I Wasn’t Expecting THAT in Pokémon UNITE!

In the last few years, there is one constant with Pokémon games: expect new releases in the mainline games AND a few weird experiences along the way that just freaking work. Game Freak has done that again with Pokémon UNITE, which has been available on Nintendo Switch since July 20th, and coming to mobile later this year.

In Pokémon UNITE, players will control one single Pokémon on a 5 Pokémon team. Players will race around the arena defeating both wild Pokémon and opponents, to earn Aeos Energy. After collecting at least a few Aeos Energy balls, players can make their way across the arena in an attempt to score points on an opponents goal. The team that scores the most points is the winner.

You can check out 45 minutes of gameplay live on Tuesday, July 27th, 2021 on Adam’s Nintendo World, or you can catch the replay after the fact!

Your Pokémon always starts out in its most basic form. I, of course, opted to begin playing the game with Charizard, but in each match you start out with a lowly Charmander with only a few attacks mapped to ZR and Z. Eventually, you’ll earn enough XP to evolve, and so on. As you evolve, you’ll learn new moves until ultimately you learn your Unite Move, an incredibly powerful move that can quickly change the course of battle.

Matches last 10 minutes and they are just loads of fun. Knowing when to attack and when to draw back is huge. While dying only knocks you out of the game for a few seconds before you respawn, you’ll also drop any energy you were carrying, making it easy pickings for your opponents. Staying alive is WAY more important than I thought, at least when a nice stash of energy is at stake.

There is so much to like about Pokémon Unite, and I really cannot wait to try out more! Want to join me on Nintendo Switch?