Triple Battle
Triple battles are one of the newest forms of Pokémon battling, introduced in Pokémon Black and White, the first Generation V games. As the name suggests, triple battles are a type of battle where each Trainer sends out three Pokémon at once, similarly to how a double battle sends out two Pokémon at once. However, there are some restrictions that differentiate it from its predecessor other than the amount of Pokémon, such as placement.
Placement
Placement is a major attribute of a triple battle, as a Pokémon on the left of the field cannot attack one on the right side, and vice-versa. A Pokémon in the center, however, is free to hit any Pokémon on the field, be it on the left side, the right side, or in the center. However, this comes at a cost of being vulnerable to every other Pokémon. In addition, the Pokémon in the center also receives an attack boost. However, the Pokémon can be rotated so that a Pokémon on the left can be moved to the right or the middle, a Pokémon on the right can be moved to the middle or the left, or a Pokémon in the middle can be moved to the right or the left.
Abilities and moves
Certain abilities and moves can affect moves in triple or double battles. One example is Telepathy, which protects a Pokémon from receiving damage from its own teammates in triple or double battles when they use moves which cause teammates to also get damages, such as Earthquake. Another is Acrobat, which allows the user to hit any Pokémon, even if it is on the exact other side of the battle.
Trivia
- Triple battling as a mechanic was introduced in Pokémon Battrio, an arcade games using three Pokémon pucks on each side.
- Interestingly, the introduction of this form of battling keeps the pattern of every odd generation since the first adding one more Pokémon to the maximum amount to be sent out at one time in a battle.