G’day PoGO friends! The 8th Anniversary Event is about to kick off, featuring many starter mons and … Grimer with a hat! This event is a fantastic opportunity for players newer to the game to get their hands on some decent IV mons for PvP! It’s also a great opportunity for a short sharp XL candy grind for some meta-relevant Master League Premier Cup options.
This guide will explore the viability of Meltan and Celebi in PvP, the top-priority PvP event spawns, and the runner-up PvP considerations. Strap in for a slightly longer read than usual, because we’ve got a lot to cover!
TL;DR
- Shiny Meltan is available throughout this event, and its shiny has limited availability in the game – so definitely take advantage of this opportunity! Melmetal has some PvP utility, primarily in the Master League. Here’s how to get a Meltan Box if this is new to you.
- Tier 1 High Priority PvP Spawns -> Bulbasaur, Charmander, Fuecoco, Totodile, Mudkip, Piplup, Snivy, Froakie, Popplio. The evolved forms of these mons all have high meta-relevance in PvP and should be high on your priority list. However, they all require their legacy community day moves to be viable (excluding Fuecoco and Popplio) so I recommend holding onto your best for a future event where you can obtain the legacy moves through evolution (or you can burn an Elite Charged TM if you’ve got some to spare).
- Tier 2 PvP Spawns -> Eevee, Cyndaquil, Squirtle, Chikorita, Torchic, Oshawott, Rowlet. These are all good for PvP, but for various reasons are not in the top priority bucket right now.
- Shiny Celebi is available via a special research! However, if you already have your shiny Celebi from the Johto Tour 2022, you won’t be able to double up.
- This is a great opportunity to grind for XL candy for the Master League Premier format – although most starters are on the spicier side in that format.
- There are some very nice bonuses running throughout the event, including: increased chance of lucky trades and lucky friendships, additional chances of encountering Gimmighoul coins and 2x stardust & catch XP, plus 1/2 hatch egg distance. All of these are objectively good, and hopefully luck is on your side!
- Mega Rayquaza will be available for an Elite Raid Day on the Saturday 29th, which is only the second time it has been available in Pokémon GO. If you’re able to partake, and you want to get some more Meteorites for its signature move Dragon Ascent, then now is your time! Note: I’m will not be deep-diving into Mega or PvP Rayquaza in this guide – in summary, Mega Rayquaza is a powerhouse, and in PvP Ray is decent in the Master League but upset about the Breaking Swipe nerf.
- The main downside to this event is the lack of legacy move availability. This is a great event for grinding decent IV mons, but you’ll want to hang onto your evolutions for a future event which allows you to gain access to Hydro Cannon (Water starters), Blast Burn (Fire starters) and Frenzy Plant (Grass starters). Alternatively, you’ll need to use an Elite Charged TM if you don’t want to wait.
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 fully understand 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!)
Meltan
Meltan
|
Melmetal
|
Meltan’s evolution Melmetal used to be fairly prevalent across the Master League and even the lower CP leagues. In the Master League, Melmetal has a lot going for it – good defensive typing, a spammy moveset, and decent enough stats. Melmetal tends to run with the charged moves Superpower and Rock Slide in the Master League, although it does also have Double Iron Bash, Thunderbolt, Flash Cannon and Hyper Beam to choose from. The Superpower / Rock Slide combo lets it hit most things on the ground and in the air for at least neutral damage, though running Double Iron Bash can come in handy against the Fairy types.
On the whole, Melmetal is good, not great in my humble opinion. Its main answer to fellow Steel types is to throw Superpower, which comes with a debuffing effect and will often rely on a bait and switch style play. Rock Slide is an objectively excellent move for damage per energy (DPE), but is dealing mostly neutral or resisted damage to the current ML meta (outside of types). Thunder Shock is fantastic for energy generation, but terrible for trying to apply fast move pressure, so if you can’t land a knockout blow you basically can’t farm down your opponents, which can be quite awkward.
Melmetal is also usable in the lower CP leagues, but it feels like a very similar story in terms of viability. In the Ultra League, Melmetal does very well into the fires and flyers, but is a sitting duck against the various Fighting types that are prevalent in the meta. Melmetal even has play in the Great League, but does have to watch out against all the mudboys in the meta. The same issues do plague it here though, and its telling that you don’t see much of Melmetal in the open meta these days.
I might sound like a bit of downer on Melmetal – but I really like it! If you can effectively cover its heavy weakness to Ground types then Melmetal can definitely put in some work for you. If you’d like to do some additional reading, our fellow writer JRE has previously analysed Melmetal in depth, including with its signature move Double Iron Bash here. We’ve also got a guide for how to get the Mystery Box and spawn Meltan regularly here.
