Pokemon's Weirdest Hidden Mechanics.

[@jimothycool]

jimothycool.com 5 MORE DAYS for Horse Council Merch! Available until end of December.

[@Goober-s1j]

Btw Mega Gengar can’t be hit with telekinesis because it is in the ground like the digglet line and the sandygast line

[@jasonbarry3301]

@@Goober-s1j there’s no way he didn’t know that, he was engagement baiting.

[@Hockeystick213]

to my knowledge the only use of side-fling in VGC is a niche strat of flinging a Salac Berry to an ally with a weakness and a weakness policy

[@PinkaholicOfficial]

too much money for horse hoodie 😔

[@VaporeonEnjoyer1]

4:15 Jimothy, how could you not realize the obvious application? You could restore a intimidated pokemon for more foul play damage, truly a 600 IQ play.

[@YanzoFTW]

Another fun hidden mechanic is when you get para-flinched 5 turns in a row by a jirachi, it makes you quit an entire format.

[@chthocyst]

Unfortunate...

[@Wahligma]

"Unfortunate" doesn't begin to describe my series, this game rewards blind luck and nothing else, I am beyond convinced at this point. After getting completely tooled by scheduling with my opponent changing times on me last minute and refusing to provide confirmation prior to the day of the match as to play times, losing this way somehow felt even worse than I had thought possible. My preparation was superior, my play was superior, and I lost, so I don't see a reason to continue engaging in an activity where what is within my control is overwhelmingly outweighed by what is not. I am done with competitive Pokemon, and you won't get a fond farewell. This community is infected to its roots with a degenerative disease that grows stronger over time but stops short of killing its host. Tournaments used to have a competitive spirit at their heart, this has been transplanted and replaced with an artificial organ that feeds on vitriol and mockery from insecure little boys that heckle by the sidelines and tear each other to shreds over scraps of attention. The environment we fostered has trapped us all like this in a vicious cycle, and escaping it requires acceptance of the harshest reality we all scramble to explain away, that none of the countless straining efforts we put ourselves through here will ever amount to one single shining glimmer of significance. I would make this the end, but World Cup is still ongoing, and I would never leave so many great friends out to dry, so I'll suffer through a few more games for them. One last thing before I leave you all to react with disdain, ridicule, and self-righteous fervor, before you do everything in your power to minimize my words and thoughts, box them up and shove them to some cobwebbed corner of your memory, and hope they disappear forever as a stain on your finite time ground to dust. From this moment on, nothing you say matters to me. The foulest insults you hurl with intent to wound will calmly settle at the earth before my feet, and the venom you spit will bring all the pain of a warm summer breeze. You are less than anything you can conceive, while I carry on, brimming with joy distilled from detachment.

[@zxori9517]

Doesn't begin to describe my series..

[@mac-n-steez999]

sounds terrible! let’s ban machamp.

[@jjt171]

one time I got paralyzed 8 turns in a row. it was so fun and very interactive for me not being able to do anything because I got unlucky. 😒 fun fact. getting paralyzed that many times in a row is akin to getting a shiny. except instead of getting a shiny I just lose because I'm that unlucky

[@cayiika]

Not competitive Pokemon but my favorite mechanic is that Rare Candies can revive a fallen fella simply because they gain HP through the level-up.

[@CoNteMpTone]

In which gen does that work? All of them? Sounds like a gen1 mechanic.

[@mr.sniffly5297]

@@CoNteMpToneall of them afaik

[@chrisbarne7458]

​@@CoNteMpToneAll of them because when you level up the difference in max ho gets added to your current HP, even if you're at 0

[@shaedeymamlas5496]

Does that mean you can’t rare candy revive a shedinja?

[@CyaNerdz]

@@shaedeymamlas5496you can it always goes to 1hp

[@sideways5153]

I love the goofy interaction where Stomp-ing a Minimized pokemon deals boosted damage. Not really coming up on smogon, but still very funny to imagine

[@kippykippowpow9999]

“See you later, bug!” 😭😭😭

[@nerddwarf]

Starting in Gen 6, the moves that do double damage against minimized opponents also bypass the accuracy check, so they are guaranteed hits. In Gen 9, the moves that do double damage against a target after the target has used minimize are: Body Slam (Starting in Gen 6) Stomp (Gen 2) Dragon Rush (Gen 6) Heat Crash (Gen 6) Heavy Slam (Gen 7) And Flying Press (Gen 6) Moves that USED to do double to the opponents but do not deal double in Gen 9: Astonish (Gen 3 only) Extrasensory (Gen 3 only) Needle Arm (Gen 3 only. Removed from game for Gen 8) Shadow Force (Gen 6 only) Phantom Force (Gen 6 only) Double Iron Bash (Gen 7 only) Moves that did double against minimized targets, but have been removed from the game entirely: Needle Arm (Removed for Gen 8. Lost effect in Gen 4.) Steamroller (Removed for Gen 8) Malicious Moonsault (Incineroar's Signature Z-Move)

[@wyatt4227]

Dragon rush is also perfectly accurate against minimized Pokémon and deals double damage

[@nerddwarf]

@@wyatt4227 Starting in Gen 6, all moves that deal double damage to minimized opponents will bypass the accuracy check for guaranteed hits. Dragon Rush did not start dealing double damage to minimized opponents until Gen 6 Dragon Rush has been in the game since Gen 4

[@worldsboss]

I believe it’s because Fire Fang is incorrectly labelled as a move with a charge up turn (like Solarbeam), and Wonder Guard is supposed to allow you to charge up, just not execute the attack. Because Fire Fang isn’t actually charging up as a one-turn move, Wonder Guard allows it to work.

