The first event with 5-star Dynamax raids has been announced for Pokémon GO. This introduces legendary Dynamax monsters, which might pose issues according to the community.
What kind of event is this? The Dyna-Mondays: Legendary Flights for Pokémon GO have now been announced. These will take place on January 20, January 27, and February 3, 2025, each from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
For the first time, they will feature a legendary Pokémon as a Dynamax raid. After each of the Dyna-Mondays, the corresponding Pokémon will also be available in the 5-star Dynamax raids for one week.
Strong monsters, but what to counter with?
Which Pokémon are these? The Pokémon are the legendary bird Pokémon from Generation 1: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. The timeframes in which you can challenge these monsters in Dynamax battles are as follows:
- Dynamax Articuno*: January 20 – January 27, 2025
- Dynamax Zapdos*: January 27 – February 3, 2025
- Dynamax Moltres*: February 3 – February 9, 2025
All three Pokémon can also appear as Shiny with some luck.
How should I obtain candies for the Pokémon? To level up your captured legendary birds, you need both stardust and the corresponding candies for the Pokémon.
With all previously available Dynamax monsters, you can place them in power sources and receive candies when your Pokémon helps other trainers in battle. If this mechanic works the same for the legendary Dynamax monsters as it does for regular monsters, then farming candies with the legendary Dynamax monsters should be significantly simplified.
What problem does the community see? The current number of available Dynamax monsters in the game is still relatively limited. While Zapdos has a simple weakness to rock-type attacks, Articuno and Moltres have a double weakness to these attacks.
Among the currently available Dynamax monsters, there are 2 monsters, Machamp and Excadrill, that have a charged attack of rock type. However, there is not a single Dynamax monster with a Dyna attack of rock type.
Since the 3 legendary birds are likely to be the toughest Dynamax raids to date (except for the Gigantamax raids), it’s important to have good counters in place.
Some comments on Reddit also point precisely to this problem:
- “It’s a shame that there are still no rock Dynamax”, writes ultimagolddragon
- “God, they need to accelerate the Dynamax releases for normal Pokémon. The selection of counters for some of these bosses (especially Zapdos) is criminal,” says LukesRebuke
- “No release of rock attackers?”, wonders Fepl31
- “Yes, the fact that both Articuno and Moltres are doubly weak to rock and Zapdos has a simple weakness, but we don’t have rock attackers, is terrible,” notes shawny_strolls
The hunt for monsters in Pokémon GO can sometimes captivate trainers so much that they block out everything around them. This was also the case for a trainer from Bremerhaven, who inadvertently put himself in a dangerous situation: Trainer immersed in Pokémon GO finds himself in a life-threatening situation while hunting a monster.
