When Hoopa was introduced to Pokemon Unite this past February, I predicted that its team fight-focused kit would effectively split the meta in half, with pro players and coordinated five stacks on one side, and casual and solo queue players on the other. The first Pokemon Unite World Championship in August proved that theory correct. While there was a lot of variety among the top teams, Hoopa was a constant that defined the meta and shaped the pace of every match. If you played Pokemon Unite on your own at the same time, it would have felt like you were playing an entirely different game. Hoopa was a rare sighting on the ranked ladder for the first half of the year, and once the new Theia Sky Ruins map was introduced during the anniversary event, Hoopa practically disappeared from the game entirely. It’s bizarre to see such an instrumental character at the highest echelon of competitive Unite be non-existent in the normal game, but Hoopa is designed for pro teams, not for average players.
Comfey is the newest Pokemon on the public test server, and I’m getting a lot of Hoopa vibes from the Posy Picker Pokemon. In fact, in some ways, Comfey is even more team-reliant than Hoopa. While Hoopa requires people to pay attention when it opens portals, Comfey needs something even more precious - teammates who know what they’re doing.Like Hoopa, Comfey is a Support Pokemon that serves a unique role. Its passive ability allows it to attach to teammates for protection while healing them, applying shields, and amplifying Comfey’s abilities. Many are comparing Comfey’s playstyle to League of Legends’ Yuumi, which isn’t far off. The big difference is that Comfey has utility not just as a healer, but also as a big scorer. Its passive ability allows Comfey to deposit Aeos Energy equal to the amount its partner deposits, meaning the overdunk potential for a single deposit could be as little as 59 and as much as 199.Comfey will be a power Pokemon in the right hands - and with the right team. When attached to a bruiser like Tyranitar, Tsareena, or Urshifu, Comfey can provide healing and overshield with its Floral Feeling move or trap the enemy and prevent them from escaping with Sweet Kiss. Even its damage abilities - typically a weakness for Support Pokemon, become potent moves capable of lethal damage when attached to another teammate. The only problem is you are completely reliant on your teammate to be in the right place and doing the right thing, which any non-professional player can tell you is an uncommon occurrence.
Comfey might get some play in duos, and I can see myself teaming up with a friend for some top lane hijinks. But in the solo queue, I’d never touch it. If you want to succeed as a solo player in Unite you have to approach every match with a carry mindset, and you can’t drag your team kicking and screaming to victory if you aren’t playing Pokemon with the highest damage potential. Comfey is nothing without at least one teammate that can secure objectives and rack up kills, and the likelihood of finding that on the ranked ladder is slim.
It’s a fun Pokemon, and I can’t wait to see what the pro players do with it, but I don’t expect to see Comfey show up in the normal game much, if at all.