Massively on the Go: Pokemon GO’s Max Out season brings a little hype back

By
Andrew Ross
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The Pokemon Go fall seasonal update, coming September 3rd, is called Max Out, and if you haven’t kept up with the main series of games, you should just know that it’s a reference to the Sword and Shield games’ Dynamax system, not another level increase (from what we’ve heard). But that’s OK, as Niantic’s been doing a bit better admitting to and making up for its errors of late.

It may sound like PR spin or marketing when Niantic says this is one of its “biggest updates to” the game, but there is already an above-average number of changes coming without considering the not-yet described (but partially datamined) Dnyamax Pokemon or Max Battles. As you probably expected, today’s Massively on the Go is here to lay out what we know and what we learn as it drips down from Niantic, but we’ll also help predict some of what to expect, both for this month and this season.

As usual, let’s start with the PvP changes this season. There are a lot, and while G47ix’s graphic (above) and JRE’s current analysis are great helps, I know our readers lean more towards the casual side, so let me distill it down even further. The one big thing to know is that these changes won’t change raids or gym battles, only PvP and Rocket battles.

The first major thing to be aware of is that Fighting Fast Move, Counter, has had its energy gains nerfed, putting it behind the recently added Force Palm and newly buffed Karate Chop. That last bit is interesting because Karate Chop is a Legacy move for Machamp, meaning if you were leaning on it for PvP, you need to use an Elite Fast TM to upgrade it. It also means you can’t optimally use the same Machamp for PvE and PvP, oof.

Two other big hits are Rock Fast Attack, Smack Down, Dark Charge Attack, and Brutal Swing are getting damage nerfs, while the latter is at least also getting an energy cost reduction. That makes Rhyperior a bit worse for Rockets but really smacks Tyranitar down, as both of those moves made it one of the best neutral-picks in Rocket type battles. Previously, Tyranitar could beat some encounters with Smack Down alone, but now your Rocket Farmer may prefer Bite, maybe even go back to Crunch from Brutal Swing. The latter, similar to Machamp, would mean less raid/pvp optimization, though at least Ttar can change between its Charge attacks with a non-elite TM.

Nerfs to Rockslide (another Machamp attack), Body Slam, Razor Leaf, and potentially Surf (damage up but cost up too) may also impact our readers more than the other changes. Lucario or Conkeldurr, both with their event moves, may work as Machamp replacements if the nerfs feel too painful for the four-armed-fighter, but Bite Tyranitar with its old Crunch/Stone Edge combo may be tougher if it doesn’t work out.

Other pokemon are getting new moves relevant to the changes, but none look like they’ll really help their PvE situations out, so we’ll skip them here.

Season-wide benefits of increased friendship XP plus XP and stardust bonuses from 7-day catch and spin streaks are fine, but the extra (XL) candy from trades probably has the biggest impact for most players unless you’re solo or a newbie. Speaking of streaks, the research rewards aren’t great, and the fact that Galarian Mime and Weezing are rewards makes me fear that we won’t be able to evolve Mime Jr or Weezing, which base forms, into their regional forms, much like we have/had with Alola ‘mon.

Aside from 7k eggs, a lot of the egg shakeups seem good; 2k eggs look good for shiny hunters, 5k will help folks get the new ‘mon with better stats than your average wild catch, and 10ks have some currently rare and useful mon. In the 10ks, Charcadet is just rare, but the new Dragon/Ghost type, Dragapult, is potentially a new top Ghost attacker, and Frigibax’s final form is already a top Ice ‘mon among the non-Legendary+ non-Shadows, and it doesn’t even have its signature Dragon move in-game yet. This certainly seems like a good time to save up 2k eggs so you can hatch them and grab the new goodies when they arrive.

As for the other new Galar ‘mon coming out, Teban54’s got a lot of that covered already. In short, Inteleon and Rillaboom are looking to blow up their types once they get their CD moves, but no word on Cinderace. Its stats are a bit better than Blaziken’s, but it has two fewer points in attack, it lacks a Mega form (which get massive stat changes, as opposed to Gigantimaxes which only get HP and new moves), and we have no idea how the new Max Raids are going to function. Oh, and regional Stonjourner probably won’t be great in raids, though it looks neat for UK players able to snag it and share it with the world.

Since the new ‘mon are wild spawns, you may be wondering which Mega to use. Our guide on best Megas to invest in is still accurate, specifically because Primal Groudon will get you candy for the Grass and Fire starters. Those who think they’ll be lucky enough to find Dragapult in the wild may want to use Mega Sceptile, though, as it’ll give both Dragon and Grass candy.

If you’re worried about the Water starter, Sobble, you could pick it during the starter quest to guarantee some extra though negligible candy. That’s from obtaining it and potentially from trading if you get a better one thanks to the extra candy generated from trades this season.

For other wild spawns this season, nothing really stands out as new, great, or a surprise. Beldum in City biomes is good because it gives you more chances to prep for a good Beldum to evolve in December’s CD round-up event if you didn’t already get one. Ghosts Golurk, Sandygast, and Sableye are nice, but we kind of expect them in October anyway. And as for Sableye, each biome seems to be getting a high stardust value ‘mon, so at least veteran players have that.

