 2 damage.	The Pokemon is subject to painful burns that make it difficult to act physically. While the subject is attacking with a physical action: The subject's Attack rank is halved (x0.5). If the subject would have their HP healed; instead, their HP is healed by half (x0.5) that amount. At the end of the step: The subject takes 2 damage.

Perish Song and Doom
Oh, Doom. Thorn in the side of the game's moderators since the ASB days, bane of the Battle Hall, and siren song to the stall-hearted players everywhere. Doom basically hasn't been allowed to be good since Emma's Kitsunoh Hall incident... And, frankly, for good reason.

Every iteration of Doom has essentially read the same: "If you inflict this, and manage to stall for a bunch of turns, you get a KO. But please don't do this, because stalling for multiple weeks is miserable, so we're going to make this condition unplayably bad." Doom has been the number one poster child for degenerate BBP gameplay.

Over the years, we've browbeaten the old standbys of long-term stall — accuracy drops, damaging evasive moves, Encore, Torment, and more — until the strategy was essentially not feasible. As we've done so, we've left Doom in the dust on purpose, citing "no one wants to lose to cheese" as our reasoning.

Well, what if it just wasn't cheese?

Old

New

At the end of the round: Place a marker on the subject named Doom Counter, until the subject leaves play.

The subject's Doom threshold is equal to 10 times the number of Doom Counters on the subject.

At the end of each step or when the subject has a Doom Counter placed on them, if either the subject's remaining HP or remaining Energy is equal to or less than the subject's Doom threshold: Inflict Fainting on the subject.

When an opponent's action does any of the following, no more than once per turn: Place a Ruin marker on this condtion.
● Creates a Condition or marker on the subject.
● Lowers the subject's Attack, Special Attack, or Speed stage.
● Discards a Condition from the subject.

The subject's Ruin threshold is zero, plus one-fifth (x0.2) of their maximum HP for each Ruin marker on this condition. (Don't round this threshold.)

At the start of the round, if the subject's remaining HP is below their Ruin threshold: Inflict Fainting on the subject.

/!\ Also, neither Perish Song nor Perish Body apply any additional counters or markers anymore; just Doom.

Doom is being given a specific job: Turning active disruption into at most a 6HKO.

That 6HKO figure counts both the act of actually setting Perish Song, and the virtual 1/5 HP "damage" you get from each Ruin marker. This is intentionally slower than the more commonly-accepted 4HKO or 5HKO from attacking. This effect is essentially giving you fake "damage" for doing things that would otherwise drag out the match, such as inflicting Burn, sealing moves, trapping the opponent, and other components of stall.

Only actions can trigger the effect to place a Ruin marker. Other effects like Poison Touch won't help, nor will actions that meet the criteria multiple times (thanks to the "once per turn"). Attacks meeting the criteria will both place a Ruin counter and damage the subject's HP.

The biggest change is that Doom now requires input. The old version down demanded that you wait and stall, while it ticked down on its own. Now, Doom doesn't do anything for you unless you continually inhibit and hinder the opponent — and successfully, at that. You'll have to navigate the enemy's Substitute, and weather their damage, while you build your doomsday device around them.

And, crucially, you'll need to trap them somehow. The Doom threshold is "fake damage", and all of your work goes away if the enemy switches out. This also helps insulate Ghost-types, the most common type among Perish Song users, from losing to their own song.

Ability Changes
With system changes out of the way, below is a rundown of Abilities that have changed. As explained when they were introduced, the keyword conditions "Attack Aid", "Bonus-Proof", and so on will factor heavily in these changes. The hope is that once a player has learned what a condition does, they'll have a reasonable grasp of how to play with and against most sources of that condition.

:arbok:

Unnerve (+ Intimidate)
Currently, this ability has a fanfiction effect that stops larger Pokemon from using Recoveries or Chills. Since other changes introduce new ways to use Recoveries, we're taking this chance to both trim this effect and to help some ailing favorites at the same time.

Some of the very best Pokemon in the game, including :tyranitar:

Tyranitar, :ursaluna:

Ursaluna, and :colossoil:

Colossoil, have Unnerve, which means that any work targeting this ability needs to consider their impact on the metagame carefully.

So, to buff these two under-loved Pokemon, one of which is a fan-favorite (and the other of which is very cool), we have to target an ability combo again. These two are getting named synergy between Unnerve and Intimidate:

Old	New
The Pokemon's frightening or unsettling appearance causes stress in other Pokemon. Opponents can't consume Berries. Opponents with a Size Class greater than the user's can't heal as a Recovery or Chill.	The Pokemon's frightening or unsettling appearance causes stress in other Pokemon. Opponents can't consume Berries. While the user or a teammate has Intimidate: The user has Penalty-Proof. When the user enters play, if the user's original abilities include Intimidate and this ability: Inflict Dread on each opponent, for a number of rounds equal to the current round count.

Dread is a new condition introduced above.

Halving ranks is about what it takes to drag meta Pokemon down to Arbok's or Masquerain's level. This effect lingers longer, the longer the battle has gone, which is a theme you'll see repeated in later effects in this patch. Tying this effect to switch-in helps tie this buff to their identity as Intimidate users and their flavor as predatory creatures — They're at their strongest when they've cornered their intended prey.

Colossoil's capacity to pivot as well as fight is the main reason for requiring "original" Intimidate. We also don't particularly want to find out if using EXP. Share to put Intimidate onto Ursaluna is a real cost or trivial.

~~now hopefully gamefreak doesn't evolve Arbok any time soon~~

Levitate
Several of our most-forgotten Pokemon, including Cryogonal and Flygon, suffer from one major flaw: They have a single, mostly unhelpful ability in Levitate.

This isn't to say Levitate is useless in BBP. Being immune to Ground STAB or especially Bulldoze can meaningfully improve a matchup. Avoiding Spikes can be relevant in longer matches.

Despite these upsides, Levitate is far less helpful here than it is in cart, where it allows the user to aggressively switch into its immunity. In BBP, the Ground-types will simply pick from their many other attacks, likely hitting a different and just-as-potent weakness. In matchups where Pokemon have no STAB on Ground moves, and where they have other coverage on the Levitate user, the Levitate user may as well have no ability at all.

:hydreigon:

Now, there are certain Pokemon who operate just fine with effectively a blank ability: Hydreigon is the foremost Levitate threat in the game currently, unless you happen to own a Latias or a Latios. The bulk, coverage, and utility of these dragons surpasses the need for help from an ability. There's also other threats like Cresselia or Rotom formes to consider, as well as Pokemon who do have other abilities, including deciduous metagame staple Equilibra. All of these Pokemon threaten to run amok if the effect they're given is too generous.

With all of that said, solo Levitate users deserve to gain something from their ability, so we've stepped up to the challenge.

Old

New

The Pokemon naturally floats above the ground.

The user has Hovering.

The Pokemon naturally floats above the ground, approaching the battle only when they're ready.

The user has Hovering.

At the beginning of the battle, if the user's only ability is Levitate, grant the user a unique status called "Distant", until they attack, leave play, or become Grounded. (With no effects of its own.)

While the user is Distant: The user has Evasive against attacks with power bonuses.

Evading attacks with power bonuses helps against a variety of foes old and new — many common attacks in the game, from Guts attackers to users of the new Attack Aid condition, all feature power bonuses. Our biggest goal for this change was for these Pokemon to threaten Guts and Attack Aid users with the possibility of setup or disruption, or simply to get a head start on the attacking race.

When searching for an effect to grant here, we considered all kinds of options: Defense Aid, HP Aid, Bonus-Proof, Evasive against super-effective attacks or against contact attacks, and more. We also considered a wide variety of possible triggers, including "when you enter play and an opponent has more stat ranks", or even just "when you enter play, if you are not this or that species". We didn't make much of any headway at all, really, until we focused on what we wanted these Levitate Pokemon to do.

Looking at most Pokemon in the first row, they want to set up. They want to use their wide support movepools, or at least set a screen, before attacking. This effect should insulate the Levitate user from the foe's strongest attacks while they prepare, which will hopefully matter more to frail Pokemon like Cryogonal than to bulky Pokemon like Hydreigon. We don't imagine this effect will skyrocket Mismagius or Flygon into the metagame contention; but this will at least give them something unique, that Gengar or Garchomp cannot replicate.

Though... We'll be watching Hydreigon very closely. If it runs amok with this change, we'll have to come up with something else.

Commander
thanks for reminding me to nerf this shit, maxim

Tatsugiri was used as a test: To see if there's design space to explore for Pokemon that spend "send slots" (non-selected Pokemon) as a resource.

As it turns out, there's not a lot of options for creating bench-sitters, and the opportunity cost for "wasting" a send on Tatsugiri isn't one at all. There was a possible path where we introduced more and more bench-sitters, such that you would have to decide how many of your bench slots "need" to be real, and how many can be passive.

But we're not going down that path, we've decided. We'd rather people spend those "spare" slots on niche, situational, or counterpick Pokemon. So, we're going to make you select — and heaven forbid, possibly battle with — Tatsugiri, if you want to benefit from Commander. Consider the experiment a success, even if the result isn't quite what we had hoped.

Old

The Pokemon is an expert at directing allies from a safe position. They are most effective when paired up with a Dondozo.
When an ally enters play, while the user is inactive and not fainted: Raise that ally's stat stage, that corresponds to the highest of their four core stat ranks, by one (1) for that ally's next three (3) turns.
(If multiple stat ranks are tied, prefer stats in the order "Attack > Defense > Sp. Atk > Sp. Def".)
When the user enters play and there is an ally Dondozo in play, or when an ally Dondozo enters play and the user is Tatsugiri: Raise that Dondozo's five core stat stages by two (2) each for that Dondozo's next six (6) turns; and grant the user a unique status until that Dondozo leaves play with the following effect:
● The subject can't act, can't be the target of actions, and is unaffected by other effects.

New

The Pokemon is an expert at directing allies from a safe position. They are most effective when paired up with a Dondozo.

At the beginning of battle, if the user's team has a Selection Size of two or more (2+): Move the user from the reserve to the bench. (e.g. Select it.)

As the user's trainer sends out Pokemon other than the user, even while the user is Benched, they may select and declare one of the following options:
● Attack Aid
● Defense Aid
● Mixed Aid
● Attack Aid, Defense Aid, and Mixed Aid. Select this option only when sending out a Dondozo.
(Indicate that the selected condition is being granted to the Pokemon by their Commander. If no choice is declared, default to the last option for Dondozo and the first option for any other Pokemon.)

While the user is not Fainted, even while the user is Benched: Each teammate in play has the condition or conditions selected for Commander when they were last sent out.

Multiscale
We're positioning the "big three" — Dragonite, Ursaluna, and Gallade — to have specific jobs in this system update. Dragonite will act as an attacker that is resilient specifically to powerful attackers.

Frankly, it's our preference not to have moving targets when making balance changes. If we deleted these Pokemon from the game today, the next three best Pokemon would become the target of players' ire tomorrow — if it even took that long! Our players have a wonderful habit of talking themselves into a doom spiral over hypothetical matchups, so it might not take any actual gameplay.

So, we're not very interested in nuking these three Pokemon out of metagame contention. Instead, we'd rather just sprinkle some natural predators into the game's population, to act as release valves against the big three and their near-competitors.

So, with all of that said, this is Multiscale:

Old	New
The Pokemon enjoys the protection of its protective mythical scales. At the start of the round, if the user's HP is full: Place a Multiscale marker on the user until the end of the round. While the user has a Multiscale marker: Damage the user takes from hits is halved (x0.5).	The Pokemon enjoys the protection of its protective mythical scales. At the start of the round, if the user has half or more (x0.5) of their maximum HP remaining: Grant the user Defense Aid and Bonus-Proof until the end of the round.

Shadow Shield will mirror this change, except that it will also grant HP Aid. Legend privilege!

If your Pokemon doesn't have high offenses or power bonuses, Dragonite will now take real, actual damage from your attacks.

Conversely, if you're using a powerful attacker with large bonuses, Dragonite might feel even bulkier than before.

Berry-Supporting Abilities
These abilities have become too tightly bound to healing Berries only. The appeal of these abilities should lie in the wide selection of available Berries they support.

We would prefer that Berries be generally applicable, so that players don't feel forced to bring either a team of Berry "abusers" with a backpack of Berries, or a team with no Berries in the backpack.

These abilities have something of a stranglehold on Berries overall, forcing us to balance each Berry under the assumption that it will be doubled in some way, which in turn makes those Berries typically very weak when used by Pokemon without these abilities.

By asking players to equip Berries "with different names", instead of just jamming the best healing Berry of the moment, we hope to coax players into exploring the Berry ecosystem more. We've selected Ripen as the dedicated Berry-doubling ability, and moved the others to this new templating.

In tandem with these changes, we'll also rework some unused Berries and weaken certain healing Berries, below in Item Changes.

We're also taking this chance to re-align Ripen and Cud Chew with their in-game selves, since they had somehow become switched.

Ability	Old	New
Cheek Pouch	The Pokemon has extra Berries stored away for later in their spacious cheeks. The user can hold an additional held item if all of their held items are Berries.	The Pokemon has extra Berries stored away for later in their spacious cheeks. The user can hold an additional held item if all of their held items are Berries with different names.
Cud Chew	The Pokemon fully savors their meals at a leisurely pace. If a "On consume" triggered effect of a Berry held by the user would trigger; instead, that effect triggers twice.	The Pokemon fully savors their meals at a leisurely pace. At the start of each step, if the user consumed a Berry last step, no more than once each send-out: Equip the user with a random Berry from their trainer's Backpack with a different name. (If there are any.)
Gluttony	The Pokemon has a ravenous appetite and simply can't wait to eat any food at all. Treat the user's HP as being half (x0.5) of its actual value when checking the conditions of triggered effects of the user's held items.	The Pokemon has a ravenous appetite and simply can't wait to eat any food at all. When a Berry is equipped to the user: The user consumes that Berry.
Harvest	The Pokemon is brimming with nutrition that allows berry plants to thrive on it. At the end of the round, if the user consumed or dropped a Berry since they last entered play, and if the user could hold a Berry: Restore that Berry. If an effect of this ability would trigger when the Weather is not Sun; instead, that effect has only a 50% chance to trigger. (Destroyed items aren't dropped.)	The Pokemon is brimming with nutrition that allows berry plants to thrive on them. This ability starts the battle with a Vernal marker on it if the user's trainer has three or more Berries with different names in their Backpack. At the end of each step, the Weather is Sun or if this ability has a Vernal marker: Equip the user with a random Berry from their trainer's Backpack with a different name. (If there are any.)
Ripen	The user has perfected a technique for fermenting Berries into a more portable form. When the user drops or consumes a Berry for the first time each round: Restore that Berry.	The Pokemon has perfected a technique for patiently fermenting Berries into a more potable form. Effects of Berries can't make the user consume Berries. At the end of the first step of the round: The user consumes each Berry they are holding. If a "On consume" triggered effect of a Berry held by the user would trigger; instead, that effect triggers twice, and any conditions created by the second instance of that effect are also named "Duplicate".

Reckless
These Pokemon are finally being given a real reason to throw caution to the wind when attacking.

While the changes to recoil moves (below) give those moves a useful job to perform at long last, rather than merely being attacks that undermine their own usage; certain Pokemon are entirely reliant on Recoil attacks in order to function. This change targets Pokemon who rely on Reckless recoil attacks for their damage. For them, this ability is being adjusted as follows:

Old

New

This Pokemon cares little for their own safety and disregards common sense when attacking.

When the user attacks with an attack whose effect text mentions "The user takes damage": Give that attack a power bonus of two (2).
(Regardless of whether or not the attack would actually damage the user this time.)

When the user takes damage due to an effect of their own attack: The current defender of that attack takes one (1) damage.
(Regardless of that attack's success or accuracy.)

This Pokemon cares little for their own safety and disregards common sense when attacking.

If the user would take damage from the effect of their own attack; instead, the current defender takes that much damage, and then the user takes that much damage.
(Whether or not the attack was successful against that defender.)

This ability should take these attacks with specific application, and convert them into general-application moves.

Astute readers will recognize this as the effect currently granted by Take Down's "Stampede" buff condition. Take Down will receive a new effect that will come up in more games, below in Move Changes.

This effect doesn't say anything about the effect of the user's successful attacks — this means that "crash damage", such as that of High Jump Kick and the newly introduced Supercell Slam, is shared with the defender when a Reckless user is attacking.

Solar Power
We're adding these Pokemon to the heap of "Penalty-Proof" attackers, to ensure that there is enough counterplay for Defense Aid in the ecosystem.

There's not much to say about this one. To add so many Defense Aid users to the game, as well as improving other penalities, we need a matching suite of Penalty-Proof predators to hunt them.

Old	New
The Pokemon can harness vast amounts of solar energy... More than they can safely handle. When the user attacks with a Special attack, if the Weather is Sun: Give that attack a power bonus of three (3). At the end of the round, if the Weather is Sun: The user takes one (1) damage.	The Pokemon can harness vast amounts of solar energy... More than they can safely handle. When the user attacks with a Special attack, if the Weather is Sun: Give that attack a power bonus of three (3), and grant the user Penalty-Proof until they finish acting. At the end of the round, if the Weather is Sun: The user takes one (1) damage.

Strong Jaw
This ability is getting a straightforward buff, as compensation for item work further on.

To give Strong Jaw users more item variety, we're moving their power into their innate ability, instead of forcing them to use only Razor Fang.

Old	New
The user's massive jaw has incredible biting power. When the user attacks with an attack that has the #Jaw tag: Give that attack a power bonus of three (3).	The user's massive jaw has incredible biting power. When the user attacks with an attack that has the #Jaw tag: Give that attack a power bonus of four (4).

This large power bonus offsets the low BAP of most #Jaw moves, turning them into more respectable coverage attacks.

Given the change to Razor Fang, we expect Strong Jaw users to branch out to try a wide variety of other options.

Oblivious
While cleaning up the conditional, fiddly "power penalty of one (1)" abilities, the fanfiction effect of Oblivious stood out as particularly silly. Originally intended as a for-fun buff for Wailord, it was immediately poached by the newly-introduced Dondozo.

Pretty straightforward change to position these Pokemon as "Bonus-Proof" walls or bruisers. We're hoping that "smaller Size Class" is self-descriptive enough to let us write this ability cleanly.

...Will we end up having to define "smaller"?

Old	New
The Pokemon simply doesn't recognize when others are trying to communicate with them. The user is unaffected by Infatuation, Captivate, and Taunt; and by the ability Intimidate. When the user is attacked, by an attacker with a lower Size Class than the user: Give that attack a power penalty of one (1).	The Pokemon simply doesn't recognize when others are trying to communicate with them — or battle them. The user is unaffected by Infatuation, Captivate, and Taunt; and by the ability Intimidate. While the user is being attacked by an attacker with a smaller Size Class: The user has Bonus-Proof.

Unburden
We're starting to get into changes targeting perennially awful Pokemon. This one is intended to give these Pokemon a payoff for being egregiously fast, rather than just spinning their wheels and dying in three hits.

As described, this ability is intended to reward the user for greatly outspeeding their opponents.

Old

New

The Pokemon uses any item they're given as a training weight, and becomes more agile once it's removed.

When the user drops or consumes an item: Grant the user a unique condition until they leave play, with the following effect:
● The subject's Speed is doubled (x2).

The Pokemon can leverage their natural agility better once they've disposed of their burdensome held item.

While the user is holding no items, except for Mega Stones: This ability has the following effects:
● The user's Speed is doubled (x2).
● While attacking a Pokemon with a third (x1/3) or less of the user's Speed: The user has Attack Aid.
● While being attacked by a Pokemon with a third (x1/3) or less of the user's Speed: The user has Defense Aid.

There's one Pokemon threatening to run away with this change, being :sneasler:

Sneasler. Possessing a very respectable 90/9/5/3/6/120 statline and the ability to output what could be described as egregious amounts of Major Status while attacking, Sneasler seems positioned to be the strongest abuser of Unburden. Besides, if it gets out of hand, we can just gut Dire Claw even more.

:sceptile:

The other users of Unburden should not be underestimated, however. Sceptile can leverage the added damage to use their expansive physical movepool while using the added bulk to keep trades favorable. Hawlucha can let their powerful stabs rip quite freely. Quite a few bargain-bin Pokemon such as Thievul, Liepard, and Grafaiai can use this effect back up their powerful abilities like Stakeout and Prankster with the illusion of stats.

Many elements adjusted in this patch are now positioned to counter this effect: Attack Aid and Defense Aid grant bonuses and penalties, meaning they're nullified by Bonus-Proof and Penalty-Proof. Several ways to ignore abilities have been improved as well.

Also, these benefits last only so long as the Unburden user has thrice the opponent's Speed. Simply contesting their speed with boosts, drops, or Paralysis will de-activate the Aids granted by Unburden, leaving them with their middling statlines only. (Except Sneasler. Good luck with that one.)

"Guts-like" Abilities
With the advent of Bonus-Proof or Penalty-Proof, we're making a pass across these abilities. Quick Feet has more extensive work in its own section, above.

For clarity, we'll establish that Marvel Scale increases Defense rank (and continue to do so), while Toxic Boost and Flare Boost grant power bonuses (like Guts does). None of these are changing. Milotic can be our pick for "good Pokemon that preys on Penalty-Proof attackers".

With work to Flame Orb and Toxic Orb, as well as the proliferation of Rest, these abilities will be given the following additional effect:

Old	New
The Pokemon's mysterious scales further insulate their owner when they are ailing. While the user has a Major Status: The user's Defense rank is increased by five (5).	The Pokemon's mysterious scales further insulate their owner when they are ailing. While the user has a Major Status: The user's Defense rank is increased by five (5), and the user is unaffected by all other Major Status.

Toxic Boost and :drifblim:

Flare Boost mirror this change to Marvel Scale, except they require specifically Poison or specifically Burn, respectively.

:jolteon:

Quick Feet has its own section below.

This set of changes should make Guts attackers less broadly ignorant of the Pokemon they're facing.

Keen Eye
Back on the block again, with these losers. This ability is actually the main inspiration for Attack Aid and the other keyword conditions! We wanted to re-use this existing effect elsewhere, but didn't want to keep typing it out. We also wanted more answers to it in the game.

This is a 1-to-1 replacement of "the effect that inspired Attack Aid" with "Attack Aid". In technicality, this nerfs the ability: There are many more ways to interact with Attack Aid than there was the straightforward rank increase. That's probably for the best, though. Stats should matter in more matchups, especially for already-playable Pokemon like Braviary-Hisui and Drapion.

Old	New
The Pokemon's sharp vision allows them to see right through concealment and bluffs. The user's Accuracy stage can't be lowered, and the user's negative Accuracy stage is ignored. While the user is attacking with an attack that currently has no chance to miss, and that doesn't share a type with the user: The user's relevant Attack rank is at least the defender's relevant Defense rank.	The Pokemon's sharp vision allows them to see right through concealment and bluffs. The user's Accuracy stage can't be lowered, and the user's negative Accuracy stage is ignored. While the user is attacking with an attack that currently has no chance to miss, and that doesn't share a type with the user: The user has Attack Aid.

Pressure
To cut down on fiddly mid-battle Energy calculations, and to pick off another conditional "power penalty of one (1)" ability, Pressure is being slightly revised. That said, it doesn't have that much room for juice, given that it's on a slew of very strong Pokemon.

This is part of a larger crusade against mid-round Energy comparison, of course. This is also a good chance to clean up the phrasing of these effects.

Old

New

The Pokemon's mere presence inspires a sense of dread
in anyone opposing them.

While an opponent is performing an action that targets
the user: Raise that action's Energy Cost by two (2).

When the user is attacked, by an attacker with less
remaining Energy than the user: Give that attack a power penalty of one (1).

The Pokemon's mere presence inspires a sense of dread in anyone opposing them.

Opponents' actions that cost Energy cost an additional amount Energy, equal to the current round count.

When the user enters play: Inflict Dread on each opponent until the end of the step.

When an opponent enters play: Infict Dread on that opponent until the end of the step.

If the user is Deoxys: The user has a condition based on their Forme:
● Default: Hovering. ● Attack: Penalty-Proof. ● Defense: Bonus-Proof. ● Speed: Attack Aid.

We unfortunately can't give Dread to non-tech Pokemon like Dusknoir, Kingambit, or Deoxys for very long. We wanted to include a form of defense, though, and Dread was a flavor win, so we went with a turn of shock upon seeing the Pokemon exerting Pressure. This can result in a tempo gain as opponents Protect or otherwise try to mitigate the Dread turn, so we're excited to see how players take advantage of this unique benefit.

