Pokémon Unite

[PyProd]

Couldn’t they just make an exception and just have these Pokemon level up for this game in order to evolve?

It seems I was wrong about Blissey, as Chansey was datamined. And things like Machoke and Haunter evolve by trading. They only really removed the Happiness evos.

 

[RocketSurgery]

For people that are confused so as to why Pikachu doesn't start as Pichu, Snorlax as Munchlax, Lucario as Riolu, Mr. Mime as Mime Jr., etc., I have an explanation. These Pokémon that begin as fully evolved ones (or as Jigglypuff instead of Igglybuff for Wigglytuff) all evolve via Happiness.

Probably more important that the base forms in question are all babies.

 

[doipy hooves]

Compared to the beta, I would say they made item enhancers a lot harder to grind out (tickets only and really raised up the upgrading cost) and this has caused a lot of controversy. I think both sides have fair points since maxed out items are technically an advantage that free players cannot have at this point, though in practice it's just one factor in a real time team game that you can't tell that the opponent has. In the future there could be the opportunity to catch up, or they could just add more items and raise the level caps. Hopefully they make some positive changes based on the survey, but it's a free Pokemon game so I doubt they'll remove all the possible microtransactions.

For people that are confused so as to why Pikachu doesn't start as Pichu, Snorlax as Munchlax, Lucario as Riolu, Mr. Mime as Mime Jr., etc., I have an explanation. These Pokémon that begin as fully evolved ones (or as Jigglypuff instead of Igglybuff for Wigglytuff) all evolve via Happiness. I suspect that to keep the game simple, the programmers decided to only keep Pokémon that evolve normally (by level up). By this logic, Pokémon such as Escavalier would likely not be in the game, while Pokémon such as Blissey or Sylveon that evolve specially would start as their fully evolved form too (although for Blissey it could be discussed because it still evolves via level-up but has to carry an item ; let's say for the sake of the theory that "evolving specially" is not evolving via sole level-up). A friend theorized that these started the way they started because the prevos are from other gens, but Riolu/Lucario rules out this theory. This could rule out things such as Crobat because it only reaches its final stage of evolution with Happiness, unlike Wigglytuff whose first-ever stage evolves by being happy instead, leading to Jigglypuff and its evo still being usable. The Crobatline could therefore still be present but cap at Crobat which.. Sucks.

I also think things such as split evolutions could be very hard to code in as playable characters for this type of game. This also rules out things such as Politoed/wrath, Beautifly/Dustox, or Eevee being the base form for Sylveon, etc. Forms such as Aegislash are also unlikely, due to Vulpix-Kanto and Mega-Pokémon not existing in the games.

Just wanted to tell people this, as well as possibly strike discussion about who couldn't be in the game.

The pictures from the Blissey datamine show that Chansey exists. (EDIT: ninja'd)

I don't think split evolutions are a problem because you choose the final evolution on the player select screen, so if they had every Eeveelution they would probably just make a separate Eevee internally for each one.

Glad to see there's people here participating in discussions and what not. I have scanned the previous pages of this thread but it looks like no one brought up the fact that some matches are against bots.

So basically, Pokemon Unite uses a bot system that is common in many mobile PvP games. They are designed to look like real players, but are obviously not. In Unite, bots can take the name of any player it randomly selects, and gives them a loading bar while the match is setting up.

How can I tell if I'm in a fighting against bots?
After getting used to the game, you can start to notice the scripted movement bots have. Typically, they stand in lane, attack wild Pokemon, and attack you once you get too close. They will keep attacking you until their HP threshold reaches a certain amount, then flee directly towards their tower.

However, there are 2 easy ways of telling whether or not you are fighting bots:

BEFORE a match - Click on the opponent's Pokemon during the loading screen to show their trainer photo. All bots have a zoomed in, blurry photo of their trainer. I've seen bots even use the same photo in a single match, so there are probably a handful of repeating trainer photos.

