2018 will be a year Pokémon fans will remember as it will feature the first main series console game, Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu/Eevee, in over 10 years. But back in late April, Nintendo and Game Freak announced the free-to-play game Pokémon Quest for the Nintendo Switch, which saw release the same day. Also, Pokémon Quest was recently released on mobile phones and smart devices. Pokémon Quest features Pokémon from the original 151 generation presented in a blocky, cube-like model. The setting of this game takes place on Tumblecube Island, where all of these Pokémon live. Your objective is to befriend Pokémon and have them guide you through the island to discover its hidden treasures.
In this “freemium” game, you form teams of three Pokémon as you explore different areas. You cannot control the movements of these Pokémon but you can give orders as to when to use one of their attacks. You can befriend Pokémon in this game by using ingredients and cooking dishes to lure them towards your base. Pokémon Quest is a very charming game with a unique take on the series, a bit similar to the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon in some ways.
Despite Pokémon Quest being a free-to-play game, there is actually a lot of depth into how the gameplay works. If you were to go in blindly, you might put yourself in a difficult situation where it would take a while to advance. Here we will go over many things that you can do in this simple, yet well-structured game as well as tips that will help you finish the game. So let’s set sail for Tumblecube Island and meet these blocky shaped Pokémon.
30 FYI: Power Up Pokémon With Power Stones
Pokémon Quest features a new way to enhance the stats and powers of Pokémon with the use of Power Stones. Power Stones are items you receive at the end of quests that you can equip to your Pokémon. Each Pokémon has a panel that you equip a Power Stone to, if you line up three in a row you'll receive an extra bonus. Furthermore, there are slots in the Pokémon's moveset where you can equip specific stones to alter or power up the Pokémon's attacks.
These stones are essential to developing a strong Pokémon.
These stones vary in raising one of the two stats, Attack and HP, and vary in the amount they increase as well. Some power stones are rarer than others. Rarity varies from normal, bronze, silver and gold, every stone bronze and up offers additional perks. There are also Power Stones that can change certain attributes of a Pokémon’s attack.
29 Tip: Gold Is The Way To Go
We’ve already established how crucial Power Stones are to powering up your Pokémon. What is important is to remember when deciding which ones to keep. While some common stones may have a higher numerical value, it would be best to hang on to gold Power Stones.
These rare Power Stones includes extra attributes such as increasing your critical hit rate, HP recovery, and movement speed.
Gold Power stones can contain three different attributes whereas silver just 2, bronze only 1, and commons none. These attributes can often mean the difference between advancing and staying put.
28 FYI: Type Bonuses For Each World
There are a total of 11 different worlds in Pokémon Quest. Each world features a different style of landmark and is color coded with many Pokémon who would live in that type of habitat and features around 5 or 6 different levels. Like every Pokémon game, there are types such as water or grass that can affect the gameplay. In Pokémon Quest, that typing matters in the form of a bonus that each world would have on a specific type. If you bring Pokémon of that type, you receive a bit of boost to your team’s overall power level. So make sure to take advantage!
27 Tip: Take Advantage Of The Type Bonuses
Type bonuses can make a huge difference to the power levels of your teams. It can give your team an extra couple thousand points in power level.
Pokémon typing won’t matter too much when it comes to Pokémon VS Pokémon, but it does make your team stronger if there is a bonus.
If you are a little short on power level, it would be best to fill your team of the required Pokémon type. This mechanic sort of breaks the traditional hint of keeping a type-varied team, instead having a lot of specific types can make things easier.
26 FYI: Gotta Cook For Them All
Traditionally, Pokémon are earned by capturing them in Pokéballs as a trainer. That is not how it works in this game, as you can only befriend them. To do so, you’ll have to lure them to your base with a delicious meal. At your base, you can use ingredients gained during expeditions to combine and cook a specific recipe that will attract wild Pokémon to you. After that, they would instantly become your friend and will help your team out on expeditions.
25 Tip: Understand How Cooking Ingredients Work
While it may be easy to befriend many Pokémon in this game, if you just hit the auto-fill button to sprinkle in random ingredients, you may not attract many strong Pokémon to your base.
Instead of using the auto-fill button, try combining recipes and documenting results.
It’s also a good idea to use bronze, silver, and gold pots whenever you get them as they will allow you to use more ingredients. Some combinations of ingredients could even bring in very rare shiny Pokémon.
24 FYI: You Can Let The Game Play Itself, Literally
One of the cooler toggles in Pokémon Quest is to set the game into auto mode. Auto mode literally sets the expeditions to be operated by the AI. Normal gameplay doesn’t feature much control, other than move commands there isn’t much the player can do.
It’s a great option if you are trying to multitask while playing the game.
This just makes the gameplay completely on its own where the Pokémon will do their special moves whenever they are in position to use them, just like enemy AI. But they won’t use their special moves at the same rate as they could do if the game was played manually.
23 Tip: Pokémon With Only One Move Are Actually Better
The Pokémon you befriend in Pokémon Quest either knows only one or two moves. Two moves certainly offer the benefits of having another option, but there is also a benefit for Pokémon with one move. If you have a Pokémon with one move, it means you can equip one more Power Stone in the move slot which could make that one move more dangerous for your enemies. Furthermore, if you like to put the game on auto mode, that Pokémon will use that one move instead of bouncing back and forth between potentially one good move and one bad move.
22 FYI: You Can Increase Storage Space
Initially, Pokémon Quest will allow you to befriend up to 20 Pokémon and 20 Power Stones. However, it won’t take you very long to max out the space available. Fortunately, you have the option of spending only 50 Poké Mart tickets to expand your boxes by an additional 20. This will definitely help for befriending Pokémon as you find that there is a benefit for having multiple types of Pokémon that you’ll want to hold on to.
