History VideoGame / PokemonConquest

* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons:
** Used by UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga no less! A few other characters, including Oichi, are also capable of effective links with Dragon-types, but none quite as notable as Nobunaga. The exceptions are [[spoiler:Hideyoshi and Tadakatsu, who can link with Reshiram and Dialga, respectively.]]
** When Nene organizes a ninja battle between herself, Hanzo, Kotaro and Kunoichi, she insists that they should only use the Poison, Dark, and Ghost types ("like a good ninja should!"), but notes that their contest really needs a fourth type to even the field ... so she randomly tosses Dragon in to the mix. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard This backfires]], considering she's the only one who doesn't start with an [[DiscOneNuke unevolved Dragon-type]] in her army.

* {{Cap}}: Damage caps at 999, though you'll usually only see numbers this high when hitting a double weakness on a dual-typed Pokemon.

** The wind that knocks Pokemon off of Terrera's high banner towers blows at intervals the AI seems completely unaware of. As a result, it often sends its Pokemon up the tower elevators only to see them blown off before they can actually claim the banner on top.

** While the AI does acknowledge type advantages and immunities when attacking, it doesn't account for ''abilities'' that provide type immunities, resulting in the AI having a Pokemon with a Ground attack trying to hit a Pokemon with Levitate, using Fire attacks on something with Flash Fire, etc.

* TemporaryOnlineContent: Two in-game events and three Warlord episodes were available over Wi-Fi [[note]]Motochika and Motonari show up during the main game, Hideyoshi gets frickin' ''Reshiram'', as well as Keiji, Okuni, and Ranmaru's chapters[[/note]] until New Year's Eve of 2012. [[NoExportForYou Unless you're in Japan]], in which case those suckers are never gonna stop transmitting. Subverted in the end, though: unknown to many people, said Wi-Fi downloadable missions turned out to have hidden passwords within the game code that anybody can use without the use of hacks. This was never officially stated to the public though, and is generally spread through word-of-mouth.

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Early in the game, one nation you must conquer is Pugilis, full of Fighting-Type Pokemon users, which are super-effective against your and Oichi's Normal-type Mons. She points out that this is going to be an agonizing battle unless you send in a lot of other warlords and/or Pokemon that are better against Fighting-Types. At least the battlefield provides you with a nice bell to ring at the start of every turn so Jigglypuff can at least accomplish something.

* ThreeStatSystem: Power, Wisdom, and Charisma.

* TimedMission: With the exception of a few special fights at the end of storylines, all battles have a specific turn limit: if the time runs out, the defending army wins by default. Inverted if you're the one defending, of course. Mitsuhide and Motochika's episodes also have a 3-year (36 turn) time limit to achieve the stated objective.

** Yoshimoto goes from Samurai Warriors' JokeCharacter and flat-out worst character to coming with a Pineco, the best unevolved Bug-type available at that point. Sadly this pairing doesn't last long, since while Yoshimoto gets slightly better after transforming (Grace is possibly worth using if you have a teammate with Shout, whereas Deep Breath is almost never worth using), Forretress gets a whole lot worse. Due to how its base power is calculated, Gyro Ball will rarely deal more than 1 damage, so the only way for Forretress to properly fight is to paralyze it. Ultimately, however, Yoshimoto still ends up much better than he was in Samurai Warriors, since there's no rule saying that he has to use Forretress.

* UncattyResemblance: Most of the Warlords' upgraded designs (and some default ones) strongly resemble their Pokémon of choice. Kotaro in particular looks nearly identical to his Zoroark. Other Warlords include No, whose witches attire resembles her best link, Mismagius.

** You can issue commands to your team's Pokémon in any order you like, but there is a natural order the game cycles through if you just give them commands as the computer moves your cursor to them. The AI follows this order rather than move Pokémon individually, resulting in them skipping a Pokémon's turn if it can't move or attack. Even if it could move an ally out of the way to allow this, it will not do so because it's out of the automated turn order.

** In banner battles, the AI prioritizes claiming/holding a banner over attacking your Pokemon -- it will refuse to move away from a banner it has claimed, even if doing so can allow it to KO a nearby opponent with a super-effective move. Even if it's the only Pokemon remaining on the field, it will usually stay underneath the banner rather than try to move about and claim the rest (not that a lone Pokemon has much chance of that anyway, but still). Pugilis is easy to win for these reasons alone, as its banners are located on the corners of a small arena ring (where any attack knocks a Pokemon out of the ring, forcing them to spend several turns looping back to the ring's chokepoint entrances). To make matters worse, the AI won't split up to try to claim multiple banners, instead focusing all its troops on one banner at a time.

** When the AI does launch an attack, it does so based on having an overall "strength" number greater than the defending nation's, rather than such factors as mobility or typing. This can lead to situations where a Kingdom defended by Steel types will be attack by a force of almost nothing but Poison Types (which cannot damage them), or a force of six mid-level mons attack your kingdom with two or three high-level defenders because their total strength is higher. They will also never bring a huge army to just swamp your Pokémon out of your kingdom, mostly because that isn't fun.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Warlords will often be much more powerful than any of their generic underlings, boasting tougher Pokémon, higher stats, and, depending on their rank, better Warrior Skills.

** Much like the main series, many powerful moves have lower accuracy or negative side effects when compared to weaker moves. For example, Rhyperior's "Rock Wrecker" can one-shot just about anything, but cannot be used two consecutive turns in a row if it hits. Many of these show up after Pokemon evolution - see PowerupLetdown for more examples.

