Poltchageist revealed & GO Fest details

Plus, Mewtwo support raids underway

Author

Cooltrainer Ace
August 24, 2023 • Estimated Read Time: 9 minutes

Greetings fellow Cooltrainers and welcome back to another week of the biggest, hottest, hippest Pokémon news out there. Don’t believe me? Here’s a testimonial from one of our subscribers “My friends thought I was a filthy casual until I started reading The Victory Road. Now I am the Poké Master!”

Here’s this week’s rundown (estimated read time, 6 minutes):

  • The newest Pokémon: Poltchageist

  • GO Fest Global is coming this weekend

  • Prep for Mewtwo Raids with the Show of Supporters

Don’t call it a kettle: Poltchageist revealed

Matcha matcha ‘mon! I-wanna-be-a-matcha-Pokémon!

eh hem. Sorry.

In rather elaborate style, Pokémon revealed the newest addition to the roster this Tuesday, a convergent species of Sinistea called Poltchagiest. Before we talk about why this isn’t a regional form, let’s wind the clock back to Pokémon Worlds.

Poltchageist was teased weeks ago when select influencers at Worlds were invited to a traditional Japanese Matcha tea ceremony and gifted a tea set afterward. I wasn’t given an invitation. Probably because you don’t have refined manners when you live in a cave and eat Zubat wings and Paras mushrooms to stay alive. But I digress.

This traditional tea set featured a seemingly random date: August 22, 2023. When that date arrived, we were treated to a “haunting tale about a Pokémon from the land of Kitakami” in this video reveal. It’s a cool little story worth the watch.

Now, given that Poltchageist is a convergent species, that means that it has no relationship with Sinistea or Polteageist, just like Toedscruel and Tentacruel or Wiglett and Diglett. Given that its convergent form is based on Sinistea and not Polteageist, one can assume that Poltchageist will have evolution that hasn’t been revealed yet.

Also remember that Sinistea has two forms, an antique one (with a stamp on the bottom) and a phony form (no stamp). The first requires a Cracked Pot to evolve and the second requires a Chipped Pot to evolve. Some folks are speculating that Poltchageist may feature a similar mechanic, perhaps based on the three dots above its left eye but nothing is confirmed at this time.

Poltchageist also has a new ability called Hospitality, which restores a small amount of an ally’s HP when entering a battle.

Official Descriptions

Poltchageist has a swirl pattern similar to the one that’s known to be Sinistea’s weak point. However, one thing that sets these species apart is that Poltchageist’s swirl is not its weak point.

After a target is sprinkled with some of Poltchageist’s powdery body or eats food dusted with it, Poltchageist drains their life-force and absorbs it as energy.

Poltchageist has a liking for old houses and may make its home in them. By day it remains still in cool, dark places, but once the sun sets, it begins to prowl around towns and their outskirts.

It sometimes mends cracked or broken things. In homes where it’s taken up residence, Poltchageist may even take it upon itself to repair broken tableware and other objects.

GO Fest goes Global

Man, there’s a LOT to unpack for this year’s GO Fest Global, running Saturday and Sunday, August 26 and 27, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time each day.

First up is the Habitat rotation schedule, featuring themed spawns, including Pikachu wearing a different crown for each. You’ll get two cracks at each habitat throughout the event. Check out the official site for a complete list of special encounters.

  • Quartz Terrarium: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. local time

  • Pyrite Sands: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time

  • Malachite Wilderness: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time

  • Aquamarine Shores: 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time

Bonuses

  • Lure Modules activated will last for one hour

  • 2× friendship bonus damage in raids

  • Field Research themed around the different Pokémon habitats

  • No limit on Remote Raids between Saturday, August 26 at 12:00 a.m. and Sunday, August 27, at 11:59 p.m. local time

  • Special appearances in snapshots

Featured Attack Evolutions - the following Pokemon will learn featured attacks when evolved into during the event.

  • Butterfree - Fast Attack Bug Bite

  • Sandslash - Charge Attack Night Slash

  • Clefable - Fast Attack Pound

  • Flygon - Charged Attack Earth Power

  • Salamence - Charged Attack Outrage

  • Metagross- Charged Attack Meteor Mash

  • Roserade - Fast Attack Bullet Seed AND Charged Attack Weather Ball (Fire-type)

  • Lickilicky - Charged Attack Body Slam

In addition to a slew of new stickers, and apparel, there’s a whole subset of encounters for those who purchase the paid research for $14.99, including an increased change for Shiny Pokémon, special 7km eggs, and up to six Special Trades each day.

Raids - Both Mega Rayquaza and Mega Diancie make their GO debut, plus you’ll find Goomy, Carbink, Cowboy Hat Snorlax (sounds like a bad country band), and both Primal Kyogre and Groudon. And all the different (4) crown-wearing Pikachu. Can’t forget about them

Upcoming GO Dates to mark on your calendar

Next season’s Community Days and special events are upon us!

Community Days

  • Saturday, September 2, 2023 (Community Day Classic)

  • Saturday, September 23, 2023

  • Sunday, October 15, 2023

  • Sunday, November 5, 2023

  • Saturday, November 25, 2023 (Community Day Classic)

Other Events

  • Sunday, September 17, 2023

  • Saturday, September 30, 2023

  • Saturday and Sunday, October 7–8, 2023

  • Saturday, October 21, 2023

  • Saturday, November 11, 2023

Mewtwo raid prep is underway

If for some reason you’re NOT using Mew in the upcoming 7-star Mewtwo Tera Raid, you can get your hands on a built-for-you Blissey, Hatterene, or Grimmsnarl designed to be an anti-Mewtwo missile in 5-star Tera Raid Battles. They’ll run until Thursday, August 31, at 4:59 p.m. PDT, then again from Thursday, August 31, at 5:00 p.m. to Sunday, September 17, at 4:59 p.m. PDT.

Move sets include Helping Hand, Light Screen, and more.

Mew Builds

Dark or Bug Tera-type Mew are the way to go for this raid, with most people recommending Shell Bell as the held item and a Modest Nature. A solid EV distribution is: HP 6 Sp.Atk 252 Sp.Def 252.

Card of the Week

This full art Scizor is just one of the many gorgeous cards in the Obsidian Flames expansion. Check out some of the others, that are also billed as top competitive choices.

Random encounters around the internet

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Obscure Pokémon Fact of the Day (from u/Mx_Toniy_4869)

Until next time,
Cooltrainer “been drinking matcha all day” Ace