On Sunday, September 19th, 2021 (11 AM - 5 PM local time) Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokémon, will be appearing more in the wild & will be available as a shiny Pokémon for the first time! The event bonus will be 3x catch experience alongside incense and lure modules lasting for three hours. In addition Oshawott will be attracted to Rainy Lure Modules during this time. Remember - since Oshawott is a Water Pokémon, you can Mega-Evolve a Mega Blastoise, Mega Gyarados, or Mega Slowbro to earn an extra Oshawott Candy on each catch!

 

To fit the Rainy Lure excitement for Oshawott the special one-time-purchase Community Day Box (available for 1,280 PokéCoins) will feature five Rainy Lure Modules, in addition to 50 Ultra Balls, five Lucky Eggs, and an Elite Fast TM.

 

Samurott will learn the Charged Attack Hydro Cannon when evolved between 11AM and 7PM local time on the 19th. In addition, Samurott will be able to learn the new-to-GO Charged Attack Razor Shell after the event starts and even after the window for Hydro Cannon ends!

 Oshawott CD infographic

So what does this do for Samurott in PVP battles?

 

Hydro Cannon will certainly make Samurott better than it currently is, but even with the addition of Hydro Cannon it will struggle to stand out compared to already established Water-types such as Politoed and Swampert. Having access to Bug-type move Megahorn is a unique feature for Samurott, as Bug-type moves tend to cover Water-resistant Grass, Water, and Dragon-type Pokémon. It also has the option of running either Fury Cutter or Waterfall as a fast move, with Fury Cutter providing more energy generation and Waterfall providing raw damage. Sadly, none of these seem to lead to a significant amount of wins compared to the aforementioned Water-type competition. 

 

For Samurott to truly gain relevance, a lot depends on the second move - Razor Shell - which is a very interesting addition to the game. In the main series games Razor Shell is a damaging move with a 50% chance of lowering the target’s Defense by one stage. Other Pokémon currently in GO that learn this move in the main series games include Cloyster, Kingler, Crawdaunt, Barbaracle, Slowbro, Slowking, Kabutops, Escavalier, and Carracosta. If this move is added to their movesets in the future then it could be an interesting boost to their strength - given that the move is powerful of course!

 

For Samurott to really shake things up in PVP it will need Razor Shell to be a low-energy Charged Move that has a chance - or guarantee - at a defence drop on the opponent. Unfortunately otherwise Samurott is not that big of a deal - at least in the Great League.

 

In Ultra League Samurott brings a bit more to the table. While another Water-type starter with Waterfall as a Fast Move might not seem impressive, it does fill one unique niche due to its coverage move of Megahorn. The duo of Talonflame and Umbreon is extremely strong in Ultra League - notably moreso in Ultra League Premier. With Waterfall, Hydro Cannon, and Megahorn in its arsenal Samurott is able to defeat both of those Pokémon in a 1v1 situation where an equal amount of shields are used. Those wins could become even stronger depending on how Razor Shell looks, at the expense of either Hydro Cannon or Megahorn in that moveset. I will say that beyond defeating the Umbreon/Talonflame duo, Samurott does not appear to have a ton of strength in Ultra League. It tends to lag behind its friend Swampert fairly consistently across the board, with a few exceptions here and there. And the same can be said for Samurott in Great League.

 

This Community Day, at least in terms of PVP viability, will depend on Razor Shell. If it is a strong move it can spring Samurott into relevance and provide a potential future gift for other Water-types that learn it. If it is disappointing, this is a Community Day where you can stay in and evolve a couple Samurott for either league just in case.

 

I’m opting for hope, because I’d love to see this otter tearing up Ultra League in a balanced way.

 

While hunting be sure to use the GO Stadium rank checker to help you find out if that 0/14/14 Samurott is good for Great League or if that 1/15/15 is any good for Ultra League.

 

Most of all - stay safe and have fun this Community Day!