Good day, Pokémon Trainers! Pokémon GO Fest season is upon us and it promises to bring about some big changes to the formula! But this brings up the ever-popular question,
What are the best Pokémon to catch?
Well, not to worry fellow trainer, I’m here to help narrow the field! But before we get to that it’s worth noting that this guide only accounts for those that we know for sure will be available during the Tokyo GO Fest period according to the information shared officially.
With that out of the way, Which Pokémon are truly worth getting?
Let’s begin and find out!
For Gameplay
Unlike previous years, this year there will not be specific habitats. Instead, areas in Tokyo Waterfront City will be divided based on different Gameplay features available in GO. Unique GO Fest specific wild encounters will be available all throughout the park area along with the entirety of Tokyo city during the event.
As such, this guide will be divided into three main segments, Pokémon worth catching for gameplay purposes, Pokémon worth catching for collections and the use cases of Pokémon that will be available in raids during the event. Starting with the gameplay focused ones:
Squirtle
Squirtle
Wearing a Pikachu Visor
Fittingly for a “waterfront” destination, the first Pokémon to look out for is Squirtle. Firstly, this is already a great collector’s pick-up as this is a unique costumed Squirtle with Pikachu Visor that can be shiny. But not only that, Squirtle’s final evolution is Blastoise, which is a very good Pokémon for the Great League and the Ultra League as it has solid stat products and can be quite spammy with the legacy move, Hydro Cannon. And while they won’t be available during GO Fest, Blastoise does have a Mega and a Dynamax form which are good for raids and max raids respectively.
Staryu
Staryu
From one water-type to another, unlike Squirtle Staryu is neither good for PvP or for raids. However, there is still one very important reason to catch Staryu, and that is the fact that Staryu gives a whopping 750 Stardust upon a successful capture. And in Pokémon GO, you can never have too much Stardust.
Lapras
Lapras
Lapras is an absolutely fantastic Pokémon for the Great League and the Ultra League. It’s very bulky, can be quite spammy, and is relatively easy to use with it being strong in quite a lot of scenarios. So it’s definitely worth picking up if you’re into PvP. Other than that, Lapras also has a Gigantamax form which can be a reliable healer in specific max battle scenarios.
Larvitar
Larvitar
The first non-Water-type on our list and a fantastic one at that. Larvitar eventually evolves into Tyranitar, a Rock and Dark dual-type Pokémon. Whether it’s Mega Tyranitar, Shadow Tyranitar or just regular old Tyranitar, it is excellent both as a Rock-type and as a Dark-type raid attacker. It can even perform well in the Master League, being one of the few non-legendaries or mythicals to be viable in that league.
Beldum
Beldum
One of Beldum’s greatest accomplishments in GO is that its final-stage form, Metagross has been and continues to be one of the best Pokémon for the Master League. Which is no small task since that meta is typically dominated by some of the strongest Pokémon you can imagine, legendaries and the like. To explain what makes Metagross so great would be to try to finish a near inexhaustible list.
But Metagross isn’t a one trick pony either, as its one of the best as both a Steel and a Psychic-type raid attacker in any of its forms. It’s pre-evolution, Metang can also be a solid spice/limited meta pick in the Great League with the potential to really dominate in the right meta.
Mudbray, Dhelmise and Sinistea
Slowing down a bit, Mudbray’s evolution Mudsdale can be a decent Ground-type raid attacker, but not much else. The same applies for Sinistea’s evolution Poulteageist, and Dhelmise. Both of which can be okay Ghost-type raid attackers. Dhelmise does have some spice potential in the Ultra League, but is largely outphased by Trevenant in its type category. Mudbray is a rare Pokémon however, so well worth hunting for and getting extra of for trade fodder.
Galarian Mr.Mime
Galarian Mr. Mime
This Ice, Psychic form of Mr. Mime has a unique evolution called Mr. Rime. Mr. Rime is a decent Ice-type raid attacker, with a shadow form that makes it a solid Ice and Psychic-type raid attacker.
Sandile
Sandile
Much like Mr. Mime above, Sandile is a relatively rare Pokémon, and its final evolution Krookodile can be decent as a Ground and Dark-type raid attacker.
