Tired of Wordle and want something new to fill that void? If so, Pokemon 2048 is absolutely the game for you. It’s easy to understand, deliciously moreish, and best of all this version features Pokemon to merge and evolve. What’s not to love?
So if you’re looking to get a leg up on the competition, here are all the expert tips and tricks you need to try out.
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Pokemon 2048 Tips and Tricks
Believe it or not, there are tips and tricks anyone can employ while playing. Plus as Pokemon 2048 is a revamped 2048, all the 2048 tactics will work here as well. Great news, right?
Below we’ll break down all the winning tactics that we ourselves use.
Tip 1: Work In the Corner
Although this may sound counterintuitive, working in the corners really does work.
The idea here is to start in a corner and work your way inwards. Begin by merging two Ivysaurs into a corner. The new Charmander should be sat there looking a little lost. That’s fine, they’ll have a friend soon.
On the board should be two new Ivysaurs. Combine them while still working into the corner and you should be left with two Charmanders near one another. Merge them into a Wartortle and you’ll once again be left with two Ivysaurs.
Simply repeat the process, while still focusing on the chosen corner and you’ll rack up a new high score in no time.
Tip 2: Avoid Using Up
Sliding Pokemon up is your enemy. Don’t trust up. It’s there to throw you off.
Building on from the pro strategy above, up is known to cause a host of problems. The rough idea of Pokemon 2048 is to keep a rhythm. Repetition evolves Pokemon safely without getting random ‘mons stuck in places you can’t reach.
If you change your plan and start moving Pokemon upwards, that’s going to throw off your repetition and get Pokemon trapped with no way to access them.
Now, of course, it’s impossible to play without ever pressing up – sometimes up is the only possible move – so don’t panic too much if you do press it. Just keep this avoidance strategy in the back of your mind and only slide up if you absolutely need to.
Tip 3: Slide Around the Big Ones
Evolving monsters into more valuable Pokemon is the goal of Pokemon 2048. That said, the bigger they get, the trickier they are to manage.
Let’s say you’ve got a Simisage. First off, well done. Impressive. But what you’ll notice is you’re now stuck babysitting a Pokemon that can’t be merged any time soon.
How do you deal with this without it getting stuck? It’s tricky, but try to slide other Pokemon around the Simisage. What you don’t want to do is force it into a corner. Try to keep it in between the center and the outside wall while moving other Pokemon around them.
In this scenario your Simisage is easily accessible for when you need to create a second one, and therefore can be merged without needing to dig them out.
Tip 4: Don’t React
We’ve talked about the importance of finding a rhythm and why repetition works. While that’s still true, it’s important to remain vigilant. The moment you switch into autopilot is when the run becomes doomed and no one wants that.
To keep your brain engaged to its fullest, stop every five moves, just for a second. This won’t throw off your rhythm but it will give your brain a chance to recalibrate and assess the situation clearly.
Tip 5: Keep Similar Pokemon Near One Another
This isn’t as obvious as it sounds. Picture this: You’ve got two Charmanders and a host of different Pokemon between them. No matter what you do, you can’t make them meet.
This is the biggest run-ender in Pokemon 2048. The more Pokemon you can’t merge, the more retail estate you’re losing. The more space you lose, the fewer moves you can make. The fewer moves you can make, the closer game over encroaches.
That’s why keeping any two of the same Pokemon, or even two Pokemon that could soon become identical is so important. If you start throwing Pokemon in random directions, they will get stuck and become more useless than a broken Pokeball.
Tip 6: Avoid Random Movements
Although YouTubers can beat 2048 in around 15 seconds, that doesn’t mean you should too. Sure, it may look like they’re randomly tapping without any care for thought, but there’s a plan in motion you can’t see.
The way to beat Pokemon 2048 is through careful calculation. Don’t just throw a Pokemon in a direction and hope for the best. Think a few moves ahead. If you move that Pokemon in that direction will it get stuck? Will a new entry onto the board cause problems for it? How are you going to merge it?
Always keep asking yourself questions and thinking about what you want each Pokemon to do in the long run.
Tip 7: Up and Right For an Easy High Score
If all else fails and you want to give up (we’ve all been there), try sending Pokemon up and right. Only play the game with these two buttons.
Eventually you’ll need to bring in a third direction when you can’t move anymore, but what you’ll find is hammering up followed by right and repeating it, surprisingly, racks up a decent score without any effort.
In fact, everyone should start every game like this. Seriously, try it out, it works every single time.
What Is Pokemon 2048?
Pokemon 2048 is a revamped version of the ever-popular game 2048, only instead of numbers, it’s merging Pokemon. And yes, it’s as good as it sounds.
It’s designed by Filipe Kiss, who forked a version of the original 2048 by Gabriele Cirulli.
The original 2048, by Cirulli, launched back in 2014 on Github. The popularity of the game exploded, complete with hundreds of copycat apps flooding the Google Play store attempting to cash in on the popularity. It’s like what happened with Wordle in that respect.
The aim of Pokemon 2048 is two-fold. You can either challenge yourself to best a previous high score, or you can aim to complete it by eventually merging enough Pokemon to create the final ‘mon, Mewtwo.
Where to Play Pokemon 2048
You can play Pokemon 2048 over on the Filipe Kiss Pokemon 2048 website.
Alternatively, there’s also a version featuring mega evolutions called 2048 Pokemon as opposed to the original 150 if you fancy that instead.
Which version is better? I’d argue the Filipe Kiss version, mostly because we love playing the original Pokemon games on our Anbernic retro devices. In fact, if you’ve picked up the rather pricey Win600, be sure to try Pokemon on that luscious screen. It’s worth it, promise.
