High Tier Scrappy / Pokémon Unite

Pokémon Unite is derided among both its own community and those from outside it for a variety of reasons, but one major issue is a persistent one: the game's notoriously awful balancing. As one could expect out of such a game, various Pokemon have popped up to devastate the meta. Below is the list of Pokemon that have earned the community's scorn for their power.

As the game has rapidly changed its meta over its years of existence, the list of Pokemon is sorted via the years they were first considered a High-Tier Scrappy in.

2021

• Eldegoss completely outclassed other Supporters by being the only Pokémon at launch that could provide healing, meaning that almost every team would appreciate its pick, regardless of the stage of the game. This has become downplayed as time has passed and other Supporters that could provide healing were added, though Eldegoss remains a worthy pick still. Notably, Eldegoss is still somewhat viable even in modern metas, although Blissey has since overshadowed it as a healer.
• A good Cinderace is generally slippery to handle even with its squishiness as it has access to two skills that gives it a lot of invincibility frames. In addition to having a strong Basic attack as well as comparably faster basic attack speed, these stats and skills makes Cinderace an almost unhittable Glass Cannon. Since 2023 however, Cinderace has dropped off hard and is now rarely seen in use by many players.
• Greninja had almost always been constantly picked in higher levels of play for being the most flexible, if not the best, Fragile Speedster option, more so than most characters in the Speedster role. Greninja's auto-attack is about just as fast as Cinderace's, but said auto-attack works differently as well, since, while he has ranged basic attacks, he deals more damage at melee range (with the animation and boosted attack being completely different as well) and his skills can complement how a Greninja user plays, whether they want to try Greninja as a Glass Cannon or a Fragile Speedster. Since 2022 its pick rate there has plummeted in favor of other more broken Pokemon.
• Lucario has been ranked high for both its Attack power and his defensive stats. While Machamp and Garchomp are also both tanky, powerful and fast, Lucario does not need to hit two level spikes to feel like he's contributing in the lane, which makes him formidable especially if you see a Lucario in the same lane with either a Snorlax or any Support Pokémon. It's since been power-crept out of this position, though, due to the addition of hardier or more damaging Pokémon with the same niche (such as Urshifu, Zacian, Zoroark, and Lapras).
• A Gengar with Sludge Bomb/Hex has unparalleled burst damage, all while being very hard to target as Hex's refreshing cooldown when it strikes a target with a status effect means it's using Teleport Spam to repeatedly blink onto its targets with tons of frames of invincibility. This combo only requires hitting a generous area-of-effect and then rapidly tapping the ZR button, rendering Gengar's supposed "Expert" difficult rating moot. All of this means you'll be seeing Gengar a lot, and if the enemy Gengar knows what they're doing at all, you're in trouble. This was most infamous around the game's launch, where the generally lower skill level of the playerbase turned those who mastered this combination into monsters who could easily gain over forty kills per game. The August 4th, 2021 update nerfed this option for gameplay balance's sake, and it has also since been power-crept into oblivion.
• Blastoise was the first Pokemon that could really be considered to be an "unkillable tank". not only was it saddled with a bunch of hidden mechanics and bugs (such as being able to use its basic attacks during Rapid Spin, basic attacks boosting every move, various cooldown bugs, and overall it did massive quantities of damage while being too tanky to kill. Eventually, it was nerfed in time for the mobile release of the game.
• Sylveon was this for a short while, as his Mystical Fire + Calm Mind combination did far too much damage, especially since Sylveon received his power boost via evolution earlier than any other Pokemon in the game at the time (Lvl 4 instead of Lvl 5 or 6). In addition, Mystical Fire was bugged so that the subsequent hits would deal full damage to the same target if they weren't fired in the next second after the first one, alowing Sylveon to shred through enemies easily. Sylveon is also notable as it was the first Pokemon in the game's history to receive an emergency patch after two days that managed to resolve its power, via nerfing Mystical Fire and Calm Mind.
• Greedent was the definition of an "unstoppable force" both figuratively and literally. Being equipped with the capacity to heal itself on top of being very naturally tanky, Greedent was also saddled with a lethal close-range attack (Belch) as well as Covet. Covet gave Greedent a large speed boost and at the time had nearly full uptime, while allowing Greedent to replenish its HP and also it gave Greedent the Unstoppable condition (meaning it couldn't be stunned at all). The cherry on top was a bug that allowed Greedent to near-instantly spam Belch while under the effects of Covet and its Unite Move, making the rodent practically unkillable and able to steal objectives with impunity (which back in 2021 where objectives were far more game-deciding was awful to deal with). Greedent was broken enough that it popularized the "jungle stealing" meta as it was the first Pokemon to really be able to do so with ease. It was eventually nerfed via bug fixes, the downgrading of Covet's Unstoppable effect to the more balanced Hindrance Resistance and now it is considered rather average.
• Tsareena was interesting, as she was a frail Pokémon who could sustain herself via attacks to survive for longer. Unfortunately for the community, Tsareena's healing was incredibly high, which was enough to sustain her through large clashes. Coupled with her Queenly Majesty ability giving her free additional moves to use, Tsareena became practically impossible to kill - players couldn't team up on her and kill her as she'd just outheal and kill them all, and players couldn't solo her due to her deadly single-target Unite Move. The only real way to defeat Tsareena was to stun them and then quickly squash the fruit before she could recover. Eventually, later patches nerfed this healing ability and ironically sent Tsareena plummeting to the lower tiers of viability.
• Rounding off the year with a bang, Dragonite at first didn't sound too crazy, until it was discovered how versatile and powerful Dragonite's Unite Move was. The Unite Move's global range acted as practically an effective way to cut off fleeing enemies, secure objectives like Zapdos, and just devastate enemies in general, from across the map. In addition, if just used to cut off enemies from fleeing nearby, the Unite Move had a ridiculously fast cooldown. The worst part was that this was during the Buddy Barrier meta, which would also apply the shield every time Dragonite would use its Unite Move. Dragonite would eventually be nerfed by reducing the damage of its Unite Move and also doubling the cooldown.

