Cheating testimony that all adds up
Jun. 21st, 2016 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dmxratedOnly stuff that sounds really suspicious. Here goes:
GameSpot:
Okay does anyone else feel like the AI cheats in pokemon? I got killed by a slowbro on my pearl in the battle tower. heers what happened I had Breeloom Alakazam and Salemence in the tower.
1st turn breeloom: spore
slowbro is asleep
2nd I go to sub up and Slowbro's qick claw activates: slowbro woke up, slowbro used psychic..... Breeloom dies
I send out alakazam I use calm mind because I know I can take a shadow ball
Slowbro uses shadow ball It does around 1/3 damage to my HP
Alakazam uses calm mind
I decided to go for the second calm mind
slowbro's quick claw activates, slowbro uses shadow ball, crits alakazam dies.
I send in slamance and go to use outrage to kill the dang thing
slowbro's quick claw activates, slowbro uses psychic, crits Sally dies wtf I was on a 93 streak. Was gonna get a star. Anyway I poped the cart out and turned it off hoping that gettin disqualified doesn't end your streak. does it?
-inb4uall
(A Quick Claw is supposed to have a 20% chance of activating, and only 1 in 16 attacks are supposed to be critical under normal circumstances. This guy's opponent's Slowpoke used it three times, slept for only one turn, and landed two critical hits within a measly five-turn battle.)
Kirsle:
Evidence [that it knows how long sleep or confusion will last]: the AI fails sometimes. If the enemy Pokemon is too fast, it will use Sleep Powder, it will fail because your Pokemon is already asleep, and then your Pokemon will wake up. This happens all the god damn time. You can also confuse the AI by using an item on the turn your Pokemon is about to wake up on (but, this is all down to chance, since you don't know which turn it will wake up on).
[Skipping stuff]
Bruno's Forretress is a cheating bastard though, because it only uses Protect when you're going to use your most powerful move. Forretress is weak to fire, so I used my Typhlosion's Blast Burn move, which is a very powerful fire attack. Forretress used Protect so it failed; I tried again, it used Protect a second time. Tried again, and this time it hit, because Forretress knows that Protect can't be used more than twice.
I battled Bruno later with my Umbreon. I used Dark Pulse, the most powerful move my Umbreon knows, and Forretress used Protect to block it.
I figured Forretress was gonna use Protect again, so I used Faint Attack instead. This hit. So I tried Dark Pulse again -- Forretress used Protect and blocked it. I tried again, Forretress tried Protect again, but it failed (you can't use it more than twice). So, I confused the AI there.
-Noah Petherbridge
i was also battling the electic gym in fire red a few moments ago lvl 21 pikachu vs my lvl 19 pikachu. i had dig (dont ask why) and since its ground it will do massive dmg to electric. first i used double team 3 times to make sure i would not be hit hardly ever. guess what. i dig. i MISS. his pikachu hits me with a 2 quick atacks in a row without me attacking... im down to low health. i dig this time it hits and brings him to half. i need 1 more dig to beat him. god forbid he actually miss seing as how my evasiveness is pretty high at this point... nope he hits me and im dead...
-Tyler
(Most moves, including Quick Attack, are supposed to miss half the time against something that's increased its Evasion by three stages. Dig, meanwhile, has a default accuracy of 100%, and the opponent's Pikachu didn't even up its own evasion.)
Guess what. Just patched my SoulSilver, played from Falkner to Whitney; when I reach her, my Heracross destroyed her Clefairy. Then Milktank enters, uses attract; but knowing that her Stomp would take 4 turns to kill my Heracross I thought "well one single hit out of 4 and I win.
Stomp flinched my Heracross every single time.
Not only that. Put my Flaafy to thunder wave it - 3 stomps, 3 flinching, Flaanffy down.
-LW
(Stomp is supposed to have a 30% chance of making something flinch.)
Been trying for 3 days to beat one round of White 2's rental tournament. Lose every. single. fucking. time. Why? Because even when I get fully evolved bruisers or special sweepers, doesn't fuckin matter because the AI will either mysteriously dodge all my moves or crit me. I had a Simipour against the AI's simipour. I use focus blast. Miss. Their Simipour uses focus blast. Hits. I use focus blast. Miss. Their simipour uses focus blast. CRITICAL. Send out my Zweilous with a quick claw. Quick claw activates, I use Crunch. MISS. My zweilous didn't even have Hustle so crunch has 100% accuracy.
