This is a guide primarily for referees looking to get approved or for help with battles. Note that this is only my scale and that you are welcome to develop your own if you dislike it. I acknowledge that this scale is not perfect and, again, you are welcome to tweak it. However, if you're a beginner, this is probably a pretty good place to start.
1. Determine the Attack's Base Power
This is quite simple. Get out your handy ASB Attack Guide and find the base power for the move. Take, for example, blast burn, which has a base power of 150.
Now chop a zero off of the base power. This gives you the attack's base power in health percentage. For blast burn, 15%. If the attack has a power ending in a five (such as 65), round down (in that case, to 6% base damage).
2. Determine STAB or Lack Thereof
STAB stands for Same Type Attack Bonus, or a couple of added points of damage if the pokémon using the attack is the same type as the attack. Because only fire-types can learn blast burn, we know that we have STAB here.
STAB adds 1/4 of the base damage (in damage percent, rounded DOWN) to the damage total. In the case of blast burn, that's 3% additional damage, bringing our attack up to 18% damage total thus far.
If the attack wasn't STAB, however, we'd get anti- or reverse-STAB instead: I dock one point of damage for this.
3. Determine Evolution Modifier
Naturally, more experienced pokémon are going to wield their attacks more effectively. Therefore, you give a bonus to the damage if the pokémon is evolved. Any of the following may be true:
- If the pokémon is the first form of a three-pokémon chain, dock its damage by one point.
- If the pokémon is the middle form of a three-pokémon chain, do nothing.
- If the pokémon is the final form of a three-pokémon chain, add one point to its damage.
- If the pokémon is the first form of a two-part chain, do nothing.
- If the pokémon is the final form of a two-part chain, add one point to its damage.
- If the pokémon does not evolve, add one point to its damage.
Let's say that the pokémon using the blast burn is charizard and add one percent to its damage. That brings us up to 19% damage so far.
4. Determine Damage Modifier
You all know your type chart, right? Here's where it comes into play. Pick the appropriate modifier from one of these:
- If one or both of the opponent's types is immune to the attack's type, it does no damage.
- If both of the opponent's types are resistant to the attack's type, multiply its damage by 0.5 and round down.
- If one of the opponent's types is resistant to the attack's type, multiply its damage by 0.67 and round down.
- If neither of the opponent's types is weak or resistant to the attack's type, do nothing.
- If one of the opponent's types is weak to the attack's type and the other is resistant to it, do nothing.
- If one of the opponent's types is weak to the attack and the other neither resists nor is weak to it, multiply the attack's damage by 1.5 and round down.
- If both of the opponent's types are weak to the attack, double its damage.
Thus blast burn could be doing 0%, 5%, 12%, 19%, 28%, or 38% damage, depending upon the opponent.
5. Other Factors
There are other modifiers that may be put onto attack damage; the most common of these is a terrain restriction that adds or subtracts damage for attacks of a certain type. Deal with these last; this is where most grey-area reffing comes in.
This part is broken up into two sections.
1. Determine the Base Energy Expenditure
For this, you need to know the PP of the move that the pokémon is using. With that, you use the following scale to determine how much energy is taken away:
Power Points: 5-----10----15----20----25----30----35----40
Base Energy: 5%----4%---3%---3%----2%---2%---1%---1%
Basically, the more PP an attack has, the less the attack costs. Let's take blast burn again, with five PP. The base energy is then 5%
2. Determine the Attack's Base Damage
You'll need this again anyway to calculate attack damage, but for now, we need only determine how costly the attack will be. Select from the following:
- If the attack has a power of less than 50, do nothing
- If the attack has a power ranging from 50-75, add 1% energy
- If the attack has a power ranging from 75-100, add 2% energy
- If the attack has a power ranging from 100-125, add 3% energy
- If the attack has a power of over 125, add 4% energy
Blast burn has 150 power, so we add 4% onto our base energy. That takes us to 9% energy used total.
3. Determine the Evolution Bonus
As we did for damage, we look at the pokémon's evolution level in order to determine a modifier on energy use.
- If the pokémon is the first form of a three-pokémon chain, add one percent energy to its total expenditure.
- If the pokémon is the middle form of a three-pokémon chain, do nothing.
- If the pokémon is the final form of a three-pokémon chain, remove one point of energy.
- If the pokémon is the first form of a two-part chain, do nothing.
- If the pokémon is the final form of a two-part chain, remove one point of energy.
