Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set to release early next year, and with it, there will be a couple of twists to the traditional Pokémon combat system.
You’ll immediately find that the game’s turn-based combat is strikingly familiar to what you’re used to from Pokémon games, but one added element of strategy will come from selecting the “style” with which you want to attack.
Every Pokémon can have up to four moves, and each will be executable in a “Agile Style” or “Strong Style.”
By tactfully swapping between the two styles, you can approach fights with an extra layer of strategy that can give you an upperhand.
As the name suggests, Agile Style is about being quick on your feet. Selecting that style before an attack, you will increase your attack speed, giving you a higher chance of getting an extra turn.
But choosing Agile Style will also lower the power of your attacks, so it may be more beneficial to use the style early in fights when getting multiple moves in a row will be more impactful.
Strong Style takes the reverse approach. By lowering your action speed, the style makes your moves more powerful. If you’re looking to finish off an opposing Pokémon with one final finishing move, this is the style you’ll want to use.
While specific details for how much faster or stronger the two styles make certain Pokémon have not yet been disclosed, the implementation of this system will add more variety to combat in Arceus.
Strategies for using one style over the other may change depending on numerous factors including your Pokémon, the opposing Pokémon, and the time in the fight, but the general jist seems to be that you’ll want to use Agile Style earlier in fights so your next turn comes sooner.
From there you’ll want to switch to a Strong Style move later in fights to finish off your opponent, but when exactly you decide to switch will be up to whatever strategy you want to employ.