ASB Reffing Tower [Updated Aug 2016]

[Greyfox]

The ASB Reffing Tower


Welcome to the Reffing Tower: a vital part of the ASB community. If you are an approved ASBer and you want to earn points as an official ref, then look at the mock battle below and try it out! You can also try out as a contest judge: more information is below. Here you may request a ref, offer your services, keep your ref record up to date and apply for a position. All other information is below, but if there is anything else you want to know, PM a Head Ref and we'll help you out.


What Are Referees?
A referee is the person who interprets the attacks made by all battlers and decides exactly what effect they have, before writing out a descriptive piece detailing the battle. Referees have the power to decide who wins a battle, and are therefore entrusted with great responsibility. As a referee, you are expected to be unbiased and consistent.


Reffing A Battle
While reffing a battle, you are required to give a description of how you see each attack panning out. This gives the referee a lot of freedom to write creatively, and the battlers the freedom to be far more strategic and clever in their battle plans than the games ever do. And because of this, you will often see many attacks interpreted differently by different referees, in different situations. It is perfectly acceptable that you ref your attacks differently than others would, as long as it remains unbiased, consistent and logical.

The most important factor when reffing, is to remember what game you are playing. This is ASB, not Pokemon Red, Gold or Sapphire. Damage should never be pre-calculated; attacks do not have set amounts of damage. When an attack is used, you should take into account things such as accuracy of the attack (whether it hit full on, or just brushed the opponent) and the type of the opponent (water attacks do more damage to fire types, etc.).

If you are at any time unsure of how to ref an attack, look at the ASB Movelist for a good guide. However this is merely a guide and does not have to be followed exactly.

Another important thing to know about is "damage caps." It is generally recommended that ASB refs apply a 30-50% damage cap during all normal battles (unless the battlers request it be removed). The most widely used value is 40%. A damage cap simply means that a pokémon cannot receive more than that set amount of damage in one round, regardless of any and all circumstances. Damage caps are completely omitted in events such as Gym Leader/Tourney battles.

If you receive complaints about your reffing, you are expected to explain your actions to the battlers, so that everybody knows where they stand. If as a battler, you feel a ref’s explanation is biased, or unfair, report to one of the Head Refs who will sort the issue out and have the final say.


The Reffing Tower
The Reffing Tower is where you come to become an approved ref. The difference between an approved ref and an unapproved ref is quite simple: an approved ref gets extra rewards for their reffing. Therefore, you can choose to be an unapproved ref and gain the same amount of points from a battle that an approved ref gains but you will not get extra awards and may be at risk of being fired due to poor reffing quality. Approved refs are ranked, depending on their ability and their activeness. There are four attainable ranks, those being Rookie, Intermediate, Advanced and Master. There is also the Head ref, a position a few core individuals hold, they have the final say on every reffing matter. If you have any complaints about reffing, you go to them.

The reffing tower is also used to request a referee. If you wish to request a new or sub ref, please post a link to the battle, saying whether you require a new ref or a sub ref.


Becoming A Ref
To become an approved ref, you must ref the mock battle at the bottom of this post. The Head ref will then analyze your reffing, and decide whether or not you are worthy of a spot as an approved ref. A newly approved ref will start off in either Rookie or Intermediate level; this is at the Head Ref’s discretion. If you fail the test, you must wait for a new mock battle before attempting again. If you just joined ASB, it would beneficial to you if you viewed other reffings before jumping in on your own. It’s not mandatory but it would help you see how the reffings are done.

Now That You're A Ref...
If you wish to gain promotion, then you must ref the current mock battle (provided you haven't already reffed it). Please also include what rank you are currently, and what rank you are attempting to achieve. When deciding whether you are worthy of promotion, the Head Ref will also study your general performance, to ensure you are reffing all battles at a good enough quality. It is also possible to be promoted due to sheer hard work, but you must display willingness to be promoted before an actual promotion will take place.

You must always post links to the battles you are currently reffing to receive your reward, and update your posts every few rounds at least. You should keep all this information in one post, until the head ref posts a new mock battle (this will be in a new post too); then you can make a new post.

As a referee, you are expected to be active. If you go for an extended period of time without reffing (unless you’ve posted in the Absence Tower), you will be either demoted or fired and will have to re-do a mock reffing in order to be rehired.

Rewards
Point allocation goes as follows:

1 on 1 - Winner and Ref: 2 points, Loser: 1 point.
2 on 2 - Winner and Ref: 4 points, Loser: 2 points.
3 on 3 - Winner and Ref: 6 points, Loser: 3 points.
etc.

The loser of the match always receives points equal to the number of pokémon used during the match, while the winner and referee receive twice that.