Shiny Celebi
Celebi
Celebi is a mono-Grass type mythical pokémon, which sims with the moveset Magical Leaf (legacy), Seed Bomb and Leaf Storm. Magical Leaf was only available for one day during the Johto GoFest of 2022, which means you’re going to need to use an Elite Fast TM to obtain it – otherwise you’re left running Confusion as the fast move.
Is Celebi viable, with or without Magical Leaf? In the Great League, where Grass types have arguably the most play, Celebi is… well it’s alright, but not as good as some others. Magical Leaf generates 10 energy per turn, so it takes 5 to get to the first Seed Bomb (and 4 to the next), or 6 to a Leaf Storm nuke. For a 3-turn move, it is just not quite generating energy fast enough for Celebi. When you consider the other Grass types you see in the meta, such as Jumpluff, Whimsicott, Venusaur, Serperior, even Meganium, they all have one thing in common – coverage. Celebi’s best moveset is all Grass and while this may work out at times, it can render it defenseless in the wrong setting. The best case scenario is getting a 1v0 shield advantage in the end game, allowing Celebi to throw the insanely hard hitting Leaf Storm closer. Furthermore, its Psychic typing does it more harm than good, giving it new weaknesses to Dark, Ghost and double weak to Bug – without really offering any advantages in return.
The higher up you move in the leagues, the tougher it gets for Celebi. In the Ultra League, there are a lot more mons that resist Grass type damage. In the Master League, (where Confusion is the new move of choice), there are theoretically a lot more targets for Celebi, doing well into meta staples such as Groudon, Kyogre, Excadrill, Mewtwo and even Palkia (in the 1s). But again, it struggles into the many mons that resist its Grass type damage – and can’t punch through against the many and varied Steel, Dragon and types in the meta.
Overall, in my view Celebi is crying out for a Magical Leaf buff. Personally, I would have loved Magical Leaf to be truly signature to Celebi, but Niantic has chosen to release it more broadly, which may mean this doesn’t happen… but with a slight energy increase for Magical Leaf, Celebi’s performance could absolutely improve. Alternatively, some movepool shenanigans could do some very nice things! The wonderful and frustrating thing about PoGo is exactly this – you never know when Niantic is going to choose to make something viable in the game. Hold on to your Celebi and if you’re willing to invest, there are definitely worse projects!
Note – for players that have previously completed the ‘Distracted by Something Shiny’ Special Research will not be able to access another shiny Celebi, but will get access to some additional bonuses (2x incense duration & 2x Lucky Egg duration).
Best Event Spawns for PvP
We have a long list of priority spawns for PvP! Each of the below mons have their place in Go Battle League, and I would even advocate for a few all the way up in the Master League Premier format.
However, as noted earlier – all but Skeledirge and Primarina are reliant on having their community day moves to be viable, and those two will inevitably get a Community Day in the future. Without these, all are left with sub-optimal movesets which are less suitable for PvP. When you take a look at the damage per energy of each of the legacy moves, it’s clear that all 3 of them are pretty busted:
- All Grass type starters will receive access to the Grass type charged move Frenzy Plant, which hits for 100 damage for only 45 energy;
- All Fire type starters will receive access to the Fire type charged move Blast Burn, which hits for 110 damage for 50 energy;
- All Water type starters will receive access to the Water type charged move Hydro Cannon, which hits for 80 damage for 40 energy.
Unfortunately, I’ve run out of time to do a completely comprehensive PvP writeup, but I wanted to share some quick notes about each of the priority spawns.
Venusaur
Venusaur is very very good in PvP, particularly in the Great League against the myriad Water types which rule the current meta. It is definitely on the flimsier side, but makes up for it with extreme power and useful typing resistances to Fighting and Fairy type damage. Give it a shield advantage and Venusaur can power through most matchups, or at least put a dent in its opponents HP bar along the way.
Charizard
Charizard not only needs Blast Burn, but also another legacy move in its arsenal – Wing Attack. Charizard is amazing as a shadow and is at its best in the Ultra League in my view, but it is absolutely viable in the Great League as well. Given its frailty, it demands a shield advantage and plays best in a closing role.
Skeledirge
Skeledirge is currently operating just fine in all 3 leagues without Blast Burn – in fact it might not necessarily need it in the future to remain relevant in PvP. Skele benefits a lot from its Ghost sub-typing which offers a lot of very good resistances not commonly seen amongst Fire types. Skeledirge is not super IV dependent, due to the slow timing of Incinerate, but play around with PvPoke sims to see whether you’ve got the right one for your build.
