Sky Battle

A Sky Battle (Japanese: スカイバトル Sky Battle) is a type of Pokémon battle introduced in. Sky Battles consist of two Pokémon battling each other in the air instead of on land or sea. However, because of this, only certain Flying types and certain Pokémon with the Ability are eligible for Sky Battles.

In the games
At certain points in the game, the player can encounter s on top of cliffs or other distant areas who will challenge them to a Sky Battle. All Sky Battles are optional, since the player may not have any eligible Pokémon to use. If all eligible Pokémon in the battle faint, the player will black out, but will resume the game standing where they were before battle. In this event, the Sky Trainer is unable to be re-challenged or even spoken to, even if the player's eligible Pokémon are restored, until the player exits and reenters the area.

Eligible Pokémon
Most Pokémon and Pokémon with the Ability  are eligible for Sky Battles. They do not lose eligibility even if they become grounded due to any in-battle effect, such as Mega Evolution, a move like or, or an item like the Iron Ball or Air Balloon. Pokémon that must first Mega Evolve to become Flying-type or have Levitate are not eligible. If a Pokémon can have Levitate as one of multiple Abilities and is not Flying-type, it will only be eligible if it has Levitate.

Certain Flying types and Pokémon with Levitate are ineligible for Sky Battles, such as and. These Pokémon are not shown flying or hovering in normal battles.


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Prohibited moves
Certain moves are not permitted to be used in Sky Battles. If a Pokémon's only usable moves are prohibited, the Pokémon will use if it attempts to attack. If one of these moves is called by or, a message will appear saying that it won't work well in Sky Battles.

In the anime
In the, Sky Battles first appeared in Battles in the Sky!. An expert Sky Trainer called Moria was seen defeating another Sky Trainer's with her. Later, challenged Moria to a Sky Battle, wanting to use his  against Talonflame. Although Moria accepted the offer, Talonflame was shown being unwilling to battle against its pre-evolved form, forcing Ash to use his instead. Even through Hawlucha tried its best, it was defeated rather easily. After that, showed up, trying to steal Talonflame, but were soon defeated. Afterwards, Talonflame, being thankful for Ash's Fletchling for saving it, accepted Fletchling's battle challenge. Even though Fletchling was almost defeated by Talonflame's, it evolved into a and learned  partway through the battle, allowing Ash to gain victory.

During Sky Battles, Trainers take to the air using special suits so they can fly alongside their Pokémon. Unlike the games, in which certain Flying types or Pokémon with are restricted, Sky Battles appear to be open to any Pokémon which has the ability to fly; both  and  took part in the anime, which cannot participate in the games.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In the manga, Sky Battles first appeared in Burning Fletchinder. While flying on a helicopter,, , , , , and Cassius were attacked by a group of Sky Trainers led by Yvette. Commanding a herd of they attack the helicopter with, forcing Y to go out and battle with them. Y flies away from the helicopter to prevent it from being attacked but Yvette catches up to Y and starts to bully her again, while her Vivillon battles Fletchy. Y finally fights back as Fletchy evolves into, who defeats Vivillon with. At the same time X and the others find Celosia's and Élec faints it with, revealing that Yvette and the Sky Trainer's were under Team Flare's control.

In other languages
Himmelskampf Combate aéreo Combat aérien Lotta Aerea スカイバトル 空中对战