Updated Emblems in Pokémon Unite

I've written about what now has become a key feature of Pokémon Unite - Pokémon emblems - last year, and in doing so I've essentially covered the basics. What's not so basic is that like with any feature, it can receive updates, and that was exactly what happened since then and in particular for the game's second anniversary. Therefore, it's only right that I cover what's new since then, or at least what I hadn't covered. They're the updates beyond the basics of the feature and they extend the feature in scope and length.

And "extend" is a key description, for the emblems had been extended to cover all species of and from Johto, which means those with Dex numbers #152 to #251, plus Zacian as an out-of-band addition for a total of 252 emblems in all. Likewise, most of these new additions should be able to be encountered by drawing for them through energy exchange, save for the case of the Mythical Pokémon of Celebi, which demands its own event as with Mew. Regardless, this is a significant extension and affirms that they're here to stay.

That is also further affirmed by the addition of a new level of emblem rarity: platinum. Unlike the lower rarities, this is at present limited to a handful of species, and the emblems are event-exclusive; for those who lucked out, they may have obtained Pikachu, Mewtwo, and Mew earlier this year. Eventually, once things begin to become "saturated", it may be possible to obtain them for more species and in different ways. For now, one will likely have to be content with the rest of the available Pokémon being gold emblems until platinum can become more commonplace.

While not a true "extension", I do have to mention and expound the item that can be used to earn emblems of higher rarity - actually, two of them. The Silver Emblem Box rewards a silver emblem for a common (not rare Mythical) Pokémon, though it has a very small chance of a gold emblem, while the Gold Emblem Box rewards a gold emblem. The former, at least, can also be obtained as Unite Squad rewards and rare prizes in events, while the latter is the expected Battle Pass reward. A true "extension" will likely reward these in more ways than the limited ones right now.

Undoubtedly, the Pokémon emblems feature is now no longer "basic" in scope and length with these extensions, especially if they foretell of possible future ones. Yet the feature remains "basic" in another sense as it is one that players need to utilize and refine in order to get the most out of the Pokémon they will frequently use in Unite battles. That should be able to happen in even more different ways with these extensions, given all the current and soon-to-be added Pokémon to battle with, on the maps of Unite.

One year ago: Enjoyment at the Mercy of...

Two years ago: The Little Jungle Cup of GBL

Three years ago: Gotcha Good, Like I Should

Four years ago: Preparing for Sword and Shield

Five years ago: The Items of Shuffle's Special Shop

Six years ago: When an Iris Blooms: Episode 669 - "The Bloom Is on Axew!"