Good day, Pokémon Trainers! City Safari is back in Pokémon GO. The City Safari is a new type of ticketed live event that will take place in specific cities throughout the world. Conceptually these seem to be similar to the City Experience during GO Fest, with similar bonuses such as increased shiny rates available. With that being said, we once again ask 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 Pokémon that we know for sure will be available during the City Safari in Tainan, Taiwan according to the information shared by Niantic. If you want to learn further about the event, here’s everything that we know will be going down.
With that out of the way, Which Pokémon are truly worth getting?
Let’s begin and find out!
For Gameplay
Whether it be for PvP, PvE, or grinding for Stardust and XP, these are the Pokémon to look out for to amp up your gameplay potential:
Zubat
Zubat
Let’s start with the Poison type Zubat. Golbat, Zubat’s second stage is a solid Pokémon in the Great League and particularly Limited Great League metas. Generally speaking, the shadow form is more desirable but the regular form isn’t bad either. It has a lot of good going for it. As a Poison type it can absolutely annihilate most Grass and Fighting types.
Access to the Ghost type charged attack Shadow Ball means it can also do well against Ghost types and Psychic types. Including bulky meta favorites such as Defense Deoxys and Cresselia. Its poison typing means it can also beat Alolan Ninetales running Charm in 1 and 2 shield scenarios. Surprising, as A. Ninetales is usually very strong against most flying types.
However, there are a few things holding it back from being a top-flier in the Great League like many other flying types. Firstly, Golbat is relatively frail compared to other meta Great League mons. Gligar in its shadow form actually has a higher defense than Gligar in its regular form. And its Poison type move of choice Poison Fang, has a 100% chance at debuffing opponents but does not deal much damage. Thus Golbat loses neutrally to quite a few meta favorites such as Lickitung and Whiscash.
Nevertheless, it is still a fairly decent Pokémon. And while its final stage Crobat, isn’t particularly useful for PvP, it is a decent Poison type Raid Attacker as a shadow form.
Exeggcute And Alolan Exeggutor
You have a chance of getting both versions of Exeggutor during the event. Both are decent as Raid Attackers in their shadow forms. As Grass type raid attackers Shadow Exeggutor is ranked #10 and Alolan Exeggutor is ranked #12. Shadow Exeggutor is also the 12th best Psychic type raid attacker.
When it comes to PvP though, the unevolved Exeggute is actually more valuable than either of the Exeggutors. In particular, it’s very good for 500 CP Little Cup metas. Especially in more limited metas, such as the Little Element Cup. Where it can do a lot of solid neutral fast attack damage with Confusion. And can threaten types such as Ducklett with its coverage move Ancient Power.
Chinchou
Chinchou
Now, here we have a Pokémon that’s reaaaally good for PvP. Chinchou by itself is already really good for 500 CP Limited Little Cup metas such as the Little Element Cup. Evolve a good one into Lanturn and then you have one of the longest-lasting beasts in the Great League! What really sells Chinchou and Lanturn are their types. Having that Electric sub-typing means Lanturn can do well against most other Water types as well as a lot of types.
But the type surely isn’t the only thing making Lanturn good, right? Yes. It also has solid bulk and multiple solid moves to choose from. Spark, Surf, and Thunderbolt are the standard moveset. But you can definitely run different moves based on your needs. Want greater Water fast attack pressure? Run Water Gun. Want more Electric type damage? Run Thunder instead of Thunderbolt.
So if you don’t have a solid one already, definitely keep an out for the best potential IVs if you’re interested at all in PvP.
Treecko
Treecko
Treecko and its evolutions aren’t really noteworthy for PvP. It’s a different story for PvP though. As Treecko’s final form, Sceptile has a mega form. And Mega Sceptile is THE #1 Grass type Raid Attacker on our list. Don’t have the mega energy? No problem! Shadow Sceptile is fine too, being ranked #7. Though in either case, you’d definitely benefit from its legacy move Frenzy Plant. As such I’d withhold from evolving your Treecko if you get one with high IVs until its legacy move returns.
Litwick
Litwick
Chandelure, Litwick’s final evolution, is one of the best Ghost type Raid Attacker. Its shadow form is ranked #3 and even in regular is ranked #8. Even as a fire type, Shadow Chandelure still holds a respectable rank of 8. Finally, Litwick itself has seen some play in 500 CP Limited Little Cup metas. All in all, not a bad Pokémon to have around!
Stardust Duo
While neither of these Pokémon are particularly useful for PvP or PvE, catching them has one important benefit. Both of these Pokémon give out a total of 500 Stardust upon capture! This is as opposed to the base 100 that regular first stage Pokémon give upon capture. If you’re playing Pokémon GO you can never have too much Stardust, so definitely catch any you come across!
Deino
Deino
Let’s finish things off with a Pokémon that has multiple uses in multiple forms. Firstly, Deino itself is a solid 500 CP Little Cup Pokémon. It’s a Dragon so of course it does a lot of neutral damage but the fact that it’s also Dark type means it can also threaten the top Pokémon in Open Little Cup, Bronzor. And then one step up, we have Zweilous. Zweilous is a solid Pokémon for the Great League. It’s not as popular as Shadow Dragonair and Altaria, but it is still solid. For example, it can make handy work of the bulky Cresselia and can even beat Shadow Dragonair as a dragon type.
Finally, we reach Hydreigon. One of the few non-legendaries to be solid for the Master League. In fact, it can beat Giratina’s Origin Form, Mewtwo, and Kyogre. It’s also a solid Dark type raid attacker. being ranked #5 on our list.
For Collection
Moreso than any gameplay benefits, these Pokémon make for great collector’s items due to their new or limited availability so far. Including the likes of:
Eevee
Eevee
Wearing an Explorer Hat
While you’ll receive this event exclusive Eevee as a guaranteed reward for the research that will be available for ticket holders, it’s still worth noting. Because this Eevee can also be shiny and will have the Explorer Hat regardless of which Pokémon you evolve it into. So you have the chance to get a rather unique and personalized Pokémon if you’re planning on participating in any of the three City Safari events happening this year.
Bouffalant
Bouffalant
Bouffalant is a Pokémon that is typically only available in New York and its surrounding areas. So while its shiny isn’t available yet it is a rather rare Pokémon. And this is a great opportunity for anyone who has never been to NY. It will be available both in the wild and through 7km eggs, so no reason to grab it for the dex!
Unown
Unowns A, I, and T will be available along with their shiny forms during the City Safari in Tainan. So if you’re trying to catch every type of Unown, or have taken up the even more daunting task of catching every shiny Unown and haven’t gotten these three yet. Well, here’s your chance at getting them.
Skiddo
Skiddo
And we reach the final Pokémon for this entry. Skiddo seems to be somewhat of a mascot for these City Safari events. As it has not been available outside of these events thus far. And its shiny is available as well. If you’re planning on participating in any of these events, you have the chance to be one of the very few to catch this shiny!
Conclusion
City Safari is a relatively new type of event for Pokémon GO. It seems to be a fantastic opportunity for cities where a GO Tour or GO Fest might not take place. I hope I managed to help narrow down what to focus on during the event with this article. But either way, hope you have a blast and stay safe out there!
Goodbye for now, Pokémon trainers. Priom-out!
