— November Spotlight Hours —

 

  • November 1 — Duskull** —  2x Stardust for Catching

 

  • November 8  — Croagunk —  2x XP for Catching

 

  • November 15  — Porygon —  2x Candy for Catching

 

  • November 22  — Petilil —  2x Candy for Transferring

 

  • November 29 — Hoothoot —  2x XP for Evolving

 

**Duskull is wearing a crown

 

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The 2023 Pokémon Championship series is in full swing and champions have been crowned! 

If you are excited and looking to see where regionals are being held near you for the 

2023 Championship Series we have you covered. 

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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— November 1 — Duskull Spotlight — 

 

Bonus: 2x Stardust for Catching

Duskull: Ghost - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 798

Dusclops: Ghost - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 1799

Dusknoir: Ghost - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 2700

Weaknesses: Dark, Ghost

Resistances: Bug, Poison, 2x Fighting, 2x Normal

Evolution Costs: 25 Duskull Candy > Dusclops > 100 Duskull Candy + Sinnoh Stone > Dusknoir

2nd Charge Move Costs: 50 Duskull Candy & 50k stardust

2nd Shadow Charge Move Costs: 60 Duskull Candy & 60k stardust

LC: Duskull: 0/15/15 level 30  

GL: Dusclops: 2/12/15 level 43.5 (Purified Version)

GL: Dusclops: 0/11/15 level 45 (Shadow/Regular Version)

GL: Dusknoir: 0/14/13 level 24

UL: Dusknoir: 0/15/15 level 50

ML: N/A

XL Priority: Medium

Catch Base Stardust: 100 

Buddy Distance: 3 KM

Shiny: Yes 

Mega Evolve: Gengar, Banette

 

PVP Considerations

Duskull was a previous Community Day Pokémon, so seasoned veterans likely won’t have much to play this for. For any newcomers, its evolution Dusclops is the best performer in Trainer Battles, as seen most recently in Evolution Cup. That being said, it isn’t a huge standout pick and needs the right meta to shine. It also requires some Candy XL to reach its best stat product, so this is a good chance to hunt some if you are in need.



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—  November 8 — Croagunk Spotlight —

 

Bonus: 2x XP for Catching

Croagunk: Poison/Fighting - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 1077

Toxicroak: Poison/Fighting - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 2813

Weaknesses: Flying, Ground, 4x Psychic

Resistances: Rock, Poison, Grass, Fighting, Dark, 2x Bug

Evolution Costs: 50 Croagunk Candy > Toxicroak

2nd Charge Move Costs: 50 Chinchou Candy & 50k stardust

2nd Shadow Charge Move Costs: N/A

LC: Croagunk: 0/13/15 level 21  

GL: Toxicroak: 1/15/15 level 22.5

UL: Toxicroak: 0/15/12 level 46.5

ML: N/A

XL Priority: Low

Catch Base Stardust: 100 

Buddy Distance: 3 KM

Shiny: Yes 

Mega Evolve: Venusaur, Beedrill, Gengar, Lopunny

 

PVP Considerations

Toxicroak is a solid pick in Great League and Ultra League, typically doing its best work in themed cup formats. Toxicroak needs Candy XL to reach its max potential stat product in Ultra League. That being said, there is some merit to running attack weighted Toxicroak, particularly for Charge Move Priority reasons, so you can decide for yourself with the Croagunk you catch what type of Toxicroak you might want. We would suggest looking up analysis by someone like SwagTips to help aid your decision making. This is a spotlight worth playing for old and new players alike.

