"A preliminary analysis on the upcoming Galar forms and their evolutions"

#PokemonGO: Niantic has recently announced that we're getting the month of May centered around one big event: the Throwback Challenge. Each week is themed around one of the currently released generations of Pokémon, and we have just started Generation 1 week. The final week is called "Champion 2020", and will feature both Generation 5 and four new Galarian evolution lines, all first introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield last November, with the new additions being Darumaka, Zigzagoon, Meowth and Stunfisk. Some of these are brand-new Pokémon from said games, which have new Pokédex numbers.However, I'll also include new forms of existing Pokémon from older generations. The species that will be analyzed are Galarian Rapidash, Galarian Darmanitan, Galarian Stunfisk, Obstagoon, Perrserker, Runerigus, Sirfetch'd, Cursola, and Mr. Rime.To make this easier, I'll be listing the first wave ones first. Do note though, we don't know their move sets yet, and existing moves might be adjusted pre-release. Their performances may or may not be as accurate as in this post. we'll only find out once they're released.https://ift.tt/3feAUsY this is the link to how these Pokémon look like. (discount Linoone)PERRSERKERViking PokémonAttack: 195Defense: 162HP: 172Type: SteelEvolves from Galarian Meowth​PvE performance: 0/5GL PvP performance: 3/5​Starting off with one from the very first wave, Perrserker isn't looking good at all for PvE. It has nothing to succeed in Gyms and Raid Battles, since it's so weak and fragile.In PvP, contrary to my initial thoughts, Perrserker has some decent moves that grant it wide type coverage, and also the godsend of being a Steel-type. Shadow Claw makes an appearance, and so do Thunderbolt, Crunch, and Play Rough, but the drawback is that none of these moves get STAB on Perrserker, or else it would just be absolutely busted. Thanks u/Axume4 for the collaboration.​​OBSTAGOONBlocking Pokémon​Attack: 180Defense: 194HP: 212Type: Dark/NormalEvolves from Galarian LinoonePvE performance: 1/5GL PvP performance: 4/5UL PvP performance: 4.5/5​Linoone is finally evolving! Obstagoon has always been one of my personal favorites, and, needless to say, I'm very excited that this will be one of the greatest additions to the Galar lineup. In PvE, its Attack stat is too mediocre for it to compete with the great Dark-types we already have in the game, like Darkrai, Weavile, and Tyranitar, plus the upcoming Zoroark.In PvP, however, it's a whole different story. Obstagoon might have access to two of the best fast moves in all of PvP: Counter and Snarl. In the Great League, these would let Obstagoon function as an alternative to Scrafty, but it will probably be a cheaper investment with slightly worse stats. It might also learn Cross Chop, Night Slash, and even Grass Knot, although it doesn't get STAB from the former or the latter. Grass Knot is where it really gets interesting though. It means lights-out for Azumarill and Swampert, two of the more dominant Pokémon from this meta, especially Azumarill. Just watch out for any Counter or Charm user though, or else you're in trouble. In Ultra League, the prevalence of Giratina and Cresselia means it's free real estate for the Gene Simmons lookalike. Snarl and Night Slash would compliment each other perfectly against these two, coupled with a double/triple-resistance to Giratina's Ghost moves and Cresselia's Psychic moves. Watch out, we got a new anti-metagame badass over here. Get yourself an Obstagoon!​​GALARIAN DARMANITANZen Charm Pokémon​(Normal Form)Attack: 263Defense: 114HP: 233Type: IcePvE performance: 5/5PvP performance: 0/5​(Zen Form)Attack: 323Defense: 123HP: 233Type: Ice/FirePvE performance: 6/5 (might get nerfed)PvP performance: 0/5Both evolve from Galarian DarumakaDPS VS. Rayquaza​PokémonMovesetDPSTDOGalarian DarmanitanPowder Snow/Avalanche47.382583.4Galarian Darmanitan (Zen form)Powder Snow/Avalanche57.398635.8MamoswinePowder Snow/Avalanche44.506801.7Shadow WeavileIce Shard/Avalanche49.964556.5​DPS VS. Scizor​PokémonMovesetDPSTDOGalarian Darmanitan (Zen form)Fire Fang/Overheat54.8891389ReshiramFire Fang/Overheat46.6482040.4Shadow MoltresFire Spin/Overheat50.2721812.9Raid veterans, do I have good news for you! If Galarian Darmanitan gets Powder Snow or