What’s the Difference between Basic and Special Attacks?

A common misconception among new players is that only certain Pokémon have special attacks. This is not true. Every Pokémon has a basic Attack and multiple Special Attacks. The main difference is that one is faster while the other one does more damage and/or has a special effect. It’s important to learn the difference between these attacks before you buy or upgrade items that have buffs related to these attacks.

What is a Basic Attack?

A Basic Attack is your main move in battle, this is preformed by pressing or holding the ‘A’ button. This has no other purpose than to deal quick bursts of damage to your opponent. Basic Attacks don’t have any special effects unless you’re using an item that changes this. It’s available to use right when you start a match at level 1.

What are Special Attacks?

Every Special Attack is different, that’s what makes them special. These Attacks usually do more damage than Basic ones and they sometimes have effects on your opponent, teammates, or yourself. Unlike Basic Attacks, these aren’t immediately available when you start a match. You’ll need to level up and evolve your Pokémon before unlocking these special abilities. Once you unlock one, you’ll be able to use it by pressing R, ZR, or ZL. They also have longer cooldown times than your Basic Attack.

Items That Buff Attack Stats

There are several items that boost your Attack or Special Attack stats. Deciding which one is more useful is up to you, as it’s different for each player and each Pokémon. Here’s a list of items that buff each attack stat.

Items for Basic Atk. buffs
– Muscle Band
– Attack Weight
– Weakness Policy
– Razor Claw

Items for Sp. Atk buffs
– Shell Bell
– Wise Glasses
– Sp. Atk Specs
– Choice Specs

Pokémon Unite being a MOBA type game has attracted players from other MOBA style games, primarily League of Legends. LoL is one of the largest PC games in the world and can only be played on PC. This means all of the players coming from games like this are most likely used to using a keyboard and mouse instead of a controller. This has left many players wondering how they can play Pokémon Unite with a keyboard and mouse.

How To Play On PC

Playing on PC wasn’t previously possible, until now. With Pokemon Unite being released on Android and iOS, this opens the door for players using emulators on the PC to play the mobile version of the game.

An emulator is an application you can use on your computer that allows you to download mobile apps and mobile games. As we all know, Pokémon Unite is now also a mobile game, so in theory you can play it using these emulators. This is exactly what some players have been doing since the mobile version of the game released. It’s also been a huge topic on Reddit with many players saying they prefer playing on mouse and keyboard and some players are even using PS4 and Xbox One controllers to play the game on PC.

Why You Probably Shouldn’t

Even though it is possible, it’s not recommended that you use emulators to play the game, especially on your main account. This is because we’re not sure if Tencent will ban players using emulators in the future. Just acknowledging that it is possible to play Pokémon Unite on PC is interesting and it’s what a lot of players have been wanting from day 1. Maybe if players and fans let the developers know we want the game on PC enough, we may get a PC port in the future.

Pokémon Unite recently released on iOS and Android. If you’ve been playing Unite on the Switch, you probably don’t want to start over and lose all of your progress just to play on another platform. Luckily, the developers thought about this and made it possible for players to link their Pokémon Unite accounts so you can keep your progress and level up the same character on both devices.

How to sync your saved data

First you’ll need to transfer access to your saved data. When you first download the Pokemon Unite app on your phone, it will ask if you want to create a new account. Instead of doing this, you should tap the button that says “Transfer Access to Data”. Next you’ll choose which platform you used to login on the Switch. This is usually your Nintendo Account, but you can also use Facebook, Google, or your Pokémon Trainer Club accounts to login. After you sign in and agree to the term and conditions, you should see your character and saved data pop up on the main menu.

Step by step guide:

1. Tap “Transfer Access to Data”
2. Chose which platform you use to log in
3. Agree to Terms and Conditions

Claim Your Bonus!

If you’re one of the millions of players that were able to pre-register for the Pokémon Unite mobile app, you should have rewards waiting to be claimed! These bonuses include 1,000+ Aoes Tickets, the Pikachu Unite License, and a special Pikachu Holowear! Here’s a step by step guide on How To Claim Pre Register Rewards For Pokémon Unite Mobile.

How To Surrender

To surrender in Pokémon Unite, you’ll need to make a poll. If the majority of your team votes to surrender, then the match will end and it will count as a loss for the surrendering team. If you’re losing and want to give up a match, here’s how to surrender in Pokémon Unite.

Step 1: Press the plus (+) button to open the match stats overlay

Step 2: Press the minus (-) button to open the settings menu

Step 3: Press the X button to start a vote to surrender. Your team can only do this 3 times per match.

Should You Surrender?

Surrendering is always better than quitting or leaving a match. This way you’re not abandoning your teammates and making it unfair and unfun for others. If you’re getting beat in a match and the majority of your team is already voting to surrender, it might be a good time to throw in the towel. Not voting ‘Yes’ on a surrender vote when the rest of your team wants to can be frustrating for other players and it’s always good to keep good sportsmanship when playing competitive games. My number one rule is to never initiate the vote. If the vote is already going because other team members want to surrender, then I’ll consider it because I don’t want to anger other players or waste people’s time. But you gain nothing from being the player that starts this vote. This mindset will lead you to giving up more often and not trying to turn the game around. No matter how far behind you are in points, you can always come back and clutch a win. Even if you don’t win in the end, you’ll be able to analyze why you lost that game and try to become better in future matches. Initiating a surrender or quitting a match early is a way of denying yourself the opportunity to learn and grow.

The Alternative

Instead of surrendering a match, keep playing and try your best. It sounds cheesy but it’s always possible to win no matter how far behind you are. The best way to turn around a match in your favor is the legendary boss Pokémon, Zapdos. Near the end of a Pokémon Unite match Zapdos will appear in the middle of the arena. Defeating Zapdos will give you and your team a chance to win the game. This gives you several points and leaves your opponents score zones wide open. Even if you’re hundreds of points behind the opponent, when you take down Zapdos you’ll have an opportunity to turn the entire match around. There have been many matches that I’m so close to losing and at the last minute we win due to taking down Zapdos and scoring hundreds of points on our opponents. It’s always better to try and fail than to not try at all.