Pokémon Duel Launched: Gameplay, Trailer, How To Play; Available On iOS & Android

The Pokémon Company has officially rolled out a new mobile Pokémon game called Pokémon Duel. The new mobile app is a strategy-based board game in which players have to reach each other's goals with a team of six creatures.

The surprise release caught everyone off-guard, more so for being a free game available for download directly on the Google Play Store and the Apple Store.

While it may also come as a surprise treat, the game was actually released in Japan last year under a different moniker, Pokémon Comaster. The Pokémon Company didn't explain the name change in light of the release, but one thing is obvious that no one is complaining about it.

According to CNET, the game looks wild, but it has a long fight ahead of it if it's going to even approach the success of Pokemon Go or not. Pokemon Go has been downloaded an astounding 500 million times since its release in July. Along the way, it has also generated $950 million in revenue in 2016.

The game, which is available now, somewhat subverts the traditional Pokémon format, but in a very effective manner. In each match, each player will have a duel set containing six Pokémon counters. The game still borrows Pokémon's staple turn-based system, but like many other method games, action will take place on a mapped grid. Players will take turns while placing these Pokémon counters, as informed by their own strategic plotting, on different places across the grid to reach enemy territory piecemeal.

The objective in Pokémon Duel is to attack and capture the opponent's base with a single Pokémon. At certain times the turn-based mechanic takes a backseat to cover the way for duels. When a Pokémon battles another, they enter a duel, and this duel is sort of a game-of-chance affair, employing a sort of minigame where a moveset-filled wheel is spun. Whatever attack a player park on will be used to attack, or cause damage to the opponent, TechTimes reported.

Pokémon Duel is available now for Android and iOS devices. At the time of writing, Pokémon Duel is under maintenance following the surge of new players rushing to download the game. You can also download and install the game from the App Store on your iOS device or Google Play on Android.