Get ready, Trainers! February’s Pokémon GO Community Day is doubling the excitement with not one, but two featured Pokémon: Karrablast and Shelmet. From rare shiny encounters to exclusive moves like Razor Shell and Energy Ball, this event is your chance to power up your team and snag unique bonuses that last well beyond the main hours. Mark your calendars for February 9th and prepare for a wild catching spree that promises double the fun and rewards!
How do I catch a shiny Karrablast or Shelmet in Pokémon Go?
To catch a shiny Karrablast or Shelmet in Pokémon Go, the best opportunity is during their Community Day event, which takes place on Sunday, February 9, 2025, from 2 PM to 5 PM local time. During this 3-hour event, the spawn rates of Karrablast and Shelmet increase significantly, along with a much higher chance of encountering their shiny forms-estimated at about 1 in 24. To maximize your chances, use Incense and Lure Modules, which last the entire event duration, and consider activating a Lucky Egg to boost XP gains. Rapidly catch as many as possible, checking each for shininess and fleeing non-shiny ones to save time. Also, evolving Karrablast or Shelmet during or shortly after the event grants exclusive moves on their evolutions, Escavalier and Accelgor, respectively. Using Mega Evolutions like Mega Beedrill or Mega Scizor can further increase candy gains, aiding in evolution and powering up. Trading Pokémon can also help reduce candy costs for evolution. Overall, focus on catching as many Karrablast and Shelmet as possible during the event window to maximize your shiny hunting success.
As per old research by the now-defunct website The Silph Road (via Wayback Machine), Shiny rates on Community Days are about 1 in 24, which means that if you keep playing throughout the three-hour window, you should find quite a few shiny Pokémon.
If you’re short on time or Poké Balls, you can pop an Incense, then quickly tap each one to check for shiny ones, running from any that aren’t shiny. Notably, any Karrablast or Shelmet you’ve already tapped will face where your player is standing, so that should help identify which ones you may have already checked.
What Community Day moves do Karrablast and Shelmet’s evolutions learn?
During the Karrablast and Shelmet Community Day in Pokémon Go, evolving Karrablast into Escavalier grants it the exclusive charged move Razor Shell, which has 35 power in Trainer Battles and 55 power in Gyms and raids. Meanwhile, evolving Shelmet into Accelgor gives it the charged move Energy Ball, which deals 90 power across all battle types. These special moves are available if the evolutions are done from the event start on February 9 at 2 p.m. local time until February 16 at 10 p.m. local time, providing a strong incentive to evolve during this period to obtain these unique attacks.
If you evolve Karrablast into Escavalier, it’ll learn the charged move Razor Shell. When evolving Shelmet into Accelgor, it’ll learn the charged move Energy Ball. Both of these moves will be available from evolution from Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. until Feb. 16 at 10 p.m.
If you miss out on evolving it during this period, you will likely be able to evolve it during a Community Day weekend event in December to get the moves. If you don’t want to wait, you can use an Elite TM to get the move.
How does Escavalier and Accelgor do in the meta?
Escavalier and Accelgor have distinct roles and performances in the current Pokémon GO meta. Escavalier, a Bug/Steel-type, holds a solid niche in PvP, especially in Great and Ultra Leagues, thanks to its strong Attack stat, useful moves like Counter and Megahorn, and its unique typing that grants multiple resistances. However, its poor bulk and double weakness to Fire limit its overall viability, and it is generally outclassed by Pokémon like Scizor for PvE content. In raids, Escavalier is not highly ranked but can be situationally useful against certain bosses weak to Bug moves. Accelgor, on the other hand, is a pure Bug-type with decent Attack but low Defense, making it fragile in battles. It is considered an okay Bug-type raid attacker but not a top choice, and it ranks low in gym defense and PvP tiers. Despite receiving new moves during Community Day, Accelgor remains underwhelming competitively, with limited impact in the meta. Overall, Escavalier is more relevant in PvP with some niche uses, while Accelgor is more of a collector’s Pokémon rather than a meta contender.
For PvE content (raids and gyms), Escavalier is actually a pretty decent bug-type attacker. Of course it gets outclassed by Megas and some other picks, but it does hold its own weight if you give it Bug Bite and Megahorn. That said, bug-types aren’t used very often in raids (as it’s good against grass-, psychic-, and dark-type Pokémon – all which have powerful and more viable counters), so invest sparingly if you’re looking to save on Stardust.
