Pokémon UNITE celebrates 1st anniversary with new events and game modes, and the addition of six new playable Pokémon

With Pokémon UNITE celebrating it's first anniversary this Thursday on July 21st, The Pokémon Company have announced a suite of updates and in-game events that will be coming to the MOBA title over the course of the next month to mark the milestone. Together with an anniversary event featuring rewards for both new and returning players, the game will also be seeing the addition of a new limited-time game mode, as well as six new playable Pokémon joining the game's roster.

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Anniversary Log-in Bonus Gifts
For up to five days between July 21st at 12:00am (PDT) and October 12th at 4:59pm (PDT), players will be able to receive a UNITE license and Holowear set on their first log-in each day. The daily rewards are as follows:

• Day 1: Pikachu + Fashionable Style: Pikachu
• Day 2: Lucario + Concert Style: Lucario
• Day 3: Blastoise + Firefighter Style: Blastoise
• Day 4: Snorlax + Bedtime Style: Snorlax
• Day 5: Sylveon + Checkered Style: Sylveon

Players who already own either the UNITE license or Holowear will instead receive 100 Aeos coins.

New playable Pokémon join the fray
Six new playable Pokémon will be added to the game over the coming month as part of these anniversary celebrations.

Joining UNITE on the game's anniversary is the Fresh Snow Pokémon, Glaceon. Glaceon is the third Eeveeloution to join the game, after Sylveon and Espeon. Like its fellow Eeveeloutions, Glaceon is a Ranged attacker type, doing Special damage. It's Ice Shard move will briefly increases both movement and basic attack speed for a short time, adding chunks of ice to basic attacks that decrease opponents movement speed when they hit. It's Icicle Spear attack meanwhile launches stored ice crystals in rapid succession, with damage increasing every time they hit the same opposing Pokémon. The crystals also shatter on impact, to deal damage to all opponents in the area of effect.

Players will be able to earn Glaceon's UNITE license after completing missions from the Icy Glaceon Challenge, which will run from July 21st at 12:00am (PDT) through to August 14th at 4:59pm (PDT). New Holowear will also be released alongside this event.

Of the additional five Pokémon coming to the game across in August and September, only two are known at this stage. At this stage, no information about their roles and special attacks has yet been officially announced.

• August 3rd - Buzzwole
• August 15th - Tyranitar

The remaining three Pokémon will be added to the game during in September, however the exact Pokémon and dates have yet to be announced. We'll update you more once more information has been revealed.

Anniversary Cake Challenge
A special Anniversary Cake Challenge will run from July 21st at 12:00am (PDT) through to August 1st at 4:59pm (PDT). During the event period, players will collect frosting to complete the anniversary cake, and receive rewards including Tuxedo Style Holowear for Cramorant and Crustle. As with past events, players will be able to earn frosting from battling and completing missions, as well as simply logging in each day.

Limited Time Game Mode - Boss Rush
For a very limited time, UNITE players will be able to team-up in the game's first PvE-style quick-battle event. In the Boss Rush mode, players will need to work together to defeat powerful Boss Pokémon. The higher players can go in the rankings together with their squad, the better the rewards they'll receive at the end. The event will run over three separate periods during July and August:

• Period 1: July 21st to July 24th
• Period 2: July 31st to August 7th
• Period 3: August 14th to August 21st

Be rewarded for participating in UNITE Battles with friends
A Team & Rank Up event will be running over two weekends in July and August, offering players the chance to earn larger amounts of performance points when they team up with other players for Ranked Matches.

• Period 1: July 23rd to July 24th
• Period 2: August 20th to August 21st

Between July 21st at 12:00am (PDT) and August 11th at 4:59pm (PDT), a Invite-a-Friend Campaign will be running where players who invite new players to Pokémon UNITE will also receive in-game reward boxes with random rewards, which may include Holowear tickets, energy boost tanks, and other rewards. Players will only be able to receive these invite-a-friend rewards a limited number of times. Players invited in this way will also have the opportunity to receive the Bonfire Style holowear for Slowbro if they win a certain number of ranked matches after using the invitation code they received.

From July 21st at 12:00am (PDT) to August 4th at 4:59pm (PDT), players will be able to take part in a Returning Trainer Support Event, where they can receive a variety of rewards by teaming up with friends and other players who haven’t logged in for over 14 days.

Returning Event Holowear
Two holowear from major events last year, Costume Party Style: Lucario and Cake Style: Crustle, are both set to return for a limited time. It's not yet clear if these will be mission rewards, or if there will be some other way of obtaining them.

Additional Game Updates
New Energy Rewards - Pokémon Boost Emblems
New items called Pokémon Boost Emblems are being added to the pool of items obtainable as energy rewards. Many different emblems will be available, each featuring a different Pokémon. All emblems will also come in Gold, Silver, and Bronze grades. Players can create custom loadouts for their Pokémon to use the effects of the emblems during battle. While no date was explicitly given for when these will be added to the energy reward pool, players can likely expect to see these coming on the same day as the anniversary, July 21st.

Battle Pass 9
The newest Pokémon UNITE Battle Pass will be available from July 21st. As always, each Battle Pass season brings with it a range of new rewards, with Band Style: Pikachu Holowear and Songstress Style: Wigglytuff taking center stage this season. Running alongside the anniversary celebrations, this Battle Pass season will also include opportunities for players to obtain Holowear, Trainer fashion items, and other rewards from the first two Battle Pass seasons. To acquire these rewards, players will need to complete special Battle Pass Missions awarding Battle Pass Special Tickets, which can be exchanged for rewards at the Exchange Booth. Battle Pass prize boxes will also be available every time players earns 130 Battle Pass points after reaching maximum level for the Battle Pass.

Ranked Match Season 5
The next season of ranked matches will begin on July 21st, and run through until September 2nd. This shortened period is presumably to keep the season aligned with anniversary celebrations. This season's reward for reaching Ultra rank is the Tuxedo Style holowear for Decidueye.