Pokemon: Close Combat - TV Tropes (2024)

Only one Fighting-Type to rule them all.

"Choose your Pokémon!''

Pokémon: Close Combat is a fan-made Pokémon Fighting Game that's free to download. In this game, players pick a Fighting-Type Pokémon and battle it out against each other. It was developed by BattleCapacity (the same developers behind the Create-a-Pokémon fighting game of the same name) and was first released in February 2023. As of this writing, it is still being updated to this day with new characters.

The developer has a YouTube and Twitter/X, and there's also a community Discord here.

The Roster

This game provides examples of:

• Anti-Frustration Features: Reaching the secret boss of "The Path" is made a bit less stressful by virtue of the fact that you can throw a match and continue if you drop a round without the need to start the whole process over. So long as each opponent is eventually beaten 2-0, you'll still fight the boss regardless of how many Game Over screens you saw in the process.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Tyrogue is currently the only unevolved Pokémon in the roster. It can evolve after earning enough "points" towards one of its evolutions, but it's entirely possible for it not to, intentionally or otherwise.
• Badass Normal: Characters like Primeape and Falinks don't have any elemental powers like Blaziken or Poliwrath, but are still strong their own.
• Bait-and-Switch: The trailer for Great Tusk features a Pawmot, another Generation IX Fighting type, throwing palm attacks before it's bowled over by the actual new addition to the cast.
• Battle Amongst the Flames: The city skyline stage uses the background from Marvel vs. Capcom 's encounter with Onslaught: a city, ostensibly New York, ablaze. As of this edit, a pending update will replace the stage with one with original assets like every other background in the game while maintaining the theme of a ruined city.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Every playable Pokémon is at least partially Fighting-type.
• Break Meter : Every character has a certain amount of "Endurance", or how much they can block or attempt to parry before they suffer a guard break, opening them up to a free combo. Throwing or being thrown partially restores Endurance, though low Endurance characters are still more vulnerable than average to pressure.
• The Cameo: Several Pokémon who don't make a playable appearance make cameos in the stage background.
  • Ruins has Gogoat, Golurk, Mothim, and Wooloo.
  • Levelup Cave has Morelull and Tyrogue.
  • Bridge City has Kangaskhan, Koffing, Rampardos, Revavroom, and Varoom.
  • Ziggurat has Koraidon.
  • Dust Town has Dugtrio, Ludicolo, Mandibuzz, Scraggy, Silicobra, and Vullaby.
    • Flamigo also appears as a prop.
  • While Play Room does not have Pokémon, it has toys representing Gigantamax Alcremie, Bellibolt, Clodsire, Electrode, Gothita, Hoothoot, Ledyba, Lopunny, Lotad, Magnezone, Munna, Pikachu, Galarian Ponyta, Psyduck, Rhydon, Snorlax, Stufful, and Swanna.
  • Machop originally appeared on the title screen before being replaced by a silhouetted Hitmonchan.
  • Urshifu appears on the Solo Menu screen.
  • Zubaz, a rejected Street Fighter design adopted by the Super Best Friends, appears to recall Gorochu when it's defeated.
• Call a Hit Point a "Smeerp": This game's "Burst" mechanic isn't the Combo Breaker you might expect, but instead more akin to an extreme form of pushblocking insofar as it only works on block and sends your opponent far enough away that you'll be able to create some breathing room. Nonetheless, the potential for burst baits and big punishes is still there, making it something of an odd marriage of the two distinct mechanics.
• Early-Bird Cameo:
  • Hitmonchan appeared on the Solo Menu screen before being added to the roster as an evolution of Tyrogue.
  • Tyrogue itself appears in the background of one of the stages.
• Endless Game: Togeball, a minigame wherein you juggle a Togedamaru for as long as you can, only ends once you drop the Electric type.
• Flawless Victory: Defeating your opponent without losing any health has the announcer declare "It's Super Effective!"
• Game Mod: Several exist to add extra fighters to the roster or make nonplayable ones playable.
• Lag Cancel: Some moves can be "C cancelled", ending their lag early and enabling combos or more air-tight pressure at the cost of two bars of meter (though one of these bars is immediately refunded. In effect, the mechanic costs one bar but requires you have at least two banked to make use of it.)
• Mana Meter: Close Combat handles super meter in an unusual way: sweeping or throwing your opponent earns you a single bar, stackable up to three times, that can be expended on enhanced special moves, exclusive "Hyper Moves", or other mechanics. Barring a Tyrogue foregoing its evolution, there is no other way to earn super meter, forcing even zoners to have to engage up close every so often.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter:
  • Falinks is a Puppet Fighter that can send out two of its 6 links to act independently of it.
  • After the first round, Tyrogue can evolve into one of three distinct evolutions depending on what moves the player used. More kicks has it evolve into Hitmonlee, more punches into Hitmonchan, and an equal amount of punches and kicks into Hitmontop. It can also opt to reject its evolution in exchange for an excessively powerful super move and a bar of meter every round.
• Moth Menace: Slither Wing is among the playable roster, and it is presented in a somewhat villainous light in the v11 trailer.
• Pokémon Speak: Averted, all Pokémon use their cries ripped straight from the games and played at various pitches instead. Gorochu's cries appropriately sound adapted from its would-be pre-evolution Raichu.
• Punch Parry: Pressing the parry button has the characters assume a defensive stance that can deflect anything. Timed correctly and it costs nothing and leaves the user advantangeous enough to punish most attacks or reposition freely. Poor timing leaves the user vulnerable and depletes some of their Endurance.
• Retraux: The character select icons all resemble Generation 1 battle sprites. The game's OST is a mix of contemporary rock, dance music, and pseudo 16-bit songs ala what you might hear on a Super Nintendo.
• The Smurfette Principle: The only character that is confirmed to be female is Heracross, as seen with her heart-shaped horn.
• SNK Boss: Gorochu is the secret Final Boss of The Path, where you have to go through each match without dropping a round. It's fast, tanky, has incredibly powerful, unreactable specials, a fully invincible, unpunishable jumping attack, and more to its name.
• Single Player Gauntlet: "The Path" is a traditional arcade mode wherein you battle numerous opponents until you reach an ending screen with one of several illustrations for each 'mon you can select. It has an exclusive boss that can be fought at the end, but only if you get there without losing any rounds.
• Standard Status Effects: As of this edit, just two. Poison widdles down a victim's health over time, and unlike most other fighting games it notably never goes away until the victim manages to parry an attack successfully, or their health is reduced to the minimum. Dizzy, standing in for sleep and paralysis from the Pokémon games, is a stun caused by specific attacks that leaves the victim open to combos.
• Training Dummy: The game's Training Mode features Wobuffet, which can be programmed to attack in limited capacities but otherwise is unplayable.
• Wolverine Publicity: Largely averted. Blaziken is the most well established Pokémon in the game, with most of the rest of the cast being generally lesser known Fighting types. Ironically, the only member of the Pikachu family to appear is the unplayable boss Gorochu, a cut evolution for Raichu that arguably makes it one of the most obscure Pokémon in the game.