AFTER a match - During the result screen, you can click on a player to send friend requests, report them, or a variety of other options. Clicking on a bot does not give you the dialogue box that includes all those options.

How often do bot matches appear?
Bot matches (5 real players on your side versus 5 bots) are a part of every match type - including Ranked Matches. If you are playing solo, you will be up against bots after every loss. Also, your very first Ranked Match will be ALL bots, including your teammates.

What's your opinion on this? Anyone that has more knowledge about this?

EDIT: This text is just a copy + paste, I did not write this myself.

I can confirm that the bots exist, though every loss is an exaggeration. Bots seem to automatically surrender when there's enough of a point difference (about 300). You can go into your battle history and send a friend request to a bot, though it seems to go to the real player whose name they used. There's also a specific mode to fight bots, though the game is still online-only.

EDIT: Actually this is because you fight bots with other players, if there are enough playing. I guess it works as a low stress/test mode though they still surrender.

 

[Fluke]

I can confirm that the bots exist, though every loss is an exaggeration. Bots seem to automatically surrender when there's enough of a point difference (about 300). You can go into your battle history and send a friend request to a bot, though it seems to go to the real player whose name they used. There's also a specific mode to fight bots, though the game is still online-only.

For sure, I have also had experience with bots. Sometimes it was after each loss, but mostly it's after I lose a couple in a row. I am currently researching this phenomenon and I am still left with so many questions...

Do bots also appear in normals? Is it possible for someone to lose a couple matches in normals, to ensure they will have a guaranteed bot game in ranked? And because it's not possible to play against bots if you are playing duo or more... what if you lose a few games as duo, will that make you play against bots when you go solo right after those losses?

I am currently thoroughly testing all these things but it's harder than expected.

 

[Antihaxxer]

I really like the game ! I only play Pikachu to master the mechanics, then I will try other mons ...
Babies are not supposed to fight, hence Riolu, Pichu etc... are not in game.

Why didn't they try to include some type matchup ? And with some bans, you can actually some strategy in picking Pokemon

 

[Fluke]

I really like the game ! I only play Pikachu to master the mechanics, then I will try other mons ...
Babies are not supposed to fight, hence Riolu, Pichu etc... are not in game.

Why didn't they try to include some type matchup ? And with some bans, you can actually some strategy in picking Pokemon

What do you mean by type match up? Like weaknesses and resistances? And yeah I'd like to see bans in ranked too, or at least the option to play draft pick. Every single game has a Zeraora/Cinderace/Gengar, I'd love to ban those depending on our team comp...

 

[Count Bleck]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1420249034028056578

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1420006060245622787

Well that was fast. Gardevoir is dropping a little over a week after launch, as well as a few bugfixes!

 

[Fluke]

I'm super curious on how the next releases are going to be planned out. In previous MOBA games Tencent has been rolling out new characters almost every week, sometimes even two a week. Will Pokemon Unite have a similar approach? If yes, we'll have a lot of Pokemon by the end of this year.

 

[Antihaxxer]

They need to rebalance some of current pokemon ... Absol needs a nerf on critical, and probably Charizard/Venusaur need some buff. And please, add more support pokemon!

 

[Fluke]

They need to rebalance some of current pokemon ... Absol needs a nerf on critical, and probably Charizard/Venusaur need some buff. And please, add more support pokemon!

Oh they definitely will. Blissey will be coming up soon, and if it's going to be as toxic as it is in the main games it'll make a lot of people quit!

 

[Celever]

I'm super curious on how the next releases are going to be planned out. In previous MOBA games Tencent has been rolling out new characters almost every week, sometimes even two a week. Will Pokemon Unite have a similar approach? If yes, we'll have a lot of Pokemon by the end of this year.