Feraligatr
Feraligatr has burst back onto the PvP scene since being given access to Shadow Claw. It can now pump out Hydro Cannon’s with extreme speed, which is critical given Feraligatr’s fragility. The non-shadow definitely has a lot more bulk to work with than the shadow, but the shadow does demand shields with its absolute power. I would highly recommend grinding for a good IV variant in the Great League and Ultra League, and consider the Master League Premier build too (if you find the hundo).
Swampert
Swampert has been surpassed by Quagsire and Whiscash in recent times in the Great League, but it is still very good. It’s also very good in the Ultra League, so there’s absolutely value in hanging onto decent Mudkip throughout this event. Scarier as a shadow, but it has been out of rocket rotations for a little while.
Empoleon
Empoleon has become new meta with the buff to Steel Wing improving its pacing and damage output significantly! It can get hard checked by Fighting types (though it can fight back with Drill Peck) but it absolutely has a place in the current Great League, and the Ultra League meta.
Serperior
Serperior has risen up in the Great League meta ranks in recent times thanks to the continuous buffs to Water types, giving it a lot more play! The buff to Aerial Ace has helped it a lot too, giving it a lot of play against Fighting and fellow Grass types. It’s also one of the bulkiest Grass types in the meta, and should definitely be a priority build for the future. Actually has a surprisingly decent Ultra League record too, if you’re willing to invest!
Chesnaught
Chesnaught is sneaky good across all 3 leagues. There are some situations where it gets hard checked (particularly against types with the traditional Frenzy Plant / Superpower moveset, but with access to Thunder Punch it can now fight back against the flyers, at the expense of the Steel types (namely Registeel). I really like Chesnaught, despite its drawbacks – definitely a priority pick and one worth grinding XL candy for (for the MLPC).
Greninja
Greninja was everywhere following its community day where it was given access to both Hydro Cannon and Water Shuriken, although it’s a lot less prevalent in the meta right now. Although it has paper thin defence, with a shield advantage it is very very good. If you can keep it away from its weaknesses (which to be fair, there are many!), Greninja can go on a rampage with its spammy moveset and potential Night Slash boosts!
Primarina
Primarina is currently best suited to the Master League Premier (and occasionally open) formats, playing as a Charmer and mowing down Dragon and Fighting types. It’s worth noting that Popplio will get a community day soon, so you may want to use this opportunity to hold onto your best IV variants to make the c-day easier to manage. When it gets access to Hydro Cannon… watch out! It’s going to be phenomenal in all Master League formats, though its record in the lower leagues with the community day move is less exciting.
Event Availability
| Spawn | PvP Evolution | League/s | PvE Relevance | Event Availability |
Bulbasaur
|
Venusaur
|
Great League Ultra League |
High (Mega) | All days |
Charmander
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Charizard
|
Great League Ultra League |
High (Mega) | All days |
Fuecoco
|
Skeledirge
|
Great League Ultra League MLPC |
No | All days |
Totodile
|
Feraligatr
|
Great League Ultra League MLPC |
No | June 28 – June 29 |
Mudkip
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Swampert
|
Great League Ultra League MLPC |
High (Mega) | June 28 – June 29 |
Piplup
|
Empoleon
|
Great League Ultra League MLPC (spice) |
No | June 30 – July 1 |
Snivy
|
Serperior
|
Great League Ultra League (spice) |
No | June 30 – July 1 |
Chespin
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Chesnaught
|
Great League Ultra League (spice) MLPC |
Medium | July 2 – July 3 |
Froakie
|
Greninja
|
Great League Ultra League |
Medium | July 2 – July 3 |
Popplio
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Primarina
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Ultra League MLPC |
Medium-Low | July 2 – July 3 |
Runner-Up Event Spawns for PvP
The below are, in my view, lower priority for this event for the following reasons:
- Cyndaquil has just had its community day remix – so hopefully you’ve already been able to get your hands on a decent Typhlosion build already.
- Eevee is such a common spawn that there is little need to focus on grinding for an Umbreon or Sylveon build throughout this event.
- Blastoise is actually decent in the Ultra League, but is an expensive investment and not necessarily required in todays meta. Still decent as a mega.
- Meganium has fallen from grace a bit in recent times in PvP due to shifts in the meta, but it’s definitely a decent PvP consideration in the Great League and has a surprising amount of bulk!
- Blaziken is a limited meta hero, and is insanely fragile and difficult to use in PvP. It probably doesn’t need Blast Burn in PvP, preferring to run Blaze Kick and Brave Bird / Stone Edge (which requires an Elite Charged TM). If you’re looking to use Mega Blaziken for PvE, then definitely wait to evolve when you can obtain Blast Burn!
