*Credit to Nexus and OmegaDonut for the previous SM mechanics research thread.
Rules for this Thread
1. Please limit discussion to battle mechanics only.
2. Avoid vague questions like "does X still work the same?" or "How does new move Y work?" Needs to be a specific idea to test.
The Isle of Armor DLC Stuff
New Moves
New Mechanics in Sword and Shield
Dynamax/Gigantamax
Max/G-Max Moves
Moves
Abilities
Items
Misc
Changes to Old Mechanics
Rules for this Thread
1. Please limit discussion to battle mechanics only.
2. Avoid vague questions like "does X still work the same?" or "How does new move Y work?" Needs to be a specific idea to test.
The Isle of Armor DLC Stuff
New Moves
- Poltergeist works against a Ghost-weak target holding Kasib Berry (Marty)
- Shell Side Arm's physical version is also a contact move (Seth Vilo)
- Grassy Glide changes priority mid-turn if Grassy Terrain starts or ends before the user can move (Marty)
- Shell Side Arm considers stat stages when determining whether physical or special will deal more damage (Vengeance417)
- Poltergeist works against Pokemon holding items that are otherwise unremovable (RocketSurgery)
- Lash Out doubles in power when an ally lowers the user's stats, and when Intimidate lowers the user's stats prior to Turn 1 (McCoolDude)
- Triple Axel behaves exactly like Triple Kick, just with 20/40/60 power instead (Marty) It delays its power boost if the first hit breaks Disguise (DragonWhale)
- Corrosive Gas cannot remove items from Sticky Hold targets (Marty)
- Misty Explosion is blocked by Damp (Marty)
- Coaching bypasses Max Guard (LatiosRider) and Crafty Shield (LatiosRider)
- Shell Side Arm mechanics (Marty) (more tests) (Anubis) (Marty)
- Terrain Pulse is boosted by Mega Launcher (LatiosRider)
- Rising Voltage doubles in power if the target is grounded in Electric Terrain (Marty)
- Terrain Pulse, Misty Explosion, Grassy Glide, and Expanding Force require the user to be grounded in the appropriate terrain to get their boosts (LatiosRider)
- Burning Jealousy/Lash Out still trigger their effects if the relevant stat boosts/drops are no longer boosted/dropped at the time the user attacks (Anubis)
- Burning Jealousy is boosted by Sheer Force whether or not the target would have been burned (DaWoblefet)
- Burning Jealousy's secondary happens before Weakness Policy triggers (Marty)
- Unseen Fist makes contact moves ignore protection entirely (besides Max Guard) (Marty) Protective Pads does nothing to prevent this (DaWoblefet)
- Quick Draw only works on attacking moves (Marty) and activates at a 30% chance (Marty) Quick Draw will activate instead of Quick Claw/Custap Berry when both would otherwise activate (Anubis)
New Mechanics in Sword and Shield
Dynamax/Gigantamax
- It appears effects which deal damage or heal in fractions of max HP do so by calculating with the original max HP
- Has immunity to flinching
- Choice Band/Scarf/Specs move lock and stat boosts are ignored during the effect (Anubis)
- Being unable to select a move causes Struggle as usual (Anubis)
- Red Card cannot force switches, but gets used up anyway (Anubis)
- Emergency Exit can still activate and end Dynamax (Anubis)
- Transformed Pokemon can Dynamax (Anubis)
- Shedinja still has 1 max HP during the effect even if its Dynamax Level is maxed out (DaWoblefet)
- Weight-based moves cannot be used against Dynamax Pokemon (PokemonTrainerLui), but a PP is still used (BountyHunterStev)
- Dynamaxing causes a Pokemon's substitute to fade (Ampha)
- Legendaries other than Zacian, Zamazenta, and Eternatus can Dynamax (Anubis)
- Gorilla Tactics has no effect during Dynamax (Anubis)
- Destiny Bond cannot take down Dynamax Pokemon (Anubis)
- Perish Song can take down Dynamax Pokemon, and the perish count can be started before or during Dynamax (Max Raids have different rules) (Anubis)
- A Pokemon Transformed into Zacian, Zamazenta, or Eternatus cannot then Dynamax, and those Pokemon cannot be Transformed into if the user is currently Dynamaxed (Jibaku)
- Disabled moves can be clicked as Max Moves. Disable works against Dynamax Pokemon if they have used a regular move previously (but fails on Max Moves). (Anubis)
- Pre-existing confusion remains and can also be inflicted during Dynamax (Anubis)
- Eject Button can switch out a Dynamax Pokemon (Anubis)
- Brine deals double damage based on the Dynamax HP (Anubis)
