June And July Community Day – Choose Your Own Adventure All Over Again!

So, the process for voting is this; you vote via the official Pokemon GO Twitter page on the 23rd and 24th of this month. The winner gets their Community Day in June and the second place candidate goes next in July.

So, let’s go ahead and break down our options, shall we?

Spotlight on Squirtle

Squirtle is, of course, the Water Type Starter Pokemon from Kanto. It’s an interesting choice for two reasons… the first of which being it’s already HAD a Community Day back in 2018. It was a notable one for featuring not only Shiny Squirtle, but Squirtle with Sunglasses to pay homage to the classic Pokemon characters, the Squirtle Squad.

Secondly, if we’re trying to show some nostalgia-laden love for the classics, why wouldn’t we start with Pokemon #1, Bulbasaur? I’m not trying to complain, but you have to admit it’s an odd choice!

Anyway, the Pokedex tells us that Squirtle hatches with a softshell. It hardens rapidly to the point where if you poke it, it will bounce back fast. (Why you’d want to poke a baby Pokemon that hard, I don’t know.) Anyway, it ducks into its shell when it senses danger and squirts water and foam with great force when attacking. The shape of its shell reduces friction in the water, making it more hydrodynamic and allowing it to swim at high speed.

When it evolves into Blastoise, it becomes that big ol’ gun’ totin’ tank of a terrapin we know and love. The Pokedex informs us that these cannons can blast water harder than a fire hose; so hard in fact that it can puncture both steel and concrete. It purposefully tries to make itself heavier to help it stand in place when firing these Kamehame-Hydro Canons.

So, how does it do in Pokemon GO?

With a Max CP of 2466, Attack of 171, Defense of 207 and Stamina of 188, it’s an average, bulk-ish Pokemon. It’s a pure Water Type, meaning it’s weak to Electric and Grass Type moves, with resistances to Ice, Fire, Steel and Water.

For Fast Attacks, you have Bite and Water Gun, which is STAB. For Charged Attacks, you have your choice of Flash Cannon, Ice Beam, Skull Bash, and Hydro Pump, only this last one being STAB. Your best option is to have a Community Day 2018 Blastoise with Hydro Cannon. (I’ve done pretty well in PvP, Great League, with a Hydro Cannon Blastoise.)

Shiny Squirtle is a slightly lighter shade of blue with a green shell. It can be a bit hard to spot so look carefully.

The new Community Day move, Aura Sphere, is an interesting option but I don’t know that its coverage against Steel Types is worth it considering Blastoise resists Steel Type Attacks and Steel Types take neutral damage from Water-Type moves. I think it will LOOK cool, though, and complete that Turtle Hermit vibe.

Spotlight on Weedle

So, before this whole thing was announced, I actually did a Spotlight on Weedle just for fun and because I had a hankerin’ to go Super Bug Catcher all over the news that Giant Asian Hornets (Or as I call them, Kaiju Hornets.) have arrived in the North American Pacific North West. You can check out the full break down of this Bug Type Brawler here.

The only addition being the new Community Day Attack. Drill Run, being a Ground Type Attack is going to help Beedrill against Fire-Types…. in theory. Considering Beedrill’s general lack of bulk, though, this may prove less than successful.

Still. I’m voting for this guy. It’s the only option which we, as yet, don’t have in Shiny. Its Shiny is just a slightly lighter shade of yellow, though, so…. bee careful when Shiny checking.

Spotlight on Sandshrew

Sandshrew is the only two-stage Pokemon to make this list of potential Community Day Pokemon. It’s been available in Shiny for a little while. This option would allow for its alternate form to be caught as its Alolan version would be up in Raids.

Kantonian Sandshrew is a pure Ground Type and hates getting wet. Its hide is dry and absorbent and it takes in as little moisture as possible but processes what little it takes in perfectly and efficiently. It hunts Bug Type Pokemon by jumping out of its burrow when one approaches. It lives in the aridest areas that it can find and travels by rolling through the sand in a ball. If it falls from a high place, it simply stays in a ball and bounces away unhurt. It deals with Attacks the same way.

Alolan Sandshrew is an Ice and Steel Type. Its outer shell is so hard that it can’t roll into a ball like its Kantonian cousin. Its soft belly is a target for predators so its defense strategy is to clamp itself to the ground. Alolan residents developed a sport whereby they try to slide these Pokemon across the ice as far as possible. It’s curling. Sandshrew curling.

