Reviewed by Yihan, prohibit reproduce without permission.

Pokémon Masters EX is a free-to-play mobile role-playing game for Android and iOS developed by DeNA and released in August 2019. The game is set on the artificial island of Pasio, which allows players to fight and recruit various famous Pokémon trainers from the main series. The game features a 3v3 battle tournament called the Pokémon Masters League on the island of Pasio. The main goal of the player is to become its champion. To enter the Pokémon Masters League, players must collect at least five badges by defeating the PML leader. Players can also participate in regularly updated limited-time events, ranging from single-player story events to cooperative multiplayer events, where players can team up to defeat powerful enemies to earn event rewards and prizes.

Pokémon Masters EX uses the same formula as many other mobile RPGs, but with a different Pokémon theme. Players have to use premium currency to try and randomly get the character they want, and players also need to grind materials to upgrade the unit until the unit's cap is unlocked, or it's stronger. In the game, players will need to hone and strengthen their team to battle against familiar Pokémon trainers from across the series. The gameplay itself is simple. Each Sync pair has four abilities. Each of them will start with two, and the other two will be unlocked by grinding materials. These abilities aren't all Pokémon moves. Some of them are trainers, and players give them a buff by shouting or encouraging their "monsters". Players will need to plan which moves to use in a duel in a three-on-three battle, as each move has a point cost that rises over time. One of the great things about this game is that players can fight as much as they want because there is no stamina limit in the game. You can end the story in a day or spend time honing materials to help you level up. Players control the rhythm themselves.

One of the best aspects of Pokémon Masters EX is the inclusion of many of the series' beloved trainers, but getting these characters requires spending your premium currency on random gacha mechanics. Also, its combat animations are great, which showcases the unique moves of the trainer and Pokémon, with synchronized movements as gorgeous as the Z-Moves you see in the mainline Pokémon games. The one downside, though, is that winning in battle depends more on what level your Pokémon Sync pair actually is than on any of the player's strategies. Another point about paying is that there are very few Pokémon in this game, and most of the Pokémon players see are obtained through the Gacha system. This means that players spend money just for a chance to pull the Pokémon the player wants.

Pokémon Masters EX is multiplayer, but not player-to-player feel; instead, it focuses on cooperative play. This mode works well but is a bit slower than standard combat since all three players are connected. If no available player is found, then it will place an NPC in your party and if the player disconnects, they will be replaced with an NPC. On the one hand, this solves the problems that can arise when matching, but on the other hand, it is a loss, because players need advanced Pokémon and real people to come up with strategies to make it work.

Pokémon Masters EX is a solid mobile game on the whole, perhaps one of the most complete Pokémon mobile games to date, the potential for character crossover in the game is unparalleled, I hope players who are interested in the Pokémon series give it a try, I believe, It certainly won't let you down.