2022

• Hoopa is an interesting Pokemon, as in the game's notoriously awful Solo Queue, Hoopa reverts to being a terrible pick that can barely support its team. As part of a larger group however, Hoopa becomes a devastating Pokemon. Not only does it have a way to allow its teammates to effectively heal decent chunks of their HP without harm anywhere on the field, but it also had a devastating Unite Move that not only allowed for your entire team to gather at one point at once, but also did a massive amount of damage. It has received multiple nerfs and balance changes, as well as general overshadowing in favor of other pairs, but it still retains a spot in the higher tiers.
• Duraludon was an incredibly lethal glass cannon, whose attacks did massive damage and with a long-range that let it shred enemies and objectives from afar, or alternatively it could shred and secure objectives with its strong auto-attacks and Dragon Pulse. Duraludon can also compensate its low mobility with Dragon Tail, which lets Duraludon stun and shove enemies away, or chase fleeing enemies. It was so deadly that Duraludon is infamous for being so broken that it brought Decidueye (historically one of the worst Pokemon in the game) into the spotlight for the simple reason that Decidueye outranged Duraludon and could assassinate it at its own game. Duraludon has since been nerfed and with the heavy rise of agile and tanky Pokemon, as well as the increasing prominence of its old enemy Decidueye, Duraludon has since fallen off hard.
• With the overhaul and implementation of the new Theia Sky Ruins map, a trio of Pokemon known as the "Triad of Doom" exploded into prominence, creating a meta that is often described to be the worst one that isn't influenced by EX Pokemon.
  • Mr Mime was reworked into something that could be actually usable. Except, their changes (reworking Mr Mime's Guard Swap to instead buff its attack/speed and healing allies being the primary change) accidentally turned it into a ridiculously overpowered stun-damager, requiring multiple patches (including a rare emergency patch) to stop the ridiculous sight of a Pokemon which was meant to be a Supporter winning 1v5s. It has since been nerfed back into obscurity.
  • Mew is a devastating character equipped with multiple moveset combinations that could be switched out on demand. It was capable of customizing its loadout from a close-range brawler, to a team support, to a sniper practically on demand, and it was also rather tanky to boot. The only thing that gatekept Mew from total dominance was its ridiculously high skill ceiling, but players whom mastered Mew were able to do a lot of damage to enemies.
  • Glaceon is perhaps the most infamous of the three, as it was the only one of the three to remain viable and it even returned to prominence multiple times in the coming years. Glaceon was essentially a deadly burst attacker which received its power boost early and didn't need to aim -it could simply lock onto opponents and attack them, dealing massive damage that couldn;t be stopped in any way short of having another tankier teammate take the damage for you. Because of its low effort that could still inflict tons of damage, it was really hard to deal with (especially because Glaceons could lock on opponents and instantly flee, due to the attacks able to hit opponents from across the map and even their own base. Glaceon fell out of popularity for a while, but then returned with a vengeance with the prominence of EX Pokemon Zacian and Mewtwo and the release of its fellow glass cannon attacker Inteleon. While it has mostly declined due to nerfs, it still remains a solid Pokemon to this day.
• Sableye was a terror to deal with due to its insane skills; from a ridiculously long stealth mode that allows it to go anywhere undetected, high speed to escape conflicts rather too easily, to inflicting an extremely crippling stun to a single foe that lasts for about 5 seconds which is even worse than getting hit by regular Hypnosis. It's worth noting that Sableye wasn't that difficult to kill, but its stuns and hit-and-run nature made it incredibly difficult to actually kill, as well as its abilities being able to affect the entire enemy team. Unite-DB, one of the primary fansites, has compared it to Teemo on at least one occasion to describe the vitriol towards it. Even after being nerfed to no longer be an overpowered crowd-control monster, Sableye still gets flak for how annoying it is to fight.

