Battle effects

Flamethrower's battle animation

Battle animations are used in the main series of the Pokémon games. They appear in all handheld Pokémon versions, as well as some console games such as those in the Pokémon Stadium series and Pokémon Colosseum. Battle animations are the visual display of moves used by Pokémon, as well as other in-battle effects such as weather conditions and status infliction. Battle animations require a series of sprites to make a moving animation, sometimes also using different backgrounds to enhance the scenery.

Players have the ability to turn off battle animations as they are not necessary to progress through the game, and battles progress faster without them. The animations can be turned off by opening the menu and selecting Options, then Battle Scene.

In Generation III, the battle animations of Thunder and Thunderbolt may freeze the game. Turning off the animations will solve this problem.

Battle animations were given a greater enhancement in Generation V. When a move is used, the camera will zoom in on the affected Pokémon. Sometimes during double and triple battles, the camera will pan outward so that the entire battlefield is seen clearly.

Trivia

• Pokémon battle simulators, such as NetBattle, don't use battle animations, instead only requiring text detailing the battle and often sprites of Pokémon.
• All battle animations begin at a fixed position, which leads to some controversy over how some Pokémon are able to use the attacks—- for instance, when a Cyndaquil uses Flamethrower, the flames appear to come out of its eyes.

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.