Pokkén Tournament is a fighting game in which all the playable characters are Pokémon. Combat takes place in a circular arena, with two Pokémon fighting at a time. Battles are divided into Field Phase, which focuses on maintaining distance between the player and opponent while attacking at strategic moments, and Duel Phase, in which the battle shifts to a horizontal plane. Connecting with certain kinds of attacks will trigger the switch between the two phases. Pokémon can jump, guard, and unleash various attacks in order to bring their opponent's health meter down, while keeping their own health up. Successful attacks and guards will fill the Pokémon's Resonance Gauge, which will allow them to activate Burst Mode when it is full. In Burst Mode, the Pokémon can unleash more powerful attacks, and certain ones will even be able to Mega Evolve. Two Support Pokémon can be chosen at the beginning of a match, one of which will then be chosen to be active for the round, and may be summoned to attack the opponent or give the player beneficial effects for a short amount of time. Support Pokémon need to recharge before being used again.