Pokémon Unite has reached its goal of 5,000,000 pre-registers for the game's upcoming mobile release on September 22, gifting trainers with a celebratory Pikachu Holowear. Developer TiMi's take on the MOBA genre released mid July for the Nintendo Switch with 20 playable Pokémon available. While new participants like Blissey and Blastoise have made their debuts in Unite since then, each playable Pokémon can also distinguish themselves by donning Holowear: special skins unique to each Pokémon.
The MOBA game has become quite popular since its debut on the Switch, with players taking to the Aeos Island arena each day to battle wild Pokémon, collect Aeos energy and use it to score goals on the opposing team. Though gamers have expressed misgivings about the MOBA's reliance on microtransactions to keep up with one's opponents, as grinding for in-game currency to buy elite items typically takes awhile, the MOBA continues to perform well ahead of Pokémon Unite's mobile release. Changes to Unite in the form of adding new Pokémon and tweaking the balance between them have helped keep the game fresh and attract new players in its early lifespan. Pre-registration for Unite's release on the App and Google Play Stores began on August 18. The promised rewards for preregisters include a Pikachu Unite License and a Holowear called Festival Style: Pikachu, which would become reality if pre-registrations reached their target marks of 2,500,000 and 5,000,000 respectively.
The Pokémon Unite Twitter account has posted an update to preregistered users promising them the Holowear reward now that this last goal has been reached. Pikachu has a dashing new getup which should provide mobile players with a stylish way to celebrate the game's mobile launch. Unite's announcement adds to an already busy start to September given the simultaneous release of gen 1 starter Blastoise as a playable Pokémon. As fans try out the new addition to the roster, today's Tweet reminds preregisters of the directions for receiving the rewards. Preregisters will have until October 31, 7 a.m. PDT to collect their Pikachu Unite License and limited-edition Holowear, but they must first complete a required log-in event.
TiMi and The Pokémon Company have also announced that the game will have cross-play between the Switch and mobile editions, allowing players a wider base of opponents to face off against. Unite has two new Pokémon on the way as well: Sylveon, the gen 6 Fairy-type Eeveelution, and Mamoswine, the titanic Ice-Ground evolution of Piloswine. TiMi has yet to elaborate on the release dates of Sylveon and Mamoswine in Unite. The game's Twitter account describes Mamoswine as a brawny addition to the roster, which will likely translate to them having great Endurance and at least decent Offense. Meanwhile, Sylveon's descriptor gives less of an idea of how it will play. But based on the main games, Sylveon will likely have an offensive build, perhaps acting as a ranged attacker similar to Gardevoir.
Pokémon Unite has an important month ahead of it with its mobile release, and possibly the announcement of a release date for Sylveon and Mamoswine. The game has already earned substantial praise from fans for its innovative, easily-accessible take on the MOBA genre, though it has room for improvement regarding micro transactions, some glitches and problems with bots. Given the attention to gameplay balance between the different Pokémon, fans should not rule out changes to make grinding for items and in-game currency easier.
Source: Pokémon Unite/Twitter