Pokemon Showdown

Pokemon Showdown is a thrilling battle game inspired by the Pokemon film franchise. Build a strong team with powerful monsters to defeat Gary.

The developer named Zarel developed this game. This developer released it in October 2011. After being launched, this game captivated many players from the gaming community because of its engaging gameplay and new features. Until now, the game has been one of the hottest Pokemon games.

The plot of Pokemon Showdown

The game retells the reunion of Satoshi and Gary. Satoshi and Gary are childhood friends. Both of them are keen on Pokemon and have dreamed of becoming Pokemon masters. After the two boys left Pallet Town, they joined many exciting adventures and collected many powerful Pokemon. Then, after a long time, they reunite in Pallet Town. At that time, Gary confidently challenges Ash to battle with him. He believes that he can defeat Ash because he collected 45 Pokemon compared to Ash. Therefore, two Pokemon masters participate in an intense Full Battle. The result of the battle is still a secret for everyone. If you want to know it, play this game now, and let's see who is the ultimate champion.

Two teams in game

At the start of the game, you need to choose between two teams including Primordial Past and Desolate Future. What are the differences between these teams? Let's explore now.

Primordial Past

The representative Pokemon of this team is Primal Kyogre whose special ability is Primordial Sea. This ability is related to water. Therefore, water-type attacks will rise by 1.5% and be more effective when used under rainy conditions. In addition, the fire-type attacks will be ineffective.

Desolate Future

The representative Pokemon of the second team is Primal Groudon. Its special ability is Desolate Land known as Groudon. This ability is creating fire attacks and can be used under sunny weather. Like the Primordial Sea, the fire-type attacks will be boosted by 1.5%. However, the Primordial Sea can not be sustained under sunny weather, so it is ineffective. In particular, this special ability will not disappear until Primal Groudon disappears from the arena.

You should think carefully before choosing one of these two teams. Moreover, you also need to utilize the special abilities of Pokemon in each team.

All tiers of game

After choosing your favorite team, you must choose Pokemon with different tiers. Pokemon are classified into five tiers based on their usage and power. The tiers include Ubers, Overused, Underused, Rarely Used, and Never Used.

• Ubers: This tier has too powerful Pokemon that cannot join the standard battles. However, Pokemon in other tiers are not banned in this environment, except for Mega Rayquaza. In this game, only Mewtwo is the Uber Pokemon.
• Overused: This is a general environment in which Ubers are not permitted. This game offers five OU Pokemon including Alakazam, Mew, Gengar, Scizor, and Tyranitar.
• Underused: This tier contains Pokemon that are weaker than those of the Overused tier. Therefore, in the standard battle, they are not used. Remember that in the Underused tier, Overused and Uber Pokemon are banned to join the battle. There are two Underused Pokemon in this game. They are Gyarados and Heracross.
• Rarely Used: This tier contains Pokemon that are not used regularly in the Underused tier. In this tier, the UU, OU, and Ubers are banned. You can use the RU and NU Pokemon in the battle. There are 5 Rarely Used Pokemon which are Venusaur, Blastoise, Jolteon, Houndoom, and Aerodactyl.
• Never Used: Finally, this is the bottom tier that contains Pokemon such as Charizard, Kangaskhan, Ampharos, and Pinsir. They can be used to join battles in the UU tier. However, Pokemon in other tiers are banned in the NU environment.

Captivating gameplay of Pokemon Showdown

Join the battles

In this game, you will play Ash who is the protagonist of the Pokemon film franchise. You will encounter Gary again and at that time, you want to prove that you have become a professional Pokemon trainer and learned many things. You must choose your team and 6 Pokemon. Then, click the Start button to start the battle. In the battle, you must choose one of your Pokemon to fight against Gary's one. Click the Fight button to choose the powers of your Pokemon to attack your rival. If your attack is effective, the Pokemon of your opponent will lose a lot of blood. You must attack it until it runs out of blood. In contrast, if your Pokemon is defeated, it will faint and return to the Pokeball. At that time, another Pokemon from your Pokeball will appear. If you want to change the Pokemon, you can click the Pokemon button. If you want to activate the shiny form of your Pokemon, you can choose the Bag button. Finally, click the Run button if you cannot defeat your rival. Your objective is to make all Pokemon of your rival faint. If you can do that, you will get a victory. Note that in each battle, your opponent will use different Pokemon. Therefore, you cannot apply one strategy for all battles. Instead, in each fight, you must build a distinct fighting tactic to make sure that you will become the winner. Moreover, you must understand the types, weaknesses, and strengths of all Pokemon.

Purchase shiny forms of character

In the shop, you can use your money to buy the shiny forms of the Pokemon. Note that when the Pokemon become shiny versions, their combat power will increase dramatically. Moreover, their individual values also rise greatly. This will make the Pokemon become more powerful and cause considerable damage to your opponent. In addition, the appearances of the Pokemon will also change if you activate their shiny versions. Note that the shiny version of each Pokemon has a distinct price. For example, you must pay 500 dollars to buy the shiny form of Blastoise while the shiny form of Charizard is 2000 dollars. The shiny form of Gengar costs 1000 dollars. Meanwhile, the shiny form of Mewtwo costs 1500 dollars. You should accumulate as much money as possible to buy shiny forms of all Pokemon.

All types of character in game

Pokemon are classified based on not only their usage but also their features. All Pokemon in this game are arranged into 18 official types. Here are some dominant types of Pokemon in this game.

