In a recent interview with Famitsu, Masaaki Hoshino, producer of Pokémon Unite, has explained how the Pokémon were chosen which are part of the roster of the MOBA of TiMi Studios.
Being able to draw from the almost 1,000 creatures of the mother series of GameFreak, the Pokémon present in Pokémon Unite are currently only 25 (excluding the intermediate evolutions) and not all are so obvious. Of course, there is no shortage of evergreens Pikachu, Charizard, Lucario and company, but there are also Pokémon such as Mamoswine, Crustle and Cramorant, just to name a few, which are not particularly popular, at least among the general public.
“We choose Pokémon based on how easily players can guess their fighting style just by looking at them. As a Pokémon fan myself, I wanted there to be variety in the game for creatures to choose from. This includes quirky choices like Crustle, as we wanted to explore all the possibilities regarding the Pokémon to be included in the game“explains Hoshino.
Similar speech also for the Wild Pokémon that appear during matches. More than for their popularity, they have been chosen on the basis of their aptitudes and if these are well suited to the dynamics of the game.
“We chose the wild Pokémon based on how well they fit the atmosphere of the arena. A little anecdote: if you defeat Rotom, he will go to tamper with the opponent’s goal. This choice is based on information from the Pokedex, which describes how Rotom can take possession of electronic devices and wreak havoc.“
The Pokémon Unite roster has recently expanded with the arrival of Sylveon, Eevee’s elf-type evolution.