[@redmike1617]

Specifically, the first turn of Shadow Force.

[@nihildwo4874]

i guess gamefreak either commited an "off by one" error or did a switcheroo with the move indices.

[@EmperorZ19]

More specifically, fire fang has effect code 273.But there's a typo where wonder guard instead checks effect code 272, which belongs to shadow force, which is a charge up move.

[@nihildwo4874]

@@EmperorZ19 yep off by one error by forgetting indices in programming start counting from 0 instead of 1.

[@EmperorZ19]

@nihildwo4874 Is that the source of the bug? It seems weird that it would only affect fire fang if it was that kind of off by one error.

[@NinaNinaM24]

I'm the biggest "Fake Gameplay" fan, they always seem to win their games, it's incredible.

[@HeIIoImKarI]

Clear of gamers such as Anthony Horrible and Video Viktor

[@ggFreeFall]

One weird mechanic discovered recently is that if you play Gen 4 OU ladder, you gain a negative outlook on life status effect.

[@seisveintiocho-x9e]

Why?

[@Electric999999]

@seisveintiocho-x9e Because it's a horrible meta centralised on paralysis+flinch hax. Comment is a reference to Jimothy's previous video on quitting gen 4 OU where he's clearly rather unhappy.

[@tsu7206]

​@@Electric999999I didn't know that Gen 4 OU changed that much. The last time I played it was....before BW1 japanese release and I remember it as good metagame but with some stupid ban ("Salamence is overpowered? Let's ban Latias before Salamence which was one of the only Salamence's check during that generation"). I was planning to go back into gen 4 OU but you post changed my mind.

[@SplodgeOfChippy]

Hopefully Muk doesn't get frozen, otherwise its dream of becoming a horse will not happen as it needs to be a hedgehog

[@RRRR-jr1gp]

Hedgehogs are arguably horses though

[@brewslidepark]

Shaymin doesn't learn high horse power. Perhaps magcargo deserves a sky forme

[@RRRR-jr1gp]

@@brewslidepark Arceus doesn't get High HP either

[@oscara1573]

​@RRRR-jr1gpbecause arceus is a llama

[@brewslidepark]

@RRRR-jr1gp Aeceus doesn't get my respect either

[@Manelneedsaname]

I think the reason Mega Gengar is inmune to telekinesis is because it turns into more of a shadow, and of course, you can't lift shadows from the floor

[@breloommaster12]

And then you see Mega Gengar in Pokken just hopping about all over the damn place, so what gives

[@brunop.8745]

​@breloommaster12 the Pokken devs didn't get the memo

[@marcoasturias8520]

Is Marshadow immune too?

[@Soulraven2735]

​@@breloommaster12There's a really tall person on the sidelines with a cardboard cutout of Mega Gengar that shines a light against the cutout and lifts it up, thus making a shadow for it to jump off it

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

I had a similar theory: you see, Mega Gengar's ability is shadow tag, and it uses it by being in contact with the ground, allowing it to extend it's shadow to trap the other Pokemon

[@kriet7745]

Splash actually had one niche use in competitive play back in Gen. 7 because Normalium Z Splash raises its attack by 3.

[@mrstrange1062]

Also max guard

[@Pam234]

Only on sogoleo in the beginning of gen 7

[@seisveintiocho-x9e]

All the do-nothing-moves got great Z-effects. I think that Splash being useful as a Z-move is pretty well-known.

[@mailcs06]

@Pam234 I used it on Mimikyu

[@itztaytay2]

One fun double strat involving Fling is with Lansat Berry that provides a +2 crit boost, can do some shenanigans with a teammate holding a Scope Lens or if they're weak to Dark (as Fling is a dark type move) you can have them hold a Weakness Policy to activate that as well. CybertronVGC notably used a team in gen 8 that was WP Lugia with a Fling Lansat Berry Whimsicott to make the Lugia have +2 spattk and guaranteed crits on its Aeroblast after being side targetted

[@GoatgalBovine]

Weedle twineedle came into my mind as I read 'weakness policy'

[@Caroline-qj7fq]

​@@GoatgalBovine that audio is engraved into my head whenever I read weakness policy

[@mailcs06]

Horrifying

[@teachytv3242]

I’ll never forgive gamefreak for not giving the horse forms of Dialga and Palkia abilities that set up Trick Room and Gravity respectively upon switch in

[@LennyTheSniper]

11:40 The reason splash can't be used under gravity is that in Japanese, the move is actually named something like "Hop", so of course under gravity you couldn't hop around.

[@solemnstar2373]

everybody do the flop

[@woeishuenneoh3708]

You can't encore Dynamax Cannon, because it's probably flagged as a Max Move

[@LuisSilva-yc5fz]

if "has max in the name" = don't.encore genius level programming

[@jeroenvdw]

And opposite to that the move Gigaton Hammer can be used multiple times in a row with Encore, where it normally can only be used once every other turn

[@R.P.Genocraft]

Same with Behemoth Blade/Bash. I've lost a game because of that 🙃

[@BrendonCap]

If only programming was that simple 🥲

[@mailcs06]

@@LuisSilva-yc5fz Nah its probably more of a flavor thing considering what the other guy said about Behemoth Blade and Bash also not being encore-able.

[@epicgamer7697]

Prob because mega gengar looks like it's rooted to the ground, and also gengar originally had levitate back then so I guess they did that to emphasize mega gengar is stuck to the ground after evolving

[@bluesky896]

I was about to say the same thing. It is depicted as emerging from the shadows, so you can't disconnect it from the ground.

