You can use type advantages to overcome each town’s Gym Leader

Each Gym usually contains several strong Gym Trainers and an even stronger Gym Leader, all of whom specialize in a certain type of Pokémon. Bring Pokémon with super effective moves to aid your way to victory!

You can dig for treasures and build a Secret Base in the Grand Underground

Pokémon Fossils, stone boxes containing Pokémon statues and other treasures are hidden beneath up to four layers of rock, and you’ll need to use your sledgehammer and pickax to excavate them. As you decorate your Secret Base, you’ll notice the orb at its entrance changing colors to reflect which Pokémon type is most prevalent among the statues you’ve set up.

If you check the effect of those statues, you’ll see that they’ve boosted the appearance rate of wild Pokémon of the same type that you’ll encounter in hideaways. The more statues you set up of a single Pokémon type, the greater this boost will be.

You can encounter surprising Pokémon in Pokémon Hideaways

After you’ve earned the National Pokédex, the number of Pokémon that can be encountered and caught in the Grand Underground will increase! Look for rare Pokémon, such as Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup in Pokémon Hideaways that feature terrains that match their respective types of Grass, Fire, and Water.

You can put on a show with your Pokémon in Super Contest Shows

The main event of any Super Contest Show is a rhythm game called the Dance Evaluation. Each time one of the Poké Ball–shaped notes that flow from the right side of your Nintendo Switch system’s screen overlaps with the line on the screen’s lower-left side, you’ll need to tap the A Button. For extended notes, you’ll need to hold down the A Button until the note ends.

Once during each contest show, you can fire off your chosen Contest Move by pressing the X Button. You can try to time this for when other entrants are performing their own moves so that you can create a Move Chain that nets more points for everyone involved. Using a Contest Move will temporarily clear the notes from the screen, so you can also use your move as a sort of panic button for when you’ve lost the rhythm or need a quick breather.

You can battle and trade Pokémon with other Trainers with local and online* play

The Union Room** is a facility where you can enjoy battling and trading Pokémon with other Trainers through your Nintendo Switch system’s local communication or online communication. In the Local Room, nearby Trainers can gather using local communication to enjoy trades, battles, and other activities. Trainers around the world can use online communication to gather in a single room for Pokémon trades, battles, and other activities.

Want to read up on more tips and tricks? Click here for handy guide to exploring the Sinnoh region.

*Any nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) and Nintendo Account required for online features. Not available in all countries. Internet access required for online features. Terms apply. nintendo.com/switch-online

**Multiplayer Union Room limited to two players at launch. A software update will be released in the future to allow for additional players.

ESRB Rating: Everyone with Mild Cartoon Violence