2023

In general, this year is considered to be one of the worst years in balance compared to any of the other years by the community, with the primary culprits shown below:

• Urshifu was released in 2022, but catapulted into popularity in 2023 due to its deadly power. The Single strike variant at first overshadowed the Rapid Strike variant, due to its deadly power, mobility and insane ability to secure objectives. Then it was nerfed, and the Rapid Strike variant, with its increased power and deadly ability to defeat enemies in teamfight, took over as the more dominant variant. It didn't help that not only was its primary weakness (a terrible early game) easy to nullify (simply have it be the jungler), but it was prominent as a power amplifier to the broken EX Pokemon.
• Comfey is a funny case, as it was widely prophesied to be game-breaking due to being an expy of the infamous League of Legends champion Yuumi, whom was widely hated for being an extremely powerful pair when used to its fullest potential. Come Comfey's release, it was found that outside of attaching to another Pokemon, it was comically fragile and bad, forcing players to rely on their generally unreliable teammates. Then it got buffed and Zacian was released... and quickly became the broken healing monster players feared that its launch version would be. Its ability to latch onto an ally and become invulnerable means Shoot the Medic First is not an option when playing against Comfey, so the only way to take it out of play is to take out the 'Mon that it's attached to and actively healing, and is likely steamrolling your team. Comfey's ability to act as a force multiplier and keep a diver alive (most notably the equally notorious Zacian) and manfight entire teams led to a ton of aggravation and resulted in it getting a round of nerfs, toning down its absurd support abilities while keeping it at least more viable than its launch version.
• Zacian combines the speed of a Speedster, the bulk of a Defender, and the damage and critical hits of Single-Strike Urshifu into one unstoppable Pokemon that can make its attacks stronger by charging them with Aeos energy. While the Aeos energy is consumed to charge up its moves (including its Unite move), along with having one of its Held Item slots taken up by the Rusted Sword (which lacks any bonuses), these drawbacks do nothing to hinder Zacian, and the Aeos energy consumption can be a good thing since it allows Zacian to score a goal without breaking it with excess points, giving Zacian or its allies a chance to over-cap. It's worth noting that Zacian is broken enough that many content creators, minor unofficial tournaments and even official tournaments ban use of it, and when it isn't banned, teams will almost always ban it in the draft mode. Even after several rounds of nerfs, Zacian still stands strong in the top tier until it was made an EX License and thus barred from the top of competitive play. It additionally never received any nerfs for months after release.
• Lapras has, pretty much since its release, been a notorious Defender in the game, being one of the most notorious until the even more divisive Umbreon joined the fray. In addition to the expected tankiness, Lapras also boasts absurdly high area of effect damage for its class (comparable to many All-Rounders and Attackers), great crowd control, and a Unite Move that not only inflicts a ton of damage but also enables allied divers to wreak havoc on the enemy's backline and can also be used as a powerful save. It's not uncommon to see Lapras being played as a bulky melee damage dealer in place of an All-Rounder and delivering. Even after being nerfed twice, Lapras still proved to be one of the most heavily contested Pokémon in the 2023 World Championships due to its outrageous versatility, being either banned or first-picked in nearly every game.
• Umbreon was part of a conga line of Defenders being released, each one being more powerful and broken than the other. Umbreon not only possessed incredible bulk and damage for its type, but also it had an incredibly annoying and powerful moveset - Foul Play for massive damage, Snarl for damage and debuffs, Moonlight for sustaining itself, and Mean Look to trap the enemies and kill it with its team and overall just being annoying. The fact it was a Pokemon that could trap Pokemon in an area with the incredibly dangerous close quarter Pokemon Urshifu and Zacian didn't help.
