Whether you have been a long-time fan or a recently blessed one, you might have already heard of the Pokémon game that has received the most negative traction from its announcement… yet as things stand right now, it is one of the most anticipated Pokémon games, alongside Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, Pokémon Shining Pearl, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. This is Pokémon UNITE, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by TiMi Studios and published by The Pokémon Company for the Nintendo Switch and smartphones, releasing in July and September respectively.
As this is a brand-new genre for Pokémon, a huge number of players entering this game are those who are new to the genre, but never fret!, as in this article, we will guide you to basics of Pokémon UNITE and perhaps, lead you to victory.
What is a MOBA game?
A great number of esports titles are under said genre such as League of Legends, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, DOTA 2, Heroes of Newerth, Heroes of the Storm, and so on. Multiplayer online battle area, or MOBA, is a subgenre of strategy videogames in which two players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Typically, to win in a MOBA game, you have to destroy the enemy base but this is where Pokémon UNITE differs.
In Pokémon UNITE, there are no bases to destroy; instead, you gather and score points and whichever team has the higher points by the end of the game wins. Oh, have we mentioned that you cannot see your exact points until the end? And while all of these seem easy, there’s actually a lot you need to do and know to reach this goal… like the map.
Playable Pokémon
As of the writing of this article, there are 22 Pokémon that are confirmed to be playable in the game. On launch day, you will be able to play with 19 of them:
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| Absol | A-Ninetales | Charizard | Cinderace | Cramorant |
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| Crustle | Eldegoss | Garchomp | Gengar | Greninja |
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| Lucario | Machamp | Mr. Mime | Pikachu | Slowbro |
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| Snorlax | Talonflame | Venusaur | Wigglytuff |
| | |
| Absol | A-Ninetales | Charizard |
| | |
| Cinderace | Cramorant | Crustle |
| | |
| Eldegoss | Garchomp | Gengar |
| | |
| Greninja | Lucario | Machamp |
| | |
| Mr. Mime | Pikachu | Slowbro |
| | |
| Snorlax | Talonflame | Venusaur |
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| Wigglytuff |
For now, it has been confirmed that 3 other Pokémon will be available post-launch:
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| Blastoise | Gardevoir | Zeraora |
Roles
In Pokémon UNITE, much like any other MOBA titles, each character is assigned roles.
Roles are categories as to which a playable Pokémon is best in doing or designed to do. Unlike in typical MOBA games, UNITE only has 5 roles: attacker, supporter, all-rounder, speedster and defender.
Attacker
These are Pokémon that have low Endurance (HP) and excel at dealing heavy ranged damage to opponents. This might be UNITE’s way of calling the “DPS”. The Pokémon in this role include:
| | | |
| A-Ninetales | Cinderace | Cramorant | Gardevoir* |
| | | |
| Greninja | Pikachu | Venusaur |
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| A-Ninetales | Cinderace |
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| Cramorant | Gardevoir* |
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| Greninja | Pikachu |
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| Venusaur |
Supporter
These are Pokémon that provide team support by inflicting status conditions on opponents and by healing allies. The Pokémon in this role include:
| | |
| Eldegoss | Mr. Mime | Wigglytuff |
All-rounder
These are Pokémon that have balanced Offense and Endurance and are highly tenacious fighters. The Pokémon in this role include:
| | | |
| Charizard | Garchomp | Lucario | Machamp |
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| Charizard | Garchomp |
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| Lucario | Machamp |
Speedster
These are Pokémon that have high Mobility and Offense and excel at making quick attacks and scoring points. This is UNITE’s way of calling an “assassin” as a role. The Pokémon in this role include:
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| Absol | Gengar | Talonflame | Zeraora* |
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| Absol | Gengar |
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| Talonflame | Zeraora* |
Defender
Last but not least, these are Pokémon that have high Endurance (HP) and excel at protecting allies and hindering opponents. It’s UNITE’s way of calling a “tank” as a role, and, as a tank, its role is to soak up as much damage, usually fainting for the team to survive as well. The Pokémon in this role include:
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| Blastoise* | Crustle | Slowbro | Snorlax |
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| Blastoise* | Crustle |
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| Slowbro | Snorlax |
To sum up
What's next?
This article is focused on the backbone of Pokémon UNITE to get you started, especially if you have no background with MOBA games.
From here on, Victory Road is about to release articles that will help you get to know the game in a more in-depth way. Of course, that also means that Victory Road will publish strategies and gameplays for UNITE for those who want to play the game competitively!
We will be hosting our first UNITE tournament on August 1st! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to have the latest information about this and future events!
If you are interested in VGC content follow us on our VGC Twitter account for Pokémon Sword & Shield news and events!
