Get an overview of Pokémon UNITE's competitive metagame

Picking your Pokémon is one of the first things you do in a match, so it’s a good place to start here, too. When it comes to competitive play, you’ll often see certain Pokémon on paths you might not expect from their usual roles. In your own matches, for example, you might have seen a lot of Speedsters get chosen to battle in the central area. But competitive players might take a different approach and choose an Attacker Pokémon like Cinderace instead. This is because Attacker Pokémon like Cinderace, Greninja, and Decidueye need plenty of Exp. Points to evolve and become super powerful, and the central area provides a lot more Exp. Points than either the top or bottom paths. So when that Raboot does evolve into Cinderace, look out! More often, when you do see a Speedster like Talonflame in competitive play, it might be heading to the top path to join an All-Rounder like Lucario instead.

You’re also going to see a smaller pool of Pokémon chosen for competitive matches. Players have had a lot of time to figure out which Pokémon work best in each position. Because of that, you are going to see plenty of Pikachu, Venusaur, and Lucario picks but not very many of Cramorant or Tsareena. However, as more Pokémon are released and the game gets updated with balance patches, the most-played Pokémon don’t always stay the top picks for long.