Voting Opens Soon
In a new twist out of left field, Niantic has announced that our featured Community Day Pokemon will be decided via a special vote! In a recent post, Niantic has revealed 4 different Pokemon that have been nominated for their special day as well as their potential moves, and we will be able to cast our votes for which Pokemon we want to see featured for February!
The Pokemon
The first potential Pokemon is a two-for one: Vulpix and Alolan Vulpix. Vulpix would be available freely for the event, while Alolan Vulpix would be available via eggs and raids. During the event window, Vulpix would be able to learn Weather Ball: Fire, while Alolan Vulpix would learn Weather Ball: Ice. These moves may seem rather uninspiring to PvE players, but for PvP players it could be a very big deal. Ninetales would no longer need its legacy Flamethrower to be viable, as Weather Ball: Fire is a direct upgrade, while Alolan Ninetales would overly appreciate the power and utility of Weather Ball: Ice, due to its high power and low energy cost complimenting the powerful but slow fast move that is Charm very well. This one is worth looking at for Great League and Silph Cup players! We'll also get the shiny Kantonian (normal) Vulpix family if this wins!
For its community day, Machamp would learn the Dark Type charged move Payback. This game doesn't have state in-game yet, so its exact stats are currently unknown. What we do know is that Payback would likely be useless in PvE, but give Machamp stellar counter-coverage against Psychic and Ghost Types in PvP, and allow it to stand out despite Conkeldurr and Lucario recently taking center-stage. That is, of course, assuming its stats make it worth using.
This may finally be Rhyperior's time to shine, as it will be given access to its signature move, Rock Wrecker, if it wins this. We don't have stats for Rock Wrecker yet, but in the main-series it's an extremely powerful attack that requires a turn to be sacrificed after its use, similar to Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, or the starter-exclusive event moves. Based on this, its power and effects could be anywhere on the board! It's likely the best choice for PvE players as it gives the most potential power against raids, though this attack would need to be absurdly powerful to dethrone the tyrant that is Rampardos. We'll also get the shiny Rhyhorn family if this wins!
Breaking the mold a bit, Dratini has the potential to return for a second community day, with Dragonite learning the Fighting-Type move, Superpower. This is another one that's focused on PvP, as it gives Dragonite the ability to hit opposing Steel and Ice Types very hard, though with the down-side of lowering its stats on use.
Voting for your Favorite
Now that we know what to expect, how do we vote for our choice? For that, we'll be given a 24-hour window and a very special way to cast our votes.
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| February 1, 2020: 12:00 a.m. local time | February 1, 2020: 11:49 p.m. local time |
During this time, every Pokestop will have special, voting-related research. Players can delete any research that they don't want to cast a vote for and try again until they find their desired goal Pokemon.
The requirements/rewards for each of the votes will be the same, and they are as follows:
- Vote for Machop Community Day! Catch 20 Pokémon
- Vote for Rhyhorn Community Day! Catch 20 Pokémon
- Vote for Vulpix Community Day! Catch 20 Pokémon
- Vote for Dratini Community Day! Catch 20 Pokémon
Niantic has stated that they will do their best to ensure that all of these tasks are evenly distributed across the globe, with a special emphasis on fairness to players in areas with few Pokestops. Players can cast multiple votes for the same Pokemon, and they will count! So if you really want one of these Pokemon, then plan on farming tasks for your patron Pokemon for the day!
After Voting Closes
We will find out who won this popularity contest on Monday, Febryary 3! It's nice that we won't have to wait for an extremely long time.
February 2020's Community Day will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2020. It will run from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m local time in the Northern hemisphere, and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m local time in the southern hemisphere. The event will feature 3x Catch Stardust, so it might be a good idea to hit this one even if your Pokemon of choice doesn't win
So what do you think? Are you excited for this change of pace? Which Pokemon are you voting for? Let us know in the comments below!
