Pokémon Shuffle: Difference between revisions

Pokémon Shuffle operates on a {{wp|free-to-play}} model—the game is free to download and play, although with a limited number of [[#Stages|Stages]] playable in quick succession. Players start with five [[#Heart|Heart]] and spend one Heart per stage played. Hearts will recharge for free as time passes at a rate of one Heart every 30 minutes, with no more regenerated if the player already has five Hearts. More Hearts can be purchased with Jewels, which can be bought with real money or occasionally received as prizes, to allow players to immediately resume their game. One Heart is also given for free when the player plays Stage 11 for the first time, even if the player has Hearts remaining.

==Blurb==

==Pokémon Shuffle Mobile==

Pokémon Shuffle Mobile is a version of Pokémon Shuffle for iOS and Android. It is currently on version 1.0.5 (iOS)/1.5.20 (Android). The app can only be played with an internet connection, and cannot be played otherwise. Regular server maintenance is scheduled on Tuesdays from 5:00-6:00 AM (UTC), meaning the game is unplayable during these times. According the the official support website, Shuffle Mobile has been tested and verified to work on the Xperia Z3 (SO-01G), the Nexus 7 (2013), and the iPhone and may not display correctly on other phones and tablets. It requires Android 4.1 or later or iOS 7.0 or later and does not support rooted devices. Shuffle Mobile requires on-device storage of approximately 90.93 MB, and periodically updates which will require additional on-device storage.

Players may not purchase more than ¥10,000 (or equivalent) per month. In countries outside Asia, players who are younger than 13 years old cannot make in-app purchases. Additionally, Facebook integration is disabled for players under 13. Game data may be transferred between devices, but not to/from the 3DS version or shared between devices. Once a transfer code is issued under "Model Upgrade" in "Options", in can be entered along with the client number when the game is first launched on the new device. Jewels cannot be transferred to a different OS. Transfer codes expire after expire 30 days after it is issued, and cannot be issued for 30 days from the last transfer.

Unlike the 3DS version, Pokémon Shuffle Mobile does not make use of [[StreetPass]], instead using {{wp|Facebook}} integration. Facebook integration is used to allow players to send and receive mini Hearts to and from their friends. When mini Hearts are collected, it fills up the Friend Gauge. When the Friend Gauge fills completely, a Heart is obtained. [[Special Stages]] are held on a different schedule to the 3DS version. The Check In function is replaced by the game logging in automatically when played, under "Data Updates". Gifts can be received under the "Gifts" tab. Notifications can be turned on and off for when the player has 5 Hearts, when the player can log in again, or when a notice is posted. Competitive Stage rankings for Shuffle Mobile are counted separately from those of the 3DS version. Passcodes are incompatible between Shuffle and Shuffle Mobile. Prices for items and Jewels differ between the 3DS and mobile versions, as noted below. Some stages require two Hearts to be played, unlike the 3DS version.

Pokémon Shuffle is a puzzle game in which the player matches Pokémon icons to defeat wild Pokémon, in a similar style to [[Pokémon Battle Trozei]]. The player can capture Pokémon and use them as Support Pokémon. Each Pokémon has a [[Skill]] that can be activated when it is matched in a battle, with the criteria being that the move was not part of a combo and a special criteria based on the Skill in question (sometimes at random). Pokémon have a set capture rate that is added to depending on how many moves a player has left at the end of a battle. As of Version 1.2.0, this figure can occasionally be doubled before the capture attempt. During normal game-play, Pokémon can be moved anywhere in the Puzzle Area, but cannot be moved if they do not cause a match (the pair will revert their positions once dropped). No-match moves are allowed in timed stages, however.

[[Mega Stone]]s are given out throughout the game, awarded when the player defeats the corresponding Mega Pokémon used by a Trainer. The player can use them by putting the Pokémon that uses them at the front of their Support, and the [[Mega Evolution]] is activated by matching the Pokémon that Mega Evolves until the Mega Gauge to the left of the play area is full, at which point it Mega Evolves. While Mega Evolved, its Skill is replaced by a [[Mega Evolution#Mega Effects|Mega Effect]] that activates whenever it is matched. The clock of a timed stage will stop while the Mega Evolution occurs.

