Pokémon GO has released the new monster ‘Hawlucha’, but not everywhere. And just as it landed in the game, it was immediately nerfed.
What kind of Pokémon is that? Hawlucha is one of the Pokémon from the sixth generation that has been missing in Pokémon GO so far. It is a Fighting and Flying type monster, whose appearance and naming are inspired by Mexican wrestling, “Lucha Libre”. In English, the bird is called “Hawlucha”.
Trainers have been waiting for Hawlucha for a long time. Its typical move ‘Flying Press’ landed in the game back in 2020, but was first assigned to the wrestler Pikachu. Even back then, trainers noted that it could become one of the best Fighting Pokémon (via reddit) and the waiting began. Data on Hawlucha was found by dataminers in 2021 in the game, but it was not utilized – until now.
However, Hawlucha is not available to all trainers.
Hawlucha initially appears only in Mexico – but gets weaker moves
How do you get Hawlucha? The new Pokémon was introduced at the start of the new season “Rising Heroes”, but as a regional monster.
As of now, it is supposed to only appear in Mexico, although some trainers have also found it in the USA near the border to Mexico, such as in the town “Chula Vista” (via reddit). This has also happened with other regional Pokémon before, where the boundaries are more fluid. Additionally, a new research task was unlocked in Mexico in conjunction with the release.
What’s behind the nerf? That Hawlucha appears as a regional Pokémon initially caused some trainers to be worried – as it was assessed to be a very strong monster for the PvP league.
“This will shake up the meta in PvP, and it’s regional,” wrote a user in the Pokémon GO subreddit “TheSilphRoad” at the release and received some agreement (via reddit). It would be strong against popular monsters like Registeel, Galar-Flunschlik, Trombork, Sumpex, and many other favorites (via reddit). The fact that such a monster is released regionally annoyed some.
But Niantic almost immediately made a change. So, Hawlucha had the moves “Wing Attack” and “Sky Attack” removed from its move pool, instead, it now learns “Aerial Ace.” Corresponding information was shared by the dataminers from the Pokeminers:
As a result, the monster becomes less dangerous for PvP:
- “And suddenly it hits significantly less,” comments user Mettbr0etchen (via reddit).
- “So they finished it off before it was born,” says another (via reddit).
- “That’s cool and all, but I would rather it not be regional” (via reddit).
At the same time, some players are annoyed, arguing that a strong, special Pokémon would become significantly less interesting. This would take the uniqueness of Hawlucha away almost immediately.
With the new season come some new content and events to Pokémon GO. For example, at the start the Pokémon “Gierspenst” was introduced, which can only be obtained through a connection with the Nintendo Switch. So there is also a “special” type of release here.
What do you think about regional Pokémon like Hawlucha? Does it motivate you to try to get them somehow – through traveling or trading with other players? Or do you find it rather annoying not to be able to get the monster directly in your area?
Let us know in the comments!
