What is Kanto Tactics?
Kanto Tactics is an auto chess game built around the original Kanto Pokémon. Each round you spend gold in a shop, put Pokémon on a hex board, and watch the fight resolve on its own. Three identical copies merge into a stronger, evolved ★★ unit, and three ★★ make ★★★. Type synergies, items and positioning decide who wins.
It has three ways to play: Adventures (a Kanto campaign with eight badges and the League, plus Safari Zone, Night in Lavender and Team Rocket stories), the endless Battle Tower, and PvP tables of eight players with ranked leagues from Iron to Champion.
Beginner tips
- Tanks in front, carries in back. Put high-HP, high-Defense Pokémon in the front row and your main damage dealer in a back corner, where fewer hits reach it.
- Save gold for interest. Every 10 gold held at round end gives +1 (Meowth's interest), up to +4 in the Campaign and Tower and +5 in PvP.
- Level up to field more units. Your level equals how many Pokémon you can field, and higher levels show pricier Pokémon. Refresh the shop when you are close to a ★ or bleeding HP.
- Mix early, go vertical later. Small synergies are fine early. If the shop keeps offering one type, commit: gold and prism tiers hit much harder.
- Match items to damage class. Attack items (Protein, Choice Band) help basic attacks and physical abilities; Sp. Atk items (Calcium, Choice Specs) help special abilities. The card shows which.
- Scout the enemy board before each fight and keep your carry away from their big hitters.
All 15 type synergies
Each different Pokémon adds 1 to each of its types. Thresholds below are taken from the in-game guide.
| Type | Effect | Tiers |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Damage and Attack speed | 2: +18% · 4: +38% · 6: +50% |
| Fire | Attacks burn for 3 s | 2: 15 dmg/s · 4: 110 dmg/s · 5: 170 dmg/s |
| Water | Extra Energy on every attack | 2: +6 · 4: +22 · 6: +26 Energy |
| Grass | Regenerate max HP every second | 2: 4% HP/s · 3: 8% HP/s |
| Electric | Whole team starts with Energy; discharge on cast | 2: +25 · 4: +45 Energy |
| Ice | Attacks slow for 2 s | 2: −55% · 4: −95% enemy Atk speed |
| Fighting | More damage, and drain 20% of damage dealt | 2: +80% · 4: +140% dmg |
| Poison | Poison for 4 s and halve enemy healing | 2: 20 · 3: 80 · 5: 150 dmg/s |
| Ground | Take less damage | 2: −12% · 3: −22% · 5: −35% |
| Flying | Dodge basic attacks | 2: 10% · 4: 25% · 6: 40% |
| Psychic | Abilities hit harder | 2: +40% · 4: +85% · 5: +140% |
| Bug | More Attack speed | 2: +42% · 3: +82% |
| Rock | Start combat with a shield | 2: 7% HP · 4: 13% HP |
| Ghost | Mean Look: enemies start with less Defense and Sp. Def | 1: −12% |
| Dragon | Dragon Dance: whole team gains Attack, Sp. Atk and Atk speed | 1: +8% |
Two quirks worth knowing: Gyarados and Dragonite keep Flying for type matchups but do not count toward the Flying synergy, and type effectiveness only applies to abilities. Basic attacks ignore type.
Items and recipes
There are six components: HP Up (+10% HP), Protein (+12% Attack), Calcium (+12% Sp. Atk), Carbos (+8% Atk speed), Iron (+20% Defense) and Zinc (+20% Sp. Def). A Pokémon holds up to three items, and two components on the same Pokémon combine on their own. The combined item keeps both stats and adds an effect.
