(SPOT.ph) In 2021, Pokémon found a Revive, if you will, with a resurgence in popularity thanks to the long-awaited drop of the Diamond and Pearl remakes, the literal game-changing, open-world RPG Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and the free-to-play MOBA game Pokémon UNITE.
While still in its infancy, UNITE has expanded its roster of playable Pokémon to a current count of 32 unique Pokémon. As the game's first birthday looms over the horizon, the developers have announced they'll be adding six new Pokémon to the battlefield, making this one hell of a party.
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Here's everything we know about Pokemon Unite's first anniversary event:
Downtime for the first anniversary update starts at 5:30 a.m., July 21 (Manila time) and is scheduled to end at later that day at 3:00 p.m., meaning the game will be unplayable for these nine and a half hours, as the update is rolled out across servers.
Glaceon, Buzzwole, Tyranitar and 3 more Pokémon joining
As for what you can expect when the update goes live, Glaceon will be the new Pokémon that you can try to unlock and play as, as soon the update drops. During the event titled Icy Glaceon, you can get the chance to unlock Glaceon for free (meaning: you won't need to spend hours grinding for Aeos Coins to unlock the Pokémon). All you'll have to do is complete certain missions that are part of the event, which runs from when the update goes live until August 14, 7:59 a.m.
In addition to the icy Pokémon, Buzzwole and Tyranitar have also been announced to be joining the game, on August 3 and 15, respectively. It's possible that they're arrival will come with in-game events that'll allow you to unlock them for free as well, but it hasn't been confirmed.
Three more Pokémon have also been teased to be coming to the game starting in September, but their identities are still currently a mystery. Hopefully, it's someone who will give the best Pokémon in the game (Absol, duh) a challenge.
Events for New and Returning Players
Besides the Icy Glaceon Event, there will also be an anniversary event called the 1st Anniversary Cake Challenge, wherein you can collect "frostings," which you can use to trade for in-game cosmetics like the above sophisticated attire for Crustle and Cramorant. Is this Gentleminions in Pokémon? It's certainly giving that vibe.
The celebrations don't just stop there. Until August 4, if you party up with players who are returning to the game after their accounts have been inactive for a while, you'll be able to attain points which you can also use to claim in-game rewards. Additionally, there will be an Invite-a-Friend campaign until August 11, where a player can get a free Slowbro cosmetic outfit if they create a UNITE account based off another player's invite.
New Boss Rush Quick Battle Mode
A new battle mode will also be launched along with the update. You can team-up with other trainers in the new Boss Rush quick battle mode and battle a powerful Boss Pokémon controlled by AI. As the battle mode uses UNITE's Squad feature, it's a good place to practice plays and also climb up the leaderboard.
New Ranked Season
Finally, the current season will be ending as the game goes into downtime and a new Ranked Season and Battle Pass will be available once the update goes live. The new competitive, ranked season will last until September 2. It's definitely the opportunity to grind out Glaceon and see if it belongs in the top-tier meta of the game.
The Season 8 Battle Pass includes a Martial Arts styled outfit for Lucario and a Champion styled outfit for Dragonite. It's giving Cobra Kai and Creed in the new season's battle pass, and we can't wait to flex the vibe that we're the best like no one ever was.
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Pokémon UNITE is a free-to-download app on Apple and Android, as well as on Nintendo Switch.
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