Simipour uses focus blast and finishes me off with another fuckin crit.
Seriously. 100 attempts later and I still haven't beaten the third trainer in the rental tournament. B.S.
-courtney
In the epic battle of Whitney's Miltank vs Bessie, I actually had the opposing Miltank run out of PP for Body Slam. Body Slam has a 30% chance of inflicting paralysis. Out of the 15 times her Miltank Body Slammed mine, 14 of those paralyzed Bessie. 14.
-Vader the White
Yep I actually started keeping track to make sure Im not crazy. Out of 100 turns of me being confused I hit myself 68 times. The CPU 30/100. It seems to be the worse if your ev training especially before the elite 4. Also in heart gold and soul silver. I've been playing platinum and its not nearly as fucky.
-mr. splats
Once when i was fighting will in soul silver i had a specs. dragonair with thunder. He would always use me first and use thunder. The best part is everytime he hit, everytime he paralysed me. Everytime i would be fully paralysed. This happened FIVE FUCKING TIMES. Let me note thunder has a 30 percent chance of missing and a 70 percent chance of not paralysing.
-MeowMan
Used hypnosis 3 times on a legendary only to have that asswipe wake up literally the next turn on all of them. Seriously, sleep in this game is absolutely bullshit.
-guest
Once, i did a Wedlocke Challenge on Pokemon Alpha Sapphire. I thought nothing bad, i had a good level, and occured a Trainer in the Wild.I fought his first Pokemon, but his second was Carvanha.I attacked it and did not enough damage to bring it to the Yellow HP bar.He used Focus Energy. I thought nothing bad and attacked again,bringing him on the End of the Yellow Bar, almost at the Red Bar. He attacked, BOOM!
Critical, Pokemon Fainted. Cried. Next Pokemon. Im in do an attack, Unfortunatelly, He survived with like 1 HP. Attack,Crit,Dead.Whole Pair lost.Next Pair.He was faster than 1 Pokemon,Attack,Crit, but survived. I used Super Potion. He Attacked again, and of course, crited. Now thats already 4 Crits in a Row. I hoped that i would be faster and attacked. I was faster, but missed. Attack,Crit,Death. Even without crit, it would have been Enough.Next Pokemon has Quick Attack, and with that, i finally Killed it.
THIS FUCKER MADE 5 CRITS IN A ROW AND KILLED HALF OF MY TEAM!
-Wedlocker
Did you even see the source code? Can you show us proof?
BETTER! Show the proof to my Gardevoir!
At half (30) health
Save State
Selected move: Psychic
Mia (her name) is confused!
It hurts itself in its confusion!
Health: 27
[insert pokémon="pokémon" name="name"] used [insert weak="weak" move="move"]!
Critical hit!
Mia fainted!
Load State
At half (30) health
Save State
Selected move: Calm Mind
Mia (her name) is confused!
It hurts itself in its confusion!
Health: 26
[insert pokémon="pokémon" name="name"] used [insert weak="weak" move="move"]!
Critical hit!
Mia fainted!
Load State
At half (30) health
Save State
Selected move: Future Sight
Mia (her name) is confused!
It hurts itself in its confusion!
Health: 27
[insert pokémon="pokémon" name="name"] used [insert weak="weak" move="move"]!
Critical hit!
Mia fainted!
Load State
At half (30) health
Save State
Selected move: Confusion
Mia (her name) is confused!
It hurts itself in its confusion!
Health: 28
[insert pokémon="pokémon" name="name"] used [insert weak="weak" move="move"]!
Critical hit!
Mia fainted!
-N3k0
(This guy used savestates. Notice that the amount of damage changes, but everything else stays the same.)
Reddit
I managed to scoop up a few videos about this, there are tons more you can find just like 'em:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT3mdNvrxw0#t=77
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDxjK_SUawU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS9hC7THYN8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JZenpadrOY
[And in another post:]
I can't prove to you that there's an algorithm that can show when hax will occur and when it won't with 100% accuracy. I’ve been doing some searching on the subject and no one's been able to dig through the code of any of the main series games and actually come up with conclusive evidence. So really, the anecdotal evidence is all we have to prove that hax even exists, and we have such an abundance of it that a lot of people can come to the conclusion that there tends to be more RNG manipulation in the battle tower than there is in a standard online battle or NPC battle in the main story. In addition, they aren’t isolated examples – they’re a sample of thousands of battle videos floating around that show the same evidence of very unlikely RNG rolls (the chance of a quick claw working 3 times in a row is .5% and has been especially common in battle tower challenges).
