I wasn’t entirely convinced that a Pokemon MOBA would do well. I thought it would be popular, at least for the first couple of weeks, because hey - it’s Pokemon. They could bring out Pokemon Stable Cleaner where all you had to do was scoop Rapidash dung and it would probably top the Switch charts for a little while, especially if - like Pokemon Unite - it was free. Unite is not Pokemon Stable Cleaner though - it’s actually a great game in its own right. However, I’m still not convinced that a Pokemon MOBA would do well. That’s because, not only is Pokemon Unite not really a MOBA, it’s also not really a Pokemon game.
I’m not here to play gatekeeper. This is not ‘Oh, it’s not really a Pokemon game, though, is it?’ - I just mean the conventions of Unite are completely different to the conventions of most other Pokemon games, and it’s to the developers credit that they knew when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em when it came to your typical Pokemon tropes. It’s not just that it’s not an RPG - Pokemon Go and New Pokemon Snap both occupy different genres and still feel like Pokemon games in a way Unite does not.
Pokemon Go is mostly a peaceful experience, although raid battles and trainer battles do happen. With its combat-free catching mechanics and candies over level ups required to evolve, it goes against the grain of what a Pokemon game is - but it remains one at heart. You catch weaker Pokemon, and over time, evolve them into stronger Pokemon. You, as a trainer, develop a bond with the specific ‘mons in your care. You battle other Pokemon, and have to consider movesets and type advantage. You hatch eggs to gain experience, new Pokemon, or stronger Pokemon. You hunt for shinies. You trade. There are biomes. It’s in a different form, sure, but it’s Pokemon.
New Pokemon Snap, to draw from another recent atypical Pokemon game, is even more peaceful. Aside from throwing a fluffruit at a Pokemon to get it to shift out of your way, there’s no combat at all. This takes out the need for items, other trainers, gyms, catching mechanics, type advantage… a huge chunk of what makes Pokemon Pokemon is lost in a non-combat outing. But what remains is still very clearly Pokemon.
The whole ethos of Pokemon is not actually about battling - gotta catch ‘em all is the tagline, after all - but instead about befriending and raising your Pokemon with love. New Pokemon Snap shows these creatures in their natural habitat, with the game providing biomes - a staple of Pokemon game design - as well as giving us a realistic look at everything in the wild. In regular Pokemon games, we have to weaken them and catch them, so we only ever see them in attack mode. Snap shows another side of things, but it all remains recognisable.
Unite doesn’t do any of this. As a MOBA, it’s all about the battles. You wander through the arena and initially take out weaker fodder like Aipom, before clashing with or fleeing from the Pokemon on the other team. While it’s true that Pokemon’s ethos is not focused on fighting, the majority of the games are. You need to beat the eight gym leaders in a region and then the Elite Four to complete any of the main entries, all while beating other trainers to gain strength, progress through obstacles, or complete subplots. As you do this, you’ll also need to fight and capture wild Pokemon in order to build the best possible team. It’s certainly not the fighting that makes Pokemon Unite not a Pokemon game, but instead the way it all plays out.
There are no type advantages in Pokemon Unite at all. Considering the game managed to get all 18 types across just 20 Pokemon - but had no room for Gen 2 at all - it's weird that typing is totally discounted. If I'm playing as Cinderace and I launch a fireball at Venusaur, it's weird that it only does light damage to the tanky toad. Also, I want my Cinderace to feel like my Cinderace. The fact it goes back to Scorbunny each time makes your bond with each 'mon feel temporary and disposable. Again, this is a good thing - it makes Unite a much more enjoyable experience, but it very clearly is not a Pokemon game in the typical sense of the words. There's no shiny Cinderace either, but you can pay to have it dress-up as a pirate, if you like.
Unite is a great game, and it's got all the Pokemon aesthetics to have me buy in immediately. If it gets a little more depth by the time it comes to mobile in September, growing slowly but steadily as Pokemon Go did, it might even sneak onto my top ten for the year. No matter how good it gets though, it will never totally feel like a Pokemon game. Don't worry though - that's a good thing.