Introduction
Back at the 1-year anniversary, the original Kanto Trio dropped with a lot of weight on Pokemon Masters. While we’d already been given Sygna Suit Red & Charizard about 6 months earlier, Sygna Suit Blue & Blastoise and Sygna Suit Leaf & Venusaur hit the game like absolute bombs, and re-shaped what we thought of as “good” in Pokemon Masters. And while all three are still definitely good today, they’ve fallen off in recent years, to the point where players can now pick one member of the trio for free via what is essentially the game’s expanded tutorial. Sort of a sad fate for the once-and-former masters of the Pokemon Masters meta.
Well, it seems that DeNA wasn’t satisfied with the original Kanto trio falling off, and have decided to return Pokemon Masters to its roots utilizing the “Neo Champion” title that was released a bit short of a year ago. Red, Blue, and Leaf are back in a big way, and this time they’re not resorting to utilizing their starter Pokemon, and are instead sporting the very first Legendary Trio to ever grace the series. Sporting striking formal-wear worthy of their Neo Champion titles and the iconic Legendary Birds of Kanto, it’s time for them to remind everyone just how amazing the original region of Pokemon truly is.
Neo Champion Red & Articuno
Sync Pair Overview
The first member of this trio and the first to be released is Neo Champion Red & Articuno. This Sync Pair is a powerful Ice Type attacker with outstanding overall capabilities that set them apart from the competition to a fairly staggering degree. To start with, Red has carried over a few of his signature effects from his other pairings in the form of guaranteed Critical Hits and an inability to miss with attacks under normal circumstances. However, he adds to this the ability to spread the Ice Debuff effect when attacking and using a Sync Move for the first time, and the ability to score two stacks of the Special Move Up Next effect with every single attack launched and more Sync Move damage with active Special Move Next stacks and we’ve already set up a genuinely terrifying power-house, and we haven’t even touched on their moves yet! Red’s Trainer Move grants +6 Special Attack and 2 stacks of the Special Damage Up Next effect, which equates to maxed offensive stat boosts when combined with Red’s signature guaranteed Critical Hit effect. Next we have Blizzard, which hits pretty dang hard for a 3-bar move when everything is taken into account and has 100% Accuracy thanks to Red’s other signature tactic. And it also ensures 1 stack of the Ice Rebuff effect to the entire opposing team the first time that it’s launched, opening the door for even more power. And speaking of the Ice Rebuff effect, while anything on the field has this nasty debuff active, Red & Articuno’s Buddy Move unlocks: Frozen Wings Ice Beam. This move hits a single target even harder than Blizzard, ignores passive skills that the target may have that would reduce its damage or prevent a Critical Hit, pierces the opponent’s Enduring effect, and has 100% odds of freezing the opponent! Yes, you read that correctly; we finally have a move that can Freeze 100% of the time. Finish off this kit with Protect just for good measure to keep Red & Articuno alive through powerful AoE hits or Sync Moves, and it’s obvious that the original Pokemon Protagonist is a huge threat once again.
So it’s not really controversial to say that Red & Articuno could very well be the strongest Striker in Pokemon Masters to date. They have a plethora supportive effects that allow them to outright ignore the opposition’s strategies, hit incredibly hard thanks to their ludicrous set of buffing effects, and can even potentially keep the opposition from playing the game at all thanks to their guaranteed-freeze attack. Their gameplay loop is to max their offensive capabilities, throw out a Blizzard to score the Ice Rebuff effect, and then absolutely dominate the other team! At that point Red & Articuno can spam Blizzard to take out the sides before leaving the center entirely helpless in a deep layer of perma-frost or just pick off the entire team with Frozen Wings Ice Beam to leave them unable to do anything, similar to what was popular with early-game Sleep inducers. And that’s not even mentioning their Sync Move! Yes, Red & Articuno can drop the opposing team into a new Ice Age with their Sync Move, and can also dial this strategy up to 11 with the ability to unlock the Tech EX role alongside their innate Striker role with a Tech Roll Cake, boosting its already devastating damage by 1.5x.