[@71507]

The model is literally clipping into the floor, yeah. It's got claws gripping the ground that you can only see if you look at it from underneath. It's a shame the in-game look doesn't really convey that properly and instead he just looks like he has weird paws.

[@myname2590]

One really weird mechanic is Mold Breaker/Teravolt phasing moves granting the ability ignoring effect to the incoming Pokemon. For example if a Kyurem-Black and Clear Body Metagross are allies in a double battle and the Kyurem uses Dragon Tail to phase out an opponent, if the incoming Pokemon has Intimidate it will be able to lower Metagross' attack despite it having Clear Body.

[@binarycat1237]

i imagine mold breaker is coded to simply disable all abilities during the attack's execution

[@msnshame]

Blaziken misses High Jump Kick during Gravity? It dies. It doesn't faint. It dies.

[@zitrito7957]

I think it’s just fails, not misses but that would be pretty funny if instead of half HP it killed it

[@Topdoggie7]

It does indeed die.

[@rajkanishu]

9:35 it's because Mega Gengar physically phases through ground, you can see this in game through certain animations where he moves his arms through and out, this is a nod to how it's supposed to be a literal shadow but this design aspect is kinda lost on regular Gengar. The catch is that, if I'm not mistaken, we never see the rest of his body come out so I believe they wanted to keep the illusion that it might not have a definite shape and just extends infinitely, linking to all shadows on the ground or something like that. Also this is not the only instance where they hard code something to not show the underside of these Pokémon, I believe some Z-Moves animations are made this way too

[@Electric999999]

I guess that's why it has Shadow Tag, you can't escape it because it's everywhere.

[@U.F.O]

Gengar isn't just phasing into the ground, some of it's dex entries say it's lower half is anchored in another dimension. Even in Pokken Tournament, a game where you can jump as a Mega Gengar, his body just... ends, marked with a shadowy distortion effect.

[@bandurcer]

Another funny mechanic is that Encore doesn't work when used against Dynamax Cannon. It was once relevant to me in randbats, where I killed something with Dynamax Cannon, they went to Whimsicott to Encore me into DCannon, only to be OHKOd by Sludge Bomb instead

[@globalistgamer6418]

Thank-you for helping to cull the Whimsicott population. Horrible creatures.

[@mrhalfsaid1389]

If you defeat a pokemon with rough skin or rocky helmet as it uses a spin move, it will not clear hazards (this has genuinely won me a game before and it was so funny the guy just ragequit)

[@itztaytay2]

Same with Knock Off and other moves with a... I guess non-traditional secondary effect (i.e. Flinch, Freeze, stat drops, etc.). It's really nice ko'ing a mon off their knock off hitting a helmet without losing it

[@rajkanishu]

is this true in all gens tho?

[@itztaytay2]

@@rajkanishu It is! The different recoil sources and weird secondary move lists change but the interaction has stayed consistent since gen 3 when Rough Skin was introduced

[@shirshobanerjee7751]

I've been on the receiving end of this and it happens infrequently enough to catch me off guard always. Its so goofy

[@Exile29]

@@itztaytay2what about aftermath, if a mon dies to rapid spin but the aftermath damage takes out the spinner do hazards still get cleared?

[@DragN_H3art]

I think they way it works is Sheer Force (when triggered) skips some sort of post attack resolution trigger, including secondary effects and effects that happen immediately after an attack connects I think that os the most logical explanation - Life Orb health deduction, Emergency Exit, and Red Card probably all trigger from a check that happens when an attack hits and is therefore all bypassed when Sheer Force akips said check

[@ProjectThunderclaw]

This is very plausible, and an easy programming mistake to make. But even though it feels unintentional, it's noteworthy that Game Freak has deliberately preserved this behavior for several generations. They could've easily fixed it if they wanted to, but not only have they left it the way it is, considering the engine changes they've probably had to deliberately re-introduce the "bug". So while it may have been a mistake the first time, by now I think we can firmly consider it intended behavior.

[@usernametaken017]

​@@ProjectThunderclawmaybe for life orb but it's really weird against emergency exit

[@Ridgwaycer]

This effect has been observed on cartridge, right?

[@ProjectThunderclaw]

@@usernametaken017 it's a weird choice to be sure, but it's definitely a choice.

[@Gloomdrake]

Does it trigger or bypass Rocky Helmet and Rough Skin?

[@Draecozolt]

Some fun interactions including Parting Shot: using Parting Shot on a pokemon whose stats cannot be lowered will prevent the move altogether and you won't be able to pivot. Two notable ways for this to occur are when the opposing Pokemon has the ability Clear Body or when it's holding a Clear Amulet. Another one is with Magic Bounce. When a pokemon uses Parting Shot targetting a pokemon with magic bounce, the magic bounce pokemon will instead use the move and be forcibly switched out. This interaction has seen play at times in VGC to prevent hatterene, a pokemon that can otherwise be too bulky to remove, from setting up trick room. Where this gets really fun is when you combine both: a pokemon holding the Clear Amulet item and having Magic Bounce as an ability. The Clear Amulet does not prevent Magic Bounce from "reflecting" Parting Shot and switching its user out. The thing is, we often think of Magic Bounce as a reflector of sorts because of the way it interacts with hazards and taunt and what not, but the way it's programmed in the game is similar to having the move Snatch as a passive ability. This means that the Pokemon actually uses the move instead of its opponent, which is why Clear Amulet does not prevent the Parting Shot + Magic Bounce interaction from happening. The best part about this is that someone brought Clear Amulet Hatterene to a VGC Regional tournament. The reason? They knew Clear Amulet didn't prevent his opponents from using parting shot on their Hatterene. But they also knew that their opponents WOULDN'T know that. And because held items are a piece of information your opponent has access to during the game in VGC tournaments, this allowed them to bluff their way through the tournament by detering people from ever clicking Parting Shot on their Hatterene. Hands down the best story involving an obscure mechanic I've heard of in this game.

