Combat Basics

Combat Basics
Now that you know Pokemon stats and moves, let’s fight! Or rather, let’s read this text about fighting!

The Battlefield Grid
In FLC, the largest difference from the Pokemon video games is in the use of a battlefield grid. Similar to other tabletop games, the battle grid simulates the environment in which the action is taking place. Battle grids can be simple or complex, from a large open field with nothing in it, to a tight corridor filled with traps and pitfalls, to a multi-tiered mansion foyer, or whatever the GM wants to think of.



The battlefield grid is split evenly into squares, and each of these squares can, under normal circumstances, fit one Pokemon or trainer in them. Players place their trainer and the Pokemon that they have out onto the grid. When possible, players can move their respective pieces across the battlefield grid to the locations that they wish to battle from. Exceptions to regular circumstances could include a Flying type Pokemon or levitating Pokemon floating above another Pokemon or trainer in the same square. Alternatively, a Pokemon underwater, swimming below another could occupy the same square. Also, a Ghost Pokemon Possessing or Animating another target occupies the same square(s) as the target.



Players can move their tokens in any direction, as long as it does not interfere with the environment. Players cannot walk their tokens into walls. (Unless it is explicitly stated that they can.) Occasionally, environments will be interactive. Generally, interacting with these environments requires the token to be in the same square, or in an adjacent square. For instance, in a turbine room, being adjacent to a spinning turbine might do HP damage to a Pokemon or trainer. In a laboratory, being adjacent to a computer terminal could allow the player to access it. Additionally, environments could have HP values of their own. A building that is burning down could have a depleting HP value, and the building collapses when it becomes low enough. Or players could choose to attack a dam, dealing damage to it until it breaks, flooding the area.



Every Pokemon and trainer has a specific number of movements across the battlefield that they are allowed in each of their turns. This number will become higher as the Pokemon gains more bonuses from every 50 in his or her SP stat, and as the Trainer gains higher levels of the appropriate skills that grant the bonus “Move +1”. As a base, every Pokemon and trainer gets 1 Move and 1 Action in their turn. However, if they choose, players may have Pokemon abstain from the use of a move to add one additional square of movement to their maximum movement distance. (i.e. 1 square of movement plus an attack, or 2 squares of movement; 3 squares of movement plus an attack, or 4 squares of movement.)

Flow of Battle
Battle in FLC is turn-based, just like in the Pokemon games. Each Pokemon has the chance to perform one action on his or her turn. As previously mentioned, the Pokemon’s SP stat determine when it has its turn. The collection of all of the turns of the Pokemon and trainers on the battlefield is called a “round”. Each round begins with the turn of the Pokemon who has the highest SP stat. The next turn is the Pokemon with the second highest SP stat, regardless of whether or not they are on the same side of the battle as the first Pokemon. Turns continue from Pokemon to Pokemon, moving to the next lowest SP stat among the combatants. (In the event of two Pokemon having the same numerical SP stat, the two Pokemon’s controllers should roll a d20 against each other. The Pokemon with the higher roll moves first in the remainder of the battle.) After the final Pokemon has had their turn, trainers have their turns. This happens at the end of the round because humans are slower than Pokemon are. After trainers have had their turns, the round starts anew, with the turn of the Pokemon with the highest SP stat. At the beginning of each round, there is also a chance for extra effects to take place, if they are present. For example:



[At the beginning of the round, Thomas the Kadabra has his turn. He is wounded, so his trainer, Jorge, makes Thomas move across the battlefield. Next up, Penny tells Franz the Rattata to move adjacent to Thomas and attack him. Attack roll: Fail. At the end of the round, Jorge and Penny have their turns. Jorge and Penny each move 1 square closer to their Pokemon. The round ends. At the beginning of the next round, Penny declares, “Franz is using Quick Attack.” The move Quick Attack occurs first in the round, regardless of SP stats. Thus, Franz has his turn and uses Quick Attack on Thomas. Attack roll: Success. Franz rolls attack dice for Quick Attack with his bonus d4s. Damage is dealt to Thomas, and Franz loses 2 FP from the use of Quick Attack. Thomas has his turn normally, and then the trainers have their turns to end the round.]

