PokéSurvivor guide:
how to play and survive.

Controls on desktop and mobile

Your selected skill attacks automatically. Use movement to stay safe, switch skill slots when the situation changes and read upgrade choices before selecting a card.

Landscape orientation gives mobile players more room to read the battlefield. Practise movement and switching in an open area. Controls are reported by the game project. Check the in-game settings if they change.

Four steps to get your first run moving

Choose an available Pokémon and learn the basic loop before worrying about an ideal build. The aim is to understand your attack, collect safe experience and keep an escape route.

Levels and upgrade choices

Defeated enemies provide experience. The reference describes a pause at each level-up with three card offers: a new move, an upgrade to an existing move or a boost to your partner.

• Choose a direction. Compare offers with your partner’s move pool, active attack and the routes you need to keep clear.
• Strengthen a useful attack. Concentrating upgrades can bring an evolution closer. Add another move when it answers a problem your current options do not cover.
• Compare effects, not just damage. Pierce and area coverage can help against crowds; reach, timing and sustained pressure matter against a single target.
• Use stat cards deliberately. Consider movement, survival or other partner boosts when the move offers do not suit your run.
• Read reroll availability. If a reroll is offered, consider it when none of the cards helps. Use the shortcut or button displayed by the current game.

These are planning suggestions, not a fixed card order: the offers, enemies and space around you change between attempts.

Meet the recipe, then choose the evolution

For a compatible move, reach its maximum level and obtain its required upgrade card. Meeting those conditions makes an evolution eligible to appear; you still need to select it when offered. It does not transform merely because you own the card.

The reference lists 64 moves and 59 evolutions. Recipe keys include Power, Vigor, Reflexes, Sprint, Armor, Synthesis and Magnet. The required card depends on the individual move, so matching a card to a type is not enough.

Some support moves remain unevolved. Check the exact move description rather than assuming every skill has an evolution. Our current Moves reference covers all 59 documented evolution recipes, searchable by base move, evolved move or upgrade card.

Build around the attack you use

A build should help you solve a visible problem. Choose upgrades that support your active move, then keep alternative skills for situations where switching is useful. Equipping two moves does not mean both attack automatically at once.

Treat these as build patterns to explore, not tested rankings or guaranteed late-game combinations. Partner move pools, card offers and type matchups constrain what is available.

Recognise the threats inside the horde

Not every enemy creates pressure in the same way. The reference identifies five roles worth recognising:

• Healers: restore nearby enemies. Look for support behind a pack when damage seems to make little progress.
• Shielders: protect surrounding targets. Find the source of that protection instead of spending the entire fight on a covered enemy.
• Summoners: add bodies to the battlefield. Locate them when the crowd grows faster than you can clear it.
• Exploders: approach and detonate. Leave the marked danger area before returning to attack.
• Beam casters and bosses: show attack lanes or areas before the hit. Watch the filling marker and move beyond its boundary.

Support enemies can be useful priorities, but do not cross a blocked route just to reach one. A safe approach matters more than following a target order blindly.

Prepare before entering a rift

Rifts are rare portals that take you from the main map into a legendary arena. The reference describes 18 arenas, one for each type, with terrain and weather that affect the encounter. A dual-type legendary may lead to an arena associated with either type.

A reported rift victory awards 10 collection tickets. Defeat returns you to the main map. In co-op, the room enters together, so agree on readiness before anyone commits. Confirm entry and reward rules in the current game.

• Check your active move’s matchup. Compare its type with the legendary’s types, including both modifiers for a dual-type target.
• Read the floor. Lava can burn, water can slow movement and ice can change how far you slide. Relearn your stopping distance before relying on a narrow dodge.
• Keep room for the pattern. Clear nearby pressure when possible and avoid chasing damage through a telegraphed attack.

Use the rift checklist before entering and the type chart to compare matchups.