- Pain Split calculates based on the non-Dynamax HP (Anubis)
- Instruct fails against Dynamaxed Pokemon (Worldie)
- A Pokemon Transformed into a Gigantamax-capable Pokemon will not be able to Gigantamax itself (GMars)
- Entrainment and Skill Swap fail against Dynamax Pokemon, Gastro Acid succeeds (fortunatechance)
- Endeavor calculates damage using the target's non-Dynamax HP, rounded up (architdate and Anubis)
- Has immunity to OHKO moves (DaWoblefet)
- Entrainment and Skill Swap fail when used against Dynamax Pokemon, while Worry Seed, Simple Beam, Role Play, Gastro Acid, Trace, and Receiver succeed (DaWoblefet)
- Zen Mode and Schooling use Dynamax HP for their HP thresholds to change forme (DaWoblefet)
- Imprison uses the user's base moves to lock out opposing Pokemon's moves (DaWoblefet)
- Parting Shot can switch out Dynamax Pokemon when used through Magic Bounce (DaWoblefet)
- Innards Out deals damage based on the non-Dynamax HP (DaWoblefet)
- Pokemon Illusioned as Zacian/Zamazenta/Eternatus cannot Dynamax (LatiosRider)
Max/G-Max Moves
- Deal 1/4 damage through protection moves other than Max Guard (Anubis and DaWoblefet). The damage formula does this in the same place as Z-Moves did. (OZY)
- G-Max Wildfire's end of turn damage is 1/6 max HP (Anubis)
- Contrary reverses stat stage changes from Max Moves (Anubis)
- Weather Ball appears in the UI as Max Strike in rain but really turns into Max Geyser (Anubis); same kind of behaviour for Multi-Attack (Jibaku); same kind of behaviour for Normal moves and Ion Deluge (DaWoblefet)
- Sheer Force does not power up the moves or remove the effects (SadisticMystic)
- Assault Vest prevents the use of Max Guard (Anubis)
- Feint can hit through Max Guard, but does not break protection for that turn (CasualPokePlayer)
- Max Moves that lower the target's stats do so even if they had a substitute before and after the attack (GMars and TPP)
- G-Max Steelsurge's hazard can be removed by Defog and Rapid Spin (Anubis)
- Electrify changes Max and G-Max Moves into Max Lightning (Anubis)
- Encore fails against Max Moves (Anubis), but can be used when Dynamax ends to Encore the base move of the last Max Move (DaWoblefet)
- Copycat copies the base move when the last used move was a Max Move (trent_Rofl)
- G-Max Finale heals 1/6 of active allies' max HP, and does take into account the Dynamax max HP unlike other fractional healing effects (SolaceAcheron)
- Max Guard completely blocks Phantom Force, Psych Up, and Transform, and does not block Decorate, Perish Song, or Role Play (DaWoblefet)
- G-Max Befuddle/Malodor/Stun Shock/Volt Crash inflict their statuses on both opponents, even if they have substitutes (Anubis)
- G-Max Centiferno and G-Max Sandblast start the Fire Spin and Sand Tomb effects, respectively, on both opponents, even if they have substitutes (Anubis), but the trapping and damage continues even if the user leaves the field. (Tangrowth_Fan) Both effects last 4-5 turns or 7 turns with Grip Claw. It appears both opponents receive the same turn count. (Anubis)
- G-Max Snooze only has a chance to start the Yawn effect against the target, not its ally (Anubis) (the chance is 50%) (DaWoblefet, Anubis, peach)
- Forewarn will name the base move instead of the Max Move (Anubis)
- G-Max Replenish has a 50% chance to restore allies' Berries (DaWoblefet, Pigeons, Josh Mecham, peach)
- Max Strike changes to the appropriate Max Move with Aerilate/Pixilate/Refrigerate, but they do not change the power of the move (OZY)
- Grudge will reveal the base move and deplete its PP if the user was knocked out by a Max Move (DaWoblefet)
- Serene Grace does not affect the activation rate of G-Max Replenish or G-Max Snooze effects (DaWoblefet)
- G-Max Chi Strike raises critical hit rate by 1 stage, is stackable up to 3, and can be combined with the Focus Energy effect. Contrary, Simple, Clear Smog, Haze, and Topsy-Turvy have no effect on these crit stages. (DaWoblefet) (DaWoblefet and Cracticus)
Moves
- Magic Powder is a powder move and fails against pure Psychic types (Anubis)
- Life Dew triggers ally Water immunity Abilities (Siggu)
- Tar Shot's effect adds a weakness to the Fire type to the target's types (viol and bass)
- No Retreat fails if the user trapped itself with it on the first use. Ghost types can still switch out of the effect, and phazing also works (Beware I Live!!!)