We've geared the Energy-draining effect towards closing games that have gone long. This effect puts the user's existing bulk, if any, to use and drains opposing energy more quickly. For powerful attackers, this ability makes walling or stalling in front of them a daunting task, especially late in the game. We hope this change allows a benched user of Pressure to cause dread even in opposing trainers, in the right conditions!

And most importantly, this ability doesn't ask refs to calculate and re-calulate energy, every single step, just for a measly penalty of one power.

Rivalry
This is a straightforward buff that allows you to target popular items as your trigger for Rivalry, if you should so like.

Generation 9's initial version of Rivalry helped give it a defined function, allowing the users to target and heavily damage certain specific Pokemon. For example, Haxorus was envisioned to be a direct Dragonite counter with Rivalry and Mold Breaker.

The users are good at this now, but this application is too narrow for players to justify running them for the chance of a counterpick. With this buff, we're giving Rivalry users a degree of match-to-match customization, allowing players to "pick" their rivals. We're also taking this chance to introduce a predator for consumable items, since they're difficult to counteract currently — Jealousy is a powerful force!

Old

New

The Pokemon is fiercely competitive and will suffer no imitators in their percieved territory.

When the user attacks a defender who has Rivalry: Give that attack a power bonus, equal to that attack's base power.

When the user attacks a defender that shares a type or a non-Rivalry ability with the user: Give that attack a power bonus of two (2).

The Pokemon is fiercely competitive and will suffer no imitators in their perceived territory.

Opponents who share a type, a held item, or an ability with the user; or who have consumed an item this round; are the user's Rivals.

When the user attacks one of their Rivals: Give that attack a power bonus, equal to that attack's original power if the rival has Rivalry, or equal to three (3) otherwise.

Absorption Abilities
These abilities are on the radar for providing essentially infinite HP in doubles. Welcome to the halls of "Got Shit Nerfed", tm.

Some history on the affected abilities, being Dry Skin, Volt Absorb, Water Absorb, and the newly added Earth Eater. For most of ASB and BBP, they were almost strictly downside. Unlike in cartridge play, there's no switching in to absorb-able attacks. No reasonable opponent would order absorbed attacks into them to trigger the healing, and doubles was a rare mode of play. Even when they were being used productively, they healed the user for one-fourth (x0.25) of the damage they would have taken. Their existence made a Pokemon vulnerable to Role Play or Skill Swap with little upside in singles.

With Generation 9, they were given their self-triggered effects, to heal 2 HP after using a move of the correct type. Furthermore, their healing effect was stabilized at 12 HP, instead of asking for a fake damage calculation. This is well and good, but has resulted in some nearly unkillable team setups in both Doubles facilities and in larger battles. So we're capping the bigger heal, and buffing the smaller self-heal in exchange.

Starting with Water Absorb:

Old	New
The Pokemon draws in ambient moisture in the area to rejuvenate themselves. The user has an additional immunity to Water. After a Water-type attack is executed: The user heals 12 HP if they were a target of that attack, and 2 HP otherwise.	The Pokemon draws in ambient moisture in the area to rejuvenate themselves. The user has an additional immunity to Water. After a Water-type attack is executed, if it targeted the user: The user heals 16 HP as a Recovery. After a Water-type attack is executed, if it did not target the user: The user heals three (3) HP. (Not as a Recovery)

Volt Absorb mirrors this change.
:orthworm:

Earth Eater mirrors this change, and is also gaining the small heal effect. (Which it previously lacked.)
:toxicroak:

Dry Skin is mirroring this change only for the "large" (Recovery-spending) effect. It already has several other effects.

This makes the "large" Water Absorb, etc. heal finite. Once you've used up your recoveries, taking any further absorbed attacks won't restore HP as a recovery, but you'll still be immune to them.

The second, smaller heal has been separated out into its own trigger. This should head off any questions like, "I get the 3 HP heal now that I'm out of recoveries, right?"

Regenerator
This ability is getting treatment much like the Absorption abilities above. This time, however, the net result is a buff.

This should be a strong shot-in-the-arm for fan favorites like Slowbro, Mienshao, and Astrolotl. Unlike in cartridge play, benefitting Regenerator has a pretty large opportunity cost in BBP: Yielding second order to the opponent. Additionally, 10 HP doesn't even make up the damage taken from Hazards in most modern matches.

Old	New
The Pokemon can renew themselves when they take a break from battling. When the user leaves play: The user heals 10 HP. At the end of the user's turn, if the user Chilled this turn: The user heals six (6) HP.	The Pokemon can renew themselves when they take a break from battling. When the user leaves play: The user heals 20 HP as a Recovery. At the end of the user's turn, if the user Chilled this turn: The user heals six (6) HP.

Since it's rare for Pokemon to leave and enter play five or more times, it would take a very strange battle indeed for this change to result in less overall healing.

Steadfast
Correcting this ability to actually be triggered by Flinching, the effect it was meant to be triggered by.

Yes, this ability is held hostage by Gallade. That's fine, though. Every Steadfast user has other, better abilities that they can rely on for their niche.

Old	New
The Pokémon's determination only intensifies in the face of hardship. At the end of the user's turn; if the user failed to execute an action due to the effect of a condition: Raise the user's Speed by one (1) stage for their next three (3) turns. (Inability to attempt an action isn't the same as failing to execute it.)	The Pokémon's determination only intensifies in the face of hardship. At the end of the user's turn; if the user failed to attempt an action due to the effect of a condition: Raise the user's Speed by one (1) stage for their next three (3) turns. (Inability to attempt an action isn't the same as failing to execute it.)

Evasion Abilities
Now that Barometer is gone and Weather abilities have non-Knock Off counterplay at last, these abilities can be released on parole.

This buff emphasizes Evasion's new job in hindering inaccurate attacks and supporting a more answerable Evasion/Accuracy-based "lock" strategy.

The Aim command was designed to undo multiple actions' value in Accuracy or Evasion modifiers, helping to break Pokemon out of Accuracy-based locks. To make this ability competitive against such a command, we're allowing the users to start with an actions' worth of Evasion gain for "free".

Old	New
The Pokemon blends in to snowy terrain, and is difficult to even see in blizzard conditions. While the Weather is Snow: Accuracy checks against the user with less than 100% chance of success, automatically fail.	The Pokemon blends in to snowy terrain, and is difficult to even see in blizzard conditions. While no actions have missed the user this round: The user's current and maximum Evasion stage are increased by one (1). While the Weather is Snow: Accuracy checks against the user with less than 100% chance of success, automatically fail.

Sure, making opposing attacks Unlucky against the user is redundant with the second effect that causes inaccurate attacks to miss. The main benefit of this free stage is having quicker access to an Accuracy difference of 2 or more.

With Aim, perfect-hit attacks, and changing the weather as ways to beat this lock, we're comfortable making it available again. Furthermore, once the weather has been changed, there will be at least one round where the ability is inactive before the weather can change back, making weather counterplay as especially effective, as is intended.

The maximum stage increase is so that the user doesn't lose any of their "real" Evasion stages as the first effect "toggles off and on".

Weather Recovery Abilities
Now that Barometer is gone and Weather abilities have non-Knock Off counterplay at last, the bad weather abilities can safely be improved.

This is a straightforward buff for these abilities. Players generally agree that Tentacruel is quite good, but we doubt it'll take over the metagame any time soon, even with this improvement.

Old	New
The Pokemon's body is adapted to low temperatures, and they greatly benefit from hailstorms. At the end of the step, if the Weather is Snow: The user heals two (2) HP.	The Pokemon's body is adapted to low temperatures, and they greatly benefit from hailstorms. At the end of the step, if the Weather is Snow: The user heals four (4) HP.

Rain Dish mirrors this change.

Aftermath
A straightforward buff to lend these explosive Pokemon another angle of threat.

This new effect encourages opponents to dispose of the Aftermath user quickly, before they can "build up".

Old	New
The Pokemon is filled to the brim with unstable gasses. When the user attacks with a self-sacrificing move with a BAP: Give that attack a power bonus of 10.	The Pokemon is filled to the brim with unstable gasses. When the user attacks with a self-sacrificing move with a BAP: Give that attack a power bonus of 10. When the user takes damage from an opponent's attack: Put a Fuse marker on the user. When the user is knocked out by direct damage from an opponent's attack: The attacker loses 4 HP for each Fuse marker on the user.

Hustle
While we continue to eliminate fiddly Energy-tracking effects; we're taking this chance to nerf Hustle generically, and then buff it specifically.

Hustle got a much-needed rework in this post, when Toggle functionality was removed. It then got a numeric buff later. Third adjustment's the charm, we figure!

We're retaining the very high Attack numbers it can achieve, but decoupling the ability from the user's current Energy and making it easier to track. (And nerfing its ceiling a little bit.)

Old

New

The Pokemon's preferred method of attack is to start swinging first and ask questions never.

When the user attacks with a Physical attack: The user loses Energy equal to their own original Attack rank.

The user's Attack rank is increased by three (3) for every fifth (x0.2) of their maximum Energy they are missing.
(Don't round the one-fifth portion when comparing it to missing Energy.)

The Pokemon's preferred method of attack is to start swinging first and ask questions never.

When the user spends 10 or more Energy for an action's cost: Place a Hustle marker on the user.

When the user enters play, if it is the first round of the battle: Place a Hustle marker on the user.

The user's Attack rank is increased by twice (x2) the number of Hustle markers on them, or by eight (8), whichever is lesser.

While we're here, we're giving Hustle more of a mechanical identity. Now, the user gets a bit of a head start if they're deployed with haste — Hustle users now have a mechanical incentive to be your lead!

Outside of that, we're positioning Hustle as an ability that users need to trigger intentionally. Previously, this ability rewarded players for simply playing the game, attacking normally, and perhaps spending their combo aggressively. This should make the ability more engaging to pilot.

This also gives the ability an edge against specifically Pressure users, just in case.

Zero to Hero
A straightforward buff to drum up interest in this heroic cetacean.

This buff allows Palafin-Zero to equip highly defensive items to survive their round in play, or equip a variety of items for escaping various methods of trapping.

We considered giving this Pokemon something to make it harder to set up against them while they stall in Zero Forme, but several players are high on partners that can undo that set-up and form strong pivoting cores, such as Rebound Colossoil. We'd rather undershoot this change than risk overshooting it.

Old	New
The Pokemon can transform, but only when they sense danger and are shielded from inquisitive gazes. The user starts each battle in their Zero Forme. When the user leaves play: The user transforms to their Hero Forme.	The Pokemon can, away from prying eyes, shed their secret identity and reveal their heroic alter-ego. The user starts each battle in their Zero Forme. When the user leaves play: Return each item the user is holding (except immutible items) to the backpack; then, the user transforms to their Hero Forme.

Electromorphosis
Our change for Bellibolt has given this lovable blob a powerful niche... As a source of infinitely-scaling damage for cheesing PvE content. With this out of our system now, what should it be doing...?

We also have to consider how the only user also has Damp, complicating balancing this ability. That's a challenge we accepted when we buffed Damp previously.

Old	New
The Pokémon can convert kinetic energy from blows into electricity, powering up when hit. When the user is hit: Place a Charge marker on the user.	The Pokémon can convert kinetic energy from blows into electricity, powering up when hit. When the user is hit: Place a Charge marker on the user, then discard all but four (4) of the Charge markers on the user. When one or more Charge markers are discarded from the user: The user heals that much HP.

LouisCyphre · Dec 28, 2023

Move Changes
Many, many moves are receiving changes great and small. Many of these are parts of sweeping, systemic work; but we've made sure to find time to make targeted tweaks that impact as few as one Pokemon, when we think the impact is positive for the game.

:unown:

Hidden Power
Exercising our power to egregiously breach established canon; we're offering this move to Pokemon who were created too late to learn it.

Hidden Power was removed in Generation VIII for offering too many Pokemon in-game a way to surprise OHKO threats intended to check them, and likely for good reason. Thus, no Pokemon introduced in Generation VIII or later has access to the move.

In BBP, however, Hidden Power exists in a very different context the additive damage formula and large movepools. Here, it's a reward for some but not all Pokemon for reaching Level 4, that expands their coverage pool in a personalized way.

Starting with the Indigo Disk update, we'll be adding Hidden Power to the Level 4 movepool of all Pokemon species that learn moves normally. That means that when you update newer Level 4 Pokemon, you'll have to select a type for Hidden Power.

Ironically, this does exclude Unown.

Move-Calling Moves
Following several attempts to preserve their move-calling functionality, the most annoying of these moves are being rebranded as "Move-Importing Moves".

To preface, the moves Copycat, Instruct, Me First, Nature Power, and Snatch are being left alone. In addition, the moves Mimic and Sketch, which are related this group, are also being left alone.

The moves needing adjustment are those that call almost any move in the game—being Assist, Metronome, and Sleep Talk. These moves have been subject to a variety of attempted adjustments over the course of ASB and BBP, attempting to make them sane to order against. If there is an extant design space for them between "horribly annoying" and "horribly useless", we have never managed to find it.

So, we're wholly reworking these three moves.

Move	Old	New
Assist	The user thinks of their teammates, and calls on their strength for aid. (Declare a move known by a selected inactive teammate of the user; that has a Priority of exactly 0, that has an Energy Cost of 5 or less, and that doesn't call or borrow moves. If the user has no remaining teammates in reserve, Assist fails.) If the user hasn't called a move with Assist during this battle (regardless of the called move's success), the user calls and attempts the declared move.	The user thinks of their teammates, and calls on their strength for aid. (Declare an inactive teammate when ordering this move. If no teammate is declared, this move can't execute.) Grant the user a unique status until they leave play, noting the declared teammate, with the following effect: ● While this condition was created this round: Its other effects are ignored. ● The user knows each move known by the noted teammate, as borrowed moves.
Metronome	The user miraculously conjures a surprising effect with a wag of their finger. (When ordering this move, declare a move not known by the user; that has a Priority of exactly 0, that has an Energy Cost of 5 or less, and that doesn't call or borrow moves. If this move was ordered in a post other than the first order post of the round, this move can't be attempted.) If the user hasn't called a move with Metronome during this battle (regardless of the called move's success), the user calls and attempts the declared move.	The user miraculously conjures a surprising effect with a wag of their finger. (Declare an opponent, including inactive opponents, when ordering this move. If no opponent is declared, this move can't execute.) Grant the user a unique status until they leave play, noting the declared opponent, with the following effect: ● While this condition was created this round: Its other effects are ignored. ● The user knows each move known by the noted opponent, as borrowed moves.
Sleep Talk	The user lucidly performs a move while sleeping, somehow. (When ordering this move, declare a move known by the user; that has a Priority of exactly 0, that has an Energy Cost of 5 or less, and that doesn't call or borrow moves.) This move, and moves called by Sleep Talk, may be attempted while Asleep. If the user is Asleep and hasn't called the declared move during this battle (regardless of the called move's success), the user calls and attempts the declared move.	The user lucidly performs moves while sleeping, somehow. This move may be attempted while Asleep. Grant the user a unique status until they leave play, with the following effect: ● The user may attempt moves while Asleep.

The new designation for "Move-Importing Moves", for Assist and Metronome, should be clear now. They expand the user's movepool, using another Pokemon in the battle, rather than forcing players to refer to the entire list of extant moves in the game.

Similarly, Sleep Talk will no longer force players to look up the Energy Cost of every move they know to see what's valid or invalid for use.

This should, hopefully, bring a close our attempts to fix these moves by restricting the BAP, Energy Cost, priority, or other features of the moves that these moves call.

Manual Weather
Barometer has long existed as a band-aid for the relative fragility of these moves. Now, their ability to change (but not set) Weather is delayed, making manual weather a valid way to access Weather abilities.

Weather, and particular abilities referencing Weather, have been in an awful state since ASB. Their design space has been perilous ever since the Barometer was fatefully introduced, ensuring that item disruption was the only common way to interrupt a Weather ability, rather than by using the ubiquitous Rain Dance and/or Sunny Day.

The biggest thorn in the side of manual weather was always manual weather: The Pokemon's set-up could be undone simply by using a competiting Weather-inducing move, making any attempt to win a Weather war with moves more of bother than it was worth.

So, we're splitting these moves' effects that discard Weather from the effects that set Weather, like so:

Old	New
The user manipulates the air particles around to act as a lens, greatly intensifying sunlight in the area. Discard any Weather in play; then, create Sun for five (5) rounds.	The user manipulates the air particles around to act as a lens, greatly intensifying sunlight in the area. Place a Forecast marker on each non-Sun Weather in play, with the following effect: ● At the end of the round: Create Sun for five (5) rounds; then discard all non-Sun weather. Create Sun for five (5) rounds if no Weather is in play.

Rain Dance, Sandstorm, Hail, and Snowscape all mirror this change. Due to Accuracy work, moves that induce Fog are getting their own section later, as they've been removed from the Weather space.

Max Moves, auto-Weather abilities, and Defog all still change or discard any current Weather immediately.

With this change, once you induce a Weather, you can be reasonably confident in its presence for at least the rest of the round. This makes it more realistic for Pokemon such as Excadrill to use Sandstorm as a set-up move. Even if an opponent manages to Forecast marker on that Sandstorm, they still have to survive the onslaught for the rest of the round. This makes securing an advantageous Weather for an ally entering play next round more reliable, as well.

Manual Terrain
These moves will create Terrain for longer, to give them a use case versus automatic Terrain.

Terrain moves aren't nearly as common as Weather moves. We don't need to insulate them against each other in quite the same way as we do with Weather.

Old	New
The user fills the ground with life energy, growing thriving grass in all directions. Discard any Terrain in play; then, create Grassy Terrain for four (4) rounds.	The user fills the ground with life energy, growing thriving grass in all directions. Discard any Terrain in play; then, create Grassy Terrain for five (5) rounds.

Perfect-Accuracy Attacks
We're bringing these Attacks into the Accuracy and Evasion ecosystem, giving them an effect that removes positive Evasion stages.

This grouping includes Aerial Ace and its clones, but not conditional auto-hits like Thunder.

Old	New
The user strikes the target with impossible speed, from above and then from below. While performing this move: Accuracy checks for this move automatically succeed.	The user strikes the target with impossible speed, from above and then from below. While performing this move: Accuracy checks for this move automatically succeed. On hit: Reset the defender's Evasion stage to 0 if it is positive; then, reset the user's Accuracy stage to 0 if it is negative.

This change allows these moves to give their user a temporary reprieve from Evasion setups that opponents will have to account for.

The desired result is that one-off or throwaway Evasion changes are of little use in the face of perfect-accuracy attacks. In turn, robust Evasion strategies using multiple pieces of Evasion support (especially recurring pieces, such as Fog and Brightpowder) are meant to be more resilient to single uses of these moves.

In some matchups, a move in this group is also the attacker's best hit against the Evasion user. In that case, staying in the matchup seems a bit silly on the part of the Evasion-user.

Accuracy-Reducing Attacks
With a suite of the anti-support now in place to ensure Evasion-raising and Accuracy-lowering never gets out of hand, these moves can be given the job of hosing inaccurate moves such as Stone Edge.

By ensuring that these moves can always lower the defender to -1 Accuracy, thus making their accuracy checks Unlucky, these attacks can make it difficult for opponents to attack the user with inaccurate attacks.

Old	New
The user launches a small tornado of grass and leaves at the target. Effect Check: Reduce the Accuracy stage of the defender by one (1) for their next two (2) turns.	The user launches a small tornado of grass and leaves at the target. While the defender's Accuracy stage is 0 or higher: Leaf Tornado's effect chance is 100%. Effect Check: Reduce the Accuracy stage of the defender by one (1) for their next four (4) turns.

Night Daze, Mirror Shot, Octozooka, and Mud Bomb each mirror this change.

Muddy Water has its own niche as a Water-type spread move that excludes allies, and does not mirror this change.

Self-Locking Moves
Mirroring the change to Encore below, other moves that interfere with the order-receiving process are being streamlined to simply their interaction with orders; or reworked entirely.

As the Generation has aged, the rules that describe how Pokemon are issued orders and receive those orders have been repaired and polished. In addition, the rules that describe substitution behavior have fully reworked. As a result of this growth, some mainstay BBP moves have begun to create friction with these rules.

Specifically, certain moves that restrict the user's own orders can create unintuitive interactions when ordering second, that allow the user to "pretend" to order a later move without ever having to actually attempt that move. Consider this example:

Example: A player issues the substitution "On step one, IF Infernape is to use Stealth Rock on any step THEN use Taunt". Their opponent orders the main orders "Raging Fury -> Stealth Rock -> Raging Fury", to take advantage of Raging Fury's current effect to replace all of the user's orders with itself.

The first player's substition would trigger when it's checked, as Infernape is indeed ordered to use Stealth Rock. However, Infernape will never make an attempt to use that move, due to the effect of Raging Fury. Essentially, Infernape has wasted an action of the opponent on their Taunt, while only ever pretending to intend to use the subbed-for move.

These moves' current phrasing means that substitutions can trigger, but give the Pokemon a different order than they claim to give, resulting in confusing or even unsporting situations.

While cleaning up how such moves will interact with orders and substitutions, we're taking this chance to rework some of the more mechanically-intensive or difficult-to-balance multi-turn moves.

Bide

While this work originally focused on moves like Outrage; it quickly became clear that there's another, more important move that locks the user's actions and interferes with later substitutions.

As a move that currently readies in a step other than the one it's attempted, Bide's interaction with orders is very poorly defined. Rather that trying to build infrastructure for readying moves across steps or across rounds, we're modernizing how Bide is used.

Bide is a mainstay of competitive BBP and a large source of viability for many Pokemon, so we don't wish to radically change Bide's place in the game. The wording of its effects have radically changed, but it will perform similarly to before.

That said, Bide's current all-or-nothing nature makes it a move that only ever resolves on accident. As-is, the move exists to absorb opponent's substitutions, likely more so than any other move in the game. It may seem paradoxical, but we're slightly weakening this move to increase its usage. If Bide is always the worst thing that can happen to an attacker, then it will always be the first priority for that attacker's substitutions.

Old

New

The user braces themselves to retaliate against incoming attacks.

(The user readies this move on their turn, and executes it on their second turn after this one. The user can't receive orders until Bide ends. If the user fails to act, Bide ends and fails.)

When the user is hit, while they are readying Bide: The attacker becomes the target of Bide.

This move deals fixed damage.

Bide's BAP is equal to the amount of damage the user took while readying Bide, times one and three-fourths (x1.75).

The user retaliates against attacks taken, or braces themselves to do so.

When the user completes this move: Grant the user a unique status called Biding, until they complete an attack or they leave play, with the following effect:
● When the user takes damage from a hit: Add the amount dealt to the amount noted on this condition.
● The user's Bide targets the last Pokemon to hit them, rather than themselves.

This move deals fixed damage.

Bide's BAP is equal to the total amount of damage noted on Biding conditions on the user, times one and one-half (x3/2).

Because Bide can now more flexibly threaten opponents, we've reduced the multiplier on the damage it returns.

This new version makes it more flexible in its usage, less punishing to be hit by, and less punishing when exploited. Between "priming" Bide and "releasing" it, the user can now perform other non-attack actions. It now suits bulky utility Pokemon who can productively take multiple hits without attacking back.

Uproar

Uproar is being pivoted into an anti-Sleep move. There's no practical reason for it to continue locking the user, as it's currently very weak overall.

Old

New

The user becomes enraged and lets out a deafening cry that wakes up from the deepest sleep. They continue doing so until they calm down.

While performing this move: This move bypasses Decoys.

After executing this move: Inflict a unique condition on the user until the end of the round, with the following effects:
● Other Pokemon in play can't execute moves tagged #Sound.
● Pokemon can't have Sleep inflicted on them.
● If the user would receive an order; instead, it receives an order to use Uproar targeting a random opponent.

The user becomes enraged and lets out a deafening cry that wakes up from the deepest sleep. They continue doing so until they calm down.

This move may be attempted while Asleep.

While performing this move: This move bypasses Decoys.

When the user completes this move: Grant the user a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effects:
● Other Pokemon in play can't execute moves tagged #Sound.
● Pokemon can't have Sleep inflicted on them.

Thrash and Relatives

Thrash and its relatives can safely be moved out of the space. Their association with Confusion makes it easy to give them a new downside that's appropriate for their power. This also provides a nice shot in the arm for various Pokemon reliant on Petal Dance or Outrage for good STAB damage, such as mono-type Dragons.

Old	New
The user lets their inner fury overtake them and starts attacking the opponent relentlessly. After executing this move: Inflict a unique condition on the user until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● If the user would receive an order; instead, it receives an order to use Outrage targeting a random opponent.	The user lets their inner fury overtake them and starts attacking the opponent relentlessly. After executing this move: Inflict Confusion on the user until the end of their next turn.

Outrage, Petal Dance, and Raging Fury each reflect this change.

