Well, we’re finally on the downside of the Pokemon GO rollercoaster this year it seems, but things may still be exciting for some of us, at least until Niantic reveals what the third Ultra Unlock is. We previously mentioned how Part 1 (now live) was focused on fossil pokemon and Dialga, while part 2 starting on August 6th brings not Palkia, but Kangaskan and Heracross to 3 star raids around the world, the latter of which is the first time the stag beetle pokemon’s been globally available in any way… oh, and shiny, if you’re into that.
Most of the month is shaping up to be kind of slow, though. Chimeco will be the research reward despite it just being featured in Go Fest, while Remote Raid passes return to weekly care packages. Access to regionals is nice, and if you can’t guess from the header, Niantic’s also bringing back an old fan-favorite Community Day, though with a twist many of us expected from the original event.
Eevee is getting a Community Day – again. It’s a bit different from last time, though, in that each eeveelution will have its own specific move. Of note, in PvP, Sylveon seems to be a bit better in Ultra League, while Umbreon gets only a side-grade in PvP (it gets walled by Dark-types by losing Last Resort). While Leafeon technically does better in PvP and PvE with its new fast move, it doesn’t mean much aside from people who need a budget, pure Grass type. Espeon, Glaceon, and Flareon do get some new PvP coverage, but none of them is really good enough to consider meta-worthy still. Jolteon may be a little more useful in PvE with Zap Cannon but only for budget players, and it seems Vaporeon gets nothing unless Scald gets an overhaul.
The good news, however, is that the event is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both August 14th and 15th, and players can evolve their eevees for their moves starting 10 a.m. on August 13th to 10 a.m. August 16th. For those who are without Sylveon, its evolution requirements will drop to a mere seven hearts, meaning you could potentially just toss a new eevee a poffin and then take a picture of it to evolve it. Remember, poffins are AR rewards now, and you don’t need to actually record anything for Niantic beyond the palm of your hand.
We don’t know what the mystery event is from August 20th-31st, but we do know it’s messing with the latter half of the month. For example, here are the upcoming spotlight hour features:
- Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021: Magnemite will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Stardust for catching Pokémon.
- Tuesday, August 10th, 2021: East Sea Shellos will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for catching Pokémon.
- Tuesday, August 17th, 2021: West Sea Shellos will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for catching Pokémon.
- Tuesday, August 24th, 2021: A certain Pokémon will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for transferring Pokémon.
- Tuesday, August 31st, 2021: A certain Pokémon will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for evolving Pokémon.
While the Shellos days are a nice way for people to get a regional they’d normally have to travel for (so don’t miss those days!), notice that both August 24th and 25th have a mystery pokemon involved. August 25th’s raid hour is also affected by a mystery pokemon (Dialga will be on August 4th, Palkia will be on August 18th and 25th).
This is also another month that seems to be holding back from releasing a new Mega pokemon:
- Mega Charizard X will continue to appear in Mega Raids until Friday, August 6th, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
- Mega Ampharos will appear in Mega Raids from Friday, August 6th, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Friday, August 20th, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
- Mega Beedrill will appear in Mega Raids from Friday, August 20th, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Thursday, August 26th, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
- Mega Pidgeot will appear in Mega Raids from Thursday, August 26th, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. to Wednesday September 1st, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
Charizard X uses the same Energy as Charizard Y, so it’s probably low-priority for many people, especially once you remember that Mega Evolving a pokemon allows you to walk a pokemon for passive Mega Energy gains. All of August’s Megas have some useful niche for grabbing extra candy, so if you don’t have enough energy to Mega Evolve them yet, this is the time to do it. Of particular note, Mega Beedrill energy can be gained (secretly) from spinning stops once you’ve Mega Evolved it, and Mega Pidgeot’s typing often makes it good for collecting rare pokemon candy, as major ones like Chansey, Snorlax, and Audino are normal types, while Noibat and many Legendaries (when caught as quest or PvP rewards) are part Flying-types.
There will also be a GO Battle night allowing players to complete up to 100 battles on Thursday, August 26, 2021, from 6:00 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time. You also get triple stardust from Battle Nights, win or lose, so they’re always worth doing if you have the time.
While August will clearly not be as exciting as July, Pokemon GO‘s gotten a dizzying amount of content since around this time last year. We may be in for a lot more in August, so the first few weeks may be your time to take it easier than usual. Of course, we’ll update this post should Niantic surprise us, as it’s wont to do.
8/3 Update: The third Ultra Unlock has been revealed, and it’s totally out of left field. Niantic is not only pushing Gen 8 pokemon, but is bringing out the two mascot legendaries as well, which should help more people complete their Galar Pokedex. While the pokemon being released shouldn’t do much to the immediate PoGO meta, releasing the mascot legendaries Zacian and Zamazenta may affect the Sword and Shield meta, even without their rusty-held items.
It should be noted both dogs have a second form that give them steel typing, making Zacian particularly interesting in the future. While like Xerneas before it, the lack of a fast-type Fairy move is going to hold it back, but between game rebalances and that second form, players may wish to invest in harvesting these legendaries for good stats, candy, or at least trade potential with console owners.
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!