For Collection
While not necessarily ones that provide specific gameplay benefits, these rare Pokémon are still worth collecting if you’re following the motto of “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” and want to add some rather exclusive Pokémon to your roster. Starting with:
Costumed Pikachu And Caterpie
We already took a look at the new costumed Squirtle but Squirtle’s Kantonian companions Pikachu and Caterpie are getting costumes at GO Fest as well. Pikachu adds to its expansive list of costumes by adding a hat to represent Team Mystic, whereas Caterpie gets the second closest thing to a cowboy hat.
Regional Exclusives
Comfey, which are typically only found in Hawaii and Aqua Breed Paldean Tauros, a type of Tauros only found in the Western Hemisphere will be available to catch during the event. Paldean Tauros will be available via raids, wheres Comfey will be out in the wild. Though its worth noting that Comfey is shiny locked and only the non-shiny variant will be available.
Unown
Unown
Every form of Unown will be available during the event! If you’re trying to complete your Unown dex, or the much more difficult shiny Unown dex, this is a great opportunity to catch the ones you might be missing.
New Debuts
The shiny form of Wash Rotom will be available for the first time in Pokémon GO during GO Fest, additionally the Mythical Pokémon, Zeraora will be making its debut and ticket-holding trainers will be able to complete a special research to encounter one.
Raid Pokémon
Almost all raid Pokémon have some use, whether that be for collecting or gameplay. So at last, we will take a look at all the raid Pokémon and what they can be used for:
Three-Star Raids
Paldean Aqua Breed Tauros
As mentioned before, this breed of Tauros is only available in the Western Hemisphere, so this is a good opportunity to catch it for those living in the East.
Five-Star & Five-Star Shadow Raids
Lots of 5-star raids to tackle this GO Fest but Mewtwo definitely feels like the star of the show! In fact, Mewtwo will be available during raids in four whole unique forms, two of which we will take a look at later. But for now, both Shadow and Regular Mewtwo are two of the best Psychic-type raid attackers you can ask for, along with being solid choices for the Master League. In both cases, Shadow Mewtwo outperforms the regular variant but you can’t go wrong with either.
Articuno is a bit of an opposite as its shadow form is very good as an Ice-type raid attacker, whereas its regular form can a worthwhile pick in the Ultra League and potentially even the Master League as a spice pick. So you might want to prioritze one based on what you’re interested in. Suicune on the other hand, doesn’t serve any important roles in gameplay and is only worth raiding to put into your collection.
Finally, Shadow Groudon and Shadow Kyogre are among the absolute best as Ground and Water-type raid attackers respectively, though for PvP their regular variants outperform. It’s also worth noting while they are among the best, they are not THE best, for that we have to look at:
Primal Raids
So, Primal Groudon and Kyogre, which behave like Mega forms of Groudon and Kyogre will also be available during GO Fest. These are the strongest Ground and Water-type raid attackers you could ask for right now, and will likely be so going into the future. Not only that, Groudon in its primal form gets a secondary Fire-typing making it a solid Fire-type raid attacker as well. However, despite that, these two are not the highlights of the raids in GO Fest this year. That honor goes to:
Super Mega Raids
Mewtwo’s two mega forms will debut during GO Fest this year and are definitely the highlights of this year’s events. A timed research must be acquired which will allow you to participate in the recently introduced Super Mega Raid against either Mega Mewtwo X or Mega Mewtwo Y. Mega Mewtwos caught during these raids will have at least Mega Level 1 unlocked with the potential to have Mega Level 2 and 3 being unlocked from the start as well if you are lucky. With how strong Mewtwo already is Mega Mewtwo X and Y are likely to become some of the strongest raid attackers after they are available!
Conclusion
GO Fests have recently begun changing the formula around and this year is no different. Not only do we have gameplay focused areas as opposed to habitats to look forward to and a seperate city experience, we also have the debut of the much beloved Mega Mewtwo X and Y with the equally new and novel Super Mega Raids. With an all new experience to look forward to in this year’s GO Fest, I’m sure it’ll be a fun experience and I hope this article has helped you narrow down what to focus on. Have fun, and stay safe out there.
Goodbye for now, Pokémon trainers. Priom-out!
