Unite Battle

Unite Battle (Japanese: ユナイトバトル Unite Battle) is a form of battle in Pokémon UNITE.

Terminology

Unite Battles are introduced as a form of Pokémon battle in this quote from Professor Phorus:

"Here on Aeos Island, we have unique Pokémon battles known as Unite Battles [...]"

Gameplay

Players compete in Unite Battles, where two teams attempt to score points in the opposing team's goals while guarding their own. To score, players collect Aeos energy by defeating wild Pokémon or members of the enemy team, which they must then bring to an opposing goal. The team with the highest score after ten minutes wins; if there is a tie, the team that reached the tied score first wins.

There are also "objective" Pokémon, which have more health than other wild Pokémon and have multiple moves to use against players. Objective Pokémon appear at specific times in the match. The team that deals the last hit to an objective Pokémon gets a benefit based on the species. Typically, objective Pokémon are a focal point for team battles between multiple players.

Pokémon begin a match at level one in their least evolved form (discounting baby Pokémon) and gain experience gradually over time, a process which is sped up by defeating wild Pokémon. As Pokémon gain experience and level up, they learn new moves that they then have access to for the rest of the battle, and Pokémon with evolutions (besides Pikachu and Duraludon) evolve as well, much like in the core series. Initially, a Pokémon has two moves and the player chooses which one to keep; the move that they did not choose is then unlocked at Level 2 or 3. These moves are upgraded at proceeding levels with the player choosing one of two moves to replace the move with. When the Pokémon reaches Level 8 or 9, it unlocks its Unite Move, a separate, powerful attack that must charge over time.

When a player is in a goal zone of an opposing team, they may attempt to score. Scoring spends the Aeos energy the Pokémon is holding and adds those points to the team. Players must charge up before successfully scoring, with more time being required proportional to the amount of Aeos energy being used while being reduced if multiple Pokémon are scoring at the same goal zone simultaneously. A score attempt can be blocked if the Pokémon takes damage, cancelling the goal attempt. Scoring depletes the health of goal zones, and when the health of a score zone is empty, it is destroyed. The goal zone closest to a team's base cannot be destroyed in this manner, and exists throughout the game. Points earned through scoring are doubled during the last stretch of the game, which is known as the Final Stretch and starts when there are 2 minutes remaining in Standard Battles or 1 minute remaining in Quick Battles.

Each team has a base, where each member of the team starts a Unite Battle from and reappears at after being knocked out. One action that players can perform is Returning, also known as To Base. After a certain amount of time is spent standing in place, the Pokémon will be warped to its team's base. However, moving or taking damage will cancel the charge. On certain stages, To Base is not usable.

Participating in Unite Battles will earn the player Battle Points, Aeos coins, and (after reaching Trainer Level 6) Aeos energy. By spending coins, energy, and other currencies, the player can unlock Pokemon and customization options.

Battle modes

Casual Battle

Casual Battle is the default game mode and has two types of matches within its umbrella: Random Match and CPU Match. They are both 10 minute 5-on-5 matches that take place in either Remoat Stadium or Theia Sky Ruins. Players may play solo or form in groups of any size.

Random Matches will randomly match players of comparable skill into two teams. CPU Matches will randomly match one team of five against a team of CPUs.

Ranked Battle

Ranked Battles are unlocked at Trainer level 6. Ranked mode can be entered with at least 5 Pokémon Unite Licenses. They are 10 minute 5-on-5 matches that take place in Theia Sky Ruins (formerly Remoat Stadium prior to Theia Sky Ruins' addition). Players may play solo or form in groups of two, three, or five. Team members must be within similar ranks to each other. Players can only use Unite Licenses that they own in this mode. (Trial licenses are not allowed to be used in Ranked Battle.)

Starting in Ranked Match Season 18, when players reach the Master rank, if all of the players matched have 1400 master points or higher, Pokemon will be selected through a draft system in which both teams ban two Pokémon from usage in the match and then both teams take turns choosing Pokémon in a 1-2-2-2-2-1 format, where one team gets to choose the first Pokémon, then the teams alternate between choosing 2 Pokémon at a time, then the other team gets the last pick. Players may also choose to request to switch picking positions with an ally. All Pokémon can only be picked once, meaning that both teams may not have the same Pokémon.

Starting in Ranked Match season 19, draft pick now occurs at Master 1200, and EX Pokémon licenses are banned.

