It’s time for yet another Pokémon to join the battle! This Falinks guide for Pokémon Unite will be your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about how to acquire and play as the Formation Pokémon. Like some previous character releases, Falinks has appeared alongside a special Event Pass! The pass is the only way to unlock this Pokémon for the first few weeks, so I’ll also be covering that briefly. These guys are pretty unique compared to a lot of other characters in Unite, so let’s jump into it.
You can play Pokémon Unite for free on iOS, Android & Nintendo Switch. And for you main-series Pokémon fans, visit our guide on the easiest shiny hunts for beginners in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet!
Falinks Event Pass
The Event Pass is how you’ll need to acquire Falinks for the time being. There’s both a free and paid path, but you can only acquire a permanent Unite License with the Premium Event Pass. That’ll run you 249 Aeos Gems, or about US$5. Even if you’d rather not pay for the pass, you can still test out Falinks! Use the code “FALINKS” in the Gift Exchange within the Daily Events menu. Doing that will give you a Falinks Trial License. If you want another Trial License, there’s also one available when you reach 1,000 points in the free Event Pass.
You’ll need to collect 2,000 points to unlock all rewards!
If you decide you want to grab Falinks with gems, it’s cheaper to do it now rather than later. The average price of a Pokémon is ~550 Aeos Gems, so buying the event pass is over a 50% discount!
Based on the information provided, it should take 8 days of daily missions to complete the Event Pass. If you’re impatient (I am impatient), you can also buy 100 points for 20 Aeos Gems as many time as you want. So, if you complete the 1,200 points worth of missions available to you when you start the pass, you’d need to pay 160 gems to complete the pass right away. Even then, the 409 total Aeos Gems you’d be paying is still cheaper than Falinks will cost later. Below are the missions that award you the most points upon completion.
| Score a total of 30 goals | 200 points |
| Use a Unite Move 20 times | 200 points |
| Score a total of 800 points | 300 points |
| Participate in a ranked match 10 times | 400 points |
Falinks’ Info
This is the most basic advice I can give you, if you want to experiment with your own items and move sets, that is. Falinks is a physical attacker, so be sure you’re not trying to boost its Special Attack stats with items or emblems. Additionally, be very wary of disabling Pokémon. Whether using No Retreat formation or Dispatch formation, Falinks can’t do much without using its moves accurately.
Falinks’ ability, Battle Armor, reduces damage when receiving a critical-hit. It also allows Falinks to carry slightly more energy than other Pokémon.
Move 1 (R)
Tackle can turn into either Megahorn or Iron Head.
You’ll start off with Tackle, a simple charging move. After using Tackle, you’ll get a boosted basic attack which also reduces the cooldown of Move 1 (R). This boost is shared among all three moves in this slot (R). You could theoretically use this move for mobility, but it’s a bit too slow to help you escape most enemies. Upon reaching level 10, you can choose either Megahorn or Iron Head to replace Tackle.
Megahorn is another dashing move. The main difference from Tackle, aside from damage, is the second hit. After hitting an opposing Pokémon with Megahorn, Falinks will attack once more and receive a shield. Keep in mind that Megahorn retains the boosted basic attack.
Iron Head is, you guessed it, another dashing move! Despite that, this move is very different from the both Megahorn and Tackle. Iron Head has Falinks jump to a location, dealing damage and slowing opponents in an area around it when landing. And, once again, this move retains the boosted basic attack.
Move 2 (ZR)
Bulk Up can turn into either No Retreat or Beat Up.
Bulk Up is a buffing move that increases Falinks’ Attack, Defense and basic attack speed. It’s useful for both farming and pushing in the early game. Bulk Up is especially helpful when going jungle/center. At level 6 your options are No Retreat and Beat Up.
This move seems to be the fan favorite at the time of writing, and it’s no surprise why. No Retreat puts Falinks into its formation of the same name. When in No Retreat Formation, Falinks’ attack increases and it receives decreased damage from the front. This comes with the drawback of significantly decreased movement speed; moving backwards slows Falinks even further. Another quirk of No Retreat formation is that Falinks cannot change which direction it’s facing. This can be taken advantage of when keeping in mind the head-on damage decrease.
Finally, we have Beat Up. This move has Falinks charge a short distance. If you make contact with an opposing Pokémon, two “troopers” (the smaller guys in the back) will separate from the rest of the group and begin attacking nearby enemies. Upon receiving a set amount of damage or straying too far from the leader, or “brass”, the troopers will return to the brass. This move has two charges, meaning up to four troopers can be separate from you at a time.
