At least one medal must be inserted to start a game. The player starts with Ash's Pikachu, and has the potential to gain Iris's Axew, Cilan's Pansage, Ash's Tepig, Ash's Snivy, and Ash's Oshawott. The Pokémon then play tug-of-war. The other team can have much bigger and stronger Pokémon on its side, so there's power in numbers. An enemy Pokémon's strength is shown as a number floating above them. Ash, Iris, and Cilan will occasionally appear in the corner to cheer their Pokémon on. As the game goes on, the Pokémon's strength depletes. When at least one of the Pokémon on the enemy side's number reaches zero, they fall to the ground and the player wins the round. The player is then awarded with medals equal to the number of points of the Pokémon that fell.
There is also a bonus round that is unlocked after four wins, in which the player picks one out of three cards. The card chosen gives the player medals equal to the number of points on the card. This bonus round can be repeated every four wins.