Resource Union Street - Casual Discussion Thread

Hi, I'm currently in the process of signing up. Need something to do in my downtime during long college days, and was thinking of RPs and now this to stretch my creative muscles. I wanted to start with an Unown. I find the idea for it very appealing. A question and a half to whom it may concern:

- I don't have to have every move filled out for every letter slot (There's no J or Y first glance at Level 0, for instance.) right?
- If I do, should I pre-pick Level 1 moves and add "(Locked)"?​

Thanks in advance.
 
Toadally said:
Hi, I'm currently in the process of signing up. Need something to do in my downtime during long college days, and was thinking of RPs and now this to stretch my creative muscles. I wanted to start with an Unown. I find the idea for it very appealing. A question and a half to whom it may concern:

- I don't have to have every move filled out for every letter slot (There's no J or Y first glance at Level 0, for instance.) right?
- If I do, should I pre-pick Level 1 moves and add "(Locked)"?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

The Unown instructions read as follows:
When claiming Unown, or when Leveling Up Unown, their trainer may fill these Letter Slots with any standard move of Unown's Level or below. Players may also re-select Unown's moves for a nominal fee in the Day Care shop, in the Prize Claim thread.
Click to expand...
since it says you "may" fill the slots, you're free to avoid doing so. don't prepick level 1 moves; you'll be allowed to completely rework your move selection for Unown at level 1. (note that if you draw letters you don't have moves picked for, you will not be able to use them at all... so I don't advise skipping any letters you don't have to.)
 
Keriel said:
The Unown instructions read as follows:

since it says you "may" fill the slots, you're free to avoid doing so. don't prepick level 1 moves; you'll be allowed to completely rework your move selection for Unown at level 1. (note that if you draw letters you don't have moves picked for, you will not be able to use them at all... so I don't advise skipping any letters you don't have to.)
Click to expand...

That helps a lot, thanks. Where can I locate what the price is for changing moves? I know it said nominal, but I don't know how the "economy" is here I guess lol
 
Toadally said:
That helps a lot, thanks. Where can I locate what the price is for changing moves? I know it said nominal, but I don't know how the "economy" is here I guess lol
Click to expand...
I'm not actually sure if there is currently a way to change Unown's moves aside from leveling up. Maybe check the prize claiming thread because there are options for changing Smeargle and Necturna's moves there, so maybe there's one for Unown there too.

Edit: nope it's not there
 
Doduodrio said:
I'm not actually sure if there is currently a way to change Unown's moves aside from leveling up. Maybe check the prize claiming thread because there are options for changing Smeargle and Necturna's moves there, so maybe there's one for Unown there too.
Click to expand...

Got it. I took a look and I didn't see anything under the Day Care section, so I'll just hope it's not too bad for someone just starting out. It won't dissuade me either way, just make the goalpost longer. Thanks for the direction!
 
In light of the Balance and Play Experience Watchlist thread, I wanna ask: What's y'alls favorite things to play against?
What mons, moves, gamepieces, strategies or etc do you enjoy facing off against the most?

Note: "Bad ones that I can win easily" don't count :P.
Bonus points for if you enjoy not just playing against it but also feel satisfied with the game when losing to it too.
 
I have fun playing against most things! the general state of bbp games for me is fun.
I like it more when it is a stardard looking game (so realgam more than raids) and when people can pick their own mon to see people express their styles or see new ideas.

I think it led to interesting situations when I fought Hyjack's sandstorm or smog fog teams as an example of seeing something cool, new, and very specific to one player.

I think the only pvp things I have found it unfun to play against were unknown and to a lesser extent old mew, because the search space for trying to figure out what they could do was so large I just gave up, and even after resolving the round it often felt like "well I only have 4 subs, Even knowning this was my opponents option with what I wrote, I am unsure I could have improved the situation with other subs."
 
TMan87 said:
Post-play comments on League Circuit 14 are open!
The four matches in question are:
Lou vs Eve
Helios vs Hyjack
Duo vs Ayush
TMan vs Keriel

Feel free to share your thoughts and point out how matches could have turned out differently etc!
Click to expand...
Can someone explain to me what the blunder in Helios' game was, on round 3?
I understand it's related to getting KO'd there but what was the nitty gritty of the blunder? What was thought to happen, and what would have been a better play there?
 