This seems probable, I think. We've already received Zeraora and Gardevoir, and we know that Blastoise is fully programmed in the game (datamines have given us its moveset and properties) while Clefable and Sylveon are lined up. Sylveon was added in a more recent update, too, so they likely have a bit of a backlog of finished characters to add. I doubt it'll last to the end of the year -- there will probably be a bit of a break after BDSP releases, but I expect a lot of Sinnoh Pokémon to be added around that time to celebrate its release. Either way I think this roster is likely to end up pretty large, especially considering they're still adding 2 Kanto Pokémon when we don't have any Johto or Alolan representatives (Zeraora and Ninetales-Alola are Gen VII Pokémon by technicality lol).

 

[Rapti]

I expect a lot of Sinnoh Pokémon to be added around that time to celebrate its release.

I highly doubt Tencent Timi even cares about Gamefreak plans or releases; the main purpose of this game is introducing the chinese market to Pokemon games (don't give that crap about how Pokemon Quest was released before this there, Unite is clearly a much better game) and introducing Tencent Timi to the international gaming audience
and making money of course

 

[Celever]

I highly doubt Tencent Timi even cares about Gamefreak plans or releases; the main purpose of this game is introducing the chinese market to Pokemon games (don't give that crap about how Pokemon Quest was released before this there, Unite is clearly a much better game) and introducing Tencent Timi to the international gaming audience
and making money of course

Yeah and all of those points are reasons why there'll be a release event of Sinnoh mons when BDSP releases :P The Chinese market who like Unite get marketed to about BDSP's release, and BDSP players catch a Shinx before the first badge and then see something online or in the eShop about how you get a free Shinx in Unite if you get it in the next week. Cross-marketing benefits everyone.

 

[Rapti]

Yeah and all of those points are reasons why there'll be a release event of Sinnoh mons when BDSP releases :P The Chinese market who like Unite get marketed to about BDSP's release, and BDSP players catch a Shinx before the first badge and then see something online about how you get a free Shinx in Unite if you get it in the next week. Cross-marketing benefits everyone.

Eh, I don't know depends how well the Switch is selling I suppouse

I mean Ring Fit Adventure sold like hot cakes so I guess?

 

[doipy hooves]

This seems probable, I think. We've already received Zeraora and Gardevoir, and we know that Blastoise is fully programmed in the game (datamines have given us its moveset and properties) while Clefable and Sylveon are lined up. Sylveon was added in a more recent update, too, so they likely have a bit of a backlog of finished characters to add. I doubt it'll last to the end of the year -- there will probably be a bit of a break after BDSP releases, but I expect a lot of Sinnoh Pokémon to be added around that time to celebrate its release. Either way I think this roster is likely to end up pretty large, especially considering they're still adding 2 Kanto Pokémon when we don't have any Johto or Alolan representatives (Zeraora and Ninetales-Alola are Gen VII Pokémon by technicality lol).

At this point Clefable is probably cut since there hasn't been any data found for it. We know for sure that Blissey is coming and have a lot of information on it, while the move text for Greedent/Sylveon dates back to the Canadian beta, so after that point we don't know what's planned.

 

[Antihaxxer]

Sylveon ? That's interesting ... An Eevee-Sylveon or directly Sylveon ? Could be interesting if you can chose your Eeveelution regarding the matchup but maybe too complicated

 

[Count Bleck]

Okay so...I know we're all pokemon fans so this might come as a shock...

But we got our first wave of patch notes here.

https://unite.pokemon.com/en-us/news/pokemon-unite-game-update/

The rundown

Charizard
Flamethrower:

• Cooldown reduced.
• Effects on opposing Pokémon strengthened.

Fire Punch:

• Effects on opposing Pokémon strengthened.

Fire Blast:

• Cooldown reduced.
• Effects on opposing Pokémon strengthened.

Talonflame
Acrobatics:

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Aerial Ace:

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Aerial Ace+:

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Fly:

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Venusaur
Sludge Bomb:

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.
• Effects on opposing Pokémon strengthened.

