First run
Pick a partner. Roam. Moves fire on their own. Your job is to dodge and to stand in a useful place.
The guide’s tips are short. Move in wide circles so a horde lines up behind you. Use the type chart. Step out of ground markers. Take healers and shield-casters first. Spend coins on a favorite partner.
Official guide (pokesurvivor.com/en/guide/, read 2026-10-29)
Controls
On PC, move with WASD or the arrow keys. Switch moves with 1–4, with Q or E, or by clicking the icon. Orbs use 5–8. Pause with Esc.
On a phone or tablet, play in landscape. Drag to move. Tap a move. Tap an orb. Pause is at the top right.
On a controller, use the stick or the D-pad. LB and RB switch moves. X uses an orb. Y picks another. Start pauses.
News dated 2026-10-27 adds an Anchored joystick under Settings, then Controls, then Place the buttons. It appears where you put your finger and stays while you hold, even if the finger moves away. Lift and touch elsewhere, and it appears there. Floating follows the finger and stays the default.
Official guide (pokesurvivor.com/en/guide/, read 2026-10-29)
Cards and evolved moves
When you level up, you pick 1 of 3 cards. The card can be a new move, an upgrade, or a boost. Percents published on other sites are left off this page.
If a move will not evolve, first raise it to its maximum level, then watch for the upgrade card that move asks for. Once you have both, a golden evolution card appears. The official moves page lists the required card beside each move. Some moves do not evolve; the current page lists 97 evolvable moves out of 103.
The guide’s examples are Ember becoming Fire Blast and Bubble becoming Surf. News dated 2026-10-23 says evolved moves keep their name and add a plus, as in Meteor Mash +.
Check the official moves and evolution list for the move's required upgrade.
Official guide (pokesurvivor.com/en/guide/, read 2026-11-01)
Official moves (pokesurvivor.com/en/moves/, read 2026-11-01)
The partner you fund
Coins go to one favorite partner. The Kecleon Shop is where a TM for that partner shows up. Which stat matches the starting move is the first partner page. The path through the horde, the saved orb, and minute 28 is wave survival.