Thrills and Spills in Quick Unite Battles

I have to say that I'm enjoying many things about Pokémon Unite despite still not being very proficient in it, which may or may not be the case as I proceed. As much as I enjoy it, presently I'm often tied up with other affairs that make playing a Standard or Ranked match infeasible (especially when no other friends are present to play with and communicate, which becomes something particularly vital for Ranked matches). Fortunately, the game provides a way out of this through the half-length Quick matches, which also happen to provide their share of what I call "thrills and spills".

Quick matches occur in one of three battle arenas that change out each day, and one of those arenas is called Mer Stadium. Functionally, it can be described as a simplified version of the standard Remoat Stadium, and much of the struggles in the latter do occur in the former, only with four Pokémon a side instead of five. There is the same "thrill" of being able to push back opponents by eliminating their goal zones and the same "spill" when they do likewise. The individual parts of the arena, including "key boss" Zapdos appearances as an example, also happen in quicker succession. It may or may not be able to serve as a "live practice" for the standard arena, but at least some of the processes are emulated.

Shivre City is another one of those arenas, and as can be discerned, it is set in city streets that somewhat resemble Ryme City of Detective Pikachu fame. Here, there are only two goal zones - one for each team - and predictably, much of the action takes place there as one team attempts to score and the other attempts to block. Defeating the "key boss" of Avalugg becomes make-or-break (and "thrill and spill") for matches in this arena, as the team that didn't will be blocked in essence. Also of unique concern are exploding Electrode when they are not quickly dealt with after being attacked; some points may be gained, but the cost of being affected by the explosion may be severe. It is thus a city of total mayhem.

The third arena is Auroma Park, based on the locale where Pokémon are commonly found. Unlike the other two above, a team consists of three Pokémon a side for this arena. The two goal zones here are special in that once any Pokémon scores, a double scoring bonus for other Pokémon is activated, making scoring imperative and necessitating an action plan. Here, there is also a dizzying array of conveyor belts that can quickly whisk Pokémon to different areas, whether intended or not; the "key boss" of Regigigas is enclosed within one circular loop. Other peculiarities include the high-scoring but teleporting Abra, and dynamic duos of Dewpider and Araquanid. Cooperation is in essence totally required for this arena.

With these "thrills and spills", there are certain dynamics that Quick matches bring to the table in order to be able to experience the former while avoiding the latter. I've gone through those dynamics and consequently have experienced those "thrills and spills", and others are likely to do so as well once they take up Quick matches in Pokémon Unite. They might not measure up to the conformity of Standard or Ranked matches, but I would consider them unique and noteworthy challenges to take up, as I have done, when there is only a bit of spare time and before returning to Standard or Ranked fare.

One year ago: The Deprecation of HMs

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 10/12/2019

Three years ago: Finding and Re-Finding Players

Four years ago: The (De Facto) Series Mascot