Pokémon Masters EX gives new players a lot of sync pairs very quickly, and almost no guidance about which ones deserve resources. Because upgrade materials are the real bottleneck — not pairs — spreading them thin is the mistake that slows an account down most.
This guide is about where the early investment goes.
Invest in a spine, not a collection#
You need three pairs that work together, fully built, far more than you need twelve pairs at half strength. Content is balanced against a functioning team, so a single strong trio will clear things that a wide shallow roster cannot touch.
Pick one attacker you like, one support that keeps it alive, and one flexible slot. Put your materials into those three until they are done.
Which attacker to commit to#
Rather than chasing whatever is rated highest, apply three filters in order:
- Will it still be here in six months? Permanent pairs — the ones available outside limited banners — are safer investments than a limited pair you cannot get duplicates for.
- Does it set up on its own? Attackers with self-buffing trainer moves work in any team. Attackers that need a specific partner do not work until you own that partner.
- Is its type useful to you? Coverage matters less than having something that reliably hits hard, but if you already have two of the same type, branch out.
An attacker that satisfies the first two is worth more than a stronger one that fails them.
Supports are the real unlock#
New players consistently under-invest here, because a support's contribution does not appear as a big number on screen. It should be the opposite: a support that heals, buffs and accelerates the gauge raises the output of your whole team, and it stays useful across every piece of content in the game long after individual attackers fall out of favour.
If you are choosing between upgrading a second attacker and upgrading your first support, upgrade the support.
What not to spend on early#
- Pairs you do not intend to build. Levelling something to "have it available" is how materials disappear.
- Duplicate roles. A third striker does not solve a stage that a support would.
- Cosmetic progression. Tempting, but it does not clear content.
Sync grids: go narrow#
The sync grid rewards depth over breadth. A path that meaningfully changes how a pair plays — a cheaper move, a stronger self-buff, a useful passive — is worth more than a scattering of small stat nodes.
Read the grid before spending. Decide what you want the pair to do, then take the shortest route to that, and stop. You can always come back for the stat nodes later; you cannot easily get spent resources back.
Lucky skills come last#
Lucky skills are a refinement, not a foundation. They matter on a finished pair and are close to irrelevant on an unfinished one. If a pair is not fully levelled with its grid path complete, a lucky skill will not fix whatever is going wrong.
A reasonable first-month plan#
- Clear story content until the game stops handing you free progression.
- Choose your trio. Write it down so you stop second-guessing it.
- Max the support first, then the attacker, then the flex slot.
- Take the shortest useful grid path on each — not the whole grid.
- Only then start a second team, for type-restricted content.
That order gets you a team that clears things by the time the free progression runs out, which is the point where most accounts either accelerate or stall.
Working out what you have#
The sync pair database filters by role and type, which makes it easy to see where your roster is thin. Most new players find they have four strikers and nothing that heals — and that is the gap worth closing first.
If you would rather see it laid out account by account, the collection tracker marks what you own and shows the holes, and the roles page breaks down how many pairs exist in each category. For the reasoning behind how pairs get ranked at all, see how to read a tier list, and for what to do with the three pairs once you have them, getting the three roles right.
