Pokémon Unite tier list: the best Pokémon to use in 2022

As Pokémon Unite players have started to optimise their gameplay, the MOBA game’s meta has gradually started to form. Right now, although the game is decently balanced, there are still a few Pokémon that stand out above the rest as OP picks – we’re looking at you, Crustle.

To help you keep track of what’s hotter than a Cinderace and colder than an Alolan Ninetales, we’ve put together a Pokémon Unite tier list of all the best Pokémon that you should be using to climb the Pokémon Unite ranks right now.

Of course, we’re not top-tier players ourselves (yet), so we have homed in on what the best of the best are piloting on each of the Pokémon Unite maps to form the basis of this list. We’ve also kept an eye out for meta-breaking options which may be more powerful than many may think, as well as recent patches that may shift the balance of power. We also appreciate that what works in Master might not be applicable further down the ladder, so we’ve also bumped up a few picks that can excel at lower ranks.

So, without further ado, here is our Pokémon Unite tier list for ranked play. Please note that, as Unite is still a very new game, this tier list will be subject to change often as players learn the strengths and weaknesses of each Pokémon over time, and fresh patches switch things up. So definitely get this page in your bookmarks to save you a click or two in the future.

Pokémon Unite tier list

S-Tier

Lucario (All-Rounder)

Lucario is a jack of all trades, master of everything, and rightful holder of the top spot on our tier list. It’s fast, it can pump out DPS, and best of all its susceptibility to disables can be covered up thanks to the introduction of Blissey.

Combine Extreme Speed with Bone Rush for a deadly one-two punch that’ll see the Fighting/Steel-type quickly home in and unleash a flurry of blows on its target.

Crustle (Defender)

To call Crustle a ‘Defender’ right now masks the fact that it is capable of dishing out tons of damage thanks to the monster buff Stealth Rock received in patch 1.1.1.6. Not only is Crustle frustratingly tanky, but it can now output the DPS to match – making this a no-brainer for an S-Tier pick.

Snorlax (Defender)

Snorlax is an absolute monster defensively, sporting two of the best moves in this class – Heavy Slam and Block. Considering how Zapdos-oriented the late game is in Pokémon Unite right now, Block is ridiculously useful for keeping teams away from the zappy bird despite its recent nerf.

Blastoise (Defender)

The tanky turtle’s cannons aren’t for show, that’s for sure. Right now, Blastoise also falls into the category of Defenders with outrageous damage output, with its Water Spout/Rapid Spin combo cranking out the DPS.

This combo also offers flexibility in how you play Blastoise. You can either lead with a Water Spout to slow opponents before zooming in with Rapid Spin, or kick off with Rapid Spin and turn Water Spout into a hard-hitting AoE. Oh, and Rapid Spin makes Blastoise unstoppable while in use,  so good luck hindering it.

Venusaur (Attacker)

Yet another Pokémon which sits in the ‘high damage, with the tankiness to boot’ category is Venusaur. Although most three-stage Pokémon are susceptible to being shut down before they can reach their final form, Seed Bomb and Razor Leaf provide long range area of effect damage, giving Bulbasaur a better chance of safely scaling into a Venusaur.

When you do finally evolve into Venusaur, caution gets thrown to the wind. Thanks to some pretty hefty buffs to its core combo of Giga Drain and Petal Dance on patch 1.2.1.3, Venusaur performs best when up close and personal. Boasting big damage, beefy defences, and the ability to regain HP, Venusaur has rocketed up our tier list.

A-Tier

Sylveon (Attacker)

When Sylveon first dropped, it was beyond strong. Quickly replacing Venusaur as the premier Attacker, Sylveon’s damage output from both Hyper Voice and Mystical Fire was absolutely absurd. Since then, the Fairy-type Eeveelution has had an axe taken to its numbers, bringing it down a peg in our tier list.

However, the combination of one of the two aforementioned moves with Calm Mind will still allow you to dish out damage while remaining suitably tanky. Scary.

Blissey (Supporter)

Blissey’s introduction in 1.1.1.6 changed the game for a couple of reasons. Firstly, its ability to both heal and provide damage buffs makes it the premier supporter – sorry Eldegoss. Secondly, Safeguard provides a direct counter to Pokémon with disabling abilities like Gengar’s Sludge Bomb/Hex, completely nullifying the potency of certain picks like the aforementioned Ghost-type.

