Pokémon Showdown

Navigation: Website | Server repository | Client repository | Dex repository

Introduction

Pokémon Showdown is many things:

• A web site you can use for Pokémon battling

  • http://pokemonshowdown.com/

• A JavaScript library for simulating Pokémon battles and getting Pokédex data

  • sim/README.md

• Some command-line tools for simulating Pokémon battles (which can be used in non-JavaScript programs)

  • COMMANDLINE.md

• A web API for the web site for Pokémon battling

  • pokemon-showdown-client: WEB-API.md

• A game server for hosting your own Pokémon Showdown community and game modes

  • server/README.md

Pokémon Showdown simulates singles, doubles and triples battles in all the games out so far (Generations 1 through 9).

Documentation quick links

• PROTOCOL.md - How the client and server communicate with each other.
• sim/SIM-PROTOCOL.md - The part of the protocol used for battles and battle messages.
• CONTRIBUTING.md - Useful code standards to understand if you want to send pull requests to PS (not necessary if you're just using the code and not planning to contribute back).
• ARCHITECTURE.md - A high-level overview of how the code works.
• Bot FAQ - An FAQ compiled by Kaiepi regarding making Pokemon Showdown bots - mainly chatbots and battle bots.

Community

PS has a built-in chat service. Join our main server to talk to us!

You can also visit the Pokémon Showdown forums for discussion and help.

If you'd like to contribute to programming and don't know where to start, feel free to check out Ideas for New Developers.

Modernization

This repository has been modernized with the following enhancements:

• Runtime: Using Bun instead of Node.js for improved performance
• TypeScript: Enhanced strict TypeScript configuration for better type safety
  • Added strict null checks, unused variables/parameters detection
  • Enforces proper type initialization
• Code Quality:
  • Added Prettier for consistent code formatting
  • Implemented Husky for git hooks to automatically format code on commit
• Development Workflow:
  • Improved build process with better error handling
  • Added CLAUDE.md for workflow configuration

To use these new features:

• Install Bun: curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
• Install dependencies: bun install
• Build the project: bun run build
• Start the server: bun ./pokemon-showdown start
• Format code: bun run format

License

Pokémon Showdown's server is distributed under the terms of the MIT License.

Credits

Owner

• Guangcong Luo [Zarel] - Development, Design, Sysadmin

Staff

• Andrew Werner [HoeenHero] - Development
• Annika L. [Annika] - Development
• Chris Monsanto [chaos] - Development, Sysadmin
• Kris Johnson [dhelmise] - Development
• Leonard Craft III [DaWoblefet] - Research (game mechanics)
• Mathieu Dias-Martins [Marty-D] - Research (game mechanics), Development
• Mia A [Mia] - Development

Contributors

• See http://pokemonshowdown.com/credits