Pokemon Masters is a new iOS and Android game by Nintendo and DeNA, one of the few releases from their alliance to hit the USA, and it’s rapidly become the most downloaded game in the US for very understandable reasons. Not only do you get to play using all of the trainers that you might remember from the entire 20 year run of the anime, but the battle system is completely unique.
For one thing, each trainer has one pokemon that the form a sync pair with, bringing validation to the Indigo League saga’s way of doing things. You also engage in RPG battles not one-on-one, but three-on-three, with three trainers battling against three rivals.
There are also loads of game modes here, from the standard campaign battles to the trainer quests, and a very in-depth team management mode for upgrading your trainers and their pokemon, increasing their rarity, and making perfect trainer matches for every battle that you enter.
Plus, of course, you can earn gems and do various summons to work up to the rarest and most powerful Pokemon and trainer sync pairs possible.
Read on for some tips and tricks for Pokemon Masters!
All About Battling
Battles happen three-on-three, and trainer rarity matters much less than you would think for the purpose of the battles. For one, star rarity doesn’t necessarily equate to battle prowess. Battling is, primarily, about elemental matches.
For each battle, there will be a recommended element to use. Load your team up with said element, even if your trainers are at a lower-level or a lower rarity. If you don’t have enough of the recommended element for all three, use a good neutral element, such as normal types, or a type who the opposing team won’t be strong against.
For most battles, the auto-battle mode will be sufficient, but for extra tough battles, you’ll want to switch over to manual mode and use some of your own strategy. Examples include targeting one enemy pokemon at a time in order to remove their attacks from battle, so that you can take less damage as the battle goes on.
Another includes using the buff moves, such as X Speed, X Special Defense, or Potion. The X moves will increase your stats and generally can be used twice per battle. The Potions can heal your Pokemon once they have taken damage.
Finally, there is the Sync Combo, which can be charged up and used later in the battle. This is a special move that combines the power of the trainer and their Pokemon, and does a huge amount of damage once it hits. Save this for whoever the strongest Pokemon is, unless it’s a splash damage attack. Then use the sync pair for whoever is strong against the strongest Pokemon.
Team Management and Sync Pair Upgrades
Leveling up your trainers is the primary way to upgrade your team. This is extra important because of how often you’ll need to switch your team around in order to keep up with enemy elementals, but fortunately, it’s easy to do. The primary way to level up is to do the old-fashioned grinding, where you fight battles you’ve already completed.
Hit the Level-Up area inside the team menu to increase trainer levels using the various Level-Up Manuals you earn as rewards. These can upgrade trainer levels surprisingly quickly, making them hugely effective for if you get stuck in a specific area.
Under Moves and Skills you can use TM’s to teach new moves to your Pokemon, or Passive Skill to train your trainer and Pokemon to have a specific buff, such as immunity to a certain stat drop, or raising defense after using a move. These take a combination of TMs and the various drinks you find as drops, such as Aid Ade.
Finally, under Potential, you can increase the potential of a sync pair by increasing their number of stars. All that you need is a 3*, 4*, or 5* power-up, depending on trainer level. “All you need”, but these power-ups are also one of the rarest elements to find.
Hanging Out At The Pokemon Center
Be sure to spend some time at the Pokemon Center and talk to the other trainers. New trainers show up all the time, and even old trainers will always have new things to say. This is a good way to scratch the old RPG itch of talking to the townspeople.
Not only that, but you can get bonuses, such as items, from talking to trainers. You can also “like” trainers by tapping the hearts in their profiles. If you do, then they will show up more frequently at the Pokemon Center.
Beyond that, be sure to hit the shop frequently. You can buy almost every possible item at the shop, whether for gems, coins, or exchanging common upgrade drinks for rare upgrade drinks. You can even buy the star power-up items here, although they will be more expensive than other items, such as level-up items.
Explore Everything
Don’t just stick to the standard quests. Check out the Sync Pair quests so that you can get to know your pairs better by spending some time with them. Plus, you’ll get free gems, and later on in the game, you will get evolution items.
Hit the Training Area for all kinds of item-specific courses, similar to the “dungeons” in other DeNA games. You can do the Level-Up course for Level-Up Manuals, Strike, Tech, and Support courses for their specific items (and supercourses for better versions of those items), and more. Keep checking back into the training area to see what other good stuff pops up, too.