Game8 Ranked Season 9 Recap | Pokemon UNITE

Ranked Season 9 in Pokemon UNITE is almost ending! Take a look back on the eighth Season of Pokemon UNITE with Game8's recap of Season 9. See which Pokemon was the best, the most improved Pokemon, the best New Pokemon, and more!

Most Valuable Pokemon (MVP)

Urshifu Takes the MVP!

Urshifu is Season 9's MVP, retaining its title from Season 8. The Pokemon continues to deliver top-tier performance both in casual games and in tournaments. It has only become more powerful ever since its Rapid Strike Style received a major buff, increasing the Pokemon's viability as a whole. Whether Urshifu is bursting down opponents with Single Strike Style or beating them up with Rapid Strike Style, the Pokemon will just keep rising to the top!

Urshifu Guide: Best Builds and Moveset

MVP Criteria

Each of these factors determine which Pokemon deserves the Most Valuable Pokemon award for each season.

• Consistency: Refers to a Pokemon's effectiveness or impact in matches despite buffs and nerfs.
• Rank Usage: Refers to how frequent the Pokemon is used in Ranked Matches.
• Tier-List Ranking: Refers to a Pokemon's Tier-List placement throughout the season. If the Pokemon remained in the highest tier throughout the season, it's a contender for MVP.

Tier List: Best Pokemon to Use

Most Improved Pokemon (MIP)

Hoopa Takes the MIP!

Hoopa takes the crown as Season 9's MIP! The Pokemon had been dormant for a long while due to the drastic map change. However, the changes it received in the 1.8.1.6 update brought new life to the Pokemon, putting it into the spotlight once again. It has even made a comeback in recent tournaments, garnering a decent pick and ban rate. It's exciting to see where Hoopa could go now that it's getting more attention.

MIP Criteria

Each of these factors determine which Pokemon deserves the Most Improved Pokemon award for each season.

• Significant Improvement: Refers to a Pokemon's sudden significant improvement after a patch.
• Increased Usage: Refers to the significant increase in a Pokemon's usage in matches.
• Tier-List Ranking: Refers to the Pokemon's increase in the Tier-List Ranking. If the Pokemon experienced a significant jump in its raking (S or SS tier), it's a contender for MIP.

Tier List: Best Pokemon to Use

Top Picks for the Season

Top 3 Picks for Season 9
Mew Pick Rate: 17%	Dodrio Pick Rate: 15%	Urshifu Pick Rate: 14%

These are the top three (3) most used Pokemon by the Masters Top 100 in the leaderboards. These Pokemon helped the players achieve such a feat so give them a big round of applause!

Master Rank Top Pick List

Best Pokemon Per Role

Best Attacker: Mew

Game8 chose Mew as Season 9's best Attacker. Mew continues to give top-tier performances both in casual games and in tournaments. Its ability to change its moveset freely and adapt to the situation at hand remains unchallenged and continues to be a game-winning asset.

Mew Guide: Builds and Best Items

Best Speedster: Dodrio

Game8 chose Dodrio as Season 9's best Speedster. Dodrio is consistent in bringing high-level gaming in casual and competitive games, garnering a high pick rate constantly. Its ludicrous speed coupled with its surprisingly high burst damage makes it such a deadly Pokemon.

Dodrio Guide: Best Builds and Moveset

Best All-Rounder: Urshifu

Game8 chose Urshifu as Season 9's best All-Rounder. Urshifu remains not only as the best All-Rounder in the game but also argubly the best Pokemon in the entire roster. It's consistenly getting picked and banned in tournaments, showing just how valuable the Pokemon is in the meta. With the improvements made to its Rapid Strike Style, the Pokemon seems to just keep getting better with time.

Urshifu Guide: Best Builds and Moveset

Best Defender: Slowbro

Game8 chose Slowbro as Season 9's best Defender. Slowbro's usage shot up drastically despite not receiving any changes throughout the season. It became the first Defender to be the most picked Pokemon in any official Pokemon UNITE tournament, showing an impressive performance. It's steadily becoming a mainstay pick in games.

Slowbro Guide: Builds and Best Items

Best Supporter: Sableye

Game8 chose Sableye as Season 9's best Supporter. Sableye continues to live up to its notoriety as the most annoying Pokemon in the game. Whether it's sneaking up to goal zones and scoring huge amounts of points or locking down opponents during teamfights, the Pokemon never ceases to cause chaos in games.

Sableye Guide: Best Builds and Moveset

Best Holowear

Best Holowear for Season 9
New Year Style (Sylveon)	Aristocrat Style (Lucario)	Fashionable Style (Mew)

Game8 has chosen these three as Season 9's best holowears. These holowears are definitely unique and suits their respective Pokemon well. They are creative and are not simply recycled and recolored.

Holowear List: All Pokemon Skins and Costumes

Best Newcomer: Dragapult

Game8 chose Dragapult as Season 9's best Newcomer. The Pokemon created massive hype when it was officially announced. It's the second Pokemon to have stealth capabilities just after Sableye. It also brought new and innovative mechanics to the game, having a charge-based Unite Move instead of the typical long-cooldown move and a Boosted Attack that deals area damage.

Dragapult Guide: Best Builds and Moveset

Notable Meta Changes

Hoopa's Comeback

Hoopa has come back to the spotlight once again after staying silent for a long time due to the new map. The changes it received in the 1.8.1.6 update made the Pokemon fit more to the demands of the new map and the meta. Hoopa's team can now benefit from easy rotations and global map presence again.

Hoopa Guide: Builds and Best Items

Pokemon UNITE Related Guides

All Ranked Seasons and Rewards

Current Ranked Season
Season 11

Ranked Season Rewards

Ranked Season Rewards
Season 01	Season 02
Season 03	Season 04
Season 05	Season 06
Season 7	Season 8
Season 9	Season 10
Season 11	Season 12

Game8 Ranked Season Recap

Game8 Ranked Season Recap
Season 01 Recap	Season 02 Recap
Season 03 Recap	Season 04 Recap
Season 05 Recap	Season 06 Recap
Season 07 Recap	Season 8 Recap
Season 09 Recap	Season 10 Recap
Season 11 Recap	-