Pokkén Tournament

Pokkén Tournament is a fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was teased in August 2013 in a Japanese event. On August 26, 2014, it was officially announced by Famitsu. It was released in Japanese arcades on July 16, 2015, and eventually released worldwide on the Wii U on March 18, 2016.
==Gameplay==
=== 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 defence 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 - 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 - 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 - 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.
=== Modes ===
* Practice - In Techne City, players can participate in a tutorial on how to play the game and play practice battles using any rules. Players can also access the Action Dojo and the Combo Dojo.
* Single Battle - Tellur Town is the home of single battles. Once the CPU's Pokémon and level are set, battle begins.
* Local Battle - Selen Island is where two players playing on the same system go to battle.
* Online Battle - Neos City is the portal to battle on the Internet. Players may also check out the global rankings here.
* Ferrum League - Players battle here to become the Ferrum League Champion. There are four different levels of league play that players can participate in; each league consists of league matches to find the top 8 in the league. Those eight face off in an elimination bracket to determine the league champion. This is a single-player mode.
* My Town - Old Ferrum Town is the player's hometown and is where players can change settings such as their character profile and avatar, Battle Pokémon, and Support Pokémon set. Players can also see their battle record in this area.
=== Ferrum League ===
The Ferrum League is the place where trainers go to try to become the Champion. The goal is to get into the top eight trainers, as which point players may vie for the championship. There are four modes of play here:
* League Match - Initially the only mode available, this is where players begin their journey to the top of the league by battling other league participants in a set of five matches. When five matches are completed, players are assigned a new rank based on their performance and returned to the Ferrum League menu.
* Tournament - When players make it into the top eight, they are allowed to enter the bracketed tournament where the winner becomes Ferrum League Champion. (Locked until a player is in the Top 8.)
* Promotion Test - Once a player is Champion of a division in the Ferrum League, it's possible to participate in a battle against the League Master. Winning this battle gains access to the next league. (Locked until the player becomes Champion of its respective League.)
* Free Battle - Players may battle in matches against league participants. Battles are against a random member of the respective League.
* Mission Panels - In Pokkén Tournament DX, there is a new mission panel board for its respective League. Rewards such as galleries and avatar items can be obtained by unlocking the requirements.
=== Official Group Matches ===
From 2017 to 2019, The Pokémon Company held Group Matches that offered unique titles to participants. Each match was themed after a specific playable Pokémon, with the group match itself being named after their Burst Attack.
Only matches taking place between 11:00 am and 3:00 am UTC counted towards placements. All players who completed a match received a participation reward after the event's conclusion, while players who placed within the top 100 of the group also received a title based on their placement:
* 1st - 10th: Chroma League Master
* 11th - 30th: Red League Master
* 31st - 60th: Blue League Master
* 61st - 100th: Green League Master
Those who had already obtained a Group Match's participation title and qualified for it again in a rerun would receive 10,000 Poké Gold instead.
== Plot ==
In the Ferrum region, where competitions known as Ferrum Battles are held, the player takes control of a character who aims to rise to the top of the Ferrum League. After creating the avatar, the player meets Nia, their guide to the Ferrum League. With their partner Pokémon, the player enters the first rank of the Ferrum League and battles their way to the Promotion Test, which allows entry into the next rank. However, the player is ambushed by a mysterious young woman with a strange black Mewtwo, whom they are forced to fight.
Regardless of the outcome of the fight against the black Mewtwo, the player progresses to the next rank. The black Mewtwo and mysterious woman appear again and challenge the player once more. As the player continues to rise in the Ferrum League, other competitors begin gossiping about the Mewtwo—now dubbed Shadow Mewtwo—and a strange phenomenon in which Gaia, the energy that allows Synergy Stones to bond the humans and Pokémon in Ferrum, appears to be draining away.
After the player clears the third rank, the Ferrum League is put on hold as a result of the draining of Gaia energy. The mysterious woman introduces herself as Anne and explains the events that are occurring. Shadow Mewtwo is a normal Mewtwo, corrupted by the Shadow Synergy Stone embedded in its shoulder; when Anne was a child, the Shadow Synergy Stone endangered her, and to protect her from its influence, Mewtwo sacrificed itself to take her place. Mewtwo is now being consumed by the Shadow Synergy Stone, which is forcing it to fight opponents throughout Ferrum to gain greater power. The Shadow Synergy Stone's power is causing Gaia energy to drain as well. Anne hopes to save Mewtwo by purifying the Shadow Synergy Stone using a special brooch containing a Synergy Stone, separating the two so Mewtwo can return to a peaceful existence while Anne returns the purified stone to her people. Anne guides the player and Nia to the Regi Ruins, where she introduces Walter, the elder of her people, who reveals that the brooch is currently lacking the power to purify the Shadow Synergy Stone. This can be repaired by the brooch being exposed to the Synergy Power of high-level battles, so Walter challenges the player, then directs them to fight three others scattered throughout the region. However, after the second fight of the three, Anne realizes time has run out and Shadow Mewtwo must be dealt with immediately.