While it’s true that I am ignoring a lot of battle videos that aren’t “rigged” and go about pretty normally, I never said that this hax occurs 100% of the time. No one’s been able to draw a pattern to figure out when hax will or will not occur. Challenges >100 can be straightforward just as much as they can have very low RNG odds. Also, you mentioned how the more challenges that occur, the more likely you will lose. However, there is evidence (anecdotal, but as far as we know, there’s no way to find evidence without confirmation bias) from the third video I linked that shows the challenger losing on the third match, hardly far enough to encounter the “game altering probabilities to stop you when you get too far” you mentioned.
You’re right however; these are very unlikely circumstances, not impossible. But based on the large amount of anecdotal evidence that has shown this hax at work, the fact that these unlikely rolls happen so often and within the same game mode show that there is indeed hax within the battle tower. There is no perfect method to knowing when or how the AI will manipulate the RNG. But it’s silly to ignore the fact that there’s an abundance of data you can draw these conclusions from. I know you’re looking specifically for a bias-free answer, but there is no way anyone can determine that without analyzing the game code for who knows how long.
The point of this is not about discussing what should theoretically be possible, but looking at evidence we have and drawing conclusions from it instead of ignoring it because it isn't completely, absolutely, and entirely valid. I guess there is no perfect answer that can determine if the AI will hax or not, but you shouldn't discredit everything else because there is no 100% clear answer. That's common sense.
-rockyrocketlauncha
I downloaded pokemon emerald onto my phone and played using an emulator. I began to feel as many players do in the battle frontier, that the computor is cheating, so I began to test it using save states to go back on turns. I've determined that the A.I. is programmed to let RNG and all other factors give the player success only when the player executes one of a slowly decreasing number of correct move combinations calculated before the battle starts. This was easiest to determine using paralyze, confusion and accuracy hax. I would send out my gyarados, and be confused by a faster pokemon on the first turn. When I picked earthquake, a super effective move, straight off the bat, I hit myself in confusion. I reloaded the save state to see how long until I didn't hit myself in confusion, and after 30 tries, no luck. As soon as I selected dragon dance instead, however, it succeeded. So on every turn, for a 100 win streak, i selected each of my four moves to used process of elimination to determine the correct move pattern, and determined that the AI is programmed to screw you over in a pre-determined way if you don't follow this path. These battle rules completely defy the calculation style of a normal battle, wherein all RNG is calculated after selecting your move and is determined on a turn by turn basis. There was always a way, however, even if it took a very long time to find it. I attatched a lax incense to my cacturne and found that every time I selected the AI's "right move" the enemy attack missed. Even critical hits occurred in accordance with this policy.
The ridiculous part is that these sequences were often the strangest moves to use at the time, and some of them required switches when logically one would stay in the battle. I got stuck at one point where i kept my tyranitar in battle against and articuno, and lost every time. Then I determined that i was supposed to switch to cacturne to activate sand veil from Tyranitar's sandstorm, and articuno missed every ice beam until it died from 100% accuracy dynamic punches.
TL;DR: If you don't select the right moves in the right order the game thinks is best, RNG screws you over. If you do, it always works out for you.
-doorkn00b
(See that? The Battle Frontier wants you to select a specific move each turn.)
TV Tropes: The Computer is a Cheating Bastard:
-The AI of the battle facilities of Generation III onward (often either the 'Battle Tower' or the 'Battle Frontier') are designed to gain knowledge about your team as you accumulate winning streaks, despite the fact that you're facing new opponents over and over again and thus it wouldn't make sense for "Schoolgirl Jane" to know anything about the team that "Punk Sid" just battled. Specifically, you'll be forced to face teams that are increasingly designed to counter yours the higher your streak.