[@robertlupa8273]

The mindgames mentioned at the end are just plain crazy. I love it.

[@IceCreamKatGaming]

apparently the fire fang glitch is because they got the wrong ID and put in the one after fire fang, which is the first turn of phantom force; they didn't want wonder guard to cancel the first turn of phantom force but they messed up. it would also explain why they put an exception in in the first place, since other two turn moves like dive or solar beam are probably coded like phantom force was supposed to be

[@Angel-L]

I can scarcely believe the gravity of the situation

[@KingWalrus179]

According to the Bulbapedia article the reason Shaymin can turn into sky forme is because "The blooming of Gracidea flowers confers the power of flight upon Shaymin, transforming it into its Sky Forme." This leads me to personally believe the reason for the form reversion upon freeze is due to the flower budding because of the cold temperature, and thus Shaymin would lose the power from the blooming of the flower.

[@DragapultRules]

My favorite is Focus Blast having 30% accuracy and Hurricane having 90%.

[@atrixmj]

I'll never forget being at a VGC regional tournament using a mental herb Sinistcha just to block taunts from happening. That item activated on soooo many things i didnt know it activated on. My favorite was both me and my opponent looking up at eachother confused when sinistcha shook off my opponent farigiraf's psychic noise heal blocking effect

[@solemnstar2373]

that sounds really amusing. For you it was "wait it cures that?" And they are probably like "wtf you have a mental herb?...also wtf it cures that?"

[@MrGermanpiano]

​@@solemnstar2373vgc is playing with open team sheets. So the opponent knew about the item before the game. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

[@TJMa21]

Delibird should become an honorary member of the horse council to celebrate the holiday season

[@FarCritical]

I learned embarrassingly late that among two face-to-face weather setters, the slower one sets their weather last "Shaymin is a wonderful hedgehog, full of life and a morally upstanding character. Shaymin-Sky on the other hand is a devious evil creature that flinches you to death with Serene Grace Air Slash." That cracked me up way harder than it should've lmao

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

Also, "if you ever find yourself frozen, turn into a hedgehog" lol

[@andrewwojtas8486]

4:26 there was actually a lugia strategy in gen 8 doubles where you'd fling a weakness policy lugia a salac berry so it would become a super sweeper and then probably fail because it's a lugia

[@SonikkuAtrue]

Here's an interesting interaction In Doubles, if you use Round on your first mon, the partner using Round has immediate priority when they use it in the same turn, regardless of Speed/Trick Room Similarly, if Mean Look is used on Falinks, they can do their sig move No Retreat multiple times instead of just once ti net multiple stat boosts

[@CantusTropus]

The fun part about Sheer Force Life Orb is that it tells us how they coded the games. Clearly, Life Orb works by adding "does 10% of your max HP in recoil" as a secondary effect to each of your damage dealing moves.

[@jules2438]

Well no because it only happens on moves that have secondary effects

[@DragN_H3art]

I think they way it works is Sheer Force (when triggered) skips the post attack resolution phase, including secondary effects and effects that happen immediately after an attack connects I think that os the most logical explanation - Life Orb health deduction, Emergency Exit, and Red Card probably all trigger from a check that happens when an attack hits and is therefore all bypassed when Sheer Force akips said check

[@CantusTropus]

​@DragN_H3art you might be right

[@lucianofrancesco4742]

​@@DragN_H3art Does that also work for Rough Skin?

[@TheLordOfTheSporks]

My favorite useless interaction is Defense Curl making the pokemon's Rollout deal double damage

[@Gloomdrake]

Also Ice Ball

[@solemnstar2373]

@@Gloomdrake and walrein is the one pokemon that I know of that has access to all of these moves. I tried it ages ago in like gen 7. Sadly, its just like the ability slow start of regigigas infamy, but with more steps. It just takes way too long to get going. Turn 1, defense curl. Turn 2 you start the attack. I wish this was expanded upon and buffed. Also walrein should get a buff to be able to pull this off. I think defense curl should also confer improved accuracy of these moves. In theory though, it could be the most insane thing. Add in metronome and then I don't know what could stop you.

[@puffypuff3144]

This is indeed mostly useless in competitive but it IS a really helpful interaction for certain nuzlockes. Building a high power rollout to delete a key threat when it comes in has come up more often than you'd think.

[@solemnstar2373]

@@puffypuff3144 its always interesting how we essentially have a hyper optimized way to battle competitively. However in custom restrictive playthroughs of the actual game, unsuspecting moves become super heroes.

[@thesuperthingymabob8209]

Another move which can freeze shaymin without being super effective is tri attack

[@pi_xi]

Also Secret Power on a snowy or icy surface.

[@bawbehh]

I already knew to turn into a hedgehog when I get frozen, I thought you were telling us new things?

[@Bonecrusher1022]

I'm not sure how well known it is but this was one I learned recently. Some moves deal double damage to a Pokemon after they use Minimize. They also avoid accuracy checks which was something I already didn't know. Stomp was the original move that had this effect but a lot of other moves also had it, sometimes for only a single generation. Needle Arm, Extrasensory, Giratina's signature move Shadow Force, and Melmetal's signature move Double Iron Bash to name a few examples.