Battle Actions
When it is your Pokemon’s turn in the round, there are several battle actions that you can take. Some of these are counted as “free actions”, meaning that they do not affect the Pokemon’s turn, or count toward any limitations that it has (such as movement or attacking.) The following actions are possible during a Pokemon’s turn:




 * Attack: The Pokemon uses an attack or status move on a specific target (including beneficial abilities on allies). A Pokemon can perform one attack action on its turn.
 * Move: The Pokemon can travel the number of spaces that his or her SP stat allows them across the battlefield grid. Pokemon can move 1 additional square if they are not using an attack action. Moving can occur before or after an attack action (or both), as long as the Pokemon is within the number of movement squares permitted by its SP stat.
 * Rest: If necessary, the Pokemon can rest to restore its FP. The trainer chooses how long the rest will be for when performing this action. Resting ends the Pokemon’s turn. Resting can occur after a movement action, but not after an attack action. The exception to this is the use of an attack brings the Pokemon down to exactly 0 FP, at which the Pokemon collapses and begins to rest immediately, for at least two turns. (A resting Pokemon cannot perform actions until they are finished resting.)
 * Interact: (Free Action) Pokemon can interact with the environment as a Free Action. This could include operating something, like machinery, or triggering a specific response from the environment. If appropriate, a Pokemon’s Skills can be used, once per turn as a free action. Interacting can be done among characters as long as they are not currently fighting against each other. Interacting with enemy targets requires a d20 check of the appropriate type the action might require for success.
 * Feats: (Free Action) Feats will be covered in depth in “Advanced Combat” section, under the heading “Feats”.

On a trainer’s turn, they also have several actions they can perform. Trainers have one move and one action. If an item in the list does not qualify as a free action, it uses up the trainer’s single action:

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 * Attack: The trainer can attempt an attack on a target. If the trainer does not have an appropriate skill for combat, they will receive a penalty on their roll.
 * Move: The trainer can move the appropriate number of squares granted to them by their skill bonuses. Trainers begin with a base movement of 1 square.
 * Interact: (Free Action) Trainers can also interact with the environment, performing Trainer Skills if appropriate. A trainer can use one Skill on his or her turn.
 * Return Pokemon/Release Pokemon: This will be covered in the “Advanced Combat” section, under the heading “Danger/Death”.
 * Give Item: A trainer can give an item to another target. This will be elaborated on in the “Advanced Combat” section, under the heading “Items/Equipment”.

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 * Item: If a Pokemon has a consumable item, it can be used at any time in the battle.
 * Talk: Trainers can talk to their Pokemon at any point, to give them encouragement, or chastise them, if that is the player’s play style, or to hear their opinions. (A trainer’s Pokemon will always be able to hear them, regardless of the scenario, because of their joined mental link.) The GM is expected to emote the Pokemon’s response to this, though it is acceptable if the response is subtle, as the GM is in charge of many things during battle. Trainers are also free to talk to each other, other humans, or other Pokemon if they so choose.

Targeting and the Attack Roll
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">As it has been previously mentioned in various examples, nearly every attack in the game has an attack roll. (A reminder: Status moves, despite being attack actions, do not require an attack roll.) This roll is essentially a confrontation between the attacking Pokemon’s power versus the defending Pokemon’s resilience. First, the attacking Pokemon targets the foe they want to fight, with the move they want to use on them. (i.e. Thomas uses Confusion on Franz. Thomas is targeting Franz with the move “Confusion.”) The attacking Pokemon does a d20 attack roll. Using the appropriate defense stat for the move, the defending Pokemon compares their stat to the attacking Pokemon’s attack stat. For every 1 point of value that the defense stat is higher than the attacking Pokemon’s attack stat, the number necessary to hit on the attack roll is 1 higher. In addition, when a Pokemon attacks another, the defending Pokemon's Defense Bonus (+1 for every 50 in the stat) is also added to the target that the attacker must roll. In other words, when the attack roll is combined with the Pokemon's attacking stat, if this is a larger number than the defending stat plus the Pokemon's Defense Bonus, the attack hits. The number of the roll must be greater than the distance to the defending stat.This is symbolic of the difficulty that the attacking Pokemon has in penetrating the defenses of the target. However, rolling 16 or higher on an attack roll will result in success, regardless of the target’s DF stat. In the event that the attacking Pokemon has a higher AT or SA stat than the targeted Pokemon’s respective defense stat, the attacking Pokemon does not have a penalty on their roll, conceivably hitting on an attack roll of 2. This is symbolic of an experienced fighter outwitting or overpowering the more inexperienced foe. The balance to this is in the targeted Pokemon’s DF and SD bonuses. If the Pokemon would be hitting on a roll of 2, but the defending Pokemon has a raised Base Hit Target of +4, the attacker still needs to roll 6 or higher to do damage. A few examples of attack rolls:

