Pokemon Unite: Attack vs. Special Attack Explained

Pokemon Unite draws inspiration from the core game in several ways, including in differentiating between Attack and Special Attacks. Pokemon Unite is the new MOBA-style free-to-play game developed by Tencent and The Pokemon Company. The game's starting roster of 20 Pokemon are split into five categories, which roughly indicate their strengths and weaknesses. Each Pokemon is also categorized as either a Physical or Special Attacker, a designation that determines whether they use their Attack or Special Attack stat when calculating damage for their special attacks.

All Pokemon use their Attack stats in some fashion. All basic attacks use a Pokemon's Attack stat for calculating damage, but Pokemon who have the Special Attacker classification uses the Special Attack stat to calculate the damage on the third basic attack that deals boosted attack. Additionally, a Pokemon's strongest moves use either Attack (if they're classified as a Physical Attacker) or Special Attack (if they're classified as a Special Attacker.)

Several held items affect a Pokemon's Attack or Special Attack stat, giving their attacks a permanent boost during matches The Attack Weight, Float Stone, and Muscle Band all increase a Pokemon's Attack stat, while the Shell Bell, Sp. Atk Specs, and Wise Glasses increase a Pokemon's Special Attack stat. Players might not want to use all three of their held item slots on these items, but they also don't want to waste a held item slot on an item that won't actually help them in battle. Certain items also have secondary benefits - the Attack Weight and Sp. Atk Specs increase a Pokemon's Attack or Special Attack stat whenever they score a goal, so players who focus on scoring will want to equip these items.

The following Pokemon are classified as Physical Attackers in Pokemon Unite:

• Absol
• Charizard
• Cinderace
• Crustle
• Garchomp
• Greninja
• Lucario
• Machamp
• Snorlax
• Talonflame
• Zeraora

The following Pokemon are classified as Special Attackers in Pokemon Unite:

• Alolan Ninetails
• Cramorant
• Eldegoss
• Gengar
• Mr. Mime
• Pikachu
• Slowbro
• Venusaur
• Wigglytuff

Pokemon Unite is available as a free-to-play game on the Nintendo Switch. Mobile versions of the game will be released later this year.