Appearance
Day, night and weather
The clock
A full day in the valley lasts 10 real minutes, so one in-game hour passes every 25 seconds. The clock in the corner of the screen shows the time and the day number. Your first day starts at 6:30 AM.
The clock runs whenever you're playing, including during battles and in menus. It stops on the title screen and while the game is closed, and picks up where you left off.
Phases of the day
Every hour belongs to one of three phases: day, dusk, or night. The phase decides which Pokémon can appear in tall grass.
| In-game time | Phase | Real time |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 AM – 5:00 AM | Night | 2 min 5 s |
| 5:00 AM – 6:00 AM | Dusk (dawn) | 25 s |
| 6:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Day | 4 min 35 s |
| 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM | Dusk | 1 min 3 s |
| 7:30 PM – 12:00 AM | Night | 1 min 53 s |
Dawn counts as dusk
From 5:00 to 6:00 AM the game treats the hour as dusk. Dusk-only Pokémon such as Vulpix can show up at dawn too.
The light changes smoothly: evenings glow gold, nights get dark enough that lampposts and your lantern matter, and the music switches to its night tune.
Who depends on the time
| Phase | Pokémon that need it |
|---|---|
| Day only | Eevee |
| Day and dusk | Caterpie, Pidgey |
| Dusk only | Vulpix |
| Dusk and night | Hoothoot |
| Night only | Oddish, Venonat, Mew |
Everyone else can appear at any hour. The exact odds for each hour are on the area pages: Mosslight Hamlet, Fernwake Woods, Moonlit Grove.
The Moonlit Grove looks moonlit at every hour, but its Pokémon still follow the real clock. Mew only appears there at night.
Weather
The sky changes every 3 in-game hours (75 real seconds). Each 3-hour block has a 30% chance of rain. The first morning of a new journey is always clear, until 9:00 AM on day 1.
The weather schedule is fixed by the clock: every save sees the same weather at the same day and hour.
What rain does
- Wooper come out. Wooper only appear in the rain, in the hamlet and the woods.
- Rain waters your garden. Every growing plot that isn't watered yet gets watered, and seeds planted in the rain start out watered. Watered plants grow twice as fast. See Farming.
- Your partner reacts. Water types splash in puddles, Fire types huddle to keep their flame dry.
Ask Tomo about the weather
Tomo, the kid by the pond, can tell when rain is near. If Tomo mentions Grandma's aching knees, rain is due within the next 6 in-game hours (about 2½ real minutes).
Passing the time faster
If you're waiting for night or dusk, rest at home. Resting skips ahead to the start of the next phase and heals your team. See Resting and healing.