On July 21, 2021, Pokémon Unite was first released on Nintendo Switch. For the first year of Unite, there were many balance changes, new characters, GUI updates, the first ever season of competitive Unite, and many more aspects of the game. For phase 1 of Pokémon Unite Anniversary, there have been a variety of additions of Pokémon to the game such as Glaceon, Buzzwole, and Tyranitar. New game modes such as Boss Rush and Pika Party and a new band-themed battle pass were added! Now that these events have ended Pokémon Unite is adding new content to the game for phase 2 of the 1st anniversary. This includes a new battle pass, the Pokémon Mew, Dodrio, and Scizor, a legacy trainer battle mode, and a whole new map, the Theia Sky Ruins!
Pokémon Unite 1st Anniversary Phase 2: New Pokémon
The three new Pokémon set to release in the game are Mew, Dodrio, and Scizor. These Pokémon are to be released on the 2nd, 14th, and 28th of September respectively. Each of these has interesting character gimmicks that are unique and greatly different from one another. Mew is an attacker, Dodrio is a speedster, and Scizor is set to be an all-rounder with speedster capabilities.
New Pokémon Mew
Unlike other Pokémon, Mew has a unique playstyle where abilities can be swapped out with ease. Every twenty seconds Mew gets the passive Reset! where one of the basic abilities can be switched for a new ability. Mew has a choice of Electro Ball, Solar beam, Surf, Coaching, Light Screen, and even agility, the most moves any Pokémon has had yet.
Mew’s Unite move allows them to float and become invincible. Any Pokémon that enter Mews UNITE move range become stealth and after some time the UNITE move does an AOE attack that damages enemies. This means Mew is incredibly versatile with the ability to play Mew in any role, as an attacker or a supporter (which seems especially strong due to having a supportive passive and unite move) or even as an all-rounder!
New Pokémon Dodrio
Dodrio’s gimmick revolves around using three heads to attack and a speedy passive of a sprint gauge to go around the map at great speeds to make plays, as the gauge increases when Dodrio moves. Scoring is incredibly easy on Dodrio as the goal is divided between the three heads, which triples the scoring speed.
All of Dodrio’s attacks also revolve around having high mobility and consuming the sprint gauge to do greater amounts of damage to opposing Pokémon. This Pokémon seems like a great choice for solo ranked play as it may have great potential to carry games on its own!
New Pokémon Scizor
Scizor is an all-rounder that, unlike other Pokémon, can choose not to evolve. When the pre-evolution of Scyther reaches a high enough level, Scyther has the option to either pick the move Dual Wingbeat or Bullet Punch.
When Dual Wingbeat is picked Scyther will not evolve and will have slightly different moves to Scizor. If Bullet Punch is picked the Pokémon will change into Scizor, changing its moveset and its stat progression. Scizor sacrifices mobility for defenses, meaning Scyther plays more like a speedster while Scizor has a more all-rounded playstyle.
Pokémon Unite 1st Anniversary Phase 2: New Events and Battle Pass
New event-related content coming to the game includes a free Mew event, a new battle pass, new emblems, and a legacy trainers showdown. Similar to previous free Pokémon, Mew can be claimed for free. Players need to complete a certain number of missions over multiple days through the “Mew Mural Challenge”.
Make sure to complete these missions quickly though as this event will only be out for a limited time! Mew can also be purchased with Aeos Coins when the event ends instead of on the 13th of October. A new battle pass has been announced, with a new great Mew and Azumarill holowear to claim! The battle pass will include rewards such as trainer fashionwear, Aeos Coins and Tickets, new holowear, expressions, and more!
Another upcoming event is the legacy trainer showdown. Players will be able to have battled against trainers from multiple generations such as Cynthia with Garchomp, Korrina with Lucario, Leon with Charizard, Raihan with Duraludon, and Green with Blastoise. Players can earn battle coins from completing missions and will be able to purchase things like Leon’s outfit!
Pokémon Unite 1st Anniversary Phase 2: New Map and other updates
Theia Sky Ruins
Pokémon Unite is replacing the current map with the all-new Theia Sky Ruins. This new map not only has aesthetic changes but changes to the layout, wild Pokémon, objectives, and more! Here is a list of the new features the new map has:
Wild Pokémon
The wild Pokémon around the map are getting replaced with new ones. They have the same effect as the old ones, the normal wild Pokémon able to be found is Bunnelby in the top and bottom lanes and Xatu and Baltoy in the center lane.
Red and Blue Buff
The old Unite map used to have Bouffalant and Ludicolo as the red and blue buff. Usually, the Pokémon in the center lane will take these Pokémon. When Bouffalant is defeated, it would give the user a red buff. This slows the opponents whenever it attacks and when Ludicolo is defeated it will give the user the blue buff, which increases the Pokémon’s damage against low-health wild Pokémon.
Bouffalant is being replaced with Escavalier, which increases the Pokémon’s attack damage and slows the opponents upon attacking. Ludicolo is being replaced by Accelgor, which now instead reduces the cooldown of the users’ moves. The changes to these buffs make them more like the red and blue buff found in the MOBA League of Legends.
Bottom Lane Objective
In the old map, Drednaw was the object that was found in the bottom lane. Defeating Drednaw would grant the team a small shield and experience points. Replacing this objective are three of the legendary ‘Regi’ Pokémon, Registeel, Regice, and Regirock. While Drednaw is the only objective that can spawn in the bottom path, these new objective Pokémon will alternate with their spawns randomly, with each of the Regi Pokémon having a different effect on being defeated.
This new objective system in the bottom lane can also be compared to the one in League of Legends, where one of four drakes will spawn next to the bottom lane, each with different effects. The three Regi’s effects are as follows:
- Registeel increases the team’s attack and special attack for a short time
- Regice increases the team’s HP recovery for a short time
- Regirock increases the team’s defense and special defense for a short time
Top Lane Objective
In the old map, Rotom was the top lane objective. This objective will join the team that defeats it and move towards an opposing team’s goal. If it makes contact with the goal it will expend itself and make the opposing goal defenseless for a short period.
The only change made to this is that it is getting its aesthetics replaced from Rotom to Regieleki, but will keep the same effect. This objective is similar to the “Rift Herald” which is the top lane objective in League of Legends.
Center Lane Objective
In the old map, Zapdos was the center lane objective. This objective spawns in the center lane at the final stretch of the game (two minutes left), and the team that defeats Zapdos will render their opponent’s goals defenseless for a short period.
This objective was by far the most influential as making the entire opposing team’s goals defenseless with double points being scored in the last two minutes meant it was easy to deposit a large number of points in a short amount of time with no counterplay, making the team who takes the Zapdos objective the winners of the game most of the time.
This controversial objective is being replaced with Rayquaza. This instead gives your team a large shield that acts similar to the held item Score Shield. The team that takes Rayquaza will be able to score faster and will be unstoppable in scoring unless the shield is broken.
Overall the map looks aesthetically charming and a lot more detailed than the previous map. The details and settings of the map make it look less like a beach setting. But more like an ancient mountainous environment that shares an appearance with the ‘Summoners Rift’ map in League of Legends
Final Thoughts
Pokémon Unite is making some of the biggest changes we have seen yet. Players look forward to seeing how these new changes impact the game from both a casual and competitive player aspect!
Are you excited about the Pokémon Unite 1st Anniversary Phase 2? Let us know in the comment section below!
For more Mobile Gaming news and updates, join our WhatsApp group, Telegram Group, or Discord server. Also, follow us on Google News, Instagram, and Twitter for quick updates.
