How to claim Zeraora in Pokemon Unite

Pokemon Unite landed on Nintendo Switch this week, allowing players to go head-to-head in 5v5 battles similar to those found in MOBAs like League of Legends or Dota 2. While Pokemon Unite is a good amount more casual than either of those games, picking the right Pokemon for the job is still an important thing to consider. You’ll need to purchase Pokemon with various forms of in-game currency before you can use them in battle, but Pokemon Unite does start you off with some freebies. Until August 31st, one of those freebies is the mythical Pokemon Zeraora.

Zeraora is one of the launch promotions Tencent and The Pokemon Company are giving away at the start of Pokemon Unite‘s run. Everyone playing the game can add the Pokemon to their roster permanently by logging in before August 31st, but the game doesn’t bring up the promotion in any conspicuous way. In fact, when I first started playing, I even completely forgot about the Zeraora promotion until I encountered another person playing as Zeraora.

With a main menu screen that’s absolutely packed with different icons vying for your attention, it can be hard to know where to go to claim this mythical monster. Luckily, the process is straightforward once you cut through all the noise: Simply open up your mailbox by pressing X on the main screen, and there should be a message containing your Unite License for Zeraora. Claim that and Zeraora will be in your Pokemon collection permanently.

Those paying particularly close attention will realize that the free Zeraora promotion ends on August 31st, while the mobile versions of Pokemon Unite aren’t out until sometime in September. So does that mean mobile users won’t be able to get Zeraora? Nope! The Pokemon Company has already confirmed that there will be more ways to obtain Zeraora beyond this promotion, so those planning to play on mobile can breathe a sigh of relief.

At this early stage, Zeraora has emerged as one of the game’s stronger characters. While that could change as the meta becomes more established, Zeraora is at least a good Pokemon to play while everyone learns the ropes. Are you a Zeraora main? Head down to the comments section and let us know what you think of the mythical Pokemon’s capabilities in Pokemon Unite!