[@globalistgamer6418]

IIRC this is even explained by an NPC in-game somewhere, but it rarely comes up on Showdown due to Minimize being banned in so many formats, making it more obscure than intended.

[@dflow7630]

here is the list: Body Slam Dragon Rush Flying Press Heat Crash Heavy Slam Malicious Moonsault (Z-Move) Steamroller Stomp

[@Bonecrusher1022]

@@dflow7630 Theses are the moves for Gen 8. S/V adds Supercell Slam as well. Another Gen 3 only move I forgot was Astonish. Gen 6 had Phantom Force too. I assume adding the effect here was what got it added to Shadow Force as well cause it did NOT do this in gen 4/5

[@globalistgamer6418]

Come on and Slam, and welcome to Muk jam...

[@sandysimis8290]

Sheer force also prevents berserk from activating

[@Bonecrusher1022]

Similarly, I was watching a friend do randbats and he lost cause Sheer Force made Anger Shell not trigger on Klawf

[@zoeygeorge2403]

Mold Breaker can create similar shenanigans. I once had a Simple Woobat with Salac Berry only get the regular +1 boost to its speed, because the move that brought it into Salac range was from a Mold Breaker Pokémon

[@Borderlynx]

11:40 Splash is also thematic because in Japanese the move is called Hop. (This also explains why Hoppip gets the move.)

[@Sedmonds21]

Watched a doubles video a few days ago and found out if you fling a Salac Berry at your own mon it'll increase it's speed. Didn't know fling benefitted mons before that.

[@Oneiroclast]

I assume what's happening is Sheer Force, when an affected move is used, skips the entire routine that checks secondary effects, rather than skipping only the secondary effect that belongs to the move itself.

[@BlueBasD]

Fun fact: Did you know that encore doesn't work if the move encore locks you in has no power points, it also removes the effect if the move locked in drops to 0 power points when encored before. Lower power points can be useful bc of this.

[@taimur_rahman]

encore also doesnt work on dynamax cannon

[@thymythymyth]

Won’t you just struggle?

[@BlueBasD]

@@thymythymyth i thought that too but no, if you disable the move its locked in then yes but not if its out of power points. i actually won games by power point stalling my own power points.

[@seisveintiocho-x9e]

Too bad that Pokémon Showdown! does not allow not maximising PP.

[@pi_xi]

​@seisveintiocho-x9e There is a proposal for that, because it makes sense for some moves (not only Trump Card, but also Detect/Protect, Focus Blast (because of Encore), Encore itself (in Mirror matches) etc.

[@emma_tm]

gonna be sad if this doesnt feature a mechanic trainer who surprises you somewhere in the games

[@tylerrock7219]

I like that Stomp doubles damage and is a guaranteed hit against a Pokemon that used Minimize, I've never seen that one come up. If a Pokemon is in Dived state and the opponent uses Surf, they get hit and take double damage. Same goes for Dig and Earthquake. Decorate and Coaching go through Protect. Shed Shell lets you switch out even if you've used No Retreat.

[@ProjectThunderclaw]

It's not just Stomp, there's several moves that do that, but the reason you've never seen any of those interactions is probably that Minimize is banned in every competitive singles format (and irrelevant in VGC). Even sadistic romhack creators tend to think evasion is too cheesy, and of the handful of pokemon that learn it naturally, the vast majority do so at very low levels, so you're unlikely even to bump into a wild pokemon that just randomly has it. In Gen 8 & 9 it's pretty much just Grimer and maybe Qwilfish that learn it at a level where you might actually encounter them.

[@solemnstar2373]

hurricane similarly for bounce and fly, though nobody uses those moves. Thunder might as well, but I don't recall.

[@robertlupa8273]

4:08 I love how in this example it didn't even matter because Garchomp crit (which ignores stat changes that would lower the damage).

[@KFP_ES]

It'd be cool if gravity downgraded Hi Jump Kick to normal Jump Kick

[@solemnstar2373]

that would actually be funny.

[@luna6315]

i take all my medical advice from jimothy, turning into a hedgehog next time im wounded

[@solemnstar2373]

thats not quite right. You should turn into a hedgehog when it gets too cold. He really just misunderstood the mechanics.

[@Blazin_Tundra]

Imagine using fling w/white herb on your own Justified Terrakion spamming close combat. Sounds like it could be halfway decent in some scenarios

[@TheRealBookwurm]

9:25 I think it’s because megengar is literally a shadow coming out of the ground idk tho

[@FranXiT]

"These Pokémon are in the ground so they cannot get hit. How cool!" "Man, I sure wonder why this Pokémon in the ground can't be hit. Truly a mystery"

[@AceDefective3]

iirc, theres actually one more with unnerve specifically. its been a while, so not sure if it applies to later gens, but it, for some reason, has higher ability activation priority than other abilities. e.g., say you lead lando-t vs aerodatyl or something. if aerodactyl is pressure, then both abilities have the same activation priority. this is useful for scouting scarf on landorus for example. most abilities in the game share this same activation priority. however, unnerve always acts before other abilities. i found this out around gen 6, but for some reason, i cant find much about it online when trying to figure out where i learn it. though i tested it in showdown, and its definitely true for g6 at least

[@pi_xi]

That is probably because entry hazards may trigger berries. So, Unnerve must activate very early.

[@pi_xi]

Other abilities like Intimidate must activate after entry hazards, of course.

