The Ability to Change Forms in Pokemon GO

Pokemon GO recently had a Fashion Week. In it, we got a bunch of Pokemon with hats on, and a chance to be shiny. But more importantly, a new feature was somewhat revealed, alongside the Pokemon Furfrou. The new feature was the ability to change forms, something very new in Pokemon GO. At least, compared to the main series games.

But is this feature actually any good?

On the surface, yes.

Currently, only Furfrou has this feature. In the main games, there are LOTS of different forms, but Pokemon GO is starting with one mainly cosmetic look. Unlike the normal games, Pokemon GO doesn’t have a speed stat. This means that Furfrou’s styles are cosmetic, at least for now. However, for reasons unknown, the Furfrou styles are locked to specific regions. The only forms I have available are Diamond, Matron and Dandy Trim. Other trims are scattered across the planet, making life hell yet again for people who just want to fill their Pokedex.

Unfortunately, all these Furfrous are location-dependent and that makes me sad. I suppose at least I have access to Dapper Trim Furfrou, my most preferred look, but it still sucks not being able to obtain others.

Looks like form changes will be expensive.

All that being said, the cost to change Furfrou’s form is actually quite high. 10,000 stardust and 25 Furfrou candy are what you need to change Furfrou’s form. Okay, 25 candy doesn’t seem that bad. Especially since it’s the same cost as a basic Pokemon to its grumpy teenage form. But 10,000 stardust is also quite a lot. Actually, now I think about it, a new form costs the same as giving a baby Pokemon a second move.

However, these costs almost certainly won’t all be the same price. Furfrou is a pretty simple Pokemon, it just has a lot of looks. On the other hand, I can’t see Niantic letting us change the forms of Giratina or Genesect any time soon, simply because they are powerful legendary Pokemon that we’ve fought separate raids for. Or, at the very least, changing forms will cost the same as giving a Legendary a second move.

It’s not going to be cheap.

I doubt the form changes will be given to every Pokemon with one.

Turns out, there are a LOT of Pokemon who can change form. And some of them have already been implemented in Pokemon GO. For example, Castform changes based on the real world weather. Well, it’s supposed to but with the way spawns work, Castforms don’t change instantly. We also have Cherrim, which is again based on the weather. And then there’s Shellos and Basculin, which spawn based on which side of the planet we’re on. At the same time, we also have Spinda and Unown, which don’t change forms, they just have lots of different looks and shapes.

While the location-based alternate forms probably won’t change, there are however some big names that both have form changes and different stats. I have a bit of a theory that form changing will be revealed properly alongside the quest for Hoopa. After all, Hoopa has two forms, Confined and Unbound. And it HAS been having a very long, drawn out quest, one that is not at all like previous special researches.

Either way, while changing forms does look promising, and does open up Pokemon like Arceus and Silvally, we’d better not get too optimistic. After all, just look at how Mega Pokemon turned out…