** Many Warriors are more effective with certain Pokemon that are ''not'' their Perfect Link Pokemon (again, in most cases you'll never actually need the Pokemon to get that strong a Link). Take Yoshimoto -- a useless JokeCharacter with his Perfect Link (Forretress), but becomes surprisingly strong if you give him a Scizor.
** Trying to get any use out of Musharna ultimately ends up being this, since you also must bring Munna on a very specific character (Kagekatsu or Ise) in order to reliably inflict sleep. In the end, you'll have used up two team slots just to disable and inflict mediocre damage against a single enemy.

** When Nobunaga is defeated by friendly fire, he will say, "How fitting." Possibly a reference to how he was betrayed in real life.

* AnIcePerson: UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide seems to be able to generate ice on his own accord. It even freaks out his Lapras.

** In the final episode, all enemy Warlords appear in their evolved forms, with their Perfect Link Pokémon at a much higher level than the rest of their armies, and all lands are fully developed at the outset, giving them immediate access to wide resources. The secret to beat it is to [[spoiler:equip a few Guardian Charms, which make it become easier than even the first chapter.]]

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Ranmaru's devotion to Nobunaga becomes this when you realize that in real life, they were in a sexual relationship:
** Ranmaru can only evolve if you play in Nobunaga's story and his lord is within the same nation during a battle. Don't go thinking his Special Episode is the true way to do that.
** After Ranmaru's plot, he muses if it's really important to tell people that he's a man. Nobunaga shows up and tells him that it isn't.

** After a time you'll notice that in regards to flinching - whether naturally from moves, or forced by Warrior/Warlord abilities - the game will ''never'' let any Pokemon flinch twice in a row. As flinch effectively forces you to skip your turn completely, it's a welcome relief.
** Minor, but still present. Moves that require a recharge turn or have negative user effects, such as Rock Wrecker or Leaf Storm, will only apply said condition if you ''hit'' the opponent - particularly on the former, if you miss you're allowed to use it again on the next turn as if nothing happened.

** In banner battles, the AI frequently prioritizes claiming/holding a banner over attacking your Pokemon -- it will usually refuse to move away from a banner it has claimed, even if doing so can allow it to KO a nearby opponent with a super-effective move. Even if it's the only Pokemon remaining on the field, it will usually stay underneath the banner rather than try to move about and claim the rest (not that a lone Pokemon has much chance of that anyway, but still). Pugilis is easy to win for these reasons alone, as its banners are located on the corners of a small arena ring (where any attack knocks a Pokemon out of the ring, forcing them to spend several turns looping back to the ring's chokepoint entrances).

** While the AI does acknowledge type advantages and immunities when attacking, it doesn't take ''abilities'' that affect type into account, resulting in the AI having a Pokemon with a Ground attack trying to hit a Pokemon with Levitate, using Fire attacks on something with Flash Fire, etc.

** Reaching a 100% link with a Pokémon (which is only possible with each Warlord's Perfect Link Pokémon) removes any negative effects of their Pokémon's move, but actually getting to 100% link requires an ''awful lot'' of level grinding, and unless you purposefully drag a given campaign out for years, the enemy will never get strong enough to make your perfect Pokémon actually required to match them.
** Certain Warriors can actually be more effective with certain Pokemon that are ''not'' their Perfect Link Pokemon (again, in most cases you'll never actually need the Pokemon to get that strong a Link). Take Yoshimoto -- a useless JokeCharacter with his Perfect Link (Forretress), but becomes surprisingly strong if you give him a Scizor.
* BagOfSpilling: Your link level and finances are reset to a default level (usually around 10-20% and 1800 gold) in every post-game episode; likewise with any upgraded locations in your kingdoms. You do at least get to keep your actual Pokemon (including evolved Pokemon), though (see DiscOneNuke below).

* DifficultySpike: In the side stories, once you conquer about half of the available territories, your opponents will take notice, and their armies will recevie a sudden jump in experience to match yours, usually with them attacking you on the following turn.

** Beedrill comes pre-evolved on several wandering Warriors.[[note]]It's actually the only Pokémon that isn't featured alongside its evolutionary relatives, showing up as a stand-alone while Weedle and Kakuna are entirely absent.[[/note]] It has Twinneedle, which hits two squares in front of it, does decent damage, might inflict poison, and they often have the Vanguard ability for a power boost if they move first on your turn. Once your other Pokémon start evolving, just like in the main series, Beedrill will quickly be outclassed and left at home.

** There are several unused text, including names of gym leaders and villainous team members from various ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games as well as trainer classes that would look out of place in this game (Firebreather, Tuber, Youngster, etc.). Also, classic ''Pokémon'' items (Poké Balls, Escape Rope, Exp. Share, etc.) have names, though all of their descriptions use placeholder text.

** Choosing to evolve your Eevee into Glaceon. To do so, you need to use it in Nixtorm... one of the ''last three'' nations before the final battle. As a tradeoff, you'll be super-effective against ''all'' of Nobunaga's Dragon-type Pokémon.

* FourIsDeath: Referenced and invoked, during post-main game stories, once you have more than four Warlords aside from your leader in your army, there will be a cutscene where you appoint four of them as the Guardians of your army, assigning each of them a title from Power, Wisdom, Charisma, and Intelligence. As a bonus for this, the four will never abandon your army no matter what.

