How Battle Arena Judging Works

In the Battle Arena, every matchup lasts at most three turns. If neither Pokémon has fainted by then, a referee scores both on Mind, Skill and Body, and the loser is knocked out of the battle. Knowing how those points work wins close calls you’d otherwise lose. Everything below is taken from the game’s code.

For Greta’s teams and general Arena strategy, see the Battle Arena guide.

The three-turn rule

• Your Pokémon and the opponent’s fight one-on-one. Neither side can switch.
• If one Pokémon faints, the other wins the matchup as normal.
• If both are still standing at the end of the third turn, the judging starts. Moves that take two turns, like Solar Beam or Fly, are cancelled.
• The winner of the judging stays in for the next matchup with the HP it has left. The loser faints.

How the judging is scored

The referee compares the two Pokémon in each category. The better one gets 2 points, or each gets 1 point on a tie. The Pokémon with the higher total wins. On an equal total, it’s a draw and both Pokémon faint.

Category	What it measures	Points to the better Pokémon
Mind	How aggressively it attacked	2 (1 each on a tie)
Skill	How well its moves worked	2 (1 each on a tie)
Body	How much of its HP is left	2 (1 each on a tie)

Only the comparison matters, not the size of the gap. Winning Skill 7 to 6 is worth exactly as much as winning it 7 to −4.

Mind: did it attack?

Each turn, the move a Pokémon uses changes its Mind score:

Move used	Mind
Any damaging move	+1
Any status or setup move (Toxic, Swords Dance, Recover…)	0
Counter, Mirror Coat, Bide	0
Protect, Detect, Endure	−1
Fake Out	−1

The point is counted when the Pokémon starts its move, so an attack that misses, or that a paralysed or confused Pokémon fails to use, still scores +1.

Skill: did its moves work?

Each time a move is carried out, its result changes the Skill score:

Result	Skill
Super-effective hit	+2
Normal hit, or a status move that works	+1
Not-very-effective hit	−1
Missed, failed or had no effect	−2
A status move on a foe that already has a status condition	−2
Blocked by the foe’s Protect or Detect	0
Using Protect or Detect yourself	0
Stopped by the foe’s ability, such as Volt Absorb, Flash Fire or Clear Body	−3

Body: how much HP is left?

Body compares the share of HP each Pokémon has left, measured against the HP it had at the start of this matchup, not its maximum HP. A Pokémon that came in at half HP and took no damage scores 100% here, while a full-HP Pokémon that lost a quarter scores 75%.

That’s why a damaged Pokémon carried over from the previous matchup isn’t automatically behind on Body.

What this means for your team

• Attack every turn. Every damaging move is +1 Mind, and a hit is at least +1 Skill. Three attacks is a strong score before HP even counts.
• Don’t use Protect. It costs a Mind point and scores nothing for Skill. Detect and Endure are just as bad.
• Super-effective coverage wins Skill. Pokémon with two or three attacking types, like Salamence, Metagross or Swampert, can usually hit something super-effectively.
• Avoid unreliable moves. A miss is −2 Skill. Thunder, Blizzard, Hydro Pump and Focus Punch are risky here.
• Status moves are weak. Toxic or Thunder Wave score 0 Mind and only +1 Skill if they work, and −2 if the foe already has a status. Setup moves score the same as doing nothing for Mind.
• Bulk still matters. Body is a third of the score, and a Pokémon that survives three turns with most of its HP usually takes Body.

Worked examples

Example 1: attacking beats setting up

Your Metagross uses Meteor Mash, Earthquake (super effective) and Meteor Mash. The opposing Snorlax uses Curse twice, then Body Slam, which is not very effective against Steel.

	Metagross	Snorlax
Mind	+1 +1 +1 = 3	0 + 0 +1 = 1
Skill	+1 +2 +1 = 4	+1 +1 −1 = 1
Body	70%	40%
Points	2 + 2 + 2 = 6	0

Metagross sweeps all three categories. Snorlax’s boosts would have mattered in a normal battle, but here they lost it the matchup.

Example 2: Protect throws away a winning position

Your Raichu uses Protect on turn 1, then Thunderbolt twice. The opponent uses Ice Beam three times, and the first one is blocked.

	Raichu	Opponent
Mind	−1 +1 +1 = 1	+1 +1 +1 = 3
Skill	0 +1 +1 = 2	0 +1 +1 = 2
Body	80%	55%
Points	0 + 1 + 2 = 3	2 + 1 + 0 = 3

Raichu has far more HP left, but Protect cost it Mind, and the matchup is a draw, so both Pokémon faint. Three Thunderbolts would have tied Mind and Skill, and Raichu would probably still have won Body for a 4–2 win.

Example 3: one miss decides it

Your Pokémon uses Hydro Pump three times: hit, miss, hit. The opponent uses Surf three times, all hitting normally.

	You	Opponent
Mind	3	3
Skill	+1 −2 +1 = 0	+1 +1 +1 = 3
Body	60%	60%
Points	1 + 0 + 1 = 2	1 + 2 + 1 = 4

Same damage, same HP, but the miss cost three Skill points and the matchup. Using Surf instead would at least have made it a draw.

FAQ

What happens if the judging is a tie?

Both Pokémon faint. Neither side carries a Pokémon into the next matchup.

Does HP left mean percentage of maximum HP?

No. Body compares HP left with the HP each Pokémon had when this matchup began.

Is Protect ever useful in the Battle Arena?

Almost never. It’s −1 Mind and 0 Skill, so it can only win you the Body category, and you’ll usually lose Mind for it.