- If the pokémon does not evolve, remove one point of energy.
If we say that blast burn is being used by a charizard, then our energy cost is now reduced to 8%
4. Determine STAB
Again, STAB is Same Type Attack Bonus. If the attack is NOT the same type as the user, add a further one percent energy.
This does not apply to our charizard example, so our energy stands at 8%.
5. Add Other Effects
There are some cases in which an attack may cost more or less energy than normal. In such cases, you add the bonuses in now. Some attacks also have a cost spread out across several turns (such as light screen); add the extra energy cost for such "upkeep" attacks in here now, too.
These can get very, very tricky. Some actions are not defined at all (such as climbing a tree, ducking, dancing, etc) and therefore you have to come up with an energy value all by yourself. I'll get into my general procedure, and then address a couple of common deviations from the format; note that in this section, logic plays a very, very large role as there's less to go on here.
1. Determine Base Energy Expenditure
As above, use the chart to determine the base cost of using a move.
Power Points: 5-----10----15----20----25----30----35----40
Base Energy: 5%----4%---3%----3%---2%---2%---1%---1%
2. Think Logically
Yes, it's really down to this step. How much energy would you expect for sunny day? By its base energy, you have 5%, but considering that you could get something like ice beam for about as much, that seems like that might be a little high. Usually, I take it down by a point as a result. In many cases, STAB or evolution really don't matter. In others (toxic) it's clear that some types would have an advantage over others and have energy taken off as a result. This is where a lot of personal variation comes in.
There are also some attacks where I settle on an entirely different method for determining energy, typically ones that take or restore a specific amount of health. Some examples:
Direct Healing Attacks
Usually require energy equal to half the health they restore.
Double Team
Costs 1% per clone created by the attack.
Substitute
Costs half of the health used to make the substitute, rounded down.
Protect
Costs 4% base, then has the following modifiers added:
- If a non-damaging attack/no attack/an attack with power less than 50 is used against it, do nothing.
- If the attack used against it has a power ranging from 50-75, add 1% energy
- If the attack used against it has a power ranging from 75-100, add 2% energy
- If the attack used against it has a power ranging from 100-125, add 3% energy
- If the attack used against it has a power of over 125, add 4% energy
And there you have it. Comments or questions about this can be posted in the thread or PM'd to me.
Damage
1. Determine the Attack's Base Power
This is quite simple. Get out your handy ASB Attack Guide and find the base power for the move. Take, for example, blast burn, which has a base power of 150.
Now chop a zero off of the base power. This gives you the attack's base power in health percentage. For blast burn, 15%. If the attack has a power ending in a five (such as 65), round down (in that case, to 6% base damage).
2. Determine STAB or Lack Thereof
STAB stands for Same Type Attack Bonus, or a couple of added points of damage if the pokémon using the attack is the same type as the attack. Because only fire-types can learn blast burn, we know that we have STAB here.
STAB adds 1/4 of the base damage (in damage percent, rounded DOWN) to the damage total. In the case of blast burn, that's 3% additional damage, bringing our attack up to 18% damage total thus far.
If the attack wasn't STAB, however, we'd get anti- or reverse-STAB instead: I dock one point of damage for this.
3. Determine Evolution Modifier
Naturally, more experienced pokémon are going to wield their attacks more effectively. Therefore, you give a bonus to the damage if the pokémon is evolved. Any of the following may be true:
- If the pokémon is the first form of a three-pokémon chain, dock its damage by one point.
- If the pokémon is the middle form of a three-pokémon chain, do nothing.
- If the pokémon is the final form of a three-pokémon chain, add one point to its damage.
- If the pokémon is the first form of a two-part chain, do nothing.
- If the pokémon is the final form of a two-part chain, add one point to its damage.
- If the pokémon does not evolve, add one point to its damage.
Let's say that the pokémon using the blast burn is charizard and add one percent to its damage. That brings us up to 19% damage so far.
4. Determine Damage Modifier
You all know your type chart, right? Here's where it comes into play. Pick the appropriate modifier from one of these:
- If one or both of the opponent's types is immune to the attack's type, it does no damage.
- If both of the opponent's types are resistant to the attack's type, multiply its damage by 0.5 and round down.
- If one of the opponent's types is resistant to the attack's type, multiply its damage by 0.67 and round down.
- If neither of the opponent's types is weak or resistant to the attack's type, do nothing.