* FrictionlessIce: Present in the Nixtorm castle battlefield, as well as any Level 3 Icy Mountain field. Any non-Ice Pokémon who steps onto it will slide clear across to the other side. [[note]]The ice doesn't effect Flying-types and Pokemon with Levitate.[[/note]]

* FriendlyFireproof: Pokémon with the "Perception" ability are immune to damage from allies' attacks. Otherwise averted; you need to be careful how you position your Pokemon before using an attack that strikes multiple squares if you don't want to hit them. (On the flipside, this enables certain [[CombinationAttack combos]], like using an Electric-type move on a Pokémon with "[[ElementalAbsorption Volt Absorb]]" to heal it.)
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Recruiting a Warriors is normally just a matter of defeating them under [[TimedMission one of]] [[ElementalRockPaperScissors three]] [[FlawlessVictory conditions]], so long as they're in the last kingdom under that army's control, with Warlords having the added caveat of [[WorthyOpponent needing you to finish them with one of your Warlords]]. However, during the initial Legend of Ransei story, there are a few exceptions to the rule due to exact allegiances.
** The first time you attack Ignis, Hideyoshi cannot be recruited[[note]]Not that you're like to notice, given [[GetBackHereBoss his home field advantage]] and the tutorial only happening after you take Ignis[[/note]]. Hideyoshi himself is in Nobunaga's inner circle, and [[RecurringBoss appears twice more during the story]].

** Nobunaga and Ranmaru cannot be recruited when you finally take Dragnor as the last castle of Nobunaga's army. [[spoiler:This is because [[ILetYouWin their losing Dragnor is a feint]]; once you climb the Infinite Tower and link with Arceus, Nobunaga and his inner circle are waiting to strike down the Alpha Pokémon.]]
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In Ransei, you never capture a Pokémon using Poké Balls or equivalent items, you form an empathic bond with them and convince them to come along with you willingly. This gets odd when the time comes to actually link with something; you play a mini-game that involves filling a link meter to 100%, at which point the Pokémon is yours. This link meter resets if you attack the Pokémon, but not if you fail linking to it, you can finish filling the meter next turn. Or, you can have a second Warrior finish the link a first Warrior started. The idea of linking to Pokemon emotionally is thus reduced to having an ally fill the link meter almost all the way full, then let them fail so the ally you want to actually have the Pokémon can finish the job.
* GetBackHereBoss: Any enemy Pokemon with a move that hits from exactly 2 or 3 squares away will ''always'' run away from a Pokemon whose move strikes adjacent tiles only in order to get them in its attack range -- for example, Chimchar, Charmander, and Tepig can only strike from exactly 2 squares with "Ember", while Ralts and Gothita can only strike from exactly 3 squares with "Confusion". The early castle battle for Ignis, where you face Hideyoshi's Chimchar (and a Tepig) on a lava-filled arena, is your first experience of this: Hideyoshi is perfectly comfortable standing back in the lava and peppering you from a distance if you can't find some way to corner him on solid ground.

* GottaCatchEmAll: And Hire 'em all. And match 'em all [[GuideDangIt with a specific Pokemon for the highest level possible]]. And use 'em all in combat (they're not added to the gallery otherwise).

** To recruit a Warrior, you either need to beat them within the first four turns of battle, defeat them with a super-effective attack, or defeat them without taking damage from them. You'll liable to figure this out fairly easily, fortunately. A bit trickier is recruiting enemy Warlords, you have to do one of the mentioned conditions with a Warlord of your own, and depending on which Warlords you're discussing, this might not be possible.
** A gold Link icon above a wild Pokemon doesn't guarantee that this one is Perfect Link - especially with the Warlords (special Warriors) who have a gold rating with almost any Pokemon matching their specialty. On the other hand, it is true that most generic Warriors can only Perfect Link with one specific family of Mons... (so if they have a gold Link icon, chances are it really is the perfect one.)

** Special passwords that cause a swarm of rare Pokemon to appear can only be used ''once'' per game. You cannot reuse a password to cause another swarm.

** Figuring out some 100% links. Your only real hint is preferred type. What this means is ANY Pokemon with that type. If the warrior prefers Normal-types, this could mean ANY Normal-type Pokémon (which means non-elemental birds are all included). If someone prefers two types, it means any Pokémon with EITHER of them (Normal and Flying preferred means ANY Pokémon with the Normal-type OR Flying-type). Even worse with Pokémon who don't appear in all the places with their traits, which means having them find it on their own can be a pain (For example, preferred type Flying? Send him looking for it in Avia. If it's Emolga, an Electric/Flying-type who only appears in Violight, he'll never find it.).

** Abilities activating. Grass Guard doesn't activate on grass? The attack misses. Stealth - activates only when it makes attack miss. Sturdy activates despite that attack shouldn't OHKO it? You likely got a crit.

* JokeCharacter: The generic Warrior Ujizane (who historically is the son of Yoshimoto, himself a JokeCharacter). He has 6 Power, 8 Wisdom, 62 Charisma, he can only have ''one'' Pokemon, his perfect link is Forretress, and his ability, which increases the chances of inflicting status ailments, doesn't work on Forretress since it attacks with Gyro Ball. His Bug specialty lets him get other Bug-types with status attacks and put his ability to good use with them, but he's still the worst character in the game bar none.

Another use for Yoshimoto is that Forretress's high defense combined with an instant healing ability whose drawback is making it UNABLE TO MOVE suddenly makes it an impenetrable StoneWall that no enemy can hope to get past, so long as ElementalRockPaperScissors they don't bring [[KillItWithFire a fire type along.]] As an added bonus, Forretress can be given the Jagged Edge ability, [[TheSpiny which damages attacking enemies that make contact]] and offsets its crappy attack by making opponents kill themselves trying to get past it. This means that for any mission where you have to HoldTheLine (which is every mission you are the one getting attacked for, as well as to an extent every mission with banners), he's a very powerful Warlord, only outclassed by the likes of Ieyasu and his [[OlympusMons Registeel]] - and if you use both of them together...