-[O]ne of the most obvious examples of this trope happens when using Zoroark first, while having a Ghost-type Pokemon as your last slot in your party. Zoroark's ability Illusion makes it appear the same as the last Pokemon in your party, complete with the same name. In the Battle Subway, neither player is supposed to know what the opponent's team is composed of. However, when facing any Pokemon (for example Alakazam, a Psychic-type) as Zoroark with a Ghost-type Pokemon's name and appearance (for example Spiritomb, a Dark/Ghost type), the computer will always choose to perform a Fighting-type attack to the fake Ghost. Note that this exact example is not uncommon, and that while Dark and Ghost are both super effective against Psychic, the opponent's Pokemon stays on the field to do a Fighting-type move that the Dark/Ghost Pokemon would be completely immune to, had it not been a Zoroark using Illusion.
-Pokémon Stadium also has a check in place to catch players cheating; if the player uses a Pokémon with an impossible move set or its stats are higher than it's supposed to be, the game declares that Pokémon illegal and won't allow the player to use it. Naturally, the AI has hacked move sets up the ass and possibly hacked stats as well. In other words, you're punished for cheating, but the AI is free to cheat as much as it wants.
-Last Resort, introduced in Generation IV, is a powerful move usable after every other move has been used by the Pokémon at least once. NPCs can use it early, though.
-Try using the Mean Look/Perish Song combo on a Trainer with multiple Pokémon. When you switch your Pokémon out to avoid getting KOed by Perish Song, your opponent does the exact same thing, despite the trapping effect not allowing switching.
-Particularly in the Masters Battle part of Pokémon Battle Revolution; the computer players have an uncanny ability to know precisely what Pokémon the player is going to switch to or use at any given moment.
(Exactly what I highlighted recently from that X/Y video.)
In addition to all that, those games made me obsessive-compulsive. I remember only too well during the months after completing SoulSilver, how much of a point I made out of the Ranger trilogy before playing Diamond. It was nothing but a relief not to be checking Bulbapedia every morning for events anymore after I lost it regarding my prize-Leafeon from Pokemon.com, and I've also been spending my time and money so much better ever since. With both Parasitic Trio and Starbound on my plate, reviving a former addiction is the last thing I should ever do. And, even if I did, there wouldn't be any point to everything that goes on, unlike if I had continued past September 2011.
Would've been nice to have kept going with the series and made more lists beyond Diamond, but those in and of themselves aren't something to aim for, and those games aren't the source of my fond memories (which I've made with other games such as the 7th grade lineup, the Earthbound trilogy, and Dragon Warrior II); this blog is.
GameSpot:
Okay does anyone else feel like the AI cheats in pokemon? I got killed by a slowbro on my pearl in the battle tower. heers what happened I had Breeloom Alakazam and Salemence in the tower.
1st turn breeloom: spore
slowbro is asleep
2nd I go to sub up and Slowbro's qick claw activates: slowbro woke up, slowbro used psychic..... Breeloom dies
I send out alakazam I use calm mind because I know I can take a shadow ball
Slowbro uses shadow ball It does around 1/3 damage to my HP
Alakazam uses calm mind
I decided to go for the second calm mind
slowbro's quick claw activates, slowbro uses shadow ball, crits alakazam dies.
I send in slamance and go to use outrage to kill the dang thing
slowbro's quick claw activates, slowbro uses psychic, crits Sally dies wtf I was on a 93 streak. Was gonna get a star. Anyway I poped the cart out and turned it off hoping that gettin disqualified doesn't end your streak. does it?
-inb4uall
(A Quick Claw is supposed to have a 20% chance of activating, and only 1 in 16 attacks are supposed to be critical under normal circumstances. This guy's opponent's Slowpoke used it three times, slept for only one turn, and landed two critical hits within a measly five-turn battle.)
Kirsle:
Evidence [that it knows how long sleep or confusion will last]: the AI fails sometimes. If the enemy Pokemon is too fast, it will use Sleep Powder, it will fail because your Pokemon is already asleep, and then your Pokemon will wake up. This happens all the god damn time. You can also confuse the AI by using an item on the turn your Pokemon is about to wake up on (but, this is all down to chance, since you don't know which turn it will wake up on).
[Skipping stuff]
Bruno's Forretress is a cheating bastard though, because it only uses Protect when you're going to use your most powerful move. Forretress is weak to fire, so I used my Typhlosion's Blast Burn move, which is a very powerful fire attack. Forretress used Protect so it failed; I tried again, it used Protect a second time. Tried again, and this time it hit, because Forretress knows that Protect can't be used more than twice.
I battled Bruno later with my Umbreon. I used Dark Pulse, the most powerful move my Umbreon knows, and Forretress used Protect to block it.
