Season (game mechanic)

This article is about the game mechanic. For the division of dubbed episodes in the animated series, see season. For the Pokémon GO mechanic, see Season (GO).

Seasons (Japanese: 季節 season) are a mechanic from the fifth generation of the Pokémon games.

Seasons will not change in-game automatically; they will change only upon exiting a cave or building, or crossing between two outdoor maps at a transition that involves a loading zone (such as by moving between the various sections of Castelia City or Nimbasa City, or moving from Driftveil City to Driftveil Drawbridge). Unlike in the real world, where each season lasts for approximately three sequential months (in the astronomical model) or exactly three sequential months (in the meteorological model), the seasons in Unova will change each month, going through the full cycle of spring, summer, autumn, and winter three times per year.

Generation V

Spring

Spring (Japanese: 春 spring) occurs in January, May, and September.

Effects

• Morning begins at 5:00 AM, while day lasts until 7:59 PM.
• Deerling and Sawsbuck appear in their Spring Form.
• Snow is not present in any locations.
• Certain areas may have rain.
• Some wild Pokémon encounter rates change.
• The background music on most routes changes slightly.
• Casteliacones are sold on Tuesdays.^BW
• Cynthia is in Undella Town and will battle the player daily; female Elite Four members may visit her.
• Lass Maya (if the player is male) or Dancer Dirk (if the player is female) is at the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City.^BW
• Lass Persephone (if the player is male) or Dancer Dirk (if the player is female) is at the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City.^B2W2
• N will battle with his rain-based spring team at N's Castle.^B2W2

Summer

Summer (Japanese: 夏 summer) occurs in February, June, and October.

Effects

• Morning begins one hour earlier, at 4:00 AM, while day lasts an hour longer, until 8:59 PM.
• Deerling and Sawsbuck appear in their Summer Form.
• Snow is not present in any locations.
• Some wild Pokémon encounter rates change.
• The background music on most routes changes slightly.
  • The background music for Undella Town is completely different.
• Casteliacones are sold on Tuesdays.^BW
• Cynthia is in Undella Town; female Gym Leaders may visit her.
• Hiker Andy (if the player is male) or Ace Trainer Austin (if the player is female) is at the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City.^BW
• Nursery Aide June (if the player is male) or Clerk ♂ Augustin (if the player is female) is at the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City.^B2W2
• Tame Stunfisk appear in Striaton City at night.^B2W2
• There will be additional NPCs in Undella Town, one of whom will trade his Munchlax for a Cinccino.^BW
• N will battle with his sun-based summer team at N's Castle.^B2W2

Autumn

Autumn: as normal, the slope is too steep to climb.

Autumn (Japanese: 秋 autumn), also known as fall in North America, occurs in March, July, and November.

Effects

• Morning begins at 6:00 AM, while day lasts until 7:59 PM.
• Deerling and Sawsbuck appear in their Autumn Form.
• Snow is not present in any locations.
• Some wild Pokémon encounter rates change.
• The background music on most routes changes slightly.
• Casteliacones are sold on Tuesdays.^BW
• Cynthia is not in Undella Town (unless she hasn't been fought yet).
• Clerk ♀ Trisha (if the player is male) or Waitress Aurora (if the player is female) is at the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City.^BW
• Clerk ♀ Trisha (if the player is male) or Hiker Andy (if the player is female) is at the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City.^B2W2
• Fallen leaves are present on Route 20.^B2W2
  • Due to leaves piling up, certain areas can be accessed that are normally inaccessible.
• The water in the Castelia Sewers is drained. ^B2W2
• N will battle with his sandstorm-based autumn team at N's Castle.^B2W2

Winter

Winter: due to snowfall the area uphill is now accessible.

Winter (Japanese: 冬 winter) occurs in April, August, and December.

