Talk:Phenomenon

Names

I've seen various iterations throughout the wiki, so let's decide once and for all: is it "Shaking Spots" or "Shaking Patches"? Sidnoea 21:36, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

From what we had seen, it was Shaking spots, it's more general, but I'm not really sure. Masatoshi_talk 21:43, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

Actually, these are the confirmed ones: Rustling Grass, Dust Cloud, Flying Pokémon's Shadow, and Rippling Water. Masatoshi_talk 21:58, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

Just make sure that they are lowercase, so rustling grass, dust cloud, flying Pokémon's shadow, and rippling water. But yes, these are the names w got from a magazine. --SnorlaxMonster 01:01, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Occurrence

Has anyone looked into how phenomena occurs? All I've been able to gather so far is that it's step based and has some random element, like normal wild encounters. I don't know if the probability of phenomena occurring increases with more steps or if it's just entirely random though. I'm somewhat wiki retarded, so sorry if the talk page isn't the right place for this, or if it's not formatted well (and if it doesn't belong here, sorry, and certainly delete it). Omfgzergrush 09:14, 16 April 2011 (UTC)

As far as I've experienced, it's entirely random. Sometimes it occurs within a handful of steps, sometimes it occurs after running around for a minute or two. --Zoen 22:04, 16 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm actually fairly sure you don't even need to be moving to trigger it. I left my game sitting for about five minutes only to notice that a patch of grass had started shaking.--Skaisdead (talk) 09:54, 27 January 2013 (UTC)

Encounter List

I noticed somebody's just copied the horribly incomplete encounter list from the beginning of the guide. I don't know how to insert it in the article, but here's a full one: Bluesun 17:01, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

Method
Found in pre-credits areas -- Found only in post-credits areas

Walk
Audino Musharna Panpour Pansage Pansear Cincinno Emonga Leafanny Unfheasant Stoutland Sock W/Throw B LilligantW/WhimsicottB Runiclus W/GothitelleB -- Gliscor Tyranitar Wigglytuff Ninetales Crobat Tangrowth Clefable Mamoswine Metagross Sunflora Vespiquen MismagiusW/HonchkrowB ButterfreeW/BeedrillB

Surf
Basculin W/Basculin B Alomolola Jellicent Seismitoad Stunfisk -- Buoysel Flowsel Slowpoke Slowbro Slowking Corsola Mantine Lapras Wailmer Wailord Sealeo Walrein Staryu Starmie Seel Dewgong

Fish
Basculin W/Basculin B Feebas Milotic Goldeen Seaking Poliwhirl Poliwrath Politoed Relicanth Gorebyss W/Huntail B Kingler Luvdisc Chinchou Lanturn Seadra Kingdra Lumineon Qwilfish Barboach Whiscash Dratini Dragonair Dragonite Stunfisk -- Shellder Cloyster Carvanha Sharpedo Octillery

Item Encounters

Do the items that you get from the dust clouds differ from cave to cave? Because I've been burning through 450+ Super Repels trying to find one Fire Stone in the Giant Chasm and I've found more than one of every other stone except the Thunderstone and the aforementioned Fire Stone. I've also noticed I've been getting more Leaf Stones and Dusk Stones than the other stones. Porygon-man 22:50, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

That'd be an interesting thing to look into. I've gotten a Sun Stone in Wellspring Cave. I wouldn't be surprised about your theory considering the Pokémon depends on the cave. This'll require some investigating! :P ^★Jo the Marten^★ ಠ_ಠ♥ 22:53, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

I've found every item in dust clouds in every cave, so this discussion is futile. I'm checking per cave right now, but I'm sure that I'm not mistaken here.--Muk-a-matic-Maketh the Muk go round... 23:08, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

Okay, I was running through Giant Chasm just now, and it gave me a Fire Stone in a dust cloud, and a Thunderstone in the next one. >_> Still, I wonder if the chances of getting an item vary from cave to cave or I'm just having bad luck. Porygon-man 23:26, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

I don't know how to add some to the list for dust clouds but they have oval stones in them as well--Ovidkid 05:45, 11 June 2011 (UTC)

Regarding stone appearance rates, I just ran a little experiment. In Wellspring Cave, out of 100 dust clouds, I got 9 stones. However, 6 of these were Everstones, which seems a disproportionately high number (I also got a Sun Stone, Shiny Stone and Moon Stone). So I would suspect that appearance rate does vary between caves. We really need to look at the game data to prove this, though. Bikini Miltank 14:26, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

Could someone add the Moon Stone to the list of Dust Cloud Items?

