Shiny Litleo is now in Pokemon GO, as part of the Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2022 event. Litleo has shown up multiple times in Great League Cup formats, due to its ability to fully Fast Move farm down Froslass with no shields regardless of prior energy. One thing that bars many trainers from using Litleo is its level 50 XL Candy and Stardust costs. Lucky Trading can help circumvent these costs, but the change in IV floor could cause Lucky Litleo to miss out on some matchups level 50 XL Litleo is able to handle. The guide below highlights which Lucky Litleo IVs are the luckiest, helping you keep costs down while keeping your win conditions up.
This guide discusses the hidden true stats of Pokemon in Pokemon GO. In order to see these true stats you need to use an IV checking app (CalcyIV, Pokegenie) or an IV checking website (GOStadium, PvPIVs.com, or PvPoke itself). To make things simple, the guide also features a PvP IV table.
If you’re not familiar with PvP IVs, check out this PvP IVs Simplified video:
Lucky Litleo
Litleo’s primary objective is to hard counter Froslass, without throwing any Charge Moves, even if Froslass has an energy lead. This isn’t always the “optimal” way to handle the matchup, but it could be wise to ensure your Litleo has this strategy as an option. Testing Lucky Litleo IVs against Froslass of various Atk weights on PvPoke, it was found that having 140 HP with at least 102.9 Def was most consistent for the job. Having higher Def can better ensure Litleo’s farm down tech against unusually higher Atk weighted Froslass too.
The table below highlights the 13 Lucky Litleo IV spreads that meet the aforementioned stat checks. The table is sorted by Def, as higher Def will better protect Litleo against unusual Atk weighted Froslass.
| IV | Atk | Def | HP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/15/13 | 123.8 | 104.1 | 140 |
| 12/15/14 | 123.4 | 103.8 | 141 |
| 12/15/14 | 123.4 | 103.8 | 140 |
| 12/14/13 | 124.2 | 103.6 | 140 |
| 13/15/15 | 123.9 | 103.5 | 141 |
| 13/15/14 | 123.9 | 103.5 | 140 |
| 12/14/15 | 123.8 | 103.3 | 141 |
| 12/14/14 | 123.8 | 103.3 | 141 |
| 14/15/15 | 124.3 | 103.2 | 140 |
| 12/13/12 | 124.6 | 103.1 | 140 |
| 13/14/15 | 124.3 | 103 | 141 |
| 13/14/14 | 124.3 | 103 | 140 |
| 15/15/15 | 124.7 | 102.9 | 140 |
It is very likely (60% probable) to get one of these IV spreads after 4 Lucky Trades. It may take above 10 Lucky Trades however to guarantee it (90% probability). Fortunately, the Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2022 event has boosted Litleo spawns, Lucky Trade chance, and Lucky Friends chance, meaning this is the most optimal time to swap Litleos.
Keep in mind that Lucky Litleo’s primary advantage over big XL Litleo is that it can cost you roughly 340,000 less Stardust to power up. There may still be advantages in having more bulk on Litleo. That said, the Rank 1 Litleo is the 4/15/15, meaning there’s only about a 3% difference in stat product compared to Lucky Litleo (compared to Rank 1 Azumarill and Bastiodon’s ~6% advantage over their Lucky counterparts). Basic PvPoke matrix simulations also suggest Rank 1 Litleo doesn’t really have any notable advantages of Lucky Litleo, but in practice your mileage may vary.
Conclusion
Litleo is Froslass’s adorable little nightmare. If the steep Stardust investment turned you off from Litleo before, hopefully this Lucky Litleo PvP IV Deep Dive has opened new doors for you. During the Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2022 Event, don’t forget to save a few <500 CP Litleo for Little Cup formats too. Happy hunting!
