Pokkén Basics Chapter 1 Part 1: How to Play - Controls and Mechanics | Beginners Guide

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Table of Contents. Use ctrl+F to navigate to the desired section.

1.1 Objective
1.2 Controls
1.3 Command Counters and Command Grabs
1.4 Phases
1.5 Attack Triangle

1.1 Objective

The objective in Pokkén is to win 2 out of 3 rounds. You win a round by either depleting the opponent's hit points bar to zero or by having a higher percentage of HP left than your opponent when the timer reaches zero. You deal damage by landing attacks and throws. 

1.2 Controls  

Controls will reference the official Pokkén DX Hori Controller

You move in different directions using the D-Pad. Double tapping a direction makes you dash in that direction. In the three dimensional field phase you can walk diagonally, but you can only dash forwards backwards and sideways. As for buttons, Y is for light attacks, X is for strong attacks, B is for jump, and you can jump in multiple directions using the d-pad, and A is for Pokemon moves. These are unique attacks like special moves in other fighting games. You can see a list of all of your attacks in the move list in training mode. L is to call your support, and R is to block. When your Synergy Gauge is full you can press L+R to go into Synergy Burst. Pressing L+R again when in Synergy Burst lets you use your Burst Attack, which is like this game's version of a Super. I will often refer to this as a "Super" for most of my tutorial, so you don't get confused about using your Synergy Burst activation or the actual Burst Attack. Using the default control settings, ZL and ZR can be used to reset the screen position in training mode and different directions put the characters in a different spot. They don't do anything in a match unless you assign actions to them, but this is extremely helpful when practicing. 

Pressing Y and B at the same time will do a grab. Besides shield breaks, grabs are the only way to hit opponents who are blocking. Pressing X and A together will do a counter attack. Counter attacks have armor starting frame 1 meaning they absorb and beat normal attacks. I'll elaborate on those interactions in section 1.5. You can keep holding down X and A to charge counter and you'll continue to absorb attacks as you charge. While charging, you can cancel the counter attack into a dash by pressing a direction and then R while still holding X and A. This is called a CADC or Counter Attack Dash Cancel. This is mainly used for avoiding projectiles without taking chip or shield damage. Whether you charge all the way or release immediately, there is a period of time right before the counter attack's hitbox comes out that it loses armor and is vulnerable to any attack. Strong players will abuse this to stuff reckless counter attacks. 

Special Movement

Many characters have unique movement. For example, characters like Blaziken and Shadow Mewtwo can dash while in the air. Shadow Mewtwo and Mewtwo can also teleport, though with different properties. Garchomp can Dig under the ground and there are many more examples. Even though there are all these different ways to move, walking is by far the safest. While you're dashing around or while you're in the air, you cannot block, and you don't have access to all of your moves instantly so you can't react to what your opponent throws out. Mix in side steps, dashes, air dashes, and other movement options after you've gotten comfortable with just walking, and only when you have a specific reason for doing so.  

Stances

By holding up or down on the D-Pad in duel phase, your character goes into either high stance or low stance. These stances have properties of varying usefulness like armoring through attacks, building synergy meter, or avoiding certain attacks entirely. You can use attacks while in these stances to do a different version of your normal attacks. High stance + Y is usually your character's anti-air attack.(High stance Y is generally referred to as 8Y. Pokkén Notation is Chapter 2). Here is a Blaziken stance video by McDareth, to give an example of the different moves characters can avoid by utilizing stances. Previously I linked a thread of Madluk on Pokkén Arena, but the site has since shut down.

1.3 Command Grabs and Command Counters

Command Grabs

Normal grabs are done by pressing Y and B at the same time, but there are also character specific grabs done with different inputs called command grabs. You can find your character's command grab if they have one in the move list section of training mode. The properties are similar to normal grabs, but they usually don't phase shift instantly and some allow for combo followups afterwards, or they just have abnormal hitboxes. 

Garchomp's Sand Tomb is a command grab done with down + A (or 2A).

Command Counters

Just like command grabs, these are character specific counter attacks. Some properties that may vary are things like having different thresholds for how long they can armor though attacks, the frame the armor properties begin, and the the total startup and frame data of the attack.