[@aqgpandemic5406]

I once ran a Gravity team with Deoxys defense to get gravity up and then switch out with teleport… I also ran Flapple in it and like… shit actually does crazy damage and it’s very fun. Not good but very fun considering Flapple has hustle it actually has like perfect synergy with gravity and it’s neat

[@solemnstar2373]

this would be more viable if there were a gravity turn boosting item like the weather stones. 8 turns would be much better. And then I wish grav apple in gravity had a little more to it than a 1.5x boost. But as you said, with hustle its pretty good. another flavorful idea is that using grav apple traps the enemy as long as gravity is active. Like that apple is pinning them in place so they can't move. A gravity setting ability would also be quite nice. Overall the effect of gravity is actually a cool mechanic that is just being left to rot, but it has insane potential if they just gave it some love. A gravity set ability, and maybe a move like shed tail for gravity. I mean, substitute and baton pass are overpowered, and they just put them into a single move and thought that it was okay somehow. Same with trick room, its fallen out of use, and again, needs an ability setter and/or a duration extender item. But gravity is too cool. Its essentially a way to open up less accurate moves to being more viable. Imagine people seriously running zap cannon and dynamic punch because its now got improved accuracy? Even more insane, imagine zap cannon gravity electric terrain boosted. With a wide lens.

[@StillMemes]

14:20 thank you for the advice, horse council leader and iron mugulis enemy number one jimothy cool.

[@tedbrouwer2831]

One fun interaction (or not fun, depending on whether it happens to you or your opponent) is with rapid spin. Basically, if you use rapid spin whilst entry hazards are on the field and you faint to either rocky helmet, rough skin or iron barbs, than you won't remove the entry hazards

[@adderall3676]

Something interesting that was very relevant in vgc recently. The ability neutralizing gas of Weezing fame continues to disable abilities that interact with speed order on the turn that the pokemon switches out. This was used to allow toedscruel to spore an opponent at very high speeds while also allowing a threat to pivot in at the same time. Thank you Wolfe Glick for bringing this interaction to the world stage.

[@mondooowada3537]

I need Wolfey on The Fridge so bad it's unreal.

[@evanmatthews2159]

I imagine this is because it's a priority thing rather than speed.

[@urkerab]

@@evanmatthews2159 Actually even regular priority gets recalculated after each move, so you can prankster skill swap prankster onto your ally and if they were going to use a status move it will now be prankster boosted as well; what doesn't get recalculated is the effect of stall, lagging tail, mycelium might, quick draw and quick claw; this is because quick draw and quick claw have a chance to activate and this needs to be calculated only once, so they happen at the start of the turn, just after stall, lagging tail and mycelium might (whichever might be applicable). This means that if neutralising gas was active at the start of the turn, mycelium might's stall effect doesn't happen, but if it's no longer active at the time toedscruel uses the status move then the move still gets to bypass abilities that would normally prevent it from executing.

[@Midnight-hz3ep]

Yup, priority is determined when the moves are clicked. Only psuedo-exception I can think of is After You

[@ProjectThunderclaw]

100% the main reason Mega Gengar is immune to telekinesis is that its model would look real freaking weird if you made it hover. They'd have to work out and model whatever is beneath the ground and probably change some of its animations just for this one move nobody ever uses. (This is even more true for Dugtrio and Palossand, but I believe thet got their immunity in Gen 5 when it was still sprites, so I reckon that was more of a pure flavor decision.)

[@complainer406]

Splash is a mis-translation, it should really be flop (e.g. "flop like a fish") So it does make sense to be disabled under gravity as a form of jumping

[@EinDose]

I love that this is recorded the day of Alpharad doing an Egglocke that somehow organically encountered exactly that Wonder Guard-Fire Fang interaction.

[@Silverstar114]

I always thought Shaymin reverting was because the flowers that allow its form change would close up when exposed to the cold.

[@MrCheeze]

Splash can't be used in Gravity because it's a mistranslation of "Hop", referring to how Magikarp jumps out of the water.

[@JustinMcBride21x]

One of my favorite interactions is that a Pokémon will never miss certain moves including stomp and body slam if the opponent has used minimize, which brings to mind the hilarious moment an elephant smashed a mouse during Apu’s wedding on The Simpsons.

[@randomcatname7792]

2 things: The computer controlled opponents actually use Fire Fang to bypass hacked wonder guard. Also, Mega Gengar is a shadow, that's why it can't be lifted

[@ProjectThunderclaw]

AI trainers have a check that prevents them from selecting a move that does literally nothing, e.g. enemy is immune, second No Retreat, etc. Funny that this check apparently takes the Fire Fang bug into account. Also funny: for many AI trainers, this is the ONLY check they do and otherwise pick their moves at random. As a result, it's very possible that Youngster Brandon will make the deep wizardry game knowledge play of using Fire Fang to bypass a hacked Wonder Guard every single time, but has only a 25% chance of using it against Ferrothorn because he has no idea how the type chart works.

