Pokemon Unite: How to Play (Beginner's Guide and Tips) (2023)

Pokemon Unite is Pokemon's answer to the MOBA genre of games. Available on both Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, it already has millions of users logging in and playing every day.

If you're planning on jumping on the Pokemon Unite train for yourself, then there are some important tips you'll want to know, especially if you haven't played a MOBA like League of Legends or Dota 2 before.

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To help new players compete with veteran Pokemon Unite players, we've listed several tips that are guaranteed to help you become the best ever.

Pokemon Unite Beginners Guide and Tips

1. Pay attention to the tutorial

While this may sound obvious, players who have not played Pokemon Unite before are advised to pay close attention to the tutorial. Even if you've played games like League of Legends before, Pokemon Unite adds a ton of unique features, all of which are explained in depth during the tutorial.

Additionally, completing the tutorial rewards players with Aeos Coins, which can be used to unlock new Pokemon later.

Some of the most important things the tutorial teaches players are the following:

The game objective

Unlike many other MOBAs where the primary goal is to wipe out the enemy's main structure, Pokemon Unite has a unique score-based system where the team with the highest score at the end wins.

To increase your score, you must either beat the wild or counter Pokemon to collect points (called an Aeos energy). These points must then reach an enemy's objective and then be deposited, which will result in your entire team's total score increasing.

While depositing energy on the enemy target takes a while if you're alone – which is especially dangerous, as more energy means longer deposit time – it's possible to speed up the process by having allies around you while you score.

Below is a table showing the increase in scoring speed you will receive depending on how many teammates you have around you at the time you score:

If you are damaged in any way while scoring, then your attempt to score will be blocked.

Finally, the amount of Aeos energy you can carry at a time depends on the level of Pokemon you're playing. You start with 30 energy capacity, which upgrades to 40 at level 9 and finally to 50 at level 12.

Map information

Similar to other MOBAs, the map in Pokemon Unite is also split in two, with one half for your team and the other half for the enemy. Fortunately, which side you take doesn't matter, as even the wild Pokemon found everywhere are mirrored.

There are ten goals in total distributed across the map, five of which are for your team while the rest are allocated for the opponents. Although the map has three lanes like League of Legends, there is no strict lane assignment system, although certain Pokemon are better suited to play certain lanes.

Pokemon roles

In addition to elemental Pokemon types like fire, water, and grass, creatures in Pokemon Unite are also given one of five roles. These roles greatly affect how you play the game, as some Pokemon are better suited for offense while others are better for defense. All roles in Pokemon Unite are:

• Attackers – Pokemon that are able to deal a lot of damage to the enemy
• Speedsters – can move quickly around the map. He can also move in and out of combat quickly.
• Defenders – Pokemon that can take a lot of damage. They often have crowd control abilities.
• Supporters – Pokemon that can give useful buffs to teammates and/or game changers to enemies.
• All Rounders – Pokemon that are good at both offense and defense, but aren't very special in either aspect.

Depending on what role your Pokemon has, it might be a good idea to change your playstyle and choose the lane that best suits a Pokemon of that role.

In addition to roles, Pokemon also have a difficulty rating associated with them. This rating determines how difficult it is to master a particular Pokemon. We recommend that you start with Pokemon that have the beginner difficulty rating and then slowly work your way up until you can play as the hardest Pokemon without too much difficulty.

Gaining Experience

Besides giving you Aeos energy, defeating wild and enemy Pokemon also awards you experience or XP. When you gain enough experience, you'll be able to unlock more powerful moves.

At times, unlocking more moves can also completely change your abilities due to the fact that you can only have two normal Unite (finishing) moves at a time. The level at which you unlock new moves, however, depends on the Pokemon you're playing as.

Some Pokemon also have the ability to evolve when they reach a certain level. For example, if you choose Charizard, then you will start the game as Charmander, Charizard's first form. When you reach level 4, you will evolve into Charmeleon, while level 9 will finally give you Charizard.

In addition to changing its appearance, evolving also increases a Pokemon's health and other stats, making this an incredibly useful feature. Not only that, but a Pokemon is invulnerable to all enemy attacks for an evolving period.

2. Teamwork makes the dream work

Pokemon Unite is a game that focuses heavily on teamwork and cooperation between all members of a team. So it is always recommended to play with players or friends you have played with before if you can.