 

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— November 15 — Porygon Spotlight —

 

Bonus: 2x Candy for Catching

Porygon: Normal - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 1944

Porygon2: Normal - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 3065

Porygon-Z: Normal - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 3693

Weaknesses: Fighting

Resistances: Ghost

Evolution Costs: 25 Porygon Candy + Upgrade Item > Porygon2 > 100 Porygon Candy + Sinnoh Stone  > Porygon-Z

2nd Charge Move Costs: 50 Porygon Candy & 50k stardust

2nd Shadow Charge Move Costs: 60 Porygon Candy & 60k stardust

LC: N/A 

GL: Porygon: 0/13/15 level 37.5 

GL: Porygon2: 2/10/13 level 21 

GL: Porygon-Z: 1/15/13 level 17

UL: Porygon2: 2/13/15 level 39 

UL: Porygon-Z: 0/13/14 level 28.5

ML: Porygon-Z: 15/15/15 level 50

XL Priority: Low

Catch Base Stardust: 100 

Buddy Distance: 3 KM

Shiny: Yes 

Mega Evolve: Pidgeot, Lopunny, Kangaskhan

 

PVP Considerations

Porygon was a previous Community Day Pokémon, but even with that none of its evolutions have been able to break out on the Trainer Battle Scene. Porygon2 tends to be the best of the bunch at the Great and Ultra League level due to having slightly better bulk than Porygon-Z. If you need them, this is a good chance to hunt them. Otherwise, this is a pretty easy Spotlight Hour to skip.

 

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— November 22 — Petilil Spotlight —

 

Bonus: 2x Candy for Transferring

Petilil: Grass - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 1164

Lilligant: Grass - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 2883

Weaknesses: Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison

Resistances: Water, Ground, Grass, Electric

Evolution Costs: 50 Petilil Candy + Sunstone > Lilligant

2nd Shadow Charge Move Costs: N/A

LC: Petilil: 1/15/15 level 19  

GL: Lilligant: 0/15/15 level 22 

UL: Lilligant: 0/13/14 level 44.5

ML: N/A

XL Priority: Low

Catch Base Stardust: 100 

Buddy Distance: 1 KM

Shiny: No 

Mega Evolve: Venusaur, Abomasnow

 

PVP Considerations

Petelil and its evolution Lilligant offer almost no current value to Trainer Battles. Lilligant is a Charm user which lacks Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB) and any Charged Attacks under 65 energy. However, there is some hope for the future as Lillgant has an alternate form in the Hisui region, which is a Grass/Fighting type . It is unclear if Petilil will evolve into Hisuian Lilligant or if that form will be available separately, similar to what we typically see with Alolan Exeggutor and Alolan Marowak (outside of that one event that these could be evolved). This would be a good chance to get a good IV version ready for Hisuian Lilligant, just in case. Otherwise, focus on getting those bonus transfers complete!

 

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— November 29— Hoothoot Spotlight —

 

Bonus: 2x XP for Evolving

Hoothoot: Normal/Flying - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 766

Noctowl: Normal/Flying - 15/15/15 level 50 - CP 2288

Weaknesses: Electric, Ice, Rock

Resistances: Grass, Bug, 2x Ground, 2x Ghost

Evolution Costs: 50 Hoothoot Candy > Noctowl

2nd Shadow Charge Move Costs: N/A

LC: Hoothoot: 0/15/14 level 33.5 

GL: Noctowl: 1/14/15 level 28.5

UL: Noctowl: 15/15/15 level 50

ML: N/A

XL Priority: Low

Catch Base Stardust: 100 

Buddy Distance: 1 KM

Shiny: Yes

Mega Evolve: Venusaur, Abomasnow

 

PVP Considerations

Noctowl is a strong selection at the Great League level, and if maxed out to Level 50 could be a spicy pick in Ultra League (although it caps out well below the 2500CP limit). Noctowl gained increased relevance with the addition of Shadow Ball, and you can hunt a good one during this spotlight hour occurring around the one year anniversary of receiving this buff. Noctowl has a valuable Wing Attack breakpoint that helps it do more damage to Galarian Stunfisk and Azumarill, two crucial matchups at the Great League level. You can search up some Noctowl IV analysis for more details, as SwagTips has covered this topic previously. Tangent44 has a 4-14-14 Noctowl that secures these breakpoints, so this could give an idea on what types of IV spreads can do the trick. 



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— Terms —

 

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

XP = Experience Points

CP = Combat Power

Catch Base Stardust = Stardust amount before other bonuses are applied

Buddy Distance = Distance needed to walk to gain candy before other bonuses are applied

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