How Speedrunners Manipulate Encounters in Pokemon Red and Blue

Have you ever been searching for a desired pokemon only to never encounter them? Or been trying to avoid those pesky Zubat only to get several encounters? Fear no more as speedrunners have solved this problem with RNG manips and predictive equations!
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[@w0rmblood323]

This is one of the most criminally underrated channels on KZbin, absolutely stellar content with consistent quality. Keep aiming high my dude, love from the UK x

[@benmoran4]

Absolutely

[@sovietshnuckums2357]

when he brought up trainer ai i thought to myself "dont they literally just walk forward a few steps?"

[@YourAverageSpelunker]

I forget how underrated this channel is. I hope you blow up like summoning salt did

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

"Subscribe and hit the bell to manipulate your chance of seeing the next video to 100%" ya about that, KZbin's inconsistent notifications for channels you are subbed and belled to would like a word...

[@testerwulf3357]

It’s like a gen1 miss lol, it should have 100% accuracy yet still misses somehow

[@flapjacki9579]

Awesome video. Pokémon speedrunning is always fascinating.

[@econsean]

This video fails to communicate why the triple extended manipulation is the most difficult manipulation, because it fails to communicate the steps you need to get a guaranteed catch when catching a nidoran as well as what happens after. After you get the manipulation to get the encounter with the nidoran, you have to clear the textbox in one of the first two possible points at which you can do this (~8 frame window). After that, you have to do what's called a "yoloball" where you buffer the down+A press on the squirtle cry, and then as soon as the menu transitions you have a small amount of time to change from a down press to any other button to immediately throw a pokeball. Some manips with guaranteed catches, only give a 4 frame window in which to catch the pokemon, as you have the clear the textbox on the first possible frame. In the triple extended manipulation, after you catch a nidoran, there are multiple textboxes, as well as the naming of the pokemon, that you have to clear IMMEDIATELY. This means you have multiple inputs in a row that must be precise within a 4 frame window. After catching the pidgey, you encounter the same problem. Clearing one textbox frame perfect to get a yoloball is pretty difficult (I was proficient at it after a lot of practice). Clearing multiple textboxes and naming a pokemon on the first frame is ridiculous, which is why it's incredibly difficult. I was able to learn the Mt. Moon. Manipulation and execute it in 3 hours. The overworld manipulations are surprisingly approachable. The actual catch itself is a level of difficulty above that, and the extended manip takes that difficulty and multiplies it by 1000 since you have to do so many frame perfect inputs. I started running Any % Glitchless a week ago and have gotten mt moon manip in multiple runs, but I probably will never do extended manip (or I won't do it until I can't improve in any other places due to the difficulty). It is also worth noting that there is RNG in whether the manipulation works, contrary to the theme of the video which is "getting rid of RNG." Manipulations depend on the frame (1-60 frames in a second) that you save on, and manipulations are picked to work on the maximum number of frames, but, you can't see/control what frames you save on, so if you save on a bad frame it makes it impossible for one manipulation to work unless you have a backup for the other frames. As a note: I am relatively new to pokemon speedrunning so I may have some small details wrong such as the number of frames but the above is the general gist from doing pokemon red/blue speedruns for ~3 weeks now.

[@Hexatunes]

Huh this was super interesting! I never knew how much went into pokemon speedruns

[@malchar2]

0:10 some say he still hasn't caught the taurus to this day.

[@GGSpeedruns]

Yea this is absolutely insane Im very impressed by all this knowledge

[@bottomtext251]

Since when is Nidoking weak to grass?!

[@lucasgarcia8285]

The game doesn’t read the poison type so it thinks you’re only fighting a group type- the damage is still correct but the text is wrong. Super common problem in gen 1 and is touched in a lot of videos- a lot of the time it’s pointed out when people use bulbasaur since it’s dual type is read wrong occasionally.

[@mathprodigy]

Bro Otaku mentioned you in their article today about Mario Kart 64 32/32 champion Burbank, just being sure you knew ^o^

[@Abyssoft]

Thanks for letting me know, I see one comment compared my videos length to the Chris Chan documentary... what is my life.

