While it is not the most exciting class in Pokémon Unite, Defenders can play a crucial role in the outcome of a game. These high-endurance and tanky Pokémon can help protect weaker members of your team and can act as a daunting barrier for a goal zone-bound enemy.
Despite their importance there are just four Defenders in Pokémon Unite right now, so your options are slightly limited. The lineup of Defenders in Pokémon Unite consists of Blastoise, Crustle, Slowbro, and fan-favourite Snorlax, and all have different sets of moves and abilities to carry out their defensive duties around the map.
To get a detailed look at each one, we’ve brought together their in-game stat ratings, their difficulty level, and their move sets and ranked all three of them to see which one you should take into battle. Will you join the Blastoise Bunch, the Crustle Crew, the Snorlax Squad, or the Slow-Bros?
While you can find a full Pokémon Unite tier list here featuring all 20 characters, here are the best Pokémon Unite Defenders.
Best Pokémon Unite Defender
Crustle is the best Defender in Pokémon Unite at the moment. Here’s our full rankings:
| Rank | Pokémon |
| 1 | Crustle |
| 2 | Snorlax |
| 3 | Blastoise |
| 4 | Slowbro |
1) Crustle
Difficulty: Novice
- Offense: 1.5
- Endurance: 4
- Mobility: 1.5
- Scoring: 2
- Support: 3
Crustle moves
Level 1-3
- Rock Slide: Drops large rocks on a target area. Deals damage and leaves them unable to act for a short time.
- Fury Cutter: Deals damage with swiping claws. Landing successive hits on the same Pokémon increase the amount of damage dealt.
Level 4
- Rock Tomb: Deals damage in the target area and creates a barricade of rock
- Shell Smash: A buff move that converts some of Crustle’s Defence stat into Attack and Special Attack for a short period. Also boosts movement speed
Level 6
- Stealth Rock: Throws multiple small rocks. When rocks hit a Pokémon, they will form a zone of floating rocks. Pokémon within this zone will be dealt more damage.
- X-Scissor: Deals damage to opposing Pokémon multiple times and pushes them. If a Pokémon hits something after being pushed, it will be unable to act for a short period
Unite move: Rubble Rouser
Crustle is a superb pick if you want to do everything you can to protect your goal zones. With its rock barriers from Rock Tomb and traps from Stealth Rock, it makes the job of scoring much more difficult for the opponent. Crustle’s Unite move, Rubble Rouser, sees it cover itself in a swirl of rocks and keeps its opponents from getting anywhere near it.
Despite having slow base speed, Crustle can also cover vast amounts of ground thanks to the speed boost offered by using Shell Smash. This makes Crustle the best Defender in Pokémon Unite.
2) Snorlax
Difficulty: Novice
- Offense: 1.5
- Endurance: 5
- Mobility: 2
- Scoring: 1.5
- Support: 2.5
Snorlax moves
Level 1-3
- Tackle: A simple dash move that deals damage and slows enemies that are hit by it
- Sleep: Snorlax falls asleep on the spot, regenerating health. Also hampers the movement of the opposition while sleeping
Level 6
- Heavy Slam: Deals damage to all Pokémon in the target area, and knocks them back
- Flail: A buff move that increases Snorlax’s Attack. The lower its health, the higher the Attack increases
Level 8
- Block: Snorlax puts up a wall that enemy players cannot move through. Enemies are knocked back if they touch the wall
- Yawn: Puts Pokémon within its target area to sleep
Unite move: Power Nap
Snorlax boasts the highest Endurance in Pokémon Unite, and its move set is all about disrupting the flow of a game. Snorlax’s Unite move sees it fall asleep, and deal damage to any Pokémon nearby. While using Power Nap, Snorlax also regains health and is invincible to enemy attacks. It’s a hard task to take down a Snorlax.
3) Blastoise
Difficulty: Intermediate
- Offense: 2
- Endurance: 3.5
- Mobility: 2
- Scoring: 2
- Support: 3
Blastoise moves
Level 1-3
- Water Gun: Attacks with a shot of water, shoving opposing Pokémon and decreasing their movement speed for a short time.
- Skull Bash: Fiercely rams an opposing Pokemon and leaves it unable to act.
Level 5
- Water Spout: Spouts water toward the designated location, decreasing the movement speed of opposing Pokemon in the area of effect for a short time. Upgrade: increases damage dealt by this move.
- Hydro Pump: Has the user attack by blasting out a huge volume of water, dealing damage to opposing Pokemon and shoving them when it hits. Upgrade (level 11): increases damage dealt by this move.
Level 7
- Rapid Spin: Has the user spin rapidly, changing the mechanics of its basic attacks as well as its Hydro Pump and Water Spout moves. Upgrade (level 13): also reduces the damage the user receives while using this move.
- Surf: Has the User charge forward on a wave, shoving opposing Pokemon and leaving them unable to act. The user becomes immune to hindrances while using this move and can jump in a designated direction once this move ends. Upgrade (level 13): Also grants a shield when this move hits.
Unite move (level 9)
- Hydro Typhoon: Has the user spout water to attack while spinning, throwing opposing Pokémon in a large area. This also grants the user a shield.
Blastoise is an absolute monster right now, and falls into the same category as Crustle where it can both tank damage while outputting large amounts of DPS. However, when thinking of Blastoise’s use strictly as a Defender, it falls short of both the rocky crab and Snorlax. However, it’s still S-Tier in our Pokémon Unite tier list, so definitely give it a (rapid) spin.
4) Slowbro
Difficulty: Intermediate
- Offense: 1.5
- Endurance: 4
- Mobility: 1.5
- Scoring: 1.5
- Support: 4
Slowbro moves
Level 1-3
- Water Gun: Deals damage to opposing Pokémon and decreases their movement speed. Holding down the button for this move increases its area of effect and damage
- Slack Off: Slowbro recovers its HP
Level 4
- Scald: Shoot out a jet of water that creates an area of steam. This burns enemies that go near it and slows their movement speed
- Surf: A dash move that hits in three waves. The first deals damage, while the final two will slow movement speed
Level 6
- Amnesia: Gains a defence boost and is immune to hindrance (such as Rest or Volt Tackle). Also buffs the damage of Scald and Surf
- Telekinesis: Slowbro makes opposing players float, making them a sitting duck. Using the move again will pull them in closer towards Slowbro
Unite move: Slowbeam
Slowbro is one of the most frustrating opponents in Pokémon Unite. While it isn’t quite as defensive as Snorlax and Crustle and feels closer to a Supporter, it’s definitely a great pick. Its Unite move, Slowbeam, makes it unable to move but does make Slowbro immune. It then fires a beam that deals damage and locks enemies into place so that your teammates can pile in on them.
Despite being at the bottom of this list, Slowbro is still definitely viable and a strong pick, so don’t discount it.
For our breakdowns of the other classes in Pokémon Unite, check out the following guides: