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How to Play PokeSim
Your complete guide to catching, training, and battling Pokémon. From your first step in the tall grass to unlocking Mega Evolutions — everything you need to know is right here.
✨ Gen 1–9 | 1,000+ Pokémon
Map & Exploration
PokeSim features a 50×50 tile map where you roam freely as your trainer. Move using the on-screen arrow pad or your keyboard.
- Dirt tiles — Safe ground, no wild encounters.
- Tall grass tiles — Every step has a chance to trigger a wild Pokémon encounter!
Controls:
Keyboard shortcuts:
↑ / W North
↓ / S South
← / A West
→ / D East
Diagonal buttons also available for faster movement.
💡 Tip: Your active Pokémon walks beside you as a companion sprite! Wild Pokémon depend on the Pokémon ID range configured for the current map.
Battles & Type Effectiveness
Walking through tall grass triggers a wild Pokémon encounter. A turn-based battle begins — choose one of your moves each turn.
Speed determines who attacks first. A Pokémon's level acts as its base speed (modified by Bonus Stats).
Type effectiveness:
2× Super Effective — double damage
0.5× Not Very Effective — half
0× No Effect
NormalFireWaterElectricGrassIceFightingPoisonGroundFlyingPsychicBugRockGhostDragonDarkSteelFairy
Battle actions:
- Move buttons (or keys 1–4) — Use one of up to 4 moves.
- 🎯 Catch — Attempt to catch the wild Pokémon.
- 🔄 Switch Pokémon — Swap to another team member. Cancelling gives the wild Pokémon a free attack.
- 🏃 Takas Na! (Escape) — Flee. Failure means the wild Pokémon attacks.
ℹ️ Multi-Pokémon XP: All Pokémon that entered battle via switching share XP. Weaker Pokémon receive a larger share.
💡 Tip: Check Weaknesses in the encounter preview before battle — plan your moves accordingly!
Catching Pokémon
Weakening a wild Pokémon increases your catch chance. The lower its HP, the higher the rate — up to the map's catch cap.
| Condition | Effect |
|---|
| 🔴 Active Pokémon level ≤ 10 | Cannot catch — need a stronger Pokémon |
| 📊 XP below map threshold | Must reach required XP % first |
| 💰 Catch cost | Deducts a % of your active Pokémon's current XP |
| ❤️ Wild HP at ~1% | Highest catch chance (up to map's cap) |
| ❤️ Wild HP at 100% | Minimum 5% catch chance |
Auto-Capture (5th Encounter): Defeat the same species 5 times and on the 5th victory it automatically joins your collection — free, no cost!
⚠️ Important: A failed catch still costs XP and the wild Pokémon gets a free counter-attack. Weaken it first!
💡 Tip: The catch chance display shows the exact % and XP cost in real time above the Catch button.
Leveling & Experience
Defeating wild Pokémon earns XP for all participants. XP is weighted — weaker Pokémon relative to the wild one earn a bigger share.
- Base XP per battle: Wild level × 30
- Coins earned: Wild level × 10 per win
- Max HP: Level × 25
- XP to next level: Current level × 300
ℹ️ Total Level (Trainer Rank): Sum of all Pokémon levels in team + collection. Used for Global Ranking and unlocking the 🛒 Merkado at total level 100.
💡 Tip: Switch in lower-level Pokémon during battle so they share XP and grow faster.
Evolution
Pokémon evolve when reaching certain levels — automatically after a level-up in battle, or manually via the 🔄 Evolve button on any Pokémon card.
Info Panel Evolution Line: Clicking any sprite opens its info showing the full evolution line from the root — no matter which form you clicked.
🐱LITLEOStart
→
🦁PYROARLv. 35
+
🦁PYROAR MALEMale Form
🌱BULBASAURStart
→
🌿IVYSAURLv. 16
→
🌺VENUSAURLv. 32
+
🌺MEGA VENUSAURMega Evo
- Mega Evolution — Lv. 200+
- Primal Reversion — Lv. 300+ (Kyogre / Groudon)
- Gigantamax — Lv. 500+
- Gender Forms — Male/Female variants shown as alternate forms
ℹ️ Clicking Litleo, Pyroar, Pyroar-Male, or Venusaur-Mega in the info panel always shows the complete evolution line from the base species.
💡 Tip: Evolution preserves Bonus Stats, Shiny status, and capture info. If multiple targets exist, a selection screen lets you choose.
⭐ Bonus Stats
Wild Pokémon can spawn with hidden Bonus Stats — permanent passive buffs assigned randomly at encounter, preserved through evolution and team changes.
