Metronome.

Dedicated to my friend, who has led me down this Raboothole. I hate you.

0.0 What the hell is Metronome.

Metronome is a Pokemon Move (classified as No. 080 in the Paldean Move Database ((PMD)) ) that around 125 Pokemon can learn and utilize in battle in accordance with the League. The move is typically marked by the Pokemon waggling their finger (or appendage), and then...they're able to perform any kind of move, regardless of type or physical ability. In theory.

Turns out, there is a limit to what moves can be performed by Metronome. Specifically, no moves coined by Legendary Pokemon, thank Arceus. Basically this means that a Clefairy could not pull Dragon Ascent on their turn.

But the question arises- How does Metronome work? How random is it? Does a Pokemon need to have seen the move beforehand from another Pokemon before being able to use it during Metronome? These are the questions my friend asked me like two weeks ago, and these are still the questions I have no idea how to answer coherently. Expect this page to update after I do some more research. This whole project has made me incredibly sleep deprived.

1.0 How is this allowed.

The move Metronome was officially registered as a move during the 1935 United Leagues Conference. Before then it was still legal, it just didn't have an official name and whatnot. Production of Metronome TMs became more popular in the 80s/90s, when it was considered TM35. Galar released a TR of Metronome in 2012 and has seen steady reproduction since.

It's legal because they made it legal. ...In all honesty, I think it comes down to the fairness and utility of Metronome. It would be one thing if you could somehow pick the move you wanted, or if every Pokemon could learn it- but only about 12% of Pokemon can learn it, and it's completely up to chance. It's kind of hard to work a strategy around it, and it's commonly seen as a 'gimmick move'. Besides, if they made it illegal in official matches (especially now), no doubt there would be heavy outcry and backlash. It's best they keep it around.

Addition by my friend: plus it's fun as hell lol

0.1 Notable uses of Metronome.

-TBD-

1.0 How Metronome Works.

It's crazy to say that most people don't know how it works, but. Most people don't know how. Here's the most plausible explanation I've found.

Metronome relies on something called Gaia. 'Gaia' is the energy of the earth- you could equate it to like...mana in a video game sounds a bit derivative, so maybe more akin to a magnetic current that runs through everyone? It's theorized that Gaia is somehow related to Mew, who is related to every Pokemon out there...you know how it goes. The concept is more commonly recognized in Ferrum, where Gaia can crystalize into these little gem shards. Neat!

Anyway, the idea is that while most moves rely on the physical/biological capabilities of the Pokemon performing them, they also rely on Gaia as a little bit of a spark. Like. How we breathe in oxygen to get our blood pumping. Pokemon absorb Gaia to slightly alter how their moves work. Sometimes they absorb more Gaia, like for special moves. Sometimes they don't use that much, like for Bite or Tackle. And Gaia's a maleable substance, or. Impressionable. So the idea is that Gaia is infused into most, if not all of the moves out there, and the reverse is also true. Most, if not all moves out there, are infused into Gaia. That's the idea anyway.

When a Pokemon uses Metronome, what they're actually doing is subconciously letting in a bunch of Gaia and kind of...letting it take hold. They're drawing on this massive, subconcious movepool, and simply going with the flow. It's supposed to be how a Clefairy can use Flamethrower, or a Sinistea can use Reversal. It's all thanks to this Gaia.

Furthermore, this theory explains the reason why moves commonly used by Legendary Pokemon cannot be used by other, normaler Pokemon with Metronome. Legendary Pokemon emenate Gaia on their own, meaning they're 'self sufficient'. Whenever they want to pull off a move, they just drain their own pool of Gaia, no outside help required. That means that they don't contribute to the collective movepool. Which means normal Pokemon don't know how to perform those moves.

There might be some problems with this theory, however- and they mostly come down to the nebulous meaning of 'Gaia'. It's kind of hard to quantify it. You could say 'the world's energy', but then the question of if Metronome can be preformed in outer space. If it's changed to 'the universe's energy', then what about Ultra Space? Do different worlds have different types of Gaia? Can you measure Gaia, outside of Ferrum? ...And so on and so forth. But this is the theory I like the most, so that's what we're going with.

Also there's some weird stuff with Gaia. I found a website for what looked to be a defunct evil team talking about linking everyone through it??? The site hadn't been updated since 2012 but I'm still thinking about it.

friend addition: mana is actually a p good example of it bro....ur onto something

My addition: I am not onto anything. The scientists are.

1.1 Restricted Moves.

This isn't really related to Metronome, but it's an interesting subject nonetheless.