I wanna talk about Duraludon :Duraludon:, the pre-evo to the much stronger Archaludon. I do think it has enough differences from Archa to stand on its own like Pory2 and PoryZ; it has two different abilities from its big dad (light metal and heavy metal compared to sturdy and stamina), and a fully blown G-Max form with its own exclusive G-Move. Its stats also aren't terrible either - 85 7/8/9/4 85

Its main problem standing out is that its G Move's special effect is just an EN drain, a wincon and teamstyle really frowned upon by the game's design. If it got turned into something more easily applicable and impactful I can see an argument for bringing a Duraludon to lv4 and getting gmax on it.

What do y'all think? Do y'all see a future for the lil guy? He's definitely the least worry for the balance team rn but I love the eviolite goobers and seeing one with a unique gmax just makes me happy
 
Ayush_1 has been exiled from BBP for 1 year for the following violations:
  • Angle-shooting.
  • Defrauding other players.
They are to be removed from all relevant matches and queues going forward. Please do not seek out the penalized user outside of BBP in relation to this penalty. Leave this to moderators.

The penalized user is disqualified from all battles.

Teammates of the penalized user in Events may seek a replacement partner without re-queuing, as a special exception. The new partner will replace the penalized player's Pokemon and backpack with their own. Discuss with your Event referee if they would like to wait for a new player, or hand off the reffing to a sub-ref.
 
A bit of forum bug-hunting: We're helping site staff look for the cause of an issue that turns :sv/metagross: and other forum shortucts into long-form [img] tags when copying and pasting directly from one post to another.

1728774821674.png
​
If you can figure out the steps to reproducing this, please reach out to a mod so we can hand the information along.
 
I think we're in a place where a "level 4 leveling venture" would be very desirable.
Something around the difficulty of level 3 leveling content, but where you can send your level 4s and get some stuff. Maybe a star piece, an exp record, some candy (give 1 exp to a mon)? Not as efficient as sending the mons you want to level, or maybe it's overall pretty efficient but you get the value in a bunch of different forms so it's really slow at farming any particular thing unless you're just a tiny bit off on that.

The important part is less the rewards and more "there being casual content at level 4 at all", and something replayable preferably instead of "we made this one legendary easy to get". One thing I'm noticing is that I am in more pinnacles than I probably want to sustainably be. But I like playing the game at level 4 a lot more, many of the moves I want to do cool things with are level 4 and I just don't get a chance to use them.
And Delphox has sat on the bench forever. Do it for Delphox. <3

(A thought: depending on what Pike ends up looking like, a Pike easy mode could be perfect for this? But maybe that's not the point of Pike.)
 
Duo's Reffing Guide

:bw/dodrio:
I noticed that there actually isn't any guide that helps new players learn how to ref, so I've decided to make one.

Table of Contents
  1. Step 1: Set-Up
  2. Step 2: Pre-Round Summary
  3. Step 3: Calculating Damage
  4. Step 4: Rolling Dice
  5. Tips and Tricks
  6. Additional Resources

Step 1: Set-Up​

When you are reffing a battle, you'll generally have to create a new thread.

Starting the thread
In the main BBP forum, below Registration Center, you'll find the option to start a new thread. Clicking Thread title will expand the thread editor, but I recommend clicking More options... to get the full thread editor.

1729830508161.png

The expanded thread editor before clicking More options.

Afterwards, you should set the thread prefix to Ongoing with the dropdown next to the thread title to indicate that it is an ongoing battle.

Copying the profiles
In general, players will send you their Pokémon profiles and their backpack in a Smogon direct message, which you can locate next to your notifications in the top right-hand corner. Once you are in the direct message, you can click the Reply button in the bottom right-hand corner of their post which will automatically copy the contents of their post into the post editor. But, it comes in a nasty reply box! You can get rid of the reply part by toggling on BB code.