** Terrara is easy to conquer due to how the sandstorm feature of the stage works; at the end of the opponent's third turn, the sandstorm blows all Pokémon on a tower off of it. The player can use this to their advantage by retreating their army from Terrara when attacked, then moving in next turn to take it back in only three rounds if their Pokémon have enough range and they know how to position them right. And because you don't need to fight, just seize the banners, you can send over a team of weaklings to do it and get them a pretty significant power boost. Rinse and repeat next month ad infinitum for quick and easy level grinding.

* TheMedic: Oichi's Warlord Power heals your whole team, so she could be considered one. However, after evolution her Wigglytuff and its Hyper Voice attack [[CombatMedic is actually a force to reckoned with]].

* MightyGlacier: Most fully-evolved Pokémon have lower movement ranges to prevent them from becoming totally broken. Shingen's Rhyperior is a notable case: low movement and a long-range-only move makes it difficult to position, but once it uses Rock Wrecker, it will certainly leave a mark... and you won't be able to use it next turn.

** The "Last Bastion" ability gives the Pokémon a huge buff to Attack and Defense when all of their allies have been defeated, similarly to the Guardian Charm, allowing the user to go toe-to-toe with enemy armies.

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: Terrara and Pugilis. Both of them are banner battles with gimmicks and layouts that make them easy to conquer if you know what you're doing, and for convenience sake they're right next to each other, so you can leave one empty for the AI to take over and then you retake it next turn, leaving the other empty for the AI, and so forth turn after turn.
** Terrara has three banners high atop massive towers with lifts that carry Pokémon up to the top, but the first turn someone is on top of a tower, and every few turns after that, a sandstorm blows all Pokémon off the towers. The AI, thanks to ArtificialStupidity, will always make a beeline for the banners ignoring this, allowing the player to move their Pokémon into position to move onto the lifts once the sandstorm passes, and then claim the banners next turn and win. This can be done as early as the third turn, and you'll have no trouble doing it within four turns.

* PowerupLetdown: Some of the fully evolved Pokemon are actually much more difficult to use effectively than their lesser counterparts due to changes in their movement range, attack move or special ability. Examples include:
** Pineco has a pretty decent attack which steals the opponents item and (if it's a healing item) uses it, though its stats aren't anything to shout home about. Enter Forretress, pretty good stats but it has Gyro Ball, a move that does more damage the slower the user is compared to the target. It rarely does more than 2 points of damage.
** Any Pokémon with the ability "Celebrate" gets a free turn every time it knocks out an opponent ... but loses the ability upon evolution. This is especially noticeable with Braviary, whose powerful "Sky Drop" move requires ''two'' turns to inflict damage, meaning that in the time it takes Braviary to knock out one opponent, its prior evolution could possibly knock out ''four''. There is also the very crippling problem that Sky Drop can't damage Flying-types, making Braviary completely helpless against enemy birds.
** Rhydon's attack is Drill Run, which moves it a tile forward to attack a single tile and is pretty powerful, and it's one of the few Ground-type attackers in the game (the only other feasible ones are Excadrill's Drill Run and Quagsire's Mud Bomb). The fully-evolved Rhyperior has Rock Wrecker as its attack, which hits a single tile three spaces away and is very powerful, but has a low base accuracy of 80% and can't be used on the next turn when it deals damage. Also, Speed determines accuracy and evasion in this game, so the naturally slow Rhyhorn line all suffer accuracy penalties. This results in Rhyperior having an attack that is difficult to line up to hit, will often miss, and if it hits it can't attack next turn, while Rhydon's attack has a much easier hitbox to work with, much more reliable accuracy, and can be used every turn.
** Munna has "Hypnosis" which can put opponents to sleep for a few turns but has low accuracy and can't actually inflict damage. Its evolution, Musharna, has "Dream Eater" which ''does'' inflict damage, but only if the opponent is already asleep, so it's virtually useless on the battlefield if you have no way to put the enemy to sleep... which often requires dragging a Munna around (Musharna's ability can do so, but it rarely activates).

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Early in the game, one nation you must conquer is Pugilis, full of Fighting-Type Pokemon users, which are super-effective against your and Oichi's Normal-type Mons. She points out that this is going to be an agonizing battle unless you send in a lot of other warlords and/or Pokemon that are better against Fighting-Types.

** In-battle, Power increases the damage your Pokemon can do, Wisdom decreases the damage they'll take, and Charisma increases how often they'll dodge moves. If a Warrior has a stat that goes over 100, it also gives their partner Pokémon a small boost to Strength, Defense, or Speed, respectively.
* TimedMission: With the exception of a few special fights at the end of storylines, all battles have a specific turn limit: if the time runs out, the defending army wins by default. Mitsuhide and Motochika's episodes also have a 3-year (36 turn) time limit to achieve the stated objective.

** Yoshimoto goes from Samurai Warrior's JokeCharacter and flat-out worst character to coming with a Pineco, the best Bug type available at that point without grinding a Pokemon to evolution. Sadly, this is only temporary, as Yoshimoto and Pineco both become [[JokeCharacter joke characters]] after they evolve. Yoshimoto's ability restores all allies to full health... at the cost of putting them all to sleep. Meanwhile, Forretress attacks with Gyro Ball, an attack that gets stronger the slower the user is (note that speed affects accuracy in this game). Unless he's paralyzed, don't expect Forretress to inflict more than 1 damage per attack, not even against enemies weak to Steel type attacks.

