Near the end of October/start of November, Niantic revealed much of what we could expect for this month. Two unreported raid cycles that turned out to be Aeroblast Lugia and the upcoming Lake Trio's return, the breakthrough, and even that we were expecting a limited research day near the end of the month with a yet-to-be-revealed subject.
We now have the confirmation as to the identity of the Pokemon in question, and it's actually two: Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ are coming in their own research day!
| Event Start | Event End |
|---|---|
| November 28, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. local time | November 28, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time |
- A special research line will be available that will reward either Nidoran♀ or Nidoran♂ at each step
- This research line will likely have roughly 20 steps to complete
- This research line will likely reward shiny Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ at a slightly increased rate
Nidoqueen and Nidoking
The final forms of our research day subjects are none other than the Generation 1 Poison/Ground Types, Nidoqueen and Nidoking. So, in essence, these are the final goals of the day. So how viable are these two Pokemon?
PvE Performance
....no. I'm sorry, but these two are just not good. Between them, Nidoking is the stronger option, but it's badly outclassed in literally anything that it can do. To demonstrate, let's look at the rankings for a theoretical Whimsicott raid.
Why Whimsicott? Because Nidoking's only full STAB moveset is Poison Type, and Whimsicott is a Grass/Fairy Type: the only typing in the game that can possibly be double weak to Poison.
Even in this, one of its strongest possible matchups, Nidoking just doesn't live up to its name. For this reason, its only real use is for a very new player finding a high level Nidoran♂, or for a shiny hunter's collection.
PvP Performance
Nidoqueen has some utility in the Great League in particular, but it's largely limited. Its niches aren't extremely strong or valuable, and any caught via this event will have a 10/10/10 IV floor, making them less than desirable in this capacity.
The one note worthy niche is the fact that Niantic has been actively implementing "cups" with unique rules and restrictions for Pokemon that can be used, meaning Nidoqueen (and to a lesser extent Nidoking) may have some utility in the future. However, it would need to be a fairly odd structure for this to be the case.
Full Announcement
Trainers,
This month, look forward to a Limited Research event featuring Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂!
On Saturday, November 28, 2020, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time, you can complete event-exclusive Field Research tasks to earn encounters with Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂. If you’re lucky, you might even encounter a Shiny Nidoran♀ or a Shiny Nidoran♂! You can also look forward to event-exclusive Timed Research.
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—The Pokémon GO team