Ice Fang coupled with Avalanche, Mamoswine and Shadow Weavile will be overtaken as Ice-type DPS overlords by a giant, round, snow cousin of Donkey Kong, but this time it's as good as Funky Kong is in Mario Kart Wii, if not more! There's a catch though: Its Defense stat is absolutely embarrassing, meaning it will not quite last as long as Mamoswine, but it will deal a moderate upgrade from Mamoswine's damage output, so it's not the end of the world for our mammoth buddy. That is, until you see its Zen form, which shouldn't even be called Zen in my opinion, but that's just how it goes. Darmanitan becomes this giant angry fire snowman ready to blow everything out of the water. Firstly, have you seen its Attack stat? It hits harder than both Mewtwo and Black Kyurem! It has no shortage of good main series moves either, boasting Fire Fang, Overheat, Powder Snow, and Avalanche, which makes me think it will receive some type of nerf, either to its moves or to its stats, to not devalue things like Reshiram, for example, which would be an absolute moneymaker for Niantic. I'm almost certain they wouldn't let this overpowered beast to take over the Raid Battle meta.Forget about it in PvP, because its TDO is nonexistent.​​GALARIAN STUNFISKTrap Pokémon​Attack: 144Defense: 171HP: 240Type: Ground/SteelPvE performance: 0/5GL PvP performance: 3.5/5​Stunfisk might be a relatively new addition to Pokémon GO, but its Galarian cousin is set to come in the very first wave! It's also a good Pokémon for Great League just like the Unova version. It has access to some versatile tools, including Counterand Mud Shot, which make it function as a reliable finisher if it gets Earthquakeor Rock Slide as well. The steel typing is a huge plus for Galarian Stunfisk, as coupled with the Ground typing, makes it resistant to 10 dfferent types. That's a lot. Thanks u/PestPestPestPestPest for the collaboration.​​SIRFETCH'DWild Duck Pokémon​Attack: 248Defense: 176HP: 158Type: FightingEvolves from Galarian Farfetch'dPvE performance: 3/5 (might be higher thanks to Meteor Assault)GL PvP performance: 3/5UL PvP performance: 3.5/5​DPS VS. AggronPokémonMovesetDPSTDOSirfetch'dCounter/Meteor Assault(Meteor Mash clone)33.706771Sirfetch'dCounter/Close Combat27.626631.9LucarioCounter/Aura Sphere33.748972.1ConkeldurrCounter/Dynamic Punch31.342933MachampCounter/Dynamic Punch30.094806.4​23 years have passed, and now GameFreak has finally blessed Farfetch'd with a brand new evolution, a very interesting one, even! Sirfetch'd has great stats for PvE, with a higher Attack stat than Conkeldurr and Machamp. Unfortunately it can't touch the power of Lucario with Aura Sphere. In fact, its current main series doesn't even let it overtake Machamp (Counter/Close Combat), so it's in a similar situation to what Lucario was in when it first got released. Sirfetch'd has its own signature move, called Meteor Assault, which has similar parameters to Rock Wrecker in Sword and Shield, so it might receive a similar treatment, either via a regular move pool update, just like Lucario, or via some sort of event, but who knows? Either way, Meteor Assault has some very nice potential. My assumption is that it'll stay along the lines of another move with a similar name, Meteor Mash, to let it stay competitive with Lucario and Conkeldurr, but the exact stats are still unknown.In Great League PvP, Sirfetch'd will probably act as an ultra-spammy glass cannon with a decent amount of coverage. It could be able to learn Leaf Blade and Night Slash, coupled with the awesome Counter mentioned earlier. With Close Combat, it will probably be able to beat Registeel with a shield advantage, but not Skarmory thanks to its Flying-type. It also has an answer for Azumarill and Hypno, but Altaria and Charmers turn Sirfetch'd into chicken for lunch, so it's probably a spicy pick that might find some usefulness in type-restricted Silph cups where Fighting-types are dominant. in Ultra League, it could function in a similar way to Machamp, with spammy Charge moves and Counter, instead being able to take a chunk out of Giratina, Cresselia, and Swampert, but it could suffer from three-moveslot syndrome in this league, because if it runs Leaf Blade and Night Slash, you get in trouble VS. Registeel, and without Leaf Blade Swampert can beat you. Togekiss, assuming Sirfetch'd's said moveset, is a total roadblock, because all of its kit may be resisted by Togekiss, so you better bring a Steel type along on your team.There's a problem though: Farfetch'd is regional, so it's not known if it will become available to everybody going forward, or if it'll stay regional and carry that status over to the Galar form. The same goes for our next entry on this list.