Pokemon Unite Reveals Duraludon Release Date, New Abilities

Pokemon Unite will add another Pokemon to its roster next week. The popular MOBA-style game announced that Duraludon would be added on March 14th. The new Pokemon was first announced as a new edition to the game during Pokemon Day. Duraludon is classified as an Attacker-type, although its other abilities remain unclear. A Japanese gameplay video seems to hint that Duraludon's attacks will include a wider version of Stealth Rock that remains hidden from players for a longer period of time, as well as a passive ability that prevents at least some crowd control moves from taking effect. You can check out the English preview of Duraludon below, which reveals some of the Pokemon's ranged attacks. 

Pokemon Unite is a MOBA-style free-to-play game featuring 5v5 team battles. Players control a single Pokemon and level it up by defeating wild Pokemon and opponents. Players also collect Aeos Energy from wild Pokemon and try to score goals on their opponent's side. While the game is missing several features from traditional Pokemon games (such as type advantages), it's still a fun blend of MOBA-style tactics and classic Pokemon. While the game is free-to-play, players have to purchase Unite Licenses from the in-game store in order to use those Pokemon in matches. Unite Licenses can be purchased either using Aeos Coins, an in-game currency earned by playing matches, or using a premium currency purchased with real-world money.

Duraludon follows a flurry of other roster additions, which includes some new and powerful Pokemon. The game previously introduced Trevenant, Hoopa, and Aegislash over the past few months, each of which come with new gimmicks and abilities. Hoopa in particular proved to be a powerful Pokemon, as it was the first Pokemon to have long range teleportation abilities. Hoopa's moveset required an additional update to fix, as it proved to have several unintentional side effects on players. 

Duraludon will be added to Pokemon Unite next week. Pokemon Unite is available as a free-to-play game on the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices.