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| Meet Tyranitar, the new Dragonite. It's a Rock/Dark type, and effectively the Godzilla of Pokemon - instantly cool. |
Greetings trainers!
Generation 2 sprites have been found in datamines of the game, which means it's no longer ridiculous to speculate on Generation 2 Pokemon. There are also rumoured leaks about corporate sponsorships with Starbucks and others, but these are just rumours for now. Hilariously (not), I had already written up most of this article and was ready to put the finishing touches on it when the new CP update hit. This new CP update has now been worked out to some extent (thanks to Peter Hatch and the folks at Gamepress), though it's still a tiny bit off for some Pokemon's true Max CP.
With that said, the metagame still hasn't settled since the update, and most intriguing to me is that Pokemon with high CP stats are no longer necessarily decent gym defenders.
An interesting side effect that Gen 2 will likely have is making it relevant to have a good attacking Machamp. Snorlax having Zen Headbutt really put a damper in Machamp's metagame relevance, but with four Pokemon coming up that are all Fighting-weak, Machamp my finally gets it chance to shine. Most importantly, one of these four is the new Dragonite-equivalent, Tyranitar. Tyranitar is doubly weak to Fighting (ho yeah), and Machamp will resist whatever attacks TTar throws out, be they Rock or Dark (ho baby).
So while you'll want to save up your candies for whatever Gen 2 mons you're excited for, it might be a good idea to try and get yourself a good attacking Machamp in the meantime! Hitmonlee also received a major buff, and should be capable of tackling Tyranitar. Rock/Ground types like Rhydon and Golem should also be highly relevant to tackling the upcoming Rock and Normal types, as they resist their Rock and Normal STAB moves and can hit back with high-damage Ground moves.
Now, while Maximum CP isn't the only metric that makes a Pokemon good (e.g. Poliwrath has a maximum 2444 CP), it is a reflection of the Pokemon's stats in a Pokemon GO-meaningful way. Prior to the CP update, according to the Gamepress Gym Defender's Tier List, every Pokemon over 2300 maximum CP was a tiered defender (barring Flareon and Machamp). On our Gym Defender's Tier List, if you count the honourable mentions, then it's just Flareon. As such, it's worthwhile to consider that any of these higher-CP generation 2 Pokemon will likely become relevant once the generation is released.
So to introduce some of these monsters, here they are presented in order of their Max CP!
Name - Approximate Max CP (over 2500)
With the massive overhaul to CP, not all of these Pokemon are guaranteed to be highly relevant to the metagame. For instance, Houndoom and Typhlosion aren't likely to have much impact, due to their crippling weakness to Water. Scizor is another high-CP Pokemon that seems poised to do well, but its low HP will be a tough hurdle to overcome if it wants to be a top Gym defender; at least few Pokemon invite Fire-type attackers. These three new Pokemon may become decent attackers, but it is unlikely you will see them defending gyms all too well; think of how scared you are when you see a high-CP Flareon or Kingler in a gym.
I was originally going to do a writeup on each Pokemon in this list, but I thought that it might be more interesting to do a brief writeup on Gym potential. Obviously it'll depend on what moveset each Pokemon gets, but as long as they get at least some sort of useful moveset these Pokemon are likely to be competent defenders, and any Pokemon with a solid CP stat is likely to be a decent attacker.
I'll hold off on speculating what Gen 1 Pokemon may see a decline in usage until the current metagame settles and Gen 2 movesets are known. Certainly Machamp will become a much more useful attacker to have on hand, and provided Ampharos can impress, it'll become relevant to have a good Ground-type like Rhydon, Golem, or likely Donphan. With a new generation, Typhlosion has a chance to pick up a new Fire-type quick move that can perhaps make it a better Fire -type attacker or defender than the current options (Arcanine and Charizard)... but I doubt it; Charizard's Wing Attack will make it particularly useful against Heracross at least!