So are there any down-sides to Red & Articuno? Well, one; the ability to use Frozen Wings Ice Beam relies on having a Type Rebuff effect active on at least one opponent, and Red & Articuno can only inflict this effect twice; once with the first use of Blizzard, and once with their first Sync Move. This makes them harder to utilize at full power against multi-layer stages and Legendary Arena/Gauntlet stages, both of which bring in new phases that don’t retain debuffs set on the previous. That said, it’s worth noting that Red & Articuno’s Frozen Wings Ice Beam doesn’t rely on Ice rebuff, but any Type of rebuff. This means that bringing a partner along that can force a rebuff in another type can unlock this deadly attack for continued use.
How To Use?
With an amazing base kit to run with, it’s no surprise that Red & Articuno are pretty amazing even at ⅕, but additional Sync Move levels do add a lot. At ⅖ Red & Articuno can enjoy buffed damage based on Special Attack boosts, grant some move gauge support and healing during hail, set the Move Gauge Acceleration effect post-first-Sync, and inflict Freeze more often with Blizzard as the main highlights. However, ⅗ is where Red & Articuno really crank it up to 11, as they get a few really fun tiles to play with. They can set Hail with their first Sync Move and boost basic and Sync Moves by a huge amount while Hail is active, score more damage with their Sync Move based on Special Attack boosts, garner Special Attack Up Next stacks when using Red’s trainer move, and even score a huge damage boost for Red & Articuno’s Sync Move against targets carrying a Type Rebuff.
Honestly, all three Sync Level milestones are great in their own right, but each also brings huge bonuses to damage output. It’s fine to stop anywhere, but getting to ⅗ will definitely pay off!
For Lucky Skills, you’re going to want to go for Critical Strike 2, or Weathered Warrior 3 if you’re going to lean heavily into Hail. A hail build is definitely worth it, but keep in mind that the difference between the two is around +10% damage in hail or other weathers, or -20% when no weather is active
Red & Articuno are definitely worth EXing ASAP. Their relatively low base Special Attack combined with their plethora of damage boosts means that the base Special Attack boosts from powering up will result in significantly more damage output, while the ability to hit the entire team with Red & Articuno’s devastating Sync Moves can frequently result in a field-wipe. And on the matter of the EX boost; Role Cakes are definitely a very premium item, so is it worth spending this rare resource on Red & Articuno? Well, yes and no. While it’s true that this boost can compound with Red & Articuno’s existing boosts to bring about thermonuclear winter in a single move, it may be overkill in some stages. For this reason, it’s definitely an amazing investment, but not necessarily the best investment until EX cakes become a bit more common.
Neo Champion Leaf & Moltres
Sync Pair Overview
With Ice out of the way, it’s time to heat things up with Fire. Neo Champion Leaf & Moltres fill the Tech role of the trio, and definitely live up to the hype. To start with, their only direct-stat-drop move is Leer, for -1 Defense. Yes, you read that right; Leaf & Moltres rely on Leer for their Tech utility. Leer. I mean sure; their passive skills turn it into a monstrous -1 Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense per use and a way to score a single Fire Rebuff stack on the entire opposing team on its first use, but it’s leer! All kidding aside, that covers all of Moltres & Leaf’s Passive Skills, with the exception of a little effect that grants the entire team immunity to all forms of status while the Sun is up, but what are the odds that Leaf & Moltres will be able to raise the sun by themselves? Surely they can’t do that! Moving on, Leaf & Moltres can max their Attack, Special Attack, and Critical Rate with a single use of Leaf’s Trainer Move, heal themselves or their teammates with Potion, and oh look, we have another Buddy Move that relies on a Rebuff effect! Fiery Wings Flare Blitz unlocks when one or more opponents have a Type Rebuff effect, and it also doubles any stat-drops that the target may have! So after 1 use of Leer, we’ve got -1 to Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense. Use Fiery Wings Flare Blitz and this becomes -2. Use it again, -4. Use it a 3rd time, and it’s the full -6. This is huge, and even works if Leaf & Motres are paired with another Sync Pair that preys on Speed, Accuracy, or Evasion as well. Oh, and guess what? This move also raises the sun the first time that it’s used, opening up more damage and the aforementioned full-team status immunity!
