The Season of Light is well underway in Pokemon Go, and the appropriately named Festival of Lights is here to help us celebrate.
We have a fair bit going on for this event, and while the goals and road-map may be clear to some, others may be left wondering how best to spend their time in-game. In order to help out those who can't quite make up their minds on this event, we've compiled a list of priorities and a ranking for how important the available Pokemon are to actual gameplay. So, to start with, let's begin by looking at the Pokemon that will come out to greet us more often as the event begins:
The Headliner
Morelull
The newest Pokemon family to drop; Morelull and, more importantly, Shiinotic, are ready to make a splash. They have a great typing and stats that are fairly well suited to PvP, so this should be a natural Pokemon to farm, right? Well, the problem is Shiinotic’s Fast Move options, or rather lack there-of. Cursed with the sub-par Astonish, this is a Pokemon that is relegated to the back-seat, and is not really worth investing too much effort into.
That said, niantic does like making new moves/buffing old moves in order to shake up the meta, and Shiinotic does learn several not-yet-represented-in-Go attacks over in the Main Series, so it might be worth trying for some PvP-ready individuals to prepare for the future.
The Important
Wild/Incense
Chinchou
A staple in the Great League, any event that features Lanturn and its pre-evolution, Chinchou, has to have it listed as an important catch. If you don’t already have one, then this is one Pokemon that can shore up some teams and fill gaps extremely well due to its unique typing, defensive stats, and good moveset, while those who already have made the investment might be able to scoop up a better one and/or a shiny, as it is boosted during this event.
Check out This Guide for a better idea as to what you're actually hunting for!
Galarian Darumaka
The abominable snowman that is Galarian Darmanitan is a great Ice Type attacker that can keep up with most of the big-names of the type, but also has value beyond that as Galarian Darmanitan: Zen Mode is slated to be an absolute monster. We don’t yet know when/how this transformation will take place, or if any existing Galarian Darmanitan will be able to transform, but it’s worth farming if only for the Candy/XL Candy.
Darumaka
One of the quintessential Fire Types, Darmanitan can shore up a lot of raid teams with its high-powered Fire Type moves. However, it’s also pretty outclassed at the same time. If you need some Fire Type power, then this should definitely be a priority alongside Litwick, who we'll cover shortly!
Raids
Alolan Raichu
Another long-time staple of the Great League, Alolan Raichu poses a powerful offensive presence while on the field that can be hard to overcome. If you don’t already have one, then it might be wise to throw a few raids its way and use the resulting catches as trade-fodder in hopes of scoring one with good Great League IVs.
The Good
Wild/Incense
Litwick
Litwick’s Community Day is right around the corner, so the opportunity to farm a bit of candy in advance/try to catch a high-IV individual may come in handy moving forward. Chandelure is a great Pokemon for raids that’s slated to be even better post-Community Day, but the fact that its Community Day is coming up means that it’s also not super important to catch one now. Even Post-Community Day this little Pokemon can still be useful, as it's still a good Fire Type attacker.
Togedemaru
With the same typing as Magnemite and its evolutionary relatives, Togademaru can play a similar role but slightly better in most cases, making it an arguably better catch for Great League play.
Dedenne
Dedenne may not be the strongest Pokemon in PvP, but its unique typing allows it to slot into some teams very effectively, and it has some strong cup potential as well. Having one with Great League IVs ready to go for the future can definitely pay off.
Alolan Geodude
The main prize here is actually Alolan Graveler, which has some niche performance in the Great League thanks in part to its unique typing. Alolan Golem also has its use, particularly as a budget Raid attacker that can cover Rock and Electric types, but it’s a bit less useful overall.
Raids
Mawile
Mawile fills a niche as a general counter to Dragon spam in the great league, with its stellar typing and good moveset options. It’s not universally great, but it can definitely do its job very well when played to its strengths. It’s also worth mentioning that Mega Mawile is going to drop eventually, and its Steel/Fairy Typing can make it useful as a utility Mega if only for candy/XL grinding.
Galarian Weezing
Galarian Weezing struggles with a number of staple Pokemon in the Great League, but it also has some real play against other staples, making it potentially useful for shoring up weaknesses on some teams.
Research
Electabuzz
Electabuzz’ Final Form, Electivire, has been a staple raider for many years now, and it still shows up on our raid graphs to this day. It’s definitely outclassed nowadays, but it can still shore up a team or help give a leg-up to players just building their raid team.
The Others
Wild/Incense
Pikachu
Ah, the great Pikachu; the mascot of the Pokemon series as a whole. This little Electric Mouse has seen more hats than any other Pokemon, and continues to show up in virtually every event. Too bad it’s basically worthless itself, and its evolution, Raichu, doesn’t fare extremely well on any front.
Galarian Ponyta
Galarian Rapidash isn’t terrible, but it’s pretty niche for the most part and is generally best as a cup Pokemon.
Helioptile
A Pokemon sporting a unique Electric/Normal Typing, Helioptile and Heliolisk are pretty underwhelming. Heliolisk may have some cup potential, but that’s about it.
Raids
Hisuian Braviary is largely only needed for its dex entry. If you have one, you’re golden.
Priorities
One of the most important ways to approach any event is to set priorities, and while everyone will tend to have different priorities for any event depending on what you may need/want to get out of it, here’s a quick overview of what we consider to be the most important aspects of this event:
General Priorities
- Make use of the 2x Candy/XP bonus via Lucky Eggs/Pinap Berries whenever appropriate.
- Finish the Timed Research line and obtain the Sparkler pose.
- Utilize Incense during prolonged periods of play/periods when your Go Plus will be active and you will be moving.
Pokemon Priorities
- For PvP, search out a good Chuinchou (extra credit if it’s shiny!), raid for some Alolan Raichu to trade off, and try for a PvP-IV Morelull just in case.
- Fill in your quota of Dedenne and Togedemaru, and raid for Galarian Weezing/Mawile if you need to. The rest of the event Pokemon tend to be a bit more common, so they’re generally skippable. Still, many of them are generally useful and can be valuable targets for this event
- For Raids, Galarian Darumaka should be the top priority, with Darumaka not far behind. Finding a high-IV on the first day Litwick will give a huge leg-up on is Community Day, and Magnemite/Electabuzz are fair third-tier priorities for those interested in them.
Closing
While this event isn't terribly overwhelming by any means, most players should find at least something to keep their attention as they work through their goals. Between this and Litwick Community Day, the next week should be pretty busy for Pokemon Go, so get out there and enjoy the weather before the chill of winter starts to set in!