Tyranitar - 3666
Espeon - 2999
Heracross - 2931
Scizor - 2803
Ursaring - 2762
Ampharos - 2696
Typhlosion - 2684
Porygon2 - 2546
Houndoom - 2525
With that said, the metagame still hasn't settled since the update, and most intriguing to me is that Pokemon with high CP stats are no longer necessarily decent gym defenders.
Previously, Max CP was very strongly correlated with gym performance. But now, Pokemon with terrible Stamina can have very high CP (e.g. Alakazam, Kingler, Gengar), but these Pokemon do not make good gym defenders; a reminder that gym defenders receive a 2x boost to HP, making Stamina the most important stat for gym defenders. Once Gen 2 is released and we know movesets, I'll look into updating the Gym Defender's Tier List.
Summary (TL;DR):
So while you'll want to save up your candies for whatever Gen 2 mons you're excited for, it might be a good idea to try and get yourself a good attacking Machamp in the meantime! Hitmonlee also received a major buff, and should be capable of tackling Tyranitar. Rock/Ground types like Rhydon and Golem should also be highly relevant to tackling the upcoming Rock and Normal types, as they resist their Rock and Normal STAB moves and can hit back with high-damage Ground moves.
Introduction to the actual meat of the article:
Now, while Maximum CP isn't the only metric that makes a Pokemon good (e.g. Poliwrath has a maximum 2444 CP), it is a reflection of the Pokemon's stats in a Pokemon GO-meaningful way. Prior to the CP update, according to the Gamepress Gym Defender's Tier List, every Pokemon over 2300 maximum CP was a tiered defender (barring Flareon and Machamp). On our Gym Defender's Tier List, if you count the honourable mentions, then it's just Flareon. As such, it's worthwhile to consider that any of these higher-CP generation 2 Pokemon will likely become relevant once the generation is released.
So to introduce some of these monsters, here they are presented in order of their Max CP!
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| Legitimately terrified of this thing ^^^ |
- Tyranitar - 3666
- Blissey - 3213
- Donphan - 3017
- Espeon - 2999
- Heracross - 2931
- Scizor - 2803
- Ursaring - 2762
- Feraligatr - 2725
- Ampharos - 2696
- Typhlosion - 2684
- Porygon2 - 2546
- Houndoom - 2525
With the massive overhaul to CP, not all of these Pokemon are guaranteed to be highly relevant to the metagame. For instance, Houndoom and Typhlosion aren't likely to have much impact, due to their crippling weakness to Water. Scizor is another high-CP Pokemon that seems poised to do well, but its low HP will be a tough hurdle to overcome if it wants to be a top Gym defender; at least few Pokemon invite Fire-type attackers. These three new Pokemon may become decent attackers, but it is unlikely you will see them defending gyms all too well; think of how scared you are when you see a high-CP Flareon or Kingler in a gym.
I was originally going to do a writeup on each Pokemon in this list, but I thought that it might be more interesting to do a brief writeup on Gym potential. Obviously it'll depend on what moveset each Pokemon gets, but as long as they get at least some sort of useful moveset these Pokemon are likely to be competent defenders, and any Pokemon with a solid CP stat is likely to be a decent attacker.
I'll hold off on speculating what Gen 1 Pokemon may see a decline in usage until the current metagame settles and Gen 2 movesets are known. Certainly Machamp will become a much more useful attacker to have on hand, and provided Ampharos can impress, it'll become relevant to have a good Ground-type like Rhydon, Golem, or likely Donphan. With a new generation, Typhlosion has a chance to pick up a new Fire-type quick move that can perhaps make it a better Fire -type attacker or defender than the current options (Arcanine and Charizard)... but I doubt it; Charizard's Wing Attack will make it particularly useful against Heracross at least!
Introducing the Generation 2 Pokemon!
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| Hehehe... TTar |
It'll be weak to water, but Dragonite is doubly weak to ice and that didn't stop it! TTar is going to be super powerful. If it gets something like Rock Throw + Rock Slide it's going to be amazing. Heck, Dark-type attacks also go pretty unresisted, so if it gets Feint Attack or Sucker Punch, it'd get a good defending or attacking moveset. Having a crazy-strong Rock/Dark-type attacker will also be much appreciated. TTar will be good no matter what... but how crazy good will it be? Maybe good enough to make having a strong Machamp or Hitmonlee relevant. Yeah... crazy right?