If you were reffing a ten on ten match, but only reach the 4th Pokemon from each contestant, and the battle ends in DQ or forfeit, you receive the amount of points had that been a 4 on 4 battle (in this case 8).

However, since the match was started as a ten-on-ten, you do not get and credit for it being a reward battle, since it was not half over

If you were sub-reffing the battle, however, take into account the number of rounds, and the amount of people who reffed. If any ref did less than 1/(number of refs) rounds, they get no points. Otherwise, split it down evenly. Round down.

For reffing completed battles, you will be awarded in more ways than just points! Any referee who completes four battles will be able to redeem one of the four prizes:

A new catch at the Approval Tower,
A free Great Ball in the Safari Zone,
Two Eggs in the Breeding Center, or
5 points,

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Anyone not included in the list of current referees must redo the latest mock battle in order to become an approved referee.
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Mock Battle
Arena: Indigo Plateau
Let's get back to the basics!
Sunny Day is in effect

Round 6

Politoed
F
@Drizzle
100/100
-
Mud Bomb ~ Encore ~ Bubble Beam


v.


Aerodactyl
M
@Pressure
23/59
+3 Atk, Drowsy
Crunch ~ Thunder Fang ~ Sandstorm

Referees:

Head Refs
Greyfox

Refs
Oslo

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Things to Consider

- Try our ASB Movelist to check on moves.
- Remember that we ASB mods like to set you up, so read and ref carefully!
- Take all stats into consideration.

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Safari Zone Refs

Any approved ASB Ref can sign up as a Safari Zone ref and can take on anybodies quests. Safari Zone refs will be PMed with a list of what Pokémon can be found in what areas and told instructions on how to ref the Zone.

Please do not hassle any Safari Refs. They may refuse to ref for you.

For every five rounds of Safari Quests reffed, a Safari Ref will get 2 points. These can not be used in conjunction with Referee Rewards but still need to be shown in the Bank when payment is received.Head Safari Zone Refs
Greyfox

Safari Zone Refs
Emerald_Gen.3, Oslo

[Oslo]

TEAM A
vs.
TEAM B

Location: Indigo Plateau
DQ Time: One week
Banned: None
Miscellaneous: n/a

PRE-ROUND

TEAM A xo	TEAM B oo
POLITOED F Drizzle	AERODACTYL M Pressure
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •	• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
100 HP EP 100	23 HP EP 59
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •	• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
N/A	+3 ATT DROWSY
Mud Bomb Encore Bubble Beam	Crunch Thunder Fang Sandstorm

ROUND SIX

Yawning with fatigue, Aerodactyl watches from above as Trainer A sends their next Pokemon into play. With a flash of light, a jolly frog thing bounds into battle, clapping like the peppiest soccer mom you ever did see. Grey clouds come rolling in and fat raindrops descend from the heavens. Mildly annoyed by the weather change, Aerodactyl goes into a dive, landing a sickening Crunch on Politoed's arm. Not exactly the warmest greeting I've ever seen. Politoed rebounds with a fistful of mud, but the move fails to connect with the flyer. However, Politoed's fortunes quickly take a turn for the better. Unable to fight off exhaustion any longer, Aerodactyl descends onto a cozy patch of mud and begins to slumber. Night night.

-11 HP -7 EP	-6 EP SLP

As the rain continues to pound the battlefield, Politoed joyfully gives her opponent a round of applause. Encore! Encore! However, her clapping falls on deaf ears. Aerodactyl's beauty sleep goes undisturbed.

-6 EP	CAN'T MOVE!

Politoed shoots off a stream of iridescent bubbles that pellet Aerodactyl like, well, pellets. Thanks to the rain and type advantage, they pack a quite a wallop. However, the prehistoric Pokemon continues to snooze. Pro tip: next time, hold off on the Ambien until after the battle.

-7 EP	-15 HP CAN'T MOVE!

POST-ROUND

TEAM A xo	TEAM B oo
POLITOED F Drizzle	AERODACTYL M Pressure
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •	• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
89 HP EP 80	8 HP EP 53
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •	• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
N/A	+3 ATT SLP

Notes:

• Rainfall will remain in effect for two more actions
• I imagined Indigo Stadium with an open roof, as that's how it is in the anime, hence the rain
• Does Aerodactyl have any moves that can boost its own Attack? We'll say the previous opponent Power Swapped boosts onto Aerodactyl...
• I remember a time when we had tables with transparent borders *nostalgic*
• Hopefully I'm not too rusty; it's been a while
• TEAM SOMEBODY to command next

[Greyfox]

It's always a pleasure reading over your reffings, Oslo. And your format's not too bad neither. You're approved to do whatever it was you were doing before the ASB broke.