Everything you need to know about Splatoon 3’s Pokémon-themed Splatfest
I choose you!
Splatoon 3’s first Splatfest saw players decide what to bring to a deserted island, but the choice for the second Splatfest cranks things up to eleven. Now players are faced with the age-old agonizing choice of picking a Pokémon starter type — fire, water, or grass. Just ahead of the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, a big crossover Splatfest is coming to Splatoon 3. If you’re hoping to join in on the festivities, here’s everything you need to know.
Splatoon 3 Pokémon Splatfest start and end dates
As is typical with Splatfests, the Pokémon Splatfest will run for only one weekend, from Friday, November 11 at 7 p.m. Eastern to Sunday, November 13 at 7 p.m. Eastern. When all is said and done, we’ll finally have an answer to which Pokémon starter is best.
This Splatfest answers one of the biggest gaming questions of all time.
How to join the Pokémon Splatfest
In order to participate in the Splatfest, you’ll need to officially pick your team. Luckily this is pretty easy to do, as you simply need to head to the Splatfest kiosk set up in Splatsville ahead of time. When you first load up the game and start in Splatsville, simply turn directly around and you’ll see the kiosk. Then head up to it and you’ll get the chance to pick your team and get the corresponding t-shirt to match. Keep in mind that once your choice is made it’s final, and you can’t go back and change.
The Pokémon Splatfest kiosk is currently live in the game, meaning you can head up and pick your team so you’re all set to go as soon as the event kicks off. Nintendo's official post on the Splatfest details exactly what you can do during the preview phase, saying “During the Sneak Peek phase of the Splatfest, you can choose a team, check the SplatNet 3 app to see what team your friends are planning to vote for, post artwork in the hub supporting your team, level up your Tee, wipe your Tee to get Ability Chunks or earn and spend Conch Shells at the Shell-Out Machine for in-game rewards.”
Make sure to head to the t-shirt kiosk if you want to join a Splatfest.
How Splatfests work
Once the event has started, you’ll be able to pick Splatfest playlists when you join matchmaking. You can choose between Splatfest Battle (Open) and Splatfest Battle (Pro), with the first being the more casual experience. The Pro option is where you go to face off against the toughest opponents, and winning battles earns you Power. This mode will match you against opponents that have similar Power rankings.
By completing matches you’ll gain Clout, which is used to raise your own personal Team Rank. Each rank gives your team more points and bumps up the number of rewards you’ll get from the Splatfest. Halfway through the Splatfest, the current leading team will be announced, which then unlocks Tri-Color Turf War.
In this mode, the winning team has four players, and each of the two other teams has two-player teams. The two-player teams work together but gain different points based on the amount of turf inked. When all’s said and done the Splatfest winner is determined through a number of factors, including popularity, the number of battles won, and player Clout.
What are the Splatfest rewards?
Super Sea Snails can be used by Murch, who’s sitting just by the entrance to the Plaza.
The reward for Splatfests is the super rare currency Super Sea Snails, which are used by Murch to upgrade your gear or reroll ability slots. The number of Sea Snails you get from a Splatfest depends on both your Clout level and whether you’re on the winning team. Below you can see the rewards you get based on those two factors, starting from the lowest Clout level to the highest.
- Team Fan (No Clout) - Winning team 3 snails, losing team 2 snails
- Team Fiend (100 Clout) - Winning team 5 snails, losing team 3 snails
- Team Defender (350 Clout) - Winning team 9 snails, losing team 7 snails
- Team Champion (850 Clout) - Winning team 16 snails, losing team 13 snails
- Team Ruler (1849 Clout) - Winning team 24 snails, losing team 21 snails
If you’re looking for something a little more tangible, Nintendo is actually providing a couple of physical rewards for this Splatfest, including themed Splatoon X Pokemon T-shirts and keychains. The tees are going to be available at the Nintendo New York store at “a future date.” Meanwhile, the keychains can be earned right now by spending 550 My Nintendo Platinum Points.
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