Any% ACE Route / Notes

NOTE: There's a few different names you can do. The name here is the first one I found for the TAS; it is 9 characters, but minimizes cursor movements greatly. There's another name I found later which saved 4 frames in the TAS, which is 8 characters: づs_ゥCRh-
1. Set your deck name to づsHァゥCRh-, then delete the - (DO NOT view the deck) (You don't have to save the name before deleting the -, and if you accidentally delete extra characters, it's fine up to the ゥ)
2. Down+A glitch twice (the first time gets you to Grass Energy description, followed by infinite party screen)
brief summary of "Down+A glitch" (though I recommend checking TCG1's guides/runs with it):
You do it during lag frames so they're buffered and not frame perfect
And the down+A is done when the board state is on screen, it has to do with the cursor position being stuck where it shouldn't be
So like down+A when a card description is up does nothing, you press B to close card description, then press down+A during the lag frames loading board state screen
In this run, the absolute fastest way to do it once you reach the Hand/Check/etc. menu is:
Select, then quickly let go of Select (it will fail if Select is held!) and hold Down+A (Grass Energy description should come up)
B, then quickly hold Down+A
technical details:
We need to run the code at 314A to trigger the credits
The Down+A glitch starts running code at D0D2 (because register HL is D0D2), which is a general buffer for things that happened during your last deck edit (the last cards you saw in the edit screen, your deck contents, your deck name)
So, this area is empty, unless you edit your deck. If we just edit the name, execution slides to it (at D2E0)
We write "jump (HL)" to D300 (using register A), then set HL to 314A
Using the values already in the registers, this is fairly easy:
load 4A into C, inc A, rotate A left, rotate A right and load A into D, rotate A right and load C into E, place A's value into DE's address, load 31 into H, load E into L
0E 4A (hirigana 4,3 "), 04 3C (s), 04 17 (H), 0F 57 (bottom row, 5), 0F 59 (bottom row, 7), 04 12 (C), 04 21 (R) 04 31 (h), 00 69 (-, then delete it)
Hope this helps, ask questions in #tcg-2 in the Pokemon Speedruns Discord if you need

Original work not done by Raagentreg

Any% Glitchless Manip Route / Notes

LUA SCRIPT (great for monitoring RNG3, the counter): https://pastebin.com/wURS8Qyr
ROUTE CAN BE FOUND HERE: https://pastebin.com/vLGeQik8

The Basic Concept
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In this game, if you save in front of a duel and soft reset, the only time that RNG is advancing at 60fps is on the "Continue Game" screen.
RNG is frozen during the opening titles and during text boxes.
RNG advances about once per second (technically 64 frames) while in the overworld.
So, the basic idea of the route is to stack your deck, hit Continue Game frame-perfectly, wait on the overworld if necessary, and get turn 1/2 wins.
The "Easy" Frame
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Because of lag frames (where input isn't being read) while displaying the save file's data, there's a 4 frame window where you can hold A to enter your file. There's also one frame before this window where pressing A can enter your file, and of course every frame after the window.
So, the best way to enter your file is not to mash, but to hold A during these lag frames.

https://i.imgur.com/dwJEDBQ.png

Waiting
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The once-per-second advancement is very odd, but what's even odder is that it runs on a global timer, which is going even while RNG is frozen. This is why when doing the Kristin booster manip, you have to delay exiting her text, so you have enough time to run to Heather.
For waiting in manip, there's a particularly important detail: If you get into your file very quickly, RNG will advance almost immediately after:
https://i.gyazo.com/37c5baed4484af3daff655fc6d6fd75b.mp4
So, if you feel that you were a bit slow getting past the Press Start screen and such, it'll take much closer to a full second to get one advancement:
https://i.gyazo.com/5e531cb8415e1368d4e5fc0d4a0d557a.mp4
To help with nailing this (and saving frames over all), I mash A and Start through the opening. If you're going for an Easy entry, be sure to mash A after file entry to initiate pre-duel dialogue ASAP, or you might get this advancement accidentally!
Extra Notes
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One of the odd things about RNG in this game is that when you soft reset, your starting RNG changes depending on your selected deck's contents. I pinpointed a few key cards that, despite never being used, when added to a deck, they 'increase' your soft reset RNG: DCE, and vending Raichu. Computer Search and Rocket's Sneak Attack also have this trait; they often get used, but sometimes they're just added for RNG purposes. (The "Water evolutions" filler being Water specifically in the Chip edit is simply because I have never had adding more Water types influence the RNG)
I've also noticed slight variance on how many times RNG advances when you Continue Game. Very rarely, a "wait one second" could become "easy" or "wait 2 seconds" instead, because of RNG advancing one less/more time when loading. If you're sure you're hitting a duel but it just isn't working, try the adjacent options.
Another thing is that the once-per-second RNG advancement won't happen on a lag frame. This is particularly noticeable in the Colorless Altar, which has a quite laggy room, and requires delays in its manip (other laggy rooms, like Bernard's room, just need an easy). The quick advancement is almost always skipped over; for consistency, it's best to slightly delay your file entry, missing the quick window entirely, and wait closer to a full second. (Fun fact: If you enter your file frame-perfectly, it might skip over the quick advancement AND the one afterwards, and you won't get an RNG advancement for over 2 seconds.)

Original work not done by Raagentreg

Any% Glitchless Non-Manip Route

This is the newest version of the route (uses Bulbasaur against GR1, completely overhauled GR Psychic):
https://pastebin.com/TaB2cfbr
This is an older route text file, with some added explanations of things:
https://pastebin.com/U7KWvp37
I'm not the best at writing these things probably, and it has nothing about aspects like when you should reset over starting hands, how to manipulate enemy AI, major threats in opponent's decks, etc.; it's more just about the edits I use.
StrawberryWhiteblock's old Google Doc has some more detailed info, most of which should still be relevant (although overall, the run is much easier now thanks to the Heather/Kristin booster manip):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1459Po_qpyAwZ1MDqD7hpB7ENV4uckXD719fkSzIEyzA/edit
Feel free to do your own edits and strategies based on what cards you've gotten and what seems to be fastest (or more reliable) to you.

Original work not done by Raagentreg

Nome	Autore
Any% ACE Route / Notes	Raagentreg 4 years ago
Any% Glitchless Manip Route / Notes	Raagentreg 4 years ago
Any% Glitchless Non-Manip Route	Raagentreg 4 years ago
Boosters/Opponent deck lists	A.K.N 6 years ago