Hello and welcome to Ability-a-Day! The series started by u/ianlazrbeem22 & u/zG-FuRy plus continued by myself.

Previous day: Ability-a-Day #109: Technician

Today, we have Thick Fat. This ability halves the damage the Pokémon takes from Fire- and Ice-type moves. This ability is used by Seel, Dewgong, Munchlax, Snorlax, Azurill, Marill, Azumarill, Miltank, Makuhita, Hariyama, Spoink, Grumpig, Spheal, Sealeo, Walrein and Purugly

This is a great defensive ability to have against Fire and Ice-type moves, Snorlax can easy face Candice and Flint in Platinum while Miltank can easily face Pryce in HGSS. Thick Fat causes the attacker's Attack or Special Attack to be reduced by 50% during damage calculation when it uses the mentioned types moves.

252+ SpA Life Orb Blaze Charizard Blast Burn vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Thick Fat Snorlax in Sun: 255-301 (55.3 - 65.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Without Thick Fat, Snorlax would get OHKOed by Blast Burn.

Snorlax surely wants Thick Fat more than Immunity, Also Miltank also likes using Thick Fat over Scrappy, Dewgong loves using Thick Fat to halve the damage taken from Fire types more than healing status in rain using Hydration. Grumpig and Purugly also like using Thick Fat more than Own Tempo. Sometimes, Hariyama wants Guts over Thick Fat so burns won't be a problem for it, while Azumarill wants Huge Power more than its useless Thick Fat. Take note that Mold Breaker ignores Thick Fat, bypassing its 50% resistance to Fire and Ice-type moves.

In later generations, more Pokemon would get Thick Fat, such as Mamoswine, Mega Venusaur, Pignite, Alolan Raticate, Appletun, Oinkologne and Cetitan. Overall a excellent defensive ability for a pokemon to have. Tell me your thoughts by giving it an comment!

What do you think about Thick Fat, have you used it successfully? If anything I'm missing? Just let me know!

Hey everyone! I wanted to share a quick development update on Pokémon Shifted Spectrum and ask for a little advice from those of you with more DS ROM hacking experience.

But first, what is the premise behind Pokémon Shifted Spectrum?

"Same Sinnoh, New Rules of Reality"

Reality has fractured. The balance between time, space, and the Distortion World has collapsed, leaving behind an alternate Sinnoh where every Pokémon has been completely altered. Pokémon Platinum: Shifted Spectrum isn't just a randomizer—it's a handcrafted reimagining of Platinum where familiar Pokémon become entirely new experiences while the world around them remains hauntingly familiar.

Update on Development:

Over the past month or so, I've been diving into DSPRE Reloaded, and I'm more than halfway done curating every Pokémon one by one.

The project has evolved quite a bit from my original idea. Rather than creating a pure randomizer, Ive decided to take a lot more time carefully reimagining every Pokémon with:

• New typings
• New abilities
• New learnsets
• New battle identities
• Even custom palettes to match their new alternate reality forms

I've attached a few screenshots of some Pokémon I've been working on to give you an idea of the direction I'm taking.

Looking for some guidance

One area I'm much less experienced with is Nintendo DS graphics.

Eventually I'd love to replace the original Pokémon Platinum title screen with Pokémon Shifted Spectrum, and if possible, create a custom "Press Start" title animation that fits the game's alternate-reality theme.

I'm not necessarily looking for someone to do all the work for me—I genuinely want to learn the process—but if anyone here has experience editing Platinum title screens, DS graphics, or title animations, I'd really appreciate any advice, recommended tools, tutorials, or even the opportunity to collaborate down the road. I'm super open to having others work on this rom hack with me, especially in the graphics department as that's where I lack knowledge. I may even be open to commissioning someone to create the title screen and animation for me!

This is my first ROM hack, so I'm learning as I go, and the feedback I've received from this community has already been incredibly helpful.

Thanks for following the project! I'd also love to hear your thoughts on the Pokémon redesigns I've shared.

If you're interested in following this project or wanting to help a brother out and even be apart of this rom hack, join the DISCORD! https://discord.gg/MEm2eTye5

— Director Smitty

I’ve always struggled with pokemon contests in gen 4…
And the dance portion was literally the worst part… I discovered after 20 years of playing these games and failing these contests that you can play the dance portion with the buttons and not the touch screen…

The result improved like crazy … I am so shocked! Look at those results I never got such a great result using the screen all these years! 😭

Hello! I'm playing Platinum for the first time (my only experience with 4th gen is half playing Pearl when I was a child, and I don't remember most of it), and I'm having a hard time leveling up my team.

I'm five badges in and I've beaten every trainer on my way (except some on Route 212), I always try to switch mons in battle to level them evenly, as well as switching Exp. Share. Floatzel is lower here because I haven't used it in the last two gyms (same-ish for Gabite), Luxio is higher as I used it in Pastoria city, I also have a level 29 Tangela as grass type in my pc. Halfway through my adventure I dropped a Machop and the Togepi from the egg I kept earlier.

Can anyone give me advice on what I'm doing wrong? My rival's mons are higher in level than mine (32-35), I always manage to beat him, but it's becoming a bit frustrating.

Thanks in advance :)

I love this romhack btw

Had ups and downs and moments of frustration but I really enjoy the journey and often allowed me to use strategies that are unexpected like endeavor staraptor

On reflection I now know don’t be lazy and just level to match. So I’ll carry it through my rest of ds game playthroughs

Hello and welcome to Ability-a-Day! The series started by u/ianlazrbeem22 & u/zG-FuRy plus continued by myself.