So needless to say, Leaf & Moltres is one of the best stat-dropping Tech units in the entire game, able to potentially zero-out four stats or more while also dealing very high Fire Type damage that’s boosted by said incredibly useful stat-drops and Sun boosts. To make things even better, they can also drop devastating single-target Sync Moves that prey on all types of stat-drops for more power. They can also obtain the Support EX Role via a Support Role Cake, granting a double-Sync-Buff effect the first time that they throw out said Sync Move. And when combined with their ability to set up quickly, debuff quickly, and raise the Sun early-game, makes them outstanding at throwing out devastating fiery assaults that only further their tech utility along the way.
But it’s not quite all good. Similar to Red & Articuno, Leaf & Moltres need to have a Rebuff effect somewhere on the field in order to use their Buddy Move, but unlike Red & Articuno, Leaf & Moltres are basically crippled without it as they need Fiery Wings Flare Blitz in order to deal damage outside of their Sync Move. On top of this, their signature “doubled-stat-drop” gimmick is doubtlessly amazing, but it outright relies on other stat-dropping effects in order to work. Most of the time this is fine, as a single use of Leer plants the seeds for massive stat drops shortly after. But on stages where the opponent gets a boost to one of the four key-stats, or even worse; buffs them at regular intervals, it can be a struggle to get them low enough to actually keep said stat(s) zeroed-out with Fiery Wings Flare Blitz. It’s sort of a tug-of-war game, where Leaf & Moltres will win if they can get the stat low enough to basically reset it to -6 with every attack launched, and the opponent wins if they manage to get it back to 0, or Heaven forbid manage to get it to +1 or higher and you’re forced to double-back to Leer. In most cases this isn’t an issue, but on stages where one or two of these effects become more demanding, generally due to relevant buffs from the opposing side, it can slow down the onslaught and result in sub-optimal performance.
How To Use?
As should be expected from a great Tech unit, Leaf & Moltres have a lot going for them at ⅕. While their grid doesn’t do much for them at this point, their base kit can carry a lot of weight, especially if you just want something to spread around fairly comprehensive debuffs. That said, it is definitely worth investing in Leaf & Moltres, as their Grid can add an awful lot to their utility. However, this utility doesn’t really start at ⅖. At best, they can heal more with Potion, potentially confuse with Leer (and keep in mind that Confusion is pretty sub-par as a status when not preyed on for additional power/effects), greatly increase the odds of burning with Fiery Wings Flare Blitz (again; not a super-great status when not used for something else), and potentially garner a Physical Attack Up Next stack when using Leer. These are all nice effects, but nothing game-changing. However, ⅗ is where the game really changes. At this point, Leaf & Moltres can raise the Sun on their first Sync, increase the duration of Sunny weather, deal substantially more Sync Move damage based on the target’s debuffs, increase the power of Fiery Wings Flare Blitz based on the target’s Defense debuffs, and even decrease the Sync Move Counter by 1 the first time that Leer is used.
Honestly, it’s probably best to either keep Leaf & Moltres at ⅕, or plan to get them to ⅗. The former is perfectly fine for their Tech prowess, while the latter is where they start hitting like a burning truck.
Similar to Red & Articuno, the best options are probably Critical Strike 2 or Weathered Warrior 3. However, Head Start 1 or Adrenaline 1 can also work very well for a more Tech-focused build, with the former working especially well with Leer: Afflicter’s Fervor 1 to lower the Sync Move counter by 2 during the first cycle, meaning any partner that can cut 1 more move off will result in one less cycle before dropping the first Sync Move.
