Pokemon GO‘s latest season finally brings a five-year-old mechanic to the mobile title with the addition of Dynamax mons in the game’s Max Out season. Alongside this new mechanic, Pokemon GO players can also find several Gen 8 mons previously unobtainable in the game, including the starters Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. However, while this update has helped fill the gap of missing Gen 8 content, Pokemon GO is still missing a key part of the Dynamax mechanic that will hopefully debut sometime during this season.
In addition to the Dynamax mechanic, Gen 8’s Pokemon Sword and Shield also introduced the Gigantamax mechanic as a special version of Dynamax. Certain mons with the ability to Gigantamax would take on new forms when the mechanic is activated, granting access to unique G-Max moves that are even more powerful than standard Max moves. While it’s great to see Niantic adapting the Dynamax mechanic for Pokemon GO‘s unique brand of gameplay, it feels incomplete without access to Gigantamax mons as well since they were a huge draw of the mechanic in the Gen 8 games.
Pokemon GO Still Needs Gigantamax Forms to Complete its Max Out Season
All Pokemon with Gigantamax Forms
Pokemon |
Type |
G-Max Move |
---|---|---|
Venusaur |
Grass/Poison |
G-Max Vine Lash |
Blastoise |
Water |
G-Max Cannonade |
Charizard |
Fire/Flying |
G-Max Wildfire |
Butterfree |
Bug/Flying |
G-Max Befuddle |
Pikachu |
Electric |
G-Max Volt Crash |
Meowth |
Normal |
G-Max Gold Rush |
Machamp |
Fighting |
G-Max Chi Strike |
Gengar |
Ghost/Poison |
G-Max Terror |
Kingler |
Water |
G-Max Foam Burst |
Lapras |
Water/Ice |
G-Max Resonance |
Eevee |
Normal |
G-Max Cuddle |
Snorlax |
Normal |
G-Max Replenish |
Garbodor |
Poison |
G-Max Malodor |
Melmetal |
Steel |
G-Max Meltdown |
Rillaboom |
Grass |
G-Max Drum Solo |
Cinderace |
Fire |
G-Max Fireball |
Inteleon |
Water |
G-Max Hydrosnipe |
Corviknight |
Flying/Steel |
G-Max Wind Rage |
Orbeetle |
Bug/Psychic |
G-Max Gravitas |
Drednaw |
Water/Rock |
G-Max Stonesurge |
Coalossal |
Rock/Fire |
G-Max Volcalith |
Flapple |
Grass/Dragon |
G-Max Tartness |
Appletun |
Grass/Dragon |
G-Max Sweetness |
Sandaconda |
Ground |
G-Max Sandblast |
Toxtricity |
Electric/Poison |
G-Max Stun Shock |
Centiskorch |
Fire/Bug |
G-Max Centiferno |
Hatterene |
Psychic/Fairy |
G-Max Smite |
Grimmsnarl |
Dark/Fairy |
G-Max Snooze |
Alcremie |
Fairy |
G-Max Finale |
Copperajah |
Steel |
G-Max Steelsurge |
Duraludon |
Steel/Dragon |
G-Max Depletion |
Urshifu (Single Strike Style) |
Fighting/Dark |
G-Max One Blow |
Urshifu (Rapid Strike Style) |
Fighting/Water |
G-Max Rapid Flow |
Most of the critters with Gigantamax forms are from Gen 1 or Gen 8, so Pokemon GO has a lot to work with in terms of adding these forms to the game. With all of Gen 1 available in Pokemon GO, Niantic has some great choices to pull from when introducing Gigantamax forms to the game. Additionally, the absence of a large portion of Gen 8 mons in the game like Coalossal and Drednaw creates the perfect opportunity for Niantic to add these mons to coincide with their Gigantamax forms being added to the game as well.
How Gigantamax Could Take Pokemon GO’s Dynamax Mechanic to the Next Level
The current implementation of the Dynamax mechanic in Pokemon GO lays a great foundation for Gigantamax forms to build on. By limiting which mons have the ability to Dynamax, Pokemon GO already follows Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s approach to Gigantamax, which requires specific mons to have the Gigantamax Factor in order to achieve this form when Dynamaxed. This could allow Niantic to create special Max Raids at Power Spots that pit players against rare Gigantamax mons for the chance to capture one for their own team.
Similar to how Mega Raids are variations of standard Raids where the Raid Boss is a Mega-Evolved mon, Gigantamax mons could fill a similar role as a rare variant of standard Dynamax raids. Pokemon GO could also utilize a different type of Max Particle specifically for Gigantamax mons, much like how Mega Evolution requires Mega Energy. With the potential for Gigantamax critters already lying in wait within Pokemon GO‘s Max Out season, Niantic would be wise to capitalize on this new mechanic as players become accustomed to standard Dynamaxing.