Because I just got 2 in a row from them.(I'm bad at templating)K THNX BI.--Muk-a-matic-Maketh the Muk go round... 21:16, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

I was reorganizing the table to look like it does on the Cave tile page, and I didn't realize I had removed it. I've fixed my mistake though. ^★Jo the Marten^★ ಠ_ಠ♥ 21:27, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

A question

Does the "possible encounter" of rippling water means it's not fixed that one will face them or does that means that we can only face them on rare chances? Flygonfanno1

Pokémon that are listed are the only ones that appear in rippling water; for example, Frillish is never encountered.--電禅Den Zen 13:39, 2 September 2011 (UTC)

I know that too. My question was what does "Possible encounter" means? Does it mean we may or may not face it at all? Flygonfanno1

Well, when you encounter a Pokémon by any means, unless only one is available, you will encounter one from a list of several Pokémon, hence "possible". However, the Pokémon found by each phenomenon are different in each location (although often some are the same, such as Audino and Basculin). You can see which Pokémon can be found in each location on those location's pages. --SnorlaxMonster 04:53, 3 September 2011 (UTC)

Phenomena distance

From moving around for ages and going through dozens of these, I think it's safe to say that phenomena occur inside of a 9x9 grid around your character, or anywhere within 4 steps horizontally and vertically. This means if you want to get a guaranteed phenomena in grass without having to run through additional grass and risk losing it to an encounter, take 4 steps away from the grass and run parallel to it. This is how I typically level up on Audinos on Route 13. --Zoen 19:21, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

Dust Cloud split for B2W2

Since the shards and the other items are found in separate locations I am thinking of splitting the shards into their own section since they are only found in places like Relic Passage and Reverse Mountain, while the rest are found at other caves.-Tyler53841 (talk) 14:44, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

I think this should be implemented somehow. The current article says that all items can be found in all locations, which is incorrect. Shards are separate from the other items. Jdthebud (talk) 09:25, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

Really? Unfortunately, I haven't managed to play B2W2 yet, so I couldn't double-check it myself when I edited it. But most of the current Gems indicate they should be everywhere (except a few that neglect to mention Dust Clouds at all for B2W2). But the Shards do say they're only in Reversal Mountain and Relic Passage dust clouds. Do Gems really not appear in dust clouds in Reversal Mountain or Relic Passage, or is it only the Shards that have limited locations? Tiddlywinks (talk) 09:39, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

Do we know this for a fact, though? ^★Jo the Marten^★ ಠ_ಠ♥ 09:45, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

I've played the game for a while, and IIRC, only shards are present in those locations, and not in the other ones, and vice versa for the other items. Not sure how to officially verify that though. Jdthebud (talk) 21:59, 11 March 2014 (UTC)

Hmm...for one thing, it'd be nice to have a bit better testimonial than "IIRC". For another, since the Gems do all (mostly) say just "Dust clouds" unqualified for B2W2 at the moment, I'd also like to hear a second person confirm that the Gems don't appear in the locations where the Shards appear. As far as "verifying" it, I'd say that, personally, if I found 50 Shards and no Gems, I'd feel comfortable saying there were no Gems there. Tiddlywinks (talk) 01:56, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

Well I have found hundreds of shards in Relic Passage and nothing else. Can't say that about Reverse Mountain, though, since Relic Passage is where I do my Shard farming. Jdthebud (talk) 05:23, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

That's pretty solid testimony. Reverse Mountain should definitely be checked before changing anything (or claiming the same for it). If I'm going to change anything, I'd like someone to corroborate it first, but to be honest I'm not gonna tell you you can't change it yourself if you're convinced (preferably after you've checked Reverse Mountain a bit, that is). Tiddlywinks (talk) 10:05, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

Steelix

I added Steelix but the BW2 list edge is messed up. Someone please fix it. Shepeedy (talk) 17:22, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Walking with a partner

I've noticed that entering a phenomenon spot when an NPC is following you will trigger a double battle with Pokemon that are exclusive to the phenomenon. In Black 2, I encountered a wild double battle with two Excadrill as Bianca was following me. They very well could have been the exact same Pokemon, as they were both level 34 male. I'm not sure if this happens in BW. Is this worth noting anywhere? --Skaisdead (talk) 09:47, 27 January 2013 (UTC)

Mistake in Dust Clouds BW2 list

The list of available items in "Dust Clouds" for BW2 shows that only 14 out of 17 gems (missing bug, fighting and ice) and 9 out of 10 evolution stones (missing water stone) are possible to find. This is incorrect, after "hunting" for an hour to check it I have found all of the missing gems (bug, ice, fighting) but I couldn't find water stone so I am not sure about this one. I will change the list right now but without adding water stone, I would be very glad if somebody confirm if water stone is available or not. --Jasza676 (talk) 16:20, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