[@itztaytay2]

One other thing that Sheer Force doesn't trigger because of how it's programmed is Recharge turns from moves that force them... unfortunately this isn't even niche knowledge as there is currently no way to activate Sheer Force while using these moves as none of them have a secondary effect for it to use. If they added a flinch chance to Giga Impact for instance then Sheer Force Tauros holding Life Orb would be able to use it with no recoil and no recharge turn, which would be pretty cool. Edit: Oh one other SF fun fact, Archaludon's signature move Electro Shot is coded to activate Sheer Force despite not actually having a secondary effect (the spattk raise is a separate action, even in rain) so if you either skill swap SF onto Arch or mimic/copycat Electro Shot onto a SF mon it gets the boost without ignoring any effect

[@StepBaum]

I knew a bunch but honestly great research, a whole lot were actually really niche

[@lunathic]

1:32 I was at first confused why this would be affected but stuff like rocky helmet wouldnt be, but i think i have an explaination. The abilities that trigger when hit are probably in 2 different groups, those who always trigger or those who only trigger when the pokemon survives. Since stuff like red card only happens if the pokemon survives, the check is likely placed after the move has activated abilities of the attacked pokemon, as well as their item in case it has something like focus sash, which would prevent them from fainting. Then afterwards on hit effects like lowering defense or poisoning them would occur, at which point the sheer force check is placed, which skips all of those, including all effects of enemy abilities like emegency exit, or anger point. Its a very similar issue to why old explosion skipped the enemies turn except that this is a neiche enough interaction that they will likely not bother to fix it unless they will rewrite the code from scratch.

[@Goorue]

the wonder guard fire fang thing is seemingly because fire fang and shadow force's first turn are right next to each other in the move list. So when enabling shadow force's first turn happen against a shedinja, they most likely misinput fire fang as the move that can hit

[@andyaweebphysicist]

Actually it doesn't make sense that magnetic rise is disabled under the effect of gravity, since the scale of gravitational to electromagnetic force on a charged particles is quite significant (~10^42 for two electrons in 1nm distance). A reasonable attack interaction (which probably is not implemented) should be that magnet rise is dispersed after the risen Pokémon is hit by a Fire type move.😂

[@rajkanishu]

That interaction makes perfect sense from a balance standpoint too since most if not all Magnet Rise users are Steel types and thus weak to Fire, the move doesn't really need a nerf but it would be cool to see

[@seisveintiocho-x9e]

Actually it does make sense, because the move Gravity makes gravity stronger so that it would take more power to levitate.

[@andyaweebphysicist]

@seisveintiocho-x9e And I am saying unless gravity is enhanced to such a point that regular life would be crushed (like on Venus) electromagnetic force should still outclass it. OR Mangnezone and the like "just barely float" due to magnetic rise. Depends on the interpretation I guess.

[@seisveintiocho-x9e]

@andyaweebphysicist Maybe gravity is enhanced to the point were regular life would be crushed.

[@urkerab]

I think that if Rotom-Fan holds an air balloon then it should have so much lifting power as to be immune to the effects of Gravity anyway.

[@bonusmeme4691]

The Runescape background music symbolizes Jim's yearning for simpler times. It reminds him of when he used to play the only video game that has no horses at all, and therefore no horse-related politics either.

[@Prof_Meowington]

A fun hidden mechanic is when you make cool videos with info I didn’t know until now, I subscribe. All these were cool to learn!

[@Lynx-xl7iy]

I thought he would mention the gen 3 truant mechs when slaking switches in after a pokemon dies to chip damage

[@volcano-ik9kf]

Pokemon has a lot of hidden mechanics that aren’t explained in game at all.

[@torch-eh7ti]

But if you're an experienced player I'm sure you're aware of some of these.

[@silvesta5027]

Like roost removing a pokemon’s flying typing temporarily

[@andrewtran6735]

Or Sheer Force ignoring the recoil damage from Life Orb if it takes effect on an attack.

[@DuckSmokezQuack]

Or sheer force ignoring the recoil damage from life orb

[@dhaniyalageel1792]

Or maybe you’re aware that the move “Scald” thaws you out if you are frozen.

[@maru_spl]

Actually didnt know a lot of these even after years of competitive. Great video!

[@ShadowXeldron]

Mega Gengar is actually sticking out of some kind of interdimensional portal, hence why it is immune to telekinesis. It's not noticeable in the game, but it's easy to see in spinoffs like Pokken.

[@nerddwarf]

It's a shadow That's why Telekinesis doesn't work It can lift itself off of the floor because it's a Ghost "Interdimensional portal" smh. Giratina brain-rotted

[@nerddwarf]

It's a Shadow. This is easy to see in spinoffs such as Pokkén where it slinks and slides across the floor like a shadow, slides underneath and around people before then springing up and scaring them. "Interdimensional portal" smh. Giratina brain-rotted.

[@ShadowXeldron]

@@nerddwarf Well, that's me corrected.

[@U.F.O]

​@@nerddwarf Mega Gengar's Pokémon Moon dex entry: "The energy of Mega Evolution awakened it. It sinks into another dimension, where it keeps a patient watch for its chance to attack." Ultra Moon: "Mega Evolution has made it possible for Gengar to access other dimensions. Its entire body is brimming with strange power." Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee: "It can pass through other dimensions and appear anywhere. It caused a stir one time when it stuck just one leg out of a wall."

[@U.F.O]

You were right the first time, though. It's mentioned in several pokedex entries. LGPE: "It can pass through other dimensions and appear anywhere. It caused a stir one time when it stuck just one leg out of a wall." UMoon: "Mega Evolution has made it possible for Gengar to access other dimensions. Its entire body is brimming with strange power." Moon: "The energy of Mega Evolution awakened it. It sinks into another dimension, where it keeps a patient watch for its chance to attack."

[@LuDogg805]

Golisopod is my favorite Pokemon, so here are some you missed... Emergency Exit will not activate if you lose HP by Curse, Belly Drum, or Pain Split. Hypnosis is the only spot-on Psychic move that lands on Dark types. These moves ignore accuracy checks and will do more damage to minimized Pokemon in Gen 9. - Body Slam - Stomp - Dragon Rush - Heat Crash - Heavy Slam - Flying Press Moves that used to do more damage and ignore accuracy check to a minimized Pokemon. - Astonish - Extrasensory - Needle Arm - Shadow Force - Steamroller - Phantom Force - Malicious Moonsault - Double Iron Bash

[@pi_xi]

The Hypnosis fact is wrong. Miracle Eye also hits Dark Pokémon and also makes Psychic moves hit them.

