Raid: Battle Mechanics

Section 7.C.5

As of the time of this plugin's release, raid battles have appeared in the main series in two distinct forms: Max Raids and Tera Raids; both of which feature slightly different rules and mechanics. For the purposes of this plugin, certain elements of both raid styles have been blended together to create the core of how raid battles operate.

This means that the mechanics of raid battles featured in this plugin won't accurately emulate how any particular style of raid battles functions 100%. Instead, a sort of hybrid type of raid is implemented that takes the most sensible elements of both raid types. For example, the Tera Raids featured in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet don't follow the traditional turn based battle system and the raid timer utilizes actual in-game time rather than being based on a turn counter. This wouldn't be practical to reproduce in Essentials, so elements of Max Raid battles are used here instead. However, for other elements, things may resemble Tera Raids more than how they functioned in Max Raids.

Essentially, I borrowed elements of each raid style based on whichever one made more practical sense, or whichever seemed to make for a more fun experience overall. In this section, I'll go over the overall structure of raid battles featured in this plugin.

Raid Battle Rules

Raid Battles operate under very specific rules, so many of the existing battle rules are utilized to emulate a raid battle experience. The following rules will always be enabled during a raid battle, and cannot be altered even if you input a contradicting battle rule to disable them:

  • "canLose"

  • "cannotRun"

  • "noExp"

  • "noMoney"

  • "disablePokeBalls"

  • "1v1" or "2v1" or "3v1", etc. (depends on the raid)

  • "raidStyleCapture"

  • "tempParty" (Raid Dens only)

  • "cheerMode"

  • "noZMoves"

  • "noDynamax"

  • "noTerastallize"

  • "noSOSBattle"

In addition, the following battle rules will always be disabled during a raid battle, even if you input a contradicting battle rule to enable them:

  • "lowHealthBGM" (unless "battleBGM" is set)

  • "alwaysCapture"

  • "neverCapture"

  • "wildMegaEvolution"

  • "wildZMoves"

  • "wildUltraBurst"

  • "wildDynamax"

  • "wildTerastallize"

  • "totemBattle"

Lastly, the following battle rules will be set by the raid by default, but they can be overwritten with your own rules if you'd like to alter them:

  • "backdrop"

  • "base"

  • "environment"

  • "battleIntroText"

  • "setSlideSprite"

  • "databoxStyle"

  • "battleBGM"

Any other battle rule not listed in this section should function like normal.

Raid Pokemon Attributes

Pokemon that are encountered in raids will have very different base attributes compared to other wild Pokemon you would normally encounter. Below are some of the attributes you can expect to generate differently for raid battles.

  • Boosted HP Raid Pokemon will always have boosted HP totals that exceed the normal ranges. How large this boost is scales based on the difficulty of the raid, and may fluctuate depending on the type as raid as well. For more details on boosted HP, refer to the "Wild Boss Attributes" section of this guide.

  • Immunities Raid Pokemon will always have the following wild boss immunities applied: :FLINCH, :PPLOSS, :ITEMREMOVAL, :OHKO, :SELFKO, :ESCAPE For more details on boss immunities, refer to the "Wild Boss Attributes" section of this guide.

  • IV's Raid Pokemon will always have at least one perfect IV when encountered. The number of perfect IV's a raid Pokemon will have scales based on the difficulty of the raid. For example, a raid with only 1-2 stars will only generate a Pokemon with one perfect IV, while a 7-star raid will generate a Pokemon with flawless IV's in every stat. The more stars a raid has, the more perfect IV's the raid Pokemon will have.

  • Hidden Abilities Raid Pokemon will sometimes generate with their Hidden Abilities when encountered, depending on the difficulty of the raid. Only Pokemon encountered in 3-star raids or higher have a chance of generating with their Hidden Ability. The more stars a raid has, the more likely it is that the raid Pokemon will have their Hidden Ability.

