Pokemon UNITE: Beginner’s Guide

Pokemon UNITE was initially released for Switch consoles in July. Now, it’s available on Android and iOS to reach more players. If this is your first time playing, you probably have questions, but don’t worry; we’ll help you get through the basics with this guide, as well as offer some tips and tricks to prepare you for your ranked game.

What is the game about?

Pokemon UNITE takes place on Aeos Island, a mythical island on the ocean’s unexplored frontier. Players will find the Unite Battle Committee on this island, which runs a series of Unite Battle tournaments. In these battles, players will compete against each other in teams of five. However, instead of battling it out (which you can still do, by the way), the game’s objective is to score the most points by depositing Aeos energy into the opponent’s goal zones—in epic basketball slam dunk fashion.

With its premise out of the way, let’s get into the guide.

Do the tutorials and daily missions

I know tutorials sound pretty dull, but they are there for a reason. Besides learning the basics of the game and getting used to certain characters, tutorials will also award players with Aeos Coins, which can be used to purchase Unite Licenses or upgrade Held items. This is supplemented with Daily Missions that reset every day for extra bonuses.

Just think of it as your training montage, owning bots in the tutorial then owning other players in the Arena. Plus, access to Aeos Coins allows you to buy the Pokemon you want in the shop—like I’m currently eyeing Absol right now because it is my favorite Pokemon other than Sandshrew.

Picking your starter Pokemon

Just in typical Pokemon structure, the player must choose their first starter Pokemon, and the available options to choose from are: Pikachu, Snorlax, Eldegoss, Charizard, and Talonflame. All of these Pokemon are viable in the game. They all just fit into different roles, and it is up to the player to choose what kind of role they want to play.

For example, Snorlax is classified as a Defender and is excellent for Crowd control. If you want to be a huge menace—literally—then give Snorlax a try. On the other side of the spectrum, you have Talonflame, who is a Speedster. This role, hinted from its name, is a quick character that can quickly chase down enemies and defeat them. However, unlike our beefy friend Snorlax, Talonflame has lower health, so you have to watch out for that.

Other roles covered in the game are Attacker (Pikachu), Supporter (Eldegoss), and All-rounder (Charizard). If you have prior experience from games such as League of Legends or Mobile Legends, you can incorporate your previous role knowledge here or try something new. It is up to you.

Understanding team composition and role

As previously discussed, there are different roles in the game. If you decide to pick a healer like Eldegoss, your primary objective is to keep your team members alive. An excellent example of composition with Eldegoss is Pokemon like Charizard, who requires evolution to fully carry the game later. However, it requires time in the arena since he starts as Charmander. If you can babysit your Charmander long enough for him to evolve into Charizard, he can hopefully carry you and the team in the late game for that victory. Proud Mother hen moments right there.

Customizing Settings

Now, this boils down to personal preference, but here are our recommended settings for Pokemon UNITE.

Now we can’t all have the latest and greatest gadgets in the market, so the game allows us to turn down the graphics quality. You can set the graphics quality to the lowest option to prioritize framerate over the game’s aesthetics. Additionally, if you are colorblind like me, there is a colorblind setting for you to turn on. Nice~

The game starts with the default attack options, where your attack button will target the closest enemy. If there are both a wild Pokemon and an enemy, it will prioritize the latter. However, if you are kiting an enemy and a wild Pokemon is in range, there is a tendency for your Pokemon to target the wild Pokemon instead. You can remedy that by changing from default attack controls to advanced, allowing you access to a dedicated button for attacking wild Pokemon.

Speaking of kiting, note that bushes and kiting go hand in hand. Suppose you take Eldagoss, for example, with various ranged damage, and correctly time and weave in auto-attacks with abilities. In that case, you can whittle down your opponent’s HP gradually. If you have a slow Snorlax gunning down at you, you can use your agility, ranged attacks, and invisible bushman tactics. Your odds of winning that fight will drastically increase.

Have Fun

Just enjoy the game, have fun, play with some pals—even those who play it on the Switch console, because at the end of the day, this is a game that should allow you to release the stress that has been piling up. It’s also less toxic compared to, let’s say, Mobile Legends. But you can be competitive if you want. Of course, you can always keep strategies and compositions in mind, but if you’re going to have a team full of Defenders, Speedsters, or even Supporters, go right ahead. The important thing is you’re enjoying and progressing.

There you have it, a brief beginner guide to Pokemon UNITE. The game is available to download on Android and iOS devices. Feel free to share your first thoughts on the games in the comments below. Also, if you want us to make an in-depth guide to certain characters, roles, or strategies for Pokemon UNITE, share them below.