Five funny ideas, from a lifelong lover of Pokemon who may be moderately addicted to Pokemon Unite. I hope you enjoy and can have some fun water cooler talk with your friends on Discord after reading this.

5: Rotate Zapados, Moltres, and Articuno each game, each having its own unique effect

Okay, this is going to come up multiple times in this piece, so get used to it: Something’s gotta change about Zapados. One idea I think could be fun? Let’s go full Pokemon Go and mix in Moltres and Articuno. #TeamInstinctByTheWay

Making this change could allow for each game to have its own unique feel, and allow for some unpredictability in the late game. Each bird could have the following abilities, just to throw something out there:

• Zapados: Makes scoring instant
• Moltres: Increases speed and attack/sp. atk dramatically
• Articuno: Slows down enemy scoring

In addition to these, I’d also be fine with doing away with double points at the end, at least in competitive. It feels far too gimmicky right now, but I believe these changes to the end-game could at least prompt some interesting discussion.

4: Alter the mechanics/benefits of Zapados entirely. Please.

One idea, potentially even working off of the one above, is to just eliminate the whole “Zapados can get you 700 points in the last 20 seconds” thing entirely. This could take a lot of forms, but one that I like is just having two or three spawn per game and with significantly reduced effects.

Imagine one spawning at the 4:00 mark that lives for 1:30, and another that spawns as it does now. They could each be a different legendary bird, or in the future, maybe even just different legendary Pokemon. Winning the one at the 4:00 mark would help a team get momentum, sure, but it wouldn’t seal the deal. Winning both ought to be powerful in this line of thinking, but there would still need to be a way to win without either, much like League of Legends is with elemental drakes.

In any case, something needs to change. I’m sick of throttling a team all game long only to lose it all in 20 seconds at the end to a f****** Zapados. I don’t think I’m alone in that one.

3: Add a Scuttle Crab in the form of Bidoof

Bidoof has got to get into the game somehow, right? He’s simply too powerful to be left out. But, I doubt he’ll ever be a playable Pokemon, so what about making him Pokemon Unite’s version of League of Legends’s Scuttle Crab?

If you’re new to League, the Scuttle Crab appears in the jungle every so often and grants the team who slays it the ability to have an enhanced vision of that area. In Pokemon Unite, there’s really nothing that can grant vision right now. No wards, nothing. But, what if there was, and it was Bidoof?

My idea, in short, is to spawn a Bidoof every 2.5 minutes that, if killed, grants the killing team with vision of the center area of the map. This could allow for some tricky late-game play with scouting Zapados and gets everyone’s favorite beaver doofus into the game. Sounds like a win-win to me.

2: Rotate more Pokemon in the jungle throughout games

So, I love the Boufallant and Ludiocolo combo throughout the whole game, don’t touch that. But, what about other aspects of the jungle? Why is the rest so boring and limited? Personally, I’d love to see more variety, not only throughout the jungle, but throughout the course of each game.

Give us some early-game Caterpie’s to kill, some mid-game Kecleon’s, and maybe some late-game Rydon’s. Or even just different Pokemon in different areas, more so than there is now. As much as I love killing Corphish and Aipom time and time again, I’d be open to other suitors.

1: Incorporate arcade modes

Every game eventually gets there, but Pokemon Unite has a ton of potential, even outside quick games, for some wacky arcade modes. This, even more than anywhere else, is where I want to see fan-service Pokemon, much like the Pokemon Stadium mini-games used to do. Some random ideas off the dome:

• Ditto Game: Everyone is Ditto and transforms into a new Pokemon at each death.
• Roaming Delibird: Delibird roams the map and gives gifts (buffs, items, etc.) to players.
• Infection: One player starts off as Arbok, has to sneak around and “infect” other players until there is only one left standing.
• Something with Lickitung: Use your imagination.

These are just some thoughts from someone who’s played every Pokemon game release, had a brief pro career in VGC, and just loves the hell out of the franchise. Take them or leave them, but I hope this can expand your imagination for just how much potential this game really has. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited for what’s to come.

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