Pokémon Online (battle simulator): Difference between revisions

PO redirects here. For the four-episode anime series, see Pokémon Origins.

Pokémon Online
Language	Multilingual (primarily English)
Status	Active
Run	2010 - 2021
Date opened	March 2010
Date closed	28th August 2021
Reason	Lack of funding and activity
Creator	coyotte508
Current owner	{{{owner}}}
Forum	PO Forums
Mascot	Dratini
Website	Main Page

Pokémon Online was a fanmade Pokémon battle simulator. As a battle simulator, it allowed players to simulate Pokémon battles against any other Pokémon player who is using the simulator from anywhere in the world. It was created using the C++ programming language and Qt development framework. It was open-source and free for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Android Phones, and Linux.

Pokémon Online's last update was v2.7.21, which was released in June 2017. ^[1] It was once available for download here.

Pokémon Online´s online server has since been shut down due to lack of development, funding, and lack of use.^[2] However, a side server with the IP 104.32.67.111 and Server Port 5080 is still available for legacy usage.

Features

Pokémon Online has a full battle engine for all generations, with all Pokémon, moves, items, and Abilities implemented. Single, Double, and Triple battle formats are supported as well as team preview and a selection of common clauses, allowing for diversity of play and giving VGC players a place to practice. As with most battle simulators, the teambuilder allows competitive teams to be constructed in minutes rather than the days it would take in a real game, allowing competitive players to use it as a testing ground. Pokémon Online also has:

• A ladder system
• A channel system
• Private Messages
• An ignore button
• Animated HP bars
• Battle music and Pokémon cries
• A Challenge Cup format (with Level Balance clause)
• The ability to load multiple teams at once

Plugins or scripts can be created to add more features to the client or server.

Scripting

Server scripts can be written in JavaScript allowing almost unlimited flexibility. The most notable scripts so far are the Mafia Script which runs mafia games in the chat, and the Tournament Script which runs tournaments of any size with minimal intervention, allowing large tournaments to be hosted constantly on the bigger servers. Documentation on scripting for PO and information on the custom functions can be found here.

Usage statistics

On July 28, 2010, the very first Pokémon Online usage statistics were released, beginning its process of usage-based tiering. The statistics contained the number of battles and percentage each Pokémon has been used, along with the different sets, EVs and Natures used. Other servers were able to download the stat collection plugin and generate their own usage stats to publish; Smogon used these on its own server for its tiering before moving to Pokémon Showdown in April 2012.

Themes

The themes are stored with the client as CSS and images and so can easily be edited. The client can switch between several themes and many alternate themes are available for download here.

Development

Pokémon Online was developed by coyotte508 as the lead programmer, Darkness as the designer, and nmilkosky as the programmer. Mystra, Mephistos, KazoWAR, Ethan, CoolKingler, and Steve have all contributed to the code. On 28 November 2010, Version 1.0 was released, its "out-of-beta" stage. Weby hosted the main server, called Pokémon Online. Like the rest of the program, the server software is open and anyone is free to set up a server.

Closure

On 2nd August 2021, Steve made a forum post titled "Closure", where it was announced that Pokémon Online was to be shut down for good, including its battle servers and forums.

The reasons were threefold;

• A lack of development, with most developers leaving for other ventures and nobody being interested in taking over; ergo, it fell behind other simulators, most notably Pokémon Showdown!
• A lack of funding, with Steve paying for the servers personally and experiencing personal circumstances that made it difficult to justify continuing payments.
• A lack of use, with servers peaking at 20 members during 2021.

On 28th August 2021, Pokémon Online was fully taken offline, with all its forum content now only being visible via platforms like the WayBack Machine. Its GitHub remains available and is open source.

Pokémon Online itself remains functional, with a user named Wavy maintaining a server with the IP 104.32.67.111 and Server Port 5080. Because server registry is no longer available, this is required to use Pokémon Online post-closure.

See also

• Shoddy Battle
• Pokémon NetBattle
• Pokémon Showdown

External links

• Wiki^{[dead link]}
• YouTube account
• Download Page (all supported platforms)
• Discord Server

This article is a part of Project Fandom, a Bulbapedia Project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every aspect of the Pokémon Fandom.

References