Despite the 2018 Pokemon Go Winter event kicking off earlier this week, the long-awaited Pokemon Go Mamoswine still hasn’t been added to Niantic’s popular mobile game. Introduced in Gen 4, Mamoswine is a Pokemon from the Sinnoh region that’s an Ice/Ground-type. It’s also due to become the best Ice-type attacker in the Pokemon Go meta, which is why so many players are eager to get one now that Trainer Battles and Battle Leagues are a thing. Here’s everything you need to know about Mamoswine in Pokemon Go, including when it’s coming and how to get Mamoswine in Pokemon Go.
How to Get Pokemon Go Mamoswine
Pokemon Go Mamoswine was expected to arrive this month to coincide with the Pokemon Go Winter event, but alas Mamoswine has eluded players yet again. Mamoswine is the final evolution of Piloswine, who evolves from the unassuming Swinub from Gen 2 of Pokemon. As a Gen 4 Pokemon, Mamoswine will likely only be able to obtained by evolving Piloswine with a Sinnoh Stone.
As it stands, there are events from this year’s Winter event running the whole way up to mid-January, with some not scheduled to begin until the end of December. With that in mind, it’s likely that Pokemon Go could easily see some more Pokemon being added in another wave of Sinnoh Pokemon later this month, which could possibly include Piloswine. You can keep an eye on this by regularly checking your Piloswines; one day, you might just see the “Evolve” option pop up beneath them!
Why Pokemon Go Mamoswine Is So Good
Pokemon Go Mamoswine has a monstrous Attack stat of 247. Despite its flimsy Defense and poor typing, with Ice being one of the worst defensive types in all of Pokemon, its decent Stamina and sheer DPS output allow it to be relatively potion-efficient, which means that its damage dealt per HP lost is almost always positive.
Mamoswine has access to dual Ice moves in Powder Snow and Avalanche, giving it one of the best offensive Ice movesets in Pokemon Go. Although Gen 5’s release down the line will see Kyurem-Black getting added to Pokemon Go, the Legendary Ice/Dragon-type will still be outclassed my Mamoswine’s dual Ice moveset and access to Avalanche over Blizzard. As a result, Mamoswine will be the best Ice-type attacker in Pokemon Go for a very long time, bringing death to Dragons and Flying-types alike.
While Mud Slap/Avalanche Mamoswine has decent survivability, its value as an offensive moveset is zero. In general, Mamoswines with Ground moves are far inferior to a dual Ice Mamoswine, which is something to bear in mind when you’re choosing which Piloswine to use your Sinnoh Stone on and which Mamoswines you should be bringing into battle.
Mamoswine is the Pokemon that will make Dragon Raids far easier in future. As the best Ice-type attacker in the game, it will be the bane of Garchomp, Dragonite, and even Rayquaza when it eventually returns to Pokemon Go as a Raid Boss in the future. This is the main reason Mamoswine should eschew Ground-type movesets; while they’re usable and its moves get STAB from Mamoswine’s hybrid Ground typing, Mamoswine’s real value lies in its potential as a powerful Ice attacker.
It’s important to recognize that although Pokemon Go Mamoswine will shake up the Pokemon Go meta when it is eventually added to the game—hopefully within the next month or so—it will only be useful in certain situations. With five weaknesses (Fighting, Fire, Grass, Steel, and Water), Mamoswine is an incredibly vulnerable Pokemon. Mud Slap Mamoswine will be able to deal with pesky Fire and Steel-types to an extent, but will usually lose out to these Pokemon ultimately. This is a Pokemon that you want to use specifically as an Ice-type attacker. That’s what it’s best at and that’s what its place in the meta will reflect.
The Pokemon Go Winter event is currently running in Pokemon Go, giving players the option to earn double Candy, catch Shiny Pokemon like Santa Hat Pikachu, Delibird, and Azurill, and take on Heatran as a Tier 5 Raid Boss between now and January 15, 2019. Be sure to the make the most of all the things you can take advantage of in Pokemon Go over the holidays!