Showcases will apparently be running on the weekends and Monday through Wednesday. We’ll see if that leads to any shake-up or even the use of XXS ‘mon, as all showcases have been about largest pokemon thus far. Keep your expectations low.

There’s also talk of new paid monthly research, but it’s caused more confusion than confidence, and at the end of the day, it often seems as if these “research for coin” rewards are often a minor discount for the seriously dedicated player. Until we have full details, I’d personally suggest avoiding them.

Finally, in terms of the season, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Max Battles, a new kind of raid, and Dynamaxing, a new form/ability. Note, there has been no word on the form-changing Gigantamaxing, which only certain pokemon get, including the Kanto starters we’ll be getting in the first themed event, GO Big. As Dynamaxing is limited to only Pokemon caught in Max Battles and their evolutions, there is some concern that our old Pokemon won’t be able to Dynamax, which would mean we’re in for not only more farming of the same ‘mon but also more storage issues, more Kanto events or even Community Days to unlock their CD moves, and possibly more of the same if/when Gigantamaxing eventually appears.

As for the actual function, we’re still waiting for details. Some things have been datamined, such as “Power Spots” apparently being a different category than raids, and the use of “Max Particles” to perform the battles and only being “paid” once you successfully complete the battle, but otherwise, we’re in the dark.

There is one user who looked into some of the datamined files and may have pieced together some of the system, though. The Power Spots may be sort of like gyms, except they hold 20 pokemon, attract Dynamax targets in the wild, and also can assist with Max Battles. That last part seems interesting as it may be similar to the bots in main Pokemon series games with raiding, so maybe it could make raiding harder Max Raids easier for solo players, especially if Niantic continues to push its in-person-players-only raid agenda. The same user was correct about a few things, such as needing Max Particles and their being lost when the raid was successful, but we’ll see how the rest pans out.

That being said, we don’t know what exactly Dynamaxing does, so the whole point of these battles is unknown. They could be a whole other system closed off from the rest of the game, kind of like PvP both in that you need totally different ‘mon to participate and, most likely, that Niantic will push people towards it from time to time. Also, consider that the GO Big event has “1 star” raids, so it may be safe to assume that Niantic intends to build up the difficulty level as time goes on.

Those who are looking to prep are sadly out of luck, however. Unless Niantic eventually adds Max Soup to the game, our current ‘mon won’t be able to Gigantimax when/if that comes, and we don’t even know if the Dynamax ones on the horizon will be able to either. Again, combined with the current storage issues, I’m looking at this update with trepidation on levels similar to the awful Megas update.

9/4 Update: Power Spots are live, as are some details about maximizing the way to get them. Unfortunately, the way to maximize the Max Particles they grant is quite obtuse (TLDR: hit 4 Power Spots then touch none the rest of the day) and already the community doesn’t like it, especially as they’re needed (along with XL Candy) to unlock and power up new moves/abilities.

Now, all that is just for the new season. There’s still September to worry about. Shadow Raikou on weekends would normally be worth chasing, but it competes with Kyogre, Groudon, and the return of Zacian, whose PvP relevancy may have slightly fallen, but given we’re in Galar, it may return. The current Zacian we have is actually its normal form. If Niantic will be giving us a way to transform it into its more powerful version, or even just share its candy, Shadow Raikou just won’t be worth it. As odd as it may sound, you may want to focus on non-Shadow raids even on weekends unless you’re really paying for premium passes, need to help a friend, or just don’t have time to pick out a raid before losing a Daily Pass.

For Megas, Mega Absol’s return is probably nice for some people, but as a mono-Dark Mega, it’s seriously outclassed, especially with Mega Houndoom available the same month. Mega Gardevoire’s nothing new at all, but if you don’t have the Mega Energy for one yet, get it, as you’ll want it for Zacian and the inevitable Zamazenta in October, especially considering one this month’s events.

So let’s go over those events. First is the Go All Out event from September 3rd-10th. Again, this is basically the starters’ release, the new pseudo-legendary Dragon that’s functionally possibly better for its Ghost typing, and some shiny Normals. There’s also the choose-your-starter quest that’ll affect your postcard book for a bit in terms of thematically matching your chosen ‘mon, double XP for evolution and catching, and a collection challenge. This of this more of an appetizer event.

During that time is the Falinks Raid Day on September 8th, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time. It can be shiny. That’s… all we know and maybe all that matters? It’s not a great pokemon for PvP, raids, gym defense, or anything except creeping out some people who fear caterpillars and things that resemble them. We’ll be getting five additional free passes for this, and it can be shiny, but stay tuned in case Niantic adds some detail that makes this seem relevant.

September 10th-15th will be the previously mentioned Go Big event and release of Max Battles, which is where you may want to place some hype. Maybe. What’s confusing is that, beyond not knowing the mechanics, we were told only ‘mon from Max Battles can Dynamax, but there’ll be research quests rewarding those same pokemon. Hopefully there’s some miscommunication and either some quest reward ‘mon can Dynamax or Niantic meant the limitation is that pokemon species can’t Dynamax until its species is available to raid in Max Battles, similar to Megas, but it’s yet to be seen. There’s also a note about Max Particle Packs being sold in the webstore, but we don’t even know how they work, so uh, maybe be ready for this to be some premium content on levels similar to Mega Evolutions 1.0.

