What is Dynamax/Gigantamax? Potential Feature in Pokémon GO?

Starting in Generation 6 in the Kalos region, GameFreak has implemented a a new battle gimmick in each subsequent entry in the main line series of games. For Generation 6, it was Mega Evolution, a feature we are all familiar with in Pokémon GO. While not all these features are possible to implement in Pokémon GO (please no more Z-Moves ever), I wanted to go over a mechanic that we could potentially see some time down the road: Dynamax, or more specifically, Gigantamax. For those of you unfamiliar with these terms, it probably sounds like I’m talking nonsense. To start, let’s take a look at the feature’s origins!

What is Dynamax?

Dynamax was the battle gimmick introduced in Generation 8 in the Galar Region. Within the lore, the Dynamax Phenomenon is a mechanic unique to the Galar Region. Through the usage of an item called the Dynamax Band, it allows Trainers to supersize their Pokémon in battle. The Pokémon is recalled to its Pokéball, only to be sent out at many times its original size! This ability is powered by an energy known as Galar Particles, which are generated by one of the region’s legendary Pokémon Eternatus.

The Dynamax Band

Eternatus, the Legendary Pokémon of Galar

As far as how the mechanic works, trainers can choose to Dynamax any of their Pokémon at any point during a battle. Doing so doubles a Pokémon’s HP stat and changes each of their moves into Max Moves.

Max moves are extremely powerful versions of attacking moves that can never miss their target. Max Moves are determined by the typing of each move, so all Normal moves turn into the move Max Strike, all Grass moves turn into the move Max Overgrowth, etc. All status moves become the move Max Guard, a move that works similarly to Protect. It can block Max Moves, but has the same drawbacks as Protect in that it has a chance of failing if used in succession. Max Moves also each had a secondary effect, which are listed below.

The power of the Max Move is determined by power of the original move, and it will remain Physical or Special based on the original move as well. For all types except Fighting and Poison, the minimum base power of a Max Move is 90(!). Because Fighting and Poison moves boost offensive stats, they have a lower damage threshold to prevent them from being too disproportionately powerful.

As you can see, Max Moves can have a significant impact in battle. It should be noted that Dynamax only lasts for 3 turns. This balances a mechanic that would otherwise be extremely overpowered.

While it was initially unpopular (haha Pokémon get big), Dynamax ended up being one of the most interesting battle gimmicks, at least in the VGC world. It was much more unbalanced in Single Battles, but overall Dynamax was an interesting addition to the world of Pokémon Battles.

What is Gigantamax?

Gigantamax is a variation of Dynamax that is limited to specific species of Pokémon. When these Pokémon Dynamax, they take on a unique Gigantamax Form. These Gigantamax Forms also get a signature Max Move that will replace one of its generic Max Move types. For example, G-Max Charizard’s G-max move is G-Max Wildfire. All of Charizard’s Fire moves will become G-Max Wildfire instead of Max Flare. Each of the G-Max Pokémon and their Max Moves are listed below:

Pokémon	G-Max Form	G-Max Move	G-Max Move Type	G-Max Move Effect
Venusaur		G-Max Vine Lash	Grass	deals passive damage to non Grass opponents
Charizard		G-Max Wildfire	Fire	deals passive damage to non Fire opponents
Blastoise		G-Max Cannonade	Water	deals passive damage to non Water opponents
Butterfree		G-Max Befuddle	Bug	inflicts Poison, Paralysis, or Sleep
Pikachu		G-Max Volt Crash	Electric	inflicts Paralysis
Meowth		G-Max Gold Rush	Normal	increases prize money, inflicts Confusion
Machamp		G-Max Chi Strike	Fighting	increases Crit Chance
Gengar		G-Max Terror	Ghost	prevents opponent from switching out
Kingler		G-Max Foam Burst	Water	lowers opponents’ Speed by 2 stages
Lapras		G-Max Resonance	Ice	sets Aurora Veil
Eevee		G-Max Cuddle	Normal	inflicts Infatuation to opponents of opposite gender
Snorlax		G-Max Replenish	Normal	50% chance to restore a consumed Berry
Garbodor		G-Max Malodor	Poison	inflicts Poison
Melmetal		G-Max Meltdown	Steel	prevents opponent from using the same move twice in a row
Rillaboom		G-Max Drum Solo	Grass	move can be used regardless of ability, always base 160 power
Cinderace		G-Max Fireball	Fire	move can be used regardless of ability, always base 160 power
Inteleon		G-Max Hydrosnipe	Water	move can be used regardless of ability, always base 160 power
Corviknight		G-Max Wind Rage	Flying	removes field effects (screens, hazards, terrains)
Orbeetle		G-Max Gravitas	Psychic	sets Gravity effect
Drednaw		G-Max Stonesurge	Water	sets Stealth Rocks
Coalossal		G-Max Volcalith	Rock	deals passive damage to non Rock opponents
Flapple		G-Max Tartness	Grass	lowers opponents’ Evasiveness
Appletun		G-Max Sweetness	Grass	cures allies’ Status Conditions
Sandaconda		G-Max Sandblast	Ground	inflicts Sand Tomb
Toxtricity		G-Max Stun Shock	Electric	inflicts Poison or Paralysis
Centiskorch		G-Max Centiferno	Fire	inflicts Fire Spin
Hatterene		G-Max Smite	Fairy	inflicts Confusion
Grimmsnarl		G-Max Snooze	Dark	50% chance to inflict Yawn
Alcremie		G-Max Finale	Fairy	heals allies for 1/6 of their max HP
Copperajah		G-Max Steelsurge	Steel	sets Steel type entry hazard (similar to Stealth Rocks)
Duraludon		G-Max Depletion	Dragon	removes 2 PP from opponents’ last used move
Urshifu (single strike)		G-Max One Blow	Dark	hits through protecting moves, even Max Guard
Urshifu (rapid strike)		G-Max Rapid Flow	Water	hits through protecting moves, even Max Guard