  • Moves Raid Pokemon will generate with randomized move sets that will generate based on the type of raid they appear in. Typically, a raid Pokemon will always generate with at least one or two reliable STAB moves, one non-STAB move for coverage, and a status move that provides some kind of utility. The type of raid battle can drastically alter these move sets, however. For example, the moves generated for a Tera Raid will be geared towards utilizing the raid Pokemon's Tera Type, while an Ultra Raid will be geared towards utilizing the raid Pokemon's held Z-Crystal.

  • Form Depending on the species and the raid type, the raid Pokemon may be forced into a certain form during the raid battle. For example, Necrozma will always appear in Ultra Burst form when encountered in an Ultra Raid, and species that have special Terastal forms such as Ogerpon and Terapagos will always appear in those forms when encountered in a Tera Raid.

  • Held Item In Ultra Raid battles specifically, the raid Pokemon will always generate holding a random Z-Crystal. The specific Z-Crystal held will always be one that is compatible with at least one of their damaging moves. If the raid Pokemon is a species that has access to an exclusive Z-Move, they will always generate holding that particular Z-Crystal. If the raid Pokemon has an Ultra Burst form, such as Necrozma, then they will instead always be holding the item that allows them to enter Ultra Burst form.

  • Tera Type In Tera Raid battles specifically, the raid Pokemon will generate with a completely random Tera Type in 3-star raids or higher, if able. In lower raid ranks, their Tera Type will generate normally.

Note that you can still use the "editWildPokemon" rule to override all of the attributes listed above that the raid Pokemon would normally generate with. However, in the case of boss immunities, the immunities listed above will always be granted to the raid Pokemon. You can grant them additional immunities if you'd like, but the ones listed above will always be present.

Captured Raid Pokemon

After capturing a wild Pokemon, you are usually prompted to give it a nickname and, depending on your settings, can even decide whether to add it to your party or to your PC. When capturing a raid Pokemon however, these prompts are entirely skipped. A captured raid Pokemon will simply be sent to your PC immediately upon capture.

In addition, many attributes of the captured raid Pokemon may differ from the attributes it had during battle. Here are some attributes that may be changed upon capture:

  • Level The highest level a raid Pokemon can possibly be upon capture is Lv. 75. However, it's possible for a raid Pokemon to exceed this level during the actual battle. In these cases, the raid Pokemon's level will be scaled down to Lv. 75 after capturing it.

  • HP Raid Pokemon have greatly expanded HP pools during battle. Upon capture however, these totals are scaled back down to their normal values.

  • Moves Raid Pokemon generate with randomized move sets that are geared towards making them a challenging encounter during battle. However, once they are captured, its move set will revert to whatever moves it would normally have at its current level.

  • Form Depending on the species and the raid type, the raid Pokemon may be forced into a certain form during the raid battle. For example, Necrozma will always appear in Ultra Burst form during an Ultra Raid. After capture however, it will be forced to revert to its base form.

  • Held Item In Ultra Raid battles specifically, the raid Pokemon will always be holding a Z-Crystal in order for it to use Z-Moves during the battle. After capture however, any held Z-Crystals will be removed.

  • Dynamax Level In Max Raid battles specifically, the raid Pokemon will always have a maxed out Dynamax Level for the purposes of simpler HP calculations during the raid battle. After capture however, the captured Pokemon's Dynamax Level will be scaled down to an appropriate level based on the difficulty of the raid.

Battle Visuals

Raid battles utilize unique visuals that set them apart from your typical wild battle. Below I'll describe the different visual changes implemented by raid battles.

Databox Style

By default, raid battles will automatically enable the :Long databox style, which will change how battler's databoxes will appear in battle. This style gives the raid Pokemon a long HP bar that stretches across the top of the screen, making them feel more like genuine boss fights.

Note that you can still implement a different databox style if you wish by using the "databoxStyle" battle rule, but you cannot disable databox styles for raid battles altogether. For more information about databox styles, refer to the Battle Visuals subsection within the "Deluxe Battle Rules" section of this guide.

Something to take note of is that when databox styles are enabled in a raid battle, any Z-Crystals held by battlers will have their icons displayed next to that battler's HP bar. This is particularly useful in Ultra Raid battles, as it will remind you what sort of Z-Moves the raid Pokemon will be using, as well as reminding you what Z-Moves each of your own Pokemon may have access to without having to recheck the Summary screen.

