Pokémon Battrio

Pokémon Battrio © 2007 Nintendo.

Pokémon Battrio is a 1- or 2-player arcade game. In order to play, players must possess specially designed chips resembling Pogs; these can be purchased in randomly assorted packs and re-used between games, just like the cards used by "Quest of D". Like the Pokémon Trading Card Game, each chip depicts a particular Pokémon together with its strengths and weaknesses.

The machine only has 2 buttons per player, but also features 2 4×4 grids. Players can place up to 3 chips on these grids, hence the name Battrio (a contraction of 'Battle Trio'); the game then detects their placement and reflects it on the screen. Some arrangements will give bonuses or penalties depending on the Pokémon types used and also the types and arrangements of the Pokémon they are fighting. Moving Pokémon closer to the inside edge puts them in an attack stance, while moving them closer to the outside edge puts them in a defensive role. Combat is turn-based, but unlike most games in the series there is a unified health bar. Each Pokémon still has its own number of hit points, but unlike the other games this is divided between offensive and defensive health. These values then contribute to the total health bar.