- Aura Wheel cannot be used by non-Morpeko forms (like Hyperspace Fury and Dark Void mechanics) (Anubis)
- Dragon Darts will not attack into a target protecting themselves in Doubles, hitting the other Pokemon twice instead (Ckarasu)
- Dragon Darts will not attack into Fairy types in Doubles, hitting the other Pokemon twice instead (Nails)
- Fishious Rend is a bite move (KuraiTenshi26)
- Pyro Ball is a bullet move (Skeli)
- Octolock's effect stacks with binding moves like Wrap and Snap Trap (Skeli)
- Court Change swaps hazards, screens, Tailwind (Skeli), Mist, G-Max Wildfire, and Pledge combo effects (DaWoblefet)
- Bolt Beak and Fishious Rend have their power doubled against Pokemon switched in the same turn (Nails)
- Dragon Darts will not attack into a target in a semi-invulnerable turn (Nails)
- Clangorous Soul can be used despite Soundproof, but fails if the HP loss would knock out the user (Anubis) The HP loss will not happen if the move can't change any of the user's stats (DaWoblefet)
- No Retreat can be used multiple times if the user had been fully trapped already (Zaggyo)
- No Retreat cannot be used multiple times just because the user is a Ghost type (Merritt)
- Court Change-swapped Sticky Web still counts as having been set up by the original user for the purposes of Competitive and Defiant (Yung Dramps)
- Dragon Darts is not blocked by Wide Guard (RagiingAlways)
- Octolock's stat drops activate opposing Competitive and Defiant, but not Mirror Armor (Kalalokki)
- Body Press uses the user's Defense stat and stat stage in the damage formula to replace its Attack and Attack stat stage. This means any other effects that affect the user's Attack stat continue to apply, such as Choice Band and Hustle. (OZY) Effects that alter the user's Defense stat other than its stat stage do nothing to change Body Press damage.
- Teatime forces Berry consumption regardless of Unnerve or substitutes, and misses against semi-invulnerable Pokemon (Anubis). It does this in the order: user, ally, opponent's left, opponent's right (Anubis) Teatime also ignores Magic Room and Klutz (LatiosRider)
- Behemoth Bash, Behemoth Blade, and Dynamax Cannon have their damage doubled against Dynamax Pokemon, not their power (OZY) (Anubis)
- Grav Apple has 1.5x power during Gravity (Anubis)
- No Retreat users can switch out with Shed Shell (DragonWhale)
- Court Change preserves the current duration of existing field effects (Anubis)
- Recycle can restore Berries used through Teatime (DaWoblefet)
- Dragon Darts targeting and detailed mechanics (Anubis, peach) (2)
Abilities
- Cotton Down is not a powder-based effect (Anubis)
- Mimicry changes type(s) to the Terrain type and reverts back to original type(s) when Terrain ends (Anubis) (follow-up)
- Neutralizing Gas leaving the field reactivates "on switch-in" Abilities that activated previously (DragonMasterX34) (DaWoblefet), even against the Pokemon with Neutralizing Gas which is no longer on the field (Anubis)
- Screen Cleaner removes screens from both sides and does not affect Safeguard (Anubis)
- Neutralizing Gas activates before Unnerve (Lego)
- Steam Engine grants +6 Speed (Revelation)
- Ice Face breaks from a self-hit in confusion (like Disguise) (PokemonTrainerLui)
- Gulp Missile triggers from the first turn of Dive even if the second turn doesn't happen (if Surf is fully blocked it doesn't trigger) (Vengeance417)
- Gulp Missile's Arrokuda projectile deals 1/4 max HP damage and lowers the target's Defense 1 stage (Vengeance417)
- Gulp Missile's Pikachu projectile deals 1/4 max HP damage and paralyzes the target (even Ground types) (GMars)
- Gulp Missile fires the projectile even if Cramorant gets knocked out (GMars)
- Gulp Missile doesn't deal damage to Magic Guard Pokemon (Siggu)