When you are copying a Pokémon profile, it is best to copy the BB code, which can be accessed with the BB code toggle in the post editor. This is because it copies the profile's formatting as well as images hosted on other sites. In direct messages, you will have to select the three dots that say More options... to access the BB code toggle for some reason.

1729830560239.png
1729830562463.png

The button to toggle BB code in the default post editor (left) and the direct message post editor (right).

Once you have toggled on BB code, you can remove the [QUOTE="blah blah blah"] at the top and the [/QUOTE] at the bottom and copy profiles accordingly.

1729830567550.png

An example send-in with BB code toggled on with the [QUOTE="blah blah blah"] tag at the top.

The first post of the thread
The first post should include player information such as backpacks in [HIDE] or [SPOILER] tags, the Pokémon profiles, the battle rules (optional but highly recommended), and the turn order. If you are reffing a facility, there is generally a copy-and-pastable template you can use. For the turn order, you will need to tag the participants with an @ followed by their username, and you will usually flip a coin or generate a random number to figure out who sends out first.

1729830578476.png

An example of a turn order.

In the above image, you can see that I indicated the players and their corresponding numbers as well as the random number that I rolled. I do not believe it is required to include the numbers, but I think it's good practice to do so.

Step 2: Pre-Round Summary​

The players have ordered, and it's finally time for you to ref the round!

First, you will want to indicate the round number at the top of the post. Then, you'll display the battle state before and after the round's events. (Some people don't include a pre-round summary, but most people do.)

You will create "mini profiles" for each of the Pokémon that keep track of their status throughout the battle. In my reffings, I track the held item, HP, EN, stats, typing, abilities, status (like Burn or Sealed), and field conditions for each side (like Spikes) as well as any battle conditions (like weather or terrains). I also keep track of Technique Controls and Battle Hours when needed. However, some people also like to track other things like Size and Weight Class, and they may include separate sections for the number of remaining Recoveries and Chills.

Additionally, you should keep track of the remaining items in each trainer's Backpack and the remaining Pokémon on the bench and in reserve.

Each person has different ways of listing conditions and their durations, but as long as you note all of the information in an understandable way, you should be good.

Here are some examples of different reffing formats:

1729830586985.png

(My reffing format)

1729830592379.png

(Prismaticism's reffing format)

1729830596937.png

(HeliosAflame's reffing format)

Step 3: Calculating Damage​

After writing the profiles of the Pokémon, it's time for the part where most of your time will be spent, running calculations and rolling dice!

There is no singular method to writing Pokémon actions, but in general, it should include the name of the Pokémon that used the move, the name of the move used, the target of the move (if it isn't a 1v1), the energy cost, any dice rolls, and the damage that the move dealt including the formula that was used.

That last part is especially important. It is important to show your work! However, astute readers will note that the BBP Handbook does not have a formula with which to calculate damage because...
BBP Handbook said:
damage is calculated in sequential steps in BBP, rather than by using a formula.
Click to expand...

You can go ahead and CTRL + F "damage formula" in the Handbook, but generally, you can just use this formula:

([BAP] + [STAB] + [Crit] + ([Atk rank] - [Def rank]) + [Power Bonuses] - [Power Penalties])*[Effectiveness] + ([Atk stage] - [Def stage])*[3 or 4] + [Added damage]

