Spelunker’s Cove: Event Review

G’day PoGO lovers! The Spelunkers Cove Event begins from Saturday local time, featuring a brand new shiny and some really nice spawns for PvP! Although we’re experiencing yet another event with no new releases, there are still several good reasons to get into this event, particularly for newer players to the PvP scene. Let’s take a quick look at some options for you to consider prioritising.

TL;DR

If you’re looking for the headline acts without the detail:

• This is a great opportunity to pick up a decent Azumarill build and the XL candy needed for a high-stat product build.
• It’s not often you see Carbink in the wild, and its Fairy typing allows you to get bang for your buck with mega evolving either a Rock or Fairy type. If you can land yourself the rank 1, it is definitely worth hanging onto and grinding for XL’s (note: we don’t know the Carbink spawn rates yet, hopefully they are fairly common to enable you the best opportunity to grind).
• Opportunities to find good PvP Rhyperior and Lanturn should not be slept on, while Milotic is another decent pick that is only a movepool tweak away from achieving better things in PvP.
• Although this is another event with Jangmo-o in research and raids, I think it’s probably better to focus on some of the other spawns and raid mons available.
• New shiny Crabrawler! 2x catch candy is also a more than welcome bonus, particularly for the rarer spawns or those you don’t have much candy stocked up for. Get your Pinap berries ready!

Let’s get stuck into the details!

Disclaimer

I have accrued a significant amount of knowledge in the PvP side of the game over the past 4 years. I appreciate that players who are newer to the game may not have a full understanding of some of the more complex aspects of the game, so I’ll be looking for ways to share some of this knowledge with our readers.

One of the best resources available in the game is pvpoke.com. This site allows you to run battle simulations against other Pokémon, check your Pokémon’s stats, check overall rankings for various metas, and run team-building sims for those participating in the competitive scene and cups. One of the fun things you can do on this site is generate both broad and specific IV spreads of Pokémon against other mons, which is super helpful when you’re trying to see whether the IV’s on your caught Pokémon are ideal for building for Go Battle League. I highly recommend checking it out, and I’ll share more details on some strategies for IV calculations in the future, so keep an eye out if you’re interested!

(I know this sounds like a paid advert, but I promise it’s not – it’s just an amazing resource!)

Spelunker’s Cove Event Details

Date and Time 📅

Saturday, June 15, at 10:00 a.m. to Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. local time

Bonuses ⭐

Best Event Spawns for PvP

Marill

Marill

Azumarill

The OG aquabunny. Azumarill remains, as ever, a strong part of the open Great League meta. Just why is this? Despite the rise of direct counters such as Lanturn, Skarmory and Trevenant, Azu is still ranked #12 overall in the Great League. There are a few drivers at play. Azu’s bulk is admirable, rivaling other tanks such as Umbreon, Toxapex, Registeel and Mandibuzz. The moveset of Bubble and the options of Ice Beam, Play Rough and Hydro Pump give Azu the coverage to hit pretty much everything for at least neutral damage. The main drawback is that its moveset is quite slow, which can hold it back against faster opponents or in uneven shield situations, and does leave it relatively helpless against the likes of Tentacruel and Toxapex.

You might not have a decent Azu built yet. This is a great opportunity to go hunting for Marill’s with as much bulk as possible. Although there are always trade-offs for favouring bulk over attack-weighted builds, Azu is one pokémon that appears to benefit substantially from having greater bulk – all things equal. The visuals below are generated through PvPoke, demonstrating the different win/loss outcomes depending on a few different IV spreads. A ‘default’ IV of 4-14-11 is the baseline. New wins are shown in blue, while new losses are shown in purple. Although the rank 1 (0-15-15) picks up a decent amount of new wins, a slight attack weight (1-11-14) picks up many of the same wins but benefits from the additional power in certain situations.

0v0 Shield scenario

1v1 Shield scenario

2v2 Shield scenario

Sims only ever tell part of the story, but it’s worth noting there are some notable benefits to having an Azu with significant bulk. This means you’re looking at an XL candy investment, so now is your opportunity to grind for them!

Carbink

Carbink

Much has been written about Carbink since its release. Despite initial fears it would be everywhere outbulking the meta, the meta domination of Whiscash, Quagsire, Poliwrath, et al has kept it largely in check. However, as of the time of writing it is still ranked #4 overall in the Great League. The gem Pokémon has incredible typing, is super tanky and incredibly hard to take down even when being hit with super effective damage. It can inflict consistent Rock damage with Rock Throw and Rock Slide, and the nuke potential of Moonblast helps it hit back against the fighters.

