“The sheep is useless and a scam”: Pokemon GO player on Dynamax Pokemon
Pokemon GO's Dynamax mechanic from Pokemon Sword and Shield arrived this September as part of the Max Out season, but it seems that some trainers aren't fans of how it was implemented. This culminated in a GO subreddit post by u/FoulMouth232, who remarked the following while referring to Dynamax Wooloo with a meme:
"Don't listen to that salesman Trainer, the sheep is useless and a scam!"
In the comments, many Pokemon GO trainers agreed that investing so many resources into Dynamax-capable Wooloo just for a current research questline didn't seem to have much of a point. Moreover, since Dynamax Pokemon can only be used in Max Battles to fight and acquire more Dynamax-capable Pokemon, some trainers are wondering what the point of it all is aside from Pokedex filling.
Meanwhile, some trainers suggested that Dynamax transformations aren't fully realized quite yet. They're usable in Pokemon GO for the moment, but some players speculated that exclusive Pokemon may be released in Max Battles alone, providing the onus for developing a roster of strong Dynamax-capable Pokemon, and there's also the unreleased Gigantamax mechanic to consider as well.
Other trainers saw the post as something of an overreaction, remarking that resources like Wooloo Candy would go to waste since Wooloo doesn't have much utility on its own unless it evolves into Dubwool, and even Dubwool has a limit on how much candy it can consume to power up. According to some trainers, they might as well use the extra candy/Stardust on Dynamax Wooloo.
The ongoing conversation continued to proceed in the comments, but it's clear, at least in this post, that some Pokemon GO players aren't sold on powering up their Dynamax Pokemon (particularly Wooloo) if they don't feel as though they'll get any real reward out of it. Since Dynamax-compatible Pokemon can't be used in conventional PvE and PvP, what point is there in investing in them?
Future Pokemon GO developments may help legitimize the Dynamax system
It's understandable for Pokemon GO players to wonder what the point of the new Dynamax mechanic really is, as continuously catching and powering up Dynamax-capable Pokemon and their Max Moves wouldn't seem to be worth the effort if it just led to more Max Battles with more Dynamax-compatible Pokemon, thus perpetuating the cycle.
However, according to data mining from groups like PokeMiners, there are references to Gigantamax moves in Pokemon GO's data, which may suggest that Gigantamax Pokemon, forms, moves, and raids will make their way to the game. Since Gigantamax is considered an extension/improvement to Dynamax, it's possible that it may help give Dynamax some legitimacy.
Suppose that Gigantamax raids are introduced that permit multiple Dynamax-compatible Pokemon to battle together concurrently instead of a single Dynamax Pokemon in a Max Battle. In that event, there would be a reason to construct a full roster of Dynamax monsters, especially if the rewards (Gigantamax-capable Pokemon, exclusive Pocket Monsters, etc.) were worth the effort.
Time will tell to see if more Dynamax-adjacent features arrive that make the mechanic feel more legitimate and worth investing in for GO's more skeptical fans. If Niantic doesn't expand on the initial feature, there may not be much appetite to enjoy Dynamax Pokemon, Max Battles, and Power Spots in the future.