Previous day: Ability-a-Day #108: Tangled Feet

Today, we have Technician. This ability boosts the power of the Pokémon's moves by 50% (x1.5) if their power is 60 or less. This ability is used by Meowth, Persian, Scyther, Scizor, Smeragle, Hitmontop and Ambipom.

The effect doesn't apply to confusion damage, which remains at a power of 40. However, if a Pokémon hurts itself in confusion induced due to disobedience, the power is increased to 60. Despite Struggle having a base power of 50 in every generation, and Beat Up having a base power of 10 for each strike, both moves aren't boosted by Technician in this generation. Technician applies after the base power modifiers for double base power moves (such as Gust and Pursuit), Charge, and Helping Hand, so if any of those cause a move's base power to exceed 60, Technician's boost won't be applied.

Those moves are affected and boosted by Technician: Absorb, Acid, Aerial Ace, Air Cutter, Assurance, Astonish, Ancient Power, Aqua Jet, Arm Thurst, Avalanche (if the user is not hit by a attacking move), Bind, Bite, Bug Bite, Bullet Punch, Bullet Seed, Barrage, Bone Rush, Bonemerang, Bubble, Charge Beam, Confusion, Covet, Cut, Chatter, Clamp, Comet Punch, Constrict, Crush Grip (if it has 60 base power or less), Double Hit, Double Kick, Double Slap, Dragon Breath, Drain Punch, Ember, Eruption (at 60 base power or less) Fake Out, False Swipe, Feint Attack, Feint, Flail (at 67.2+% to 34.4% HP range where its base power is 20 and 40 respectively), Fling (any item that has 60 base power or less), Force Palm, Frustation (at 60 base power or less), Fury Cutter (at the 1st to 3rd succsseful use), Fury Swipes, Fire Spin, Flame Wheel, Fury Attack, Grass Knot (at 0.1 lbs./0.1 kg to 110.0 lbs./49.9 kg weight range), Gyro Ball (at 60 base power or less), Giga Drain, Gust (when not used against a Sky-High target), Hidden Power (at 60 base power or less), Icy Wind, Ice Ball (at the 1st & 2nd hits, if Defense Curl is used, only the 1st hit), Ice Shard, Icicle Spear, Knock Off, Karate Chop, Low Kick (at 0.1 lbs./0.1 kg to 110.0 lbs./49.9 kg weight range), Lick, Mach Punch, Magical Leaf, Mega Drain, Metal Claw, Mud Shot, Mud-Slap, Magnet Bomb, Magnitude (Magnitude 4 to 6), Natural Gift (if it has 60 base power), Needle Arm, Omnious Wind, Pay Day, Payback (if the user moves before the target), Peck, Pin Missile, Poison Sting, Poison Tail, Pound, Punishment (if the target has no stat boosts), Pursuit (if the target is not switching out), Pluck, Poison Fang, Powder Snow, Present (only if it has 40 base power), Quick Attack, Rage, Rapid Spin, Razor Leaf, Return (at 60 base power or less), Revenge (if the user is not hit by a attacking move), Reversal (at 67.2+% to 34.4% HP range where its base power is 20 and 40 respectively), Rock Blast, Rock Smash, Rock Tomb, Rolling Kick, Rollout (at the 1st & 2nd hits, if Defense Curl is used, only the 1st hit), Rock Throw, Sand Tomb, Scratch, Shadow Punch, Shadow Sneak, Shock Wave, Sliver Wind, Snore, Swift, Smelling Salts, Smog, Spike Cannon, Tackle, Thief, Thunder Shock, Triple Kick, Twister (when not used against a Sky-High target) Trump Card (when its PP is 4+ to 2), Twineedle, Uproar, Vacuum Wave, Vine Whip, Vise Grip, Water Pulse, Weather Ball (if there no weather active), Whirlpool, Wing Attack, Water Gun, Water Spout (at 60 base power or less) Wrap and Wring Out (if it has 60 base power or less)

Scizor will always like doing at 60 BP Bullet Punch thanks to Technician, Double Hit allows Ambipom to hit hard with Technician, Hitmontop likes to use a 60 BP Mach Punch, while both Persian and Ambipom love using a 60 BP Fake Out. This ability is quite great indeed for offense. Hitmontop sometimes wants Intimidate to lower enemies attack rather than dealing more damage with moves with 60 base power less.

As the generations pass, Technician no longer applies for any means of confusion damage, including the one induced by disobedience. Struggle and Beat Up are now boosted by the ability now. The ability no longer takes into account base power modifiers, but does consider variable base power (e.g. Rollout, Ice Ball, Gust, Acrobatics), which must be 60 or less to be boosted by Technician.

More Pokemon would have Technician distributed to, such as: Mr. Mime, Breloom, Kricketune, Roserade, Cinccino, Mega Scizor, Marshadow, Toxtricity, Grapploct, Maushold and Fezandipiti. It's such a great ability to have, don't you think? You should give it a comment so you can tell me your thoughts about this ability.

What do you think about Technician, have you used it successfully? If anything I'm missing? Just let me know!

6th badges at the moment, now getting lucario at iron island.

Context: This my second playthru. I want moves that are fun to use. Also I’m about to start entering the Victory Road and challenge the E4

I think I need more ice coverage too though, thinking of giving Lickilicky Ice Punch. I wanna beat up Cynthia’s Garchomp with a stupid Lickilicky for the lulz

First time playing platinum.. growing up only had pearl so it’s very cool playing with a lot of pokemon I couldn’t before. Always wanted to play w dusclops and gliscor.

Any tips given would be cool

Playing on an emulator

99.99% max special attack! sooo close!

looking for suggestions to EV train my next pokemon.