Introduction
In the upcoming Kanto event, ticket-buyers will be able to choose between Red and Green version, continuing on with a long history of version differences. Each version provides some number of exclusive spawns (meaning you’ll need to trade with the other version) and boosted shinies. Many Pokémon GO players have asked, which version is the better one to get?
Exclusives
Red-Exclusive:
Ekans, Oddish, Mankey, Growlithe, Scyther, Electabuzz
Red-Shiny:
Ekans, NidoranF, Oddish, Diglett, Mankey, Growlithe, Ponyta, Shellder, Drowzee, Krabby, Hitmonlee, Lickitung, Scyther, Electabuzz, Eevee, Kabuto
Green-Exclusive:
Sandshrew, Vulpix, Meowth, Bellsprout, Magmar, Pinsir
Green-Shiny:
Sandshrew, NidoranM, Vulpix, Meowth, Psyduck, Bellsprout, Geodude, Exeggcute, Hitmonchan, Koffing, Tangela, Horsea, Magmar, Pinsir, Omanyte
From what we’ve seen so far, it seems as though the ones listed under the -Shiny sections are not exclusive, just boosted. If that’s true, then there’s a real chance that these species will use their typical unboosted spawn rates, meaning you’re exactly as likely to catch a shiny Horsea in Red Version as you are when you tap any non-event Horsea. That is to say: not great.
So, if your primary motivation is to collect the strongest possible Pokémon, what are you looking at?
Red Version
Looking specifically at version exclusives, Red has two that are actually notable for PvP (Mankey and Scyther), and two that are notable for raids (Scyther and Electabuzz)
Primeape is an interesting one. Running Counter + Night Slash paired with either Close Combat or the legacy Cross Chop, it recently had a bit of a niche in Kanto Cup. Its mixed coverage with Night Slash gives it play against Psychic- and Ghost-types that would wall out most fighters. Compared to Scrafty, Primeape has far more consistent Fighting-damage (no matter which charged move it runs. Power-Up Punch just doesn’t hit that hard.) Primeape has some pretty major struggles in Open Great League, too, since it’s totally walled out by Azumarill. Do note, however, that there’s one major caveat to all of this: Sirfetch’d. With access to the same Counter + Night Slash and Close Combat option, but with even more potential coverage in Leaf Blade or Brave Bird, the only thing Primeape can do that Sirfetch’d can’t is Cross Chop, and that takes an Elite TM.
Scizor is a pretty solid Pokémon! It’s one of the best Bug attackers in raids (behind Genesect, Pinsir, and Escavalier), and it has a Mega coming out eventually. The big downside is, y’know. It’s beaten out in raids by Genesect, Pinsir, and Escavalier, and Pinsir has a Mega too, which also beats out Mega Scizor. As a Steel attacker, it’s also pretty low-tier, losing out hard to Metagross and Dialga (and also Genesect). It has a bit of a niche in Ultra League, though! Running Bullet Punch + Night Slash and Iron Head, it can beat common Pokémon like Venusaur, Togekiss, Clefable, Cresselia, and even Giratina-Altered! That’s a really valuable niche!
Electivire’s one of the best Electric-type attackers in the game, only beaten out by Zekrom (and various Megas/Shadows). However, it did very recently have a Community Day, so you’ve probably got plenty of them. If you need more, or want some XLs, then certainly consider this as a factor.
Hitmonlee is, all things considered, pretty much useless. With underwhelming stats and a terrible movepool, it's not good for either PvE or PvP. However, it's also a brand new shiny, so that could be a motivator!
If you’re a battler of culture, you’ll know that shinies, of course, deal more damage. So if you’re not only concerned about winning games, but also about looking good while doing it, why would you choose red?
While not the strongest Pokémon in Open Great League, Nidoqueen has had a variety of niches in Silph Cups. Running Poison Jab + Earth Power and Earthquake/Stone Edge, it’s got some pretty impressive coverage! Admittedly, you may already have this shiny from Nidoran Research Day, and it is a kinda weird shade of green, but if you’re still missing it there are worse shinies to add to your roster!
With the recent addition of Incinerate and Flame Charge (and also running Drill Run), Rapidash made some waves in Kanto Cup! Past that, it has a really solid potential niche in Ultra League Premier Cup. Even ignoring Shiny Ponyta’s gorgeous blue flames, Rapidash is a mon worth looking into. Also: capping out at 2,461 at Lv40, you'll want some XL to get it ready for Ultra!
Cloyster’s a weird one. It does an interesting double legacy Dewgong impression running Ice Shard + Icy Wind, with either Avalanche or Hydro Pump as secondary coverage. It had a bit of time to shine in Ultra League before getting outclassed by Articuno, too. To be honest it’s not the most impressive Pokémon, but it does look nice.
If you’ve played basically any Great League GBL, you’ve probably seen Hypno running around. With an incredibly versatile moveset (Confusion + any combination of Fire Punch/Ice Punch/Thunder Punch/Shadow Ball and sometimes even Focus Blast), it’s not difficult to slot Hypno into a team as a threatening safe switch, or even just as a strong lead! Plus: it looks good in pink.