** In Terrara, a sandstorm comes to blow away any Pokémon on the towers every few turns, and this happens between the defender and attacker turns. This can lead to situations where you the defender end your turn, your Pokémon are blown off the towers, and your opponent takes their turn and moves their Pokémon onto all three lifts. You cannot board the lift while another Pokémon is on the landing spot at the top of the tower, so at that point the battle is lost on the next turn, simply because they take their turn before you. This makes the map more about ''defending'' the lifts instead of actually using them, until the sandstorm passes and you have a couple turns of safety to claim the banners.

Announced in December 2011, released on March 17th, 2012 in Japan, June 18th, 2012 in North America, June 21st, 2012 in Australia and July 27th, 2012 in Europe, franchise giant ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' [[{{Crossover}} crosses over]] with, of all things, ''VideoGame/NobunagasAmbition'', a real-time strategy series known to [[NoExportForYou Japan more than America]]--and yet, it still [[AvertedTrope got a release there.]]

** The hero's ultimate form isn't available until [[spoiler:all of the senior warlord episodes are complete, thus unlocking his or her own special episode; then you have to get your link with the Eeveelution of your choice up to 90%]], making this more of a ''five minutes to midnight'' super power.

* NotAllowedToGrowUp: The plot of the game can potentially span decades, but of course the Warriors do not age.

* OlympusMons: A Legendary Pokemon is said to appear if Ransei is united. And that's not the only one in the game, as evidenced by the title screen.

** A hold item, the Guardian Charm, increases the holder's stats when they're the last member of their team in the fight. It still activates though at the start of a fight when the holder is the only member sent in, creating this trope. Though it depends on exactly which Pokémon it is, you ''can'' solo an entire six-against-one battlefield this way, and at higher link levels it's the best way to train.

* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: Each legendary Pokémon in this game can ''only'' be linked with by the Warrior that gets a perfect link with it; no one else even gets to try.
* PeekABangs: Masamune, as in real life is because he's blind in said eye.

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Although each Warrior can form Links with multiple Pokemon, you can only take one Mon (per Warrior) into battle at a time.

%%** Right after Fontaine.
%%** On reaching Valora, Spectra, and Nixtorm.

* ThirdPersonPerson: Nobunaga. It's carried over from his way of speaking in Japanese, but in English it just sounds pretentious. Masamune also refers to himself in the third person when delegated a task.

* ThreeStatSystem: Power, Wisdom, and Charisma. Each stat is tired to certain types of facilities: Power affects performance at mining facilities, Wisdom affects usage of banks, meditation spots, and Pokémon-summoning facilities, and Charisma affects performance at shops, blacksmiths, and alchemists. If a Warrior has a stat that goes over 100, it gives their partner Pokémon a small boost to Strength, Defense, or Speed, respectively.

* UncattyResemblance: Most of the Warlords' upgraded designs (And some default ones) strongly resemble their Pokémon of choice. Kotaro in particular looks nearly identical to his Zoroark. Other Warlords include No, whose witches attire resembles her best link, Mismagius.

** Much like the main series, many powerful moves have lower accuracy or negative side effects when compared to weaker moves. For example, Rhyperior's "Rock Wrecker" can one-shot just about anything, but cannot be used two consecutive turns in a row. Many of these show up after Pokemon evolution - see PowerupLetdown for more examples.

** Beedrill comes pre-evolved on several wandering Warriors. It has Twinneedle, which hits two squares in front of it, does decent damage, might inflict poison, and they often have the Vanguard ability for a power boost if they move first on your turn. Once your other Pokémon start evolving, just like in the main series, Beedrill will quickly be outclassed and left at home.

* EmpathyPet: Pokémon owned by important characters tend to mimic their Warlord's animations in cutscenes.
%%* EverythingsBetterWithSamurai

Another use for Yoshimoto is that Forretress's high defense combined with an instant healing ability whose drawback is making it UNABLE TO MOVE suddenly makes it an impenetrable StoneWall that no enemy can hope to get past, so long as ElementalRockPaperScissors they don't bring [[KillItWithFire a fire type along.]] This means that for any mission where you have to HoldTheLine (which is every mission you are the one getting attacked for, as well as to an extent every mission with banners), he's a very powerful Warlord, only outclassed by the likes of Ieyasu and his [[OlympusMons Registeel]] - and if you use both of them together...

* OlympusMons: A Legendary Pokemon is said to appear if Ransei is united. [[spoiler:And that's not the only one in the game.]]

** Munna has "Hypnosis" which can put opponents to sleep for a few turns but has low accuracy and can't actually inflict damage. Its evolution, Musharna, has "Dream Eater" which ''does'' inflict damage, but only if the opponent is already asleep, so it's virtually useless on the battlefield if you have no way to put the enemy to sleep (Musharna's ability can do so, but it rarely activates).

Has a [[Characters/PokemonConquest character sheet]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: To the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' side of the crossover, as the monsters which are usually used in friendly competitions become weapons of war in this game.

[[caption-width-right:320:Pokémon [[WarIsGlorious goes to war]].]]

* FakeLongevity: Once you complete the main quest, you unlock more, and there's 37 stories in total to play. However, fourteen of those have the objective to conquer Ransei, and another eleven require you to conquer seven or eight kingdoms. This results in you playing essentially the same story with the same objectives over and over, the only differences being your starting country and Warriors.

