Battle Types are the key to understandingPokémon Unite, the hottest new MOBA by Tencent and TiMi Studios. Each Pokémon is sorted into one of these five categories, with each having its own different strengths, weaknesses, and potential team roles.
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Upon its release on Nintendo Switch in July, the roster consists of five Battle Types. These are Attacker, Defender, Speedster, Supporter, and All-Rounder. These categories will be no surprise to long-term fans of MOBAs. But what do these categories mean forPokémon Unite? Which Pokémon is which? Here’s a simple explanation of each Battle Type.
Attackers
Pokémon with this Battle Type are currently Pikachu, Greninja, Venusaur,Alolan Ninetales, Cramorant, Cinderace, and the brand new ranged attacker Gardevoir. These Pokémon are great at dealing heavy ranged damage and some, such as Greninja, can hit a few strong blows at short ranges. Apart from Pikachu’s Thunder and Alolan Ninetales, an Attackers’ moveset struggles with prolonged crowd control. This means that players will need to rely on a strong line of Defenders and All-Rounders to dip behind and hit with long-ranged attacks whilst others absorb the hits.
However, Attackers tend to struggle with endurance and low health. Within a few hits, they will be KOd, especially because of the long cooldown period on their moves which can render them helpless. If players want to play as an Attacker, it is important they communicate with a Defender to accompany them to goals as support and safeguard their retreat.
Defenders
These Pokémon are thebulky creaturesplayers have come to know and love over the years. If a player wants to be able to wade into battle and protect their teammates from harm, a Defender is a way to go. Snorlax, Crustle, and Slowbro are a player’s choices at the moment. They work best when paired with Attackers in the Top or Bottom lane todefend goalsand form effective walls. Defenders are great at preventing enemy goals and have powerful crowd control capabilities. They can break through crowds of enemies by immobilizing them, giving Speedsters and Attackers an opportunity to break through and score.
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However, Defenders are slow to level up and, unsurprisingly, are slow to retreat. If players really want to maximize their strategy, they can root their Defender in their team’s goal to help recover passive HP. But even this might not be enough when coming up against strong Attackers.
A tip - holding a Rocky Helmet deals 3% of the players max HP to enemy Pokémon. It can even boost Health and Defense stats after a few upgrades. Winning!
Speedsters
If a player is fond of quick gameplay and scoring points, it might be worth learning how to play as a Speedster. These are Pokémon that have high mobility and will therefore often have the pressure of being their team’s main scorer. At the time of writing, the Speedsters are Talonflame, Absol, Zeraora, and Gengar. Similar to an attacker, they have low durability and are often referred to as a “glass cannon”. This high movement speed can often help them out of sticky situations, especially when paired with Battle Items such as an Eject Button or an X-Speed.
Speedsters often take the Central path, commonly referred to as “jungling”. This is because it is easier for them togrind up EXPagainst wild Pokémon, rather than risk-taking on enemy Pokémon. The central path also puts them in a great position to rush and lend support on either Top or Bottom lane if needed.
Supporters
Sometimes Supporters get a reputation as being “easy to play”, but this could not be further from the truth. In fact, a Supporter is one of the key Battle Types to have in a match-up. These Pokémon can buff allies by providing team healing, as well as inflicting status conditions on enemies. If this sounds interesting, players should choose Wigglytuff,Eldegoss, or Mr. Mime.
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A Support Pokémon works best when paired with an Attacker or an All-Rounder in the Top or Bottom lane. This means they can help other team members perform their roles better. It also means that the other team members can help to defend the Support, as these Pokémon do not have high HP values. When taking on Special Pokémon such as Rotom, Zapdos orDrednaw, a good Support Pokémon can often tip the battle one way or the other, so teamwork is key for this Battle Type.
Another tip - equip a Shell Bell to a Support Pokémon for passive healing and to stay in the match longer!
All-Rounders
If players are struggling to pick a specific role, are new to the game, or just want to try a bit of everything, then an All-Round Pokémon is a way to go. This is a balanced Battle Type that has decent Offense and Endurance and can be thrown at most situations. The All-Round Pokémon at release are Charizard, Lucario, Machamp, and Garchomp.
All-Rounders can morph to fit both an Attacker or Defender role in the team. However, they can’t fill a Supporter role and heal their teammates, which is why having a Support Pokémon in the team is so important. In terms of gameplay, All-Rounders prioritize grinding on Wild Pokémon before they go picking fights with the enemy team. They don’t have the same ranged attack skill as Attackers, which can quickly lead to disadvantageous battles. However, an All-Rounder should be able to take the hits as they retreat.
Which Battle Type is Right For You?
Like many MOBAs that came before it,Pokémon Unitehas adopted the familiar five-on-five format. All of these Battle Types have their own specific roles to play and none are better than the other. As the meta evolves, asnew Pokemon enter the battle, and as players try out different combinations, it’s certainly an exciting time to pick upPokémon Unite. One thing is for sure, however. Battle Types are going to be the key to success.
