Multi Battle

Fighting Matt and Tabitha in a Multi Battle in the Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Special Demo Version.

A Multi Battle (Japanese: マルチバトル Multi Battle), referred to as a Tag Battle (Japanese: タッグバトル Tag Battle) in the anime, is a type of Double Battle in which two Pokémon Trainers team up against one or two others. Unlike regular Double Battles, there are no specific Trainer classes encountered for Multi Battles. Instead, two different Trainers must both see the player at the same time, starting from Emerald onward. For battles in the games' storylines, the player's opponents will usually only have three Pokémon each. However, Multi Battles occurring by being spotted by a pair of unrelated Trainers will occasionally lead to battles against more than six Pokémon. The player and their partner are only subject to such limitations in Battle Towers, allowing both to potentially send out six Pokémon.

In the games

Multi Battle mode

In Generation III, up to four players can battle with each other in a Multi Battle via link cable by choosing the "Multi Battle" mode in the Pokémon Cable Club Colosseum. Players decide which side to battle. This was the only way to have a Multi Battle in Ruby and Sapphire.

In Generation IV, the Pokémon Cable Club Colosseum was renamed to the Pokémon Communication Club Colosseum, but Multi Battles can still be conducted by selecting "Multi Battle".

In Generation VI, the player accesses Multi Battles with the Player Search System's Battle option. After selecting a connection type, the player must then change the number of players to four, and select three other players on the touch screen.

Quotes

Pokémon Center Receptionist

"Multi Battle is for four Trainers with one or more Pokémon each."

"Each Trainer can have one Pokémon in battle at a time."

In-game events

Since Pokémon Emerald, Multi Battles have been possible at various points throughout the games.

• In Pokémon Emerald, at the Mossdeep Space Center the player battles Maxie and Tabitha of Team Magma alongside Steven.
  • This is the only battle when a partner Trainer receives experience points from defeating a Pokémon. It is also the only Multi Battle in which the player can use items on the partner Trainer's Pokémon or knock out the partner Trainer's Pokémon to get experience points.
• In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the player teams up with:
  • Cheryl while traversing Eterna Forest for the first time, until they reach the Eterna City exit.
  • Riley while traversing Iron Island for the first time, until they reach the back of the island.
  • Buck while traversing Stark Mountain for the first time, until they reach the back of the cave.
  • Mira while traversing Wayward Cave for the first time, until they reach the back of the cave.
  • Marley while traversing the additional area of Victory Road for the first time, until they reach the Route 224 exit.
  • Lucas/Dawn against two Team Galactic Grunts in Jubilife City.
  • Lucas/Dawn against two Team Galactic Grunts in Veilstone City.
  • Barry against Mars and Jupiter at Spear Pillar
  • in Pokémon Platinum only, Barry against Flint and Volkner in the Fight Area, upon entering the Battle Zone for the first time
• In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the player teams up with:
  • Lance against Ariana and a Team Rocket Grunt in the Team Rocket HQ.
  • Silver against Clair and Lance in the Dragon's Den.
• In Pokémon Black and White, the player teams up with:
  • Cheren against two Team Plasma Grunts in Wellspring Cave.
  • Cheren against two Preschoolers on Route 5 at Alder's request.
• In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, the player teams up with:
  • Hugh while traversing Castelia Sewers for the first time, until they reach the Relic Passage exit.
  • Cheren against two Team Plasma Grunts on the Plasma Frigate when it is docked at the Pokémon World Tournament.
  • Hugh against two Team Plasma Grunts on the Plasma Frigate when it is docked at the Pokémon World Tournament.
  • Hugh against two Team Plasma Grunts on the Plasma Frigate when it is docked at the Seaside Cave.
  • Hugh against Zinzolin and a Team Plasma Grunt in Lacunosa Town.
  • Nate/Rosa against Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet outside Gear Station in Nimbasa City.
  • Bianca while traversing Reversal Mountain for the first time, until they reach the Undella Town exit.
  • Cheren while traversing Pinwheel Forest for the first time.
  • One of Cilan, Chili and Cress against the other two in the Striaton Gym.
• In Pokémon X and Y, the player teams up with:
  • Calem/Serena against Tierno and Trevor on Route 7.
  • Calem/Serena against Bryony and Celosia in the Poké Ball Factory.
  • Calem/Serena while traversing Team Flare Secret HQ, until they reach Xerneas/Yveltal's chamber.
• In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the player teams up with:
  • Brendan/May against Tabitha and a Team Magma Grunt^OR/Shelly and a Team Aqua Grunt^AS in Meteor Falls.
  • Steven against Courtney and a Team Magma Grunt^OR/Matt and a Team Aqua Grunt^AS on Southern Island.
  • Steven against Courtney and a Team Magma Grunt^OR/Matt and a Team Aqua Grunt^AS at the Mossdeep Space Center during the Delta Episode.

Battle facilities

Since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Multi Battles have been possible in battle facilities.

