Ticket holders of Pokemon GO’s global GO Fest Event had the opportunity to obtain a level 15 Buzzwole, as part of the paid special research. Given that a level 20 Buzzwole (Raid caught) can’t fit into the Great League and that Buzzwole can be traded, Trainers want to know if they should trade their “bad IV” Buzzwole in hopes of upgrading. The article below highlights if your research caught Buzzwole is worthy and if you should trade it in hopes of improvement. In a way, this article could be seen as the Great League Buzzwole PvP IV Deep Dive.
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 PvP IV tables.
If you’re not familiar with PvP IVs, check out this PvP IVs Simplified video:
Bad Buzzwole IV Table
If your research Buzzwole has any of the IVs below, consider Lucky Trading your Buzzwole. Read the following sections for greater understanding.
Is my Buzzwole Bad?
Running matrix simulations on PvPoke.com against Rank 1, default, and specific IV opponents, using Buzzwole of various stat weights using Lunge, Superpower, and Power-Up Punch with various bait scenarios, it was determined that a “good” Buzzwole wants at least 127.74 Atk, ~107.55 Def (could be lower), and 117 HP. An “ideal” Buzzwole wants the same Atk, 110.97 Def, and 120 HP (could use less Def with more HP, the featured table accounts for this). This suggests that ~93% of ticket holders have a “good” or better Buzzwole, ~6% have an “ideal” Buzzwole, and ~7% should be considering trading.
The 127.74 Atk is for the Rank 1 Sableye, opening up various win conditions including but not limited to the 2-2 with Lunge + Superpower with a 1 turn energy lead (occasionally without, IVs depending). Higher Def Sableye will require more Atk, fortunately 10 IV floor Buzzwole won’t have to worry about it. This Atk weight can also help out against Venusaur, Shadow Kanto Ninetales, Diggersby, and some Shadow Swampert.
The 107.55 Def is a soft cap based on the Altaria 2-1. It’s not the most important matchup, but could be useful to be prepared for. In general, >107 Def helps keep 117 HP’s performance consistent against a large variety of other matchups. The higher, 110.97 Def and 120 HP, are based on the Sableye 2-2 without an energy lead. As usual, the higher bulk can help a variety of other matchups as well.
Should I trade my Research Buzzwole for another one?
If you’re of the 7% “bad” Buzzwole, consider doing a Lucky Trade. All 64 Lucky Trade IV spreads meet the minimum stats required for a “good” Buzzwole.
If you can’t hold out for Lucky Trades, then you have roughly a 43.6-61.5% chance of upgrading, and roughly a 30-20% chance of significantly downgrading. The 13% “bad” Buzzwole aren’t all that bad in the grand scheme of things, but the 30-20% failed trade ones are Ultra Bad. Unfortunately, it’s up to you to determine how much you want to push your luck here.
Given that Buzzwole has such a high Atk stat (slightly reducing Atk IVs influence on the CP) and that we’re looking for a slight Atk weight, Best Friend Trades have a higher rate. If you don’t believe in Atk weights and prefer to focus on stat product (generally low Atk), the odds of Good Friend trading for an upgrade only increases to ~53%, where the chance of getting a good Best Friend Trade is still ~61.5%. In short, just do the Lucky Friend Trade for the 100% chance to upgrade.
If you are of the 93% of “good” or better, the odds of a trade improving things can range from 2-15% at best, so you probably shouldn’t trade.
Closing
Thanks to how higher natural stats can reduce IVs effects on CP, the amount of Breakpoint opportunity STAB Counter gives, and just plain old luck, anyone who receives a level 15 Buzzwole from a Lucky Trade can consider that Buzzwole worthwhile. Of course, a small percentage of players will have Buzzwole that are more worthwhile than others. Given that Buzzwole Research can only be accessed through a paid event, some players will still have no Buzzwole for Great League PvP.
Hopefully the GO Fest Research Buzzwole is only early access, and all players will one day have a more equal opportunity to use it in the Great League.
