Pokémon Showdown

Whether you enjoy it or not, Pokémon is a worldwide sensation at the moment, even more than it was until recently. Thanks to augmented reality and a clever use of smartphones, the series is now generating billions of dollars in profits for the creators. However, good games are not necessarily designed for money, and that has been the case since the beginning.

Pokémon Showdown is a neat multiplayer game that allows you to skip the usual adventuring associated with Pokémon and go straight to the battles, which are much more exciting. As such, you can jump directly into a battle with another player from anywhere in the world and make the best out of your Pokemon by utilizing their abilities as efficiently as possible.

The first thing that impresses at the game is the sheer number of battle modes available, since there are dozens of options to choose from. You can also just jump into a random encounter and quickly adapt yourself to the rules. On the other hand, this removes any kind of planning from the equation, which is not the way to go if you enjoy being in full control of your assets.

Speaking of which, you can create teams that can be used during the battles, using Pokemon that can be selected from the list. Obviously, each Pokemon comes with a variety of stats and abilities, each one of which is important in the grand scheme of things. As such, you have to keep an eye on what type is better suited against certain Pokemon, as well as how to maximize the amount of damage you can deal with the right combination of skills.

The only downside is that the whole thing looks more like an Excel spreadsheet than a game, which might be a bit of a bummer in the days of VR and augmented reality. Even so, the goal is to simulate Pokemon battles and devise strategies and tactics, not marvel at the beauty of the Pokémon world. Hence, there was no need for a fancy graphics engine.

In the end, Pokémon Showdown could easily take up a few hours of your time, especially since it also features a ladder system that displays your ranking amongst all the other players. Hence, it’s a great way to keep track of your progress and maybe use the same tactics in other Pokémon games.