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- Ninetales' Aurora Veil
- Crustle's Shell Smash
- Cinderace's Feint
- Blissey's Helping Hand
- Blissey's Safeguard
- Snorlax's Flail
- Eldegoss' Cotton Guard
Only having damage-dealing moves on a build will only get certain pokemon so far, as the fast-paced environment of Pokemon Unite will challenge gamers to think outside the box to get any sort of advantage over their adversaries.
RELATED: Pokemon Unite: Pro Tips, Tricks, & Strategies To Win Battles
One way to do so is to make use of Buff moves to boost a user's (and sometimes their ally's) power, speed, and more. There are 7 total found in Pokemon Unite so far, all with greatly varying usability, meaning that there are some that players should try out for themselves and others that should be avoided in favor of better moves.
Ninetales' Aurora Veil
The most significant aspect of Aurora Veil is its ability to decrease incoming damage against the user and their allies within the move's area of effect.
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This makes it a great defensive Buff, however, Aurora Veil also is excellent to use offensively as it increases the movement speed of allies within as well as turns their basic attacks into boosted ones. As such, Aurora Veil is one of the best general-use Buffs that players will likely want to use as frequently as possible.
Crustle's Shell Smash
An interesting move, Shell Smash turns the Defender-role pokemon, Crustle, into an offensive powerhouse. This move sacrifices some Defense and Special Defense in order to boost the user's Attack and Special Attack by the amount of defensive stats lost.
RELATED: Pokemon Unite: Best Crustle Builds
Since Crustle's ability, Sturdy, allows it to get free defensive stat boosts whenever it loses a certain amount of HP, using portions of these stat-gains once in a while to boost Attack isn't even that huge of a sacrifice. The fact that this "trade-off" doesn't really cripple Crustle's longevity on the battlefield makes Shell Smash easily one of the best offensive Buffs. In addition, the massive boost to movement speed granted by it can allow players to both hunt down fleeing targets or escape dangerous situations.
Cinderace's Feint
While granting invincibility, albeit briefly, sounds very powerful, the duration of Feint's effects doom it to being almost useless in battle. Being unable to take damage for only a split second is not nearly enough of a window for this move to be useful in any sort of confrontation with enemies.
RELATED: Pokemon Unite: Best Cinderace Builds & Tips
Additionally, the temporary boost to movement speed and the healing effect granted to the next 3 basic attacks don't do much to help Cinderace in most situations. Since it doesn't really help players, except for on specific niche builds, players are better off avoiding Feint, as it's not a very helpful Buff.
Blissey's Helping Hand
Granting increased movement speed to the user and allies nearby when unleashed, Helping Hand really lives up to its name. However, the fact that it turns all basic attacks into boosted ones as well as increases ally attack speed makes Helping Hand easily one of the best group offensive Buffs in the game.
RELATED: Pokemon Unite: Best Blissey Builds
For the duration of its effects, pokemon under Helping Hand's influence will be much more difficult to go up against, and unlike Ninetale's Aurora Veil, players are not restricted to a small area to gain the benefits of this move.
Blissey's Safeguard
As opposed to Blissey's other Buff, Safeguard can only positively benefit a single ally. This means it is naturally less usable, despite its effects being different from Helping Hand.
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In addition to removing all status conditions from the targeted ally, Safeguard makes them immune to hindrances for a time. While handy in some situations, the other option for this move slot (Soft-Boiled) is considerably better as it straight-up heals the user and an ally by restoring HP. Overall, players should pass on Safeguard in favor of Soft-Boiled in most cases, as the former isn't nearly as helpful.
Snorlax's Flail
In what looks like a panicked maneuver, Snorlax can increase its basic attack damage proportionately to how low its HP is when it uses Flail. This can potentially turn the tide in battle, allowing Snorlax players to take their enemy out before they faint, however, it's pretty counterintuitive for most builds on this pokemon.
RELATED: Pokemon Unite: All Defenders & What They Do
Most of the time, Snorlax players will want to have as much HP as possible to soak up hits while locking down an area, like a true Defender. However, Flail's reliance on the user being at low HP dooms it to be only used in dire situations when players will likely want to escape or heal more than buff their basic attack damage; nullifying most of Flail's usability.
Eldegoss' Cotton Guard
Cotton Guard is a Buff that summons a gray haze around the user and allies in a generous area of effect that will absorb some incoming damage. This move essentially gives Eldegoss and their allies temporary armor and is a great Buff to use all the time, as more damage reduction is always a good thing.
Furthermore, the healing effect bestowed when Cotton Guard's other effect dissipates is a nice bonus that grants even greater longevity for the user and their allies, partially increasing the chances of winning a battle.
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