How to play PokéDive

Controls

A gamepad is mentioned in the public client. Auto-aim can be turned off in Settings. Phone play is landscape.

The first ten minutes

You choose one starter. After version 0.4 that choice is three Pokemon from each of nine regions. Pikachu and Eevee are not starters anymore. The public update list is the source for that change; a 26 October video still shows the older quartet, so I keep both readings.

Lost Pokemon can appear on a floor; version 0.4 says they no longer appear on every floor. Every fifth floor has an alpha. Every 25th floor has a route guardian, and that floor is also a stage you can continue later. Lost Pokemon follow you. An older tutorial string says the stairs secure them, while the later 0.4 notes say rescues reach town with an Escape Rope and are lost on fainting or quitting. Follow the later rope rule when planning an exit. An Escape Rope, sold by Kecleon for 750 Poke or found on listed rope floors, brings you home. If the party wipes, secured loot stays and only a quarter of unsecured Poke and resources come back.

Partners evolve at levels 25 and 50. Moves grow with use: the developer said a plus appears around 80 uses and a stronger form around 180, with Ember becoming Flamethrower. That threshold is one developer comment, not a patch note. From 0.3, each Pokemon knows the specials of its own type.

Back in town, assign rescued Pokemon by type. Grass, water, bug and ground work berries. Rock, ground, fighting, steel and fire work materials. Electric, psychic, ice, fairy, ghost and dragon work shards. The cafe cooks for the next run, the dojo trains with Heart Scales, Kecleon sells items, Audino heals, Smeargle teaches field moves, and the day care hatches eggs.

Watch a run

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PokéDive gameplay by TheDuoDesign. Press Play to load the YouTube player.