Background and Bases

By default, raid battles will utilize the specific background and base graphics defined in that specific raid type's data. Refer to the "Raid: Properties" subsection for more information in where and how this is defined. Each raid type has different graphics defined in its data.

Here's the graphics used for each style:

  • Basic Raids Implements the "cave3" background and bases found in vanilla Essentials.

  • Ultra Raids Implements the "raid_ultra" background and bases added by this plugin.

  • Max Raids Implements the "raid_max" background and bases added by this plugin.

  • Tera Raids Implements the "raid_tera" background and bases added by this plugin.

Note that these graphics are just what are used as the default for each raid type, so they can still be manually overwritten for specific raid battles through the use of the "backdrop" and "base" battle rules.

Also note that if you set a custom environment for a raid battle with the "environment" battle rule, the graphics used for the battle will also automatically change to use graphics that reflect that environment type. For example, setting the environment to :Snow will implement the snow background and snow bases. By default, all raid battles are assumed to take place in the :Cave environment except for Ultra Raids, which take place in the :UltraSpace environment instead.

General Mechanics

Certain elements of a raid battle will differ from how you would expect them to work during a normal battle.

Battle Size

By default, all raid battles are assumed to be fought as a 3v1 battle, with the player sending out three Pokemon against the one raid Pokemon. This is manually set in the plugin Settings file with RAID_BASE_PARTY_SIZE, which is set to 3 by default. You can change this value if you'd like to set the default party size on the player's side or 2 or 1 instead.

Note however that regardless of what RAID_BASE_PARTY_SIZE is set to, raid battles might automatically adjust the battle size if necessary. For example, if the battle size is set to 3, but the player has fewer than three able Pokemon that can participate, the battle size will automatically shrink down to suit the player's party.

Also note that if the player has a partner trainer manually set to accompany them in this raid battle with the :partner setting, the battle size will automatically adjust to a 2v1 format, with both the player and partner sending out a single Pokemon each.

Finally, it is possible to manually set the battle size for a raid by setting :size to your desired value in the rule hash when setting up a raid event.

Fainted Battlers

Typically, when a Pokemon faints in battle, it remains fainted unless an effect of an item or move is used to revive them. However, this works differently in raid battles.

When a trainer's Pokemon faints in a raid battle, it will spend one turn off of the field. On the following turn, it will be fully revived and be ready to send out once again. This is because trainers participate in raid battles with a limited party, so fainting is treated more like a temporary set back than a permanent loss.

Note however, that you will still lose the raid if every battler on your side of the field are all fainted simultaneously with no other healthy Pokemon in reserve to send out.

Battle Gimmicks

When you enter a normal battle with an eligible battle gimmick available, such as Z-Moves, Dynamax, or Terastallization, you are typically able to use those gimmicks immediately whenever you choose. However, this may work differently during a raid battle.

Depending on the type of raid battle you're in, these mechanics may require charging through the use of cheers before they may be used, or may be disabled from use entirely. Below, I'll go over each type of battle gimmick, and when and where they are available to be used.

  • Mega Evolution Disabled in all raid battles except Basic Raids. Usable immediately, if available.

  • Ultra Burst Disabled in all raid battles except Ultra Raids. Usable immediately, if available.

  • Z-Moves Disabled in all raid battles except Ultra Raids. However, Z-Moves will not be available for a trainer until the "Let's use Z-Power!" cheer is used to charge the trainer's Z-Ring. This can be done multiple times per battle.

  • Dynamax Disabled in all raid battles except Max Raids. However, Dynamax will not be available for a trainer until the "Let's Dynamax!" cheer is used to charge the trainer's Dynamax Band. This can be done multiple times per battle.

  • Terastallization Disabled in all raid battles except Tera Raids. However, Terastallization will not be available for a trainer until the "Let's Terastallize!" cheer is used to charge the trainer's Tera Orb. This can be done multiple times per battle.

Cheering

While in a raid battle, a new menu command called "Cheer" will replace the usual "Run" command. Cheers can be used to afford your party a variety of buffs during a raid battle, heal your battlers, recharge certain battle gimmicks, and more.

