War campaign

PokeWar Tactics

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Enlistment command

Choose the army you will serve.

Your active squad must keep a core of your army's type (2, rising to 4 as you are promoted). Choose a doctrine, secure rival strongholds, and carry their insignias through the campaign.

PokeWar Tactics is a free, non-commercial fan game. Pokémon and all related names, characters, and sprites are © Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc. This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by them — it is purely a fan tribute. Sprite art via the PMD SpriteCollab and Pokémon Showdown community archives. Enjoying the campaign? ☕ Buy the dev a coffee

How to Play

PokeWar Tactics is an auto-battler roguelike. You build a squad, pick a path across 10 operations, and every battle plays itself out — your job is squad-building, positioning, and timing your support items. Lose the campaign and it is over (permadeath).

Type effectiveness

Every hit is multiplied by the attacker's primary type vs the defender's type(s):

  • Super effective ×1.25
  • Not very effective ×0.75
  • Traditionally immune ×0.65 — there are no zeroes; e.g. Ground still hits Flying for ×0.65.

Dual-type defenders multiply both ways (a ×1.25 into a 2nd ×1.25 = ×1.56; a ×1.25 into a ×0.75 = ×0.94). A Pokémon only ever attacks with its first type.

What each type is strong against (×1.25)

Fire → Bug, Grass, Ice, Steel

Water → Fire, Ground, Rock

Grass → Ground, Rock, Water

Electric → Flying, Water

Ground → Electric, Fire, Poison, Rock, Steel

Rock → Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice

Ice → Dragon, Flying, Grass, Ground

Fighting → Dark, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel

Psychic → Fighting, Poison

Flying → Bug, Fighting, Grass

Bug → Grass, Psychic, Dark

Poison → Grass

Ghost → Ghost, Psychic

Dark → Ghost, Psychic

Steel → Ice, Rock

Dragon → Dragon

Normal → nothing super-effective (neutral vs all)

Damage formula

Each hit deals, at minimum 3 damage:

damage = ATK × typeMultiplier × (special 1.65 if charged) × (X Atk 1.25 if active) − DEF × 0.54

So attack, the type multiplier, and enemy defense all matter. A charged special hits 65% harder; X Def Wall then cuts incoming damage by 20% on your side. Bulk (HP + DEF) is deliberately impactful, so fights last a few seconds rather than instantly.

Battle: attack order & formations

  • Battles are automatic. Each Pokémon acts on its own cooldown (faster/higher-BST units act sooner), moving toward the nearest enemy and attacking when in range.
  • Roles come from base stats: Tanks (melee, +HP/DEF), Fighters (mid-range, +ATK/HP), Rangers (long range, +ATK) that strike from afar.
  • Each attack builds a special charge; at full charge the next hit is a 1.65× special.
  • Formations set your opening layout: Balanced, Vanguard (durable units forward), and Backline Screen (ranged protected behind).
  • Your chosen Ace (a faction-type leader) gets +10% HP/ATK/DEF. Switching to a new Ace grants it double XP for the next battle.

Support items (used mid-battle)

  • X Atk Spray — +25% squad attack for 6s.
  • X Def Wall — −20% damage taken for 6s.
  • Restore — heals your weakest active Pokémon (~46%).
  • Revive — brings back a fainted ally at half HP.

You start with 3 X Atk, 3 X Def, 1 Revive and some Restores. Restock at Field Shops and the free Resupply Tent.

Route nodes

  • Trainer / Wild / Elite / Boss — battles. Winning a Wild opens a capture chance on it. Boss nodes end the operation and grant an insignia.
  • Supply Escort — battle for +money and a discounted recruit (₽65).
  • Field Shop — no battle; buy Poké Balls and support items.
  • Vendor nodes: Rare Pokemon Dealer (gamble for a recruit), Safari (pay to pick a recruit), Rare Rations (+levels), Candy (make one shiny), Physician (permanent +5% team stat, once), Resupply Tent (free item kit).

Money, catching & recruits

  • Income: +₽35 per trainer/wild/elite win, +₽80 for supply, +₽60 for a boss.
  • Balls: Poké ₽15, Great ₽30, Ultra ₽45 (bought singly). Better balls raise catch odds.
  • Catching: after a wild win you get up to 3 throws. Odds scale with the target's tier and your ball; a Poke Flute buys a final attempt. You cannot own two of the same evolutionary family.

Levels & evolutions

  • XP-to-next-level is 12 + current level; a full campaign takes a squad toward Lv.70.
  • Reserves share XP: benched Pokémon earn the same battle XP as your active squad (silently), so a swapped-in ally is never under-levelled.
  • Pokémon evolve automatically at their canonical levels, raising their stats and often their tier.

Winning & losing

Clear all 10 operations to win. Each stronghold boss you beat adds an insignia (+1.5% HP/ATK/DEF each). A campaign loss is permanent — you start fresh. Finishing the campaign unlocks War Realism, a nuzlocke mode where fainted Pokémon are lost for good and replaced by drafted reinforcements.