Unlocking the true power of your Dynamax Pokémon in Pokémon Go means mastering the elusive Max Moves. While every Dynamax starts with the basic Max Strike, the real battle advantage lies in unlocking and leveling up the hidden Max Guard and Max Spirit moves. Ready to dominate Max Battles? Here’s your essential guide to unleashing and upgrading these game-changing abilities using Max Particles and Candy. Dive in and transform your Pokémon into unstoppable giants!
Beyond increasing the strength of Max Moves to make them more potent in Max Battles, the requirement to unlock a Max Move and level a Max Move are featured regularly in Timed Research in the run up to certain Max Monday and Max Battle Weekend events – so learning how to do these, and receiving some extra rewards upon completing these quest steps, is worthwhile.
How to unlock a Max Move in Pokémon Go
To unlock a Max Move in Pokémon Go, first select a Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon from your collection and tap the Dynamax icon on its stats screen. By default, only the Max Strike move is unlocked. To unlock the other Max Moves-Max Guard and Max Spirit-you need to spend the required amount of Max Particles and the specific Pokémon’s Candy. Once you have enough resources, select the locked move and tap “Train” to unlock it at level 1. Max Moves can then be upgraded up to level 3 by using more Max Particles, Candy, and XL Candy, enhancing their power or effects for Max Battles.
To unlock a Max Move in Pokémon Go, select a Dynamax Pokémon or Gigantamax Pokémon in your collection. You can spot these at a glance with the unique icon in the background on the collection screen, and with a specific Dynamax or Gigantamax symbol among stats like weight, typing, and how much Candy you have.
To unlock a Max Move, tap the Dynamax or Gigantamax symbol on the Pokémon’s stats screen to expand it, revealing the Max Moves that Pokémon has.
By default, the Pokémon will have just a single Max Move unlocked – Max Strike – at level 1. The other two Max Moves – Max Guard and Max Spirit – will be locked.
To unlock a Max Move, tap one of these locked moves, then provided you have the required Max Particles and Candy, select “Train” to unlock the move.
How to level a Max Move in Pokémon Go
To level a Max Move in Pokémon Go, first select a Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon from your inventory and tap the Dynamax icon on its stats page to view its Max Moves. Initially, only the Max Strike move is unlocked at level 1, while Max Guard and Max Spirit are locked. To unlock or level up a Max Move, select the desired move and use the required amount of Max Particles and Candy (or XL Candy for leveling from level 2 to 3) by pressing the ’Train’ button. Each Max Move can be upgraded up to level 3, increasing its power for Max Battles. The resources needed vary by move and Pokémon but typically include hundreds of Max Particles and Candy, making this a resource-intensive process.
To level a Max Move, tap the Dynamax or Gigantamax menu on a Pokémon, revealing the Max Moves that Pokémon has, then tap the desired move you wish to level.
You’ll be presented with the Max Particles, Candy – or in the case of levelling from level two to three, XL Candy – required to level the move. If you met the requirements, tap the “Train” button to level the move.
How can I unlock the other Max Moves beyond Max Strike in Pokémon Go
To unlock Max Moves beyond the default Max Strike in Pokémon Go, follow these steps:
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Select a Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon from your inventory and open its stats page.
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Tap the Dynamax icon to view the Max Moves menu. Initially, only Max Strike will be unlocked at level 1, while Max Guard and Max Spirit will be locked.
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Tap on one of the locked Max Moves (Max Guard or Max Spirit). If you have enough Max Particles and the corresponding Pokémon Candy, select the “Train” option to unlock that move at level 1.
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You can then level up each Max Move up to level 3 by spending more Max Particles and Candy, including XL Candy for the highest level upgrades.
Note that unlocking a new Max Move requires actually teaching the Pokémon the move for the first time; simply upgrading an already unlocked move does not count as unlocking.
What are the best strategies to farm Max Particles for unlocking moves
The best strategies to farm Max Particles efficiently in Pokémon Go are:
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Visit Power Spots: Each visit to a Power Spot grants about 120 Max Particles. Visiting multiple new Power Spots daily can quickly accumulate a large amount of Max Particles.
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Walk 2 km daily: Walking 2 km in a day rewards 300 Max Particles. Combining this with Power Spot visits boosts your daily total significantly.
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Combine visits and walking: For example, visiting 4 new Power Spots (480 Max Particles) plus walking 2 km (300 Max Particles) yields around 780 Max Particles daily. Adding visits to existing Power Spots or completing multiple 2 km walks can push this over 1,000 Max Particles per day.
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Complete Timed and Special Research tasks: These occasionally reward Max Particles, supplementing your daily farming.
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Daily cap: Note that there is a soft daily cap of around 800 Max Particles, but some players report reaching up to about 1,020 by maximizing Power Spot visits and walking.
By combining these methods-especially visiting multiple Power Spots and walking daily-you can efficiently farm the Max Particles needed to unlock and level up Max Moves for your Dynamax Pokémon.
