Aeos Cup 2022 Analysis (Japan) - UNITE World Championship Series

Want to know a quick summary and analysis of the things that happened in Aeos Cup 2022 Japan? Read on to see the most used Pokemon, the Pokemon with the best win rate, the most used battle and held items, lanes for each Pokemon, where to watch the stream, as well as highlights that defined this tournament!

Aeos Cup Analysis
Aeos Cup (North America)	Aeos Cup (Japan)

Aeos Cup 2022 Summary (Japan)

らんたろぶい海賊団 (Rantarobui Pirates) Wins the Cup!

らんたろぶい海賊団 (Rantarobui Pirates) proved their dominance, beating other teams and winning the entire tournament.

Aeos Cup Japan Tally (As of April 2022)

Meta Highlights (Japan)

Duraludon Pick Rate Falls

The nerf Duraludon received in version 1.4.1.10 significantly reduced its overall damage potential and its ability to dominate in team fights. This made it less effective in pressuring the opposing team as its Dragon Pulse setups demanded more attention than ever before. Moreover, as more teams utilize Hoopa, the shields from Trick are enough to stave off Duraludon's burst damage. Because of this, the Pokemon's pick rate fell drastically and only one team in the whole tournament used Duraludon.

Effects on the Meta

The fall in picks means that its direct counter, Decidueye, is no longer as powerful in the current meta. Moreover, the absence of tournament staples like Pikachu and Eldegoss, which were easy for Duraludon, made it possible for teams to utilize Pokemon like Alolan Ninetales and Greninja. Finally, Full Heal was not as essential for going against Duraludon after the nerf.

Cinderace Hypercarry

With its high amounts of damage to melt through targets while being able to reposition itself, Cinderace became a reliable Attacker for pushing goal zones and picking off single targets. We saw multiple plays where Cinderace was able to stop the enemy Greedent from making disruptive plays, as well as shutting down support opportunities from Hoopa.

Easy Objective Secure

Having Cinderace as the team's dedicated carry meant that securing objectives like Drednaw or Zapdos was more efficient as the team can continue pushing the lane after getting the bonus shields. Running av Scope Lens means that Blaze Kick deals increased damage on top of the fast auto-attacks, which was effective

Scoring Strategy Still Powerful

The scoring strategy, which comprises taking advantage of Score Shield's uninterruptible effect, makes a strong return. This time, the composition goes all-in with long-distance scoring shenanigans from Talonflame and Dragonite, to the hard-hitting slam and endless Belch from Greedent. The strategy proved to be effective as we saw multiple plays where the scoring team was able to score high amounts of points in the final stretch of the match, even when the opposing team secures Zapdos.

Snorlax Block Counter

The strategy saw a new counter in the form of utilizing Snorlax's innate durability and disabling moves. The Heavy Slam to Block combo can prevent multiple scoring attempts by pushing them off the goal zone entirely. This gives enough time for shield bonuses from Unite Moves or Buddy Barrier to wear off.

Lucario Full Heal

Full Heal saw a high pick rate among Lucario players. Running this Battle Item allows them to not only negate potential Dragon Pulse marks from Duraludon but also give more protection from going against lane disablers like Wigglytuff or Alolan Ninetales while stacking Attack Weight bonuses. Moreover, with the prevalence of a two-man Top lane, having protection against stuns and knockbacks makes it easier for Lucario to retreat whenever it gets caught by multiple enemies.

Alolan Ninetales and Hoopa Duo

A consistent duo picked by teams throughout the tournament are Alolan Ninetales and Hoopa, acting as a damage dealer and a support, respectively. This duo always shares a lane, whether the top lane or bottom lane.

Hyperspace Hole Meta

Trick is usually the go-to move learned by Hoopa before. However, teams that picked the duo learns Hyperspace Hole instead, allowing them to rotate lanes and secure objectives faster.

Heavy Focus on Rotom

One consistent strategy that teams do is focusing on taking Rotom for themselves. This strategy puts pressure in the enemy's top lane, forcing them to rotate to the lane to defend it. If the enemy fails to defend it and Rotom enters their goal, the pushing team will score every point they have until the goal is destroyed.

Race to Open Top Lane

The goal of this startegy is to open the top lane as soon as possible in the hopes of taking the last Rotom moments before the 2:00 minute mark, pressuring the enemy to defend their central goal while the team takes Zapdos.