Petal Dance:

• Move Upgrade

Solar Beam:

• Cooldown reduced.

Unite Move: Verdant Anger

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Absol
Basic Attack:

• Bug Fixes

Night Slash:

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Sucker Punch:

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Wigglytuff
The following stats have been increased:

• Defense, Sp. Def, HP

Double Slap

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.
• Effects on opposing Pokémon strengthened.

Sing

• Effects on opposing Pokémon strengthened.

Dazzling Gleam

• Bug Fixes

Eldegoss
Cotton Guard

• Cooldown lengthened.
• HP restoration decreased.

Cotton Spore

• Cooldown reduced.
• Effects on opposing Pokémon strengthened.
• This move’s Defense, Sp. Def increase has been strengthened.

Unite Move: Cotton Cloud Crash

• HP restoration decreased.

Cinderace
The following stats have been decreased:

• Attack

Blaze Kick

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon decreased.

Feint

• Move Downgrade

Pyro Ball

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Gengar
Basic Attack

• Bug Fixes

Shadow Ball

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Hex

• Move Downgrade

Dream Eater

• Move Upgrade

Zeraora
Spark

• Bug Fixes

Wild Charge

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.
• Cooldown reduced.

Unite Move: Plasma Gale

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon decreased.

Cramorant
Whirlpool

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon decreased.

Dive

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Machamp
Basic Attack

• Bug Fixes

Cross Chop

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon decreased.

Close Combat

• Damage dealt to opposing Pokémon increased.

Lucario
Power-Up Punch

• Bug Fixes

Bone Rush

• Bug Fixes

Greninja
Basic Attack

• Bug Fixes

Alolan Ninetales
Snow Warning

• Bug Fixes

 

[Astra]

I wish the patch notes weren't so incredibly vague, but it's cool to see that actually want to balance the game and care. They're definitely going to try to push this to have a big competitive scene, though they need to tackle balancing out the endgame. Zapdos making goals defenseless and doubling point scoring happening at the same time during the last two minutes of the game is pretty overtuned and can completely invalidate anything that happens during the first eight minutes. Regardless of that, though, I'm admittedly having a lot of fun with the game and interested in the path it'll take in the future.

 

[Fluke]

I was curious as to when they'd roll out their first balancing/QoL update... and then BOOM, all these nerfs, buffs and bug fixes. I almost reached Master, I have to abuse these few Pokemon while it's still possible. I'll be non-stop playing for the next 12 hours, wish me luck.

Also an Absol buff? That's gonna be interesting. Oh and I feel Wigglytuff is going to be a monster o_o

 

[Antihaxxer]

Absol buff ? Really ? I agree with all of them, I don't know very well Machamp, Cramorant and Gengar, so I can't judge them, but Venusaur/Charizard buffs were needed !

 

[TC]

Just wanted to say that i dont believe Zapdos needs a nerf. If your team haves a really good advantage and the opposing team gets the Zapdos that means your team played really bad the endgame and deserved to lose. This is easier to see on high level games where its pretty common to see that the team that haves the advantage will just protect the Zapdos (unless the other team actually gives the chance to do the Zapdos) while the team thats losing can choose one of the next things:

1. Force the teamfight and try to win it, wich also probably means taking the Zapdos (this is where the team that haves the advantage can threw the game trying to fight vs a whole team individually instead of doing it as a team) there are also another factors that contribute to lose the teamfight like wasting unite moves right before Zapdos appears
2. Try to furtively score since points are doubled on the last 2 minutes
3. Forfeit

On the other hand i dont agree with the whirlpool nerf on Cramorant or the buff on absol (it was already doing big damages).
Also want to do emphasis on the fact that i made master rank doing solo queue without spending one single dollar so idk how some people is still saying this shit is pay to win.

 

[Hello There ;{]

Just a couple of quick thoughts after playing this game for 2 weeks. First of all, I'm not in Master rank, still stuck grinding through the Veteran rank.

