The second half of Season 6 is quickly approaching and we have plenty of news to talk about. We have moves available for some exciting Pokémon, as well as buffs and nerfs to very common moves on the top meta Pokémon. We'll quickly run through the schedule and discuss some exciting new bonuses. - The Great League will run from Monday, January 11, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, January 25, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST. - The Ultra League and its Premier Cup will run from Monday, January 25, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, February 8, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST. - The Master League, its Premier Cup, Master League Classic, and a to-be-announced special cup will run from Monday, February 8, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, February 15, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST. - All three leagues and the Ultra League Premier Cup will run from Monday, February 15, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, February 22, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST. - The Kanto Cup will run from Monday, February 22, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, March 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST. The CP limit for this cup will be 1,500, and only Pokémon with a Pokédex number between 001 and 151 will be allowed. During this period, your rating will be unaffected.
For bonuses we have Frillish making its Pokémon Go debut and will be a guaranteed encounter when you hit rank 20. You will have additional encounters through the higher ranks. An Elite Charged TM will be awarded at rank 19 and we'll receive an Elite Fast TM for our end of season rewards.
Now we get into the exciting part of the announcement with the new moves being added and the updates to those very popular moves in the meta.
Starting off we have Kanto Vulpix and Ninetails getting access to Fire-Type Weather Ball and the Alolan counterparts learning Ice-Type Weather Ball. Early in 2020, we had this as an option for Community Day but these fox-type Pokémon lost out in the voting, but are now gaining these moves anyway. Alolan Vulpix has been a relevant Pokémon in the open Great League in the past and Ice-Type Weather Ball will be replacing Ice Beam as the charge move of choice. With Weather Ball costing 35 energy which is much better than the 55 energy on Ice Beam. This energy efficiency works much better with Charm as a low energy gaining move and gets super spammy if you prefer Powder Snow.
Politoad is gaining Water-Type Weather Ball as a slight upgrade over surf, with Weather Ball being slightly cheaper on energy. Surf does deal five more damage but the gain in energy per second makes Weather Ball the clear choice.
Primeape will add Ice Punch to its arsenal of coverage moves. Night Slash is the current option with Close Combat to deal massive damage when shields are down. Both Night Slash and Ice Punch offer relevant coverage on the Great League meta so this will depend on your team composition. It might be possible that you run both and drop Close Combat altogether.
Claydol is getting a huge boost by learning both Ice Beam and Shadow Ball. Both provide fantastic coverage with Ice Beam hitting Grass and Flying types, and Shadow Ball covering Ghost-types like Drifblim and Alolan Marowak. Earth Power seems essential as long as Galarian Stunfisk is still around but both of these moves give Claydol a chance to impact the meta in a meaningful way.
Tri Attack will be made available to Porygon 2. This is an interesting addition and could potentially add Porygon 2 to the pantheon of normal type safe switches, such as Vigoroth and Munchlax.
Excadrill will be learning Mud Shot is a step up from the previous option of Mud-Slap.
Next, we have the moves that got either boosted or nerfed.
Ember: Will deal more damage.
Karate Chop: Will generate energy
Bubble: Will deal less damage
Razor Leaf: Will deal less damage
Crabhammer: Will deal more damage
Sky Attack: Will deal less damage
Rock Slide: Will deal less damage
Shadow Bone: Will deal less damage
It is clear from this list that Niantic is trying to make changes to Pokémon that have been at the top of the meta. Bubble is going to weak the G.O.A.T. Azumarill, Rockslide is a hit to Galarian Stunfisk, and Sky Attack is going to weaken those meta fliers in Altaria and Skarmory. Razor Leaf is a clear shot at the Dark Lord Shadow Victreebel, which has been one of the most oppressive Pokémon in open Great League. Shadow Bone is an exclusive move for Alolan Marowak, who is not an oppressive Pokémon by any means but would greatly benefit from all of its competition getting nerfed.
Fire types have been getting lots of support from Niantic since the last update and Ember will add fuel to that fire. Counter has long been the only relevant fighting type fast move so hopefully, we see other fighters rising in the rankings with the Karate Chop boost. Crabhammer is a powerful charge move and will help Pokémon such as Kingler and Crawdaunt compete in the meta.
That was everything we got in the announcement from Niantic regarding the upcoming second half of season 6. We'll be posting something resembling a podcast episode over on our YouTube channel where we'll deep dive into all of the other Pokémon affected by these move updates, and what that means for all of the different cups moving forward. If you want to join us on our climb to Legend Rank then follow us on Twitch where we stream battles twice a week. We're also working hard on getting our Discord community established so hop in and talk about all things Pokémon Go. Thanks so much for reading and for joining the Fellowship!
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