Even if you can't, that's still okay, as most foreigners are relatively good at the game. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you should never wander alone if you can help it. All it will do is make you an easy target for an enemy team ambush.

Remember, if you or one of your teammates is defeated, then in addition to giving the enemy Aio energy, you will also give them experience. This means that they will be even stronger the next time you fight the same enemy, making winning the match much more difficult.

3. Watch out for Boss Pokemon

Many times in the middle of a match, you'll see an extra objective telling you to catch a special or boss Pokemon. When you see this, you should make it a priority to team up with your teammates to complete the objective.

This is because catching these powerful Boss Pokemon provides useful buffs to your entire team, which you can then use to your advantage. Boss Pokemon usually appear in neutral and strategic areas around the map and always take more effort to defeat compared to normal wild Pokemon.

The three boss Pokemon that spawn in regular matches, as well as the buffs they give to the team that defeats them, are as follows:

Note: Drednaw and Rotom appear on the map at the 7:00 mark

Note: Zapdos appears on the map when the countdown timer reaches 2:00

Apart from these boss Pokemon, there are other powerful wild Pokemon that spawn on the map and also give buffs in the form of colored auras to the player who defeats them.

For example, defeating Ludicolo gives your Pokemon a purple aura and makes it so that, for a short time, any wild Pokemon you attack will take more damage if they're low on health.

Defeating Bouffalant gives your Pokemon an orange aura and makes it so that any Pokemon you attack will also reduce that Pokemon's speed (as long as you have the aura.)

4. Complete the beginner challenges

New players to Pokemon Unite have limited time beginner challenges to complete. These give new players a reason to come back to the game and also reward them for getting better at it. While a challenge day is unlocked throughout the week, you don't have to complete them right away. You will only need to do this before the event ends, which usually lasts 31 days.

Each day gives players different goals, such as scoring a certain number of goals or eliminating a certain number of players. Additionally, completing these objectives usually rewards you with coins and fashion accessories. However, day 7 gives the Crustle Unite license completely free.

The Unite license allows players to play that Pokemon whenever they want essentially unlocking that Pokemon permanently.

5. Always check rewards

Beginner challenges aren't the only quests that can reward players with currency and other useful items. Daily missions and limited-time event challenges also have incredible rewards for players who complete them.

Take the legendary Electric Pokemon Zeraora for example. For a limited time, players who simply logged into the game could claim Pokemon for free by checking out the event section.

6. Don't be afraid to experiment

It is extremely common for players to get bored with a game because they keep repeating the same pattern without changing anything. We would not recommend doing this. Just because you like a certain Pokemon doesn't mean you have to play exclusively as that Pokemon.

We always recommend players to get out of their comfort zones and try new things. If you usually play as a speedster Pokemon, try playing as a defender and see if you like the new gameplay.

The same goes for Pokemon of the same roles. If you've only played Blissy in the past, for example, but haven't been able to perform as well as you'd like, try playing as Eldegoss in your next match and you might find yourself playing better than before.

Finally, the last thing we suggest you experiment with is your Pokemon builds. Many players spend their entire Pokemon Unite journey without even trying any alternate moves. For example, just try unlocking Fire Punch once instead of the flamethrower as Charizard and see new ways to defeat the enemy become available to you.

7. Spend Responsibly

Although there are many coins in Pokemon Unite, Aeos coins are probably the most sought after due to the fact that they are used to unlock new Pokemon. While it may be tempting at first to buy the prettiest Pokemon, we wouldn't recommend doing so.

Instead, you should only spend your Aeos coins after doing proper research on the Pokemon you're considering buying to make sure you really want it. While you may have a large amount of coins when you start out due to the rewards for completing the tutorial, you will soon find yourself needing a lot more time when trying to get the same amount of coins.

Please note that there is a weekly limit on the amount of Aeos coins a player can earn by fighting. Although the cap is a whopping 2,100, it will take over a month just to get over 10,000 Aeos coins for the most expensive Pokemon.

While that was all the essential information and tips you need when starting Pokemon Unite for the first time, there are a few other factors we haven't covered much, such as items and emblems. This is because these are a bit more advanced and may be too much for beginner players.

The most important thing and our last tip is, of course, to have fun. At the end of the day, if you're not having fun, it won't matter how experienced or skilled you become at the game.