Patch 1.4.1.7 proved to be incredibly restrictive in the Pokémon UNITE meta. The introduction of Duraludon led to one of the largest single shocks to the meta, but the week after saw historically low changes in usage rates among Pokémon. The meta was stagnating much more quickly than normal, with a real fear that Duraludon would dominate the meta in the same way Dragonite had done during the holiday season.
Then patch 1.4.1.10 appeared and things loosened up significantly among the top 100 players.
S Tier:
- Lucario – 15.5% (+1.5)
A Tier:
- Talonflame – 13% (+7)
B Tier:
- Wigglytuff – 8.5% (+1)
- Hoopa – 8% (-2.5)
- Duraludon – 6% (-16.5)
- Greedent – 6% (+1)
- Decidueye – 6% (+3)
C Tier:
- Slowbro – 4% (-2)
- Cinderace – 4% (+4)
- Blissey – 4% (+1)
- Venusaur – 3.5% (+2)
- Absol – 3.5% (+1.5)
- Ninetails – 3.5% (-2.5)
- Blastoise – 3.5% (+/-)
- Machamp – 2.5% (+0.5)
- Mime – 2.5% (+1)
D Tier:
- Greninja – 2% (+2)
- Crustle – 1% (+1)
- Zeraora – 1% (+1)
- Trevenant – 1% (+1)
- Pikachu – 0.5% (-3)
- Tsareena – 0.5% (-0.5)
Aegislash, Charizard, Cramorant (-1.5), Dragonite, Eldegoss, Gardevoir, Gengar, Mamoswine, Snorlax and Sylveon all saw no noticeable play among top 100 players.
Additionally, here are Pokémon ranked by four-week moving average:
Duraludon down
Lucario may still be dominating the top lane in the high-level meta, but other roles seem to be wide open at the moment. Patch 1.4.1.10 saw Duraludon’s usage rates drop around 75%, opening up a lot of space for other damage dealers to occupy.
Duraludon is still sitting as the most used attacker in the game, though, tied with Decidueye at 6%. Historically speaking, this is among the lowest usage rates for a “most used” attacker, showing the real volatility that currently exists.
Venusaur and Pikachu are still in a worse position than they were prior to patch 1.4.1.7. While Venusaur is appearing to rebound slightly, Pikachu’s lack of mobility is causing it to teeter toward irrelevancy.
Talonflame’s ascent
Speedsters are on the rise again, with Talonflame and Absol recording their highest usage rates in the history of the game. Neither received buffs in the last round of patches, but nonetheless they have replaced the traditional attack-damage-carry Pokémon like Cinderace and Greninja in the meta.
Blissey is a… defender?
Blissey’s usage rates are also seeing a slight upswing. With Eldegoss still out of the meta and Hoopa playing a very different supporter-style role, Blissey has begun developing a niche as a supporter/defender hybrid. While Eldegoss and Blissey were often considered mutually exclusive options, Blissey and Hoopa are often used in tandem in tournament settings.
With so many Pokémon seeing moderate showings among the top 100 players, it is likely the meta will continue to shift. This is a much healthier position for things than last week when usage rates were incredibly lopsided. Now that things have leveled out, usage rates show most playstyles have multiple options and there are very few Pokémon that clearly outclass others.
Methodology: This data is collected using both the rankings tab in Pokémon UNITE and the Pokémon UNITE API. A Pokémon is considered a “main” of a player if is it the most played Pokémon in their most recent 15 ranked matches. In the event of a tie or near tie the data will reflect that. If more than two Pokémon are tied, the 25 most recent matches will be considered instead.