Recoil Attacks
Like most overlooked generic attacks, we're going to attempt to breathe life into these attacks by giving them a job to do.

These moves have been passed over for most of BBP's history. Offsetting their high BAP was recoil damage that basically undid any ground gained by using them. Even after reducing the recoil amounts, Pokemon reliant on them still haven't managed to gain a foothold in popular play.

So, these moves are being given an additional upside. Meet Flare Blitz:

Old	New
The user sets their whole body ablaze before charging towards the opponent with catastrophic force. On hit: The user takes damage, equal to one-fifth (x1/5) of the damage dealt by the hit. Effect Check: Inflict Burn.	The user sets their whole body ablaze before charging towards the opponent with catastrophic force. While performing this move: The user is Penalty-Proof. On hit: The user takes damage, equal to one-fifth (x1/5) of the damage dealt by the hit. Effect Check: Inflict Burn.

This change is mirrored by Axe Kick, Brave Bird, Chloroblast, Double-Edge, Head Charge, Head Smash, High Jump Kick, Jump Kick, Light of Ruin, Mind Blown, Steel Beam, Struggle, Submission, Take Down, Volt Tackle, Wave Crash, and Wood Hammer.

Wild Charge gained this change early, in the previous patch.

With this added effect, Recoil Moves become a tool for forcing progress against opponents who apply large penalties to attacks — especially Defense Aid, which gives a power penalty. Pokemon hiding behind Defense Aid are in for a nasty surprise when they learn the hard way that, say, Aegislash learns Head Smash.

In addition, Take Down will grant a more generically helpful condition:

Old

New

The user charges at their target at high speed, colliding with them brazenly.

On hit: The user takes damage, equal to one-third (x1/3) of the damage dealt by the hit.

After executing this move, if the user took damage from this move: Grant the user a unique status named "Stampede" until the end of the round with the following effect:
● If the user would take damage from their own attack; instead, the current defender takes that much damage, and then the user takes that much damage.

The user charges at their target at high speed, colliding with them brazenly.

While performing this move: The user is Penalty-Proof.

On hit: The user takes damage, equal to one-third (x1/3) of the damage dealt by the hit.

After executing this move: Grant the user Penalty-Proof until they leave play.

This should cement its place among recoil moves as an option for dealing more damage later, in exchange for using a fairly weak attack up-front.

Endure
For many, many generations, Endure plagued the game by lengthening matches and absorbing multiple substitutions every time any player went for a KO. For its crimes, Endure was nerfed into total irrelevance. Now, this move is being positioned to help Pokemon caught in desperately bad match-ups.

While we don't want to slow battles down too much, we want there to be tools for frailer Pokemon to extend their lifespan if they're willing to give up turn efficiency. This can be important when jockeying for KOs. This can also be helpful when facing Pokemon with many, many stacked bonuses.

The move should also maintain its niche against OHKO moves.

Old

New

The user braces themselves for impact.

(If the user has executed Endure in the round before this one, this move can't be attempted.)

Grants the user a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effects:
● The subject can't take damage, except from hits.
● Effects of other Pokemon can't inflict Fainting on the user.

The user braces themselves for a grueling battle.

(If the user has executed Endure in the round before this one, this move can't be attempted.)

Grants the user a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effects:
● While the subject is being attacked, while this condition was created this step: The subject's minimum HP is 1.
● The subject has Defense Aid and has Bonus-Proof.
● Effects of other Pokemon can't inflict Fainting on the subject.

In addition, the move splits the difference between old and new, and protects the user from falling below 1 HP on the step that it's used. This helps the move support a last-ditch Flail or Reversal, without stonewalling Pokemon who can't "break Endure".

Encore
This move is getting an adjustment aiming to weaken it slighty, and clarify it greatly.

Old

New

The user gives their opponent an enthusiastic round of appluase.

(If the target's most recent action isn't a move, or if the target hasn't acted since they last entered play, this move can't execute.)

While performing this move: Encore bypasses Decoys.

Inflict a unique status on the target until the end of their next turn, with the following effects:
● When this condition is created, note the subject's most recent action if it is a move. Then, if no action is noted, discard this condition.
cWhen this condition is created: The move in the subject's current order becomes the noted move, and the targets are removed.
● If the subject would receive an order to use an action; instead, they receive an order to use the noted action.
● The subject's current order can't be changed by their substitutions.
(Their pending orders in their orderset can still be changed.)

The user gives their opponent an enthusiastic round of applause.

(If any target's most recently attempted action this round isn't a move, or if any target hasn't acted this round, this move can't execute.)

While performing this move: Encore bypasses Decoys.

Note the defender's most recently attempted action this round; then, depending on whether the defender has acted during this step, apply the appropriate effect:
● If the defender has acted: Replace their next main order this round, with an order to use the noted move. (With no targets specified.)
● If the defender has not acted: Replace their currently received order, with an order to use the noted move. (With no targets specified.)

Belly Drum
Both the duration and cost of this move are being reduced to make this move less of an instant win button when it does work, and less punishing to fail.

With the way the generation has shaken out, we're less happy with haymakers as strong as Belly Drum currently is. The game has settled around moves that can buy users a turn, or perhaps two. Meanwhile, Belly Drum typifies the earlier part of Generation 9, where many moves could win entire match-ups on their won if forced through.

This move also currently occupies the undignified niche of being the game's most expensive general-use move. Every time we've designed a feature interacting with costs this year, Belly Drum has been the first game piece to get in the way. So, admittedly, this change is partially intended to release Belly Drum's deathgrip on future content design.

Old	New
The user pounds their stomach with fury, whipping itself up for battle. (This move costs HP, equal to 40% of the user's maximum HP rounded down.) Raise the user's Attack stage to the maximum (+6) for their next four (4) turns, overwriting any previous duration.	The user pounds their stomach with fury, whipping itself up for battle. (This move costs HP, equal to 20% of the user's maximum HP rounded down.) Raise the user's Attack stage to the maximum (+6) for their next two (2) turns, overwriting any previous duration.

Magic Room
Now that Defog beats weird, random Battle Conditions such as Magic Room and Wonder Room, we can safely buff them.

For some reason, this move didn't have the "switch on or off" functionality that Trick Room and Wonder Room shared, so we're adding that in while we're here. (Also, it used the "Creates" templating instead of instructing the player? Gross.)

Old

New

The Pokemon overlays a magical space with strange properties over the battlefield.

Creates a unique battle condition for four (4) rounds, with the following effects:
● The effects of held items are ignored.

(Mega Evolution and Z-Moves require specific held items, but are not effects of held items.)

The Pokemon overlays a bewitched space with magical properties over the battlefield.

Discard any Magic Room battle conditions in play; then, if no conditions were discarded, create a unique battle condition until the end of the round, with the following effects:
● If a held item would heal HP or deal damage; instead, it does the opposite.
● If a held item would raise or lower damage dealt, a stat rank, or a stat stage; instead, it does the opposite.
● If a held item would give an attack a power bonus or a power penalty; instead, it does the opposite.

This change does groundbreaking work: It establishes that healing and damage are opposites (wow!), that raising and lowering are opposites, and that bonuses and penalties are opposites. I look forward to having to edit that into the handbook at a later date when multiple people are confused as to the meaning of the word "opposite".

As for the effect itself, it's advanced held item hate! Magic Room always seemed like a budget option for item denial, in the grand scheme of things. Even beyond Knock Off just dealing with the item directly; we already had Embargo for turning off an opponent's held items without disarming them, and we had Thief and Covet for just appropriating them. Where could Magic Room compete?

We considered making this move asymmetric — simply leaving the user's team's items alone — and then we decided that was awful and boring. It would be better for this to be a move for when you need to really hate on items, and for the user to be tasked with breaking the symmetry. By leveraging consumables or items whose effects aren't listed here, such as Enigma Stone, you can badly harm the opponent's ability to use items by giving up most good items yourself.

Even with a greatly reduced short duration, though, Magic Room can be devestating when deployed correctly.

Wonder Room
You know how, with every unusable garbage move we rework, we run the risk of utterly throwing the game's balance into disarray?

Why would I mention that? Oh, no reason.

Old	New
The user releases enough energy to create a small zone where Pokémon exhibit a different behavior than normal. Discard any Wonder Room battle conditions in play; then, if no conditons were discarded, create a unique battle condition for four (4) rounds, with the following effect: ● The Defense rank of each Pokemon in play is switched with their Special Defense rank.	The user releases enough energy to create a small zone where Pokémon exhibit a different behavior than normal. Discard any Wonder Room battle conditions in play; then, if no conditons were discarded, create a unique battle condition for three (3) rounds, with the following effect: ● Pokemon in play have Attack Aid and Defense Aid.

As a bit of a peek behind the curtain, this condition was initially going to provide an effect along the lines of "The attacker's relevant Attack rank is now subtracted from damage, and the defender's relevant Defense rank is added to damage." What a fun and kooky effect, you might think!

No, I know you, my BBP players. You would have lined up to spam Wonder Room Cleffa in a heartbeat. You still might, with this effect, but at least then we're not turning Cleffa into Mega Tyranitar.

Imprison
To alleviate the substitution pressure and, frankly, annoyance of ordering against Disable and Imprison in tandem, we're remaking into Imprison into a sidegrade of Disable.

Imprison has been reworked perhaps more than any other move in BBP or ASB history. In the oldest days of the game, players had to beat it by ordering moves not known by the Imprison user: A tall ask against Gengar, Gallade, or Gardevoir even in those days. Not only did it often have its duration or features fiddled with in ASB from generation to generation, it also under went two ill-fated adjustments in BBP, looking to fit it into the "let things be strong" philosophy I pushed when I took the game's reins.

As it turns out, Imprison in its current form, and each of those forms, is deeply obnoxious when allowed to be strong. Players found the counterplay to Imprison (using only one of the declared moves) to be annoying to use and fragile to other forms of disruption — particularly Disable and Torment, which are found on some of the strongest Imprison users. So, Imprison returns once again to the patch notes, in search of a healthy metagame function to occupy.

The users of Imprison don't give much help in picking a direction for the move's design, either. The only thing consistent about Imprison's distribution is its inconsistency: The move is availabe to a large minority of fully-evolved Pokemon, of every Type, role, stat spread, or function. This makes positioning the move as something desirable to all or most of its users somewhat tricky.

There is one thing that every Imprison user (and perhaps every Pokemon) has in common, though: They all wish they could ban a move they hate!

Old

New

The user mentally sabotages moves that they are familiar with, causing them to fail for others.

(Declare up to three moves when ordering this move. If no moves were declared, this move can't be attempted. If more moves are declared, the fourth and later are ignored.)

Grant the user a unique status until they leave play, with the following effect:
● Pokemon in play, that have executed one of the declared moves during this round, can't attempt the other declared moves.
(Meaning, each Pokemon may attempt only one of the declared moves each round.)

The user mentally sabotages the concept of a specific move, causing that move to fail.

(Declare a single move when ordering this move, or this move can't be attempted.)

Create a unique Battle Condition for five (5) rounds, with the following effect:
● Pokemon can't attempt the declared move.

This new version bans a single move for the most of the match, unless it's cleared by an effect such as Defog. There's a potential snag where faster Imprison users can "beat" slower ones at setting Imprison, but we're hoping that this makes the move more interesting, rather than more annoying.

In addition, this change aligns the counterplay to Imprison with the counterplay of other disruption tools: The ever-indispensable "IF able" substitution allows the player to have their preferred move if it is available, or to resort to their plan-B move if it is Sealed or now Imprisoned. This should greatly ease the substitution pressure exerted by Pokemon who know both Imprison and other disruptive tools.

Pain Split
To limit the egregious action value of this move, it will now have a smaller HP change limit, and it will additionally cost a Recovery.

We're of the mind that a single move probably shouldn't be both a Pokemon's best attack in a fair matchup and their best healing tool, all in a single turn.

While many Pokemon are reliant on this move to gain ground against more heavily-statted opponents, the potential for this move to swing a matchup by up to 50 HP was just a bit beyond what most opponents can reasonably contain. The threat of this move alone pressured opponents to devote multiple substitutions to maneuvering around it, or to make detrimental switches to hide high-HP Pokemon from low-HP Pain Split users. Furthermore, this move greatly complicated the burden of ordering first in Doubles, making the format difficult to approach.

Since the move is now limited in uses, we no longer need to rely solely on a high Energy cost to reign it in.

Old

New

Energy Cost: 20
The user links themselves with their target, and shares their injuries.

(If the user doesnt pay the entire energy cost of this move, it fails.)

Note the difference in HP between the user and the target. If the noted amount is greater than 50 and the target is an opponent of the user, note 50 instead. The Pokemon with higher HP loses HP equal to half of the noted amount rounded down, and the Pokemon with lower HP gains HP equal to half of the noted amount rounded down.
(This isn't damage or healing.)

Energy Cost: 12
The user links themselves with their target, and shares their injuries.

(This move additionally costs a Recovery.Furthermore, if the user doesn't pay the entire energy cost of this move, it fails.)

Note the difference in HP between the user and the target. If the noted amount is greater than 36 and the target is an opponent of the user, note 36 instead. The Pokemon with higher HP loses HP equal to half of the noted amount rounded down, and the Pokemon with lower HP gains HP equal to half of the noted amount rounded down.
(This isn't damage or healing.)

We're now pricing this move the same as burst healing options like Recover, despite the potential for a greater total HP swing. Pain Split has both greater counterplay than the self-targeting healing moves, and greater potential reward. Overall, we imagine players will find this version to still be very powerful, and we expect it will still make its presence felt at all Levels of play.

Syrup Bomb
This move was overtuned on purpose to support the rather weak user :dipplin:

Dipplin. Now, it can be tuned more sensibly.

This should remain a powerful tool in :hydrapple:

Hydrapple's toolset, greatly lowering opponents' Speed and resetting its own duration.

Old	New
The user brutally barrages the target with blistering, sickly sweet syrup. On hit: Inflict a unique status on the defender named "Syrup!!!" with the following effect: ● At the end of each step: Lower the subject's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stages by one (1) for their next three (3) turns.	The user brutally barrages the target with blistering, sickly sweet syrup. On hit: Inflict a unique status on the defender named "Syrup!!!" with the following effect: ● At the end of each step: Lower the subject's Speed stage by one (1) for their next three (3) turns.

Silk Trap
Did you know that Spidops has shooters? Spidops might be getting this buff before your fav gets buffs!

I'll admit, at this point we're just seeing how much we can get away with. I would never have expected the Spidops Sweep, but it's been weirdly popular this generation!

That said, Stakeout makes it... A passably dangerous lead already. We do have to actually be careful with buffs to this Pokemon!

The user weaves an elaborate shield from special sticky thread that entangles anyone coming too close.

(If the user gained Protection since they last entered play, this move can't be attempted. Furthermore, if all other Pokemon in play have acted this step, this move can't be attempted.)

Grants the user Protection from damaging actions until the end of the step, or until the end of the next step if the user is Spidops, with the additional following effect:
● After a contact attack is executed, if that attack targeted the subject: Lower the attacker's Speed stage by one (1) for their next six (6) turns.

The user weaves an elaborate shield from special sticky thread that entangles anyone coming too close.

(If the user gained Protection since they last entered play, this move can't be attempted. Furthermore, if all other Pokemon in play have acted this step, this move can't be attempted.)

Grants the user Protection from damaging actions until the end of the step, or for the next two (2) steps if the user is Spidops, with the additional following effect:
● After a contact attack is executed, if that attack targeted the subject: Lower the attacker's Speed stage by one (1) for their next six (6) turns.

Spite and Eerie Spell
It's been difficult to find a balance for Energy damage, so once again, we're giving it a job. We're heaping it onto the "late-game finisher" pile, to help games end.

The main sticking point with sources of Energy reduction have been the same throughout the game's lifespan: Long before Spite becomes strong enough to use proactively, or becomes satisfying to use; it becomes annoying to plan against enemy Spite. The presence of a strong form of proactive Energy reduction forces players to plan their Energy expendature carefully, resulting in cases where Spite is creating play friction without the Spite user ever getting to enjoy the payoff.

This differs from other substitution-eaters like Counter, whose counterplay is simply to order different moves or to sub for the move, in that the counter-play is to do an extra set of laborious calculations every round.

So, instead, we're moving it to a spot where the counterplay is to win quickly:

Old	New
The user curses their target with a wicked hex. Reduce the defender's Energy by 1 for every 10 Energy they are missing.	The user curses their target with a wicked hex. Reduce the defender's Energy by twice (x2) the current round count.

The main sticking point with this version is that it incentivizes stall, to a degree, which we're always leery of due to IRL time concerns. We're confident, though, that making a stall payoff that then closes the game (and that requires action from the stalling player) is the best way to approach this. This is also a stall payoff that bypasses bulk, opening the floor for weaker attackers to threaten foes.

A round 5 order of Spite ~ Spite ~ Spite (for 30 Energy reduction) may seem to compare badly to using Night Shade, but remember that opponents tend to spend Energy.

If this doesn't work, we might consider pivoting Spite to a fanfiction effect divorced from the Energy game.

Dire Claw
This is a preemptive hammering, in exchange for the Unburden buff above. Sneasler is already very playable, so we can't buff Unburden that greatly without weakening this move in exchange.

Overall, this change should make Sneasler less sacky and annoying to play against. Sneasler could previously pile on egregious amounts of passive damage and action denial simply by using this move, which is overkill on a mon with such usable stats and STABs.

Old

New

The user viciously slashes at the target with a claw coated in a potent poison.

While performing this move: The user's critical stage is increased by one (1).

Effect Check: Select and apply one of the following effects, that hasn't been selected this round, at random with equal odds:
● Inflict regular Poison on the defender with one (1) marker. Then (whether they were already Poisoned or not), double the number of Poison markers each condition the defender is subject to.
● Inflict Paralysis on the defender with one (1) marker. Then (whether they were already Paralyzed or not), double the number of Paralysis markers on each condition the defender is subject to.
● Inflict Sleep on the defender for their next turn.

(If no effects remain to be selected, do nothing.)

The user viciously slashes at the target with a claw coated in a potent poison.

While performing this move: The user's critical stage is increased by one (1).

Effect Check, if the defender has no Major Status: The defender loses four (4) Energy; then, select and apply one of the following effects at random with equal odds:
● Inflict regular Poison on the defender with one (1) marker.
● Inflict Paralysis on the defender with one (1) marker.
● Inflict Sleep on the defender until the end of their next turn.

This is grimey to admit, but the effect to deduct Energy from the defender is to ensure that the triggered effect of Dire Claw sorts before the triggered effect of Poison Touch. (In the Component Trigger Sort. See 2.10.)

Rage Fist
This move shouldn't be allowed to have hundreds of BAP in a raid setting.

Housekeeping to keep raids interesting. You shouldn't be forced to Rock Blast your own Annihilape over and over to progress efficiently.

Old	New
The user condenses all of their anger into a fist and punches the target. Rage Fist's BAP is equal to five, plus five more for each time the user has been hit during this round. ( 5 + user's hits taken this round * 5)	The user condenses all of their anger into a fist and punches the target. Rage Fist's BAP is equal to five, plus five more for each time the user has been hit during this round, to a maximum of 20 BAP. ( 5 + user's hits taken this round * 5)

Minor Move Updates
Not every move has enough context or discussion necessary for its changes. Many of the changes below are simple consistency fixes, while others (especially BAP adjustments) are deliberate efforts to add appeal to strategically interesting moves.

Many moves, which mentioned that they inflicted a condition (and left implied that it inflicts on the defender) now state overtly who the condition is inflicted on.
Aromatherapy Energy Cost raised from 9 to 10.
Aura Wheel Energy Cost lowered from 9 to 7.
Behemoth Bash and Behemoth Blade will mention a "defender" instead of a "target".
Conversion 2 will mention "the chosen type, if any" to prepare it for Stellar-type hits.
Corrosive Gas and certain similar effects will mention "immutable items" in their reminder text.
Dark Pulse and certain other moves will mention who their effects inflict conditions on, rather than merely saying "Inflict Flinching."
Darkest Lariat Energy Cost raised from 6 to 7.
Double Iron Bash has had its 30% Chance to Flinch from in-game restored.
Gear Grind Energy Cost lowered from 8 to 7.
Heal Bell Energy Cost raised from 9 to 10.
Helping Hand target scope changed from "Any One Ally" to "Any Other Ally".
Light Screen penalty for larger teams in play changed from "minus twice (x2) [team size]" to "minus [team size]".
Luster Purge raised from 7 to 10.
Mirror Move will mention "[...] last executed move. The called move [...]", rather than "attack".
Mist Ball BAP raised from 7 to 10.
Natural Gift BAP raised from 10 to 12.
Oblivion Wing effect to heal the user now does so as a Recovery. (This is still egregious.)
Payback now mentions defenders that have taken "a" turn, rather than "their" turn.
Poison Sting Energy Cost raised from 3 to 5.
Poltergeist restriction text "If the target isn't holding any items, this move can't execute." replaced with a new effect "Pokemon that are holding no items are unaffected by this move." (The current version is bugged with multiple targets.)
Reflect penalty for larger teams in play changed from "minus twice (x2) [team size]" to "minus [team size]".
Revival Blessing Energy Cost reduced from 40 to 24.
Terrain Pulse BAP lowered from 13 to 12.
Weather Ball BAP raised from 10 to 12.

LouisCyphre · Dec 28, 2023

(If you're directed to this post by clicking the thread, click here to go to the first post of this very large update!)

Item Changes
As is to be expected, a large amount of items are receiving adjustment due to the advent of the keyword conditions.

Adding Attack Aid and Defense Aid to too many items would, frankly, undermine the importance of stats as a game concept. However, we want there to be a plethera of ways to itemize against Attack Aid and Defense Aid — so, many items will now be granting Bonus-Proof or Penalty-Proof.

Items will commonly give Bonus-Proof or Penalty-Proof only to certain attacks, or only to certain Pokemon. While we want these effects to be broadly available, we also want there to be a reason not to go for them, and instead just deal with the opponent's bonuses or penalties.

There are other item changes too, of course.

:oran berry:

Berry Rework Round-Up
As suggested by the Berry-Supporting Ability work, above, Berries as a group need looking at to encourage players to use a wider variety of Berries.

In this section, only the effect being changed will be stated for most effects, to save space.

Status-Punishing Berries were originally envisioned as a fun option that rewarded catching opponents vulnerable. It was thought that players would attach these Berries when sending in to a statused opponent, and then be free to pick another item later on.

These items are beyond narrow in application, even if we make their bonuses egregious, so we're just reworking the whole set of 'em.

Cornn Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● When the subject attacks a Poisoned defender: Give that attack a power bonus of three (3).	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The subject is Dark-type in addition to their other types.
Magost Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● When the subject attacks a Burned defender: Give that attack a power bonus of three (3).	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The subject is Bug-type in addition to their other types.
Rabuta Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● When the subject attacks a Paralyzed defender: Give that attack a power bonus of three (3).	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The subject is Electric-type in addition to their other types.
Nomel Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effects: ● When the subject attacks a Sleeping defender: Give that attack a power bonus of four (4). ● The effects of Sleep can't trigger as a result of hits from the subject.	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The subject is Fighting-type in addition to their other types.
Spelon Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● When the subject attacks a Frozen defender: Give that attack a power bonus of five (5). ● While the subject is attacking a Frozen defender: The effects of the defender's Freeze status are ignored.	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The subject is Fire-type in addition to their other types.
Pamtre Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● When the subject attacks a Confused defender: Give that attack a power bonus of five (5).	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The subject is Flying-type in addition to their other types.
Watmel Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● When the subject attacks a defender that has Flinched this round: Give that attack a power bonus of five (5).	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The subject is Ghost-type in addition to their other types.
Durin Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● When the subject attacks a Doomed defender: Give that attack a power bonus of five (5).	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The subject is Ground-type in addition to their other types.
Belue Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● When the subject attacks a Grounded defender: Give that attack a power bonus of four (4).	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The subject is Poison-type in addition to their other types.

We picked nine types by cutting out the best and worst defensive typings (subjectively), and then assigned one to each Berry.

We originally assigned the types in alphabetical order, but we swapped Cornn Berry and Magost Berry so that none of their types would match their Natural Gift type. We thought having some of them match and others not match would be worse for memory than having none of them match.

Healing Berries have become the defining feature of Pokemon with Berry-supporting abilities. We'll be adjusting these so that they don't crowd out other Berries quite as much.

The intent is for Pokemon with the mentioned abilities should be roughly the same strength as before, but to put their talents to use on Berries other than the healing ones more often.

