Pokemon Masters EX's New Trainer Lodge Boosts Its Character-Building Potential

gamerant.com:

Pokemon fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Scarlet and Violet this November, marking the beginning of Generation 9. A few of the series' ongoing mobile games have events to keep them occupied in the meantime, such as Niantic's Pokemon GO preparing to launch Season of Light on September 1. DeNA's Pokemon Masters EX just began its three-year anniversary celebration, which includes a handful of unique Sync Pairs with accompanying story events.

The anniversary units added this year are undoubtedly DeNA's biggest draw, with the game currently doling out access to anime star Ash Ketchum with Pikachu (in a tie-in for the ongoing Pokemon Journeys World Coronation Series), Champion Cynthia with Mega Lucario, and Champion Red with his own Pikachu. All of them utilize a new Buddy Move mechanic, which opens up powerful attacks after meeting specific criteria such as being hit a number of times. However, another big selling point for Pokemon Masters EX's anniversary is the Trainer Lodge, which acts as a pseudo-dating sim to unlock more dialogue and Pokemon for a handful of beloved characters.

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Pokemon Masters players can unlock the Trainer Lodge as soon as they complete Chapter 1 of the main story and team up with Black 2/White 2 protagonist Rosa — the first character invited to the lodge. As of this writing, eight additional characters across the Pokemon canon are on its guest list: Blue, Silver, May, Cynthia, N, Professor Sycamore, Lillie, and Marnie. However, not all of them can be invited immediately; players need to have scouted them to gain access, with DeNA planning a monthly rotating Poke Fair featuring each one. Even then, only five can visit the Trainer Lodge at once.

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