Time
Time is a major component of all Pokémon games starting with Generation II, which affects, among other things, the evolution of Pokémon, the effectiveness of certain moves, and even, sometimes, what Pokémon can be found in the wild. It even affects certain events, which may only take place at a specific time of day, or on a specific day of the week. Berries are also governed by the time, maturing after a certain amount of it has passed. Much like weather conditions, the time function in the games was revisited in each subsequent generation after its release.
Generation II
In Generation II, the changing time of day was a highly touted feature for the games; several Pokémon were even designed with this in mind, such as Hoothoot and Noctowl, while others would only appear in certain areas at certain times of day.
At the beginning of all three games, the clock would be set upon starting a new game, even before the player is named. The default time is 10:00 AM. The clock can be reset through a code in Pokémon Gold and Silver, but not in Pokémon Crystal, and the player's mother will change the clock by an hour for Daylight Savings Time.
Times of day
Morning
Morning, an hour in which many Pokémon Trainers are still asleep, is when there are many Template:Type2 Pokémon scurrying out and about. For the most part, however, Morning is much the same as Day, as far as move effectiveness and Pokémon distribution goes. Morning lasts from 4:00 AM to 9:59 AM, and the rising sun tints the entire landscape with a yellowish hue.
Day
The daytime is the busiest time in the Pokémon world, as most people are up and about at this time. The same is true of Pokémon, who appear often and in many varieties. The landscape is not tinted at all during this time, making it seem closer to the timeless games of Generation I. Day lasts from 10:00 AM to 5:59 PM.
Night
A drastic change from the other two time periods, at night most Pokémon are sleeping, with the exception of a few night owls. It is at this time that players will be able to find the most sleeping Pokémon by Headbutting trees, which will give them an advantage in battle. The entire world will be colored a bluish-purple, and lights will be on in buildings all over. The longest of Generation II's three time periods, nighttime hours last from 6:00 PM to 3:59 AM. Eevee was given two new evolutions to take advantage of the changing time: Espeon, which it would become if its Happiness maxed out during the morning or day, and Umbreon, which it would become if its Happiness maxed during the night.
Days of the week
- Main article: Days of the week
When the PokéGear is first received, the player's mother will ask him or her to set the day of the week as well. This affects several things, such as the National Park's Bug-Catching Contest and which of the Week Siblings appears, though not much else.
Generation III
Unlike Generation II, Generation III had no separate time periods, or even an ability to check the time in-game unless the player traveled all the way back to Littleroot Town, where they had set an analog clock at the beginning of the game. Also unlike Generation II, the time-based events were very few and extremely far between, with the clock mostly running to keep track of the growth of planted berries (although this was not completely foolproof).
Additionally, for no apparent reason, there is no way to change the clock for Daylight Savings Time in this generation. There was, however, some premise in the games. For example, Shoal Cave's water level would change every six hours, at 3:00 and 9:00 AM and PM. Just the same, Eevee would be able to evolve into Espeon if the in-game time was between 12:00 PM and 11:59 PM. Eevee would also be able to evolve into Umbreon if the in-game time was between 12:00 AM and 11:59 AM.
Although a small part of the game, some event occur on the 24 hour basis. Lilycove Dept. Store gives out lottery tickets, with the winning number changing daily. An old man who lives in Pacifidlog Town looks out for Mirage Island, and will, every day, generate a random number between 0 and 65535 and if this number matches the personality value of any of the Pokémon in the party, Mirage Island will appear in the game.
In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, however, the time function is completely absent, allowing it to be more like the Generation I games. This also makes it impossible for Eevee to evolve into either Espeon or Umbreon in these games. The same holds true for Pokémon Colosseum and XD, where Espeon and Umbreon are obtainable by other means.
The loss of such an important feature from Generation II was somewhat controversial but, for the most part, not discussed. When the next generation of games was announced, however, many fans hoped to see the return of the classic time system.
Generation IV
In Generation IV, the time function returned fully, to the joy of many. This time, however, it would run off of the Nintendo DS's system clock, though it would return many of the functions originally released in Generation II. Many new Pokémon also now would evolve based upon the time of day, though not like Eevee would; that is, having a different evolution for each time period. Instead, they would evolve only during the time period specified.
The three time periods from Generation II return, with better transitions between them, once dubbed as different time periods themselves. Also running off of the DS's clock is the same day-of-the-week function from the Generation II games, though this time, by running off of the DS, it keeps track of the date of capture of every Pokémon. It also determines when certain events may take place; for example, Drifloon only appear in the Valley Windworks on Fridays, and rival battles in the Battle Zone only may be initiated on weekends.
The Pokédex also has a new function that displays where Pokémon are found in each time period. When it is first opened, the Pokédex will also default to the current time of day.
Times of day
Morning
Morning tints everything a pale blue color, changing from dark blue of night into bright blue of daytime. Morning lasts from 4:00 AM to 9:59 AM.
Day
Everything takes on its natural color during the day. Day lasts from 10:00 AM to 7:59 PM, with twilight lasting from around 5:00 PM until night sets in.
Night
Much like its Generation II counterpart, the world is dark, but pockmarked by the bright lights of buildings. Night lasts from 8:00 PM to 3:59 AM, with lights in buildings turning off at 12:00 midnight. The vast majority of areas have slightly different music during the night, including Pokémon Centers.