With support from Nia and Anne, the player ventures deep into the woods of northern Ferrum, where Shadow Mewtwo's hideout is finally located. Though unable to use Synergy Burst due to the severe drainage of Gaia, the player engages in a final battle with Shadow Mewtwo. The Shadow Synergy Stone's power fluctuates throughout the fight, forcing a 1-1 tie between the player and Shadow Mewtwo. For the final round, Anne's prayers manage to focus enough Gaia to allow the player to use a permanent Synergy Burst. Once defeated, Shadow Mewtwo collapses and the Shadow Synergy Stone begins overloading, but Anne's brooch overwhelms and finally purifies it. The stone separates from Shadow Mewtwo, returning it to its normal form. Though saddened by the fact that the brooch broke during use, Anne expresses gratitude for the player saving Mewtwo, whom she asks the player to take care of — unlocking Mewtwo as a playable character — while she returns the purified Shadow Synergy Stone to the safety of her people's care.
With the disaster averted and Gaia restored, the Ferrum League reopens, allowing the player to resume their quest to reach the top by winning the Chroma League. Once the player accomplishes the championship, Shadow Mewtwo is unlocked as a playable character from that point forward. Additionally, a secret Ferrum League rank—the Iron League—becomes accessible, and the player may freely replay a number of the Shadow Mewtwo story events.
==Characters==
thumb|255x255px
===Playable===
==== Wii U and Arcade ====
*Blaziken
*Braixen
*Chandelure
*Charizard
*Gardevoir
*Garchomp
*Gengar
*Lucario
*Machamp
*Mewtwo
*Pikachu
*Pikachu Libre
*Sceptile
*Suicune
*Weavile
==== Arcade only ====
* Croagunk
*Darkrai
*Empoleon
*Scizor
===Supporting===
*Emolga - Uses Shock Wave to decrease the opponents speed.
*Fennekin - Uses Ember to create a fire trap on the field.
*Snivy - Uses Leaf Tornado to attack the opponent.
*Lapras - Uses Surf to damage opponents in its path.
*Frogadier - Uses Water Pulse to shoot water bullets. The attack does more damage at farther range.
*Eevee - Uses Helping Hand to heal the user and increase their Attack power.
*Jirachi - Uses Wish to restore the users Synergy Gauge and slightly boost Attack power.
*Whimsicott - Uses Substitute to heal the user and makes them immune to attacks for a few seconds.
*Ninetales - Uses Will-O-Wisp to shoot small fire bits at the opponent. This will temporarily decrease their Attack power.
*Mismagius - Uses Ominous Wind to attack the opponent and slightly boost the users Attack power.
*Farfetch'd - Uses Fury Cutter to attack the opponent.
*Electrode - Uses Explosion to counter any enemy attacks with a huge explosion.
* Sylveon - Uses Reflect to heal the user and temporarily increase their Defense.
* Croagunk - Uses Toxic to temporarily decrease the opponents Defense.
* Cubone - Uses Bonemerang to attack the opponent from a distance. The attack also drags opponents in closer.
* Diglett - Uses Dig to attack opponents from below.
* Magneton - Uses Tri Attack to attack the opponent from a distance. It can cause two random negative statuses if it hits.
* Quagsire - Uses Mud Bomb to attack the opponent from the ground.
* Pachirisu - Uses Follow Me to restrict the opponent to only physical attacks.
* Magikarp - Uses Bounce to interrupt attacks from the opponent.
* Rotom - Uses Thunder Shock to decrease the Speed of airborne opponents.
* Togekiss - Uses Tailwind to heal the user and increase their Speed.
* Dragonite - Uses Draco Meteor to attack the opponent over a large area.
* Victini - Uses V-Create to heal HP, refill the Synergy Gauge, and make all the users attacks critical hits. The opponent can also get damaged if they interact with Victini while it flies offscreen.
* Yveltal - Uses Oblivion Wing to attack the opponent and stop their Synergy Gauge from charging.
* Latios - Uses Luster Purge to trap the opponent and restrict movement.
* Espeon - Uses Morning Sun to remove any negative statuses and heal HP. More health is recovered if there is less time in the match.
* Umbreon - Uses Snarl to absorb the opponents Synergy Gauge and prevent critical hits.
* Reshiram - Uses Blue Flare to attack the opponent with strong flames.
* Cresselia - Uses Lunar Dance to cure negative statuses, heal HP, and refill the Synergy Gauge.
==Trivia==
*The name Pokkén is derived from Pokémon and Tekken. The game's logo is similar to Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
**Interestingly, the game is named Pokémon Tekken in German.
*The fighting engine is somehow a combination of other 3-D arena-based fighting games, such as the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series and Dissidia Final Fantasy.
*The special attack combos are similar to Rage Arts from the upcoming Tekken 7.
*It is the only Pokémon production in where its' English dub wasn't recorded in the United States. Instead, the dub was recorded in Japan in where the voice cast was comprised of native English-speakers.
*The Wii U version of Pokkén Tournament has no playable Bug or Steel-type Pokémon, and no versions of the game have any playable Normal-type Pokémon.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Wii U games