Without exaggeration, the addition of Elite TMs to Pokémon GO is one of the most important changes in the history of the game. It will shake up how players aim to round out their collections and maximize the power of their teams. This new feature allows players to choose moves from both the regular TM list and Legacy moves, those that Pokémon were only able to learn naturally but are not longer available, and those from rare Community Day or Raid events.
This is a major game-changer for several reasons. From a practical standpoint, players will be able to take a far more relaxed approach to playing the game. No longer will players stress about putting in the grind on a special event day to possibly find a specific Pokémon with a specific move set. From a competitive standpoint, this is also going to have a major impact as well; rare moves are now more common, and the meta may see a slow shift as a result.
To be clear, this new feature is not exactly a free-for-all on every Pokémon. It looks like players are only going to get one Elite TM, for now. Hopefully there are more coming later, but for now players will have to consider carefully who to use their Elite TM on.
The obvious choice might be a strong, meta-defining Pokémon who has been unfortunate enough to have a terrible set of moves. The following would benefit most from having access to these specific abilities:
- Dewgong – Ice Shard, Icy Wind & Aqua Jet
- Lapras – Ice Shard, Ice Beam & Dragon Pulse
- Swampert – Hydro Cannon
- Zapdos – Thundershock
- Moltres – Sky Attack
- Venusaur – Frenzy Plant
- Gardevoir – Synchronoise
- Blaziken – Stone Edge
- Mewtwo – Psystrike, Shadow Ball
- Metagross – Meteor Mash
- Tyranitar – Smack Down
None of these moves should come as a surprise when considering the current meta of Raids and League Battles. Lapras runs wild in these places and could benefit immensely from any of the listed moves. Right now, a well-stated Lapras may be able to use Water Gun, but this pales in comparison to its ideal options.
As for the rest of the moves, we are likely to see a fair bit of homogenization among Raids and Battle Leagues as players use their Elite TMs for most of the moves listed above. Eventually we might see new Pokémon come in to counter these popular choices, but that would be a slow process since what the Elite TM effectively does is provide each player with a bit of perfection. Perfection in rounding out what may be a weak spot on their team, and perfection in terms of the current meta (which cannot quickly shift since Elite TMs will be limited.)
For now, players really need to take a good, long think about how best to use their Elite TMs, and not rush into wasting it on a Pokémon that they may regret choosing.
Source: heavy.com