​​CURSOLACoral Pokémon​Attack: 253Defense: 182HP: 155Type: GhostEvolves from Galarian CorsolaPvE performance: 4/5PvP performance: 0.5/5​DPS VS. CresseliaPokémonMovesetDPSTDOCursolaHex/Shadow Ball19.017504.4DarkraiSnarl/Shadow Ball20.086759.6Giratina-OriginShadow Claw/Shadow Ball18.631697.9GengarShadow Caw/Shadow Ball20.821379.1ChandelureHex/Shadow Ball20.179647.1​What has climate change done to poor Corsola?? Anyways, Cursola, if it receives Hex and Shadow Ball, will be the 3rd/4th best Ghost-type attacker in Raids, on par with Gengar's general performance thanks to lacking the sub-Poison typing, but it is strictly worse than both Origin Giratina and Chandelure, even though these last two have currently limited availability. Cursola could be as well, since its pre-evolution is region-locked.In PvP, it's nothing worth looking forward to, because even though it might boast colorful type coverage in Power Gem or Ice Beam, it has miserable stat product and sluggish moves.​​RUNERIGUSGrudge Pokémon​Attack: 163Defense: 237HP: 151Type: Ghost/GroundEvolves from Galarian YamaskPvE performance: 0/5GL PvP performance: 4/5​Galarian Cofagrigus, aka Runerigus, is probably the best of the Galarian in Great League, with an enormous advantage over its Unovan cousin, thanks to it likely being able to learn the quick move Shadow Claw, since it's classified as a level-up move in Sword and Shield. With it, Runerigus will probably be able to spam Shadow Balls and Earth Powers to no end. Stone Edge and Grass Knot could also be available to it, so mix and match however you want, just watch out for its numerous weaknesses. Beware: Yamask has only been available for the duration of last year's Halloween event, which makes me think Galarian Yamask might also be locked like this. Hopefully i'm wrong.​​GALARIAN RAPIDASHUnicorn Unique Horn Pokémon​Attack: 207Defense: 162HP: 163Type: Fairy/PsychicEvolves from Galarian PonytaPvE performance: 1.5/5GL PvP performance: 2/5UL PvP performance: 2.5/5​Dear Arceus! It's beautiful! While Rapidash's marshmallow variation doesn't seem great for PvE, In PvP it'll probably get some use. It could have access to Psycho Cut and Charm, and we all know how good those are, right? I went to look for Psyshock, and sadly it was missing from its kit. The rest of its movepool, though, is full of color, just like its mane. It has tons of viable attacks, like Megahorn, Wild Charge, Drill Run, and even Psychic, just to name a few. It has an answer to most Pokémon in the Great League, unlike Alolan Ninetales, but it can't run them all at the same time. Overall, in this meta Galarian Rapidash would remain a niche pick that might be able scare off some teams. In Ultra League, it could threaten Giratina the overlord with Charm, but that's about it, unfortunately.​​MR. RIMEComedian Pokémon​Attack: 212Defense: 179HP: 190Type: Ice/PsychicEvolves from Galarian Mr. MimePvE performance: 2/5GL PvP performance: 2.5/5​Rocking a Luigi-styled mustache, here comes the final entry on this list: Mr. Rime. Thank Arceus it is much less creepy than before.For Raids, again, not much going for it. Ice-types are few and far between, so its decent Attack stat might make it usable if it gets Avalanche and Ice Shard, but not much else outside this niche, which is filled by lots other Pokémon already.In Great League, it can be surprisingly good: It might learn Dewgong's bread-and-butter kit by default: Ice Shard and Icy Wind, thus helping fill the gap for those who are desperate for a double-legacy Dewgong, but it would perform much worse thanks to its terrible typing and worse stats. I wouldn't necessarily call Mr. Rime bad, per se, it's just not great. It has the same problem, though, as Sirfetch'd and Cursola, being regional.​Galar is very promising for the meta. I can't wait for their moves to be revealed just so i can get a glimpse on how good they are. But that's it for now, thanks for reading, and feedback/criticism is always welcome! via /r/TheSilphRoad https://ift.tt/3aWfUUF