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">[Franz uses Quick Attack on Thomas. Thomas’ DF stat is 82. Franz’ AT stat is 77. Franz does an attack roll for Quick Attack. Thomas’ DF stat is 5 greater than Franz’ AT stat, so if the, the number Franz must roll to successfully damage Thomas is -5 from 16, or 11. If Franz rolls an 11 or higher on his attack roll, he does damage with Quick Attack.]

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">[Shiera the Glaceon attempts to use the move Ice Shard on Doris the Steelix. Doris’ DF stat is 165. Shiera’s AT stat is 84. This DF stat is substantially higher than the AT stat, specifically, 81 points higher. Without the set success roll of 16 and above, Shiera would have to roll an 82 on her d20 to do damage to Doris. (This is a joke. A d20 only goes up to 20.  An 82 is impossible. Keep up.) In this case, Doris’ DF gives her an advantage over Shiera, who can only damage her on an attack roll of 16 or above.]

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">[Thomas the Kadabra uses Confusion against Kylie the Vanillite. Thomas’ SA stat is 190. Kylie’s SD stat is 104. Thomas’ attacking stat is 86 points higher than Kylie’s defending stat, so it will be much easier for him to get through and damage her. When the attacking stat is higher than the defending stat, the defender’s stat bonus is used to determine the success of the attack roll. Kylie’s Special Defense is 109, so she has +2 to her Base Hit Target of Special Defense. Since rolling a 1 on an attack roll is always a failure, +2 to that makes her defend rolls of 3 and below. Thus, Thomas must roll above a 4 to hit Kylie with Confusion, not a difficult roll but definitely not an assured hit.]

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'lucidagrande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">Essentially, the attack roll deals with the d20 in this way:
 * (A) 1: Critical Failure. The attack roll fails.
 * (B) 2 - about 5: Defense range. Pokemon will often have Defense or Special Defense high enough to cause attack rolls of these numbers to fail.
 * (C) 5-11: Numbers in this range will usually be acceptable for Pokemon with a higher attacking stat than the target’s defending stat to deal damage.
 * (D) 11-15: Numbers in this range will often be enough for Pokemon with a comparable attacking stat to the target’s defending stat to deal damage.
 * (E) 16+: Success range. An attack roll of 16 or above will deal damage, regardless of the Pokemon’s defending stat.
 * (F) Critical Threat Range: This will be covered in “Critical Hits”
 * (G) 20: Critical Hit. See above.

Critical Hits
<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;white-space:pre-wrap;">Occasionally in battle, the Pokemon strikes in a way that is especially devastating to the defending Pokemon. If a player rolls a 20 on their attack roll, they get a Critical Hit. Critical Hits deal 2 times the damage of the attacking Pokemon’s damage rolls. If the player rolls a 15 on their damage dice, the attack does 30 damage to the target, and they lose 30 HP. (Critical Hit calculations are done after Weakness/Resistance calculations.)

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'lucidagrande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">If the attacking Pokemon has enough power over the defender, there is an even better chance that the attack will be a Critical Hit. This is called “Critical Threat”. If the attacking Pokemon has 10 points of the attacking stat higher than the defending stat, there is a Critical Threat range. If an attack roll lands in the Critical Threat range, the player does a d20 Critical Threat check. If the d20 rolls 16 or higher, the attack is a Critical Hit. The Critical Threat range begins at 19, for a Pokemon that has 10 more of its attacking stat than its target’s defending stat. For every 10 above the defending stat, the Critical Threat range increases by 1. In other words, if a Pokemon has 100 AT against 90 DF, an attack roll of 19 is a Critical Threat. If a Pokemon has 100 AT against 80 DF, an attack roll of 18 or higher is a Critical Threat, since it is 20 higher. To avoid ambiguity, this chart dictates the Critical Threat ranges possible:

