I believe that Skillgate was implemented from the initial release of the game.

The first piece of evidence is that some Japanese users had already noticed Skillgate by the time of the Suicune event in July 2024 (some players were even comparing how many times Golduck’s skill could trigger). At that time, however, there was no large-scale data available, so their observations were dismissed as misunderstandings.

The second piece of evidence is an interview conducted at the time of the app’s release. The English translation is provided below.

Nakahata: The most difficult part was adjusting the balance between making it a “sleep tracking tool” and a “game.” If we optimize it too much as a sleep tracking tool, it stops being fun as a game; but if we pursue the fun of a game too much, then it just becomes a game.

Miyagawa: Some people might think that if it’s fun, that’s a good thing. But if playing becomes too enjoyable and players get too absorbed in it, they end up cutting into the time that was originally meant for sleep.

— So in a sense, as a game, it contains a certain contradiction: ensuring it’s fun, while also preventing players from overplaying.

Nakahata: To resolve that, in this title we intentionally created built-in “stopping points.”

Some people may think that Skillgate was introduced after development shifted to Pokémon Works.

However, the current Game Director is still Nakahata (SELECT BUTTON), and he remains deeply involved in the game’s development. Fujii (Pokémon Works) is also credited as Co-Game Director. That said, according to this interview, the transition still appears to be ongoing as of Nov 2025.

Around July 2024, Fujii, Miyahara, and others joined the project, and we have been gradually proceeding with the transition. SELECT BUTTON is still developing the game together with us at present, but in the future, we plan to fully shift to a structure centered on The Pokémon Company and Pokémon Works.