At first glance, Pokemon Unite might seem like any other MOBA game with a Pokemon skin slapped on top of it, but it has several defining features that set it apart. First and foremost of these is the evolution feature that allows the player's Pokemon to evolve mid battle. This is something that happens somewhat often in the Pokemon anime, but isn't quite as common in games. Understanding how evolution works and using it to the player's advantage is vital for those that want to win as many Unite Battles as they can. Here's how to evolve Pokemon in Pokemon Unite.
First, it should be stated that certain Pokemon within Pokemon Unite actually can't evolve. Of the 20 playable characters, seven are considered single stage Pokemon in Pokemon Unite. These include Zeraora, Pikachu, Snorlax, Lucario, Mr. Mime, Machamp, and Cramorant. While playing as these Pokemon, the player won't be able to evolve during a match.
When using one of the other 13 Pokemon in the game, evolution will occur automatically during a match. This happens at certain level up milestones, with the first evolution happening between level 4 and level 6. For Pokemon that can evolve into a third stage such as Charizard or Greninja, this evolution occurs between level 7 and level 10. Each Pokemon has a specific level that it evolves at, so it's important to know when the player's Pokemon of choice will get stronger via evolution. To reach these milestone levels and evolve, players will need to collect experience.
There are three major ways to gain experience and level up in Pokemon Unite. The first and arguably easiest way is to battle against wild Pokemon. These CPU controlled Pokemon will wander around the central area of the arena and can be battled for both experience and Aeos Energy. Next, players will get large chunks of experience for defeating other players in battle, but this is obviously a bit more risky. Finally, players get experience for scoring goals against the other team, with goals that are worth more points also being worth more experience. As players simply play through a match, they should end up evolving in no time.
The big difference between Pokemon Unite and other Pokemon games is that the player's Pokemon will revert back to their base stage at the end of every match. This feature changes evolution so that instead of slowly earned but powerful upgrades, they are fast paced boosts to a player's abilities that last only for the duration of the match.
Pokemon Unite is available now on Switch and later on Mobile.