** It is implied all of Ransei has become this in the post-main quest episodes, if one assumes all the episodes occur in story canon. With the legend of the Legendary Pokemon disproven, it seems the Warlords of Ransei are happy to spend the rest of their days battling each other and conquering enemy nations for sport, with territories given back freely afterwards and being loaned out to other Warlords for various tournaments and contests being held.
* FriendlyFireproof: Pokemon with the "Perception" ability are immune to damage from allies' attacks. Otherwise averted; you need to be careful how you position your Pokemon before using an attack that strikes multiple squares if you don't want to hit them. (On the flipside, this enables certain [[CombinationAttack combos]], like using an Electric-type move on a Pokemon with "[[ElementalAbsorption Volt Absorb]]" to heal it.)
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In Ransei, you never capture a Pokemon using Pokeballs or equivalent items, you form an empathic bond with them and convince them to come along with you willingly. This gets odd when the time comes to actually link with something; you play a mini-game that involves filling a link meter to 100%, at which point the Pokemon is yours. This link meter resets if you attack the Pokemon, but not if you fail linking to it, you can finish filling the meter next turn. Or, you can have a second Warrior finish the link a first Warrior started. The idea of linking to Pokemon emotionally is thus reduced to having an ally fill the link meter almost all the way full, then let them fail so the ally you want to actually have the Pokemon can finish the job.

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: Terrara and Pugilis. Both of them are banner battles with gimmicks that make them ''insanely'' easy to win repeatedly (given the proper team). Since they're right next to each other, this means that you can capture one, leave the other completely empty and ripe for the taking, and let the AI overtake it. Retake it, then let the AI overtake the other one. Rinse and repeat until transformation.
** Terrara has three banners high atop massive towers. The first turn a Pokémon ends up at the top of a tower, and every few turns after that, the wind gusts knock whoever might be at the banners. The AI (if defending) will ''always'' be the first to get a Pokémon to the top of a tower - which means that when the gust blows, they're knocked off. The wind will ''never'' blow two turns in a row, which means that if you have Pokémon ready to ascend, it's as good as won.
** Pugilis has four banners on the edges of a ring. If a Pokémon is attacked at the edge of the ring, they fall out of the ring into the pit around it. Though the hold-banners-for-five-turns gimmick may get on some nerves, a properly levelled team will have no trouble eliminating the opposing team ''before'' claiming the banners - and victory is as good as yours.

** Rhyhorn has a movement range of 3 and attacks with "Bulldoze", a Ground-type move that hits four squares adjacent to the user. Rhydon only has a movement range of 2, but it attacks with "Drill Run", which moves it a tile forward to attack and is much more powerful. Furthermore the two are some of the few Ground-type attackers in the game (the only other feasible ones are Excadrill's Drill Run and Quagsire's Mud Bomb). Fully-evolved Rhyperior gets "Rock Wrecker" which hits ''three'' squares away and is strong enough to OneHitKill almost anything, but has a base accuracy of 80% ''and'' cannot be used two turns in a row. All three have low Speed stats, which means a reduction in their accuracy and evasion when in combat. Short version, Rhyperior's low range makes it difficult to move into position to hit opponents, and it will often miss when it does get into position, and when it connects can't attack next turn, while Rhydon can attack every turn, and has an attack with much more reliable accuracy and a hitbox much easier to work with.
** Munna has "Hypnosis" which can put opponents to sleep for a few turns but has low accuracy and can't actually inflict damage. Its evolution, Musharna, has "Dream Eater" which ''does'' inflict damage, but only if the opponent is already asleep, so it's virtually useless on the battlefield if there's no Munna nearby to put enemies asleep for it, as its ability (which puts nearby enemies to sleep) rarely activate.

** Some of the evolved Pokémon are not as effective as their unevolved forms, which creates problems when you need a high link level with that Pokémon for a Warlord to transform. Link level does not change upon evolution, so there's nothing that says you can't, for example in the case of Shingen, get him a Rhydon, raise his link with it, and then evolve it, instead of raising his link with his initial Rhyperior.

* UncattyResemblance: Most of the Warlords' upgraded designs (And some default ones) strongly resemble their Pokémon of choice. Kotaro in particular looks nearly identical to his Zoroark. Other Warlords include No, who's witches attire resembles her best link, Mismagius.

** Pineco has a pretty decent attack which steals the opponents item and (if it's a healing item) uses it, though its stats aren't anything to shout home about. Enter Forretress, pretty good stats but it has Gyro-ball, a move that does more damage the slower the user is compared to the target. It rarely does more than 2 points of damage.

*** Ignis is latin for "fire".

** Deleting the save file. Unlike most handheld spinoffs[[note]]''Ranger'' lets you save over the old file with a new one, ''Mystery Dungeon'' has "Delete Save" as a menu option with no "New Game" option[[/note]], ''Conquest'' uses a button code much like the main series. Even if you managed to come to that realization on your own upon seeing the menu lacking in "New Game" and/or "Delete Save" options, you'll likely come to the conclusion that, whatever the code is, it has to be input at the start screen like the main series. Have fun trying every possible button combination, because that assumption is incorrect; you actually have to hold down A+B+X+Y at the ''company logo screen'', which is only onscreen for a brief amount of time, giving you a rather small window for you to try combinations before you have to reset your DS again(''Conquest'' has no soft reset code).