With lots of opinions out there already (including from our own JRE), what do I think? Personally, I built the very first Carbink that I caught through the original research line. It’s a 13-11-11 IV variant, and it gets the job done most of the time. But, not always! I really notice in the mirror match that it can’t hold on for long enough, and I don’t get any noticable attack breakpoints through the higher attack weighting. So personally, I’ll be hunting the IVs for another bulkier build. As mentioned earlier, it’s worth playing around with PvPoke to see whether you’re happy with your IV’s before you commence your Carbink build – it’s an expensive investment! I’ve included some scenarios from PvPoke below to help you compare a research level IV build compared to the rank 1 (5-15-15) and ‘default’ (6-10-13).

0v0 Shield scenario

1v1 Shield scenario

2v2 Shield scenario

Again, sims only ever tell part of the story. It’s nice that an attack weighted variant can take down Azu and Sandslash, but picking up wins against the likes of Cofagrigus, Cresselia, Gligar and Feraligatr (0v0), Annihilape (1v1), and Lanturn and Vigoroth (2v2) with the extra bulk is very nice. Definitely worth getting your mega evolutions going and grinding for the XL candy.

Rhyhorn

Rhyhorn

Rhyperior

Rhyhorn’s evolution Rhyperior is now Master League meta. Since the addition of Breaking Swipe into its movepool, and the buff of Mud Slap in terms of energy generation, Rhyperior can now output serious fast move pressure and reach its charged moves fairly quickly. Rhyperior wants its community day move Rock Wrecker in its arsenal (for both PvP and PvE), so you will want to wait until later to evolve for its exclusive move. Catching the hundo is a definite boon for both your Master League team and your Rock type team. Given Rhyhorn’s recent shadow release, you might also consider grinding for XL candy for that expensive project – particularly given it is the #4 Rock type attacker overall!

Chinchou

Chinchou

Lanturn

Ah Lanturn. They buffed you with the Spark buff, then they nerfed Spark (sort of), then they nerfed it again… it’s not your fault you completely wall Skarmory! 

Despite the nerfs, Lanturn is still everywhere, because it is still really good in the Great League – although you’re probably running Water Gun over Spark now. Both variants having strong win-loss outcomes depending on the meta and your team makeup. Lanturn’s bulk and persistent fast move pressure helps it to chunk away at its opponents HP, even in losing matchups. Lanturn also has some decent play in the Ultra League, particularly with the ever-present Charizard, Talonflame and Tapu Fini in the open meta. However, Lanturn does tend to struggle more with its hard counters in the higher CP league, and its lower attack means it is less likely to threaten shields or chunk away at the Grass and Dragon types that resist its moves. In many ways, Tapu Fini does Lanturn’s job, but better due to the versatility of its Fairy typing.

Chinchou itself is also very decent in the Little League meta, particularly as an excellent anti-pick for Vulpix and Ducklett. Definitely worth holding onto for the everpresent sub-500 CP cups. 

Runner-Up Event Spawns for PvP

Feebas

Feebas

Milotic

Milotic is actually quite decent in the Great League, has spice play in the Ultra League, and is even handy in the Master League Premier format. Feebas has appeared infrequently over the past few years, most notably featuring in the spotlight hours for December 2023. Given its relative rarity, now’s a good time to pick some up. Extra bulk tends to produce better results with Milotic, helping to dish out decent damage with its Dragon Tail & Surf combo. Although this will never happen, Milotic could do great things with a move shakeup. Keep one for each league saved for the right limited meta or movepool adjustment.

Jangmo-o

Jangmo-o

Hakamo-o

Kommo-o

Jangmo-o is available through field research and 1-star raids. Jangmo-o’s two evolutions Hakamo-o and Kommo-o are both very decent picks, the former more so in the Great League and the latter in the Ultra League. However, their community days are likely to happen in the next 12 months, which should not only provide a slight upgrade to their movesets, but also provide the opportunity to properly grind for the candy needed for their build across multiple leagues. I would personally deprioritise for this event. 

Event Bonuses to Utilise

There’s a few nice bonuses on offer during the event

• Shiny Crabrawler! Crabominable is currently cursed by average moves and paired with awful typing for PvP, but its shiny is very nice!

Crabrawler	Crabominable

• A paid research ticket will be available at $2USD which grants 5 premium raid passes. The economics will depend on where you are in the world, but it should be a discount for most people. If you’re still willing to invest in paid raid resources, this appears to be a decent offer.
• 2x catch candy is always a nice boost. Considering the rarer mons on offer (Carbink and Jangmo-o), the double catch candy bonus is definitely appreciated.

Event Rating: 7/10

Overall, this is a nice event with some decent opportunities on offer for PvP. There are many hard misses that will be spawning throughout the event (looking at you Geodude) but access to Carbink’s in the wild is really nice! While not the most exciting event, and there are yet again no new releases, there should still be something worth exploring for nearly everyone.

I hope this quick guide has helped you prioritise your hunting for this event! As always, you can find me on Twitter or Instagram for more.

See ya later,

JTizzle