Triple Battle

A Triple Battle (Japanese: トリプルバトル Triple Battle) is a type of Pokémon battle featuring up to six Pokémon, with three Pokémon from each side battling at a time. It appears in the Generation and  games. It was introduced in and was predominantly showcased in White.

As the name suggests, Triple Battles are a type of battle where each Trainer sends out three at once. Due to this, they can be considered the successor to Double Battles, with the only difference seemingly being the number of Pokémon. However, there are some restrictions that differentiate the Triple Battle from its predecessor other than the amount of Pokémon, such as placement.

In the games
When a Triple Battle begins, Pokémon will be sent out in order. The first Pokémon able to battle in the party becomes the leftmost Pokémon on the field, the second becomes the center Pokémon, and the third becomes the Pokémon on the far right.

Placement
The placement of the Pokémon is a major attribute of Triple Battles, as a Pokémon's positioning affects how certain moves and Abilities work. Generally, Pokémon on the left-side of the field cannot attack any one on the right-side (including allies), and vice versa. This also means a Pokémon in the center is free to hit any Pokémon on the field, but at a cost of being vulnerable to every other Pokémon.

There are some moves, however, that allow non-adjacent Pokémon to attack each other.

Shifting
The Pokémon on the left and right have the option to 'shift'. This option allows the user to switch with the Pokémon currently in the middle. Shifting has no priority and none of the effects of switching apply to shifting. A Pokémon can move even if it is the last Pokémon on its team, as long as it is not in the center.

If a Pokémon is readying to use a move on a certain target, but is then shifted before using its move, its attack will fail if the target is then outside of its range. If a Pokémon targeted an ally with a move, but as a result of shifting the Pokémon is now targeting itself when it would execute the move, the move will fail (even if the move is ).

If there are only two Pokémon left on the field and they are non-adjacent to each other, both Pokémon will automatically be shifted to the center of the field at the end of the turn.

Effect on moves
Most moves have the same effect in Triple Battles as with single and Double Battles, except that they can only affect adjacent Pokémon. Moves that hit both opponents or all Pokémon in Double Battles only affect adjacent Pokémon in Triple Battles. All single-target damage-dealing Flying-type moves,, and all single-target can hit any Pokémon on the battlefield; this targeting is based on the original type of the move, so moves being changed to or from Flying-type (including moves that change their own type like ) does not affect targeting. Moves that hit multiple Pokémon will have their damage reduced by 25%, unless there is only one target at the time the move is executed.

The moves, , , , , , , and  have no effect in Single Battles, but do in Triple Battles.

The moves, , , , , and all can be activated by, and attack, a non-adjacent opponent.

The move takes away 1/16 of the maximum HP of all adjacent allies of the target Pokémon. This damage is not treated as an attack.

The move, while in a Triple Battle, can target an adjacent ally instead of the user.

The following moves act differently when used in a Triple Battle, as opposed to a Single or Double Battle.

Effect on Abilities
Most Abilities' effect remain the same and are not affected by the Pokémon's placement. For example, a Pokémon on the left side of the field which used  can still damage a Pokémon with  on the right side of the field. A Pokémon can still reflect entry hazards even if the user of the entry hazard and itself are at opposite corners of the field because entry hazards affect the entire team.

However, some Abilities are affected by a Pokémon's placement; for example, will only lower the  of opposing, adjacent Pokémon on the field.

In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2





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In Pokémon X and Y

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In Pokémon Battrio
Triple Battling as a mechanic was introduced in Pokémon Battrio, an arcade game using three Pokémon pucks on each side.

In the anime
In Chim - Charred!, and  were seen battling with three Pokémon on each side during a  session, although this wasn't an official Triple Battle. The battle took place so Ash could practice with for their upcoming Gym  at the Pastoria Gym, and Ash was shown using his Pikachu,, and  while Dawn used Ash's Staravia and  and her own. Both s were able to command the three Pokémon at once with relative ease.

The first official Triple Battle was seen in A Maractus Musical!, in which battled against Toby's three  with his, , and. Ash said it was his first time taking part in a Triple Battle.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In Black's First Trainer Battle, participates in a Triple Battle with a  named Andy, using his Brav, Musha, and Tep against Andy's, , and.

In the Be the Best! Pokémon B+W manga
In the second chapter, Monta was shown in a Triple Battle with Cheren, using, , and Roggenrola against Cheren's , , and.

Trivia

 * is the only damage-dealing move that cannot hit a non-adjacent Pokémon.
 * In The Battle of the Badge, Jessie and James send out three Pokémon at once to battle Ash, the first unofficial Triple Battle in the anime series.

In other languages
Dreierkampf Combate triple Combat Trio Lotta in Triplo トリプルバトル 三打对战