Announced during the Pokémon Presents broadcast on June 24, 2020 Pokémon Unite is a free-to-play, 5v5, League of Legends-style team-based strategy game developed by The Pokémon Company and Chinese gaming giant Tencent’s TiMi Studios. TiMi is the same brain behind another popular MOBA title, Arena of Valor, and is also the creator of Call of Duty: Mobile.
The main premise of the game is to bank more points than the other team in the game’s designated scoring zones, while also being able to take on opposition players in battle. Like in the main games, your Pokémon can evolve and learn new moves as you level up throughout a game. If you’re thinking of giving it a shot, here’s an overview on what to expect.
Pokémon Unite release date
The Pokémon Unite release date was Wednesday, July 21, 2021 on Nintendo Switch. The game then released on mobile devices a few months later on Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
Thanks to crossplay, Switch and mobile players can play with and against each other.
As mentioned, the game is free-to-play, so all you need to do is head to the Nintendo eShop or your mobile device’s app store and download it. There are, however, paid microtransactions in the in-game store. This ranges from cosmetic items to a premium currency called Gems, which you can use to buy some gameplay-changing things like new characters.
Is Pokémon Unite coming to other platforms?
Neither the Pokémon Company or TiMi have officially announced or suggested that Pokémon Unite will come to other platforms such as PlayStation or Xbox.
While many hoped that it would join some of the best MOBA games on these other platforms, the fact of the matter is that Nintendo has only ever released Pokémon games on its own hardware, mobile devices, or (very rarely) PC.
Pokémon Unite gameplay
In basic terms, Pokémon Unite’s like the majority of MOBAs out there. It has two teams of five with different attacks and abilities going head to head on a multi-laned map. But there are a few differences from the likes of Dota 2 or League of Legends.
The main objective isn’t to destroy an enemy base. It is to score more points than the opposition by banking points you’ve earned in one of the five scoring areas on the opposition’s side of the map. Points are earned through defeating wild Pokémon which appear across the map.
However, the enemy team can decide to engage you in battles, either to guard their scoring zones, slow down your efforts in racking up points, or to distract from another player sneaking into a scoring zone.
Scoring zones also act as healing areas. Returning to one of your own zones will regenerate some of your health. Scoring enough points in a certain zone will destroy it.
Points scored in the last two minutes of a game are doubled, meaning games can be pulled back from the brink if your team can bank enough points in the final stages.
In terms of your Pokémon, it will always start each game at level 1 in its lowest evolutionary form, so Charizard players will always begin as Charmander, for example. Defeating wild Pokémon will increase your level and at certain levels you will evolve.
As you level up, you will also acquire new moves. Don’t worry about studying our Pokémon type chart too closely, as type effectiveness is not present in Pokémon Unite, but each Pokémon has “unique traits and abilities” and will have exclusive move pools of different attacks. Moves have varying power and range, and you have three slots for regular moves, so it will probably be wise to pick a mixture of long and close range abilities for your game.
Each Pokémon also has a signature Unite Move, which is essentially its ultimate. This is a big move that deals a lot of damage to any nearby Pokémon.
Pokémon Unite maps
The original map in Pokémon Unite, called Remoat Stadium, was different from the classic square, three-laned MOBA map you’ll find in the likes of League of Legends or Arena of Valor.
The map was essentially oval in shape, with only a top and bottom lane. Top and bottom lanes are connected with three vertical lanes. The five scoring zones on each side live on the two main lanes, with two on top, two on bottom, and one where the two lanes meet beneath the opposition’s spawn.
In 2022, Remoat was replaced as the main map for Standard and Ranked Battles by a new map called Theia Ruins. While similar in shape and layout, its main difference was a more open middle section that would let your carve more unique paths between spawns and between lanes.
There are also several other smaller maps in Pokémon Unite for Quick Battles. These are often more experimental than the standard map you get for Ranked play.
Pokémon Unite characters
Pokémon Unite has a huge, ever-growing roster of playable Pokémon that you can choose from. At the time of writing, there’s over 60 playable characters in the game.
Remember that if a character is a part of a multi-stage evolution, then you will start with its first-stage form and evolve it throughout your match. For example, if you pick Gengar, you will begin the match with a Gastly, then evolve it into Haunter at Level 5, and then evolve again into Gengar at Level 9.
If you pick a single-stage Pokémon like Mimikyu, then you will play as just that Pokémon for the entire match. You will still level up, but you won’t evolve into anything else.
Some notable Pokémon that you can play as include the famous starter trio from the Gen 1 games (Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur), Eeveelutions like Espeon and Umbreon, pseudo-legendaries like Tyranitar and Garchomp, and legendary or mythic Pokémon like Mew and Urshifu. You can find a full list of playable characters here.
While you can’t play as them, several other awesome Pokémon will appear on the map as wild Pokémon. These range from fairly weak Pokemon for farming, all the way up to bosses. On Theia Ruins, the five bosses are Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Regieleki, and Rayquaza. You can find a full list of wild Pokémon here.
There you have it, an overview of Pokémon Unite. If you do jump in, be sure to check out this list of active Pokémon Unite codes – there could be free cosmetics, trials for new characters, and more awaiting you!