New Sinnoh Pokemon, New Sinnoh Lures

Hey there, Trainers!

Do we have some amazing news for you today! Another batch of Generation 4 Pokemon became available on the 17th of May, and Nerd News Social is here to give you the low-down on these new arrivals. There’s also three new Lure Modules to dissect! Also, a new Move has been announced, Earth Power!

I’m going to give you a little break-down on each new wild caught Pokemon first. I’m going to list them in order of their Pokedex entries.

Burmy

Burmy is a neat little worm Pokemon based on the Bagworm. (Entomology Nerd Note: Pineco is also based on the Bagworm.) It changes form based on the environment you battle it in. It has a leafy form, a dusty form and a trash form. That last one isn’t a joke; battle it in a city environment and it will collect a cloak of trash to cover itself with. Conversely, battle it in a grassy or wooded area to get a leaf cloak and a cave or beach to get a sandy cloak.

Its various Pokedex entries tell us that it’s super resourceful, finding cloak materials even if it’s born in an area that’s sparse in regards to collectible flotsam and jetsam. It collects these materials to ensure that it stays warm and will thin its cloak out a bit if the weather gets hot.

This is a pretty standard Caterpillar Pokemon with two exceptions; it doesn’t have a Cocoon phase (Think Metapod or Kakuna.) and it evolves differently based on gender.

Wormadam

Wormadam is what happens when you evolve your female Burmy. The form it takes depends on the form in which it was evolved; grassy form Burmy is Grass Cloak Wormadam (Bug/Grass type) while sandy form Burmy becomes Ground Cloak Wormadam (Bug/Ground type) and lastly the pink, trash form Burmy becomes Trash Cloak Wormadam (Bug/Steel type).

Its Pokedex entries don’t give us much more than that and despite being different types, they all share one set of Pokedex entries. We’re told that the cloaks they wore as Burmy become a part of their body in this evolved state. And the cloaks are thicker if they’re evolved on cold days.

Its stats are: Max CP of 1593, Attack 172, Defense 175, Stamina 155.

Mothim

This, slightly more flamboyant, bug is what happens when your male Burmy is allowed to evolve. It doesn’t matter what form your male Burmy is in when it evolves, it will always be a Mothim and it will always look the same and be a Bug/Flying type.

From the Pokedex we can see that this Pokemon is a bit of a villain! While it loves honey, it won’t collect any of its own. Instead, it waits until night time, when its prey is asleep, and steals honey from Combee.

Dastardly, I tell you.

Its stats are: Max CP of 1815, Attack 185, Defense 98, Stamina 172

Cherubi

Cherubi is a small, Grass type Pokemon that resembles a two-headed fruit. We encounter it in Sinnoh on route 205 and onward. That second, smaller head is actually a reservoir of nutrients collected and stored for evolution. At least, that’s what the Pokedex says. Again with the cannibalism, apparently this second head is so tasty that Starly will try and peck it off to eat.

Somebody call Detective Pikachu, or maybe Police Snubbull. We need this Pokemon in protective custody ASAP.

It’s a pretty standard Grass type that evolves at level 25 into a slightly more interesting creature.

Cherrim

Cherrim comes in two forms! It depends on the weather which it will take, but Sunny weather yields the flower looking Sunshine form and the Overcast form is present in all other conditions.

The Pokedex states that it spends its time waiting for a strong ray of sunshine, which it will then open up and absorb with its whole body. It’s then very active and tries to live as full of a life as possible to make up for its down-time as a bud. Seems reasonable! Despite appearances, Cherrim has no difference in stats between forms.

In Pokemon GO, we see this as each form of Cherrim being its own separate monster, with Sunshine form being present during the Sunny weather and the Overcast form being present at all other times.

Its stats are: Max CP of 2048, Attack 170, Defense 153, Stamina 172

Shellos

Shellos comes in two forms…. are we seeing a pattern, here? Generation 4 was the first generation to give us this many Pokemon with additional forms or variants. And this most recent release of Generation 4 Pokemon seems to have this as a consistent theme. Multiple forms and evolutions are the order of the day.

Shellos’s two forms are East Sea and West Sea. East Sea is the blue and green form and West Sea is the pink and white form. Again, there’s no difference in stats or abilities and both are the Water type. The Pokedex entries for these slug Pokemon tell us that its forms differ depending on the environment and in Sinnoh there are two confirmed forms (Might we see other, alternative forms in other regions in future game releases? I hope so!) and that it makes its home along the edges of waterways. Don’t squish it too hard or it will emit a strange, purple liquid. I would also think it’s just uncomfortable for the Pokemon and why would you want to do that?

