Pokémon Unite’s Crustle gets stronger each time it’s knocked out due to a recent bug, but a fix is on the way

Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-09-23 19:20 (JST)
Translated by. Nick Mosier

[UPDATE 2021/09/27 10:55 JST]
Crustle’s problematic bug is expected to be fixed on September 29.

[Original text 2021/09/24 16:55 JST]
Pokémon Unite currently has a bug that’s making Crustle extremely strong. The bug was spotted after the game received an update a few days ago, and the news has spread through the community like wildfire. The official Pokémon Unite Twitter account has posted that they are aware of the issue and working to solve it

At this point, the bug is common knowledge among the community and occurs when Crustle is knocked out by an enemy Pokémon. When looking at sources from around the world, the bug seems to both increase the effects of held items and drastically decrease the cooldown for Crustle’s Unite Move.

Unite Moves are powerful attacks that typically can’t just be used haphazardly. Even Crustle’s Unite Move, Rubble Rouser, takes a little over two minutes before it becomes usable if the player doesn’t do anything.

During normal play, the cooldown for a Unite Move is decreased by a few percent when defeating a wild Pokémon or by around 10% when the player scores a goal. But as of now, a Crustle that’s been knocked out once can reduce that cooldown way more efficiently. The effect of the bug also seems to stack up to four times for each time Crustle is knocked out. This results in a Crustle that can recklessly use its Unite Move as it pleases and dominate matches by itself.

Players are also reporting that the bug is increasing the power of the game’s stat boosting held items. If you come across one of these menacing Crustles in a match, there’s not much to do but accept your fate. It’s basically untouchable. While initially not used to the spotlight, Crustle has become so powerful that it was even trending in Japanese on Twitter at the time of this writing.

Fortunately, Pokémon Unite’s development team is aware of the issue and is probably working to resolve it right now. The Pokémon Unite Code of Conduct also states, “Any actions that may affect the operations of the Service (for example, exploiting bugs),” is prohibited. It’s currently unknown if using this Crustle bug is considered a prohibited action. Nevertheless, whether to avoid the risk of getting punished or to practice good sportsmanship, it’s probably best to refrain from using the exploit.