Pokemon GO’s latest season finally brings a five-year-old mechanic to the mobile title with the addition of Dynamax mons in the game’s Max Out season. Alongside this new mechanic,Pokemon GOplayers can also find several Gen 8 mons previously unobtainable in the game, including the starters Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. However, while this update has helped fill the gap of missing Gen 8 content,Pokemon GOis still missing a key part of the Dynamax mechanic that will hopefully debut sometime during this season.
In addition to the Dynamax mechanic, Gen 8’sPokemon Sword and Shieldalso introduced the Gigantamax mechanic as a special version of Dynamax. Certain mons with the ability to Gigantamax would take on new forms when the mechanic is activated, granting access to unique G-Max moves that are even more powerful than standard Max moves. While it’s great to see Niantic adapting theDynamax mechanic forPokemon GO’s unique brand of gameplay, it feels incomplete without access to Gigantamax mons as well since they were a huge draw of the mechanic in the Gen 8 games.
Fighting/Water
G-Max Rapid Flow
Most of the critters with Gigantamax forms are from Gen 1 or Gen 8, soPokemon GOhas a lot to work with in terms of adding these forms to the game. With all of Gen 1 available inPokemon GO, Niantic has some great choices to pull from when introducing Gigantamax forms to the game. Additionally, the absence of a large portion of Gen 8 mons in the game likeCoalossal and Drednawcreates the perfect opportunity for Niantic to add these mons to coincide with their Gigantamax forms being added to the game as well.
How Gigantamax Could Take Pokemon GO’s Dynamax Mechanic to the Next Level
The current implementation of the Dynamax mechanic inPokemon GOlays a great foundation for Gigantamax forms to build on. By limiting which mons have the ability to Dynamax,Pokemon GOalready followsPokemon Sword and Shield’s approach to Gigantamax, which requires specific mons to have the Gigantamax Factor in order to achieve this form when Dynamaxed. This could allow Niantic to create specialMax Raids at Power Spotsthat pit players against rare Gigantamax mons for the chance to capture one for their own team.
Similar to how Mega Raids are variations of standard Raids where the Raid Boss is a Mega-Evolved mon, Gigantamax mons could fill a similar role as a rare variant of standard Dynamax raids.Pokemon GOcould also utilize a different type of Max Particle specifically for Gigantamax mons, much like how Mega Evolution requires Mega Energy. With the potential for Gigantamax critters already lying in wait withinPokemon GO’s Max Out season, Niantic would be wise to capitalize on this new mechanic as players become accustomed to standard Dynamaxing.
