Pokémon Sun and Moon is finally here, and Pokémasters all over will be looking to battle their friends to see who has the strongest ‘mon. There are two different ways to battle, and there are multiple types of battles, so let’s get you started on your quest to take down your friends.

Local Battles

To battle with a friend who is right next to you, open up the menu by pressing the X button. From here, select “Quick Link.” This option will allow you to link your 3DS to other nearby 3DSes quickly. Simply hold down on your screens until the consoles are linked.

From here, go to the Battle menu and select either a single or double battle. When playing with a local connection, you cannot do a multi battle or battle royal like you can when playing in the Festival Plaza.

Long-distance Battles

You can still battle your friends even if you aren’t in the same room as each other. This does require a little bit of setup, but is pretty easy to get going. To start, make sure your 3DS is connected to the internet. Once that’s hooked up, open the menu with X and select “Festival Plaza.”

The first time you load up Festival Plaza, you’ll have to go through a few quick tutorials to get everything set up. Once done, your lower screen will update to show two big circles, one for battling and one for trading. Make sure your 3DS is connected to the internet, and click the blue circle in the bottom right to connect your game to the internet as well.

Now that that’s done, click the red “Battle” circle. This will open up a few options. If you want to battle with friends, choose Link Battle. If you want to fight against an opponent online, pick the “Visit the Battle Spot” option. At the Battle Spot, you can choose to have a Free Battle, a Rating Battle, an Online Competition and a Friendly Competition.

If you want to battle your friends, you’ll want to pick Link Battle. Once you have, you’ll be able to pick the type of battle you want between a single battle, double battle, multi battle or battle royal.

To make it easier to find your friends when using Link Battle, make sure to set them as VIPs in Festival Plaza. You can set people as VIP by talking to them in the plaza or paging them inside the castle. When you open up Link Trade, you’ll be able to go to the VIP list to select your friends easier.

So what do you think? Are you ready to start taking your friends on in Pokémon Sun and Moon ? Will you try out playing online against opponents? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

But wait, there’s more! Check out our full list of Pokémon Sun And Moon Guides below:

How To Catch Every Legendary In Alola

Munchlax Distribution: How To Download Special Snorlax With Z-Crystal

Ash-Greninja Transfer: How To Bring Special Pokémon Over From Demo

Z-Crystal Locations: Where To Find What You Need To Unleash Unstoppable Attacks

Ability List: Every New Skill In The Game

Attacks List: Every New Move And Who Can Learn Them

Mega Stone List And Locations: When Can You Get Mega Evolution In Alola?

EV Training Guide: Ally Chaining And Hyper Training Explained

Breeding Guide: Everything You Need To Customize Your Perfect Pokémon

TM Locations: Every Move And Where To Find Them In Alola

Affection Guide: How To Raise Affection And Boost XP Gain With Pokémon Refresh

Ultra Beasts: Everything You Need To Know

Battle Tree: Rules, Scouting And Everything You Need To Know

Zygarde Cell Locations: How They Work And Where To Find Them