Blissey - 3213
The new CP formula gave a major buff to Chansey, but Chansey still has no chance of holding a gym, because it's likely going to be in the bottom rungs of the gym. If Chansey is the front of the gym, it just takes one battle with one KO to remove Chansey from the gym. That said... the prospect of Blissey is terrifying to me. Unless Niantic balances Blissey somehow, it will be far, far bulkier than Snorlax. I legitimately worry that Blissey could spawn time-out strategies to gym defence, as high-level Blisseys may be insurmountable for low-level players. This is another reason to have a strong Machamp or just a generally strong attacker at your disposal. Maximizing damage done will be key to beating Blissey. It's not going to be a battle to survive, it's going to be a battle to knock it out before 99 seconds are up! Attacking Alakazam and Dragonite are good Pokemon to level up in anticipation of Blissey.
Donphan - 3017
The new CP formula gave a major buff to Chansey, but Chansey still has no chance of holding a gym, because it's likely going to be in the bottom rungs of the gym. If Chansey is the front of the gym, it just takes one battle with one KO to remove Chansey from the gym. That said... the prospect of Blissey is terrifying to me. Unless Niantic balances Blissey somehow, it will be far, far bulkier than Snorlax. I legitimately worry that Blissey could spawn time-out strategies to gym defence, as high-level Blisseys may be insurmountable for low-level players. This is another reason to have a strong Machamp or just a generally strong attacker at your disposal. Maximizing damage done will be key to beating Blissey. It's not going to be a battle to survive, it's going to be a battle to knock it out before 99 seconds are up! Attacking Alakazam and Dragonite are good Pokemon to level up in anticipation of Blissey.
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| A good Ground type not doubly weak to Water! |
Donphan - 3017
Donphan is going to be very similar to Rhydon, except its sole-Ground typing will likely make it a highly relevant Attacker/Defender. Rhydon has already soared in usage due to its high CP, and its Ground-type STAB and powerful quick attacks make it far better suited to defending than its similarly Water-weak friend Arcanine. If Donphan gets "Mud Slap / Anything," it will undoubtedly become one of the better defenders in the game. Being weak to Vaporeon is never good, but having an attack that can hit back hard is something that Arcanine never had.
Espeon - 2999
Espeon will be a poor Defender (Base Stamina = 130), but a good Attacker. Think of Espeon like Alakazam. Like... literally another Alakazam, but slightly bulkier.
Heracross - 2931
Another strong Bug type! Heracross will be the highest-CP Fighting type in the game, which will likely make it a relevant attacker. Heracross also has the potential to be a very solid Defender if it gets some strong Fighting move like Rock Smash. It'll almost certainly have Megahorn which will be a fine defending move, though we can hope for better. Heracross' double weakness to Flying may give Charizard a niche use as Charizard will become one of the best counters to Heracross. Giving Heracross Stone Edge would be a cruel joke that Niantic could play to make using Charizard riskier.
Scizor - 2803
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| Scizor is so cool though... |
Scizor is unlikely to be a great Defender. It's doubly weak to Fire, and has poor Base Stamina (140). But with the right moveset, it could be a generally good Attacker for beating things like Tyranitar, Rhydon, and Golem, and possibly solid against other Pokemon thanks to its resistances to Dragon and Normal.
Ursaring - 2762
Ursaring has a good Base Stamina (180), but its Base Defence will be quite poor (144). That said, its Base Attack stat is very strong (236), and its Normal typing is difficult to take advantage of. Again, another reason Machamp and Hitmonlee may become good, and another reason Heracross will be a good Pokemon to have.
Feraligatr - 2725
Big strong water type. When has that ever been good? Oh... right. Feraligatr is almost certainly going to get Bite (how could it not?), but what its other quick move is is up in the air. It may also get alternate charge moves. I can see them introducing the move "Waterfall" into Pokemon GO, which may function similarly to say... Hydro Pump or Aqua Tail, but with hopefully different base damage and/or animation time. Feraligatr should be a good Pokemon overall, but its moveset will be what distinguishes it from Vaporeon if anything can.
