Gameplay

Taking place in Ferrum, the game combines the gameplay of the Tekken series with the playable Pokémon characters known as Battle Pokémon.

Battles

Pokkén Tournament is a fighting game that takes elements from both traditional 2D and 3D fighters. Battles have two different phases which will often change during battle. Battles begin in Field Phase, where players can move about freely in a circular 3D environment in a 3D battlefield. If either player lands a certain type of move, a Phase Change occurs, putting the battle into Duel Phase, placing players into a 2D battlefield. Controls also change in this form of play.

Every Battle Pokémon in this game sports different HP values, which have similar function to the core series games. Battle Pokémon have three kinds of attacks collectively known as the Attack Triangle: Normal Attacks , Grab Attacks, and Counter Attacks, with each of them relating to each other like rock-paper-scissors. Battle Pokémon also have unique properties in Duel Phase known as Stance, which gives Pokémon access to different control of their attacks or variety of effects when changing their posture slightly.

Each Battle Pokémon also have a gauge that fills up as the battle progresses called the Synergy Gauge , which allows them to activate Synergy Burst  when it is full. When Synergy Burst is active, the Pokémon's attributes are greatly powered up. Synergy Burst raises their attack and defense temporarily and regenerates their HP slightly. A Battle Pokémon that has a Mega Evolution form will also Mega Evolve. While Synergy Burst is active, Pokémon can use their own Burst Attack. Burst Attack is a powerful attack that can only be used once during Synergy Burst.

Players also have to bring a Support Pokémon set and choose a Cheer Skill before the battle begins. A Support Pokémon set contains two Pokémon that either support allies or disrupt opponents, and one of these two may be brought into battle each round. Support Pokémon that inflict damage are unable to knock out a Pokémon, leaving it with 1 HP. Support Pokémon can be only summoned when the Support Gauge is full as the battle progresses. Cheer Skills are additional aides that activate between rounds and can be only activated once. Cheer Skills focus only on Synergy Gauge and Support Gauge.

Players may be able to raise their Battle Pokémon's Skill Level or SLv., as well as Skill Points , which include Attack, Defense, Synergy, and Strategy. The Attack and Defense skills work similarly to the core series games, but they affect Pokémon's stats slightly. Synergy boosts Pokémon's Attack and Defense during Synergy Burst and makes the duration of Synergy Burst longer. Strategy boosts the damage inflicted by Support Pokémon and shortens the charge time of Support Pokémon. Both positive and negative statuses can affect these stats in the battle under the specific effect, but they last a short period of time and can have up to two applied to a Battle Pokémon at once.

There are three types of battle rules:

• Basic Battle (Japanese: ベーシックバトル) - A classic fighting-style battle in three rounds. The player that knocks out opponent's Pokémon in two rounds first is the winner.
• Extra Battle (Japanese: エクストラバトル) - A three-round battle (just like Basic Battle) that includes collectible orbs that spawn on the stage that could either boost or hinder Pokémon's stats and abilities. The player that knocks out opponent's Pokémon in two rounds first is the winner.
• Team Battle (Japanese: チームバトル) - A battle exclusively in Pokkén Tournament DX, where each player chooses three different Pokémon and fights to see which team will be the last one standing. Similar to the core series games, the player sends out one of their remaining Pokémon when their Pokémon is defeated in a round. At the end of the round, the HP and Synergy Gauge of the winning Pokémon carries over. The winner is the player's team that knocks out all three opponent's Pokémon first.