I figured Forretress was gonna use Protect again, so I used Faint Attack instead. This hit. So I tried Dark Pulse again -- Forretress used Protect and blocked it. I tried again, Forretress tried Protect again, but it failed (you can't use it more than twice). So, I confused the AI there.
-Noah Petherbridge
i was also battling the electic gym in fire red a few moments ago lvl 21 pikachu vs my lvl 19 pikachu. i had dig (dont ask why) and since its ground it will do massive dmg to electric. first i used double team 3 times to make sure i would not be hit hardly ever. guess what. i dig. i MISS. his pikachu hits me with a 2 quick atacks in a row without me attacking... im down to low health. i dig this time it hits and brings him to half. i need 1 more dig to beat him. god forbid he actually miss seing as how my evasiveness is pretty high at this point... nope he hits me and im dead...
-Tyler
(Most moves, including Quick Attack, are supposed to miss half the time against something that's increased its Evasion by three stages. Dig, meanwhile, has a default accuracy of 100%, and the opponent's Pikachu didn't even up its own evasion.)
Guess what. Just patched my SoulSilver, played from Falkner to Whitney; when I reach her, my Heracross destroyed her Clefairy. Then Milktank enters, uses attract; but knowing that her Stomp would take 4 turns to kill my Heracross I thought "well one single hit out of 4 and I win.
Stomp flinched my Heracross every single time.
Not only that. Put my Flaafy to thunder wave it - 3 stomps, 3 flinching, Flaanffy down.
-LW
(Stomp is supposed to have a 30% chance of making something flinch.)
Been trying for 3 days to beat one round of White 2's rental tournament. Lose every. single. fucking. time. Why? Because even when I get fully evolved bruisers or special sweepers, doesn't fuckin matter because the AI will either mysteriously dodge all my moves or crit me. I had a Simipour against the AI's simipour. I use focus blast. Miss. Their Simipour uses focus blast. Hits. I use focus blast. Miss. Their simipour uses focus blast. CRITICAL. Send out my Zweilous with a quick claw. Quick claw activates, I use Crunch. MISS. My zweilous didn't even have Hustle so crunch has 100% accuracy.
Simipour uses focus blast and finishes me off with another fuckin crit.
Seriously. 100 attempts later and I still haven't beaten the third trainer in the rental tournament. B.S.
-courtney
In the epic battle of Whitney's Miltank vs Bessie, I actually had the opposing Miltank run out of PP for Body Slam. Body Slam has a 30% chance of inflicting paralysis. Out of the 15 times her Miltank Body Slammed mine, 14 of those paralyzed Bessie. 14.
-Vader the White
Yep I actually started keeping track to make sure Im not crazy. Out of 100 turns of me being confused I hit myself 68 times. The CPU 30/100. It seems to be the worse if your ev training especially before the elite 4. Also in heart gold and soul silver. I've been playing platinum and its not nearly as fucky.
-mr. splats
Once when i was fighting will in soul silver i had a specs. dragonair with thunder. He would always use me first and use thunder. The best part is everytime he hit, everytime he paralysed me. Everytime i would be fully paralysed. This happened FIVE FUCKING TIMES. Let me note thunder has a 30 percent chance of missing and a 70 percent chance of not paralysing.
-MeowMan
Used hypnosis 3 times on a legendary only to have that asswipe wake up literally the next turn on all of them. Seriously, sleep in this game is absolutely bullshit.
-guest
Once, i did a Wedlocke Challenge on Pokemon Alpha Sapphire. I thought nothing bad, i had a good level, and occured a Trainer in the Wild.I fought his first Pokemon, but his second was Carvanha.I attacked it and did not enough damage to bring it to the Yellow HP bar.He used Focus Energy. I thought nothing bad and attacked again,bringing him on the End of the Yellow Bar, almost at the Red Bar. He attacked, BOOM!
Critical, Pokemon Fainted. Cried. Next Pokemon. Im in do an attack, Unfortunatelly, He survived with like 1 HP. Attack,Crit,Dead.Whole Pair lost.Next Pair.He was faster than 1 Pokemon,Attack,Crit, but survived. I used Super Potion. He Attacked again, and of course, crited. Now thats already 4 Crits in a Row. I hoped that i would be faster and attacked. I was faster, but missed. Attack,Crit,Death. Even without crit, it would have been Enough.Next Pokemon has Quick Attack, and with that, i finally Killed it.
