Are you confused with the level caps in Pokemon Unbound? Let’s tackle this mechanic that makes this ROM hack more worth playing!
Level caps are an essential mechanic in every Pokemon game that enhances challenge and difficulty.
Whether you’re playing in Vanilla, Difficult, or Insane modes, understanding how level caps work will allow you to adjust your battle strategy and be more efficient in managing your team.
In this guide, I’ll show you how level caps work in Pokemon Unbound and how you can make the most out of this mechanic.
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Table of Contents
What Are Level Caps in Pokemon Unbound?
Level caps in Pokemon Unbound limit the maximum level your Pokemon can reach before obtaining a certain gym badge. This stops you from overleveling your Pokemon, ensuring that the battles stay challenging and strategic.
As soon as your Pokemon reaches the level cap, it will stop gaining the regular amount of Exp. until you defeat the next gym leader and earn the corresponding badge.
Level caps are important in Pokemon Unbound because after all, it’s a ROM hack designed to test your battling skills and make you rely on proper strategy, move sets, and team composition rather than level gaps.
Pokemon Unbound has three difficulty modes, and they have different level caps:
Vanilla Difficulty Level Caps
| Number of Badges | Level Cap |
|---|---|
| Zero | 15 |
| One | 22 |
| Two | 29 |
| Three | 33 |
| Four | 37 |
| After Tarmigan Mountain | 43 |
| Five | 51 |
| Six | 55 |
| Seven | 60 |
| Eight | 66 |
Difficult and Higher Difficulty Level Caps
| Number of Badges | Level Cap |
|---|---|
| Zero | 20 |
| One | 26 |
| Two | 32 |
| Three | 36 |
| Four | 40 |
| After Tarmigan Mountain | 45 |
| Five | 52 |
| Six | 57 |
| Seven | 61 |
| Eight | 75 |
Bying Level Caps in Pokemon Unbound
First off, traded Pokemon will obey their trainer even if they are over the level cap, unless they have been traded from another game.
Once a Pokemon you own has reached its level cap, it will stop gaining Exp., but not totally.
If a Pokemon beats an opponent right before its cap, it will gain just enough exp to reach its level cap. After that, they only gain 1 Exp. from every Pokemon they faint.
In Pokemon Unbound level caps do not completely disable Exp. gain. However, this means that your Pokemon needs to beat hundreds or even thousands of opponents before the next gym badge to go over the level cap.
In the event that a Pokemon goes over the level cap, other Pokemon in your party get their level caps lifted until they match that of the Pokemon that went over it. Is it worth grinding? Definitely not.
So, here are more practical ways to work around level caps in your game and leverage them:
- Catch Pokemon at optimal levels. If you’re planning on adding a new member to your team, you should catch them on levels as close to your level cap as possible. This reduces the need for grinding.
- Use Rare Candies wisely. Use your rare candies when you are one level away from your current level cap. Or just save them until you have 8 badges or win the league to make the most out of them.
- Balance your team. When a Pokemon is nearing its level cap, swap them out for other Pokemon in your party to balance their levels. You can also take advantage of the built-in Exp. Share.
How to Win Even With Level Caps
Since level caps don’t allow you to brute force your way out of battles or one-hit all your opponent’s Pokemon, you need to be more strategic. Here are the techniques I always use to defeat gym leaders and key battles, even with level caps:
- Battle Competitively: If you just go into gym battles like it’s still FireRed or Emerald, then you’re gonna lose. Pokemon Unbound is more strategically demanding than the original games, so battle like you’re up against real humans or trainers and play strategically.
- Battle Items: Now’s the time to use those X Attacks and Medicines you got in your bag. With level constraints, you need to use everything that will give you an advantage during battles.
- EV Training: EV training is a good way to maximize your Pokemon’s key stats within the level caps. Find the right stat to max out for your Pokemon and focus on that during EV training.
- Status Moves: If you’ve been skipping status moves, you’re decreasing your team’s efficiency. While the damage in attack moves is tempting, a STAB and a coverage move are usually more than enough for offense. Status moves can let you control the flow of a battle or take out priority Pokemon in the opposing team.
Final Thoughts
That wraps up our level caps guide for Pokemon Unbound. Now that you understand how this works, you can adjust your strategy and plan your approach for a higher chance of beating your next gym challenge.
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