1. There shouldn't be a late game pokemon or character like in other MOBAs. This game only last for 10 minutes. Every pokemon should be fully evolved and get their unite move at level 9. Pokemon like Garchomp and Gardevior are great, but they really need to get to level 10 before they can truly participate in team fight, especially Garchomp.

2. Zapdos should spawn at minute 3, BUT the double score only start at minute 1 (instead of 2). This should help team that work together throughout the match to win the match, but there is still a chance for the opposing team to get an epic comeback. Right now most the match is decided during the last 2 minutes. Continuing on Zapdos, maybe just remove the attack to the opposing team after it is killed; it's like rubbing salt into a wound.

 

[Fluke]

Also want to do emphasis on the fact that i made master rank doing solo queue without spending one single dollar so idk how some people is still saying this shit is pay to win.

Anecdotal evidence doesn't take away the fact that you get more advantages if you pay in this game. Also P2W doesn't mean paying = guarantee win. That would mean P2W games don't even exist at all, because in the biggest P2W games there is always a chance of you winning even when you don't pay.

It is almost a flat out fact that this game is P2W at the moment. It's simple, the better the items you have, the higher your stats in game. You can enhance items quicker if you spend money, thus making it P2W. Or if you want to be more specific, instead of "P2W" I will call it "pay to have a higher chance to win". It is not possible for people who don't pay to have their items to level 30 already, which is something that paying players are able to have. Which gives them the advantage, albeit a small one.

There is always a possibility to win, even 4v5 matchups. I won a good few 4v5 matches. Does that mean 4v5 isn't unfair?

EDIT: The real question is "does the p2w actually make the game unfun", and the answer is "not really".

 

[Arcanite]

My takes on the current discussion topics: (Zapdos, P2W, Balance Updates)

(Disclaimer: I'm maining Lucario, with Zera as my main backup. I'll play Cinderace or crustle if i have to, and i'm trying to learn Snorlax)

Zapdos: The more I play, the more I (and seemingly other players are adjusting to it's existence. People are getting better at managing the teamfight around zapdos, and not just trying to steal it, which mostly doesn't work, and when it does, you usually can't score enough. Had a game last night where we played well, but barely lost zapdos, but were able to ko 3 of their team before they got to scoring zones. A couple of mistakes later meant we lost by just 4 points.
I think Zapdos is necessary to have incentive to play from behind, and think it's probably not too far off from where it needs to be. I wouldn't object to a mild nerf though.

P2W: The thing that annoys me most is that the power spikes of items at lv10 and lv20 incentivise hitting exactly those levels, and it's therefore hard to have a spread of items. The only ones i've meaningfully upgraded are for offensive/mobile physical attackers, which makes playing characters outside that mold feel awkward. Having looked at the upgrade costs, getting to level 30 is ludicrous, even if you are paying. Getting from 20 to 30 is 2000 enhancers = 2000 gems, ~£30 or $30 or 33EUR which is nuts for one item. Also their determination of the exchange rate is nonsense as usual. (at time of writing, 30$ should be £21.57, and 25.33EUR)

Balance Changes: If you hadn't seen, serebii has calculated the numerical changes.