Effects

• Morning begins at 7:00 AM, while day lasts an hour shorter, until 6:59 PM.
• Deerling and Sawsbuck appear in their Winter Form.
• Snow is present in Twist Mountain, Icirrus City, Route 8, Moor of Icirrus, and Dragonspiral Tower; all puddles in these locations are frozen over, acting as ice tiles. Small patches of snow are also present in other locations, such as Driftveil City.
  • Due to snow piling up, certain areas can be accessed that are normally inaccessible, while certain cave entrances in Twist Mountain are covered by it.
• Hail and rain are common in Driftveil City, Cold Storage, Route 5, and Mistralton City. Hail and blizzards are common in Icirrus City and Route 8.
• Some wild Pokémon encounter rates change.
• The background music on most routes changes slightly.
• Casteliacones are not sold.^BW
• Cynthia is not in Undella Town (unless she hasn't been fought yet).
• Preschooler Winter (if the player is male) or Rich Boy Martin (if the player is female) is at the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City.^BW
• Beauty December (if the player is male) or Guitarist January (if the player is female) is at the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City.^B2W2
• The water in the Castelia Sewers is drained.^B2W2
• N will battle with his hail-based winter team at N's Castle.^B2W2

Pokémon GO

Main article: Season (GO)

Seasons were introduced as a mechanic to Pokémon GO on December 1, 2020 as part of the GO Beyond update.^[1] Each season lasts for three months (starting and ending on the first day of a month), with the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experiencing opposite seasons, based on the real-world meteorological season for that hemisphere.

Trivia

• Because February is included among the months considered as summer in the games, summer is the shortest season on average. Whereas the other seasons each last a total of 92 days in a real-time year, summer lasts for a total of 89 days, or 90 days in case of a leap year. In the real world, this is true for astronomical summer in the southern hemisphere, as the Earth is near perihelion; astronomical summer lasts only approximately 89 days, while winter lasts closer to 94. The opposite is in effect for the Northern Hemisphere.
• When summer and winter start in the Northern Hemisphere of the real world, the same season is in effect in-game. This is not true for spring and autumn: it is spring in-game when autumn starts in real life and vice versa. The opposite is true for the Southern Hemisphere: real-world spring and autumn start in months with their respective in-game seasons, while summer and winter start in in-game winter and summer respectively.
• In the astronomical model of seasons (used in North America and parts of Europe), seasons start at solstices and equinoxes. In the game, seasons start at the start of the month, as is the case in the meteorological model of seasons (used by meteorologists and in countries such as Australia).
• Pokémon Black and White, the first games to introduce this feature, were released during autumn in Japan, and the in-game season was spring. The international releases were released during spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and the in-game season was autumn.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 季節 Gwaijit Mandarin 季節 / 季节 Jìjié French Saison German Jahreszeit Indonesian Musim Italian Stagione Korean 계절 Gyejeol Malaysian Musim Portuguese Estação Spanish Estación Thai ฤดูกาล Ruedu Kan Vietnamese Mùa

Spring

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 春天 Chēuntīn Mandarin 春天 Chūntiān French Printemps German Frühling Indonesian Musim semi Italian Primavera Korean 봄 Bom Malaysian Musim bunga Portuguese Primavera Spanish Primavera Thai ฤดูใบไม้ผลิ Ruedu Baimaiphli Vietnamese Mùa xuân

Summer

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 夏天 Hahtīn Mandarin 夏天 Xiàtiān French Été German Sommer Indonesian Musim panas Italian Estate Korean 여름 Yeoreum Malaysian Musim panas Portuguese Verão Spanish Verano Thai ฤดูร้อน Ruedu Ron Vietnamese Mùa hè

Autumn

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 秋天 Chāutīn Mandarin 秋天 Qiūtiān French Automne German Herbst Indonesian Musim gugur Italian Autunno Korean 가을 Ga-eul Malaysian Musim luruh Portuguese Outono Spanish Otoño Thai ฤดูใบไม้ร่วง Ruedu Baimairuang Vietnamese Mùa thu

Winter

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 冬天 Dūngtīn Mandarin 冬天 Dōngtiān French Hiver German Winter Indonesian Musim dingin Italian Inverno Korean 겨울 Gyeo-ul Malaysian Musim sejuk Portuguese Inverno Spanish Invierno Thai ฤดูหนาว Ruedu Nao Vietnamese Mùa đông

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.