Berry	Old	New
Oran Berry	At the end of each Pokemon's turn and at the end of each step, if the holder is missing 10 or more HP: The holder consumes this item. On consume: The consumer heals 10 HP.	When the holder takes damage: The holder consumes this item. On consume: The consumer heals 12 HP, as a Recovery.
Sitrus Berry	At the end of each Pokemon's turn; if the holder's HP is below 50%: The holder consumes this item. On consume: The consumer heals 15 HP, as their own Recovery.	When the holder takes 20 or more damage from a hit: The holder consumes this item. On consume: The consumer heals 14 HP, as a Recovery.
Enigma Berry	On consume: The consumer heals 20 HP as a Recovery; then, the consumer loses 12 Energy.	On consume: The consumer heals 16 HP as a Recovery.
Figy Berry and its relatives	At the end of the round: The holder consumes this item. On consume: The consumer heals HP equal to their own Attack Rank, plus twice (x2) their own Attack stage, as a Recovery.	At the start of the round: The holder consumes this item. On consume: The consumer heals HP equal to their original [stat] rank plus five (5), to a maximum of 18, as a Recovery.
Mago Berry	At the end of the round: The holder consumes this item. On consume: The consumer heals HP equal to one-twentieth (x0.05) of their current Speed, to a maximum of 30, as a Recovery.	At the start of the round: The holder consumes this item. On consume: The consumer heals HP equal to one-tenth (x0.1) of their original Speed, to a maximum of 18, as a Recovery.

The stat-healing Berries are being positioned for use when sending in an injured Pokemon. They should synergize well with Pokemon who can pivot, or with Eject Button and Eject Pack.

Type-Resisting Berries are being adjusted to make them more appealing for covering weaknesses for a window.

Example	Old	New
Occa Berry	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique condition for the rest of the round with the following effect: ● The subject has an additional resistance to Fire.	On consume: Grant the consumer a unique condition for the rest of the round with the following effect: ● The subject has an additional immunity to Fire.

Each other Type-Resisting Berry reflects this change for their respective type.

Pinch Berries, as a broad category, are not terribly usable due to the unreliable timing of consumption effect.

For this change, we'll simply state the old templating and new templating of the relevant Berries.

Templating	Old	New
Flat-HP Trigger (such as Liechi Berry)	At the end of each Pokémon's turn, if the holder's HP is 70 or less: The holder consumes this item.	At the start of the round, if any benched Pokemon are Fainted: The holder consumes this item.
Percent-HP Trigger (such as Starf Berry)	At the end of each Pokémon's turn, if the holder's HP is at or below 50%: The holder consumes this item.	At the start of the round, if any allied benched Pokemon are Fainted: The holder consumes this item.

These changes are part of the sweep to add more finisher options to games. They should be strong in a variety of lategames, whether or not they're being attached to a Berry-supporting Pokemon.

:custap berry:

Custap Berry is excluded from these changes.

Damage-Returing Berries are being positioned as a "soft" form of matchup control. They should now be valuable to trainers when sending out first into an unknown foe, to restrict the opponent's best options.

Old	New
This Berry's drupelets can pop if it's shaken, making it a common prank accessory. When the holder is hit by a Physical move: The holder consumes this item, and the attacker takes damage equal to the damage of the first of those hits.	This Berry's drupelets can pop if it's shaken, making it a common prank accessory. When the holder is hit by a Physical move: The holder consumes this item, and the attacker takes damage equal to twice (x2) the damage of that hit. At the end of the round: Destroy this item.

Rowap Berry mirrors this change.

Lastly, the Damage-Adapting Berries, :kee berry:

Kee Berry and :maranga berry:

Maranga Berry, are plainly too niche to be considered. We're giving them a job similar to the Damage-Returning Berries above, but in a defensive space.

Old	New
This Berry may appear timid, but its taste is very strong. Contests of Kee Berry Eating are popular. When the holder is hit with a Physical attack: The holder consumes this item. On consume: Raise the consumer's Defense stage by one (1) for their next five (5) turns.	This Berry may appear timid, but its taste is very strong. Contests of Kee Berry Eating are popular. When the holder is hit with a Physical attack: The holder consumes this item. On consume: Grant the user a unique status until the end of the next step, with the following effect: ● The subject takes no damage from Physical hits.

Barometer
This change was a long time in coming. This band-aid for the fragility of manual Weather, and Weather in general, has long overstayed its welcome.

We could simply delete Barometer, frankly. It's a fanfiction item that no longer serves its function. However, we thought there was room in the game to offer non-Weather Pokemon a chance to play with the benefits of Weather.

Old	New
A tool used to take detailed measurements the speed and direction of the winds. While the user is attacking: Give that attack a power bonus of one (1). The effect conditions of the effects of the holder's abilities, which mention only one of "Sun", "Rain", "Sandstorm", or "Snow", are evaluated as if the mentioned weather were in play. The holder can't take HP damage from their own abilities.	A tool used to take detailed measurements the speed and direction of the winds. The holder has the abilities Ice Body, Rain Dish, Sand Force, and Solar Power in addition to their other abilities. (A Pokemon can't have more than one "copy" of an ability.)

This also makes the item a good choice for certain auto-Weather setters, such as Tyranitar or Aurorus, or for certain manual Weather users, such as Kingdra.

Lastly, this item allows you to take advantage of opposing weather as well, should the opportunity arise.

Punching Glove
As above, this item is being equipped with Penalty-Proof for #Punching moves.

"Using Punching moves" is a narrow enough restriction that we don't expect this to invalidate power penalties.

Concerningly, Headlong Rush is a #Punching move. If everyone's favorite bear can't leverage their Guts bonus, you might have to contend with them without your penalties in return. Remember to bring a Sticky Barb!

Old	New
A protective sports glove used for boxing and training. When the holder attacks with an action tagged #Punch: Give that attack a power bonus of two (2). Effects can't trigger as a result of the holder's attacks tagged #Punch making contact.	A protective sports glove used for boxing and training. When the holder attacks with an action tagged #Punch: Give that attack a power bonus of two (2), and give the user Penalty-Proof until they finish acting. Effects can't trigger as a result of the holder's attacks tagged #Punch making contact with a defender.

Lucky Egg
A limit is being placed on Lucky Egg's capabilities, when it comes to turning stat ranks "off". This will be the only itemization option for -Aid conditions.

With this change, not only is Lucky Egg beholden to the effects of Bonus-Proof and Penalty-Proof, but it can now be overwhelmed by extremely high offensive or defensive ranks — it's no longer a one-stop shop for removing stat ranks from the game. With that change made, it no longer really needs to destroy itself.

Old	New
A ovaloid charm said to bring the bearer great luck and good health. The holder's critical hit stage is increased by one (1). While the holder is attacking or is being attacked: The four core stat ranks of both the attacker and the defender are always at most 0. At the end of the round, except the round where this item was equipped: Destroy this item.	A ovaloid charm said to bring the bearer great luck and good health. The holder's critical hit stage is increased by one (1). The holder has Attack Aid and Defense Aid.

This item now exists to just give the holder Good Stats (tm). But don't forget: The -Aid keyword conditions have minimum values. Even on a very well-statted Pokemon, this item provides 5 maximum HP, a bonus of 1 and a penalty of 1 to respective attacks, and an extra increase to critical hit stage. That can be good value, too, in the right situation.

While many lower-statted Pokemon like Sableye will probably still cling to this item for dear life, this can also be used on more standard Pokemon to patch up a weaker defensive rank or as an emergency source of mixed attacking power. Are you emotionally prepared to take a Fire Blast from Lucky Egg Tyranitar?

Life Orb
A long time coming, BBP's worst "good" held item is getting a simple buff.

Life Orb's current description is littered with conditional statements and bandaids, accumulated in its over-a-decade of ASB and BBP service. Its "three in, three out" design hails from an era where the source material's percent attack boost determined an effect's flat power boost in ASB. Frankly, we decided it would be best served with a clean slate:

Old

New

A devilish orb that absorbs the life energy of its holder in exchange for power.

When the holder attacks: Give that attack a power bonus of three (3).

After executing an attack that has five or more BAP (5+), if that attack does not deal fixed damage, and it hit any Pokemon: The holder takes three (3) damage.

After executing an attack that has four or less BAP (4-), if that attack does not deal fixed damage, and it hit any Pokemon: The holder takes one (1) damage.

A devilish orb that absorbs the life energy of its holder in exchange for power.

When the holder attacks: Give that attack a power bonus of four (4).

When the holder hits an opponent with an attack, no more than once per attack: The holder takes two (2) damage.

We came to a simple decision about Life Orb: This item is for killing. Life Orb has several concessions in its current effects, made on the off chance that the user wants to do something besides laying into the opponent with powerful attacks. There was a reduction in self-damage for weaker moves, and from myself there was even a concession for fixed-damage attacks. This was believed to be necessary for players to consider Life Orb, but we've now decided that these attempts at minimizing the item's weakness were misguided.

You equip Life Orb to pay HP for power. You will be paying HP, and you will be getting power, whether you like it or not. The self-damage will no longer scale based on the type of attack: If you "waste" the bonus on a weaker attack, that's on you.

Shell Bell
We're in the middle of a crusade against fiddly, En-threshold-counting effects. This is currently the best item to equip in battles that are expected to run long... Because it's the best item overall. Time for a rework.

To start, I should say that we like how Shell Bell's power is back-loaded. That is, we like that the item's strength is in games that go long. This is both because it helps conclude matches, and because it rewards using utility moves and then attacking after — a play pattern we'd like to encourage.

We tried quite a lot of versions of this item: Round-counting effects, versions that accumulated counters, and other such nonsense. Eventually, once Adventure Rules were decided to be reworked (below), we didn't have to lock Shell Bell into our "late-game investment" space anymore. This freed it up to support a theme we've been wanting to support for quite a while!

Old

New

A handmade bell with a lovely maritime chime.

When the holder hits a defender with an attack: The user heals HP equal to one-tenth (x0.1) of the HP lost by the defender, to a maximum of four (4) HP.

While the holder is attacking: Raise the attack's power by one (1), plus one (1) more for every 20 Energy the holder is missing, rounded down.

A handmade bell with a lovely maritime chime. It echoes music from its surroundings.

After the user executes an action tagged #Sound, while this item has no Music markers: Place a Music marker on this item; then, place another if that action was not an attack.

When the user attacks with an attack not tagged #Sound, while this item has any Music markers: Apply the following effects in sequence.
● Remove a Music marker from this item.
● Give that attack a power bonus of four (4).
● The user heals 4 HP.

Did you know that Sheer Force prevented the current trigger to heal HP? I bet someone somewhere has reffed that wrong.

This version of Shell Bell is certainly less generic than before, but it's more broadly applicable than you might expect. Even simply gaining bonus damage and HP for using Roar or Parting Shot can be quite good. The item also strongly supports using Screech or Metal Sound, offering them even more damage.

The Good Choice Items
Choice Items have been tearing holes in opposing teams too freely as of late. These items are having their downside modernized for Gen 9.

When designing Generation 9, our guiding philosophy was pretty simple: "Let things be strong!"

And we did, mostly to positive reception. We've noticed, though, that certain items have been adding a great deal of damage to the game, a bit too freely. To weaken these items without weakening their upside, we're doubling down on their shounen-inspired flavor with this stupefying effect:

Old	New
A sentimental elastic band that reminds its holder to believe in themselves. The holder's Attack rank is increased by 50% (x1.5), rounded up. The holder's substitution count is reduced by two (2).	A sentimental elastic band that reminds its holder to believe in themselves. The holder's Attack rank is increased by 50% (x1.5), rounded up. The holder's substitution limit is reduced by 50% (x0.5), rounded up. Substitutions issued to the holder can't have more than one Clause per component. (The components are Timing, Trigger, and Result.)

Choice Specs mirror this change.

Choice Items are intended to be a declared choice for dumb, brute force. So dumb, brute force is what you will be getting! The new added Clause limit ensures only the most straightforward and linear attackers will opt for this item. Brute force does have a place in the game — that place simply shouldn't be "everywhere, always".

Besides, you didn't need that nerd shit, right? Oog strong, Oog smash, that all Oog need to know!

Choice Scarf
The bad Choice Item. Mirroring its cousins above, Choice Scarf is being modernized to provide something that players actually want.

Sometimes, you just wish you could have a few more substitutions to order into that pesky Gallade. Well, now those extra substitutions are just an equip away:

Old	New
A sentimental cloth scarf that reminds its holder to believe in themselves. The holder's Speed is increased by 50% (x1.5), rounded up. The holder's substitution count is reduced by one (1).	A sentimental cloth scarf that reminds its holder to believe in themselves. The holder's Speed and substitution limit are each doubled (x2). Substitutions issued to the holder can't have more than one Clause per component. (The components are Timing, Trigger, and Result.)

In exchange for complexity, you can now have both extra substitutions and the speed necessary to use them effectively. This item is best for Pokemon with a linear gameplan, and a deep well of tools to enforce that gameplan, such as Togekiss, Gengar, and... Gallade. Hmm.

In seriousness, we feel like an increase to substitution coverage — being able to spread your subs thinner to cover more threats — synergizes with the strengths of Speed as a stat. This makes it a natural fit for the de-facto Speed-increasing held item.

Razor Claw and Razor Fang
For our next member of the big three, we're tackling abilities that stack with certain items that, functionally, clone that ability. Gallade has been leveraging their perfectly-tailored Sharpness movepool, with what is essentially two copies of Sharpness, for a bit longer than we'd like.

These changes have knock-on effects for the other users of Sharpness and of Strong Jaw, so let's make sure they're properly supported first:

Ability User	Assessment
Kleavor	Can use Life Orb with Sheer Force. They'll be fine.
Veluza	Relied on Razor Claw. Will need help with Fillet Away, see Move Changes.
Sharpedo	Relies on Speed Boost pre-Mega, and can't hold Razor Fang post-Mega.
Tyrantrum	Relied on Razor Fang for coverage to back up their meager Recoil movepool.
Avalugg-Hisui	Only has... Ice Fang and Crunch for use with Strong Jaw. Why?
Boltund, Drednaw, Bruxish	They need a lot of help. A little beyond the scope of this work.

Alas, some other Pokemon will have to take this hit, for the team, to ease the tyranny of Razor Fang Sharpness Gallade. They can be lined up for other help later.

First, meet Razor Claw and Razor Fang:

Old	New
A razor-sharp claw that can be attached to a Pokemon. Any moves performed with this claw are sure to hurt. The holder's critical hit stage is increased by one (1). When the holder attacks with a "Cut", "Cross", "Claw", "Scissor", "Scratch", "Swipe", or "Slash" move, or an attack tagged #Slicing: Give that attack a power bonus of three (3).	A razor-sharp claw that can be attached to a Pokemon. Any moves performed with this claw are sure to hurt. The holder has Sharpness in addition to their other abilities. The holder's critical hit stage is increased by one (1).
A razor-sharp fang that can be attached to a Pokemon. Any moves performed with this fang are sure to hurt. The holder's critical hit stage is increased by one (1). When the holder attacks with a "Fang", "Crunch", "Razor", "Bite", "Blade", or "Sword" move, or an attack tagged #Jaw: Give that attack a power bonus of three (3).	A razor-sharp fang that can be attached to a Pokemon. Any moves performed with this fang are sure to hurt. The holder has Strong Jaw in addition to their other abilities. The holder's critical hit stage is increased by one (1).

Thanks to 5.3c "Abilities", Pokemon can't benefit from more than one Ability of the same name. So, this essentially denies this item to Gallade (and all of the collateral damage), henceforth. Consider those collateral-damage Pokemon in line for other, different buffs.

This does unbind Razor Fang from some moves that it used to benefit, such as Solar Blade or Sacred Sword... But there's already an item for those, so we're not to worried about that. The best #Slicing moves are stronger than the best #Jaw moves, but #Jaw moves are much more common than (the good) Slicing moves, so we're not terribly worried about that either. The entirety of our worry is about compensating the (popular) Pokemon impacted by this change.

Flame Orb and Toxic Orb
It's time to bring Guts attackers within reach of supportive Pokemon, ever. You know who this is about.

While Bonus-Proof in particular does a lot to help survive their attacks, it's hardly fair to status-reliant Pokemon that the very strongest attackers in BBP are just immune to their main contribution, with no extra effort on their part. With Substitute available to all such Pokemon for the purpose of blocking Major Status, we can safely make this change now.

Old	New
A red glass sphere that sears to the touch. At the end of each step: Inflict Burn on the holder. While the holder is Burned: The holder is unaffected by non-Burn major status.	A red glass sphere that sears to the touch. At the end of each step: Inflict Burn on the holder.

Toxic Orb mirrors this change to Flame Orb.

This set of changes should make Guts attackers less broadly ignorant of the Pokemon they're facing.

Ring Target
The item is being broadened to also ignore abilities and held items while the holder is using non-attack actions.

With this item in hand, the user can now Roar an Iron Ball or Heavy Metal Pokemon, Swords Dance safely in front of Oricorio, inflict status without Healer triggering, and more.

This change can be construed as a :gholdengo:

Gholdengo nerf, except that Gholdengo has an excellent typing and statline for winning no-ability matchups. Oh well.

Old	New
A wooden ring with a painted target on it. Opponents feel compelled to attack exactly the bullseye. While the holder is attacking or being attacked: The abilities and held items of the attacker and of the defender, except for Ring Target, are ignored. While tallying type effectiveness: The immunities of the attacker and of the defender are ignored.	A wooden ring with a painted target on it. Opponents feel compelled to attack exactly the bullseye. While the holder is acting or is the defender of an action: The abilities and held items of the attacker and of the defender, except for Ring Target, are ignored. While tallying type effectiveness: The immunities of the attacker and of the defender are ignored.

Rage Candy Bar
This item currently isn't seeing use due to its underwhelming bonus and overly-punishing downside. Time to give it a job.

This item existed in a weird space. In theory, it's for Pokemon who plan to steal items from opponents, wish to go itemless for Unburden or Acrobatics reasons, or want to outspeed an opponent but don't want to opt into Choice Scarf.

However, those first two niches are also met by every other consumable item in the game.

So, there's no real need for Rage Candy Bar to fill a burst-damage niche ( :normal gem:

gems), a defensive niche ( :chilan berry:

Resist berries), or an generic auto-consume niche ( :mental herb:

herb items).

Old

New

A snack bar packed with sugar. A single bite can send of Pokemon into a glucose-induced frenzy.

At the start of the round: The holder consumes this item.

On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until they leave play, with the following effect:
● The subject's four core stat ranks are increased by one (1), and their Speed is increased by 50% (x1.5).
● At the start of the round, except the round that this condition was created: Inflict Flinching on the subject, then the subject loses 20 Energy, then discard this condition.

A snack bar packed with sugar. A single bite can send of Pokemon into a glucose-induced frenzy.

At the start of the round: The holder consumes this item.

On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect:
● The holder's Speed and Energy costs are each doubled (x2).

This is still a low-impact item, compared to persistent sources of Speed such as :choice scarf:

Choice Scarf. If players find it useful for sniping a crucial revenge KO, stealing opposing items quickly, or for setting up with their lead, then this change will have found its mark.

Also, this item is now very very good on Truant users. You should definitely equip this item to your Hustle Truant :durant:

Durant.

Berserk Gene
Doubling the potency of stat changes made this item egregious. With the item being consumable, the short duration is a negligible downside.

This straightforward nerf is to bring this item back in line with its Generation VIII power level.

Increasing the duration backloads the item's damage, making it less attractive to switch immediately after the first round.

Old	New
An aerosol used in experiments performed on an aggressive subject. When the holder is sent out, unless ordered not to by their trainer: The holder consumes this item. On consume: Inflicts Confusion on the consumer. Raises the user's Attack and Special Attack by two (2) stages for their next three (3) turns, discarding any current duration.	An aerosol used in experiments performed on an aggressive subject. When the holder is sent out, unless ordered not to by their trainer: The holder consumes this item. On consume: Inflict Confusion on the consumer. Raise the user's Attack and Special Attack by one (1) stage for their next five (5) turns, discarding any current duration.

Mental Herb
Quick inclusion of Infatuation, so that it has a countermeasure available if one is ever needed.

Not much else to say here.

Old	New
A very bitter leaf. A Pokemon can bite into it to be brought back to its senses. At the start of the round: The holder consumes this item. On consume: Grant the holder a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The holder is unaffected by Encore, by Sealed, and by Taunt.	A very bitter leaf. A Pokemon can bite into it to be brought back to its senses. At the start of the round: The holder consumes this item. On consume: Grant the holder a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect: ● The holder is unaffected by Encore, by Sealed, by Infatuation, and by Taunt.

Sticky Barb
Now that consumables are playable, Sticky Barb has sufficient counterplay. It's allowed to be strong again.

What used to be the strongest held item in BBP has fallen by the wayside with the advent of the Backpack.

In grand Sticky Barb tradition, the trigger for the effect to disarm the defender has ended up rather convoluted, in order to ensure it's one of the final triggers involved in attacks. So it goes.

Old

New

A menacing metal sphere covered in hooked barbs.

When the holder attacks with a contact attack: Give that attack a power bonus of two (2).

After the holder executes a contact attack, if the holder last received this item from their trainer: The first target drops all of their held items, then the holder transfers this item to that target.

At the end of the step: The holder takes two (2) damage.

At the end of the round: The holder drops this item.

A menacing metal sphere covered in hooked barbs. It can cause injuries that make it difficult to hold items.

When the holder completes an attack, if the holder made contact with any defenders: Destroy this item. Then, if this item was destroyed, create a unique status named "Barbs" on the first defender the holder made contact with until they leave play, with the following effects:
● The subject can't hold items, except immutable items.
● At the end of the step: The subject takes two (2) damage.

Zoom Lens
We can't make very large battles without putting a cap on this, I'm afraid.

This item is getting a simple maximum limit on Zoom markers.

Old

New

An optical device that allows the wearer to see more precisely. It takes some time to adjust.

At the end of each Pokemon's turn: Put a Zoom marker on this item until the end of the step.

The holder's Accuracy stage and critical hit stage are each increased by the number of Zoom markers on this item.

When the holder attacks: Give that attack a power bonus, equal to the number of Zoom markers on this item.

An optical device that allows the wearer to see more precisely. It takes some time to adjust.

At the end of each Pokemon's turn: Put a Zoom marker on this item until the end of the step, to a maximum of four (4).

The holder's Accuracy stage and critical hit stage are each increased by the number of Zoom markers on this item.

When the holder attacks: Give that attack a power bonus, equal to the number of Zoom markers on this item.

This item is likely to remain one of the go-to items for settings like the Raid Frontier.

Metronome
This item will now offer a bonus for maintaing a specific rhythm between attacks and non-attacks.

Metronome's design in-game, to reward Pokemon for using the same move repeatedly, transfers poorly to BBP. In order for an item like Metronome to push through the gauntlet of substitutions and other counterplay, it would have to offer an egregious boost in power.

Old	New
A small metronome that ticks a soft rhythm without missing a beat. When the holder attacks with a move: Give that attack a power bonus, equal to one (1) plus the number of times the holder has previously executed that move, since the start of the previous round.	A small metronome that ticks a soft rhythm without missing a beat. When the holder completes attack: Remove all Beat markers from this item. When the holder completes a non-attack action: Place a Beat marker on this item. While this item has a Beat marker on it: The holder has Sniper in addition to their other abilities, and their critical hit stage is increased by three (3).

Rather than preserve that identity, we've reworked Metronome by starting with its flavor as a beat-keeping aid. This version of Metronome offers the holder large spikes in damage as long as they can keep playing the item's minigame.

Light Clay
This item isn't expected to be satisfying or very useful, even with the combination-restricting effect removed. Thus, it is being wholly reworked.

We spent a lot of time adjusting the numbers on Reflect and Light Screen to be hostile to middle of the pack, meta-staple users like Gallade and Dragonite. Allowing these effects to have their durations doubled with no drawback is likely to either be overbearing or see no use — we don't anticipate such an effect contributing to the metagame in any sort of healthy way.

This rework is meant to be a payoff for investing in Screens as a strategy. By using setters with high defenses, Ghost- or Dark-type Pokemon to protect their screens, and matching screen choices to opposing threats; players can maximize the value gained from using this new Light Clay.

Old

New

A lump of soft and translucent clay that refracts light based on its shape.

The holder can't attempt combinations.

If the holder would create a Screen field condition; instead, the holder creates that field condition with its duration doubled (x2).

A lump of soft and translucent clay that refracts light based on its shape.

Screens created by the holder have one of the following additional effects, depending on the Screen:
● Reflect: Members of the affected team have Rough Skin, in addition to their other abilities.
● Light Screen: Members of the affected team have Anticipation, in addition to their other abilities.
● Aurora Veil: Members of the affected team have Ice Body, in addition to their other abilities.
● Other Screens: Members of the affected team have their Defense and Special Defense ranks increased by one (1).