If at any time during a stage there are no moves the player can make that would result in a triplet, the game will say "Let's shake things up!" and replace all Pokémon on the Puzzle Area (removing all disruptions and adding any disruptions present at the start of the match), from when the player can continue to play. The clock of a timed stage stops while play is prevented. If the player is out of moves or time when this happens, even if the reset board contains matches none of them will deal damage unless the player chooses to continue by paying a Jewel.

{{incomplete|section|In v1.2.0 onward, is the free Heart from Amelia before Stage 11 a bonus Heart or regenerating Heart?}}

The tutorial portion of the game lasts until the player completes Stage 11. Throughout the tutorial, the player is guided by [[Amelia]].

The player starts the game with 5 regenerating Hearts, 0 bonus hearts, 0 Coins, 0 Jewels, and no Support Pokémon. Upon starting the game, Amelia introduces the game and forces the player to play Stage 1: Espurr (without offering the player the opportunity to buy items), on which the game forces the player's moves, guaranteeing that Espurr has 100% catchability. The game then forces the player to add Espurr to their party, then play Stage 2: Bulbasaur. Because the player now has Coins (from completing Stage 1), Amelia introduces the concept of buying items; the player does not currently have enough Coins to buy any, but she gives them a free Moves +5 to demonstrate the item.

After successfully completing Stage 2, the game opens the menu for Stage 3. The Optimize button (which did not appear before) is now added and Amelia explains it to the player. Amelia explains type effectiveness to the player.

After starting Stage 4, Amelia explains the concept of Skills to the player.

After completing Stage 5, when the player tries the catch Eevee, the game forces the Poké Ball to fail, but Amelia then gives the player a {{ball|Great}} for free. After that, the player is given a free Jewel, followed by Amelia explaining the concept of Jewels. The game then offers the player the Jewel purchase menu, encouraging them to purchase 5 Hearts (6 Hearts in Shuffle Mobile).

At the start of Stage 6, Amelia explains the concept of disruptions due to Pidgey turning a Support Pokémon into a breakable-rock.

When the player opens the menu for Stage 8, Amelia explains the concept of a 3-Pokémon stage due to it being one.

After completing Stage 9, when Stage 10: Mega Audino appears, Amelia hints that the stage is different to other stages. After completing the stage, Amelia explains how [[Mega Evolution]] works, and the first slot in the player's party changes to a large circle with a Mega Stone slot in order to facilitate Mega Evolution. After completing Stage 10, the game automatically opens the menu for Stage 11. Amelia then gives the player a free Heart (5 regenerating Hearts in Shuffle Mobile at the end of the stage).

After completing Stage 11, the check in button appears, which Amelia explains. She then departs, assuring the player they will meet again.

Disruptions are things added to the stage by the opposing Pokémon to make clearing the stage harder. They are added when a counter that decreases when a move is made next to the opposing Pokémon reaches zero. The counter does not change if the foe is paralyzed, asleep or frozen. Some Pokémon create disruptions after a certain amount of time or number of matches, but will not count any combos or matches performed while it is paralyzed, asleep or frozen. All disruptions can be erased by a Mega Effect. All disruptions can be cleared by Stabilize, Stabilize+ and Disrupt Buster. Swap can replace disruptions with a Support Pokémon.

|Prevents the Pokémon icon or disruption under it from moving in any way, including falling. Can be cleared by making a match using the Pokémon icon under it, Barrier Bash and the icon it affects being erased by Mega Effects, Quirky or Quirky+. If cleared by matching the icon underneath or a skill other than Quirky or Quirky+, the Pokémon icon under it is not destroyed. Can affect most other disruptions, and can be under a black-cloud disruption.

|An icon that gives the player bonus Coins if matched. Can be moved freely and performs matches with itself. Can be cleared in any way a normal Pokémon icon can, and they are affected by Stabilise, Stabilise+, Swap, or Disrupt Buster. +100 Coins for a match of three, +300 Coins for a match of four, +500 for a match of five, and +700 for a match of six, regardless of any combos.

