Attack Vs. Special Attack | Physical and Special Damage Explained

This is a guide on the Attack and Special Attack stats in Pokemon UNITE. Learn more about the key differences between the Attack and Special Attack stats and a list of which Pokemon and items specialize in each stat.

List of Pokemon According to Attack Type

Attack Type Pokemon (Physical Attacks)

Absol	Aegislash	Azumarill
Blaziken	Buzzwole	Ceruledge
Charizard	Cinderace	Crustle
Decidueye	Dodrio	Dragapult
Dragonite	Duraludon	Falinks
Garchomp	Greedent	Greninja
Gyarados	Leafeon	Lucario
Machamp	Mamoswine	Mega Mewtwo X
Meowscarada	Metagross	Mimikyu
Sableye	Scizor	Snorlax
Talonflame	Trevenant	Tsareena
Tyranitar	Umbreon	Urshifu
Zacian	Zeraora	Zoroark

List of Physical Attackers

Special Attack Type Pokemon (Special Attacks)

Alolan Ninetales	Blastoise	Blissey
Chandelure	Clefable	Comfey
Cramorant	Delphox	Eldegoss
Espeon	Gardevoir	Gengar
Glaceon	Goodra	Hoopa
Inteleon	Lapras	Mega Mewtwo Y
Mew	Miraidon	Mr. Mime
Pikachu	Slowbro	Sylveon
Venusaur	Wigglytuff

List of Special Attackers

Attack vs. Special Attack (Physical vs. Special)

Attack Type Varies Between Pokemon

Each Pokemon is classified as a Physical Attacker or a Special Attacker. Physical Attackers deal Move damage based on their Attack stat, and their Moves' damage is affected by the enemy's Defense stat. Special Attackers deal Move damage based on their Special Attack stat, and their Moves' damage is affected by the enemy's Special Defense stat.

List of All Pokemon

Standard Attacks are Physical Attacks

Standard Attacks, or attacks made by pressing the A Button, are counted as Physical Attacks (using the Attack stat) for all Pokemon, even if the Pokemon dealing these attacks has a Special Attack stat.

Boosted Attacks Vary Based on Attack Type

Boosted Attacks are powered-up attacks that occur on every third Standard Attack for most Pokemon. The damage that boosted attacks deal varies depending on the Pokemon's attack type, similarly to their Moves. Physical Attackers deal Attack damage with their Boosted Attacks, while Special Attackers will deal Special Attack damage with their Boosted Attacks.

Boosted Attacks Guide: How to Use

Attack Vs. Special Attack Chart

The chart above shows which stat is used by Pokemon of each Attack Type for each kind of attack. Notably, Physical Attackers will never use the Special Attack stat, while Special Attackers still use the Attack stat for Standard Attacks.

How to Boost Attack and Special Attack

Equip the Right Held Items

Taking your Pokemon's attack type into consideration when giving them items is very important to ensure optimal performance. For instance, if you give a Pokemon with a Special Attack Stat such as Pikachu the Wise Glasses item, it will boost Pikachu's Special Attack stat, which will make its moves more powerful. On the other hand, if you give Pokemon with an Attack stat such as Garchomp the same Wise Glasses, it will be a waste of an item slot as Garchomp's attacks and Moves cannot make use of the Special Attack bonus.

List of All Held Items

Held Items That Boost Attack Stat

Item	Effect
Attack Weight	Tier: Attack + 18 When the Pokemon scores a goal, its Attack increases by (6/9/12).
Charging Charm	Tier: Attack +15 Movement Speed +120 Energy is charged through movement and basic attacks. Dealing damage to opposing Pokemon while energy is full will deal additional damage.
Curse Bangle	Tier: Attack +24 When Attack-based damage is dealt to an opposing Pokemon, that opposing Pokemon's HP recovery effect is weakened for a short time. When Attack-based basic attack damage is inflicted, the HP recovery effect is weakened for longer.
Drain Crown	Tier: HP +120 Attack +18 Restores HP equal to (7%/10%/13%) of damage dealt with Attack-based basic attack.
Float Stone	Tier: Attack + 24 Movement Speed + 150 Increases movement speed by (10/15/20)% when the Pokemon is not in combat.
Muscle Band	Tier: Attack +15 Attack Speed + 7.5% When basic attacks hit, the damage is increased by 1%/2%/3% of the opposing Pokemon's remaining HP.
Rapid-Fire Scarf	Tier: Attack +12 Basic Attack Speed +9% Increases your Pokemon's basic attack speed by (15%/22.5%/30%) for a short time after three basic attacks.
Razor Claw	Tier: Attack +15 Critical-Hit Rate +2.1% After the Pokemon uses a move, its next basic attack deals a minimum of (10/15/20) damage. The higher the Pokemon's Attack, the more this damage increases. When this item is held by a melee Pokemon, this basic attack also decreases the movement speed of opposing Pokemon for a short time.
Weakness Policy	Tier: HP +210 Attack +15 Increases the Pokemon's Attack for a short time by a minimum of (2/2.5/3)% when the Pokemon receives damage. This increase grows larger the more times damage is received

