The Eternal Question of What To Power Up Next
After trying to get an EX Pass for weeks (and only getting one because a ton of new EX Gyms were added), I am finally the proud owner of a Shadow Ball Mewtwo. It’s a mediocre Mewtwo with a mere 11 Attack and not really any good stats anywhere else, but it’s a Mewtwo with a rare legacy move that makes it super strong. So of course I’ve had people suggest I power it up. But should I power it up? I mean it IS a Mewtwo. With Shadow Ball.
I have lots of Mewtwos though. About 30, to be exact, the majority of them with Psy Strike, his signature move. My best Mewtwo is a 98% one which I powered up to CP3000 so I had one single CP3000 good Psychic type. Really, I’m not even sure I need to power up a Shadow Ball Mewtwo because I already have two CP3000 Origin Forme Giratinas, both of which have Shadow Ball and get a Same Type Attack Bonus on said move. And are slightly tankier because you’re normally using moves like Shadow Ball against Psychic types.
“Because I do not have an army of Raikous. It is just I, Mewtwo, with Thunderbolt. What is your excuse?”
“I kinda never got around to feeding my Raikous. But I’m a perfect, 3500cp Groudon with Solar Beam, I should be alright.”
Right now though, there isn’t even a need for Ghost type attacks. Or Psychic types. The current Tier 5 Raid Boss is Darkrai, which has to be punched to death by Fighting types because there are only two genuinely good fairy types and neither are as common as the likes of Machamp, Hariyama, Breloom or Blaziken. Okay, sure, a Granbull will do in a pinch, but Darkrai has a LOT of health and is technically a level 6 raid (like when Mewtwo appeared in 2018 with not-Shadow Ball or Psy Strike moves) so you need as much damage as possible. And after Darkrai buggers off, we’ll have the three Regis, two of which are weak to Fighting types. And then there’s Regigigas in EX Raids, which is weak to… you guessed it, Fighting types!
I already have a squad of six Machamps. They could do with powering up, but they cap at about 2800CP and I don’t have any Machop candy left. I’ve got other Pokemon in a backup squad, alongside a perfect Gardevoir I’m powering up, but there’s no real hurry to max those out.
So what do I spend my candies and stardust on? It’s a troubling question because I have no idea what the future will bring aside from Regigigas. And what with a TON of new Pokemon coming in via Generation 5, it’s possible that whatever I do power up will be overtaken by new Pokemon. Darkrai is already kicking Tyranitar’s ass as the best Dark type and a lot of Gen 5 Pokemon threaten the status of the top tier Pokemon, including in the Fighting type category.
More importantly, what can I spend my stardust on that isn’t going to make me sad? Because I am super unwilling to power anything up (because stardust is hard to obtain but oh so easy to spend in vast amounts), but at the same time I have a strange desire to completely max out a Pokemon, the same way I maxed out my 100% Groudon and my 98% shiny lucky Rayquaza. I could just blow all my candy and stardust on that 98% Mewtwo. After all, Mewtwo’s stats are so good that he’s basically always strong. Or I could power up my shiny Houndour for no real reason. I could finish leveling Hornier, the lucky 3000CP Rhyperior I have who carried my ass through the early days. I could also use my 98% Darkrai, but I’ve got like a 60% catch rate on those assholes so I don’t have any normal candy for him.
Or I can just hold onto my candy and stardust, like I always do, waiting for a better Pokemon to power up and never actually getting anything better.