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Newly introduced in Pokémon X and Y, these unique battles offer new ways of fighting or catching Pokémon.

Horde Battles

We dare you not to laugh upon seeing a horde of crazy Spinda.

In certain Routes, there’s a chance you’ll encounter a horde of Pokémon when moving through grass. When this occurs, you’ll be beset by not one, not two, but five wild Pokémon at once - typically of the same species. These Pokémon will be weaker than usual, so no worries about getting overwhelmed.

To make Horde battles a breeze, be sure your Pokémon has wide-area moves like Surf or Earthquake. If you want to catch a Pokémon from its horde, you’ll want a fairly durable Pokémon too who can withstand up to 5 (albeit weak) attacks or ailments per turn.

You can force a Horde battle by using the Sweet Scent move (learned by certain Grass-type Pokémon) or Honey item provided you can encounter Hordes in that location in the first place (and it’s not raining). The benefit(s) of Horde battles may not be obvious at first, but here are some reasons to like them:

  • Pokémon in Hordes are more likely to have a Hidden Ability (previously possessed by Dream World Pokémon in Black and White).
  • Since you encounter 5 Pokémon for the price of 1, you can earn 5 times the EVs (Effort Values) per battle, vastly speeding up EV training.
  • For the same reason, your rate of finding a Shiny Pokémon is multiplied by 5 too. The rate will still be very low, but it’s better than nothing, right?

Sky Battles

Across Kalos there are a select few Sky Trainers who you can challenge in death-defying Sky Battles - these are a new type of trainer battle using Flying-type Pokémon or Pokémon with the Levitate ability only. Since it’s entirely possible that you have no eligible Pokémon in your team, these battles are optional and not forced like normal trainer battles.

Should you accept the Sky Trainer’s challenge, you’ll obviously want some strong Flying/Levitate Pokémon so your ego doesn’t go plummeting to the ground. Otherwise, besides the restriction on Pokémon (and the breathtaking backdrop), Sky Battles behave exactly the same as your regular Single Battles.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Pokemon Company International
  • Platforms,
    3DS
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    1 November 2013
  • Last Updated
    11 July 2022
  • Guide Author
    Daniel Chaviers

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Become the ultimate Pokémon champion with our greatest Pokémon strategy guide yet. Inside we cover:

  • Everything that’s new to Pokémon X & Y.
  • 5 amazing tips to get your Pokémon collecting off to a blistering start.
  • Every single route, trainer battle and hidden shortcuts are covered.
  • What Pokémon can be found on what routes (both versions).
  • How to beat every single gym leader without breaking a sweat.
  • Where to find all those hidden items.
  • The locations of every single legendary Pokémon!
  • Where to find all of the amazing Mega Stones.
  • Pokémon-Amie, Super Training, Battle Chateau etc all covered!
  • Accompanied by over 240 super high-quality screenshots!
  • Additional details on the elusive event Pokemon distributions.
  • Encounter rates for finding wild Pokemon.
  • Videos for all the Gym Leader and Elite Four battles, plus legendary and shiny Pokemon.
  • Dozens of additional tips and reminders throughout the main walkthrough.
  • How to solve crime with the Looker Bureau in the post-game.
  • Full breakdown on how to breed the perfect Pokémon of your dreams!
  • How to catch those insanely rare Shiny Pokémon!
  • List of all the really helpful (and free) O-Powers.

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