Cheers can be instrumental to your success in a raid, allowing you to make impossible comebacks or allow you to swiftly clear a raid with efficiency. Never forget to consider this tool during a raid battle.

The cheer mechanic is quite in depth, and thus it's deserving of its own section to fully explain. Please refer to the "Cheer Mechanics" subsection of this guide for a full breakdown of cheers.

Partner Trainers

When entering a raid battle, any partner trainer the player has following them will not participate in the battle. However, the player can still have a partner participate in the raid battle along side them if :partner is set to a particular trainer in the rule hash of the raid event.

After the raid battle is concluded, any partner trainer that aided in battle will be removed, and the player's original partner trainer will be restored, if any.

When setting a partner trainer for a raid, the :partner setting should be set to an array that contains the following:

  • A trainer type ID.

  • The name of a particular trainer.

  • The version number of this trainer (optional; 0 by default).

  • An optional setting of true if you wish for this trainer to participate exactly as they appear in their PBS data (optional; false by default).

Please note that, as always, partner trainers MUST have a proper back sprite located in Graphics/Trainers. If they do not have a back sprite, the game will immediately crash at the start of battle. This is how Essentials works generally, this isn't a plugin issue!

Partner Attributes

When a partner trainer participates in a raid battle along side you, they may not appear exactly as they are set up in your PBS file. Partner trainers will automatically scale their party and inventories to match the specific raid battle that they are participating in. This includes the items they have, the size of their party, as well as the attributes of their particular Pokemon.

Below, I'll go over in detail all of the attributes of a trainer that may be changed when participating in a raid battle as your partner. Note that if you do not wish for a partner trainer's attributes to be changed, you can simply set true as a fourth element in the :partner array setting, as described above.

Partner Inventory

When a partner trainer participates in a raid battle, they will not have any items in their inventory that have been set in their PBS data. Instead, they will be given a new inventory based on the particular type of raid battle they are participating in:

  • Basic Raid The partner is given no items.

  • Ultra Raid The partner is given a Z-Ring.

  • Max Raid The partner is given a Dynamax Band.

  • Tera Raid The partner is given a Tera Orb.

Partner Party

When a partner participates in a raid battle, they will only bring a single Pokemon with them to the battle. This will always be whatever Pokemon appears last in their lineup as defined in their PBS data, as this is always assumed to be their ace.

The properties of this Pokemon that they bring to the raid battle may also be altered based on the criteria of the raid battle they're participating in.

  • Level The level of their Pokemon will automatically scale to match the difficulty of the raid they are participating in.

  • Moves The moves of their Pokemon will be automatically adjusted to make them competitive in a raid environment, and to make use of special gimmicks of the raid, such as Z-Moves and Tera Types.

  • Held Item The held item of their Pokemon may be adjusted based on the type of raid they are participating in. For example, if participating in an Ultra Raid, the trainer's Pokemon will be automatically given a Z-Crystal to use that is compatible with their move set. In all raid types, Mega Stones will be removed if the Pokemon is holding one.

Altered Move Mechanics

While in a raid battle, certain moves may no longer work as they normally would. Below, I'll list all moves with function codes that will behave differently during raid battles.

  • Move functions that will always fail when used by any battler during a raid battle:

    • Perish Song

    • Sky Drop

  • Move functions that will always fail when targeting a raid Pokemon:

    • Super Fang/Nature's Madness

    • Spite

    • Roar/Whirlwind

    • Horn Drill/Guillotine

    • Fissure

    • Sheer Cold

  • Move functions that will always fail when used by the raid Pokemon itself:

    • Destiny Bond

    • Substitute

    • Self-Destruct/Explosion/Misty Explosion

    • Final Gambit

    • Memento

    • Healing Wish

    • Lunar Dance

    • Teleport

  • Move functions that will not trigger their effects when used on the raid Pokemon:

    • All moves that may cause flinching

    • Pluck/Bug Bite

    • Incinerate

    • Knock Off

    • Thief/Covet

    • Dragon Tail/Circle Throw

    • Eerie Spell

    • Grudge

Special Move Behaviors

In addition to the above changes, two additional categories of moves are reworked to behave differently in specific ways when used by a raid Pokemon.

