Best Pokémon Unite builds: Mew, Dragonite, and more

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Best Defender builds

Pokemon Unite Defenders (Image credit: iMore)

Defenders serve as your team's proverbial punching bag. With high HP and defense, your main objective is to distract the enemies while your teammates lockdown KOs or score goals. You likely won't rank the highest when it comes to KOs at the end of a match, but if played properly, you should have plenty of important assists.

Slowbro (Special Ranged Attacks)

Pokemon Unite Slowbro (Image credit: iMore)

With ranged attacks, Slowbro is one of the more interesting Defenders currently in Pokémon Unite. While not inherently as tanky as its role counterparts, a few unique abilities open up some incredible possibilities for your teammates.

Slowbro	Best build
Moves	○ Surf (Lv 4): Slowbro charges forward on a series of waves dealing damage. At lower levels only the first wave knocks enemies up, but at level 11, all three waves throw Pokémon. ○ Amnesia (Lv 6): Increases Slowbro's Defense and increases the damage of Scald or Surf on the next use.
Held Items	○ Aeos Cookie: Permanently increases the Pokémon's health every time it scores a goal. ○ Rocky Helmet: This item increases the Pokemon's HP and Defense while also returning damage to enemies who attack the wearer. ○ Shell Bell: Increases Sp. Atk damage, decreases cooldowns, and recovers health when damaged.
Battle Item	Eject Button: Allows the user to dash forward in the target direction. Great for escaping or chasing.
Path	Top: Pair with a good Attacker on the top path.

Snorlax (Physical Melee Attacks)

Pokemon Unite Snorlax (Image credit: iMore)

Snorlax is everything you could ever want in a Defender: tons of health, potential for incredibly high defense, and obnoxious health regeneration. Snorlax can and will take a beating like nobody else. Get that big body in a lane and assert your dominance.

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Snorlax	Best build
Moves	○ Heavy Slam (Lv 6): Jump into the air and slam down on enemies. This deals moderate damage and knocks enemies into the air. ○ Block (Lv 8): Become an immovable wall with a large shield that pushes any enemies it touches.
Held Items	○ Leftovers: Offers health regen when outside of combat. ○ Rocky Helmet: This item increases the Pokemon's HP and Defense while also returning damage to enemies who attack the wearer. ○ Assault Vest: Increases Snorlax's HP and Sp. Defense while also granting an Sp. Atk shield when outside of combat.
Battle Item	Potion: While Snorlax might not need it, Potion will make this Pokémon incredible hard to KO.
Path	Bottom: Pair with a good All-Rounder or Support on the bottom path.

Crustle (Physical Melee Attacks)

Pokemon Unite Crustle (Image credit: iMore)

Another powerhouse Defender, Crustle probably has the best kill potential of any Pokémon in this role. In addition to sporting high HP and defense, Crustle can use devastating moves like X-Scissor to absolutely ravage enemy forces and set allies up for easy KOs.

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Crustle	Best build
Moves	○ Rock Tomb (Lv 4): Creates a wall that emerges from the earth, damaging enemies and restricting their movement. ○ X-Scissor (Lv 8): Dash forward while slicing enemies in your path. Also stuns opposing Pokémon if they are knocked into an object.
Held Items	○ Assault Vest: Increases Pokémon's HP and Sp. Defense and grants an Sp. Atk shield when outside of combat. ○ Rocky Helmet: This item increases the Pokemon's HP and Defense while also returning damage to enemies who attack the wearer. ○ Muscle Band: Increases Crustle's Attack and Basic Attack Speed.
Battle Item	X Attack: Creates some deadly combinations with Rock Tomb and X-Scissor by boosting Pokémon's Attack.
Path	Top: Pair with a good Attacker or All-Rounder on the top path.

Blastoise (Ranged Special Attack)

Pokemon Unite Blastoise (Image credit: iMore)

Blastoise is a unique ranged Defender with a host of remarkable crowd control abilities. With high sustain and surprising KO potential, this imposing turtle makes it incredibly difficult for the enemy team to score. Rapid Spin and Hydro Pump provide a sure-fire squad clearing combo.