|A square rock that falls, but cannot be moved by the stylus. Can be cleared by making a match in any square next to it (not diagonally) and Rock Break. Unaffected by the removal of an ajoining a barrier-type disruption, but destroyed if an ajoining unbreakable-block disruption breaks from the player performing five moves since its introduction.

| style="background:#fff; {{roundybr|5px}}" | Prevents the player from seeing what is in the square it occupies. The Pokémon icon in this square can still be part of a match and can be moved. Can only be cleared by Cloud Clear and having whatever is under it erased (Mega Effects, Quirky or Quirky+ clearing it). Immune to Mega Effects if there is no Pokémon icon under it when the effect activates and targets the square it is in. All other disruptions can be present under it.

Whenever the player completes a stage, they will be awarded a rank, which is displayed next to their total score on a popup after completing the stage. The highest rank the player has ever earned for a particular stage is visible in the overworld, next to the stage. The rank the player earns is determined by the number of moves or amount of time the player has remaining, and the total number of moves or amount of time the player started the stage with. On some special stages, including but not limited to "Meowth's Coin Mania", competitive stages, and the Pokémon Safari, previous rankings do not appear for specific reasons.

For most move-limited stages, if the number of moves remaining upon competition of the stage is greater than or equal to half the total number of moves they started with (rounded down), the player will be awarded an S-rank. While the purchase of a +5 Moves does not affect catch percentages, it ''does'' affect rank.

For most timed stages, if the amount of time remaining upon competition of the stage is greater than or equal to half the total amount of time they started with (rounded down), the player will be awarded an S-rank.

All Competitive Stages and Stage 149: {{p|Haxorus}} will always grant an S-rank upon competition, regardless of performance. Meowth's Coin Mania also shares this trait.

Expert stages are unlocked depending on total number of S-ranks the player has on main stages. Ranks on expert and special stages have no impact on gameplay.

The ranks below S are A, B, and C, respectively. Remaining move numbers for each rank are typically arbitrary, as on many stages with low starting moves it can be impossible to get a B or C rank. Ranks below S serve no functional value, regardless, and do not contribute to the unlocking of extra stages.

==Check in==

The player can use the "check in" function once per day (server days end at 6:00 AM UTC the morning after the day ends in UTC time), which connects the player's game to the internet and gives them a reward for doing so. This normally grants 500 Coins, but will grant 1000 Coins every 10 times the player checks in.

Checking in checks for any patches the player may not have installed. If there are any minor patches, the game asks the player if they wish to download extra data, and if they do, it automatically downloads and installs it; this is the only way to install minor patches for the game. If there are any major patches, it provides a link to a page on the Nintendo eShop to download it and requests that the player download it. If there is a patch and the player does not install it, the player cannot check in. If a patch is released partway through the day and the check-in function has already been used, the patch can be downloaded on that day by attempting to check-in, but will not succeed with the check-in.

Checking in also syncronizes the system's copy of UTC time with the server, regulating when special stages appear. If the system time is changed, the player must check in again to regain access to any active special stages they have, thereby syncing with the server once again. Special stages that do not begin on the day a new version is realeased can be accessed even if the player has not checked in on that day, as long as the system has the version of the game with the stage programmed (for example, the Hoenn Legends stages appeared at the start time for anyone who had updated the game to the version released on the monday, reguardless of if they had checked in on or after the release time).

| Adds the special stages "Launch Special: Meet Mew" (first edition) and "The Daily Pokémon (#1)".

| style="background:#FFF; {{roundybr|5px}}" | Fixes [[List of glitches in spin-off games#Use any Pokémon glitch|a glitch]] that allowed a player to use any Pokémon in the game at any time.

| Prevents exploitation of QR codes to manipulate the game. Removes access to special stages.

| Restores access to special stages.

| Adds the "Great Challenge" special stage "Kyogre Makes a Splash" and the "Launch Special: Meet Mew" special stage "Mew Strikes Again".

| Adds main stages 151-165, the "Great Challenge" special stage "Keldeo Rears Its Head", and the special stage "The Daily Pokémon (#2)". Also awards the Lucarionites and consolation prize Jewels from the competition.