If this item doesn't show up in backpacks (or shows up in every backpack), expect it to take a return trip to the patch notes.

Adventure Rules
A pretty terrible item that is being re-spun to help the holder survive and even gain advantage from a wider array of battle situations.

The new effects of this item were originally intended for Shell Bell, to preserve that item's current place as a late-game, scaling option that was in the player's control. The idea of a checklist of tasks, that improves the item when met, remains. The task were originally #Sound and timing-related, but it proved to be too cumbersome. By swapping that design space with Adventure Rules, we can achieve that design in a more straightforward way.

We're also adding on an effect that's specific to Safari, just for fun. This new version of the item is inspired by scout badges:

Old

New

An instruction manual full of exploration tips and battle strategies.

Whenever one or more of the holder's stat stages are lowered: Put a Survival marker on the holder until the battle ends.
(One marker even if that effect lowers multiple stages, or lowers the stages by more than one.)

Whenever a Major or Minor status is inflicted on the holder: Put a Survival marker on the holder until the battle ends.

Raise the power of the holder's attacks by one (1) for each Survival marker they have.

An instruction manual full of exploration tips and battle strategies.

When each of the following occurs, if this item doesn't have the corresponding Sticker marker: Put a Sticker marker noting that number on this item.
1. When one or more of the holder's stat stages are lowered.
2. When a Major Status is inflicted on the holder.
3. When the holder's HP falls from 50% or above, to below.
4. When the holder's Energy falls from 50% or above, to below.
5. When the holder leaves play.
6. When the holder's trainer captures a Pokemon that shares a type with the holder.

When the holder attacks: Give that attack a power bonus, equal to the number of Sticker markers on this item.

Meanwhile, Shell Bell will adopt Adventure Rules' old place as an item designed to support Pokemon who possess certain kinds of moves. In this case, #Sound moves.

The themes that Adventure Rules originally supported, being self-status and self-stage reduction... Don't really need support. The moves that do these things are already quite good, and the latter have Eject Pack as a fantastic support piece anyway.

Power Anklet
Unlike its more successful cousin, the Power Weight, this item lacks a clear metagame niche and mainly exists to support exactly Speed Boost.

With Speed Boost receiving some love some patches ago, this item no longer needs to serve as "the entire point of having Speed Boost". Right now, It's threatening to push Speed Boost over the line in terms of power, while also being almost useless outside of that exact ability's users. Furthermore, there's no need for Power Anklet to support Evasion now that other pieces of Evasion support have been tuned up.

Like its four other "main stat" cousins, Anklet will receive this adjustment to increase the breadth and interest of its application.

Old	New
A weighty anklet for training the holder's agility. While the holder's Speed stage is positive: Raise the power of the holder's attacks by their positive Speed stage. While the holder's Accuracy stage is positive: The user's critical hit stage is treated as being two (2) higher. While the holder's Evasion stage is positive: The user's stat stages can't be lowered by opponents' effects.	A weighty anklet for training the holder's agility. The holder's maximum Speed stage is halved (x0.5). This item gains the following effects, based on the holder's Speed stage: 1+: The holder has Mixed Aid. 2+: The holder's accuracy checks are Lucky. 3+: Accuracy checks against the user, with less than 100% chance of success, automatically fail.

Four Core Power Items
Much like their Speed-supporting cousin above, these items are being largely revised now that Stages are powerful and worthwhile on their own.

While there's nothing terribly wrong with these four items as they are, they are variously outclassed as strict damage items depending on their application. Pokemon with the ability to powerfully set up, such as Tail Glow or Belly Drum users, would rather have their item ease set-up. Power Items are needless and "win-more" in comparison.

The stage changes that Power Items support already provide damage or tankiness, as needed. These changes are intended to bring interest to these items, carving them a niche besides simply dealing more damage or taking less.

Power Item	Old	New
Power Band	A thick contraining band for training the holder's concentration. While the holder is attacking with a super-effective attack: Raise that attack's power by two (2), plus the holder's Special Defense stage if it is positive. While the holder's Special Defense stage is positive: If the holder would take two or more (2+) residual damage, instead the holder takes one (1) damage.	A thick contraining band for training the holder's concentration. The holder's maximum Special Defense stage is halved (x0.5). This item gains the following effects, based on the holder's Special Defense stage: 1+: The holder has HP Aid. 2+: While no Pokemon is acting: The abilities of Pokemon other than the holder are ignored. 3+: The holder has Magic Guard, in addition to their other abilities.
Power Belt	A stout belt for training the holder's toughness. While the holder is attacking with an attack that they share a type with: Raise that attack's power by two (2), plus the user's Defense stage if it is positive When another Pokemon makes contact with the holder, while the holder's Defense stage is positive: The attacker takes two (2) damage.	A stout belt for training the holder's toughness. The holder's maximum Defense stage is halved (x0.5). This item gains the following effects, based on the holder's Defense stage: 1+: The holder has Bonus-Proof. 2+: When the holder is hit by an attack: The attacker takes damage, equal to twice (x2) the holder's Defense stage. 3+: This item also has the effect text of each of the holder's Abilities. (References to a "user" in those effects refer to the holder.)
Power Bracer	A heavy bracer for training the holder's physique. While the holder is attacking with an attack that they share a type with: Add two (2) damage to the attack, plus the user's Attack stage if it is positive While the holder's Attack stage is positive: Raise the accuracy of the user's attacks by 10%.	A heavy bracer for training the holder's physique. The holder's maximum Attack stage is halved (x0.5). This item gains the following effects, based on the holder's Attack stage: 1+: The holder's accuracy checks are Lucky. 2+: While the holder is attacking: The type immunities of other Pokemon are ignored. 3+: The holder has Rivalry in addition to their other abilities.
Power Lens	A thick set of lenses for training the holder's senses. While the holder is attacking with a super-effective attack: Add two (2) damage to the attack, plus the holder's Special Attack stage if it is positive. While the holder's Special Attack stage is positive: The holder gains a bonus substitution.	A thick set of lenses for training the holder's senses. The holder's maximum Special Attack stage is halved (x0.5). This item gains the following effects, based on the holder's Special Attack stage: 1+: The holder's effect checks are Lucky. 2+: Opponents are Silenced. 3+: The holder has Neuroforce in addition to their other abilities.

Minor Item Update(s)

Stardust is now named Fairy Feather.

Playable Content
What, you didn't think you were just getting system changes, did you?

The Raid Frontier

Expect to see two new Pinnacle Raids — "The Fundamental Elemental Procession!" and "The Clashing Cataclysmic Colossi!", with a third on the way not long after.

These offer some long-awaited rewards that should entice players new and old!

The Safari Zone

Our first task with the first year will be to get this facility open. It was meant for this update, if you'd believe it, but I allowed other work to sweep it away. Here's a list of what we plan to change:

We'll be squishing down the Fatigue ranges of Balls, and lowering the minimum EP of wild Pokemon to 1/10th (from 1/4th).
Certain Assists, especially Volatile Captures, will be fixed up to be less detrimental to the explorer. (The lower bound of affected rolls will be 3, rather than 1, just as a start.)
The shops will be revised to better provide what players actually need in a trek, including new Safari-specific items.
Safari will launch with a Pinnacle Habitat — it's already written, in fact!

The facility will launch with this changelist implemented. We're confident that the facility is otherwise ready for business, thanks to everyone's testing efforts!

Players may continue or conclude their test runs, as they prefer, once the facility opens.

This concludes BBP's second-largest-ever update.

I'm very grateful to all of our new, veteran, and former players for enjoying this game with us, and we hope you find future years of BBP as enjoyable as this one, or more!

LouisCyphre · Jan 24, 2024

Post-Patch Follow Up
Thanks to everyone who threw themselves unto the breach for January Circuit, as our willing guinea pigs. Within, we have some swings at the biggest outliers post-patch. I hope getting these up relatively earlier means that players can better prepare for February Circuit and beyond!

The pace of patching can now slow, following this post, so we can focus back on content ~~and CAP Data pages. Ufghhyyhh.~~

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, except for in competitive matches and seasonal events.

Minor Adjustment Round-Up
We haven't done one of these since... October 3rd! There has to be a way to automate this...

Lou — 10/04/2023 8:14 PM

10.7b Result Affixes

The following Result Clause affixes are now legal:

"if it is step N" — The affixed Result Clause will be ignored, except during the specified step.

"if it is another step" — The affixed Result Clause will be ignored during steps mentioned on another Result Clause's affix in the same substitution. (Writings similar to "on later/prior steps" are understood to be this affix.)

"otherwise" — The affixed Result Clause will be ignored during instances or steps mentioned on another Result Clause's affix in the same substitution. This affix is only legal if another affix mentions an instance or a step. (Result Clauses using "else" are understood to be modified with this affix.)

In addition, if all of the results in your sub are being ignored, it can't trigger. This is so it can't be used to block later substitutions from triggering. If you want that behavior, use the "ignore X substitution" result clause.

This means you can now write subs such as these:

IF move THEN do x on step 3, or do y otherwise

IF move THEN do x on first instance, or do y otherwise

IF move THEN do x on step 2, or y on first instance, or z otherwise

(If the last sub is first triggered on step 2, your order is replaced with x, then replaced with y. simply follow each result clause in sequence.)

Lou — 10/05/2023 12:38 AM

10.6f Special Substitution Triggers

The following correction and clarification has been applied to this rule:

To write a substitution with an empty trigger component, you must indicate that the trigger component is empty. Phrasings such as "IF you are able" or "IF possible" are acceptable ways to issue such a substitution. Unlike with the timing component, simply writing no trigger component at all renders the substitution illegal.

Example: A substitution using a True Clause may read, "At the start of your turn, if possible, use Phantom Force." The same substitution may also be written, "At the start of your turn, if you are able, use Phantom Force."

It may not legally be written, "At the start of your turn, use Phantom Force."

Lou — 10/05/2023 1:47 AM

Substitute

Added the restriction "If the user has a Decoy, this move can't be attempted" to the other restriction text.

Now, you can safely sub "IF Thunder Wave THEN Substitute" without having to specify "and you have no Decoy".

Lou — 10/05/2023 7:55 PM

G-Max Moves

G-Max Moves don't use a source move, so they have to determine their "??" Category some other way. Now, they adapt their Category to the user's Attack and Special Attack ranks, much like Tera Blast does.

Regular Max Moves still use a source move. (e.g. you order "Max Ice Beam" for them.)

Lou — 10/06/2023 10:13 AM

Encore

The unique status now specifies that, when it alters the subject's current order, it also removes the targets. This is a clarification of the current behavior.

Lou — 10/06/2023 7:39 PM

Raid Frontier

The Raid Frontier (and thus events based on it) now has a DQ of 48 hours / 72 hours for Refs, rather than it being missing.

Lou — 10/08/2023 12:12 PM

HP-Recovery Move (Action Group)

Added Rest.

Lou — 10/09/2023 10:37 AM

Boasts

The first wave of Boast adjustments have come and gone!

Changes:

Greater Numbers -> Now Realgam-specific.

Greatest Numbers -> Now Realgam-specific.

Poorly Organized -> Raised to 2 Bravado (from 1).

Monotype Team -> Removed entirely.

Multitype Team -> Removed entirely.

New Boasts:

Added.

New One-Time Boast Reward:

Added.

Lou — 10/13/2023 2:59 AM

4.2 Terms for Groups of Pokemon

Formerly "Active, Benched, Reserve, and Inactive".

Added the following definitions:

Pokemon can refer to other Pokemon, or groups of other Pokemon, using terms based on their team status:

A teammate is another member of the reference Pokemon's team.

An ally is either a teammate, or a member of a team that is allied with the reference Pokemon's team.

An opponent is a member of a team that is not allied with the reference Pokemon's team.

When an action's effect uses these terms, it is assumed that the action's user is the reference Pokemon, unless stated otherwise.

The DAT has been thoroughly scrubbed to update each reference to "allies" and similar, to the correct configuration of "user and each ally", "user and each active teammate", "each benched teammate", "each inactive ally", and so on.

The Handbook has not yet, nor has any Facility. That's a later-Lou problem.

Lou — 10/16/2023 1:18 AM

1.2 Numbers

This rule takes the place of "Data Audit Tables", which is moving to 1.6.

The rules within define "base" and "final", lay down rules for rounding and which values should be rounded, and a reminder as to the fundamental order of math operations. Now you can tell your teachers that BBP is educational!

If you can think of values that should always be integers, that aren't in the integer list, sound off in the usual places!

Lou — 10/16/2023 2:47 AM

1.5 Randomization

Rules for rolling different kinds of dice (high low or low roll) are added, as well as for rolling "success/failure" rolls (like Accuracy) and random result rolls (like Arm Thrust hit count).

Rules for rolling Lucky and Unlucky rolls are also in here now.

Lou — 10/20/2023 1:14 PM

False Swipe and Hold Back

These moves now only disallow the defender from Fainting if they're used on their own (combos using these moves can reduce HP to zero.)

These moves now reference "minimum HP plus one" as their lower bound, for situations where that's relevant. (:badperson:)

They also now reference "EP", for Safari reasons.

Lou — 10/21/2023 3:40 AM

Sleep Talk

Now attemptable whether the user is Asleep or not. The effect of the move now only calls a move if the user is Asleep.

This change is so that you don't have to be asleep to receive Sleep Talk from your main orders. (We expected people to sub "IF Asleep THEN Sleep Talk [move], but that didn't end up intuitive.)

Lou — 10/21/2023 9:20 PM

Conditions and Markers

Clarifying that they have to say that they "persist after leaving play" in order to exist on Pokemon not in play.

The absence of "until they leave play" does not make them persist after leaving play. This text is for clarity when a condition or marker has no other duration.

Amended 2.9 "Post-Event Checklist", step 5, to reflect this in addition to cleaning up stranded conditions or markers:

If a Condition or Marker is on a Pokemon who is not in play, and it doesn't state that it persists after leaving play: It ceases to exist.

Amended 2.5b, 2.5f in the Switching procedure to remind people of this.

You will shortly be seeing these changes reflected in the DAT, on mentions of conditions being created or markers being placed. (But I really do need to go to work first.)

Mowtom — 10/24/2023 10:30 AM

Casual Reffing

This nonsense has been expelled from staked and competitive matches, and clarified for unstaked all battles

Lou — 10/25/2023 12:50 PM

Cloud Nine

Removed all references to Cloudy, as they were causing confusion among players. Also, massaged the text to allow C9 users to use the weather moves they know "for real".

New text:

The effects of Weather, except those created by the user, are ignored.

The effects of moves, of items, of and abilities that mention "Weather" in their conditions, except for those of the user, are ignored.

Air Lock mirrors this change (soon)

Damp

The second effect has been rephrased and made slightly less strict.

While the Weather is Rain, or while an active Pokemon has Air Lock or Cloud Nine: [effect text]

While this improves the ability, Pokemon with these abilites that can act as partners are quite rare, and we don't expect this change to take the metagame by storm.

It'll only impact your matches when someone blows you up with it once, out of nowhere.

Lou — 10/29/2023 11:26 PM

Healer

Now removes only "other statuses" from the Pokemon that just received a starus.

Lou — 10/30/2023 3:46 PM

Wonder Skin

Now specifies opponents' actions.

Mowtom — 11/02/2023 11:27 AM

Wynaut and Wobbuffet

Have received the Blipbug treatment

(i.e., they now have Counter and Mirror Coat as signature moves, so they are not moveless at level 0)

Mowtom — 11/12/2023 2:09 PM

Flame Burst

Now deals 6 damage to each other Pokemon on the defender's team on hit, without reference to "adjacency" or "residual" damage

Mowtom — 11/15/2023 5:31 PM

Wormadam-Plant

Is no longer listed as Wormadam-Grassy

Mowtom — 11/20/2023 2:34 PM

Toedscool and Toedscruel

Are now correctly Ground/Grass

Mowtom — 11/27/2023 7:45 AM

Calyrex-Ice and Calyrex-Shadow

Now have their correct heights and weights. I see no reason you should draw any conclusions from this

Mowtom — 12/01/2023 8:34 PM

Booster Energy

Has been moved to the exclusive held items section of the DAT

Mowtom — 12/04/2023 11:20 AM

Cosmog and Cosmoem

Have also recieved the Blipbug treatment, with Splash as their new signature move. Following precedent where Dottler and Orbeetle do not have Struggle Bug as a signature move, Solgaleo and Lunala remain unchanged.

Shadow Shield and Destiny Bond

No longer refer to "direct damage". I am fairly certain that this is a clarification and not a change.

Mowtom — 12/04/2023 5:31 PM

Aurora Veil

Now specifies that it can't execute if the weather is not Snow, as opposed to simply "failing"

Mowtom — 12/07/2023 8:03 AM

The Conquering Northern King

Now has significantly less HP

Lou — 12/28/2023 1:38 AM

Smeargle, Necturine, Necturna

The trainer store in the Prize Claim tower now correctly lists prices for teaching these Pokemon new moves from your own profile; as if they were Leveling Up.

Lou — 12/28/2023 3:56 PM

Tournament Forum Tag

Renamed to "Competitive". Since the color and size are about the same, this shouldn't trip people up much, I hope.

Lou — 12/28/2023 4:50 PM

Spore-verlord

Amoongus and Brute Bonnet are now separate Pokemon, allowing progress to work properly.

Lou — 12/30/2023 7:35 PM

1.1e The "At Most" Rule

Has been moved to 1.2 "Clamping". It now clarifies that minimums and maximums "apply" after any effects that replace a number. (Such as by saying a number is "always n")

Lou — 12/31/2023 5:45 AM

Lucky Egg

You can't have the HP Aid. This should stop players and mods and mascots from having any further complaints about this item for a while. The messages can stop

Lou — 01/04/2024 12:43 AM

Ingrain

This move had the early Gen 9 template for trapping effects still. The unique status now states, in part:

● The subject is Trapped.

● The subject is unaffected by Phazing.

Lou — 01/04/2024 1:42 AM

Stakeout

Added the following effect:

At the start of the first round (if the user is in play): Put a Predation marker on each opponent until the end of the next round.

This is redundant with the effect that triggers "When a opponent enters play, except to replace a fainted Pokemon"...

...When the user is sent out second. This added effect ensures that the ability works even when the user is sent out first.

Lou — 01/04/2024 4:45 AM

burning bulwark's priority should be +4

Mowtom — 01/06/2024 10:05 AM

Hard Press and Wring Out

Wring Out now caps at 20 BAP. Hard Press now caps at 15 BAP and scales by 1/5 rather than 1/4 of remaining HP, the latter matching Wring Out. Crush Grip is unchanged because legend privilege.

Mowtom — 01/06/2024 1:59 PM

Professor Kukui

Has been updated to new Z-Moves. I usually won't minor announce when I update a sim, but this one is large enough I don't want anyone taken by surprise.

Mowtom — 01/08/2024 10:54 AM

Multiscale

Stop accidentally wording things to beat Mold Breaker challenge (impossible)

Mowtom — 01/08/2024 2:10 PM

Wicked Blow and Surging Strikes

Are now #Punch moves to match the cartridge

(and Rage Fist as well)

Mowtom — 01/09/2024 5:40 PM

Hard Press (Again)

Huh, turns out this maxes at 100 base power in the cartridge game

Mowtom — 01/10/2024 2:32 PM

Triage

No longer mentions Z-Effects

Mowtom — 01/13/2024 7:45 AM

KO Clause

The definition now reads

A State Clause that checks a single specified Pokemon, who was not Fainted at the start of the round, for the Fainting condition is said to be a "KO Clause".

Thank you all for not using the effectively free "if able" sub this used to be

Mowtom — 01/16/2024 5:19 PM

Chilly Reception

Is now part of the self-switching move action group

Mowtom — 01/22/2024 8:45 AM

Uproar and Twin Beam

Are both a little more expensive

Mowtom — 01/22/2024 12:03 PM

Psych Up

No longer has objectively hilarious behavior

( Lou note: See 7.1 change below )

Lou — 01/22/2024 6:12 PM

7.1 Duration

Now additionally states the following:

When a Pokemon gains a condition or other change, with a duration that would be measured in another Pokemon's turns (such as if a condition is transferred or copied); instead, that duration is now measured in the recipient's turns.

Lou — Today at 5:09 PM

Swagger

Added this QoL effect:

While the defender is an ally of the user: The accuracy check of this move automatically succeeds.

Backpack Expansion
We're responding to player feedback that the current Backpack system is great, but restrictive. Increasing slots should allow niche items to get their day in the sun.

Backpack slots have centralized around "negation" items, like :ring target:

Ring Target and :sticky barb:

Sticky Barb, intended to answer possible nonsense opponents may be up to. This is all well and good, but there's a lot of possible nonsense—meaning many slots are devoted to these items, leaving just a few for the trainer's own team. Those remaining slots mostly center on :life orb:

Life Orb and other generic damage items, choking out Pokemon with strong item synergy like Silvally or Slowbro-Galar.

We're increasing the default Backpack Size to thrice the team size, plus one (3 * Team Size + 1), up from twice plus one.

This should give people more leeway to try different kinds of items, or at least try to try them.

February Circuit has its own Backpack rules, and isn't affected by this change.

On negation items: It's important that they exist as release valves to troublesome strategies, but we get that players are frustrated when their Pokemon is "turned off" by an item equip. We hope that recent item work has made that equip more of a cost—with a lot of great items out there, equipping a negation item instead should feel expensive.

Attack Aid and Defense Aid
Lightly nerfing these conditions to keep Unburden Pokemon from obsoleting stats, and to keep people from just jamming Lucky Egg everywhere, all the time.

Other than the mentioned cases above, these conditions seem to be doing mostly what they're intended to do. But when a Pokemon is able to access both conditions too freely, they combine to offer quite a lot of free stats—even in stats where the user excels, such as Sneasler's Attack.

Old	New
Attack Aid (Condition) The Pokemon is able to better overcome the defenses of opponents, to an extent. When the subject attacks a defender: Give that attack a power bonus, equal to the defender's relevant Defense rank, minus the subject's relevant Attack rank, with a minimum of one (1) and a maximum of four (4). (The relevant stats are the stats the attack uses for damage calculation.)	Attack Aid (Condition) The Pokemon is able to better overcome the defenses of opponents, to an extent. When the subject attacks a defender: Give that attack a Power Bonus, equal to the defender's relevant Defense rank, minus the subject's relevant Attack rank, with a minimum of zero (0) and a maximum of three (3). (The relevant stats are the stats the attack uses for damage calculation.)

Defense Aid mirrors this change.

Dread, Pressure, and Spite
I'd like to clean these up a bit, now that their impact is clearer. They currently aren't quite interactive enough for my liking.

We're trying these three game pieces together more explicitly, so they can reference one another and be referenced more easily.

First, Dread. The Energy-draining effect from Pressure will be moved here, and the rank reduction will be softened to what we're nicknaming "Enemy Aid":

Old	New
Dread (Condition) The Pokemon is struck with an acute, perhaps unnatural, fear. The subject's four core stat ranks are reduced by half (x0.5).	Dread (Condition) The Pokemon is struck with an acute, perhaps unnatural, fear. Energy costs for the subject's actions are increased by the current round count or by five (5), whichever is lesser. While the subject is attacking: The defender has Defense Aid. While the subject is being attacked: The attacker has Attack Aid.

Then, Pressure and Spite. Pressure is re-gaining its old and simpler Energy Drain effect. Pressure now also exudes Dread in the last opponent standing.

Spite now inflicts Dread instead of attacking Energy directly, but does so poorly until the match goes long.

Old

New

Pressure (Ability)
The Pokemon's mere presence inspires a sense of dread in anyone opposing them.

Opponents' actions that cost Energy cost an additional amount Energy, equal to the current round count.

When the user enters play: Inflict Dread on each opponent until the end of the step.

When an opponent enters play: Infict Dread on that opponent until the end of the step.

If the user is Deoxys: The user has a condition based on their Forme:
● Default: Hovering.
● Attack: Penalty-Proof.
● Defense: Bonus-Proof.
● Speed: Attack Aid.

Pressure (Ability)
The Pokemon's mere presence inspires a sense of dread in anyone opposing them.

Opponents' attacks cost an additional two (2) Energy.

Opponents who have inactive teammates, and whose inactive teammates are all either unselected or Fainted, have Dread.

If the user is Deoxys: The user has a condition based on their Forme:
● Default: Hovering.
● Attack: Penalty-Proof.
● Defense: Bonus-Proof.
● Speed: Attack Aid.

Spite (Move)
The user curses their target with a wicked hex.

Reduce the defender's Energy by twice (x2) the current round count.

Spite (Move)
The user curses their target with a wicked and terrifying hex.

Inflict Dread on the defender for an amount of their turns, equal to half of the current round count or six (6), whichever is lesser.

