@everyone
Over the last few days, things have been moving fast with the Pokémon Showdown integration. As of now, wild battles have been fully ported and we've begun internal testing and PvP and NPC battle code finished as well for 1v1 batles (no tests yet).
The plan is to release this alongside replay and spectate functionality, with coop and multi battles included in phase 1 if time allows, or following shortly after in phase 2. On top of that, battle reconnection will finally be possible — no more losing a battle because your connection dropped.
For those wondering about Expeditions — we've decided to prioritise the Showdown integration first. Since Expeditions will also make use of coop battles, completing Showdown first means we avoid having to rewrite Expedition battles later and ultimately makes the Expedition experience even better. Imagine doing Expeditions with your friends in a 2v2 battle against wild pokemon or NPCs.
This is still a work in progress and we could hit roadblocks along the way, but as things stand right now, I'm very confident in the direction this is heading. Once complete, this also means full support for Ditto, Shedinja, and all the other gimmick mechanics you've been asking about — all backed by the most powerful Pokémon battle engine out there.
We'll be expanding our testing team soon to help move things along, I will open a formal application but if you are interested to help with showdown testing, have interest in battling mechanics and active in PBO for a long time, you might be fast-tracked to the testing team.
Just drop me a message if interested.
Best regards,
Snakes
Team Pokémon Blaze Online