Below are explanations of each term that is used in the formula.
  • BAP - Stands for Base Attack Power of the move. For example, Earthquake has a BAP of 10
  • STAB - Stands for Same Type Attack Bonus. This is 3 if the user shares a type with the move and 0 otherwise.
  • Crit - Refers to the critical hit bonus. This is 3 if the user landed a crit and 0 otherwise. However, it can sometimes be more or less than 3, such as when using a multi-hit attack or when the user has the Sniper ability.
  • Atk rank - The user's relevant attack rank. For example, when using Leaf Storm, the relevant attack rank is the user's Special Attack rank.
  • Def rank - The defender's relevant defense rank. For example, when Leaf Storm is used, the relevant defense rank is the defender's Special Defense rank.
  • Power Bonuses - Anything that gives a "Power Bonus" goes here. For example, the Rain condition gives Water-type attacks a Power Bonus of 3, and the Dark Aura ability gives Dark-type attacks a Power Bonus of 2. Keep in mind that Power Bonuses from the same source do not stack. So, only the largest Power Bonus from Abilities will apply, only the largest Power Bonus from items will apply, etc.
  • Power Penalties - Anything that gives a "Power Penalty" goes here. For example, the Sun condition gives Water-type attacks a Power Penalty of 3, and the Anticipation ability gives super-effective attacks a Power Penalty of 2. Keep in mind that Power Penalties from the same source do not stack, just like Power Bonuses.
  • Effectiveness - This is 0.01, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, or 3 depending on the level of effectiveness. For example, a Pokémon with the Grass/Bug typing will take 2x damage from Fire-type moves.
  • Atk stage - The user's relevant attack stage. For example, when using Earthquake, the relevant attack stage is the user's Attack stage.
  • Def stage - The defender's relevant defense stage. For example, when Earthquake is used, the relevant defense stage is the defender's Defense stage.
  • 3 or 4 - The stat stage difference is multiplied by 3 if the difference is negative or by 4 if the difference is positive. For example, when attacking a defender with a Defense stage of 0, a Pokémon with an Attack stage of -2 would deal 6 less damage while a Pokémon with an Attack stage of +2 would deal 8 more damage.
  • Added damage - Any damage that is simply added to the total goes here. For example, the Charcoal item may state "The holder's Fire-type attacks deal four (4) more damage with hits." This means you would add the 4 damage here.

Step 4: Rolling Dice​

When you are reffing, you will very frequently have to generate random numbers, most commonly checking for critical hits.

If you have joined the BBP Discord, you can use HeliosAflame's ProfOak bot to generate random numbers. However, there are also other options such as Google's random number generator (search "random number generator") or random.org.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you include the rolled number in you reffing as well as the target range and the reason for the roll. You can check Section 1.5 Randomization in the Handbook for a more comprehensive overview of randomization.

As a final note, many users like to roll twenty numbers from 1 - 600 before the round and then simply use rolls as needed because 600 is divisible by most numbers that you will have to roll. (24, 5, 10, 20 are the most common.)

Tips and Tricks​

Here are some tips that may help you:
  • Make a reffing template and put it into the Sandbox forum so that you can copy it whenever you start a new reffing
  • If you ever have a rules question, the BBP Discord is a great place to ask it
  • The rewards for battles in the Battle Tower can be found here!
Additionally, you can follow these checklists to make sure you remember everything in a reffing.

When reffing the round, keep these things in mind...
  1. Ability effects such as Intimidate, Frisk, Pressure, Download, etc.
  2. Item effects such as Focus Sash, Choice items, etc.
  3. Conditions on Pokemon such as Paralysis, Confusion, etc.
  4. Each Pokemon's status and stat stage changes (like Speed, Accuracy)
  5. Any special effects like Raid Frontier Vocations or arena effects
After reffing the round, check if you remembered to...
  1. Apply the HP and EN changes to each Pokemon
  2. Update the durations of stat stage changes and conditions
  3. Update the post order if any Pokemon is Switching or Phazing

Additional Resources​

Finally, here are some helpful resources when reffing.

Type Effectiveness
(insert effectiveness table here)
(Link to the table in the Handbook; scroll up a little bit)

Accuracy/Evasion
(insert accuracy/evasion table here)
(Link to the table in the Handbook)

Critical Hit Stage
(insert critical hit stage table here)
(Link to the table in the Handbook)

Useful Links
BBP Handbook - Contains literally every single rule in the game.
Data Audit - Contains all of the data on Pokémon stats, moves, types, abilities, natures, etc.
BBP Quick Reference - Contains many different links that you might need to access.
BBP Discord - I'm including this as a resource because generally, if you have a question, you can ask in the relevant channel, and someone will be able to answer it.
Fort CAP BBP Profile Generator - A mini profile maker made by Fort Colorcastle, used for making the mini profiles in the pre- and post-round summaries.

I hope you found this guide helpful, and happy reffing!
 