** Yoshimoto has unspectacular stats for a Warlord, mostly useless abilities, a bad Perfect Link line (Pineco and Forretress, the latter of which will only do one point of damage to most enemies), [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and a silly design and personality]]. But he can get 90% link with a variety of types. Load him up with a diverse group beforehand, recruit him in a later episode, and he'll more than likely have a Pokemon on hand that you can use as a sweeper, no matter what your neighbors have.
*** There is one other thing that makes Yoshimoto usable. While his ability and his Forretress both don't seem very good to the average player, someone who takes a bit to think about it realizes that Forretress's high defense combined with an instant healing ability that makes it UNABLE TO MOVE suddenly makes it an impenetrable StoneWall that no enemy can hope to get past, [[PoorPredictableRock so long as]] [[ElementalRockPaperScissors they don't bring]] [[KillItWithFire a fire type along.]] This means that for any mission where you have to HoldTheLine (which is every mission you are the one getting attacked for, as well as to an extent every mission with banners), he's a very powerful Warlord, only outclassed by the likes of Ieyasu and his [[OlympusMons Registeel]] - and if you use both of them together...
* LighterAndSofter: To the ''VideoGame/NobunagasAmbition'' side of the crossover's usual fare, anyway.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: See LazyArtist above. Almost every character [[ShownTheirWork has a]] [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/List_of_Pok%C3%A9mon_Conquest_characters historical counterpart]].
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Mitsuhide is probably the best example, but Muneshige and Ranmaru qualify, as well.

* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: Nobunaga is Oichi's brother.]] [[ForegoneConclusion But if you know your history, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise.]]

* MeaningfulName: Ranse means "turbulent times", an apt name for the [[JidaiGeki Sengoku Period]]-esque world the game is based on.
%%** All of the nations have one.

* {{Mons}}: The Pokémon.

%%* NintendoHard
* NoCampaignForTheWicked: Averted. Everyone gets their own chapter after the main story, including the [[spoiler:apparent]] BigBad Nobunaga.
* NoFairCheating: You won't get past the title screen.

* OlympusMons: A Legendary Pokemon is said to appear if Ransei is united. [[spoiler:Of course! And that's not the only one in the game.]]
* OneManArmy: As always, the assorted pseudo-legendaries and legendaries, along with numerous other fully evolved Pokémon.

* PeekABangs: Masamune as in real life is because he's blind in said eye.

** [[spoiler: You get to use Arceus for the final battle with Nobunaga.]]
** [[spoiler: The hero's ultimate form isn't available until all of the senior warlord episodes are complete, thus unlocking his or her own special episode; then you have to get your link with the Eeveelution of your choice up to 90%]], making this more of a ''five minutes to midnight'' super power.
** Choosing to evolve your Eevee into Glaceon. To do so, you need to use it in Nixtorm... the ''last'' nation before the final battle. As a tradeoff, you'll be super-effective against ''all'' of Nobunaga's Dragon-type Pokémon.

* ExcusePlot: A rare ''in-universe'' example! There's an old legend in Ransei that the [[OlympusMons Legendary Pokémon]] will appear to whoever owns all 17 castles. Thus, all the nations have an excuse to invade each other....

* ExtendedGameplay: Zigzagged. [[spoiler: You're typically locked out of playing your hero again after finishing the main game because the episodes star other Warlords. Kanbei, Ieyasu, Keiji, Ujiyasu, and Yoshimoto all get episodes that take place after the main game; this allows you to recruit the player character and [[GameBreaker rain Judgment down on the difficulty curve]].]]
* ExtremeOmnivore: Bug Bite will eat ANY consumable item in this game, not just Berries. This includes Potions, status healers and some ''headbands''...

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Ranmaru's devotion to Nobunaga becomes this when you realize that in real life, they were in a sexual relationship and the only way to imply it is for Ranmaru to stick close to Nobunaga no matter what.
** And Ranmaru can only evolve if you play in Nobunaga's story and his lord is within the same nation during a battle. Don't go thinking his Special Episode is the true way to do that.

** The fact that many of the Pokémon take after their perfect links in attitude only means that Ranmaru's Lucario may be a Pokémon version of this with ''Zekrom'' ([[spoiler:''and Shiny Rayquaza'']]).
* GottaCatchEmAll: And Hire em all. And match em all [[GuideDangIt with a specific Pokemon for the highest level possible]]. And use em all in combat (they're not added to the gallery otherwise).

** While most Pokemon evolve in methods similar to the main series (e.g. level-grinding or evolutionary stones), the exact details are different..

* ILetYouWin: [[spoiler: Pulled by Nobunaga. He claims that he allowed you to unify the 17 nations and make Arceus appear, so that he can capture it himself.]] This is somewhat evident in gameplay, since the initial battle with the character is fairly easy, and the character's remarkably level-headed about losing to you.
* IFightForTheStrongestSide: Generally how recruitment works.
* IllBoy: Hanbei is implied to be one at the end of his episode. Given in real life that Hanbei was a sickly person and [[HarsherInHindsight ended up dying at a young age...]]

** Used by UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga no less! A few other characters, including Oichi, are also capable of effective links with Dragon-types, but none quite as notable as Nobunaga. [[spoiler: Except, perhaps, for Hideyoshi and Tadakatsu, who can link with Reshiram and Dialga, respectively.]]

** Averted. There are 199 Pokémon on the Pokédex-esque list at the start of the game. [[spoiler:Encountered legendaries raise that number to a maximum of 211.]]
** [[spoiler: The map of Ransei (and the shape of Ransei itself) is one regarding the identity of the legendary Pokémon.]]