Phenomena occurences

Can we get someone to confirm for sure whether Phenomena spawns are time-based or step-based? I've seen both opinions and it would be useful infomation for people who need dust clouds, because if it is time based then there is no reason to spend cash on repels. Whitsoxrule (talk) 20:26, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

They're step based. --It's Funktastic~!_{話してください} 20:29, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

I know this was a couple months ago, but I just wanted to confirm it. I proced a Phenomena (using steps) and then left the game running for about 24 hours, it didn't go away. Walking back and forth in front of a couple patches of grass I can create one about every 120 secs or so. With no Phenomena nearby, I stood in the middle of a bunch of grass and left the game running for another 24 hours, when I came back there was no new Phenomena. Thus, can't be just time based as if they had appeared they wouldn't have gone away. Also, after creating almost 50x Phenomena over a couple hours, I can also confirm that they appear within an 11x11 grid around you. I think that this kind of information should be included on the main page, rather than people having to dig through the discussion section for it. Degrelecence (talk) 04:39, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

EDIT: I also forgot to mention, that using an emulator I proved (using save states) that the encounter is determined when the Phenomena is created, not once it is entered (not that it matters). Degrelecence (talk) 04:43, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

I thought rippling water Pokemon only appeared with the fishing rod?

But it says it works with surfing too? --Phoenixon (talk) 15:25, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

When the ripples appear, you can surf into them, or fish in them. --It's Funktastic~!_{話してください} 15:50, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

Gen VI Phenomena

So, since there's no mention on the main page, I figured I'd put some info here for whoever updates it.

• Kalos Route 6: Rustling bushes, where you can encounter either Venipede or Audino. Personally, I have yet to see this, but it's mentioned on the three linked pages.
• Glittering Cave: In the second room, the one where you meet Team Flare for the first time, Pokémon can drop down from the ceiling. So far, I've encountered Woobat and Ferroseed this way.

Tilde Tilde Tilde Tilde Omega Metroid (talk) 21:08, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

Data for dust cloud rates in BW

I spent a combined 5 hours or more running around inside Twist Mountain and recording what came out of dust clouds. I encountered 482 dust clouds, of which 201 were Drilbur, 245 were gems, and 36 were stones. As rates, those numbers come to (rounded to the nearest percent) 42%, 51%, and 7%; it's probably fairly safe to round those further to an even 40/50/10 split.

To be specific, I found 10, 10, 15, 10, 16, 13, 20, 16, 20, 9, 17, 23, 20, 10, 13, 13, and 10 of the gems (in alphabetical order if anyone cares to match them up) and 7, 0, 3, 6, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 7, 2, 2 of the stones (Everstone, Hard Stone, the elemental stones alphabetically, and lastly Oval Stone). A few of the gems stand out a bit, but it could reasonably be the quirk of overall randomness, still. The stones are a slightly different matter, with most being 2 or 3 and then a few (Everstone, Dusk Stone, Thunderstone) being twice as much. It could be randomness still - I think this is a fairly small sample size of stones to try to decently figure their distribution - or it could, as someone suggested above, be influenced by where I was. I don't know that I'll ever check out all possible caves, though, to see if the numbers look significantly different/patterned. And of course I didn't get a single Hard Stone; I may yet ride around until I get one, but it's fairly tedious (and rare)... Anywho, for now, with that smallish sample size, I wouldn't want to draw any conclusions about individual stones.

Interestingly, I encountered nearly twice as many lv28 Drilbur as I did the other levels (so 40/20/20/20 for lv28...31; give or take moderate rounding off). I don't think it's really worth mentioning on the page, but it definitely stands out in the data (which is 73, 43, 39, 46).

Lastly, I also used 393 Max Repels during my search, amounting to 98,250 steps. That's roughly 500 dust clouds in roughly 100,000 steps, giving a phenomenon rate of half a percent (0.5% or 0.005). But that's also in a confined space, where not every square had a chance of producing a phenomenon; but at the same time, it's a bit of a problem that multiple squares did have a chance, which may not extrapolate well to every location. Plus, I didn't run into each dust cloud the next step after it formed, so I "wasted" some steps. I don't know if that would bring it up to 1%... But either way, I plan to do a more solid test of phenomenon rate anyways. Tiddlywinks (talk) 03:44, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

Veekun has similar data for encounters, given the dust cloud yields a Pokémon. It doesn't consider items though. --SnorlaxMonster 10:49, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

Why the split entry for unfezant male and female?

