Monday, December 11, 2023

EX Licenses: A Legendary Extra

Several months ago, I had brought up the aspect and issue or problem of having Legendary Pokémon become (fully) playable in Pokémon Unite. I also had discussed possible solutions that could be taken to make things even on the playing field with this in mind. Recently, one solution has been implemented for this aspect: EX License, a different kind of Unite License and a significant distinction at that. As expected, it does affect the fully playable Legendary Pokémon and the way they can be played.

As of the current implementation, the Unite Licenses for existing fully playable Legendary Pokémon - Zacian, Mewtwo X, and Mewtwo Y - are now EX Licenses. That means that only one of them can be used (either version of Mewtwo regardless) on a team during play, as this is the core restriction of EX Licenses. Given that all of these Legendary Pokémon are of the "uber" variety, this restriction makes sense, and even for Legendary Pokémon that are less so yet could stand to be included later on, this could apply well.

Because of the differentiation, they could stand to be restricted in other ways, such as for the purpose of Ranked matches. In fact, in a following season that will start in mid-January, EX Licenses will not be able to be used. Presently and thereafter, EX Licenses may be expected to rotate in and out of being allowed to be used in Ranked matches much like thematic cups in Pokémon Go or Regulations in main series VGC. Offsetting the dynamics of Pokémon in battle this way might just make things more engaging.

Legendary Pokémon are of a varied lot, and many of them could just make it into Pokémon Unite in a fully playable manner. As stated above, they will likely do so and become EX Licenses. Even so, it is known that some Pokémon - especially those under the umbrella of "pseudo-Legendary" - can rival them in much the same ways, and there's a possibility that they too might become EX Licenses in the future. For now, though, at least thus far, playable Legendary Pokémon only bear this distinction.

It can be discerned that EX Licenses offer a way out of the current quandary of fully playable Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Unite and all the problems they have caused and/or currently causing. No matter where they are, Legendary Pokémon are just built differently compared to regular Pokémon, and differentiating them or making them distinct seems to be an utmost priority. The Unite solution is definitely such a method, for which its time has now come to bring (extra) order to its gameplay realm.

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