Battle Mode (Stadium)

Battle Mode is a mode in the Pokémon Stadium series in which two players can play against each other or a CPU using any rental Pokémon available in the game or any personal Pokémon caught in the Generation I and Generation II games. Battle takes place on a grassy field where two players battle one CPU player. Teamwork is emphasized and is the only way to win in this mode.

Pokémon Stadium
Introduced in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, up to four people play together with only one available CPU player. Players have the option of setting the CPU's difficulty to either Easy, Normal, or Hard. Players form teams, each of them choosing three Pokémon, and they decide who goes first by selecting their Pokémon first on the selection screen. Pressing L will reset all players' Pokémon choices on the selection screen, allowing them to choose again. Holding the R button will allow the player to check which Pokémon they have selected alongside their partners on the selection screen. Players use the A, B, and C buttons to select the Pokémon they will use. Once all six have been chosen, the battle will begin.

As Double Battles did not exist in the first and second generations, if more than two people play, up to two will be on a "team". Each player on such a team will choose six of either their own Pokémon from either a Pokémon Red, Blue, or Yellow game inserted into a Transfer Pak that is connected to their controller, or they may choose from a selection of the rental Pokémon available to them. During the team preview, each of these two players may choose three of the Pokémon they wish to enter in that particular battle. Players will only have control over the Pokémon they selected. In order to switch to a teammate's Pokémon, that teammate must press B to switch to another Pokémon, and then press the corresponding C button, depending on which Pokémon they want. A player can only switch to their own Pokémon.

Players may also choose which stadium to battle in. Each stadium has a different appearance, and some are based on environments from Kanto and Johto. Players battle until the opposing trainer's Pokémon are knocked out.

Pokémon Stadium 2
In Pokémon Stadium 2 the CPU player becomes and introduces a different character design then the one used in. Cal will use whatever Pokémon the player assigns unless the Challenge Cup is chosen. Also, players and Cal can be given any amount of Pokémon (if Free Battle Mode is selected) from one Pokémon to six. Rules are introduced for Battle Mode; the cup the player chooses will determine the type of rules that are introduced. Rules can be reviewed using the R button at the mode selection screen alongside available Pokémon for the specified cup (Example: Little Cup is for level five Pokémon only).

Restrictions like making two foes sleep are also enforced unless Free Battle Mode is selected. The Custom Cup option allows players to customize what rules and restrictions alongside levels for Pokémon and available Pokémon that can and can't be selected. Battle Mode can be used to register Pokémon sets for the individual cups and up to 10 sets can be registered for each cup and even Free Battle Mode. Pokémon from the Game Boy and Game Boy Color Pokémon games can be registered and entered as well allowing for players to utilize more powerful and more diverse Pokémon. Trainers from the Game Boy Color series will have different character pictures than the default pictures.