Two interesting facts about Shellos: Niantic accidentally released it early several weeks ago which allowed some players to catch this little fella early. (Lucky. I didn’t see any.) And, at the time of writing, it doesn’t appear as if Shellos is region locked… at least from anecdotal evidence. Which is strange considering the two forms are very literally region locked in their original games! This may be subject to change however so I encourage you to track down as many of each version as you can find in the wild.

Gastrodon

Gastrodon is the evolved form of Shellos. It retains its nifty, East or West side coloration into evolution as well. It gains the Ground type also, making this Pokemon very much like Quagsire, Swampert and Whiscash. Its Pokedex entries state that it used to have a large shell in ancient times, but has since evolved to not need it. Instead, it oozes that same mysterious purple liquid when attacked by natural enemies and then escapes. (Strangely enough, it learns no Poison type moves naturally.) It lives in shallow, tidal pools and if a piece of its body is removed, it can grow right back.

Its stats are: Max CP of 2324, Attack 169, Defense 143, Stamina 244

Spotlight on Gible

And here we go, Ladies and Gentlemen. Here it is, probably one of the most relevant Pokemon of Generation 4 and certainly one that will be relevant to Pokemon GOs metagame; Gible. Gible evolves into Garchomp which is the equivalent to Dragonite, Tyranitar and Salamence from preceding Generations. It’s the Big Bad, it’s the wrecking machine. It’s a Sand Shark Dragon. Metal.

Gible is a small Pokemon with a huge mouth that it uses to attack any prey foolish enough to wander near the opening of its nest. It makes these nests in rock walls warmed by geothermal heat. It’s so powerful that even though its attacks are lethal, it often injures itself out of sheer clumsiness. It doesn’t much care though, because it’s so tough. It prefers the heat and if it gets too cold, it will seek out others of its kind to huddle with.

Garchomp

Garchomp is a Dragon/Ground type that can fly at supersonic speed to track down and consume prey; it often flies into flocks of bird Pokemon and uses its huge mouth to swallow the flock whole, down to the last Starly. When it flies, it folds its wings in and resembles a fighter jet. Its wings create blades of wind as it flies and those blades are sharp enough to fell nearby trees. It engages in midair battles with Salamence to fight over food and territory. Its skin is covered in tiny scales that reduce air resistance when it flies and injure Pokemon who it crashes into. This thing is bad news if you’re on the wrong side of it.

And if you’re on the right side of it in Pokemon GO? Let’s break that down. With a stunning max CP of 3962, Attack of 261, Defense of 193 and Stamina of 239, it’s really good. It outclasses Dragonite if only barely and does likewise with Salamence. Here’s the kicker; it actually outperforms Rayquaza in all but Attack stat.

Its Fast move options are Mud Shot and Dragon Tail. For Charged moves, you have access to Fire Blast and STAB Outrage and Earthquake. All good moves and a lot of high DPS options…. though Dragon Tail and Outrage will be the best combo. It’s 4X weak to ice type moves and has the usual Dragon and Fairy weaknesses that come with being a Dragon type but it resists Electric, Fire, Rock and Poison while making Grass and Water neutral damage dealers.

Lures

We also have three new Lure Modules. These are available in the Pokemon GO store and are 200 Pokecoins a pop. The lure types are Mossy, Glacial and Magnetic. They work the same way as the old fashioned purple sakura blossom ones do in regards to plugging them into a Pokestop to attract Pokemon to a specific area. Each one brings Pokemon of a corresponding type to the Stop, so you get Grass types for Mossy, Ice and Water types for Glacial and Magnetic ones bring Electric types.

The real key innovation here is that you can evolve some types of Pokemon during these periods of lure activity. The way to do this is simple! You just walk to the stop and stand within its area of influence, then you access the Pokemon you want to evolve. Which ones, you ask? Let’s see…

Eevee into Glaceon or Leafeon

This is the one we’ve all been waiting for, especially since Eevee Community Day. Hope you’ve been saving those shinies and high IV eevees, folks.

Glaceon

Glaceon was the first new eeveelution, along with Leafeon, to be added since Generation 2 with Umbreon and Espeon. You evolved your Eevee by leveling it up near to the Icy Rock in Sinnoh’s frozen north. These evolutions were the first and thus far only ones to depend on Eevee’s location as opposed to an elemental stone or a happiness quota met. You could evolve your Pokemon into either of these new forms as early as level 2.
The Pokedex states that it can control not only its own body temperature but the temperature of the air around it. It can take any atmospheric moisture and create a diamond dust storm to harm foes. It can also freeze its own fur until its covered in an armor of icy needles.