| Adds the Great Challenge special stage "Rayquaza's Ascension". Resets all ranks on special stages, which allows the player to get 200 coins instead of 30 upon the first re-clear of each special stage.

| Adds main stages 166-180 as well as the "Great Challenge" special stage "Groudon Lands at Last". Also awards the Blastoisinites and consolation prize Jewels from the competition.

| Adds the "Pokémon Safari" special stage (which includes Sharpedo).

| Adds the "3.5 Million Celebration" Celebi special stage (available immediately), Mega Banette Competitive Stage (available starting May 1), the "The Daily Pokémon (#1)" special stage (available starting May 4), "One chance a day!" Pinsir special stage (available starting May 7), and compatibility for a code for 5 "Exp. Points x1.5" items (redeemable starting April 30).

| Adds main stages 181-190 as well as the "Great Challenge" special stage "Regirock Rocks the Scene".

| Adds the special stage "The Daily Pokémon (#3)" as well as the move-limited Mega Lucario Competitive Stage.

| style="background:#fff; {{roundybr|5px}}" | Adds the "4 Million Celebration" Shaymin special stage. Changes the description of the item "Complexity -1" , and gives all players a free Complexity -1. Also awards the Lucarionites and Jewels from the competition.

*Hearts are separated into regenerating Hearts and bonus Hearts (obtained either from StreetPass or exchanging Jewels). Regenerating Hearts are capped at 5, and will always be used instead of the bonus Hearts if there are any. Bonus hearts are capped at 99. Any Hearts the player had before the update are now treated as bonus Hearts, and the player's regenerating Hearts start off at 5 after installing the update.

*After successfully completing a stage, if the player fails to catch a Pokémon with their first Poké Ball (before using a Great Ball), they have a chance of being offered a "Super Catch Power". This Super Catch Power provides a somewhat random boost on top of the Great Ball's boost (the player still uses a Great Ball, and can use the same number of Great Balls as they could without the "Super Catch Power").

*If the player leaves a stage select screen and later returns to it, it will reappear exactly as the player left it. Previously, the screen would be focused on the last available stage in that category.

*New mechanics added to detect cheating and remove such entries from competitive contest stages. Such removed entries are given the lowest possible rank. Any cheating player must legitimately beat the score used from cheating to rank in the competition again; this means if a player submits a score of 50,000 and is removed, the player cannot submit a new score unless they can score 50,001.

*Prevents going to the Home menu by pressing the Home button during timed stages while the timer is running. Previously, this exploit could be used to view the board without a timer in both expert stages and Competitive Stages.

| Restores access to special stages. "The Daily Pokémon (#3)" notice has its background color changed from green to orange, while the "Competition Now Live" notice now features the Mega Evolved Pokémon in the stage. Adds Victini to the Pokémon List and the "Tons of Exp. Points" special stage to the game, along with the data for the Venusaur competitive stage. The Shaymin special stage "4 Million Celebration" now only gives 1000 Coins upon the first clear, not the first daily clear.

| Adds main stages 191-200, expert stages EX22-EX24 and the special stage "Escalation Battles". Adds access to Mega Speeedup enhancement and gives one to all players for free. Also awards prizes from the competition.

| Adds main stages 201-210, Tepig stage "Trots onto Stage!", Jirachi stage "One chance a day!" (July 6-10), and the Daily Pokémon (#4). Also adds data for Arceus "Ultra Challenge" stage, playable starting July 11.

| Adds the new [[Albens Town]] area through stage 220 (Vivillon) as well as three new Expert stages for the [[Swords of Justice]]. Adds Darkrai "Escalation Battle" event. Makes "The Daily Pokémon 1" available for play once again. Adds data for the Mega Venusaur competition, which began on August 24.

| Adds main stages 221-230, the ''"Registeel Steals the Show!"'' event, the Mega Charizard Y competition, and makes the Mew event playable again. Also adds the data for the ''"Regice Freezes All Foes"'' event, which became available on September 23.

| Adds main stages 231-240, Expert stages 28-30, the move-limited re-release of the Mega Banette competition, and makes the Giratina "Escalation Battle" event playable again.