• [Speedsters] Personally, I agree Gengar was completely busted with the combo. It sohuldn't be that easy to take out multiple of the opoonents team at once on your own. Slight nerf to Zera is good, it was strong but didn't feel overly so to me. Slight buff to Absol is a mild suprise, but to its seeming consensus worse moves, so not a big deal. Talonflame didn't seem bad, just not on the level of the other speedsters. SO in principle, this should level out the 4 speedsters at least.
• [Attackers] Charizard and Venu definitely appreciate the buffs, although i still don't love how slow and frail Venu feels. Cinderace was pretty ubiquitous so the nerf definitely feels appropriate. It's still probably good thanks to mobility, range and good damage. Cramorant isn't seen much, but impresses when i do see it. Looking at the numbers, Whirlpool has really impressive damage for an AOE at range, so seems reasonable to nerf if it needed it.
• [Support] Wigglytuff is now playable i guess? It's a massive buff, but i basically never saw it, and when i did, it looked pretty terrible. I have no idea how i feel about Eldegoss. I suspect it's a high skill ceiling situation that also has a much better WR in non-solo queues. I don't object to the idea that supports should be good in order to encourage more people to play them.
• [All-Arounders] Machamp was good, now less good? not really much to say apart from the fact that the general policy of nerf one move, and buff the alternative is really good.
• [Defenders] Apparently these are all perfect and have no changes? Snorlax feels a fair bit better than the others to me, and crustle feels kinda wierd to me, in that it is more of a hybrid defender as the wall is a lot less good than Lax and the other control options don't seem that good. Shell smash is fun, but doesn't seem to be that effective to me as a zr move.
  

 

[Celever]

P2W

While this game is Pay-2-Win by design, it's to a fairly light degree. The Aeos Ticket currency is amazing, because after only a couple days of playing (I jumped on the wagon late) without noticing the existence of Aeos Tickets I had built up enough through normal gameplay to buy every item, besides the Aeos Cookie because I could tell it was bad so I'm leaving it in the shop. And from there, you can directly exchange Aeos Tickets for Item Enhancers, which is my use for them until all of my items are maxed out. The Unite Licenses are a little pricy, but you start with a lot of money so I grabbed Cramorant fairly quickly (for no reason more than it's my favourite Pokémon in this cast) and I'm entirely content gameplay-wise with the starting selection of Slowbro and Venusaur, the Crustle I got from the recent 7-day event, and the Cramorant I bought. At this stage most of my items are around level 10, and I'm yoyoing between high Expert and low Veteran, which seems about right to me because historically I'm not great at MOBAs. On the bulk, I've increased my rank as I've been more practiced and my skill has increased, rather than due to the items.

So, is this F2P? I mean yeah, of course, as is standard in MOBAs. But the paying is mainly targeted at cosmetics, which I'm very content with not spending money on. A little bit of organic playing, which you need to do to get good and practiced anyway, gets you pretty much everything you need with a little time investment.

Patch

This YouTuber has tested pre- and post-patches to give us detailed patch notes.

Charizard: Good and necessary changes. Charizard was extremely easy to gank for me, particularly when playing Crustle or Cramorant. I could 1v1 it even at a lower level by one or two stages pretty much every time.

Talonflame: These feel like huge damage buffs, so we'll see how it plays out. But before now, Talonflame was really only useful for finishing off opponents who were already weak and likely to die, meaning teams with Talonflame on it just ended up with less evenly distributed farm since Talonflame's entire job was to get the last hit, depriving others of experience. Incentivising Talonflame to jump into combat and hold its own rather than stealing last hits is therefore simply good, particularly since it's frail too.

Venusaur: Very simple buff that simply makes sense. It makes Venusaur a little more effective and less of a liability, since Solar Beam is its best move but dealing damage every 11 seconds just wasn't worth it at higher ranks. Buffing the unite move is also important, since as a Venusaur main I'd often go battles without using it because it was fairly useless.

Absol: Absol getting buffed is interesting because it was already pretty good in the Speedster role, but it was on the lower end of Speedsters too. So long as Absol continues fulfilling its role of being mobile backup and doesn't become a 1v1er, which is what Attackers are for, this should even the playing field when selecting team comps a bit.

Wigglytuff: Straight up buffing Wigglytuff's defensive stats is a good move, they were just too low. Buffing its damage output is also great, because it was too weak. Sing's sleep duration increasing is interesting but also feels appropriate, since this will give Wigglytuff enough time to actually deal damage after putting opponents to sleep, rather than only acting as support. A lane manned only by Wigglytuff was easy pickings to exploit, so this should make it a little better at holding down the fort if its lane-allies faint.