• In Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, in the Battle Tower during the Multi Battle mode the player can team up with either an NPC (including the apprentice in Pokémon Emerald) or a friend via link cable or Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter (the latter in Pokémon Emerald only).
• In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, in the Battle Tower during the Multi Battle mode the player can team up with either another player via DS Wireless Communication or with one of the stat Trainers (Cheryl, Mira, Riley, Marley, and Buck). In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, these partner Trainers will only appear after the player finishes exploring with them in their areas.
• In Pokémon Black and White, in the Battle Subway on the Multi Train the player can team up with either another player via DS Wireless Communication or with Hilbert/Hilda.
• In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, in the Battle Subway on the Multi Train the player can team up with either another player via DS Wireless Communication or with Nate/Rosa.
• In Pokémon X and Y, in the Battle Maison during the Multi Battle mode the player can team up with either another player via 3DS Wireless Communication, an NPC avatar of another player on the player's Friend List, or with Tierno, Trevor, or Shauna.
• In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, in the Battle Maison during the Multi Battle mode the player can team up with either another player via 3DS Wireless Communication, Brendan (if the player is female)/May (if the player is male), Wally, Steven, and Maxie^OR/Archie^AS.

In the anime

Ash and Dawn with Turtwig and Piplup, preparing for a Tag Battle

Tag Battles have been featured in the anime since the second episode, with Jessie and James initiating the first Tag Battle. At this time, Misty stated that Tag Battles were against the official league rules. Team Rocket continues to challenge the main protagonists in Tag Battles regularly.

Tag Battles have become more common in the anime as of the Advanced Generation series. Notably, on two occasions, Ash has paired up with two of his female companions. The first time was in The Bicker the Better, with May and The Champ Twins!, with Dawn. In both situations, Ash had gotten into an argument with his partner and ended up making up with them and becoming in sync with them during battle.

Ash and Brock have also been shown to work well together as a team, with Pikachu and Sudowoodo easily taking down a Snorlax/Munchlax husband/wife combination in A Full Course Tag Battle. In the same episode, May and Dawn teamed up and were also victorious in their Tag Battle. Bagged Then Tagged! also featured a Tag Battle, with Ash and Dawn defeating Lyra and Khoury.

Hearthome City has its own special competition known as the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition. Trainer pairs are chosen randomly, with each Trainer receiving a card with a number on it and partnering with the Trainer whose number is paired with their number. Ash won this tournament paired with Paul, despite the two working very poorly together.

In Lost at the Stamp Rally!, Ash and Cilan fought in a Tag Battle against Ingo and Emmet, which Ash and Cilan lost despite fighting excellently. In Evolution Exchange Excitement!, Ash and Cilan battled and won against Bianca and Professor Juniper. Ash and Cilan also fought together in a Tag Battle against two brothers named Soren and Rocko in A Surface to Air Tag Battle Team! and managed to win here as well. In New Places... Familiar Faces!, Ash and Nanette battled against Iris and Cilan, though the battle was interrupted by Team Rocket in their attempt to capture Pikachu.

A special type of Tag Battle was introduced in Battling Into the Hall of Fame! known as a Team Battle, which consists of 3, 5 or 7 Trainers battling as a team using various types of formations. These battles usually occur when many Trainers get together, and are often accompanied with a strategy meeting which involve comparing personalities and skills of Pokémon while deciding on battle formations and battle-combo moves. In this episode, Ash, Serena, and Clemont were victorious against Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor in a Triple Tag Battle with Pikachu, Fennekin, and Chespin facing Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Tag Battles were uncommon prior to Generation III and IV due to the fact that they hadn't been formally introduced yet, although multiple Trainers battling a single opponent (such as Sabrina vs. Red, Blue, and Green or Bill and Lt. Surge vs. Bruno) were common. The first true Tag Battle occurs when Gold and Crystal fought against Sham and Carl's two Pokémon together.

Much later, as with the then recently-released Emerald version which fully introduced this feature, the two protagonists of the Ruby & Sapphire arc, named appropriately after the two games, would fight together against Archie and Maxie in both the Seafloor Cavern and after Groudon and Kyogre's return to their slumber. Silver and Yellow also fought against two opponents, but as Yellow didn't begin to attack until after the former was losing, it is dubious as to whether it can be called a true Tag Battle.

Several Tag Battles also occur during the Diamond & Pearl arc, including those of two pairs fighting many opponents.

Trivia

• When battling alongside Steven in Emerald, his Pokémon are shown to gain experience after the defeat of an opponent Pokémon. This does not happen to a partner's Pokémon in the Multi Battles of Generation IV.
  • Having the player's party be defeated in the Multi Battle with Steven will cause the player to white out. This was also changed in Generation IV, where a white out will not occur until both the player's and the partner's Pokémon are all knocked out.
• The Multi Battle against Mars and Jupiter in the Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum games has the potential to be a twelve-on-six fight, due to Barry's full party. All other Multi Battles in the game have numbers that are more even.
• There are no battles in which the player character and a partner Trainer battle against a single opponent.
• In Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, when the player chooses either the Multi Battle or Super Multi Battle format in the Battle Maison, they can team with Maxie in Pokemon Omega Ruby or Archie in Pokemon Alpha Sapphire.

Battle Modes at Pokémon Communication Club Colosseum Battles for Two Single Battle • Double Battle • Mix Battle • Flat Battle Battles for Four Multi Battle Specific Rule sets Standard Cup • Double Cup Fancy Cup • GS Cup • Light Cup • Little Cup

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