[@mathprodigy]

@@Abyssoft excellent content creator and commenter and person is your life :D

[@novelezra]

Wait... So these A presses. Is this the reason that every school had that rumour that if you held A, or B, or (insert hundreds of different combinations) to always catch a pokemon happened? I love how when we were kids, simple RNG was literally magic and arcane knowledge that only your friend Will knew.

[@No-Me3]

Most profitable? Sure. Most stagnant? Absolutely. Most beloved? Eh...

[@tylerchambers6246]

I bet I could find more people that said they loved and were really sentimental about the pokemon franchise than would say the same regarding Zelda or Mario or whatever else. Pokemon even transcends the video games, we all have fond memories on the school yard both trading the cards and showing off our pokemon on the games and such. There's a social aspect intrinsic to pokemon that isn't there in something like Zelda or Mario, which is why it became so viral, and still is.

[@scantyer]

Oh my god shut up

[@Yurikon3]

I guess it is on purpose that captions call Nidoking Neato King.

[@stuartdparnell]

These speedruns are great but there was nothing better than discovering MissingNo and then discovering Mewtwo could be caught before encountering him. But nothing was better than learning about trainer fly glitch to catch Mew. To me that just completed the trinity in Pokemon RBY.

[@RagingAbout]

Whenever I see gen1 stuff it makes me wanna start it up again

[@gunstar420]

Just get an emulator on your phone and go to town! Pallet town to be specific

[@Daffydubs]

I like to play a lot of different ROM hacks to have the pokemon experience with a bit of variance.

[@aaronveach9739]

Crystal clear is a ROM hack that combines gen 1 and 2 into one game

[@Peelster1]

I actually did after watching multiple challenge videos. Worth it. Especially if you do a challenge run or mess around with glitches that you have never done before.

[@dysonsphere2394]

Another great video, keep it up!

[@sagacious03]

Great analysis! Thanks for uploading!

[@notboris8217]

Only just discovered your channel and I promise that if you keep this up with the same amount of quality and care into each video you will make it big

[@Sonlokill]

''most beloved franchise"'

[@assorted_games1527]

Yeah wtf

[@R8Spike]

*known

[@testerwulf3357]

I mean the merch does sell like wild fire in a dry forest

[@rapidrobby]

1:25 why was the vine whip not very effective? isnt nidoking neutral to grass?

[@kingcratos7064]

He is neutral to grass. Some of the Gen 1 games don’t register the resistances properly on the screen. Only takes account for the main type. For damage it is factored as it is supposed to be so it’s doing normal damage just shows that it’s resisted because nidoking is Poison Ground. If he was Ground Poison it would register as super effective but still do the same damage

[@rapidrobby]

@@kingcratos7064 wow I didn't know that, ty for the info

[@crocodiledowny2191]

Can’t wait, hopefully a decent length

[@leehackett1614]

My guy Shenanigans! Great streamer

[@IdiotBen]

proud of myself for predicting that you were Canadian based on your accent. Great video though!!!

[@TheNewRobotMaster]

World record gets a Tauros and all the other safari mons in 12 minutes. When I was a kid I spent days zealously playing to catch Tauros. While it appeared rarely, it ran away first turn so many times. I remember getting so pissed off about it. Fuck you, Tauros.

[@RaycrowX]

Love the subscription call to action at the end. Unfortunately I was already subbed after I watching my first video of yours 😁 Nice work Abyssoft!

[@timthetoolpool]

Hell yeah Clabe! Wish he would do pokemon runs again.

[@oIiversolares]

Nidoking not weak to grass

[@ILiekFishes]

"nidoking has weaknesses to grass and psychic" no? he's neutral to grass, and is also weak to ground, ice, and water

[@TriconPOE]

Ye this is really sloppy for this type of video tbf.

