Ultra Unlock week 2 – Enigma Week

A second round of congratulations is in order, Trainers. Due to our combined efforts, we managed to storm our way through the 16 Ultra Challenges required to unlock this week’s bonuses. Enigma week runs from August 7th, 1:00pm until the 17th, 1:00pm.

Let’s see what we can expect! (Borrowed from my previous GO Fest article.)

An influx of odd Pokemon! Jigglypuff, Clefairy, Lunatone, Solrock, Bronzor, Staryu, Baltoy and making its Pokemon GO debut is the surreal-looking Elgyem!

7Km Eggs will hatch Igglybuff, Cleffa, Lunatone, Solrock and Elgyem.

Unown spawns in the wild will be more common, specifically the letters U, L, T, R and A! (Now I just need P, L, U and S.)

In Raids, you’ll see Bronzong, Claydol, Elgyem and the aforementioned Unown.

In 5 Star Raids, we’ll see the return of Normal Forme Deoxys with the possibility of catching a Shiny!

Speaking of Shinies, Staryu will be available in Shiny too.

I’d love to do a Spotlight on Elgyem! Unfortunately, at the time of writing it hasn’t been released yet so any discussion of its Stats and Attacks isn’t entirely certain. Instead, let’s take a trip back to Kanto and talk about the newest member of Team Shiny! Welcome, Staryu!

Spotlight on Staryu

This Pokemon was one of the quirkier entries in the original 151. Faceless and therefore not as cute and cuddly as even other Water Types, it still managed to find a soft spot in the hearts of many Trainers due to its role in the anime as a core member of Misty’s team.

It was also kind of a challenge in her Gym back in the ol’ Red, Blue and Yellow days. If you didn’t pick Bulbasaur or manage to level up a Viridian Forest Pikachu, anyhow.

The Pokedex tells us that this Pokemon is a master of regeneration, just like real sea stars. If it gets torn, loses a limb or is even snacked on by other aquatic Pokemon, it will just regenerate the lost parts. That is, so long as its red core remains intact. And speaking of that core, it lights up and pulses with a rhythm very much like that of a human heartbeat. At night, these Pokemon gather in large groups and pulse that light upward, as if trying to talk to the stars in Morse code.

Once it evolves into Starmie, it becomes a dual Water and Psychic Type. This may explain the reports of people who approach it getting stuck with headaches. Ouch. The core in its center is still red primarily, but it can shine in all seven colors of the rainbow. Much like its earlier form, it often aims these light shows into the sky. Between that and its perfectly geometric shape, people often theorize that running across this critter is an encounter of the third kind! I don’t know about that. Unfortunately, as many beautiful creatures are, this Pokemon is the victim of poaching. That core is often transformed into jewelry and sold on the black market. Makes you want to feed wild Starmie a bunch of Rare Candies so they can Hydro Pump some poachers into the stratosphere.

Speaking of Hydro Pumping, how does this Pokemon clean up in Pokemon GO?

With a Max CP of 2584, Attack of 210, Defense of 184 and Stamina of 155, it’s, unfortunately, a little on the mediocre side. That Attack Stat is nothing to blink at but it is let down by poor staying power. While it’s on the field, it’s dealing damage, but it’s not regenerating any of that HP in Pokemon GO. As a dual Water/Psychic Type, it’s weak to Dark, Bug, Fairy, Electric, Grass and Ghost. It has resistances to Water and Psychic of course, as well as Ice, Fire, Fighting and Steel.

In terms of Fast Attacks, Tackle is a Legacy move. Current Attacks are Hidden Power and Water Gun with the latter being STAB. For Charged Attacks, you have Power Gem, Thunder, Ice Beam, Hydro Pump and Psychic. The latter two are STAB and Psychic is your better bet.

Shiny Staryu is a much lighter color than its normal counterpart, with a blue core instead of red. Starmie is a darker purple, blue core and bright pink gilding in the middle. Pretty striking! And best of all, easy to spot when Shiny hunting.

I wish you all the best of luck, Trainers!