During the Go Big event is September 14th’s Community Day, which will both Ponytas, but honestly, aside from looks, they’re not doing anything to shake-up the meta. I will say that Shiny Kanto Rapidash was a cool-looking mount in Pokemon Let’s Go and that I had imported my shiny through POGO, but unless you’re looking to play an older game or betting on future ones, it’s hard to push much hype here aside from triple stardust.

September 18th-22nd is the Psychic Spectacular event and traditionally this means we’ll be getting either a new shiny or new psychic ‘mon, though a traditionally rare pokemon may also become more common. While we did get Mega Alakazam during one of these events, there’s no hint of a new Mega during this. Aside from the Mega Metwos (yes, it gets two Megas), we’re still missing Mega Metagross and Mega Gallade, so this is kind of a Mega letdown.

9/9 Update: We now have official word on the event, and it does come with a new pokemon, the Hatenna family, which isn’t looking great in PvP and has the final form typing/stats of a lesser Gardevoir so, no, it’s not looking good for PvE. No new shiny, but oddly Morelull from research has increased shiny odds, so combined with its extra stardust, you’ll really want to hunt down and complete whatever research task that’s assigned to it. No new Mega, but we are oddly getting Dynamax Beldum family before the Mega, and no, we have no word about it getting CD move Meteor Mash, but save your best one(s) for December’s CD round-up event. For PvP fans, Inkay’s line got boosted in the recent move shakeup. In general, this is looking like an above-average event, in that it’s got a little something for most play styles plus is pushing the new Max Battles feature we’re still looking to explore.

Oddly enough, the last day of the event is a Research Day for Oranguru and Passimian. This is odd because these two are Gen 7 pokemon and Passimian is a Fighting type (but maybe that’s a hint that we’ll be seeing some fighters during the Psychic event). It’ll be nice that we’re supposedly getting their shinies, but other than that, they have no functional use. If Niantic does something neat, we’ll be sure to update this.

9/12 Update: We now have official details on the event and yes, shiny monkeys/apes plus shiny Passimian debut. To note, this isn’t all monkeys (Slakoth is only there because Slaking is gorilla-like), and this comes after both the Slakoth and Mankey lines saw big nerfs, but uh… new shiny and yet another Slakoth event that doesn’t grant its final form Body Slam, which has been absent as a CD move since December 2020? There’s not a whole lot to hype here aside from the shinies (no shiny Grookey though).

Finally, September 26th to October 1st is the Legendary Heroes event, which is new. Obviously it’ll focus on the Legendary Heroes Zacian and Zamazenta. It could just be that they’re getting their shinies (which is already confirmed), but it could also be the introduction of their Crowned forms. These are not Megas but rather enhanced part Steel-type forms. I could see Niantic treating them in a fashion similar to Mega Rayquaza, in that we raid for a certain item that unlocks their signature moves (Behemoth Blade and Behemoth Bash, respectively). In the main series, these moves appear only if the base form has Iron Head when they transform, but for simplicity’s sake, I can see Niantic going the Mega Ray route, assuming that’s coming this event at all. Stay tuned as we wait for more information.

9/12 Update: We now have official event details and boy are they disappointing. We were correct that they (kind of) focus on Legendary Heroes, but as pathes based on their game version (Sword and Shield). After the recent nerfs and upcoming Research Day, most of the event feels like leftovers. The one neat thing is that Koffing will be able to evolve into its Galarian version, which is a pretty decent gym defender.

Now let’s close with this month’s Spotlight Hours, which are largely skippable. Wooloo’s evolution has some PvP uses in Great and Ultra Leagues, so the double evolution xp makes some sense if you wanna grab one and evolve it during this time. That being said, it’s also a big part of the new update, so you may get sick of them fast too.

Dewpider on September 10th isn’t anything to worry about, but double stardust from catching is. Wobbuffet on September 17th is good for those building Fets for gym defense but that’s about it, unless you want that double catch XP bonus. Machop on the 24th is a bit of a slap in the face to all but new players, given the nerfs it’s receiving this season, but double catch candy could be good depending on the research reward ‘mon we get this month.

And that’ll be my segue to remind y’all to check back for updates as they slowly drip in. Stay safe out there, trainers!

Massively OP’s Andrew Ross is an admitted Pokemon geek and expert ARG-watcher. Nobody knows Niantic and Nintendo like he does! His Massively on the Go column covers Pokemon Go as well as other mobile MMOs and augmented reality titles!
Pokemon Go studio Niantic is considered a controversial gaming company owing to multiple scandals and deceptions, starting with the Wi-Spy privacy scandal; over the years, it’s repeatedly failed to secure player data, endangered players during the pandemic, and refused to address documented stalking in POGO. It also rolled back popular accessibility features to incentivize data collection, faked data, and lied about event results. Following 2021’s community-driven Pokemon No boycott, Niantic vowed transparency and communication; it has not delivered.
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