Battle Format
Typically, a Gen X Format refers to the generation of a Pokémon game that is released.
A game with a Gen 9 Format would only include Pokémon and moves from that generation, making older mechanics, moves and abilities unavailable.
Since Pokemon Revolution Online (PRO) is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO), restricting it in such a way would remove many aspects of the game.
Therefore Pokemon Revolution Online uses the Generation 9 National Dex (Gen 9 NatDex) Format.
Gen 9 NatDex Format Overview
This format allows the use of all available Pokémon, Moves, Abilities, Battle Mechanics and Items, while being updated to Gen 9 if available.
The rules are:
- If a move is learned by a Pokémon in Gen 9, it learns it in PRO.
- If a move cannot be learned by a Pokémon in Gen 9, but was available in Gen 8, it learns it in PRO.
- If a move cannot be learned by a Pokemon in Gen 9 or Gen 8, but was available in Gen 7, it learns it in PRO.
This battle format also allows the use of old mechanics, like Hidden Power, Mega Stones, Z-Crystals, the weather condition Hail, Pursuit and more.
While the format follows the rules above, it's worth noting that some moves are currently either incorrectly coded or missing in PRO but will be updated in the future.
Exceptions
While PRO follows this system closely, rare exceptions exist.
These exceptions may be made due to balance concerns or to prevent certain Pokémon from becoming irrelevant.
For example, Greninja's Battle Bond ability was changed in Gen 9, but this change was not implemented in PRO and instead Battle Bond retains its mechanics from Gen 7 and Gen 8.