How to Update Pokémon Unite


Unsure of how to update Pokémon Unite in time for the Blastoise launch? Without an update, you'll struggle to log back in and play with (or against) your friends and rivals on patch days. And fixing the issues isn't not at clear-cut as it should be. In-game notices can be confusing, and timezone differences can muddle things further. Don't worry, though: we'll show you exactly how to handle each one down below. You'll get your blasty boi soon enough.

If you're relatively new to Pokémon Unite or just have a few lingering questions, we've probably covered them already. Read up on what those Pokémon Unite medals mean and maybe even check out our extensive Pokémon Unite tier list to find your new favourite. We also have explainers on how Held Items and Battle Items work. They're two very different things, after all.

How to update Pokémon Unite in-game.
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How to Update Pokémon Unite

In the case of the arrival of Blastoise, you need to know how to update Pokémon Unite in order for the new Pokémon to show up for purchase and battle.

Pokémon Unite updates, at least with this first fairly major one, should be downloaded automatically. If you've put your Nintendo Switch into sleep mode before a new character drop, you'll be logged out whenever you next wake your console up and told there's an update. The game will reboot and you'll land on a notice telling you to restart the game to apply it.

You don't actually need to reboot your game. It has already rebooted to get you to this point. The notice is just an instruction of how to update Pokémon Unite. Just press X to close the notice and you'll be put straight back into the game with the update applied and ready to go. It won't reboot the game again like the notice suggests.

If you happened to be disconnected from WiFi when the Pokémon Unite update went live, you might want to manually check and download the latest version.

To do this, head back to the Nintendo Switch Home menu by pressing the 'Home' button on your controller. Press 'X' while Pokémon Unite is selected to close it if it's open. Then press '+', tap into the 'Software Update' tab and finally tap the 'Via the Internet' button. This will double-check you're running the latest Pokémon Unite update and will download and apply if it not. From there, just boot up the same, press 'X' when the notice comes up and you should be good to go.

In summary, here's how to update Pokémon Unite:

  • If the game is already open, let it reboot. You can do this manually as well by pressing 'X' on the Nintendo Switch Home menu with the game selected.
  • Boot the game back up again.
  • Press 'X' when the in-game update notice appears
  • That's it!

Again, you can manually check and download the latest Pokémon Unite update by following the instructions above the bulleted list. This might be necessary if your Nintendo Switch wasn't connected to the internet when the update went live.

How to update Pokémon Unite manually through the Nintendo Switch menu.
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Why Can't I Log Into Pokémon Unite?

If you're getting hit with error messages when trying to log into Pokémon Unite, it's most likely down to your game being out of date. It's a competitive game, after all. You can't compete with someone running a different version of the game where some attacks might do different amounts of damage. That's just one example, of course.

To fix this, just follow the steps above to ensure you're running the most recent Pokémon Unite version. So long as you're connected to the internet after that, you shouldn't have any issue logging into the game.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Pokémon Unite, Pokémon, OMG Guides, and Only Mobile Gaming pages.