It’s so much more fun to say that victory in the new Pokemon MOBA belongs to the team who gives it their all and loves their Pokemon with all their heart, isn’t it? Of course, even Ash Ketchum himself has been bludgeoned six times with the truth that you also need cutting-edge skills to get the job done. (Props on that Alola League championship, though. People are still shocked when I tell them you actually won.) Of course, in Pokemon Unite, you have to score points to win You can skim past the bluster, forget about the hearts of your pocket pals, and just… beat your opponents, numerically.
So, it’s quite reasonable that new players will want to know how to score points in Pokemon Unite. While the broad strokes are fairly clear-cut, it never hurts to have a handy guide around to verify your success. We know you want to leap back into the fray ASAP, so let’s get going.
Defeat Wild Pokemon
Well, this sounds awfully obvious, right? But if you’re a totally green new trainer, you might not know quite what you’re getting into. One does not simply score points in Pokemon Unite by defeating opposing Pokemon. In one of the Pokemon MOBA’s coolest on-brand twists, there will actually be wild Pokemon wandering about over the course of the match.
Keeping track of whether or not it’s worth your precious time to go grinding against a wild Pokemon is as easy as pie. Right above their heads is a yellow digit that’ll let you know how many points one’s worth. For example, a Corphish may be worth three points. It might not sound like much, but these things do add up quickly. Still, three is on the lower end. More powerful wild Pokemon will net you five points, but far more impressive is the boss-tier wild Pokemon for 20-30 points.
Defeat Opposing Pokemon, Too
Of course, your opponent will also be packing plenty of Pokemon. And theirs have every intention of seeking you out and dishing damage.
Opposing Pokemon will gain points based on how many of your cute critters they’ve wiped off the surface of the earth. (Er, I mean, “knocked unconscious.”) Each one of those smug jerks will have an increasingly high number over their heads in relation to their accomplishments. The good news is that, naturally, you can use this to your strategic advantage. Look for foe Pokemon “bloated” with high numbers. Knocking them out can net you dozens of points at once!
Since this is a competitive game, Pokemon Unite will be just as inclined to tell your opponent how to score points against you, so take note that your own pals will have an active score above their fuzzy faces — prime pickings.
Hog Those Goals
Quickly into your Pokemon Unite journey, you’ll realize that standing inside enemy goals is one of the most surefire ways to victory. This Pokemon MOBA thus shares many key traits in common with such rival fare as League of Legends and even Final Fantasy XIV‘s odd “Lord of Verminion” minigame; when you get right down to it, the biggest ticket to blunder comes when a player fails to prevent their foe from soaking up the points at their base.
It wouldn’t be enough just to have one of your Pokemon reach the opponent’s goal, though, now would it? Why not add insult to injury by getting as many little guys in there as possible? That’s right — you’ll speed up your success significantly if multiple Pokemon are in the zone.
Score, Score, Scorbunny
No, Scorbunny is not a unique point-scoring pal; I’m just having fun with subheadings. (Though he is pretty cute, isn’t he?)
Scoring a goal will not only net your Pokemon valuable experience points but several victory points as well. That’s double the reason to slam-dunk whenever you can.
But we can take this one step further. What if you could make your buds temporarily invincible because they scored points? Indeed, getting a goal grants a brief but invaluable buff to your MOBA Pokemon that prevents them from taking damage for a few critical seconds. Think of it like this, if you will: Solid Snake has taken down the titular Metal Gear. He’s exhausted. His clothes are soaked in sweat. Liquid Snake reaches forth to kill his brother in the name of revenge. Solid Snake has an invulnerability buff in place for beating Metal Gear. Liquid Snake stands there like a dweeb who can’t seem to hit a dude standing right in front of him.
OK, so a Metal Gear Solid metaphor for Pokemon Unite points-scoring is more than a bit odd, but you get the… well, the point.
Hold On…
Certain held items can really reward those who score the most points in Pokemon Unite, and not just because scoring points is a really good thing in and of itself. You can keep your powerful Pokemon going for even longer, allowing them to earn more and more points on your behalf, with items like the Score Shield, which will grant your Pokemon an extra 15% of their health (up to a maximum of 450 HP) as long as it remains in effect.
Special Attack Specs boost your Pokemon’s Sp. Atk. (natch) by 8 just for scoring a goal. Quite nice. Attack Weights are more or less the same for the Atk. stat, albeit at a boost of 6 rather than 8. Keep an eye out for other great items that’ll grant you twice the reason to cheer for doing what the game already told you to do in the first place.
Keep Rotom, Rotom, Rotom
Rotom is a bit of a masochist in the Pokemon MOBA. He can be found at the very top of the map, and his purpose is to get smacked around until defeated, at which point he’ll kindly thank his assaulters by waltzing over to their opponent’s nearest goal and fighting the good fight.
In other words, beating Rotom before your opponent can will turn him into a swift and powerful ally. He’ll battle opposing Pokemon, which is neat but far better than that; he’ll “charge” the opponent’s goal, which will make scoring instantaneous for a solid 14 seconds. That may not sound like much, but in Pokemon Unite, it’s enough to score some serious points.
High-Voltage Finish
In the last two minutes of a match, all scores are doubled. This can lead to some pretty dramatic comebacks if you play your cards just right. Seemingly insurmountable odds can be overcome by cleverly-timed goal-raiding.
But what if there was a Pokemon that only pops in to say hello in those final two minutes? And what if it was worth a whopping 110 points? Shockingly, there is one. It’s Zapdos, and it’ll appear at the very center of the map at roughly the 120-second mark. To the victor goes the chicken wings.