Pokemon Unite is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game, but it has a unique feature that sets it apart from others in the genre. While League of Legends is often credited for popularizing the MOBA genre, and SMITE puts a spin on things by changing the perspective from top-down to over the shoulder, this new Pokemon game is mixing things up with its evolution mechanic. Players will start each match at level one as the base form of their chosen Pokemon, but as they level up their Pokemon will evolve and become more powerful. This is exciting and a great way to include evolution in short-term gameplay.
On the other hand, evolution is a permanent thing in Pokemon, and reverting back to the base form of the Pokemon after each match is somewhat strange. Pokemon Unite joins the short list of games where the player's Pokemon can actually devolve, with others including the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. There's another franchise where this sort of de-evolution happens frequently, however, and it happens to be a major competitor of Pokemon. This is of course Digimon, in which the titular Digimon frequently change between their Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and Mega forms.
Pokemon Unite - Evolution
It's understandable that some changes have to be made to the formula in order to make Pokemon fit into the MOBA world. It also should be noted that there are some characters that don't evolve at all, such as Snorlax or Lucario. Still, it can't be denied that the evolution feature is a major part of what makes Pokemon Unite stand out when compared to other games in the genre. People wanting to play Pokemon Unite at a higher level will definitely need to understand how it works and how to use it to their advantage.
When selecting a character, players will pick between whichever of the 20 confirmed Pokemon in Pokemon Unite they have unlocked. At the start of the match, though, they will assume the starting form of that Pokemon (Charizard starts as Charmander, Talonflame starts as Fletchling, etc.). As the player levels up in a match and reaches certain milestones, their Pokemon will evolve, becoming more powerful and gaining certain new abilities. In the case of Charizard, the Charmander evolves to Charmeleon at level four and to Charizard at level nine. As far as an in-game lore explanation for how a level nine Charizard becomes a level one Charmander at the start of the next battle, players purchase Unite Licenses to unlock characters rather than Pokemon themselves. It could be that each match is played with a different Charmander altogether.
Pokemon Unite Or Digimon Unite?
It's easy to see how this relates to the Digimon franchise. Once a Digimon achieves their Rookie stage, they spend a majority of their lives in that state. Typically, Digimon only reach higher stages under special circumstances, when trained by a Digi-Destined, or something similar. Most notably, after a difficult battle that requires a higher stage, Digimon almost always return to their Rookie form. When Tai's Agumon becomes War Greymon, the change isn't permanent.
The evolution feature in Pokemon Unite definitely works if players don't think too much about it, but it's odd that it happens to also fit snugly into the lore of Digimon. In an alternate universe where "Digimon Unite" existed instead, players wouldn't have to dismiss or try to rationalize this strange feature, as it would simply be the expectation for a Digimon. Though Digimon may not be as prolific as Pokemon, the franchise is still going strong. It's possible that fans may see something similar in the future from Digimon.
Pokemon Unite releases on July 21 for Switch, and later for Mobile.