Battle techniques: dodging, guarding, beam clashes and switching

Pokémon Fight’s battles are real time: you steer your Pokémon and both sides act at once. These are the techniques that decide fights, each explained from the game’s own rules.

Spend SP, don’t waste it

Every named move costs SP and then goes on its own cooldown. Basic attacks cost nothing, and each basic hit that lands also refills some SP, on top of the steady refill over time. Keep basic attacks going while your moves recharge, and save the expensive moves for openings.

Dodge through attacks

Shift makes your Pokémon hop with a moment of invulnerability. It is ready again after about a second: sooner for fast Pokémon and later for slow, heavy ones. Dodging as an attack lands, rather than early, is what the invulnerable moment is for.

Guard when you can’t get away

Holding the right mouse button raises a guard: every direct hit deals half damage, from any direction, and it costs no SP. While guarding, your Pokémon moves at under half speed and can’t attack, though it can still dodge. It doesn’t block status conditions, poison or burn damage. On phones and tablets there is no guard button, so touch players rely on Dodge.

Win beam clashes

When both Pokémon fire beam moves at each other, such as Flamethrower against Water Gun, the beams lock together. The meeting point drifts toward the weaker beam, weighed by each move’s power, the attacker’s stat, the same-type bonus and the type matchup, so Water pushes Fire. Hold the left mouse button to push yours, at a cost of SP every second. Drive it into the foe and your move lands at full strength; after five seconds without a winner, both beams burst.

Switch with a plan

Your first switch is available at once, but after that each side waits 60 seconds of fighting before switching again. A Pokémon you switch out keeps its HP, status, SP and its moves’ cooldowns, so switching can’t refill anything. Replacing a fainted Pokémon is always allowed and doesn’t touch the timer. Opposing trainers follow the same rule.

Use the ground and the air

Fields change damage: rocky ground strengthens Rock and Ground moves, metal plates power up Electric and Steel moves, and water conducts electricity. Flying Pokémon can take off with F, climb while you hold Space and sink with Ctrl or X. Speed decides how fast a Pokémon runs, turns and dodges, so a quick Pokémon can play keep-away from a slow one.

Catching? Weaken, don’t knock out

In wild battles, lower HP raises your catch chance, and sleep or freeze doubles it. Your trainer recalls your Pokémon to throw, so pick a moment when the wild Pokémon isn’t attacking. More in the monster-catching guide.