For the patent to hold legal weight, each claim, starting with Claim 1 and continuing onward, must be infringed. There is no dispute over the so-called storage medium: any video game running on a console or PC obviously satisfies that element, making the first few words essentially meaningless.
The meat of the patent lies in the broader gameplay mechanics, particularly the system for summoning characters to battle.
“If you look at how broad the language is, this is not limited to Pokémon. For example, “Performing control of moving a player character on a field in a virtual space based on a movement operation input”
The real focus is on sub-characters, summoned in response to player input. “A sub-character is distinct from the player character… basically, the player presses a button or moves a joystick, and the sub-character appears."
The patent even covers positioning relative to enemy characters: “The combination of summoning, sub-characters, and positioning is what gives the patent its potential reach.” That means mechanics in games like Final Fantasy could technically fall under the patent, even though they predate Pokémon-style summons.