Unite Move
Falinks’ Unite Move, Dust Devil Formation, has the troopers run in circles around the brass. The troopers deal damage and slow anyone they hit. It has a relatively small range, though, so make sure you’re close enough to any enemies you may want to use it on. While using this move, the troopers will take reduced damage, so don’t be afraid to get close!
Formation-Specific Moves
Oh, did you think that was it? Well, you’ll be pleased to learn that Pokémon Unite‘s newest addition is a bit deeper than that. Both No Retreat and Beat Up alter the way Megahorn and Iron Head work.
Iron Head and Megahorn are both significantly affected by No Retreat formation.
No Retreat’s version of Iron Head isn’t too different from the normal version. There are only really two changes. One is that the distance you can jump is decreased in exchange for a bigger area of effect. The other is that, rather than slowing enemies when hit, Falinks will now stun enemies upon landing.
Megahorn is very, very different in No Retreat formation. No longer a dashing move, it now requires a charge up to deal much bigger damage, similar to the final hit of Azumarill’s Aqua Tail. On top of the increased damage, using the move also allows Falinks to change which direction it’s facing.
Megahorn can deal a lot of damage when positioned correctly.
Iron Head in Dispatch formation is almost exactly the same. The only difference is that any separated troopers will jump back to the brass, dealing a bit of damage on the way. Megahorn, while not as different as when in No Retreat formation, has a cool effect. When using Megahorn in Dispatch formation, if the brass hits a target, all separate troopers will slash in the direction of the brass. The troopers, however, stay in place during their attack. This can be utilized to hit multiple different Pokémon, if positioned correctly.
No Retreat Formation Build
The more popular of the movesets, at least from what I’ve seen, No Retreat formation is an excellent choice. This build focuses on a balance between offense and defense. If you care to set up emblems, go with Brown (Physical Attack) and White (HP) Emblems. Also try to avoid lowering your Attack or HP stats. If you don’t have enough emblems (or just don’t care), first of all I don’t blame you, and also they aren’t essential.
Falinks No Retreat Formation Build
Held Items
If you prefer No Retreat formation, this is a good jumping off point for a build. Razor Claw is good for combos that take advantage of Falinks’ cooldown-reduction effect; adding a bit of damage to your basic attacks between using Iron Head or Megahorn. The added Critical-Hit rate is also appreciated. If your playstyle is more scoring-heavy, Attack Weight is also an excellent choice. Weakness Policy is a no-brainer considering No Retreat formation’s damage reduction capabilities. Getting a damage boost when being hit is a dream scenario for Falinks here. And of course Focus Band is here, it’s used in so many Pokémon’s builds and there’s a reason for that. It gives a huge boost to survivability, which is hard to pass up.
Battle Items
X Speed is incredibly helpful to No Retreat Falinks, as it removes any slowing effects on Falinks. This includes the speed decrease from being in No Retreat formation. Eject Button is a decent alternative, but this is a rare situation where there’s not much of a contest as to which is better. X Attack is good if you’re confident you won’t need any mobility enhancements and want to go all-in on damage.
Dispatch Formation Build
Falinks Dispatch Formation Build
Held Items
Rapid-Fire Scarf is a great choice for Dispatch formation Falinks because the troopers’ attacks are counted as basic attacks. The reasoning for Muscle Band is the same, it boosts basic attack damage. Resonant Guard vs. Focus Band is a bit of a toss-up. Resonant Guard helps to make up for the lack of No Retreat’s damage reduction. On the other hand, Focus Band is just so nice to have. I’ll have to play around with it a bit more, but for now I think Resonant Guard is a bit better.
Battle Items
The competition between Battle Items is much more fierce here than with No retreat formation. X Speed and Eject Button have the same debate as on just about every Pokémon. Just pick whichever you prefer. Although, X Attack works on the troopers, which can be a huge help. I still think X Speed (or Eject Button, if you prefer it) is better, but any of the three work wonderfully.
Conclusion
Hopefully this has helped you get started with Falinks! I certainly don’t claim to be a master with Falinks yet (I mean, I’m writing this on release day), but I think it’s a ton of fun. If you want to read some more Pokémon-related content, check out the best locations to hunt rare shinies in Scarlet & Violet. And if you want to see some of Falinks in action, here’s a link to the official overview of its moves.