Unpopular opinion: Lickitung’s really cute! Not only that, it has a gorgeous gold shiny. This mon has so far been largely outclassed by other Lick/Body Slam users due to its low CP cap of 1411, but with Level 50 letting it hit 1500, it actually starts to stand out, being even bulkier than Munchlax! If nothing else, you’re going to want to catch these for the XL candy. Just keep in mind, if you want to use Lickitung not from the raid day event, it’s going to cost you an Elite TM. In Ultra League, Lickilicky fills a similar role to Snorlax with the same Lick + Body Slam moveset. It’s actually even bulkier! Lickilicky has different coverage options, too, being able to choose between Shadow Ball and Earthquake. It’s really, really solid! (Again, it’ll cost an Elite TM if you don’t have one from raid day.)
It had a community day, and it won’t have Last Resort (Elite TM time?), so there are plenty of caveats to this one. That said, Umbreon’s got a gorgeous shiny, so it’s certainly worth collecting. Doesn’t hurt that Level 50 now gives Umbreon some power in Ultra League, too, and you’ll need a hundo for that (preferably Best Buddied). Hunting for the shundo doesn’t sound half bad. And of course, you’ll need plenty of XL Candy!
Green Version
So, those aren’t quite your speed. What about Green, then? Well, there are a couple neat exclusives there too!
Another one that’s more notable in restricted formats than Open Great League, Ninetales is a really cool Pokémon! With solid bulk, and Fire Spin + Weather Ball and Psyshock/Solar Beam, it’s got great coverage and one helluva nuke if you can land it. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Ninetales has one of the most gorgeous shinies in the game. That silver with the blue tipped tails just looks good. Honestly, this may be the best Fire-user in Great League not named Alolan Marowak.
You know it, you hate it: Victreebel, the best Razor Leafer in Great League. Part of the infamous Grasshole line, Victreebel’s about as good as it gets for ripping through Azumarills and mudbois. While the Shadow’s generally stronger than the nonshadow, the nonshadow can be shiny, so...you gotta weigh your options.
Pinsir’s basically better than Scizor in every PvE context. It’s got higher damage output normally, and as a mega, which means it’s absolutely worth having a good one. Do note that it’s not exactly...good in PvP, though, so this is more to prepare for the mega than anything else.
No, not, like Dragonite or Espeon. Just Green Version shinies.
Once a top raid and gym mon, Exeggutor’s been outclassed many times over. However, it’s occasionally been good in Great League in restricted formats, and people tried it out a bit in Ultra Premier. Solid shiny, too!
And in the blue corner, Hitmonchan! Think of it like Hypno, but even punchier. Hitmonchan has a huge collection of charged moves to pair with Counter, making it a very versatile threat in Great League. Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Power-Up Punch, and Close Combat are all worth running. While, again, it’s got some struggles in the Open Great League meta, it’s a really neat mon that’s worth having around.
Okay, so, green shiny in Green, thanks Niantic. Tangrowth is a neat mon with really valuable coverage in Ultra Premier: Vine Whip + Power Whip gives it a great matchup against Water-types, plus Rock Slide which can let it nuke down Flying-types (hi, Charizard) that other Grass-types would struggle against!
The Czar of Coin Flips, the Ruler of RNG, the Liege of Luck: Kingdra. Running Dragon Breath + Octazooka and Outrage, Kingdra’s mostly just a Dragon Breath user, but with a really interesting gimmick. Octazooka has underwhelming raw stats, but an incredible 50% chance to reduce its target’s attack by 2 stages! In certain Great League restricted formats, it’s been almost unbeatable in the 1-0 shield scenario, as well as a powerhouse in the lead. It’s seen some really solid play in Ultra Premier, too!
Mew
Another feature that is currently event-exclusive is access to Shiny Mew! If this Mew follows the trend of all past research Pokémon (and we have no reason to believe it won’t), it will be caught under 1500 CP! Many players who picked up their Mews back in 2018 before PvP existed powered them up out of Great League range, and have been unable to run Great League Mew teams ever since. And Mew is an incredibly interesting Pokémon! With 14 different Fast Moves and 25 different Charged Moves, it’s massively versatile. However, this comes with the cost of potentially requiring you to invest many, many TMs to get the moveset you want. As a result, players should only consider running Mew as a result of having more TMs than they know what to do with. As a bonus: if you did keep your first Mew under 1500, if you keep both then you can keep multiple mewvesets on hand rather than TMing around each time!
Mew typically runs Shadow Claw + Wild Charge, pairing that with either Surf or Flame Charge as the secondary charged move. It has some pretty impressive matchups in Great League, with the Surf variant having potentially winning matchups against Galarian Stunfisk, Azumarill, and most Ghost- and Psychic-types! It’s an incredibly fun Pokémon, and one worth adding to your roster if you can manage it.
While we only know that Shiny Mew is going to be available with this event, all other Mythicals have been released to non-ticket holders later. If you want to guarantee a Shiny Mew, get the ticket, but keep in mind that there’s a real chance of it being more widely available later on.
So, Which Version Do I Get?
Honestly, all things considered, it’s up to you. There’s no one version that meaningfully stands out over the other in terms of PvE or PvP performance. Most people seem to be just picking the version that they need the most shinies for, and that absolutely seems to be the play
Finally, a note on legacy moves: In an initial press release provided to GamePress (among other sites), it was mentioned that players would be able to access old Legacy moves. Specifically mentioned were Blast Burn Charizard, Frenzy Plant Venusaur, and Hydro Cannon Blastoise. However, this information was not presented in the event announcement presented to players on pokemongolive.com. As such, there is some confusion as to what exactly will be available during the event, which we are unable to clear up at this time.
Obligatory final note: Shinies don't actually deal more damage. The only difference is aesthetic. They are cool, though.
