mastertoaster
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I was looking at Shuko's guide to chaining and tried following all the guidelines -- I could not bring a chain past fifteen and wasted almost as many repels. However, two days ago, I was chaining Skitty (they were swarming), and without following any of the rules except the 4/7 rule (don't go into squares less than 4 or more than 7 away), I ended up getting a chain to 38 Skittys using only 4 repels before I had to leave for school (and subsequently save and end the chain). In fact, a lot of times, I tried to break the chain by entering squares that did not follow the rules, and I ended up continuing the chain.
Remember: The number one factor here is chance. No guideline will ever match up perfectly, with the unstable nature of the Poke Radar.
Here are a few of the rules that didn't quite match up with my chain.
Rule 1 (Only go if there are four patches shaking) - I didn't bother with it, and managed to keep up the chain. In fact, I chained even when only one square was shaking - of course, I would not recommend this. Disproven.
Rule 2 (Only go into patches that shake the same way) - I've heard of this rule being broken - I'm sure it is possible to switch grass, but it probably lowers your chance of chaining the same pokemon by an incredible amount. However, every patch in my chain shook the same way. Unknown.
Rule 3 (Don't go into patches out of the radar's range) - An integral part of my theory - a patch of grass will never shake off screen. Either that, or I'm misinterpreting what the rule states. Disproven.
Rule 4 (Go into patches farthest from you at least 4 squares away) - The best one here. The farther the patch is away, the more likely it is to be the same pokemon (It's been reinforced many times, I just forget where I originally heard it.) Proven.
Rule 5 (Don't go into a patch more than 7 away) - The seven step rule works just as a general rule; it's possible to go 8 steps or even 9, but highly unrecommended if it takes you too far away from your origin. Proven.
Rule 6 (Don't go into edge or corner patches) - At first I didn't believe it, but then it turned out that after my 38-chain, I would end up chaining Skittys up to 9 or 10 and end up getting my chain broken -- by a Skitty. This only ever happened when I was on an edge or a corner - however, I believe it may be slightly different for squares that border things (as opposed to just being an edge square.) Proven.
Rule 7 (Avoid patches next to other patches) - I believe this rule is just to avoid error and stepping into the wrong patch. Having two patches shake next to each other does not affect the chain in any way other than you are more likely to misstep. However, I do not believe that out of all of the patches shaking you see, only one of them is the right pokemon, which is what this rule seems to assume - I think it is possible for more than one patch to be the pokemon you're chaining, although this would be impossible to verify without having access to the game's coding. (Example: out of four squares, two are Skitty, one is Buizel, and one is Magneton.) Disproven, unless it's just a tip for avoiding error.
Rule 8 (When in doubt, reset) - Definitely good. Proven.
Rule 9 (Sparkly patches are shinies) - More of a fact than a rule. Proven.
Rule 10 (Never run away) - A given. Proven.
Rule 11 (Never use your bike) - Also a given. Proven.
Now, here's my theory -- after a while of staring at the screen to see how the patches appeared, I came up with this.
You know how the Poke Radar resets if you walk offscreen (so that you cannot see any of the patches that shake)? This, I believe, is unique to the Poke Radar (perhaps also the Vs. Seeker), as most other things in the game reset based off of whether you exit/enter buildings, routes, battles, etc.
My theory is as follows:
The more squares you can see on screen while being in the farthest square from your origin, the more likely you are to keep the same Pokemon in the same chain. (Of course, keep the same square throughout the whole chain; if a fast-shaking square is farther than a slow-shaking but you're chaining slow-shaking, stick to the slow-shaking or reset if you feel like it.)
I noticed this when I was chaining the Skittys -- I would walk towards a patch below me that was five squares away but keep an eye on the square above me that was three squares away and make sure that I could see both of them when I stepped into the bottom square - this ensured a constant chain.
That's the reason why the no-more-than-7 rule works, because usually when you go more than 7 squares out, the other squares start to go offscreen. Of course, there is more to it than this, as I've had chains broken when the patches seem to line up perfectly (all onscreen, none bordering anything or each other, all shaking the right way), and it really is mostly down to encounter rate and luck. No squares can appear offscreen, and (perhaps) the less squares onscreen, the more likely (or even less likely, I'd have to do it a lot more times to figure out exactly) you are to keep the same pokemon in a chain. It's like a 50/50 chance (two squares) vs a 25/25/25/25, or 50/25/25, or 75/25. (four squares)
It is possible for a pokemon not to show up at all in any squares -- I was chaining Pinsir once and I fell asleep; when I woke up, by default, I knew that none of the patches could be Pinsir because it stopped swarming the previous day. If it can happen for swarm pokemon, I'm pretty sure it can happen for any pokemon -- it won't appear in any patches. However, that doesn't mean it disappears permanently -- that just means that you have to reset the radar. Just as a pokemon may not appear in a chain, there must be times in which all pokemon that appear when you set the radar are the same (whether or not they are the one you are chaining, I don't know.)
If you don't understand what I mean, think of it like this - say you use the radar and four patches shake, and they're really a Skitty/Skitty/Magnemite/Electabuzz. Then, after you KO the Electabuzz, the next set of patches shake, and are a Skitty/Skitty/Magnemite (but you don't know this, as it isn't possible to without hacks.). The Electabuzz disappears from that certain set of shaking squares, but you could reset again and perhaps get an Electabuzz/Magnemite/Floatzel. It's really, once again, all down to chance what Pokemon the patches would match up to, and it would be impossible to figure out, as you cannot save and restart during a chain.