[@LuDogg805]

@@pi_xi Not quite, that move no longer exists.

[@frogmouth2]

Hidden mechanic you forgot to mention. When you hit an opponent with a damaging move, it removes an associated amount of their HP.

[@felipesilva3732]

Z-Splash was actually useful in G7 so gravity could be counterplay

[@handoverthestromboli6715]

@@felipesilva3732 but you still the get the boost even if the move fails

[@franciscofernandezmedrano9613]

Also gravity has negative priority

[@handoverthestromboli6715]

@@franciscofernandezmedrano9613 No its not.

[@theo7371]

Since Palafin is getting tested (with its Hero form having a massive 650 BST) I think it would be an interesting idea to do a tierlist of box legendaries ranking them based on how broken they would be if they were tested in OU.

[@pi_xi]

That is basically done in Showdown. Kyurem Black is OU in Gen 5 to 7.

[@heartfullofpink6605]

Wow. I may not play competitive pokemon, but on the off chance I do, I will be grateful that I have learnt Pokemon's Weirdest Hidden Mechanics from none other than Jimothy Cool himself.

[@quijassajiuq900]

Mega Gengar can’t float from the ground because it’s flavoured to be melting into it like a shadow.

[@funkymachine]

7:55 fire fang is programmed weirdly. Certain moves have flags to avoid wonder guard, this is relevant for moves like dig's turn 1. Because it's right next to shadow force in ID they messed up and gave fire fang the flag that makes it's turn 1 immune to wonder guard effect. However fire fang is 1 turn and actually does damage turn 1 lul.

[@CardinalTreehouse]

Thought there might be a niche mechanic where you could fling a white herb onto a mon with a contrary boost, but the herb doesn't get consumed

[@handoverthestromboli6715]

i never knew you could morph shaymin sky mid battle. this changes everything

[@RealYaoi]

'to hi-jump kick during gravity is a fools errand' - sun tzu (i think)

[@kiruoful]

1:08 Ontopofthicif , a new pokemon has appeared !

[@Snickersowaty]

Mega Gengar emerges from ground/other dimension too so probably that's why he cannot be lifted

[@NightFreeze9128]

I've discussed Sheer Force at length with other folks interested in Pokemon's game design due to the ability's laundry list of non-intuitive interactions. The consensus we came up with is that the check for both the secondary effects of attacks and other effects that trigger when an attack hits a pokemon are part of the same function in the code, and Sheer Force just prevents that function from running entirely. I don't know for sure, but that's the most logical explanation to me.

[@EllTheSylveon]

thanks a lot for this video, jim. i'm building a battle sim from scratch right now, and these are the kinds of little tidbits and corner cases i'll need to account for when fleshing out mechanical implementations.

[@stakefr0mjatefarmvods534]

I think the Sheer Force thing happens because the on-hit effects like Red Card or EE are coded like the attacker is inflicting it rather than the defender. So in the code, it goes "Nidoking used Sludge Wave! Nidoking used Emergency Exit! This forces the defender to swap!" And then it gets nulified by Sheer Force.

[@snolls105]

damn, wasn't expecting that life advice at the ending. i'll make sure to take it to heart.

[@Weregoatee]

The last tip in this video is truly life saving. Folks, do take notes.

[@EndyStar]

Fun fact about the Telekenisis immunity, the pokemon who are immune to its effects are coded to come out of their pokeballs differently, emerging from the ground rather than their ball.

[@Super_EpicGuy]

9:30 Mega Gengar is also submerged in the ground, which is likely part of why base Gengar lost Levitate due to its interactions with sky battles in X and Y

[@omnimadreko1676]

The urge to build a team centered on gravity is STRONG

[@mx_plant]

The way Jimothy dragged Shaymin-Sky, I cannot. Fr I came here for the 3rd-gen nostalgia, but I'm staying for the sass

[@VinceMouse]

Shell Smash + White Herb Fling for no downsides Shell Smash.

[@internetmovieguy]

Another hidden mechanic is winning on the gen 4 ou ladder.

[@KVO723]

I’m surprised he didn’t mention Minimize against Heavy Slam Heat Crash

[@CrambobulousRichard]

I have not looked at the code personally, but based on other similar games I imagine that there is a "secondary effect" stage after every move used where rolls for statuses are done or recoil damage is calculated. Since pokemon is held together with spaghetti and dreams, sheer force probably just saus "hey skip the secondary check step" which is why things besides damage/statuses are skipped.

[@ParasaurolophusZ]

9:30 My best guess is that Mega Gengar is also emerging from the ground. Specifically, it looks like it's popping up from a shadow on the ground, or is somehow attached. 11:48 Splash is Hop in Japanese, so it's also a jumping move. Makes sense!

[@zacroach2075]

splash doesn't work in gravity as in japanese it's instead called hop (hence why it's a normal move) and is based on the lore that magikarp although useless possesses the power to jump over tall mountains, which it obviously can't do in extreme gravity

[@pi_xi]

Diglett and Dugtrio cannot jump in Pokéathlon, but in some minigames like Hurdle Dash they can bury themselves instead.

[@somebvnny]

I remember the days of using a hacked Sableye in Black/White with Wonderguard, back before it had any weaknesses.