What is Pokemon Quest?

Pokemon Quest for the Nintendo Switch is a surprise release that came alongside confirmation of two more Pokemon games coming to Nintendo’s latest console. However, with the surprise announcement came a bit of confusion as people are wondering just what is Pokemon Quest. Don’t worry, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to answer this question for you so you can get all the Pokemon Quest details you need before you take a dive into the new game.

What is Pokemon Quest?

At the moment Pokemon Quest is only available for the Nintendo Switch. You can download it from the Nintendo Switch eShop as a free-to-play game. Pokemon Quest uses a graphics style that resembles Minecraft with some unique aspects of its own. While Pokemon Quest is a Pokemon title, it plays more like a simplified version of the traditional mechanics seasoned veterans may be accustomed to.

Microtransactions

Like most free-to-play games, while you won’t have to pay money to start playing Pokemon Quest, there’s going to come a time where you may want to use real money to purchase in-game currency and items. The in-game currency of Pokemon Quest are PM Tickets, which can be used for a number of different things within the game.

When you first start Pokemon Quest you’ll have to reboot the in-game robot. This is when you input your name, but you’ll soon find that whenever the robot is out of commission, you won’t be able to play. At the top of the screen you’ll see a battery icon, just like you’d find on most mobile phones. As you play, there’s a clock ticking down near the icon that tells you when you’ll run out of battery. If your battery runs out, you’ll have to recharge it with PM Tickets or stop playing for awhile and let it recharge on its own.

You’ll earn PM Tickets as you play through the various expeditions and complete quests in the game, defeating Pokemon bosses and lesser enemies. Depending on how much you play, you may not need to purchase any additional PM Tickets. However, if you run out of PM Tickets and still wish to play, you’ll need to spend real money to purchase more PM Tickets.

You can also spend real money on decorations for your base camp that will give you various attributes to help you in the game. Anytime you buy something with real money you’ll also earn a few PM Tickets for your trouble. Think of it as an added bonus for spending your hard-earned cash.

Traditional Pokemon

While Pokemon Quest differs quite a bit from a traditional Pokemon game, there are still some things that fans of the franchise will recognize. You can still level up and evolve your Pokemon. You can train them to increase their abilities or learn new moves, and you can use their attacks in battle, although not quite how you may be used to battling. You can also use Power Stones, that you’ll come across while out on an expedition, to increase your Pokemon’s ATK and HP.

Anytime you’re on an expedition, your team of Pokemon will automatically move around the field, finding the next set of enemies. You can have them disperse to avoid attacks, but for the most part you can let them do their thing as they move around. Once they find an enemy, you can use their attacks when and how you see fit, as you fight enemies in real-time. Think of Pokemon Quest like an action RPG version of Pokemon.

If you’re still looking for help, or you just want to download Pokemon Quest, you can check out our Pokemon Quest game hub, which we’ll be adding articles to all week!