Much footage of Pokkén dropped last night, all of it featuring intense battles between monsters that Pokémon fans know and love. While we shared a trailer earlier today, it only scratches the surface of all the cool new things hidden inside of Pokken.
Let's take a closer look, shall we?
Trainers are still in the picture
Though the trailer didn't show it, the reason that Pokémon battle in Pokken is indeed related to trainers, judging by footage taken by MaxEzzy. These are just wild Pokémon! For now, we've only seen two types of trainers—the guy above, and this lady:
The trainers look like they're older than the average protagonist in a Pokémon game. Potentially even adults! Most likely teens, though. Here's hoping that there are a variety of them, or something that lets us customize trainers, like in X & Y.
Pokémon have dramatic entrances at the start of a match:
Once the match gets going, trainers can trigger super-like moves for their monsters:
And those moves do include mega evolutions:
Moves also seem based on actual moves that Pokémon have in the games, like Blizzard and Cross Chop. Additionally, Pokemon can use shields—but they'll degrade the more you use them, and Pokemon can be dazed.
If you win a round, the game says something encouraging at you:
At the end of a match, you see a little animation that plays out, depending on how you did:
And then the trainers are rated:
Footage showed a few different stages, including a town:
And a place called Phos Volcano, where you can see Charizard in the background, as well as other Pokémon, like Zubat:
Both of which aren't known locations in the main Pokémon games. It looks like there's some sort of story to go along with this fighting game, too.
Before a match starts, you can pick a support-like Pokémon to aid you during battle:
Here's how Bulbapedia describes the system:
When starting a match, the player selects one of several pairs of support Pokémon, called a Support Set. Set A contains Emolga and Fennekin, while Set B contains Snivy and Lapras. When the Support Gauge is full, the player can call out a Support Pokémon using the L button.
- Emolga uses Shock Wave, which has a fast charge time; it decreases the opponent's move speed.
Description: "A long-range attack with excellent speed. Effective when fighting in long-range mode."
- Fennekin uses Ember, which has a normal charge time.
Description: "A dome-shaped area attack which hits many times. Also effective to push back opponents in close-range mode."
- Snivy uses Leaf Tornado, which has a fast charge time.
Description: "Closes in on the opponent by a set distance and performs anti-aerial attacks. Effective against opponents which jump a lot."
- Lapras uses Surf, which has a normal charge time.
Description: "A powerful rushing attack with a wide horizontal range. Also effective at negating certain types of long-range attacks."
And here's what a couple of these support Pokémon look like in action:
It appears that you can fiddle with these support Pokémon between rounds, too.
According to Siliconera, the game will have a special controller suited for its playstyle—it's supposed to help ease people who aren't used to fighting sticks:
These are just a few details that I picked up while watching the footage. You'll probably notice a few too—here's are all the matches, in full, courtesy of MaxEzzy:
Pikachu vs Gardevoir
Suicune vs Machamp
Suicine vs Lucario
Pikachu vs Lucario
Pikachu vs Suicune
And here is some awesome art, courtesy of Bulbapedia:
Right now, the game looks promising—it's not just fighters that you'd expect, like Machamp. Heck, with the inclusion of support Pokemon, it looks like you'll be able to see a wide range of fighters in some capacity in the game, which excites me! It means that not every Pokemon included has to be 'cool' in the traditional sense. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Pokken, and hope that maybe, just maybe, it'll see a western release.