Rank

Beginner Rank	Great Rank	Expert Rank	Veteran Rank	Ultra Rank	Master Rank
					0-99999
Class 1 - 5	Class 1 - 5	Class 1 - 5	Class 1 - 5	Class 1 - 5	–
					Points (0-99999)
Ranked Frame

Ranked Season Rewards
Aeos ticket ×2,000	Aeos ticket ×4,000	Aeos ticket ×6,000	Aeos ticket ×10,000	Aeos ticket ×15,000	Aeos ticket ×20,000

The amount of Master rank points gained depends on the player's current ranking:

Under 1200: 15-16
1200-1300: 10-12
1300-1500: 8-10
1500-1600: 7-9
1600+: 6-8

Custom Battle

Custom Battles are the replacement for the former Friendly Matches. The host player can invite other players or add CPU players to each side. Any one of the maps (excluding Boss Rush and Panic Parade) may be selected.

Quick Battle

Quick battles are unlocked at level 4. They are shorter than Standard Battles at 5 minutes with 4 vs 4 or 3 vs 3 matches and take place in either Mer Stadium, Shivre City, or Auroma Park. The Quick Battles' maps rotate daily, allowing players to only choose from one available Quick Battle map at a time. Each map has modified rules, but adheres to the basic concepts of defeating wild Pokémon to earn Aeos energy and scoring at a goal zone.

Boss Rush

Boss Rush is a limited-time event mode that is treated as a type of Quick Battle but plays very differently from the other Quick Battle maps. They are the same time length as regular Quick Battles at 5 minutes, however instead of facing other players, 5 players are pitted against 3 boss Pokémon from various other maps in the game. The first two are selected from a pool of 2 or 3 different possible bosses, while the last one is always the same boss. The boss Pokémon in question vary each time the event is brought back. The player Pokémon level up as each boss reaches a certain health threshold. The goal of Boss Rush is to defeat each boss before time runs out. There are also 4 difficulty options, each harder than the last. The easiest difficulty is the Casual difficulty, the following difficulties, Intermediate, Expert, and Extreme all make the bosses harder by increasing the boss Pokémon's health and making the boss Pokémon more aggressive.

Panic Parade

Panic Parade is a limited-time event mode that is treated as a type of Quick Battle but plays very differently from the other Quick Battle maps. Unlike any other mode in the game, there is no time limit at all, this is due to the fact that instead of facing other players, 5 players are tasked with defending Tinkaton from various waves of wild Pokémon. Tinkaton starts off as a Tinkatink and evolves as more waves are cleared alongside the players. If Tinkaton faints, the match ends. The number of waves depends on the difficulty chosen, with there being only 5 waves in the Casual difficulty, 10 waves in the Intermediate difficulty, 12 waves in the Expert difficulty, and 15 waves in the Extreme difficulty.

All waves have a predetermined set of wild Pokémon that appear, though there are also certain playable Pokémon that appear as wild Pokémon, while some of these are also predetermined per wave, others are randomly determined, some of which when defeated, will replace the player's currently held battle item and can be summoned to assist the player by using their Unite Move. The player cannot choose their own battle item in this mode, as special battle items can instead be obtained by defeating Delibird that appear during most waves that do not count towards the wave's completion.

This mode also features a unique upgrade system known as the Aeos Shooter. During the event's duration, a special Event Point Shop is added to the menu in which the player can buy various upgrades that increase the power of the player's Pokémon, these include an Attack Boost, a Sp. Attack Boost, an Attack Speed Boost, a Critical-Hit Rate and Damage Boost, a Recovery Effect Boost, Move Cooldown Reduction, an HP Boost, and a Movement Speed Boost. These upgrades are bought using Event Points that are obtained through playing the mode, with more points being given out the more waves are cleared. Each upgrade has 5 levels that upgrade the stat further, however the price increases the higher the level, going from 50 points to 100 points, then 200, to 400, then finally 600 points.

Pokémon

Main article: List of Pokémon (UNITE)

To play as a certain Pokémon, players need to obtain the UNITE license for that Pokémon. Players can use Pokémon with trial Unite licenses in all modes except for Ranked Battle. When starting a match, players start as the base evolutionary stage of the Pokemon selected, and can level up and evolve as the match progresses.

Moves

Main article: Move (UNITE)

Each Pokémon has certain moves available. They are able to use several moves from the core series games, with certain differences in gameplay between those games and Pokémon Unite. In addition, the Unite Moves are powerful moves unique to Pokémon UNITE.

Basic attacks

Main article: Basic attack

Each Pokémon has a basic attack separate from its moves. Basic attacks can be used freely and do not have cooldowns, but are not as strong as moves.

Items

Main article: List of items (UNITE)

There are several items available.

