verify-pokemon

name	verify-pokemon
description	Verify a Pokemon's configuration in pokemonConfig.js by testing its moves and abilities in Discord via Playwright CLI. Use when validating a Pokemon's battle behavior after configuration changes.

Verify Pokemon Configuration via Playwright CLI

Verify a Pokemon's moves and abilities work correctly by giving yourself the Pokemon, entering a battle, and testing each move/ability in Discord.

Prerequisites

• Read the /verify-discord skill first — it covers bot startup, opening Discord, entering commands, and interacting with UI components. This skill builds on that workflow.

Planning

Before starting, read the Pokemon's config in src/config/pokemonConfig.js and determine what needs testing:

1. Moves — Look up the Pokemon's moveIds. Only do a "deeper" test of moves implemented specifically for this Pokemon. Previously-existing moves just need a basic smoke test (use once, confirm it works without error).

2. Abilities — Check the Pokemon's abilities field. If it doesn't have one, abilities come from data/pokemonData.json via buildAbilityMap(). To guarantee the ability you want to test, temporarily override the abilities field:

   abilities: {
     [abilityIdEnum.ABILITY_NAME]: 1,
   },
   

   Revert this after testing — see "Tracking temporary edits" below.

3. Probability overrides — If a move or ability has a probabilistic secondary effect (e.g. Static's 50% paralysis chance), temporarily set the probability to 1 (or 0 to disable) in the source code so testing is deterministic. Find the implementation in:

   • src/config/battleConfig.js — legacy moves and abilities (look for battle.rng() comparisons or probability values)
   • src/battle/data/moves.js — new moves (look for probability fields in genericApplyAllStatus calls or similar)
   • src/battle/data/abilities.js — new abilities
   • src/battle/data/effects.js — probabilistic branches inside effect implementations (some abilities/moves only roll their dice via the effect they apply)
   • src/battle/data/heldItems.js — held-item triggers with battle.rng() checks

   Revert these changes after testing — see "Tracking temporary edits" below.

4. Ability trigger conditions — Read the ability implementation to understand what triggers it. Plan which NPC to fight based on what conditions the ability needs.

Tracking temporary edits

Both the abilities override (step 2) and probability overrides (step 3) leave time-bombed edits in the source tree that must be reverted before the work is committed. Use this lightweight tracking discipline:

1. Capture a baseline diff. Before making any temporary edit, run:

   git diff src/config/pokemonConfig.js src/config/battleConfig.js src/battle/data/
   

   Save the output. This is your "expected" diff (it should contain only the legitimate Pokemon/move/ability/effect/held-item additions you're verifying — anything add-pokemon and friends produced).

2. Add a TODO per temp edit. When you make a temporary edit, immediately add a TODO via the TodoWrite tool with a description like:

   Revert temp ability override on pokemonIdEnum.LUCARIO in src/config/pokemonConfig.js

   One TODO per edit. Mark it in_progress until reverted, then completed.

3. Revert before cleanup. Use StrReplace to put each line back exactly as it was. Do not rely on memory — re-read the file after each revert.

4. Verify against baseline. At cleanup time (step 7), re-run the same git diff command and compare against the captured baseline. They must match exactly. Any extra lines = an unreverted temp edit; track it down before stopping.

NPC Selection Strategy

Choose the NPC based on what you're testing:

Test goal	NPC	Difficulty	Why
Moves deal damage / work correctly	bugCatcher	veryEasy	Weak enemies, easy to one-shot, fast battles
Enemy needs to attack you (e.g. trigger ability on taking damage)	blackBelt	hard	Fighting types use physical moves
Enemy needs to use special moves on you	red	veryHard	Strong special attackers
Pokemon needs to faint or take heavy damage	red	veryHard	High-level enemies deal significant damage

You don't have to test everything in one battle. If you wipe out all enemies, just start a new /pve battle — no need to finish the current one first.

Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Setup (one-time)

Start the bot and open Discord per the /verify-discord skill.

2. Give yourself the Pokemon

/give pokemonid: <species_id> level: 100

Level 100 is preferred so your Pokemon goes first (higher speed) and makes testing faster. Note the instance ID from the bot response (a hex string like 69dc58590c01b3edd2bc70df), not the species ID.

Verify the ability shown in the response matches the one you want to test. If it doesn't, check that you set the abilities override correctly and restart the bot.

3. Set up your party

Clear the party and add your Pokemon:

/party remove option: ALL
/party add name_or_id: <instance_id>

If testing an ability or move that involves allies, repeat the give + party add steps for additional Pokemon.

4. Start a battle

/pve npcid: <npc> difficulty: <difficulty>

See the NPC Selection Strategy above. Not all NPCs support all difficulties — if you get "Difficulty doesn't exist", try a different one.

5. Navigate the battle UI

The battle UI uses an embed with buttons and select menus:

• "Select a move" — dropdown to pick a move
• "Select a target" — dropdown to pick a target (appears after selecting a move)
• "Next Turn" — button to advance through enemy turns (appears when it's not your turn)
• "Teams" / "⚔️ Moves" / "🔄 Refresh" — info/utility buttons

The test user has auto-confirm enabled, so selecting a target immediately executes the move — there is no "⚔️ Confirm" step.

Using a move

1. Click "Select a move" → snapshot [role='listbox'] → click the desired move option
2. Click "Select a target" → snapshot [role='listbox'] → click the desired target option (the move executes immediately)
3. Wait ~3 seconds, then snapshot the last message to read the battle log

Letting enemies attack

When it's an enemy's turn, a "Next Turn" button appears instead of move selection. Click it repeatedly to advance through enemy turns. The battle log text updates to show what each enemy did.

6. What to verify

Moves

For each move, verify:

• The move executes without error (no bot crash — check the bot terminal)
• The battle log shows the expected behavior (damage dealt, status applied, buff/debuff effects, etc.)
• Moves on cooldown show [COOLDOWN N] in the move list

Abilities

For abilities, verify:

• The ability is listed in the Pokemon's info when given
• The trigger condition activates the ability (e.g. for "on physical damage taken" abilities, let an enemy use a physical move on you)
• The battle log shows the ability name firing (e.g. "Pikachu's Static affects Hitmonlee!")
• The ability's effect is applied (paralysis, stat change, healing, etc.)

7. Cleanup

1. Revert all temporary edits. Walk the TODO list from "Tracking temporary edits" — every revert TODO must be completed. Use StrReplace to undo each change.

2. Verify against the baseline diff. Re-run:

   git diff src/config/pokemonConfig.js src/config/battleConfig.js src/battle/data/
   

   Compare against the baseline captured before testing. They must match exactly. If extra hunks remain, find and revert them now.

3. DO NOT commit until the diff matches. This is a hard guard — if the diff still contains probability overrides, ability overrides, or any other temp edit, fix it before stopping. Only the legitimate add-pokemon / add-move / add-ability additions should remain.

4. Stop the bot and browser:

   playwright-cli -s=main close
   

   Kill the node src/index.js process.

Tips

• Read the battle log in the message text area (the generic node under the bot's heading). It contains all move/ability/damage info for the current turn.
• If a [role='listbox'] ref goes stale between snapshot and click, just re-snapshot and use the new ref.
• Snapshot "[data-list-id='chat-messages'] li:last-of-type" --depth=5 to see the full current battle state including buttons.
• The battle embed shows HP percentages on the grid (e.g. 100%, 60%) and lists active effects.
• If the bot crashes during testing, check the terminal output for errors, fix the issue, restart the bot, and continue.
• Status moves (String Shot, Harden) don't deal damage — they won't trigger "on damage taken" abilities like Static.
• Physical vs special matters for some abilities: check damageType in battleConfig.js move definitions to know which moves are physical.