IT'S GOFEST TIME! Let’s be honest, GoFest is mostly about community, celebration, and of course shiny hunting. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do some PvP maximizing in harmony with all the other musical madness taking place.
Let’s start with the sour note: If you’re a seasoned PvP vet who has been grinding and saving things for years, this year's GoFest spawns, as announced, leave something to be desired. There’s some good things to keep in mind, but at the moment, we’re at the mercy of the Niantic classic “AND MORE” for spawn quality.
That being said, this will be a good weekend for people to play catch up with their PvP collections and even the hardest of hard core grinders will have some things to look forward to. Let’s jump right in and see if we’re singing a different tune by the end of the article.
For a quick explanation on how PvP IVs work refer to this article.
All Biomes: Eeveelutions
Each habitat will offer a different Eevee evolution on incense. These won’t have the Community Day move Last Resort and outside of Umbreon aren’t worth much in PvP anyways. If you need an Umbreon and are willing to spend the Elite TM, it’s worth paying attention to that. Mostly though, these spawns will be good for guaranteed XL candy towards an Ultra League Umbreon.
Great League Umbreon: 0/15/15
Ultra League Umbreon: 15/15/15
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
Mostly disappointing, but a couple spawns worth mentioning. Maybe a good lunch break rotation?
Incense Spawn
Decent for Great League. Super spicy for Ultra League. A dancing pineapple duck that puts a smile on your face. Needs to go to level 50 for Ultra League so get that XL candy while you can.
IVs for Great League: 0/15/15
IVs for Ultra: 6/14/15
Incense Spawn
Serpior really needs the Community Day move Frenzy Plant, so using one caught during GoFest would require an Elite TM. It creeps up as a solid pick in limited formats like Remix, but I don’t think it’s worth the Elite TM. My suggestion, if you missed that Community Day, is to save your best PvP IV Serperior from GoFest and only Elite TM if it’s absolutely vital in some meta between now and a likely CD Rewind event in December.
AINT NO (DESERT) MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH
The desert mountain rotation is pretty good especially for those newer to PvP, but plenty of good XL candy opportunities for everyone.
A staple of PvP since day one and a mon that has been both in nests and events, many trainers already have good IV Skarmory for Great League. What many trainers may not have, however, is a perfect Skarm or the XL candy to build it for Ultra League. Skarmory spawns will offer something for both seasoned veterans and PvP neophytes alike. Also, it has an amazing shiny with a decently high rate.
IVs for Great League: 0/15/14
IVs for Ultra: 15/15/15
Not only is this a good chance to get an XL Bastiodon with good IVs, but and maybe more importantly, this is an amazing opportunity to grind Shieldon XL candy. Distance trading for XL candy wasn’t a thing the last time Shieldon was in an event, so if handled and planned for properly, this is the best opportunity to date for trainers to put a dent in their XL Bastiodon projects.
IVs for Great League: 0/15/14
It’s a hippo. It has a shiny. There are worse mons for master premier if that ever comes back? I’m trying here. When getting weather ball added to its moveset doesn’t make a mon viable, it’s a tough sell. Probably worth stashing for Silph/themed cups if you have the space.
IVs for Great League: 0/14/10 at level 18.5
Incense Spawn
Ttar for Great League is super niche, and even then it needs the Community Day fast move, Smackdown. The Bite variant sees some play in Master League, but the shadow variant seems generally preferred there. Mostly this spawn is exciting for the 2 XL candy that will drop with each catch.
Incense Spawn
More of a fringe pick, but it has seen more play since the Dragon Tail buff. Shadow Flygon seems to be the preferred variant though, but if you don’t have one, no reason not to find a good regular Flygon. Mostly a good spawn for shiny hat hunting.
IVs for Great League: 0/15/9
IVs for Ultra: 0/13/15
COME SAIL AWAY
Ocean hour is a little meh for those with built out PvP collections, but is an amazing chance for newer trainers or trainers playing catch up on some key meta mons
If you missed Swablu Community Day or maybe got into PvP recently, this is a good opportunity to get a good PvP IV Altaria for Great League. Altaria is a fantastic generalist and a good addition to anyone’s PvP arsenal. For everyone else, this is more likely to be a hundo hunt, shiny check, or XL grind type of spawn. Nothing too exciting.
IVs for Great League: 0/14/15
IVs for Ultra: 15/15/15
Has a cool name designed to give streamers a hard time. Has a shiny. Useful every once in a while in themed cups, so worth saving if you have space.
IVs for Great League: 0/15/11
Incense Spawn
Unless you’re going full nuke, you will want the Community Day move Aqua Tail on Gyarados for PvP. I just don’t think this is worth an Elite TM. I think you’d be better served holding off until a likely December Community Day Rewind event and evolving a Magikarp then. You will need 400 candy for that evolution, so if you’re somehow low on Magikarp candy, the 5 candy (10 with a Pinap) per catch will be clutch.
Incense Spawn
The Blue Bunny of Death. Azu is a cornerstone of Great League. If you don’t already have a good PvP Azu, it’s worth grinding for one here. XL Azu requires a decent amount of XL candy, so that’s another great reason to grind this spawn hard.
IVs for Great League: 0/15/15
THE CAVE
The cave rotation is a great PvP rotation to be sure. Lots to offer both old and new battlers alike. Make sure to have space and be ready for these spawns. SHINY DEINO AWAITS!
The British Bear Trap is a force to be reckoned with in both Great and Ultra League. Given how rarely it’s been available in the wild, this is a rare opportunity for many trainers to get a GFisk with low attack IVs. Also provides a good opportunity to hundo hunt and top off your Stunfisk XL candies. Sadly these don’t drop guaranteed XL anymore.
IVs for Great League: 0/12/15
IVs for Ultra: 15/15/15
A consistent force to be reckoned with in Great League, seasoned trainers are well aware of this prankster tricks. Already one of the best safe switches around, go beyond update gave this dual Dark/Ghost even more bulk and play. While you will wanted a purified Sableye with return, one with good PvP IVs will take lots of XL candy. Grind this spawn and try to save them to trade for distance and that guaranteed XL candy.
PeepoArrive. I think everyone is excited for Deino spawns. If you don’t have a good Zweilous for Great League, this is your chance! Hydreigon is mostly disappointing as it turns out two heads are better than one but three's a crowd. Get a good Zwei for Great League and MAYBE try for a perfect Hydreigon for Master League. MOST OF ALL hunt for that cute green little flinstone dragon so you can put it in gyms by your friends and make them insanely jealous.
Zweilous IVs for Great League: 0/15/15
Incense Spawn
Galvantula is a strong option in Great League and a solid choice in Ultra Premier. Add in the fact that every Galv you catch will drop at least one XL candy and this is just a great spawn. For Ultra League, Galvantula has to be powered up to or near to level 50, so every XL candy counts. Definitely a spawn worth grinding. I personally recommend the hundo for Ultra League as it doesn’t need to be best buddied.
IVs for Great League: 0/15/15
IVs for Ultra: 15/15/15
Incense Spawn
You really want the shadow variant for Great League and Gardevoir is underwhelming in other leagues. Have fun shiny hat hunting!
Incense Spawn
Absol-lutley not worth grinding
Conclusion
Normally I do a ranking or flow chart of how to prioritize an event, but with how much is going on and the rotating spawn pools, I thought an infographic of what spawns to focus on for what would be more helpful. The most important thing is to have fun and stay safe. It is GoFest after all. I hope your GoFest is a chart topping hit and we’ll see you battlers after the show!
