nuzlocke-tracker/.beans/nuzlocke-tracker-oqfo--improve-encounter-rate-display-for-timeweather-var.md

---
# nuzlocke-tracker-oqfo
title: Improve encounter rate display for time/weather variants
status: todo
type: feature
priority: normal
created_at: 2026-02-10T14:04:27Z
updated_at: 2026-02-14T21:17:00Z
---

## Problem

PokeDB data reveals that encounter rates vary by context across many games:
- **Gen 2/4 (G/S/C, HG/SS, D/P/Pt, BDSP):** morning/day/night
- **Gen 5 (B/W, B2/W2):** spring/summer/autumn/winter
- **Gen 8 (Sw/Sh):** weather (clear, cloudy, rain, thunderstorm, snow, etc.)
- **Gen 8 (Legends Arceus):** time + weather boolean conditions
- **Gen 9 (Sc/Vi):** overworld probability weights

Currently the seed format and `RouteEncounter` model have a single `encounter_rate` field, which flattens all of this into one number.

## Goal

Extend the data model and UI to support conditional encounter rates, so users can see which Pokemon appear under which conditions.

## Design

### Seed data format

Add an optional `conditions` field to encounter entries. When absent, the encounter has a flat rate (Gen 1/3/6 — no change needed). When present, it replaces `encounter_rate` with per-condition rates:

```json
{
  "pokeapi_id": 163,
  "pokemon_name": "Hoothoot",
  "method": "walk",
  "encounter_rate": null,
  "conditions": {
    "night": 50,
    "morning": 10,
    "day": 0
  },
  "min_level": 2,
  "max_level": 5
}
```

For games without variant rates, the existing flat `encounter_rate` field is used unchanged.

### Backend changes

1. **New model `RouteEncounterCondition`** (one-to-many from `RouteEncounter`):
   - `id`, `route_encounter_id` (FK), `condition` (string), `encounter_rate` (int)
   - Conditions are free-form strings: `"morning"`, `"day"`, `"night"`, `"rain"`, `"spring"`, etc.
2. **`RouteEncounter` model**: keep `encounter_rate` as nullable — null when conditions exist, populated when flat.
3. **Seed loader**: detect `conditions` key in JSON, create `RouteEncounterCondition` rows accordingly.
4. **API**: include conditions in route encounter responses (nested array under each encounter).

### Frontend changes

1. **AdminRouteDetail**: show conditions as sub-rows or a tooltip when hovering the rate column.
2. **EncounterModal**: group by condition context when relevant (e.g. tabs for morning/day/night).
3. **Type updates**: extend `RouteEncounter` type with optional `conditions: { condition: string, encounterRate: number }[]`.

## Checklist

- [ ] Update seed JSON schema: add optional `conditions` field to encounter entries
- [ ] Create `RouteEncounterCondition` model with migration
- [ ] Make `RouteEncounter.encounter_rate` nullable
- [ ] Update seed loader to handle `conditions` entries
- [ ] Update API serialization to include conditions
- [ ] Update frontend types (`RouteEncounter`)
- [ ] Update AdminRouteDetail to display condition-based rates
- [ ] Update EncounterModal to show conditions contextually
- [ ] Update seed data for at least one game per variant type (HG/SS, B/W, Sw/Sh) as proof of concept
- [ ] Keep simple display for games with flat rates (no regression)

## Considerations

- For Nuzlocke play, availability ("appears during rain") matters more than exact percentages — consider a simplified view option
- Keep UI uncluttered for simple cases (Gen 1/3/6)
- Condition strings should use a consistent vocabulary (define an enum or reference list)
- Seed data updates for all games can be done incrementally after the infrastructure is in place