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 * Attacking stat is 10 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 19
 * 20 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 18-19
 * 30 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 17-19
 * 40 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 16-19
 * 50 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 15-19
 * 60 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 14-19
 * 70 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 13-19
 * 80 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 12-19
 * 90 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 11-19
 * 100 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 10-19
 * 110 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 9-19
 * 120 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 8-19
 * 130 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 7-19
 * 140 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 6-19
 * 150 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 5-19
 * 160 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 4-19
 * 170 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 3-19
 * 180 Higher = Critical Threat Range: 2-19

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">The rolls of 1 and 20 are absent from the Critical Threat range because they are always Critical Failure and Critical Hit, respectively. A roll of a 1 on a Critical Threat check does not result in a failure. Anything below 16 is just regular damage. Similarly, the roll of a 20 does not result in an extra bonus, only a successful Critical Hit. Any situation in which the Pokemon’s attacking stat is more than 180 above the target’s defending stat should use the range for 180 above. (Arceus help you if your Pokemon is the defender.)

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">The exception to this is in the defending Pokemon’s defense bonus. If a Pokemon has a +3 Bonus, rolls of 4 or below do not damage the Pokemon, even if the attacking stat was high enough for that to be in the Critical Threat range.

Calculating Damage
<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;white-space:pre-wrap;">After a successful attack roll, the attacking Pokemon deals damage. This is done, as previously mentioned, by rolling dice. The power of the Pokemon’s move, plus their bonus damage dice dictate how much damage it is possible to do with that attack. Players roll dice and the total of their values is the amount of damage. Let’s return to Thomas and Kylie’s scuffle to see the calculation of damage.

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">[Thomas uses Confusion on Kylie, with 190 SA. Kylie’s SD is 104. Thomas needs to roll a 4 to hit Kylie. His Critical Threat range on Special Attacks is on 12 and up (190-104 =86, 80 Higher=12). Thomas rolls a 14, Critical Threat. Critical Threat check: Thomas rolls an 8. The attack does regular damage. Thomas takes his d5 (the die for the move Confusion) plus his 7d4s, and rolls them. The d5 rolls a 3. The d4s roll 3, 1, 2, 2, 2, 4, and 1. Thomas’ total damage is the sum of these dice, 18 damage. If you remember, Confusion has a 10% chance to give the status Confused to the target. Thomas rolls a d10 percentage check. He rolls a 5, needing to roll a 0. Kylie takes 18 damage and she is not Confused.]

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">[Now, imagine that Thomas’ Critical Threat check had been 18 instead. His attack would have been 18 x 2, 36 damage. Similarly, if he had hypothetically used the move Ember, a Fire type move, and super-effective against Kylie’s Ice type, Thomas’ attack would have also been 18 x 2 (for the Fire move) x 2 (for the Critical Hit), or 72 damage.]

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'lucidagrande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">Super-effective moves, just like in the Pokemon video games, are the key to strategy in FLC. Attacking a target that takes extra damage from your Pokemon’s attacks will help sway the battle in your favor. Remember, however, that the players’ enemies will be aiming to do this as well.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'lucidagrande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">In the calculation of damage, the order is as such: First, add the values of the damage dice together; second, do any immediate calculations that affect the move, if applicable (such as through the Pokemon Ability Analytic, a 1.3x multiplier, if appropriate); third, do any necessary calculation for Statistic Changes (covered in "Advanced Combat"); fourth, do any necessary calculations for Weaknesses and Resistances, if applicable; and finally, factor in the Critical Hit multiplier, if applicable.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'lucidagrande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;">It is worth noting that in FLC, players are not required to roll d4s exclusively for their damage dice. If they so choose, players can roll other dice to match the number of bonus d4s. The upside to this is that it becomes easier to achieve higher numbers, rolling fewer numbers of higher value dice. The downside is that it becomes possible to roll 1s on those same dice, where as rolling more d4s will grant players a higher damage minimum. The choice is up to the discretion of the players, who can change their dice at whim, as long as they still equal the same number of bonus dice. This chart shows the different possibilities:

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 * 2d4 = 1d8
 * 3d4 = 2d6
 * 3d4 = 1d12
 * 5d4 = 2d10
 * 5d4 = 1d20