THIS FUCKER MADE 5 CRITS IN A ROW AND KILLED HALF OF MY TEAM!
-Wedlocker
Did you even see the source code? Can you show us proof?
BETTER! Show the proof to my Gardevoir!
At half (30) health
Save State
Selected move: Psychic
Mia (her name) is confused!
It hurts itself in its confusion!
Health: 27
[insert pokémon="pokémon" name="name"] used [insert weak="weak" move="move"]!
Critical hit!
Mia fainted!
Load State
At half (30) health
Save State
Selected move: Calm Mind
Mia (her name) is confused!
It hurts itself in its confusion!
Health: 26
[insert pokémon="pokémon" name="name"] used [insert weak="weak" move="move"]!
Critical hit!
Mia fainted!
Load State
At half (30) health
Save State
Selected move: Future Sight
Mia (her name) is confused!
It hurts itself in its confusion!
Health: 27
[insert pokémon="pokémon" name="name"] used [insert weak="weak" move="move"]!
Critical hit!
Mia fainted!
Load State
At half (30) health
Save State
Selected move: Confusion
Mia (her name) is confused!
It hurts itself in its confusion!
Health: 28
[insert pokémon="pokémon" name="name"] used [insert weak="weak" move="move"]!
Critical hit!
Mia fainted!
-N3k0
(This guy used savestates. Notice that the amount of damage changes, but everything else stays the same.)
I managed to scoop up a few videos about this, there are tons more you can find just like 'em:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT3mdNvrxw0#t=77
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDxjK_SUawU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS9hC7THYN8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JZenpadrOY
[And in another post:]
I can't prove to you that there's an algorithm that can show when hax will occur and when it won't with 100% accuracy. I’ve been doing some searching on the subject and no one's been able to dig through the code of any of the main series games and actually come up with conclusive evidence. So really, the anecdotal evidence is all we have to prove that hax even exists, and we have such an abundance of it that a lot of people can come to the conclusion that there tends to be more RNG manipulation in the battle tower than there is in a standard online battle or NPC battle in the main story. In addition, they aren’t isolated examples – they’re a sample of thousands of battle videos floating around that show the same evidence of very unlikely RNG rolls (the chance of a quick claw working 3 times in a row is .5% and has been especially common in battle tower challenges).
While it’s true that I am ignoring a lot of battle videos that aren’t “rigged” and go about pretty normally, I never said that this hax occurs 100% of the time. No one’s been able to draw a pattern to figure out when hax will or will not occur. Challenges >100 can be straightforward just as much as they can have very low RNG odds. Also, you mentioned how the more challenges that occur, the more likely you will lose. However, there is evidence (anecdotal, but as far as we know, there’s no way to find evidence without confirmation bias) from the third video I linked that shows the challenger losing on the third match, hardly far enough to encounter the “game altering probabilities to stop you when you get too far” you mentioned.
You’re right however; these are very unlikely circumstances, not impossible. But based on the large amount of anecdotal evidence that has shown this hax at work, the fact that these unlikely rolls happen so often and within the same game mode show that there is indeed hax within the battle tower. There is no perfect method to knowing when or how the AI will manipulate the RNG. But it’s silly to ignore the fact that there’s an abundance of data you can draw these conclusions from. I know you’re looking specifically for a bias-free answer, but there is no way anyone can determine that without analyzing the game code for who knows how long.
The point of this is not about discussing what should theoretically be possible, but looking at evidence we have and drawing conclusions from it instead of ignoring it because it isn't completely, absolutely, and entirely valid. I guess there is no perfect answer that can determine if the AI will hax or not, but you shouldn't discredit everything else because there is no 100% clear answer. That's common sense.
