Downloading the Game
How to Unlock Sync Pairs
As the main draw of Pokemon Masters, there are two ways to unlock trainers and their Pokemon, referred to as Sync Pairs in-game. The first is to unlock them through playing the story, while other trainers will need to be scouted.
Check out the full pair of Sync Pairs below!
There are 22 Sync Pairs that are unlocked naturally as one plays through the Beginner's Phase of Pokemon Masters. As the player progresses through the campaign, they unlock more mechanics. The Beginner's Phase ends after Chapter 18, where Gear farming is unlocked. More story characters can be unlocked as DeNA gradually extends the campaign, or through Special Events. Pictured below is a brief unlock chart for the Beginner's Phase.
Most other Sync Pairs, such as Karen and Brendan, are only available through Trainer Scouting. Trainer Scouting requires 300 gems per try, or 3,000 for 10 tries, with a daily discount available for 100 paid gems. It is accessible from the "Shop" Menu.
The story-unlock Sync Pairs have various rarities, but for Trainer Scouting each rarity has a different drop rate, with the probability for specific characters depending on the banner and general pool. The general drop rates are below:
| Rarity | Rate |
|---|---|
| 5★ | 7% |
| 4★ | 20% |
| 3★ | 73% |
Who Should I Roll For? What Pairs are Good Investments?
Outside of campaigns with generous starting-gem bonuses, it will typically take a long time to farm up for a 10-roll. From just quests alone, players must complete at least chapter 10 to have enough. Since there is no discount or other incentive for a multi-roll, players may be tempted to just do one roll at a time. Do note that linking a Nintendo Account will give a one-time bonus of 600 gems.
While there will be a Guaranteed 5 star Scout Spotlight available, it costs paid gems.
For those souls willing to brave rerolling, check out our Reroll Guide below!
While most players can complete content with appropriate leveled and typed Sync Pairs, there are some Sync Pairs who will make the game much easier for aspiring Masters. Although it'd be nice to invest in everybody, since resources are limited these are the recommended Sync Pairs for new players.
While we make some recommendations below based on availability, check out our Tier List for a broader overview!
| Sync Pair | Role | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
Rosa and Snivy |
Support |
One of the earliest unlocks, Rosa & Serperior serves as a fantastic introduction for the tank position, with teamwide Move Gauge Refill and Special Attack support rounding out its tool kit. |
Skyla and Swanna |
Support |
Speed boosting is a key contributor to Move Gauge management, particularly in the early exploratory stages of the game. Hence, Skyla's teamwide Speed (and Defense) buff is a great asset. She also provides Potion, which heals an ally and keeps it on the field longer. |
Korrina and Lucario |
Strike (Physical) |
One of the best free Strike units. Korrina and Lucario represent the Physical spectrum and deals massive damage to a single target. |
Hau and Alolan Raichu |
Strike (Special) |
One of the best free Strike units. Hau and Alolan Raichu represent the Special spectrum, quickly clearing the stage through its AOE attacks. |
| Sync Pair | Role | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
Sabrina and Alakazam |
Support |
Sabrina is one of, if not the, best Special supporter in the metagame, being able to bring an ally to +6 Special Attack on her own, while providing a +2 Critical Hit rate buff through Dire Hit All. Aside from Speed, this is basically all that a Special strike unit needs to perform. She is also one of the only few Sync Pairs to be able to buff an ally's accuracy, which is important for strike units whose best damaging move has imperfect accuracy. |
Phoebe and Dusknoir |
Support |
Dire Hit + All allows the allied field to max out their Critical Hit rate in 2 turns, turning Dusknoir into a fantastic pick for just about any team. It is also reasonably bulky with a HP dependent teamwide buff to Move Gauge Slots and Attack. Her Benefactor also allows her to pass half of her accumulated boosts when KOed in Co-Op. |
Brendan and Sceptile |
Striker (Physical) |
Despite the listed role, Sceptile is strong as a mixed sweeper, with extremely high damage output through Leaf Storm. Brendan is also one of the rare few, if not only, Strike Sync Pair that can max out his offensive stats (Attack, Special Attack, and Critical Hit rate) on his own. This makes him a very potent striker, particularly for players seeking to farm for teambuilding materials. |
Olivia and Lycanroc (Midnight Form) |
Striker (Physical) |
Lycanroc's highly self-synergistic critical potential covers Attack, Accuracy, and Critical Hit Rate. Gaining a self-speed buff whenever a critical hit lands gives Lycanroc excellent snowball potential, and it is served extremely well with buffs. |
Honorable Mentions are Sygna Suit Red and Cynthia, both extremely poweful and popular Strike units. They are unfortunately locked behind Poke Fair banners, which prevents players from rerolling outside of their promotional period.
How Battles Work in Masters
The combat in Pokemon Masters differs from the main series in two important ways:
- Battles in Pokemon Masters are in real-time combat with the Action Gauge, instead of being Turn-based.
- Every Pokemon only has one type and weakness. Pokemon of the same type won't necessarily have the same weakness.
The beginner's guide aims to cover the basics and get players running, but for a more comprehensive guide check out the Battle Mechanics and Team Composition Guides below!
HP - How much damage a Pokemon can take before it's KO'd.
Attack - How much damage a Pokemon will do for Physical moves
Defense - How much damage reduction a Pokemon has against physical moves.
Sp. Atk - How much damage a Pokemon will do for Special moves
Sp. Def - How much damage reduction a Pokemon has against Special moves.
Speed - Determines how fast the team's Moveslot Gauge will fill up.
