Pokémon GO has kicked off June with raids featuring Gigantamax versions of Rillaboom, Inteleon and Cinderace. These Pokémon are debuting in the game nearly five years after their core series appearance in the Isle of Armor DLC for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. So, if you’re a Pokémon GO player now you can tackle these titans! However, there are a few problems for anyone who hasn’t been playing one of the Pokémon franchise’s worst spin-offs. So, is it worth putting in the time and diving head first into Pokémon GO?

For starters, if you have not acquired a Dynamax capable Pokémon, then you’ll have to complete a brief tutorial and gain your first: a Wooloo. That single Wooloo unfortunately won’t be strong enough for you to tackle this high-tier content that just released! So you’ll need to build your library of Dynamax Pokémon! Sadly, that will take a lot of time. You can only have a limited amount of Dynamax Particles, without paying money, per day. So, you are tasked to spend a month building your repertoire, and you can now enjoy the newly revealed Gigantamax events! Except by then the events have come and gone.

Pokémon GO is nearly half a decade behind the times. Yet it somehow only has access to roughly 75% of all the Pokémon that have been released to date. So there’s no real benefit to playing the mobile game over the main series. Legendary Pokémon are available via highly limited raids, or monthly events. But building a team of Pokémon strong enough to handle raids takes an immense amount of effort. The amount of time it takes to accomplish anything major in Pokémon GO is nonsensical. Unless you’re an established player — or have friends who are willing to champion you into easy success — Pokémon GO is a horribly slow and lonely grind. From mechanics like hatching eggs by walking to the Shadow Pokémon from the Pokémon Colosseum games. There is so much packed into this mobile game, but much of it gets left unexplained or easily missed.

Fun fact: Shadow Pokémon get a 20% damage boost to their attacks, but take 20% more damage as a trade-off. Pokémon can learn up to two “charge moves” and choose which one they want to use during battles and raids. Initial Values, or IVs, don’t matter much in determining a Pokémon’s strength. Pokémon GO has compatibility directly with Pokémon Scarlet & Violet! Unfortunately, it’s just a once-per-day exchange you can make with minimal benefit for both games.

I’d say if you’re a hardcore fan of the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon GO is probably not worth your time. But if you want a fun free mobile game with Pokémon in it, then play away. However, if you’re interested in anything deeper: you’re better off in the core games. As a Pokémon GO player, I am baffled by decisions that are user-unfriendly and borderline hostile to the player-base. I guarantee you are better off sticking to the main franchise games and getting whatever Pokémon you’d like in a matter of hours, instead of months.

Do you think Pokémon GO is worth the massive time investment required? You can let us know over on the Boss Rush Network’s Discord!

Featured Imaged: Niantic

Nintendo Pow Block – A Nintendo Podcast by Boss Rush

Nintendo Pow Block is a weekly Nintendo podcast hosted by Edward Varnell, Corey Dirrig, and their friends from around the internet. Each week, they dive into the latest Nintendo news and rumors for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, new and upcoming releases, updates to Nintendo Switch Online and the Nintendo Music app, and discuss what they’ve been playing in the Playing with Power segment.

Nintendo Pow Block Podcast – Now your Podcasting with Power!

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave and Splatoon Raiders Rated by PEGI – Nintendo Pow Block Podcast – Now Your Podcasting with Power!

Email your ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠questions to the podcast here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. As the industry continues to struggle with budgets, delays, and restructuring, Nintendo seem to be the only company who's figured it out. This week on Nintendo Pow Block, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward Varnell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Corey Dirrig⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are back to discuss what they've been playing and the news of the week. They get into Capcom's new IP Pragmata, news of a new round of layoffs at Iron Galaxy Studios, massive leaks tied to the Indonesian Ratings Board and 007 First Light, and what it means for game development. They also discuss Nintendo’s growing 2026 lineup with Splatoon Raiders and Fire Emblem ratings updates, the huge box office success of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, progress on The Legend of Zelda live-action film, Starfield rated for Switch 2, the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced release date, Pragmata performance, and Telltale’s The Expanse launch, alongside a discussion on Bungie, Marathon vs. Destiny 2, content creation, and the launch of the Pow Block YouTube channel.They end the podcast as always with community questions and topics. This and more on Nintendo Pow Block!Join our Communities:Join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush Network Community Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush Network Facebook Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Follow Nintendo Pow Block on Social Media: Nintendo Pow Block Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitch.TV⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow the Boss Rush Network: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitch.TV⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow our Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward Varnell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Cofounder of Boss Rush Media and host of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nintendo Pow Block⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Corey Dirrig⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Cofounder and CEO of Boss Rush Media and host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nintendo Pow Block⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xbox Casuals⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tower Casuals: The Destiny Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Boss Rush Network:Support Boss Rush on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and buy merch on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Store.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and visit our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website at BossRush.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more great content.Thanks for Your Continued Support!Thank you for supporting Nintendo Pow Block! If you’re listening on podcast platforms, leave us a five-star rating and a review. If you’re watching on YouTube, subscribe, like, comment, and hit the bell so you never miss an episode. Your support means the world—see you next time on Nintendo Pow Block!

1. Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave and Splatoon Raiders Rated by PEGI 03:49:10
2. Monolith Soft is More Involved in Zelda's Story Than We Thought 03:35:23
3. EXP: Are We Getting a Xenoblade Warriors Game? 32:08
4. PAX East, Mario Galaxy Movie Impressions, and Fresh Leaks 04:39:42
5. Super Mario Galaxy Movie Adds Star Fox, Epic Layoffs, & Ocarina of Time Remake 02:34:48

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Thank you for watching or listening to Nintendo Pow Block, the Nintendo podcast from Boss Rush Network! If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe to the channel, give the video a Like, and hit the notification bell so you never miss an episode. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app, please leave us a 5-star rating and a review—it really helps! For more great content, visit our website at BossRush.net. Thanks for your continued support of Nintendo Pow Block and our independent endeavor with the Boss Rush Network!