Pokémon Battrio
- This article is about the arcade game. For the manga, see Pokémon Battrio Mezase! Battrio Master.
| Pokémon BATTRIO | |
|---|---|
 Pokémon BATTRIO arcade machine | |
Basic info
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| Platform: | Arcade |
| Category: | Battle simulation |
| Players: | 1 or 2 players simultaneous |
| Connectivity: | None |
| Developer: | Takara Tomy/AQ Interactive |
| Publisher: | Nintendo |
| Part of: | Generation IV miscellaneous |
Ratings
| |
| CERO: | N/A |
| ESRB: | N/A |
| ACB: | N/A |
| OFLC: | N/A |
| PEGI: | N/A |
| GRAC: | N/A |
| GSRR: | N/A |
Release dates
| |
| Japan: | September 14, 2007 |
| North America: | N/A |
| Australia: | N/A |
| Europe: | N/A |
| South Korea: | N/A |
| Hong Kong: | N/A |
| Taiwan: | N/A |
Websites
| |
| Japanese: | ポケモンバトリオ |
| English: | N/A |
(Japanese: ポケモンバトリオ Pokémon BATTRIO) is an arcade game in the vein of Pokémon Stadium or Pokémon Battle Revolution, in that the sole focus is on Pokémon battles. The game uses special pucks that affect which Pokémon can be used. The main gameplay difference is that three Pokémon are used on each side (a feature later introduced in Generation V), hence the name "Battrio", a contraction of the words "Battle" and "Trio".
Conceived as a joint venture between Takara Tomy and AQ Interactive, the development of Pokémon Battrio was announced on April 11, 2007 by Takara Tomy vice president Keita Satoh and AQ Interactive vice president Yoji Ishii. Marketed at a primary audience of 6-12 years, the battle system was stipulated to be much simpler when compared to the core release of Pokémon games. Battrio was originally scheduled to launch on July 14, 2007, but was pushed back to September 14 the same year.
System
Pokémon Battrio operates on a Triforce arcade system and uses cel-shaded graphics. The machine costs ¥100 to operate for each player; a random puck is also dispensed from the machine per coin inserted. The console itself has only two buttons for each player; an orange button that is used to cycle through options in the game, and a larger yellow button used to confirm commands and interact with certain gameplay mechanics. Above these are 4x4 grids that the pucks are placed on and manipulated, as their positioning directly influences the positioning of the Pokémon on the in-game battlefield. Between these grids in the center of the console is the infrared scanner used for scanning in pucks.
New mechanics are often introduced to keep the game alive, and as such, the system itself is upgraded to accommodate these new changes, as well as cosmetic changes to the interface.
- Pokémon Battrio was the launch version and proving ground for the games appeal.
- Pokémon Battrio Plus (Japanese: ポケモンバトリオプラス, stylized Pokémon Battrio +) was rolled out on January 25, 2008 in conjunction with release of the Mewtwo's Challenge expansion. The upgrade added minor changes to damage calculation and expanded the type table to cover all 17 elemental types.
- Pokémon Battrio Super (Japanese: ポケモンバトリオスーパー, stylized Pokémon Battrio S) was rolled out on 19 July, 2008 in conjunction with the release of the Giratina Tremor expansion. The upgrade featured a major overhaul in terms of damage calculation, brought a number of new mechanics to enhance battle experience, and new battle modes to challenge players.
- Pokémon Battrio Zero (Japanese: ポケモンバトリオゼロ, stylized Pokémon Battrio 0) was rolled out on 19 July, 2009 in conjunction with the release of the Arceus Advent expansion, and is the current version. The upgrade featured a re-designed interface, added more interaction within battles, and enhanced gameplay mechanics.
Pucks
Pucks are integral to the gameplay of Pokémon Battrio, as at least one is required to play the game. The pucks themselves are made of high-quality plastic with a 40mm diameter and a thickness of 3.4mm. Each puck portrays one of the fictional Pokémon species along with a set of individual statistics such as Hit Points, Attack, Defense, and Speed, as well as elemental types and moves, just as they feature in the main series of Pokémon games. All of this data is stored on a microdot on the reverse of each puck, which is read into the game when it is positioned over the infrared scanner.
Mechanics
Statistics
The stats displayed on the lower segment of each puck give a general indication as to how powerful a Pokémon is. The Attack (colored red) and Defense (colored blue) are displayed in blocks ranging from 1-5; 5 being more powerful than 1. This is only a rough indication, as each stat is a numerical value. Attack and Defense provide the base for all damage calculation in battles. The HP value in the center of these (above Defense prior to Battrio 0) shows how much a particular Pokémon will contribute to the overall HP of the team.