Ampharos - 2696
Ampharos is going to be an interesting player in the metagame. It's going to be the bulkiest Electric-type available, which is something we haven't really got right now. Whether it makes for a good defender will come down to moveset, but Ampharos' unique Electric-typing makes it weak to only Ground moves. Ground types like Rhydon, Donphan, and Golem will likely be handy for taking down an Ampharos. Regardless, it should be a good Pokemon for something (attacker if not defender), and may become one of the best Pokemon to take on Pokemon like Gyarados and Vaporeon with.
Typhlosion - 2684
Probably not going to be that great. If Charizard couldn't make a splash with effectively the same stats, Typhlosion isn't likely to. It'd have to get an amazing new moveset. For instance: something like Flame Wheel could very well be a new Quick Move added to Typhlosion's repertoire, which would be uniquely good if it was a Fire-type "Water Gun."
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| Should be pretty decent |
Porygon2 - 2546
Porygon2 is interesting because it'll be a higher-CP Normal type with strong defences. As long as it gets decent attacks, Porygon2 will be a very strong defender. Think Tauros, but bulkier; or if you're from Oceania, it'll be similar to Kangaskhan. Porygon2 is yet another reason a Fighting-type like Machamp, Hitmonlee, or Heracross will become relevant.
Houndoom - 2525
Houndoom will be a relatively poor Defender, but it has the potential to be a strong Attacker. Nothing the game hasn't seen before though.
The new CP update has totally thrown the metagame on its head, as Pokemon that were previously totally irrelevant have become good attackers and/or good defenders. We'll see how quickly Gen 2 Pokemon get released, but I don't expect the current metagame to settle fully before Gen 2 is released. Part of the problem is that high-level players may have already spent a lot of their stardust levelling up previously high-tier Attacking/Defending Pokemon that fell from grace like Slowbro, Poliwrath, Arcanine, Victreebel, Vileplume, or Wigglytuff. Exeggutor also lost a bit of steam, but nowhere near as much as these others.
So the adaptation to this new metagame is likely to take a bit of time as players save up their stardust to level up new strong Defending Pokemon like Rhydon, Golem, Gyarados, Muk, and Pinsir. Newly strengthened attackers like Alakazam or Jolteon may also receive some stardust from players, which further prevents the gym metagame from levelling up new tiered Defenders.
Either way, I'll be waiting for Generation 2 to be released before I spend much more time writing on Let's GO. Even if I wrote up new "Featured Pokemon" articles, these Featured Pokemon may become more or less relevant come Generation 2. So I might as well just wait for Generation 2.
Cheers,
Let's GO!
Conclusion
The new CP update has totally thrown the metagame on its head, as Pokemon that were previously totally irrelevant have become good attackers and/or good defenders. We'll see how quickly Gen 2 Pokemon get released, but I don't expect the current metagame to settle fully before Gen 2 is released. Part of the problem is that high-level players may have already spent a lot of their stardust levelling up previously high-tier Attacking/Defending Pokemon that fell from grace like Slowbro, Poliwrath, Arcanine, Victreebel, Vileplume, or Wigglytuff. Exeggutor also lost a bit of steam, but nowhere near as much as these others.
So the adaptation to this new metagame is likely to take a bit of time as players save up their stardust to level up new strong Defending Pokemon like Rhydon, Golem, Gyarados, Muk, and Pinsir. Newly strengthened attackers like Alakazam or Jolteon may also receive some stardust from players, which further prevents the gym metagame from levelling up new tiered Defenders.
Either way, I'll be waiting for Generation 2 to be released before I spend much more time writing on Let's GO. Even if I wrote up new "Featured Pokemon" articles, these Featured Pokemon may become more or less relevant come Generation 2. So I might as well just wait for Generation 2.
Cheers,
Let's GO!
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