Pokemon Unite is filled with some of the most popular Pokemon from the 25-year-old franchise and has seen even more added in the months since the game's launch earlier this year. The MOBA collaboration between The Pokemon Company and developer TiMi Studio Group has seen several fan-favorites like Dragonite introduced with multiple additions to the game's roster coming each month. Now, recent data taken from the game's Master Rank players showed who some of the most popular Pokemon are among its top players.
Roster additions since Pokemon Unite's July launch have brought the game's roster up to nearly 30 Pokemon between classic staples like Blastoise and Charizard and newer creatures like Greedent and Talonflame. The recent Dragonite update also brought a slew of balance changes including nerfs to some of the game's most powerful creatures with Gardevoir and Tsareena receiving hits among others. A recent Reddit post from a prominent data supplier in Pokemon Unite's community listed the most popular choices of the game's Top 100 Master Rank players.
The post from Reddit user duelaxis lists the top ten most-played Pokemon throughout the last 20 ranked matches of Pokemon Unite's 100 highest-ranked players. Lucario holds steady as the top-ranked Pokemon among Unite's elite players, a consistent staple of the game's competitive scene since its launch. Closely following Lucario are the other two Pokemon whose player usage sits above 10%, Eldegoss and Venusaur. Other major changes on the list include the recently-added Tsareena jumping to fifth place and Gardevoir climbing to seventh, bolstered by buffs in Tsareena's release patch.
While the top 10 Pokemon remained relatively stable with few changes outside of the rise of Gardevoir and Tsareena, the 11th through 20th place rankings changed significantly with several popular Pokemon shuffling rankings. Nerfs to Zeraora in Pokemon Unite's early December update earlier this month saw the powerful Pokemon take a massive dive in pick rate, dropping by 5% and falling five spots in the ranking. Popular Gen 8 starter Cinderace also saw a significant bump following the patch with Blaze Kick and Feint both receiving buffs.
As Pokemon Unite nears its six-month anniversary in January, the popular MOBA has been no stranger to controversy related to its monetization. Early in the game's life, its 'held item' system was criticized significantly for being pay-to-win and exorbitant pricing on Unite's Holowear cosmetics have drawn significant criticism from fans of the game wary of its microtransaction-based model. However, Pokemon Unite has remained a popular title among Pokemon fans and MOBA fans alike and will look to build on the success the game has seen throughout its formative months.
Pokemon Unite is available now for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices.
Source: Duelaxis/Reddit