Although it looks like a simple Pokémon battle from the main games, Pokémon Battrio is completely different. First, as its an Arcade machine, you will have to pay for each play. It is 100 yen for playing the single player, or 200 yen for the two player game, equating to 100 yen per player. Once you go in, you get a choice of a variety of modes including a Practice Mode, an in-game battle mode and a variety of customisation and shop modes. You'll have to plug in your memory key in order for the game to recognise your progress

To start a battle, you need to put your Battio Disks, sold seperately, on the central scanner. This will read them and put them into the game. You then need to slide the disks across to your side of the field. From here, once all three of your disks are in place, you can start thinking about positions of your Pokémon.

It is important to note that while you can have two of the same Pokémon in your team, you cannot use the same kind of disk twice. So if you have a Piplup from the Dialga and Palkia Clash Chapter and a Piplup from The Mysterious Mew Chapter, it will accept both. However, if you have just two Piplup from the Dialga and Palkia Clash Chapter, the game will not accept the second disk.

The positioning of the disks on the field is directly transferred to the game and so your Pokémon are placed in that position. With this, you can position your Pokémon to protect a weaker Pokémon or to just generally look imposing. It is possible to get boosts in your Pokémon's stats if you put them in a good formation such as an attacking formation or a distant defensive formation. Items giving a boost will also sometimes drop down so you'll have to make your Pokémon get them to grab the boost

The first main difference between this and the main Pokémon games is that all of the Pokémon are put together in one HP band. The Pokémon's Hit Points from each of the three disks are added together to make one total. This allows for your Pokémon to be able to all last the match, however you will have to think even more strategically about what Pokémon to use.

Next, you'll have to select the Pokémon that you wish to use to attack. This is done by the game hilighting each of your Pokémon. When the Pokémon you want to use is highlighted, press the button. Your opponent will also select their Pokémon in the same manner. Each Pokémon's current Attack & Defense level is displayed as well as the type, attack & speed priority. The key here is to anticipate the Pokémon being selected by your opponent and try to gain the type advantage. However, you only have a short amount of time in which to select your Pokémon so you'll have to think quickly.

Once the Pokémon have both been selected, now comes the time to attack. The order of the attacks is based upon the Speed stat of the attack. The fastest attacker will attack first. The attack is not only based upon the Pokémon's stats, but you will have to press the arcade button at a certain point. A bar will go across the top and each player will have to hit it near the middle in order to get the prime attack or defense depending upon the Pokémon. Then weakness and resistance is taken into account and the Pokémon attacks and the damage is done.