— October Spotlight Hours —

 

  • October 5 — Drifloon —  2x XP for evolving Pokémon

 

  • October 12  — Gastly —  2x Stardust for Catching

 

  • October 19  — Gothita —  2x XP for Catching

 

  • October 26 — Murkrow —  2x XP for evolving Pokémon

 

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In this edition we will include a concise PvP breakdown on IVs to target and how much to prioritize grinding for XLs during the weekly spotlight hours which occur on Tuesdays between 6pm and 7pm local time

 

    GO Stadium has an excellent IV rank checker to show how your Pokémon is ranked, and you can adjust for any way you obtain the Pokémon. The website is linked in the terms section at the bottom along with some helpful explanations of common Pokémon GO phrases if needed.

 

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— October 5 — Drifloon Spotlight — 

 

Bonus: 2x XP for evolving Pokémon

Drifloon: Ghost/Flying - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 1353

Drifblim: Ghost/Flying - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 2693

Weaknesses: Dark, Electric, Ghost, Ice, Rock

Resistances: Grass, Poison, 2x Bug, 2x Ground, 2x Normal, 4x Fighting

Evolution Costs: 50 Drifloon candy > Drifblim

2nd Charge Move Costs: 75 Drifblim candy & 75k stardust

LC: Drifloon: 0/15/15 level 16.5

GL: Drifloon: 15/15/15 level 50

GL: Driflblim: 0/15/12 level 24

UL: Driflblim: 1/15/15 level 50

ML: N/A

XL Priority: High 

Shiny: Yes

Mega Evolve: Gengar, Pidgeot, Charizard Y

 

PVP Considerations

Drifblim is a strong Pokémon in both the Great and Ultra League. For Ultra League, you will want XL candies to get the one you want up to 2500CP, so this spotlight hour is a great chance to hunt for the IVs you want or the Candy XL you need. For the Great League Spice Lords out there, Drifloon only hits 1369CP at Level 51, but it has the exact same moveset as Drifblim and would be a fun pick for those who like to use something unusual.



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—  October 12 — Gastly Spotlight —

 

Bonus: 2x Stardust for Catching

Gastly: Ghost/Poison - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 1390

Haunter: Ghost/Poison - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 2219

Gengar: Ghost/Poison - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 3254

Weaknesses: Dark, Ghost, Ground, Psychic

Resistances: Fairy, Grass, 2x Poison, 2x Bug, 2x Normal, 4x Fighting

Evolution Costs: 25 Gastly Candy > Haunter > 100 Gastly Candy or 0 after trade  > Gengar

2nd Charge Move Costs: 50 Gastly candy & 50k stardust

LC: Gastly: 0/14/15 level 15.5

GL: Gastly: 15/15/15 level 50

GL: Haunter: 1/15/14 level 28.5

GL: Gengar: 0/13/13 level 19.5

UL: Gengar: 0/15/14 level 34.5

ML: Gengar: 15/15/15 level 50

XL Priority: Medium 

Shiny: Yes

Mega Evolve: Gengar, Venusaur, Beedrill

 

PVP Considerations

Both Haunter and Gengar are strong picks in PvP. Haunter can make waves in the Great League, while Gengar makes its noise in the Great League and the Ultra League. With the upcoming Master League Premier, Gengar has a chance to carve out a niche there too. Gengar typically requires its legacy move Shadow Punch for its PvP relevance, and that move will not be available for Spotlight hour. However, you can use this time to gather candidates to evolve in the future, as there is a good chance we could see Shadow Punch return to Gengar as early as December.

 

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— October 19 — Gothita Spotlight —

 

Bonus: 2x XP for catching

Gothita: Psychic - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 1075

Gothorita: Psychic - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 1813

Gothitelle: Psychic - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 2735

Weaknesses: Bug, Dark, Ghost

Resistances: Fighting, Psychic

Evolution Costs: 25 Gothita Candy > Gothorita > 100 Gothita Candy  > Gothitelle

2nd Charge Move Costs: 50 Gothita candy & 50k stardust

LC: Gothita: 0/15/11 level 21.5

GL: Gothorita: 0/15/14 level 43

GL: Gothitelle: 0/15/15 level 23.5

UL: Gothitelle: 0/14/15 level 49.5

ML: N/A

XL Priority: Low

Shiny: No

Mega Evolve: Slowbro

 

PVP Considerations

Gothitelle has yet to break out in PvP. It has a nice moveset with Confusion and Rock Slide, and a decent level of bulk, but it is just a touch too slow to carve out enough of a niche compared to more proven Confusion users. You never know when a moveset update or the right themed cup will improve the fortunes of Gothitelle, so use this time to gather one just in case. Gothitelle needs Candy XL for Ultra League so this is a great time to stock up in case you ever need it.

   

 

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— October 26 — Murkrow Spotlight —

 

Bonus: 2x XP for evolving

Murkrow: DarkFlying - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 901

Honchkrow: Dark/Flying - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 2002

Weaknesses: Electric, Fairy, Ice, Rock

Resistances: Dark, Ghost, Grass, 2x Ground, 2x Psychic

Evolution Costs: 50 Murkrow candy > Honchkrow

2nd Charge Move Costs: 50 Murkrow candy & 50k stardust

LC: Murkrow: 3/15/14 level 12

GL: Murkrow: 0/15/14 level 43.5

GL: Honchkrow: 0/15/15 level 20.5

UL: Honchkrow: 0/15/15 level 38.5

ML: N/A

XL Priority: Low 

Shiny: Yes

Mega Evolve: Gyarados, Houndoom, Pidgeot, Charizard Y, Absol

 

PVP Considerations

Honchkrow is usable in both the Great League and Ultra League, but nothing special. Murkrow can also be used in the Great League but it is underwhelming to say the least. Both are just too glassy and don’t have the sort of moves to overcome this. This could be a good time to focus on evolving for extra XP.



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— Terms —

 

Spawn rate = How fast Pokémon will show up in a giving time

XP = Experience Points

CP = Combat Power

Pinap = Gives you twice the candy for catching

Silver pinap = Gives you twice the candy for catching and boost to help catching

Stacking = Keeping multiple research rewards to be used later

IVs – Individual Values

Mega Evolve = Pokemon when mega evolved will help gain extra candy

STAB – Same type attack bonus

META – Most effective tactics available

PVE = Player vs Environment – (Raiding/Gym Battles)

PVE - IVs = Individual values for Raiding – as close to 15/15/15 as possible

PVP = Player vs Player

PVP - IVs = Individual values for battling – usually low attack and high defense/stamina

Fast Move = Move used to gain energy for charge move

Charge Move = Move shown on the screen that energy is gained to use

GBL - GO Battle League

LC = Little Cup 500CP and lower 

GL = Great League 1500CP and lower

UL = Ultra League 2500CP and lower

ML = Master League unlimited CP

 

https://www.stadiumgaming.gg/rank-checker