PokéBonk Level-Up Guide: Moves, Enhancements & Vitamins

Quick answer

A level-up offers a new move, an enhancement or a vitamin; pick with the mouse or keys 1–3. Each card shows the exact change, and Tab opens your team without closing the choice.

What are the three kinds of card?

How do I know what a card will do?

• The level-up screen explains the actual change (old value → new value). Official, Patch #7.
• Cards, items and the shop list which moves they affect (“Affects: …”) and the cap of each vitamin or item. Official, Patch #2. Under each vitamin in the pause menu you also see which moves it affects. Official, Patch #3.
• Move cards show real damage with your current stats, cooldown, range, status effects, level 1–8 scaling and item/vitamin modifiers. Official, Patch #7.
• “See all its moves” lists every move with filters for type, physical/special and attack shape, and sorting by damage, cooldown, range or level. Exclusive and evolution moves are marked. Official, Patch #7.

What do Refresh, Skip and Exile do?

Three buttons sit under the cards, each with a counter — on our first level-up they read Refresh (2), Skip (2) and Exile (1). Observed, v0.7.2. Refresh redraws the cards and Skip takes none; Patch #2 refers to “banishing” an option, which we take to be Exile. We did not test what Exile removes or how the counters are earned, so check the in-game text.

Can I check my build during a choice?

Yes. Press Tab for “View my team” while an upgrade, item or blessing choice is open (Patch #7). The number keys 1–9 work on any keyboard layout, AZERTY and numpad included, and now on blessings too (Patch #3). Official.

Is Cursed Incense worth taking?

Its card showed +6% XP and +6% gold, with a warning that enemies become more numerous and stronger. Observed, v0.7.2. Our reading, untested: it is a snowball pick that pays more the earlier you take it, and only if your build can absorb the extra enemies.

What happens when every move and vitamin is maxed?

Each level then gives a small permanent Training bonus. See the economy guide. Official, Patch #5.

How do I read the run summary?

After a run, the panel shows time, defeats (KOs), total damage and a score. It lists your best winning streak, elemental reactions, evolutions, the reward (“Star Sand”), the damage of each move as a share of your total, and the research progress you made. Use the per-move split to decide whether to add another attack or improve your main one. A guest sees “Registered accounts only”: visitors are not included in the leaderboard. Observed, v0.7.2.

Simple upgrade rules (our reading, untested)

• Get a reliable first attack, then a second one that covers a different shape or range.
• Upgrade the move that does the most damage in the run summary.
• Compare total hits and cooldown, not only damage per hit: Foam’s card works out to about 28.8 raw damage a second (7.2 × 4 ÷ 1 s) against about 20.8 for Water Gun (18.7 ÷ 0.9 s), before hit rate and modifiers.
• Take healing or armor when your health is under pressure.