Eldegoss: Switching Eldegoss to balance its Cotton Guard and Cotton Spore sets was a good move, I think. Cotton Guard honestly seems more intended for lower ranks and Cotton Spore for higher ranks, and in my games I've actually had better success with Eldegoss allies when they were running Cotton Spore anyway, but making Eldegoss more effective in the offensive support role as opposed to just the defensive support mode better fits the pacing of Unite, which is actually very fast with frequent combat. Good change.

Cinderace: Reducing Cinderace's attack stat makes a huge amount of sense. It was primarily too strong because of its basic attack, as it was extremely fast and powerful. All it had to do was spam A, Blaze Kick to reduce movement speed, and then spam A, and the opponent fainted. Nerfing Blaze Kick and buffing Pyro Ball should make it fulfill its intended ranged speedster role better, and hopefully we will see Pyro Ball used from time to time now.

Gengar: Probably the best attacker in the game pre-patch. I actually don't think these buffs go far enough, and I think Gengar will still be the best attacker in the game probably. The damage output hasn't been reduced significantly, but rather it's been given fewer invincibility frames as it dishes out damage. That means that in order to win skirmishes against a Gengar, you pretty much have to use your Eject Button to dodge the attack, and exploit the fact it has less invincibility, which means engaging Gengar still comes with a significant cost which is resetting Eject Button cooldown.

Zeraora: Zeraora barely even received a nerf, to many people's dismay. Discharge was left untouched, and its unite move's very slight damage decrease (5%!) is offset by its basic attack being buffed. Zeraora will probably now be the best Pokémon in the game, since other best Pokémon have been nerfed and Zeraora just sorta stayed the same.

Cramorant: Cramorant's Whirlpool being nerfed makes sense on paper since it was really strong, but Cramorant also doesn't receive another attacking move in its first wave, instead being stuck with Feather Dance which is probably the single worst move in the game (a really minor movement speed reduction for a couple of seconds). Whirlpool was mainly powerful because it could essentially one-shot wild Pokémon, making Cramorant and extremely fast farmer early into the battle, so it makes sense. Dive being buffed doesn't matter because Dive is a bad move; Cramorant is frail and Dive puts Cramorant directly in front of enemy Pokémon. At best it's fine in a 1v1 situation, but when Surf is so good in both 1v1 and multi-Pokémon skirmishes, Dive needs more of an overhaul than anything else.

Machamp: Machamp getting nerfed doesn't make much sense to me. It felt like one of the best-balance characters in the game. At least it was only Cross Chop and nothing more severe.

Overall, I think this patch was pretty good. I don't think they went far enough with Zeraora, and Machamp being nerfed doesn't make much sense to me, but clearly they were getting legitimate feedback from somewhere and made good changes based on what they were being told. It's a really good sign for this game's future that, alongside adding a spectator mode, they're releasing a patch so quickly with fairly widely requested and good changes.

With that said, there are some changes that I'm surprised didn't happen. Mr. Mime is, after Venusaur's buff, the worst character in the game quite comfortably, and it was already the second-worst. Creating its barrier just isn't that useful, especially when Crustle exists with far more offensive capability and a better-shaped, larger wall that can actually trap opponents and create a better barrier between characters than Mr. Mime's. Lucario was also mentioned in patch notes but apparently isn't in that video? Lucario is the best All-Rounder right now and can reach insane levels of power with Power-Up Punch. Greninja also really needs a buff, since with Talonflame's buff it's now the worst Speedster for sure. And with their focus on set diversity in this patch, and the fact that Slowbro's Scald must be alongside Cramorant's Dive with the least used moves in the entire game, it's strange that that didn't receive a significant buff. Overall this patch has been good, but hasn't quite gone the whole way. I suppose it makes sense if patches will be frequent to do it in waves, though.