- If one of the opponent's types is weak to the attack's type and the other is resistant to it, do nothing.
- If one of the opponent's types is weak to the attack and the other neither resists nor is weak to it, multiply the attack's damage by 1.5 and round down.
- If both of the opponent's types are weak to the attack, double its damage.
Thus blast burn could be doing 0%, 5%, 12%, 19%, 28%, or 38% damage, depending upon the opponent.
5. Other Factors
There are other modifiers that may be put onto attack damage; the most common of these is a terrain restriction that adds or subtracts damage for attacks of a certain type. Deal with these last; this is where most grey-area reffing comes in.
Energy
This part is broken up into two sections.
For Damaging Attacks
1. Determine the Base Energy Expenditure
For this, you need to know the PP of the move that the pokémon is using. With that, you use the following scale to determine how much energy is taken away:
Power Points: 5-----10----15----20----25----30----35----40
Base Energy: 5%----4%---3%---3%----2%---2%---1%---1%
Basically, the more PP an attack has, the less the attack costs. Let's take blast burn again, with five PP. The base energy is then 5%
2. Determine the Attack's Base Damage
You'll need this again anyway to calculate attack damage, but for now, we need only determine how costly the attack will be. Select from the following:
- If the attack has a power of less than 50, do nothing
- If the attack has a power ranging from 50-75, add 1% energy
- If the attack has a power ranging from 75-100, add 2% energy
- If the attack has a power ranging from 100-125, add 3% energy
- If the attack has a power of over 125, add 4% energy
Blast burn has 150 power, so we add 4% onto our base energy. That takes us to 9% energy used total.
3. Determine the Evolution Bonus
As we did for damage, we look at the pokémon's evolution level in order to determine a modifier on energy use.
- If the pokémon is the first form of a three-pokémon chain, add one percent energy to its total expenditure.
- If the pokémon is the middle form of a three-pokémon chain, do nothing.
- If the pokémon is the final form of a three-pokémon chain, remove one point of energy.
- If the pokémon is the first form of a two-part chain, do nothing.
- If the pokémon is the final form of a two-part chain, remove one point of energy.
- If the pokémon does not evolve, remove one point of energy.
If we say that blast burn is being used by a charizard, then our energy cost is now reduced to 8%
4. Determine STAB
Again, STAB is Same Type Attack Bonus. If the attack is NOT the same type as the user, add a further one percent energy.
This does not apply to our charizard example, so our energy stands at 8%.
5. Add Other Effects
There are some cases in which an attack may cost more or less energy than normal. In such cases, you add the bonuses in now. Some attacks also have a cost spread out across several turns (such as light screen); add the extra energy cost for such "upkeep" attacks in here now, too.
For Non-Damaging Attacks
These can get very, very tricky. Some actions are not defined at all (such as climbing a tree, ducking, dancing, etc) and therefore you have to come up with an energy value all by yourself. I'll get into my general procedure, and then address a couple of common deviations from the format; note that in this section, logic plays a very, very large role as there's less to go on here.
1. Determine Base Energy Expenditure
As above, use the chart to determine the base cost of using a move.
Power Points: 5-----10----15----20----25----30----35----40
Base Energy: 5%----4%---3%----3%---2%---2%---1%---1%
2. Think Logically
Yes, it's really down to this step. How much energy would you expect for sunny day? By its base energy, you have 5%, but considering that you could get something like ice beam for about as much, that seems like that might be a little high. Usually, I take it down by a point as a result. In many cases, STAB or evolution really don't matter. In others (toxic) it's clear that some types would have an advantage over others and have energy taken off as a result. This is where a lot of personal variation comes in.
There are also some attacks where I settle on an entirely different method for determining energy, typically ones that take or restore a specific amount of health. Some examples:
Direct Healing Attacks
Usually require energy equal to half the health they restore.
Double Team
Costs 1% per clone created by the attack.
Substitute
Costs half of the health used to make the substitute, rounded down.
Protect
Costs 4% base, then has the following modifiers added:
- If a non-damaging attack/no attack/an attack with power less than 50 is used against it, do nothing.
- If the attack used against it has a power ranging from 50-75, add 1% energy
- If the attack used against it has a power ranging from 75-100, add 2% energy
- If the attack used against it has a power ranging from 100-125, add 3% energy
- If the attack used against it has a power of over 125, add 4% energy
And there you have it. Comments or questions about this can be posted in the thread or PM'd to me.
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