- Ice Face regenerates whenever Hail begins (Anubis)
- Ice Face also regenerates when switched in and Hail is active (ck49)
- Gorilla Tactics is a 1.5x Attack boost, and stacks with Choice Band (GMars and TPP)
- Mirror Armor bounces Strength Sap's Attack drop back (Anubis)
- Sand Spit activates after the effects of Max Moves (Count Bleck)
- Gulp Missile's obtained projectile is based on Cramorant's current HP. Arrokuda when > 50% and Pikachu when <= 50%. Dynamaxing or switching out removes the Gulping/Gorging form (Theorymon and Martin)
- Ice Face is unaffected by Neutralizing Gas (Anubis)
- Power Spot multiplies an ally's move power by 1.3 (but not the Pokemon with Power Spot) (Anubis)
- Steely Spirit multiplies an ally's Steel-type move power by 1.5 (including the Pokemon with Steely Spirit) (Anubis)
- Punk Rock sound moves have 1.3x power, and sound moves against Punk Rock deal 0.5x damage (Anubis)
- Ripen doubles Jaboca and Rowap Berries' damage (Skeli)
- Ice Face does not reactivate instantly when broken by a physical Max Hailstorm (ck49)
- Ripen doubles Berry healing after determining the non-doubled heal amount (Anubis)
- Neutralizing Gas can be suppressed by Gastro Acid (UnderdarkFox)
- Mimicry activates on Transformed Pokemon to change them back to their original type(s) if no Terrain is active (Anubis)
- Ice Scales halves special damage, as opposed to doubling Special Defense (OZY)
- If Neutralizing Gas disables an active Unburden, the Speed boost is regained when Neutralizing Gas leaves (DaWoblefet)
- Mirror Armor-reflected stat drops are blocked by substitutes (DaWoblefet)
- Steely Spirit is not ignored by a Mold Breaker ally (Anubis)
- Perish Body will not activate if the attacker already has a perish count (even if the Pokemon with Perish Body doesn't) (Skeli)
- Hunger Switch can be removed by Entrainment (doipy hooves)
- On switch-in, Pastel Veil cures itself and its ally. Switching into Toxic Spikes also prevents poisoning, but without displaying Pastel Veil. It also cures itself when bypassed by Mold Breaker, but an ally will remain poisoned. (DaWoblefet)
- Mirror Armor will not activate if the stat stage is already -6 (DaWoblefet)
Items
- Blunder Policy activates when a move with multiple targets is avoided by at least one of the targets (BountyHunterStev)
- Throat Spray activates when the user's sound move hits a target, not when it fails or all targets are protected (BountyHunterStev)
- Utility Umbrella does not protect from weather damage, but the holder takes normal damage from what would otherwise be rain- and sun-boosted attacks. It does not appear to affect move accuracy in weather. (BountyHunterStev)
- Throat Spray activates when using Clangorous Soul (BountyHunterStev)
- Blunder Policy does not trigger on moves avoided through semi-invulnerability, avoided OHKO moves, or moves avoided by Telepathy allies (sb879)
- Eject Pack triggers when stat stages are lowered even if the resulting stat stage is not negative (sb879)
- Eject Pack will not activate when switches from U-turn or Parting Shot are happening (sb879)
- Utility Umbrella holders take normal damage from what would be rain- and sun-weakened attacks (sb879)
- Utility Umbrella holders ignore rain- and sun-based move and Ability effects that would affect them (sb879) (Anubis)
- Utility Umbrella does not affect damage modifiers from the holder's Water and Fire attacks in rain/sun (sb879)
- Heavy-Duty Boots still allows Poison-type holders to soak up Toxic Spikes (GMars and TPP)
- Utility Umbrella holders can become frozen in sun (Anubis)
- Utility Umbrella holders can avoid Hurricane and Thunder in rain (Anubis)
- If multiple Eject Packs would trigger during the same attack, only the fastest Pokemon uses theirs (DaWoblefet)