** [[spoiler: Most Warlords have an unevolved Pokémon as their only Perfect Link at Rank I. If you evolve it before they transform, they will only achieve a 90% Link (although they can still transform via required Link percentage with that Pokémon; i.e. Nene requires a 60% Link with Golbat, but if you evolve it into Crobat before she transforms, she can still transform via 60% Link); you have to get them to transform and achieve Rank II in order to get the Perfect Link with the evolution. If a Warlord's Perfect Link at Rank I is with a fully-evolved Pokémon, be prepared to Mulch your pants when you find out the Perfect Link added at Rank II is with a freakin' ''[[OlympusMons legendary Pokémon]]'' (assuming, of course, [[GuideDangIt you can find them]]). Somewhat averted by Hideyoshi, who defaults to Monferno at Rank I and adds Infernape at Rank II via 60% Link, but also gets Reshiram via Wi-Fi, with a 70% Link required to achieve Rank III and thus Perfect Link status with the dragon. Rank III on his Gallery page will only appear when you download the Wi-Fi event.]]

* BrotherSisterTeam: Kenshin and Aya.
* BrutalBonusLevel: Some of the special episodes are significantly harder than the main game, and their official difficulty level doesn't always sync up. For example, the fact that Mitsunari starts out with a powerful Scizor makes his episode fairly easy ... but it also means Kiyomasa and Masanori's episodes (where Mitsunari is an opponent) are that much more difficult. The fact that their episodes utilize a 4-territory map (meaning that to conquer a new territory usually means splitting your forces 50-50, with little or no ability to recruit new Warriors until the next turn) where every nation can attack every other one does not help, either.
** In the final episode, all enemy Warlords appear in their evolved forms, with their Perfect Link Pokémon at a much higher level than the rest of their armies, and all lands are fully developed at the outset, giving them immediate access to wide resources. [[spoiler: But there is a GameBreaker you can exploit -- equip a few Guardian Charms and it can become easier than even the first chapter.]]

* CostumePorn: The art team clearly had a lot of fun designing the outfits for the various characters -- especially their upgraded forms, which run the gauntlet of every cool outfit trope you can think of, including SpikesOfVillainy, BadassLongrobe, BadassLongcoat, BadassCape, PimpedOutDress, and more. At least one character in the game is bound to have you in awe at how badass their armor is.

** The Guardian Charm item increases your stats by 250% and increase your move range by 1, provided the pokémon equipping the item is the last survivor of your army. Of course, this doesn't stop you from bringing only one pokémon to the battle and having that massive boost ''from the start....''
* {{Crossover}}: ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''VideoGame/NobunagasAmbition'', [[ReusedCharacterDesign although the character designs are reused from]] ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors''.

* DarkerAndEdgier: To the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' side of the crossover's usual fare, anyway. Not as much as one would expect of such a crossover, though.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Averted; Warlords loyal to Nobunaga's army ''cannot'' be recruited in the main story. You'll have to wait for the special episodes before you can recruit or play them.
** This also applies, to a lesser extent, in the postgame episodes: If your opponent posesses more than one territory, they will simply retreat and/or dismiss their warriors after you take the castle from them. Only when you conquer their last territory do you get the opportunity to recruit them.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: To recruit new Warlords, you first have to defeat them in battle either [[TimedMission within a certain number of turns]], [[FlawlessVictory taking no damage before you beat them]], or [[ElementalRockPaperScissors using a super-effective attack]] to 'earn their respect'. This even works on the Warlords' generic minions, but the Warlords themselves have one additional, hidden requirement: the final blow must be dealt by [[WorthyOpponent another Warlord]] (including the Hero and Oichi). And even then, some leaders won't join unless the story specifies it.
** Note that any Warrior with a Magikarp, Abra, or Munna is incapable of actually damaging you, automatically fulfilling the second requirement when you KO them.

* DevelopersForesight: Every battle is a TimedMission (10 turns for generic field battles, 15-25 turns for castle battles), and if the clock expires the "defender" wins by default. This may feel like TheComputerIsACheatingBastard during the main story ... until you have to ''defend'' a nation, where the time limit is imposed on your ''attackers''. Even if you can't actually KO your opponents, you may be able to HoldTheLine until the clock runs out and win by default (however, note that just as you always moved first when attacking a castle, when defending a castle, your opponents move first). And they knew people would screw up mid-battle and want to retry halfway through, so you can go straight to the title screen from the battle pause menu!
** Yoshimoto's Pineco is a rather useful Pokemon to have on hand, since it's Bug Bite can eat potions the enemy is holding, and can deal good damage against Dark and Psychic types. Once it evolves into Forretress, however, he becomes more of a JokeCharacter, since Forretress's Gyro Ball, which does damage based on speed, will almost always deal 1 point of damage. However, to make up for this, the needed link level to get Yoshimoto to Rank 2 is 55%[[note]]normally, the link level needed to rank a warlord up is 65-70%[[/note]], meaning that once you get him to Rank 2, you can swap out his Forretress for a better Pokemon like Scizor if you don't want to use him as a StoneWall.

* DiscOneNuke: All unevolved Dragon-type Pokemon (Dratini, Gible, Axew, Deino) feature "Dragon Rage", which like the main series always inflicts [[FixedDamageAttack exactly 40 damage]] regardless of target, making it a OneHitKill for low level Pokemon. And with the high number of post-game chapters - many of which are only ''disc one'' in length - you will have a ''lot'' of chances to use it.
** Nagayasa and his Bidoof. Yes, Bidoof. It has Simple, but his Warrior Ability boosts attack power. Combined, that Bidoof can hit for 60 HP easily for three turns.