From Battrio 0 onwards, the upper segment also displays the Pokémon's Speed (colored light blue). The principle remains the same as Attack and Defense, though Speed determines how quickly a Pokémon can move around the field, and in Battrio 0, whether it attacks first or second.
There are also a number of stats not displayed on pucks that each Pokémon possesses. Exhaustion determines how much Attack and Defense a Pokémon will lose if it is affected by Exhaustion during a battle; the Critical Hit Ratio determines the chance of inflicting more damage with an attack; some Pokémon may also have a Secret Power, which gives a small Attack bonus.
Special Abilities
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The HP of the team is given a boost |
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The Attack of each Pokémon in the team is given a boost |
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The Defense of each Pokémon in the team is given a boost |
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The Speed of each Pokémon in the team is given a boost |
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The team is given a berry that may enhance a particular stat |
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The support between team members is improved |
Special Abilities were introduced in Battrio S and provide additional benefits for the team. Pokémon with Special Abilities will have one of six different icons in the center of the upper segment of the puck, and if designated as lead Pokémon, will activate its ability upon commencement of the battle. To the right is a table of the different Special Abilities Pokémon may have.
Awakening
| Vigor きあい |
If Great Success is achieved during a battle, the Pokémon will gain a +40 Attack boost |
| Bonds きずな |
If all Pokémon are on a Power Zone, all Pokémon gain a +30 stat boost |
| Rage げきど |
The Pokémon will do more damage if the Fervor guage is 1.5x or higher |
| Gale はやて |
The Pokémon gains a +25 Attack and Defense boost |
| Fervor やるき |
Berries collected by the Pokémon will increase the Fervor guage faster |
| Prayer いのり |
If Advent is successfully triggered, the Pokémon will do +80 more damage |
Debuting in the Mewtwo Awakening expansion, Awakening utilises existing gameplay elements in various ways to provide additional bonuses to Pokémon on the field. Pokémon with Awakening are identified by a colored name box with the ability above their name. A Pokémon may only have one Awakening ability, hence pucks from one expansion may have two identical versions with the exception of their Awakening ability. Two new Awakening abilities have been added with every expansion since its debut up until Endless Fierce Battle, meaning there are currently six different types of Awakening abilities. These are listed in the adjacent table.
Types and moves
A Pokémon's type is indicated by the symbol to the left of the puck name on the upper segment. Its type determines what move types it will be weak against or resistant to in battle. The 17 elemental types featured in Pokémon Battrio are the same as those found in the main series Pokémon games, as well as their individual strengths and weaknesses. Notable type additions include the Full-Plate and Eleven-Plate, both of which are used exclusively on Arceus pucks, in relation to the plates that can be attached to it in the main series.
Each Pokémon has only one move, as opposed to four in the main series. From the Darkrai Invasion expansion onwards, the move is displayed to the right of the puck name on the upper segment. Prior to Battrio 0, moves were always of the same type as the Pokémon, but from the upgrade onwards, moves could be of types other than the Pokémon's type, allowing for more interesting battle tactics. The Great Gathering of Legendary & Mirage Pokémon! Explosive Double Moves expansion enhanced this further by introducing Pokémon that could be one of up to two types.
Some pucks may also have a Bonus, which has a move attributed to it. These are not displayed on pucks like the normal move and have a small effect on stats (either on the Pokémon using it or the target Pokémon) during damage calculation.
Rarity
As with most games that have a collection element, the pucks in Pokémon Battrio have several levels of rarity across each expansion, as more powerful Pokémon are inherently rarer than weaker ones. Rarity in Battrio is displayed by featuring the designs of different Poké Balls on the reverse of pucks, and their primary color schemes on the outer circumference on both sides. Each expansion features four core rarities: Normal, Super, Hyper, and Master, represented by a Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball and Master Ball respectively. As the development of Battrio has continued, other Poké Ball designs have been used on special promotional pucks, or on secret pucks included in main expansions. The table below lists the current rarities in Battrio.
Prior to Battrio V
ノーマル
スーパー
ハイパー
マスター
クイック
プレシャス
プレミア
サファリ
ゴージャス
ヒール
リピート
タイマー
In Battrio V
Standard Rarities
Gameplay
Setup
Upon starting a battle, the player has 60 seconds to scan in up to three Battrio pucks using the infrared scanner in the center of the console. The data is then transferred and each respective Pokémon will appear on screen. If the player has only one or two pucks, the game will assign random Pokémon to make the deficit. Players can scan two pucks portraying the same Pokémon as long as they are different in terms of stats or abilties. One could have a Turtwig from Dialga and Palkia Clash and a Turtwig from Darkrai Invasion, but not two Turtwig from Dialga and Palkia Clash for example.
