Pokemon Unite Breath of Evolution Part 2: Winners and losers

The Pokemon Unite universe keeps expanding, with every refined alteration further shaping the battlefield and keeping the metagame refreshed. The newest mid-season update, Breath of Evolution Part 2 (version 1.18.2.7), arrives on May 15, 2025. The patch is full of balance adjustments, item revisions, and bug fixes meant to enhance ranked play as well as casual games.

Some Pokemon have been powered up, others pulled back, and a handful of key items have been reworked entirely. Let’s break down the winners and losers of this impactful update.

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Pokemon Unite Breath of Evolution Part 2: Winners

Winners of Pokemon Unite Breath of Evolution Part 2 (Image via The Pokemon Company)

1) Clefable

Clefable gets heavy buffs to its survival and support capacity. Its HP, defense, and special defense have been increased, particularly in the late game. Draining Kiss takes less damage, but its special attack-based healing has been increased. In the meantime, Moonlight heals for more HP, making Clefable a tougher and more consistent healer in teamfights.

2) Blastoise

Blastoise sees improvements in both durability and utility. Its HP cap has been increased, and the speed reductions to Water Spout and Hydro Pump make it better at crowd control when using Rapid Spin. Its Water Spout slows for a longer duration, and the stun on Burst from Hydro Pump has improved when it is spun, thus making Blastoise perform better at breaking enemy formations.

3) Garchomp

An outright winner of this patch, Garchomp heals more from increased attacks now, giving it improved staying power in long battles. Dig and Earthquake both receive shorter cooldowns and longer buffs, enabling Garchomp to dive in and last through skirmishes better.

4) Blaziken

Blaziken’s mobility and survivability get a lift. Focus Blast now applies a longer slow effect, increasing chase potential. The Pocket Monster's Unite Move, Spinning Flame Kick, grants a much larger shield, jumping from 5% to 12% of max HP. It now has a slightly reduced cooldown as well. These upgrades offer more flexibility when switching battle styles mid-fight.

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Pokemon Unite Breath of Evolution Part 2: Losers

Losers of Pokemon Unite Breath of Evolution Part 2 (Image via The Pokemon Company)

1) Zacian

Zacian’s reign of dominance is being toned down. Its Intrepid Sword no longer makes additional Aeos energy fall from slain foes. This takes away its early game snowballing potential.

Important moves such as Play Rough and Sacred Sword have had their stun times and damage decreased, reducing the Pokemon's crowd control and burst potential. These nerfs are a response to Zacian's overwhelming dominance throughout the entirety of the game.

2) Alolan Raichu

Alolan Raichu's Stored Power combo has been nerfed to avoid its explosive burst damage. Its cooldown has been raised from 4.5 to 6 seconds, bonus damage has been lowered by 10%, and the attack speed buff has been reduced from 50% to 35%. These changes target the Pokemon's ability to quickly rotate through moves and burst down opponents.

3) Gyarados

Following Magikarp's quick path to evolution, Gyarados was scaling too early. The patch reduces the Effort Gauge gain from its ability, Rattled, and trims down the damage of Dragon Breath and Waterfall by 12% each. This slows Gyarados’s momentum in lane and makes it slightly less oppressive post-evolution.

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Breath of Evolution Part 2 maintains Pokemon Unite's dedication to balance and equity. With targeted nerfs on overpowered Pokemon such as Zacian and Raichu, and much-needed buffs for underused picks like Garchomp and Clefable, the meta is being rebalanced.

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If you are interested in other topics related to the game, check out these articles:

• All Unite First to 500 Aeos Technology, explained
• Unite Season 30 Battle Pass: All rewards and prices
• Pokemon Unite license tier list
• Unite Solo Queue licenses tier list
• Best Build for every Unite license
• Best Boost Emblems in the game
• Held Item tier list
• Battle Item tier list