Tetra's Guide to Writing Pokemon Battles

[Flyg0n]

Battle Building!​

I love to think about battles in pokemon fics and all the different factors. So much goes into battles, and the balancing act of how you build them for your setting. If your fic prominently in any way features battles, it can be helpful to ask yourself how battles work and how they are integrated into your setting. Whether you use loose limits, hard constriats, magic or biology. Knowing what is and is not possible smoothes the road a lot!

Just like any other aspect, it plays into worldbuilding and understanding how you want to write your battles can make it easier for yourself. As always, there's not necessarily any single "correct" way to write them. Rather, the choices you make about how to protray battles can be useful ways to deepen your world, culture and characters. Try not to think of these as rigid elements but think more about themes and vibes you want to achieve.

Do you want battles to be epic showdowns with massive feats of strength and power that are flashy, or do you want a grounded and tactical feel? Do you want it to feel scientific, or wonderous and inexplicable?

So I got to thinking and then came up with a list of questions one can ask themself about battling in their world. These are NOT all *necessary* to know but it can be fun to define these. Rather these are guidelines. And this isn't comprehensive I'm sure. Feel free to suggest ideas to add!

Just thought this would be a fun resource:

• Is battle done for sport/fun or purely for survival?
• Do pokemon get injured regularly in battle, and to what degree?
• How easy is recovery, can they heal from most battles on their own with rest/berries/potions or do battles require trips to a pokemon center?
• Are moves entirely biological, or are they magical/energy based or something else?
• How many moves can a pokemon learn & upkeep regularly? How easy this?
• What does it take to learn a move? Days of training, weeks, or just hours?
• Do TM's exist and if so do they provide instant knowledge?
• How easy are TM's to acquire and use ($$) and how easy is it to load a pokemon with them?
• Can moves be fused with other moves, and how many moves can be fused? Why or why not?
• Does type effectiveness exist and to what degree?
• Do trainers/battlers take turns at all?
• How do battles differ when fighting villains/dangerous bad guys, if at all?
• Are abilities a factor, and how many can a pokemon have? Are they changeable? How?
• If weather moves exist, what determines whose weather condition wins if two are used simultaneously?
• Does moves work on PP, stamina, or some other factor, and what determines how much of a move they can use?
• How do you determine movepools?
• Are there strict delineations between moves or is it more flexible (e.g. Ember vs Flamethrower or is all just fire?)
• Can held items be used in battle? What kinds?
• Do assist moves with secondary effects work the same (like Roar, Dragon Tail, Baton Pass, Beat Up etc)?
• Are there any special regulations in league matches vs casual or wild battles? (timers, move limits, etc)
• How much guidance from trainers do pokemon get; are commands called during battle or does the trainer mainly work with a mon outside battle and let them hash it out?
• Are there strategies (like spamming toxic + protect) that people look down on?