Last edited:
LouisCyphre said:
A bit of forum bug-hunting: We're helping site staff look for the cause of an issue that turns :sv/metagross: and other forum shortucts into long-form [img] tags when copying and pasting directly from one post to another.

​
If you can figure out the steps to reproducing this, please reach out to a mod so we can hand the information along.
Click to expand...
unsure if this is solved yet but

if i copy this [ :great ball: O O] from the rich text editor, it always pastes as [
:great ball:
O O ]

1730226185909.png
1730226212085.png


turns into

1730226251771.png
1730226264875.png



the same thing happens if i try to copy the magneton and eviolite from rich text editor

1730226539730.png

if i highlight that line as pictured, press ctrl+c, and then ctrl+v it below everything i have, it turns into the longform
1730226604898.png
 
Last edited:
Since we were discussing it in the discord I went ahead and did it; here are the changes that Ryuki's mons get with each backup, in table form.

:raging bolt:​
:noivern: Noivern Backup:toxtricity: Toxtricity Backup:scream tail: Scream Tail Backup
AbilityFriskTechnicianCompetitive
TypeElectric/FlyingElectric/PoisonElectric/Fairy
Stat+10% Accuracy+1 SpA+2 SpD
Normal moves becomeFlyingPoisonFairy

:gouging fire:​
:flygon: Flygon Backup:kommo-o: Kommo-O Backup:archaludon: Archaludon Backup
AbilityLevitateSoundproofSturdy
TypeFire/BugFighting/DragonSteel/Dragon
Stat+1 Atk+2 Def+5 HP
Normal move becomeBugFightingSteel

Code: 
[TABLE width="100%"]
[TR]
[td width="25%"]:raging bolt:[/td][td width="25%"]:noivern: Noivern Backup[/td][td width="25%"]:toxtricity: Toxtricity Backup[/td][td width="25%"]:scream tail: Scream Tail Backup[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td width="25%"]Ability[/td][td width="25%"]Frisk[/td][td width="25%"]Technician[/td][td width="25%"]Competitive[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td width="25%"]Type[/td][td width="25%"]Electric/Flying[/td][td width="25%"]Electric/Poison[/td][td width="25%"]Electric/Fairy[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td width="25%"]Stat[/td][td width="25%"]+10% Accuracy[/td][td width="25%"]+1 SpA[/td][td width="25%"]+2 SpD[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td width="25%"]Normal moves become[/td][td width="25%"]Flying[/td][td width="25%"]Poison[/td][td width="25%"]Fairy[/td]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE width="100%"]
[TR]
[td width="25.0000%"]:gouging fire:[/td][td width="25.0000%"]:flygon: Flygon Backup[/td][td width="25.0000%"]:kommo-o: Kommo-O Backup[/td][td width="25.0000%"]:archaludon: Archaludon Backup[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td width="25.0000%"]Ability[/td][td width="25.0000%"]Levitate[/td][td width="25.0000%"]Soundproof[/td][td width="25.0000%"]Sturdy[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td width="25.0000%"]Type[/td][td width="25.0000%"]Fire/Bug[/td][td width="25.0000%"]Fighting/Dragon[/td][td width="25.0000%"]Steel/Dragon[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td width="25.0000%"]Stat[/td][td width="25.0000%"]+1 Atk[/td][td width="25.0000%"]+2 Def[/td][td width="25.0000%"]+5 HP[/td]
[/TR]
[TR]
[td width="25.0000%"]Normal move become[/td][td width="25.0000%"]Bug[/td][td width="25.0000%"]Fighting[/td][td width="25.0000%"]Steel[/td]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
Mowtom said:
So, did anybody ever figure out why the enemy fusions in Mad Science Mixups are named what they are? Both the letter and the number were chosen with intent.
Click to expand...
To be fully honest all my thoughts towards it have been that they're horrible. I can't remember which is P-20, which is P-24 and etc. They're horribly confusing and with my teammate I just started refering to them as "the one with high HP", "the one with low HP" and "the one in the back". They're incredibly confusing and a big pain point in playing the event
 
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