Pokemon Fan Designs Battle Royale Game Concept

Pokemon

By Steven Porfiri

Published May 29, 2024

Thread

Pokemon

Highlights

Pokemon fan creates Pokemon battle royale concept, drawing interest from fans of other game types in the series.
Simple design of the game allows for easy gameplay, with players attacking Pokemon next to them until one remains.
Unclear mechanics and strategies leave room for improvement, but concept shows promise as an entertaining minigame.

A Pokemon fan has put together a rough concept for a Pokemon battle royale minigame. The concept, while simple, has attracted other fans interested in its mechanics and comparing it to other games not in the mainline Pokemon series.

While Pokemon games are most known for their "gotta catch 'em all" style of RPG gameplay, Pokemon have been brought to other game types. Fans may recall the MOBA Pokemon Unite, or even the Pokken Tournament fighting game, or the different Pokemon mobile games available, but there is an open market for a Pokemon battle royale. Battle royale games have soared to popularity thanks to titles like Fortnite, PUBG, Apex Legends, and other shooters. But the Pokemon series, notably not a shooter, doesn't have mechanics easily lent to a battle royale design.

A New Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Could Learn a Lot From Pokemon Legends: Arceus

A Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game that incorporates Pokemon Legends: Arceus' open world and sneak mechanics would be interesting.

Enter Reddit user __grob, who recently showed off their design for a Pokemon battler that slowly eliminates combatants until one victor remains. Players are arranged in a large ring on a checkerboard pattern and attack the Pokemon immediately adjacent to them. Players surrounded by more than one enemy have separate attacks against each one. As enemies are defeated, the remaining players relocate one square away and attack anyone who has moved next to them until one remains. It's a simple design, more simple than other Pokemon games with complicated battle gimmicks, but that simplicity is the strength.

It's unclear what the damage numbers are based on, whether it's random number generation, has to do with a certain stat or aspect of the Pokemon in question, or is dependent on player input. It's also not clear what motivates movement to a certain spot, as many in the thread noted that one of the Pokemon moved off to the side early on, and didn't face many challenges. While the validity of "camping" as a strategy is up for debate, many developers look to actively dissuade camping.

Time to Return to Pokemon Rumble?

The concept brought comparisons from other users to games like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, where attacks between battling are a little more simplified than in mainline games. Others also mentioned a somewhat languishing Pokemon series, Pokemon Rumble. Rumble has gone through a few different iterations since it was first released in 2009, but mostly focuses on Pokemon toys that come to life and fight in battle royale arenas with generally simple controls. The most recent version was released in 2019, but Pokemon Rumble Rush ceased services in 2020.

The concept created by __grob is certainly entertaining to watch, if nothing else. Because the rules seem somewhat random, it's more difficult to predict how the match, especially the concept match, will end. While it's probably regrettable to engineer this concept into a game suited for gambling, it does show promise as an entertaining minigame in another Pokemon title.