Unite license

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Unite licenses, sometimes called Pokémon Unite licenses or Pokémon licenses, are items in Pokémon UNITE.^[1] Each one grants a trainer the right to use a Pokémon in Unite Battles. The Unite Battle Committee sells Unite licenses to Trainers, accepting Aeos coins, Aeos gems, or a mix of both.^[2] Certain events allow players to get Licenses for free, or by exchanging event exclusive items for them. (Certain events only care about collecting a certain amount of currency.) Their names are formatted as "Unite License: [Species]" where the brackets are replaced by the name of the species. Though, saying [Species]'s Unite License is also valid.

A Unite License is a flat object which has the Pokémon UNITE render of the Pokémon on it. The upper right corner has a heavy curve, compared to the rounded corners seen elsewhere. The bottom of the card has a silver overlay with a U-shaped cut in the center. However, in some menus like the pre-Unite Battle menus, the distictive upper right corner and silver bottom are ignored, keeping them as uniform rounded rectangles.

At no point does any UNITE media explain how Trainers obtain the Pokémon they have the Unite License for. However, the ending of Welcome to the Stadium! may imply that Trainers are allowed to bring a Pokémon that they already own to a Unite Battle.

Roles

Unite licenses are split into five separate roles, each serving their own purpose.

Attacker

Attackers are Pokémon with low endurance and high offense, as the name implies. They are all ranged Pokémon. They can be identified by the red background in their Unite license portrait.

Defender

Defenders are Pokémon with high endurance. Their purpose is to defend other, more vulnerable Pokémon, like Attackers and Speedsters, from the opposing team. They can be identified by the green background in their Unite license portrait.

All-Rounder

All-Rounders are Pokémon with a mix of endurance and offense. They are primarily melee Pokémon. They can be identified by the purple background in their Unite license portrait.

Speedster

Speedsters are Pokémon with high mobility and offense. Their purpose is to get the jump on opposing Pokémon and knock them out quickly. They are all melee Pokémon. They can be identified by the blue background in their Unite license portrait.

Supporter

Supporters' purpose is to assist ally Pokémon by healing them and inflicting hindrances on opposing Pokémon. They can be identified by the orange background in their Unite license portrait.

Pikachu's license (Attacker)
Blastoise's license (Defender)
Lucario's license (All-Rounder)
Absol's license (Speedster)
Blissey's license (Supporter)

Usage

Before a Unite Battle begins, Trainers have time to choose one of their Unite Licenses and bring that Pokémon to the upcoming battle. This is done through a menu that the player scrolls through, where the player can pick from a Unite License they own, an available Trial License, or an active Limited License. This menu also displays inactive Limited Licenses in the player's Item Box, and these Licenses can be activated here. Players are aware of the Unite Licenses that other members of their team are selecting, but do not learn which Licenses the opposing team selects until the splash screen directly before the battle that displays everyone's chosen Licenses unless they are playing a Draft Pick match.

Speaking of that splash screen, while everyone's chosen Unite Licenses are displayed, if a player is using Holowear then the Holowear will be displayed instead. By selecting a Unite License or Holowear on this splash screen, players can swap it for a view of the Trainer's Unite Snapshot.

In a Unite Battle, trainers start with using the lowest evolutionary stage of the species depicted on the Unite License they picked, excluding Baby Pokémon. So, selecting the Unite License: Venusaur means the player starts the battle with a Bulbasaur, but selecting the Unite License Azumarill means the player will start a battle using a Marill. Then, as the battle progresses, their Pokémon evolves until it reaches the evolutionary stage depicted on the Unite License being used. Continuing the example, that Bulbasaur becomes Ivysaur then Venusaur, while the Marill only evolves once into Azumarill. Of course, many Pokémon with Unite Licenses do not evolve at all and thus do not evolve in a Unite Battle. Examples of these include Cramorant and Lapras.

Sometimes, this means that different Unite Licenses have overlapping Pokémon permissions. For instance, two trainers using the Unite License: Sylveon and the Unite License: Umbreon will both start a Unite Battle with an Eevee. However, their moves will be different, and the first Eevee will evolve into Sylveon while the second Eevee will evolve into Umbreon.