So, once evolved, how does Sandslash cut through the competition?

This Pokemon’s primary features are its claws and spines. These are hard, sharp, and deadly but can be broken off. They generally start growing back within a day or so though so it’s not too big of a problem. Using those long claws, it can climb trees effortlessly and often sleeps up there. It rolls into a spiky ball to both attack and defend.

In Pokemon GO this Pokemon has a Max CP of 2374, Attack of 182, Defense of 175, and Stamina of 181. It’s a pure Ground Type so weak to Grass, Water, and Ice. It resists Electricity particularly well and has regular resistances to Poison and Rock Type Attacks.

In terms of Fast Attacks, this Pokemon sports Metal Claw and Mud Shot, the latter of which is STAB. For Charged Attacks, you get Rock Tomb, Bulldoze, and Earthquake, the latter two of which are STAB.

Alolan Sandslash has spikes of steel covering its body, and a sheet of ice covering its steel spikes. Consequently, being stabbed by one inflicts both cut damage and frostbite! Yikes. It runs through the snow at high speed and can climb glacial walls and icebergs with no problem at all due to those huge claws.

In Pokemon GO this Pokemon caps out at Max CP 2432, Attack of 177, Defense of 195 and Stamina of 181. So, a little less Attack but more bulk than its Kantonian relative. It’s an Ice and Steel Type meaning that it’s super weak to Fire Type Attacks and Fighting Type Attacks – two major weaknesses. It’s also weak to Ground Type Attacks. But it is very resistant to both Poison and Ice Type Attacks. It has regular resistances to a lot of Types; Dragon, Bug, Fairy, Normal, Grass, Flying, and Psychic.

For Fast Attacks you get Metal Claw and Powder Snow, both of which are STAB. For Charged Attacks, you get Bulldoze, Gyro Ball, Ice Punch, and Blizzard, the latter three of which are STAB.

Shiny Sandshrew is a bright, lime green color. Shiny Alolan Sandshrew has a navy blue face and tummy instead of off white.

The Community Day exclusive move is Shadow Claw which is a Fast Attack and Ghost Type, meaning it deals extra damage to Ghosts and Psychic Types. Interestingly enough, it’s an Attack that’s pretty connected to Gengar…

Spotlight on Gastly

Gastly, the O.G. (Original Ghost) of Kanto. It’s a Ghost and Poison Type and keeps those Types throughout its evolutionary line. The Pokedex tells us that this Pokemon is 95% gaseous and can be blown away by a strong wind! Which is good, because if you’re enveloped in its gas, you will faint without warning. It’s almost invisible and appears mostly shapeless. It tends to prefer living in buildings that are old and decrepit, fittingly enough! We’ve had a Shiny version available for quite some time, which debuted with a special Gengar Raid event.

When it evolves into Gengar, it becomes a little more solid and shadowy. In fact, it’s known for sinking into the shadows of people, waiting for an opportunity to steal their life force. It casts curses and enjoys scaring people, especially those lost in the mountains. It reduces the temperature in the area around it, so, if you feel a sudden chill and hear a cackling coming from your shadow…. you know you’re about to meet this Pokemon!

How does it stack up in Pokemon GO, though?

With a Max CP of 2878, Attack of 261, Defense of 149, and Stamina of 159, it’s a bit of a glass cannon. It hits hard for the time that it’s there, though. It’s a Ghost and Poison Type, which gives it a weakness to Psychic, Ground, Dark, and Ghost Type Attacks. It’s particularly resistant to Fighting Type moves, and also has strong resistances to Normal, Bug, and Poison Type Attacks with a regular resistance to Fairy and Grass Type moves.

In terms of Attacks it can learn, it has Fast Attacks Sucker Punch, Hex, Shadow Claw, and has Lick as a Legacy Move. All are STAB except Sucker Punch. For Charged Attacks it has Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball, both of which are STAB. It has a Legacy move in Psychic, Also.

Shiny Gastly changes its purple cloud for a little bit different of a purple cloud. It’s a bit blue-er. Tricky to spot, so, be careful!

The Community Day move, Shadow Punch, is a STAB Charged Attack and a pretty good option.

Phew! There you have it, Trainers. All your options laid out for you so you can make an informed decision on May the 23rd and 24th! Who are you hoping wins? And what about the runner up? Feel free to let me know in the comments. Good luck out there, Trainers! Be safe, have fun, and remember to Pokemon GO to the polls!