Hoopa Joins the Pokemon UNITE Roster for Pokemon Day 2022

Trainers can now battle with the Mythical Pokemon, Hoopa, in Pokemon UNITE in celebration of the 2022 Pokemon Day.

Hoopa was revealed as one of the next Pokemon to join the roster of fighters in Nintendo's team-based fighter, Pokemon UNITE, during the recent Pokemon Presents broadcast. This Pokemon has made headlines recently as the mastermind behind Pokemon GO's Season of Mischief, bringing species from the Galar region into the limelight far before other regions. Now, trainers will be able to bring their mischievous nature to the battlefield.

Hoopa Joins Pokemon UNITE

Hoopa is set to be a Ranged Supporter with a twist. Its kit allows it to support its team in both healing and mobility while also providing a bit of back-up damage. However, its UNITE move allows it to transform and deal massive amounts of damage to the opposing team.

Its ability, Magician, allows it to warp berries or Aeos energy toward it from the opposing team's side of the map. If the ability is unsuccessful, its cooldown is reduced.

At level one (1), Hoopa learns Astonish which can stun opposing Pokemon caught in its area of effect (AoE) for a short time.

Astonish can be morphed into one of the following two moves at level six (6):

• Phantom Force—creates a ring underneath Hoopa, teleporting it to a designated location and dealing damage to any Pokemon in that location while also shoving them back. It also sends off two sinister flares that deal damage to opposing Pokemon and slow their movement speed. If activated again within a certain amount of time, Hoopa teleports back to its initial location. Nearby ally Pokemon under Hoopa's "Trick" condition teleport back with it and regain some HP.
• Shadow Ball—unleashes a projectile that damages opposing Pokemon and lowers their Sp. Def stat. If the damaged Pokemon is hit with a basic attack in short succession, that attack does bonus damage. Nearby ally Pokemon under Hoopa's "Trick" condition will act as an auxiliary launch location for Shadow Ball and hit targets from that direction.

At level three (3), Hoopa learns Confusion.

Confusion can be morphed into one of the following moves at level six (4):

• Hyperspace Hole—a complicated move that opens up a ring as an AoE attack before warping Hoopa and any nearby ally Pokemon back to their base. Both will receive a health buff after a time delay. Ally Pokemon have the opportunity to warp back to where the ring was originally created. If used on a forward goal zone on the top or bottom path, another ring will be created in the counter direction. Hoopa and its allies can warp between these rings instantly. However, the warp does have a cooldown.
• Trick—greatly benefits ally Pokemon on Hoopa's team, linking it and any team member. This is indicated by one of Hoopa's rings. The ring, itself, on the "Trick" Pokemon will unleash any attack Hoopa does, including Shadow Ball. Hoopa can also use Trick on itself to increase its movement speed and/or damage dealt by Shadow Ball.

Activating Hoopa's UNITE move transforms it into Hoopa Unbound. In this form, it cannot activate its ability or score goals. Its moves change to Hyperspace Fury and Psybeam:

• Hyperspace Fury—deals a barrage of attacks toward enemy Pokemon within the AoE, leaving them incapacitated for a short time afterward.
• Psybeam—fires a beam in a horizontal sweeping motion in front of itself, dealing damage to opposing Pokémon caught in the attack's path. It becomes immune to hindrances while firing.

Every third basic attack Hoopa does benefits from boosted damage. After activating its UNITE move and transforming into Hoopa Unbound, every basic attack has the ability to hit up to two opposing Pokemon.

Trainers have the opportunity to complete special limited-time research and earn Hoopa's UNITE license at no additional cost.

More information about Hoopa in Pokemon UNITE can be found on the official Pokemon website.