Sceptile's Leaf Blade is a command counter done with forward + A (or 6A).

Mechanics

Now that you know the basic controls of Pokkén, let's get into the mechanics and explain how the game actually works. Specifically, we'll be covering Phases and the Attack Triangle.

1.4 Phases 

Field Phase

Duel Phase

Phases are one of two signature mechanics of Pokkén. Pokkén shifts from a 3D plane to a 2D plane and back during the course of a match. You start off in field phase, and whenever a character lands certain types of attacks and most grabs, it shifts to duel phase. You can find what moves shift to duel phase in the frame data from The Apple BOOM which I'll be referencing continously. 

In duel phase, Pokkén looks similar to traditional 2D fighters and you can do much longer and more damaging combos before shifting back to field. The three main ways to shift from duel to field are: First off, maxing out an opponent's phase shift points. Phase shift points are like an invisible stun meter that never goes down. Once your character takes 12 phase shift points, the game shifts back to field phase. This is a detailed explanation of phase shift points featured on SRK. Some players are meticulous about counting phase shift points, but as long as you know which combinations of attacks lead to a shift, you won't have any problems even at the highest levels of play. The second way to shift from duel to field is a combo doing 21 hits. The last way is by landing a normal grab.

1.5 Attack Triangle

Pokkén has a very straightforward set of rules governing how the different types of attacks interact with each other. On the surface level, there are normal attacks, grabs, and counter attacks. They are also color coded to make it easier for new players to understand what's happening quickly. Normal attacks don't have any special coloring, and they beat grabs. Grabs are colored green and they beat counter attacks. Counter attacks are colored blue and they beat normal attacks. Winning an exchange in this attack triangle grants the player a critical hit which increases the damage done to the opponent and sometimes changes the frame data or other properties of the move you used to get a critical hit with.

From a glance, this seems like rock, paper, scissors. It will feel like that early on, but I assure you it is not. There are many, many exceptions to the attack triangle, and much of Pokkén's depth and fun comes from finding ways to circumvent or cheat the attack triangle. Understanding how to bypass the attack triangle requires you to view the game differently than it is presented in the in-game tutorial. First off, think of Counter Attacks as just moves having frame 1 armor like other fighting games. They are not invincible like uppercuts in Street Fighter. You can throw counter attacks of course, but more importantly, you can actually use many normal attacks against them. Since counter attacks have a long startup and impact freeze animation you can cancel many moves into a different attack or movement option that can avoid the counter attack or go through the vulnerability frames of the move on reaction. In addition, there are moves called counter pierces that specifically beat counter attacks outright. 

Shadow Mewtwo's Vortex pierces through counter attacks, circumventing the attack triangle.

Grabs beat counter attacks, but only if the grab can start up fully and if the grab's hitbox connects with the grabbable hurtbox of the counter attack. In other words, a properly timed or spaced counter attack will beat a grab. The most volatility in Pokkén comes from the fact that normal attacks beat grabs. You can mitigate this slightly by timing your grab to be meaty when an opponent first gets up. This makes most of their attacks stagger instead of actually beating your grab. But there are still specific moves that crush grabs regardless of what frame you get grabbed. In order to circumvent this, it's helpful to set up your grabs with something that can cover you if the opponent crushes it like with a support or some character specific setups.

This means, yes, there is a high risk when it comes to grabs since the defender has to reversal with a normal to break it since there is no tech button and the attacker can lose over a third of their HP for doing so. But ultimately as as a whole, with good spacing, especially with zoning characters, and with the amount of ways to circumvent the attack triangle, Pokkén is very far from rock paper scissors. If you're having trouble dealing with standard counter attacks, check out this video from McDareth about how to deal with them. 

Conclusion

Now you know the very basics of Pokkén Tournament. You know the controls, and the two signature mechanics of the game which are phase shifts and the attack triangle. Practice what you've learned in training mode or against the CPU. Or play some other players that are new to the game as well just so you can get a feel for everything. In the next video we'll finish up with the groundwork for developing strategies by going over Burst Mode and Supports. There are many more chapters ready to be released so bookmark this thread or follow my social media channels so you don't miss them when they go up. Thanks for reading, have fun, and see you with the next installment of Pokkén Basics!