Stages

Unite Battles take place in various places on Aeos Island due to the Aeos energy that is found there. The Aeos Research Institute studies Aeos energy and is headed by Professor Phorus with help from her research partner, Erbie, who organizes the battles.

Image	Stage	Details
	Remoat Stadium	Duration: 10 Minutes Players: 5 VS 5 Five goals per team Used in Standard Battle*
	Auroma Park	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 3 VS 3 Two shared goal zones Used in Quick Battle
	Shivre City	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 4 VS 4 One goal zone each Used in Quick Battle
	Mer Stadium	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 4 VS 4 Three goal zones per team Used in Quick Battle
	Theia Sky Ruins	Duration: 10 Minutes Players: 5 VS 5 Five goals per team Used in Standard Battle and Ranked Battle

Event Stages

Stage	Details	Map available
Halloween in Mer Stadium	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 4 VS 4 Three goal zones per team All players are given a special Pumpkin Toss battle item Used in Quick Battle	October 20, 2021 - November 7, 2021 October 27, 2022 - November 17, 2022 October 19, 2023 - November 12, 2023
Remoat Stadium (Snow and Ice)	Duration: 10 Minutes Players: 5 VS 5 Five goals per team Used in Standard Battle	December 9, 2021 - January 16, 2022 December 1, 2022 - January 2023
Snowball Battle in Shivre City	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 4 VS 4 One goal zone each Being defeated turns the player into a snowman Used in Quick Battle	December 15, 2021 - January 16, 2022 December 1, 2022 - December 26, 2022 December 7, 2023 - December 28, 2023
Full-Fury Battle in Mer Stadium	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 4 VS 4 Three goal zones per team Move cooldowns are heavily reduced Used in Quick Battle	Every two weeks on weekends from Saturday to Monday (February 24, 2022 - April 11, 2022) December 30, 2022 - January 2, 2023 January 13, 2023 - January 16, 2023 January 27, 2023 - January 30, 2023 September 16, 2023 - September 18, 2023 September 23, 2023 - September 25, 2023 September 30, 2023 - October 2, 2023 October 7, 2023 - October 9, 2023 October 14, 2023 - October 16, 2023
Catch 'Em in Mer Stadium	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 4 VS 4 Three goal zones per team Can catch certain wild Pokémon to temporarily play as them Used in Quick Battle	May 30, 2022 - June 27, 2022*
Boss Rush in Auroma Park	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 5 VS 3 Boss (Araquanid, Avalugg, Drednaw, Zapdos, Articuno, Regigigas)* (Araquanid, Avalugg, Drednaw, Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Zacian)*	July 21, 2022 - July 24, 2022 July 31, 2022 - August 7, 2022 August 14, 2022 - August 21, 2022 February 26, 2023 - March 5, 2023 March 12, 2023 - March 19, 2023 March 26, 2023 - April 2, 2023
Pika Party in Mer Stadium	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 4 VS 4 Three goal zones per team Can only play as Pikachu Used in Quick Battle	August 4, 2022 - September 1, 2022 June 23, 2023 - July 21, 2023
Legacy Trainer Showdown in Theia Sky Ruins	Duration: 10 Minutes Players: 5 VS Leon, Korrina, Cynthia, Raihan, and Green Opponents always use Charizard, Lucario, Garchomp, Duraludon, and Blastoise respectively Five goal zones per team Used in Regular Battle	September 9, 2022 - October 6, 2022 (Leon leading) April 20, 2023 - May 21, 2023 (Cynthia leading) Solo Challenge (CPU Match only): December 7, 2023 - January 15, 2024 (Cynthia leading) January 16, 2024 - February 26, 2024 (Leon leading) February 27, 2024 - April 17, 2024 (Cynthia leading)
Eevee Appeal-o-rama in Shivre City	Duration: 5 Minutes Players: 4 VS 4 One goal zone each Can only play as Eeveelutions Used in Quick Battle	May 25, 2023 - June 23, 2023
Panic Parade in Shivre City	Duration: No Time Limit (Match ends when either Tinkaton faints or all waves are cleared) Players: 5 and Tinkaton VS 5 Waves of Wild Pokémon (Casual) 5 and Tinkaton VS 10 Waves of Wild Pokémon (Intermediate) 5 and Tinkaton VS 12 Waves of Wild Pokémon (Expert) 5 and Tinkaton VS 15 Waves of Wild Pokémon (Extreme)	July 21, 2023 - July 31, 2023 August 4, 2023 - August 6, 2023 August 11, 2023 - August 13, 2023 August 18, 2023 - August 20, 2023 December 12, 2023 - February 24, 2024 February 27, 2024 - March 23, 2024