Evolve your Eevee within the area of a Glacial module to achieve this form. You can also name your Eevee Rea and it will give you the option to evolve it into this form. This is known as the Naming Trick and it works for all of the Eeveelutions one time using a specific name for each form; once you’ve done it once the trick won’t work again so please be sure you pick the right Pokemon to evolve.

Its stats are: Max CP of 3126, Attack 238, Defense 205, Stamina 163

Leafeon

Similarly to Glaceon, this Pokemon evolves in a particular area in Generation 4. This time, it’s a mossy rock found in the woods of Sinnoh. You can evolve your Eevee into Leafeon as soon as Level 2.

The Pokedex entries for Leafeon explain that this Pokemon’s cells are closer to those of plants than animals. It rarely eats, instead opting to photosynthesize its energy. It sleeps in sunny areas to claim this energy and the air around it is pure as a result. It also smells like new grass as a youngster, but as it ages it takes on the smell of fallen leaves. It is also a peaceful Pokemon, essentially not wanting to fight.

Evolve Eevee within the area of a Mossy Lure to gain Leafeon. The naming trick name for it is Linnea, but again, this only works once so be sure to pick a good Eevee to evolve! (I mean. They’re all good. Good boys and girls. But I’m talking Stats, here.)

Its Stats are: Max CP 2994, Attack 216, Defense 219, Stamina 163

Evolve Magnemite into Magnezone

Magnemite and Magneton get a little bit of flak nowadays for being one of the sets of object based Pokemon. How does two magnets and a googly eye fit into a class of creatures like Pikachu or Meowth? What is the biological science behind this. Is any robot a potential Pokemon? What did the Pokemon world’s version of Charles Darwin write when he first encountered this unnatural phenomenon? We don’t know. We may never actually know. What we do know is that we can now turn it into a flying saucer. A googly eye magnet flying saucer.

Pokemon is weird and I love it so much.

Magnezone was introduced in Generation 4 as an evolution for Magneton when you leveled it up in the mountain range dividing East and West Sinnoh. It changes form but not typing, remaining an Electric/Steel type. The Pokedex says that three Magnemite units generate a powerful magnetic charge within this Pokemon. So powerful that they sometimes attract one another and can’t move. Magneton evolved due to a special magnetic field and scientists tried to push this even further with attempts to evolve Magnezone itself…. but failed. UFO sightings go up in areas where Magnezone is present, unsurprisingly enough, but what IS surprising is that it seems to be receiving unknown signals from unknown locales…. and it replies to them with signals of an unknown purpose. I’m not saying its aliens. But…

In Pokemon GO, you evolve your Magneton while within the area of a Magnetic lure. Hopefully you managed to get a Shiny Magnemite already! They have been out for a little while and are a bronze color with black trim.

Its Stats are: Max CP of 3205, Attack 238, Defense 205, Stamina 172

Evolve Nosepass into Probopass

Nosepass is one of those rare Pokemon I’m not actually a fan of. In a world of sentient trash bags and psychic mimes, I guess a rock with a huge red nose is just a bridge too far for this Trainer. It’s based on the Easter Island Mo’ai statues and in its original Generation 3 introduction, it was a relatively underwhelming Rock type that didn’t evolve.

In Generation 4 we got Probopass. This takes the Mo’ai looking Pokemon and turns it into a caricature of Groucho Marx. That was one way to go with it, I guess? The Pokedex says that it exudes such strong magnetism that nearby electrical appliances become unusable. The three mini-noses that float around its body are the way it attacks and catches prey, and it’s able to control each one without moving its main body at all. It becomes a Rock/Steel type in this form.

Its Stats are: Max CP of 2080, Attack 135, Defense 275, Stamina 155

New Move: Earth Power

The newest addition to Pokemon GOs move pool is Earth Power. It’s a Ground type attack that has a Base Power of 100 in Gym and Raid battles. In PvP battles, this drops to 90, however, it also comes with a 10% chance to drop your opponent’s defense by one stage. So, it’s a solid move for facing other Trainers.

Right now, these Pokemon have access to it: Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Aerodactyl, Camerupt, Claydol, Gastrodon and Hippowdon.

PHEW! That was a lot of new information! Thanks for sticking with me and reading through all this, Trainers. Hopefully you find this info useful and/or interesting! Are you excited to get out in the field and catch some new Pokemon? Which Generation 4 creatures are you the most excited to encounter? Let me know in the comments. Also, we’re still missing a couple of Generation 4s Pokemon…. Mime Jr. doesn’t seem to have been released yet and neither has Rotom. Any theories on that? Is Niantic saving them to be new Raid bosses? Or do you think Eggs are more likely? Let me know what you think and we’ll see who’s right when they become available!

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