- Eject Pack will not activate if Parting Shot lowers the holder's stats and the user switched out (DaWoblefet)
Misc
- Team Preview shows regular Zacian and Zamazenta regardless of their held item (Death Phenomeno)
- Symbiosis has a new bug (SadisticMystic) This has been fixed as of v1.1.1 ((DaWoblefet))
- Pokemon Transformed into Morpeko can use Aura Wheel; it always appears as Electric type, but is actually Dark type if the Transformed Pokemon copied Hangry Mode (Anubis)
- Slush Rush still doesn't provide immunity to Hail damage (Skeli)
- Silvally forms without RKS System or a Memory now behave as the form's type instead of Normal (Anubis)
- Hacked Zen Mode Galarian Darmanitan and Crowned Sword Zacian are reverted to their base formes in battle (Anubis) (2)
- Anticipation and Forewarn can detect Hidden Power's type (Anubis)
- The guy in-game who says sun thaws frozen Pokemon is a liar (doipy hooves)
- 16-bit damage overflow is still a thing (DaWoblefet)
- Ally Switch can take the Healing Wish effect if it's used the turn after Healing Wish was used into a full HP target (Sejun Park) The effect is actually stored for that slot until a Pokemon not at full HP switches in (Givrix)
- Fling can be used with Technical Records (TRs), and its power is determined by the contained move's power, or 10 for Status moves and moves with "---" power. (OZY)
- Due to a bug, Sucker Punch will fail in Doubles in certain situations (DaWoblefet and Anubis) (Team Rocket Elite) (DaWoblefet and Anubis) This has been fixed as of v1.1 (Anubis)
- Aguav/Figy/Iapapa/Mago/Wiki Berries cause confusion based on the Pokemon's original Nature, ignoring the effect of Nature Mints (DaWoblefet)
- Stalwart, Propeller Tail, and Snipe Shot have bizarre targeting in Doubles when moves are called through Instruct or Sleep Talk (DaWoblefet and Anubis)
- Using Fairy Lock with animations on crashes the game in v1.1 (Anubis) and is fixed in v1.1.1 (Anubis)
- The user can attack itself with Dragon Darts (Anubis)
- Mirror Armor reflecting a Parting Shot stat drop counts as success for Parting Shot's switch effect, even if the drops themselves fail to do anything to the user (Anubis)
- Competitive/Defiant activate from opposing Mirror Armor reflecting the user's stat drops (TheMantyke)
- Plates still function, Razor Fang does not function (Anubis)
- Neutralizing Gas cannot be Skill Swapped/Wandering Spirited or obtained via Entrainment, Power of Alchemy/Receiver, or Role Play, but can be replaced via Entrainment, Mummy, Simple Beam, and Worry Seed. Gastro Acid also suppresses it. (DaWoblefet and Cracticus)
- Parental Bond has no effect on Max Moves (Anubis)
Changes to Old Mechanics
- Inner Focus now blocks Intimidate (DaWoblefet)
- Own Tempo now blocks Intimidate
- Aguav/Figy/Iapapa/Mago/Wiki Berries now heal 33% max HP instead of 50% (Pyritie)
- Disguise now causes the user to lose 1/8 max HP when broken (Anubis)
- Rattled now activates from being Intimidated (Whitephoenixace)
- Moody can no longer raise or lower accuracy or evasiveness (DragonWhale)
- Oblivious now blocks Intimidate (Cloudy Mistral)
- Turn order now changes dynamically mid-turn whenever Speed changes (Pan.), but alterations like Quick Claw or Lagging Tail will not change turn order again once the turn has started (Anubis). Obtaining Prankster mid-turn does change turn order (Anubis), but obtaining Stall does not (Anubis).
- King's Shield now lowers Attack on contact by 1 stage instead of 2 (Team Rocket Elite)
- Scrappy now blocks Intimidate
- Defog now removes Terrains (Serebii)
- Electric/Grassy/Psychic Terrain now provide a 1.3x boost instead of 1.5x (Jibaku); Misty Terrain is unchanged (OZY), and rain and sun are also unchanged (Anubis)
- Technician is now the first power modifier considered in damage calculation (DaWoblefet, Anubis, SadisticMystic)
Last edited: