calculating speed in pokémon champions

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Speed is hugely important in competitive Pokémon. Most crucially, Pokémon (generally) attack in speed order, fastest to slowest, so speed often determines whether a Pokémon will have an opportunity to attack before getting knocked out. Speed also determines the switching order and the ability activation order, which in turn affects which field effects (e.g. weather and terrain) and stat changes end up in play. (These are the kinds of things that swing battles!)

Here are some notes on speed calculations in Pokémon Champions.

contents

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• the formula: quick overview of the formula used to calculate stats in Pokémon Champions
• a rule of thumb: a heuristic to think about speed — stat alignment matters more for faster Pokémon
• algorithms: quick steps to calculate minimum/maximum speed on the fly
• common speed stats: tables of speed stats for common base speeds

the formula

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Like all other Pokémon stats, the actual speed stat of a Pokémon is dependent on three things.

Level is based on how many experience points you have. This matters in playthroughs, but not in competitive Pokémon — all Pokémon are auto-leveled to level 50. (No, you can't bring your level 100 Mewtwo against your opponent's level 1 Ratatta.)

Base stats are the stats a Pokémon gets for being a particular species of Pokémon. Your Pikachu, as special as it is, has the same base stats as every other Pikachu.

Training consists of all the things you, the player, can alter. In Champions, there are only two things to consider: stat points (SP) and stat alignment. You get 66 SP total, and you can invest a maximum of 32 SP in any one stat to "train" that stat. Then you get to choose a stat alignment, which either (i) does nothing, or (ii) gives one stat a $10\%$ boost and another stat a $10\%$ nerf.

Pokémon Champions uses a Pokémon's base speed stat, SP, and stat alignment to calculate speed using the following formula.¹

$$\text{stat} = \lfloor (\text{base} + \text{SP} + 20)\times \text{alignment}\rfloor$$

The $\text{stat}$, $\text{base}$, and $\text{SP}$ are all pretty straightforward, and $\text{alignment}$ is $1.1$ for a speed-boosting stat alignment, $1$ for a speed-neutral stat alignment, and $0.9$ for a speed-hindering stat alignment.

algorithms

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Here are some practical steps you can use to calculate a Pokémon's minimum/maximum speed on the fly. There's nothing fancy going on here — we're just plugging the base speed into the formula — but I find it much easier (and faster!) to go through a list of steps, as opposed to trying to remember the whole formula.

min speed

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(0 SP, hindering stat alignment)

1. Compute $x = \text{base speed} + 20$
2. Divide $x$ by $10$. (Move the decimal point to the left by one place.)
3. Truncate. (Drop all digits after the decimal point.)
4. Subtract this value from $x$.

max speed

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(32 SP, boosting stat alignment)

1. Compute $x = \text{base speed} + 52$
2. Divide $x$ by $10$. (Move the decimal point to the left by one place.)
3. Truncate. (Drop all digits after the decimal point.)
4. Add this value back to $x$.

(To calculate minimum/maximum speed with a speed-neutral stat alignment, skip steps 2-4.)

example

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What's Gholdengo's minimum speed?

1. We compute $x = 84+20 = 104$. This is Gholdengo's minimum speed with a speed-neutral stat alignment.
2. Now, we divide $x$ by $10$ to get $10.4$.
3. We drop everything after the decimal point to get $10$.
4. Subtracting from $x$, we get $104-10 = 94$. This is Gholdengo's minimum speed with a hindering stat alignment.

a rule of thumb

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But it takes mental effort to calculate speeds mid-game, and you'd rather spend that effort on the battle itself. I use the following heuristic to think about speed more loosely in-game.

The faster the Pokémon, the more points stat alignment is worth. This is because stat alignment contributes a $\pm10\%$ change to a Pokémon's speed, but how many points that $10\%$ is depends on how fast the Pokémon was to begin with. For example, a Pokémon with 140 speed gains 14 points for a boosting nature, while a Pokémon with 60 speed only gains 6 points.

Combine this with the fact that speedy Pokémon often depend on their speed to get things done, and we arrive at the fact that stat alignment matters more at the higher end of the speed spectrum (>100 base speed). In this range, hindering/boosting stat alignment is "worth" ~15-18 speed in each direction. This is part of why people care so much about the stat alignment¹ for fast, offensive Pokémon — a boosting nature can allow a naturally² slower Pokémon get the jump on a faster one using a different stat alignment. Here's a concrete example: with maximum speed investment, Jolly Mega Staraptor (base 110 speed) has a speed stat of 178, always outspeeding Adamant Sneasler (base 120 speed) which can only hit a maximum speed of 172.

common speed stats

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It can also be useful to know common speed stats, some of which I've listed here.

Base 20 - Literal Turtles

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Torkoal, Mega Sableye, Mega Camerupt

Minimum (hindering alignment)	Minimum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (boosting alignment)
36	40	72	79

Base 60 - Slow Support Friends, TailRoom Sweepers

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Incineroar, Grimmsnarl, Clefable, Farigiraf, Sylveon, Primarina, Aegislash, Empoleon

Minimum (hindering alignment)	Minimum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (boosting alignment)
72	80	112	123

Base 85 - Slightly Awkward Middle Ground

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Archaludon, Ceruledge, Kommo-o, Hisuian Samurott

Minimum (hindering alignment)	Minimum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (boosting alignment)
94	105	137	150

Base 100 - Everyone and Their Mother

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Charizard (all forms), Mega Gardevoir, Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Blaziken, Mega Dragonite, Volcarona, Staraptor (base), Palafin (all forms)

Minimum (hindering alignment)	Minimum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (boosting alignment)
108	120	152	167

Base 120 - The Speedy Ones

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Sneasler, Mega Froslass, Mega Starmie, Alakazam

Minimum (hindering alignment)	Minimum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (boosting alignment)
126	140	172	189

Base 130 - Zoomers

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Aerodactyl (base), Jolteon, Mega Raichu Y

Minimum (hindering alignment)	Minimum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (neutral alignment)	Maximum (boosting alignment)
135	150	182	200

footnotes

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1. 1

   The formula a direct copy of the main-line game formula at level 50 and maximum IVs, which is where the $+20$ comes from. It also applies to all other non-HP stats.

2. 2

   i.e., with respect to base speed.