Mewtwo is a unique case. The species has two different Unite Licenses, with one called the Unite License X: Mewtwo and the other called the Unite License Y: Mewtwo. The Mewtwo these Licenses allow trainers to use behave differently, with the Unite License X providing the use of a Melee Mewtwo that can Mega Evolve into Mega Mewtwo X whereas the Unite License Y allows the use of a Ranged Mewtwo that can Mega Evolves into Mega Mewtwo Y. These licenses have an indicative stamp of the letter and the Mega Evolution symbol in the lower left corner, done in blue for "X" and red for "Y".

Unite Battles do not allow members of the same team to use the same final evolution in battle. This means that only no two people can pick the same Unite License for a battle, though they are allowed to pick Unite Licenses that have overlap in prior evolutions such as the aforementioned Umbreon and Sylveon. However, this means that two trainers on the same team cannot bring both the Unite License X: Mewtwo and the Unite License Y: Mewtwo.^[3]. In Draft Pick matches, this rule applies across both teams, meaning only one member across both teams can pick a particular Unite License. In this case, if one team picks one of Mewtwo's Unite Licenses, the other team cannot pick the other.

EX licenses

The EX license logo

From December 5, 2023 to September 4, 2024, some licenses were classified as EX licenses. This did not change any stats of the Pokémon, however generally, Pokémon with the EX license label tended to have the ability to use up Aeos energy in some way to make themselves stronger in battle. Pokémon with EX licenses also tended to be Legendary Pokémon, specifically Special Pokémon. In Ranked Season 17, EX licenses were banned from use in any battle where all players are in the Master rank; however this rule was suspended for Ranked Season 18. This was reverted in Ranked Season 19, where they are once again banned. In Ranked Season 20, a new rule was put in place where only one EX license was be allowed per team in Master rank battles. In Ranked Season 21, this was changed to four EX licenses per team. There were no restrictions on using EX licenses in Unite Battles other than ranked matches. On September 5, 2024, the EX license label was removed from the game, with a letter from the producer citing that while they were well received by newer players, other players were left wanting a more balanced experience due to the EX licenses typically being of a higher power level than other Pokémon and disliked how EX licenses were often restricted from ranked battles.^[4] Pokémon who formerly had the label were rebalanced alongside its removal to better match the power level of the other Pokémon in the game.

The following Pokémon were classified as EX licenses:

Types of Unite License items

Unite licenses come in a large number of variations, which run the gamut from being regular items that can be interacted with from the Item Box to being more of a unlock.

The default form of a Unite License is not exactly a true "item", as they do not exist in the Item Box. Instead, they are much more like unlocks that exist passively on an account once obtained. Therefore, they are always available to select from for a Unite Battle. They are also the only kind of license allowed in the Ranked Battle mode. The player is never allowed to obtain a duplicate Unite License, receiving Aeos Coins instead in any such circumstance.

A trial Unite license is a Unite License issued by the Unite Battle Committee. Each week, there are three such licenses made available to players. If the player is a UNITE Club member, two more trial licenses are available. On the first weekend of every month, known as Unite Weekend in-game, players are given trial Unite licenses for every Pokémon. These are also not truly "items", only existing in the menu. The upper left corner for them shows a blue clock icon over a black "cut-in" to the license. The trial Unite Licenses can and usually will overlap with Unite Licenses the player already owns, and in such cases the normal Unite License takes precedence: The normal Unite License will be displayed and it will appear that the player is "short" a trial Unite License.

Limited Licenses are the only kind of Unite License that are truly items and are stored in the Item Box.^[5] These licenses have to be activated, at which point their timer begins to count down. The Pokémon of the license can be selected for battle until that timer ends. The length of this "rental" varies by the item. However, all three have an identical appearance, which adds a black cut out to the upper left corner of the license with an hourglass icon. Inactive licenses have the hourglass done in grey, while an active license will display a blue hourglass.
- 1-Day Limited Licenses are valid for 24 hours after activation.
- 3-Day Limited Licenses allow for the Pokémon to be used for 72 hours.
- 7-Day Limited Licenses have the longest duration, letting a player use the Pokémon for 168 hours. That's 7 days total.

A special kind of License, alternatively called a Limited License or described as being a No Cost Trial Bonus, is similar to a trial Unite license in nature. These "items" (not in the Item Box) are provided to players as part of a Welcome back! event for lasped players. They have a duration of 14 days. They use a symbol of a human icon surrounded by an arrow circling them, displayed in the upper left corner. This symbol is often used elsewhere as generally referencing a returning player.