Battle Arena Guide

In the Battle Arena each matchup lasts at most three turns. If neither Pokémon faints, a referee judges them on Mind, Skill and Body, and the loser is sent off. Arena Tycoon Greta is the 28th battle for the silver Guts Symbol and the 56th for the gold. Aggressive, accurate Pokémon that hit super-effectively win here.

How the Battle Arena works

You enter three Pokémon and fight seven battles per round, choosing Level 50 or Open Level. The Arena only has Single Battles.

• No switching. Your Pokémon go out in the order you entered them, and stay in until they faint or lose a judgement.
• Three turns per matchup. If one Pokémon faints, the other wins as normal. If both are still standing after three turns, the judges decide.
• The judges award up to 6 points. Each of the three categories is worth 2 points to the better Pokémon, or 1 each on a tie. The Pokémon with more points wins and the loser leaves the battle. On a total tie, both Pokémon leave.

How Mind, Skill and Body are scored

Mind: did you attack? A Pokémon gains a point each turn it chooses a damaging move, even if it can’t actually move because of paralysis or confusion. Protect, Detect and Endure lose a point. Counter, Mirror Coat and Bide score nothing, and Fake Out loses a point. Status and setup moves score nothing.

Skill: did your moves work? A move that works gains a point, and a super-effective hit gains two. A move that misses, fails or is stopped (by paralysis, for example) loses two points, and a not-very-effective hit loses one. Failing because of the opponent’s Protect, Detect or Fake Out costs nothing.

Body: how much HP is left? The Pokémon with the higher share of its starting HP left after the third turn wins this category.

The Battle Arena judging explainer works through close calls turn by turn.

Rules and bans

Three different Pokémon holding different items, and no Mew, Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys or Eggs.

Arena Tycoon Greta

Greta is the last battle of your 4th round (battle 28) and 8th round (battle 56). Her Pokémon come out in a fixed order, like yours.

	Silver (battle 28)	Gold (battle 56)
1	Heracross (Salac Berry), Jolly	Umbreon (Chesto Berry), Calm
2	Umbreon (Leftovers), Calm	Gengar (Leftovers), Modest
3	Shedinja (BrightPowder), Adamant	Breloom (Lum Berry), Jolly

• Silver: Heracross leads with Megahorn, Rock Tomb, Endure and Reversal, so it can survive on 1 HP and hit back with a full-power Reversal, faster thanks to its Salac Berry. Umbreon is bulky with Confuse Ray, Body Slam, Psychic and Faint Attack. Shedinja has Wonder Guard, so only super-effective moves (Fire, Flying, Rock, Ghost and Dark) can touch it. Bring one.
• Gold: Umbreon has Double-Edge, Confuse Ray, Rest and Psychic. Gengar has Psychic, Hypnosis, Dream Eater and Destiny Bond. Breloom has Spore, Focus Punch, Giga Drain and Headbutt.

Sleep and confusion are Greta’s main weapons in both fights. A Lum Berry, Chesto Berry or Pokémon that ignores those conditions saves a lot of Skill points. Full sets and counters will be on the Arena Tycoon Greta page.

Strategy: building for the three-turn judgement

What wins judgements

• Attack every turn. Choosing a damaging move scores Mind; Protect or Endure loses it. Setup moves score nothing in a format that only lasts three turns.
• Use accurate, super-effective moves. Skill rewards hits that land and punishes misses heavily (−2). A 100%-accurate super-effective move is worth far more than a powerful move that sometimes misses.
• Bulk wins Body. A Pokémon that takes little damage wins Body even if it doesn’t knock the opponent out.

Good Arena Pokémon

• Strong attackers with wide coverage, so they have something super effective against most opponents.
• Bulky attackers that can survive three turns and still win on HP.
• Pokémon with priority or high speed that can finish weakened opponents before the judges step in.

Avoid Pokémon that rely on status moves, setup, Protect or recovery. Those are good everywhere else, but here they either score nothing or lose points.

Ordering your team

Since you can’t switch, the order you enter is your whole plan. Put your most consistent attacker first, a bulky Pokémon second to stop momentum, and a cleaner last. For Greta’s silver, make sure a Shedinja answer isn’t stuck behind two Pokémon that might lose first.

Common mistakes

1. Bringing a defensive team. Protect, Rest and status moves score badly here, and a stall team can lose judgements it would win in a normal battle.
2. Using inaccurate moves. A miss costs two Skill points. Thunder, Blizzard, Fire Blast and Focus Punch are risky in a three-turn match.
3. No answer to Shedinja. Without a Fire, Flying, Rock, Ghost or Dark move, Greta’s silver Shedinja can’t be hurt at all.
4. Ignoring sleep and confusion. Being unable to move still counts as choosing a move for Mind, but it costs Skill points.
5. Wrong order. You can’t switch, so a bad lead against a typical opponent can cost two Pokémon in a row.

BP rewards

BP is paid per round of seven, the same at Level 50 and Open Level. Greta’s rounds pay 10 BP extra.

Round	1	2	3	4 (Greta)	5	6	7	8 (Greta)	9	10
BP	1	1	1	12	2	2	3	13	4	4

Greta returns every four rounds after the gold, and amounts climb to 15 BP per round (25 with Greta) by around round 21. See the Battle Points guide for what to buy.

FAQ

How does Battle Arena judging work?

If both Pokémon are still standing after three turns, they’re scored on Mind (choosing attacks), Skill (moves that land, especially super-effective ones) and Body (HP left). Each category is worth 2 points to the winner, and the Pokémon with more points stays in.

Can I switch Pokémon in the Battle Arena?

No. Your Pokémon fight in the order you entered them, and the next one only comes in when the current one faints or loses a judgement.

What happens if the judgement is a tie?

Both Pokémon leave the battle, and each side sends out its next Pokémon.