Eerie Spell mirrors this change to Spite, except that it inflicts Dread on-hit.

Levitate and Smack Down
stop that and play the game dammit

With no way for the opponent to interact, Levitate was able to last indefinitely. In this way, it could completely wall opponents who equipped the wrong items or had the wrong abilities.

Now, while the opponent can still only forcibly end Distant with grounding, they can at least bunker down to survive the round and then attack normally after.

The Evasive granted is now also named "Distant", so that Levitate Pokemon can use Evasive Attacks properly with no weirdness.

Old

New

Levitate (Ability
The Pokemon naturally floats above the ground, approaching the battle only when they're ready.

The user has Hovering.

At the beginning of the battle, if the user's only ability is Levitate, grant the user a unique status called "Distant", until they attack, leave play, or become Grounded. (With no effects of its own.)

While the user is Distant: The user has Evasive against attacks with power bonuses.

Levitate (Ability)
The Pokemon naturally floats above the ground, approaching the battle only when they're ready.

The user has Hovering.

While it is the user's first round in play in this battle, and the user's only original ability is Levitate, and the user hasn't attacked or become Grounded:
The user has Evasive against attacks with Power Bonuses, also named "Distant".

Smack Down is gaining text to bypass this Evasive, specifically to hunt this ability.

Old	New
Smack Down (Move) The user spits or throws a small rock at their target. It is very precise and can knock down flying targets. While attacking with this move: Evasive status on the defender, that was created by Bounce or by Fly, is ignored. On hit: Inflict Grounded on the defender.	Smack Down (Move) The user spits or throws a small rock at their target. It is very precise and can knock down flying targets. While attacking with this move: Evasive status on the defender, that was created by Bounce, by Fly, or by Levitate, is ignored. On hit: Inflict Grounded on the defender.

Harvest and Gluttony
Harvest is being touched up to better incentivize use with Sun. Gluttony's rework largely missed the mark, and is being adjusted again.

Harvest currently encourages the trainer to bring exactly three Berries, and to not bother with Sun at all. This isn't preferred, so we're making the restriction more strict and the payoff more explosive.

The effect to restore all Berries is double-edged: It's a large gain in item resources, to be sure. It also acts against strategies that would wait until a "preferred" Berry or set of Berries remains in the Backpack before setting Sun, to loop effects such as the Type-Immunity Berries.

Old

New

Harvest (Ability)
The Pokemon is brimming with nutrition that allows berry plants to thrive on them.

This ability starts the battle with a Vernal marker on it if the user's trainer has three or more Berries with different names in their Backpack.

At the end of each step, the Weather is Sun or if this ability has a Vernal marker: Equip the user with a random Berry from their trainer's Backpack with a different name. (If there are any.)

Harvest (Ability)
The Pokemon is brimming with nutrition that allows berry plants to thrive on them.

This ability starts the battle with a Vernal marker on it if more than half of the items in the user's trainer's Backpack are Berries with different names.

At the start of each step, if the Weather is Sun OR if this ability has a Vernal marker: Equip the user with a random Berry from their trainer's Backpack.

When the user consumes a Berry, while the Weather is Sun AND this ability has a Vernal marker: Restore all of the user's trainer's Berries to the owner's Backpack.

Gluttony, meanwhile, mostly is a do-nothing ability given that most Berries are consumed at round start these days. We're finding it a different function as a source of temporary bonus HP once you've sated your glutton's hunger.

It will keep the consuming effect, to keep its synergy with Stat-Increasing or Type-Immunity Berries.

Learning from the HP Aid vs. Ring Target debacle, we're using Overhealing for bonus "max" HP, instead of actually messing with max HP.

Old	New
Gluttony (Ability) The Pokemon has a ravenous appetite and simply can't wait to eat any food at all. When a Berry is equipped to the user: The user consumes that Berry.	Gluttony (Ability) The Pokemon has a ravenous appetite and simply can't wait to eat any food at all. When the user consumes a Berry for the first time each battle: The user heals 10 HP. This healing can overheal. When a Berry is equipped to the user: The user consumes that Berry.

Further Berry Work
Giving more oomph to more underloved Berries. This time, the "stat-setting Berries" are up for revision.

These Berries have been completely obsoleted by Attack Aid and Defense Aid, but that's fine. No one was really using them before, anyway!

Now, they have a clearly defined purpose that should excite all of our Berry fanatics.

New

Old

Kelpsy Berry (Item)
This Berry is often dried and added to a dish that way. It adds plenty of flavor.

At the start of the round: The holder consumes this item.

On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status until the end of the round, with the following effect:
● The subject's Attack rank is at least 8.

Kelpsy Berry (Item)
This Berry is often dried and added to a dish that way. It adds plenty of flavor.

At the start of the round: The holder consumes this item.

On consume: Grant the consumer a unique status with the following effects:
● While this condition was created this round: The subject's Attack rank is at least 11.
● While this condition was not created this round: The subject's Attack rank is at most 0.

Qualot Berry, :hondew berry:

Hondew Berry, and :grepa berry:

Grepa Berry mirror this change.

:tamato berry:

Tamato Berry mirrors this change with Speed, except that it initially clamps Speed to at least 120.

Gems
These need a shot in the arm to reclaim their old place as the go-to damage consumables under the current Backpack rules.

These items are highly specific and windowed in their application: They require you to commit to a specific type of attack ahead of time in teambuilding, and they also are the easiest damage items to waste if used carelessly.

As the most restrictive damage items in the game, they should also be the most damaging.

New	Old
Fire Gem (Item) A multi-faceted gem. Images of raging flames can be seen flickering inside. When the user attacks with a Fire-type attack: The user consumes this item; then, grant that attack a power bonus of five (5).	Fire Gem (Item) A multi-faceted gem. Images of raging flames can be seen flickering inside. When the holder attacks with a Fire-type attack: The holder consumes this item; then, grant that attack a Power Bonus equal to its BAP; and grant the holder Penalty-Proof until they complete that attack.

Every other Type Gem mirrors this change.

Type-Boosting Items
These items have, long before Generation 9, lost their place in the item ecosystem. That can mean only one thing!

The mention of "with hits" was misleading, since additive damage is ignored for the second hit onward. We've removed this mention.

More importantly, we've found an enticing new niche for them to occupy:

Old	New
Charcoal (Item) A burnt piece of charcoal. It is somehow eternally warm to the touch. The holder's Fire-type attacks deal four (4) more damage with hits.	Charcoal (Item) A burnt piece of charcoal. It is somehow eternally warm to the touch. The holder's Fire-type attacks deal four (4) more damage. The holder knows Will-o-Wisp.

Because the holder will know the provided move regardless of their Level, we had to select simpler, unobtrusive moves. We hope you'll still find our selections compelling!

The other type-boosting items will mirror this change as follows:

Black Belt - Detect
Black Glasses - Taunt
Dragon Fang - Dragon Dance
Fairy Feather - Floral Healing
Hard Stone - Smack Down
Magnet - Thunder Wave
Metal Coat - Autotomize
Miracle Seed - Aromatherapy
Mystic Water - Life Dew
Never-Melt Ice - Mist
Poison Barb - Toxic
Sharp Beak - Aerial Ace
Silk Scarf - Hold Back
Silver Powder - Bug Bite
Soft Sand - Bulldoze
Spell Tag - Confuse Ray
Twisted Spoon - Heal Block

(The restraint it took, to not offer Trick on Twisted Spoon...)

That's all for now. Please stay tuned for news regarding The Cataclysmic Clashing Colossi! and the Safari Zone, in the coming days.

LouisCyphre · Jan 28, 2024

follow-up follow up:

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, except for in ongoing competitive matches and ongoing seasonal events.

Minor Adjustments Round-Up
I really need a better way to get these to non-Discord players live. Maybe the next Profile Generator (Gen 10? not any time soon) can have an updating page of these. Food for thought.

Lou — 01/24/2024 8:57 PM

Weather Ball, Natural Gift, and Terrain Pulse

Following their "effect" BAPs being normalized at 12; their default BAP has been made 6 (except Natural Gift, which works differently); and their En Cost has been made 8.

Lou — 01/24/2024 10:12 PM

3.2 Effect Types

Added:

Effects are each of the types that they qualify for.

For example:

While Grassy Terrain is in play: Grassy Glide is priority +1.

This is both a data-setting effect and a conditional ongoing effect.

this doesn't really change anything for the average user, but it could some day come up and it wasn't stated explicity.

Lou — 01/24/2024 10:36 PM

Moves (DAT)

added this

Lou — 01/25/2024 8:35 PM

Metronome (Item)

Now specifies "non-attack action, except a triggered action"

Early Bird
This ability came up in chat as a potential source of unlimited large heals in Doubles. While we're here, though, I thought it could use some juice. Again.

The first thing to fix is the doubles exploit of Sporing your own Early Bird user for repeated, uncapped healing. The most realistic case for this would be hitting your ally Effect Spore user with an attack like Brutal Swing to deal chip damage and heal 20 HP in the process; but that's closed now.

This is certainly less practical than something like Water Absorb Surf spam, but I'd rather not leave the door open. This does mean that Early Bird with Rest will consume two Recoveries in sequence... Which is probably for the best in the long run. 40 HP is a lot.

Old	New
The Pokemon requires very little sleep, allowing them to hunt or forage nocturnally. At the end of the step, if the user is Asleep: Discard Sleep from the user; then, if the user is not Asleep, the user heals 20 HP.	The Pokemon requires very little sleep, allowing them to hunt or forage nocturnally. While it is a round where the user entered play: The user has Bonus-Proof and has Penalty-Proof. At the end of the step, if the user is Asleep: Discard Sleep from the user; then, if the user is not Asleep, the user heals 20 HP as a Recovery.

The new fanfiction effect came from a desire to better serve Early Bird's users with something they want. Buffing exactly Rest has, frankly, not made any of the ability's users any more viable.

I thought it'd be fun to share some of the chat logs that highlight the thought process of this work:

After the conversation wound down, I arrived at this fanfiction effect because of the defensive benefits of Bonus-Proof. Houndoom, Xatu, and Ledian need every precious turn of survival that they can get. Kangaskhan enjoys this benefit too, though they were already quite likely to survive more than a single round, and they're also the least likely fully-evolved user to be able to pivot. That said, why doesn't Dodrio learn U-turn??

Hopefully, this glimpse of the paths not chosen is interesting.

LouisCyphre · Feb 20, 2024

March Adjustment Patch

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, except for in ongoing competitive matches and ongoing seasonal events.

As a result of this patch, owners of any pre-patch :ring target:

Ring Targets may optionally exchange one or more of them, in the Prize Claim Tower, for their choices of :cleanse tag:

Cleanse Tag, :wide lens:

Wide Lens, and/or :safety goggles:

Safety Goggles. Depending on your needs, you may wish to keep some number of Ring Targets.

As a result of this patch, owners of any pre-patch :cleanse tag:

Cleanse Tags may optionally exchange one or more of them, in the Prize Claim Tower, for :heavy-duty boots:

Heavy-Duty Boots. Depending on your needs, you may wish to keep some number of Cleanse Tags.

Item Adjustments
Following the Season 2 update, Ring Target threatens to hold a deathgrip on item and Pokemon choice, and Life Orb follows not far behind. We'll be touching up Life Orb and its competitors to sharpen their niche. We'll also be breaking Ring Target's effects up among more various items, to make it less of a one-stop-shop for Pokemon with high stats alone.

:ring target:

Ring Target
As mentioned above, this item will be reworked. Its effects to negate Abilities will be re-homed elsewhere, and its effect to negate items will be discarded, given that Sticky Barb exists.

Ring Target is the most slot-efficient item we've seen this Generation; in a generation that introduced the concept of opportunity cost to what items to bring, as well as what to equip.

As-is, Ring Target is filling all of the following needs, all at once, all on its own:

Negating abilities while the holder is attacking.
Negating items while the holder is attacking.
Negating abilities while the holder is non-attack acting.
Negating items while the holder is non-attack acting.
Negating abilities while the holder is being acted upon.
Negating items while the holder is being acted upon.

And all of this, alongside its own source-game niche of negating type immunities! Several of the effects above would be powerful, viable effects for held items all on their own. So, that's what we're going to make them. We'll be taking these effects from Ring Target, carving them up, and distributing the pieces to other items new and old.

In addition, mechanically, the capacity to ignore held items was resulting in some obnoxious effect behavior. For example, toggling effects that grant maximum HP on and off as Ring Target ignored and then "un-ignored" those effects was providing sources of free HP. It'll be a relief to be rid of such a fickle design thorn.

Old	New
A wooden ring with a painted target on it. Opponents feel compelled to attack exactly the bullseye. While the holder is acting or is the defender of an action: The abilities and held items of the attacker and of the defender, except for Ring Target, are ignored. While tallying type effectiveness: The immunities of the attacker and of the defender are ignored.	A wooden ring with a painted target on it. Opponents feel compelled to attack exactly the bullseye. The effects of Types are ignored. Immunities to Types can't be tallied.

To fill the void left by its taken effects, Ring Target is being more wholly focused on type negation, with a new effect to ignore the effects that types provide. These new effects apply to every Pokemon in play while a Pokemon in play is holding Ring Target, making it a possible source of type-related support.

As just the tip of the type iceberg, this item would allow dangerous Fire-type physical attackers to be threatened with a Burn.

Cleanse Tag
As implied above, this item's old effect text is being re-homed on the new :Heavy Duty Boots:

Heavy-Duty Boots.

Old	New
A spiritual talisman bearing painterly characters of warding and purity. The holder can't take damage, except from hits and from Confusion status.	A spiritual talisman bearing painterly characters of warding and purity. While the holder is attacking: The abilities of other Pokemon are ignored.

This new effect is an attacking-only variant of Mold Breaker. This effect is still very comprehensive at dealing with enemy abilities when compared to niche answers like Protective Pads, so we're going to let it stand alone for the time being and see how it performs.

Wide Lens
Inheriting a fraction of Ring Target's former role, Wide Lens is being introduced with an effect we're dubbing "Ghold Breaker".

New
Wide Lens (Item) A helpful magnifying lens that assists the user with using moves accurately and effectively. While the holder is performing a non-attack action: The holder's Accuracy stage is increased by one (1); and the abilities of other Pokemon are ignored.

Safety Goggles
In addition to the expected anti-weather and anti-powder functionality, this item is being introduced with the "Reverse Mold Breaker" component of Ring Target's former effects.

Newly Introduced
Safety Goggles (Item) A pair of protective goggles that protects the wearer from adverse environmental conditions. The holder can't take damage, or have Conditions inflicted on them, by the effects of Weather. The holder is unaffected by moves tagged #Powder. While the holder is the defender of another Pokemon's action: The abilities of other Pokemon are ignored.

Heavy-Duty Boots
Don't worry—you can get the icon with or without including the hyphen. This item is taking over Cleanse Tag's old functionality.

Newly Introduced
Heavy-Duty Boots A pair of thick, sturdy work boots that protect the wearer from environmental hazards. The holder can't take damage, except from hits and from Confusion status.

Life Orb
We'd prefer to not force players to run a different item for each individual attacker they send to a match; but this item is overperforming. So, we're shaving a bit of damage off of this item.

Old	New
A devilish orb that absorbs the life energy of its holder in exchange for power. When the holder attacks: Give that attack a Power Bonus of four (4). When the holder hits an opponent with an attack, no more than once per attack: The holder takes two (2) damage.	A devilish orb that absorbs the life energy of its holder in exchange for power. When the holder attacks: Give that attack a Power Bonus of three (3). When the holder hits an opponent with an attack, no more than once per attack: The holder takes two (2) damage.

We understand that giving an odd bonus results in "4 or 5" extra super-effective damage depending on external factors, which can be a little annoying. This should remain one of the best options available for dealing STAB super-effective damage with minimal downside.

We thought about making this item add five final damage, but we didn't want to unbind it from Bonus-Proof.

Expert Belt
To ensure this classic damage option stands out among competing damage options, we're adding a Mixed Aid effect.

Old	New
A belt that encourages its holder to step out of its comfort zone to achieve greater success. While the holder is attacking with a super-effective move that does not share a type with the holder: That attack deals four (4) more damage.	A belt that encourages its holder to step out of its comfort zone to achieve greater success. While the holder is attacking with a super-effective move, that does not share a type with the holder: The holder has Mixed Aid; also, that attack deals four (4) more damage.

With Mixed Aid, Pokemon can leverage their super-effective "wrong side" coverage a bit more freely. Rampardos and Xurkitree enjoyers may rejoice.

Ability Changes
While we're here, we wanted to juice some ailing Pokemon from the sad sack of shit mon thread.

We also wanted to continue lightly massaging certain effects to no longer infinitely stack. It's our finding that this isn't a good thing to incentivize in a game measured in days.

:chandelure:

Flash Fire
This ability incentivized players to stall long periods of time with weak Fire-type moves.

Not only was this ability quite over-tuned for little cost ~~in a bid to make Houndoom viable~~, it also encouraged play patterns that we've found to be unhealthy for an asynchronous forum game.

When played normally, this ability offered its users a pretty ludicrous offensive boost with no ask or reason besides "find a favorable STAB matchup," which is little ask at all.

When played to maximize counters, this ability results in rounds and rounds of stalling followed by non-interactive one-shot KOs against a hapless PvE opponent—wasting valuable reffing time, mainly. We've previously nerfed my own event strategy for the same reasons.

Old

New

Attempting to burn this Pokemon or expose them to heat simply stokes their own fire.

The user is unaffected by Fire-type actions and by Burn.

After a Fire-type attack is completed: Put a Heat marker on the user; and if a Pokemon with Flash Fire was a target of that attack, place one (1) more.

When the user attacks with a Fire-type attack: Raise that attack's power by the number of Heat markers on the user.

(This isn't bonus power.)

Attempting to burn this Pokemon or expose them to heat simply stokes their own fire.

The user is unaffected by Fire-type actions and by Burn.

When a Fire-type attack is completed: Place a Heat marker on the user; then, place two (2) more if that attack targeted the user. The number of Heat markers on the user is said to be their "Heat".

This ability has the following effects, based on the user's Heat.
1+: While the user is attacking with a Fire-type attack: The user's Attack and Special Attack ranks are increased by their Heat.
3+: The user has Attack Aid.
5+: Opponents are Burned.
7+: At the end of each step: The user loses HP, equal to their Heat.

All that said, we were asked by Flash Fire fans not to cap the Heat markers, so with this change we technically haven't.

Only the first added effect is limited to "while attacking with Fire". The other effects are simply generic ongoing effects.

This should add an element of Heat management to the ability that should be fun to fight around!

Leaf Guard
This ability has made no waves, but we still think it prudent to cap it before it does. Even as a candidate for buffing, it still shouldn't scale forever.

Old

New

The Pokemon's photosynthesis keeps it pure and healthy while in bright sunlight.

While the Weather is Sun: Major Status can't be inflicted on the user, and they have an additional resistance to Fire.

When the user deals damage with a "Leaf" or "Petal" move: Put a Guard marker on the user with the following effect:
● While the subject has no Major Status: The subject's Defense and Special Defense ranks are increased by one (1).

The Pokemon's photosynthesis keeps it pure and healthy while in bright sunlight.

While the Weather is Sun: Major Status can't be inflicted on the user, and they have an additional resistance to Fire.

When the user completes a "Leaf" or "Petal" move: Put a Guard marker on the user, to a maximum of four (4), with the following effect:
● While the subject has no Major Status: The subject's Defense and Special Defense ranks are increased by one (1).

Playable Content
Don't think that the death of Ring Target is all we have for you! The meat of this patch starts here: A long-awaited Facility now opens, and the two existing ones will get the work they need.

The following is now true of all content:

Progress Rewards now round normally, rather than always rounding down.
Level 3 or lower Pokemon may now "pre-earn" Techniques from appropriate venues. They must still reach Level 4 in order to access those techniques.

Safari Zone Release!

Following a long period post-tests as other work took priority, the Safari Zone should finally be ready for release!

Habitats now give EXP by default, rather than requiring players to stall and capture multiple targets per trek.
All Poke Balls have been re-tuned, and wild Pokemon minimum EP has been squashed to be less granular.
Obtained items from Conservation Rewards can be kept, for use in appropriate facilities. Finally, you can obtain Potions!
All Wayfinders have had their Assists reviewed, and most Assists have been rebalanced.
Habitats have been polished and adjusted.

The Pinnacle Habitat "Ancient Herald of World Peace" and two others are ready for deployment, once all of the wrinkles in this version are ironed out.

Raid Frontier Adjustments

We have our eyes on the Raid Frontier's ongoing woes: Mainly, that Raids with agency feel awful to "pilot" when the player is sufficiently prepared, that the queue is held up by a relatively small number of Raid-reffing enthusiasts, and that some raids feel out of balance with others of their Level.

With that in mind, consider these the first phase of upcoming work on the Raid Frontier. We feel that the facility is close enough to its intended function to be left open, even while we continue to work on it.

The Pinnacle Raid "The Clashing Cataclysmic Colossi!" is now open once more.
The Raid "The "Loyal" Lousy Lackabouts!" has been lightly revised.
The Pinnacle Raids "The Source of the Enigma" and "The Building Blocks of the Cosmos!" will be released after we've observed runs of Colossi and made any needed adjustments, which may include the work below.

The future work may include:

Slowing down the most action-heavy Raids, to make each individual round more tolerable for referees.
Giving ref-piloted raids fewer actions, with more move options, so they are more engaging to pilot and still fair to challenge.
Consolidating most effect-dense raids to their essentials, and cutting "fluff" effects with little impact.
Vocations could use a balance pass.

For now, please continue enjoying the Raid Frontier to its fullest!

Realgam Tower Adjustments

We've updated the default backpack size, but that didn't matter to the Realgam Tower while it still used the old sizing. With this patch, Realgam Tower has been updated to the Indigo Disk, including:

Backpack size is now 3*[Team Size]+1, matching Tower Matches.
Rewards have been moved to the rewards post of the signup thread, and edited:
- 2v2 Trainers now offer 10 EXP as progress rewards
- 3v3 and 4v4 Trainers now offer 10 EXP as progress rewards, and 2 or 5 as victory reward.
Many minor details have changed. Read the newly formatted signup thread and try to spot them!

March League Circuit

This will be up, minutes after this post! With yours truly hosting, this won't be a Circuit you want to miss!

LouisCyphre · Mar 14, 2024

April Adjustment Patch
Actually, why are we naming these a month ahead? Who knows. We might be stuck like this now! Within this patch you'll find a encherining, catgacating set of economy changes, a new cartchy battle venue, and even a pasadise of sweet balance changes.

This patch will be effective in all future rounds, except for in ongoing competitive matches and ongoing seasonal events.

For matches that are ongoing, it may be helpful to cross-post altered content, such as item descriptions, into your match thread for easier reference.

Currency Adjustments
After the last JC revision, we've been monitoring the response from players. Concerns over long wait times in queue, and concerns over having to "barter" with other refs to mutually referee things are common. It's not hard to see why: Until recently, the entire playerbase was bottle-necked through two or three venues for play; so the total number of reffings available was low. And then we opened the Raid Frontier and the Safari Zone.

We'd like to urge players to remember: The playerbase as a whole has only a finite capacity for reffing, made up of all players' sum "free time they're willing to spend on BBP". Essentially, that's a budget we have to work within. As more facilities open, and players sign up for five, eight, or even ten things at once, we'll inevitably have more reffings available than refs can reasonably take. That is to say, queues will become a fact of life in BBP again, much like they were in ASB.

One of the most common armchair comments was roughly, "there's too much JC in the system, and if only players were starving for JC, then my Raid would get reffed and I'd be able to progress." That's true in part, but it asks more work of JC than the currency is capable of.

:gimmighoul-roaming:

Quick aside: JC can only do exactly one job, which is to motivate players to referee at all. In order to play somewhere, a player must have JC from reffing somewhere in order to pay entry. This isn't venue-specific, so JC isn't good at compelling players to take reffings they find unpleasant—they can wait for a more palatable reffing instead, since that would give JC as well. There's also only so much free time JC can compel players to give to BBP. The first concurrent reffing or two a referee takes might be pleasant social gaming with other players; but by the fifth or tenth reffing the ref is just doing menial labor for sub-niche consensus-backed monopoly money. All JC can reasonably do is let players know when they're playing more than they are reffing or approving.

If I were asked right now if JC was doing that one job, the only job it can do, I would say... Somewhat. It is true that there's far more JC entering the system than is leaving it. That means that players often "graduate" from the need for JC, meaning that most reffings are done out of social altruism more than self-interest.

