Guide updated
A usable starter build is Charmander with Ember → Fire Blast, one Power card and Quick Claw if found. After one rift victory, fuse Swords Dance into the same active slot. Before earning that Bond, Ember remains active by itself; Swords Dance in another slot is not simultaneous damage.
A first-run route you can follow
- Choose Charmander and keep Ember active. Move in a wide loop and collect XP behind the pack, rather than reversing into it.
- Select Ember upgrades toward level 5 and take Power when offered. Take Sitrus Berry instead if you need immediate healing; the route does not require risking the run for a card.
- Once Ember is level 5 and Power has been taken this run, choose Ember → Fire Blast on the next evolution offer. Level 5 alone does not evolve it.
- Before the 3:00 boss, leave an open route beside you. Step across charge lines and out of circles. Attack levels depend on your XP and card offers, so evolution before 3:00 is a goal, not a guarantee.
- Learn Swords Dance only while keeping a damage move. After a rift win, spend one Bond to fuse it with Ember; until then, keep Ember’s slot active. Quick Claw is optional loot, not a guaranteed pickup.
Check legality before saving
Scroll sideways to read every column.
| Rule | Result / next action |
|---|---|
| Moves | Use Pokémon-type moves plus the Normal pool and its real starting move. Charmander can learn Ember, Fire Spin, Swords Dance and Agility; it cannot add Water Gun. |
| Evolution | Level 5 plus the required run card. Keep permanent upgrades in their separate fields. |
| Slots and Bonds | Four ordinary slots; a fused group holds 2–4 moves and costs one Bond per added move. Complete the partial group before another. |
| Item and damage | One held item, one active group. Buffs support the group rather than dealing direct DPS; only count actual hit contacts. |
If a required card or item has not appeared
Keep upgrading the usable base attack and leave the evolution unchecked until its requirement is met. Use healing when needed; do not invent a second equipped item to fill the gap. Save the actual current state separately from a level-5 endpoint. The preset below is an achievable endpoint after one Bond, not your starting inventory.
Try the explained example
Tools
Related pages
Game data & sources
The linked game files show where these stats, costs and rules come from. Updates to the game may change them.
Data version: a9b21f09
- https://github.com/JPTER78/pokesurvivor/blob/a9b21f091d7e2e0b10bc9ef94836447bf63cddeb/js/data/moves.js
- https://github.com/JPTER78/pokesurvivor/blob/a9b21f091d7e2e0b10bc9ef94836447bf63cddeb/js/entities/player.js
- https://github.com/JPTER78/pokesurvivor/blob/a9b21f091d7e2e0b10bc9ef94836447bf63cddeb/js/systems/levelup.js
- https://github.com/JPTER78/pokesurvivor/blob/a9b21f091d7e2e0b10bc9ef94836447bf63cddeb/js/data/items.js
- https://github.com/JPTER78/pokesurvivor/blob/a9b21f091d7e2e0b10bc9ef94836447bf63cddeb/js/data/starters.js