As Pokemon UNITE approaches its first anniversary and patch 1.5.1.7 continues to suppress the meta, what are the usage rates among top players?
S Tier:
- Absol – 22.5% (+5)
- Hoopa – 20% (+1.5)
A Tier:
- Empty
B Tier:
- Lucario – 7.5% (-0.5)
- Tsareena – 6.5% (+1)
- Blissey – 6% (-5)
- Delphox – 5.5% (+0.5)
- Cramorant – 5.5% (+0.5)
C Tier:
- Dragonite – 3.5% (-1.5)
- Slowbro – 3.5% (+2.5)
- Greedent – 2.5% (+0.5)
- Talonflame – 2.5% (+1.5)
D Tier:
- Trevenant – 2% (+1.5)
- Pikachu – 1.5% (-0.5)
- Garchomp – 1.5% (+0.5)
- Snorlax – 1% (-1)
- Greninja – 1% (+/-)
- Cinderace – 1% (+/-)
- Zeraora – 1% (-1.5)
- Ninetales – 1% (-0.5)
- Blastoise – 1% (-2)
- Machamp – 1% (+0.5)
- Mamoswine – 1% (+0.5)
- Venusaur – 0.5% (-1.5)
- Decidueye – 0.5% (-0.5)
- Crustle – 0.5% (+0.5)
Aegislash, Wigglytuff (-1), Espeon (-1), Charizard, Eldegoss, Gardevoir, Azumarill, Sylveon, Duraludon, Gengar and Mr. Mime all saw no noticeable usage among top 100 players.
Below are the changes among the monthly usage rates among the top 10 Pokémon:
With the fourth season of Pokémon UNITE coming to an end and the first anniversary of the game fast approaching a patch should be arriving soon. Over the past month the game has been increasingly dominated by Absol and Hoopa. Blissey, while still incredibly powerful, has been diminishing in usage rates as the buffs to other defenders from the recent patch begin to finally settle in. All-rounders and attackers on the other hand are maintaining more volatility in their roles. With those situations, which Pokémon are in most needs of nerfs or buffs?
Who needs a nerf?
Absol, for one. With the burst damage Absol is able to dish out the game really needs to pull it back in line with other speedsters. The balancing act is tough here though: speedsters have to compete with many attackers and even some all-rounders for the jungle position.
Hoopa as well. Hoopa has received a lot of nerfs since its release: from a weakening of Trick to a damage reduction in its unite move. Hyperspace Hole still promotes a lot of mobility and healing for players despite having a lower cooldown than Snorlax’s Yawn. A cooldown increase on Hyperspace Hole along with a small reduction to Hoopa’s defensive stats could probably go a long way.
Blissey. Blissey, despite dropping in usage, remains incredibly powerful. A small cooldown increase in egg recharge time would dramatically reduce Blissey’s damage and healing output in prolonged battles. Safeguard isn’t broken, but more of a necessity in a game with so much crowd control and stun locking.
Who needs a buff?
Eldegoss. The best way to indirectly nerf Hoopa and Blissey is to bring back some of its healing ability. The last Cotton Guard nerf saw its healing ability reduced by more than 50%. Cotton Guard should see a moderate restoration from that nerf: bringing back either the percentage of health it heals or the size of the shields.
Azumarill, Charizard, Garchomp or Machamp. These four all-rounders see almost no play. Increasing their viability early game to compete with Lucario and Tsareena could go a long way in promoting long-term meta health for the top lane. Lucario has, until recently, absolutely dominated that role. The Tsareena buffs have done a great job in promoting health in the meta, but the game needs to really double down on creating competition in that role.
Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff received a lot of nerfs, especially to its unite move, throughout the second and third seasons. These nerfs were largely based off of the Score Shield and Buddy Barrier mechanics at the time. Now that Buddy Barrier shielding has been weakened and Score Shield isn’t as reliable of an item, Wigglytuff’s nerfs have left it clearly outclassed. By buffing Wigglytuff’s unite move and its off-meta Rollout, Wigglytuff would not only see its usage rates increase, but see more variety in how it is used.
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 16 ranked matches. In the event of a tie or near tie the data will reflect that. When more than two Pokémon are tied, the 32 most recent matches will be considered instead.