:hemogoblin:

That's a good thing, mind you: I don't want BBP to boil down to strictly self-interested transactions. The whole reason the game exists is to build mutual social dependence between players and bring people together to enjoy a shared hobby. That said, we will still make some changes to even out the JC system; to better spur players now and again to pick up new reffings even when no one inside of their clique needs one.

Below, find changes to JC, and new currencies introduced to pick up jobs that JC is poorly suited for.

Advanced Currencies
We're introducing a form of elevated currency, alongside JC, that buys access to what we're now calling "Advanced Facilities", such as the Battle Pike.

When we reworked Judge Counters, we always knew we would have to have content that "creates" JC (by paying more than it costs) and content that "destroys" JC (by paying less). One of the key decisions we had to make was whether to price and pay content in a ref-first or player-first way:

Ref-First design was to involve sketching out how much work each reffing was, set every reffing payout accordingly, and then setting entry costs based on those payouts.
Player-first design was to involve pricing every entry cost based on the attainable rewards, and then basing payouts on those entry costs.

What we ended up doing, for better or worse, was both: Entry costs are based on expected reward, and referee pay was based on perceived workload. This naturally resulted in a curve we thought we could use: Pinnacle content would destroy JC, and Leveling content would create it, and all would be well.

Two snags have emerged in this model, though: The Level system itself, and our risk-adverse playerbase. Because we made effort to make mid-Level Pokemon competitive against fully Leveled Pokemon if the matchup is favorable, many players are content raising a stable of Level 3 Pokemon instead of trying to push to perfect a smaller number of Level 4 or Technique-using Pokemon; which means JC-creating content is being played more than we had expected. On top of that, players seem to see the cost of Pinnacle content as prohibitive to even trying—seeing no point in pursuing a chance at a Zekrom or Groudon when they could spend that JC on near-guaranteed EXP for Donphan or a near-guaranteed Academy Credit for Iron Hands, even if the legends are clear upgrades. This even further reinforces the issue where early content is played massively more, generating lots of "excess" JC.

The currently-extant :master ball:

Academy Credit is a good example of an Advanced Currency. Basic Currencies are used to buy access to chances to obtain it, and it trades for a certain curated set of special rewards—its function is to encourage players to challenge difficult content; rewarding their best shot even if they don't make it all the way. Starting with this patch, three (3) Academy Credits will buy your Paradox Pokemon or Ultra Beast an Advanced Technique of choice! This should help keep keep people from "graduating" from needing or wanting Academy Credits for quite a bit longer.

:comet shard:

Comet Shards are an Advanced Currency we're offering to battlers, and

Star Pieces are their counterpart being offered to refs. These are being positioned as the entry cost of upcoming Advanced Facilities. For all but the lowest-Level challenges (for the Advanced Facility that offer content below Level 4), you'll need both currencies to enter. Our assumption is that Star Pieces will end up slightly more common than Comet Shards, even if we give one to players and one to refs. Players have to attain a progress milestone for Comet Shards, but refs only have to finish the reffing.

These two currencies are intended to make riskier Pinnacle challenges more appealing. If more players are taking attempts at Pinnacle content, to earn Comet Shards, then JC will be spent more aggressively. Our assumption is that some of these attempts will end in success, putting desirable prizes in players' hands, but you could still prove us wrong!

Stardust is a currency that functions much like Academy Credits. It'll purchase a curated list of Pokemon, associated items, and Techniques for specific Pokemon. The Stardust shop will launch with the first Advanced Facility—details could be below!

JC Adjustments
We've concluded that JC's current failure to motivate players to take less-optimal reffings is tied to what we're now calling "JC Leaks".

First, we're plugging the JC leak that is Battle Tower. We're going to charge players more for larger matches, and Battle Tower referees will now be paid exactly as much JC as players paid for entry, up to a certain amount. We'd like referees to be paid for their greater effort—and we'd like overly-large matches to be unappealing to referees. We'll also pay a certain amount to referees of Beginner Battles, to keep new players moving along.

Battle Tower changes:

Entry Cost: 2 JC -> 1 + Team Size JC.

Referee Pay: 6 JC -> 2 + Team Size JC, or 8 JC, whichever is lesser.

Referee Pay for Beginner Battles: 6 JC (unchanged).

Events will charge each player normal entry, based on the source facility. JC and other currency rewards earned by event referees will be based on the source facility, increased by 50%. This change means events will destroy about half of one entrant's JC fee. Additionally, event referees will stand to earn a

Star Piece as a completion reward.

Seasonal Event changes:

In-Season Entry Cost: Nothing -> Regular JC for the source Facility, per player.

Out-of-Season Entry Cost: Vouchers -> Vouchers per team, and regular JC for the source Facility, per player.

Referee Pay: Normal pay for the source facility -> Normal pay for the source facility, but with currency pay increased by 50%.

Referee Completion Pay: 1

Star Piece.

Regular Facilities will be made to destroy a little more JC with a pretty straightfoward change.

Last revision, we based Entry Costs on the rewards obtained. For example, we valued a Technique Unlock at "about 4 JC per Pokemon". When we priced EXP, we didn't take into account the quality of that EXP—but logically, higher-Level EXP is more valuable than lower-Level EXP. Now, entry costs across the game will reflect this.

Regular Facility changes:

Entry Cost for Level 2 content: Increased by 1.

Entry Cost for Level 3 content: Increased by 3.

Entry Cost for Pinnacle content: Unchanged.

This change abandons our previous attempts to "batch" content into memorable "entry-cost tiers". There wasn't much rhyme or reason to the costs of content, and most players simply looked up the cost when signing up as a matter of course. After all, most entry costs are listed in the data directory of that content.

Facility Adjustments
We're adjusting some facilities.

:melmetal-gmax:

Raid Frontier
Based on feedback, and especially by the strong dis-preference displayed by referees for piloting the Raids, we're making adjustments to how Raid enemy behaviors are designed.

We're also employing some new notation to help both Raid authors and referees; and rules changes within the facility to support that notation.

Also, we'd be amiss not to take the chance to shake up Raid arenas and Vocation balance while we can, so we're doing that too.

Action Modifiers and Notation
We aim to reduce the number of actions in a Raid round, and thus reffing burden, without trivializing the Raids' challenge.

To achieve these, we're directly improving the actions used by Raid opponents using a new set of modifiers. Followers of the Union Street thread will probably already have seen these in development.

Here's an example:

Phase 3

Random action, choose target Choose both action and target Random action, target PR
These actions are each Piercing and Triple Speed.

Spore
Clear Smog
Confuse Ray
Confuse Ray
Taunt
Accelerated Synthesis x2
Trailblaze +10
Venoshock x2
Max Seed Bomb x2
Max Crunch x2
Max Close Combat x2
Max Stomping Tantrum x2

Actions may be noted individually ("Accelerated Synthesis") or in groups ("These actions are"). The modifiers are as follows:

Addition ("+10"): If the action deals damage and/or heals HP, that damage and/or healing is increased by this amount.
Multiplication ("x2"): If the action deals damage and/or heals HP, that damage and/or healing is multiplied by this amount.
Piercing: Effects belonging to the Raiders are ignored while this action is being performed.
Double/Triple/Quadruple Speed: This action's turn is sequenced as if the user had more Speed, depending on the modifier.
- (This can result in, and is intended to often result in, a Raid opponent taking different turns earlier or later in a step.)

Using this notation, many Raids that featured 4+ Raid actions per round are being condensed into, usually, three. Some Raids will still demand a certain amount of complexity.

Phases
Rather than running all of a Raid's mechanics at once, we're going to lean on Raid Phases to split the more complicated Raids into more manageable chunks.

The Raid Frontier already has some of the groundwork for segmenting Raids into Raid Phases:

Some raids have multiple sections, called "Raid Phases". (Not to be confused with 2.1 "Phases of a Battle")

The Condition filter limits you to one of each Limited condition per phase, not per raid. In multi-phase raids, you'll get multiple chances to create those conditions.

Raids consist of one Raid Phase unless they state otherwise.

The "Initial Setup" field of Raid data will be appropriated for Phase information, like so:

Phases:

Amoonguss (★) x1

Toedscruel, Shiinotic, Breloom x1 each

Brute Bonnet (★) x1

Raid opponents, especially Bosses, will also sometimes have different data depending on the Phase, like so:

Phase 1 Abilities: None
Phase 2 Abilities: Overgrow, Chlorophyll, Thick Fat

Phase 1 HP: 420
Phase 2 HP: 690
Attack: 6
Defen.: 6
Sp.Atk: 7
Sp.Def: 7
Speed: 80
Size: 40
Weight: 40

Phase 1

Random action, target PR Choose both action and target Random action and target
Giga Drain x2
Sludge Bomb x2
Skull Bash +20
Venoshock
Weather Ball
Stomping Tantrum
Sleep Powder
Power Whip
Sludge Bomb
Sunny Day

Phase 2

Random action, target PR Choose both action and target Choose both action and target
These actions are each Piercing.
Solar Blade x3
Sludge Wave x2
Earthquake x2
Leech Seed
Stun Spore
Toxic
Sunny Day
Venoshock
Weather Ball
Stomping Tantrum
Sunny Day

By default, the Phase will change at the end of the round, if each Raid opponent has 0 or less remaining HP.

Also by default, when moving to a new Phase, all Raid opponents are returned to the Bench, and then the Raid opponents specified in the Phase data are set to their maximum HP (for that Phase, if specified) and put into play.

With this change, we're also making most Bosses Unfainting, and make Raids specify their victory condition. Typically, this will be "complete the last Raid Phase."

Lastly, we can use Phases to measure player Progress, for the Raids that use them.

Of course, some Raids will overwrite this behavior, depending on their needs. You can imagine how Ninjas will still need to switch Pokemon with the arena effect; or how Loyal Three will still need Bosses to be subject to the effects of Fainting.

Vocation Balance Pass
This is a chance, not just to make the lesser vocations more enticing, but also to make Vocations a more important part of a Pokemon's contribution to later Raids.

Some of these changes are just clarifcations, but they're lumped in with these for completeness.

Vocation	Old	New
Bodyguard	The user has Covering. Their hidden Pokemon is the single lowest-HP other ally. (If there is a tie, the user covers no one with this effect.)	The user has Covering. Their hidden Pokemon is the Aggressor. (If there is more than one Aggressor, the user covers no one with this effect.)
Commando	The user can hold any number of items. When an ally consumes or drops an item: Restore that item, then move it to the user.	The user can hold up to three (3) items. When another ally consumes or drops an item: Restore that item, then move it to the user.
Duelist	If the user would take damage from a hit; instead, the user takes 90% of that damage rounded down, and note the difference between the initial damage and the adjusted damage on this ability. When the user is hit: The attacker takes damage, equal to the amount of damage last noted on this vocation.	The user has Defense Aid. If damage to the user would be increased by an action's Addition modifier (like "Trailblaze +10"); instead, the attacker takes that much damage. (* Fezandipiti's Duelist Vocation will retain an adjusted version of the old text.)
Paladin	If the user's action or condition would heal their own HP; instead, it heals that much HP to the user, and half x(0.5) that much HP to each ally.	The user is Bonus-Proof. If damage would be increased by an action's Addition modifier (like "Trailblaze +10"); instead, the user loses half (0.5) that much HP.
Butler	At the end of each round, if no raider consumed any items this round: Restore each item that each raider has consumed.	This Vocation starts the battle with two (2) Service markers on it. At the end of each round, unless ordered otherwise, if this Vocation has any Service markers: Remove a Service marker from this Vocation, then restore each item that each raider has consumed.
Cleric	When the user creates a Condition on an ally, or when the user removes a Condition from an ally: The user heals that ally for 8 HP.	When the user creates a Condition on an ally, removes a Condition from an ally, or raises an ally's stage(s) that was at or below zero: The user heals that ally for 8 HP.
Rearguard	At the end of the round, if the Protector has less percent HP remaining than the user: The user and the Protector exchange roles and vocations. (Even if one or both are fainted.)	At the end of the round, unless ordered otherwise, if the Protector has less percent HP remaining than the user: The user and the Protector exchange roles and vocations, even if one or both are fainted.
Gambler	At the start of the raid, and at the end of each round: Note each of the following on this vocation. A Type, chosen at random from among all Types. A category, chosen at random from among Physical or Special. A core stat stage, chosen at random from among the four core stats. The user is the last noted Type, and their attacks are the last noted Category. At the start of each round: Raise the user's noted stat stage by two (2) for their next five (5) turns.	At the start of the raid, and at the end of each round: Note each of the following on this vocation. A Type, chosen at random from among all Types. A Power Bonus, chosen at random from 1 to 8 with equal odds. A core stat stage, chosen at random from among the four core stats. The user is the last noted Type, their attacks given the last noted Power Bonus, and their last noted stat stage is treated as though it were maximized.
Psychic	The user's attacks are Special.	The user's attacks are Special, and the user's Special Attack rank is at least 12.
Pugilist	The user's attacks are Physical.	The user's attacks are Physical, and the user's Attack rank is at least 12.
Scribe	When a raid opponent uses a standard move: The user learns that move as a borrowed move for the rest of the battle. (Standard moves are any move in the Data Audit, as it exists in the Data Audit, except Z-Moves and Max Moves.)	When a raid opponent uses a standard move: The user learns that move as a borrowed move for the rest of the battle. (Standard moves are any move in the Data Audit, as it exists in the Data Audit, except Z-Moves and Max Moves.) When the user attacks with a borrowed move, that they didn't originally know: Give that attack a Power Bonus of four (4).
Sorcerer	After the user hits a Boss with the last hit of a super-effective attack: Note that attack's names on this vocation until the end of the Raid. The user's attacks have increased power, equal to the twice (x2) the number of names noted on this vocation. The user can't attempt attacks with any of the names noted on this vocation.	When the user completes a super-effective attack: Note that attack's names on this vocation until the end of the Raid. When the user attacks: Give that attack a Power Bonus, equal to the two plus the number of names noted on this vocation (2 + names). The user can't attempt attacks with any of the names noted on this vocation.

Individual Raid Changes
Raids will have to be updated to use these new modifiers, of course. For the time being, Raids are each individually closed.

Rather than change every single Raid at once, in this patch, and split this patch into multiple posts; we'll instead update each extant Raid in the days following this patch. These updates will be checked off in the Raid Frontier signup thread; and as they're completed, those Raids will become available again.

The current queue will have raid selections removed, but players will be left in place. (e.g. "LouisCyphre (unselected)") As Raids are updated, starting from Sporeverlord and moving down the Data Thread, you'll have the option to change your signup to that updated Raid. (With new Boasts, if desired.)

That's a long way to say, you get to keep your place in queue.

For currently-ongoing Raids, it may be prudent to copy relevant info into your challenge thread for reference.

Safari Zone
This facility has been found to be almost completely functional; albiet easy. We're making a small change to increase challenge without disrupting Safari's now-enjoyable flow.

Difficulty
You all flocked to respond to ramblings on the state of the Safari Zone, so none of the changes below should come as a surprise to you.

To reiterate, the Safari Zone is currently too easy. It's currently possible to muscle your way through most habitats with a passable backpack and little forethought, and wild Pokemon are quite exploitable too. It may be flavorful for a wild Pokemon's mood to worsen as they take damage, just like a BBP player's, but it creates too many unwanted incentives for players and referees to stick around.

Now, a Wild Pokemon's mood only depends on how many rounds they've spent active and/or benched (but not rounds spent in reserve). Referees will no longer need finagle their damage taken for the purpose of "unlocking" more moves to fight back with.

Rounds Active or Benched	Wild Mood	Modifiers Applied
1st Round	Curious	The Pokemon's attacks, that share no types with the Pokemon, have no types and at most 8 BAP. The Pokemon can't create Major Status or Protection. The Pokemon can't attempt actions that cost HP/EP.
2nd and 3rd Rounds	Irritated	None.
4th Round onward	Threatened	At the end of each round: The Pokemon attempts to Escape.

This complicates moods somewhat more than I would have liked, admittedly. Players will likely have to refer to the Safari thread often to remind themselves what Curious modifies. We didn't find any simpler alternatives, such as "curious Pokemon can't attack", that would have crafted the desired experience.

Boast Rewards
Many players found them speculating what the :unknown:

Unrevealed Pokemon in the Safari Zone boast rewards were; but they were kept waiting by my difficulty in tying boasting to the mini-quest I had envisioned for Safari's minor Legendaries.

Now, if you sign up for the Safari Zone with exactly 8, 11, or 14 Bravado (including Bravado from the Habitat's Level), you'll have a special Wayfinder to start with. But be warned—you might find them difficult to handle!

Realgam Tower
Don't forget—Mowtom is still looking to be impressed by your Realgam submissions!

Unchanged.

Battle Tree
Released.

Released.

Advanced Facilities
These are coming along well! So well, in fact, that you can expect the first of them to launch in April! You'll have a place to spend your Comet Shards and Star Pieces soon enough.

You aren't getting any yet!

We'll just say this: This launch will be large enough to require a change to the DAT!

Boasting Hall
We're making adjustments to the Boasting Hall to encourage players to boast in riskier content.

We're finding that players would prefer to pile many Boasts in weaker content, rather than challenge higher-Level battles with fewer boasts. This is a fine trend, but we would like it if players Boasted in both lower- and higher-Level content. We hope this leads to more interesting and memorable battles for players and refs alike.

A venue's Level will now contribute to the total Bravado for all reward types, in the following amounts:

Level 1: 0 Bravado

Level 2: 3 Bravado

Level 3: 5 Bravado

Pinnacle (Level 4): 7 Bravado

The ordinary reward tiers for Boasting in facilities will be changed from 6/8/10, to 8/11/14 to reflect this change and to encourage more aggressive Boasting. Compared to previous tiering, here's how this breaks down:

For the first tier, you needed 3 points of Boasts for a Level 3 challenge, and you still need only 3.
For the second tier, you needed 5 points of Boasts for a Level 3 challenge, and you now need 6.
For the third tier, you needed 7 points of Boasts for a Level 3 challenge, and you now need 9. But for a Level 4 challenge, you need only 7 points of Boasts.

One-time boasts are being rebranded as Special Quests, and are now repeatable. Repeatable Boast Rewards will be rebranded as "Standard Rewards". The Boasts asking for "a Bravado of 4 or more" now include the venue's Bravado from Level; so they will now as for 9 or 11, depending on their target venue's Level.

2.9 Post-Event Checks
This rule is being made to support the new "Unfainting" condition, used in the Raid Frontier, so that the game doesn't technically freeze up.

Old	New
11. If any Pokemon has 0 or less HP, or has 0 or less Energy: Put Fainting on the Pokemon that reached 0 HP or 0 En the least recently.	11. If any Pokemon, except Unfainting Pokemon, has 0 or less HP, or has 0 or less Energy: Put Fainting on the Pokemon that reached 0 HP or 0 En the least recently, except Unfainting Pokemon.

LouisCyphre · Mar 14, 2024

Scroll up for the first half of this patch!

Balance Adjustments
What kind of BBP Patch would it be, if we didn't make a balance pass for whatever Pokemon we're most sick of being asked about?

:mew:

Mew
Yuck.

No Trait -> Reduces the team's Technique Control by 1.

We expect Mew to remain one of the best ways to spend a Technique Control for the foreseeable future. There's no reasonable nerf that isn't either a nightmare for tracking (we aren't doing "Pick 100 moves"; you just pick the 100 best anyway) or a nightmare for less move-gifted Pokemon (some game piece that invalidates a large fraction of Mew's movepool).

For the time being, you're just going to have to take comfort in this nerf. Now, counter-strategies that spend a Tech can be said to be resource-neutral with the Mew user.

New Condition: Recovery Aid
We're introducing this new fanfiction condition to help us buff or adjust various game pieces related to healing, without slowing the game to a crawl.

This new condition will heal the subject at the end of each round, if the subject wasn't healed during that round. In a sense, this condition can be thought to offer healing that doesn't stack with other sources of healing.

This condition has some odd avenues of counterplay, such as creating Grassy Terrain, but it's also beholden to all of the existing counterplay to healing, so we're not very concerned about that.

Recovery Aid (Condition)
The Pokemon can shrug off a certain amount of punishment.

An integer value can be specified for this condition. If no value is specified, the default is 10.

Higher-value copies of this condition overwrite lower-value copies.

At the end of each round; if the subject hasn't had their HP healed this round: The subject heals HP, equal to the specified value.

The effect mentioning "overwriting" handles situations where a Pokemon would be granted different values of Recovery Aid; especially by multiple ongoing effects.

Below, you'll find several new sources of Recovery Aid. Many sources grant Recovery Aid to the user's allies as well.

Sleep
To help curb the strength of Rest, especially in lower Level formats, we're removing the regeneration component.

This regeneration was implemented as part of a set of changes to weaken Sleep-spamming strategies. In practice, the once-per-round restriction was more than enough to achieve this.

Old

New

The Pokemon has almost entirely drifted into dozing, right in the middle of battle.

This condition can't be inflicted on each Pokemon more than once per round.

When the subject takes damage from an attack: Put a Restless marker on the subject until they are no longer Asleep or until they leave play.

At the end of the subject's turn: The subject heals 5 HP and 3 Energy; then, if the subject has a Restless marker, discard this condition.

The subject can't attempt actions, except actions that state they may be attempted while asleep.

The Pokemon has almost entirely drifted into dozing, right in the middle of battle.

This condition can't be inflicted on each Pokemon more than once per round.

At the end of the subject's turn, if the subject has taken damage from an attack since their last turn ended: Discard this condition.

The subject can't attempt actions, except actions that state they may be attempted while asleep.

Rest and Comatose are addressed further below.

HP Aid
The last source of HP Aid in the core game, Power Band, is losing it in this patch. This functionally retires this condition for the time being.

Given the chaos that can ensue when sources of HP Aid are rapidly "ignored and un-ignored", it's uncertain if we'll ever revisit this tool. In this state, at least. Effects granting "temporary HP" / initial overhealing, such as Gluttony, are more likely to fill this space in the future.

:power band:

Power Band and Power Belt
These items are having their first provided effect changed to Recovery Aid.

Power Band's effect to provide HP Aid creates issues with anything that can temporarily ignore items, such as Frisk. We're replacing it with Recovery Aid because it's a similar effect.

Power Belt's effect to provide Bonus-Proof shuts out one of the best ways to deal with high Defense stages, so we're replacing it with Recovery Aid as a nerf.

Item	Old	New
Power Band	A thick contraining band for training the holder's concentration. The holder's maximum Special Defense stage is halved (x0.5). This item gains the following effects, based on the holder's Special Defense stage: 1+: The holder has HP Aid. 2+: While no Pokemon is acting: The abilities of Pokemon other than the holder are ignored. 3+: The holder has Magic Guard, in addition to their other abilities.	A thick contraining band for training the holder's concentration. The holder's maximum Special Defense stage is halved (x0.5). This item gains the following effects, based on the holder's Special Defense stage: 1+: The holder and their active allies have Recovery Aid 4. 2+: While no Pokemon is acting: The abilities of Pokemon other than the holder are ignored. 3+: The holder has Magic Guard, in addition to their other abilities.
Power Belt	A stout belt for training the holder's toughness. The holder's maximum Defense stage is halved (x0.5). This item gains the following effects, based on the holder's Defense stage: 1+: The holder has Bonus-Proof. 2+: When the holder is hit by an attack: The attacker takes damage, equal to twice (x2) the holder's Defense stage. 3+: This item also has the effect text of each of the holder's Abilities. (References to a "user" in those effects refer to the holder.)	A stout belt for training the holder's toughness. The holder's maximum Defense stage is halved (x0.5). This item gains the following effects, based on the holder's Defense stage: 1+: The holder and their active allies have Recovery Aid 4. 2+: When the holder is hit by an attack: The attacker takes damage, equal to twice (x2) the holder's Defense stage. 3+: This item also has the effect text of each of the holder's Abilities. (References to a "user" in those effects refer to the holder.)

Gale Wings
What a horribly unbuffable Pokemon! We took our best swing at it anyway.

This ability currently has old templating (referring to a move's "ready priority", which doesn't exist this gen), so this is a chance to give it a fresh templating.

Old	New
The Pokemon has mighty wings that allow it to fly at high speed. The first priority of the user's Flying-type moves is increased by 1. (The ready priority if the move has one, and the execution priority otherwise.)	The Pokemon has mighty wings that allow it to fly at high speed. The priority of the user's Flying-type moves is increased by 1; and Evasive status created by those moves has the duration "until the end of the step". While the user's HP is at half (50%) or above: The user has Attack Aid. While the user's HP is below half (<50%): The user has Recovery Aid 10.

The abilities Berserk, Defeatist, Emergency Exit, Multiscale, Shadow Shield, and Wimp Out will now used the same phrasing, where "half (of maximum HP)" is assumed. This seems to be intuitive enough for us to get away with it, even in Gen 9 BBP.