  • Belch Raid Pokemon ignore the berry consumption requirement in order to use this move.

  • Semi-Invulnerable moves (Fly, Dig, Dive, etc.) Two-turn attacks that put the user in a semi-invulnerable state will skip their charging turn when used by a raid Pokemon. All other two-turn attacks that do not have a semi-invulnerable turn (Solar Beam, Sky Attack, etc.) will function like normal.

Raid Turn/KO Counters

When participating in a raid battle, there may be up to two different counters displayed near the raid Pokemon's databox. Each of these counters track specific things in the raid, and will count down to zero. If either of these counters reach zero before defeating the raid Pokemon, you will fail the raid and be prematurely ejected from the battle.

Turn Counter

This tracks the number of turns spent in the raid. At the start of a raid battle, this counter starts at a specific number, which is usually scaled based on the difficulty of the raid, among other factors. With each passing turn, this counter is reduced by 1. The goal is to try and defeat the raid Pokemon as quickly as possible, before the counter reaches zero and you are kicked from the raid.

The raid's Turn Counter may effect other mechanics as well, such as when the raid Pokemon will trigger certain moves or actions. It isn't usually possible to increase the raid's turn counter, though there are some conditions that may make this possible, such as using certain cheers.

The base number of turns used for raid battles is defined in the plugin Settings file with RAID_BASE_TURN_LIMIT, so you may edit this if you wish to change the base number of turns for all raids. Note however, that this is just the base value, so raids will still naturally scale this base number based on raid difficulty and other factors.

It is possible to manually set the turn counter for a raid, however, by setting :turn_count to your desired value in the rule hash when setting up a raid event. If you set :turn_count => nil, then the turn counter will be disabled and not appear at all.

KO Counter

This tracks the number of times an ally Pokemon is KO'd during a raid. At the start of a raid battle, this counter starts at a specific number, which is usually scaled based on the number of ally Pokemon participating in the raid, among other factors. Each time an ally Pokemon is KO'd, this counter is reduced by 1. The goal is to try and defeat the raid Pokemon before they can KO too many of your Pokemon and you are kicked from the raid.

It usually isn't possible to increase the raid's KO counter, though there are some conditions that may make this possible, such as using certain cheers.

The base number of KO's used for raid battles is defined in the plugin Settings file with RAID_BASE_KNOCK_OUTS, so you may edit this if you wish to change the base number of KO's for all raids. Note however, that this is just the base value, so raids will still naturally scale this base number based on raid difficulty and other factors.

It is possible to manually set the KO counter for a raid, however, by setting :ko_count to your desired value in the rule hash when setting up a raid event. If you set :ko_count => nil, then the KO counter will be disabled and not appear at all.

Raid Shields

Whenever a raid Pokemon takes damage from a direct attack that would lower their HP to 50% of their max HP or less, their HP will hit a threshold that will then trigger a raid shield to appear and cure the raid Pokemon of any status conditions.

While behind a raid shield, the raid Pokemon becomes immune to all status moves and will drastically reduce the damage it takes from all direct attacks. Defeating a raid Pokemon while it is in this state will become nearly impossible. The only way to overcome this is to deplete their raid shield's HP in order to break it and make the raid Pokemon vulnerable again.

Raid Shield HP

A raid shield's HP is indicated by the number of pink bars that appear under the raid Pokemon's normal HP bar. Each pink bar is considered 1 shield HP. The amount of shield HP a raid Pokemon may have scales based on the difficulty of the raid, up to a maximum of 8 HP.

Note that it is possible to manually set the amount of shield HP a raid Pokemon will have by setting :shield_hp to your desired value in the rule hash when setting up a raid event. If you set :shield_hp => nil, then the raid Pokemon will be disabled from summoning a raid shield at all.

Breaking Raid Shields

In order to break a raid Pokemon's shield, you must reduce their shield HP to zero. This is done by attacking the raid Pokemon with damaging moves. However, the amount of shield HP damage the raid Pokemon takes from certain attacks differs based on the type of raid battle you're in.

