As promised, The Pokemon Company did have a major reveal during the new Pokemon Presents live stream, but it’s not what fans were expecting. Instead, it’s a new MOBA called Pokemon Unite, which may love some fans puzzled.
The Pokemon Company is diving into the DOTA, LoL, and Mobile Legends territory with Pokemon Unite. A lot of details have been revealed about the upcoming title, and we’re going to dive right into it.
Release date, platforms, pricing
At the end of the live stream, it was announced that there’s no release date for the game yet. However, they do confirm that the game will be available for both the Switch and mobile devices. Cross-play will be available, and up to 10 players will be able to enjoy the game at once.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgWeEGBbJDQ
According to the live stream, the game will be free-to-start. This means that some of the content will be locked behind a paywall, and these could be Pokemon that players can use. The game is being developed by The Pokemon Company and China-based Tencent.
Gameplay
Although it’s a MOBA, there will be some variations in the game. For starters, the game will not have the standard three-lane map. Instead, there will be two lanes, and both teams are going to be on opposite sides. Teams will have to complete objectives to earn points. The team with the most points at the end of the match wins.
Pokemon Unite will feature familiar faces as playable characters. Confirmed Pokemon include Squirtle, Charizard, Lucario, Snorlax, and more. As the match goes on, players will be able to level up their Pokemon, which increases their stats and unlocks new skills. Eventually, the Pokemon will evolve.
The map also features tall grass that has some wild Pokemon. Players can defeat these Pokemon to level up.
Unlike in the RPGs, type advantages will not be present in the game. Instead, players will have to carefully choose their abilities as they level up. In the game, the ultimate abilities are called Unite Moves, and these are moves that were never seen before.
Pokemon Unite certainly took fans by surprise, and it’s not what they expected from the Pokemon Presents live stream. What fans really wanted was a remake of one of the core Pokemon games. Regardless, the MOBA seems like an interesting title that we’re sure Pokemon fans are eventually going to love.
Image used courtesy of The Pokemon Company/YouTube