[@Shenanagans_]

Its a little bit awkward how the game handles type effectiveness but the AI in gen 1 views nidoking as weak to grass because it checks against its ground typing before it checks against its poison typing. Because of this if a trainer has good AI and razor leaf + bodyslam as their 2 moves they will always use razor leaf. Grass/Psychic are just the 2 types that we tend to manipulate to our advantage (mostly agility)

[@ILiekFishes]

@@Shenanagans_ that makes a bit more sense, but isn't what he said in the video. He said nidoking was weak to grass and psychic and thus sabrina and erika would be difficult if not for overleveling

[@Shenanagans_]

@@ILiekFishes Yeah I think what was meant to be said was "nidoking being targeted by grass/psychic moves" as sleep powder/psychic are both super annoying to play around. Basically the same as being weak to grass/psychic as far as gen 1 is concerned.

[@TriconPOE]

@@Shenanagans_ Thanks for clearing that up

[@rowclaw2734]

Always wondered how they did this. :) now I know.

[@BbsThunderus]

hmm time to look up that TAS

[@SebiBubble]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Nidoking as a ground poison pokemon should not have a weakness to grass attacks. Poison should actually receive less damage from grass attacks, so it basically receives normal damage from grass attacks once you factor in the ground type aswell (unless that is whay you mean lol)

[@Joker22593]

In gen 1, lots of things were programed to only look at the first type of a pokemon and not both types. Also, gen 1 has a few differences in the type chart. I'm not sure if poison not resisting grass is one of them.

[@randomnerd4600]

the last part (abt subing) was gold. and thanks for the reminder, didnt realise i havent subbed yet

[@mathprodigy]

That fn thumbnail is pretty epic lmao DRAKE KETCHUM

[@VulcanGray]

Weak to grass?

[@Peelster1]

8:05 So holding B when throwing a ball actually works?!?!?!?

[@BoltTheEmolga]

Are there versions of this for later games, like Emerald?

[@Abyssoft]

If I recall correctly, and I haven't researched this other than a brief look, there's a manip for a starter Pokemon in R/S/E that uses these same principles; I think Gunnermaniac has a video on it

[@BoltTheEmolga]

@@Abyssoft Are there manips for grass encounters? I’m actually looking to use this for something so it’d be good to know.

[@Abyssoft]

@@BoltTheEmolga the Pokemon speedrun discord linked on speedrun . com on the side bar of ruby or sapphire would likely be able to answer that question

[@emmar4909]

@@BoltTheEmolga you might've already found what you're looking for but you can rng manip pretty much any wild encounter in rse for good stats, shinies, etc if that's what you're wanting. the channel i'm a blisy has a lot of useful vids that i learned from, it's pretty easy to figure out but kinda precise to actually perform

[@BoltTheEmolga]

@@emmar4909 I haven't found it yet actually, haven't searched for it. Can you link to the videos?

[@justinfrazier9555]

I appreciate the things people are willing to do to be number 1 in something. But damn I feel like some of these speed runners haven't seen the sun in years.

[@monorail0]

Great video, liked and subscribed! One thing- your speech cadence is kind of static in this video and it doesn't sound impactful, in your other recent videos it seems like you were speaking more naturally and it was more gripping. Looking back at your older videos your narration has gotten a lot better overall! Looking forward to the next video :)

[@Qwerbey]

Does anyone know the name of the song at 7:58? I've been looking for it given the info in the description, but can't find it

[@Abyssoft]

Nova hasn't made public every song he's made for me, but there is an album in the works that should cover "season 1" of Abyssoft coming out before the year is over

[@Qwerbey]

Shame it's not public yet, but thanks for explaing, I hope that album comes out soon

[@petkomikov4161]

Idk why but at 341 views and 31 mins after premier this got reccomended to me.

[@PresidentNathan]

It announces the premier, then 30 minutes later it actually premiers

[@YourAverageSpelunker]

Funny that neither of you spelled premiere right

[@warrior3456_]

neat

[@diamondyoshi6649]

ngl old RNG is more realistic and also way more fair than new RNG

[@joshuab4586]

0:28 “Sovvy”?

[@Omnicide101]

extended manip time?

[@zidaryn]

'sees your profile pic' I just wanted to say you are a man of class captain.