As you can see, there’s a lot of potential! A lot of Pokémon get some much needed attention. Some standouts like Kingler, Machamp, and Garbodor come to mind. Gigantamax forms could definitely help bring some new life to the game! But how could we see these forms implemented into Pokémon GO?

Dynamax/Gigantamax in Pokémon GO?

This section of the article is now going to be pure speculation. Niantic may never actually implement these features into the game, but here’s how I think they could use these forms to help expand the game.

First of all, Dynamax is unfortunately not really possible. Its primary benefits rely heavily on main series mechanics. While I thought about things such as doubling a Pokémon’s HP or giving it a special charged move, none would be able to be implemented in a balanced and engaging way.

That brings us to Gigantamax forms. While again, we likely wouldn’t be able to implement anything like their special G-Max moves, we can draw upon some other Pokémon media to help figure out how these special forms might work.

Pokémon Radical Red is a fan made alteration of Pokémon Fire Red, known as a rom hack. This altered version of the game features updated mechanics, Pokémon up to Generation 8, and much more challenging opponents, all while using the beloved 8-bit graphics from the Game Boy era. This game implemented the Gigantamax forms in a unique way: they treated them as Mega Evolutions!

I would love to see Niantic implement Gigantamax forms in a similar way. They could be featured in the same category of Raids as Mega Evolutions. In fact, in their home game, Gigantamax Pokémon are actually encountered through a mechanic also called Raids! Seeing as there are a limited number of unique Mega Evolutions, its no wonder why we don’t see new species released very frequently. This would allow us to see new Raid Bosses in Mega/G-Max raids much more often, keeping the game fresh!

Potential Obstacles

There is one big drawback that could potentially impact this method of implementing Gigantamax. This is the fact that unlike Mega Evolution, Gigantamax Pokémon do not gain an increase in stats. They have their HP doubled for a limited time mid battle, but I don’t think that this would be realistic. In Pokémon Radical Red, they received an increase in stats, as well as new Abilities and sometimes new typing. However, Radical Red is a fan game that has creative freedom, whereas Pokémon GO is based off of the main series of games, meaning that this type of alteration could not be made. I thought about a universal stat increase across the board, but this could be unbalanced with some of the stronger species.

What I do see, however, is giving G-Max forms an HP increase for the duration of the 8 hour period. I think 2x would be a bit much, but a 1.5x would definitely be possible. Pair this with the same passive boost that Mega Evolution also offers, and this could be usable. This would mean that Mega Evolution and G-Max would have different uses, as Mega Evolutions would be good for adding more all out power, and G-Max Pokémon would be more effective at sticking around and boosting their allies for longer. This isn’t to say they would be useless, though. Pokémon that were already good attackers like Gengar and Machamp would still do some good damage!

Conclusion

In my opinion, seeing Gigantamax being implemented as an extension of the Mega Evolution mechanic would be a great way to see this feature in Pokémon GO. It would be balanced and would add some more spice to the Raid pool. However, there is no way to tell what Niantic has planned. This feature could just never be introduced. However, hopefully they find some interesting way to implement the feature. Only time will tell!