Gaming How does Pokemon Soulsilver detect time travel?

[nl255]

I have been doing some experimenting with the clock and have found that if you want to move the clock forward for apricorns you must set the clock to 11:59 and then wait with the game running for it to roll over. Here are the results of different tests

1. Set the clock to 11:59 PM, turn off the DS for a couple of minutes, and start Soulsilver - no apricorns
2. Set the clock to 6:00 AM the next day and start Soulsilver - no apricorns
3. Set the clock to 11:59 and let it sit at the title screen for a couple of minutes - apricorns do NOT regenerate
4. Set the clock to 11:59 and let it sit in game for a couple of minutes - apricorns regenerate.
5. Harvest Apricorns at 10:00 PM and then let the DS sit until 9:00 AM the next day - apricorns regenerate

So what exactly makes it work normally if I shut off the DS at say, 11pm on the 18th and then let it sit naturally for say, 8 hours but fail if I set the clock forward 8 hours even thougha the amount of time "passed" is the same in both cases?

edit- #3 was wrong, fixed.

 

[thedicemaster]

could be 2 things.
it might have a unique identifier that changes when you change the time.
or there's a hidden clock that keeps counting exact time since first startup.

whenever the number doesn't match, the clock becomes invalid in pokemon. to re-validate the clock you need to wait until a day change(PM 11:59>12:00)
and this works only if you are actually playing at that time, or if you saved before the day change and after changing the clock.

 

[coolness]

It`s not only Pokemon Soul Silver but also Pokemon Pearl

 

[nl255]

could be 2 things.
it might have a unique identifier that changes when you change the time.
or there's a hidden clock that keeps counting exact time since first startup.

whenever the number doesn't match, the clock becomes invalid in pokemon. to re-validate the clock you need to wait until a day change(PM 11:59>12:00)
and this works only if you are actually playing at that time, or if you saved before the day change and after changing the clock.

How can it have an internal clock when there is no battery even on the original cart? Also, the same thing happens with a flash cart and I don't know of any slot 1 device with an internal RTC.

 

[Rydian]

He doesn't mean an RTC, he means a secondary clock that's also keeping time at the same pace in-game.

 

[thedicemaster]

i'm not talking about a clock in the cart.
what i was thinking is a 2nd "clock" in your DS.
the game then checks if on the 2 clocks the same amount of time has passed since last time.