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Blastoise	Best build
Moves	○ Hydro Pump (Lv 5): Deals a huge amount of damage to enemy Pokémon and knocks them back. ○ Rapid Spin (Lv 7): Take a defensive shell stance and spin rapidly to attack enemy Pokémon. Changes spread and range of basic attacks and Hydro Pump.
Held Items	○ Assault Vest: Increases Pokémon's HP and Sp. Defense and grants an Sp. Atk shield when outside of combat. ○ Rocky Helmet: This item increases the Pokemon's HP and Defense while also returning damage to enemies who attack the wearer. ○ Aeos Cookie: Permanently increases the Pokémon's health every time it scores a goal.
Battle Item	Goal Getter: Cuts goal-scoring time in half, making it easier to build stacks for Aeos Cookie.
Path	Top: Pair with a good Attacker or All-Rounder on the top path.

Mamoswine (Physical Melee Attacks)

Pokemon Unite Mamoswine (Image credit: iMore)

With high Endurance and a kit of hard crowd-control abilities, Mamoswine is a remarkably capable Defender. Support your allies by relentlessly chasing and stunning enemies. This Pokémon is a great fit for players who don't mind getting up close and personal with opposing forces.

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Mamoswine	Best build
Moves	○ Ice Fang (Lv 6): Grab enemy Pokémon with your powerful tasks and slam them on the ground. This move freezes any enemy hit by the smash. ○ Earthquake (Lv 8): Leap into the air and rumble the earth with your impact. Enemies caught within the radius are pulled towards the user.
Held Items	○ Assault Vest: Increases Pokémon's HP and Sp. Defense and grants an Sp. Atk shield when outside of combat. ○ Rocky Helmet: This item increases the Pokemon's HP and Defense while also returning damage to enemies who attack the wearer. ○ Buddy Barrier: After using your Unite Move, the Pokémon and its lowest-HP ally get a shield.
Battle Item	Eject Button: An excellent tool for fleeing overwhelming encounters or chasing fleeing foes.
Path	Top: Pair with a good Attacker on the top path.

Greedent (Physical Melee Attacks)

Pokemon Unite Greedent (Image credit: iMore)

Greedent is arguably the most technical Defender in Pokémon Unite. With an unconventional collection of abilities focused on collecting and eating berries, this steadfast squirrel offers incredible Endurance as well as legitimate support for teammates. Eat all the berries in site and Belch your foes into submission.

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Greedent	Best build
Moves	○ Covet (Lv 5): Charge forward with all your might damaging and throwing any enemy Pokémon you come in contact with. Greedent also throws berries while this attack is active and grabbing them increases its movement speed. ○ Belch (Lv 7): Belch deals damage to enemies in a cone. Any enemies hit with this ability have their movement speed decreased for a short time. The number of berries Greedent is holding while using Belch also decreases the move's cooldown.
Held Items	○ Assault Vest: Increases Pokémon's HP and Sp. Defense and grants a Sp. Atk shield when outside of combat. ○ Rocky Helmet: This item increases the Pokemon's HP and Defense while also retuning damage to enemy's who attack the wearer. ○ Buddy Barrier: After using your Unite Move, the Pokémon and its lowest-HP ally get a shield.
Battle Item	X Speed: Provides a boost of speed that enables Greedent to relentlessly pursue enemies.
Path	Bottom: Pair with a good Attacker on the bottom path.

Trevenant (Physical Melee Attacks)

Pokemon Unite Trevenant (Image credit: iMore)

Another incredibly technical Defender, Trevenant has tremendous potential for destructive damage-over-time. With incredibly high HP and a moveset designed to keep enemies away, this towering tree is an intimidating force in the arena.

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Trevenant	Best build
Moves	○ Curse (Lv 5): Trevenant creates an area of cursed energy that damages and slows enemies. The lower Trevenant's health the stronger this move becomes. Curse also builds energy pver time that is unleashed as damage at the end of move's cycle. ○ Pain Split (Lv 7): Trevenant links itself to an enemy Pokémon. Any damage received is partially returned to the linked target. If Trevenant's health is lower than the linked Pokémon, it will also steal health.
Held Items	○ Weakness Policy: Increases Pokémon's Attack for a short time by a minimum of 2% when the Pokémon recieves damage. The increase grows larger the more times damage is received. ○ Rocky Helmet: This item increases the Pokemon's HP and Defense while also retuning damage to enemy's who attack the wearer. ○ Shell Bell: Increases Sp. Atk damage, decreases cooldowns, and recovers health when damaged.
Battle Item	Full Heal: This item removes all status conditions and makes the user immune to crowd control effects for a short time.
Path	Top: Pair with a good Attacker on the top path.