Pokemon UNITE

Attack Vs. Special Attack | Physical and Special Damage Explained

Pokemon UNITE - Attack Vs. Special Attack Top Image

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.jpgAbsol Aegislash.jpgAegislash Azumarill.jpgAzumarill
Blaziken.jpgBlaziken Buzzwole.jpgBuzzwole Ceruledge.jpgCeruledge
Charizard.jpgCharizard Cinderace.jpgCinderace Crustle.jpgCrustle
Decidueye.jpgDecidueye Dodrio.jpgDodrio Dragapult.jpgDragapult
Dragonite.jpgDragonite Duraludon.jpgDuraludon Falinks.jpgFalinks
Garchomp.jpgGarchomp Greedent.jpgGreedent Greninja.jpgGreninja
Gyarados.jpgGyarados Leafeon.jpgLeafeon Lucario.jpgLucario
Machamp.jpgMachamp Mamoswine.jpgMamoswine Mega Mewtwo X.jpgMega Mewtwo X
Meowscarada.jpgMeowscarada Metagross.jpgMetagross Mimikyu.jpgMimikyu
Sableye.jpgSableye Scizor.jpgScizor Snorlax.jpgSnorlax
Talonflame.jpgTalonflame Trevenant.jpgTrevenant Tsareena.jpgTsareena
Tyranitar.jpgTyranitar Umbreon.jpgUmbreon Urshifu.jpgUrshifu
Zacian.jpgZacian Zeraora.jpgZeraora Zoroark.jpgZoroark

List of Physical Attackers

Special Attack Type Pokemon (Special Attacks)

Alolan Ninetales.jpgAlolan Ninetales Blastoise.jpgBlastoise Blissey.jpgBlissey
Chandelure.jpgChandelure Clefable.jpgClefable Comfey.jpgComfey
Cramorant.jpgCramorant Delphox.jpgDelphox Eldegoss.jpgEldegoss
Espeon.jpgEspeon Gardevoir.jpgGardevoir Gengar.jpgGengar
Glaceon.jpgGlaceon Goodra.jpgGoodra Hoopa.jpgHoopa
Inteleon.jpgInteleon Lapras.jpgLapras Mega Mewtwo Y.jpgMega Mewtwo Y
Mew.jpgMew Miraidon.jpgMiraidon Mr. Mime.jpgMr. Mime
Pikachu.jpgPikachu Slowbro.jpgSlowbro Sylveon.jpgSylveon
Venusaur.jpgVenusaur Wigglytuff.jpgWigglytuff

List of Special Attackers

Attack vs. Special Attack (Physical vs. Special)

Attack Type Varies Between Pokemon

Pokemon UNITE - Attack Vs. Special Attack Stat Indication

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

Pokemon UNITE - Zeraora and Allies Attacking Wild Pokemon

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

Pokemon UNITE - Decidueye Using Razor Leaf at Full Boosted Attack.png

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

Moves Basic Attacks Boosted Attacks
Stat used by Physical Attackers Attack Attack Attack
Stat used by Special Attackers Special Attack Attack Special Attack

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

Pokemon UNITE - Held Items

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.pngAttack Weight
Tier: A Rank Icon
Attack + 18
When the Pokemon scores a goal, its Attack increases by (6/9/12).
Charging Charm.pngCharging Charm
Tier: A Rank Icon
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.pngCurse Bangle
Tier: A Rank Icon
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.pngDrain Crown
Tier: B Rank Icon
HP +120
Attack +18
Restores HP equal to (7%/10%/13%) of damage dealt with Attack-based basic attack.
Float Stone.pngFloat Stone
Tier: A Rank Icon
Attack + 24
Movement Speed + 150
Increases movement speed by (10/15/20)% when the Pokemon is not in combat.
Muscle Band.pngMuscle Band
Tier: S Rank Icon
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.pngRapid-Fire Scarf
Tier: B Rank Icon
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.pngRazor Claw
Tier: A Rank Icon
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.pngWeakness Policy
Tier: S Rank Icon
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.pngChoice Specs
Tier: S Rank Icon
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.pngCurse Incense
Tier: A Rank Icon
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.pngShell Bell
Tier: B Rank Icon
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.pngSlick Spoon
Tier: S Rank Icon
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.pngSp. Atk. Specs
Tier: B Rank Icon
Sp Attack +24
When the Pokemon scores a goal, its Sp. Attack increases by (8/12/16).
Wise Glasses.pngWise Glasses
Tier: S Rank Icon
Sp Attack +39
Increases Sp Attack by (3/5/7)%.

Equip Boost Emblems

Pokemon UNITE - Boost Emblems - Maximum of 10 Emblems per Loadout.png

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

Pokemon UNITE - Boost Emblems - Brown Color Effect.png

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

Pokemon UNITE - Boost Emblems - Green Color Effect.png

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

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Comment

2 Anonymousover 2 years

will this post be updated snce glaceon breaks the norm by having SpAtk basic attack

1 ninjadinosaur86over 3 years

i just tested zeraora and attack items boost his auto attack (pressing A) and his moves. special attack boosted the auto attack a little bit too (less than attack items) but not the skills. however, he still gets the heal from the shell bell. all items were level 10, except floating stone, which one level 11.

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