Pokemon Go Reveals New Dynamax Pokemon, But They Highlight One Big Flaw With Max Raids

Over the last few weeks, Pokemon Go has been slowly rolling out Dynamax content, with a slim number of Pokemon capable of participating in the game’s new Max Battles. That number will be growing next month, as Niantic has announced four more Dynamax Pokemon that will be added on October 1st. The Pokemon in question are all connected to Pokemon Sword and Shield, and include Falinks, Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. Falinks does not have an evolved form, but Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble all do, and those evolved forms will also be able to use Dynamax in the game. 

The three Galar starters will all begin appearing in One-Star Max Raids, similar to what we’re currently seeing with Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. These Raids can be completed fairly easily with just one player. However, Falinks, like Beldum, will only be found in Three-Star Max Raids. Those Raids are a bit tougher, and will require a strong team to complete solo. Players can type match against Beldum to gain an advantage using Charmander or one of its evolutions. Falinks is a Fighting-type, and the only Psychic-type Dynamax Pokemon at the moment is Beldum; basically, you’ll want to get a Beldum before Falinks goes live, if possible. 

While the addition of Dynamax Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble will make some players happy, Max Raids probably should have debuted with the Galar starters, rather than with the three from Kanto. Those three Pokemon just made their debut in Pokemon Go a few weeks ago, so many players just caught and evolved Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble, and now they’ll have to do it all over again if they want the Dynamax versions. That means having to get the requisite amount of Candy again, as well. This was easier to ignore with Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, as those three have been in the game since 2016, and there have been all sorts of opportunities for players to build up Candy stockpiles. 

The decision sort of highlights one of the more awkward elements of Max Battles at the moment. Niantic has done a great job replicating the Dynamax feature from Pokemon Sword and Shield, but the limitation to Pokemon caught in Max Raids could have been handled a little bit better. The decision to limit Dynamax to Pokemon caught in Max Raids makes sense, even if it’s not the way this was handled in Pokemon Sword and Shield; the goal for Niantic is to keep giving players new Pokemon to catch, and a reason to play each day. As the mobile game continues to catch up with the main series, Niantic has to draw out content. But forcing players to re-catch and re-evolve Pokemon that just got added a few weeks ago is kind of an unforced error. 

How do you feel about Max Battles in Pokemon Go? Do you think we should have seen Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble at the start? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!