[@commander_frog]

Too bad it's too complicated for my puny mind that still cant use stat changing mover properly

[@CantusTropus]

The thing I use to remember stat changing moves is this: each stat change is a 50 percent increase, stacking additively. So +1 ATK is 50% more ATK, +2 ATK is 100% more ATK, +6 ATL is 300% more ATK, etc.

[@TrainerPlatinumSinnoh]

Weak to Grass? No he isn't Did you mean Ground? Or is this because of gen 1's odd way of visually handling neutral damage for dual types? Where it displays the effectiveness against the primary type even if the secondary type contradicts it though it still actually deals neutral damage Though Grass type actually says "not very effective" in-game so that also doesn't explain it lmao

[@testerwulf3357]

It’s a common bug in gen 1 where it doesn’t handle dual typing well in text

[@No-Me3]

Saw V

[@emmastarr5242]

I can't be the only one thinking this would be a great way to get Gen 1 Shinies, right? Surely a bunch of people have already made TAS runs of getting every Pokemon Shiny via TAS, right? Sure, 8F is probably 10x easier, but if people are insisting on doing Speedruns without it... @_@

[@emmastarr5242]

@OWƎN Wow, that's crazy! I read about that kind of thing before, but I didn't know if it applied to Shinies. I knew you couldn't get perfect IVed 'mons in the wild though. Regardless, is there a resource for getting Shinies from TAS methods anywhere? I want to try and do this for myself sometime, as I'm unsure of any 8F setups to get Shinies, though there probably is one out there somewhere...

[@emmastarr5242]

@OWƎN Oh no, I really enjoyed that site growing up! :( I wonder what caused it to go under...

[@galaxyquestminute7490]

@@emmastarr5242 there’s not a resource specifically for TASing for shinies, but you can use the same resources you’d normally use for precise shiny hunting and rely on the TAS inputs to make sure you hit your frames

[@Ultimaximus]

Given that the video is about a technical topic, it doesn't seem necessary to explain stuff that's as basic as Safari Zone not having regular battles

[@AMannAmongMen]

Code sovvy

[@jangofatt7135]

Wow, what a great audience.

[@ARGssszzz]

Pokomon

[@TheNitrop]

Sorry for bother but I think Nido is not weak to GRASS type move, they just have standard effect on him. 2:37

[@testerwulf3357]

It’s not nidoking’s type match ups..it’s ground and poison separate not together

[@shmoejoedesy9449]

here before it hits 1 million views.

[@tails183]

Nobody cares.

[@shmoejoedesy9449]

@@tails183 obviously you do since you commented. 🤣

[@PollexLLC]

JUST SAY MANIPULATION, GOD DAMN! I've never had an abbreviation kill my interest in watching a video before, but you, you have somehow managed to do that, congratulations.

[@FilthyCasual268]

With franchises like Mario and Zelda around, it really makes me wonder what sort of thought process made you say "Pokemon is Nintendo's most beloved franchise". Not sure why you would make it sound so objectively true when it's very clearly not.

[@nbtelethia_9668]

It’s easily the highest grossing iirc, so I assume that was why, also it sounds better than “pokemon is Nintendo’s most beloved series, except maybe Mario or Zelda “

[@N12015]

Is Nintendo's biggest franchise. Heck, is the biggest franchise period. Does it means it's great and beloved? Considering people despise games associated with Tencent, of course not. Then, why Super Mario would be different? Simple, the broad history behind it saving the gaming industry, revolutionating 3D gaming and overall each new entry feeling fresh yet familiar, even 35 years after, while not having less than "very good" entries in the main series.

[@nbtelethia_9668]

It’s not about their track record with the hardcore audience, it’s what the average person thinks of it. I wasn’t even saying the statement is objectively true (it’s not) I’m just saying it makes sense to say

[@testerwulf3357]

Considering people buy the games no matter how bad they look and it makes millions off merch alone I think it is nintendo’s biggest franchise..It makes a lot of money off of merch and people around the world adore the pocket monsters. I think the sentence made sense