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Pokemon Moves: Pokemon attacks with these moves during battle. Each usage costs Move Slot Gauge points.
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Trainer Moves: These can be used at any time, but have limited uses per battle. The effects of these are various, from healing Pokemon, buffing them, and even granting Move Slot Gauge.
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Sync Moves: Every action (using a Pokemon or Trainer move) will decrease it's cooldown by 1. Use it to unleash a powerful attack on the enemy! Sometimes Sync Moves will have special effects, like Mega Evolution!
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Move Slot Gauge: This is the resource that allows your Pokemon to attack. It recharges over time based on sum on team's speed. Certain Trainer Moves can provide more Gauge instantly.
- Enemy Targeting: Enemies in this game will tend to attack Pokemon with the highest Bulk. Bulk is calculated from a Pokemon's defensive stats, with the formula: HP/2.75 + Def + Sp. Def.
- Passive Skills: Pokemon can learn passive skills that provide a variety of effects in battle, from preventing critical strikes on them to healing from status effects whenever they attack.
Co-Op is unlocked after beating Chapter 10. In co-op, players team up with up to two other teams for 9v9 Pokemon Battles!
Each trainer is responsible for their own team of 3 Sync Pairs, and can only have one out at any time for a total of three on the field. Players can still switch out their own Sync Pairs, however.
Unity Attacks are an extra high damage attack available once everyone's Unity Gauge is filled up, a feature unique to Co-Op. Choose one person to unleash an overwhelming offensive!
Strengthening Sync Pairs
There are a few ways to Strengthen Sync Pairs in Pokemon Masters! They are the following:
EXP is the main resource that levels up Sync Pairs in Pokemon Masters. Sync Pairs that participate in battle gain EXP at the end of a victorious battle, even if they were knocked out. Sync pairs can also gain through EXP Manuals, an item gained from certain Training Quests.
Level Caps determine the maximum level of a Pokemon, and are dependent on rarity. It costs a Sync Pair's respective drink (Buff Blend, Aid Ade, and Tech Tonics), plus Gym Notes at some levels to unlock the level cap.
Moves and Skills are accessible from the "Team" Menu. Learning them will cost resources, with respective Drinks (Buff Blend, Aid Ade, and Tech Tonics), Training Machines (TM's), and Skill Capsules required. These can be obtained from the Training Area!
For a list of all strengthening items and drop rates, check out the link below!
Each rarity has a maximum level. 3 stars have a maximum of 90, 4 stars can reach 95, and 5 stars reach 100.
3 and 4 star power ups can be used to increase a 3 or 4 star Sync Pair's rarity to a higher star level. Increasing rarity will result in higher stats and level caps for these Sync Pairs. Meanwhile, 5 star Power Ups will grant increased stats to 5 star Sync Pairs. Up to 20 can be used on them!
Just like in the mainline games, some Pokémon can evolve after reaching a certain level. Evolving will increase the stats of Pokémon. In Pokémon Masters first stage evolution can be unlocked at level 30 and second stage evolution at level 45.
To evolve a Pokémon, not only do Trainers require evolution shards or crystals, but also need to beat a special stage that is specific to the trainer. This is located under Explore option --> Sync Pair Stories.
As of writing time, the following Pokémon can evolve:
| Trainer | Default (Level 1) | 1st Evolution (Level 30) | 2nd Evolution (Level 45) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lt. Surge | Voltorb | Electrode | NA |
| Blaine | Ponyta | Rapidash | NA |
| Ethan | Cyndaquil | Quilava | Typhlosion |
| Kris | Totodile | Croconaw | Feraligatr |
| Lyra | Chikorita | Bayleef | Meganium |
| Pryce | Seel | Dewgong | NA |
| Brendan | Treecko | Grovyle | Sceptile |
| Roxanne | Nosepass | Probopass | NA |
| Brawly | Makuhita | Hariyama | NA |
| Phoebe | Dusclops | Dusknoir | NA |
| Dawn | Turtwig | Grotle | Torterra |
| Barry | Piplup | Prinplup | Empoleon |
| Roark | Cranidos | Rampardos | NA |
| Maylene | Meditite | Medicham | NA |
| Hilbert | Oshawott | Dewott | Samurott |
| Hilda | Tepig | Pignite | Emboar |
| Rosa | Snivy | Servine | Serperior |
| Clay | Palpitoad | Seismitoad | NA |
| Roxie | Whirlipede | Scolipede | NA |
| Calem | Espurr | Meowstic (M) | NA |
| Serena | Fennekin | Braixen | Delphox |
| Viola | Surskit | Masquerain | NA |
| Grant | Amaura | Aurorus | NA |
| Ramos | Weepinbell | Victreebel | NA |
Players do need to note that Mega Evolution is treated as a separate mechanic to regular Evolution. As of writing time, Sync Pairs whose Pokemon goes through Evolution in Pokemon Masters cannot go through Mega Evolution. For example, Brendan's Sceptile cannot become Mega Sceptile, but Karen's Houndoom can become Mega Houndoom. Pokemon that were bred through the Egg function are also treated separately.
For more information on evolution, check out our guide below!
Gaining duplicates of a Sync Pair will increase their Sync Move level, up to 4 times from 1/5 base to 5/5 maxed. This will increase the Sync Move and normal Moves' power by 5% per level, up to 20%.
Currently there is no way to increase the Sync Move level of a Story Unlock Sync Pair. This may be remedied in the future.
For a full list of Sync Moves and moves in general, check out our Moves Database!