EXing Leaf & Moltres definitely has its dividends, with additional raw power and the 1.5x Tech multiplier to Sync Moves to turn Moltres thermonuclear when set up properly. However, the really interesting part comes into play when we start to look at Role Cakes. Leaf & Moltres gain the Support role if invested in, meaning their Sync Move will also grant double Sync-Boosts when it’s used for the first time. This entirely removes the opportunity cost dilemma that comes with dropping an early Sync Nuke vs. scoring a Support Sync Boost at the start of a battle to score more overall damage, and makes Leaf & Moltres arguably the best choice to give a Roll Cake to when simply looking at how much it benefits their basic strategy. And allow me to reiterate; arguably, because the ability to bring a Sync Nuke ice-age with Red & Articuno really shouldn’t be overlooked…
Showcase Video
Neo Champion Blue & Zapdos
Sync Pair Overview
Oh dear, we have a lot to cover here. Neo Champion Blue & Zapdos finish off this trio, and let me give full disclosure; Zapdos may very well be my personal favorite Pokemon in the entire series, but my love of this bird will not impart bias to my review, as this is a Sync Pair that does not need bias to shine. To start with, Blue & Zapdos automatically raise the entire team’s Defense and Special Defense by 1 stage with every Attack launched, and also score the Free Move Next effect every time that they attack, meaning they virtually don’t utilize the Move Gauge after their first attack and keep buffing the team throughout the battle. Oh, and they also have a 30% chance to cause the target to Flinch when attacking just because they needed to be able to do more. Next, they have the team-standard effect of scoring an Electric Rebuff stack with their first Attack and Sync Move usage, but they also have the advantage of passively boosting the damage of any Sync Moves used by any member of the team. Move-wise, we start with a pretty standard Trainer Move from blue; +3 Critical Rate, up to +3~+6 Special Attack with the use of up to 3 Move Gauge slots, and 2 stacks of the Special Move Up Next effect for the entire team with a single skill use. That’s right; maxed Critical Rate, Special Attack, and 2 stacks of the Special Move Up Next effect for the low-low price of 3 Move Gauge bars. And does that Move Gauge cost leave you worried about your ability to launch attacks? Well worry no more, because Blue & Zapdos also can score +3 Speed to the entire team twice with Blue’s second Trainer Move, because why not? Next up is Discharge, which hits the entire enemy field so yes, the Electric Rebuff effect does hit everyone at once just like what Red and Leaf can do and we’ve got a chance to Paralyze on top of the previously mentioned AoE Flinch! Finally, it’s Blue & Zapdos’ turn for a Buddy Move, and this time we have Thunderwing Wings Roost. Not an attack, this move has 2 uses and restores 30% of the entire team’s HP, cures all Status Conditions, and also applies the Gradual Healing effect to the entire team. Oh, and it also restores another 30% HP to Blue % Zapdos, basically making it a self-healing Potion that also heals the team like a Mini-Potion.
I’m going to say it; Blue & Zapdos is probably the absolute best Support unit in the game. This is a Sync Pair that maxes out the team’s offensive capabilities in short order, spreads AoE status, boosts the team’s defenses passively, heals the entire team, cures status, and has outstanding move gauge management options. And while they excel with Special attackers, they also work extremely well with just about anyone. Have a Physical attacker that can self-max their Attack? Blue and Zapdos can make them work just fine with them! Honestly, there are very few Sync Pairs that wouldn’t pair well with Blue & Zapdos, and a huge number that absolutely excel with them. Blue & Zapdos also have the traditional Support EX role bonus, but with a Striker Role Cake they can also turn their Sync Move into an AOE attack. And while the effectiveness of this is… admittedly a bit dubious… It does have the advantage of spreading the second stack of the Electric Rebuff effect to the entire enemy team instead of just one single target.