| Adds main stages 251-260, expert stages 31-32, repeats of the Regice and Shaymin events, and the new Keldeo Resolute Forme Escalation Battle. Also adds the data for a new Pokémon Safari that includes Camerupt (Dec 28), the Talonflame event (Dec 28), the Mega Swampert Competition (Jan 5), and a repeat of the Tornadus event (Jan 5). Additionally, introduces a glitch whereby Heracross would take an abnormally large amount of icons to Mega Evolve.

| Adds main stages 261-300, expert stages 33-35, the Zekrom event, and a repeat of the Pokémon Safari that includes Sharpedo. Also adds the data for the new Kyurem Escalation Battle event (Jan 26) and a repeat of the Mega Sharpedo competition (Jan 26).

| Adds the special stages ''"Launch Special: Meet Mew"'' and ''"The Daily Pokémon (#1)"''.

| Adds main stages 151-165, the Rayquaza event, and the Mega Charizard Y competition. Due to the developers copying stage data from the 3DS version, several stages had their catch rates and/or behavior changed (most notably Stage 37: Meowth), and some stages with Mega Evolved Pokémon did not award Mega Stones when cleared.

| Adds main stages 166-180, the Dusknoir event, and a new Halloween-themed Pokémon Safari (which includes Pokémon such as Crobat, Dusclops, and Gourgeist)

*A counter has been added to the upper-left corner of the screen while viewing Main or Expert stages. This counter shows how many Pokémon the player has caught out of the amount currently available. For example, at the time of the 1.2.0 update the counter shows x/168 while viewing Main Stages, and x/20 while viewing Expert stages.

| Restores access to special stages.

| Adds main stages 181-190, expert stage 21, the 'One Chance a Day' Tornadus stage, and the Pokemon Safari that includes Manectric. Also adds the data for the Mega Manectric competition (Nov 16), the Delibird 'Incredible Items' escalation battle (Nov 16), and a repeat of the Rayquaza event (Nov 13).

| style="background:#FFF; {{roundybr|5px}}" | Adds main stages 191-200, expert stages 22-24, the Landorus 'One Chance a Day' stage, the Pokémon Safari that includes Garchomp, and repeats of the Dialga and Palkia events. Also adds the data for a repeat of the Regirock event (Dec 15), as well as the new Registeel (Dec 18) and Regigigas events (Dec 15) (with a mention of the Regice event), and the Mega Garchomp competition (Dec 15).

*Amelia returns to introduce a new recommended-Pokémon system. Each Pokémon is ranked from zero to three token-like icons (which resemble Amelia's face), based on some unknown criteria related to usefulness. The more icons a Pokémon has, the more the game recommends that the player catch and use it. These icons are visible while browsing stages, as well as when the player looks at Pokémon in the Pokémon List.

*All main stage Mega Pokémon stages, all expert stages, and several difficult main stages now display a "recommended level" when selected. It is suggested that the player's Pokémon be around this level before attempting the corresponding stage. This does not appear on event stages.

*When the game is closed the player's last position is saved, and the player is returned to that position upon reopening the game. For example, if the player were to close the game while at the Meowth stage, then they would start there upon reopening the game. Prior to this update, the player would always start at the furthest main stage that they had unlocked.

| Restores access to special stages.

| Restores access to special stages.

| Adds main stages 201-260, expert stages 25-32 (thus matching the 3DS version in both categories), the Shaymin event, the Regice event, and the Keldeo Resolute Forme Escalation Battle. Also adds the data for the Arceus event (Dec 28), a new Pokémon Safari that includes Camerupt (Dec 28), the new Talonflame event (Dec 28), the Mega Banette competition (Jan 5), and a repeat of the Tornadus event (Jan 5). Mega Swampert's stage data can also be found in the update, however its event description has not been added yet.

| style="background:#FFF; {{roundybr|5px}}" | Adds main stages 261-300, expert stages 33-35, the Zekrom event, and the Pokémon Safari that includes Sharpedo. Also adds the data for the Mega Sharpedo competition (Jan 26) and the Kyurem Escalation Battle event (Jan 26).

| Restores access to special stages.