Note that only the final hit of multi-hit moves will count when dealing damage to a raid shield. If playing in debug mode, you can hold down CTRL when damaging a raid shield to fully deplete the raid Pokemon's shield HP in a single hit.

  • Basic Raid Any damaging move will remove 1 bar of shield HP.

  • Ultra Raid Any damaging move will remove 1 bar of shield HP. However, any Z-Moves will instead remove 3 bars of shield HP. If the attacker happens to be in Ultra Burst form, they will remove 1 additional bar of shield HP with regular attacks.

  • Max Raid Any damaging move will remove 1 bar of shield HP. However, any Max Moves or G-Max Moves will instead remove 2 bars of shield HP.

  • Tera Raid Any damaging move used by a Terastallized battler will remove 1 bar of shield HP. If the Terastallized battler uses a move that is boosted by their Tera Type, they will remove 1 additional bar of shield HP. If the type of the used move also matches one of the Terastallized battler's original types, it will remove 1 more additional bar of shield HP. These effects can all stack to remove 3 bars of shield HP per hit. However, non-Terastallized battlers will only be able to remove 1 bar of shield HP at a time, and only with moves that are super effective on the raid Pokemon. All other moves will deal no damage to the raid Pokemon's shield HP.

Note that you can boost the amount of shield damage you deal with all attacks by an additional 1 bar of shield HP by using the Lvl. 3 "Go all-out!" cheer during a raid battle. This bonus will only last for three turns, however, so timing this just right is necessary.

Once enough damage is dealt to reduce a raid Pokemon's shield HP to zero, the shield will be broken, and the raid Pokemon will lose all of its benefits. When a raid shield breaks, the raid Pokemon will lose a portion of its HP, and its Defense and Special Defense stats will be reduced by 2 stages. Take advantage of this vulnerable state by pelting them with your strongest moves.

Extra Actions

During a raid battle, the raid Pokemon may perform additional actions that break the conventions of a normal battle. These actions are triggered at particular thresholds during the battle, so they are somewhat predictable if you learn when and where they will trigger.

Below, I'll explain the effects of each extra action, when you can expect them to trigger, and how to manually set, disable, or alter them.

  • Reset Stat Drops

    • Effect: The raid Pokemon releases a wave of energy that cures any status condition it may currently have and negates any of its negative stat changes.

    • Trigger: The raid Pokemon's HP drops to 40% of its max HP or lower, or the raid turn counter reaches 40% or below the raid's initial turn count. Triggers once per battle.

    • Setting: All raid Pokemon in 3-star raids or higher will use this extra action by default. However, you can remove this action from being used during a raid entirely by not including :reset_drops in the :extra_actions array in the rules hash of the raid event.

  • Reset Stat Boosts

    • Effect: The raid Pokemon releases a wave of energy that negates the Abilities (Gastro Acid effect) and any positive stat changes of all Pokemon on the player's side of the field.

    • Trigger: The raid Pokemon's HP drops to 60% of its max HP or lower, or the raid turn counter reaches 60% or below the raid's initial turn count. Triggers once per battle.

    • Setting: All raid Pokemon in 4-star raids or higher will use this extra action by default. However, you can remove this action from being used during a raid entirely by not including :reset_boosts in the :extra_actions array in the rules hash of the raid event.

  • Drain Cheer Level

    • Effect: The raid Pokemon releases a wave of energy that reduces the current cheer level of all trainers by 1. If a trainer selected to use a cheer on the same turn this occurs, the effect of their cheer will change to reflect the effect of their new cheer level.

    • Trigger: The raid Pokemon's HP drops to 50% of its max HP or lower, or the raid turn counter reaches 50% or below the raid's initial turn count. Triggers once per battle.

    • Setting: All raid Pokemon in 5-star raids or higher will use this extra action by default. However, you can remove this action from being used during a raid entirely by not including :drain_cheer in the :extra_actions array in the rules hash of the raid event.