For down-sides… I suppose that their Move Gauge usage can be a bit tight at times? Blue & Zapdos want to use 3 bars from the Move Gauge to utilize Blue’s Trainer Move at maximum efficiency, and then want to utilize 3 more to throw out the first Discharge and start the Free Move Next cycle. Then, they can utilize Thundering Wings Roost for free whenever they like, but need to drop 3 bars of the Move Gauge again to get the Discharge Free Move Next chain going again. This can cause a bit of move gauge congestion early game, but keep in mind that this is also a Support unit that can max the entire team’s Speed, so most teams really won’t have to worry at all about this supposed negative.
How To Use?
Once again, this is a Sync Pair with a tremendously great base kit. Seriously, Blue & Zapdos can do more with their base kit than many other Support units can with a 5/5 grid. And on top of that, they get even better with more investment. ⅖ unlocks the ability to speed up the Move Gauge or reduce damage taken while Electric Terrain is active, increase the odds of inflicting Paralysis with Discharge or, even grants a shot at inflicting Confusion when attacking. Then we have ⅗, where Blue & Zapdos can drop Attack and/or Special Attack when attacking to compound their passive Defense/Special Defense boosts, grant the team a stack of the Special Attack Up Next effect post-first-Sync, drop the target’s Defense and Special Defense by 2 after their first Sync, heal the team with each Sync, or even become immune to Critical Hits with Vigilance, thus freeing up the standard Support-unit Lucky Skill.
Honestly, it’s definitely worth getting Blue & Zapdos to ⅗, but it’s probably best to either go all-in or leave them at ⅕ and just enjoy the benefits of their base kit.
The standard Vigilance is probably the Lucky Skill of choice, though Adrenaline 1 or Head Start 1 can also work wonders if your Sync Grid build of choice already picks Vigilance up. An argument could also be made for Mind Games 2, as Blue & Zapdos primarily focus on supporting Special attackers and have an AoE attack with Discharge, so a few random Special Defense drops can definitely pay high dividends for many attackers.
Blue & Zapdos potentially have a lot of incentive to drop an early Sync Move via their Grid, so scoring the Support EX boost makes them an easy pick for EXing right away. But what about giving them a Role Cake? Well, Blue & Zapdos utilize the Striker Role Cake, meaning their Sync Move hits all opponents. And while they do deal more damage than many other Support units, it’s still not likely to make a huge difference. The main reason to pick this role up would be to score a second layer of the Electric Rebuff effect on the entire enemy team, though the effectiveness of this is a bit dubious outside of a pairing with a powerful Electric team, so Blue & Zapdos are definitely the lowest priority of this trio for this rare item.
Showcase Video
Who To Pull?
All-in-all, the top priority here should probably be Blue & Zapdos. This is a Sync Pair that does an amazing job of enabling the entire team and can work with just about anyone to varying degrees, meaning they can tackle most stages in the game without breaking a sweat. They also rely the least on a Rebuffs in order to operate on multi-layered stages, and can just wait a while to drop a Sync so that they can heal up the team at their leisure.
However, a close second has to be Red & Articuno. Few Strikers can compare with their raw power and utility, and they’re also the new kings of a type that’s traditionally been on the weak side, meaning their presence will tend to shore up a major hole in a lot of player’s teams. While not as universally useful as Blue & Zapdos, Red & Articuno definitely hold their own and are very much optimal when their skills are needed.
And, sadly, this means that Leaf & Moltres have to be given the bronze “Should You Pull” medal among this trio. While there’s nothing about this Sync Pair that’s bad, to the point where they would be an optimal choice if their banner was going up against most other Sync Pairs in the game, including many Master fairs, they just can’t quite distinguish themselves enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Red and Blue this time. We are in no way short on Fire Types right now, and even a Sun-bringing, near-universal-debuffing, high-damage-output unit doesn’t do quite enough to truly shine in direct comparison to the titans that Leaf is competing against this time. Again; it’s nowhere near a bad investment if you want to pick up Leaf & Moltres, as they are objectively great and very useful in their own right. Just note that they tend to not shine quite as brightly as their competition given what we currently have available, so we rate them as the lowest priority for most players looking to optimize their teams.
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