The collection of Held Items in Pokemon Unite has grown over the course of the game's tenure (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon Unite Held Item tier list for May 2023

By Spencer Whitworth

Modified May 09, 2023 03:23 GMT

When shaping a build in Pokemon Unite, Held Items can be some of the most important components to help your chosen Pocket Monster succeed. Not only do these items typically enhance a Pokemon's stats, but they also offer beneficial in-game effects ranging from shields to increased attack damage and more.

The best Held Items may vary depending on your preferred playstyle, but there are some items that are widely regarded as excellent choices. As such, you should prioritize acquiring and upgrading these items before branching out to other options.

Tentative tier list for each Held Item in Pokemon Unite

S-Tier

When Pokemon Unite fans are searching for the top options in the current meta, they can look to the S-tier. For all intents and purposes, you will see these Held Items used in a wide swath of the top meta builds for just about any Unite License.

Simply picking three S-tier Held Items won't always guarantee success, but tactically including these items in a Pokemon's build should result in overall improved performance as long as you are playing your Unite License correctly and filling the appropriate team role.

S-Tier Held Items in Pokemon Unite

Buddy Barrier - Grants a shield to the lowest HP teammate when a Unite Move is used, improving team survivability.
Focus Band - A must-have for sustain-based All-Rounders, as it recovers HP over time when the user hits critical HP levels.
Scope Lens - The bread and butter of critical hit builds, it scales with the user's attack damage and is absolutely vital for securing kills with crit-heavy Attackers.
Weakness Policy - Ideal for brawlers and off-tanks, it enhances the user's damage proportionate to the amount of damage they've taken.
Muscle Band - Basic attacks deal extra damage based on a percentage of the target's health. It is ideal for Attackers that operate primarily off of their high attack speed.
Slick Spoon - Ideal for Attackers that use special attack-based moves, it allows the user to ignore a percentage of the target's special defense. It is also excellent for circumventing the defenses of All-Rounders and Defenders alike.
Score Shield - Grants the holder a shield while scoring and prevents the scoring process from being interrupted, ensuring that scoring opportunities are taken when available.

A-Tier

Items in the A-Tier are not considered the best of the best, but they are still great to have and use in many builds. These Held Items are still excellent for general use even if they fall short of the S-tier items' capabilities.

You should absolutely consider these for most builds if you have them, and they work particularly well with S-tier items as well.

A-Tier Items in Pokemon Unite

Wise Glasses - Provides a percentage-based boost to special attack damage, making it an excellent choice for special attack-based Attackers, particularly ranged nukes.
Choice Specs - Increases the minimum damage of moves when they land. These specs scale with special attack, so it is perfect in many of the same builds that use Wise Glasses.
Assault Vest - Provides a shield against special attacks when the holder is outside of combat. Particularly helpful for Defenders when dealing with certain Attackers.
Float Stone - Improves movement speed when the holder is not in combat. It is a spectacular Held Item for Pokemon Unite's Speedsters.
Razor Claw - After a move is used, the damage of the next basic attack has its damage floor increased. It scales with the attack stat and slows opponents when the holder is a melee Pokemon. It is a great option in Pokemon Unite for physical junglers, bruisers, and Attackers.
Energy Amplifier - After using a Unite Move, the holder's damage is increased by a percentage. This can be used on a wide array of different licenses in Pokemon Unite and should serve well in teamfights.
Rapid-Fire Scarf - After three sequential basic attacks, the holder's attack speed is increased by a percentage. This should be highly considered for Attackers that benefit from rapid strikes.

B-Tier

They may not be the best Held Items in Pokemon Unite, but B-tier items are still worth considering in certain builds. They may only provide their benefits in a situational context or may not stack up well with better meta picks, but these choices shouldn't be completely discarded. B-tier options still have use cases, and they can do the job well when paired with certain Unite Licenses.

B-Tier Held Items in Pokemon Unite

Exp. Share - Provides experience over time to the holder who has the lowest amount of XP on a team. In addition, nearby teammates that defeat wild Pokemon will receive a little extra experience. It is a solid pick for some of Pokemon Unite's Supporters.
Sp. Atk Specs - Increases the holder's special attack stat when they score a goal. It can be great for some Attackers, but it is situational depending on how often the user is scoring.
Attack Weight - Much like the Sp. Atk Specs, the Attack Weight increases the holder's attack stat after scoring a goal. Once again, its value depends on how often the holder is actually scoring in a given Pokemon Unite battle.
Shell Bell - Restores HP when a move hits an enemy. It scales off of special attack and can be useful for special attack-based Defenders and certain Supporters.
Rescue Hood - When the holder grants healing or a shield to a teammate, the effect is magnified by a percentage. It is a great pick for protective Supporters, but otherwise won't amount to much.

C-Tier

For one reason or another, these Held Items currently just aren't quite up to the mark. This can surely change as Pokemon Unite continues to update and evolve, but these items are best left alone unless trainers are essentially forced to use them to fill up an empty Held Item slot. The benefits don't amount to much or the effects trigger under circumstances that are too niche to be consistently useful in Unite Battles.

C-Tier Items in Pokemon Unite

Drain Crown - When the holder deals damage with attack stat-based attacks, they'll receive HP restoration based on a percentage of that damage. It may work with some attack stat builds for Attackers and All-Rounders, but there are better options for survivability.
Rocky Helmet - When a certain amount of damage is dealt to the holder, the attacker receives damage as a percentage of their HP. Unfortunately, outside a few niche builds, the damage reflected on targets isn't enough to make a huge difference.
Aeos Cookie - If a holder scores a goal, they receive a maximum HP increase by a flat point total. Sadly, this item would be better served with a percentage-based increase and still requires the user to score a goal first.
Leftovers - There's a reason Pokemon Unite players are given this item at the start. The move simply heals the holder by a small percentage when out of combat. Considering that Supporters can heal allies or a Pokemon can simply return to base or eat a berry to heal, Leftovers should be left out of builds.

It should be noted that while C-tier items are far from perfect, Pokemon Unite trainers may be able to utilize them in very rare circumstances. However, you will have to know what you're doing. Otherwise, these items may harm a Pokemon's performance more than they help.

Edited by
Siddharth Satish