Although taking Safeguard over Softboiled makes Blissey a wee bit squishy, and certainly dampens its healing output, the payoff can be tremendous. Indeed, Blissey has great potential in different situations.

Wigglytuff (Supporter)

Wigglytuff was an absolute monster after its patch 1.1.1.4 buffs, and sat at the very top of our tier list. Since, then, it has rightfully received a Double Slap to its damage output.

Still a very strong pick, Wigglytuff excels at setting up gank opportunities with its Double Slap/Sing combo, so definitely don’t sleep on it.

Zeraora (Speedster)

Currently the only Speedster in the upper-echelons of our tier list, Zeraora has devastating gank potential when played as a jungler. Conversely to Mr. Mime, Zeraora excels in lower elo games, where players are less coordinated and individually unable to play around his blistering pace and high damage at close range. Ultra or Master players beware, as you will be punished.

Gengar (Speedster)

Gengar was once the terror of Unite, living up to the Ghost-type’s reputation for giving people nightmares. A sizable nerf to Hex – a core component of the dreaded Sludge Bomb/Hex combo – on patch 1.1.1.4 had toned down Gengar’s DPS, while the introduction of Blissey on 1.1.1.6 completely nullified this combo thanks to Safeguard.

However, as the meta has evolved, Gengar now finds itself a solid pick once more – even if it hasn’t quite returned to its terrifying heights.

Cinderace (Attacker)

Cinderace was widely considered the best Pokémon in the game when it first launched, but subsequent nerfs to core moves like Feint and Blaze Kick neutered the rabbit.

Recently, however, the tides have turned for Cinderace, as power has been returned to its kit, and core cooldowns lowered.

Pikachu (Attacker)

Everyone’s favourite electric mouse Pokémon remains a solid choice if you’re looking to climb the Pokémon Unite ranks. Although Pikachu isn’t a particularly strong pick late in the game due to its poor defenses, its damage output remains solid.

Moves like Electroweb and Electro Ball can lock down opponents, and combo extremely well with its Unite Move. This allows Pikachu to completely nuke down multiple opponents in fights, if it can survive long enough. Although you won’t see many Pikachu running around Master rank, it’s a very accessible option for all players.

Alolan Ninetails (Attacker)

Similarly to Pikachu, Alolan Ninetails can both put out solid DPS and provide crowd control in fights. However, it requires much more effort to ramp up the damage and proc the CC if players opt for the Avalanche/Blizzard build.

We’ve also seen players running the Dazzling Gleam/Aurora Veil combo to great effect. This build is more focused on sustained damage output, while remaining suitably tanky thanks to both Aurora Veil’s effect and strong itemisation – in this case Muscle Band, Wise Glasses, and Shell Bell.

Cramorant (Attacker)

Oh look, another Attacker at the top of the A-Tier rankings. Well, since the influx and rise of top-tier Defenders and Supporters, this class isn’t as susceptible to being cowed out by Speedsters as it once was.

With a strong early game and one of the best offensive Unite Moves in the game right now, Cramorant can quickly snowball their lane and provide plenty of power in teamfights. However, with a skillshot-based kit, you have to hit your Hurricanes and Surfs to really be effective – so get practicing.

Mr. Mime (Supporter)

Mr. Mime is an A-Tier pick, but only when played to its fullest potential due to the complexity of its kit. This not only requires the player to have a strong level of Mimey mastery, but for it to also synergise properly with its team. As such, we would recommend against casually picking up Mr. Mime in lower elo games, unless you have a burning desire to learn the Pokémon inside and out.

B-Tier

Greninja (Attacker)

After the original nerfs to Cinderace, Greninja briefly shot up the rankings. The froggy boi’s Smokescreen/Surf combo provides great utility, while Surf provides bonus damage to low HP targets alongside a cooldown reset if it knocks out an opponent – nasty.

Throwing on damage-boosting Held Items like a Muscle Band, Float Stone, or Attack Weight will turn Greninja into the sneakiest of glass cannons. However, Greninja’s mobility was hit hard with the Smokescreen nerf in patch 1.1.1.6, making it much harder to really take advantage of his combo. As such, his short time as an S-Tier pick has come to an end.

Mamoswine (Defender)

While Mamoswine doesn’t really do much in the DPS department like Crustle and Snorlax, it is still an incredibly tanky option. What’s more, all of its abilities have a crowd control element, meaning there is great flexibility in how you can play Mamoswine depending on the state of the game.

