Niantic is adding to an already packed July schedule with Gastly Community Day that is being held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 19.
Although the shiny version of the Gas Pokemon has been around a while, it has been relatively rare for players. With the Community Day, they have a chance to get one of the best-looking shiny Pokemon in the game. The evolved forms of Gastly — Haunter and Gengar — are not as impressive, but it will be worth powering them up because of their role in player-vs-player competition. Haunter is one of the surprisingly powerful Pokemon in the Great League. It’s combination of Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball gives it some of the best moves in that category though it is a bit of glass cannon. The best IV spread for Haunter in Great League is 1/15/14. Its high attack stat and low defense and stamina mean it can deal tons of damage but it will be knocked easily.
The exclusive move, Shadow Punch, is attained when Gastly is eventually evolved into Gengar and it makes the Pokemon more viable in the Master League. The faster speed of Shadow Punch will be great for forcing opponents to use shields and leave them guessing. Players should also keep in mind that Mega Evolution is coming to “Pokemon Go” and the shiny version of a Mega Evolved Gengar is arguably one of the coolest in the game. I mean it’s white and looks fearsome.
Along with the exclusive moves and shinies, players can expect a one-time Community Day Box (usually 1280 Poke Coins) that features 30 Ultra Balls, an Elite Fast TM, two incense and two Super Incubators. Again, it’s worth picking up if you’re a PvP player or Go Battle League fan because Elite Fast TMs are gold and opens the door to powerful move combinations such as Thunder Shock Zapdos and Ice Shard and Icy Wind Dewgong. In addition, players can also get a Community Day Special Research story for $1. These are OK and mostly for completionists though this time around there will not be an in-game medal for the quest.
The bonus for this event is 1/4 hatch distance for eggs placed in Incubators during Community Day. The best way to use this is to save 7km and 10km eggs and use the incubators then. The event overlaps with The Friendship Challenge for Pokemon Go Fest and Petilil will be in 5K eggs. Also summer-themed Pokemon will be hatching from eggs, but who knows what that can be. The bonus won’t stack with the 1/2 distance bonus already in the game. Lastly, incense used during the event will last three hours.