Items That Boost Special Attack Stat

Item	Effect
Choice Specs	Tier: Sp. Atk. +39 Increases the damage of moves by a minimum of (40/50/60) when they hit. The higher the Pokemon's SP. Atk. the more the damage is increased
Curse Incense	Tier: Sp. Atk. +39 When Sp. Atk based damage is dealt to opposing Pokemon, their HP recovery effect is weakened for a short time. The HP recovery effect is weakened for longer when dealing damage to opposing Pokemon with Sp. Atk-based basic attacks.
Shell Bell	Tier: Sp Attack + 24 Cooldown - 4.5% Recovers a minimum of (45/60/75) HP when a move hits an enemy. You will recover more HP if your Sp Attack stat is higher.
Slick Spoon	Tier: HP +210 Sp. Attack +30 Makes damage dealt by your Pokemon's Sp. Atk. attacks ignore (9/13/17)% of opposing Pokemon's Sp. Def.
Sp. Atk. Specs	Tier: Sp Attack +24 When the Pokemon scores a goal, its Sp. Attack increases by (8/12/16).
Wise Glasses	Tier: Sp Attack +39 Increases Sp Attack by (3/5/7)%.

Equip Boost Emblems

Equipping certain Boost Emblems also increases your Pokemon's Attack and Special Attack stats.

Boost Emblems Guide: List of Emblems

Brown Boost Emblems Increases Attack

Having a certain number of Brown Boost Emblems can further increase your Pokemon's Attack stat.

List of All Brown Boost Emblems and Effect

Green Boost Emblems increases Special Attack

Having a certain number of Green Boost Emblems can further increase your Pokemon's Special Attack stat.

List of Green Boost Emblems and Effects

Attack Vs. Special Attack Test

Attack / Special Attack Damage Test

For this test, we used Float Stone to see if it can raise a Pokemon's move damage. We compared damage before and after having the Float Stone equipped in Practice Mode using the training dummy and saw that Pokemon with an Attack stat only benefitted from the increase in damage.

Pyro Ball (Attack)

Damage without Float Stone 947
Damage with Float Stone 951

Pyro Ball: Cinderace Move Effect and Cooldown

Solar Beam (Special Attack)

Damage without Float Stone 6600
Damage with Float Stone 6600

Solar Beam: Venusaur Move Effect and Cooldown

Raise Special Attack for Self-Targeting Moves

For this test, we determine whether moves that target self scale on Special Attack by using Wise Glasses. We found that when using Eldegoss's Synthesis move, HP recovery was increased with Wise Glasses equipped.

Synthesis (Special Attack)

Damage without Wise Glasses 517
Damage with Wise Glasses 558

Synthesis: Eldegoss Move Effect and Cooldown

Pokemon UNITE Related Guides

List of Game Mechanics

Game Modes and Rules

Game Modes and Rules
Game Modes Explanation	Match Types Explanation
Unite Battle Guide	Ranked Match Guide
Quick Battle Guide	How to Use Training Mode
Fair Play Points Guide	Can Players Use the Same Pokemon?
Tournament Mode Guide	Custom Battle Guide
Draft Pick Guide	Full-Fury Battles Guide

Gameplay Manual Guides

Gameplay Manual Guides
List of Status Effects	Stats Explanation
How to Upgrade Items	Unite Moves Guide
List of Berries and Effects	How To Surrender
Recall Guide and Best Timing	Super Jump Guide
Vision Guide: How Does Vision Work?	Evolution: How to Evolve and Timing
Character Creation Guide	Free Rotation Guide
Microtransactions Guide	Attack Vs. Special Attack
Badge Guide and Explanation	How to Check Team Score
How to Check Leaderboard	Tutorial Missions: Access and Rewards
How to Increase Movement Speed	Critical Hit Guide
How to Use Quick Chat and Pings	How to Use the Camera
How to Cancel Moves	Invincibility Guide
Move Types and When to Use	Grass Guide: How Does Grass Work?
Boosted Attacks Guide	How to Recover HP
How to Check Player Levels and Kills	List of Hidden Mechanics
How to Chat with Friends	Pokemon Points and Battle Ribbons
Season Points and Rewards	Prize Machine

Game Setup Guides

Game Setup Guides
List of Controls	List of Settings
How to Change Your Name	How to Change Your Gender
How to Play Online Multiplayer	How to Add Friends
Language Settings	How to Use Voice Chat and Best Apps
Do You Need Nintendo Online?	Server Reset Time
How to Create a New Account	Can You Delete an Account?
Player Count and Limit	Can You Play Offline?
How to Reduce Lag	What Happens When You Go AFK
How to Play with Bots	How to Check Match History
Battle Screen and Menus Explanation	Spectator Mode
How to Update the Trainer Card	Squads Guide
Friendship Points Guide	-