After scanning each puck, the player must then move them onto the 4x4 grid. When the player has finished scanning their pucks, the battle is ready to begin. Before the actual battle phase, there is a pre-battle period indicated by a time bar in which players can arrange the positions of their Pokémon on the field. From the Pokémon Battrio S upgrade onwards, berries will also drop randomly on each side of the field that players can move their Pokémon over to collect and increase their damage multiplier.
Puck positioning
In Battrio, Battrio + and Battrio S
When individual pucks are positioned in the various "arrangements" detailed below, those Pokémon will gain a small Attack or Defense increase that may give them an edge in battle. Specific groups of Pokémon together on the field can also activate combo bonuses, typically those of an evolutionary line or related Legendary Pokémon.
| Attack Positions | Defense Positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| "Advancement" | "Flanking Attack" | "Sudden Attack" | "Retreat" | "Ambush" | "Iron Wall" |
- All Pokémon in the "Advancement Arrangement" gain +20 Attack.
- The two Pokémon closest to the center of the battlefield in the "Flanking Attack Arrangement" gain +25 Attack, followed by +10 Attack to the Pokémon at the back.
- The lead Pokémon in the "Sudden Attack Arrangement" gains +30 Attack, followed by +15 and +5 Attack respectively to the Pokémon behind.
- All Pokémon in the "Retreat Arrangement" gain +20 Defense.
- The two Pokémon furthest to the center in the "Ambush Arrangement" gain +25 Defense, followed by +10 Defense to the Pokémon at the front.
- The Pokémon furthest from the center in the "Iron Wall Arrangement" gains +30 Defense, followed by +15 and +5 Defense respectively to the Pokémon in front.
In Battrio 0
The Battrio 0 upgrade rejects the "arrangement" concept in favor of individual areas of the field called Power Zones that provide Attack or Defense bonuses, represented by red and blue areas respectively. The positions of Power Zones vary from field to field, but they remain fixed for the course of the match. White Power Zones may also appear during the course of the match that provides both an Attack and Defense bonus.
Battling
Unlike Pokémon battles in the core games, the HP displayed on each puck is used to create one overall HP bar, as opposed to belonging to individual Pokémon. After the pre-battle period is over, the Pokémon cannot be moved until after the first round of battles. From here the way in which the battle is carried out depends on the version of Pokémon Battrio the console is running.
In Battrio and Battrio +
The player going first then has 9 seconds to choose which Pokémon to attack with and choose the opponent Pokémon to attack. The values for the Attack of the attacking player's Pokémon and the Defense of the defending player's Pokémon are then shown. Additional bonuses such as those gained from arrangements, combos or type advantages are then added or subtracted from those values. The Pokémon that has the highest value at the end of the damage calculation then deals that amount of damage to the opponent player's HP. In the event of a tie, damage is dealt to both players.
In Battrio S
Battrio S gave a major overhaul in terms of damage calculation in battles. Instead of basing this off the greatest value, it is based on the difference between the Attack of the attacking player's Pokémon and the Defense of the defending player's Pokémon. Additional bonuses such as those mentioned above then come into effect. Special Ability bonuses, which were introduced in Battrio S are also taken into account at this stage. Another new feature introduced in Battrio S was Fervor, which acts as a damage multiplier. The Fervor guage is present under the HP bar and can be filled by moving Pokémon around the field to collect berries that randomly appear during the pre-battle period between player's turns. Filling the guage will increase Fervor by 0.5x increments, which can have a pivotal effect in damage calculation. The difference in damage is then dealt to the HP bar of the player who lost the battle.
In Battrio 0
Instead of players attacking in alternate rounds, both players attack per round with two consecutive battles. In previous versions the player simply selected one of their Pokémon on the field to attack with, now the stats for each Pokémon are displayed for both players and each player must select one of their Pokémon within the 9 second time limit. This method puts more emphasis on anticipating your opponent to try and gain an advantage.
The order of the attacks in each round is determined by the Pokémon with the highest Speed stat. As with previous versions, Attack/Defense bonuses, type advantages and Special Ability bonuses come into effect when calculating damage. A new feature in Battrio 0 is a bar that appears under the type icon of each Pokémon. The area of this bar depends on the type advantage/disadvantage of the attacking Pokémon, though the principle for each player remains the same: the closer to the center of the bar the marker is when the player hits the confirm button, the better the Attack or Defense bonus they will gain. Hitting the white line exactly in the center (called Great Success) gives a maximum boost. Once all of the calculations have been completed, the difference in damage is taken from the HP of the loser of that battle. The process then repeats for the slower of the two Pokémon.
Another new feature to Battrio 0 is Advent, which acts as a 'finishing move' of sorts. If a player is leading by a considerable margin, they can choose to activate Advent when the symbol appears below their HP bar, triggering a short animation in which they have to press the confirm button just as the two halves of the Advent symbol merge. Successfully triggering Advent will summon a random Pokémon to inflict extra damage to the opponent.