21 Tip: Tanks Are Essential For Late Game Progress
Throughout most of Pokémon Quest, you can just have the strongest Pokémon team you can build and just power your way through. However, late in the game, you’ll definitely want to have a tank with you.
Pokémon with very high HP like Chansey and Rhydon, are valuable simply because they won’t get knocked out quickly.
They also can serve as a decoy while your offensive Pokémon could go after the boss. Additionally, if your Pokémon are knocked out, they have a timer that will lead to them being revived. If all three Pokémon are knocked out at the same time then you lose, having a Tank will allow your team to bide its time and recover when needed.
20 FYI: Worlds Tell You What Type Of Ingredients You Can Find
Collecting ingredients is one of the more important elements of Pokémon Quest. Certain recipes require a certain amount of ingredients, and some ingredients can be rarer than others. With that said, there is a helpful image that will aid you in finding specific ingredients.
When you are selecting a level, a meter will appear at the right of the bar.
This meter will inform you of how common certain types of ingredients are. For example, if you need more blue ingredients, Belly Button Cave (World 5) would be a good place to farm them.
19 Tip: Choose Your Starting Pokémon Wisely
Just like nearly every Pokémon game, Pokémon Quest begins with a decision to choose from one Pokémon to recruit to your base. You will have 5 options, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, and Eevee.
From my experience, Charmander may be the best option.
Charmander will be the first starter that will have a type bonus applied; the second world will have a type bonus of Fire types. Especially with how rare fire type may be early in the game, Charmander will help give you a significant advantage early on.
18 FYI: Expedition Bonuses Will Guarantee You A Gold Power Stone
Gold Power Stones are a very rare find in Pokémon Quest. Most of the time when you complete an expedition you will receive a few Power Stones, among them are usually normal and bronze. You would be lucky to even get a few silver Power Stones, gold ones are practically impossible. However, Pokémon Quest does reward you for playing the game. Every 10 expeditions you will receive an expedition bonus, meaning that when you complete your 10th level, you are guaranteed a gold Power Stone. As long as you continue to play Pokémon Quest, your commitment will be rewarded in many different ways.
17 Tip: The Expedition Pack Can Make A Big Difference Early
Pokémon Quest is a “freemium” game, that means it is free to play, but you have options to spend money for more content. Pokémon Quest’s additional content doesn’t add any levels or anything, but it does provide a boost to help you get a head start on your quest. The 3-pack expedition quests cost $30 so if you want to invest real money into your experience, this would be the suggested pack to get as it includes everything.
The sooner you buy it, the more effective it is.
Content in the pack includes an extended battery life (from 5 to 8,) three cooking pots, exclusive camp decorations that can raise exp and ingredient drops, and finally a Pokéball statue that increases the number of PM tickets you can receive daily.
16 FYI: Befriend A Free Pokémon Every Day
Pokémon Quest will help you in many other ways than just farming for gold Power Stones. Playing Pokémon Quest every day also helps you build your Pokémon roster. Approximately every 22 hours, a random Pokémon will appear at the entrance of your base with a red exclamation point. That Pokémon is a wild that for whatever reason decides it wants to live at your base. When you tap on it you’ll automatically befriend it, no need for cooking. Additionally, these free Pokémon can often be pretty useful for your adventure as they are often around the same level as some of your highest leveled Pokémon.
15 Tip: Always Have Pots Cooking, Always
Pokémon Quest is a noticeably quick-play type of game; you can start it up and do a couple of expeditions in a couple minutes. You might breeze through it to the point where you may forget to come back to camp and check on cooking pots. It’s important to keep pots cooking because it can constantly bring in Pokémon. As you keep bringing in Pokémon you could use them for training or simply boosting the strength of your roster. There are times where it will be important to optimize to get as much as you can whenever possible. That will allow you to become good at games like Pokémon Quest.
14 FYI: Your Pokémon Can Receive Bingo Bonuses
Each Pokémon’s Power Charm contains nine 3x3 spaces to place Power Stones, but you can gain an extra boost to your stats if you line up Power Stones bingo style. Lower leveled Pokémon will have to gain experience in order to unlock a panel on the Power Charm.
Lining up three Power Stones either vertically or horizontally results in a bingo bonus.
Unfortunately, the player doesn’t have control of what panel they can unlock, they would have to hope that it plays out that way. As an additional tip, you should prioritize equipping Power Stones to fulfill the bingo bonuses.
13 Tip: Get The Cusheons ASAP
Among the base decorations you can use PM tickets to purchase, there are three in particular that will really help out. There are three cushions that are based off of the Eevee evolutions, Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon. These “Cusheons,” as they are called, will increase Red, Yellow, and Blue ingredients drop rate by 50% by their respective colors. That will allow you a chance to cook some of the harder to cook dishes to bring in rarer Pokémon earlier in the game.
12 FYI: A Scatter Button Is Your Way Of Controlling Pokémon Movements
In Pokémon Quest, your Pokémon will normally move without your input. The team of three Pokémon will coordinate together to hunt down the next target, so it won’t be completely random based. However, you do have a way of directing their movements. During expeditions, you will see a yellow button to the right of your screen. This yellow button will cause your Pokémon to scatter around the area to avoid enemy Pokémon. This is a tactical button that will be helpful in hectic situations.
11 Tip: Make Use Of The Scatter Button During Boss Battles
The scatter button is the only way the player can have any impact on the Pokémon’s movement by ordering them to flee the area. This action can be best used for boss battles. In Pokémon Quest, boss battles feature Pokémon that are noticeably stronger than the rest of the enemies and are usually bigger too. Attacks that boss Pokémon use can be really powerful and cover a wide range, but usually require a bit of charge up. That charge up is your cue to scatter about, come back, land a good hit and repeat if you need to.