Greedent Counter-Jungling

Much like past tournaments, teams pick Greedent to invade the enemy team's jungle, stealing points and exp. from the enemy jungler.

Fluffly Tail Meta

When teams pick Greedent, most of them equip Fluffy Tail as their battle item. Its purpose is mainly to make securing objectives faster, but it's also used to farm wild Pokemon.

Picks and Win Rates (Japan)

Pokemon	Most Picked %	Win Rate %
Lucario	82%	44.7%
Greedent	82%	42.1%
Talonflame	59%	34.2%
Wigglytuff	58%	34.2%
Dragonite	46%	21.1%
Hoopa	42%	18.4%
Alolan Ninetales	30%	15.8%
Cinderace	28%	10.5%
Snorlax	14%	7.9%
Mr. Mime	13%	10.5%
Aegislash Greninja	11%	2.6%
Crustle	9%	7.9%
Absol	8%	5.3%
Slowbro	4%	2.6%
Duraludon	3%	2.6%
Blastoise	1%	0%

Game8 Notes

Duraludon's nerf proved to be detrimental for it, meta-wise. It is now picked second to last when March Cup was all about Duraludon. The re-emergence of a Lucario meta is imminent together with a Greedent counterjungle in close second.

Pokemon not shown here were not picked during Aeos Cup Japan.

Most Picked Battle Item (Japan)

Battle Item	Most Picked %
Goal-Getter	31.3%
Fluffy Tail	16.8%
Full Heal	16.3%
Eject Button	16.1%
X Attack	8.9%
X Speed	8.4%
Slow Smoke	1.3%
Potion	0.8%

Game8 Notes

Goal-Getter got top spot with a whopping 31.3% pick rate - ushering in a new competitive scoring meta!

Battle Items not shown here were not picked during Aeos Cup Japan.

Most Picked Held Item (Japan)

Held Item	Most Picked %
Buddy Barrier	75.3%
Score Shield	71.3%
Muscle Band	49.2%
Attack Weight	42.6%
Focus Band	32.6%
Exp. Share	9.2%
Weakness Policy	7.4%
Scope Lens	6.3%
Sp. Atk. Specs	2.9%
Aeos Cookie	1.6%
Choice Specs Float Stone Razor Claw	0.5%

Game8 Notes

Buddy Barrier continues to dominate as the most flexible held item to use in Builds. Score Shield lagging second checks out with the competitive scoring meta for this tournament! The third and fourth most picked Held Items are Muscle Band and Attack Weight which also support this meta.

Held Item not shown here were not used during Aeos Cup Japan.

Pokemon Lane Picks (Japan)

Pokemon	Top Pick %	Jungle Pick %	Bot Pick %
Absol	--	100%	--%
Aegislash	--%	--	100%
Alolan Ninetales	39.1%	--	60.9%
Blastoise	100%	--	--
Cinderace	--	100%	--
Crustle	100%	--	--
Dragonite	40%	60%	--
Duraludon	100%	--	--
Greedent	6.5%	27.4%	66.1%
Greninja	--	87.5%	12.5%
Hoopa	81.3%	--	18.8%
Lucario	59.7%	8.1%	32.3%
Mr. Mime	100%	--	--
Slowbro	100%	--	--
Snorlax	27.3%	--	72.7%
Talonflame	66.7%	33.3%	--
Wigglytuff	13.6%	--	86.4%

Pokemon not shown here were not picked during Aeos Cup Japan.

Where to Watch Aeos Cup 2022 (Japan)

Aeos Cup 2022 Japan Day 1 (April 23)

Aeos Cup 2022 Japan Day 2 (April 24)

The Aeos Cup 2022 was streamed live on the official Japanese Pokemon UNITE Youtube account and ran for two (2) days from April 23 to April 24, 2022. Day 1 will consist of all the games from the tournament until the final six (6) teams remain. The remaining teams will then advance to Day 2 and compete for the title of Aeos Cup Champion!

For the full schedule of the World Championship Series, check out this article:

UNITE World Championship Series 2022 Schedule

Pokemon UNITE Related Guides

UNITE World Championship Series 2022

2022 Championship Series Analysis

2022 World Championship Series Analysis
2022 World Championships
Regional Finals (North America)	Regional Finals (Japan)
May Finals (North America)	May Finals (Japan)
Aeos Cup (North America)	Aeos Cup (Japan)
March Finals Summary (North America)	March Finals Summary (Japan)
February Finals Summary (North America)

All Pokemon UNITE Tournament and Analysis