-rockyrocketlauncha
I downloaded pokemon emerald onto my phone and played using an emulator. I began to feel as many players do in the battle frontier, that the computor is cheating, so I began to test it using save states to go back on turns. I've determined that the A.I. is programmed to let RNG and all other factors give the player success only when the player executes one of a slowly decreasing number of correct move combinations calculated before the battle starts. This was easiest to determine using paralyze, confusion and accuracy hax. I would send out my gyarados, and be confused by a faster pokemon on the first turn. When I picked earthquake, a super effective move, straight off the bat, I hit myself in confusion. I reloaded the save state to see how long until I didn't hit myself in confusion, and after 30 tries, no luck. As soon as I selected dragon dance instead, however, it succeeded. So on every turn, for a 100 win streak, i selected each of my four moves to used process of elimination to determine the correct move pattern, and determined that the AI is programmed to screw you over in a pre-determined way if you don't follow this path. These battle rules completely defy the calculation style of a normal battle, wherein all RNG is calculated after selecting your move and is determined on a turn by turn basis. There was always a way, however, even if it took a very long time to find it. I attatched a lax incense to my cacturne and found that every time I selected the AI's "right move" the enemy attack missed. Even critical hits occurred in accordance with this policy.
The ridiculous part is that these sequences were often the strangest moves to use at the time, and some of them required switches when logically one would stay in the battle. I got stuck at one point where i kept my tyranitar in battle against and articuno, and lost every time. Then I determined that i was supposed to switch to cacturne to activate sand veil from Tyranitar's sandstorm, and articuno missed every ice beam until it died from 100% accuracy dynamic punches.
TL;DR: If you don't select the right moves in the right order the game thinks is best, RNG screws you over. If you do, it always works out for you.
-doorkn00b
(See that? The Battle Frontier wants you to select a specific move each turn.)
TV Tropes: The Computer is a Cheating Bastard:
-The AI of the battle facilities of Generation III onward (often either the 'Battle Tower' or the 'Battle Frontier') are designed to gain knowledge about your team as you accumulate winning streaks, despite the fact that you're facing new opponents over and over again and thus it wouldn't make sense for "Schoolgirl Jane" to know anything about the team that "Punk Sid" just battled. Specifically, you'll be forced to face teams that are increasingly designed to counter yours the higher your streak.
-[O]ne of the most obvious examples of this trope happens when using Zoroark first, while having a Ghost-type Pokemon as your last slot in your party. Zoroark's ability Illusion makes it appear the same as the last Pokemon in your party, complete with the same name. In the Battle Subway, neither player is supposed to know what the opponent's team is composed of. However, when facing any Pokemon (for example Alakazam, a Psychic-type) as Zoroark with a Ghost-type Pokemon's name and appearance (for example Spiritomb, a Dark/Ghost type), the computer will always choose to perform a Fighting-type attack to the fake Ghost. Note that this exact example is not uncommon, and that while Dark and Ghost are both super effective against Psychic, the opponent's Pokemon stays on the field to do a Fighting-type move that the Dark/Ghost Pokemon would be completely immune to, had it not been a Zoroark using Illusion.
-Pokémon Stadium also has a check in place to catch players cheating; if the player uses a Pokémon with an impossible move set or its stats are higher than it's supposed to be, the game declares that Pokémon illegal and won't allow the player to use it. Naturally, the AI has hacked move sets up the ass and possibly hacked stats as well. In other words, you're punished for cheating, but the AI is free to cheat as much as it wants.
-Last Resort, introduced in Generation IV, is a powerful move usable after every other move has been used by the Pokémon at least once. NPCs can use it early, though.
-Try using the Mean Look/Perish Song combo on a Trainer with multiple Pokémon. When you switch your Pokémon out to avoid getting KOed by Perish Song, your opponent does the exact same thing, despite the trapping effect not allowing switching.
-Particularly in the Masters Battle part of Pokémon Battle Revolution; the computer players have an uncanny ability to know precisely what Pokémon the player is going to switch to or use at any given moment.
(Exactly what I highlighted recently from that X/Y video.)
In addition to all that, those games made me obsessive-compulsive. I remember only too well during the months after completing SoulSilver, how much of a point I made out of the Ranger trilogy before playing Diamond. It was nothing but a relief not to be checking Bulbapedia every morning for events anymore after I lost it regarding my prize-Leafeon from Pokemon.com, and I've also been spending my time and money so much better ever since. With both Parasitic Trio and Starbound on my plate, reviving a former addiction is the last thing I should ever do. And, even if I did, there wouldn't be any point to everything that goes on, unlike if I had continued past September 2011.
Would've been nice to have kept going with the series and made more lists beyond Diamond, but those in and of themselves aren't something to aim for, and those games aren't the source of my fond memories (which I've made with other games such as the 7th grade lineup, the Earthbound trilogy, and Dragon Warrior II); this blog is.