G’day PoGO lovers! The 2024 Bug Out event is almost upon us, featuring countless Bug types and the release of Mega Heracross!
Before diving into the analysis, Bug-type Pokémon don’t get a lot of love in PoGO for a few reasons, such as the overall middling moves for both PvP and PvE, a lack of really strong Bug mons, the rise of Steel types in PvP, and a lack of 5-star raids that are weak to Bug and not much else.
Does this event change this? Frankly, not so much, but let’s take a look at some potential PvP and PvE priorities be for you during this event!
Event Details
Date & Time 📅
- Starts Friday, April 12, at 10:00 a.m. local time
- Ends Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. local time
Bonuses 🎁
2× XP for successfully catching Pokémon with Nice
Throws or better.
Increased Candy for Nice Throws or better
Increased Candy XL for Nice Throws or better for
Trainers level 31 and up.
Increased chance to encounter Shiny Combee and Shiny Burmy.
Priority 1: Mega Heracross
Heracross (Mega)
The main priority during the 3 hour window on April 13 between 2pm and 5pm local time, should be raiding for Mega Heracross. Upon release, Mega Heracross will be the #1 Fighting type raid attacker in PvE. Not only that – it will be the #1 Bug type raid attacker in the game as well! Not bad for the little hornbeetle! The maxed out hundo comes in at 5443 CP, which is nothing to sneeze at, and it has decent raid outcomes depending on what role you want it to play.
In terms of PvP, Heracross does tend to struggle a little bit due to its typing and frailty. It has excellent moves with the combination Counter, Rock Blast and Close Combat / Megahorn, but it really needs to have a typing advantage to have a lot of play. That said, there are absolute use cases for it, such as combating Registeel and to an extent Poliwrath in the Ultra League, and its Rock type coverage is handy. It probably has the most amount of play in the returning Master League Premier format, which is ideal because you’ll be wanting the hundo for that format and being raid exclusive during the event means that will be your best opportunity to snare one with good IVs.
Heracross has been a personal fave of mine since the Gold/Silver days of the MSG, and I have long lamented the fact that I don’t live in the right part of the world to be able to hunt these en masse – and I still don’t have the shiny! If this resonates with you at all, this is a great opportunity for you to rectify that.
Priority 2: Tapu Bulu
Tapu Bulu
I’ve already done a comprehensive review of Tapu Bulu with it’s new signature move of Nature’s Madness here. The TLDR is that with it’s new moveset, Bulu’s performance is overall a strict upgrade in the Ultra League, and in reality will be an upgrade in the Master League, despite the sims suggesting neutral outcomes.
You can find our Tapu Bulu raid guide here. Definitely focus on raiding some of these while you’re around, in particular if you are a Master League enthusiast! Sadly, NM doesn’t do loads for Tapu as a Fairy type raid attacker, due to its lack of a decent Fairy type fast move. It doesn’t learn any in the MSG either, so I think overall Bulu will be held back by this in the PvE side of the game.
Priority 3: PvP Cup Picks
There’s a few Bug mon considerations for various cup formats which are available throughout the event.
Golisopod
- Wimpod > Golisopod. The Pod has made waves across the Great and Ultra Leagues due to its decent typing and rapid moveset. Wimpod is available primarily in field research during this event, so it won’t have great PvP IVs for the lower leagues – but Golisopod is pretty decent in the Master League Premier format. You’ll need 296XL candy, but given how recently it has been spawning en masse (including in the recent Sizeable Surprises event), hopefully you’ve been accumulating enough for your build.
Beedrill
- Weedle > Beedrill. Beedrill is a super spicy pick in the open Great League, but you do really need its legacy move Drill Run in order to be effective. You also would really prefer the shadow variant to help with the extra power, as its use case depends really on its typing resistances, rather than its natural bulk. If PvE is more your thing, Mega Beedrill is the #3 Poison type raid attacker, so this could be your chance to grab a hundo and the XL candy needed for that – but overall, I would argue that’s a fairly low priority.
Crustle
- Dwebble > Crustle. Crustle is a decent pick in many limited formats, with an interesting Rock sub-typing allowing it to have a number of neutral matchups to Fire and type moves. Crustle definitely isn’t breaking out into the open meta with its current movepool, but it’s definitely one to have in your back pocket for both the Great and Ultra Leagues.
Escavalier
- Karrablast > Escavalier. Escav is one of those mons that used to be everywhere and has recently taken a bit of a hit in the current meta. It’s definitely a pick that you’d like to have in your roster for various limited metas, but the catch with this event is that Karrablast is only available with the 10-10-10 IV floor. That doesn’t affect Escav as much as other mons, because it’s already fairly attack-weighted and you’re using it for its swiss-army knife ability to hit with Fighting, Ground and Bug/ coverage. But if you’re looking for max bulk, this ain’t the event for it unfortunately. You could go for the maxed out hundo build in the Master League Premier cup, but I personally think you’re best served with stopping at the Ultra League where it has typically been most effective.
In terms of some of the other PvP cup picks, the reason I’d rate them lower down are:
- Pineco > Forretress. Overall, this is a hard maybe, and realistically is not worth the raid pass. You want your Forretress to have decent bulk so that its Bug Bite’s can add up and help you land the expensive Earthquake. With raid IV’s, that isn’t possible, so I would probably consider this a miss.
- Skorupi > Drapion. As above. Not worth the raid pass, in particular because Drapion really needs to be a shadow to be at its most effective.
Priority 4: Shiny Hunting
Throughout the event, there will be an increased chance of encountering shiny Combee and Burmy, and Wimpod has only just had its shiny released as part of the Sizeable Surprises event – so if shiny hunting is your thing, this is exciting! Unfortunately, Burmy will only be available via Field Research, making that a little more challenging.
Scraping the barrel? Surely not…
Priority 5: PvP Edge Cases
There’s a few PvP side quests that you might be looking to complete!
- Shuckle – Shuckle was recently eligible for the Little Catch Cup last season, the first time it has been eligible for any meta (I believe forever). It has monstrous stats, and fits under the 500CP limit as a maxed out hundo! Now could be your time to gather the resources you need for the next random GBL format!
- Wurmple > Dustox. Dustox also needs to be a maxed out hundo to be useable in the sub-1500CP meta. It certainly isn’t breaking out in the open meta anytime soon, but it could have a niche in a future cup! If you don’t yet have the XL candy or the hundo, now could be your moment. Note that Wurmple evolves at complete random into either Dustox or Beautifly, so let the odds be ever in your favour!
Overall, if you’ve got a solid Bug roster built out this probably isn’t the event for grinding for you. However, there’s always opportunities for someone! I hope this quick guide has helped you prioritise your hunting for this event, and as always, you can find me on Twitter or Instagram for more analysis.
See ya later,
JTizzle