For PvP content, expert and Silph Road user JRE47 notes via Reddit post that neither will shine, but it may be worth picking up one PvP-eligible Escavalier with its special move (Razor Shell) just in case future buffs smile favorably at it.
How do I make the most of Karrablast and Shelmet Community Day?
To make the most of the Karrablast and Shelmet Community Day in Pokémon GO, plan to participate during the event window from 2 PM to 5 PM local time to benefit from increased spawn rates and boosted shiny encounter chances. Use Incense and Lure Modules activated only after the event starts to maximize Pokémon spawns. Take advantage of trading with friends to evolve Karrablast and Shelmet without spending Candy, as both evolve when traded, saving you resources. Activate Lucky Eggs to boost XP gains up to 4.5x, and consider joining local community meetups via the Campfire app to earn special research tasks and rewards. Focus on catching as many Karrablast and Shelmet as possible, quick-checking for shinies, and evolving them during the event or up to a week after to obtain exclusive moves Razor Shell for Escavalier and Energy Ball for Accelgor. Don’t forget to manage your bag and Pokémon storage to avoid interruptions and enjoy the social aspect of the event for a rewarding experience.
The following bonuses will be active during the Karrablast and Shelmet Community Day:
- Tripled XP for catching Pokémon
- Doubled candy for catching Pokémon
- Doubled chance for level 31 trainers to get XL candy from catching Pokémon
- Incense lasts three hours
- Lure Modules lasts three hours
- Karrablast and Shelmet special photobombs when taking snapshots
- One additional special trade
- Stardust cost halved for trading
That said, you should definitely pop a Lucky Egg and an Incense and try to nab some powerful Karrablast and Shelmet.
You should also note that you can bypass the 200 candy cost for both of these Pokémon’s evolutions if you trade them first. Of course, doing this will shuffle their IVs around, so make sure to either only trade ones with bad IVs already or to a Lucky friend. (Or if you don’t care about that at all and just want to complete your Pokédex, do whatever you want!)
If you can Mega EvolveBeedrill, Pinsir, Scizor, or Heracross, you’ll score additional Karrablast or Shelmet Candy per catch. You can also use Primal Reversion on Kyogre to get more candy. (Because Primal Kyogre boosts . bug-type candy, for some reason.)
How can I maximize shiny catches during Karrablast and Shelmet Community Day
To maximize shiny catches during the Karrablast and Shelmet Community Day in Pokémon GO, follow these key strategies:
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Take advantage of increased shiny rates and spawn density: The shiny encounter rate is boosted to about 1 in 24, and both Karrablast and Shelmet will appear much more frequently during the event window from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time.
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Use Incense and Lure Modules: These attract more Pokémon spawns and last for three hours during the event, increasing your chances to encounter shinies.
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Quickly check each Pokémon for shininess: Tap on each spawn to see if it’s shiny, then run away from non-shiny ones to save time and Poké Balls.
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Play in high-density spawn areas: Parks or downtown locations with clustered spawns will maximize the number of Pokémon you can encounter per hour.
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Use a Lucky Egg and aim for Excellent Throws: This boosts XP gain (up to 6x Catch XP), allowing you to level up faster while hunting.
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Mega Evolve a Bug-type Pokémon: Mega Evolutions like Mega Beedrill, Mega Scizor, or Mega Heracross increase Candy and XL Candy gains from catches, helping with evolutions and powering up.
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Don’t catch Karrablast or Shelmet before the event: Only catches during the event count toward the bonuses and increased shiny rates.
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Take advantage of the special evolution window: Evolve Karrablast into Escavalier and Shelmet into Accelgor during the event or until February 16 at 10 p.m. local time to get exclusive moves Razor Shell and Energy Ball, respectively.
Combining these tactics will maximize your shiny haul and help you efficiently gather Candy and XP during the event.
How does using a Lucky Egg increase my shiny catch chances during the event
Using a Lucky Egg during the Karrablast and Shelmet Community Day does not increase your chances of encountering or catching shiny Pokémon. Lucky Eggs solely double the amount of XP earned from catches and other in-game activities, but they have no effect on shiny rates. To maximize shiny catches, focus on factors that increase spawn rates, such as Incense, Lures, and playing in high-density areas, rather than relying on Lucky Eggs for shiny odds.