| Item | Recipe | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Leftovers | HP Up + HP Up | Restores 1% HP per second |
| Choice Band | Protein + Protein | +45% Attack |
| Choice Specs | Calcium + Calcium | +45% Sp. Atk |
| Choice Scarf | Carbos + Carbos | +35% Attack speed |
| Assault Vest | Zinc + Zinc | 12% less damage from abilities |
| Protector | Iron + Iron | 12% less damage from basic attacks |
| Focus Sash | HP Up + Carbos | Survives one lethal hit with 1 HP |
| Shell Bell | HP Up + Calcium | Heals 15% of direct damage dealt |
| Rocky Helmet | HP Up + Protein | Returns 18% of basic-attack damage taken |
| Sitrus Berry | HP Up + Zinc | Heals 25% once below 50% HP |
| Flame Orb | HP Up + Iron | Aura damage and Heal Block within 1 hex |
| Scope Lens | Protein + Carbos | +25% crit chance on basic attacks, crits ×1.9 |
| Life Orb | Protein + Calcium | +24% damage; each basic attack costs 2% HP |
| Razor Fang | Protein + Iron | Basic attacks apply Wear (−18% Def/Sp. Def) |
| Expert Belt | Protein + Zinc | +45% damage on super effective hits |
| Quick Claw | Calcium + Carbos | Starts with 20% Energy, +8% per cast |
| Twisted Spoon | Calcium + Iron | Ability applies Wear to everyone hit |
| Light Clay | Calcium + Zinc | Shields, heals and seeds 30% stronger |
| Poison Barb | Carbos + Iron | Heal Block on hit; +50% damage to shields |
| Mental Herb | Carbos + Zinc | Shakes off the first crowd control |
Eviolite is a special item: +35% Defense and Sp. Def until the holder reaches its final form. Two identical items stack their full effect.
The Magnet
The Magnet removes every item from a Pokémon and sends them back to your bag. Drag it onto a benched Pokémon (not one that is fighting). It is used up unless the Pokémon held nothing. In the Campaign you start with one and get another at gyms 3 and 6; in the Tower every boss (every 10 floors) gives one; in PvP everyone starts with one and gets another at 3-8. The Celadon Dept. Store sometimes sells them.
Eevee evolutions
Eevee evolves at 2★ based on the items it (and its copies) hold: Sp. Atk → Vaporeon, Attack speed, Energy or crit → Jolteon, Attack → Flareon. On a tie your most active type on the board decides (Water, Electric or Fire). At 3★ the most repeated branch among the copies wins. Choose Stay Eevee on its card to keep it Normal: its ability goes Quick Attack (1★), Bite (2★) and Last Resort (3★).
Gold, XP and the shop
You get +5 gold per stop, interest on savings, and a bonus for win streaks. A refresh costs 2 gold, and Buy XP costs 4 gold for +4 XP; you also get +2 XP free every stop. Level 9 is the cap. The pool is limited: 29 copies of each cost-1 Pokémon, 22 of cost 2, 18 of cost 3, 10 of cost 4 and 9 of cost 5, shared by the whole table in PvP. Shinies show up 1 time in 200 and have +10% HP, defenses and damage.
Modes
Campaign
Eight badges and the Pokémon League, stop by stop, starting with 100 HP. Pokémon Centers heal, the Celadon Dept. Store sells items and XP, and Prof. Oak offers a pick. Until badge 5 a loss never drops you below 10 HP. Beat it to unlock Veteran difficulty.
Battle Tower
Endless floors with campaign rules: losing repeats the floor, 0 HP ends the climb. Every 11th floor (11, 21, 31…) you pick one of three blessings such as Amulet Coin, Exp. Share, Master Ball or Poké Flute. Clear floors 10, 20, 30 and 50 for the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Prism Symbols. From floor 40 enemies gain 3% HP and damage per floor.
PvP (beta)
Eight trainers with 100 HP; last one standing wins. Rounds include Oak's Lab, wild Pokémon, a shared Safari Zone draft, Team Rocket, Snorlax and a legendary bird. If fewer than eight humans queue, Kanto Trainer bots fill the table. Placement points run from +40 for 1st to −40 for 8th, and your first three games place you. Idle for 180 seconds and it counts as leaving.
About this fan game
Kanto Tactics is an unofficial, non-profit fan game by Einoow. It is not affiliated with Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc. or The Pokémon Company. Pokemon All 22 is a separate fan site and is not connected to the developer.