Now, what I need is a little help in verifying my theories -- Does anyone have any videos of chains that they have gotten up to 40 or found videos of chains up to 40? I want to see if there are any patterns in the shaking grass.
BTW, no attack intended on Shuko -- her guidelines are nice, it's just that they don't seem to be solid enough.
Remember: The number one factor here is chance. No guideline will ever match up perfectly, with the unstable nature of the Poke Radar.
Here are a few of the rules that didn't quite match up with my chain.
Rule 1 (Only go if there are four patches shaking) - I didn't bother with it, and managed to keep up the chain. In fact, I chained even when only one square was shaking - of course, I would not recommend this. Disproven.
Rule 2 (Only go into patches that shake the same way) - I've heard of this rule being broken - I'm sure it is possible to switch grass, but it probably lowers your chance of chaining the same pokemon by an incredible amount. However, every patch in my chain shook the same way. Unknown.
Rule 3 (Don't go into patches out of the radar's range) - An integral part of my theory - a patch of grass will never shake off screen. Either that, or I'm misinterpreting what the rule states. Disproven.
Rule 4 (Go into patches farthest from you at least 4 squares away) - The best one here. The farther the patch is away, the more likely it is to be the same pokemon (It's been reinforced many times, I just forget where I originally heard it.) Proven.
Rule 5 (Don't go into a patch more than 7 away) - The seven step rule works just as a general rule; it's possible to go 8 steps or even 9, but highly unrecommended if it takes you too far away from your origin. Proven.
Rule 6 (Don't go into edge or corner patches) - At first I didn't believe it, but then it turned out that after my 38-chain, I would end up chaining Skittys up to 9 or 10 and end up getting my chain broken -- by a Skitty. This only ever happened when I was on an edge or a corner - however, I believe it may be slightly different for squares that border things (as opposed to just being an edge square.) Proven.
Rule 7 (Avoid patches next to other patches) - I believe this rule is just to avoid error and stepping into the wrong patch. Having two patches shake next to each other does not affect the chain in any way other than you are more likely to misstep. However, I do not believe that out of all of the patches shaking you see, only one of them is the right pokemon, which is what this rule seems to assume - I think it is possible for more than one patch to be the pokemon you're chaining, although this would be impossible to verify without having access to the game's coding. (Example: out of four squares, two are Skitty, one is Buizel, and one is Magneton.) Disproven, unless it's just a tip for avoiding error.
Rule 8 (When in doubt, reset) - Definitely good. Proven.
Rule 9 (Sparkly patches are shinies) - More of a fact than a rule. Proven.
Rule 10 (Never run away) - A given. Proven.
Rule 11 (Never use your bike) - Also a given. Proven.
Now, here's my theory -- after a while of staring at the screen to see how the patches appeared, I came up with this.
You know how the Poke Radar resets if you walk offscreen (so that you cannot see any of the patches that shake)? This, I believe, is unique to the Poke Radar (perhaps also the Vs. Seeker), as most other things in the game reset based off of whether you exit/enter buildings, routes, battles, etc.
My theory is as follows:
The more squares you can see on screen while being in the farthest square from your origin, the more likely you are to keep the same Pokemon in the same chain. (Of course, keep the same square throughout the whole chain; if a fast-shaking square is farther than a slow-shaking but you're chaining slow-shaking, stick to the slow-shaking or reset if you feel like it.)
I noticed this when I was chaining the Skittys -- I would walk towards a patch below me that was five squares away but keep an eye on the square above me that was three squares away and make sure that I could see both of them when I stepped into the bottom square - this ensured a constant chain.
That's the reason why the no-more-than-7 rule works, because usually when you go more than 7 squares out, the other squares start to go offscreen. Of course, there is more to it than this, as I've had chains broken when the patches seem to line up perfectly (all onscreen, none bordering anything or each other, all shaking the right way), and it really is mostly down to encounter rate and luck. No squares can appear offscreen, and (perhaps) the less squares onscreen, the more likely (or even less likely, I'd have to do it a lot more times to figure out exactly) you are to keep the same pokemon in a chain. It's like a 50/50 chance (two squares) vs a 25/25/25/25, or 50/25/25, or 75/25. (four squares)
It is possible for a pokemon not to show up at all in any squares -- I was chaining Pinsir once and I fell asleep; when I woke up, by default, I knew that none of the patches could be Pinsir because it stopped swarming the previous day. If it can happen for swarm pokemon, I'm pretty sure it can happen for any pokemon -- it won't appear in any patches. However, that doesn't mean it disappears permanently -- that just means that you have to reset the radar. Just as a pokemon may not appear in a chain, there must be times in which all pokemon that appear when you set the radar are the same (whether or not they are the one you are chaining, I don't know.)
If you don't understand what I mean, think of it like this - say you use the radar and four patches shake, and they're really a Skitty/Skitty/Magnemite/Electabuzz. Then, after you KO the Electabuzz, the next set of patches shake, and are a Skitty/Skitty/Magnemite (but you don't know this, as it isn't possible to without hacks.). The Electabuzz disappears from that certain set of shaking squares, but you could reset again and perhaps get an Electabuzz/Magnemite/Floatzel. It's really, once again, all down to chance what Pokemon the patches would match up to, and it would be impossible to figure out, as you cannot save and restart during a chain.
Now, what I need is a little help in verifying my theories -- Does anyone have any videos of chains that they have gotten up to 40 or found videos of chains up to 40? I want to see if there are any patterns in the shaking grass.
BTW, no attack intended on Shuko -- her guidelines are nice, it's just that they don't seem to be solid enough.