Is it considered to be form difference or something? Also,in dragonspiral tower's entrance,the rustling grass' data for unfezant's encounter rate shows 5% for its female in B/W,while in B2/W2 dragonspiral tower's outside area,it says unfezant male's encounter rate is 5%. In most pages they would just show 2.5% rate for each gender. Is there a reason to all of this? Fiky f (talk) 00:04, 2 April 2016 (UTC)

In other generations?

I would like to ask why there is no mentioning of Gen VI and VII games in this page? As stated from the Gen VI page, the mechanic wasn't abandoned from Gen V. X and Y featured a different twist to dust clouds as well as Sun and Moon's twist to the rustling grass wherein both of them approaches the player to enter a battle. Also, the page generally states that it is a different means of encountering wild Pokémon. So why not add them? Aren't they similar even though they added a new twist to them? ----AwesomeDJPokémon 16:31, 20 December 2016 (UTC)

I think it would be worthwhile creating an "Ambush encounters" page for Sun and Moon. I think there is a difference between these two methods, in that ambush encounters attack you, whereas you specifically walk into phenomena. The dust clouds and shadows in XY would be worthwhile noting on the "Ambush encounters" page, I think. --SnorlaxMonster 16:37, 20 December 2016 (UTC)

Ok. I think that could work for those encounters that ambushes the player but what about the other encounters that don't ambush the player like X and Y's ceiling shadow and Sun and Moon's flying Pokémon shadow. Should they be mentioned in the page? ----AwesomeDJPokémon 17:05, 20 December 2016 (UTC)

According to this edit, the guidebook still calls those ambush encounters in Sun and Moon. --SnorlaxMonster 18:21, 20 December 2016 (UTC)

So, what's the difference between Gen V's flying Pokémon shadow from Sun and Moon's flying Pokémon shadow aside from it moving around and X and Y's ceiling shadow? Because from what I saw from the walkthroughs I've been watching is that Sun and Moon's shadow only moves around and does not follow/ambush the player. The only time the encounter turns into battle is when the player approaches the shadow or when the shadow randomly gets too close (not follow) to the (immobilize) player. X and Y's ceiling Pokémon shadow doesn't move like Gen V and can only turn into battle once it is stepped one. ----AwesomeDJPokémon 18:59, 20 December 2016 (UTC)

It's not a question of what the difference is (or even whether there is one). The question is what the official term is. If Game Freak decides to give the same mechanic two different official terms in different generations, that's their prerogative. Our job is just to document canon, not fix its mistakes. Pumpkinking0192 (talk) 22:22, 20 December 2016 (UTC)

Then someone should probably create an Ambush Encounters page and include a "See Also" section on Phenomenon that links to it.Me, Hurray! (talk) 23:20, 21 December 2016 (UTC)

I was going to ask the same question and found this discussion, so I'll be working on the "Ambush encounters" page in my userspace. TepiGreninja (talk) 16:38, 23 December 2016 (UTC)

Repels

I think that It bypasses repels, but I’m not sure. Can someone either put it on here or tell me It doesn’t? CoupleODragons (talk) 19:16, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

Using a Repel does not prevent wild Pokémon from being encountered in a phenomenon. That's in the second paragraph. Nescientist (talk) 19:36, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

Disambiguation

Should we make a disambiguation page for "Phenomenon"? A search for "phenomenon" currently leads to this article, but I feel like people might search the term looking for the Bond Phenomenon, Illumina phenomenon, Terastal phenomenon, etc. I still think a search for "phenomenon" should lead here, but we can add a link to the disambiguation page at the top. Thoughts? Landfish7 06:02, 15 January 2023 (UTC)

I doubt it'll be a whole lot of users typing in "phenomenon" and looking for Bond/Illumina/Terastal, honestly. (And if the use case is "I wanna learn about that phenomenon I forget the exact name of", using the "Search" option during the search would help.)

Anyway, I'm not really against your proposal, particularly if I'm the one whose estimation is off. Nescientist (talk) 12:31, 15 January 2023 (UTC)

We might be able to get away with a new category for the specific phenomenon people could be searching for (Category:Phenomenon?), and linking it via {{Redirect}} like what's seen at the top of Mega Evolution. ^Maverick_Nate 13:04, 15 January 2023 (UTC)

Incidentally, Mega Evolution also fits this category of Pokémon transformation phemonena, as it too has been described as a phenomenon. Interesting how frequently that specific term is used for these prominent transformation game mechanics. Landfish7 15:27, 12 July 2024 (UTC)