After a round of battles has been completed, there then follows another pre-battle period in which players can switch the positions of their Pokémon, followed by the next round. Players may use the same Pokémon to battle again in the next round, but it may suffer as a result of Exhaustion. Pokémon affected by Exhaustion are identified by sweat droplets by their name and receive a reduction in stats, therefore it is generally advisable to use the remaining team members before resorting to use Pokémon that have already participated in a battle. The game continues until the HP of one player is depleted, thus concluding the match.
Winning in battles earns the player money to spend in-game on various items and increases type experience, relative to the types of the Pokémon used in the battle.
Game Modes
Pokémon Battrio features a number of ways to battle in an array of battle modes.
- Versus: The simplest way to get into Battrio is to have a single round VS match against a computer-controlled opponent or against a second player using the 2P section of the arcade machine.
- Adventure: In Adventure mode, the player can choose an avatar from several different Trainer designs and participate in stage-based battles against CPU opponents. Opponents get more difficult as the player progresses. Boss Trainers may also be encountered along the way, akin to Gym Leaders from the main series Pokémon games.
- Battrio Tower: Introduced in the Battrio 0 upgrade, Battrio Tower is designed to be the ultimate test of skill as players are challenged to climb the tower and reach the top. Each floor has one Trainer with a set team of Pokémon (some floors may instead have a Pokémon that leads it's own team), each one becoming progressively difficult as the Tower is climbed. Initially, Battrio Tower consisted of 100 floors. This was increased to 250 floors following the release of Challenging the Myths, again to 400 floors with the release of Mewtwo Awakening, and finally to 999 floors with the release of Great Decisive Battle! Legendary Pokémon. This mode bears some similarities to the various Battle Towers in many of the main series games.
- Challenge Battle: Also introduced in the Battrio 0 upgrade, Challenge Battles are designed to test a player's knowledge of different Pokémon and their capabilities. Each round has one Trainer with a set team, often featuring a particularly powerful Pokémon, and a pre-selected team of Pokémon for the player to use. There is often a certain strategy players must discover when competing in Challenge Battles. This mode is similar to the various challenges found on Battle CDs from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.
- Shop: The Shop can be accessed between battles in any game mode and can be used to purchase useful items that may aid the player with money they earn from participating in battles. Items include but are not limited to: various Potions that refill a percentage of the HP bar; damage multiplier bonuses that are immediate upon starting a battle; a token that allows the player to activate Advent at any time during a battle, and; the ability to upgrade the experience level of an elemental type.
Memory Keys
Memory Keys (Japanese: メモリーキー Memory Key) are memory-saving devices that are inserted into the arcade console. Sold at a retail price of about ¥600, while they are not necessary in order to play the game, they become essential for progressing through some modes.
Memory Keys allow players to select an avatar from a number of Trainer designs and name it, becoming their profile for all battles undertaken whilst the Memory Key is plugged in the console. The Memory Key keeps track of wins/losses, money earned, items obtained, experience levels of elemental types, and progress in game modes. It also has an LCD screen that players can view several of their stats on without having to plug it into the console. The screen can display the current experience level of each elemental type by scrolling along the symbols on the screen, the player's current money total, medals earned in game modes, and their current floor in Battrio Tower.
Memory Keys are available in various different colors including the standard red or blue, and various Pokémon-themed color schemes, which generally tie-in with puck expansion releases.
Puck Sets
There are currently 252 Pokémon available for use in Battrio in 17 expansion sets, plus promotional pucks and a reprint set.
Battrio
Battrio +
Battrio S
Battrio 0
- Arceus Advent
- Ho-Oh and Lugia Soar
- Decisive Battle! Kyogre and Groudon
- Sky-Tearing Rayquaza
- Challenging the Myths
- Mewtwo Awakening
- Great Decisive Battle! Legendary Pokémon
- Endless Fierce Battle
- Great Gathering of Legendary & Mirage Pokémon! Explosive Double Moves
- Great Gathering of Legendary & Mirage Pokémon! Transforming Forme Change
Special
Gallery
- BattrioAttack2.jpg
Meowth using Fury Swipes.
- BattrioAttack3.jpg
Pikachu using Thunderbolt.
- BattrioAttack4.jpg
Charizard using Blast Burn.
- BattrioAttack5.jpg
Darkrai using Dark Pulse.
- BattrioAttack6.jpg
Uxie using Extrasensory.
- BattrioAttack7.jpg
Snover using Powder Snow.
- BattrioAttack8.jpg
Torterra using Leaf Storm.
- BattrioAttack9.jpg
Gallade using Psycho Cut.
- BattrioAttack10.jpg
Onix using Rock Throw.
External Links
