The long-awaited debut of the Gigantamax feature in Pokemon GO kicked off recently with the trio of classic starters, Blastoise, Charizard, and Venusaur, followed by Gengar as part of the mobile game's annual Halloween celebration. With plenty more Gigantamax Pokemon remaining, Pokemon GO definitely plans to hold more limited-time Gigantamax events in the future. The team at Niantic learned a lot from the feature's launch and plans to implement what they learned in upcoming events.
Game Rant spoke with Michael Steranka, senior director of Pokemon GO. Steranka praised players' ingenuity and skill in tackling the first set of Gigantamax battles, which he described as an "endgame challenge" designed to be far more difficult than the standard Raid or even Dynamax battle. He did, however, acknowledge that Pokemon GO needs to focus more on preparing its Trainers for the difficulty jump of a Gigantamax battle.
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Gigantamax Battles Are A Step Up In Difficulty
Gigantamaxing, a feature introduced in the Pokemon Sword and Shield games, allows a Pokemon to grow to a massive size, take on a new form, and learn an ultra-powerful Max Move. Fittingly, Gigantamax battles are Pokemon GO's largest¡ªup to 40 Trainers can band together to take on a single foe, with the chance to catch the Gigantamax Pokemon themselves if it is defeated.
Steranka feels that the biggest lesson Niantic took away from the launch of the Gigantamax feature is that it is important to prepare Trainers for just how difficult a Gigantamax battle can be. He said:
"In hindsight, we could have done a better job preparing Trainers for how difficult these challenges would be, providing more insight into steps Trainers could take to prepare. The biggest feedback we received from the launch weekend was that Trainers felt ill-prepared since this is such a different experience compared to what they¡¯ve been used to in Raid Battles."
Pokemon Go Players Need To Prepare For Gigantamax Battles
To help with that preparation, Pokemon GO will be increasing the Stardust and Candy rewards earned when defeating a Gigantamax Pokemon. Steranka encouraged Trainers to use these items to improve their existing Pokemon to be even more capable of defeating Gigantamax foes in the future. He also offered the following advice for Trainers looking to conquer Gigantamax battles:
"Come prepared with Dynamax Pokemon that counter the Gigantamax Pokemon you¡¯ll encounter. Investing in Max Moves is essential, and coordinating with your fellow Trainers during the encounter itself."
Steranka enjoyed seeing players' ingenuity as they came together in large groups to defeat the Gigantamax starter trio during the feature's first launch weekend, describing it as "a dramatic increase in success rates from Saturday to Sunday as people figured out new strategies." Steranka also noted that the Gigantamax launch weekend saw the largest coordinated groups of Trainers ever get together in locations all around the world to take on these new and challenging battles.
More Gigantamax (and Dynamax) battles are coming to Pokemon GO in the near future, beginning with Gigantamax Toxtricity as part of the Wild Area event this weekend. Many other Gigantamax Pokemon from Pokemon Sword and Shield will likely be added in 2025 and beyond, such as the Galar starter trio of Inteleon, Cinderace, and Rillaboom, Melmetal, which originated in Pokemon GO, the ultra-long Meowth or super-fluffy Eevee from the first generation of Pokemon games, or other Galar favorites like Corviknight, Alcremie, Grimmsnarl, and more. Trainers should work hard to strengthen their Pokemon to be ready to take down these foes when they arrive.
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