The Game Theory of Competitive Pokémon

How Pokémon ComparesURL copied

direction: right

elements: {
  ltp: { label: Long-term Planning }
  sim: { label: Simultaneous Actions }
  imp: { label: Imperfect Information }
  prob: { label: Probability Management }
}

games: {
  chess: {
    label: Chess
    icon: https://api.iconify.design/mdi:chess-king.svg
  }
  rps: {
    label: Rock Paper Scissors
    icon: https://api.iconify.design/mdi:hand-back-right.svg
  }
  poker: {
    label: Poker
    icon: https://api.iconify.design/mdi:cards-playing-spade-multiple.svg
  }
  mtg: {
    label: Magic the Gathering
    icon: https://api.iconify.design/mdi:cards.svg
  }
  pokemon: {
    label: Competitive Pokémon
    icon: https://api.iconify.design/mdi:pokeball.svg
  }
}

games.chess   -> elements.ltp
games.rps     -> elements.sim
games.poker   -> elements.ltp
games.poker   -> elements.imp
games.poker   -> elements.prob
games.mtg     -> elements.ltp
games.mtg     -> elements.imp
games.mtg     -> elements.prob
games.pokemon -> elements.ltp
games.pokemon -> elements.sim
games.pokemon -> elements.imp
games.pokemon -> elements.prob
Strategic Dimensions Across Competitive Games

Only competitive Pokémon connects to all four. This isn't a coincidence. The design of simultaneous move selection, combined with customizable teams, imperfect information, and deep probability variance, produces a game that cannot be fully solved by any one strategic framework.