Out of all the roles one can take in Pokemon Unite, the Speedsters are understandably the most mobile on the battlefield. They can zip around the map, scoring goals, farming remote spots, or rushing to the aid of companions when needed.
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While they can be excellent for reconnaissance and scoring, Speedsters can also hit extremely hard and unleash overpowered combos the likes of which have somewhat shaken the metagame and have many calling out for a balancing patch. To make the most of a Speedster, players will need to know how to maximize their damage output or enhance their mobility to become a force to be reckoned with.
A 3 hit combo that starts with 2 small slashes followed up by a larger 3rd cutting attack. The range of these melee attacks is proportionately greater than that of other Speedsters, which gives Absol a reach advantage.
Super Luck simply gives the player higher passive chances of landing a critical hit, which can be taken advantage of with certain builds in addition to being generally useful for a melee character.
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Initially, Absol starts with Feint and Slash, the former of which, at level 5, they will need to swap out for either Night Slash or Pursuit, while at level 7, they must trade Slash for either Psycho Cut or Sucker Punch.
Night Slash is a dash performed in a peculiarly curved arc that can either close distance while attacking or allow one to get behind their foe. When upgraded, one can follow up with another dash that has increasingly higher chances of dealing a critical hit depending on how much HP the target is missing, which allows Night Slash to become a powerful finishing move. Pursuit should be used at the opposite time, as it is a great tool for ambushing unsuspecting players to initiate combat. Pursuit itself is more like a buff for one's basic attacks that allow them to much more easily become critical hits if Absol strikes the opponent from behind.
When deciding between Psycho Cut or Sucker Punch, most players opt for Psycho Cut, as Sucker Punch is very situational, and, as a hindrance move, the setup is too long and it can be interrupted too easily. It is meant to delay foes and then hit them with a charge move, but the process is too slow and cumbersome to be effective in most scenarios. Psycho Cut, on the other hand, is very versatile as it unleashes a decently powerful attack that also makes those struck take much additional damage from the next 3 basic attacks.
This mighty move unleashes a series of devastating slashes that are followed up by a directional attack that both hurts and shoves all adversaries in its path. Midnight Slash is an excellent high burst damage finishing move that can take out multiple weakened foes or cripple a few healthy ones.
Despite being a legendary pokemon, Zeraora has one of the least interesting and useful basic attacks out of any Speedster. They possess a chain of 3 slashes, 2 small ones, and a 3rd that barely does any more damage with not much increase in range. That is unless they are paired with some of this pokemon's other traits.
Thankfully, their ability makes up for their basic attacks being initially lackluster. Volt Absorb is a great trait that allows Zeraora to store up a charge every time that they receive damage that is automatically converted into bonus attack damage on top of Zeraora's basic attacks.
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To begin, Zeraora players will have Agility and Slash as moves, though, at level 6, players will need to replace Agility with either Volt Switch or Spark, and, at level 8, they will also need to switch Slash for either Discharge or Wild Charge.
Both Volt Switch and Spark will involve the player moving around quickly, however, Volt Switch's linear pattern that allows one to quickly do a damaging dash and return to their initial spot quickly is an efficient and relatively safe attack for a melee character while Spark is more of a reckless series of charges, though, it can at least heal the user while hitting foes.
Discharge can unleash a debilitating surge of electricity that can be applied as a combo finisher that pulls in paralyzed enemies that it hits, however, many consider Wild Charge to be the superior choice because it allows for a much more powerful combo. If Wild Charge is used after Zeraora hits a foe with Volt Switch or Spark, the attack chain that is unleashed will hit those in the area of effect more times, resulting in an easy and terrifying series of strikes that are unavoidable.
In an electrical explosion, Zeraora calls down a shocking strike over a wide area that hurts and throws all foes hit by the attack. Plasma Gale also leaves behind a temporary field of energy that increases both the range and damage of Zeraora's basic attacks.
Interestingly, the boosted 3rd attack that follows Talonflame's initial 2 pecking strikes is a sudden fiery whirlwind that strikes around the player in a small area of effect that can hit multiple targets. This can be handy in any situation where there are multiple foes nearby.
Gale Wings grants Talonflame greater movement speed when they are at full HP, which helps to make this pokemon the character with the best mobility in the whole game. Though, this means that when weakened, Talonflame cannot rely on its speed quite as much to make their getaway from threats.
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When starting, players will be equipped with Peck and Acrobatics, the former of which turns into either Flame Charge or Aerial Ace at level 5, and, at level 7, players must then trade Acrobatics for either Fly or Brave Bird.
Talonflame users should select their moves based on whether they want to maximize their damage output or their movement speed, as the choice between Flame Charge and Aerial Ace represents the first decision for this Speedster. Flame Charge is a dashing attack that increases one's movement speed for a brief duration while Aerial Ace allows basic attacks that follow up to become boosted ones.
In the same vein of decision making, players must choose if they want to use Brave Bird, which hits hard while hurting Talonflame with recoil damage and resets the cooldown on Flame Charge as well as Aerial Ace, or Fly, which has better range, control, and also turns basic attacks that follow it into boosted attacks.
Arguably the greatest pushing move in the game, players soar up into the air before coming back down in a damaging divebomb that slams all enemies in Talonflame's path and knocks them back a huge distance–more than any other Unite move.
Even though Pokemon fans know Gengar much more for being a Special Attacker, the developers of Pokemon Unite have decided to make this Ghost-type pokemon one that uses melee for its basic attacks, which, as some could guess, isn't the best. Gengar's 3 attack combo is 2 small tongue lashes that are followed up with a 3rd lunging one that can at least close distance on fleeing targets if only to do middling damage to them.
Gengar gets a great ability for a Speedster in that their Levitate grants them a passive bonus to their movement speed when they are not in combat.
As Ghastly, players begin with Will-O-Wisp and Lick until reaching level 5, when they will need to switch Will-O-Wisp for either Shadow Ball or Sludge Bomb, while, at level 7, players must make a decision to replace Lick with either Dream Eater or Hex.
Gengar's true power is in its Special Attacks, so Shadow Ball is a great move for dealing straight-up damage at a decent range while also dropping the target's Special Defense for a time, opening them up for easy and deadly follow-up attacks. Sludge Bomb is also an exceptional move that has a nice range, an area of effect, and poisons foes struck for a few seconds.
However, a crucial decision will be whether one implements Dream Eater or Hex on their Gengar build. Dream Eater is a sneaky dash that lets players put their foe to sleep, temporarily disabling them, before hitting them with a solid strike which also heals Gengar. Though, many players have discovered that Hex can be much more powerful, albeit in a manner that requires some precise aiming and quick reflexes. Hex makes Gengar dash to a target in an invisible lunge that will deal moderate damage by itself, however, if striking an opponent (or multiple opponents, since Hex has an area of effect) afflicted by a status ailment, such as the poison applied by Sludge Bomb, the cooldown of Hex is reduced from 7.5 seconds to a mere 1 second. Since the poison of Sludge Bomb lingers for about 3 to 4 seconds, players can potentially chain about 3 Hex attacks together for one of the most overpowered combos in the game.
Phantom Ambush allows players to go into a sneak mode to travel unseen at fast speeds. When used again, Gengar will reappear to perform a surprise attack on any foe within the area of effect for a great way to initiate combat or take out fleeing foes.
NEXT: Pokemon Unite: Gengar Builds