  • Double Attack Phase

    • Effect: The raid Pokemon enters a phase where it will use a second attack immediately after using a move. The second attack is selected randomly out of the moves in its move set, but it will never pick the same move that it used for its first attack (unless it only has one move). If the raid Pokemon is Dynamaxed, the second move it uses will be decided from its base move set, not its Max Moves.

    • Trigger: The raid Pokemon's HP drops to 40% of its max HP or lower, or the raid turn counter reaches 40% or below the raid's initial turn count. Once the raid Pokemon enters this double attack phase, it will continue to use two attacks per turn for the remainder of the battle. Note that it is possible for this effect to stack with other extra actions that may cause the raid Pokemon to use more than one attack per turn.

    • Setting: All raid Pokemon will use this extra raid action by default, if able. Unlike other extra actions, it cannot be manually set or disabled.

  • Additional Support Move

    • Effect: The raid Pokemon uses a status move that provides some utility or support prior to using the move it would regularly use this turn. This support move will be an additional move that isn't included in its base move set, and is instead selected out of all possible support moves the raid Pokemon could potentially learn. The AI will select the best move among these to use. Examples of the types of moves that fit under this category would be moves like Reflect, Sunny Day, and Mist.

    • Trigger: This always triggers on the raid Pokemon's very first turn, and then triggers a second time once the raid turn counter reaches 50% or below the raid's initial turn count. This may only trigger twice per battle. This won't trigger at all if the raid Pokemon isn't capable of learning any eligible support moves. Note that it is possible for this effect to stack with other extra actions that may cause the raid Pokemon to use more than one attack per turn.

    • Setting: All raid Pokemon will use this extra action by default, if able. However, you can manually set which specific support moves you'd like a raid Pokemon to select from by setting :support_moves to an array of your desired move ID's in the rules hash of the raid event. If you don't want the raid Pokemon to use additional support moves at all, just set this to nil instead.

  • Additional Spread Moves

    • Effect: The raid Pokemon uses a spread move that can hit multiple targets prior to using the move it would regularly use this turn. This spread move will be an additional move that isn't included in its base move set, and is instead selected out of all possible spread moves the raid Pokemon could potentially learn. The AI will select the best move among these to use. Examples of the types of moves that fit under this category would be moves like Surf, Earthquake, and Icy Wind.

    • Trigger: This always triggers on every turn that the raid Pokemon has an active raid shield, and at no other point during the battle. This won't trigger at all if the raid Pokemon isn't capable of learning any eligible spread moves. Note that it is possible for this effect to stack with other extra actions that may cause the raid Pokemon to use more than one attack per turn. Since this only triggers when a raid shield is active, these moves will never trigger during a raid battle if raid shields have been disabled.

    • Setting: All raid Pokemon will use this extra action by default, if able. However, you can manually set which specific spread moves you'd like a raid Pokemon to select from by setting :spread_moves to an array of your desired move ID's in the rules hash of the raid event. If you don't want the raid Pokemon to use additional spread moves at all, just set this to nil instead.

Raid-Specific Mechanics

Max Raid Battles

During a Max Raid battle, the raid Pokemon will use moves from their base move set for the first four turns of the battle. Beginning on the fifth turn, the raid Pokemon will begin exclusively using the Max Move and/or G-Max Move equivalents of their base move set, instead. This will persist for the remainder of the battle.

Note however, that once the raid Pokemon begins its Double Attack Phase, the second move it selects each turn will be selected from its base move set, not its Max Moves. So once it reaches this phase, the raid Pokemon will be using one Max Move and one regular move each turn.

Ultra Raid Battles

During an Ultra Raid battle, the raid Pokemon will be able to launch a Z-Powered version of one of their base moves at any point, based on their held Z-Crystal. However, unlike normal circumstances, the raid Pokemon will be able to periodically replenish their ability to use Z-Moves during the battle, allowing them to launch multiple Z-Moves per battle.

While in an Ultra Raid battle, the specific Z-Crystal each battler is holding will also be displayed next to their HP bars. This makes it easier to tell at a glance the types of Z-Moves you can expect from the opponent, and which Z-Moves each ally Pokemon may have access to.

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