- Samurott is another limited meta mon, which is actually quite decent due to the rapid energy generation of Fury Cutter allowing it to reach Hydro Cannon’s quite quickly. However it’s also very fragile and Bug damage isn’t the most useful for it.
- Decidueye has also had its community day in January 2024, so it’s likely you’ve already got one with Frenzy Plant built. If not, save some of your Rowlet for December, where the community day recap will allow you to obtain Frenzy Plant on your Decidueye.
Honorable Mentions
Grimer, Litten, Turtwig, Treecko. Unfortunately Muk, Incineroar, Torterra and Sceptile aren’t particularly viable in PvP right now, but definitely worth considering if they’re missing from your PvP rosters!
Event Availability
| Spawn | PvP Evolution | League/s | Event Availability |
Eevee
|
Umbreon
Sylveon
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Umbreon:
Sylveon:
|
All days |
Squirtle
|
Blastoise
|
Great League Ultra League |
All days |
Chikorita
|
Meganium
|
Great League Remix Ultra League |
June 28 – June 29 |
Cyndaquil
|
Typhlosion
|
Great League Ultra League MLPC (spice) |
June 28 – June 29 |
Torchic
|
Blaziken
|
Great League – limited metas Ultra League (spice) |
June 28 – June 29 |
Oshawott
|
Samurott
|
Great League (spice) Ultra League (spice) |
June 30 – July 1 |
Rowlet
|
Decidueye
|
Great League Remix / Spice | July 2 – July 3 |
XL Candy Grind
For many newer players to the game, you may not have enough XL candy to fully max out your starters to L50 yet. A number of the starter mons are actually decent in the Master League Premier format – where no legendaries are allowed, and some different Pokémon are able to rise to the fore! Most of the below are outclassed in the open Master League format as they lack the bulk and typing to succeed in the highest CP format – with the exception of Primarina, which benefits from its Fairy typing against the Dragon heavy meta!
I would recommend mega evolving your L3 maxed out megas, to optimise the XL drop rates for the ones you need. The below are my recommended targets:
| Spawn | PvP Evolution | League for XL | Mega Types |
|
Totodile
|
Feraligatr
|
Master League Premier | Water |
|
Piplup
|
Empoleon
|
Master League Premier | Water |
|
Popplio
|
Primarina
|
Master League Premier Master League Open |
Water |
|
Mudkip
|
Swampert
|
Master League Premier | Water |
|
Chespin
|
Chesnaught
|
Master League Premier | Grass |
|
Snivy
|
Serperior
|
Ultra League | Grass |
|
Cyndaquil
|
Typhlosion
|
Master League Premier | Fire |
The team have built some great Mega evolution guides to help you understand the system and prioritise your megas throughout the event!
Event Bonuses to Utilise
Throughout this event, there are loads of bonuses (some real and potential) up for grabs.
- Increased friendship level increases -> this is nice, but be careful when levelling up that you (and your friend) are ready for the XP bonus!
- Increased chance of lucky trades & increased chance of becoming lucky friends -> the ‘chance’ component of this means I won’t advocate for religiously opening gifts and trading relentlessly, though it is definitely a nice bonus on offer!
- Increased chance of finding Gimmighoul coins -> unless you own the Scarlet / Violet main series game, the Gimmi coins are currently a collectors item. Will they ever release Gimmighoul en masse to the public? My thinking is probably not (given the continued rarity of certain region-locked mons) but in the meantime, this could be a helpful time to try and climb to the 999 coins needed to evolve into Gholdengo.
- Increased prevalence of Mega energy for all starters -> without seeing the task requirements, this is a great way to increase your mega energy bank for all the starters without needing to coordinate taking down a Mega raid, which is really nice.
- 2x Stardust per catch, 2x XP per catch & 1/2 egg hatch distance -> these bonuses are always nice while they’re around. If you’re currently on an XP grind this could be helpful for you, and if you’re looking for an opportunity to unleash some star pieces then you could use this as an opportunity to increase your stardust bank.
Event Rating: 9/10
Overall, this is a very very strong event for PvP, without being perfect. My rating for the various aspects of the event are:
- Spawns = 9
- Raids = 5 (even with the Elite Mega raid day, which is a controversial way of re-releasing Mega Rayquaza)
- Bonuses = 10
- Overall = 9
Areas for improvement:
- The event is not featuring ANY exclusive moves, which are required for pretty much all starters to be viable in PvP and PvE. So while this is a great opportunity to hunt down your starters with optimal PvP IVs, you will need to wait until a yet to be determined future event to get the exclusive moves you need for them.
- No other option for people who already have the mythical Celebi. Although it would be really nice to get access to another Celebi, I understand the limited release – but it would have been great to extra Celebi candy or some other bonus instead.
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