• Inteleon is basically the living embodiment of the "Cooler Daniel'' meme with Decidueye and even other glass cannons. Not only did Inteleon outclass Decidueye in almost every way, but it had one of the most notorious sets at the time - the Liquidation + Acrobatics combination that gave Inteleon great mobility on top of an attack that was Glaceon's Icicle Spear but better, Inteleon could easily shred enemies to ease. In addition, due to a passive that made him untargetable, a Unite Move making him immune to sneak attacks (bar a Dragonite Unite Move), and support from other allies, Inteleon soon became the most hated ranged attacker in the game, not helped by the presence of the existing Glaceon.
• In a meta dominated by power creep left and right, Slowbro is a rare example of a Pokemon from the days of 2021 that has returned to dominance, due to Slowbro's massive capacity to inflict stuns onto enemies while being incredibly durable, which in a metagame dominated by various terrifying and deadly Pokemon, is vital, especially in regards to Slowbro's Unite Move - which essentially shuts down a selected enemy for enough time for the rest of your team to kill them, which can help in assassinating the linchpins of any enemy pushes.
• Mega Mewtwo X was released in such a broken state that it received emergency nerfs mere days after release, and it is quite possibly the second most hated Pokémon in the game's history. Not only are its baseline stats already good, but its ability gives it a Mega Gauge that fills by fighting enemies and raises its stats even higher, and upon maxing out, Mewtwo Mega Evolves and its stats go through the roof. The stat gains from its ability and Mega Evolution were so powerful, it wasn't uncommon to see Mewtwo crushing opponents 1v5 before its ability was heavily neutered. Even with the nerfs, Mewtwo has an utterly obscene movepool making it a Master of All unlike anything the game had seen up to that point, boasting incredible amounts of burst damage, good survivability, great mobility, and a Unite Move that hits the entire enemy team from global range, making it nigh-impossible to fight head on except with another Mewtwo because it simply has no exploitable weaknesses. It's so broken that it was immediately banned from the World Championships because the game would otherwise be entirely warped around its presence; any match where one team had a Mewtwo and the other didn't would almost always result in a Curb-Stomp Battle in the Mewtwo team's favor, leading to Mewtwo being considered the first SS-tier Pokémon in the game. Its prominence fell a short while after release...
• ...but only because of the advent of Mega Mewtwo Y (since both are Mewtwo, only one of the two can be on a team), which is pretty much the exact same thing but packaged into an Attacker that can melt enemies at absurd range in a hail of psychic death (and players only became more incensed when, unlike its counterpart, Mega Mewtwo Y received no emergency nerfs despite being far more busted). And remember when we said that Mega Mewtwo X was the second most hated? This thing is why.
  • Each form of Mewtwo monopolized the solo queue meta on release with their sheer power, leading to an influx of players downright swearing off the game from being sick and tired of either having to play Mewtwo or tiptoe around the enemy's Mewtwo, and it's extremely rare to find discussion about Mewtwo that isn't laced with vitriol. The whole fiasco led to the creation of the EX License label which was then applied to both Mewtwo forms and Zacian, effectively giving up on trying to balance them and just banning them from high-level ranked play entirely. Eventually after the release of fellow EX License mon Miraidon, an attempt was made to rectify this, as Mewtwo's Mega Evolution now forcibly consumes Aeos Energy from 0-20 points automatically, with more points corresponding to a longer mega evolution.

2024

• The first EX release since the disaster that was the Mewtwos, Miraidon was also released in an extremely broken state, packing Charge Beam which essentially has the range and power of Solar Beam but with no delay and movable. Electro Drift (in the same moveslot) allows it to zoom around and play like a Speedster, and both above moves can pack two charges, which if both hit, will release a powered version of the attack (with Electro Drift having auto-aim and going through walls). Parabolic Charge is an AOE attack that allows it to recover HP and charge its first move, and Thunder summons a lingering thundercloud that follows the opponent, sending out multiple strikes while slowing down the opponent. Along with its broken stats and its ability Hadron Engine (that summons an electrical field when attacking opposing Pokémon, forcibly consuming Aeos Energy, that can strengthen and weaken goals), it had to be nerfed quick, and is still a force to be reckoned with.