Pokemon Unite may be hiding bots behind real user names

Olivia Richman Published 15/08/2021

Ever have a bunch of lousy teammates and exclaim that it’s like playing with bots? That might actually be the case, as some are claiming that Pokemon Unite is using actual players’ user names to hide bots.

Using bots in order to artificially reduce queue times is somewhat common in online multiplayer games, but it’s unknown whether Pokemon Unite employs this practice. The developers haven’t officially confirmed that this is the case. Still, players are suspicious of the practice because some of their allegedly human opponents are often lagging behind other players, even in high-ranked matches. The bots are becoming a disadvantage in competitive matches and players aren’t happy.

One Pokemon Unite player decided to share their experience online. He actually saw his own user name being used in a game earlier. In the game, the Pokemon Unite player was using Snorlax but a screenshot showed that the actual account didn’t own a Snorlax. The player also hadn’t even played Pokemon Unite that morning.

In response to the player sharing their story, other players came forward to say that the same thing had happened to them or another person they know.

One person replied: “They just use the names to give the losing-streaked team that got the bot match the illusion that they’re playing real people and pub stomping for once.”

Another responded: “That illusion is broken as soon as you leave the gate and the allies don’t move until a few seconds later and simultaneously at that.”

While some players said “a free win is a free win,” others were concerned about the bots being on their own team.

How can you tell if you’re playing a bot in Pokemon Unite?

Bots in Pokemon Unite may attempt to look like any other human player, but Pokemon Unite fans have started to notice a pattern in their playstyle. Bots seem to feed a lot more than most human opponents. They sometimes don’t even score any points throughout the entire match. They also surrender if a team has a 300 or so point difference, even before Zapdos.

Another way to know if you’re playing with a bot is going to the results screen and attempting to add them as a friend. No option will show up if the player is actually a bot. Pressing “A” on their name will not do anything.

A bot’s performance in Pokemon Unite won’t impact a player’s actual in-game stats and rankings. But they can end up affecting your performance if they are performing poorly on your team. This has made bots a heavily debated topic in the growing Pokemon Unite community.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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