Active Pokemon

Out of Battle
To call out a Pokemon you’ll have to open up a menu wheel to select one. After you select, your character will toss the Pokeball in the air and out pops your Pokemon. It’s as awesome as you ever imagined and it just never gets old when your Charizard flies out, wings sprawled, roaring like a real monster. If you are not near a wild Pokemon, then you’re in free-mode. You cannot use abilities but you can move around with your Pokemon and do whatever. There will essentially be no UI displayed in free-mode. When near a wild Pokemon, or in a battle, the UI switches to your selected Pokemon. You basically play as the Pokemon for the time being, and you engage in battle.

In Battle
It is not a turn-based fight. All learned moves are at your disposal (Okay, maybe not all of them, but you can have more than 4. I’m just not sure how it would work with limited buttons and hotkeys. Surely you customize which moves are active.) You can move around, jump, fly, dive, dig, or evade as your opponent unleashes their attacks. Your Pokemon have limited stamina that regenerates fairly quickly. Flying, diving, evading, and using moves deplete your Pokemon’s stamina. Your Pokemon’s moves have cooldowns so you can’t just spam. Attack moves are like skill shots. They may take time to charge or you may need to get within range. Defensive moves are all about timing, the better the timing the more effective they are. Stat-boosting moves or the use of items will leave your Pokemon vulnerable. Critical hits are a thing, perhaps a perfectly timed dodge into an attack. All Pokemon have weak spots. You have to figure them out. Obviously, the advantages depending on type apply. These kinds of battles are way more skill-based. It’s not as much about who has the better stats. You actually have to know how to battle with Pokemon, using their strengths and weaknesses. There’s much more strategy involved. It’s a real, dynamic battle. Skilled players should be able to outbattle higher level opponents.