Read the matchup and the conditions

PokéSurvivor uses 18 types with softened damage modifiers: super effective ×1.6, resisted ×0.6 and immunity matchups ×0.3. For a dual-type defender, multiply the two factors and apply the ×2.4 maximum. For example, Water against Rock / Ground gives 1.6 × 1.6, capped at ×2.4.

Weather applies additional type effects; it does not replace the basic matchup. The five reported states are:

When the weather changes, review your available skills and escape route. Follow current in-game descriptions for effect strength and duration.

Use coins for upgrades and tickets for partners

Coins fund permanent upgrades for a specific Pokémon. Tickets are used in the regional collection system to unlock more partners. The game project describes both currencies as earned through play rather than sold for money.

• Regular enemies: can drop tickets during a run.
• Bosses: can also provide tickets.
• Rift victories: are reported to award 10 tickets per legendary encounter.
• Shiny variants: eligible wild spawns have a 1 in 4,096 shiny check; regional draws use a separate 1 in 100 check. Read the shiny guide for Rift odds, duplicate rules and how to select an unlocked form.

The documented roster contains 966 partners, including 29 Starters and 87 Legendaries, grouped across Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar and Paldea. Those flags are included in each region’s total.

Region counts are 151, 100, 135, 107, 141, 70, 83, 87 and 92 respectively. Use the searchable Pokédex to compare partners, types and flags before choosing which collection pool to explore.

Separate held items from permanent upgrades

Held items affect the current run. The reference describes item choices during levelling and a limit of one held item at a time. Read the effect and trade-off before replacing the item you already carry.

Regeneration effects support recovery, damage-focused items favour offence, and risk-and-reward items can exchange safety for stronger attacks. Choose for the build you are using now, not a move you might receive later.

Permanent upgrades are bought with coins and belong to an individual partner. Concentrating some investment on a Pokémon you regularly play can make its benefits easier to assess. Check the upgrade screen for costs, caps and which effects persist after a run.

Share experience and leave room to revive

Online rooms support up to four players. Use the game’s multiplayer menu and nickname or friend options to create or join a room; accounts and connections are handled by the original game.

• Experience is shared. Coordinate movement rather than splitting up simply to compete for levels.
• Reviving needs proximity. Stay beside a fallen teammate to bring them back, provided the position is safe enough to hold.
• Agree on responsibilities. Discuss who handles nearby enemies, who pressures the boss and who can move in for a revive.
• Prepare for shared rifts. The room enters together, so check the team’s readiness and available matchups first.

Our Play page embeds pokesurvivor.com. This guide does not operate game accounts, save storage or multiplayer servers.

Habits to practise

1. Look ahead of your partner, not just at the nearest enemy.
2. Leave room for your next turn.
3. Learn the reach of one attack before changing everything.
4. Know the upgrade card your chosen evolution needs.
5. Treat a dangerous ground marker as a reason to reposition.
6. Pick up rewards only when the route stays safe.
7. Try one deliberate change between attempts.
8. Check what your current attack actually covers.
9. Use a pause to read an unfamiliar choice.
10. Keep a simple regrouping plan when playing with friends.
11. Read current in-game descriptions after an update.
12. Review one useful lesson when a run ends.

Common mistakes to watch for

• Too many unfinished moves: adding skills without strengthening an attack you can rely on.
• Unsafe pickups: crossing fresh enemies for a reward without planning the next turn.
• Trading health for one more hit: remaining inside an attack marker to finish a target.
• Ignoring support enemies: letting healing, shielding or summons erase progress.
• Upgrading without a purpose: picking only damage or only defence without checking what is actually ending the run.
• Entering a rift unprepared: overlooking matchup, terrain, held item or team readiness.
• Misreading evolution eligibility: owning the required card does not mean the evolution has been selected.

Before you enter a rift

• My main attack is developed enough to handle sustained pressure.
• I have checked its matchup against both types of the target where applicable.
• I have a way to manage surrounding enemies and keep an escape route.
• I understand whether the terrain burns, slows or changes movement.
• My held item supports my current build.
• In co-op, everyone is ready and we have a plan for regrouping and revives.