Pokemon Unite is one of those games that’s easy to learn and difficult to master. If it didn’t matter to you how well you did, you could feasibly run headfirst into each battle without any strategy and still have fun.

On the other hand, if you’re hoping to climb the ranks a little bit, you’ll want to take a more methodical approach. One such aspect you should think carefully about are the held items you equip your Pokemon with.

At the time of writing this article (late 2021), there are sixteen held items. You can equip a maximum of three to your Pokemon. How do you decide which ones to choose?

Well, keep reading, and we’ll give you some recommendations.

What is a Held Item and Why Do Use One?

Pokemon Unite Held Items

New to the game? That’s no problem – we’ll explain what held items are in the event you’re completely unfamiliar with them.

The basic definition for a held item is fairly simple: it’s an item your Pokemon holds. Each one gives you some sort of advantage in battle. Your Pokemon can be equipped with up to three held items.

Held items aren’t activated, so you don’t need to do anything specific to use them. All you need to do is equip them to your Pokemon. At this point in time, you can equip them in the battle prep sections on the homepage, or you can equip them shortly before a match when you’re in the phase of choosing Pokemon.

There’s a little bit more to held items than this (in fact, you can upgrade held items individually), but we might discuss other considerations in more detail later on. For now, we’re just going to look at the basics.

Where Do You Get Held Items?

One undoubtedly burning question you might have is where you can get the held items we’re about to discuss. You can purchase new held items from the Aeos Emporium Shop.

You’ll have the option of purchasing them with either tickets or Aeos coins. In fact, in our list of Pokemon Unite tips for beginners, we recommend using your tickets for items rather than spending them on cosmetics.

Best Held Items in Pokemon Unite

Buddy Barrier

Pokemon Unite Buddy Barrier

In our opinion, Buddy Barrier is easily one of the best items in the game at this point in time. Buddy Barrier gives you a huge boost of health, and on top of that, it heals an ally at the lowest health whenever you use your unite move. This is one item that can definitely turn the tides of a battle.

Focus Band

Focus Band

Focus Band ranks right up there with Buddy Barrier for us. It gives a passive boost to both your defense and special defense. On its own, that’s a nice benefit – especially if you’re playing a Pokemon that tends to be on the squishier side.

However, it offers a second benefit: recovering your health when you’re low. This health recovery is very limited – it lasts for just three seconds – but it could save you from a gank if you’re able to pull out on time.

Muscle Band

Pokemon Unite Muscle Band

After some thought, we’ve decided to put Muscle Band in third place overall. This is the perfect item for physical attackers like Absol or Zeraora.

Muscle Band will give you a slight boost to your basic attack speed on top of increasing your attack stat. Additionally, when your speed-boosted basic attacks hit, their damage is increased for a value equal to 1% of your target’s health. In other words, Muscle Band is especially effective on enemies that are at a higher health.

Scope Lens

Pokemon Unite Scope Lens

If you’re looking to boost your damage output, Scope Lens is a great choice for you. It gives a buff to the damage from basic attacks that increases the higher your Pokemon’s attack stat is. That makes it a perfect match for your physical attackers.

A secondary benefit is that it boosts your chance of scoring a critical hit, which increases the amount of damage you do at once.

Shell Bell

Pokemon Unite Shell Bell

If you’ve played some of the traditional Pokemon games on a handheld console, then you’ve likely encountered the Shell Bell before. This nifty item nets you a small amount of HP recovery whenever one of your attacks lands.

Unlike Scope Lens, this one is geared towards your special attackers. The amount of HP you recover increases with high Special Attack stats. Additionally, it provides a small buff to your Pokemon’s special attack stat.

Wrap Up

Choosing the right items can seem incredibly complicated if you’re a new player. At the very least, we hope this quick list gives you some ideas on what items to prioritize.

If you’re getting more competitive in the game, though, the best items to choose are more situational based on the Pokemon you’re playing or the role you want to play. Maybe sometime down the line, we’ll discuss the best items for each role in the game.

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