If you want to control an area, then opting for Icicle Crash and High Horsepower will give you great teamfighting tools. Meanwhile, Ice Fang and Earthquake will help you lock down single targets, or even smaller skirmishes should the stars align.

Eldegoss (Supporter)

Eldegoss is an essential part of most team comps, being only one of two dedicated healers (alongside Blissey) currently in the game. While Cotton Guard received a big nerf recently, the move remains core to Eldegoss’ build, which also incorporates Pollen Puff to maximise healing.

Slowbro (Defender)

Unlike Lucario, Slowbro is more ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ – it has less HP than other Defenders, its main Telekinesis/Surf combo plays more like a Supporter’s kit, and the DPS it outputs is low – especially after the recent nerf to Surf.

However, its ability to do a bit of everything makes it a valuable pick, especially as it can tech into a number of different builds based on what the team needs throughout the game. If you want more damage, take Scald. If you need to be tankier, take Amnesia.

Talonflame (Speedster)

Talonflame is the Pokémon we’ve seen the most varied reaction to, with some players rating it as an A-Tier pick, while others see it as a C-Tier at best. We’re currently quite happy to sit on the fence here.

While Talonflame is incredibly mobile and can swiftly gank and snowball lanes from the jungle, it needs to reach level seven safely to come online. From there, as Master tier bird main ‘stingray hours’ says, it can be played effectively as a backline assassin. However, this requires solid coordination from the team to allow the space for Talonflame to get in and do its job.

Mid-high elo players will be best positioned to take advantage of Talonflame’s pick potential later in the game, while lower elo players are more likely to have more joy snowballing lanes where their opponents won’t know how to play around its mobility.

C-Tier

Absol (Speedster)

‘Absol? In C-Tier? Why?’ we hear you cry. Well, for all the Speedster’s mobility and burst damage, it falls off in the late game hard – not the best choice when Unite’s meta right now is all about those late game Zapdos fights. Additionally, while best played as a jungler due to its fragile nature, there are other picks in that position that outclass Absol currently such as Cinderace and Greninja, sending it further down the pecking order.

Machamp (All-Rounder)

There is literally nothing scarier in Pokémon Unite than a Machamp charging at you, before inevitably catching and clapping your cheeks. The combination of Submission and Cross Chop make for huge crits, however with all this oomph there has to be some drawbacks.

Firstly, as a three-stage evolution Machamp can be shut down early before reaching its full potential. Additionally, the Pokémon has a deceptively-high skill ceiling, as it requires strong macro awareness as to not get caught overextending constantly. However, if you can pick your moment to put the ‘HAM’ in ‘Machamp’, then Machamp will cause the enemy team nightmares.

Gardevoir (Attacker)

Gardevoir is a classic glass cannon – if you can safely evolve and scale from Ralts into this final form, it will output unreal amounts of damage. It’s for this reason that Gardevoir is best played in the botlane, where you can (hopefully) snag Dreadnaw as it spawns to reach your level six power spike.

Of course, being a glass cannon, Gardevoir is incredibly fragile, and if shut down early will only be a hindrance to the team. It’s high-risk, high-reward – certainly more so than Greninja, though we’d always recommend taking the stealthy frog in uncoordinated games for that added layer of safety Smokescreen provides.

D-Tier

Garchomp (All-Rounder)

Garchomp may have received a couple of buffs on 1.1.1.6, but the Dragon-type is going to need a lot more than that to bring it into the spotlight. Similarly to Gardevoir, Garchomp requires a lot of time to ramp up and become useful.

However, while it is more durable than Gardevoir, Garchomp’s DPS – even in the late game – can still be pretty-closely matched by other Pokémon higher up the tier list. Right now, it’s not worth letting your team play 4v5 until you come online, unless of course you literally only downloaded this game to one-trick the chompy fella.

Charizard (All-Rounder)

The darling of Generation One, and the king of all Pokémon cards, Charizard is, surprisingly, pretty bad right now in Unite. The iconic Fire-type takes too long to come online, and unlike Gardevoir or Garchomp doesn’t pack the punch that merits that payoff. When Charizard does get to spread its wings, it provides a pretty devastating Unite move that can decimate a single target, but nothing that will provide a major impact in a late game teamfight. *Sad Charizard noises*

So there you have it, our complete Pokémon Unite tier list. If you’re looking for more info on what each Pokémon does, you can check out our full list of Pokémon Unite Attackers, Defenders, All-Rounders, Speedsters, and Supporters for a complete rundown of their moves and more.