Pokémon Unite Cinderace Build - Best Items and Moves

Our pick of the best Pokémon Unite Cinderace build options will have you striking targets down with a ball of fire in no time, climbing to the top to claim the trophy this Pokémon's fancy footwork deserves. Pokémon Unite features a star-studded roster that includes Pokémon both new and old. On the newer side of the spectrum is Cinderace; a creature from the Sword and Shield era that absolutely belongs on the Aeos Island pitch.

Cinderace is a ranged attacker that uses the Attack stat. Bear that in mind if you switch out any of the items below to suit your personal preference. You can read more about the Pokémon Unite Physical vs Special attack split here.

Before you start to set up your Pokémon Unite Cinderace build, refer to our Pokémon Unite tier list to see if it stacks up well enough against the competition to be worth your time. While you're at it, be sure to read up on Held Items and Battle Items. By memorizing the lot, you can sometimes work out the team's strategy right from the loading screen.

Stats related to each Pokémon Unite Cinderace build.
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The Best Pokémon Unite Cinderace Build Options

Pokémon Unite Cinderace Build - Top Lane Triumph

Best Items
Best Moves
X Attack
Lv. 1: Ember
Muscle Band
Lv. 3: Low Sweep
Scope Lens
Lv. 7: Pyro Ball
Float Stone
Lv. 8: Feint

Best for: Top lane

On the top lane is where you'll come across more and more Cinderace players as you rise through the ranks of competitive play. It's an absolute machine when played correctly, but that same power can lead to a lot of unfavourable and almost troll-like plays from less experienced and greedy Cinderace players simply believing it'll roast anything it looks at.

Learn to pick your battles, however, and this Pokémon Unite Cinderace build will prove tough to beat.

This staple top-lane Pokémon Unite Cinderace build is probably the very same one that has cost you match after match paired against suspected trolls.

People think high damage means the ability to take on small armies from the start, and it couldn't be further from the truth. This build requires Cinderace to play very carefully early on. Its Basic Attacks will hit like a truck, but it takes time to reach that point.

Pick Ember first and focus on leveling up, perhaps saving your skill to scare off anyone who extends into your territory. Once you unlock Feint, you can start to be slightly more aggressive. Pyro Ball comes in and, again, can be used to scare others away while you push.

The secret to Cinderace isn't to chase for kills too early on, but to focus on pressuring the opponent into staying away from you and your goal while you focus on things like Rotom.

Stay on top of things and you'll be able to use X Attack and Pyro Ball to initiate, Feint to pile on the Basic Attack pressure, and a rapidly-charging Blazing Bicycle Kick Unite Move to deal with the small army you'll likely walk straight into.

The longer you survive, the better chance you have of going invincible with Feint and quickly replenishing enough HP to continue the cycle.

Pokémon Unite Cinderace build portrait.
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Pokémon Unite Cinderace Build - Jungle Bunny

Best Items
Best Moves
Eject Button
Lv. 1: Ember
Muscle Band
Lv. 3 Low Sweep
Scope Lens
Lv. 7: Blaze Kick
Float Stone
Lv. 8: Feint

Best for: Jungle/roaming

There isn't a massive amount of difference between this and the last. They're both meta picks at the minute. This one just gives Cinderace a means to jungle effectively, limiting the chances it falls behind due to a bad lane trade, over-extend, or enemy gank. It's a safer pick, but mastering the use of Feint and learning to poke with Basic Attacks to charge your Unite Move is key.

Cinderace begins the match relatively defenseless, so playing carefully in the early game is paramount to unlocking the true potential of this late-game Pokémon Unite Cinderace build. Focus on leveling up in the centre area, avoid any serious fights until you hit level five at least. Just scare anyone away with Ember and Basic Attacks. Don't risk your progression for a kill.

Once you're primed and ready to go, running in and knocking a target into a nearby wall or toward your own goal will allow you to rattle off the few Basic Attacks needed to take them down. Save Feint to bait crowd-control targets into engaging, shrugging off their saving grace and putting them down with a few quick kicks of your ball.

Toward the end of the match, you should be able to charge your Unite Move with Basic Attacks and aggressive pokes. The invincibility frames and high ranged damage is where this build comes into its own.

The progression screen showing when Pokémon Unite Cinderace evolves.
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When Does Cinderace Evolve in Pokémon Unite?

Cinderace reaches its final evolution at level seven. It begins each match as a Scorbunny at level one, evolving into Raboot at level five. Two levels later and it becomes Cinderace

What Is the Best Cinderace Counter in Pokémon Unite?

Pokémon
Reason
Lucario
Lucario can dart around Cinderace at high speeds, making its skill shots hard to land. Better yet, it can whack straight though its meager Defence stat, smashing the glass cannon down like, well... a glass cannon.
Gengar
All Gengar needs to do is drop Sludge Bomb under Cinderace and dive in from the bushes with Hex. Cinderace has very little way to escape a melee battle, and Gengar doesn't need much time at all to burst a target down.
Zeraora
Similar to Lucario, Zeraora can dash around at high speeds, quickly getting close enough to Cinderace to knock it down. Its slowing effects means the rest of the team can easily pile on as well if needed.

Cinderace relies on its vast late-game range to burst opponents down before they have a chance to capitalize on its mediocre defensive stats. This only gets easier as the match goes on, so picking a character that can pick on Cinderace early can stop it from reaching its powerful end-game state.

Even if it starts to prove a problem for the team, taking down Cinderace means getting close fast or finding a way to close the gap.

What Are the Best Pairs for Cinderace in Pokémon Unite?

Pokémon
Reason
Alolan Ninetales
Alolan Ninetales evolves from Vulpix early on, making it faster at setting up ganks or pushes for a roaming or laning Cinderace thanks to its many crowd-control attacks.
Pikachu
Pikachu can easily apply Paralysis, giving Cinderace a means to stay within attacking range. It's a powerful combo.
Snorlax
In team fights, Snorlax can pin the whole team with a number of attacks. This is perfect for keeping Cinderace from needing to go too far down a lane.

Regardless of which Pokémon Unite Cinderace build you choose, choosing to fight with a character that can deal heavy crowd-control effects will increase Cinderace's damage potential. Paralysis, Freeze, and Slow are great for helping Cinderace crush the competition.

How to obtain Cinderace in Pokémon Unite.
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How Do I Unlock Cinderace in Pokémon Unite?

Cinderace can be unlocked for free in Pokémon Unite by logging in for eight days during the 14-Day Welcome Gifts event. If you'd rather not wait, you can spend 8,000 Aeos Coins or 460 Aeos Gems through the in-game shop to unlock Cinderace early.

To learn how to unlock the lot from both the in-game shop and a bunch of hidden freebies, check out our complete list of Pokémon Unite licenses. If you'd like to try out other attackers, we have build guides for them all: like Gardevoir, Venusaur, and Cramorant.