⚔️ +ATK +25% Attack Damage
🛡️ +DEF Reduces damage taken by 25%
🏃 +SPD +25% Speed (acts first more often)
| Bonus Tier | Chance |
|---|
| ⚔️🛡️🏃 All three stats | ~1% |
| Any two stats | ~10% |
| Any one stat | ~19% |
| No bonus stats | ~70% |
💡 Tip: Use the Collection filters (⚔️ / 🛡️ / 🏃) to find your strongest Pokémon. Triple-bonus is extremely rare — keep it!
✨ Shiny Pokémon
Every wild Pokémon has a tiny chance of appearing as a Shiny — an alternate coloration. Purely cosmetic but highly prized.
✨ SHINY 1 in 4,096 chance per encounter
- Shiny Pokémon display a ✨ SHINY badge on their card.
- In battle they use alternate shiny sprites (animated or official artwork).
- Shiny status is preserved through evolution.
- The encounter preview announces ✨ SHINY [NAME]! when you find one.
💡 Tip: Even if you already own that species, catch the shiny — it's stored separately in your collection!
Move Editor & Customization
Each Pokémon can have up to 4 damaging moves. Customize via the ✏️ Moves button on any card.
- Cost formula: Added Power × 35 coins. You only pay for added total power.
- Replacing weaker with stronger costs the power difference × 35.
- Reducing power or no net change — no cost (no refunds).
| Example | Cost |
|---|
| Replace 40-power with 80-power move | 40 × 35 = ₱1,400 |
| Replace 100-power with 60-power move | ₱0 (no refund) |
| Fill empty slot with 60-power move | 60 × 35 = ₱2,100 |
The editor shows level-up moves first (up to 5 levels ahead), then falls back to all learnable moves for that species.
1 Move 1 in battle
2 Move 2
3 Move 3
4 Move 4
💡 Tip: Type coverage (moves of different types) lets you hit more opponents for super effective damage.
Team & Collection
Your Pokémon are split into your active Team (up to 6) and your Collection (unlimited storage).
⚡
Set Active
One Pokémon leads battles and walks beside you on the map.
📦
Move to Collection
Move a team member to your storage box.
➕
Add to Team
Pull from collection into your team (max 6).
🗑️
Release
Permanently release a Pokémon. Cannot be undone!
✏️
Edit Moves
Customize up to 4 moves. Costs coins for power upgrades.
🔄
Evolve
Manually trigger evolution if level requirement is met.
Collection Filters & Sorting:
- 🔍 Search by name or Pokémon #
- ✨ Filter: Shiny only
- ⚔️ / 🛡️ / 🏃 Filter: Bonus ATK / DEF / SPD only
- Sort by: Level (High→Low / Low→High), Pokédex ID, or Name A→Z
Each card shows capture metadata: trainer who caught it, map, and date.
💡 Tip: Keep at least 2–3 Pokémon in your team so you can switch during battle. If all faint, you lose!
Pokédex Records
Tracks every species you've encountered in battle — even without catching. Each entry shows the sprite, name, Pokédex #, types, encounter count, and an ℹ️ Info button with full stats, description, weaknesses, and the complete evolution line.
Search by name or ID. List loads 25 at a time for performance.
💡 Tip: Once you've encountered a species 5 times, the next defeat auto-captures it for free!
Global Ranking
The Global Ranking page compares all trainers by:
- Total Levels — Sum of all Pokémon levels (team + collection).
- Total Encounters — Total wild Pokémon battled.
Change your trainer name using the ✏️ button in the nav — once per week.
ℹ️ Merkado Unlock: Reach a Total Level of 100 to unlock the 🛒 Merkado in the navigation bar.
Navigation & UI Settings
🌙
Dark / Light Mode
Toggle between dark and light themes. Saved automatically.
🔊
Music Toggle
Mute/unmute background and battle music.
+ / −
Zoom Controls
Scale the game 50%–150%. Saved across sessions.
🚗
Byahe (Travel)
Explore additional map areas.
🏆
Gym Battles
Challenge Gym Leaders in structured battles.
ℹ️
About
Shows daily Firestore read/write/delete usage.
💡 Tip: On mobile, the ☰ hamburger collapses all nav links into scrollable card rows.
Install PokeSim as an App
PokeSim is a Progressive Web App (PWA). Install to your phone or desktop — no app store needed.
- Android / Desktop Chrome: Tap "Install App" in the About section or footer.
- iOS (Safari): Share button → Add to Home Screen.
- Offline play: Many features work offline. Progress syncs on reconnect.
- Updates: Use "Check for update" in About to get the latest version.
💡 Tip: Installed app gives full-screen mode, faster loads, and works without keeping a browser tab open.