Psychic Type

There are three psychic-type Pokemon in this game. They are Mewtwo, Alakazam, and Mew. Note that these Pokemon are weak when fighting against Pokemon belonging to Dark, Ghost, and Bug types. However, these Pokemon also have different strengths.

• Mewtwo: This is a legendary Pokemon because it is super powerful. Mewtwo has a psychic power that helps to augment its muscles and create great damage. Its Ice Beam power can freeze the target while its Fire Blast power can burn the target. Besides, you can use its Aura Sphere power to deal damage.
• Alakazam: This is the Gen-I Pokemon. Its Psychic, Shadow Ball, and Focus Blast powers will lower the target's Special Defense. Meanwhile, its Thunder Wave power can paralyze the rival,
• Mew: As an extremely rare Pokemon, Mew has special powers. Its Knock Off power can remove items from offensive Pokemon. Besides, its Will-O-Wisp power allows Mew to burn its rival to decrease one-eighth of the maximum HP and 50% attack ability.

Rock Type

Tyranitar and Aerodactyl are two rock-type Pokemon. Each Pokemon has a distinct strength and weakness.

• Tyranitar: This Pokemon evolves from Pupitar and was introduced in Generation 2. You should remember that because Tyranitar belongs to the rock type, this makes it weak against Fighting, Bug, Fairy, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water Types. However, when encountering Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, Psychic, and Ghost-type Pokemon, this Pokemon will certainly get a victory. You can activate its Superpower to hit the rival and its Stone Edge power to raise the critical hit ratio.
• Aerodactyl: This is an offensive Pokemon introduced in Generation I. This Pokemon will become super weak when fighting against Rock, Steel, Water, Electric, and Ice types. Its Aerial Ace power can ignore changes to the Accuracy and Evasion stats. Besides, if your rival is underground, you can use the Earthquake power to hit the opponent.

Water Type

The third type of Pokemon in this game is the Water Type. There are two water-type Pokemon which are Gyarados and Blastoise.

• Gyarados: This is a blue dragon. The biggest opponents of Gyarados are the Pokemon belonging to Electric, Grass, Fighting, Bug, and Fairy types. However, do not underestimate this Pokemon because it has some special powers such as Waterfall and Dragon Dance. The Waterfall can deal damage and the Dragon Dance power can raise its attack and speed.
• Blastoise: This is a turtle with two guns on its shell. This Pokemon is weak against Grass and Electric types. You can use its Hydro Jump or Dark Pulse power to attack the opponent.

Bug Type

Next, I want to introduce the bug-type Pokemon that include Heracross and Pinsir.

• Heracross: This is a bug with a blue exoskeleton. It is vulnerable to Fire, Psychic, and Fairy types. However, it is able to defeat Pokemon belonging to Ground, Grass, and Dark types. This Pokemon is famous for its Close Combat power that causes great damage to its rival. Moreover, the Swords Dance power can raise its attack ability.
• Pinsir: Unlike Heracross, this Pokemon is a bug with brown skin. It will be weak when battling with Flying, Rock, and Fire types. The best power of this Pokemon is X-Scissor which can deal damage.

Electric Type

The next type in this game is the Electric Type. Two Pokemon including Jolteon Ampharos belong to this type. Keep in mind that the Electric-type Pokemon are weak to Ground-type attacks.

• Jolteon: This Pokemon evolved from Eevee. Its strongest power is the Thunderbolt power which can hurt and paralyze the target.
• Ampharos: This Pokemon was introduced in Generation II. Actually, the powers of Ampharos are fairly similar to Jolteon. The only distinct power of this Pokemon is the Focus Blast power which can lower the opponent's Special Defense and hurt the rival.

Fire Type

Finally, I want to introduce Charizard and Houndoom which are Fire-type Pokemon.

• Charizard: This is a red dragon that is vulnerable to Rock-type, Electric-type, and Water-type Pokemon. However, its attack can cause super damage to Grass, Bug, and Ice types. Its dominant power is Solar Beam which can absorb the light and use it to attack the rival. Furthermore, its Dragon Claw power can hit the opponent.
• Houndoom: This is a black goat with two long horns. Its power will be ineffective with Fighting-, Ground-, Rock-, and Water-type Pokemon. Its predominant power is the Dark Pulse which can make the rival flinch and attack the opponent. Moreover, its Nasty Plot power can increase its attack and cause serious damage to the enemy.

Pokemon Showdown Online

Try playing the online version named Pokemon Showdown Online now. This game requires you to take part in an exciting battle with Gary in the Pokemon world. Because this game is available on the web browser, you can play it on both PC and mobile devices. The most prominent feature of this game is the powers of Pokemon. Each Pokemon in this game has only 4 powers. You need to choose one of them to attack your rival. In addition, another remarkable feature of this game is random battles. Although your only opponent is Gary. However, in each battle, Gary will use different Pokemon. This will bring you fresh playing experiences when you join the battles. The final noticeable feature of this game is its graphics. Unlike other Pokemon games, this game has awesome 2D graphics. All colors of Pokemon in this game are completely similar to those in the anime movie.

In conclusion, I spent a day playing this game. It is possible to say that this game quickly garnered my attention for its addictive gameplay and excellent 2D graphics. Therefore, this is considered to be one of the best action games that you must try. Add it to your game arsenal and try it out if you have free time.