There are three major methods of passing time: through Downtime, Travelling, and Adventure Phases. Trainers can gain experience during any phase, but gain the least during Downtime, a modest amount while Travelling, and the most while Adventuring. Each Phase has a different set of special actions you can undertake during them.
Downtime Phases are periods of time that can be quickly skipped over with a mild amount of detail. These phases include a wide variety of activities, from resting to working a professional job to engaging in a hobby. Most creatures spend the majority of their lives in the Downtime Phase, non-Trainers especially.
- 3 Downtime Phases per day, max – this is if you do not go anywhere or do any adventuring. Most adventurers have 1 Downtime Phase per day, typically spent camping. A Downtime Phase typically lasts 8 hours.
- During the Downtime Phase, you may take up to 2 Downtime Actions. You may take an Extended Rest and use the Training Regimen Command power for free. Training Regimen is explicitly combat training, so most NPCs do not use it.
- All possible Downtime Actions are listed under the Downtime minigames section.
Travel Phases are periods of time where you travel and explore the world around you. This is done by choosing a Route to your destination, determining various aspects of your journey, then setting off. There are different Movement Options you can take, but you will generally make some Encounter rolls during your journey, not all of which are necessarily hostile.
- 3 Travel Phases per day, max – this is if you do not do any resting or adventuring all day. Adventurers typically have 1-3 Travel Phases per day.
- Travel Phases last up to 8 hours long, and you gain and expend Movement Points to travel. You can enter the Downtime Phase early to conserve Movement Points for the next day, if you wish to travel longer.
- Unlike when you are in town, you and your Pokemon will need to consume resources to survive. You are also likely to encounter Hazards which make your journey more difficult – you should research and prepare for your Route accordingly.
- Further details can be found in the Travelling minigame section.
Adventure Phases are the periods of time when you are in a specific location with a goal in mind and you are trying to achieve it. These can happen in town, the wilderness, or dungeons. The goals are player-driven, though NPCs will usually have things they need help with. Once your goal is achieved or you abandon it, the Adventure Phase ends and you enter the Travel or Downtime Phase, depending on your actions.
- Achieving the goals you set is a great way of gaining XP, so you and your GM must come to an agreement on your goal and how much XP is gained for it. Your GM will determine most of the adventure’s difficulty, but the players always have the final say on what their goal is. These goals are almost always something for the entire party to achieve, such as finding and capturing a specific rare Pokemon or running a criminal organization out of town.
- Your goal has its own level ranging from 1-20, comparable to your own level range. The level of your goal determines the level of most of the NPCs and effects of the adventure you will undertake. For example, your GM might say that taking out Team Rocket is a level 6 goal, meaning you will face opposition that is roughly level 6 and encounter Tier 2 NPCs and effects. You might encounter level 4 grunts that are easy to take out, only to wind up fighting a level 8 admin in the heart of the building.
- Adventure Phases can be any length of time, but are typically interrupted by the other phases out of necessity. There is no limit to the number of Adventure Phases you can undertake in a day, but your GM is unlikely to agree to attempts to gain easy XP that are completely divorced from your character or campaign premise.
- You can have as many goals as you want, but too many can be hard to keep track of and pursue within the story.