Phase 6 research: multiblock options and prior art for Pokemon inside machines

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/design.md

@@ -171,6 +171,21 @@ The field guide learned two things on the way: vanilla mobs count as absent (the
 
 - **Shoulder Pokémon** (Adrian, 2026-10-30): Cobblemon lets a player carry a small Pokémon on their shoulder (96 species are `shoulderMountable`: Pidgey, Pikachu, Eevee, Zubat, Squirtle, ...). It has a shoulder-effect system with one type, `potion_effect` (effect, amplifier, particles, icon), but no species uses it in 1.8. Party passives can start there, as data: species additions giving shoulder Pokémon an effect while carried (e.g. Pidgey slow falling, Zubat night vision, a Fire type warmth against Frostpeak's cold), maybe gated behind progression like Cobblebase's skills. To check first: that species additions can set `shoulderEffects`, and how the effect behaves when the Pokémon faints or goes back in its ball.
 
+## Notes for Phase 6 (researched 2026-10-31)
+
+Adrian asked for existing mods for the multiblocks, or at least their logic. Phase 6's machines need a pattern-checked structure with a controller, a Pokémon stored inside (keeping its data, visible), safe return when the structure breaks, and state that survives unload and restart. Power is already Poke Power's (Phase 4), so the first machine is the Large Furnace. Nothing on NeoForge 1.21.1 puts a Pokémon into a multiblock; the structure part has several options:
+
+| Option | What it is | License, size | Fit |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| Vanilla `BlockPattern` / `BlockPatternBuilder` | Minecraft's own pattern matcher (iron golems, withers, end portals): layered aisles, block predicates, finds the structure in any rotation | built in | Enough for checking a fixed shape around a controller; no previews or editor. **Recommended** for the companion mod |
+| [Patchouli](https://modrinth.com/mod/patchouli) multiblock API | Pattern definition and validation with rotation, plus in-world "visualize" previews from a guide book | CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, very widely installed | Good add-on to the above if players should see how to build a machine (e.g. a field-guide page) |
+| [Multiblocked2](https://modrinth.com/mod/multiblocked2) | Full multiblock framework: in-game 3D editor, controller, recipes, GUIs, machine effects, KubeJS; a Java API for custom traits and recipe capabilities (where a "Pokémon slot" would plug in) | LGPL-3.0; needs LDLib2 and KilaGraph (MIT); the companion mod would compile against a snapshot Maven | Most powerful, if many machines with recipes and GUIs are wanted; heavy, and the Pokémon part stays custom code |
+| [Custom Machinery](https://modrinth.com/mod/custom-machinery) | Data-driven machines for pack makers; recipes can require a structure around the machine and entities nearby (check, hurt, kill) | LGPL-3.0, KubeJS optional | Poor fit: no stored Pokémon, only nearby entities |
+| [Modular Machinery Reborn](https://modrinth.com/mod/modular-machinery-reborn) | JSON multiblocks with item/fluid/energy hatches | LGPL-3.0; needs ExperienceLib and Athena (GPL) | Poor fit: hatches and recipes, nothing for Pokémon |
+| Tiny Multiblock Lib, CTMLib, ZeroCore | bed/door-style big blocks; connected textures; an old All Rights Reserved API | | Not useful |
+
+For the Pokémon inside, the best prior art is already in the pack: Poke Power's Power Block (MIT, [source](https://github.com/Matthiesen-dev/poke-power)) stores Pokémon with their owner, returns them on break, saves and syncs them, and renders the model in the block. Study it (and Cobblemon's Pasture Block, as the roadmap says); don't depend on it.
+
 ## Open decisions for Adrian (proceeding with the default, flagged)
 
 | Decision | Default used for now |