A Pokemon MOBA is on the way.
The Pokemon Company has announced Pokemon Unite, a MOBA-style game coming to the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. The title is being developed by Timi Studios, and published by Tencent. Unite was revealed during special stream, which can be seen here. The game features 5v5 battles in real time. The map that the game is played on is split into two sides, one for each team. Placed around the map are control points that are used for scoring. Players score by catching Pokemon and bringing them into the goals. Wild Pokemon that could be caught included Aipoms, Galvantulas, and Stuffuls.
In Unite, every player chooses a Pokemon to battle it out. The ten Pokemon that were shown on the character select screen were Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Pikachu, Clefable, Machamp, Gengar, Snorlax, Lucario, and Talonflame. Though the fully evolved forms of Pokemon were shown on the character select screen, during gameplay that was shown players started with their lowest forms at level 1. Players are able to gain experience and evolve their Pokemon by defeating wild Pokemon on the map. They can also learn new moves. This includes close-range as well as long-range attacks. Once fully leveled up, Pokemon can learn techniques called Unite Moves, which are ultra powerful moves unique to Unite. Every Pokemon has its own Unite Move. Unlike standard Pokemon games, there are no type advantages, which means players will have to utilize different strategies than they would in a normal Pokemon game.
It was also revealed that Pokemon Unite will feature cross-play. This means that Switch players will be able to team up or battle against those who are playing on mobile devices.
Pokemon Unite will release on the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. The Pokemon Company did state to stay tuned for an official release date for the game. Unite will be free-to-play.
