In Pokémon there are two types of battles–wild and trainer battles–but the mechanics are the same for both. First, the opposing Pokémon will appear and you’ll send out the first Pokémon in your team (in the top-left corner) to face it.
From here, you can choose the following options:
- Fight !: Use one of your Pokémon’s moves to attack your opponent. This is the massive option near the centre.
- Bag : Rummage through your backpack and use an item on your Pokémon or–if against a wild Pokémon–a Poke Ball to use on the wild Pokémon.
- Run : Attempt to flee from the wild Pokémon or forfeit the trainer battle (doesn’t work for CPU trainers).
- Pokémon : Check your Pokémon party or switch out the current Pokémon with another Pokémon in your party.
Pokémon battles are the bread and butter of Pokémon.
If you choose to Fight!, you can then select one of your Pokémon’s moves.
Each Pokémon can have up to four moves at their disposal. Moves can be learned via Level Up, evolution, by using a HM or TM item or other means. If a Pokémon tries to learn a 5th move, you will have to replace an existing move.
Moves can have a variety of effects; most do damage, but some cause status effects, increase/drop stats–some even do both. As we discussed earlier, every move has a PP (Power Point) value, which determines how many times you can use it before you need to replenish it.
Last but not least, every Pokémon and every move has a characteristic Type (some Pokémon can have two types). Types range from Normal, Fire, Water, Grass all the way to Dragon, Dark and Steel. Types are very important as they affect the final damage done. See our Type Match-Up page for details.
It’s good to have a diverse assortment of moves on your Pokémon, so you can be ready for a variety of foes.
Having selected a move, the Pokémon with the higher Speed stat will use its move first, followed by the remaining Pokémon. If a Pokémon uses a move that deals damage, it may reduce the opponent’s HP. Should a Pokémon’s HP reach 0, it will drop out of the battle.
If fortune smiles and you’re the one who brings the opponent’s HP down to 0, your Pokémon will gain experience . Like in any RPG, if you gain enough experience, you’ll Level Up and increase your stats and potentially learn new moves. Pokémon can also evolve when they Level Up.
During a wild Pokémon battle, the battle will end immediately after fainting the Pokémon. If against a trainer, however, they can send out another Pokémon into battle–like you, they can carry up to 6. The battle will proceed until either trainer has exhausted all of their Pokémon.
More often than not, it’ll be the opposing trainer that has no more Pokémon to send out. At which point, you’ll be rewarded with Poke Dollars for your efforts, which you can spend on items to aid your adventure. And that’s about the gist of Pokémon battles; of course, things can get much more complicated.
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