Three steps: opponent, team, stage
- Opponent: choose who to fight from the game’s trainers, among them the Gym Leaders of Kanto and the Orange Islands, the Elite Four and the Champion. Their team can match yours in size and level, or use their Story Mode levels, and their strategy can be Easy, Normal or Hard.
- Team: drag Pokémon into six slots, or click one to fill the next empty slot. Random fills all six with non-legendary Pokémon. Your opponent’s team stays in view beside yours while you build.
- Stage: pick a stadium, a landmark from the world, any Kanto Gym, an Orange League arena or the Pokémon League. Each stage shows its picture and its terrain.
Any move, any level, any held item
Each team member has a level from 1 to 100 and four move slots. A move slot opens a list of every move: the moves the Pokémon learns come first, then every other move, each with its type, class, power and accuracy. Type words into the search to narrow it, such as “fire special”. A team has one of each Pokémon: once Pikachu is on it, it can’t be added again, though Raichu still can.
The moves that the real-time battle has no rule for, such as Struggle, Counter, Spikes and Baton Pass, are left out, since they could only ever fail. Each Pokémon can hold any holdable item, and every match starts with the loadout you set, berries included.
Stages with terrain
Battle Mode’s stages are the game’s own 3D places, and their ground matters. Pewter Gym’s rocky field strengthens Rock and Ground moves, metal plates power up Electric and Steel moves, and in Cerulean Gym water helps Water types and conducts electricity. The fields are large enough for big Pokémon such as Onix to move around.
A battle you can come back to
Every Battle Mode battle gets its own address, so refreshing the page takes you back into the same fight. Battle Mode never writes to your Story save, and your Story Pokémon don’t gain anything from it.
To battle a person instead of the game’s trainers, choose Human Trainer: the multiplayer guide explains how it works. The real-time battle guide covers the controls.
Questions and answers
Do I need to unlock Pokémon before using Battle Mode?
No. All 152 Pokémon are available from the start, including legendary and mythical ones.
Does Battle Mode affect my Story Mode journey?
No. It never writes to your Story save, so nothing you do in Battle Mode changes your journey or your Story Pokémon.
Can I fight the same Gym Leader again?
Yes. Pick any trainer as often as you like, on any stage, at any of the three strategy settings.
Is there a Pokémon battle simulator against AI?
Yes. Pokémon Fight’s Battle Mode is a free 3D battle simulator in your browser where you fight the game’s AI trainers, among them the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four and the Champion, at Easy, Normal or Hard strategy. You set each Pokémon’s level from 1 to 100, its four moves and its held item, then battle in real time on the stage you choose.
Can I use the simulator against a friend?
Yes. Choose Human Trainer instead of AI Trainers to send an invite link. Friend battles use their own rules: a turn-by-turn draft, level 50 and no items. See Pokémon battles online with a friend.
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