Leftovers
Formerly a premier defensive item, this item has fallen by the wayside as defensive Pokemon have come to favor damage mitigation.

We're restoring this item to higher recovery amounts, now that counterplay to healing is more widely available.

Pokemon that already have very high natural defenses, or built-in mitigation like Bonus-Proof and Defense Aid, were somewhat poorly served by pure mitigation items. Leftovers is also more potent than mitigation items against fixed damage or effect damage.

Old	New
A portion of food with a long shelf life that a holder can easily snack on. At the end of each step, if the holder's HP is below 50%: The user heals two (2) HP. At the end of each step: The holder heals two (2) HP.	A portion of food with a long shelf life that a holder can easily snack on. At the end of each step: The holder heals six (6) HP the first time this effect triggers each round; or two (2) HP otherwise.

Increasing the healing for the first trigger of Leftovers' effect improves the item in single-step rounds, and makes it more consistent as an item choice in more situations.

Rain Dish and Ice Body
These abilities provide a lot of passive healing. We're slightly worsening them in Singles, and slightly improving them in Triples.

We had tuned them to outshine Leftovers; but Weather is also easier to maintain now.

Old	New
The Pokemon collects rainwater to rejuvenate themselves and mend their own wounds. At the end of each step, if the Weather is Rain: The user heals four (4) HP.	The Pokemon collects rainwater to rejuvenate themselves and mend their own wounds. At the end of each step, if the Weather is Rain: The holder heals six (6) HP the first time this effect triggers each round; or two (2) HP otherwise.

Ice Body mirrors this change. Dry Skin is still left alone.

This change means that, if the weather changes mid-round, that first step with the correct weather would give the user the heal for six.

Aroma Veil
While we were including this ability in the Recovery Aid system, we took the chance to catch it up with changes made to the game pieces it mentions.

This ability had an amount of figurative rust that had accumulated over the last few patches. For example, it did nothing to stop Psychic Noise.

As a result, while we were buffing this ability with Recovery Aid, we've also had to moderately rework the whole ability.

Old	New
The Pokemon releases a calming scent to clear their allies' heads in battle. The user and allies are unaffected by the moves Attract, Disable, Encore, Heal Block, Taunt, and Torment; and unaffected by combinations containing those moves.	The Pokemon releases a calming scent to clear their allies' heads in battle. The user and active allies are unaffected by the conditions Infatuation, Psychic Noise, Sealed, and Taunt; and by the move Encore. While it is the user's turn or the turn of an ally: The effects of the conditions Heal Block and Imprison are ignored. The user and active allies have Recovery Aid 6.

Pastel Veil
This ability is also limited to a pretty unusable Pokemon. You, of course, realize what that means.

What's one more gigabuff for the road?

Old	New
The Pokemon sparkles with an iridescent glow that banishes impurities. The user and their allies are unaffected by Poison status.	The Pokemon sparkles with an iridescent glow that banishes impurities. The user and their allies, including inactive allies, are unaffected by Poison status. (While this ability is in play.) The user and their active allies have Recovery Aid 10.

This change allows Rapidash-Galar to function as a manner of auto-cleric for Poison, even in Singles content, which can have ramifications for future content or future metagames.

The large-value Recovery Aid is tacked on to ease Rapidash-Galar's statistical inferiority. Recovery Aid 10 is equivalent to a free held Leftovers in Singles, and it's even more effective than that in faster formats.

Sweet Veil
This ability is also being included in the Recovery Aid changes; but carefully, so as not to break a particular user.

There are several powerful Pokemon with this ability; and by "several" we mean exactly :tsareena:

one competitively viable user that stands head-and-shoulders above the others.

To buff this ability for those other users, we have to tiptoe around what that one Pokemon lacks. So, we're giving this ability an effect that's powerful only in combination with a source of Recovery Aid. In the Recovery Aid ecosystem; this is a fairly important effect.

While we're here, though, we're still going to also give this ability the same bench-cleansing improvement that Pastel Veil received.

Old	New
The Pokemon releases a glucose-heavy mist around themselves, sending it and any ally into a forced sugar rush. The user and their active allies are unaffected by Sleep.	The Pokemon releases a glucose-heavy mist around themselves, sending it and any ally into a forced sugar rush. The user and their allies, including inactive allies, are unaffected by Sleep. The original triggered effect of Recovery Aid, on the user or their allies, triggers "if the subject hasn't had their HP healed more than once this round", rather than its usual criteria.

Healer
Much like Sweet Veil above, Healer has some very good users and some weaker users. This change aims to buoy up the latter Pokemon.

We're doing this by tying this buff to Recovery Aid as well. The only fully-evolved Pokemon to get Healer and a natural source of Recovery Aid is Aromatisse, the Pokemon we're targeting.

This change should also make the Recovery Aid provided by Power Band and Power Belt enticing for a handful of new users.

When we said, "one more gigabuff", that was purely rhetorical. There are more gigabuffs to go around.

Old	New
The Pokemon is swathed in a serene aura that allies can't help but feel relieved by. When the user or an active teammate is inflicted with a Major or Minor status: Remove all other Major and Minor status from that Pokemon.	The Pokemon is swathed in a serene aura that allies can't help but feel relieved by. When the user or an active teammate is inflicted with a Major or Minor status: Remove all other Major and Minor status from that Pokemon. If the user or an ally, with no Major Status, would heal HP due to Recovery Aid; instead, they heal twice (x2) that much HP.

This was a tricky effect to template, especially to communicate "if the user with no major status" OR "if an ally with no major status". Referring to healing done by an effect of a condition on a specific Pokemon was also cumbersome to spell out, so we're hoping the current phrasing is clear enough. We may revisit this if we find a better templating later on.

At first, I had tried to phrase this ability in a way that limited it to "once per Pokemon per battle", but the wording was so tangled as to be unusable.

Honey Gather
Yet another Pokemon with a lot of savings left in their power budget. These changes are focused on emphasizing pivoting.

Old	New
This Pokemon emits a scent of sweet honey to lure in unwitting foes. While the user is in play: Each foe's Evasion stage is reduced by one (1).	This Pokemon emits a scent of sweet honey to lure in unwitting foes. Each foe's Evasion stage is reduced by one (1). While it is a round where the user entered play: The user has Recovery Aid 12.

The removed text is redundant: The effects of abilities already only work while they're in play, unless they specifically say otherwise.

Honey Gather's only relevant user, Ribombee, will enjoy this large heal even if they've leaned on Draining Kiss or Roost during their round due to the changes to Sweet Veil.

Comatose
As a result of changes to Sleep, above, we're compensating this ability.

This is a good chance to rope a strong physical attacker and pivot into the new Recovery Aid ecosystem, as well.

Old	New
The Pokemon exists in a constant state of drowsiness that resembles sleepwalking. The user is always Asleep. The user can attempt actions while Asleep. If the user would heal HP or En due to an effect of Sleep; instead they heal half that amount, rounded down. The user is unaffected by non-Sleep major status.	The Pokemon exists in a constant state of drowsiness that resembles sleepwalking. The user is always Asleep, and always has Recovery Aid 6. The user can attempt actions while Asleep. The user is unaffected by non-Sleep major status.

Type-Pinch Abilities
These abilities have always been niche; rarely boosting more than one attack in a battle. This change makes them relevant sooner.

Old	New
The Pokemon turns to their inner serenity and calm in a pinch. When the user attacks with a Grass-type attack, while the user's HP is at or below a third of their maximum HP (x1/3): Give that attack a Power Bonus of three (3).	The Pokemon turns to their inner serenity and calm in a pinch. The user's Grass-type attacks deal more damage with hits, based on the user's HP: ● More than half: Two (2) more damage. ● Half or less: Four (4) more damage.

Blaze, Torrent, and Swarm mirror this change.

This a weird way to raise damage, only shared with the type-boosting items such as :charcoal:

Charcoal. We arrived here from a process of elimination:

The goal of the change was to make these abilities relevant to Infernape and Feraligatr, who already feature Power Bonuses from abilities; so further Bonuses were out.
Increasing Attack and Special Attack ranks while attacking with the relevant type would have ran in to issues with complex templating. (Even more than this one!)
Due to Smokomodo and Scizor having Technician, directly raising the power of the moves was out. Also, this approach has consistently created confusion with Power Bonuses in the past.
Even this increase still conflicts with Lokix's Tinted Lens. But you should try out Lokix anyway.

I considered having each of these four abilities tack on a different benefit, but it was hard to find four different roughly-equal effects that both suited their four types, and served each of their users well. So instead, I went with a smaller damage increase even when the user's HP is high. It seems thematic to encourage the starters (and Swarm users) to use their defining STAB type.

Frisk
This ability removes most item decisions from the game, and many of the users quite playable without it. We're weakening this ability while trying to increase its interest.

Update 2024-Mar-28 @ 03:11 UTC (still unsure how best to convey patch-adjusting adjustments here)
Based on feedback received

This is a new type of template, that ~~kind-of-sort-of borrows from Trace, without creating a new post~~ including creating a new post. ~~We're trying it out with Fling first~~ It caused problems with players getting perfect information when sending out into an opponent whose item is known.

Old	Patch	Post-Patch
The user can quickly identify the items held by opponents, and potentially sabotage them. The user is unaffected by Natural Gift and by Fling. While the user is being attacked: The effects of the attacker's held items are ignored. While the user is attacking: The effects of defenders' held items are ignored.	The user can quickly identify the items held by opponents, and potentially sabotage them. The user is unaffected by Natural Gift and by Fling. As the user's trainer sends the user out, they may name up to two (0-2) different item names. The effects of items, that were named when the user was last sent out, are ignored.	The user can quickly identify the items held by opponents, and potentially sabotage them. The user is unaffected by Natural Gift and by Fling. At the beginning of battle: The user's trainer may name up to three (0-3) different item names to be noted on this ability; after which, scheduled posts resume. The effects of items, that were noted on this ability, are ignored. (For each instance of Frisk on your team, you may name the same items or different items.)

Weakening the ability from "ignore almost all items" to "only ignore ~~two~~ three items" is a huge nerf. We're hoping, though, that attempting to read your opponent's plans, and target their ~~two~~ three best items against you, will be more entertaining for both players involved.

...Or their ~~three~~ four best items, as the case may be. :grimmsnarl:

Damp
Politoed has ruined everyone's fun. We're moving the ability-doubling effect to Ability Shield, and leaving a slightly weaker replacement.

The main catalyst for this change was so that we didn't have to worry about Pokemon doubling up on abilities gained from items. We've found this to be a very dangerous interaction to have running around.

Old	New
The Pokemon exudes a moisture into the air that inhibits explosive reactions. Opposing Pokemon can't execute self-sacrificing moves that have a BAP. Opposing Pokemon can't execute Mind Blown. While the Weather is Rain, or while an active Pokemon has Air Lock or Cloud Nine: Damp also has the effect text of each of the user's other Abilities.	The Pokemon exudes a moisture into the air that inhibits explosive reactions. Opposing Pokemon can't execute Mind Blown or self-sacrificing moves that have a BAP. Power Bonuses granted to the user's attacks, while the Weather is Rain, are increased by two (2). While the user is Golduck: The battle has Rain. (In addition to other Weather.)

The text referencing Air Lock and Cloud Nine was removed because it didn't work: Ally Weather-blocking abilities would block it anyway, and the user's own Weather-blocking ability would allow it to work in Rain anyway.

Since this change obliterates Golduck's envisioned gameplan of doubling abilities copied by Role Play, we're adding some text specific to Golduck to give them a much-needed niche of their own.

Also, this compensates poor :swampert:

Swampert for nerfing Bide yet again.

Vital Spirit
We're making this half of the paired effect Delibird-specific.

We're not making the effect of Insomnia specific to Delibird at this time, but we have our eye on it.

Old	New
The Pokemon is restless and doesn't stay in the same spot for too long. The user is unaffected by Sleep. When the user enters play, if the user has Insomnia: The user's Defense, Special Defense, and Speed stages are increased by two (2) for the user's next four (4) turns. (See Insomnia for its interaction with Vital Spirit.)	The Pokemon is restless and doesn't stay in the same spot for too long. The user is unaffected by Sleep. When the user enters play, if the user is Delibird: Raise the user's Defense, Special Defense, and Speed stages by two (2) for the user's next four (4) turns. (See Insomnia for its interaction with Vital Spirit.)

We also took this chance to update the templating, too.

Bide
We've mostly liked how the new play pattern for this move has shaken out, but it is hitting too hard too easily.

We're reducing the damage multiplier from x3/2 to x4/3, and we're making the "attacking version" of Bide have negative priority so that more Pokemon can deal with it effectively.

Old

New

The user braces themselves to take incoming punishement. On later uses, they unleash the stored energy as well.

When the user completes this move: Grant the user a unique status called Biding, until they complete an attack, with the following effect:
● When the user takes damage from a hit: Add the amount dealt to the amount noted on this condition.
● The user's Bide targets the last Pokemon to hit them, rather than themselves.

This move deals fixed damage.

Bide's BAP is equal to the total amount of damage noted on Biding conditions on the user, times one and one-half (x3/2).
(Until Bide is "started", this is typically zero.)

The user braces themselves to take incoming punishement. On later uses, they unleash the stored energy as well.

When the user completes this move: Grant the user a unique status called Biding, until they complete an attack, with the following effect:
● When the user takes damage from a hit: Add the amount dealt to the amount noted on this condition.
● The user's Bide targets the last Pokemon to hit them, rather than themselves.
● The priority of the user's Bide is -1.

This move deals fixed damage.

Bide's BAP is equal to the total amount of damage noted on Biding conditions on the user, times one and one-third (x4/3).
(Until Bide is "started", this is typically zero.)

Light Screen
We're flattening the "curve" of Screens, allowing them to be highly effective in larger formats.

Our thinking is that with two or three opponents in play, the likelihood of having an opponent that can remove the Screen increases. Also, these moves can help reduce the lethality of larger formats and slow them down somewhat.

We're also happy to have the chance to slightly simplify these moves, since they're Move Level 0.

And, though this is a small factor, we no longer feel the need to "upsell" the use of Screens with larger Defense numbers, now that their strength has become well-accepted by the playerbase.

Old

New

The user raises a paling of light that protects their team from Special moves.

Create a Screen field condition named Light Screen on the user's team, for a number of steps equal to the user's Special Defense rank, with the following effect:
● While a member of the affected team is being attacked with a Special attack: That member's Special Defense rank is always at least 14, minus the number of that team's members in play.
(13 for one member in play, 12 for two members in play, and so on.)

The user raises a paling of light that protects their team from Special moves.

Create a Screen field condition named Light Screen on the user's team, for a number of steps equal to the user's Special Defense rank, with the following effect:
● While a member of the affected team is being attacked with a Special attack: That member's Special Defense rank is always at least 12.

Reflect, Aurora Veil, and G-Max Resonance mirror these changes. In addition, the latter two now create their screen for a fixed duration of six (6) steps.

Rest
We're rephrasing this effect to ensure that Restful Sleep remains restful, given the Sleep changes above.

The user bunkers down to sleep and rest, rejuvenating themselves in the midst of battle.

(If the user's HP is full, or if the user is unaffected by Sleep, this move can't execute.)

Remove all Major Status from the user; then, inflict Sleep on the user for their next two (2) turns, with the following additional effects:
● When this condition is created: The subject heals 20 HP, as a recovery.
● Restless markers can't be placed on the subject.
● The subject is unaffected by non-Sleep Major Status.

(Sleep typically can't be created on a Pokemon that is already Asleep.)

The user bunkers down to sleep and rest, rejuvenating themselves in the midst of battle.

(If the user's HP is full, or if the user is unaffected by Sleep, this move can't execute.)

Remove all Major Status from the user; then, inflict Sleep on the user for their next two (2) turns, with the following additional effects:
● When this condition is created: The subject heals 20 HP, as a recovery.
● This condition's triggered effect to discard itself can't trigger.
● The subject is unaffected by non-Sleep Major Status.

(Sleep typically can't be created on a Pokemon that is already Asleep.)

Ability Shield
We're upgrading this niche item with a pair of experimental effects.

"Can't be ignored" is a frighting piece of effect text, but we're trying it here anyway. If we end up having to walk that change back in the future, so be it.

Old	New
A charming badge shaped like a shield. The holder's Abilities can't be changed by the effects of other Pokemon; also, the user can't be given Abilities by the effects of other Pokemon.	A charming badge shaped like a shield. The holder's Abilities can't be changed or ignored by the effects or conditions of other Pokemon; also, the user can't be given Abilities by the effects of conditions created by other Pokemon. When the holder is attacked, while the holder has one or fewer Abilities: Give that attack a Power Penalty of two (2).

To be frank, this change precluded any buff to Sticky Hold. Having an ability and item, that make each other immune to disruption, would become an immediate issue if the item involved had relevant upside—which this item now has.

Assault Vest
We're easing this item's restriction to open up the defensive item space even more.

Old	New
A protective vest so thick, it makes certain movements impossible. The holder can't attempt non-damaging actions. Raise the holder's Special Defense Rank by one-half (x1.5), rounding up.	A protective vest so thick, it makes certain movements impossible. When the holder completes a non-damaging action: Place an Entrench marker on this item until it is dropped or transferred. While this item has an Entrench marker: The holder can't attempt non-damaging actions. Raise the holder's Special Defense Rank by one-half (x1.5), rounded up.

Barometer
Rather than tie this item's balance to four different abilities with uncertain balance futures, we're carving it a niche of its own.

Old	New
(Represented with ) A tool used to take detailed measurements the speed and direction of the winds. The holder has the abilities Ice Body, Rain Dish, Sand Force, and Solar Power in addition to their other abilities. (A Pokemon can't have more than one "copy" of an ability.)	A tool used to take detailed measurements the speed and direction of the winds. While a Weather is in play: The holder has Recovery Aid 6. This item also has the effect text of each Weather in play that was created by the holder.

The Recovery Aid de-synergizes with Pelipper's Rain Dish and Vanilluxe's Ice Body; but the former prefers a pivoting consumable like Focus Sash and the latter prefers a damage item such as Choice Specs anyway. It's okay for this item to disfavor certain auto-setters.

Stage-Converting Berries
In a bid to make these Berries worth considering, we're making them simply grant additional stages, rather than convert them.

This table cost me so much character count.

Berry	Old	New
Razz Berry	If a move's effect would raise the user's Attack by an amount; instead, that effect raises the user's Attack and Special Attack stages by the same amount each (for the same duration), and the user consumes this item.	When the user's Attack stage is raised: Raise the user's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stages by one (1) each for the user's next three (3) turns; and the user consumes this item.
Bluk Berry	If a move's effect would raise the user's Defense by an amount; instead, that effect raises the user's Attack and Special Attack stages by the same amount each (for the same duration), and the user consumes this item.	When the user's Defense stage is raised: Raise the user's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stages by one (1) each for the user's next three (3) turns; and the user consumes this item.
Nanab Berry	If a move's effect would raise the user's Special Attack by an amount; instead, that effect raises the user's Attack and Special Attack stages by the same amount each (for the same duration), and the user consumes this item.	When the user's Special Attack stage is raised: Raise the user's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stages by one (1) each for the user's next three (3) turns; and the user consumes this item.
Wepear Berry	If a move's effect would raise the user's Special Defense by an amount; instead, that effect raises the user's Attack and Special Attack stages by the same amount each (for the same duration), and the user consumes this item.	When the user's Special Defense stage is raised: Raise the user's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stages by one (1) each for the user's next three (3) turns; and the user consumes this item.
Pinap Berry	If a move's effect would raise the user's Speed by an amount; instead, that effect raises the user's Attack and Special Attack stages by the same amount each (for the same duration), and the user consumes this item.	When the user's Speed stage is raised: Raise the user's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stages by one (1) each for the user's next three (3) turns; and the user consumes this item.

2,640 characters, just for this table. Did you know we only get 65,000 of those per post?

Sticky Barb
Following with Frisk's nerf, it's not reasonable for a single item to blank the majority of opposing items and have upside on top of that.

We had looked at ways to make item removal slightly more costly, or to be more specific, make the decision between facing a matchup with or without items more meaningful. We considered insulating Sticky Hold against this item, even, but decided that would be unwise.

Old

New

A menacing metal sphere covered in hooked barbs. It can cause injuries that make it difficult to hold items.

When the holder completes an attack, if the holder made contact with any defenders: Destroy this item. Then, if this item was destroyed, create a unique status named "Barbs" on the first defender the holder made contact with until they leave play, with the following effects:
● The subject can't hold items, except immutable items.
● At the end of the step: The subject takes two (2) damage.

A menacing metal sphere covered in hooked barbs. It can cause injuries that make it difficult to hold items.

When the holder completes an attack, if the holder made contact with any defenders: Destroy this item. Then, if this item was destroyed, create a unique status named "Barbs" on the first defender the holder made contact with until they leave play, with the following effects:
● The subject can't hold items, except immutable items.

We instead chose to reduce the payoff for removing an item with Sticky Barb. Presumably, the user is already happier to go itemless than the victim. There's no real reason for the item to also inflict regular Poison, incurable by most means except switching, with near-guaranteed success.

LouisCyphre · Mar 14, 2024

okay fine. nevermind.

LouisCyphre · Apr 1, 2024

I suppose I should record these properly.

New Playable Facility: The BBP Contest Hall Spectacular!

In this brand-new Advanced Facility, take the role of a Coordinator and bring your single competitng Pokemon to fame and stardom!

To make the most of this facility, we've prepared some helpful tools:

The main forum has a tag "Contests", that should be used for all non-Event Contest threads. A link that filters the main forum to show recently-updated contests can be found right here.
In the Profile Maker, we've prepared a "Contest Movepool Viewer", that you can import or approximate in your own sheet. This should be helpful in planning your Contest strategy!
We'll be updating the Battle Tower with language that allows players to run their own, Casual contests with the same rewards as a normal Tower battle.
Try to coordinate with other players to play Pinnacle (Level 4) content, which awards the Comet Shards and Star Pieces needed to enter high-Level Contests! Speaking of...

Advanced Facility Incentives
We currently have two Advanced Facilities under construction: The Battle Pike and the Legend Gauntlet. We also have one further facility underway, though it may either end up as an Advanced Facility or a progression facility.

We're hoping to drive traffic to Pinnacle content because we believe them to be the apex of what makes BBP interesting: Teambuilding, risk evaluation, commital decision-making, rare collectables, and more.

To spur this traffic, we're going to be adding :comet shard:

Comet Shards and

Star Pieces as rewards to the following content:

The BBP League Circuit (including this month!)
- Referees will be paid a Star Piece for reffing these battles to completion, and another for doing so promptly (without crossing DQ).
Level 4 Singles Realgams (Cynthia, Kukui, Adaman or Irida, Colress, N, Ghetsis)
- Challengers will be paid a Comet Shard at the 2/3rd Milestone, and another at the 3/3 (victory) Milestone.
- Referees will be paid 2 Star Pieces for reffing these challenges to completion.
Level 4 Doubles Realgams (Evice + Nascour, Barry + Palmer)
- Challengers will be paid a Comet Shard for each of the 2/4th, 3/4th, and 4/4th Milestones, for a possible total of 3.
- Referees will be paid 3 Star Pieces for reffing these challenges to completion.
Pinnacle Raids (Procession, Colossi, Enigma)
- These will pay less generously than Realgam, reflecting their relative ease.
Pinnacle Safari (Ground Zero, World Peace, Longing Abyss)
- The challenger will likely earn less Comet Shards for these challenges than for Realgams, if they're found to be easier.
- Referees can likely expect similar pay to Realgams, reflecting the high amount of bookkeeping asked of them.
Pinnacle Tree (pinnacle tree)
- ask nightblitz what pinnacle tree will look like first

All of these changes are in addition to any existing rewards, rather than replacing any.

We're hoping, with this change, to incentivize players with access to Pinnacle content to have an attempt running most of the time, in at least one facility, while they level their Pokemon elsewhere.

We don't expect the Contest Hall to be able to destroy all of these Comet Shards and Star Pieces all on its own. Instead, we'd like to get a feel for how many of these pieces players end up accumulating, and use that information to price Pike and TLG. We expect both of these facilities, but especially Pike, to be burdensome to referee; so gating these facilities behind Advanced Currency will help spread out potential challenges and ensure we aren't asking our referees for more work than they can handle.

Upcoming BBP Work that I owe
With the Contest Hall and the last big Event of the (event-relative) year launched, my big period of crunch for the season is over with. We won't be seeing another large-scale Celebration Event until October 2024.

In the meantime, I hope to finally catch up on CAP Data Pages, finish revising the remaining un-updated Raids, and maybe even enjoy playing my own game.

Start Here! Battle-By-Post Player Handbook - Generation 9

LouisCyphre

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