With the 2023 Pokemon Unite World Championship done, a definitive Pokemon Unite tier list can be put together.
Luminosity Gaming posted an utterly dominant performance at the Pokemon World Championship. The team dropped just one game during the entire tournament. ending with a 13-1 map record and a first-place finish. This made four of the five members of the team two-time champions, an impressive feat when the game has completely transformed from what it was last year.
Alongside Luminosity, the entirety of Asia underwent a radical transformation with teams from Japan, Korea, and the Philippines all placing highly. While there was a lot of flavor to each individual region, several Pokemon were extremely powerful around the globe while dozens of others were almost completely ignored. That makes it easy to put together a tier list for Pokemon Unite coming out of the World Championship based on which Pokemon dominated the field, and which never actually stepped onto the field.
Pokemon Unite tier list after 2023 Pokemon World Championships
Urshifu, Slowbro, and Hoopa were definitively the best three Pokemon during the World Championships. The three didn’t necessarily do that much, but that was because teams consistently banned them ahead of time.
Surrounding them were others that were banned frequently, and the most common picks that managed to get through. Here is how the Pokemon are tiered after the event:
| TIER | POKEMON |
| S | Urshifu, Slowbro, Hoopa, Zoroark, Blissey, Umbreon, Mewtwo* |
| A | Lapras, Inteleon, Zacian, Blastoise, Leafeon, Trevenant, Comfey, Mew, Eldegoss, Clefable |
| B | Delphox, Ninetales, Dodrio, Glaceon, Buzzwole |
| C | Scizor, Espeon, Lucario, Venusaur, Machamp, Goodra |
| D | Cramorant, Gardevoir, Snorlax, Sableye, Gengar, Talonflame, Garchomp, Chandelure, Aegislash, Garchomp |
| F | Charizard, Pikachu, Wigglytuff, Mr. Mime, Dragonite, Azumarill, Tyranitar, Blaziken, Absol, Mamoswine, Crustle, Greninja, Sylveon, Decidueye, Tsareena, Zeraora, Cinderace, Greedent, Duraludon, Dragapult |
Pokemon Unite’s competitive season largely segregates teams by region. This resulted in some regions prioritizing certain Pokemon much more heavily than others. Multiple Japanese teams at the event repeatedly looked to Leafeon as a go-to attacker, but it was much rarer among other teams. South American teams looked to Buzzwole, but it saw extremely limited use elsewhere.
While there was disagreement over which Pokemon were the best, everyone came to the same general conclusion about which Pokemon were the worst. A few Pokemon stood tall above the rest in each respective role, limiting opportunities for others. Pokemon like Wigglytuff and Snorlax are regarded as solid overall, but they lack the tools to justify picking them over top-tier Pokemon.
Alongside this, certain archetypes like ranged auto-attackers just don’t seem to have a place in the current meta. This resulted in dozens of Pokemon going unused at the event, or sneaking in just one or two picks.
Mewtwo likely the best Pokemon in Unite, but that should change with next major patch
Mewtwo is widely regarded as one of the best Pokemon in all of Pokemon Unite, and some would argue it’s the best. Mewtwo was not available at Worlds, but Pokemon Unite has a long history of newly released characters being wildly overpowered at launch, and Mewtwo fits that bill so far.
While Mewtwo is out of control at the moment, that’s likely to change in the near future. The game’s publisher has typically dealt with this situation after a bit of time. The next major update will likely come after the Tinkaton Panic Parade and second anniversary events wrap.
