Trainer data structure (Generation II)

This article is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: How is each Trainer structure called from the list?

The Trainer data structure in Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions and Pokémon Crystal Version is the format used by the game to store Trainers Pokémon parties. All Trainers are in the same list and use the same base structure, with some controlled variations described below. In Gold & Silver this list begins at memory address 0x0399C2, and in Crystal it begins at 0x039A1F. Unlike most other data structures, Trainer entries can vary in size. One byte is designated to indicated which structure type is used.

The Structure

Trainer Data
Section Type 0 Type 1 Type 2 Type 3
Name string 1-8 bytes
String terminator 0x50
Structure Byte 0x00 0x01 0x02 0x03
Level 1 byte
Species index number 1 byte
Item index number - - 1 byte 1 byte
Moves by index number - 4 bytes - 4 bytes
Entry terminator 0xFF

Name

Trainer names are stored as encoded string of up to 8 bytes. Name strings are terminated by a single byte set to 0x50. This prevents characters like "B" (which is encoded as 0x01) from being interpreted incorrectly. The rival's name is represented by a single byte set to 0xE6.

Structure Byte

This byte indicates which structure format will follow and thus what features the Trainer can possess. Regardless of the structure type, all trainers will have a minimum of 2 bytes per Pokemon to indicate their level and species.

Structure 0x00 only allows a Trainer's Pokémon to have the default moveset for their level and no items. Most Trainers use this structure.

Structure 0x01 allows for a Trainer's Pokémon to have custom moves, typically TMs or moves they can learn at a lower level. The players rival, all Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the Champion, Red, and some typical Trainers use this structure.

Structure 0x02 allows for a Trainer's Pokémon to have Held items but only the default moveset for their level. Few Trainers use this structure.

Structure 0x03 allows for held items and custom movesets. Almost no Trainers use this structure.

Pokémon

For each Pokémon in their team, a Trainer will have one byte for the Pokémon's level and one byte for the Pokémon's index number, in that order. Type 0x01 Trainers have 4 extra bytes per Pokémon for their movesets. Each move is denoted by its index number. Blank move slots are represented with 0x00. Type 0x02 Trainers instead have one extra byte per Pokémon for the index number of their held item. Type 0x03 Trainers have all 5 extra bytes per Pokémon, with the item preceding their moveset.

Terminator

This is a single byte set to 0xFF which tells the processor to stop reading data.

Related articles

This game-related article is a stub. You can help Bulbapedia by expanding it.
Data structure in the Pokémon games
General Character encoding
Generation I Pokémon species • Pokémon • Poké Mart • Character encoding (Stadium) • Save
Generation II Pokémon species • Pokémon • • Character encoding (Stadium • Korean) • Save
Generation III Pokémon species (Evolution • Pokédex • Type chart)
Pokémon (substructures) • Move • Contest • Contest move • Item
Trainer Tower • Battle Frontier • Character encoding (GameCube) • Save
Generation IV Pokémon species (Evolution • Learnsets)
Pokémon • Save • Character encoding (Wii)
Generation V–present Character encoding
Generation VIII Save
TCG GB and GB2 Character encoding
This data structure article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.
This article is issued from Bulbapedia. The text is available under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.