Preliminary Step: Calibration
For each
game cartridge you own, you will have to find your DS parameters (it seems contradictory, since they're called
DS parameters and not cartridge parameters, but that's just the way it is). The parameters may remain consistent if you own two copies of the same version in the same language, but otherwise, Black carts tend to differ from White carts, etc. Parameters for different languages of the same version may vary, as well, but I'm not sure. To be safe, just calibrate all of your cartridges. It takes 15 minutes tops.
Prerequisites
- A Nintendo DS or Nintendo DS Lite
- A Retail Copy of Pokémom Black Version or Pokémon White Version*
- The latest copy of RNG Reporter
- Some way of checking a Pokémon's IVs**
- Your DS's mac address.
- You must be saved either in an area where you can use Sweet Scent immediately after loading the game (that means you must have a Sweet Scenter in your party!) OR in front of a Stationary Pokemon (Legendary, Amoonguss, Volcarona, etc.).
* I won't answer any questions regarding Flashcart or Emulator abuse. If it's a general question, that's fine, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to figure out why your parameters are fluctuating wildly and you can't hit your seed because you're too cheap to buy the game.
** There are a lot of ways to do this. Serebii and Metalkid have decent IV calculators, and RNG Reporter has the built in Pokédex/IV Checker. You can also use Pokécheck or IR-GTS. Please note that in general, I cannot assist you in getting Pokécheck or IR-GTS to work. They are, however, excellent tools for many things in the RNG process. If you want to use them for checking IVs/verifying PID frames, etc. and are having problems getting them to work, they have their own support outlets.
Special Note: If you wish to RNG the ID/SID of a new cartridge, you must first progress far enough in the game to where you can check the IVs of wild Pokémon reliably. If you can use Pokécheck, IR-GTS, or some "magical" means of checking IVs, this can be as early as getting access to the GTS (or route 1 in the magical case). If you have to use an IV calculator, and can't "magick" lots of rare candies into your game, you'll probably have to play up to at least Icirrus City or Twist Mountain to get a good calculation.
Brief Introduction to RNG Reporter
If you're following this guide, there's a chance you don't really know much about RNG manipulation in general and therefore do not have a working knowledge of RNG Reporter's interface. It's straightforward for the most part, but just for reference, here's a little roadmap of the
Main Window of RNG Reporter. Keep that term in mind (
main window), because in later parts of the guide I'll reference this screen by that name. Other important windows of RNG Reporter are
Time Finder,
Parameters Search, and
Pandora's Box.
Finding your DS Parameters
Now that you're familiarized with the main window, we can move on to calibration. Go ahead and click on
DS Parameters Search. In the following image, I've highlighted the areas you need to worry about:
- Version, DS Type, and MAC Address
- Seed Encryption Variables - You don't need to change anything once you've selected your version.
- Time and date of search
- Held Buttons - search with none for now
- IVs of the first Pokémon caught immediately after loading the game
- Search!
Start by filling in your
Version,
DS Type and
DS MAC Address. You'll find your DS MAC Address under
System Information in the Nintendo WFC Settings screen (you can get there from your C-Gear: the little wrench icon underneath GAME SYNC). Your DS Type will be DS Original/Lite
always, as DSi abuse is not currently supported. When you've filled all this in, the Seed Encryption Variables will change. That's normal, and you shouldn't touch them once they've been filled in for you.
Now, start your DS by hitting A (and releasing it) on "Pokemon ____ Version" on the main menu of the DS (the one with the clock).
Don't touch any buttons until after the white Pokemon Company logo screen disappears (more often than not, I wait until the Game Freak Shooting Star appears to be safe. I recommend this if you're new to this). Make note of the exact time (24-hour time) and date (e.g. 06/10/2011 23:00:15) at which you start the game. Record this time in the Time/Date area.
Immediately after the game loads, encounter a Pokémon, either through sweet scent or talking to a stationary Pokémon. Capture it, and then check its IVs. Input these IVs into the IV area (note: IVs can be entered as ranges if you are unable to get the exact IVs from a calculator). Now, hit
Search.
In particular, we are interested in VCount, Timer0, GxStat, and VFrame. I don't believe GxStat and VFrame vary from
6 for retail cartridges, but I could be mistaken. VCount should be constant for your cartridge, and
Timer0 is the one which will give you gray hair later on. It is highly likely that your game will fluctuate seemingly randomly between two different values, usually with one being more common than the other. I am going to state this once:
YOU CANNOT CONTROL YOUR TIMER0
Timer0 most often seems to fluctuate when multiple keypresses are involved, so if you're having a lot of trouble with it, you may want to re-calibrate with keypresses and start from there. In any case, if you're sure you are doing everything right, and nothing else is wrong on your end but you're still not hitting your seed, you are most likely hitting an adjacent Timer0 and there's nothing you can do but keep trying, try a different seed, or recalibrate.
NOTHING.
Also take note of the
Seconds and
Actual Seconds. The difference between these is the
differential. You don't input this value anywhere, but you do need to be aware of it. Note that I started the game at 3 seconds after, but the seed was generated 4 seconds after. This means that, in general, to hit a seed, I need to start the game one second before the time listed in RNG Reporter (I've never seen anyone with a differential not equal to 1 second on a retail cartridge).
You can import these results to time finder and start your RNG adventure right now, if you want! However, I'd recommend doing this multiple times (5-10 for good faith, although admittedly I usually only do it 1-2 times myself) to see which of your two possible timer0 values you hit most often. It's up to you. A little time spent now can prevent a lot of headache later.